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Amy Norman (1048 KP) rated Cosmic Sin (2021) in Movies
May 22, 2021
In all honesty I'll admit I didn't really 'watch' this film, it was on in the background whilst I played some games.
*But* when I stick films on in the background they normally grab my attention a few times, and I can keep up with the plot easily enough.
I can say I kept up with the plot of this one, but from what I can tell the dialogue wasn't great, as there was nothing that particularly stood out, as it was a bit of the over tired tropes, and predictable from the outset.
There were a couple of good looking set pieces and action sequences, and the rest didn't look terrible.
If you are looking for an easy to watch sci-fi action film, that's not too heavy on plot, character development, or being overly sciencey, then this could be for you!
*But* when I stick films on in the background they normally grab my attention a few times, and I can keep up with the plot easily enough.
I can say I kept up with the plot of this one, but from what I can tell the dialogue wasn't great, as there was nothing that particularly stood out, as it was a bit of the over tired tropes, and predictable from the outset.
There were a couple of good looking set pieces and action sequences, and the rest didn't look terrible.
If you are looking for an easy to watch sci-fi action film, that's not too heavy on plot, character development, or being overly sciencey, then this could be for you!

Lou Grande (148 KP) rated The Hunger in Books
Jun 28, 2018
Either narrow the focus or expand the scope
Contains spoilers, click to show
This book was so hyped. I was getting emails about it for months; Stephen King recommended it up and down. And it was good! Sort of.
As others have noted, Katsu does an excellent job of building atmosphere and tension in the first half of the book, but when things start to unravel for the Donner Party, so does the narrative. There are too many characters to keep track of interspersed with too many flashbacks. It weakens the impact of what happened up in those mountains. In fact, it barely mentions them at all.
Yes, there are supernatural elements woven into an historical event. But—you know, it wasn’t really necessary. I thought the idea of linking it (the hunger) to a disease was an interesting one that ultimately went nowhere. It all just got too convoluted. I continuously had to keep rechecking who each character was, because some would disappear between chapters. There is so much that is lost between pages, including the fates of (what the reader is led to believe are) key characters.
Do yourself a favor if you pick this one up, and read the Wikipedia article on the Donner Party first. At least then you can maybe keep track of the characters.
As others have noted, Katsu does an excellent job of building atmosphere and tension in the first half of the book, but when things start to unravel for the Donner Party, so does the narrative. There are too many characters to keep track of interspersed with too many flashbacks. It weakens the impact of what happened up in those mountains. In fact, it barely mentions them at all.
Yes, there are supernatural elements woven into an historical event. But—you know, it wasn’t really necessary. I thought the idea of linking it (the hunger) to a disease was an interesting one that ultimately went nowhere. It all just got too convoluted. I continuously had to keep rechecking who each character was, because some would disappear between chapters. There is so much that is lost between pages, including the fates of (what the reader is led to believe are) key characters.
Do yourself a favor if you pick this one up, and read the Wikipedia article on the Donner Party first. At least then you can maybe keep track of the characters.

John Lydon recommended Move It by Cliff Richard in Music (curated)

ArecRain (8 KP) rated After the Hurt in Books
Jan 18, 2018
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
This story had two things going for it for me. 1) It was written dual POV which I love. I love being able to be inside the heros head as well as the heroines. 2) It was a second chance love story.
Normally I would love a second chance romance, but I tend to enjoy the ones where the couple is starting with someone new, not someone they have already been and screwed up with. If it were different circumstance, I could understand. However, I felt Pepper was a very selfish person and I was often annoyed by her behavior. Tank wasnt much better but he was far more patient with Pepper than I could have been. I understand that sometimes people need change or to get away, but I felt Pepper went about it completely the wrong way,
I was also annoyed that there didnt seem to be much interaction between the two. Inner monologues are something I like limited in my stories. They tend to tell more than they show so there is little plot progression. If there is too much of it, I tend to find myself skipping over it especially if it doesnt progress the story line (which inner monologues rarely do.)
I felt like this is a story I could have enjoyed had I liked the characters better.
This story had two things going for it for me. 1) It was written dual POV which I love. I love being able to be inside the heros head as well as the heroines. 2) It was a second chance love story.
Normally I would love a second chance romance, but I tend to enjoy the ones where the couple is starting with someone new, not someone they have already been and screwed up with. If it were different circumstance, I could understand. However, I felt Pepper was a very selfish person and I was often annoyed by her behavior. Tank wasnt much better but he was far more patient with Pepper than I could have been. I understand that sometimes people need change or to get away, but I felt Pepper went about it completely the wrong way,
I was also annoyed that there didnt seem to be much interaction between the two. Inner monologues are something I like limited in my stories. They tend to tell more than they show so there is little plot progression. If there is too much of it, I tend to find myself skipping over it especially if it doesnt progress the story line (which inner monologues rarely do.)
I felt like this is a story I could have enjoyed had I liked the characters better.

