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John Garrett (27 KP) rated War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) in Movies

Jul 11, 2017

Story (3 more)

Mo-cap

Cgi

Woody Harrleson

Nothing (0 more)

Cesar's trillogy concludes in fitting style

Contains spoilers, click to show

The final instalment of mat Reeves planet of the apes prequel trilogy comes to a close in style with what I must say is a spectacular performance from Andy Serkis.

He once again portrays Cesar who is looking for a new home for the apes as the last remainig Human army are hunting them down and trying to wipe them out. After a cesars family is slane he takes the fight to the army.

This film doesn't take the easy route and zigs where it should day which makes it a compelling watch throughout.

The true stars in the film have to be the effects and animation crew. The scenery was breathtaking and the work on the apes was spectacular.
In fact all the apes were cgi and the "main ones" were all mo-capped using actors. The actors behind these guys really shone through which is an impressive feat on its own.

Woody Harrleson once plays a great foil for cesar, in the menacing yet relatable commander. Woody brings a real gravitas to a role which some actors could have turned into a cartoon villain.

All in all the final prequel or cesars story was a fitting end to a series of movies that have been compelling and full of excitement.

Kudos

Ande Thomas (69 KP) rated White Fang in Books

May 30, 2019

White Fang

Jack London | 2014 | Children

7.4

(7 Ratings)

Book Rating

I appreciate this book; I just don't like it.

Jack London is a unique breed. His voice is so distant, so separated from the subjects in his stories. In short bursts (<i>To Build a Fire</i>) it works for me - there's a beauty in watching the action unfold from such a distance. So too is there a beauty in the way White Fang is portrayed in this book. With an absolute minimum of anthropomorphism, we can see and feel what White Fang experiences. This isn't a cartoon version of a wolf-turned-man's-best-friend. The animals don't talk, don't even think in the way we're accustomed to their thoughts when we try to imagine what goes through their minds. White Fang is a dog; nothing more. It just so happens that we hear the story from his perspective.

But. While I appreciate that sort of perspective, one I wouldn't dream of finding from any other author, I still found myself speeding through the book, and not out of excitement. I just wanted to get it done and move on. The dissociation from the characters, though necessary, can only get you so far. Eventually it dissociated me from the story itself. I'll always maintain that I like Jack London. I just...maybe...won't re-read him.

Kudos

Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated Little Concepts: ABC French: Take a fun journey through the alphabet and learn some French! in Books

Jun 14, 2018

Little Concepts: ABC French: Take a fun journey through the alphabet and learn some French! by Daniel Roode is an alphabet book introducing mostly animal nouns A-Z based on their French words with the English noun below.

The illustrations are brightly colored and in a cartoon-like style kids should enjoy. This is a fairly good intro to French vocabulary. I say only fairly good because not all of the animals have their article before them and in French you've got to know if it is le or la to say it correctly. The description says there is a pronunciation guide, but it was not included in the preview so I can't comment on it. In addition, the pages for letters I, J, K, M, Q, R, V,W,X, and Y were also not included. I hope that this gets fixed before it is published; otherwise, it is a great introduction book to French.

If you're looking for a foreign language picture book or a different kind of alphabet book, this is a visually attractive option. I would love to have this added to my classroom/ school library.

I received this ARC from Quarto Publishing Group – Walter Foster, Jr. via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I give this book 3.5/5 stars. If it was not missing pages or information it would receive 5/5 stars.