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Bedtime Stories For Children
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**** 180+ New Stories Added **** Story time is learning time with 'Stories For Children: Bedtime...
Homer - Kids Learn to Read App
Education and Entertainment
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Welcome to Homer — the #1 learn to read program for kids ages 2-8, shown to increase early reading...
The ABC Song: Full Version
Education and Games
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~~~ 9 amazing spelling activities and games inside + interactive ABC song ~~~ ~~~ More than...
First Phrases HD
Education and Games
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From SmartAppsforKids.com: "In my opinion, the full version is a must-have for parents of children...
Planescape: Torment
Games
1.0
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Reviewers say: "Planescape: Torment is a wonderful game, and its Enhanced Edition is a splendid,...
Paint Sparkles Draw
Education and Games
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~~~ Top selling education app! Over 11,000,000 downloads around the world! ~~~ ~~~ No.1 Kids...
My Incredible Body - Guide to Learn About the Human Body for Children - Educational Science App with Anatomy for Kids
Education and Games
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Winner of a Parents' Choice Silver Honor Award and awarded "Best App for Teaching & Learning" from...
Farm Charm
Games and Entertainment
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Farm Charm is a charming accumulative match-3 puzzler with lots of fascinating levels! Discover...
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated The Snowman (2017) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
“We’re trudging through the slush”.
Unlike its animated namesake, “The Snowman” is not a good film. Frustratingly it has all the right ingredients:
A story by bestselling Nordic writer Jo Nesbø;
Gorgeously photogenic snowy scenes of Oslo and Bergen;
A stellar cast (Michael Fassbender (“Alien: Covenant“); Rebecca Ferguson (“Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation“); J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash“); Toby Jones (“Dad’s Army“); Chloe Sevigny (“Love and Friendship“); Charlotte Gainsbourg (“Independence Day: Resurgence“, very sexy as Fassbender’s ex-squeeze) and even Val Kilmer (“Top Gun”, whose mother – interesting fact – is actually Swedish).
snowman2
That sinking feeling when you realise you’ve been drinking all night and its too late for bed before work.
And while these elements congeal in the snow together quite well as vignettes, the whole film jerks from vignette to vignette in a most unsatisfactory way. I haven’t read the book (which might be much better) but the inclusion in the (terrible!) trailers of key scenes that never made the final cut (where was the fire for example?, the fish? the man trap?) implied to me that the director (Tomas Alfredson, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”) and screenwriting team – Peter Straughan (also “Tinker, Tailor”), Hossein Amini (“The Two Faces of January“) and Søren Sveistrup (TV’s “The Killing”) – either didn’t have (or didn’t agree on) the direction they wanted the film to go in.
Film Title: The Snowman
Arve Stop (J.K. Simmons) and Katrine (Rebecca Ferguson) having a “Weinstein moment” at the hotel.
Nesbø (and indeed most crime writers these days) litter their work with damaged cops…. you have to question whether the detective application form has a mandatory check-box with “alcoholic and borderline psycho” on it!. This film is no exception. Fassbender plays Nesbø’s master sleuth Harry Hole: an alcoholic insomniac well off the rails between homicide cases. “If only Oslo had a higher murder rate” bemoans his boss (Ronan Vibert). He joins forces with newby officer Katrine Bratt (Rebecca Ferguson), who has her fair share of mental demons to fight, in investigating a series of missing person/murder cases. The duo unearth a link between the cases – all happen when the snow starts to fall and to particular types of women, with the protagonist leaving a snowman at the scene.
snowman5
One of the cuter snowmen… they get worse… much worse.
The plot is highly formulaic – I guessed who the killer was within about 20 minutes. But what makes this movie stand out, for all the wrong reasons, is that it has one of the most stupid, vacuous, flaccid, inane, ridiculous … (add 50 other thesaurus entries)… endings imaginable. My mouth actually gaped in astonishment!
There are also a surprisingly large number of loose ends you ponder after the film ends: why the “Snowman”‘s fixation with Harry?; what was with the “Vetlesen cleaner” subplot? How is Star Trek transportation possible in Norway? (But wait… “Telemark”… “Teleport”…. coincidence????? 🙂
On the plus side, there is some lovely Norwegian drone cinematography – (by Australian Dion Beebe (“Edge of Tomorrow“) – that immediately made me put “travel by winter train from Oslo to Bergen” on my life-map. The music by Marco Beltrami (“Logan“) is also effective and suitably Hitchcockian.
If you like your films gory, this one is definitely for you, with some pretty graphic content that (for those who like to cover their eyes) is cut to so quickly by editors Thelma Schoonmaker (“The Wolf of Wall Street“) and Claire Simpson (“Far From The Madding Crowd“) that your hands won’t have time to leave your lap! I remember this being a feature of a previous Nesbø adaptation (the much better “Headhunters” from 2011) but here it goes into overdrive.
snowman1
One of my favourite actresses – Rebecca Ferguson, curiously playing much “younger” in this film than she appears in her previous hits.
