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Mothergamer (1601 KP) rated the PlayStation 3 version of Nier in Video Games
Apr 3, 2019
To say that Nier is dark filled with loss of hope undertones is like saying fire is hot. However, when my friend Gary was showing me the game, I had to admit that the game play looked interesting and I was intrigued. When I found out that it was a thinly veiled sequel to one of the endings in Drakengard, I definitely wanted to play it and test it out. Gary being the awesome friend that he is, loaned me his copy of Nier so I could try it out. It does take me some time to go through a game sometimes due to my hectic schedule, so I apologize to my friends who have been asking if I'm ever going to put into words my thoughts on this particular RPG.
Nier starts off strongly with a great opening scene and brilliant musical score, featuring a shell of a city and harsh winter weather in the middle of summer. After the initial introductory scene you learn that the glories of humanity have disappeared and the few humans that remain struggle to survive in a medieval existence with the threat of shades and a disease known as Black Scrawl and Nier's daughter has it. Nier (the hero), has sworn that he will do anything at all costs to search for a cure.
The graphics are beautifully done right down to the cinematic cut scenes. There is a clear objective to the game and there are plenty of side quests even farming to flesh everything out. The battle system is user friendly and the items and spells menu are quite easy to navigate.You play as Nier and you find yourself caring about this character as the story progresses. There are other interesting characters along the way on this adventure such as Grimoire Weiss, an ancient talking book. That's just for starters. You meet the rest of the companions at different intervals and because of how well written their back stories are, you find yourself caring about them as well.
Now, I know what you're thinking. What's the deal with that first sentence in this little review? Well, let's get down to it shall we? Overall, the game is good with user friendly controls and a solid battle system. The soundtrack is beautiful and they chose wisely with this musical score. However, there are flaws here and there with Nier. So I'll list the pros and cons.
Pros:
The graphics, scenery, and cut scenes are amazing. They stand out and you remember every one.
The musical score is fantastic and well thought out throughout the game.
The character development and writing for the support characters is genius. When you can have your audience genuinely care about the characters in the story, that's pretty great writing.
Their battle system isn't too difficult and the menus are easy to navigate.
While you could hurry to the end of the game, there are many side quests and even a fishing mini-game as well as the option to do some of your own farming to give you a break from slashing all the baddies.
Impressive boss battles capture your interest especially when they throw spell casting cut scenes into the mix.
The story is original and keeps you guessing. You never know what to expect and just when you think you know something, they surprise you with a different event altogether.
Cons:
There are times in Nier, where the pacing could be a lot better. At some points in the story, it drags a little bit and you find yourself wishing they would get on with it so you can move along to the next area already.
It can be a real downer. There are times where everyone is happy and celebrating a victory, only to have something absolutely horrible happen. Half the time it seems like more tragedies happen than good times. Hey, I'm not asking that we all hug a Care Bear and have a lovely tea party, but they really cashed in on that whole emo kid phase.
All the doubling back. You will find yourself revisiting a dungeon or town six times or more for certain quests or plot lines in the story. After a bit of that, it gets a little old and you find yourself sighing with frustration. A lot.
The fetch quests. This ties into the doubling back. There are quite a few fetch quests, where you have to get a certain number of items for various npcs and return to get a reward. They tend to blur together after a while because they are so similar. You'll find yourself just giving up on that whole thing because it's tedious and boring.
BAD CAMERA ANGLES. With all the technology we have in this day and age, it still kills me when a game has not one, but several bad camera angles that happen consistently throughout the game play. There were angles where you couldn't turn the camera enough to get a jump properly, or it would spin wildly turning a corner and you'd find yourself wanting to upchuck your dinner when the wave of vertigo hit you.
A final boss battle with eight boss fights with multiple endings. This one comes last because it is the one that pissed me off the most. Not only do you have eight boss battles to fight, but there is no save point in between them. So if you lose, you get to go through all of that all over again. Top that off with four different endings that you can not get until you play through the whole game again and you'll find yourself wishing you could find the developer who thought this was a good idea and punch him square in the throat. SPOILER ALERT: You have to do the endings in a certain order, because one of the endings actually erases all your saved game data. No you did not misread that. That's actually true.
Now with all of that said, while I don't hate Nier, I don't really love it either. There is good and bad with it, but because of the pros I listed, the game manages to be enjoyable to play. It's definitely not like anything I've ever played before and the supporting cast works well with the main character story wise. It did its job of keeping me entertained and managed to tell an interesting story while doing so. So while it's not a spectacular take my breath away kind of game, it's still a decent game that you could enjoy playing through at least once.
