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Hazel (1853 KP) rated See How They Run (Embassy Row, #2) in Books
Dec 14, 2018
<i>This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
See How They Run</i> begins one week after the first novel in Ally Carter’s <i>Embassy Row</i> series comes to its dramatic conclusion. It is a week since sixteen-year-old Grace remembers what happened to her mother; a week since her life was in danger; a week since the Prime Minister suffered a fatal “heart attack”.
Naturally, it is not possible for Grace’s life to go back to “normal” after the bombshells dropped in <i>All Fall Down</i>, but even if she were to try her life would only be turned upside again. After a brief love triangle sparks a fist fight, Grace’s friend Alexei is suspected of murder when the body of Jamie’s, Grace’s brother’s, friend is washed up on the beach. Since being introduced to a world of secret societies and passages 100 feet under the city, Grace is certain that Alexei has been framed, but how can she prove it? As Grace and her friends set out to discover the truth, she unearths a lot more than she bargained for.
<i>See How They Run</i> is even more exciting than its precursor. There is no need for introductions to the characters, nor their history, allowing the story to jump straight into the action. The plot twists and turns from beginning to end as the mystery becomes more complicated before ending on yet another bombshell.
Ally Carter is inventive and accurately captures the personality of a person suffering from PTSD. Due to past psychotic episodes, Grace is rarely believed whenever she suggests something that goes against the beliefs of the masses. She also questions herself and her ability to post judgment on the situation.
Grace is not a typical young adult hero and thus will appeal to many readers who feel different from other people in a negative way. Although the brief love triangle toward the beginning of the book, romance does not get in the way of or detract from the plot, which a lot of avid readers will be pleased about.
Ally Carter is already popular within the young adult world and this series will not be a disappointment to her fans. Unsurprisingly the books need to be read in order; so if you like the sound of this book, make sure you get a copy of the first in the series!
See How They Run</i> begins one week after the first novel in Ally Carter’s <i>Embassy Row</i> series comes to its dramatic conclusion. It is a week since sixteen-year-old Grace remembers what happened to her mother; a week since her life was in danger; a week since the Prime Minister suffered a fatal “heart attack”.
Naturally, it is not possible for Grace’s life to go back to “normal” after the bombshells dropped in <i>All Fall Down</i>, but even if she were to try her life would only be turned upside again. After a brief love triangle sparks a fist fight, Grace’s friend Alexei is suspected of murder when the body of Jamie’s, Grace’s brother’s, friend is washed up on the beach. Since being introduced to a world of secret societies and passages 100 feet under the city, Grace is certain that Alexei has been framed, but how can she prove it? As Grace and her friends set out to discover the truth, she unearths a lot more than she bargained for.
<i>See How They Run</i> is even more exciting than its precursor. There is no need for introductions to the characters, nor their history, allowing the story to jump straight into the action. The plot twists and turns from beginning to end as the mystery becomes more complicated before ending on yet another bombshell.
Ally Carter is inventive and accurately captures the personality of a person suffering from PTSD. Due to past psychotic episodes, Grace is rarely believed whenever she suggests something that goes against the beliefs of the masses. She also questions herself and her ability to post judgment on the situation.
Grace is not a typical young adult hero and thus will appeal to many readers who feel different from other people in a negative way. Although the brief love triangle toward the beginning of the book, romance does not get in the way of or detract from the plot, which a lot of avid readers will be pleased about.
Ally Carter is already popular within the young adult world and this series will not be a disappointment to her fans. Unsurprisingly the books need to be read in order; so if you like the sound of this book, make sure you get a copy of the first in the series!
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The #1 app with millions of players! "Bridge Constructor Playground is even more fun than the...
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Weekend at Bernie's (1989) in Movies
May 1, 2018
Could Have Been Better
Two friends show up at their boss Bernie's beachhouse for a weekend retreat only to find Bernie dead. To maintain innocence, they decide to go through with the weekend while hiding Bernie in plain sight for all to see.
