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Shaun Collins (3 KP) rated Star Trek, Volume 9: The Q Gambit in Books
Jan 12, 2018
What feels like a gimmick or stunt casting (what if the Kelvin timeline encountered Q far earlier than they should) becomes a well put together adventure, anchored by the start in the Prime Universe. Q initially approaches Captain Picard, (now Ambassador) to console him over the death of Spock. He drops the bombshell that Spock didn't die, but set the alternate time line events in motion. Q of course, can't help but meddle, and challenges Kevlin Kirk to solve a true no win scenario by flinging the Enterprise and crew far into the future, where the events of the Dominion War ended far differently (and catastrophically) for the Federation.
This "post-apocalyptic" style story works incredibly well, and the cameos by established characters from down the line are met with great amounts of fun and just the right bit of timing. My one complaint is Kirk, who seems reactionary throughout the tale, and never manages to proactively become the hero (in fact, it is Spock and Q who solve the problem). But small potatoes, as they say. This was actually the first arc that convinced me to give IDWs Trek comics a chance, and while I disagree with their story telling choices on most of the run, the stories themselves are still entertainingly told. This one is no exception.
This "post-apocalyptic" style story works incredibly well, and the cameos by established characters from down the line are met with great amounts of fun and just the right bit of timing. My one complaint is Kirk, who seems reactionary throughout the tale, and never manages to proactively become the hero (in fact, it is Spock and Q who solve the problem). But small potatoes, as they say. This was actually the first arc that convinced me to give IDWs Trek comics a chance, and while I disagree with their story telling choices on most of the run, the stories themselves are still entertainingly told. This one is no exception.
David McK (3540 KP) rated The Running Man in Books
Jan 28, 2019
First and foremost, if you think this is anything like the Arnie movie, think again! That movie only shares the title, a few names, and the idea of a game show with the book.
Written by Richard Bachman (aka Stephen King), this is set in a future dystopia where the gulf between the rich and the poor has widened even further, to the extent that, while the rich have access to new gadgets, medicine and groceries, life is a daily struggle to survive for the poor (who are now treated as vermin by the rich).
The top TV shows are all game shows (OK: like the movie); in all the poor are more-or-less tortured (the shows have names like 'Swimming with Crocidiles' or 'Treadmill to Fortune') to earn money. Of these, the most popular by far is 'The Running Man', which is - basically - a televised manhunt.
This is a pretty quick read - only took me about one day - with the Ben Richards of the novel far more sickly and wasted than the muscular Arnie of the film (Steve Buscemi, perhaps?), with the novel also covering a wider area of land than the Running Man set of that movie (which, remember, is only set in four zones - here, it's more-or-less right across America). The ending is also far more downbeat!
Written by Richard Bachman (aka Stephen King), this is set in a future dystopia where the gulf between the rich and the poor has widened even further, to the extent that, while the rich have access to new gadgets, medicine and groceries, life is a daily struggle to survive for the poor (who are now treated as vermin by the rich).
The top TV shows are all game shows (OK: like the movie); in all the poor are more-or-less tortured (the shows have names like 'Swimming with Crocidiles' or 'Treadmill to Fortune') to earn money. Of these, the most popular by far is 'The Running Man', which is - basically - a televised manhunt.
This is a pretty quick read - only took me about one day - with the Ben Richards of the novel far more sickly and wasted than the muscular Arnie of the film (Steve Buscemi, perhaps?), with the novel also covering a wider area of land than the Running Man set of that movie (which, remember, is only set in four zones - here, it's more-or-less right across America). The ending is also far more downbeat!
Sarah (7799 KP) rated The Dead Don't Die (2019) in Movies
Jun 15, 2020
The dead should die...
I wanted to like this film so badly, but when I wanted to turn it off less than an hour in, i had to admit it wasn't for me. Although I did at least persevere until the end, even if it wasn't worth it.
I'm all for off beat and dark humour and wit, but I'm afraid for me this film was just too far in the left field. I liked the deadpan aspects and humour and also how it surpassed the fourth wall, the problem was the laughs were still few and far between. I like how this poked fun at today's society and there was a lot of social commentary, it was just so deadpan that a lot of the witty remarks were lost. The plot development too was so slow. The film was virtually over by the time it felt like it was going anywhere, and even when the zombies emerged in full they couldn't breathe any life (ha) into this. Strangely such a stellar cast were wasted too. Tilde Swinton's wacky funeral director was by far the most fun but even she got on my nerves by the end.