Nier starts off strongly with a great opening scene and brilliant musical score, featuring a shell of a city and harsh winter weather in the middle of summer. After the initial introductory scene you learn that the glories of humanity have disappeared and the few humans that remain struggle to survive in a medieval existence with the threat of shades and a disease known as Black Scrawl and Nier's daughter has it. Nier (the hero), has sworn that he will do anything at all costs to search for a cure.
The graphics are beautifully done right down to the cinematic cut scenes. There is a clear objective to the game and there are plenty of side quests even farming to flesh everything out. The battle system is user friendly and the items and spells menu are quite easy to navigate.You play as Nier and you find yourself caring about this character as the story progresses. There are other interesting characters along the way on this adventure such as Grimoire Weiss, an ancient talking book. That's just for starters. You meet the rest of the companions at different intervals and because of how well written their back stories are, you find yourself caring about them as well.
Now, I know what you're thinking. What's the deal with that first sentence in this little review? Well, let's get down to it shall we? Overall, the game is good with user friendly controls and a solid battle system. The soundtrack is beautiful and they chose wisely with this musical score. However, there are flaws here and there with Nier. So I'll list the pros and cons.
Pros:
The graphics, scenery, and cut scenes are amazing. They stand out and you remember every one.
The musical score is fantastic and well thought out throughout the game.
The character development and writing for the support characters is genius. When you can have your audience genuinely care about the characters in the story, that's pretty great writing.
Their battle system isn't too difficult and the menus are easy to navigate.
While you could hurry to the end of the game, there are many side quests and even a fishing mini-game as well as the option to do some of your own farming to give you a break from slashing all the baddies.
Impressive boss battles capture your interest especially when they throw spell casting cut scenes into the mix.
The story is original and keeps you guessing. You never know what to expect and just when you think you know something, they surprise you with a different event altogether.
Cons:
There are times in Nier, where the pacing could be a lot better. At some points in the story, it drags a little bit and you find yourself wishing they would get on with it so you can move along to the next area already.
It can be a real downer. There are times where everyone is happy and celebrating a victory, only to have something absolutely horrible happen. Half the time it seems like more tragedies happen than good times. Hey, I'm not asking that we all hug a Care Bear and have a lovely tea party, but they really cashed in on that whole emo kid phase.
All the doubling back. You will find yourself revisiting a dungeon or town six times or more for certain quests or plot lines in the story. After a bit of that, it gets a little old and you find yourself sighing with frustration. A lot.
The fetch quests. This ties into the doubling back. There are quite a few fetch quests, where you have to get a certain number of items for various npcs and return to get a reward. They tend to blur together after a while because they are so similar. You'll find yourself just giving up on that whole thing because it's tedious and boring.
BAD CAMERA ANGLES. With all the technology we have in this day and age, it still kills me when a game has not one, but several bad camera angles that happen consistently throughout the game play. There were angles where you couldn't turn the camera enough to get a jump properly, or it would spin wildly turning a corner and you'd find yourself wanting to upchuck your dinner when the wave of vertigo hit you.
A final boss battle with eight boss fights with multiple endings. This one comes last because it is the one that pissed me off the most. Not only do you have eight boss battles to fight, but there is no save point in between them. So if you lose, you get to go through all of that all over again. Top that off with four different endings that you can not get until you play through the whole game again and you'll find yourself wishing you could find the developer who thought this was a good idea and punch him square in the throat. SPOILER ALERT: You have to do the endings in a certain order, because one of the endings actually erases all your saved game data. No you did not misread that. That's actually true.
Now with all of that said, while I don't hate Nier, I don't really love it either. There is good and bad with it, but because of the pros I listed, the game manages to be enjoyable to play. It's definitely not like anything I've ever played before and the supporting cast works well with the main character story wise. It did its job of keeping me entertained and managed to tell an interesting story while doing so. So while it's not a spectacular take my breath away kind of game, it's still a decent game that you could enjoy playing through at least once.
BobbiesDustyPages (1259 KP) rated Slaughterhouse-Five in Books
Feb 9, 2018
So it goes...
Like most Vonnegut books you either love Slaughterhouse-Five or simply hate it, I can admit Vonnegut really isn't for everyone but for me his books are hilarious and leave me thinking about them more days after I finish them.
I found Slaughterhouse-Five at the perfect time in my life where I could really appreciate it. I had lost my grandpa not long before and this book really just help me accept it with this quote from the book;
“When a Tralfamadorian sees a corpse, all he thinks is that the dead person is in bad condition in the particular moment, but that the same person is just fine in plenty of other moments. Now, when I myself hear that somebody is dead, I simply shrug and say what the Tralfamadorians say about dead people, which is "So it goes.”
