Search

Search only in certain items:

Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985)
Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985)
1985 | Horror
Part V of the Friday the 13th franchise is an absolute blast, and no one can tell me otherwise. Is it silly? Definitely. Does it go overboard with its goofy characters a little too often? Damn right it does (pretty sure someone gets called "a dildo" at one point) Are there better Friday films out there? Yes sir, but none of this stops the fact that Part V is a decent, entertaining, smack bang middle of the 80s slasher.

The killer this time around isn't Jason Voorhees, even if it is only by name, and this "mystery" surrounding the killers identity achieves two things - 1. It adds a whodunnit element to the series, otherwise only ever seen in the original and 2. It keeps the killer offscreen for most of the runtime, saving budget costs by not showing much in terms of kills (although that belt against the tree death is a doozy). This results in a less gory sequel, especially after the more brutal Part IV, but it's not a big issue. The whole thing almost feels like an R-Rated episode of Scooby-Doo. The reveal of the killer is definitely weak though. Not enough set up means and underwhelming payoff.

There are soooooooo many characters in this. I swear there are still new ones being introduced up until the last 20 minutes, and they're all just body count fodder for "Jason". Not necessarily a bad thing, pretty standard practice by now. I did like little Reckless Reggie. That dude is awesome. Way more awesome than Tommy Jarvis, who is just a whiny bitch for the whole runtime. Thankfully Thom Mathews is just around the corner.

It's not the best Friday movie, but far from being the worst. As far as 80s slashers go, it's damn good time.
  
Fragile Eternity (Wicked Lovely, #3)
Fragile Eternity (Wicked Lovely, #3)
Melissa Marr | 2009 | Paranormal, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
7.4 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
At first I was really excited that this book was picking up on Seth and Aislinn from where the first book left off. Sorcha's court is very interesting and uniquely different from the other three courts, and I think that it is the court I would most likely fit into. I like how Marr fashions each court by a different set of rules, so that something that one court has the power to accomplish another court cannot necessarily duplicate. This makes the plot less predictable and allows the monarchs of each court to become more memorable and unique to the reader.
Keenan is just as much of an arse as he is in the other books - I see the least character growth with him, despite how much he is not getting what he wants. Aislinn is obviously still relatively naive about him. Despite how hard she works to be a good queen, she still appears to be an amateur, based on how easily everyone keeps secrets from her. I really like how hard Seth works to be a good boyfriend, but I love how the reader gets to see him in his weaker moments. This makes him more humane and believeable. His courage and determination are quite commendable, but I can hardly believe that he missed that very important detail about Faerie when he makes his bargain with Sorcha. As much reading as he has supposedly done on the subject, it isn't very likely that he would not read about the time differences. I was so disappointed when I realized that Seth had essentially become a "momma's boy" when Sorcha makes him her Faerie son. While this seems to benefit Sorcha, I really don't see how this will benefit Seth - and every other fairy, except for Bananach, seems to agree with this.
As for Bananach, while what she sees is focused on her goals of War, by the end of this book, I don't see how there could be any other outcome. Each of the monarchs are too focused on protecting and strengthening his or her own courts to care about the fate of the fairy world as a whole, which the real world has proven can only have one outcome. While the romantic in me just wants to see each of the monarchs find mates and a happily ever after, I like how Marr deviates from this typical theme and produces books that thrive on unpredictability. I look forward to getting my hands on the next book, Radiant Shadows (Wicked Lovely).
  
40x40

Fred (860 KP) rated Overlord (2018) in Movies

Jun 8, 2019  
Overlord (2018)
Overlord (2018)
2018 | Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Great blend of genres
After some great WWII war drama, this movie shifts to horror & blends the two perfectly. It's kind of like "From Dusk Til Dawn" where it all seems to be going normally, then BAM! we're hit with the shift. The acting is top notch, but the only problem is the film never feels like it's really WWII. You can tell it was made recently. I mean, there's no way the soldiers would be racially mixed. And if it was, the soldiers wouldn't have been civil to each other. It does pull us out of the mood a little, but today's movies have to do this. A strong person of color and/or a strong woman must be thrown in, otherwise people will complain.I have no problem with these & if it sounds like I am complaining about it, it's only to point out that people will complain. I wouldn't be giving the film an 8 out of 10 otherwise.

