Search
The Valley of Fear
7.3
Rate It
Book
'There should be no combination of events for which the wit of man cannot conceive an explanation.'...
Princes of the Apocalypse (Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition)
8.4
Rate It
Tabletop Game
Abolish an Ancient Evil Threatening Devastation in this Adventure for the World’s Greatest...
ClareR (5721 KP) rated Aftershock (Blood Never Lies #2) in Books
Nov 4, 2018
Another great book from Dianna Hardy!!
The Eye of The Storm series and The Witching Pen series are both connected in this novel - you don’t have to have read them though, in order to understand what’s going on in this series. I’d recommend them anyway, just because they’re really good!!
Claire and Pete take Jasmine to the US to avoid the dangers of those who would do her harm in the U.K. To all intents and purposes, Claire and Pete ARE Jasmine’s parents, even though she is actually the daughter of Claire’s best friend, Beth, and her lover, Amil, a Trident (think: evil, genetically engineered werewolf on bad drugs - although he wasn’t really evil). They want to protect her, but it becomes increasingly difficult. Her true self, even though she’s only six years old, is beginning to be revealed due to a Supermoon. And it’s not what you think!
I love this series - I love all of Dianna Hardy’s writing. Not only is it well written, the relationships feel ‘real’, and there’s loads of real emotion and excitement (lots of ‘heart in mouth’ moments!). I do love a bit of paranormal/ urban fantasy, and this ticks all the boxes.
I can’t wait to see where this story goes in the next book!
Claire and Pete take Jasmine to the US to avoid the dangers of those who would do her harm in the U.K. To all intents and purposes, Claire and Pete ARE Jasmine’s parents, even though she is actually the daughter of Claire’s best friend, Beth, and her lover, Amil, a Trident (think: evil, genetically engineered werewolf on bad drugs - although he wasn’t really evil). They want to protect her, but it becomes increasingly difficult. Her true self, even though she’s only six years old, is beginning to be revealed due to a Supermoon. And it’s not what you think!
I love this series - I love all of Dianna Hardy’s writing. Not only is it well written, the relationships feel ‘real’, and there’s loads of real emotion and excitement (lots of ‘heart in mouth’ moments!). I do love a bit of paranormal/ urban fantasy, and this ticks all the boxes.
I can’t wait to see where this story goes in the next book!
Leigh J (71 KP) rated The Chill Factor (1973) in Movies
Nov 9, 2019
Contains spoilers, click to show
A group of friends are out Snowmobile racing when one has a critical accident. Out in the middle of nowhere in freezing conditions, 2 of the friends go to find help and stumble across a Cabin. The Cabin looks like it was once a Religious Camp but seems abandoned; it has an upside down cross of the mantle and is just very creepy in general. They ignore this and move their friend into the Cabin. Whilst looking around the Cabin they find a picture of some kids in the 1950's who attended when the place was a Camp. Below their picture there is a scroll that says "keep the beast in the field", which one of the friends alludes to the fact that "the beast" often references the Devil. They also discover a "Devil's Eye" board, similar to a Ouija Board and decide to use it. During this, one of the friends that went out for help is killed, one has a seizure and one woman is convinced they've let something evil in; further strengthened by the fact that one of friends finds an article about a Satanic Killer murdering people around that area. Soon enough the friends are getting picked off one by one by supernatural forces, yet the critically injured man is thriving. Could the Killer have returned to the Cabin? Or could this be the work of the Devil's Eye Board?
Chill Factor is one of those typically terrible 80's Horrors (made in 1989). It's slow burning and not in a good way, it feels more like a cheesy TV drama and the murders are substandard and really nothing at all that us Horror fans haven't seen a million times over. Also, it ends in a ridiculous Snowmobile race between Woman and evil... ludicrous.
Chill Factor is one of those typically terrible 80's Horrors (made in 1989). It's slow burning and not in a good way, it feels more like a cheesy TV drama and the murders are substandard and really nothing at all that us Horror fans haven't seen a million times over. Also, it ends in a ridiculous Snowmobile race between Woman and evil... ludicrous.
Bad Science
Book
Ben Goldacre's wise and witty bestseller, shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize, lifts the lid on...
Awix (3310 KP) rated Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) in Movies
Apr 9, 2019
Umpty-tumpth Bond film rests on the laurels of GoldenEye perhaps just a bit too much. Evil media magnate Carver tries to orchestrate a war between the UK and China so he can sell more papers and grab a satellite TV franchise; British intelligence decides to disrupt his scheme by sending James Bond to have sex with his wife.
Well-mounted set pieces, and plenty of them, plus Michelle Yeoh gets an eye-catching role as the 'Oh, James!' character, but the problem is that the rest of it feels like karaoke Bond, without the self-awareness or attempts to move the franchise on that lifted GoldenEye somewhat - plus, it's just not as well written. The result is a mid-range entry in the series, assuming one overlooks the schoolboy error of Bond not being able to read Chinese (as any fule kno, he got a First in Oriental Languages at Cambridge). This still equates to an entertaining movie, just not an exceptional one.
Well-mounted set pieces, and plenty of them, plus Michelle Yeoh gets an eye-catching role as the 'Oh, James!' character, but the problem is that the rest of it feels like karaoke Bond, without the self-awareness or attempts to move the franchise on that lifted GoldenEye somewhat - plus, it's just not as well written. The result is a mid-range entry in the series, assuming one overlooks the schoolboy error of Bond not being able to read Chinese (as any fule kno, he got a First in Oriental Languages at Cambridge). This still equates to an entertaining movie, just not an exceptional one.
