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ClareR (6253 KP) rated Cursed Daughters in Books
May 13, 2026
What must it be like to grow up with your family believing that you’re the reincarnation of the aunt that died on the day you were born - and you’re the spitting image of her? What makes it even worse is that everyone believes that your life will follow the same trajectory - even down to the way you will die.
Not an easy legacy to live with, made worse by the fact that Eniiyi buys in to the family curse, despite the fact that in every other way she’s a modern woman.
This all sounds very serious with curses and deaths, but it’s actually witty and looks at the line between family expectations and free will. I did wonder if these women were trapped by their own superstitions, turning the “curse” into a self-fulfilling prophecy. They believed it would happen, and so it did.
And that 30 year old dog - I’d love to know THAT secret!
Not an easy legacy to live with, made worse by the fact that Eniiyi buys in to the family curse, despite the fact that in every other way she’s a modern woman.
This all sounds very serious with curses and deaths, but it’s actually witty and looks at the line between family expectations and free will. I did wonder if these women were trapped by their own superstitions, turning the “curse” into a self-fulfilling prophecy. They believed it would happen, and so it did.
And that 30 year old dog - I’d love to know THAT secret!
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated His Game: The Woods in Books
Dec 14, 2023
196 of 235
Kindle
Book sirens arc
His Game: The woods
By Tirzah M.M. Hawkins
⭐️⭐️⭐️
John returns for another game. Only this time he passes himself off as Luke, a former army medic, living alone in the woods with his dog.
Sandra is a romantic. Her idea of a good time is curling up with a love story and her cat. When she's kidnapped, tortured, and left for dead in a forest, Luke looks like the closest thing she's ever seen to a guardian angel.
But the game is still going. And she doesn't realize she's playing.
This was a decent quick read. I didn’t realise at the time it was the second of a series so I will have to go back and read the first. This is a cruel way to play a game especially when it’s not going to end well.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Kindle
Book sirens arc
His Game: The woods
By Tirzah M.M. Hawkins
⭐️⭐️⭐️
John returns for another game. Only this time he passes himself off as Luke, a former army medic, living alone in the woods with his dog.
Sandra is a romantic. Her idea of a good time is curling up with a love story and her cat. When she's kidnapped, tortured, and left for dead in a forest, Luke looks like the closest thing she's ever seen to a guardian angel.
But the game is still going. And she doesn't realize she's playing.
This was a decent quick read. I didn’t realise at the time it was the second of a series so I will have to go back and read the first. This is a cruel way to play a game especially when it’s not going to end well.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Blood Tide (DS Max Craigie #2) in Books
Feb 27, 2022
Neil Lancaster has done it again! I thought he would be hard pressed coming up with a book that could better the first in this series, Dead Man's Grave, and although he hasn't, he has matched it and I have become completely consumed and engaged with Max Craigie and his team.
This is a cracker of a book; with excellent characters (both 'goodies' and 'baddies', new ones and old ones) and an engaging and riveting plot told at a fast pace with great twists and turns. What more could you ask for? A cute dog? Yep, got that too 😁
Now whilst this works well as a standalone, I would highly recommend you read the first, you will not be disappointed and you, like me, will be hooked and itching for the next instalment to come out.
Thank you to HQ and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
This is a cracker of a book; with excellent characters (both 'goodies' and 'baddies', new ones and old ones) and an engaging and riveting plot told at a fast pace with great twists and turns. What more could you ask for? A cute dog? Yep, got that too 😁
Now whilst this works well as a standalone, I would highly recommend you read the first, you will not be disappointed and you, like me, will be hooked and itching for the next instalment to come out.
Thank you to HQ and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Stranded (The Shorten Chronicles 1) in Books
Oct 3, 2023
139 of 235
Kindle
Stranded ( The Shorten Chronicles 1)
By Rosalind Tate
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sophie Arundel is stranded in history, stuck in a grand house in 1925 England. Thankfully, she has her faithful dog with her. Oh, and fellow student Hugo: fit, privileged, and annoying.
