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Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
2015 | Mystery
A Clever Little Love Letter to Classic James Bond Movies
With sharp cinematography, creative action sequences, and an incredibly tight screenplay, the only thing The Kingsmen stumbles over is its own cleverness. This is another movie that proves that films can be both entertaining to the masses and offer something fresh. It gives you that nostalgia for the days of shoe phones and colorful megalomaniacal villains while still subverting enough tropes of the genre to avoid feeling like a remix. Only 9 out of 10 because for my tastes, the film was just slightly too beholden to the Rule of Cool, especially towards the end of the film.
  
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Dean (6926 KP) rated Dark City (1998) in Movies

Sep 30, 2017  
Dark City (1998)
Dark City (1998)
1998 | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Huge potential but falls short
A strange, weird Sci-Fi/horror. It's not helped by a confusing plot that takes a while to unravel. Featuring a well known cast including the brilliant Ian Richardson who should be in more films and an early small role for Melissa George. It's ambitious and with the right budget could have been amazing. I kinda felt it was trying too hard to be a film ahead of its time. It's not until about half way through things start to make sense, until then the highlight was Melissa George. It could have been a classic but falls a bit short for me.
  
The Transatlantic Conspiracy
The Transatlantic Conspiracy
G.D. Falksen | 2017 | Mystery, Young Adult (YA)
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Well-paced, good dialogue, some fluttery heartbeats but no trifling romance (0 more)
It's a Falksen book, so you know someone's going to die and it might be someone you like. (0 more)
Exciting, fast-paced, no fluff
Classic conflicts of child/parent, friend/(boy)friend, working/privileged classes, come to a head with a brutal murder, pre-WWI industrial espionage, and a race to survive the crossing.

The publisher classes it as YA, but it is suitable for a well-read late middle grader as the murder is neither gory nor superfluous to the plot. The language is clear and direct, the dialogue natural, and the settings imaginative.
  
HA
Hansel and Gretel
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I cannot begin to tell you just how much I loved reading this retelling of a childhood classic. I was instantly transported into the story and was kept its captive until the end. The author kept it as it was but told it in a way that younger kids can understand and bring the meaning home. This sad and beautiful tale of two young siblings also teaches that if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything!!

{I requested a copy of this book for reviewing purposes and made no guarantees of a favorable review. The opinions expressed here are unbiased and my own.}
  
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Sarah (7798 KP) rated The Aristocats (1970) in Movies

Jan 10, 2018 (Updated Jan 10, 2018)  
The Aristocats (1970)
The Aristocats (1970)
1970 | Animation, Comedy, Family
One of the Disney classics
I'm sure not everyone would agree, but for me this is one of my all time favourite Disney films and one of the classics. It's hard to believe this film is nearly 50 years old.

I love cats, and I grew up watching this so have very fond memories of it. To me this is just typical classic Disney and you can't beat it. With a fun storyline, catchy songs and such endearing and lovable characters, from O'Malley even to Roquefort the mouse. The only criticism is that sadly considering it's age, it is looking a bit dated. But it's still a fantastic film.
  
Aero Fighters
Aero Fighters
Action/Adventure
Unique Planes & Character Design (2 more)
Detailed Enemies & Environments
Perfect Degree of Difficulty
Good Luck Buying a Real Copy for Less Than $300 These Days (0 more)
Classic Vertical Scrolling Shooter
Aero Fighters is the best vertical scrolling shooter on SNES. It is a port of the arcade game of the same name (although it's called Sonic Wings outside of North America). It's just too bad that not very many of the North American cartridges were produced, because now they sell upwards of $300. *Sighs* Someday, Aero Fighters, someday... If you're into playing classics through emulators though, this is the first SNES game I recommend that isn't a Nintendo property.
  
Johnny Graphic and the Attack of the Zombies (Johnny Graphic Adventures, #2)
Johnny Graphic and the Attack of the Zombies (Johnny Graphic Adventures, #2)
D.R. Martin | 2013 | Children, Paranormal, Young Adult (YA)
10
5.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
[D.R. Martin] does an excellent job continuing the adventures of young boy photographer, Johnny Graphic and his friends. I [Johnny Graphic and the Attack of the Zombies] Johnny, Mel, Nina, and Dame Honoria continue the battle against Percy. This time Percy has created an army of zombies.

The classic style of the writing reminds me of Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew mysteries. It is a great throw back with a modern twist. I really enjoyed the style and the characters. The new characters that [Martin] added fit very well into the plot and enhanced the story line. I really recommend this book and feel it would be great in a classroom.
  
Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2)
Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2)
Marissa Meyer | 2013 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.4 (36 Ratings)
Book Rating
I enjoyed this book more than the first in the series, Cinder. The plot moved along much more quickly and it didn't take me as long to get hooked in to the story. There are a bunch of new characters added in this book... Scarlet (little red riding hood) & Wolf (the bog bad wolf) being the two main additions. The 2 classic fairy tales mesh well together & add more interest along with several unexpected plot twists.
I'm going to stop this review now so I can get started with Cress. The only problem I have now is that the fourth & final book doesn't come out for a year!!!