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Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Deus Ex: Mankind Divided in Video Games
Jul 24, 2017
Futuristic Fun
I’m actually still making my way through this game’s campaign, but I am around 9-10 hours in and what I have played so far is great. I remember being very pleasantly surprised when I played though the last Deus Ex game, “Human Revolution,” during the PS3’s lifecycle and this game is essentially more of the same and it fixes the problems of the previous game. This game feels much more AAA than the last entry and the graphics and dialogue are of a much higher standard this time around. The art direction and gameplay is almost exactly the same as before only here you can experiment with more augmentations.
Ross (3282 KP) rated Blindspot - Season 3 in TV
May 23, 2018
This season should have been titled "really do we still have to bother with those tattoos?!". The series once again follows the FBI team, and Jane Doe in trying to solve mysterious tattoos on Jane's body, averting terrorist attacks as they go. Only this time, it is a whole new series of tattoos which have been ridiculously put on her in UV or something so were not obvious.
The tattoos are no longer solved in interesting manners, now there is 30 seconds devoted to that, the rest being rushing around with guns.
Some of the puzzles appear to have been solved by something like "so I took these numbers, rearranged them at random, converted each one to the letter of the alphabet, translated that into Dutch, then back into numbers and tried this as an IP address and found that a ship has just docked with the same name as your mother-in-law's maiden name, get over there pronto".
The overarching plot was fine and reasonably exciting, but there was so much deus ex machina that I just got really annoyed.
The tattoos are no longer solved in interesting manners, now there is 30 seconds devoted to that, the rest being rushing around with guns.
Some of the puzzles appear to have been solved by something like "so I took these numbers, rearranged them at random, converted each one to the letter of the alphabet, translated that into Dutch, then back into numbers and tried this as an IP address and found that a ship has just docked with the same name as your mother-in-law's maiden name, get over there pronto".
The overarching plot was fine and reasonably exciting, but there was so much deus ex machina that I just got really annoyed.
TheDefunctDiva (304 KP) rated American Gods in TV
Jul 23, 2018 (Updated Jul 23, 2018)
Note the Highlighted Letters in the Sign
I am about halfway through season one and I thought I would drop my thoughts down in this app like a deus ex machina. Cue angels singing. The visual representations of the mythical are quite powerfully brought to life by the show.
Ian McShane is delightful as Mr. Wednesday. Gillian Anderson is versatile and surprising as Media. The principal character is fleshed out more in the small screen adaptation, which I think was necessary but it also deviates from the book.
Anyhow, Shadow Moon is no longer such a sponge or an empty vessel. Pick your metaphor. In the book, he was seemingly void of much personal detail. He was little more than the sum of his fantastic experiences and I did like that about the book. They also brought his character's wife more to life in the show, which I think was a mistake because she is so mysterious and downright creepy in the novel.
Definitely worth watching even if, like me, you prefer the book. Think of them as two separate entities and you'll get through just fine.
Ian McShane is delightful as Mr. Wednesday. Gillian Anderson is versatile and surprising as Media. The principal character is fleshed out more in the small screen adaptation, which I think was necessary but it also deviates from the book.
Anyhow, Shadow Moon is no longer such a sponge or an empty vessel. Pick your metaphor. In the book, he was seemingly void of much personal detail. He was little more than the sum of his fantastic experiences and I did like that about the book. They also brought his character's wife more to life in the show, which I think was a mistake because she is so mysterious and downright creepy in the novel.
Definitely worth watching even if, like me, you prefer the book. Think of them as two separate entities and you'll get through just fine.
David McK (3169 KP) rated Aliens: The Female War in Books
Jan 30, 2019
The third book in Dark Horse's spin-off series of novels and comics to include Billie and Wilks, this also throws Ripley into the mix, and finishes the story first began in [b:Aliens: Earth Hive|343281|Aliens Earth Hive|Steve Perry|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1366133734s/343281.jpg|333628] and continued in [b:Aliens: Nightmare Asylum|20873|Aliens Nightmare Asylum|Steve Perry|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388857061s/20873.jpg|22061]. Wheres the 1979 film 'Alien' had a single Alien stalking the crew of the Nostromo after they picked up the transmission, with the 1986 film 'Aliens' then introducing the concept of the Alien Queen, this extrapolates even further than that with the introduction of an Alien Queen Mother providing the deus ex machina for the plot.
Talking of the plot: this is maybe a bit slower than those previous two novels, with more emphasis on character development (I know, I know: is such a thing even possible in these types of books?).
As before, not going to set the literary world alight nor win any awards, but an enjoyable enough quick diversion for a day or two.