Baffled by upper-class rules, courted by boring suitors, Sophie is desperate to get back to the twenty-first century. But the only way home is through a hidden portal — and to unlock its secrets, she must work with Hugo.
As one clue leads to another, Sophie and Hugo discover that history is unfolding differently. Mobs rule the streets. And when chaos turns into a deadly revolution, anyone in a grand house is fair game.
Sophie and Hugo are running out of time…
It was good I enjoyed it I’m a huge fan of this kind of time travel especially to a time I really am fascinated with. I’m looking forward to book 2.
Kindle
Stranded ( The Shorten Chronicles 1)
By Rosalind Tate
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sophie Arundel is stranded in history, stuck in a grand house in 1925 England. Thankfully, she has her faithful dog with her. Oh, and fellow student Hugo: fit, privileged, and annoying.
Baffled by upper-class rules, courted by boring suitors, Sophie is desperate to get back to the twenty-first century. But the only way home is through a hidden portal — and to unlock its secrets, she must work with Hugo.
As one clue leads to another, Sophie and Hugo discover that history is unfolding differently. Mobs rule the streets. And when chaos turns into a deadly revolution, anyone in a grand house is fair game.
Sophie and Hugo are running out of time…
It was good I enjoyed it I’m a huge fan of this kind of time travel especially to a time I really am fascinated with. I’m looking forward to book 2.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated The Mitchells vs The Machines (2021) in Movies
May 16, 2021
Brilliantly original animation (1 more)
Fantastic laugh-out-loud gags throughout, many with a movie nerd bias
Dog-Pig-Dog-Pig-Loaf of Bread… KERBOOM!
Katie Mitchell (voiced by Abbi Jacobson) dreams of being a great film director (joining her icons on her version of Mount Rushmore!). She's about to travel to a west-coast film college when her dad Rick (Danny Mcbride) decides to cancel her air ticket and try to re-engage with her through one last epic road trip. Together with wife Linda (Maya Rudolph), dinosaur-mad son Aaron (director Michael Rianda) and cross-eyed pug Monchi (Doug the Pug!) they set off on their journey.
But the world is set to change forever, as sentient operating system PAL (Olivia Colman) and her army of robots take over the world and prepare to launch human-kind into deep dark space. The Mitchell's, as the world's unlikeliest Avengers, appear to be the only ones available to prevent the evil plan!
Positives:
- In my review of the lamentable "Thunder Force", I commented that it failed my "six laughs test" for a comedy. I only laughed 3 times in the whole film. In contrast, this movie hammered home guffaw-generating lines and scenes about six times a minute! It's hilarious. It's one of those films (like the best Pixar ones) with so much hidden detail buried in every shot. You could watch it a dozen times and still find new hidden gags.
- This is a movie that is the perfect family film. A film that kids will love for the knockabout comedy and a film that adults will also fall in love with. This comes from three different angles:
-- Excellent character development of the whole family. Katie feels like a fully rounded stroppy teen: she seems to be struggling with her identity (lesbian? - "It took me a while to figure myself out"); and she is struggling towards her personal goals despite the well-intentioned but destructive doubts that her rough-and-ready father keeps sowing. This feels like a journey that the family is on towards enlightenment, before it's too late.
-- This is also a film with considerable emotional heft. It channels at times some of the best elements of the Toy Story films (most notably "Toy Story 3" with Andy's departure for college). (Any parents who have never experienced that joyous yet dreadful day when you drive your chicks to university or college for the first time: brace yourselves!)
-- It's a dream for film fans. Like "Ready Player One", it's populated with lots of fun movie easter-eggs scattered throughout. Katie's 'Mount Rushmore' by the way has Greta Gerwig, Céline Sciamma (from "Portrait of a Lady on Fire"), Lynne Ramsey and Hal Ashby as her directorial inspirations.
