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Designed to inspire and to energise, OM magazine wants to help you enjoy a more active and rewarding...
Lee (2222 KP) rated The Christmas Chronicles (2018) in Movies
Nov 25, 2018
Kurt Russell is Santa Claus!!!
My wife and daughter started watching Christmas movies a few weeks back now, far too early in my opinion. But when the trailer first came out for The Christmas Chronicles on Netflix, it definitely got me in the Christmas spirit and I just couldn't wait to see it. So, on a lazy Sunday morning, cold and wet outside, all snuggled up in bed and with a cat and a dog spread out on top of us, we decided to watch it. Perfect.
Teddy and Kate Pierce have had a tough year. We see home movies of most of their Christmas's growing up, showing the good fun times with their parents. And then we see this Christmas. They've lost their dad, mum going out to work while Kate helps around the house and Teddy going out with friends, stealing cars and getting into trouble. When mum has to work on Christmas Eve night, the kids are left home alone and Christmas looks like being very different from previous years. While Kate watches those old Christmas movies, she notices a mysterious arm briefly appearing in the corner of the screen and is convinced they'd captured Santa Claus on camera. Enlisting the help of brother Teddy, they decide to try and catch Santa on camera once more. Things don't end up going quite according to plan though and they end up crash landing with Santa somewhere in Chicago. The reindeer came loose during their descent and are lost in the city. Santa's hat, which helps him zip around and teleport down chimneys, also blew off during the fall. Christmas is in jeopardy and Santa and his two new helpers need to fix it. We get car chases, badass little elves and Santa in jail wearing shades while playing the piano and belting out Christmas tunes, accompanied by backing singers!
As with any Christmas film that's introducing us to a new Santa and a new vision of the world he lives in, it takes a little while to get used to. Luckily, this one doesn't take long, and Kurt Russell is a very believable and enjoyable Santa who doesn't do ho-ho-ho's. The one thing that worried me from the trailer were the elves, who looked like they were going to be annoying little CGI characters. Luckily, they're used sparingly but effectively and were a lot of fun.
The whole Christmas in jeopardy plot is a fairly familiar one, having been done time and again over the years. But I actually really enjoyed this latest spin. Good fun, a bit of emotional stuff at the end and a nice surprise cameo to finish things off. Definitely got me in the Christmas spirit
Teddy and Kate Pierce have had a tough year. We see home movies of most of their Christmas's growing up, showing the good fun times with their parents. And then we see this Christmas. They've lost their dad, mum going out to work while Kate helps around the house and Teddy going out with friends, stealing cars and getting into trouble. When mum has to work on Christmas Eve night, the kids are left home alone and Christmas looks like being very different from previous years. While Kate watches those old Christmas movies, she notices a mysterious arm briefly appearing in the corner of the screen and is convinced they'd captured Santa Claus on camera. Enlisting the help of brother Teddy, they decide to try and catch Santa on camera once more. Things don't end up going quite according to plan though and they end up crash landing with Santa somewhere in Chicago. The reindeer came loose during their descent and are lost in the city. Santa's hat, which helps him zip around and teleport down chimneys, also blew off during the fall. Christmas is in jeopardy and Santa and his two new helpers need to fix it. We get car chases, badass little elves and Santa in jail wearing shades while playing the piano and belting out Christmas tunes, accompanied by backing singers!
As with any Christmas film that's introducing us to a new Santa and a new vision of the world he lives in, it takes a little while to get used to. Luckily, this one doesn't take long, and Kurt Russell is a very believable and enjoyable Santa who doesn't do ho-ho-ho's. The one thing that worried me from the trailer were the elves, who looked like they were going to be annoying little CGI characters. Luckily, they're used sparingly but effectively and were a lot of fun.
The whole Christmas in jeopardy plot is a fairly familiar one, having been done time and again over the years. But I actually really enjoyed this latest spin. Good fun, a bit of emotional stuff at the end and a nice surprise cameo to finish things off. Definitely got me in the Christmas spirit
Debbiereadsbook (1437 KP) rated Crystal Shard (Paladins of Crystal. #1) in Books
Aug 5, 2022
Amazing world building!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
Oooooohhhhh! I loved this! I really did!
The thing I loved the most, was there wasn't that info dump you get in some fantasy books. When Crystal gets pulled into the rose bush and spat out the other side, she has to learn everything about where she now is. And as she learns, we learn. So, it comes in dribs and drabs, just enough for you to process that bit and move on to the next. Loved that, it meant I could fully engage with the characters, instead of trying to keep up with information. Excellent world building!
