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Kara Skinner (332 KP) rated The Remnants in Books
Sep 10, 2019
Genre: Historical Fiction
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.26/5 stars
My rating: 3/5 stars
Danny Pulbrook is a handsome and rebellious young man. Born the bastard son of a minor royal and orphaned at birth he is determined to find a new life far beyond his “pre-ordained oblivion”. His only way out – a forced enlistment into the army brings him to an inevitable confrontation with his own demons in the cauldron of the first world war.
Rose Quayle is a beautiful and confident hazel-eyed housemaid who, like her mother and her mother’s mother is employed in service at Meaford House – an expansive vice-regal estate near Tunbridge Wells. Like Danny she longs for a life beyond the tyranny of the rigid class system that defines her humble destiny.
Their chance meeting becomes the catalyst that changes both of their lives forever.
The Remnants is like a fixer upper. It’s unpolished and a bit of a hot mess, but you can still see the potential. Unfortunately, The Remnants was published before it got the TLC it deserved.
Not only is the text plagued with typos and missing punctuation, but there are too many storylines and character to keep straight. It’s a hot mess that could have been amazing.
The story starts out on a seemingly inconsequential day, with two minor characters talking. Yes, minor. They’re barely in the story but they make up the opening scene that eventually introduces Rose as a young, innocent girl going on her first car ride. So far there’s promise. After all, the boggy description will clear up when the story gets going, right?
I wish.
But it does pick up when we meet lovable bad boy Danny. Straight from an orphanage and now working at a general store, he’s a troublemaker and has never known love of any sort. He’s convinced he’s unlovable. Perfect for a love interest. I do have a thing for the bad boys. Give them a vulnerable side and I’m practically putty.
Rose and Danny have an excellently sweet and innocent chance encounter that clashes with the darkness in the rest of the book. Actually, there’s no foreshadowing at all that things will go so horribly awry when they met, or how dark most of the book is.
But dark it is. Danny goes off to fight in India, leaving Rose behind, but promising to still see her. After realizing he will die unless he deserts the army, he runs away and Rose goes to live with him in Canada
Had this been split into two or three full-length novels with the first novel ending here, I would have liked it a lot. But instead this great beginning with Danny’s and Rose’s innocence isn’t given the full detail and development it deserves, instead being condensed to the beginning of the novel.
But unfortunately it gets worse. Because the story continues. With so many characters that it’s impossible to keep them straight.
Danny’s character takes a sharp left when he feels the need to go to war again, this time with the Canadian army. He and Rose had practically just found each other and now he’s going back to fight, and after he had almost died the last time? Yeah. That makes total sense. What is he, an addict all of a sudden?
The entire story goes in a whirlwind. Danny has such a steep character arc, from innocent teenaged boy to hardened veteran, it might as well be a character cliff. Rose, on the other hand, doesn’t have that much character to arc. She’s slightly more bitter by the end, but she had already been bitter in the beginning of the story. Her lack of character frustrates me to no end.
There are some good parts to this story, though. Rose’s experience in the workplace was well-written, as was the death of Grace, Danny’s girl on the side. His war buddy, Mitch, is an excellent character and funny as hell, even if he is a bit cliched. The dynamic between Danny and his comrades is actually very good and I wish I had seen more of that and less flowery description about the war atmosphere.
While this story is mildly entertaining, well-researched, and interesting, it’s not my favorite and I will definitely not be reading it again. What do you think? Does this book sound interesting to you?
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.26/5 stars
My rating: 3/5 stars
Danny Pulbrook is a handsome and rebellious young man. Born the bastard son of a minor royal and orphaned at birth he is determined to find a new life far beyond his “pre-ordained oblivion”. His only way out – a forced enlistment into the army brings him to an inevitable confrontation with his own demons in the cauldron of the first world war.
Rose Quayle is a beautiful and confident hazel-eyed housemaid who, like her mother and her mother’s mother is employed in service at Meaford House – an expansive vice-regal estate near Tunbridge Wells. Like Danny she longs for a life beyond the tyranny of the rigid class system that defines her humble destiny.
Their chance meeting becomes the catalyst that changes both of their lives forever.
The Remnants is like a fixer upper. It’s unpolished and a bit of a hot mess, but you can still see the potential. Unfortunately, The Remnants was published before it got the TLC it deserved.
Not only is the text plagued with typos and missing punctuation, but there are too many storylines and character to keep straight. It’s a hot mess that could have been amazing.
The story starts out on a seemingly inconsequential day, with two minor characters talking. Yes, minor. They’re barely in the story but they make up the opening scene that eventually introduces Rose as a young, innocent girl going on her first car ride. So far there’s promise. After all, the boggy description will clear up when the story gets going, right?
I wish.
But it does pick up when we meet lovable bad boy Danny. Straight from an orphanage and now working at a general store, he’s a troublemaker and has never known love of any sort. He’s convinced he’s unlovable. Perfect for a love interest. I do have a thing for the bad boys. Give them a vulnerable side and I’m practically putty.
Rose and Danny have an excellently sweet and innocent chance encounter that clashes with the darkness in the rest of the book. Actually, there’s no foreshadowing at all that things will go so horribly awry when they met, or how dark most of the book is.
But dark it is. Danny goes off to fight in India, leaving Rose behind, but promising to still see her. After realizing he will die unless he deserts the army, he runs away and Rose goes to live with him in Canada
Had this been split into two or three full-length novels with the first novel ending here, I would have liked it a lot. But instead this great beginning with Danny’s and Rose’s innocence isn’t given the full detail and development it deserves, instead being condensed to the beginning of the novel.
But unfortunately it gets worse. Because the story continues. With so many characters that it’s impossible to keep them straight.
Danny’s character takes a sharp left when he feels the need to go to war again, this time with the Canadian army. He and Rose had practically just found each other and now he’s going back to fight, and after he had almost died the last time? Yeah. That makes total sense. What is he, an addict all of a sudden?
The entire story goes in a whirlwind. Danny has such a steep character arc, from innocent teenaged boy to hardened veteran, it might as well be a character cliff. Rose, on the other hand, doesn’t have that much character to arc. She’s slightly more bitter by the end, but she had already been bitter in the beginning of the story. Her lack of character frustrates me to no end.
There are some good parts to this story, though. Rose’s experience in the workplace was well-written, as was the death of Grace, Danny’s girl on the side. His war buddy, Mitch, is an excellent character and funny as hell, even if he is a bit cliched. The dynamic between Danny and his comrades is actually very good and I wish I had seen more of that and less flowery description about the war atmosphere.
While this story is mildly entertaining, well-researched, and interesting, it’s not my favorite and I will definitely not be reading it again. What do you think? Does this book sound interesting to you?
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Angel Has Fallen (2019) in Movies
Aug 23, 2019
It’s always surprising when a truly awful film performs well at the box-office, but that’s exactly what happened with 2017’s London Has Fallen. Despite overwhelmingly poor reviews, the sequel to 2013’s marginally better Olympus Has Fallen made over four times its production budget in ticket sales.
Naturally, a sequel in the now originally named ‘Fallen’ film series was greenlit soon after with the majority of the cast returning for the third instalment. But is the finished product, Angel Has Fallen as bad as its predecessor? Or is this the turning point?
Authorities take Secret Service agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) into custody for the failed assassination attempt of U.S. President Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman). After escaping from his captors, Banning must evade the FBI and his own agency to find the real threat to the president. Desperate to uncover the truth, he soon turns to unlikely allies to help clear his name and save the country from imminent danger.
First thing’s first. This is better than London Has Fallen in every conceivable area. Where that film was packed full of grainy stock footage, poor CGI and laughable dialogue, Angel Has Fallen at least attempts to create a reasonably coherent film, even if the end result is completely forgettable.
The script for one attempts to focus on the mental and physical strain Gerard Butler’s job has taken on both aspects of his health. We join the film with Butler working his way through an assault course of sorts, so far so Gerard. However, as the film progresses the audience realises that Agent Banning is suffering from a lot of demons, impacting his clarity and causing him to lose focus.
To be fair, Butler does his best with the material he’s given, but three films in, even he is starting to look a little bored. The rest of the cast don’t fare any better. Morgan Freeman dons his tried and tested President persona, but the 82-year-old legend struggles with the physical demands of the role – and the all too obvious body doubles are a jarring mismatch with a film that is occasionally nicely choreographed and edited.
Only a film series as mediocre as ‘Fallen’ could make Angel Has Fallen feel like a success
The highlight comes about half way through the film as we are introduced to a dishevelled Nick Nolte playing Clay Banning, Mike’s foul-mouthed father, living off grid in rural Virginia. The casting is a little odd at first but the pair share good on-screen chemistry with each other and are much better than any relationship we saw in the film’s two predecessors. One of the action sequences the two of them have together is absurd but genuinely funny.
While the script has improved somewhat (there’s no unnecessary racism to be had), there are still huge flaws here. A third-act twist is one of the most ridiculously predictable twists in movie history, made all the more insulting by the fact that there are no red herrings in the story whatsoever. Come on guys, at least give us something else to think about! Instead of an “oooo” when the twist is revealed, the collective response from the audience was practically an eye-roll.
Elsewhere, the film’s finale, which feels like it goes on for far too long, is pure cinematic nonsense of the highest degree but does utilise this instalment’s bigger budget reasonably well. There are instances of poor CGI and very very obvious green screen dotted throughout, but nothing as bad as the laughably rubbish explosions and CG helicopters that riddled London Has Fallen.
Angel Has Fallen (2019 Movie) Official Trailer - Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman - YouTube
Overall, only a film series as mediocre as ‘Fallen’ could make Angel Has Fallen feel like a success but the increased focus on the human elements of the lead characters rather than the outright racism featured in the previous films is a welcome change, and while the action scenes are filmed with a little too much shaky cam for my liking, they’re decently watchable if lacking in any real originality.
