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Underwater
9.0
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Hidden deep beneath the azure surface, the secret of the ocean is coming to the light of day. Don't...
Murder in Chinatown
9.0
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In Chinatown to deliver a baby, Sarah Brandt meets a group of women she might otherwise never have...
The Last Bear
8.0
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There are no polar bears left on Bear Island. At least, that’s what April’s father tells her...
Dean (6927 KP) rated Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) in Movies
Dec 3, 2022
Great Cast (1 more)
Good plot twist
A fun Mystery of many layers
A decent follow up film to @Knives Out (2019) 3 years later with Detective Blanc invited to a remote island for a Murder Mystery Game...or is it?
I liked the original although different to a typical Murder Mystery. This follows in a similar style of an all star cast of crazy characters brought together for a Murder Mystery Game that becomes too real.
Good plot and some twists and turns to keep you guessing. Maybe not quite as good as the original but very close and good fun, although Craig's accent is a bit annoying after a while. Definitely looks good on the big screen.
I liked the original although different to a typical Murder Mystery. This follows in a similar style of an all star cast of crazy characters brought together for a Murder Mystery Game that becomes too real.
Good plot and some twists and turns to keep you guessing. Maybe not quite as good as the original but very close and good fun, although Craig's accent is a bit annoying after a while. Definitely looks good on the big screen.
David McK (3557 KP) rated Ghost of Tsushima in Video Games
Jan 27, 2023
Sucker Punch's open-world game, set during the 13th century Mongol invasion of Japan, and in which the player takes on the role of the samurai Jin Sakai, who must go against the way of his ancestors and his training to stop said invasion.
Think Assassin's Creed (though you're not an assassin. Not that the later entries in that series had you as being one anyway ...), but without the whole Animus concept, or the underpinning Assassin/Templar conflict or the modern day elements.
It's also quite immersive with the Guiding Wind concept leading you to whatever location you had set, instead of cluttering up the screen with a HUD, and the story itself is well told.
Now to try out the Iki Island expansion ...
Think Assassin's Creed (though you're not an assassin. Not that the later entries in that series had you as being one anyway ...), but without the whole Animus concept, or the underpinning Assassin/Templar conflict or the modern day elements.
It's also quite immersive with the Guiding Wind concept leading you to whatever location you had set, instead of cluttering up the screen with a HUD, and the story itself is well told.
Now to try out the Iki Island expansion ...
The Druids Lair (Warrior #2)
6.0
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AD 18, Britannia. Prince Caratacus arrives at the Druid sanctuary in the far west of the island of...
David McK (3557 KP) rated Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) in Movies
Apr 11, 2024
Well, that was ... different.
Or, as one my my mates put it, mental.
This is part of the so-called Monsterverse that saturated with Kong: Skull Island, so did have a few references sprinkled throughout to previous movies.
I *think*, however, you could get away with not having seen all of those - I know I have, but also can't really remember the ins and outs of each, but was still able to follow what was going on.
Most (not all) of this is also set on Hollow Earth, mostly centering around Kong rather than Godzilla.
However, if you want to see gigantic beasts battering each other while building collapse around them and people run screaming for their lives, then this will do you.
Or, as one my my mates put it, mental.
This is part of the so-called Monsterverse that saturated with Kong: Skull Island, so did have a few references sprinkled throughout to previous movies.
I *think*, however, you could get away with not having seen all of those - I know I have, but also can't really remember the ins and outs of each, but was still able to follow what was going on.
Most (not all) of this is also set on Hollow Earth, mostly centering around Kong rather than Godzilla.
However, if you want to see gigantic beasts battering each other while building collapse around them and people run screaming for their lives, then this will do you.
The Wild Robot (2024)
10.0
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Movie
*The Wild Robot** is a 2024 animated science fiction film directed by Chris Sanders, based on Peter...
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Food Chain Island in Tabletop Games
Jul 1, 2020
With the current pandemic (not the game) going on in the world, and the necessity for people to distance themselves from each other, game nights everywhere have been put on hold. That doesn’t mean that gaming must stop! Whether you’re a seasoned solo gamer, or new to the solo genre, ButtonShy has done it again with a fantastic new little wallet game in their Simply Solo series – check it out!
You find yourself on a small, isolated island teeming with wildlife – but there is no set hierarchy! It’s a world of ‘eat or be eaten’ and you’ve got to survive. Manipulate the wildlife and organize the food chain in such a way that leaves you on top. Are you able to strategize the best meals, or will the island be left in chaos?