Through the ups and downs of this book, I just found the whole meaning behind "So it goes" to be so beautiful and I know it is something that will always stick with me.
I found Slaughterhouse-Five at the perfect time in my life where I could really appreciate it. I had lost my grandpa not long before and this book really just help me accept it with this quote from the book;
“When a Tralfamadorian sees a corpse, all he thinks is that the dead person is in bad condition in the particular moment, but that the same person is just fine in plenty of other moments. Now, when I myself hear that somebody is dead, I simply shrug and say what the Tralfamadorians say about dead people, which is "So it goes.”
Through the ups and downs of this book, I just found the whole meaning behind "So it goes" to be so beautiful and I know it is something that will always stick with me.
Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated Three Heart Echo in Books
May 16, 2018
Three Heart Echo by Keary Taylor ended up on my reading list by yet another mislabeling on NetGalley, I must admit. As seen in the title image above, the book is a paranormal suspense. If you’ve read my blog for any length of time, you’ll no doubt guess that I grabbed it from the horror genre titles. Fortunately, after revisiting its cover I can at least say that its actual genre is the right one. While Three Heart Echo does have some elements of horror, it reads more like a paranormal-themed Lifetime movie.
Taking place soon after the death of Jack Caraway, Three Heart Echo tells the story of two vastly different people meeting and, you guessed it, falling in love. It’s not that simple though, and several of the more twisted things that one might expect from a horror novel surface throughout the plot. Iona Faye, a frail woman mourning the death of her fiance, seeks out Sully Whitmore, a man rumored to be able to speak to the dead. Together, the two unravel the darkness of Jack’s past while racing against time to unravel not one, but two curses.
The plot is fairly linear, with only one unexpected twist at the end. That twist defines much of the book though, and I have to admit that I actually felt anger flare up within me. I’ve gotta give Taylor kudos for that one. What I don’t like, besides the heavily romantic subplot, is the fact that, as readers see in many romance books, we’re dealing with two Mary Sue characters. Iona is described as a beautiful fawn whilst Sully is a giant Viking of a man. Catch my drift? Oh, and poor dead Jack? Apparently, he’s a stunner too.
While the plot is straightforward, Taylor also alternates between perspectives on chapters. Now, as a reader, you may think I mean she goes back and forth between past and present. It’s common enough when we read books, after all. Unfortunately, what I mean is that Taylor switches between perspectives of Sully and Iona. For the most part, the switches follow a pattern. There is some story overlap/repetition within those shifts, but it isn’t terrible. What perturbs me about these perspectives is that every now and then, there’s a break to the pattern where it may take some readers a moment to realize that the book has suddenly shifted to the past without warning.
Back to the romance side of things, there are far too many cliches. Poor, helpless main character gets an indescribable pain in their chest and they can’t fathom why it feels like their heart races when they look upon their love interest. As if that’s not bad enough, you know from the get-go that there’s going to be a love story involved. It’s not well enough to leave it a paranormal suspense, we might as well make it a romance too. Because y’know, two attractive people can’t simply be friends!
Speaking of chest pain, there’s another thing about this book that absolutely irked me. I could understand if one character had an odd need to count things. It happens and OCD is a real thing; but, what I’m referring to, is the need by both characters to take exactly five steps, to blink four times, to wait for three heartbeats before they do something so much as take a breath.
Finally, what the hell is a grand opus? The actual term is magnum opus. I’lll hope it was just a typo that was fixed in the final, published copy of the Three Heart Echo. Overall, the story itself is engaging to a degree, but it definitely wasn’t my style. I think it belongs more in the paranormal romance genre than it does horror.
I’d like to thank NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free copy for the purpose of review.
Taking place soon after the death of Jack Caraway, Three Heart Echo tells the story of two vastly different people meeting and, you guessed it, falling in love. It’s not that simple though, and several of the more twisted things that one might expect from a horror novel surface throughout the plot. Iona Faye, a frail woman mourning the death of her fiance, seeks out Sully Whitmore, a man rumored to be able to speak to the dead. Together, the two unravel the darkness of Jack’s past while racing against time to unravel not one, but two curses.
The plot is fairly linear, with only one unexpected twist at the end. That twist defines much of the book though, and I have to admit that I actually felt anger flare up within me. I’ve gotta give Taylor kudos for that one. What I don’t like, besides the heavily romantic subplot, is the fact that, as readers see in many romance books, we’re dealing with two Mary Sue characters. Iona is described as a beautiful fawn whilst Sully is a giant Viking of a man. Catch my drift? Oh, and poor dead Jack? Apparently, he’s a stunner too.
