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Kaitlynn Pankonien (57 KP) rated The Princess and the Frog (2009) in Movies
Dec 26, 2019
Great movie
Contains spoilers, click to show
I love this movie it ties in true cajun culture and it goes to show that hard work really pays off to get what you dream of. Tianna is a hard working waitress who dreams of getting the restaurant her father always dreamed of to get for her. Naveen is a prince who us carefree and spoiled. They find love in each other on their adventure to be turned back into humans after naveen was messing with voodoo. They meet a gator named Louis and a firefly named ray that help them on their journey.
Rhys (240 KP) rated Firefly: The Game in Tabletop Games
Aug 21, 2018
Shiny.
There is a LOT to this game. Like, a lot. Setting everything up requires roughly at least a four foot square space not including each player’s own Firefly board. Basically, it is BIG.
In the simplest game mode (‘First time in the captain’s chair.’) you need the board, which is huge, the plastic ships, around 3 decks of cards, money and crew (all provided). Admittedly, the instructions are not awfully clear and you may end up creating your own variations which work better than the ‘official’. A first game should be dedicated to learning the rules and how to play before any competition starts.
However, once you know what you’re doing you can have several hours of fun. You need to do jobs for money, spend it on upgrades and crew to complete goals, often go to a place and buy or sell something. Think Monopoly meets Risk. Upgrades to Firefly ships are fairly balanced, ones that allow stealthy movements reduce movement range, while increasing range may increase fuel consumption. Although, some are more imbalanced than others, but nothing is ‘game breaking’.
Overall a fun game that takes a little time to really get into.
(Oh, no real knowledge of the series or the expanded universe is required.)
In the simplest game mode (‘First time in the captain’s chair.’) you need the board, which is huge, the plastic ships, around 3 decks of cards, money and crew (all provided). Admittedly, the instructions are not awfully clear and you may end up creating your own variations which work better than the ‘official’. A first game should be dedicated to learning the rules and how to play before any competition starts.
However, once you know what you’re doing you can have several hours of fun. You need to do jobs for money, spend it on upgrades and crew to complete goals, often go to a place and buy or sell something. Think Monopoly meets Risk. Upgrades to Firefly ships are fairly balanced, ones that allow stealthy movements reduce movement range, while increasing range may increase fuel consumption. Although, some are more imbalanced than others, but nothing is ‘game breaking’.
Overall a fun game that takes a little time to really get into.
(Oh, no real knowledge of the series or the expanded universe is required.)
Darren (1599 KP) rated The Devil's Rejects (2005) in Movies
Nov 28, 2019
Verdict: Big Improvement
Story: The Devil’s Rejects starts as the Firefly family have been dubbed ‘The Devil’s Rejects’ by the media see their house surrounded by a vengeful police force led by Sheriff Wydell (Forsythe), with a massive shootout on the ranch. Mother Firely (Easterbrook) is captured, while Otis (Moseley) and Baby (Zombie) escape turning to Captain Spaulding (Haig) for shelter.
Otis and Baby find shelter in a motel, taking a family hostage, while they wait for the showdown with the Sheriff, giving them a chance to continue their murderous way.
Thoughts on The Devil’s Rejects
Characters – Captain Spaulding still runs his house of horrors away from the house, despite being part of the house, he must go on the run to meet the other members of the Fireflies, which sees him showing a much nastier side than we have seen before. Otis is the most twisted member of the family, he will punish anybody, he doesn’t care about anybody and will show his sadistic side too often. Baby is the youngest member of the family, she has grown up in this environment, acting like it is just second nature to her, she enjoys the punishment even turning it into a game at times. Sheriff Wydell is determined to capture and kill the whole Firefly family after they killed his brother, he will break a few rules along the way to make sure it gets done.
Performances – Sid Haig, Bill Moseley and Sheri Moon Zombie have helped develop their characters to have a much darker side to them, which shows us more about how sadistic they are meant to be through the film. William Forsythe brings us a strong police figure that clearly shows the vengeful side he is going through in the film.
Story – The story here follows the events of the first film, the Firefly family have been discovered and are now on the run from a vengeful sheriff that wants the whole family dead for what they did to his family member. Where this story improves on the original comes from seeing just how the fireflies are able to react to a threat, we get a glimpse of their sadistic side, but instead of it just them being twisted, we get to see them dealing with a relentless cop that isn’t going to let them get away with their crimes. The story is constructed better too because we don’t just have random clips like we had in the first film, which shows how the film can be put together to give us a better story.