Talking of the plot: this is maybe a bit slower than those previous two novels, with more emphasis on character development (I know, I know: is such a thing even possible in these types of books?).
As before, not going to set the literary world alight nor win any awards, but an enjoyable enough quick diversion for a day or two.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) in Movies
Aug 26, 2019 (Updated Aug 26, 2019)
Spielberg and Lucas' wonderful adventure shows you can ignore most of the accepted rules of screenwriting (the script here has some iffy plot devices, peculiar character moments, and the most literal deus ex machina ending in cinema history) and still end up with a virtually perfect movie. You can see how it appeals to the same desire for good-vs-evil escapism as Lucas' most famous creation, but there is an obvious love for the glamour and romance of Golden Age Hollywood here too, and a mysticism that in many way makes it the culmination of all the movies about faith Lucas and Spielberg made in the late 1970s (outside of horror films and biblical epics, this is one of the few mainstream movies predicated on the existence of God).
On one level this is essentially a succession of one set-piece after another, but what set-pieces they are - most movies would be happy to have one sequence like the one in the snake pit, or the plane fight, or the truck chase, and Spielberg cheerfully rattles them off without really pausing for breath. The film is also careful to take its time to establish character and humour, too. This is one of those movies where you can't help feeling that any changes would only end up spoiling it.
On one level this is essentially a succession of one set-piece after another, but what set-pieces they are - most movies would be happy to have one sequence like the one in the snake pit, or the plane fight, or the truck chase, and Spielberg cheerfully rattles them off without really pausing for breath. The film is also careful to take its time to establish character and humour, too. This is one of those movies where you can't help feeling that any changes would only end up spoiling it.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated The Host (2006) in Movies
Sep 21, 2020
Profoundly idiosyncratic, but also overlong and sloppy. Should it be sufficient that this has something to say about Korean culture, excessive US force, and familial relationships when it dawdles *this* excessively and is more passive about its (still very sound) ideals than anything? Mainly tries to be a satiric spin on the prototypical monster movie, but ends up being this pseudo-Del-Toro-esque comedy that doesn't really have all that much of a benefit as opposed to if it were played straight. There is stuff to value here: that monster is pretty fucking cool, the cast act their hearts out, and there's some okay cinematography every now and again. But most of the positives fizzle out as this drones on. One of those monster movies that center around the characters over the monster itself - which would be fine - if they weren't such nonentities in their own story, defined by a single quirk each. The plot isn't much better as it fails to reconcile with the scope of itself - throwing in deus ex machinas that are supposedly momentous but just sorta come right out of nowhere, acting like they had sufficient buildup but... they didn't? Desperately wanted to love this, as everybody involved shows full commitment to this project, but it just does too many things wrong. Kind of a chore, predictable, and of very little consequence. A way better monster movie - at least - than 𝘗𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘙𝘪𝘮: 𝘜𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2053 KP) rated The Wanted in Books
Jul 6, 2019
Can Elvis Save the Wanted?
Elvis Cole thinks his current assignment will be easy. Single mother Devin Connor has hired him to find out where the money, clothes, and fancy watch that her teenage son, Tyson, have are coming from. She thinks that Tyson has started selling drugs, but it isn’t long before Elvis determines that Tyson is part of a trio that is robbing houses in the LA area. While Devin isn’t happy with the news, she’s preparing to deal with it, and Elvis thinks the assignment is over. However, that night Tyson disappears and a frantic Devin asks Elvis to find him. As Elvis once again begins to hunt for the teen, he discovers that someone else is after the teen and his friends, someone leaving dead bodies in their wake. Will Elvis be able to find Tyson in time?
This is yet another satisfying thrill ride from the pen of Robert Crais. The story starts strong and keeps us going until we reach the end. Unfortunately, it does have a few trademark Robert Crais issues, including Joe Pike acting a bit like a deus ex machina, although it isn’t as bad as in some books. Also, parts of the book rely on characters being too stupid to live (I was rooting for one to die, in fact). The characters could all be stronger, for example I couldn’t keep the main villains straight at all. But they are developed enough that I cared about the outcome. This is one of those books where it is easy to pick apart the flaws, but it is such a fun thrill ride that I’m glad I read it.
This is yet another satisfying thrill ride from the pen of Robert Crais. The story starts strong and keeps us going until we reach the end. Unfortunately, it does have a few trademark Robert Crais issues, including Joe Pike acting a bit like a deus ex machina, although it isn’t as bad as in some books. Also, parts of the book rely on characters being too stupid to live (I was rooting for one to die, in fact). The characters could all be stronger, for example I couldn’t keep the main villains straight at all. But they are developed enough that I cared about the outcome. This is one of those books where it is easy to pick apart the flaws, but it is such a fun thrill ride that I’m glad I read it.