- And finally, it's a film for adults appreciative of some truly great satirical one-liners, including some razor-sharp zingers at 'big tech'. For example:
"It's almost like stealing people's data and giving it to a hyper-intelligent AI as part of an unregulated tech monopoly was a bad thing"
Negatives:
- My only minor criticism - and its a debatable one - might be the running time of 113 minutes. It might be a little too long for younger kids' attention spans. A 90 minute, more condensed, movie might have ticked the 'perfection' box.
Summary Thoughts: I don't normally "go" for animated films much. But this one is a different breed. An instant classic. It knocks you round the chops and forces your respect by being like no animated feature you've seen before. Witty, irreverent, gloriously entertaining it's a no-brainer that this gets 5-stars from me.
I said in my review of "Nomadland" that although that wasn't a 5* film for me, I could see why its brave and different slant at film-making earned it the Best Film Oscar. Well, almost regardless of what epically beautiful production Pixar might bring out before the end of the year, if the Academy doesn't vote this Best Animated Feature at next year's Oscars, then some sort of crime might have been committed.
(For the full graphical review, please check out the One Mann's Movies review here - https://bob-the-movie-man.com/2021/05/16/the-mitchells-vs-the-machines-dog-pig-dog-pig-loaf-of-bread-kerboom/. Thanks.)
But the world is set to change forever, as sentient operating system PAL (Olivia Colman) and her army of robots take over the world and prepare to launch human-kind into deep dark space. The Mitchell's, as the world's unlikeliest Avengers, appear to be the only ones available to prevent the evil plan!
Positives:
- In my review of the lamentable "Thunder Force", I commented that it failed my "six laughs test" for a comedy. I only laughed 3 times in the whole film. In contrast, this movie hammered home guffaw-generating lines and scenes about six times a minute! It's hilarious. It's one of those films (like the best Pixar ones) with so much hidden detail buried in every shot. You could watch it a dozen times and still find new hidden gags.
- This is a movie that is the perfect family film. A film that kids will love for the knockabout comedy and a film that adults will also fall in love with. This comes from three different angles:
-- Excellent character development of the whole family. Katie feels like a fully rounded stroppy teen: she seems to be struggling with her identity (lesbian? - "It took me a while to figure myself out"); and she is struggling towards her personal goals despite the well-intentioned but destructive doubts that her rough-and-ready father keeps sowing. This feels like a journey that the family is on towards enlightenment, before it's too late.
-- This is also a film with considerable emotional heft. It channels at times some of the best elements of the Toy Story films (most notably "Toy Story 3" with Andy's departure for college). (Any parents who have never experienced that joyous yet dreadful day when you drive your chicks to university or college for the first time: brace yourselves!)
-- It's a dream for film fans. Like "Ready Player One", it's populated with lots of fun movie easter-eggs scattered throughout. Katie's 'Mount Rushmore' by the way has Greta Gerwig, Céline Sciamma (from "Portrait of a Lady on Fire"), Lynne Ramsey and Hal Ashby as her directorial inspirations.
- And finally, it's a film for adults appreciative of some truly great satirical one-liners, including some razor-sharp zingers at 'big tech'. For example:
"It's almost like stealing people's data and giving it to a hyper-intelligent AI as part of an unregulated tech monopoly was a bad thing"
Negatives:
- My only minor criticism - and its a debatable one - might be the running time of 113 minutes. It might be a little too long for younger kids' attention spans. A 90 minute, more condensed, movie might have ticked the 'perfection' box.
Summary Thoughts: I don't normally "go" for animated films much. But this one is a different breed. An instant classic. It knocks you round the chops and forces your respect by being like no animated feature you've seen before. Witty, irreverent, gloriously entertaining it's a no-brainer that this gets 5-stars from me.
I said in my review of "Nomadland" that although that wasn't a 5* film for me, I could see why its brave and different slant at film-making earned it the Best Film Oscar. Well, almost regardless of what epically beautiful production Pixar might bring out before the end of the year, if the Academy doesn't vote this Best Animated Feature at next year's Oscars, then some sort of crime might have been committed.