Acting: 10
One of the highlights of the film. Terry Kiser owns the role of Bernie Lomax, playing a man you love to hate. There's never a point where you like this guy and of course that's the whole idea.
My personal favorite role came from Jonathan Silverman who plays Richard Parker--a play-by-the-rules kind of guy that just wants to do the right thing. His humor, similar to Cameron Frye in Ferris Bueller's Day Off shines most when his character is inserted into situations he desperately wants to get out of. I enjoyed watching how frantic he would get in certain scenes.
Beginning: 10
Characters: 5
Outside of Bernie and Richard, there weren't any characters that grabbed my interest. Larry (Andrew McCarthy) was written way too douchey which I'm guessing was for the purpose of being the balance to Richard. I hated Larry's character but not for the same reason I hated Bernie. Larry had zero redeeming qualities and his willingness to throw Richard under the bus at any given moment bugged the crap out of me. I get it, he's a jerk, but sheesh. A little overboard for my taste.
Cinematography/Visuals: 5
Not a whole lot of moments that stood out. I did like the contrast of how the lighting changed with them being in the city versus at the beach. Shots of Bernie doing various things (washing up on the beach, waterskiing) were shining points in an otherwise dull movie.
Conflict: 3
The preposterous premise eventually overwhelmed me. You've got two guys running around trying to show everyone this guy is still alive when I'm thinking the whole time, "What would be the harm in telling the truth?" One or two funny moments don't make up for the fact that the film probably should have ended twenty minutes in.
Genre: 4
Considering most of the jokes fell flat for me and this film is supposed to be a comedy, I don't think I need to expand further here.
Memorability: 7
In the few moments where the film was funny, it was really funny. When the hitman that killed Bernie originally kept finding him alive, I would crack up everytime he would have to kill Bernie again. It's memorable moments like these that make me think about the handful of tweaks they could have made to really push the film over the top.
Pace: 5
When a comedy isn't very funny, you better believe it's going to move at a slow pace. It wasn't unbearable, but I was definitely ready for the film to be over by the time it reached the end. Inconsistencies and bad comedic choices made for a very wavy pace.
Plot: 8
Love it or hate it, I can't deny that it's at least unique. And furthermore, if you were going to parade your boss around pretending he was alive, I imagine it probably would have gone the same way with one crazy antic happening after another. My subtraction of two came from this mere fact that I couldn't shake: Eventually, Bernie's going to smell. And it should have been all downhill from there.
Resolution: 6
Overall: 63
Glad I saw it once. No need to ever see it again. It's very much a bucket list film that I can now bury and erase from my memory.
Acting: 10
One of the highlights of the film. Terry Kiser owns the role of Bernie Lomax, playing a man you love to hate. There's never a point where you like this guy and of course that's the whole idea.
My personal favorite role came from Jonathan Silverman who plays Richard Parker--a play-by-the-rules kind of guy that just wants to do the right thing. His humor, similar to Cameron Frye in Ferris Bueller's Day Off shines most when his character is inserted into situations he desperately wants to get out of. I enjoyed watching how frantic he would get in certain scenes.
Beginning: 10
Characters: 5
Outside of Bernie and Richard, there weren't any characters that grabbed my interest. Larry (Andrew McCarthy) was written way too douchey which I'm guessing was for the purpose of being the balance to Richard. I hated Larry's character but not for the same reason I hated Bernie. Larry had zero redeeming qualities and his willingness to throw Richard under the bus at any given moment bugged the crap out of me. I get it, he's a jerk, but sheesh. A little overboard for my taste.
Cinematography/Visuals: 5
Not a whole lot of moments that stood out. I did like the contrast of how the lighting changed with them being in the city versus at the beach. Shots of Bernie doing various things (washing up on the beach, waterskiing) were shining points in an otherwise dull movie.
Conflict: 3
The preposterous premise eventually overwhelmed me. You've got two guys running around trying to show everyone this guy is still alive when I'm thinking the whole time, "What would be the harm in telling the truth?" One or two funny moments don't make up for the fact that the film probably should have ended twenty minutes in.
