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Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Perfect Child in Books
Dec 29, 2023
208 of 235
Kindle
The Perfect Child
By Lucinda Berry
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Christopher and Hannah are a happily married surgeon and nurse with picture-perfect lives. All that’s missing is a child. When Janie, an abandoned six-year-old, turns up at their hospital, Christopher forms an instant connection with her, and he convinces Hannah they should take her home as their own.
But Janie is no ordinary child, and her damaged psyche proves to be more than her new parents were expecting. Janie is fiercely devoted to Christopher, but she acts out in increasingly disturbing ways, directing all her rage at Hannah. Unable to bond with Janie, Hannah is drowning under the pressure, and Christopher refuses to see Janie’s true nature.
Hannah knows that Janie is manipulating Christopher and isolating him from her, despite Hannah’s attempts to bring them all together. But as Janie’s behavior threatens to tear Christopher and Hannah apart, the truth behind Janie’s past may be enough to push them all over the edge.
This was so good and a so upsetting. How many warning signs do you need? The girl and her mother were failed on so many levels by those we are supposed to rely on for help that it caused a ripple affect of damage. Really good read.
Kindle
The Perfect Child
By Lucinda Berry
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Christopher and Hannah are a happily married surgeon and nurse with picture-perfect lives. All that’s missing is a child. When Janie, an abandoned six-year-old, turns up at their hospital, Christopher forms an instant connection with her, and he convinces Hannah they should take her home as their own.
But Janie is no ordinary child, and her damaged psyche proves to be more than her new parents were expecting. Janie is fiercely devoted to Christopher, but she acts out in increasingly disturbing ways, directing all her rage at Hannah. Unable to bond with Janie, Hannah is drowning under the pressure, and Christopher refuses to see Janie’s true nature.
Hannah knows that Janie is manipulating Christopher and isolating him from her, despite Hannah’s attempts to bring them all together. But as Janie’s behavior threatens to tear Christopher and Hannah apart, the truth behind Janie’s past may be enough to push them all over the edge.
This was so good and a so upsetting. How many warning signs do you need? The girl and her mother were failed on so many levels by those we are supposed to rely on for help that it caused a ripple affect of damage. Really good read.
GameCritics (290 KP) rated Pyre in Video Games
Aug 4, 2017
“Pyre” demonstrates that video game designers may have much to gain by exploring the costs of achievement and the rewards of failure.
Critic - Christopher Byrd
Original Score : 9 out of 10
Read Review: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2017/07/25/fun-and-well-paced-pyre-is-the-rare-game-that-wants-players-to-embrace-their-slip-ups/?utm_term=.036c006e21a0
Original Score : 9 out of 10
Read Review: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2017/07/25/fun-and-well-paced-pyre-is-the-rare-game-that-wants-players-to-embrace-their-slip-ups/?utm_term=.036c006e21a0
Andy K (10821 KP) created a poll about in Movies are the shiz!
Jun 1, 2018 (Updated Jun 1, 2018)
The Craggus (360 KP) rated Avengers: Endgame (2019) in Movies
Apr 26, 2019
It's the end, but the moment has been prepared for. Avengers: Endgame (2019) Review
“Avengers: Endgame” does everything it needed to do, and then some. It does some of the things you expected it to do, but perhaps not in quite the way you expected. You may be expecting an action-packed adventure across time and space as the heroes desperately seek redemption after their first real defeat but what you may not be expecting is how much of a character-driven victory lap the Russos and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have managed to weave organically into the story to propel us to the MCU’s most potent and emotive finale to date...
FULL REVIEW: http://bit.ly/CraggusEndgame
FULL REVIEW: http://bit.ly/CraggusEndgame
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Thor: The Dark World (2013) in Movies
Jun 10, 2019
The departure of Kenneth Branagh and the subsequent trouble finding a director landed Thor: The Dark World in hot water before filming had even commenced. Helmed by Alan Taylor who went on to direct Terminator Genisys (oh dear), Thor: The Dark World is one of the weakest films in the entire MCU.
