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Merissa (12351 KP) rated The Trail Boss and the Brat (Farthingdale Ranch #6) in Books
Mar 22, 2022 (Updated Jun 30, 2023)
THE TRAIL BOSS AND THE BRAT is the sixth and final book in the Farthingdale Ranch series and we finally get Quint's story.
Quint is set in his ways and tells himself that Brody and Kit are all he needs. Ashley, a poor little rich boy-brat, arrives on the scene to shake that belief. Ashley has lost the only person who believed in him and encouraged him to be his own person. She left him a gift of time at Farthingdale Ranch. He books up but doesn't pay attention to what is required of him, leading to a dangerous situation for him and Quint.
This does allow them time to get to know each other, though. Quint realises there may be more to Ashley than he first thought and soon starts to imagine all the possibilities life may be offering him.
This was a great finale to the series and also offered up an answer to what happened to two characters from a book that links to this series. I loved that part! I'd always wanted to know and thought I never would. I will admit to my eyes leaking at that part!
A great end to a fantastic series. Brilliant stories, one and all, and absolutely recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Mar 18, 2022
Quint is set in his ways and tells himself that Brody and Kit are all he needs. Ashley, a poor little rich boy-brat, arrives on the scene to shake that belief. Ashley has lost the only person who believed in him and encouraged him to be his own person. She left him a gift of time at Farthingdale Ranch. He books up but doesn't pay attention to what is required of him, leading to a dangerous situation for him and Quint.
This does allow them time to get to know each other, though. Quint realises there may be more to Ashley than he first thought and soon starts to imagine all the possibilities life may be offering him.
This was a great finale to the series and also offered up an answer to what happened to two characters from a book that links to this series. I loved that part! I'd always wanted to know and thought I never would. I will admit to my eyes leaking at that part!
A great end to a fantastic series. Brilliant stories, one and all, and absolutely recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Mar 18, 2022
Skin and Bones (London Love #3)
Book
Hugo Burrows has life under control. He has a decent job, a long-term relationship and a flat in...
Contemporary MM Romance Hurt/Comfort Grumpy/Sunshine Eating Disorder
Shock and Paw
7.0
Rate It
Book
The eighth installment in a charming cozy mystery series set on an island off the New England coast...
Gold Rush explores the cult of celebrity, and how so many seem to believe that being famous means that you can do whatever you like, with no repercussions.
Rose is a character with very little self confidence as it is, and when a world famous pop star, Milo Jax, shows an interest in her, she can’t believe it. Why would he want to see her? Well, it seems that he has a nose for a willing victim. He has recognised an easily coerced, shy young woman and he sexually assaults her.
This is a very introspective novel, and we see a lot of Rose’s inner thoughts where she constantly argues with herself: did something happen, did Jax rape her, or did she allow it? She’s a young woman who is obsessed with the way she looks - as are most of her peers. The scenes at the hen party honestly made my toes curl.
This should probably come with trigger warnings for sexual assault, rape, domestic violence, eating disorders and suicide. There may be more, because everything was thrown at this book.
I did somewhat enjoy Gold Rush, and especially the character of Minnie (Rose’s boss), who took no nonsense from anyone. I read it really quickly, due to the fact that I didn’t want to put it down, in the hope that Rose would tell someone or report Milo Jax as a sexual predator, I think.
This didn’t quite hit the mark for me, and I think it may well be that I’m not the right demographic for it.
Rose is a character with very little self confidence as it is, and when a world famous pop star, Milo Jax, shows an interest in her, she can’t believe it. Why would he want to see her? Well, it seems that he has a nose for a willing victim. He has recognised an easily coerced, shy young woman and he sexually assaults her.
This is a very introspective novel, and we see a lot of Rose’s inner thoughts where she constantly argues with herself: did something happen, did Jax rape her, or did she allow it? She’s a young woman who is obsessed with the way she looks - as are most of her peers. The scenes at the hen party honestly made my toes curl.
This should probably come with trigger warnings for sexual assault, rape, domestic violence, eating disorders and suicide. There may be more, because everything was thrown at this book.
I did somewhat enjoy Gold Rush, and especially the character of Minnie (Rose’s boss), who took no nonsense from anyone. I read it really quickly, due to the fact that I didn’t want to put it down, in the hope that Rose would tell someone or report Milo Jax as a sexual predator, I think.
This didn’t quite hit the mark for me, and I think it may well be that I’m not the right demographic for it.
Calvin (Almstead Island: Newcomer's Club #2)
10.0
Rate It
Book
What could go right with a Daddy who doesn’t know how to be one, and a boy who’s scared to let...