The problem we have is that this film will undoubtedly be yet another success if the sold-out screening I attended is anything to go by. Inevitably, this will then pave the way for more similarly themed movies. However, these films aren’t created for those of us who love cinema or to show off the craft of film-making, they’re made for people who want to check their phones every now and then or have a chat to the person next to them. And to be frank, that’s a cinematic world I’d rather not be a part of.
Naturally, a sequel in the now originally named ‘Fallen’ film series was greenlit soon after with the majority of the cast returning for the third instalment. But is the finished product, Angel Has Fallen as bad as its predecessor? Or is this the turning point?
Authorities take Secret Service agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) into custody for the failed assassination attempt of U.S. President Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman). After escaping from his captors, Banning must evade the FBI and his own agency to find the real threat to the president. Desperate to uncover the truth, he soon turns to unlikely allies to help clear his name and save the country from imminent danger.
First thing’s first. This is better than London Has Fallen in every conceivable area. Where that film was packed full of grainy stock footage, poor CGI and laughable dialogue, Angel Has Fallen at least attempts to create a reasonably coherent film, even if the end result is completely forgettable.
The script for one attempts to focus on the mental and physical strain Gerard Butler’s job has taken on both aspects of his health. We join the film with Butler working his way through an assault course of sorts, so far so Gerard. However, as the film progresses the audience realises that Agent Banning is suffering from a lot of demons, impacting his clarity and causing him to lose focus.
To be fair, Butler does his best with the material he’s given, but three films in, even he is starting to look a little bored. The rest of the cast don’t fare any better. Morgan Freeman dons his tried and tested President persona, but the 82-year-old legend struggles with the physical demands of the role – and the all too obvious body doubles are a jarring mismatch with a film that is occasionally nicely choreographed and edited.
Only a film series as mediocre as ‘Fallen’ could make Angel Has Fallen feel like a success
The highlight comes about half way through the film as we are introduced to a dishevelled Nick Nolte playing Clay Banning, Mike’s foul-mouthed father, living off grid in rural Virginia. The casting is a little odd at first but the pair share good on-screen chemistry with each other and are much better than any relationship we saw in the film’s two predecessors. One of the action sequences the two of them have together is absurd but genuinely funny.
While the script has improved somewhat (there’s no unnecessary racism to be had), there are still huge flaws here. A third-act twist is one of the most ridiculously predictable twists in movie history, made all the more insulting by the fact that there are no red herrings in the story whatsoever. Come on guys, at least give us something else to think about! Instead of an “oooo” when the twist is revealed, the collective response from the audience was practically an eye-roll.
Elsewhere, the film’s finale, which feels like it goes on for far too long, is pure cinematic nonsense of the highest degree but does utilise this instalment’s bigger budget reasonably well. There are instances of poor CGI and very very obvious green screen dotted throughout, but nothing as bad as the laughably rubbish explosions and CG helicopters that riddled London Has Fallen.
Angel Has Fallen (2019 Movie) Official Trailer - Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman - YouTube
Overall, only a film series as mediocre as ‘Fallen’ could make Angel Has Fallen feel like a success but the increased focus on the human elements of the lead characters rather than the outright racism featured in the previous films is a welcome change, and while the action scenes are filmed with a little too much shaky cam for my liking, they’re decently watchable if lacking in any real originality.
The problem we have is that this film will undoubtedly be yet another success if the sold-out screening I attended is anything to go by. Inevitably, this will then pave the way for more similarly themed movies. However, these films aren’t created for those of us who love cinema or to show off the craft of film-making, they’re made for people who want to check their phones every now and then or have a chat to the person next to them. And to be frank, that’s a cinematic world I’d rather not be a part of.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Illumination in Tabletop Games
Oct 5, 2021
Ancient Medieval books. We all love ’em, right? Full of bright beautiful pictures of angels fighting demons, knights fighting dragons, dogs fighting squirrels(?), and monks fighting armed bunnies?? Hey, what’s going on here? Okay, I have played enough Alf Seegert games to know that everything comes with a hint of quirk, but now I need to pore through my non-existent collection of old tomes to find instances of monks warding off sword-brandishing rabbits. Ohhhhh, maybe this is about children’s books! Man, times were weird back in the day.
Illumination is a game about two monks who are tasked with illuminating the pages of manuscripts with drawings in the hopes of becoming the next head of the Scriptorium: The Scriptmaster, one might say. However, one of the monks gets a little itch and begins to draw irreverent subjects, like demons, dragons, and such. Which monk will earn the made-up-by-me title of Scriptmaster? Guess you will have to play to find out.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
As with many games that are well endowed with components, setup can be a bit of a task. The game will be focused around a few main areas. First, the three manuscript pages are placed on the table in any orientation, with the purple wild Drollery tiles placed on one text box on each page. The Monastery mat is placed nearby as well, with the Abbot pawn randomly placed on a blank station. This pawn will be moved around the map during play to determine which rituals may be performed at any one time. Each player will have their own player mat, upon which will be placed their starting gold (1 for the Reverent player and 5 for the Irreverent player), as well as their starting nine Illumination tiles. The rules mention separating all the Illumination tiles into stacks of three, choosing three of these stacks to flip over and place on the play mat without altering the order. This is very important to keep the tiles in their randomized order. The remainder of the tiles are to be placed nearby in stacks of three. Each player is dealt one starting Scriptorium card and a random Crusade card that will offer bonuses at the end of the game. Once all setup, the game may begin with the Reverent player’s turn.
On a turn, the active player will choose from their mat one row or column of three tiles to be played. They take the three tiles and place them upon one of the three book pages on the table, in the margins. From there the player can choose any tile from the margin to place onto the page in any order they wish, upon any quill icon they choose (except for coin tiles – those simply grant two coins immediately). If the tile is placed on a quill of a matching color to that of the tile, the player will immediately collect one coin and place it on the player mat. If the tile is placed on a quill and orthogonally touches a tile of the matching color, the player then collects a Ritual token of the same color. These Ritual tokens are used in sets of three, four, or five in order to earn VP for end of game scoring. Each purple Drollery tile is wild for the purpose of placement and Ritual token collection. Each tile placed will collect its earnings immediately, and any coins earned may be spent immediately as well.
A player may use coins for several purposes throughout the game: move a tile from the margin of one book to the margin of a different book, move the Abbot one space along the track for Ritual purposes, or to draw a Scriptorium card. The other resources are Ritual tokens, and may be spent during the turn as well. In order to spend these, the Abbot must be on the matching location on the Monastery board, and the player may spend three, four, or five matching tokens to perform the Ritual. They discard the tokens, place one of their cubes upon the appropriate icon on the Monastery mat for VP at game end.
At any time during the turn Scriptorium cards may be played. These are very special cards that allow the player to complete certain actions that break the normal rules. This could be a free movement of the Abbot, or switching places of two tiles on the player mat, or even banishing one of the opponent’s tiles to another book entirely.
Why mention the battles in the intro if they are not part of the game? They are. Once opposing foes are placed orthogonally from each other, and all involved tiles are completely enclosed by other tiles or board obstacles, a Bounded Battle will begin. Battles are simple to resolve as it requires players to count the number of combatants on both sides and whichever side has more forces wins the battle. The winner places their cube on the appropriate battle card near the Monastery mat, and the loser gains coins equal to the number of their tiles lost to battle. Tiles that are lost are simply flipped to its opposite side.
Play continues in this fashion of players choosing and placing tiles, drawing and using Scriptorium cards, performing Rituals, and resolving Bounded Battles until both players pass their turn. The game is then over and VP counted in all their places around the play area. The player with the most points becomes the next Scriptmaster Flex and is able to enhance or defile as many manuscripts as they like!
Components. This game has a lot of components, but they are mostly cardboard tiles, cardstock cards and mats, and wooden cubes. The quality is all very fine, as to be expected with Eagle-Gryphon games. The art, for me, is the biggest drawback of the game. I UNDERSTAND why it looks the way it does – in trying to stick with a Medieval manuscript theme some decision were made on the style. It just doesn’t vibe with me. I took a look at the new edition of The Road to Canterbury, by the same designer and publisher, and loved the look of it. I REALIZE that the tiles are supposed to be not only reminiscent of the art style of that time period, but also imaginations of monks and their doodles, but it’s just not for me. I do like the looks of everything else except the art on the tiles, and when that’s the majority of the components I am looking at, I sigh a little. I am absolutely no artist, and I can acknowledge that the art presented is very good and in line with the theme. Oh well.
The game play is very solid, and I do like it quite a bit. Everything makes a lot of sense as to why you are doing the actions, and the most difficult thing to comprehend the first time through is the Bounded Battles. You see, battles don’t immediately happen when you pit one foe against another. In fact, all tiles engaged need to be surrounded by other tiles or battleground obstacles before battle can begin. This allows both sides to add more tiles to help sway the balance of power, and can get a little confusing for some players. Not ME, of course, but SOME players (ok it was totally me the first time through). I am thankful that resolving the battles are pretty simple, and winning battles gives the victor a cool five points.
Other aspects I really enjoy are the Scriptorium cards and the Rituals. Again, the Scriptorium cards can be drawn for two coins during the game and can provide excellent rule-breaking choices to the players. Any time a game has cards that bend the rules, I generally am a fan. The Rituals are merely tokens that are collected and then turned in for points. This doesn’t necessarily sound that interesting until I reveal that a player board only has space for seven items: Ritual tokens AND coins included. So a player may be stacking up coins, and not have space for Ritual tokens or vice versa. Hard choices need to be made sometimes, but to help with that Ritual tokens can also be used like a coin, but not the other way around. So there is no buying Ritual tokens. Having that restriction of seven items on hand is a really nice touch, and makes each turn important.
