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Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
2017 | Sci-Fi
Visually impressive
Trying to follow the original Blade Runner is a difficult task, but Denis Villeneuve has done a fantastic job. This is one of the most visually impressive films I've seen all year, and it has the music and score to match. It's not an all out sci-fi as expected, but more a slow burning detective story.

Ryan Gosling is surprisingly good in the lead role, I've never been much of a fan of his until now but he does well. Harrison Ford is perhaps a little underused, and I wasnt a huge fan of Jared Leto and his character.


My only criticism would be it felt a little too long. I'm sure they could've cut a few of the scenes down to a slightly more acceptable length to avoid the nearly 3 hour runtime.
  
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Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Murder on the Orient Express (2017) in Movies

Nov 14, 2017 (Updated Nov 14, 2017)  
Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
2017 | Drama, Mystery
Branagh's direction and performance (0 more)
A Serviceable Retelling
I'm not going to tell you that this is one of the greatest detective movies ever made, but it is a lot better than a lot of reviews are making it out to be and I had fun with it. Branagh does a good job with directing the all star cast and they each get a moment to shine. He is also brilliant as Poirot, working as the staple that holds the whole movie together. The lighting and the cinematography in the film is stunning. It does have it's cheesy moments and certain actors could be mistaken for being in a pantomime, but that comes with the territory with a period murder mystery story. I'm not saying it's brilliant, but it is good fun and as remakes go, it could have been a lot worse.
  
The Raven Tower
The Raven Tower
Ann Leckie | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
4
5.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Reading, or listening (which I did), to this novel is like hearing an anecdote from an elderly relative who often goes off on tangents and digresses only to finally reach the point much later and seemingly at random. This story was a “detective mystery” that really, really wanted to incorporate gods somehow. The plot did not really come together until the very end and the rest of the novel was not compelling enough to really keep you interested throughout. The back and forth through time and different narrations, first and second person from the same narrator, was perplexing enough to be muddled and confusing for the majority of this seemingly endless novel. The more interesting details were never really addressed or explained and the richest characters remained as background noise. I wish this book had been better.
  
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu  (2019)
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019)
2019 | Animation, Comedy, Fantasy
Pokémons were made brilliantly (2 more)
Ryan Reynolds.
Shower of feels
Sometimes too quick. (0 more)
Above my expectations
I am a big fan of the Pokémon franchise. I've played the TCG back when I was a kid. Still playing now and then the videogames. I went to the cinema and I was surprised. Detective Pikachu is a solid movie if you are a Pokémon fan. The visual effects are stunning, the pokémons are made really well and Pikachu is just adorable. The chess mate was made by the quite brave choice of getting Ryan Reynolds to give his voice for Pikachu. I really enjoyed his acting and the voice (and jokes) coming from the little yellow Pokémon were simply amazing. If you are a Pokémon fan or you just want to enjoy a fun movie with your kids I highly recommend this movie.
  
WY
What You See (Jane Ryland, #4)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Reporter Jane Ryland is hoping that a freelance assignment she’s been given might be her ticket to a new job. She’s covering a stabbing in mid-day in a Boston park. However, she’s barely arrived on the scene when her sister calls with news that could lead to a family crisis. Can Jane balance the two?

Really, this book deftly blends two different plots into one compelling book. I did find it a little slow at first as it the stories build and the new characters are introduced, but once it gets going, I couldn’t put it down. Jane and her boyfriend, detective Jake Brogan, are fantastic lead characters, and it’s always great to see them back in action.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/02/book-review-what-you-see-by-hank.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
The pint sized detective is back for his second case, this time trying to figure out for his neighbor Oliver who is breaking into Oliver’s trashcans every night. Nate’s excited for his first night time case, but can he catch the culprit?

This is the second picture book to feature Nate the Great, and it is a lot of fun. We are introduced to Oliver and Nate’s dog Sludge, who would become main characters in the series, here. The mystery is good with Nate hitting a couple of dead ends before he reaches the conclusion. The pictures might be a little dated, this is from the mid-70’s after all, but that’s my only issue, and it’s a very minor one.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/10/book-review-nate-great-goes-undercover.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
Charley joins a book club in the hope that making friends with the town’s elite will drum up business for her clothing store. She finds that she isn’t really fitting in with the Agathas, as the members are known, but sticks with it anyway. It isn’t long, however, before murder victims start turning up arranged just like the victims in the novels that the book club is reading. Charley manages to use her status as a member of the club to convince a detective to let her help with the investigation, but puts her own life in danger in the process.

This is a fun start to a new series with a great main character – cozy fans will love it!

<i>Note: I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review</i>
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated The Snowman (2017) in Movies

Feb 11, 2018 (Updated Feb 11, 2018)  
The Snowman (2017)
The Snowman (2017)
2017 | Crime, Drama, Horror
Where was Aled Jones?!
Misfiring Scandi crime thriller which was part of Michael Fassbender's attempt to appear in as many dud movies as possible in 2017. There's a serial killer on the loose and a brilliant detective with a troubled personal life (gee, where do they think of these new ideas?) gets on the case.

The film's plot is really lacking in focus and it engages in the usual casual misogyny that seems to be perfectly acceptable on-screen; a baffling subplot featuring flashbacks with Val Kilmer is arguably a mistake (then again, this film is not exactly short of mis-steps). The film's pretensions to be a serious drama are not much helped by the extent to which the Magic Wand of Improbable Coincidences has been waved over the script. It is all a bit grim and muddled.