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David McK (3425 KP) rated Quest for Lost Heroes (Drenai #4) in Books
Mar 11, 2023
An early Gemmell, this is the fourth (by release date) in his Drenai saga, and - I have to say - it shows somewhat.
Whilst it is an enjoyable read, I found this one to lack the complexity of some of his later works: indeed, the very plot itself even comes across as a rough outline for his later Winter Warriors.
Having said that, I still enjoyed this one, albeit not as much as his novels that included the Drenai hero Druss (name dropped in passing - this is set centuries on), or even the assassin Waylander.
Whilst it is an enjoyable read, I found this one to lack the complexity of some of his later works: indeed, the very plot itself even comes across as a rough outline for his later Winter Warriors.
Having said that, I still enjoyed this one, albeit not as much as his novels that included the Drenai hero Druss (name dropped in passing - this is set centuries on), or even the assassin Waylander.
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated American Assassin (2017) in Movies
Jun 10, 2019
Great, another terrorism thriller
Just what the world needs, another ill-timed terrorism-based thriller – you can almost hear the groans can’t you? It seems the movie-going public just can’t get enough of these accounts of urban terrorism.
Last year’s diabolical London Has Fallen inexplicably took over $200million at the box office and the better-received Unlocked also performed well commercially. All of this in spite of the constant threat posed by terrorism across the globe.
Now, there’s a new kid on the block. American Assassin. But does this film based on the novel of the same name do enough to be different?
When Cold War veteran Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton) takes CIA black ops recruit Mitch Rapp (Dylan O’Brien) under his wing, they receive an assignment to investigate a wave of random attacks on both military and civilian targets. After discovering a pattern of violence, Hurley and Rapp join forces with a lethal Turkish agent to stop a mysterious operative who wants to start a global war.
Michael Cuesta’s film is propped up by a nicely shot opening in which Dylan O’Brien’s Mitch comes up against Islamic terrorists while on holiday with his fiancé. Naturally, she’s brutally murdered and it becomes Mitch’s life-ambition to hunt down terrorist cells across the world.
Yes, you heard me right. That’s the plot. Ridiculous in every way and frankly, a little boring, American Assassin is a poor excuse for a film riddled with dreadful dialogue, phoned-in performances and uninspiring camerawork.
What makes it worse is that Maze Runner rising star Dylan O’Brien thought it would be a good idea to helm such a vehicle. He performs well but feels at odds with the film’s dark tone and is in serious danger of doing a post-Abduction Taylor Lautner and tanking his promising career. Michael Keaton’s bizarre effort here is the polar opposite of his genuinely menacing turn in Spider-Man: Homecoming only two months ago.
The rest of the cast might as well be made of cardboard they’re that uninteresting and while globe-trotting should evoke some visual joy, the scenery feels flat, hampered by a dull colour palette and the fact it’s been done to death already.
As American Assassin steamrolls to a 70s-esque Bond finale, we’re subjected to some torturous CGI, though Cuesta does well to ramp up the tension a little, but it’s the subject matter once again that proves a sticking point.
In a world where our fears of urban terrorism are greater than ever, should we be classing films like this as ‘entertainment’? Take the opening sequence for example, as nicely choreographed as it is, the parallels to the dreadful Tunisian beach attack of 2015 linger in the back of my mind and I find it all very much in poor taste.
Overall, American Assassin is yet another addition to the already overstuffed terrorism thriller genre that adds absolutely nothing new. The performances are dull, the story is flat and the cinematography is uninspired. Poor Dylan O’Brien left the Maze for this?
https://moviemetropolis.net/2017/09/15/american-assassin-review/
Last year’s diabolical London Has Fallen inexplicably took over $200million at the box office and the better-received Unlocked also performed well commercially. All of this in spite of the constant threat posed by terrorism across the globe.
Now, there’s a new kid on the block. American Assassin. But does this film based on the novel of the same name do enough to be different?
When Cold War veteran Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton) takes CIA black ops recruit Mitch Rapp (Dylan O’Brien) under his wing, they receive an assignment to investigate a wave of random attacks on both military and civilian targets. After discovering a pattern of violence, Hurley and Rapp join forces with a lethal Turkish agent to stop a mysterious operative who wants to start a global war.