Action/Horror – This is much more action back with shoot outs going on between the two sides, while the horror is still there when the fireflies get to step into their sadistic ways.
Settings – The film uses the settings to show how the Fireflies can go on the run from the law, we see the back country motels which they would hide out in and the connections of other shady business they would know.
Special Effects – The effects in the film show the gore being done by the family, it shows the wounds looking brutal and real through the film.
Scene of the Movie – The escape.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It still doesn’t give us any likeable figures in the fight.
Final Thoughts – This is an improvement on the first film, it does give us a more rounded figures in the Firefly family and shows us just how capable they are when pushed against the wall.
Overall: Sick Improvement.
Otis and Baby find shelter in a motel, taking a family hostage, while they wait for the showdown with the Sheriff, giving them a chance to continue their murderous way.
Thoughts on The Devil’s Rejects
Characters – Captain Spaulding still runs his house of horrors away from the house, despite being part of the house, he must go on the run to meet the other members of the Fireflies, which sees him showing a much nastier side than we have seen before. Otis is the most twisted member of the family, he will punish anybody, he doesn’t care about anybody and will show his sadistic side too often. Baby is the youngest member of the family, she has grown up in this environment, acting like it is just second nature to her, she enjoys the punishment even turning it into a game at times. Sheriff Wydell is determined to capture and kill the whole Firefly family after they killed his brother, he will break a few rules along the way to make sure it gets done.
Performances – Sid Haig, Bill Moseley and Sheri Moon Zombie have helped develop their characters to have a much darker side to them, which shows us more about how sadistic they are meant to be through the film. William Forsythe brings us a strong police figure that clearly shows the vengeful side he is going through in the film.
Story – The story here follows the events of the first film, the Firefly family have been discovered and are now on the run from a vengeful sheriff that wants the whole family dead for what they did to his family member. Where this story improves on the original comes from seeing just how the fireflies are able to react to a threat, we get a glimpse of their sadistic side, but instead of it just them being twisted, we get to see them dealing with a relentless cop that isn’t going to let them get away with their crimes. The story is constructed better too because we don’t just have random clips like we had in the first film, which shows how the film can be put together to give us a better story.
Action/Horror – This is much more action back with shoot outs going on between the two sides, while the horror is still there when the fireflies get to step into their sadistic ways.
Settings – The film uses the settings to show how the Fireflies can go on the run from the law, we see the back country motels which they would hide out in and the connections of other shady business they would know.
Special Effects – The effects in the film show the gore being done by the family, it shows the wounds looking brutal and real through the film.
Scene of the Movie – The escape.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It still doesn’t give us any likeable figures in the fight.
Final Thoughts – This is an improvement on the first film, it does give us a more rounded figures in the Firefly family and shows us just how capable they are when pushed against the wall.
Overall: Sick Improvement.
Sarah Seymour (3 KP) rated The Expanse - Season 1 in TV
Nov 26, 2017
Gripping and believeable
On a Netflix troll one night we gave this a whirl and ended up binge watching it because we were gripped from the first episode. I loved Firefly and although the plot is very different it reminds me of that show because of how well drawn the characters and world are. Its classed as a space opera so whilst an obvious choice for sci fi fans to give a go I think it would also be worth trying if you just enjoy a good pot-boiler
Nickg24 (492 KP) rated 3 From Hell (2019) in Movies
Oct 5, 2019
Less Gory than the previous 2 (1 more)
Lacks Sid Haig's Presence
Contains spoilers, click to show
So 14 years after the devil's rejects the firefly family return.A brief recap of the ending of the devils rejects starts the movie and its aftermath.Then once the principal characters finally escape jail they go on another killing spree which eventually leads to a shootout in a little mexican town against a gangster with a grudge against one of the clan
This film is easily the weakest in the series.It lacks the cutting presence of sid haig as captain spaulding (only appears in the opening 10 minutes of the movie) as he was sadly ill during the making of the film and has since passed away.
If you have seen the first two films then this is worth checking out but its instantly forgettable.
This film is easily the weakest in the series.It lacks the cutting presence of sid haig as captain spaulding (only appears in the opening 10 minutes of the movie) as he was sadly ill during the making of the film and has since passed away.