Caffeinated Fae (464 KP) rated Luke Skywalker Can't Read: And Other Geeky Truths in Books
Jul 12, 2018
I was really excited to read this book. I love all things filled with geekdom but this one was a little too much for me. I felt like this book was filled with so much opinion that I had a hard time finishing it.
The author was funny and it kept me entertained at times but I felt that this was a giant rant about fandoms. I think that this book could have been marketed a little differently. This is definitely a book that would fit in as a literary essay or critical thinking in a science fiction class. I enjoyed it but I really wish there was more to it than rants about specific details.
All in all, I'm not a huge fan but if you like rants or are missing that science fiction fanatic in your life, this would be the book for you.
The author was funny and it kept me entertained at times but I felt that this was a giant rant about fandoms. I think that this book could have been marketed a little differently. This is definitely a book that would fit in as a literary essay or critical thinking in a science fiction class. I enjoyed it but I really wish there was more to it than rants about specific details.
All in all, I'm not a huge fan but if you like rants or are missing that science fiction fanatic in your life, this would be the book for you.

Dana (24 KP) rated The Ordinary Seaman in Books
Mar 23, 2018
I did not enjoy this novel. I felt like it dwelt too long on the little aspects that didn't really mean much in the whole of the story.
The temporality of the story was confusing at times. It would jump back and forth between some past and the present and even the future at points. Yes, it added to the confusion of time that the crew would have been feeling on the boat, but it just didn't do anything for me.
It was pretty predictable, for me, as to what was going to happen during the novel. I felt very underwhelmed, especially when my teacher told me this was going to be such an amazing novel.
The pacing was either too slow or rushed through things that were important to the plot. There was no real in between for it.
Even the characters started getting on my nerves throughout the novel. The way that everyone treated Bernardo and the way they looked up to Elias and Mark felt too forced for me to really be able to enjoy the novel.
I don't give out low stars like this often, but I felt like this one was necessary. For me, personally, I did not enjoy this novel at all. I didn't feel any take-away from it which was really disappointing.
The temporality of the story was confusing at times. It would jump back and forth between some past and the present and even the future at points. Yes, it added to the confusion of time that the crew would have been feeling on the boat, but it just didn't do anything for me.
It was pretty predictable, for me, as to what was going to happen during the novel. I felt very underwhelmed, especially when my teacher told me this was going to be such an amazing novel.
The pacing was either too slow or rushed through things that were important to the plot. There was no real in between for it.
Even the characters started getting on my nerves throughout the novel. The way that everyone treated Bernardo and the way they looked up to Elias and Mark felt too forced for me to really be able to enjoy the novel.
I don't give out low stars like this often, but I felt like this one was necessary. For me, personally, I did not enjoy this novel at all. I didn't feel any take-away from it which was really disappointing.

Chris d (4 KP) rated Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) in Movies
Nov 2, 2019

Colby Peterson (2 KP) rated Justice League (2017) in Movies
Dec 3, 2017
The characters were cool. (1 more)
The action was exciting and fight scenes were intense.
Good movie
The movie was good and I did really enjoy it. It seemed to be missing something and I’m not sure what. I don’t know if something got lost with a different director taking over to finish it up when the original director had to leave for family reasons. But there just wasnt an element there that could have been. There wasn’t enough character building before they all are together and fighting Steppenwolf.

CloudsGirl27 (2 KP) rated Irresistibly Yours (Oxford, #1) in Books
May 23, 2018
This is a great book!!! I couldn't put it down, it was such an easy read. And I wanted to see if Cole would fall in love with Penelope. I really like the characters, and where the story headed. Even the sub characters were great. I will note that there wasn't too many erotica scenes, but the book didn't need it. I'd definitely recommend this book to all my friends.
I reviews this book through Netgalley.
I reviews this book through Netgalley.

Caffeinated Fae (464 KP) rated Mask of Shadows in Books
Jul 10, 2018
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
When I first read the description of Mask of Shadows I knew I had to read it. It sounded absolutely fascinating and something just a little bit different than the normal Fantasy Young Adult novels on the market. The first thing that stood out to me was the gender fluid nature of the main character. It was well done. I loved the openness of this book and the fact that it wasn't highlighted too much. I loved how different Sal was and how the gender fluidity was there but more realistic in a sense.
The plot was intense and it kept my attention. I loved how it was Hunger Games meets Game of Thrones meets Selection. It was interesting to read and it had some twists and turns that had me on my toes.
Ultimately, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy and adventure.
When I first read the description of Mask of Shadows I knew I had to read it. It sounded absolutely fascinating and something just a little bit different than the normal Fantasy Young Adult novels on the market. The first thing that stood out to me was the gender fluid nature of the main character. It was well done. I loved the openness of this book and the fact that it wasn't highlighted too much. I loved how different Sal was and how the gender fluidity was there but more realistic in a sense.
The plot was intense and it kept my attention. I loved how it was Hunger Games meets Game of Thrones meets Selection. It was interesting to read and it had some twists and turns that had me on my toes.
Ultimately, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy and adventure.