(For the full graphical review, please check out the One Mann's Movies review here - https://bob-the-movie-man.com/2021/05/16/the-mitchells-vs-the-machines-dog-pig-dog-pig-loaf-of-bread-kerboom/. Thanks.)
Cooking Games Pizza Fast Food Maker & Kitchen Chef
Games and Food & Drink
App
Cooking Games Fever Kitchen Food Maker become a chef master & cook tasty dishes and become a the...
Cooking Games Paradise Chef - Burger Food Maker
Food & Drink and Games
App
Cooking Games Paradise Food Maker & Burger Chef - Cook and serve tasty food recipes & learn how to...
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Frankenweenie (2012) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
Before he hit the big time, director Tim Burton made a live-action short film named “Frankenweenie” which was a loving tribute to the classic horror films of old, in particular “Frankenstein”. Due to various issues, the 30-minute film never got the attention it deserved and was relegated to a video release after Burton’s stock had risen thanks to hits such as “Beetlejuice”, “Batman”, and “Edward Scissorhands”.
Disney has given Burton a chance to complete his vision for “Frankenweenie”, and Burton has done so by combining the visual themes of classic black and white with modern 3D and stop-motion animation.
The film centers around the town of New Holland, where young Victor Frankenstein (Charlie Tahan) lives in suburbia and spends his days, when not in school, on his love of science, and his beloved dog Sparky. His father, wants Victor to diversify his skills and agrees to allow Victor to take part in a local science fair if he agrees to play baseball as well. Victor agrees, but sadly tragedy strikes when Victor loses his beloved Sparky in an accident.
Devastated, Victor loses his will and his way until he is inspired by his science teacher, Mr. Rzykruski (Martin Landau) who explains how anything can be reanimated via electricity. Since their town is famous for its nightly lightening storms, Victor sets about to revive Sparky, and is able to do so much to his delight. While he is thrilled to have his beloved dog back, Victor must keep Sparky’s return a secret which proves to be a very difficult challenge.
In time, the secret gets out and chaos ensues, especially when Victor’s classmates decide to reanimate other dead objects so that they can compete at the science fair. Things quickly go amok, and Victor and Sparky must find a way to save New Holland and each other.
The film has the trademark Burton visuals which are indeed very lavish. The nature of stop-motion and 3D does at times have some jerkiness to the film, but all in all it is a rich visual experience. I am a fan of Burton, but I have always said he far to often puts substance over style as his visuals have often overshadowed plot and characters in his movies. This time out, Burton has kept the film basic and does not go overboard trying to over-complicate his plot and characters. The film is, at the core, a story about a boy and his dog and their enduring love for one another.
The film is loaded with quirky characters and visuals and several references to the classic horror films of old which inspired it. I was not sure that many of the younger viewers in the audience would be able to get several of the jokes in the film, but they, along with their parents, laughed and cheered throughout the film.
While it will not break any new ground in visuals and story, “Frankenweenie” is a pleasantly fun film that the family will enjoy and is well worth checking out.
Disney has given Burton a chance to complete his vision for “Frankenweenie”, and Burton has done so by combining the visual themes of classic black and white with modern 3D and stop-motion animation.
The film centers around the town of New Holland, where young Victor Frankenstein (Charlie Tahan) lives in suburbia and spends his days, when not in school, on his love of science, and his beloved dog Sparky. His father, wants Victor to diversify his skills and agrees to allow Victor to take part in a local science fair if he agrees to play baseball as well. Victor agrees, but sadly tragedy strikes when Victor loses his beloved Sparky in an accident.
Devastated, Victor loses his will and his way until he is inspired by his science teacher, Mr. Rzykruski (Martin Landau) who explains how anything can be reanimated via electricity. Since their town is famous for its nightly lightening storms, Victor sets about to revive Sparky, and is able to do so much to his delight. While he is thrilled to have his beloved dog back, Victor must keep Sparky’s return a secret which proves to be a very difficult challenge.