Plagued by a dull script and another phoned-in performance by Natalie Portman, it lacks the humour and sheer sense of madness that the god of thunder’s story requires. Christopher Eccleston also wins the prize for the MCU’s very worst villain – Malekith. May god help us all.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2018/04/21/the-entire-marvel-cinematic-universe-ranked/
Plagued by a dull script and another phoned-in performance by Natalie Portman, it lacks the humour and sheer sense of madness that the god of thunder’s story requires. Christopher Eccleston also wins the prize for the MCU’s very worst villain – Malekith. May god help us all.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2018/04/21/the-entire-marvel-cinematic-universe-ranked/
David McK (3425 KP) rated Dunkirk (2017) in Movies
Sep 1, 2019
Christopher Nolan's retelling of the Dunkirk Evacuation of May 1940, when the Allied troops were trapped on the beaches by an ever-advancing German army.
Told in 3 distinct over-lapping theatres: the Mole, the Sea and the Air, and with limited dialogue, I have to say (and I realise I'm probably in the minority here) I didn't really rate this movie all that much - to me, the shots of the British army seemed laughable small (I'm positive it was far larger than shown), while the constant attempts to pull on the viewers emotions just had the opposite effect, and the never-explained-very-clearly intersecting timelines just didn't work.
Told in 3 distinct over-lapping theatres: the Mole, the Sea and the Air, and with limited dialogue, I have to say (and I realise I'm probably in the minority here) I didn't really rate this movie all that much - to me, the shots of the British army seemed laughable small (I'm positive it was far larger than shown), while the constant attempts to pull on the viewers emotions just had the opposite effect, and the never-explained-very-clearly intersecting timelines just didn't work.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Highlander (1986) in Movies
Feb 12, 2018 (Updated Feb 12, 2018)
Cult fantasy movie which kind of flopped on its initial release but spawned a franchise which seemed to go on forever (and may not in fact be completely defunct). Scottish highlander (played by a Frenchman) discovers he is immortal; is mentored by ancient Egyptian immortal (played by a Scotsman); must do battle with rival Russian immortal (played by an American) to decide the destiny of the world.
Pretty much as goofy as it sounds, but very likeable - strives for a sort of mythic grandeur, doesn't quite manage it. None of the battles in the story are quite as brutal as the one between Christopher Lambert and the English language, but Sean Connery is having fun; some decent fight choreography too. Benefits immensely from the Queen soundtrack.
Pretty much as goofy as it sounds, but very likeable - strives for a sort of mythic grandeur, doesn't quite manage it. None of the battles in the story are quite as brutal as the one between Christopher Lambert and the English language, but Sean Connery is having fun; some decent fight choreography too. Benefits immensely from the Queen soundtrack.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) in Movies
Mar 16, 2018
Hammer's attempt to make Dracula more with-it succeeds as far as it does despite, rather than because of, the contemporary elements. Dracula pops up in the present day, causes the usual trouble, is disposed of with surprising ease. (The plot is essentially a retread of that of Taste the Blood of Dracula but with more flared trousers and Peter Cushing.)
Christopher Lee's disdain for the whole project is virtually palpable, but Peter Cushing works his usual magic in lifting some rather duff material. Movie may deserve some kind of award for the sheer number of before-they-were-famous people appearing in it. It's not quite actively bad, but it feels much more dated than any of the films set in the 19th century. Somewhat groovy; hardly fab.
Christopher Lee's disdain for the whole project is virtually palpable, but Peter Cushing works his usual magic in lifting some rather duff material. Movie may deserve some kind of award for the sheer number of before-they-were-famous people appearing in it. It's not quite actively bad, but it feels much more dated than any of the films set in the 19th century. Somewhat groovy; hardly fab.