Michael Cuesta’s film is propped up by a nicely shot opening in which Dylan O’Brien’s Mitch comes up against Islamic terrorists while on holiday with his fiancé. Naturally, she’s brutally murdered and it becomes Mitch’s life-ambition to hunt down terrorist cells across the world.
Yes, you heard me right. That’s the plot. Ridiculous in every way and frankly, a little boring, American Assassin is a poor excuse for a film riddled with dreadful dialogue, phoned-in performances and uninspiring camerawork.
What makes it worse is that Maze Runner rising star Dylan O’Brien thought it would be a good idea to helm such a vehicle. He performs well but feels at odds with the film’s dark tone and is in serious danger of doing a post-Abduction Taylor Lautner and tanking his promising career. Michael Keaton’s bizarre effort here is the polar opposite of his genuinely menacing turn in Spider-Man: Homecoming only two months ago.
The rest of the cast might as well be made of cardboard they’re that uninteresting and while globe-trotting should evoke some visual joy, the scenery feels flat, hampered by a dull colour palette and the fact it’s been done to death already.
As American Assassin steamrolls to a 70s-esque Bond finale, we’re subjected to some torturous CGI, though Cuesta does well to ramp up the tension a little, but it’s the subject matter once again that proves a sticking point.
In a world where our fears of urban terrorism are greater than ever, should we be classing films like this as ‘entertainment’? Take the opening sequence for example, as nicely choreographed as it is, the parallels to the dreadful Tunisian beach attack of 2015 linger in the back of my mind and I find it all very much in poor taste.
Overall, American Assassin is yet another addition to the already overstuffed terrorism thriller genre that adds absolutely nothing new. The performances are dull, the story is flat and the cinematography is uninspired. Poor Dylan O’Brien left the Maze for this?
https://moviemetropolis.net/2017/09/15/american-assassin-review/
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Codenames in Tabletop Games
Jul 17, 2020 (Updated Jul 18, 2020)
Fun to play (2 more)
Easy to Learn
High Replayability
Getting the assassin (2 more)
Getting the bystander
Getting the other teams word
Excellent Deduction Party Game
Codenames- is one of the two games i bought at this years Pax East. It is also one of the first board games that i bought. The second being Coup. Now since then I have like 25 board games. I love collecting board games cause i can either play them with my family or go solo. Personality i love going solo in board games.
I learn about this game through the Funhaus Channel. And personality wanted to buy it after watching it. It looked easy, fun and entertaining. So when i saw it at Pax i knew i had to by it. If you dont know what Codenames is or never heard of it. Let me explain.
Codenames is a party deduction word card name for 2-8 people. It came out in 2015, designed by Vlaada Chvátil and published by Czech Games Edition.
The Objective: Two teams compete by each having a "spymaster" give one-word clues that can point to multiple words on the board. The other players on the team attempt to guess their team's words while avoiding the words of the other team.
The Gameplay:
Players split into two teams: red and blue. One player of each team is selected as the team's spymaster; the others are field operatives.
Twenty-five Codename cards, each bearing a word, are laid out in a 5×5 rectangular grid, in random order. A number of these words represent red agents, a number represent blue agents, one represents an assassin, and the others represent innocent bystanders.
The hint's word can be chosen freely, as long as it is not (and does not contain) any of the words on the code name cards still showing at that time. Code name cards are covered as guesses are made.
After a spymaster gives the hint with its word and number, their field operatives make guesses about which code name cards bear words related to the hint and point them out, one at a time. When a code name card is pointed out, the spymaster covers that card with an appropriate identity card – a blue agent card, a red agent card, an innocent bystander card, or the assassin card – as indicated on the spymasters' map of the grid. If the assassin is pointed out, the game ends immediately, with the team who identified him losing. If an agent of the other team is pointed out, the turn ends immediately, and that other team is also one agent closer to winning. If an innocent bystander is pointed out, the turn simply ends.
The game ends when all of one team's agents are identified (winning the game for that team), or when one team has identified the assassin (losing the game).
Its a fun entertaining deduction party card game and can be played over and over again without losing its charm. Its excellent board game and a must buy if you haven't bought it yet.
I learn about this game through the Funhaus Channel. And personality wanted to buy it after watching it. It looked easy, fun and entertaining. So when i saw it at Pax i knew i had to by it. If you dont know what Codenames is or never heard of it. Let me explain.
