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Michael Packner (32 KP) rated Super Metroid in Video Games
Jun 21, 2019
An enormous jump in quality from the NES version to this (6 more)
An even larger variety of enemies and bosses
The worlds are no longef as redundant and really feel as if they're individual biomes
An even better soundtrack
The absolutely beautiful dark tone of the game
An even bigger variety of weapons and upgrades to collect
While still extremely difficult, the game did lighten up drastically
While still keeping with the horrendously difficult nature of Metroid games, Super Metroid tones it down enough to not be overwhelming. The game is actually a masterpiece from the dark tone to the music to the no longer redundant but vibrant biomes and more. Samus has more weapons and more abilities giving you better control and ability to explore the upgraded world. The villains are epic in scale and some of the boss battles are absolutely epic. Even the mini bosses give you fight you won't soon forget. Going from Metroid to Super Metroid is like going from McDonald's to gourmet. Sure the Mickey D's is good, but the alternative is fucking gourmet!

KalJ95 (25 KP) rated the Nintendo Switch version of Hollow Knight in Video Games
Dec 30, 2019
Masterful platformer. (2 more)
Gorgeous visuals.
Superb story.
Hollow Knight is one of those rare games that will be remembered as a classic Metroidvania. A true gem amongst AAA videogames that year, that outshines them on almost every level.
A simple platformer, expertly crafted to perfect, with a gloomy black and white palette to boot, Hollow Knight tells the story of a small, sword wielding knight, who must discover the various secrets in the underground cities of Hallownest.
It's hard to sum up just how brilliant, often brutal and pulsating Hollow Knight can be. With so much to explore, so many quests to complete, and many, many boss battles that will make you want to jump out of tall building. Yet, once you do defeat that one frustrating creature, the game rewards you further with excellent progression with new abilities and items that help you along your journey.
From a game that was crowdfunded on a budget of $57,000, its astounding just how meticulously crafted Hollow Knight is. Support Team Cherry, you will love this amazing piece of art and entertainment.
A simple platformer, expertly crafted to perfect, with a gloomy black and white palette to boot, Hollow Knight tells the story of a small, sword wielding knight, who must discover the various secrets in the underground cities of Hallownest.
It's hard to sum up just how brilliant, often brutal and pulsating Hollow Knight can be. With so much to explore, so many quests to complete, and many, many boss battles that will make you want to jump out of tall building. Yet, once you do defeat that one frustrating creature, the game rewards you further with excellent progression with new abilities and items that help you along your journey.
From a game that was crowdfunded on a budget of $57,000, its astounding just how meticulously crafted Hollow Knight is. Support Team Cherry, you will love this amazing piece of art and entertainment.

Melika Jeddi (1145 KP) rated Boss Monster 2: The Next Level in Tabletop Games
Nov 7, 2019
It's quick to learn (4 more)
Each round only lasts about 15 minutes
There's a good amount of skill involved as well as just luck of the draw
The artwork is cute and simple
The game mechanics work well together
Simple But Fun
Boss Monster 2 is a really fun introduction to board games for people who want to expand beyond mainstream games like Uno or Scrabble, but don't want to commit to hour long games with complicated rules.
This is an improvement on the original, in my opinion, as it allows for more interaction between cards, and the new additions to the deck are really clever.
Building your own dungeon involves having to make tactical decisions, and although you're limited by which cards you draw, the main decider of the game is the order in which you play them.
This game is as fun with 2 players as it is with 4. I'd highly recommend it.
This is an improvement on the original, in my opinion, as it allows for more interaction between cards, and the new additions to the deck are really clever.
Building your own dungeon involves having to make tactical decisions, and although you're limited by which cards you draw, the main decider of the game is the order in which you play them.
This game is as fun with 2 players as it is with 4. I'd highly recommend it.

Veronica Pena (690 KP) rated Taylor Swift: Miss Americana (2020) in Movies
Feb 1, 2020
Taylor Swift is a powerhouse. Throughout this film she goes through her career and how she ended up to this spot, to build this album, to create this life for herself. She discusses her struggles with food, the media, her "downfall" after another Kanye West debacle, loving herself, living for herself, and so much more.
I might be biased a bit, as I've loved Taylor since she first hit the scene so many years ago, but what I love most is her openness to grow, to change, to learn from who she was, and all of those things have created who she is now. As a woman, she is fierce, strong, loud, a boss, a fighter, a dreamer, and so much more. She's herself and throughout the film, you watch her tell the story of how she came to love the person that she is.
Music documentaries are some of my favorite films to exist and this one might just have shot to the top of the list.
I might be biased a bit, as I've loved Taylor since she first hit the scene so many years ago, but what I love most is her openness to grow, to change, to learn from who she was, and all of those things have created who she is now. As a woman, she is fierce, strong, loud, a boss, a fighter, a dreamer, and so much more. She's herself and throughout the film, you watch her tell the story of how she came to love the person that she is.
Music documentaries are some of my favorite films to exist and this one might just have shot to the top of the list.