Disclaimer: We were provided a PnP version of Food Chain Island for the purposes of this preview. Please excuse my lack of a color printer, but rest assured that the artwork of the final product is eye-catching, colorful, and easy to read! Check out the Kickstarter (Live now through June 6th) for a look at the finished production copy. -L
Food Chain Island is a solo card game of network building and chaining in which players are trying to end with the fewest remaining cards possible. The game, like its other ButtonShy siblings, contains only 18 cards, divided into Land animals (16 cards) and Water animals (2 cards). All animals have a special power associated with it, and all of the Land animal cards are numbered from 0-15. To setup the game, set the 2 Water animals off to the side (you’ll use those later), shuffle all of the Land animals, and create a 4×4 face-up grid of Land animal cards. Now you can start the game!
Every turn you will move one animal card to ‘eat’ another. Select an animal, and move it one space in one of the four cardinal directions so that it is placed over top of another animal. The card that is now covered up is considered ‘eaten.’ Each animal may only eat certain other animals, however, so this is where the card number comes into play. An animal can only ‘eat’ any animal card that is 1-3 numbers lower than its value. For example, the ‘4’ animal can only eat cards 3, 2, or 1. Simple, right? Not so fast. Each animal also has a special ability on it, and you must activate the ability of that card once it has eaten another animal. This step is mandatory, and can really help or hinder your strategy – so make sure you are thinking about those abilities and not just the card numbers. At any time during the game, you may choose to discard one of the 2 Water animals from the side to perform its special ability in addition to, or instead of, the ability you just triggered. The game ends when you have only 1-3 animals remaining, the number remaining signifying varying degrees of success. If you have 4 or more animals remaining but are unable to make any more legal moves, the game is over and you have lost.
For being a game with such simple rules and gameplay, it is way more strategic than meets the eye. Each card can only eat specific cards, so you’re trying to position them in a way that fulfills those requirements numerically. You also have to be thinking ahead to each card power, because that step is mandatory. You cannot choose to ignore a card ability just because it may be detrimental to you – that’s what keeps your strategy changing at all times! You’re playing a long game here, and must be looking ahead several turns in advance so as to not accidentally strand yourself with no legal moves left. Every move should be thought through and carefully calculated to see if you can truly win the game. Along with that, every game will have a different starting grid which ensures that you won’t play the same game twice. The rules even suggest alternate beginning grid layouts to provide further challenge to players.
The other thing I love about Food Chain Island is that it is so fast to play, and it has a small footprint. If I only had 5 minutes to spare and was dying to play a game, Food Chain Island is what I would pull out. The speed of gameplay doesn’t take away from the engagement and thought needed to be successful, and that keeps me coming back for more. I rarely just play one game at a time – I will play 4-5 in a row because it is so addicting! Although it’s not officially a Tiny Epic game, it is designed by the one and only Scott Almes who hits it out of the park with this one as well. Coupled with the quick play time, the small footprint of the game makes it easy to play at any place or time you want.
With every new wallet game, ButtonShy continues to surprise me with quality gameplay and design using only 18 cards. Food Chain Island is no exception, and is a perfect first installation in their new Simply Solo line of wallet games. I know that this is a game I will be backing to get the final production copy in lieu of my PnP copy. I encourage everyone to check this game out – whether you’ve played solo games or not, this is a great little filler or introductory game to the genre. Visit the Kickstarter before it’s too late!
You find yourself on a small, isolated island teeming with wildlife – but there is no set hierarchy! It’s a world of ‘eat or be eaten’ and you’ve got to survive. Manipulate the wildlife and organize the food chain in such a way that leaves you on top. Are you able to strategize the best meals, or will the island be left in chaos?
Disclaimer: We were provided a PnP version of Food Chain Island for the purposes of this preview. Please excuse my lack of a color printer, but rest assured that the artwork of the final product is eye-catching, colorful, and easy to read! Check out the Kickstarter (Live now through June 6th) for a look at the finished production copy. -L
Food Chain Island is a solo card game of network building and chaining in which players are trying to end with the fewest remaining cards possible. The game, like its other ButtonShy siblings, contains only 18 cards, divided into Land animals (16 cards) and Water animals (2 cards). All animals have a special power associated with it, and all of the Land animal cards are numbered from 0-15. To setup the game, set the 2 Water animals off to the side (you’ll use those later), shuffle all of the Land animals, and create a 4×4 face-up grid of Land animal cards. Now you can start the game!