Anyway, back to the film itself. Plenty of action & drama in this one. It's most enjoyable & sometimes can be real creepy. I don't want to give the story away, so I'll just leave it at that. Simple enough. If you're into war dramas, horror, sci-fi & the likes, then give it a watch.
  
The Big Over Easy: An Investigation with the Nursery Crime Division
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Fford. If you don't know him you should, especially if you love Adams & Pratchett
I picked this up on the off-chance , when it was on special offer. This is how I like to try out writers that are new to me. Buy 'em cheap and then it doesn't matter if (as is so often the case) they end up in the secondhand-bookshop.

If only more of them had fulfilled their promise as this did!

I really wasn't entirely clear on what I was getting, (that happens to me sometimes - I thought 'The Mummy' was a horror film!) but I'm so very glad I got it.

What Adams did for Sci-Fi and Pratchett did for Fantasy, so now Fford s doing for the 'tec novel. This amazing imagination give us a story in which Humpty-Dumpty, noted intellectual, womaniser and law-bender,is found dead at the bottom of a wall. It looks like suicide, but is it? Enter Jack Spratt hard-working, family-man detective with the Nursery Crimes Division.

Few things, even those I love actually make me laugh out loud, but this managed it on several occasions. If you like off-the-wall, bizarre or just plain silly, buy this.Then buy the rest of his books.
  
40x40

Ross (3284 KP) Feb 7, 2018

I much prefer the Nursery Crimes books to the Thursday Next series, for which he is better known.

40x40

Mayhawke (97 KP) Feb 9, 2018

I agree. I waited years for the third one to come out before I gave up all hope.

The 15:17 To Paris (2018)
The 15:17 To Paris (2018)
2018 | Drama, History, Thriller
Major disappointment
Going in I must tell you I am one of the biggest Eastwood fans out there, so if anyone should have loved this movie it would have been me.

Other than the expected climax there is really not much to like here. I think we all take it for granted when we see professional skiers, or tennis players that thy make their jobs look so easy. The same is the case with actors. Eastwood's decision to cast the real-life heroes to play themselves rather than professional actors might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but it did not serve this film well AT ALL. Maybe if the screenplay would have been better or even the flow of the story would have been more cohesive it would not have stood out as much.


The climax of the film is certainly riveting and emotional; however, the 95 minutes it took to get there was just not that exciting.


I certainly don't take away anything from the heroism these men displayed or the courage they have in life. We should all step up to the challenge when presented with these events.


Looks like I'll have to go back and watch American Sniper.


  
Tau (2018)
Tau (2018)
2018 | Sci-Fi, Thriller
I had heard little whispers about this movie before it came out, comparing it to Upgrade (2018), only less gory. First of all, it was nothing like that, but it was very good. The premise is interesting--a young woman is kidnapped and held for experimentation by a sociopathic computer genius, who has created an AI named Tau to run his house. Only he's kept Tau in the dark about a lot of stuff. Like that there's more than just the house and other humans exist. I think lately, movies have skewed more towards negative depictions of AI, but Tau is actually rather positive. Without revealing anything, both Julia (the kidnapee) and Tau learn things about themselves and each other. The whole film brings up the question of what it is to be a person, how much empathy we can grant to non-human sentience, and what it means to be a prisoner.

Very good, and visually appealing as well. I loved the way Tau "looked," but there were times when the CG got a little shaky. Nothing unexpected for a movie with this kind of budget. If you enjoyed Dean Koontz's "Demon Seed" or the film adaptation, I think you'll like this.
  