I'm all for your non-typical comedy, but sadly this film just wasn't for me. There are some good ideas in this but they feel wasted
I'm all for off beat and dark humour and wit, but I'm afraid for me this film was just too far in the left field. I liked the deadpan aspects and humour and also how it surpassed the fourth wall, the problem was the laughs were still few and far between. I like how this poked fun at today's society and there was a lot of social commentary, it was just so deadpan that a lot of the witty remarks were lost. The plot development too was so slow. The film was virtually over by the time it felt like it was going anywhere, and even when the zombies emerged in full they couldn't breathe any life (ha) into this. Strangely such a stellar cast were wasted too. Tilde Swinton's wacky funeral director was by far the most fun but even she got on my nerves by the end.
I'm all for your non-typical comedy, but sadly this film just wasn't for me. There are some good ideas in this but they feel wasted
Ghost Wall
9.0
Rate It
Book
In the north of England, far from the intrusions of cities but not far from civilization, Silvie and...
Literary Fiction Contemporary Trigger warning: Domestic Violence
Steven Sklansky (231 KP) rated The Strain - Season 4 in TV
Jul 24, 2017
Entertaining (2 more)
Creepy
Suspenseful
Final Season has Kicked Off With a Bang
The first 2 episodes of season 4 have been amazing. All of the characters have been split up and it has been fun seeing where everyone has ended up. I feel like trying to fix the vampire problem would take more then this final season but we will have to see how the last 8 episode play out.
The story line that is the most interesting to me so far is with Fet. He seems to be the only one trying to end the vampires reign on the US. I just don't know how a nuclear warhead is going to solve the problem. We will have to wait and see.
I know this is not my best work write now, just getting started. Follow me and let me know what you think of season 4 so far.
The story line that is the most interesting to me so far is with Fet. He seems to be the only one trying to end the vampires reign on the US. I just don't know how a nuclear warhead is going to solve the problem. We will have to wait and see.
I know this is not my best work write now, just getting started. Follow me and let me know what you think of season 4 so far.
Sarah (7799 KP) rated House on Haunted Hill (1999) in Movies
Oct 25, 2018
Spoilt by the ending
I absolutely loved this film when it first came out, probably because I was far too young to be watching it. But watching it back now, it’s a bit of a disappointment.
Plot wise it’s fairly straight forward and probably not entirely original, but you can’t really go wrong setting a horror film in an old asylum. That alone gives you the creeps. It’s quite funny and also very bloody and gory, and Geoffrey Rush does fairly well channeling his inner Vincent Price. Sadly Jeffrey Combs is a very underused though. My main issue with this film is that the ending really lets it down. It goes a bit bonkers and strays a little too far away from the asylum/mad doctor premise, and whilst I understand the ending and what they were trying to get at, for me they should’ve gone down a different route.
Plot wise it’s fairly straight forward and probably not entirely original, but you can’t really go wrong setting a horror film in an old asylum. That alone gives you the creeps. It’s quite funny and also very bloody and gory, and Geoffrey Rush does fairly well channeling his inner Vincent Price. Sadly Jeffrey Combs is a very underused though. My main issue with this film is that the ending really lets it down. It goes a bit bonkers and strays a little too far away from the asylum/mad doctor premise, and whilst I understand the ending and what they were trying to get at, for me they should’ve gone down a different route.
Roxanne (13 KP) rated One For The Money (Stephanie Plum, #1) in Books
Nov 14, 2018
I got swallowed up in the hype with this one, a friend wouldn't let it go until I agreed to take this out of the library. It's not my usual type of read so I didn't want to buy it. I'm glad I agreed to pick this one up as I did enjoy it. It wasn't as 'amazing' as it was made out to be but it was a humorous page-turner. The MC was a bit annoying and whiny, she also put herself into some situations that were a bit far-fetched but I liked the other characters. Unfortunately, the library doesn't have the second instalment and I'm not going to buy it so I'm not sure if I'll get to read the rest. I'm pretty sure there's about 15 books so far in this series, that's a bit too much of a challenge for me.
Star Wars: Original Trilogy
Book
Luke Skywalker dreamed of adventures out among the stars and alien worlds. But when he intercepted a...
Frostgrave Ghost Archipelago - Tales of the Lost Isles
Book
The Ghost Archipelago has returned. A vast island chain, covered in the ruins of ancient and...