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AN ENTIRELY NEW GAMING EXPERIENCE **USA TODAY: Rating: 4 stars (out of 4) "In the crowded market...
Tomb Raider (2018)
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Lara Croft is the fiercely independent daughter of an eccentric adventurer who vanished when she was...
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AN ENTIRELY NEW GAMING EXPERIENCE **USA TODAY: Rating: 4 stars (out of 4) "In the crowded market...
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (2021) in Movies
Mar 6, 2022
Did the first film need a sequel? Probably not.
Having found their way out of their escape room, Zoey and Ben decide to investigate the mysterious corporation behind their ordeal. In their quest for the truth, they find themselves pulled into another maze of escape rooms with other survivors of Minos.
As far as the plot goes on this, a fair bit is just new rooms to escape. And at this point we're potentially just in an eternal spiral of Escape Room films.
Though these characters all have something in common, they could not be more different. And while that's totally legitimate, it also makes the film very busy. Given the nature of the action as well, it's a lot more chaotic than I was comfortable with.
The acting is sadly, entirely average. At certain points, the ridiculous deductive powers of the group felt even more nonsensical than they would have been under normal circumstances. It was very much a snowball of acting, plot and script.
Despite the similarities, I did like the rooms that we came across. (By that I mean they're fine when you suspend several layers of belief and logic.) Some of the effects looked particularly good in them, and the transitions within the beach scene stood out for me.
What I don't like is the potential neverending spiral I mentioned. The first film was enjoyable, but I'm not sure it really warranted a second. Is there a plan? Because why would you jump straight to this point? You had four other people with stories that could have been explored before jumping back in with the same two characters from the first film, I'm a little baffled as to why, if you're going to copy and paste, you wouldn't transfer it directly, get four other films out of it before combining the world.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2022/03/escape-room-2-movie-review.html
Having found their way out of their escape room, Zoey and Ben decide to investigate the mysterious corporation behind their ordeal. In their quest for the truth, they find themselves pulled into another maze of escape rooms with other survivors of Minos.
As far as the plot goes on this, a fair bit is just new rooms to escape. And at this point we're potentially just in an eternal spiral of Escape Room films.
Though these characters all have something in common, they could not be more different. And while that's totally legitimate, it also makes the film very busy. Given the nature of the action as well, it's a lot more chaotic than I was comfortable with.
The acting is sadly, entirely average. At certain points, the ridiculous deductive powers of the group felt even more nonsensical than they would have been under normal circumstances. It was very much a snowball of acting, plot and script.
Despite the similarities, I did like the rooms that we came across. (By that I mean they're fine when you suspend several layers of belief and logic.) Some of the effects looked particularly good in them, and the transitions within the beach scene stood out for me.
What I don't like is the potential neverending spiral I mentioned. The first film was enjoyable, but I'm not sure it really warranted a second. Is there a plan? Because why would you jump straight to this point? You had four other people with stories that could have been explored before jumping back in with the same two characters from the first film, I'm a little baffled as to why, if you're going to copy and paste, you wouldn't transfer it directly, get four other films out of it before combining the world.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2022/03/escape-room-2-movie-review.html
The Heart of a Hussar (The Winged Warrior #1)
Book
Poland is at war. He must choose between his lifelong ambition and his heart. Exploiting...
Historical Fiction Polish Winged Hussars
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson, #1) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT introduces Charley Davidson, the Grim Reaper who also works as a private investigator. She's a smart-ass, chaotic, accident-prone, knows exactly who she is, and has some serious attitude -- she'll never win Miss Congeniality, but Charley also has heart and humanity. I like her, she has enough depth to sympathize with and enough grit to make me root for her, while showing the right amounts of strength and vulnerability to be realistic. If I had to choose a grim reaper and it was between her and Callie Reaper-Jones from Amber Benson's series ([b:Death's Daughter|6354365|Death's Daughter (Calliope Reaper-Jones, #1)|Amber Benson|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51lRt2VmaCL._SL75_.jpg|4632897]), I'd definitely pick Charley. And did I mention she names her "unmentionables"? Of which I found hilarious, although maybe not everyone will.
There are two major plot lines involved within the covers: the murder of three lawyers and how it ties into an innocent man and the mysterious entity who steams up Charley's dreams with some hot, hot action (and isn't as stalkerish as it sounds from the description). While the former seems to become an afterthought by the end, it ties up rather nicely, even if it's rather abrupt in comparison to how it's paced at the beginning. Though it is the other plot that is the more intriguing of the two and kept me reading so I could find out what happened next. I'm happy with how it ended and the author did a good job leaving me wanting to know more. The writing is capable, even if there was some redundancy of certain phrases and words, but it got better the further into the story I got. The book is bursting with sarcasm, which I love, and there's rarely a passage that doesn't have one snarky little morsel included. I hope future entries in the series will expand some of the other characters that are glossed over, but overall, this was a blast to read. If you're looking for a fast, fun piece of brain-candy, look no further, pop into this for a sweet treat. Also, kudos to whoever chose the cover, it captures the book perfectly.