I loved that Crystal has her say in the first person, and the Paladins, her group of protectors at this point, have their say in the third. Different, yes, but I loved that it was.
And I say at this point, because given what happens at the end (which, to be honest I saw coming, but hey, still loved it!) things will change in future books.
I've not tagged it as romance or multi partner YET, cos there isn't any romance, and the only smexy times is in dreams, for both Crystal and the guys. But it's coming, oh yes, it's a-coming!
Obviously, things aren't smooth sailing, and I've an idea who might be wanting to cause all this trouble. I'm fairly certain they aren't done yet.
So, when is the next one out? Cos I NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED it!
This is the second book of Cameron's I tried to read. I didn't much care for the first one, but this?? Bloody loved it!
5 stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Oooooohhhhh! I loved this! I really did!
The thing I loved the most, was there wasn't that info dump you get in some fantasy books. When Crystal gets pulled into the rose bush and spat out the other side, she has to learn everything about where she now is. And as she learns, we learn. So, it comes in dribs and drabs, just enough for you to process that bit and move on to the next. Loved that, it meant I could fully engage with the characters, instead of trying to keep up with information. Excellent world building!
I loved that Crystal has her say in the first person, and the Paladins, her group of protectors at this point, have their say in the third. Different, yes, but I loved that it was.
And I say at this point, because given what happens at the end (which, to be honest I saw coming, but hey, still loved it!) things will change in future books.
I've not tagged it as romance or multi partner YET, cos there isn't any romance, and the only smexy times is in dreams, for both Crystal and the guys. But it's coming, oh yes, it's a-coming!
Obviously, things aren't smooth sailing, and I've an idea who might be wanting to cause all this trouble. I'm fairly certain they aren't done yet.
So, when is the next one out? Cos I NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED it!
This is the second book of Cameron's I tried to read. I didn't much care for the first one, but this?? Bloody loved it!
5 stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Deer Hunter 2017
Games and Sports
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From the creators of Deer Hunter 2014! Return to the wild and hunt across the globe in the world’s...
Lee (2222 KP) rated Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 (2018) in Movies
Dec 12, 2018
Imaginative portrayal of the internet (2 more)
Ralph and Vanellope
Good positive messages throughout
Enjoyable Sequel
I cannot believe it's been 6 years since we last saw Ralph and Vanellope! And when we join them again, they're still in the same arcade, right where we left them. By day carrying out their respective gaming duties, by night socialising with the other arcade characters and drinking together in Tappers bar. They seem happy and content with life, although Vanellope is beginning to feel that there's more to life than the same old Sugar Rush races all day every day.
In an attempt to help his friend and spice things up for her, Ralph decides to smash a new race course through the Sugar Rush landscape. But things don't go quite according to plan, resulting in a broken steering wheel on the arcade machine. Unfortunately, the company responsible for making that machine is no longer in business so parts for it aren't readily available, or too expensive to buy online, so the plug gets pulled on the machine. With the future of the game in jeopardy, and with the Sugar Rush inhabitants having to find new homes with the other arcade residents, Ralph and Vanellope decide to try and help. The arcade has just had a Wi-fi router plugged in, and they overheard one of the kids in the arcade earlier talking about the steering wheel being available online on some site called eBoy? So, they decide to go investigate this thing called the internet.
I've seen a few reviews that draw comparisons to this movie and with 'Ready Player One' from earlier this year. As we entered the Oasis of Ready Player One, we were treated to an amazing visual onslaught of wonderful imagery and instantly recognisable characters. And, as Ralph and Vanellope enter the internet, it's a similarly enjoyable experience. Recognisable brands and websites are everywhere you look, either as buildings or with their concepts imaginatively represented in some form. Twitter birds fly around, characters force suspicious looking spam adverts in your face while busy web traffic is everywhere, constantly being directed to its next destination. Ralph and Vanellope eventually find their way to eBay, where the steering wheel they need is currently being auctioned, but they don't really understand the bidding process and end up winning it for more money than they can possibly pay. They then set about finding a way to get rich quick so that they can pay for the wheel and get it shipped to the arcade before the game gets removed for scrap. Their journey takes them to an online game called 'Slaughter Race', a violent racing game featuring skilled racer Shank (voiced by Gal Gadot), a world which immediately excites racing fiend Vanellope, who feels right at home.