Overall this was a rather disappointing effort that was heading for a FFf rating. But just because of that ending I’m knocking a whole extra Fad off!
A story by bestselling Nordic writer Jo Nesbø;
Gorgeously photogenic snowy scenes of Oslo and Bergen;
A stellar cast (Michael Fassbender (“Alien: Covenant“); Rebecca Ferguson (“Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation“); J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash“); Toby Jones (“Dad’s Army“); Chloe Sevigny (“Love and Friendship“); Charlotte Gainsbourg (“Independence Day: Resurgence“, very sexy as Fassbender’s ex-squeeze) and even Val Kilmer (“Top Gun”, whose mother – interesting fact – is actually Swedish).
snowman2
That sinking feeling when you realise you’ve been drinking all night and its too late for bed before work.
And while these elements congeal in the snow together quite well as vignettes, the whole film jerks from vignette to vignette in a most unsatisfactory way. I haven’t read the book (which might be much better) but the inclusion in the (terrible!) trailers of key scenes that never made the final cut (where was the fire for example?, the fish? the man trap?) implied to me that the director (Tomas Alfredson, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”) and screenwriting team – Peter Straughan (also “Tinker, Tailor”), Hossein Amini (“The Two Faces of January“) and Søren Sveistrup (TV’s “The Killing”) – either didn’t have (or didn’t agree on) the direction they wanted the film to go in.
Film Title: The Snowman
Arve Stop (J.K. Simmons) and Katrine (Rebecca Ferguson) having a “Weinstein moment” at the hotel.
Nesbø (and indeed most crime writers these days) litter their work with damaged cops…. you have to question whether the detective application form has a mandatory check-box with “alcoholic and borderline psycho” on it!. This film is no exception. Fassbender plays Nesbø’s master sleuth Harry Hole: an alcoholic insomniac well off the rails between homicide cases. “If only Oslo had a higher murder rate” bemoans his boss (Ronan Vibert). He joins forces with newby officer Katrine Bratt (Rebecca Ferguson), who has her fair share of mental demons to fight, in investigating a series of missing person/murder cases. The duo unearth a link between the cases – all happen when the snow starts to fall and to particular types of women, with the protagonist leaving a snowman at the scene.
snowman5
One of the cuter snowmen… they get worse… much worse.
The plot is highly formulaic – I guessed who the killer was within about 20 minutes. But what makes this movie stand out, for all the wrong reasons, is that it has one of the most stupid, vacuous, flaccid, inane, ridiculous … (add 50 other thesaurus entries)… endings imaginable. My mouth actually gaped in astonishment!
There are also a surprisingly large number of loose ends you ponder after the film ends: why the “Snowman”‘s fixation with Harry?; what was with the “Vetlesen cleaner” subplot? How is Star Trek transportation possible in Norway? (But wait… “Telemark”… “Teleport”…. coincidence????? 🙂
On the plus side, there is some lovely Norwegian drone cinematography – (by Australian Dion Beebe (“Edge of Tomorrow“) – that immediately made me put “travel by winter train from Oslo to Bergen” on my life-map. The music by Marco Beltrami (“Logan“) is also effective and suitably Hitchcockian.
If you like your films gory, this one is definitely for you, with some pretty graphic content that (for those who like to cover their eyes) is cut to so quickly by editors Thelma Schoonmaker (“The Wolf of Wall Street“) and Claire Simpson (“Far From The Madding Crowd“) that your hands won’t have time to leave your lap! I remember this being a feature of a previous Nesbø adaptation (the much better “Headhunters” from 2011) but here it goes into overdrive.
snowman1
One of my favourite actresses – Rebecca Ferguson, curiously playing much “younger” in this film than she appears in her previous hits.
Overall this was a rather disappointing effort that was heading for a FFf rating. But just because of that ending I’m knocking a whole extra Fad off!
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated the Playstation 5 version of Gotham Knights in Video Games
Nov 4, 2022
Gotham Knights Delivers Dark Action For DC Fans
Following the success of the Arkham series of games would be a daunting
task for any developer and when WB Games Montreal announced Gotham Knights
and that it would not benefit from the inclusion of Batman; fans of the
series were curious about what the new game would hold.
Taking place shortly after the death of Batman which is depicted in an
the amazing animated sequence that sets the tone for the game well; Nightwing,
The Red Hood, Robin, and Batgirl are tasked to pick up where Batman left
off and protect the city but also deal with a murder mystery and even
darker threat than they could have imagined facing the city.