Contemporary MM Romance Daddy kink Content Warnings: Daddy/boy parental death
Mothergamer (1549 KP) rated the PlayStation 3 version of Nier in Video Games
Apr 3, 2019
To say that Nier is dark filled with loss of hope undertones is like saying fire is hot. However, when my friend Gary was showing me the game, I had to admit that the game play looked interesting and I was intrigued. When I found out that it was a thinly veiled sequel to one of the endings in Drakengard, I definitely wanted to play it and test it out. Gary being the awesome friend that he is, loaned me his copy of Nier so I could try it out. It does take me some time to go through a game sometimes due to my hectic schedule, so I apologize to my friends who have been asking if I'm ever going to put into words my thoughts on this particular RPG.
Nier starts off strongly with a great opening scene and brilliant musical score, featuring a shell of a city and harsh winter weather in the middle of summer. After the initial introductory scene you learn that the glories of humanity have disappeared and the few humans that remain struggle to survive in a medieval existence with the threat of shades and a disease known as Black Scrawl and Nier's daughter has it. Nier (the hero), has sworn that he will do anything at all costs to search for a cure.
The graphics are beautifully done right down to the cinematic cut scenes. There is a clear objective to the game and there are plenty of side quests even farming to flesh everything out. The battle system is user friendly and the items and spells menu are quite easy to navigate.You play as Nier and you find yourself caring about this character as the story progresses. There are other interesting characters along the way on this adventure such as Grimoire Weiss, an ancient talking book. That's just for starters. You meet the rest of the companions at different intervals and because of how well written their back stories are, you find yourself caring about them as well.
Now, I know what you're thinking. What's the deal with that first sentence in this little review? Well, let's get down to it shall we? Overall, the game is good with user friendly controls and a solid battle system. The soundtrack is beautiful and they chose wisely with this musical score. However, there are flaws here and there with Nier. So I'll list the pros and cons.
Pros:
The graphics, scenery, and cut scenes are amazing. They stand out and you remember every one.
The musical score is fantastic and well thought out throughout the game.
The character development and writing for the support characters is genius. When you can have your audience genuinely care about the characters in the story, that's pretty great writing.
Their battle system isn't too difficult and the menus are easy to navigate.
While you could hurry to the end of the game, there are many side quests and even a fishing mini-game as well as the option to do some of your own farming to give you a break from slashing all the baddies.
Impressive boss battles capture your interest especially when they throw spell casting cut scenes into the mix.
The story is original and keeps you guessing. You never know what to expect and just when you think you know something, they surprise you with a different event altogether.
Cons:
There are times in Nier, where the pacing could be a lot better. At some points in the story, it drags a little bit and you find yourself wishing they would get on with it so you can move along to the next area already.
It can be a real downer. There are times where everyone is happy and celebrating a victory, only to have something absolutely horrible happen. Half the time it seems like more tragedies happen than good times. Hey, I'm not asking that we all hug a Care Bear and have a lovely tea party, but they really cashed in on that whole emo kid phase.
All the doubling back. You will find yourself revisiting a dungeon or town six times or more for certain quests or plot lines in the story. After a bit of that, it gets a little old and you find yourself sighing with frustration. A lot.
The fetch quests. This ties into the doubling back. There are quite a few fetch quests, where you have to get a certain number of items for various npcs and return to get a reward. They tend to blur together after a while because they are so similar. You'll find yourself just giving up on that whole thing because it's tedious and boring.
BAD CAMERA ANGLES. With all the technology we have in this day and age, it still kills me when a game has not one, but several bad camera angles that happen consistently throughout the game play. There were angles where you couldn't turn the camera enough to get a jump properly, or it would spin wildly turning a corner and you'd find yourself wanting to upchuck your dinner when the wave of vertigo hit you.
A final boss battle with eight boss fights with multiple endings. This one comes last because it is the one that pissed me off the most. Not only do you have eight boss battles to fight, but there is no save point in between them. So if you lose, you get to go through all of that all over again. Top that off with four different endings that you can not get until you play through the whole game again and you'll find yourself wishing you could find the developer who thought this was a good idea and punch him square in the throat. SPOILER ALERT: You have to do the endings in a certain order, because one of the endings actually erases all your saved game data. No you did not misread that. That's actually true.
Now with all of that said, while I don't hate Nier, I don't really love it either. There is good and bad with it, but because of the pros I listed, the game manages to be enjoyable to play. It's definitely not like anything I've ever played before and the supporting cast works well with the main character story wise. It did its job of keeping me entertained and managed to tell an interesting story while doing so. So while it's not a spectacular take my breath away kind of game, it's still a decent game that you could enjoy playing through at least once.