It's great to see the characters of Ralph and Vanellope back on our screens. Ralph is still very funny and Vanellope is still extremely cute! There are also a large number of sections of the movie which work very well and are extremely enjoyable. Aside from the initial introduction to the internet, and the whole Slaughter Race segment, probably the most enjoyable portion is the visit to Disney and the Disney princesses, which received such a big reaction when featured in the various trailers for the movie. And we don't just get the princesses either, we also get to see Marvel and Star Wars characters too! Another chance to scour the screen to try and spot background characters, and a reminder that Disney is in fact slowly taking over the world!
Towards the end of the movie I felt that things weren't so interesting and enjoyable, with a lengthy segment involving a virus and how it spreads and manifests itself, threatening the whole internet. But that's a minor negative from me in what is overall a hugely enjoyable sequel. There are also a number of very strong messages throughout, from the Disney princesses and the way they act, to the way that internet negativity is portrayed. I'm not sure of the longevity of this movie though - after all, at the speed the internet develops these days, how many of the sites or concepts featured are going to still be around or even relevant in another 6 years time?
In an attempt to help his friend and spice things up for her, Ralph decides to smash a new race course through the Sugar Rush landscape. But things don't go quite according to plan, resulting in a broken steering wheel on the arcade machine. Unfortunately, the company responsible for making that machine is no longer in business so parts for it aren't readily available, or too expensive to buy online, so the plug gets pulled on the machine. With the future of the game in jeopardy, and with the Sugar Rush inhabitants having to find new homes with the other arcade residents, Ralph and Vanellope decide to try and help. The arcade has just had a Wi-fi router plugged in, and they overheard one of the kids in the arcade earlier talking about the steering wheel being available online on some site called eBoy? So, they decide to go investigate this thing called the internet.
I've seen a few reviews that draw comparisons to this movie and with 'Ready Player One' from earlier this year. As we entered the Oasis of Ready Player One, we were treated to an amazing visual onslaught of wonderful imagery and instantly recognisable characters. And, as Ralph and Vanellope enter the internet, it's a similarly enjoyable experience. Recognisable brands and websites are everywhere you look, either as buildings or with their concepts imaginatively represented in some form. Twitter birds fly around, characters force suspicious looking spam adverts in your face while busy web traffic is everywhere, constantly being directed to its next destination. Ralph and Vanellope eventually find their way to eBay, where the steering wheel they need is currently being auctioned, but they don't really understand the bidding process and end up winning it for more money than they can possibly pay. They then set about finding a way to get rich quick so that they can pay for the wheel and get it shipped to the arcade before the game gets removed for scrap. Their journey takes them to an online game called 'Slaughter Race', a violent racing game featuring skilled racer Shank (voiced by Gal Gadot), a world which immediately excites racing fiend Vanellope, who feels right at home.
It's great to see the characters of Ralph and Vanellope back on our screens. Ralph is still very funny and Vanellope is still extremely cute! There are also a large number of sections of the movie which work very well and are extremely enjoyable. Aside from the initial introduction to the internet, and the whole Slaughter Race segment, probably the most enjoyable portion is the visit to Disney and the Disney princesses, which received such a big reaction when featured in the various trailers for the movie. And we don't just get the princesses either, we also get to see Marvel and Star Wars characters too! Another chance to scour the screen to try and spot background characters, and a reminder that Disney is in fact slowly taking over the world!
Towards the end of the movie I felt that things weren't so interesting and enjoyable, with a lengthy segment involving a virus and how it spreads and manifests itself, threatening the whole internet. But that's a minor negative from me in what is overall a hugely enjoyable sequel. There are also a number of very strong messages throughout, from the Disney princesses and the way they act, to the way that internet negativity is portrayed. I'm not sure of the longevity of this movie though - after all, at the speed the internet develops these days, how many of the sites or concepts featured are going to still be around or even relevant in another 6 years time?
beIN SPORTS TR
Sports
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LigTV uygulaması artık beIN SPORTS TR olarak hizmetinizde! Dünyanın en önemli spor platformu...