Every turn you will move one animal card to ‘eat’ another. Select an animal, and move it one space in one of the four cardinal directions so that it is placed over top of another animal. The card that is now covered up is considered ‘eaten.’ Each animal may only eat certain other animals, however, so this is where the card number comes into play. An animal can only ‘eat’ any animal card that is 1-3 numbers lower than its value. For example, the ‘4’ animal can only eat cards 3, 2, or 1. Simple, right? Not so fast. Each animal also has a special ability on it, and you must activate the ability of that card once it has eaten another animal. This step is mandatory, and can really help or hinder your strategy – so make sure you are thinking about those abilities and not just the card numbers. At any time during the game, you may choose to discard one of the 2 Water animals from the side to perform its special ability in addition to, or instead of, the ability you just triggered. The game ends when you have only 1-3 animals remaining, the number remaining signifying varying degrees of success. If you have 4 or more animals remaining but are unable to make any more legal moves, the game is over and you have lost.
For being a game with such simple rules and gameplay, it is way more strategic than meets the eye. Each card can only eat specific cards, so you’re trying to position them in a way that fulfills those requirements numerically. You also have to be thinking ahead to each card power, because that step is mandatory. You cannot choose to ignore a card ability just because it may be detrimental to you – that’s what keeps your strategy changing at all times! You’re playing a long game here, and must be looking ahead several turns in advance so as to not accidentally strand yourself with no legal moves left. Every move should be thought through and carefully calculated to see if you can truly win the game. Along with that, every game will have a different starting grid which ensures that you won’t play the same game twice. The rules even suggest alternate beginning grid layouts to provide further challenge to players.
The other thing I love about Food Chain Island is that it is so fast to play, and it has a small footprint. If I only had 5 minutes to spare and was dying to play a game, Food Chain Island is what I would pull out. The speed of gameplay doesn’t take away from the engagement and thought needed to be successful, and that keeps me coming back for more. I rarely just play one game at a time – I will play 4-5 in a row because it is so addicting! Although it’s not officially a Tiny Epic game, it is designed by the one and only Scott Almes who hits it out of the park with this one as well. Coupled with the quick play time, the small footprint of the game makes it easy to play at any place or time you want.
With every new wallet game, ButtonShy continues to surprise me with quality gameplay and design using only 18 cards. Food Chain Island is no exception, and is a perfect first installation in their new Simply Solo line of wallet games. I know that this is a game I will be backing to get the final production copy in lieu of my PnP copy. I encourage everyone to check this game out – whether you’ve played solo games or not, this is a great little filler or introductory game to the genre. Visit the Kickstarter before it’s too late!
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Echoes in Books
Jan 23, 2020
<b><i>I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>
<h2><strong><cite>Echoes</cite></strong><strong> by Alice Reeds is so confusing yet interesting at the exact same time.</strong></h2>
Alice Reed's latest novel is <i>super</i> vague in its synopsis with two teens (Fiona and Miles) applying for an internship and somehow waking up on a deserted island with no recollection of how they got there in the first place.
<strong>I can't tell if my feelings are a good thing or a bad thing. </strong>I have so many thoughts and feelings about <i>Echoes</i>, so I'm going to run around in the middle. 🤔
<h3><strong><i>Echoes</i></strong><strong> is confusing AF</strong></h3>
Reeds lays out this book in two time periods - Berlin and the island. Berlin is supposedly right before they got to the island, but I am left with so many questions of <i>how</i> they even got there.
Heck, I'm left with so many questions after finishing the novel. If that was Reeds's intention, she did a phenomenal job with it, because I'm confused AF with a vague idea of what even happened.
<h3><strong>There is instalove</strong></h3>
You don't even need to try to know that this is instalove and enemies to lovers on the spot. Fiona and Miles are high school enemies - they've hated each other from the moment they met and <i>somehow</i> ended up on an island together. Alone. What else is going to happen in the world of book tropes? 🤷
<h3><strong>To be honest, this book makes you think</strong></h3>
I don't think I've walked away even one step ahead from each chapter without having to retrace my steps and think about what really happened. This might be why I'm still super confused - I'm constantly asking, "How did this happen?" and "Why did this happen?"
<strong>I had to step away </strong><strong><i>a lot</i></strong><strong> because I was confused.</strong> My brain was just pure:
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2767" src="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/317/2017/08/what-the-fuck.gif"; alt="" width="320" height="159" />
I'm still lost and I have not returned from this lostness. (Maybe I was tired.)