Nier starts off strongly with a great opening scene and brilliant musical score, featuring a shell of a city and harsh winter weather in the middle of summer. After the initial introductory scene you learn that the glories of humanity have disappeared and the few humans that remain struggle to survive in a medieval existence with the threat of shades and a disease known as Black Scrawl and Nier's daughter has it. Nier (the hero), has sworn that he will do anything at all costs to search for a cure.
The graphics are beautifully done right down to the cinematic cut scenes. There is a clear objective to the game and there are plenty of side quests even farming to flesh everything out. The battle system is user friendly and the items and spells menu are quite easy to navigate.You play as Nier and you find yourself caring about this character as the story progresses. There are other interesting characters along the way on this adventure such as Grimoire Weiss, an ancient talking book. That's just for starters. You meet the rest of the companions at different intervals and because of how well written their back stories are, you find yourself caring about them as well.
Now, I know what you're thinking. What's the deal with that first sentence in this little review? Well, let's get down to it shall we? Overall, the game is good with user friendly controls and a solid battle system. The soundtrack is beautiful and they chose wisely with this musical score. However, there are flaws here and there with Nier. So I'll list the pros and cons.
Pros:
The graphics, scenery, and cut scenes are amazing. They stand out and you remember every one.
The musical score is fantastic and well thought out throughout the game.
The character development and writing for the support characters is genius. When you can have your audience genuinely care about the characters in the story, that's pretty great writing.
Their battle system isn't too difficult and the menus are easy to navigate.
While you could hurry to the end of the game, there are many side quests and even a fishing mini-game as well as the option to do some of your own farming to give you a break from slashing all the baddies.
Impressive boss battles capture your interest especially when they throw spell casting cut scenes into the mix.
The story is original and keeps you guessing. You never know what to expect and just when you think you know something, they surprise you with a different event altogether.
Cons:
There are times in Nier, where the pacing could be a lot better. At some points in the story, it drags a little bit and you find yourself wishing they would get on with it so you can move along to the next area already.
It can be a real downer. There are times where everyone is happy and celebrating a victory, only to have something absolutely horrible happen. Half the time it seems like more tragedies happen than good times. Hey, I'm not asking that we all hug a Care Bear and have a lovely tea party, but they really cashed in on that whole emo kid phase.
All the doubling back. You will find yourself revisiting a dungeon or town six times or more for certain quests or plot lines in the story. After a bit of that, it gets a little old and you find yourself sighing with frustration. A lot.
The fetch quests. This ties into the doubling back. There are quite a few fetch quests, where you have to get a certain number of items for various npcs and return to get a reward. They tend to blur together after a while because they are so similar. You'll find yourself just giving up on that whole thing because it's tedious and boring.
BAD CAMERA ANGLES. With all the technology we have in this day and age, it still kills me when a game has not one, but several bad camera angles that happen consistently throughout the game play. There were angles where you couldn't turn the camera enough to get a jump properly, or it would spin wildly turning a corner and you'd find yourself wanting to upchuck your dinner when the wave of vertigo hit you.
A final boss battle with eight boss fights with multiple endings. This one comes last because it is the one that pissed me off the most. Not only do you have eight boss battles to fight, but there is no save point in between them. So if you lose, you get to go through all of that all over again. Top that off with four different endings that you can not get until you play through the whole game again and you'll find yourself wishing you could find the developer who thought this was a good idea and punch him square in the throat. SPOILER ALERT: You have to do the endings in a certain order, because one of the endings actually erases all your saved game data. No you did not misread that. That's actually true.
Now with all of that said, while I don't hate Nier, I don't really love it either. There is good and bad with it, but because of the pros I listed, the game manages to be enjoyable to play. It's definitely not like anything I've ever played before and the supporting cast works well with the main character story wise. It did its job of keeping me entertained and managed to tell an interesting story while doing so. So while it's not a spectacular take my breath away kind of game, it's still a decent game that you could enjoy playing through at least once.
Kara Skinner (332 KP) rated Fractured in Books
Dec 13, 2019
Genre: Science Fiction
Page Count: 198
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
I am many things. A man. A soldier. Trained to kill. Born to hunt. Focused and lethal.
Nothing gets through the stoic control that hides my inner animal, an animal that simmers with rage and power. And that power makes me the perfect assassin. My first task—eliminate the vile head of a science lab responsible for creating and distributing a cruel mutation. Easy. And almost done when suddenly she invades my world.