Players will select a character and as they gain experience, new costumes,
abilities and moves will become available as well as the ability to Fast
Travel between locales on the map. This is essential as the city is a
sprawling and cluttered urban setting filled with dangers around every
corner.
Playing as Nightwing I was able to summon a cycle and speed to locales and
setting waypoints on the map allowed my path to be displayed which was
much better than driving in a general direction. I also had the option to
fire a Zipline and pull myself all over the city and up very tall
buildings which allowed me to get around when driving was not always the
ideal option.
The game is filled with side quests as well as appearances by classic
Batman Universe characters both good and bad and always added a nice
element to the game.
The combat in the game is nimble and at times brutal as there is no end
of gangs, enemies, and thugs to battle and using hit and run tactics to
dodge and attack often work well but require some patience as some
enemies take a good amount of damage before they fall and when your health
packs run low, players often have to adjust on the fly to survive.
There are also puzzles to solve along the way that help provide clues to
the ongoing threat and players will be able to return to the Belfry to get
a break, update the narrative, check the clues, and update their costume
and skills.
The game does provide an extensive amount of gameplay and even upon
completion there are side quests that can be undertaken as well as
patrols.
Multiplay is an option as players can form a team or drop in. The few
times I tried this I was paired with individuals who were busy doing their
own thing as having someone to watch my back during the more challenging
missions would have been ideal.
The game did have a few frustrations like having to align near objects at
times just right for them to allow me to manipulate them and the mission
pathfinding was a bit confusing early on as were some elements of the
crafting menu.
As I spent more time with the game and updates became available, I became
engrossed in the story which was constantly evolving and the darker tones
were very appealing to me. It was great to be able to explore the
highly-detailed city but at times the travel did seem a bit tedious
especially missions where I had to patrol and beat information out of
random street thugs in order to progress.
That being said, the game was entertaining and I am curious about playing
as some of the other characters as well as seeing what future missions
will be made available while it does not reach the level of Arkham
Asylum, Gotham Knights was for me a very enjoyable adventure despite some
flaws and one that I think DC fans will enjoy if they are patient and
willing to overlook some of the shortcomings of the game to focus on the
things it does well.
3.5 stars out of 5
task for any developer and when WB Games Montreal announced Gotham Knights
and that it would not benefit from the inclusion of Batman; fans of the
series were curious about what the new game would hold.
Taking place shortly after the death of Batman which is depicted in an
the amazing animated sequence that sets the tone for the game well; Nightwing,
The Red Hood, Robin, and Batgirl are tasked to pick up where Batman left
off and protect the city but also deal with a murder mystery and even
darker threat than they could have imagined facing the city.
Players will select a character and as they gain experience, new costumes,
abilities and moves will become available as well as the ability to Fast
Travel between locales on the map. This is essential as the city is a
sprawling and cluttered urban setting filled with dangers around every
corner.
Playing as Nightwing I was able to summon a cycle and speed to locales and
setting waypoints on the map allowed my path to be displayed which was
much better than driving in a general direction. I also had the option to
fire a Zipline and pull myself all over the city and up very tall
buildings which allowed me to get around when driving was not always the
ideal option.
The game is filled with side quests as well as appearances by classic
Batman Universe characters both good and bad and always added a nice
element to the game.
The combat in the game is nimble and at times brutal as there is no end
of gangs, enemies, and thugs to battle and using hit and run tactics to
dodge and attack often work well but require some patience as some
enemies take a good amount of damage before they fall and when your health
packs run low, players often have to adjust on the fly to survive.
There are also puzzles to solve along the way that help provide clues to
the ongoing threat and players will be able to return to the Belfry to get
a break, update the narrative, check the clues, and update their costume
and skills.
The game does provide an extensive amount of gameplay and even upon
completion there are side quests that can be undertaken as well as
patrols.
Multiplay is an option as players can form a team or drop in. The few
times I tried this I was paired with individuals who were busy doing their
own thing as having someone to watch my back during the more challenging
missions would have been ideal.
The game did have a few frustrations like having to align near objects at
times just right for them to allow me to manipulate them and the mission
pathfinding was a bit confusing early on as were some elements of the
crafting menu.
As I spent more time with the game and updates became available, I became
engrossed in the story which was constantly evolving and the darker tones
were very appealing to me. It was great to be able to explore the
highly-detailed city but at times the travel did seem a bit tedious
especially missions where I had to patrol and beat information out of
random street thugs in order to progress.
That being said, the game was entertaining and I am curious about playing
as some of the other characters as well as seeing what future missions
will be made available while it does not reach the level of Arkham
Asylum, Gotham Knights was for me a very enjoyable adventure despite some
flaws and one that I think DC fans will enjoy if they are patient and
willing to overlook some of the shortcomings of the game to focus on the
things it does well.
3.5 stars out of 5