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Sarah (7800 KP) rated The Cloverfield Paradox (2018) in Movies
Feb 11, 2018
Totally unnecessary
What have we done to deserve yet another Cloverfield film? The first one was a surprise hit, but all these sequels/spin offs or whatever you want to call them are doing is cheapening the original.
This has a great cast, who are sadly very mis-used. The majority of the characters are undeveloped and those that aren't have slightly vague and irrational motivations. The sfx are okay although i think some of the physical props and costumes could have been better. The main issue with this film though is the plot. It is a little bit ridiculous and very confused. It uses alternate dimensions and realities as a general explanation for a load of weird things going on, which is such a poor justification and doesn't work. It seems to throw in as many sci-fi film cliches as it possibly can along with some oddly placed humour.
And the link to Cloverfield itself is there, albeit inferred until right at the end. And it doesn't quite go so far as explaining how this fits with the original film timeline wise and just isn't necessary. This is yet another stunning example of a completely pointless sequel/spin off.
This has a great cast, who are sadly very mis-used. The majority of the characters are undeveloped and those that aren't have slightly vague and irrational motivations. The sfx are okay although i think some of the physical props and costumes could have been better. The main issue with this film though is the plot. It is a little bit ridiculous and very confused. It uses alternate dimensions and realities as a general explanation for a load of weird things going on, which is such a poor justification and doesn't work. It seems to throw in as many sci-fi film cliches as it possibly can along with some oddly placed humour.
And the link to Cloverfield itself is there, albeit inferred until right at the end. And it doesn't quite go so far as explaining how this fits with the original film timeline wise and just isn't necessary. This is yet another stunning example of a completely pointless sequel/spin off.
Kristin (149 KP) rated Cruxim (Fallen Angel/Vampire #1) in Books
Dec 7, 2018
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I love to read pretty much anything mythological and/or supernatural, and this book had both. Amedeo, the Cruxim from the title, looks like an angel, but looks can be deceiving. His mission is to kill as many vampires as possible, as that's what Cruxims are made to do. Along the way, he meets a little human girl named Joslyn, who ultimately falls in love with him, but he knows it can't be. Then she's attacked and turned by a vampire, and now Amedeo must decide whether he can perform his duty and kill her or not. Another woman in his life, Sabine, is a Sphinx, part-woman and part-lion, and she helps him move on with his life after Joslyn's transformation.
Just the idea of Cruxims, Sphinxes, and Vampires was interesting enough, but then a traveling circus/freak show gets introduced, and it gets really interesting (not that it wasn't great before). This book has so many wonderful aspects to it, and it definitely held my attention throughout the entire story. I look forward to more works along this line, and more from the author, in general.
5 stars
I love to read pretty much anything mythological and/or supernatural, and this book had both. Amedeo, the Cruxim from the title, looks like an angel, but looks can be deceiving. His mission is to kill as many vampires as possible, as that's what Cruxims are made to do. Along the way, he meets a little human girl named Joslyn, who ultimately falls in love with him, but he knows it can't be. Then she's attacked and turned by a vampire, and now Amedeo must decide whether he can perform his duty and kill her or not. Another woman in his life, Sabine, is a Sphinx, part-woman and part-lion, and she helps him move on with his life after Joslyn's transformation.
Just the idea of Cruxims, Sphinxes, and Vampires was interesting enough, but then a traveling circus/freak show gets introduced, and it gets really interesting (not that it wasn't great before). This book has so many wonderful aspects to it, and it definitely held my attention throughout the entire story. I look forward to more works along this line, and more from the author, in general.
5 stars
Danielle Chaplin (81 KP) rated The Girl in Red in Books
Jun 21, 2019
Very enjoyable
I was exceedingly excited to read this book and was a little disappointed that it didn't live up to my very high expectations of it but I think that was just because I felt that the story didn't really fit in with the Little Red Riding Hood story except for a girl in red going to grandma's house.
The story itself is really well written and I loved the characters in the story, I wasn't keen on the book going back and forth from present to the past and back again but I don't really like this setup in books in general. I thought the book would explain more about what had happened but it did leave some really big questions that were never answered in the end. I love that Henry uses a lot of 'damaged' characters in her books, from those with a mental illness to Red being an amputee, as she displays them as strong characters that deserve to be treated with respect and that they can be just as inspiring as those without disabilities.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book but it didn't really seem to fit in as well as her other books.