Charlotte—petite, beautiful, and sexy as hell—a cop who claims a past with me that I don’t remember. At all. Suddenly she’s everywhere, interfering, asking too many questions, endangering herself and my mission, and pushing buttons I didn’t know I had. A dangerous distraction. My beast is captivated but suspicious, torn between wanting to sink teeth into her and wanting to sink teeth into her. My body craves her.
But I don’t remember her. I don’t trust her. And I don’t trust myself around her. Who is she? Is she lying? And do I have enough control to not be blinded by her? To protect my secrets and uncover hers? And who pays the price?
First of all, I’m so, so happy this book was from Kellan’s point of view. He’s very private and evasive, preferring to give into his near-constant lust than focus on the task at hand. Frankly, I don’t understand what makes him such a good soldier. Sure, he’s deadly and can shift into a killing machine– when he’s not too busy staring at Charlotte’s ass.
If the book was from Charlotte’s point of view, Kellan would have been completely unsympathetic. But after reading his thoughts and seeing how much he cares for Charlotte, I like him a little more. I especially like how he acknowledges Charlotte’s ability to take of herself. After all, she is a cop, not a damsel in distress.
Charlotte actually reminds me a lot of Meg.
Charlotte was pretty good. She’s definitely a badass and I liked seeing a glimpse into her work life. She’s calm and peaceful, which is a good contrast to Kellan. But honestly, I’m not sure they’re a good fit.
I love how she’s not afraid of him even though he was so afraid of hurting her. And it’s really obvious how much they care about each other. I also can’t deny that I loved the sex scenes. But Kellan and Charlotte’s relationship still felt pretty toxic.
Not only does he have to keep everything a secret from her, but he also knocked her out and tied her up, supposedly for her own protection. Less than an hour later, they’re having sex. After the sex, he still won’t tell her what happened to him, and he laughs and ties her back up again because she’s pissed and he finds it cute. Seriously, she had a legitimate reason to be angry and he does the caveman version of “calm down”.
A lot of things don’t make sense to me. Kellan is trying to keep Charlotte a secret from his boss, but he brings Charlotte to his apartment and gives her his phone number. As if his boss, who is running a classified military operation, doesn’t have cameras in Kellan’s apartment and hasn’t bugged his phone.
However, I can forgive other things, like how he thinks his boss, who is anonymous and only communicates with a voice disguising device, is not sketchy at all. Judging by how Kellan acts when on the phone with him, I think he’s being hypnotized and that’s why he has amnesia. It would explain a lot. So maybe that can make up for some of his behavior.
The ending was abrupt and didn’t feel like an ending. Which makes sense considering there’s a sequel. I’m definitely going to read the sequel eventually because I want to find out what happened. However, I think I would have enjoyed this more if books 1 and 2 were combined into one complete book. There was no real closure for the first book. It barely even felt like a chapter ending, let alone a story ending.
If you want to read Fractured, plan on reading both at the same time. This is a good fit for those looking for a shifter romance full of steamy sex scenes and an alpha hero. However, I’m rating it only a 3.5 out of 5 stars because Kellan and the plot confused me.
Get Fractured at your local bookstore or your favorite online retailer.
Zelly Jordan was generous enough to donate to Trees for the Future in exchange for this review. Find out how you can do the same.
The Indiebound link in this post is an affiliate link, meaning I get a small commission every time you purchase a book through that link, but at no additional cost to you. I donate half of my affiliate earnings to Trees for the Future.
Page Count: 198
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
I am many things. A man. A soldier. Trained to kill. Born to hunt. Focused and lethal.
Nothing gets through the stoic control that hides my inner animal, an animal that simmers with rage and power. And that power makes me the perfect assassin. My first task—eliminate the vile head of a science lab responsible for creating and distributing a cruel mutation. Easy. And almost done when suddenly she invades my world.
Charlotte—petite, beautiful, and sexy as hell—a cop who claims a past with me that I don’t remember. At all. Suddenly she’s everywhere, interfering, asking too many questions, endangering herself and my mission, and pushing buttons I didn’t know I had. A dangerous distraction. My beast is captivated but suspicious, torn between wanting to sink teeth into her and wanting to sink teeth into her. My body craves her.
But I don’t remember her. I don’t trust her. And I don’t trust myself around her. Who is she? Is she lying? And do I have enough control to not be blinded by her? To protect my secrets and uncover hers? And who pays the price?
First of all, I’m so, so happy this book was from Kellan’s point of view. He’s very private and evasive, preferring to give into his near-constant lust than focus on the task at hand. Frankly, I don’t understand what makes him such a good soldier. Sure, he’s deadly and can shift into a killing machine– when he’s not too busy staring at Charlotte’s ass.