So all in all I enjoyed my plays of Illumination. I have yet to try the solo version that is included, but I will soon. I feel that of the two Medieval series games I have played I prefer The Road to Canterbury, but I do like the different feel of Illumination. Having a solo mode is also very attractive to me because my wife and I do not always have matching schedules where we can game together. I like Illumination for the actual gameplay, but the art is a turn-off for me. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one an irreverent 4 / 6. If you are looking for something a little different that features some interesting game play, tons of choices, yet is restrictive as well, take a look at Illumination. Try not to complete too many wine and candle rituals though. Those two things don’t mix very well in my experience.
Illumination is a game about two monks who are tasked with illuminating the pages of manuscripts with drawings in the hopes of becoming the next head of the Scriptorium: The Scriptmaster, one might say. However, one of the monks gets a little itch and begins to draw irreverent subjects, like demons, dragons, and such. Which monk will earn the made-up-by-me title of Scriptmaster? Guess you will have to play to find out.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
As with many games that are well endowed with components, setup can be a bit of a task. The game will be focused around a few main areas. First, the three manuscript pages are placed on the table in any orientation, with the purple wild Drollery tiles placed on one text box on each page. The Monastery mat is placed nearby as well, with the Abbot pawn randomly placed on a blank station. This pawn will be moved around the map during play to determine which rituals may be performed at any one time. Each player will have their own player mat, upon which will be placed their starting gold (1 for the Reverent player and 5 for the Irreverent player), as well as their starting nine Illumination tiles. The rules mention separating all the Illumination tiles into stacks of three, choosing three of these stacks to flip over and place on the play mat without altering the order. This is very important to keep the tiles in their randomized order. The remainder of the tiles are to be placed nearby in stacks of three. Each player is dealt one starting Scriptorium card and a random Crusade card that will offer bonuses at the end of the game. Once all setup, the game may begin with the Reverent player’s turn.
On a turn, the active player will choose from their mat one row or column of three tiles to be played. They take the three tiles and place them upon one of the three book pages on the table, in the margins. From there the player can choose any tile from the margin to place onto the page in any order they wish, upon any quill icon they choose (except for coin tiles – those simply grant two coins immediately). If the tile is placed on a quill of a matching color to that of the tile, the player will immediately collect one coin and place it on the player mat. If the tile is placed on a quill and orthogonally touches a tile of the matching color, the player then collects a Ritual token of the same color. These Ritual tokens are used in sets of three, four, or five in order to earn VP for end of game scoring. Each purple Drollery tile is wild for the purpose of placement and Ritual token collection. Each tile placed will collect its earnings immediately, and any coins earned may be spent immediately as well.
A player may use coins for several purposes throughout the game: move a tile from the margin of one book to the margin of a different book, move the Abbot one space along the track for Ritual purposes, or to draw a Scriptorium card. The other resources are Ritual tokens, and may be spent during the turn as well. In order to spend these, the Abbot must be on the matching location on the Monastery board, and the player may spend three, four, or five matching tokens to perform the Ritual. They discard the tokens, place one of their cubes upon the appropriate icon on the Monastery mat for VP at game end.
At any time during the turn Scriptorium cards may be played. These are very special cards that allow the player to complete certain actions that break the normal rules. This could be a free movement of the Abbot, or switching places of two tiles on the player mat, or even banishing one of the opponent’s tiles to another book entirely.
Why mention the battles in the intro if they are not part of the game? They are. Once opposing foes are placed orthogonally from each other, and all involved tiles are completely enclosed by other tiles or board obstacles, a Bounded Battle will begin. Battles are simple to resolve as it requires players to count the number of combatants on both sides and whichever side has more forces wins the battle. The winner places their cube on the appropriate battle card near the Monastery mat, and the loser gains coins equal to the number of their tiles lost to battle. Tiles that are lost are simply flipped to its opposite side.
Play continues in this fashion of players choosing and placing tiles, drawing and using Scriptorium cards, performing Rituals, and resolving Bounded Battles until both players pass their turn. The game is then over and VP counted in all their places around the play area. The player with the most points becomes the next Scriptmaster Flex and is able to enhance or defile as many manuscripts as they like!
Components. This game has a lot of components, but they are mostly cardboard tiles, cardstock cards and mats, and wooden cubes. The quality is all very fine, as to be expected with Eagle-Gryphon games. The art, for me, is the biggest drawback of the game. I UNDERSTAND why it looks the way it does – in trying to stick with a Medieval manuscript theme some decision were made on the style. It just doesn’t vibe with me. I took a look at the new edition of The Road to Canterbury, by the same designer and publisher, and loved the look of it. I REALIZE that the tiles are supposed to be not only reminiscent of the art style of that time period, but also imaginations of monks and their doodles, but it’s just not for me. I do like the looks of everything else except the art on the tiles, and when that’s the majority of the components I am looking at, I sigh a little. I am absolutely no artist, and I can acknowledge that the art presented is very good and in line with the theme. Oh well.
The game play is very solid, and I do like it quite a bit. Everything makes a lot of sense as to why you are doing the actions, and the most difficult thing to comprehend the first time through is the Bounded Battles. You see, battles don’t immediately happen when you pit one foe against another. In fact, all tiles engaged need to be surrounded by other tiles or battleground obstacles before battle can begin. This allows both sides to add more tiles to help sway the balance of power, and can get a little confusing for some players. Not ME, of course, but SOME players (ok it was totally me the first time through). I am thankful that resolving the battles are pretty simple, and winning battles gives the victor a cool five points.
Other aspects I really enjoy are the Scriptorium cards and the Rituals. Again, the Scriptorium cards can be drawn for two coins during the game and can provide excellent rule-breaking choices to the players. Any time a game has cards that bend the rules, I generally am a fan. The Rituals are merely tokens that are collected and then turned in for points. This doesn’t necessarily sound that interesting until I reveal that a player board only has space for seven items: Ritual tokens AND coins included. So a player may be stacking up coins, and not have space for Ritual tokens or vice versa. Hard choices need to be made sometimes, but to help with that Ritual tokens can also be used like a coin, but not the other way around. So there is no buying Ritual tokens. Having that restriction of seven items on hand is a really nice touch, and makes each turn important.
So all in all I enjoyed my plays of Illumination. I have yet to try the solo version that is included, but I will soon. I feel that of the two Medieval series games I have played I prefer The Road to Canterbury, but I do like the different feel of Illumination. Having a solo mode is also very attractive to me because my wife and I do not always have matching schedules where we can game together. I like Illumination for the actual gameplay, but the art is a turn-off for me. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one an irreverent 4 / 6. If you are looking for something a little different that features some interesting game play, tons of choices, yet is restrictive as well, take a look at Illumination. Try not to complete too many wine and candle rituals though. Those two things don’t mix very well in my experience.
okletmereviewit (4 KP) rated Boo! A Madea Halloween (2016) in Movies
May 11, 2018
good comedy movie for halloween
Contains spoilers, click to show
Hellur!!! OK so if you are looking for a good comedy movie for halloween (I know not typically a genre that you look for this time of year) then look no further. If you are a Tyler Perry fan or a fan of Madea you are going to be pleasantly surprised that this movie isn't a flop like (in my humble opinion) A Madea Christmas. Now since the early days I have loved the Madea character and the good wholesome values that Mr. Perry brings to the big screen. Sometimes they can "reach" and other times its just good fun.
In this movie, we find a grown 17yr old Tiffany (played by Diamond White) Brian's Daughter who we first met in Diary of a Mad Black Woman as a little girl (played by Tiffany Evens) and some girlfriends walking home from school, where they come across a Frat House with overly douchey College guys who are cat calling the young high school girls as they walk past their house.
They all try to talk to them and of course they only have one thing on their mind while talking to the girls. They invite them to a Halloween bash that they hold every year and about that time a very angry Brian pulls up and has a verbal confrontation with these guys. Embarrassed by the incident Tiffany is angry and talks back to Brian in front of her girlfriends and the Frat boys. Later we find Tiffany and her friend Aday (played by Liz Koshy) scheming in Tiffany's room about how they are going to sneak out after Brian leaves for work for the weekend.
Brian after finding out that his daughter is going to be meeting up with the boys later, calls Madea to come by and stay with the girls so that she can keep them in line. Well Madea, Joe, Aunt Bam, and Hattie, all show up to the house, where they witness the disrespectful nature in which Tiffany speaks to Brian and how she "throws shade" at the "old people" who are there to thwart her plans to go to the college frat party. Antics ensue as Tiffany decides to play a prank on Madea, Joe, Bam, and Hattie, and tell them a spooky story about how their house is haunted and that the only way to be safe is to go to bed before 10pm. After this the girls sneak out of the house to attend the party. Madea, goes to check up on the girls after some time has passed, and discovers that they are not in bed. Madea rallies up the troop (Bam and Hattie) and heads down to the frat party. When they pull up Madea is accosted by some frat boys on the front steps and after quickly putting them in place, she begins to search the party for Tiffany and Aday. When their friends find out that Tiffany's aunt is looking for her, they are quickly taken outside and Madea is hoisted up by a bunch of angry and drunk party goers and is thrown out the door.
"Mad as hell" Madea returns to Brian's house and calls the cops on the party and has it shut down. The frat boys take it on themselves to get back at Madea. Meanwhile, Tiffany comes downstairs and confronts Madea about what was going on acting like she had been upstairs sleeping in her dad's room the whole time. The frat boys begin messing with Madea, Joe, Bam, and Hattie, scaring them. At which point a couple of the guys, dress up like clowns and stalk Madea, Bam, and Hattie through out the house, eventually causing them to get in Madea's car and flee.