The story itself is really well written and I loved the characters in the story, I wasn't keen on the book going back and forth from present to the past and back again but I don't really like this setup in books in general. I thought the book would explain more about what had happened but it did leave some really big questions that were never answered in the end. I love that Henry uses a lot of 'damaged' characters in her books, from those with a mental illness to Red being an amputee, as she displays them as strong characters that deserve to be treated with respect and that they can be just as inspiring as those without disabilities.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book but it didn't really seem to fit in as well as her other books.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Child's Play 3 (1991) in Movies
Oct 22, 2019 (Updated Nov 8, 2019)
The third outing for Chucky unfortunately offers nothing new.
It's simply a less fun re tread of the first two.
The setting for Child's Play 3 mainly takes place at a military academy for young people, with typical character cliches thrown in - the nerdy coward type who will clearly redeem himself by the end of the movie, the harsh drill sergeant, the jock type bullies, the badass female, and of course a whole host of people who (for the third time!) don't believe a now teenage Andy Barcley, that there's a killer doll on the loose.
It's all pretty tiresome, and tied together by a poor script.
Chucky himself is the same old, shooting off sweary one liners and being a general prick to everyone he comes across (not necessarily a bad thing).
The finale is pretty lackluster, and not a patch on the seemingly never ending abuse parade against Chucky from Child's Play 2, but it does boast some nice animatronic work and some nasty practical effects.
Child's Play 3 is ultimately a thoroughly underwhelming sequel, sat in a weird purgatory between the more horror themed elements of the first movie, and the schlockier elements of the later films.
It's simply a less fun re tread of the first two.
The setting for Child's Play 3 mainly takes place at a military academy for young people, with typical character cliches thrown in - the nerdy coward type who will clearly redeem himself by the end of the movie, the harsh drill sergeant, the jock type bullies, the badass female, and of course a whole host of people who (for the third time!) don't believe a now teenage Andy Barcley, that there's a killer doll on the loose.
It's all pretty tiresome, and tied together by a poor script.
Chucky himself is the same old, shooting off sweary one liners and being a general prick to everyone he comes across (not necessarily a bad thing).
The finale is pretty lackluster, and not a patch on the seemingly never ending abuse parade against Chucky from Child's Play 2, but it does boast some nice animatronic work and some nasty practical effects.
Child's Play 3 is ultimately a thoroughly underwhelming sequel, sat in a weird purgatory between the more horror themed elements of the first movie, and the schlockier elements of the later films.
Merissa (13659 KP) rated Shadow of Deception (The Kazumi Chronicles #1) in Books
Dec 17, 2018
There is so much that goes on in this book, but that is not a bad thing. In fact, even when it had finished, I still needed more!!
You get a prologue with a young child, then it skips forward ten years and she is the sole survivor of a plane crash. You don't know how or why, and you stay with "Gabi" as she tries to figure out who she is and where she belongs. She is taken to a secret location where there is a specialised group of people called Sarcomeres.
I won't go into the story any further as I hate giving away spoilers. Suffice it to say, I loved every word. It is full of action and intrigue, with snippets of memory surfacing occasionally. There is certainly more than enough to keep your attention! With a hint of romance between Finn and Gabi/Kazumi as well, this is a well-rounded story with full-bodied and believable characters.
This is certainly an author I will be following and I really hope that she brings out more books in general, but specifically with this world and characters. Highly recommended.
* I received this book from Xpresso Book Tours in return for a fair and honest review. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
You get a prologue with a young child, then it skips forward ten years and she is the sole survivor of a plane crash. You don't know how or why, and you stay with "Gabi" as she tries to figure out who she is and where she belongs. She is taken to a secret location where there is a specialised group of people called Sarcomeres.
I won't go into the story any further as I hate giving away spoilers. Suffice it to say, I loved every word. It is full of action and intrigue, with snippets of memory surfacing occasionally. There is certainly more than enough to keep your attention! With a hint of romance between Finn and Gabi/Kazumi as well, this is a well-rounded story with full-bodied and believable characters.
This is certainly an author I will be following and I really hope that she brings out more books in general, but specifically with this world and characters. Highly recommended.
* I received this book from Xpresso Book Tours in return for a fair and honest review. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated A Dog Called Demolition in Books
Nov 12, 2019
This book follows the story of Danny, a young man who has always wanted a dog but has never been allowed one. So he builds one himself, a path that will eventually lead to him discovering a horrifying truth about the world.
This book is full-on Robert Rankin, meaning that unless you have read a few of his books and are used to his writing style and in-jokes a lot of this one will just make no sense (although making sense is never the aim of a Rankin book). The plot is a slight one to hang a whole novel off of and so there is a lot of inconsequential writing around the main story. Enjoying this book relies on the reader enjoying passing the time with these bits when the main plot isn't going anywhere. I enjoy spending time with Rankin's writing so enjoy the book. Others may feel otherwise.