If the book was from Charlotte’s point of view, Kellan would have been completely unsympathetic. But after reading his thoughts and seeing how much he cares for Charlotte, I like him a little more. I especially like how he acknowledges Charlotte’s ability to take of herself. After all, she is a cop, not a damsel in distress.
Charlotte actually reminds me a lot of Meg.
Charlotte was pretty good. She’s definitely a badass and I liked seeing a glimpse into her work life. She’s calm and peaceful, which is a good contrast to Kellan. But honestly, I’m not sure they’re a good fit.
I love how she’s not afraid of him even though he was so afraid of hurting her. And it’s really obvious how much they care about each other. I also can’t deny that I loved the sex scenes. But Kellan and Charlotte’s relationship still felt pretty toxic.
Not only does he have to keep everything a secret from her, but he also knocked her out and tied her up, supposedly for her own protection. Less than an hour later, they’re having sex. After the sex, he still won’t tell her what happened to him, and he laughs and ties her back up again because she’s pissed and he finds it cute. Seriously, she had a legitimate reason to be angry and he does the caveman version of “calm down”.
A lot of things don’t make sense to me. Kellan is trying to keep Charlotte a secret from his boss, but he brings Charlotte to his apartment and gives her his phone number. As if his boss, who is running a classified military operation, doesn’t have cameras in Kellan’s apartment and hasn’t bugged his phone.
However, I can forgive other things, like how he thinks his boss, who is anonymous and only communicates with a voice disguising device, is not sketchy at all. Judging by how Kellan acts when on the phone with him, I think he’s being hypnotized and that’s why he has amnesia. It would explain a lot. So maybe that can make up for some of his behavior.
The ending was abrupt and didn’t feel like an ending. Which makes sense considering there’s a sequel. I’m definitely going to read the sequel eventually because I want to find out what happened. However, I think I would have enjoyed this more if books 1 and 2 were combined into one complete book. There was no real closure for the first book. It barely even felt like a chapter ending, let alone a story ending.
If you want to read Fractured, plan on reading both at the same time. This is a good fit for those looking for a shifter romance full of steamy sex scenes and an alpha hero. However, I’m rating it only a 3.5 out of 5 stars because Kellan and the plot confused me.
Get Fractured at your local bookstore or your favorite online retailer.
Zelly Jordan was generous enough to donate to Trees for the Future in exchange for this review. Find out how you can do the same.
The Indiebound link in this post is an affiliate link, meaning I get a small commission every time you purchase a book through that link, but at no additional cost to you. I donate half of my affiliate earnings to Trees for the Future.
5 Minute Movie Guy (379 KP) rated Blinded by the Light (2019) in Movies
Sep 16, 2019
Based on a true story, Blinded by the Light follows the life of Javed, a down-on-his-luck Pakistani teenager living in Great Britain in the 1980s, who is in a social stranglehold by his strict father. He just wants to live a life like any other kid his age, and hang out with his friends, and go to parties, and maybe even meet a girl, but his overbearing dad has other expectations and plans for him. Being that they’re minorities in a foreign country in a time of racism, Javed’s father wants him to keep his head down and put his family first and foremost. That means living the life his father chooses for him, and not being able to live the life he desires. Feeling trapped by his circumstances, Javed’s bleak outlook becomes changed completely after he makes a new friend at school who introduces him to the music of the All-American legend, Bruce Springsteen.
One stormy night, fueled by his frustrations with his family, Javed turns to the cassette tapes he borrowed from his friend, and listens to “The Boss” for the very first time. It’s an instantly cathartic and unforgettably life-changing experience. The words speak to him in a way that no song ever has before. The lyrics speak of his ambitions and know his struggles and pain. It’s as if suddenly through the songs of Springsteen, Javed has found his voice and a guiding light. He’s instantly transformed by it, and is given a purpose and a passion to pursue it. For him, the music is the spark to light the fire to his ambitions; to leave his small town, to escape poverty, to resist his father’s oppression, to live on his own accord, to become a writer, and to feed his hungry heart.
As a writer and a lover of Springsteen myself, I connected with Blinded by the Light on a profoundly personal level. Springsteen’s music has spoken to me in a similar fashion as it does to Javed in the film. While I’m not the super fan that he is, I like to think we all have comparable experiences with certain musical artists who resonate with us deep in our souls. Bruce’s music in particular speaks to the common man, and it rallies against the injustices of the world in the pursuit of the American dream. I can’t think of a single musician that I personally find to be more motivational than him. It is my hope that people will watch this movie, particularly those who are unfamiliar with the music of Bruce Springsteen, and they’ll have a reaction to it much like Javed in this movie.