As they head down a dark road Madea's car breaks down. Madea and Hattie get out to try and see what is wrong with the car. About that time shadowy figures begin to appear in the woods surrounding them, and begin chasing them. Madea kicks it into high gear and leaves everyone in the dust and runs into the church where Aday's father the Reverend (Javon Johnson) is the preacher at, asking to be saved from the "demons and clowns and monkeys" and stuff that were chasing her. Aday comes out and tells Madea and the others that it was all just a prank that the frat boys were pulling and that none of it was real. Madea then decides to have some "hullerween" fun of her own by pulling a fast one on the boys. The film ends with a positive message about love, trust, and respect, and Madea running from "the po po".
You are in for a fun time and a good belly laugh. I hope you all take time to get out to see this great movie that is sure to become a family holiday classic.
In this movie, we find a grown 17yr old Tiffany (played by Diamond White) Brian's Daughter who we first met in Diary of a Mad Black Woman as a little girl (played by Tiffany Evens) and some girlfriends walking home from school, where they come across a Frat House with overly douchey College guys who are cat calling the young high school girls as they walk past their house.
They all try to talk to them and of course they only have one thing on their mind while talking to the girls. They invite them to a Halloween bash that they hold every year and about that time a very angry Brian pulls up and has a verbal confrontation with these guys. Embarrassed by the incident Tiffany is angry and talks back to Brian in front of her girlfriends and the Frat boys. Later we find Tiffany and her friend Aday (played by Liz Koshy) scheming in Tiffany's room about how they are going to sneak out after Brian leaves for work for the weekend.
Brian after finding out that his daughter is going to be meeting up with the boys later, calls Madea to come by and stay with the girls so that she can keep them in line. Well Madea, Joe, Aunt Bam, and Hattie, all show up to the house, where they witness the disrespectful nature in which Tiffany speaks to Brian and how she "throws shade" at the "old people" who are there to thwart her plans to go to the college frat party. Antics ensue as Tiffany decides to play a prank on Madea, Joe, Bam, and Hattie, and tell them a spooky story about how their house is haunted and that the only way to be safe is to go to bed before 10pm. After this the girls sneak out of the house to attend the party. Madea, goes to check up on the girls after some time has passed, and discovers that they are not in bed. Madea rallies up the troop (Bam and Hattie) and heads down to the frat party. When they pull up Madea is accosted by some frat boys on the front steps and after quickly putting them in place, she begins to search the party for Tiffany and Aday. When their friends find out that Tiffany's aunt is looking for her, they are quickly taken outside and Madea is hoisted up by a bunch of angry and drunk party goers and is thrown out the door.
"Mad as hell" Madea returns to Brian's house and calls the cops on the party and has it shut down. The frat boys take it on themselves to get back at Madea. Meanwhile, Tiffany comes downstairs and confronts Madea about what was going on acting like she had been upstairs sleeping in her dad's room the whole time. The frat boys begin messing with Madea, Joe, Bam, and Hattie, scaring them. At which point a couple of the guys, dress up like clowns and stalk Madea, Bam, and Hattie through out the house, eventually causing them to get in Madea's car and flee.
As they head down a dark road Madea's car breaks down. Madea and Hattie get out to try and see what is wrong with the car. About that time shadowy figures begin to appear in the woods surrounding them, and begin chasing them. Madea kicks it into high gear and leaves everyone in the dust and runs into the church where Aday's father the Reverend (Javon Johnson) is the preacher at, asking to be saved from the "demons and clowns and monkeys" and stuff that were chasing her. Aday comes out and tells Madea and the others that it was all just a prank that the frat boys were pulling and that none of it was real. Madea then decides to have some "hullerween" fun of her own by pulling a fast one on the boys. The film ends with a positive message about love, trust, and respect, and Madea running from "the po po".
You are in for a fun time and a good belly laugh. I hope you all take time to get out to see this great movie that is sure to become a family holiday classic.
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019) in Movies
Jun 10, 2019 (Updated Jun 10, 2019)
Goodbye Normal Jean
It would be easy to write off X-Men: Dark Phoenix as a complete and utter disaster. With the departure of Bryan Singer (again) from the franchise, first-time director Simon Kinberg taking his place and rumours of costly reshoots pushing the budget north of $200million, things weren’t looking good for this adaptation of the popular Marvel comic.
Let’s not forget that the last time Fox tried to adapt this storyline we ended up with 2006’s The Last Stand, and the less said about that the better. Looking back over the last 20 years, the X-Men’s film franchise history has been chequered to say the least.
Nevertheless, this particular timeline that started with Matthew Vaughn’s adequate First Class, followed up by the excellent Days of Future Past and the flabby Apocalypse ends with Dark Phoenix. But is it worthy of your consideration?
This is the story of one of the X-Men’s most beloved characters, Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), as she evolves into the iconic Phoenix. During a rescue mission in space, Jean is hit by a cosmic force that transforms her into one of the most powerful mutants of all. Wrestling with this increasingly unstable power as well as her own personal demons, Jean spirals out of control, tearing the X-Men family apart and threatening to destroy the very fabric of our planet.
First things first – this is not a bad film. Yes, you heard me right. Leagues above Apocalypse and much better than The Last Stand, Dark Phoenix is a film that has been let down by catastrophically poor marketing. It’s not perfect, as we’ll discover in this review, but it tries a different approach, and for that it should be applauded.
For this reviewer, the modern day cast of characters has always been a weak spot for the series and that doesn’t really change in Dark Phoenix. James McAvoy remains miscast as Charles Xavier, especially since packing on the muscle for this Glass, but he performs much better here than he did in its predecessor. His transition into egotistical maniac, obsessed by the celebrity status the X-Men have acquired at the outset of the film is an intriguing diversion from where he was at the end of Apocalypse.
The younger cast are more likeable. Kodi Smitt-McPhee’s portrayal of Nightcrawler is fabulous and he gets more to do this time around. Tye Sheridan is great as young Cyclops and Evan Peters’ Quicksilver remains a highlight, though it’s unfortunate he’s cast aside relatively quickly – for fans of his set pieces from the previous two films, you’ll be disappointed here. Michael Fassbender and Nicholas Hoult bring their a-games, but they even seem a little bored by what’s going on. “You’re always sorry, Charles. And there’s always a speech. But nobody cares anymore!” bites Michael Fassbender at one point in the film – perhaps he’s onto something?
The first hour is perhaps the best the series has been since Days of Future Past
Of the female cast, Sophie Turner does her best with the material she’s given, and her Jean Grey is full of anger, angst and melancholy. The script struggles to provide her with any other emotion, but she’s a pleasing protagonist for the most part. Unfortunately, Jennifer Lawrence completely phones in her performance as Mystique and Jessica Chastain’s horrifically underwritten villain wastes a fabulous actor in a thankless role – much like Oscar Issac in Apocalypse.
With reports of heavy reshoots, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the film would end up a royal mess. Thankfully, the first hour is perhaps the best the series has been since Days of Future Past. Focusing on character development rather than all-out action, it’s a pleasing change and one which is more than welcome. Unfortunately, as time ticks away, the film loses all semblance of sanity and becomes muddled as it steamrolls towards an underwhelming climax.
And despite the reported budget of $200million, some of the shot choices and outfits feel cheap. It’s clear director Simon Kinberg is a fan of the series, but the X-Men costumes are bland, ill-fitting and a world away from what we’ve seen before. Closer to the comics they may be, but that’s not always a good thing. Elsewhere, the film feels cut-rate, almost TV-movie like and that’s a real shame because the special effects are top-notch. Mercifully, Hans Zimmer’s score is wonderful. The soaring orchestral soundtrack works brilliantly with the film – it’s probably the best music in the series to date.
Overall, X-Men: Dark Phoenix has been a victim of poor marketing with trailers that spoilt perhaps the most pivotal moment of the film (which we won’t spoil here). Nevertheless, the first hour is great and the special effects provide the film with some thrilling set pieces. It’s a shame then that the film offers up nothing new to the table despite some committed performances – this Phoenix just doesn’t quite rise to the occasion.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2019/06/07/x-men-dark-phoenix-review-goodbye-normal-jean/
Let’s not forget that the last time Fox tried to adapt this storyline we ended up with 2006’s The Last Stand, and the less said about that the better. Looking back over the last 20 years, the X-Men’s film franchise history has been chequered to say the least.
Nevertheless, this particular timeline that started with Matthew Vaughn’s adequate First Class, followed up by the excellent Days of Future Past and the flabby Apocalypse ends with Dark Phoenix. But is it worthy of your consideration?
This is the story of one of the X-Men’s most beloved characters, Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), as she evolves into the iconic Phoenix. During a rescue mission in space, Jean is hit by a cosmic force that transforms her into one of the most powerful mutants of all. Wrestling with this increasingly unstable power as well as her own personal demons, Jean spirals out of control, tearing the X-Men family apart and threatening to destroy the very fabric of our planet.
First things first – this is not a bad film. Yes, you heard me right. Leagues above Apocalypse and much better than The Last Stand, Dark Phoenix is a film that has been let down by catastrophically poor marketing. It’s not perfect, as we’ll discover in this review, but it tries a different approach, and for that it should be applauded.
For this reviewer, the modern day cast of characters has always been a weak spot for the series and that doesn’t really change in Dark Phoenix. James McAvoy remains miscast as Charles Xavier, especially since packing on the muscle for this Glass, but he performs much better here than he did in its predecessor. His transition into egotistical maniac, obsessed by the celebrity status the X-Men have acquired at the outset of the film is an intriguing diversion from where he was at the end of Apocalypse.