David McK (3425 KP) rated Doctor Strange (2016) in Movies
Apr 27, 2019 (Updated May 15, 2022)
<2022 update>
The timestone? Yep, was essential to resolving Infinity War in Endgame
<original review below>
The film that introduced magic (and the Time Stone, which will probably be essential to resolving Infinity War in Endgame), in which Benedict Cumberbatch plays Benedict Cumberbatch as the future Sorcerer Supreme, with Tilda Swinton as the current holder of that title.
As an aside: that was actually a cause of controversy at the time: why not cast an Asian or Eastern actor in that role instead of whitewashing it? went the argument.
The plot may also seem to be a reprise of Iron Man: rich, arrogant, privileged white man suffers personal catastrophe and heads East, returning a changed man. What sets this apart, however, is the somewhat psychedelic effects that often seem to owe more than a bit to Christopher Nolan's movie Inception!
The timestone? Yep, was essential to resolving Infinity War in Endgame
<original review below>
The film that introduced magic (and the Time Stone, which will probably be essential to resolving Infinity War in Endgame), in which Benedict Cumberbatch plays Benedict Cumberbatch as the future Sorcerer Supreme, with Tilda Swinton as the current holder of that title.
As an aside: that was actually a cause of controversy at the time: why not cast an Asian or Eastern actor in that role instead of whitewashing it? went the argument.
The plot may also seem to be a reprise of Iron Man: rich, arrogant, privileged white man suffers personal catastrophe and heads East, returning a changed man. What sets this apart, however, is the somewhat psychedelic effects that often seem to owe more than a bit to Christopher Nolan's movie Inception!
Christine A. (965 KP) rated Hark! the Herald Angels Scream: An Anthology in Books
Jan 22, 2019
Anthology of Christmas or winter themed horror stories
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.
I waited until closer to the holiday to read this book and, with all of the rushing involved with the season, forgot to post my review. The Christmas season may be over, but it is still winter, so grab a cup of hot chocolate and be prepared to be entertained.
Hark! The Herald Angels Scream by Edited by Christopher Golden is an "anthology of all-new short fiction from some of the most talented and original writers of horror today." Included are eighteen stories of Christmas or winter themed horror from authors: Kelley Armstrong, Christopher Golden, Elizabeth Hand, Michael Koryta, Sarah Langan, Joe R. Lansdale, Tim Lebbon, Sarah Lotz, Jonathan Maberry, Josh Malerman, Seanan McGuire, John M. McIlveen, James A. Moore, Sarah Pinborough, Angela Slatter, Scott Smith,Thomas E. Sniegoski, and Jeff Strand.
The cover quickly bring to mind "Tales from the Crypt", a campy, horror anthology television series with a memorable narrator, Crypt Keeper. The stories written could have been been portrayed in any of the episodes. As with "Tales from the Crypt", the stories in "Hark! The Herald Angels Scream" were creepy, funny, chilling, gruesome, dark, and definitely worth your time.
The stories are well written and stand alone.
I waited until closer to the holiday to read this book and, with all of the rushing involved with the season, forgot to post my review. The Christmas season may be over, but it is still winter, so grab a cup of hot chocolate and be prepared to be entertained.
Hark! The Herald Angels Scream by Edited by Christopher Golden is an "anthology of all-new short fiction from some of the most talented and original writers of horror today." Included are eighteen stories of Christmas or winter themed horror from authors: Kelley Armstrong, Christopher Golden, Elizabeth Hand, Michael Koryta, Sarah Langan, Joe R. Lansdale, Tim Lebbon, Sarah Lotz, Jonathan Maberry, Josh Malerman, Seanan McGuire, John M. McIlveen, James A. Moore, Sarah Pinborough, Angela Slatter, Scott Smith,Thomas E. Sniegoski, and Jeff Strand.
The cover quickly bring to mind "Tales from the Crypt", a campy, horror anthology television series with a memorable narrator, Crypt Keeper. The stories written could have been been portrayed in any of the episodes. As with "Tales from the Crypt", the stories in "Hark! The Herald Angels Scream" were creepy, funny, chilling, gruesome, dark, and definitely worth your time.
The stories are well written and stand alone.