The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty (Sleeping Beauty, #1)
The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty (Sleeping Beauty, #1)
A.N. Roquelaure | 1999 | Erotica, Fiction & Poetry
6
7.5 (11 Ratings)
Book Rating
One day I was just looking online through random books that I could read and I came across this trilogy and it sparked my interest. I thought I would give this book a go. All I knew about it was that it was an erotic twist on a fairytale, I thought it might even be quite sweet...wow! One word comes to mind after reading this book...HARSH! To sum it up I would say 'torture-porn', and how tortured these characters indeed were. Although the story was well written it went beyond enjoyment and straight to 'I don't think I can even finish this book, it's pretty horrendous!'. But I stuck it out and finished it with a gob-smacked expression on my face. This isn't a sweet, fluffy and easy-to-read novel, its hard-core and sadistic. This review sounds like I didn't like the book yet I gave it 3 stars...this is because I really liked the challenge of getting through this book and it left me in shock, so many books i finish with a shrug then move on but this book is definitely something to remember. I am now reading a comedy inbetween carrying on with the series as even I feel like the characters need a break.
  
Ambient 1: Music for Airports by Brian Eno
Ambient 1: Music for Airports by Brian Eno
1978 | Rock
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I love Brian Eno, but I picked this album specifically because it's one of those albums that if you're up at six in the morning, stressed out wondering why you were up all night, I can just put this on and everything feels OK. It's almost superficial because it's so sweet and ambient, but I respect it a lot because it always piques my interest. I know he wrote some of the songs with Robert Wyatt from Soft Machine, and Robert Wyatt has this delicate, fragile sort of energy, I feel like that's there. An old friend of mine, Yuka Honda from Cibo Matto, the first band I was in, first played this to me on vinyl in the mid-90s. I was smoking a lot of pot in those days. I've read that Eno made it with the intention of actually playing it in airports. For fun I have put it on [in an airport] and there is something quite airporty about it… something machine-like about the melody. It reminds me of the architecture of an airport, it's not bustling or busy, it's like an airport when no one's there. I think it's the number one album I'd recommend for taking a bath to."

Source
  
Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy by The Who
Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy by The Who
1971 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I love the sound of ‘I Can’t Explain’. It’s my favourite and I love all those earlier ones. I used do them onstage with a group called The Nightriders and The Idle Race as well. ‘Pictures Of Lily’ and that kind of stuff. I used to love playing all those Who songs. They had something about them, The Who. It was like magic, the sound. And just watching Pete Townshend, he was always amazing. Did I ever catch them back in the day? Yeah! Not half! The loudest bloody thing I’ve ever heard in my life! I went to this place called Midnight City in Birmingham and it was quite a big room and everyone was waiting for them: ""wow! We’re gonna see The Who!"" and they struck up and went BLAAANG! and your earholes would go WOOOOM! and you couldn’t hear a fucking thing! Your hearing was gone! You know when your ears go inside out? And it’s like silence and you can’t hear fuck all for the next 10 minutes until your hearing starts coming back! And gradually you could start hearing them again. It was like a compressor, almost. It was really exciting to hear that when you’re a kid. And the tunes they played were so great. It was beautiful. Fantastic!"

Source
  
Cindi's Chocolate Valentine
Cindi's Chocolate Valentine
Beverley Reichman | 2022 | Children
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
You are looking for a lovable animal book for your child or children. Cindi's Chocolate Valentine does a beautiful job of showing your child that changing your mind about liking a holiday or not. It does it through a dog getting dressed up and learning what Valentine's day is.

Though Cindi is unsure what Valentine's day is or what is going on. She has paraded around with her buddy, Pitty Pat, and is outfitted together. She does not seem to like it one bit. But will Cindi change her mind?

The pictures are done well. You can find a way to enjoy a holiday or find out what you're unsure about and decide to change your mind. Maybe meeting someone new is hard, and that someone does something to help transform your mind about it. The pictures are colorful. Ever feel like something you did but did not like at first. Maybe something made you change your mind. That's okay to change your mind.

Cindi's Chocolate Valentine is a fun and enjoyable book; It just likes some suitable lessons to teach children or a child. Parents will enjoy this book as well. It is a quick and easy read. This book will show you, love, though animals, what Valentine's day is about.