<h3><strong>It still kept you interested despite the confusion</strong></h3>
I <i>nearly</i> DNFed this book, but I wanted to know <i>what</i> happened and what <i>will</i> happen at the end. Fortunately for fictional books, I don't get killed for being curious.
<h3><strong>The characters felt pretty flat and writing was meh</strong></h3>
I didn't care too much about Fiona and Miles - sure I want them alive, but do I care? Not really... I cared more about how they got there in the first and how they got from Berlin to a deserted island. All I got from the characters is:
<ol>
<li>Fiona is a champion kickboxer</li>
<li>Miles is a wealthy and popular kid at school</li>
<li>Their fathers didn't really give a shit about them</li>
</ol>
Plus the writing! First of all, let's set aside that confusion and focus on the writing by itself, which was okay, but definitely not the best. <strong>There was a lot of telling and descriptions that made me want to roll over and fall asleep</strong> than "I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT." And for me, meh writing + confusion = does not have the desire to continue the book.
<h2><strong>Honestly, </strong><i><strong>Echoes</strong></i><strong> is just plain confusion, which is great if you want to be confused. I just felt like I had no answers by the end of the book when all I wanted </strong><strong><i>were</i></strong><strong> answers.</strong></h2>
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/echoes-by-alice-reeds/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
<h2><strong><cite>Echoes</cite></strong><strong> by Alice Reeds is so confusing yet interesting at the exact same time.</strong></h2>
Alice Reed's latest novel is <i>super</i> vague in its synopsis with two teens (Fiona and Miles) applying for an internship and somehow waking up on a deserted island with no recollection of how they got there in the first place.
<strong>I can't tell if my feelings are a good thing or a bad thing. </strong>I have so many thoughts and feelings about <i>Echoes</i>, so I'm going to run around in the middle. 🤔
<h3><strong><i>Echoes</i></strong><strong> is confusing AF</strong></h3>
Reeds lays out this book in two time periods - Berlin and the island. Berlin is supposedly right before they got to the island, but I am left with so many questions of <i>how</i> they even got there.
Heck, I'm left with so many questions after finishing the novel. If that was Reeds's intention, she did a phenomenal job with it, because I'm confused AF with a vague idea of what even happened.
<h3><strong>There is instalove</strong></h3>
You don't even need to try to know that this is instalove and enemies to lovers on the spot. Fiona and Miles are high school enemies - they've hated each other from the moment they met and <i>somehow</i> ended up on an island together. Alone. What else is going to happen in the world of book tropes? 🤷
<h3><strong>To be honest, this book makes you think</strong></h3>
I don't think I've walked away even one step ahead from each chapter without having to retrace my steps and think about what really happened. This might be why I'm still super confused - I'm constantly asking, "How did this happen?" and "Why did this happen?"
<strong>I had to step away </strong><strong><i>a lot</i></strong><strong> because I was confused.</strong> My brain was just pure:
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2767" src="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/317/2017/08/what-the-fuck.gif"; alt="" width="320" height="159" />
I'm still lost and I have not returned from this lostness. (Maybe I was tired.)
<h3><strong>It still kept you interested despite the confusion</strong></h3>
I <i>nearly</i> DNFed this book, but I wanted to know <i>what</i> happened and what <i>will</i> happen at the end. Fortunately for fictional books, I don't get killed for being curious.
<h3><strong>The characters felt pretty flat and writing was meh</strong></h3>
I didn't care too much about Fiona and Miles - sure I want them alive, but do I care? Not really... I cared more about how they got there in the first and how they got from Berlin to a deserted island. All I got from the characters is:
<ol>
<li>Fiona is a champion kickboxer</li>
<li>Miles is a wealthy and popular kid at school</li>
<li>Their fathers didn't really give a shit about them</li>
</ol>
Plus the writing! First of all, let's set aside that confusion and focus on the writing by itself, which was okay, but definitely not the best. <strong>There was a lot of telling and descriptions that made me want to roll over and fall asleep</strong> than "I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT." And for me, meh writing + confusion = does not have the desire to continue the book.
<h2><strong>Honestly, </strong><i><strong>Echoes</strong></i><strong> is just plain confusion, which is great if you want to be confused. I just felt like I had no answers by the end of the book when all I wanted </strong><strong><i>were</i></strong><strong> answers.</strong></h2>
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/echoes-by-alice-reeds/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>