The Mermaid Trials
10.0
Rate It
Book
Losing is dangerous. Winning means everything. Katriana has been waiting for this moment her...
YA mermaids fantasy
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Resident Evil (2002) in Movies
Oct 28, 2020
Let's just brush aside for a moment that this adaption of Resident Evil bares little resemblance to the video game it's based upon and instead take a look at it as its own film, how it's comes off as a horror, and what visionary director Paul WS Anderson has to offer to the zombie genre...
...it's a terrible film, it's a shitty horror, and Anderson should just keep away from beloved franchises forever. I actually actively hate most of his films (have I mentioned this before?).
The big gaping issue with Resident Evil is it's characters and screenplay. The characters are a collection of edgy shitbags who spout one liners every two seconds and are just ripped straight from the "cliché action bastard handbook". It's difficult to care about any of them. I understand that Alice (Milla Jovovich) goes on to lead the entire franchise, but in the first entry, she hardly does or says anything, and as such, the audience doesn't get much of a chance to bond with her before the credits roll.
The script is just eye rollingly cringey. Every single line is either a "witty" quip, or lazy exposition and it becomes tiresome very quickly.
Some of the effects are ok - the zombie dogs look pretty gnarly, but The Licker (one of the only concrete connections to the game series) is brought to life with some of the worst CGI I've ever seen. To say it's aged badly would be an understatement, as I remember it looking dodgy AF back in 2002 when I was a humble 14 year old. Other than that, the whole film has that awful early 2000s aesthetic (The Matrix truly has a lot to answer for) and the inclusion of obnoxious breakbeat music cues that everyone was obsessed with at the time is the cherry on the mouldy cake. Ugh.
It's not all terrible... There are a couple of memorable set pieces, and the film manages to be somewhat entertaining here and there, but overall, Resident Evil is another garbage pile video game adaption, and the fact that George Romero wrote an unused screenplay that was much closer to the first game (and was poised to direct!) just rubs salt in this horrible festering wound left behind by Paul WS Anderson's Resident Evil. Hate it.
...it's a terrible film, it's a shitty horror, and Anderson should just keep away from beloved franchises forever. I actually actively hate most of his films (have I mentioned this before?).
The big gaping issue with Resident Evil is it's characters and screenplay. The characters are a collection of edgy shitbags who spout one liners every two seconds and are just ripped straight from the "cliché action bastard handbook". It's difficult to care about any of them. I understand that Alice (Milla Jovovich) goes on to lead the entire franchise, but in the first entry, she hardly does or says anything, and as such, the audience doesn't get much of a chance to bond with her before the credits roll.
The script is just eye rollingly cringey. Every single line is either a "witty" quip, or lazy exposition and it becomes tiresome very quickly.
Some of the effects are ok - the zombie dogs look pretty gnarly, but The Licker (one of the only concrete connections to the game series) is brought to life with some of the worst CGI I've ever seen. To say it's aged badly would be an understatement, as I remember it looking dodgy AF back in 2002 when I was a humble 14 year old. Other than that, the whole film has that awful early 2000s aesthetic (The Matrix truly has a lot to answer for) and the inclusion of obnoxious breakbeat music cues that everyone was obsessed with at the time is the cherry on the mouldy cake. Ugh.
It's not all terrible... There are a couple of memorable set pieces, and the film manages to be somewhat entertaining here and there, but overall, Resident Evil is another garbage pile video game adaption, and the fact that George Romero wrote an unused screenplay that was much closer to the first game (and was poised to direct!) just rubs salt in this horrible festering wound left behind by Paul WS Anderson's Resident Evil. Hate it.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Valkyrie (2008) in Movies
Apr 13, 2020
Suspense and thrilling
Valkyrie- is a good movie. Its a good suspense, thriller thats based on a true story.
The plot: Col. Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) serves Germany with loyalty and pride but fears that Hitler will destroy his country if allowed to run unchecked. With time running out for Germany and the rest of Europe, von Stauffenberg joins a group of like-minded, high-ranking men who want to overthrow the Nazi regime from within. With everything he holds dear in the balance, von Stauffenberg becomes the trigger man in a plot to assassinate the evil dictator.
One eye patched tom cruise is a plus. It makes him more intense. Reminds me of Snake Plissken.
So i watched the trailer, and the music their were playing was the "Saw Theme", which was intresting. Cause i love that theme song, its so intense and makes things 10x more intense and intresting. Thats why i watched this film, because that theme song made the movie look really intresting and intense. Which it was. It was suspenseful and thrilling till the end.
The plot: Col. Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) serves Germany with loyalty and pride but fears that Hitler will destroy his country if allowed to run unchecked. With time running out for Germany and the rest of Europe, von Stauffenberg joins a group of like-minded, high-ranking men who want to overthrow the Nazi regime from within. With everything he holds dear in the balance, von Stauffenberg becomes the trigger man in a plot to assassinate the evil dictator.
One eye patched tom cruise is a plus. It makes him more intense. Reminds me of Snake Plissken.
So i watched the trailer, and the music their were playing was the "Saw Theme", which was intresting. Cause i love that theme song, its so intense and makes things 10x more intense and intresting. Thats why i watched this film, because that theme song made the movie look really intresting and intense. Which it was. It was suspenseful and thrilling till the end.
Free Will and Classical Theism: The Significance of Freedom in Perfect Being Theology
Book
The articles in the present collection deal with the religious dimension of the problem of free...