It goes without saying that the soundtrack in Blinded by the Light is fantastic. It has a nice mix of classic hits as well as some lesser known Springsteen songs, including some live versions, and they’re all put to good use here. Out of all of the recent movies inspired by real-life musicians, including Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman, and Yesterday, Blinded by the Light is by far my personal favorite. There are no poor cover songs nor bad lip synching to be found here. What you get is 100% The Boss. In a few parts, the movie even breaks out into full-on dancing musical numbers. While they’re a little cheesy and even feel a bit out of place, I found that they remained true to the music and were simply too much fun not to enjoy.
Director Gurinder Chadha does a fine job crafting Javed’s story and all of its complexities while also paying homage to The Boss. The movie explores our innate desire for freedom and finding ourselves, while also exposing the sacrifices we often must make in life for those we love. The film additionally explores social issues of the era, including political turmoil, fascist movements, and racism, which Javed faces first-hand as a Pakistani in England, and which unfortunately still feel uncomfortably relevant today. Javed is played by Viveik Kalra in his motion-picture debut, and he is immensely likable and relatable in his performance. The cast as a whole is pretty good, with the standouts being Hayley Atwell as Javed’s teacher, Ms. Clay, who encourages him to continue with his writing, as well as Kulvinder Ghir, who plays Javed’s controlling father. I also liked Aaron Phagura as Roops, Javed’s loyal Bruce-Springsteen-cassette-tape-sharing friend. We all could use more friends like him!
Overall, Blinded by the Light is a loving tribute to the music of Bruce Springsteen, but more than anything, it’s an emotional, identifiable, and uplifting tale about reaching for your dreams. The struggles that Javed faces resonate brilliantly with the messages of the music, and his story is an inspiring one worth hearing. Springsteen fans in particular definitely won’t want to miss this movie, but I think regardless of your interest or familiarity with Springsteen and his music, you’re likely to find something to enjoy here. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll even walk out of the theater as a fan.
One stormy night, fueled by his frustrations with his family, Javed turns to the cassette tapes he borrowed from his friend, and listens to “The Boss” for the very first time. It’s an instantly cathartic and unforgettably life-changing experience. The words speak to him in a way that no song ever has before. The lyrics speak of his ambitions and know his struggles and pain. It’s as if suddenly through the songs of Springsteen, Javed has found his voice and a guiding light. He’s instantly transformed by it, and is given a purpose and a passion to pursue it. For him, the music is the spark to light the fire to his ambitions; to leave his small town, to escape poverty, to resist his father’s oppression, to live on his own accord, to become a writer, and to feed his hungry heart.
As a writer and a lover of Springsteen myself, I connected with Blinded by the Light on a profoundly personal level. Springsteen’s music has spoken to me in a similar fashion as it does to Javed in the film. While I’m not the super fan that he is, I like to think we all have comparable experiences with certain musical artists who resonate with us deep in our souls. Bruce’s music in particular speaks to the common man, and it rallies against the injustices of the world in the pursuit of the American dream. I can’t think of a single musician that I personally find to be more motivational than him. It is my hope that people will watch this movie, particularly those who are unfamiliar with the music of Bruce Springsteen, and they’ll have a reaction to it much like Javed in this movie.
It goes without saying that the soundtrack in Blinded by the Light is fantastic. It has a nice mix of classic hits as well as some lesser known Springsteen songs, including some live versions, and they’re all put to good use here. Out of all of the recent movies inspired by real-life musicians, including Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman, and Yesterday, Blinded by the Light is by far my personal favorite. There are no poor cover songs nor bad lip synching to be found here. What you get is 100% The Boss. In a few parts, the movie even breaks out into full-on dancing musical numbers. While they’re a little cheesy and even feel a bit out of place, I found that they remained true to the music and were simply too much fun not to enjoy.
Director Gurinder Chadha does a fine job crafting Javed’s story and all of its complexities while also paying homage to The Boss. The movie explores our innate desire for freedom and finding ourselves, while also exposing the sacrifices we often must make in life for those we love. The film additionally explores social issues of the era, including political turmoil, fascist movements, and racism, which Javed faces first-hand as a Pakistani in England, and which unfortunately still feel uncomfortably relevant today. Javed is played by Viveik Kalra in his motion-picture debut, and he is immensely likable and relatable in his performance. The cast as a whole is pretty good, with the standouts being Hayley Atwell as Javed’s teacher, Ms. Clay, who encourages him to continue with his writing, as well as Kulvinder Ghir, who plays Javed’s controlling father. I also liked Aaron Phagura as Roops, Javed’s loyal Bruce-Springsteen-cassette-tape-sharing friend. We all could use more friends like him!