The younger cast are more likeable. Kodi Smitt-McPhee’s portrayal of Nightcrawler is fabulous and he gets more to do this time around. Tye Sheridan is great as young Cyclops and Evan Peters’ Quicksilver remains a highlight, though it’s unfortunate he’s cast aside relatively quickly – for fans of his set pieces from the previous two films, you’ll be disappointed here. Michael Fassbender and Nicholas Hoult bring their a-games, but they even seem a little bored by what’s going on. “You’re always sorry, Charles. And there’s always a speech. But nobody cares anymore!” bites Michael Fassbender at one point in the film – perhaps he’s onto something?
The first hour is perhaps the best the series has been since Days of Future Past
Of the female cast, Sophie Turner does her best with the material she’s given, and her Jean Grey is full of anger, angst and melancholy. The script struggles to provide her with any other emotion, but she’s a pleasing protagonist for the most part. Unfortunately, Jennifer Lawrence completely phones in her performance as Mystique and Jessica Chastain’s horrifically underwritten villain wastes a fabulous actor in a thankless role – much like Oscar Issac in Apocalypse.
With reports of heavy reshoots, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the film would end up a royal mess. Thankfully, the first hour is perhaps the best the series has been since Days of Future Past. Focusing on character development rather than all-out action, it’s a pleasing change and one which is more than welcome. Unfortunately, as time ticks away, the film loses all semblance of sanity and becomes muddled as it steamrolls towards an underwhelming climax.
And despite the reported budget of $200million, some of the shot choices and outfits feel cheap. It’s clear director Simon Kinberg is a fan of the series, but the X-Men costumes are bland, ill-fitting and a world away from what we’ve seen before. Closer to the comics they may be, but that’s not always a good thing. Elsewhere, the film feels cut-rate, almost TV-movie like and that’s a real shame because the special effects are top-notch. Mercifully, Hans Zimmer’s score is wonderful. The soaring orchestral soundtrack works brilliantly with the film – it’s probably the best music in the series to date.
Overall, X-Men: Dark Phoenix has been a victim of poor marketing with trailers that spoilt perhaps the most pivotal moment of the film (which we won’t spoil here). Nevertheless, the first hour is great and the special effects provide the film with some thrilling set pieces. It’s a shame then that the film offers up nothing new to the table despite some committed performances – this Phoenix just doesn’t quite rise to the occasion.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2019/06/07/x-men-dark-phoenix-review-goodbye-normal-jean/
Kyera (8 KP) rated Clockwork Angel in Books
Jan 31, 2018
Clockwork Angel is the first book in the Infernal Devices trilogy by Cassandra Clare. It is set in Victorian London and has an air of steampunk – although it is not explicitly that genre. There are clockwork creations and automatons, a Shadowhunter inventor that tinkers with gears and wires, but the overall setting is not one of steam powered air machines and gear-covered outfits. As a fan of the steampunk genre and aesthetic, I quite enjoyed the subtle notes of it in this series.
The clockwork automatons are intriguing, as they are made from neither Heaven nor Hell and thus the Shadowhunters have no experience dealing with them. They create a unique foe to fight against and are a greater mystery – as our heroes do not know who truly created them, or their nefarious purpose.
Each chapter is headed with an excerpt from a poem that Tessa might have found herself reading over the years. Each is not only a wonderful addition to the story but if you enjoy them, perhaps it will lead you to seek them out in their original forms. I personally do not find myself frequently reading poetry, but the first time I read this book I fell in love with the poems selected. It caused me to go in search of them and read poetry. Perhaps you too will find yourself inspired.
As with the Mortal Instruments, our main character is a female who is unfamiliar with the Shadow World at the beginning of the novel. Before long, she is completely embroiled in the world, the politics and must learn as she goes. In this novel, our heroine is given the Shadowhunter Codex to read which allows her to quickly understand the roles of the Shadowhunter and the world she didn’t even know existed. I have always liked Tessa and felt a kinship to her, as we are very similar.
Tessa is quite tall, especially for a woman in the Victorian era, brunette and loves books more than anything else (other than perhaps her family.) Her Aunt was a very learned woman, so Tessa received a decent education and fostered a love of reading. She is able to quote from books that she loves and does not discriminate between books considered high-brow and those considered for the lower class of society. Tessa is very intelligent and not afraid to voice her opinions, even though it was not widely accepted at that time for women to be sharp of tongue. She also does not like chocolate, which endeared her to me immediately as I also am one of the few people it seems who does not like chocolate.
Our two male leads are Jem and Will, who are parabatai but quite dissimilar from one another. Jem was originally from the Shanghai Institute but found himself in the London Institute when his parents were murdered by demons. He is quiet, kind, intelligent and loves Will like a brother. Will is a Herondale, with all of the charm that comes with it. He is more reckless, boasts about frequenting brothels and dens of vice, and despite his outward attempts to appear cheerful is prone to melancholy.
The Institute is filled with other Shadowhunters and servants with vastly different personalities who bring a lot of interesting storylines with them. Charlotte and Henry are the heads of the Institute, despite their young age. Henry is a brilliant inventor, although a bit scatterbrained. Jessamine was forced to live in the Institute after the death of her parents, but she has never desired to be a Shadowhunter.
The first book introduces us to the Shadow World of London, as Tessa is invited to travel from New York to London to live with her brother. Her plans do not turn out as she had expected and it leads her on an adventure with the Nephilim. It is fascinating to see how different the Shadowhunters of this era are, and yet utterly the same. It was also interesting to see how the Shadowhunters view the Downworld. While it was not entirely equal to the time of the Mortal Instruments series, you realize that is has improved in the century since the Infernal Devices and must be leagues above the treatment in the earliest years of the Nephilim.
Whether Clockwork Angel is your first foray into the Shadow World, or not, it is a highly entertaining and well-written novel that I could not recommend more. Many people feel that this series is the best of the three, so if you’ve been considering reading any of the Shadowhunter Chronicles but were not quite sure – perhaps this is a good place to start. I personally would recommend reading a number of the Mortal Instruments before beginning this series, but that is just my opinion. Either way, if you have not yet read this book – please go do so now! It is one of my favourites and I hope that it will be yours as well.
The clockwork automatons are intriguing, as they are made from neither Heaven nor Hell and thus the Shadowhunters have no experience dealing with them. They create a unique foe to fight against and are a greater mystery – as our heroes do not know who truly created them, or their nefarious purpose.
Each chapter is headed with an excerpt from a poem that Tessa might have found herself reading over the years. Each is not only a wonderful addition to the story but if you enjoy them, perhaps it will lead you to seek them out in their original forms. I personally do not find myself frequently reading poetry, but the first time I read this book I fell in love with the poems selected. It caused me to go in search of them and read poetry. Perhaps you too will find yourself inspired.
As with the Mortal Instruments, our main character is a female who is unfamiliar with the Shadow World at the beginning of the novel. Before long, she is completely embroiled in the world, the politics and must learn as she goes. In this novel, our heroine is given the Shadowhunter Codex to read which allows her to quickly understand the roles of the Shadowhunter and the world she didn’t even know existed. I have always liked Tessa and felt a kinship to her, as we are very similar.
Tessa is quite tall, especially for a woman in the Victorian era, brunette and loves books more than anything else (other than perhaps her family.) Her Aunt was a very learned woman, so Tessa received a decent education and fostered a love of reading. She is able to quote from books that she loves and does not discriminate between books considered high-brow and those considered for the lower class of society. Tessa is very intelligent and not afraid to voice her opinions, even though it was not widely accepted at that time for women to be sharp of tongue. She also does not like chocolate, which endeared her to me immediately as I also am one of the few people it seems who does not like chocolate.
Our two male leads are Jem and Will, who are parabatai but quite dissimilar from one another. Jem was originally from the Shanghai Institute but found himself in the London Institute when his parents were murdered by demons. He is quiet, kind, intelligent and loves Will like a brother. Will is a Herondale, with all of the charm that comes with it. He is more reckless, boasts about frequenting brothels and dens of vice, and despite his outward attempts to appear cheerful is prone to melancholy.
The Institute is filled with other Shadowhunters and servants with vastly different personalities who bring a lot of interesting storylines with them. Charlotte and Henry are the heads of the Institute, despite their young age. Henry is a brilliant inventor, although a bit scatterbrained. Jessamine was forced to live in the Institute after the death of her parents, but she has never desired to be a Shadowhunter.
The first book introduces us to the Shadow World of London, as Tessa is invited to travel from New York to London to live with her brother. Her plans do not turn out as she had expected and it leads her on an adventure with the Nephilim. It is fascinating to see how different the Shadowhunters of this era are, and yet utterly the same. It was also interesting to see how the Shadowhunters view the Downworld. While it was not entirely equal to the time of the Mortal Instruments series, you realize that is has improved in the century since the Infernal Devices and must be leagues above the treatment in the earliest years of the Nephilim.
Whether Clockwork Angel is your first foray into the Shadow World, or not, it is a highly entertaining and well-written novel that I could not recommend more. Many people feel that this series is the best of the three, so if you’ve been considering reading any of the Shadowhunter Chronicles but were not quite sure – perhaps this is a good place to start. I personally would recommend reading a number of the Mortal Instruments before beginning this series, but that is just my opinion. Either way, if you have not yet read this book – please go do so now! It is one of my favourites and I hope that it will be yours as well.
Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated I, Robot (2004) in Movies
Aug 14, 2019
Tales of a dark and foreboding future where technology has run amuck have been cautioning viewers ever since Orwell made the phrase “Big Brother” a household expression. Other films such as ?”, “Westworld”, “Blade Runner” and “The Terminator” often show a dark and dangerous future where dependence upon technology created to serve mankind has lead to its eventual downfall.