3.5 stars
There are two major plot lines involved within the covers: the murder of three lawyers and how it ties into an innocent man and the mysterious entity who steams up Charley's dreams with some hot, hot action (and isn't as stalkerish as it sounds from the description). While the former seems to become an afterthought by the end, it ties up rather nicely, even if it's rather abrupt in comparison to how it's paced at the beginning. Though it is the other plot that is the more intriguing of the two and kept me reading so I could find out what happened next. I'm happy with how it ended and the author did a good job leaving me wanting to know more. The writing is capable, even if there was some redundancy of certain phrases and words, but it got better the further into the story I got. The book is bursting with sarcasm, which I love, and there's rarely a passage that doesn't have one snarky little morsel included. I hope future entries in the series will expand some of the other characters that are glossed over, but overall, this was a blast to read. If you're looking for a fast, fun piece of brain-candy, look no further, pop into this for a sweet treat. Also, kudos to whoever chose the cover, it captures the book perfectly.
3.5 stars
Sam (74 KP) rated The Scent of You in Books
Mar 27, 2019
It was a bit daunting to begin with, knowing that I had to read this in less than 10 days to get my review posted within the deadline but I somehow managed it!
Polly is a yoga instructor and perfume blogger, with a chaotic life. Everything was fine until her husband left her out of the blue, with no explanation. Polly is left with the mystery of why he went – something that is always on her mind.
My initial impression was how much I love Polly. She runs a blog called Fragrant Cloud, and blogs about memories, places and events, linking them to different scents that remind her of them. I love this obsession with fragrances, and I can really relate to it, working in a candle shop my whole life revolves around them! I love how she can categorise any event by what fragrances it makes her think of. I just feel like this makes Alderson’s writing so unique and compelling.
About halfway through I found myself completely addicted! I needed to find out about the mysterious Guy and I loved Chum, but felt like there was definitely a lot hidden below the surface of his character. There definitely seemed to be a bit of a love triangle going off here, and I was curious as to what was going to happen with it.
Alderson’s writing really reminds me of Cecelia Ahern and Marian Keyes, and I think that’s why I found the book so easy to get into and enjoy. Her writing flows really nicely and freely, and the characterisations are natural and lifelike.
It actually surprised me that the book had a large sense of mystery to it surrounding the sudden disappearance of Polly’s husband. From the description, I didn’t realise it would take such a major role in the plot. This was quite a pleasant surprise and I actually really enjoyed the mystery aspect to it. I would normally avoid novels which have a large amount of mystery in the plot because I struggle with them, but this has made me a bit more open minded to the genre.
Overall, The Scent of You is a lovely novel, especially if you love romances with a little bit of mystery.
Polly is a yoga instructor and perfume blogger, with a chaotic life. Everything was fine until her husband left her out of the blue, with no explanation. Polly is left with the mystery of why he went – something that is always on her mind.
My initial impression was how much I love Polly. She runs a blog called Fragrant Cloud, and blogs about memories, places and events, linking them to different scents that remind her of them. I love this obsession with fragrances, and I can really relate to it, working in a candle shop my whole life revolves around them! I love how she can categorise any event by what fragrances it makes her think of. I just feel like this makes Alderson’s writing so unique and compelling.
About halfway through I found myself completely addicted! I needed to find out about the mysterious Guy and I loved Chum, but felt like there was definitely a lot hidden below the surface of his character. There definitely seemed to be a bit of a love triangle going off here, and I was curious as to what was going to happen with it.
Alderson’s writing really reminds me of Cecelia Ahern and Marian Keyes, and I think that’s why I found the book so easy to get into and enjoy. Her writing flows really nicely and freely, and the characterisations are natural and lifelike.
It actually surprised me that the book had a large sense of mystery to it surrounding the sudden disappearance of Polly’s husband. From the description, I didn’t realise it would take such a major role in the plot. This was quite a pleasant surprise and I actually really enjoyed the mystery aspect to it. I would normally avoid novels which have a large amount of mystery in the plot because I struggle with them, but this has made me a bit more open minded to the genre.
Overall, The Scent of You is a lovely novel, especially if you love romances with a little bit of mystery.
Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) rated Sixteen Candles (1984) in Movies
Apr 26, 2019
Dated, but fun back in the day.