So the book itself is full of the usual Rankin nonsense, walk on parts of characters from other books, repeated phrases and general strangeness. It's not brilliantly funny but it's pretty amusing.
Also worth noting is Danny's cameo in another book, which casts a whole different light in what might really be going on in this one.
This book is full-on Robert Rankin, meaning that unless you have read a few of his books and are used to his writing style and in-jokes a lot of this one will just make no sense (although making sense is never the aim of a Rankin book). The plot is a slight one to hang a whole novel off of and so there is a lot of inconsequential writing around the main story. Enjoying this book relies on the reader enjoying passing the time with these bits when the main plot isn't going anywhere. I enjoy spending time with Rankin's writing so enjoy the book. Others may feel otherwise.
So the book itself is full of the usual Rankin nonsense, walk on parts of characters from other books, repeated phrases and general strangeness. It's not brilliantly funny but it's pretty amusing.
Also worth noting is Danny's cameo in another book, which casts a whole different light in what might really be going on in this one.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Cube 2: Hypercube (2002) in Movies
Apr 5, 2020
A little too out there
The first Cube film for me was always an underrated low budget cult classic, and definitely a precursor for the likes of Saw etc. The original was a great idea with just enough maths and science to make it believable and not completely ridiculous. Sadly the same can’t be said about this sequel.
They’ve gone far too over the top on the science that whilst it does make some sense, it makes the whole idea of the cube a completely silly and ridiculous idea. And the ending itself as far as the cube goes is just laughably bizarre. There’s also the general plot and story, which seems to have left out all of the bits from the original that made it interesting - like the scary traps and numbered doors. Some of the characters are interesting, others are just carbon copies from the original or completely pointless and forgettable. You can tell they’ve got a bigger budget with the amount of CGI in this, it’s just a shame it’s rather poor and lacks the punch of the physical traps used in the original.
This is a rather sorry excuse for a sequel, and not one I’d recommend watching. The third film and prequel Cube Zero is a much better watch.
They’ve gone far too over the top on the science that whilst it does make some sense, it makes the whole idea of the cube a completely silly and ridiculous idea. And the ending itself as far as the cube goes is just laughably bizarre. There’s also the general plot and story, which seems to have left out all of the bits from the original that made it interesting - like the scary traps and numbered doors. Some of the characters are interesting, others are just carbon copies from the original or completely pointless and forgettable. You can tell they’ve got a bigger budget with the amount of CGI in this, it’s just a shame it’s rather poor and lacks the punch of the physical traps used in the original.
This is a rather sorry excuse for a sequel, and not one I’d recommend watching. The third film and prequel Cube Zero is a much better watch.
Disappointing
The trailer for this made it out to be a rather tense and creepy horror, however I'm afraid to say that it really falls short.
Octavia Spencer is the best thing about this film. She really knows how to play a creepy stalker type woman well - she's definitely got those crazy eyes! The rest of the cast are decent but sadly underused - Luke Evans is wasted and there's a blink and you'll miss it appearance from Alison Janney. The younger cast are surprisingly alright but are let down by the film in general.
The main problem with this film is it's severely lacking in creeps and horror until the last 20 minutes or so. You spend well over an hour waiting for what you'd expected all along. The film is bearable enough that you don't get bored, you just notice that not very much happens and then it's all over in one go. The finale is good but is also rather predictable and has some very bizarre and nonsensical actions from Ma herself. There's also a very small number of deaths in this which is rather odd considering it's been classed as a horror.
Overall this was watchable but ultimately disappointing and quite forgettable.
Octavia Spencer is the best thing about this film. She really knows how to play a creepy stalker type woman well - she's definitely got those crazy eyes! The rest of the cast are decent but sadly underused - Luke Evans is wasted and there's a blink and you'll miss it appearance from Alison Janney. The younger cast are surprisingly alright but are let down by the film in general.
The main problem with this film is it's severely lacking in creeps and horror until the last 20 minutes or so. You spend well over an hour waiting for what you'd expected all along. The film is bearable enough that you don't get bored, you just notice that not very much happens and then it's all over in one go. The finale is good but is also rather predictable and has some very bizarre and nonsensical actions from Ma herself. There's also a very small number of deaths in this which is rather odd considering it's been classed as a horror.
Overall this was watchable but ultimately disappointing and quite forgettable.
Mickey’s Shapes Sing-Along by Disney Imagicademy
Education and Games
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Join Mickey & Friends on a magical musical ride with Mickey's Shapes Sing-Along by Disney...
Sawyer (231 KP) Feb 11, 2018