Overall, Blinded by the Light is a loving tribute to the music of Bruce Springsteen, but more than anything, it’s an emotional, identifiable, and uplifting tale about reaching for your dreams. The struggles that Javed faces resonate brilliantly with the messages of the music, and his story is an inspiring one worth hearing. Springsteen fans in particular definitely won’t want to miss this movie, but I think regardless of your interest or familiarity with Springsteen and his music, you’re likely to find something to enjoy here. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll even walk out of the theater as a fan.
Lee (2222 KP) rated Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) in Movies
May 26, 2018
Great cast (2 more)
Great action
Great story
Star Wars is good again!
I'm one of those people who hated The Last Jedi. I came out of it feeling frustrated and disappointed. After the film of two distinct halves that was Rogue One (first half awful, second half not so awful), The Last Jedi to me was just further proof that they'd managed to break Star Wars. And then, in among all of that, they go and announce another prequel to the original trilogy we all love. A story featuring the early life of our favourite rogue/smuggler, Han Solo. Played by some guy who didn't even look, or seemingly act, like the Han that Harrison Ford had introduced us to. A pretty mediocre teaser trailer, followed by drastic changes to the directing team so late in the day, seemed to seal it's fate. It looked like Star Wars was going to stay broken...
But surprisingly, and thankfully, in the past few weeks the tide appears to have turned. A fun, exciting new trailer, the seemingly perfect casting of Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, followed by a lot of positive early reactions... could we finally be in for a real Star Wars treat? Could Star Wars ever be fixed?
We join young Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) on his home planet of Correllia, getting by as a thief in the dark streets and tunnels and already making enemies. He has dreams of something better than this though - making enough money to buy him and his true love Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke) a big spaceship so that they can escape Correllia and find a better life together.
It's a simple enough plot, and we know that along the way he needs to meet Chewie, cross paths with Lando Calrissian, and bag himself the coolest ship in the shape of the Millennium Falcon. We just need to have some of the finer details filled in for us...
Luckily for us, filling in the blanks is one hell of a blast! From evading a crime boss on Correllia, hooking up with the empire before joining forces with a gang of bandits led by Beckett (Woody Harrelson), we find ourselves being treated to a pretty steady stream of thrills and action. Solo and the bandits end up on a mission to steal a big consignment of fuel called coaxium, hired by another crime boss called Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany). Along the way they hook up with Lando, captain of the Millennium Falcon, who offers to take them on their mission. In exchange for 25% of the money they're going to make on the coaxium deal of course...
I initially had my doubts over Ehrenreich and his ability to step into the shoes of one of cinemas most iconic characters but he actually does a very good job of it. In fact, it's a pretty impressive cast all round, with everyone managing to get their own memorable moments. There's a likeable chemistry between them all which carries the movie extremely well, even throughout its less frantic moments.
I thoroughly enjoyed this, so much more than I thought I would. And all those tickbox moments are handled perfectly - meeting and befriending Chewie, meeting Lando, finding out just how Solo managed to pull off that 12 parsec Kessel run, finally getting his hands on the Falcon! loved it all. Yes, they managed to fix Star Wars!
But surprisingly, and thankfully, in the past few weeks the tide appears to have turned. A fun, exciting new trailer, the seemingly perfect casting of Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, followed by a lot of positive early reactions... could we finally be in for a real Star Wars treat? Could Star Wars ever be fixed?
We join young Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) on his home planet of Correllia, getting by as a thief in the dark streets and tunnels and already making enemies. He has dreams of something better than this though - making enough money to buy him and his true love Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke) a big spaceship so that they can escape Correllia and find a better life together.
It's a simple enough plot, and we know that along the way he needs to meet Chewie, cross paths with Lando Calrissian, and bag himself the coolest ship in the shape of the Millennium Falcon. We just need to have some of the finer details filled in for us...
Luckily for us, filling in the blanks is one hell of a blast! From evading a crime boss on Correllia, hooking up with the empire before joining forces with a gang of bandits led by Beckett (Woody Harrelson), we find ourselves being treated to a pretty steady stream of thrills and action. Solo and the bandits end up on a mission to steal a big consignment of fuel called coaxium, hired by another crime boss called Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany). Along the way they hook up with Lando, captain of the Millennium Falcon, who offers to take them on their mission. In exchange for 25% of the money they're going to make on the coaxium deal of course...
I initially had my doubts over Ehrenreich and his ability to step into the shoes of one of cinemas most iconic characters but he actually does a very good job of it. In fact, it's a pretty impressive cast all round, with everyone managing to get their own memorable moments. There's a likeable chemistry between them all which carries the movie extremely well, even throughout its less frantic moments.