If you have seen the first two films then this is worth checking out but its instantly forgettable.
RJ Mitte recommended Serenity (2005) in Movies (curated)
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Gaming for Keeps (Agents of TRAIT #1) in Books
Sep 6, 2019
Well, Ill start by saying this was a little too geeky for me. Thats not to say it wasnt a good story but all the references to Firefly and other TV programs Ive never watched put me off a little.
I read a book for the romance, which Im sure Ive mentioned before somewhere, and I enjoyed the spark the characters had. The way they dont realise they know each other (even if it is through a game) but are drawn to each other right from the first contact. They clicked right away and theres a scene involving a shower which made me smile.
I did enjoy it; Pen was hands on when it came to defending herself and Cal being slightly geeky made a change to the usual books I read where theyre attractive, tattooed and arrogant.
Its definitely for those who enjoy comics, online-gaming, cosplay and conventions.
I read a book for the romance, which Im sure Ive mentioned before somewhere, and I enjoyed the spark the characters had. The way they dont realise they know each other (even if it is through a game) but are drawn to each other right from the first contact. They clicked right away and theres a scene involving a shower which made me smile.
I did enjoy it; Pen was hands on when it came to defending herself and Cal being slightly geeky made a change to the usual books I read where theyre attractive, tattooed and arrogant.
Its definitely for those who enjoy comics, online-gaming, cosplay and conventions.
What can I say about <i>Revenger</i>?
It was my first ever Space Opera and it has opened my eyes to a whole new genre.
It was my first ever Space Opera and it has primed my taste-buds for more.
It was my first ever Alastair Reynolds and now I want more.
Revenger itself was amazingly well written. As mentioned above this was my first book from Alastair Reynolds and it was just the kind of book I could get into again and again; the writing style flowed with a shocking ease and the plot line was very Firefly-esque with a hint more action and a smidge more ‘oh-shit’ factor.
Revenger follows the story of Adrana and Arafura Ness – two sisters from Mazarile whose sick father had made some very poor choices in business – as they embark on a journey into space to end all journeys.
It begins with Adrana convincing her younger sister Arafura to escape into Neural Alley for a reading by Madam Granity. There’s aliens, robots and weird looking men with bad attitudes and then there’s Captain Rackamore. Pol Rackamore is the captain of the Monetta’s Mourn – a sunjammer spaceship – and he’s in need of a new Boney on his ship as his current one is getting too old to ‘read the bones’ and I mean that in the literal sense of the word.
Adrana convinces Cap’n Rack to take both her and Arafura on board the Monetta in the position of new Bone Readers (with the aide of Cazaray the current Boney) and that is where the story really begins. We’re introduced to the rest of the crew and the Monetta sails off into the Empty in search of baubles. As they sail towards their first bauble Arafura becomes a lot closer to the rest of the crew while I feel that Adrana is doing her best to stay away from them all even though she’s front and center.
Story progresses and little hints are dropped about Bosa Sennen and Cap’n Rack’s long lost daughter. There’s several shocking deaths, a mad woman, a kidnapping or two and a young girl bent on revenge.
Around the mid way mark Arafura changes, subtly at first and then a lot more drastic and she becomes Just Fura. This is where the story becomes a lot darker and a lot less like Firefly and a lot more like the Firefly from hell; the second half of this book is based around Fura getting Revenger on Bosa Sennen for what she did and the things that Fura puts herself through to get where she needs to be? She started off as a little timid and shy but after the 50% mark she changed completely and became hard and unyielding.
You know how they say that the future is bright? That brightness is swallowed by the Empty and the future is dark and full of terrors (oh yeah I went there) there’s a doctor with a God complex, a father with a total lack of regard for his daughters, a totally bad ass soldier robot with logic barricades and all sorts of other people.
I think I loved the world building the most about Revenger it was such a smooth transition from place to place and from time to time that it was almost seamless; my second favourite thing was the characters – hands down they were some of the best characters I’ve ever read and I’d love to see if AR takes this book any further as it was seemingly left open for another book but we shall see.
The book gave off a distinctly pirate feeling but with the space element it felt more like Firefly than it did Pirates of the Caribbean which as a fan of both was saying something. Pirates sailing the high skies rather than the high seas! Some of the characters left much to be desired – Bosa, Adrana and Dr Moonface I’m looking at y’all – but the likes of Rack, Prozor and Paladin more than made up for them.
