Sign up
Search
Advanced search settings

Search only in certain items:

Search results
All (805)
Content
People
Apps
Books
Orbs
Movies
Music
Podcasts
Shows
Tabletop Games
Tech
TV
Video Games
YouTube Channels
Videos
40x40

Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Mary Poppins Returns (2018) in Movies

Jan 9, 2019 (Updated Jan 9, 2019)  
Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
2018 | Family
8
7.0 (67 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Emily Blunt & Lin-Manuel Miranda (1 more)
An Incredible Animated Sequence
Practically Perfect In Every Way?
I've never been a big Mary Poppins fan, but I went to see this because my girlfriend is and we both enjoyed it. I didn't go in expecting much, but this was a charming, harmless, family friendly time and I had fun with it. I think the fact that I am not a huge fan of the original was actually a benefit going in, because I wasn't constantly comparing the film to the OG.

First off, Emily Blunt did a sublime job in the title role. I am a huge fan of hers and she nails this role. To be honest from what I can remember from seeing the original when I was young, I think I prefer her to Julie Andrew's take on the character. Regardless, I don't think that there is any other actress working today that could have done a better job than she did.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is also fantastic as the Dick Van Dyke type character and does a good job of keeping the energy up and the plot moving forward throughout the movie. The lamp lighting sequence that he lead was one of the best in the film. The rest of the cast also do a decent job, except from the vastly overrated Meryl Streep, she was excruciatingly annoying and she felt unnecessarily shoehorned into the movie for no apparent reason.

The highlight for me though, was the beautiful and dynamic animated sequence that happens within the porcelain bowl. This whole sequence was incredible and really blew me away. I found it particularly mind blowing as an animator myself. There were many times that I was left asking myself how they managed to pull off certain things and it left me extremely impressed.

Overall, this is a fun, family friendly romp that in my opinion surpasses the original. It is in some aspects a soft reboot, but there enough call-backs and homages to the OG version that it works as a sequel and will please long time fans of the first movie, but it will also hopefully entertain a whole new generation and Emily Blunt fills the big shoes left by her predecessor remarkably well.
  
40x40

Sam Hill (23 KP) rated Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle in Video Games

Jun 20, 2019  
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
2017 | Action/Adventure, Role-Playing, Strategy
8
7.4 (37 Ratings)
Video Game Rating Watch
Fun, family friendly X-Com-a-like (0 more)
Strategy feels a little light at times I purchased (0 more)
I purchased the game having viewed only the trailers and being a huge fan of the X-Com series which it looks, and feels, very much like.

I found the graphics and overall visual tone of the game to be fantastic. The merging of Rabbids and Mario themes has been done cleverly in a manner which does not feel forced.

The humour largely works, in a cartoonish and slightly childish way and the story is enough to carry you through the single player despite not being massively deep, and being very linear.

The mechanics also work quite well, with one slight caveat. The levels themselves play more like a puzzle game than a strategy, there very much is a right way to do each level and a wrong way. If you make a wrong step then you may need to restart the level instead of finding a way to fix it as you go.

All in all the game is of a high quality and entertaining, and is well worth its price tag
  
40x40

the_mad_meeple (55 KP) rated Forbidden Island in Tabletop Games

Mar 10, 2020 (Updated Mar 10, 2020)  
Forbidden Island
Forbidden Island
2010 | Adventure, Card Game, Fantasy
7
7.0 (14 Ratings)
Tabletop Game Rating
Sink or swim?
Considering my Y childhood holidays spent by the water, I've never been more anxious at the sight of rising water levels. A fully cooperative experience, all players, new and experienced, took part in an adventure fit for all. Fighting to get to the chopper we found ourselves facing an ever changing table top with tiles sinking faster than we were able to get to them. As you move around the board collecting treasures, you face difficult challenges of whether to move yourself or to use your special abilities to better position your comrades. A gem of a game, the variety of characters provide a strong amount of replay ability, ideal for a game that provides an air of impending doom telling you that all you can do now is it to start planning for the next attempt.
Whether you play it for the theme of an intrepid explorer searching an unknown island, or you are looking for an excellent family friendly cooperative experience (allowed by the ability to simply and effectively vary difficulty levels) this is a game for boardgamers of all shapes and sizes.
  
40x40

Sarah (7798 KP) rated Shazam! (2019) in Movies

Mar 22, 2020  
Shazam! (2019)
Shazam! (2019)
2019 | Action, Sci-Fi
6
7.4 (104 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Could've been better
Shazam has been on my box to watch for quite some time, and after finally being persuaded to watch it I have to say I'l was a little unimpressed.

This is a very child orientated and almost childish film, which for me was a surprise considering it's set in the DC universe. Understandable to a point as the main character is a 14 year old child, but some of the silly childish jokes and the very super cheesy family friendly final act made me cringe. There were some decent laughs and these mainly came from Zachary Levi acting like a teenager. Levi shines in this film and if it wasn't for him this film would've been pretty dire. Even the usually reliable Mark Strong was wasted in this, and his villain wasn't particularly evil - although the effects used for the seven deadly sins were quite impressive.

Overall this was a rather underwhelming film that dragged on for a little too long. Whilst I didnt hate it as it did at least raise a few laughs, it's not a film I'd rush to watch again.