In the film “I Robot” Director Alex Proyas who’s past work includes “The Crow” and “Dark City” tells the tale of a near future where robots have become commonplace and are entrusted to do all manner of tasks ranging from package delivery to waiting table and caring for households. The robots are assured to be safe as they are governed by a set of behavioral restrictors that require them to obey all human commands save for those to harm another human, as robots are not allowed to harm or by inaction allow to be harmed any human.
The film stars Will Smith as Del Spooner, a Chicago Homicide detective who does not trust robots and is highly suspicious of them. The fact that in 2035 there has yet to be one documented case worldwide of a robot ever being involved in a crime is of little concern to Del as he sees the potential for danger in technology that is so widely spread.
Del is in many ways a technophobe as aside from his modern car, he has a retro lifestyle including an old fashioned alarm clock, vintage 2004 shoes, and a fondness for music from the 1970’s. An incident in Del’s past has kept him off the force for a while and has only furthered his distaste for robotics and their growing place in society.
No sooner is Del back at work than an apparent suicide at U.S. Robotics by a friend sets the film into motion. What to all seems to be an open and shut case of suicide only causes Del to become more suspicious. Del soon discovers a new model robot locked in the office of the victim, who flees from crime scene and refuses to obey the orders to halt given to him.
The fact that the robot ignores command given by a human thus violating his central laws of programming is put off as a simple malfunction by Billionaire Lawrence Robertson (Bruce Greenwood), who does not want Del’s suspicions to disrupt his business plans on the eve of the largest rollout of new robots in history. It is explained that the new NX-5 model is about to be released to the public and soon there will be one robot for every 5 humans in the world and with so much invested in this, Robertson places a gag order on Del and the entire police force to forget about the renegade robot and not say a word to anyone.
Naturally Del does not follow this command and he suspects that there is a larger and much more serious threat posed to the public even though everyone around his says that he is paranoid and desperate to find or create any evidence to support his theory that robots are not as safe as everyone believes they are.
What follows is an action packed game of cat and mouse as Del and a U.S. Robotics scientist named Susan (Bridget Moynahan), start to uncover a deeper mystery, once in which the very world they have taken for granted is about to change.
The film is a visual marvel that shows you a fairly realistic view of the future as aside from the robots and futuristic highways, the world of 2035 does not look that much different than today.
Proyas knows that Smith is his star and he does a great job allowing him to carry the picture without allowing the visual effects to dominate the film, though they are spectacular. The futuristic highways and a great chase sequence were highlights of the film and had a surprising amount of tension and drama mixed into what was a solid action sequence.
Smith plays Spooner, as a man with demons yet never ceases to become a sensitive character despite his hard edge. He is a man that is determined to follow his instincts and do what is best for the people he is sworn to protect.
The film does only play lip service to the series of novels by Asimov, but it does tell a very good cautionary tale of human’s interaction and dependence upon technology without becoming preachy or losing site of the message that society must ensure to have a balance between humanity and technology in order to thrive.
If I had to find fault, it would be that many of the supporting roles were fairly bland, as Moynahan was not given much to do aside from play a Damsel in distress and the always solid James Cromwell and Bruce Greenwood were not used nearly enough. That being said “I Robot” delivers everything you want in a summer film and more.
In the film “I Robot” Director Alex Proyas who’s past work includes “The Crow” and “Dark City” tells the tale of a near future where robots have become commonplace and are entrusted to do all manner of tasks ranging from package delivery to waiting table and caring for households. The robots are assured to be safe as they are governed by a set of behavioral restrictors that require them to obey all human commands save for those to harm another human, as robots are not allowed to harm or by inaction allow to be harmed any human.
The film stars Will Smith as Del Spooner, a Chicago Homicide detective who does not trust robots and is highly suspicious of them. The fact that in 2035 there has yet to be one documented case worldwide of a robot ever being involved in a crime is of little concern to Del as he sees the potential for danger in technology that is so widely spread.
Del is in many ways a technophobe as aside from his modern car, he has a retro lifestyle including an old fashioned alarm clock, vintage 2004 shoes, and a fondness for music from the 1970’s. An incident in Del’s past has kept him off the force for a while and has only furthered his distaste for robotics and their growing place in society.
No sooner is Del back at work than an apparent suicide at U.S. Robotics by a friend sets the film into motion. What to all seems to be an open and shut case of suicide only causes Del to become more suspicious. Del soon discovers a new model robot locked in the office of the victim, who flees from crime scene and refuses to obey the orders to halt given to him.
The fact that the robot ignores command given by a human thus violating his central laws of programming is put off as a simple malfunction by Billionaire Lawrence Robertson (Bruce Greenwood), who does not want Del’s suspicions to disrupt his business plans on the eve of the largest rollout of new robots in history. It is explained that the new NX-5 model is about to be released to the public and soon there will be one robot for every 5 humans in the world and with so much invested in this, Robertson places a gag order on Del and the entire police force to forget about the renegade robot and not say a word to anyone.
Naturally Del does not follow this command and he suspects that there is a larger and much more serious threat posed to the public even though everyone around his says that he is paranoid and desperate to find or create any evidence to support his theory that robots are not as safe as everyone believes they are.
What follows is an action packed game of cat and mouse as Del and a U.S. Robotics scientist named Susan (Bridget Moynahan), start to uncover a deeper mystery, once in which the very world they have taken for granted is about to change.
The film is a visual marvel that shows you a fairly realistic view of the future as aside from the robots and futuristic highways, the world of 2035 does not look that much different than today.
Proyas knows that Smith is his star and he does a great job allowing him to carry the picture without allowing the visual effects to dominate the film, though they are spectacular. The futuristic highways and a great chase sequence were highlights of the film and had a surprising amount of tension and drama mixed into what was a solid action sequence.
Smith plays Spooner, as a man with demons yet never ceases to become a sensitive character despite his hard edge. He is a man that is determined to follow his instincts and do what is best for the people he is sworn to protect.
The film does only play lip service to the series of novels by Asimov, but it does tell a very good cautionary tale of human’s interaction and dependence upon technology without becoming preachy or losing site of the message that society must ensure to have a balance between humanity and technology in order to thrive.
If I had to find fault, it would be that many of the supporting roles were fairly bland, as Moynahan was not given much to do aside from play a Damsel in distress and the always solid James Cromwell and Bruce Greenwood were not used nearly enough. That being said “I Robot” delivers everything you want in a summer film and more.
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Lucid in Books
Jan 23, 2020
<b><i>I received this book for free from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>
<i>Lucid</i> is really weird it's <b>not exactly a book with contents that I usually come across.</b> The last time I actually read a book that dealt with dreams was <i><a title="The Vault of Dreamers by Caragh M. O'Brien" href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-the-vault-of-dreamers-by-caragh-m-obrien/"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Vault of Dreamers</a></i>. <i>Lucid</i> kind of... <b>throws in dreams and nightmares together</b> when Lori Blaine's psychologist encourages her to finally go through a door reoccurring in her dreams for years. When Lori does, she is plunged into another world entirely where danger lurks around every corner.
<b>Bonansinga writes in a different style than what you might be used to.</b> As I read <i>Lucid</i>, <b>I felt like I was watching an episode of a TV series, or just merely an actress reading a script.</b> While Lori is our main character most of the time, <b>the author shifts outside of the character's thoughts every so often</b> and focuses on the dialogue and actions of the people around her. There's are a few moments where it's <b>almost as though there's a narrator observing everything going on but accidentally slips up and quickly tries to fix everything by repositioning the camera. Meanwhile, the characters, or "actors," pretend not to notice.</b>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;">They swerved around the body, which lay in a heap near the shouldergiving it a wide berthand then roared off into the night.
They never saw the body behind them casually sit up, rise to its feet, and walk away.
I promise Ill tell you everything, Lori was saying, searching through the glove box, as the damaged Geo chugged down a hill.</blockquote>
I've also <b>never seen so many caps in a book before.</b> I don't mean the first letter in every sentence, I mean the I'M YELLING AT YOU THOUGH INTERMASPACE kind. (Or <a title="Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan" href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/dnf-review-daughter-of-deep-silence-by-carrie-ryan/"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">my brain is raging at a book.</a> It's not necessarily one I didn't finish.)
<i>Lucid</i> is very <b>action-packed and vivid, but I don't really feel like this is a stand alone.</b> There's a pretty solid ending, but there may be a subtle loose end or two (I'll have to mull it over in my brain). <b>The dream world, however...</b>
I'm still very confused. I know there are five stages of sleep: brain activity slows down in the first, brain activity is everywhere in the second as the body transitions into the third stage, where brain activity is low. The fourth stage is similar to the third stage as the body prepares for the fifth stage, which is known as REM, or rapid eye movement, and dreams come alive.
I totally summarized that part. I probably came across this on a boring day and didn't remember anything but rapid eye movement is where dreams occur. REM is also a unit of measurement measuring the amount of radiation absorbed by human tissue. *drum rolls* I promise I'm not showing off.
Anyhoo, back to this whole dream world thing Bonansinga built <i>Lucid</i> on. According to the book, <b>there are three dimensions.</b> There's <b>WAKEworld</b>, which I assume is when all of us are awake and slouching in office/desk chairs (or curled up with a good book); <b>REMspace</b>, which I assume is the dream world and where you dream; and then there's <b>LIMBOspace/LIMBOworld</b>, which, knowing the word limbo, it's the middle world between dreams and wakefulness.
