Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Far Cry (2008) in Movies
Aug 14, 2019
Krieger is attempting to create the ultimate soldier for his financial backers and is not above using his own men as test subjects and fodder for his experiments as the morally lacking Krieger only cares about his work and his funding.
In the film “Far Cry”, Director Uwe Boll has taken the classic 3D shooter from Ubisoft and given it his own unique interpretation.
The film stars Til Schweiger as Jack Carver, a former special forces operative who spends his days as a boat captain chartering tourists on whale watching expeditions when he is not enjoying a beer and sleeping the day away.
Jack is hired by a determined investigative reporter named Valerie Cardinal (Emmanuelle Vaugier), to take her to the island so she can get further proof for her story about the bizarre experiments taking place on the island. Valerie has a personal interest in the story as her uncle Max (Ralf Moeller), is one of those stationed at the island facility.
While Jack is reluctant to go near the island he does agree to anchor of the coast and pick up Valerie in a few hours. Of course things do not go as planned as Valerie is captured and Jack’s boat is destroyed leaving him believed to be dead by the Doctor and his forces.
Jack is not one to let this go, and rescues Valerie and looks to find a way off the island while avoiding the ever present troops. The stubborn Valerie is unwilling to leave until she has the information she needs for her story and ignores the dangers.
As if the Doctor and his soldiers were not trouble enough, the super soldiers have escaped and have caused various factions within the Dr’s forces to turn against one another which results in a pitched battle between the factions and the super soldiers.
What follows is a lot of action that is hampered by a weak plot and bad dialogue, and sadly very disappointing monsters.
The leads in the film have very little chemistry with one another and the characters are wafer thin, even by action movie standards. There are attempts at romance and playful banter that fizzle badly leaving only the action sequences to carry the film. Sadly while they are decent enough, especially a good car chase, they cannot overcome the plot issues and the creatures that do not live up to the hype.
Boll has taken a step back here as his recent films have shown progress especially the solid
“Seed” and “1968 Tunnel Rats”. When I visited the set I learned that the production was not allowed to use large aspects of the game and that aside from names, title, and settings, they had to create a new story that was inspired by the game. While the effort is there, the results come up lacking and do not do justice to the game, premise, or talent assembled.
April Fool's Day (1986)
7.1
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Movie
On the weekend leading up to April Fools' Day, a group of college friends, consisting of Harvey,...
Eye of the Dolphin (2006)
6.3
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Movie
Alyssa is a troubled 14-year old, suspended from school a year after her mother has drowned. Her...
Gone but Not Furgotten
5.0
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Book
In Gone but Not Furgotten, the sixth in Cate Conte's Cat Café beloved cozy mystery series, Daybreak...
But when dead women start turning up and Stefan is under suspicion, Peggy realises that the culprit may be closer than she realises (and not Stefan!). She decides that she has to be the one to find out who has murdered these women. In doing so, she discovers the dark side of her family.
I really enjoyed this - the descriptions were so good, and really illustrated the vast difference between the exclusive, luxurious hotels and the fairgrounds, the wealth of Peggy’s family and the poverty of the fairground workers.
Henry Taul, Peggy’s sisters fiancé and her ex-boyfriend, really is an unpleasant piece of work, and his mother is awful - a great example of ‘new money’ and how they clearly don’t know how to conduct themselves (ok, I’m saying this with a little ‘tongue in cheek’). Unlike the more staid (on the surface) Batternbergs!
The descriptions of Coney Island so evocative, that I could have been there, and the photos that the author had taken and posted on The Pigeonhole really added to this.
I must have changed my mind about the identity of the murderer at least half a dozen times , and it really did take me until the end and the big reveal to be sure!
A thoroughly enjoyable serialisation by The Pigeonhole, made even better by the authors participation.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2379 KP) rated Sealed Off (A Maine Clambake Mystery, #8) in Books
Jan 2, 2020
There is a strong sub-plot, almost a second full mystery, in this book involving a room that has been sealed off since the 1890’s in the family mansion on the island. Between the two stories, this book moves forward at a constant pace, and the pages flew by. I never wanted to put the book down until I reached the satisfying end. Once again, I was left in awe of how the clues were woven into the story. Several series arcs were advanced here, and the chances for character development were put to full use. The new characters are just as strong as the series regulars, which is no surprise to anyone who has read the series. Those looking for recipes will be pleased with the five we get at the end of the story. There is not one wasted word in this story, and I set it down completely satisfied. Well, almost satisfied. As is always the case, I was left wanting to visit Julia and her family and friends again as soon as possible. Fans of the series will be delighted with this book. If you haven’t started this series yet, you need to fix that as soon as possible.
lurkykitty (3 KP) rated The Vanishing Deep in Books
Mar 25, 2020
Death du Jour (Temperance Brennan, #2)
7.5
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Assaulted by the bitter cold of a Montreal winter, the American-born Dr. Temperance Breman, Forensic...
The Lie Tree
5.2
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Winner of the Costa Children's Book Award 2015. The Lie Tree is a wonderfully evocative and...
The Book of Speculation
Book
Simon Watson lives alone on the Long Island Sound. His parents are long dead, his mother having...