The dialogue was great and the story wasn’t overly scientific which sometimes can be an issue for me, I like my books to be a little less science fact and a bit more science fiction but with Revenger, I felt like AR was giving us regular folk an explanation without going overboard on the description.
It was my first ever Space Opera and it has opened my eyes to a whole new genre.
It was my first ever Space Opera and it has primed my taste-buds for more.
It was my first ever Alastair Reynolds and now I want more.
Revenger itself was amazingly well written. As mentioned above this was my first book from Alastair Reynolds and it was just the kind of book I could get into again and again; the writing style flowed with a shocking ease and the plot line was very Firefly-esque with a hint more action and a smidge more ‘oh-shit’ factor.
Revenger follows the story of Adrana and Arafura Ness – two sisters from Mazarile whose sick father had made some very poor choices in business – as they embark on a journey into space to end all journeys.
It begins with Adrana convincing her younger sister Arafura to escape into Neural Alley for a reading by Madam Granity. There’s aliens, robots and weird looking men with bad attitudes and then there’s Captain Rackamore. Pol Rackamore is the captain of the Monetta’s Mourn – a sunjammer spaceship – and he’s in need of a new Boney on his ship as his current one is getting too old to ‘read the bones’ and I mean that in the literal sense of the word.
Adrana convinces Cap’n Rack to take both her and Arafura on board the Monetta in the position of new Bone Readers (with the aide of Cazaray the current Boney) and that is where the story really begins. We’re introduced to the rest of the crew and the Monetta sails off into the Empty in search of baubles. As they sail towards their first bauble Arafura becomes a lot closer to the rest of the crew while I feel that Adrana is doing her best to stay away from them all even though she’s front and center.
Story progresses and little hints are dropped about Bosa Sennen and Cap’n Rack’s long lost daughter. There’s several shocking deaths, a mad woman, a kidnapping or two and a young girl bent on revenge.
Around the mid way mark Arafura changes, subtly at first and then a lot more drastic and she becomes Just Fura. This is where the story becomes a lot darker and a lot less like Firefly and a lot more like the Firefly from hell; the second half of this book is based around Fura getting Revenger on Bosa Sennen for what she did and the things that Fura puts herself through to get where she needs to be? She started off as a little timid and shy but after the 50% mark she changed completely and became hard and unyielding.
You know how they say that the future is bright? That brightness is swallowed by the Empty and the future is dark and full of terrors (oh yeah I went there) there’s a doctor with a God complex, a father with a total lack of regard for his daughters, a totally bad ass soldier robot with logic barricades and all sorts of other people.
I think I loved the world building the most about Revenger it was such a smooth transition from place to place and from time to time that it was almost seamless; my second favourite thing was the characters – hands down they were some of the best characters I’ve ever read and I’d love to see if AR takes this book any further as it was seemingly left open for another book but we shall see.
The book gave off a distinctly pirate feeling but with the space element it felt more like Firefly than it did Pirates of the Caribbean which as a fan of both was saying something. Pirates sailing the high skies rather than the high seas! Some of the characters left much to be desired – Bosa, Adrana and Dr Moonface I’m looking at y’all – but the likes of Rack, Prozor and Paladin more than made up for them.
The dialogue was great and the story wasn’t overly scientific which sometimes can be an issue for me, I like my books to be a little less science fact and a bit more science fiction but with Revenger, I felt like AR was giving us regular folk an explanation without going overboard on the description.
RəX Regent (349 KP) rated Duck Soup (1933) in Movies
Feb 18, 2019
“You’re a brave man. Go and break through the lines. And remember, while you’re out there risking your life and limb through shot and shell, we’ll be in be in here thinking what a sucker you are” Rufus T. Firefly
And the one liners just keep on coming…
Here we have before you one of the most famous entries form The Marx Brothers as they made their indelible mark on Hollywood(land) and the silver screen back in the 1930’s, moving away from their Vaudeville roots to new level of immortally on celluloid.
The fifth film to credit the “The Marx Brothers”, Duck Soup in on one hand a sharply written satire on the weakness of mob mentality to willingly promote unwelcome change to their society and their willingness to follow just about any lunatic as long as they like what they hear; as well as a straight forward slapstick comedy of the time, in keeping with its music hall roots.