Ross (3282 KP) rated The Ninth Rain in Books
Aug 27, 2018
The Ninth Rain takes place in a world with two main dominant races: humans and eborans. The latter used to derive strength from the sap of Ygserin, the life-giving god-tree. This tree also used to dispatch war-beasts when needed, following invasion from the "worm-people", an alien race who seem determined to destroy the land and its people. The story follows the adventures of Vintage and Tormalin (a human and her Eboran companion) as they try to research the worm people's motives and weaknesses, and Noon, a Fell-witch who can take someone's life force and turn it into a weapon of fire.
The plot is very well planned out and interwoven, with the history of the land and its people, and the main characters, being revealed over the course of the book as needed to fit in with the current timeline.
The characters are well crafted and develop in different ways over the course of the book.
For me, the middle third dragged a little as a fairly humdrum adventure across country unfolded and numerous incidents and conflicts occurred. There just didn't seem to be a great deal of direction and it was more that "things that need to happen will happen here" but it didn't really serve much purpose. The story before and after that was very strong, but this section was a chore.
I am always nervous when a character suddenly has a voice in their head telling them what to do, afraid of irritating deus ex machina. Here however that was not the case as the voice was a very important, and (eventually) well-grounded plot point.
Overall a very good story, set up nicely for the follow-up in the series.
The plot is very well planned out and interwoven, with the history of the land and its people, and the main characters, being revealed over the course of the book as needed to fit in with the current timeline.
The characters are well crafted and develop in different ways over the course of the book.
For me, the middle third dragged a little as a fairly humdrum adventure across country unfolded and numerous incidents and conflicts occurred. There just didn't seem to be a great deal of direction and it was more that "things that need to happen will happen here" but it didn't really serve much purpose. The story before and after that was very strong, but this section was a chore.
I am always nervous when a character suddenly has a voice in their head telling them what to do, afraid of irritating deus ex machina. Here however that was not the case as the voice was a very important, and (eventually) well-grounded plot point.
Overall a very good story, set up nicely for the follow-up in the series.
Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated Date Night (2010) in Movies
Aug 8, 2019
Date Night, directed by Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum), is a surprisingly funny film. More often than not, you can determine the quality of a film by the time you finish watching its trailer. This movie was a nice wake-up call that what you see isn’t always what you get.
Steve Carell and Tiny Fey have an unexpected amount of on-screen chemistry. This affinity is most evident in a clever dining scene in the beginning of the film, during which they each ad-lib other restaurant patrons’ conversations (be sure to stay in your seats during the credits for several hilarious out-takes of this scene). Carell and Fey genuinely feel like a couple in a bit of a slump in their marriage. Romantic comedies are often guilty of betraying a stunning lack of subtlety when it comes to heartfelt dialogue, but not in this case. The way they work through it during the countless shenanigans of their date night never comes across as trite or clichéd.
I was surprised the type of humor varied quite a bit during this film. Each of us have a different type of funny bone, so while some jokes fell relatively flat on me personally, these same moments were met with a good amount of laughter from others in the theater. Don’t come into this movie expecting a singular form of comedy. Visual humor, situational comedy, unexpected irony, running gags (involving Mark Wahlberg), and several obviously bad jokes told with fearless gusto pushed this movie to unanticipated levels of laughter.
After a few questionable plot events, the ending was something of a deus ex machina. The writer, Josh Klausner, ended up working the implausibility into the story nicely for a decent finish to a funny film.
Steve Carell and Tiny Fey have an unexpected amount of on-screen chemistry. This affinity is most evident in a clever dining scene in the beginning of the film, during which they each ad-lib other restaurant patrons’ conversations (be sure to stay in your seats during the credits for several hilarious out-takes of this scene). Carell and Fey genuinely feel like a couple in a bit of a slump in their marriage. Romantic comedies are often guilty of betraying a stunning lack of subtlety when it comes to heartfelt dialogue, but not in this case. The way they work through it during the countless shenanigans of their date night never comes across as trite or clichéd.
I was surprised the type of humor varied quite a bit during this film. Each of us have a different type of funny bone, so while some jokes fell relatively flat on me personally, these same moments were met with a good amount of laughter from others in the theater. Don’t come into this movie expecting a singular form of comedy. Visual humor, situational comedy, unexpected irony, running gags (involving Mark Wahlberg), and several obviously bad jokes told with fearless gusto pushed this movie to unanticipated levels of laughter.
After a few questionable plot events, the ending was something of a deus ex machina. The writer, Josh Klausner, ended up working the implausibility into the story nicely for a decent finish to a funny film.