I thoroughly enjoyed this, so much more than I thought I would. And all those tickbox moments are handled perfectly - meeting and befriending Chewie, meeting Lando, finding out just how Solo managed to pull off that 12 parsec Kessel run, finally getting his hands on the Falcon! loved it all. Yes, they managed to fix Star Wars!
Connor Sheffield (293 KP) rated Bloodborne: The Card Game in Tabletop Games
Aug 20, 2018
Teamwork (3 more)
Deck building (to an extent)
Pressing your luck
Planning required
Easy to learn and really fun to play!
So I can't say that I've played this game completely right because I actually had to make some house rules so that it would work for 2 players. However, me and my friend played to the best of our ability to stick to the main rules of the game such as dying and losing blood echoes and the monsters escape if you don't kill it.
From what I learned during my playthrough, this game is super fun and I can't wait to get my other friends to play it so we can play a proper 3-5 player game with the Hunters Nightmare Expansion including penalties to trophies etc.
This game requires tactics, teamwork and also careful planning to try and make sure your fellow hunters don't win. You can do this by using certain abilities of certain weapons that allow you to deal damage to the hunter yourself, allow the monster to deal damage or double damage to the player, or ensuring that you take little to no damage from the monster and allowing the other hunters to take the hit and/or fall. The game is very sneaky and you have to make sure that with the 7 card limit you have, that in the hunters dream you choose the right upgrades and new weapons and discard any others you won't need, but make sure that the cards you choose help kill the monster as well as hinder your fellow hunters.
However, you can choose to simply play the game and be fair to see who comes out on top by playing the right cards to hurt the monster more and not harm each other...but where's the fun in that?
If you've played the video game, then you'll love the card game as it has all your favourite elements such as blood echoes, weapons, health vials, molotovs, and of course the monsters! Including mini bosses and a single Final Boss card who's effects are apparent throughout the entire game. For example, the Vicar Amelia boss card, cuts players health's down from the maximum of 8, to the new maximum of 6 during the entire game no matter what other cards are played. If you have a card that says return to Max health, your new Max health is 6 which makes the game harder but also makes you think more strategically, and you have to ask yourself that one question each turn "Am I willing to take the risk?"
The payoff as in the video game, is sweet and the fall also as in the game, is bitter, especially if you took that chance whilst holding unbanked blood echoes.
My only issue with the game is that I believe there could have easily been some form of the game that allowed for just two players, but instead Myself and others like me on the internet have to come up with hosuerules, and be careful not to take away the fun of the game, as well as being careful not to drift to far from the original rules so that it doesn't become too easy. Because again, where's the fun in that?
I highly recommend this game and it's expansion to those who have the friends willing to play and not lose their sh*t when things don't go their way :')
From what I learned during my playthrough, this game is super fun and I can't wait to get my other friends to play it so we can play a proper 3-5 player game with the Hunters Nightmare Expansion including penalties to trophies etc.
This game requires tactics, teamwork and also careful planning to try and make sure your fellow hunters don't win. You can do this by using certain abilities of certain weapons that allow you to deal damage to the hunter yourself, allow the monster to deal damage or double damage to the player, or ensuring that you take little to no damage from the monster and allowing the other hunters to take the hit and/or fall. The game is very sneaky and you have to make sure that with the 7 card limit you have, that in the hunters dream you choose the right upgrades and new weapons and discard any others you won't need, but make sure that the cards you choose help kill the monster as well as hinder your fellow hunters.
However, you can choose to simply play the game and be fair to see who comes out on top by playing the right cards to hurt the monster more and not harm each other...but where's the fun in that?
If you've played the video game, then you'll love the card game as it has all your favourite elements such as blood echoes, weapons, health vials, molotovs, and of course the monsters! Including mini bosses and a single Final Boss card who's effects are apparent throughout the entire game. For example, the Vicar Amelia boss card, cuts players health's down from the maximum of 8, to the new maximum of 6 during the entire game no matter what other cards are played. If you have a card that says return to Max health, your new Max health is 6 which makes the game harder but also makes you think more strategically, and you have to ask yourself that one question each turn "Am I willing to take the risk?"
The payoff as in the video game, is sweet and the fall also as in the game, is bitter, especially if you took that chance whilst holding unbanked blood echoes.
My only issue with the game is that I believe there could have easily been some form of the game that allowed for just two players, but instead Myself and others like me on the internet have to come up with hosuerules, and be careful not to take away the fun of the game, as well as being careful not to drift to far from the original rules so that it doesn't become too easy. Because again, where's the fun in that?
I highly recommend this game and it's expansion to those who have the friends willing to play and not lose their sh*t when things don't go their way :')