Genre: 4
Considering most of the jokes fell flat for me and this film is supposed to be a comedy, I don't think I need to expand further here.
Memorability: 7
In the few moments where the film was funny, it was really funny. When the hitman that killed Bernie originally kept finding him alive, I would crack up everytime he would have to kill Bernie again. It's memorable moments like these that make me think about the handful of tweaks they could have made to really push the film over the top.
Pace: 5
When a comedy isn't very funny, you better believe it's going to move at a slow pace. It wasn't unbearable, but I was definitely ready for the film to be over by the time it reached the end. Inconsistencies and bad comedic choices made for a very wavy pace.
Plot: 8
Love it or hate it, I can't deny that it's at least unique. And furthermore, if you were going to parade your boss around pretending he was alive, I imagine it probably would have gone the same way with one crazy antic happening after another. My subtraction of two came from this mere fact that I couldn't shake: Eventually, Bernie's going to smell. And it should have been all downhill from there.
Resolution: 6
Overall: 63
Glad I saw it once. No need to ever see it again. It's very much a bucket list film that I can now bury and erase from my memory.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Obliteracers in Video Games
Jun 19, 2019
So many games today take older ideas and look to infuse a new wrinkle into them in order to great something fresh. One such game is Obliteracers which looks to take a page from the classic character-based racing games such as Mario Kart and infuse new life into a genre which too many had become fairly stale in recent years. The game puts less emphasis on racing as finishing first or last doesn’t really matter for the most part as the goal is to obliterate your opponents as you race around the track. There are a variety of tracks such as a futuristic city, tropical beach, oil tanker, and so on, many which will seem familiar to people who spent a lot of time in the genre.
By using weapons such as missiles, oil slicks, flamethrowers, mines, machine guns, and such, the strategy is to take out as many of them before they get you. When the field of opponents is reduced to one, the match starts over and continues until a champion has been reached based on a point system from the earlier matches. This at this point players can then move on to another locale and start the battle all over. There are variations in the gameplay mode where in addition to wiping out your opponents, factors such as staying in the lead, endurance, and such do help you increase your score which will ultimately lead to your overall championship. After a brief introduction to the game, I found myself able to win my earlier matches without too much difficulty and ultimately advance through the rankings fairly quickly.
There is a multiplayer mode for the game and matchmaking at me racing against another player in no time however it was a simple two player match and not nearly as exciting as having a field of players to race against. I hope in time that will be more customization options for vehicles, tracks, characters, and so on as the game is an amusing if albeit fleeting diversion. For value priced software it does hold a solid amount of entertainment if you’re willing to overlook some of the shortcomings and things such as random clipping issues were my car became part of the track at various times during the race.
Obliteracers gave me a couple of hours of pleasant distraction, and as such might be worth your time if this is something that would interest you.
http://sknr.net/2016/02/28/81389/
By using weapons such as missiles, oil slicks, flamethrowers, mines, machine guns, and such, the strategy is to take out as many of them before they get you. When the field of opponents is reduced to one, the match starts over and continues until a champion has been reached based on a point system from the earlier matches. This at this point players can then move on to another locale and start the battle all over. There are variations in the gameplay mode where in addition to wiping out your opponents, factors such as staying in the lead, endurance, and such do help you increase your score which will ultimately lead to your overall championship. After a brief introduction to the game, I found myself able to win my earlier matches without too much difficulty and ultimately advance through the rankings fairly quickly.
There is a multiplayer mode for the game and matchmaking at me racing against another player in no time however it was a simple two player match and not nearly as exciting as having a field of players to race against. I hope in time that will be more customization options for vehicles, tracks, characters, and so on as the game is an amusing if albeit fleeting diversion. For value priced software it does hold a solid amount of entertainment if you’re willing to overlook some of the shortcomings and things such as random clipping issues were my car became part of the track at various times during the race.
Obliteracers gave me a couple of hours of pleasant distraction, and as such might be worth your time if this is something that would interest you.
http://sknr.net/2016/02/28/81389/
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Welcome! Find the words as fast as you can as you test your diagonal and backward reading skills!...