It is the music hall aspect of this classic which can be harder for a modern audience to take to, unless you are already disposed to this sort of rather dated humour. But as a satire, it is brilliant and still very funny over seventy years on.
Groucho Marx steals the show as Rufus T. Firefly as he leads his unwitting and possibly dimwitted fictional country of Fredonia (geddit?) to war and ultimate destruction. He is a character, whilst not in any way taking off Adolf Hitler, who was of course rising to power in Germany at this very moment, was clearly a reflection on this type of reckless and charismatic leader and as the hilarious final act demonstrates, is all too common in history and even in our present.
And the fact that Fredonia is ultimately doomed, was a coincidental foreshadowing of Nazi Germany’s fate a decade later, as well as a clear demonstration of the savvy writing.
Witty, whether it is the physical trademark Marx Brothers comedy or the sharp screenplay by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, based on the stage version of the same name, this a classic satire; whilst not being as hard hitting a s Chaplin’s works of the period, with The Great Dictator (1940) springing to mind, it still holds up and makes its point without hammering you over the head it.
So, you can just enjoy the show and/or take away the message, it is really up to you.
Here we have before you one of the most famous entries form The Marx Brothers as they made their indelible mark on Hollywood(land) and the silver screen back in the 1930’s, moving away from their Vaudeville roots to new level of immortally on celluloid.
The fifth film to credit the “The Marx Brothers”, Duck Soup in on one hand a sharply written satire on the weakness of mob mentality to willingly promote unwelcome change to their society and their willingness to follow just about any lunatic as long as they like what they hear; as well as a straight forward slapstick comedy of the time, in keeping with its music hall roots.
It is the music hall aspect of this classic which can be harder for a modern audience to take to, unless you are already disposed to this sort of rather dated humour. But as a satire, it is brilliant and still very funny over seventy years on.
Groucho Marx steals the show as Rufus T. Firefly as he leads his unwitting and possibly dimwitted fictional country of Fredonia (geddit?) to war and ultimate destruction. He is a character, whilst not in any way taking off Adolf Hitler, who was of course rising to power in Germany at this very moment, was clearly a reflection on this type of reckless and charismatic leader and as the hilarious final act demonstrates, is all too common in history and even in our present.
And the fact that Fredonia is ultimately doomed, was a coincidental foreshadowing of Nazi Germany’s fate a decade later, as well as a clear demonstration of the savvy writing.
Witty, whether it is the physical trademark Marx Brothers comedy or the sharp screenplay by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, based on the stage version of the same name, this a classic satire; whilst not being as hard hitting a s Chaplin’s works of the period, with The Great Dictator (1940) springing to mind, it still holds up and makes its point without hammering you over the head it.
So, you can just enjoy the show and/or take away the message, it is really up to you.
ClareR (5556 KP) rated The Stars Now Unclaimed (The Universe After #1) in Books
May 26, 2018
Full on outer space entertainment!
I really enjoyed this: it took me longer than a book this size usually takes me to read, but there was a lot of detail in it that you need to 'get' to understand what's going on.
This has been compared to Firefly, Star Wars and some other science fiction stories and worlds, but I think it's a good story in its own right.
I really liked the main character - a female lead (who we don't learn the name of until near the end) who travels the universe after 'The Pulse" puts most planets back to the dark ages, to find children who have developed gifts because of this phenomenon. The Pax seem to be following her every move (I'm hoping the reason for this will be explained in the next instalment), and they're not good news (think mindless fascist zealots. If you're not with them, you're dead). The unnamed pilot/ soldier/ pilot has some great friends, who along with the telekinetic teen she saves at the beginning, must all work together to save their homeward. It's exciting stuff, believe me!
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this fantastic book to read!
This has been compared to Firefly, Star Wars and some other science fiction stories and worlds, but I think it's a good story in its own right.
I really liked the main character - a female lead (who we don't learn the name of until near the end) who travels the universe after 'The Pulse" puts most planets back to the dark ages, to find children who have developed gifts because of this phenomenon. The Pax seem to be following her every move (I'm hoping the reason for this will be explained in the next instalment), and they're not good news (think mindless fascist zealots. If you're not with them, you're dead). The unnamed pilot/ soldier/ pilot has some great friends, who along with the telekinetic teen she saves at the beginning, must all work together to save their homeward. It's exciting stuff, believe me!
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this fantastic book to read!