<b>I get the gist. But I don't <i>understand</i> how this whole LIMBOspace/LIMBOworld works.</b> I mean, <b>is it connected to that in-between where you're not living or dead,</b> because it's connected to comatose states? <b>What happens if Lori actually "ran out of time?"</b> She'll be a vegetable, most likely, but <b>if she runs out of time... is she a vegetable forever until her body is just a pile of bones and dust somewhere? But then what happens when you <i>are</i> a pile of bones and dust somewhere? Do you continue existing in this LIMBOspace, or do you just disappear?</b>
I could be over thinking this and taking it a curious step further than what is actually necessary (I would still wonder about that connection to comatose states though). <b><i>Lucid</i> has mind-boggling and creepy moments throughout the book, but it's really just similar to someone trying to stop demons entering the real world. Bonansinga just takes it from a dream level rather than an inferno one.</b> Points given for a unique take on an overused plot.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-lucid-by-jay-bonansinga/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
<i>Lucid</i> is really weird it's <b>not exactly a book with contents that I usually come across.</b> The last time I actually read a book that dealt with dreams was <i><a title="The Vault of Dreamers by Caragh M. O'Brien" href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-the-vault-of-dreamers-by-caragh-m-obrien/"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Vault of Dreamers</a></i>. <i>Lucid</i> kind of... <b>throws in dreams and nightmares together</b> when Lori Blaine's psychologist encourages her to finally go through a door reoccurring in her dreams for years. When Lori does, she is plunged into another world entirely where danger lurks around every corner.
<b>Bonansinga writes in a different style than what you might be used to.</b> As I read <i>Lucid</i>, <b>I felt like I was watching an episode of a TV series, or just merely an actress reading a script.</b> While Lori is our main character most of the time, <b>the author shifts outside of the character's thoughts every so often</b> and focuses on the dialogue and actions of the people around her. There's are a few moments where it's <b>almost as though there's a narrator observing everything going on but accidentally slips up and quickly tries to fix everything by repositioning the camera. Meanwhile, the characters, or "actors," pretend not to notice.</b>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;">They swerved around the body, which lay in a heap near the shouldergiving it a wide berthand then roared off into the night.
They never saw the body behind them casually sit up, rise to its feet, and walk away.
I promise Ill tell you everything, Lori was saying, searching through the glove box, as the damaged Geo chugged down a hill.</blockquote>
I've also <b>never seen so many caps in a book before.</b> I don't mean the first letter in every sentence, I mean the I'M YELLING AT YOU THOUGH INTERMASPACE kind. (Or <a title="Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan" href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/dnf-review-daughter-of-deep-silence-by-carrie-ryan/"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">my brain is raging at a book.</a> It's not necessarily one I didn't finish.)
<i>Lucid</i> is very <b>action-packed and vivid, but I don't really feel like this is a stand alone.</b> There's a pretty solid ending, but there may be a subtle loose end or two (I'll have to mull it over in my brain). <b>The dream world, however...</b>
I'm still very confused. I know there are five stages of sleep: brain activity slows down in the first, brain activity is everywhere in the second as the body transitions into the third stage, where brain activity is low. The fourth stage is similar to the third stage as the body prepares for the fifth stage, which is known as REM, or rapid eye movement, and dreams come alive.
I totally summarized that part. I probably came across this on a boring day and didn't remember anything but rapid eye movement is where dreams occur. REM is also a unit of measurement measuring the amount of radiation absorbed by human tissue. *drum rolls* I promise I'm not showing off.
Anyhoo, back to this whole dream world thing Bonansinga built <i>Lucid</i> on. According to the book, <b>there are three dimensions.</b> There's <b>WAKEworld</b>, which I assume is when all of us are awake and slouching in office/desk chairs (or curled up with a good book); <b>REMspace</b>, which I assume is the dream world and where you dream; and then there's <b>LIMBOspace/LIMBOworld</b>, which, knowing the word limbo, it's the middle world between dreams and wakefulness.
<b>I get the gist. But I don't <i>understand</i> how this whole LIMBOspace/LIMBOworld works.</b> I mean, <b>is it connected to that in-between where you're not living or dead,</b> because it's connected to comatose states? <b>What happens if Lori actually "ran out of time?"</b> She'll be a vegetable, most likely, but <b>if she runs out of time... is she a vegetable forever until her body is just a pile of bones and dust somewhere? But then what happens when you <i>are</i> a pile of bones and dust somewhere? Do you continue existing in this LIMBOspace, or do you just disappear?</b>
I could be over thinking this and taking it a curious step further than what is actually necessary (I would still wonder about that connection to comatose states though). <b><i>Lucid</i> has mind-boggling and creepy moments throughout the book, but it's really just similar to someone trying to stop demons entering the real world. Bonansinga just takes it from a dream level rather than an inferno one.</b> Points given for a unique take on an overused plot.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-lucid-by-jay-bonansinga/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Virgin River (Virgin River, #1) in Books
Feb 3, 2020
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#1 <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3099359251">Virgin River</a> - ★★★★
<img src="https://i0.wp.com/diaryofdifference.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/VirginRiverBlogTourBanner.jpg?resize=512%2C1024&ssl=1"/>;
I am so thankful to the team at Mills & Boon for letting me a part of this amazing blog tour. It is an honour, and a pleasure! <a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/2020/01/29/virgin-river-by-robyn-carr-blog-tour/ ">Click HERE to read the first chapter!</a>
<img src="https://diaryofdifference.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Book-Review-Banner-18-1024x576.png"/>;
<i>When recently widowed Melinda sees an advert for a midwife in the quiet town of Virgin River, she decides this is the perfect place to escape her heartache and to revitalise the nursing career she loves.
However, her dreams are shattered as soon as she arrives. The cabin is uninhabitable, the roads are treacherous and the local doctor has nothing to do with her. But when a tiny baby is abandoned on a front porch, Mel needs to make a decision.
Helped by a local barman and former marine, Jack Sheridan, Mel has to face her past, and realises that there may be a future in Virgin River after all. </i>
<i><b>First Impression</b></i>
I don’t usually go for the drama romance stories. But I do love a bit of new town girl, and I also love watching medical shows, despite knowing close to nothing about medicine. Grey’s Anatomy, The Resident, Doctor House, The Good Doctor, ER, etc. fans - please let yourselves known! :)
I loved this book. It has a very good vibe about if from the beginning until the end. First of all, I fell in love with Virgin River. A lovely quiet place, with amazing selfless people living in it. I would love to live in a town like that! The author described the place so well, that it made me feel like I was there, in the pub, in the doctor’s office, by the river…
<i><b>Characters</b></i>
We found ourselves to have Mel as a main character, followed by Jack. However, we had a lot of side characters, who actually played a crucial role in the development of Mel and Jack and their story.
<i><b>Mel is a city girl, born and raised.</b></i>
Always lived in big cities, most recently in L.A. and she is used to all the poshy posh stuff that come along with such a lifestyle. She was married to Mark, an emergency doctor, who recently passed away. We never get to meet Mark, but we get to know him through Mel’s memories of him.
Wanting and needing change, she sells everything and moves to Virgin River, a promising quiet town, where she can start again. But things don’t go as planned. They never do. When struggling with challenges, she has to find a way to cope with her pain, then learn how to live with it, so she can move on and be happy in life.
<i><b>Then we have Jack, who owns a bar in Virgin River, and who is the person that helps everyone around.</b></i>
When Mel arrives, he is determined to make her stay and show her that this place is not so bad after all. But as a former marine, he also has his demons, and as much as he will help Mel, he also needs her to help him get over his pain as well.
From the side characters, I really loved Doc, the sassy old doctor, Preacher, Jack’s friend from the marines and Joey, Mel’s sister. Even though I hated Joey at the beginning, she started to grow on me as time passed by.
Very interesting story, a lot of dramatic events that change our characters and teach them something. The plot was predictable in the sense that I knew there would be a love story between Jack and Mel, but it was still adorable and cute to read how both of them grow by each other.
<i><b>The Netflix Show</b></i>
You might have heard, but now Virgin River also has a TV show as well. My plan was to read and watch them simultaneously, and I did watch the first few episodes. I love the show, and I will definitely continue watching. However, the plot is changed a lot and it is quite different from the book, so I suggest you read the book first before watching the TV show.
<i><b>Have you read this book? Have you read something similar? I would love to read your thoughts. :) </b></i>
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#1 <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3099359251">Virgin River</a> - ★★★★
<img src="https://i0.wp.com/diaryofdifference.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/VirginRiverBlogTourBanner.jpg?resize=512%2C1024&ssl=1"/>;
I am so thankful to the team at Mills & Boon for letting me a part of this amazing blog tour. It is an honour, and a pleasure! <a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/2020/01/29/virgin-river-by-robyn-carr-blog-tour/ ">Click HERE to read the first chapter!</a>
<img src="https://diaryofdifference.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Book-Review-Banner-18-1024x576.png"/>;
<i>When recently widowed Melinda sees an advert for a midwife in the quiet town of Virgin River, she decides this is the perfect place to escape her heartache and to revitalise the nursing career she loves.
However, her dreams are shattered as soon as she arrives. The cabin is uninhabitable, the roads are treacherous and the local doctor has nothing to do with her. But when a tiny baby is abandoned on a front porch, Mel needs to make a decision.
Helped by a local barman and former marine, Jack Sheridan, Mel has to face her past, and realises that there may be a future in Virgin River after all. </i>
<i><b>First Impression</b></i>
I don’t usually go for the drama romance stories. But I do love a bit of new town girl, and I also love watching medical shows, despite knowing close to nothing about medicine. Grey’s Anatomy, The Resident, Doctor House, The Good Doctor, ER, etc. fans - please let yourselves known! :)
I loved this book. It has a very good vibe about if from the beginning until the end. First of all, I fell in love with Virgin River. A lovely quiet place, with amazing selfless people living in it. I would love to live in a town like that! The author described the place so well, that it made me feel like I was there, in the pub, in the doctor’s office, by the river…
<i><b>Characters</b></i>
We found ourselves to have Mel as a main character, followed by Jack. However, we had a lot of side characters, who actually played a crucial role in the development of Mel and Jack and their story.