I grew up with Sixteen Candles. Every girl I knew either wanted to be Sam and wear awesome clothes and hats or the Uber cool best friend Randi. I have lost track of how many times I've watched this movie. I've probably seen in a few times a year ever since it was first released. I have so many scenes and lines committed to memory. If I just watch it with my thoughts on what the times were like back then, it's a funny, lighthearted romantic comedy. Plus, one of the sweetest movie dads in history. I can relate to this movie because like Sam, I was a white girl growing up in the suburbs. I had older siblings who got all the attention and felt left out, even in my own family. I had a crazy, chaotic family. I had a crush on an older guy who was dating the perfect girl and I felt invisible. And like Sam, I thought Jake Ryan was just dreamy and I loathed taking the bus to and from school.
The situations with her family, especially her dork of a brother, passing notes in class, going to the high school dance, feeling like a fool, being embarrassed by my family, crushing on guys, and generally not fitting in and wishing I was someone else, were all relatable.
The movie was so much fun back in the day but it has not aged well for today's sociological and political climate.
Problematic plot points: shock at the thought of interracial dating, a lot of racially-insensitive jokes at the expense of the Asian character (including the sound of a going whenever he is mentioned or shown), racially-insensitive jokes at the expense of Italians, making light of taking advantage of a drunken female, use of the word retarded, and more things that I can think of right now.
I can ignore all the problematic points and still enjoy the film. It isn't one I'd recommend to younger people today but for those of us who lived through it, it's an enjoyable flick.
The situations with her family, especially her dork of a brother, passing notes in class, going to the high school dance, feeling like a fool, being embarrassed by my family, crushing on guys, and generally not fitting in and wishing I was someone else, were all relatable.
The movie was so much fun back in the day but it has not aged well for today's sociological and political climate.
Problematic plot points: shock at the thought of interracial dating, a lot of racially-insensitive jokes at the expense of the Asian character (including the sound of a going whenever he is mentioned or shown), racially-insensitive jokes at the expense of Italians, making light of taking advantage of a drunken female, use of the word retarded, and more things that I can think of right now.
I can ignore all the problematic points and still enjoy the film. It isn't one I'd recommend to younger people today but for those of us who lived through it, it's an enjoyable flick.
Leigh J (71 KP) rated The Lost Boys (1987) in Movies
Nov 8, 2019
Best Movie Ever
Contains spoilers, click to show
Michael and Sam are Brothers who are moving, with their Mom Lucy, to Santa Carla following a Divorce. Santa Carla just happens to be the murder capital of the world. When they get to Santa Carla, they are met with an eccentric Grandpa and, shock horror!, no TV! Faced with the absolute atrocity that is no MTV, they decide to explore the nightlife of their new town and upon doing this, meet the beautiful and mysterious Star. Michael is instantly besotted and chases after her, leaving Sam at a local Comic Shop... and at the mercy of an intense duo called the Frog Brothers, who give Sam a comic called "Vampires Everywhere" and allude to the fact that he might want to read it to survive which Sam laughs off.
Upon chasing Star, Michael quickly finds out that she is part of a Gang of enigmatic young guys, their leader being the antagonistic David. Desperate to get closer to Star and gain some new friends, Michael goes along to their lair and is coaxed into drinking some "Wine" by the young men. Soon enough, Michael begins changing and finding out more about who David, Star and the gang really are... and who he really is now. Sam is also noticing changes in Michael, and suspects that Lucy's new flame, Max, is also involved with what is happening to Michael. But, after a terrifying reveal and a body count happening at a Bonfire, are Sam and Michael too late to save themselves? Does Max really have a tie to these mysterious Boys? Could they all hold the key as to why Santa Carla is the murder capital of the world?
I remember watching The Lost Boys as a kid and falling head over heels in love with everything about it; the way it looks, the music, The Lost Boys themselves (who became my style icons from then on!), the epic story... everything! It's such a great Movie, mixing Horror and Comedy perfectly and throwing in the most chaotic and horrific Vampire reveal I've ever seen (favourite scene, of course!). It's quite simply a joy to watch... I'm on my 500th watch already! LOVE it!
Upon chasing Star, Michael quickly finds out that she is part of a Gang of enigmatic young guys, their leader being the antagonistic David. Desperate to get closer to Star and gain some new friends, Michael goes along to their lair and is coaxed into drinking some "Wine" by the young men. Soon enough, Michael begins changing and finding out more about who David, Star and the gang really are... and who he really is now. Sam is also noticing changes in Michael, and suspects that Lucy's new flame, Max, is also involved with what is happening to Michael. But, after a terrifying reveal and a body count happening at a Bonfire, are Sam and Michael too late to save themselves? Does Max really have a tie to these mysterious Boys? Could they all hold the key as to why Santa Carla is the murder capital of the world?
I remember watching The Lost Boys as a kid and falling head over heels in love with everything about it; the way it looks, the music, The Lost Boys themselves (who became my style icons from then on!), the epic story... everything! It's such a great Movie, mixing Horror and Comedy perfectly and throwing in the most chaotic and horrific Vampire reveal I've ever seen (favourite scene, of course!). It's quite simply a joy to watch... I'm on my 500th watch already! LOVE it!