In time, the secret gets out and chaos ensues, especially when Victor’s classmates decide to reanimate other dead objects so that they can compete at the science fair. Things quickly go amok, and Victor and Sparky must find a way to save New Holland and each other.
The film has the trademark Burton visuals which are indeed very lavish. The nature of stop-motion and 3D does at times have some jerkiness to the film, but all in all it is a rich visual experience. I am a fan of Burton, but I have always said he far to often puts substance over style as his visuals have often overshadowed plot and characters in his movies. This time out, Burton has kept the film basic and does not go overboard trying to over-complicate his plot and characters. The film is, at the core, a story about a boy and his dog and their enduring love for one another.
The film is loaded with quirky characters and visuals and several references to the classic horror films of old which inspired it. I was not sure that many of the younger viewers in the audience would be able to get several of the jokes in the film, but they, along with their parents, laughed and cheered throughout the film.
While it will not break any new ground in visuals and story, “Frankenweenie” is a pleasantly fun film that the family will enjoy and is well worth checking out.
Farm Animals Makeover - Cute Virtual Pet Salon
Games
App
Welcome four farm animals to your beauty salon! Play kids favorite makeover games with kitty, bunny,...
Steven Sklansky (231 KP) rated John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) in Movies
Dec 27, 2017
Well wasn't this a fun and violent movie. John Wick always seems to bring the pain or the death, wherever he goes. Everyone just has to make him upset. First they kill his puppy, then they steal his car and now they want him death because he kill this guys sister. Which by the way he made him do.
I don't think anyone in this organization is very smart. Since they all know he is the best assassin out there. Also doing the smallest thing to him sets him off. This organization does seem like a rather large network across the world. It seems everyone is a hitman. But being part of this organization does have a lot of perks. Tailor on hand, weapons expert, library full of blueprints and desert. The only thing they don't have is fun gadgets and cars, but maybe that would be too James Bond.
I am really glad they decided to keep his dog alive this time. It would have been very sad to see another one go. Although a dog without a name would be hard to feel bad for. Hopefully in Chapter 3 he gives him a name.
Wow so much blood and bullets. I don't think though the entire movie there was 5 minutes where someone didn't get shot. Except when he killed 3 guys with a pencil (that was awesome). Violence has to be done just right to make it watchable for 2 hours and they did just that. I really liked the scenes done in the mirror maze. I am sure it took a lot of hard work to shoot that just right.
Well if you haven't seen Chapter 1, shame on you. Go see it now. Then see Chapter 2 immediately. If you have seen Chapter 1 good for you, you probably have seen Chapter 2. If not because you don't trust sequels, which I am sometimes in the same boat. This is not a bad one. Go see it and let me know what you think. And as always, enjoy the show.
I don't think anyone in this organization is very smart. Since they all know he is the best assassin out there. Also doing the smallest thing to him sets him off. This organization does seem like a rather large network across the world. It seems everyone is a hitman. But being part of this organization does have a lot of perks. Tailor on hand, weapons expert, library full of blueprints and desert. The only thing they don't have is fun gadgets and cars, but maybe that would be too James Bond.
I am really glad they decided to keep his dog alive this time. It would have been very sad to see another one go. Although a dog without a name would be hard to feel bad for. Hopefully in Chapter 3 he gives him a name.
Wow so much blood and bullets. I don't think though the entire movie there was 5 minutes where someone didn't get shot. Except when he killed 3 guys with a pencil (that was awesome). Violence has to be done just right to make it watchable for 2 hours and they did just that. I really liked the scenes done in the mirror maze. I am sure it took a lot of hard work to shoot that just right.
Well if you haven't seen Chapter 1, shame on you. Go see it now. Then see Chapter 2 immediately. If you have seen Chapter 1 good for you, you probably have seen Chapter 2. If not because you don't trust sequels, which I am sometimes in the same boat. This is not a bad one. Go see it and let me know what you think. And as always, enjoy the show.