<i><b>Mel is a city girl, born and raised.</b></i>
Always lived in big cities, most recently in L.A. and she is used to all the poshy posh stuff that come along with such a lifestyle. She was married to Mark, an emergency doctor, who recently passed away. We never get to meet Mark, but we get to know him through Mel’s memories of him.
Wanting and needing change, she sells everything and moves to Virgin River, a promising quiet town, where she can start again. But things don’t go as planned. They never do. When struggling with challenges, she has to find a way to cope with her pain, then learn how to live with it, so she can move on and be happy in life.
<i><b>Then we have Jack, who owns a bar in Virgin River, and who is the person that helps everyone around.</b></i>
When Mel arrives, he is determined to make her stay and show her that this place is not so bad after all. But as a former marine, he also has his demons, and as much as he will help Mel, he also needs her to help him get over his pain as well.
From the side characters, I really loved Doc, the sassy old doctor, Preacher, Jack’s friend from the marines and Joey, Mel’s sister. Even though I hated Joey at the beginning, she started to grow on me as time passed by.
Very interesting story, a lot of dramatic events that change our characters and teach them something. The plot was predictable in the sense that I knew there would be a love story between Jack and Mel, but it was still adorable and cute to read how both of them grow by each other.
<i><b>The Netflix Show</b></i>
You might have heard, but now Virgin River also has a TV show as well. My plan was to read and watch them simultaneously, and I did watch the first few episodes. I love the show, and I will definitely continue watching. However, the plot is changed a lot and it is quite different from the book, so I suggest you read the book first before watching the TV show.
<i><b>Have you read this book? Have you read something similar? I would love to read your thoughts. :) </b></i>
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<a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/">Blog</a>; | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofdifference/">Facebook</a>; | <a href="https://twitter.com/DiaryDifference">Twitter</a>; | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaryofdifference/">Instagram</a>; | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diaryofdifference/pins/">Pinterest</a>;
Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
Following the very successful adaptation of Stieg Larssons millennium trilogy into three very successful Swedish language films, it came as no surprise when Hollywood announced that it would be making an English-language version of the series. Director David Fincher was announced to craft the first book in the series, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The new version follows very close to the original material with one fairly big exception which I will detail later in the review.
Daniel Craig stars as Mikael Blomkvist, who at the opening of the film has recently lost a court case for which he was being sued for libel by a prominent business figure. His career is in ruins and virtually all of his savings gone as a result of the trial and punitive damages. So when he is contacted by an attorney representing the wealthy and powerful Vanger family, he agrees to meet. Although highly reluctant to take a meeting, Mikael takes the four hour train ride north of Stockholm to a cold and remote island to meet with Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer). Henrik wishes Mikael to investigate the disappearance of his niece some 40 years earlier, a niece vanished under the families’ very noses and not a trace of her has been discovered since. Henrik is convinced that she has met with foul play, yet every year on his birthday, he continues to receive a gift of ornate pressed flowers in an anonymous package.
Henrik believes that the killer is haunting him by sending the gifts and that a member of his family may be to blame. Although skeptical of being able to find anything 40 years later, Mikael accepts the case and soon sets up residence in a small cabin on the island and begins his investigation by combing through police reports, conducting interviews, and examining photographs and newspaper clippings. Mikael had been warned that the other members of the Vanger family may not be too thrilled with his presence as not only is the family fractured, they all have their share of secrets.
At the same time, a very Goth punk girl named Lisabeth (Rooney Mara), is fighting her own demons. Lisabeth is an extremely gifted computer and surveillance expert who specializes in gathering background information on individuals. As such, her skills have made her in high demand with her employer. Unfortunately, Lisabeth is also a deeply antisocial person who is prone to lash out violently if provoked. Much of this stems from an extremely traumatic childhood spent in institutions which resulted in Lisabeth being placed as a ward of the state, not deemed competent to care for herself. This arrangement requires her to check in on a regular basis with a representative who, unfortunately for her, has recently suffered a stroke and places her in the care of the new guardian.
The new guardian subjects Lisabeth to horrific demands just so Lisabeth can access her money. The traumatized Lisabeth does not play victim long and in a twist of fate, is assigned by Henrik’s attorney to assist Mikael since she did the background check on him prior to Mikael being approached by Henrik for the investigation. The unlikely duo combined to form a highly efficient pair as they start to piece together the clues which indicate a brutal string of murders leading back for decades. As they work together, the relationship deepens and the reserved Lisabeth starts to come out of her shell. Tension mounts as danger surrounds them in an epic race against time to solve the case that certain members of the family do not want solved.
The film runs approximately 2 hours and 45 min and does take a little while to get started as the landscape and back story of the characters is established. The film has some very dark and brutal moments, which are hard to watch, yet were not as graphic as those in the Swedish language version. Craig and Mara work very well with one another and props to Craig for being willing to put on weight and occasionally looked disheveled to enhance his character.
Mara gives a masterful performance as the complicated Lisabeth, the anti-damsel-in-distress heroine, who subtly shows the many complicated sides to the character. Noomi Rapace first portrayed the character and has gone on to prominent success in Hollywood with a slew of upcoming high profile films. I would expect nothing less for Mara with two other sequels in this series to film. I am sure this breakout performance will not go unnoticed as it is an extremely difficult and daring role that few in Hollywood would want to tackle, much less be able to pull off as convincingly as she did.
I was extremely happy to see that the character names, settings, and situations were not changed in the new version, and it was refreshing to see the film set in Sweden and not relocated to London or New York. The biggest issue I had with the film was with the ending, which deviated from the previous versions. I will not provide spoilers, suffice it to say the resolution was a bit too tidy of a Hollywood ending and in my opinion greatly undermined one of the central characters of the film. That being said the film is a bold and dynamic vision from Fincher and is a deeply dark and disturbing story that is difficult to forget.
Daniel Craig stars as Mikael Blomkvist, who at the opening of the film has recently lost a court case for which he was being sued for libel by a prominent business figure. His career is in ruins and virtually all of his savings gone as a result of the trial and punitive damages. So when he is contacted by an attorney representing the wealthy and powerful Vanger family, he agrees to meet. Although highly reluctant to take a meeting, Mikael takes the four hour train ride north of Stockholm to a cold and remote island to meet with Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer). Henrik wishes Mikael to investigate the disappearance of his niece some 40 years earlier, a niece vanished under the families’ very noses and not a trace of her has been discovered since. Henrik is convinced that she has met with foul play, yet every year on his birthday, he continues to receive a gift of ornate pressed flowers in an anonymous package.
Henrik believes that the killer is haunting him by sending the gifts and that a member of his family may be to blame. Although skeptical of being able to find anything 40 years later, Mikael accepts the case and soon sets up residence in a small cabin on the island and begins his investigation by combing through police reports, conducting interviews, and examining photographs and newspaper clippings. Mikael had been warned that the other members of the Vanger family may not be too thrilled with his presence as not only is the family fractured, they all have their share of secrets.
At the same time, a very Goth punk girl named Lisabeth (Rooney Mara), is fighting her own demons. Lisabeth is an extremely gifted computer and surveillance expert who specializes in gathering background information on individuals. As such, her skills have made her in high demand with her employer. Unfortunately, Lisabeth is also a deeply antisocial person who is prone to lash out violently if provoked. Much of this stems from an extremely traumatic childhood spent in institutions which resulted in Lisabeth being placed as a ward of the state, not deemed competent to care for herself. This arrangement requires her to check in on a regular basis with a representative who, unfortunately for her, has recently suffered a stroke and places her in the care of the new guardian.
The new guardian subjects Lisabeth to horrific demands just so Lisabeth can access her money. The traumatized Lisabeth does not play victim long and in a twist of fate, is assigned by Henrik’s attorney to assist Mikael since she did the background check on him prior to Mikael being approached by Henrik for the investigation. The unlikely duo combined to form a highly efficient pair as they start to piece together the clues which indicate a brutal string of murders leading back for decades. As they work together, the relationship deepens and the reserved Lisabeth starts to come out of her shell. Tension mounts as danger surrounds them in an epic race against time to solve the case that certain members of the family do not want solved.
The film runs approximately 2 hours and 45 min and does take a little while to get started as the landscape and back story of the characters is established. The film has some very dark and brutal moments, which are hard to watch, yet were not as graphic as those in the Swedish language version. Craig and Mara work very well with one another and props to Craig for being willing to put on weight and occasionally looked disheveled to enhance his character.
Mara gives a masterful performance as the complicated Lisabeth, the anti-damsel-in-distress heroine, who subtly shows the many complicated sides to the character. Noomi Rapace first portrayed the character and has gone on to prominent success in Hollywood with a slew of upcoming high profile films. I would expect nothing less for Mara with two other sequels in this series to film. I am sure this breakout performance will not go unnoticed as it is an extremely difficult and daring role that few in Hollywood would want to tackle, much less be able to pull off as convincingly as she did.
I was extremely happy to see that the character names, settings, and situations were not changed in the new version, and it was refreshing to see the film set in Sweden and not relocated to London or New York. The biggest issue I had with the film was with the ending, which deviated from the previous versions. I will not provide spoilers, suffice it to say the resolution was a bit too tidy of a Hollywood ending and in my opinion greatly undermined one of the central characters of the film. That being said the film is a bold and dynamic vision from Fincher and is a deeply dark and disturbing story that is difficult to forget.