Codenames is a party deduction word card name for 2-8 people. It came out in 2015, designed by Vlaada Chvátil and published by Czech Games Edition.
The Objective: Two teams compete by each having a "spymaster" give one-word clues that can point to multiple words on the board. The other players on the team attempt to guess their team's words while avoiding the words of the other team.
The Gameplay:
Players split into two teams: red and blue. One player of each team is selected as the team's spymaster; the others are field operatives.
Twenty-five Codename cards, each bearing a word, are laid out in a 5×5 rectangular grid, in random order. A number of these words represent red agents, a number represent blue agents, one represents an assassin, and the others represent innocent bystanders.
The hint's word can be chosen freely, as long as it is not (and does not contain) any of the words on the code name cards still showing at that time. Code name cards are covered as guesses are made.
After a spymaster gives the hint with its word and number, their field operatives make guesses about which code name cards bear words related to the hint and point them out, one at a time. When a code name card is pointed out, the spymaster covers that card with an appropriate identity card – a blue agent card, a red agent card, an innocent bystander card, or the assassin card – as indicated on the spymasters' map of the grid. If the assassin is pointed out, the game ends immediately, with the team who identified him losing. If an agent of the other team is pointed out, the turn ends immediately, and that other team is also one agent closer to winning. If an innocent bystander is pointed out, the turn simply ends.
The game ends when all of one team's agents are identified (winning the game for that team), or when one team has identified the assassin (losing the game).
Its a fun entertaining deduction party card game and can be played over and over again without losing its charm. Its excellent board game and a must buy if you haven't bought it yet.
Hazel (2934 KP) rated Raven (Raven Series #1) [Audiobook] in Books
Jul 17, 2022
![Raven (Raven Series #1) [Audiobook]](/uploads/profile_image/1b0/513fd232-4ad4-4e17-bd29-bfd859ee91b0.jpg?m=1658054054)
As soon as I started to listen to this book, I was hooked. I am a sucker for an assassin story and even more so when that assassin is a female and this didn't disappoint.
Raven is a strong woman who can more than hold her own against the male of the species but she is tested to the limit when someone is stealing her jobs and ruining her reputation. Raven finds herself struggling to trust anyone and when her rival is revealed, the situation becomes increasingly personal and more complicated.
This is a long 'listen' and I had to take an enforced break for a couple of weeks when I was half way through but I was able to get back into the story seamlessly and I was soon engrossed again.
The narrator did an excellent job and despite there being a lot of characters, she was able to use her voice to distinguish between them all.
With strong characters, a great story, loads of action and violence but with some humorous moments, this is a series that I am looking forward to getting my teeth stuck into and I must thank W.F. Howes Ltd and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to Raven and share my thoughts.
Raven is a strong woman who can more than hold her own against the male of the species but she is tested to the limit when someone is stealing her jobs and ruining her reputation. Raven finds herself struggling to trust anyone and when her rival is revealed, the situation becomes increasingly personal and more complicated.
This is a long 'listen' and I had to take an enforced break for a couple of weeks when I was half way through but I was able to get back into the story seamlessly and I was soon engrossed again.
The narrator did an excellent job and despite there being a lot of characters, she was able to use her voice to distinguish between them all.
With strong characters, a great story, loads of action and violence but with some humorous moments, this is a series that I am looking forward to getting my teeth stuck into and I must thank W.F. Howes Ltd and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to Raven and share my thoughts.
David McK (3425 KP) rated Wanted (2008) in Movies
Nov 20, 2019
Based on the graphic novel of the same name, I think the main draw of this for me (and, I'm sure, many others) is Angelina Jolie's character of Fox, with lowly frustrated office worker Wesley (a pre X-Men James McAvoy) discovering he is the son of a famous assassin, and that he shares his fathers almost superhuman killing ability.
There's a fair point to the criticism that this is almost a Matrix rip-off, but I have to say: this is far nastier (doesn't shy away from the guts and gore aspect) and filthier (language wise) than that earlier movie.
There's a fair point to the criticism that this is almost a Matrix rip-off, but I have to say: this is far nastier (doesn't shy away from the guts and gore aspect) and filthier (language wise) than that earlier movie.
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