Awix (3310 KP) rated I Walked with a Zombie (1943) in Movies
Jan 8, 2020 (Updated Jan 8, 2020)
One of the granddaddies of the modern zombie movie is almost unrecognisable as such: no blood to speak of and the plot is derived from a novel by Charlotte Bronte. Nice young nurse goes off to morbid, doomy Caribbean island to care for the creepy wife of her employer (can't speak, has no will of her own following strange 'fever'); finds herself falling for her boss (though God knows why, he's so disagreeable). Perhaps the local voodoo spirits can help cure the afflicted woman?
A zombie movie in the traditional sense, and all the creepier for it. The plot is rather melodramatic, and the gentility of the film is quite amusing to the modern eye (male worshippers at a voodoo ritual all turn up in suits and ties), but it scores hugely for atmosphere, though, and there are some genuinely eerie sequences. Usual studied ambiguity and lack of overt 'horror' you often get in Lewton movies, but this just adds to the sense that this is a classy piece of work.
A zombie movie in the traditional sense, and all the creepier for it. The plot is rather melodramatic, and the gentility of the film is quite amusing to the modern eye (male worshippers at a voodoo ritual all turn up in suits and ties), but it scores hugely for atmosphere, though, and there are some genuinely eerie sequences. Usual studied ambiguity and lack of overt 'horror' you often get in Lewton movies, but this just adds to the sense that this is a classy piece of work.

Kate (493 KP) rated My Not So Perfect Life: A Novel in Books
Mar 4, 2020
Everywhere Katie Brenner looks, someone else is living the life she longs for, particularly her boss, Demeter Farlowe. Demeter is brilliant and creative, lives with her perfect family in a posh townhouse, and wears the coolest clothes. Katie's life, meanwhile, is a daily struggle--from her dismal rental to her oddball flatmates to the tense office politics she's trying to negotiate. No wonder Katie takes refuge in not-quite-true Instagram posts, especially as she's desperate to make her dad proud.
Then, just as she's finding her feet--not to mention a possible new romance--the worst happens. Demeter fires Katie. Shattered but determined to stay positive, Katie retreats to her family's farm in Somerset to help them set up a vacation business. London has never seemed so far away--until Demeter unexpectedly turns up as a guest. Secrets are spilled and relationships rejiggered, and as the stakes for Katie's future get higher, she must question her own assumptions about what makes for a truly meaningful life.
Then, just as she's finding her feet--not to mention a possible new romance--the worst happens. Demeter fires Katie. Shattered but determined to stay positive, Katie retreats to her family's farm in Somerset to help them set up a vacation business. London has never seemed so far away--until Demeter unexpectedly turns up as a guest. Secrets are spilled and relationships rejiggered, and as the stakes for Katie's future get higher, she must question her own assumptions about what makes for a truly meaningful life.

Jordan Binkerd (567 KP) rated Charlie's Angels (2000) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
The Angels are hot. That's what this is really about, after all. (3 more)
Crispin Glover
Bill Murray
Tim Curry
Fight scenes don't hold up, or at least some of them don't. (3 more)
Characterization is inconsistent
Matt LeBlanc's character should have been named Joey so you could headcanon him as the same character from Friends. (This is mostly a joke. Mostly.)
Tom Green
Inconsistent but fun
You watch a Charlie's Angels movie for one thing: hot women kicking ass. And so far as that goes, this movie mostly delivers even if some of the fight scenes don't look as good today as they should. But looking beyond that, there are some cracks in the facade - the characterization of the Angels, for instance, is that they're tough, confident professionals....who devolve to giggling schoolgirls at the prospect of meeting their boss? Feels awkward. The plot is straightforward, no complaints there, and most of the casting is on point with the exception of the bizarre addition of Tom Green's character. Overall, good fun despite it's flaws.

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