Kayleigh (12 KP) rated Aberrant (Aberrant, #1) in Books
Jan 2, 2019
I was contacted by [a:Ruth Silver|6435509|Ruth Silver|/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg], the author of this book, to promote <i>Aberrant</i>. In my <a href="http://www.a-worldofwords.com/2013/04/ruth-silver-interview.html">blog</a>; there is an interview, spotlight and giveaway. She gave me a copy of the book to read, but it goes without saying that this review is honest.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was thrown headfirst into the action, first meeting Olivia when she is preparing for her wedding day. This piqued my interest, which was held right the way to the end. It was a brilliant dystopian plot, full of turns that I wasn’t expecting. It reminded me a bit of [b:The Hunger Games|2767052|The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1)|Suzanne Collins|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358275334s/2767052.jpg|2792775] and [b:Brave New World|5129|Brave New World|Aldous Huxley|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327865608s/5129.jpg|3204877], in that the government was very much in control – so much so that it could control the most intimate of features in its inhabitants’ lives. There’s a lot of uncertainty throughout the book as to what will happen to Olivia. She’s often not as safe as she would like to be, and feels the weight of expectation, the latter of which is something I think a lot of young adults can relate to.
I think what enhanced the book for me was Olivia and Joshua. Their relationship is written really well; as best friends with a complicated aspect thrown in, there’s the right touch of familiarity versus the unknown. Throughout, they work as a team, the realism of which I liked – it makes a change to the power games that appear in other YA books where sexual tension is at the forefront. Josh and Olivia have been raised in an environment where conception – and therefore sex – doesn’t happen, which made a really refreshing change. Even though they’re 18, the reader is able to see certain realisations bloom in their minds, and that was great to read!
When I interviewed her, Ruth Silver said about what inspired her to write the book:
<blockquote><i>Often, we as a society implement the use of vaccines, especially in preventing disease and now even cervical cancer. Of course the vaccines are all safe and approved by the relevant authorities for the country you live in. I decided to think a little further ahead, and a little darker. What if it was an epidemic where everyone was required to get vaccinated and testing had been shortened or barely done at all?</i></blockquote>
Hearing it put like that made me uneasy, because it brings home how potentially easy it could be for something to strike the world, and for us to find ourselves in a dystopia. I think stories such as this one, where it stems from a simple idea, are the most effective. Mix that in with great characterisation, a little bit of the supernatural, and a plot that twists and turns, and you’re sorted. A great read, thoroughly recommended.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was thrown headfirst into the action, first meeting Olivia when she is preparing for her wedding day. This piqued my interest, which was held right the way to the end. It was a brilliant dystopian plot, full of turns that I wasn’t expecting. It reminded me a bit of [b:The Hunger Games|2767052|The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1)|Suzanne Collins|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358275334s/2767052.jpg|2792775] and [b:Brave New World|5129|Brave New World|Aldous Huxley|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327865608s/5129.jpg|3204877], in that the government was very much in control – so much so that it could control the most intimate of features in its inhabitants’ lives. There’s a lot of uncertainty throughout the book as to what will happen to Olivia. She’s often not as safe as she would like to be, and feels the weight of expectation, the latter of which is something I think a lot of young adults can relate to.
I think what enhanced the book for me was Olivia and Joshua. Their relationship is written really well; as best friends with a complicated aspect thrown in, there’s the right touch of familiarity versus the unknown. Throughout, they work as a team, the realism of which I liked – it makes a change to the power games that appear in other YA books where sexual tension is at the forefront. Josh and Olivia have been raised in an environment where conception – and therefore sex – doesn’t happen, which made a really refreshing change. Even though they’re 18, the reader is able to see certain realisations bloom in their minds, and that was great to read!
When I interviewed her, Ruth Silver said about what inspired her to write the book:
<blockquote><i>Often, we as a society implement the use of vaccines, especially in preventing disease and now even cervical cancer. Of course the vaccines are all safe and approved by the relevant authorities for the country you live in. I decided to think a little further ahead, and a little darker. What if it was an epidemic where everyone was required to get vaccinated and testing had been shortened or barely done at all?</i></blockquote>
Hearing it put like that made me uneasy, because it brings home how potentially easy it could be for something to strike the world, and for us to find ourselves in a dystopia. I think stories such as this one, where it stems from a simple idea, are the most effective. Mix that in with great characterisation, a little bit of the supernatural, and a plot that twists and turns, and you’re sorted. A great read, thoroughly recommended.
Audi Driver Magazine
Book and Magazines & Newspapers
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Audi Driver is a well-established, high-quality English monthly magazine about all aspects of Audi...
Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management
John J. Mangan and Chandra L. Lalwani
Book
Think of the many different products and services that are purchased and consumed each day how do...