While the plot is straightforward, Taylor also alternates between perspectives on chapters. Now, as a reader, you may think I mean she goes back and forth between past and present. It’s common enough when we read books, after all. Unfortunately, what I mean is that Taylor switches between perspectives of Sully and Iona. For the most part, the switches follow a pattern. There is some story overlap/repetition within those shifts, but it isn’t terrible. What perturbs me about these perspectives is that every now and then, there’s a break to the pattern where it may take some readers a moment to realize that the book has suddenly shifted to the past without warning.
Back to the romance side of things, there are far too many cliches. Poor, helpless main character gets an indescribable pain in their chest and they can’t fathom why it feels like their heart races when they look upon their love interest. As if that’s not bad enough, you know from the get-go that there’s going to be a love story involved. It’s not well enough to leave it a paranormal suspense, we might as well make it a romance too. Because y’know, two attractive people can’t simply be friends!
Speaking of chest pain, there’s another thing about this book that absolutely irked me. I could understand if one character had an odd need to count things. It happens and OCD is a real thing; but, what I’m referring to, is the need by both characters to take exactly five steps, to blink four times, to wait for three heartbeats before they do something so much as take a breath.
Finally, what the hell is a grand opus? The actual term is magnum opus. I’lll hope it was just a typo that was fixed in the final, published copy of the Three Heart Echo. Overall, the story itself is engaging to a degree, but it definitely wasn’t my style. I think it belongs more in the paranormal romance genre than it does horror.
I’d like to thank NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free copy for the purpose of review.
AJaneClark (3975 KP) rated Private Sessions in Books
Nov 13, 2019
Middle of the Range
Caleb Payne is a calculating entrepreneur. An avowed bachelor. He takes what he wants - in the boardroom and the bedroom - and gets thanked for it! While Bryna Metaxas is his opposite; emotionally invested in her family’s business and about to enter into a business deal with Caleb that will shock her on every level... yet she’ll love every minute of it.
It’s a dangerously hot situation, filled with steamy sexual tension and cold business machinations. Can Caleb earn Bryan’s trust - and love??
Very much what you would come to expect of a Blaze Mills and Boon, with a hint of additional naughtiness. I generally view these as a quick read, palette cleanser between more heavier reading material. Tori is well known in the MB world for her good writing. This one whilst well written was lacking in something special. I struggled to like the characters, and the storyline is missing something that I can’t put my finger on.
Not the worst I have read, but far from being the best.
It’s a dangerously hot situation, filled with steamy sexual tension and cold business machinations. Can Caleb earn Bryan’s trust - and love??
Very much what you would come to expect of a Blaze Mills and Boon, with a hint of additional naughtiness. I generally view these as a quick read, palette cleanser between more heavier reading material. Tori is well known in the MB world for her good writing. This one whilst well written was lacking in something special. I struggled to like the characters, and the storyline is missing something that I can’t put my finger on.
Not the worst I have read, but far from being the best.
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated The One and Only in Books
Aug 21, 2018
Full review can also be found on my blog: www.diaryofdifference.com/2018/05/29/the-one-and-only-julia-ash-book-review/
<b><i>When bio-terrorism threatens to obscure humanity, one woman has the power to restore hope.</i></b>
Ruby Spencer is a wife and a mother. She also happens to be the only person that could save the people on Earth from dying! In moments when she is planning to resign from the U.S. Special Warfare Council, Ruby and her husband Clay are sent to one last mission.
With the last assignment being a low-risk mission to Taiwan where they need to analyze the zombie infection and consult with scientists, it seems like they are about to go on a long-deserved mini honeymoon.
But everything goes wrong! They get kidnapped, the biggest world powers all plan a war ahead, and it seems that only the ones that have Ruby are likely to win the war. They all fight over her, and she has no clue why. What makes her so special?
<img src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DcGYE79WkAErxL3.jpg"/>;
<b><i>Review:</i></b>
First of all, I have to thank the author, Julia Ash, for sending over this amazing book to me, in exchange for an honest review!
The beginning of The One and Only is extremely breathtaking! I believe that the beginning might be the best part of the book, actually! The flow of the story is well-thought, and I especially loved the scenes where the author refers to the past, and made me feel like there was another book before that. It is quite easy to catch up with the beginning and the brief details of the past, but if in the future there is a prequel that explains it all – I would love to be the first one to know about it!
Now, the characters are probably the reason that made the book the way it is! We have Ruby, who is our heroine, a brave lady, ready to give all the love, courage and wisdom in the world. She is a mother, a wife, and a brave fighter that never gives up and is never afraid to stand up against evil.
On the other hand, we have her husband – Clay. He was… alright. I suppose? His love for Ruby and their daughter is incredible, but somehow, I could think of him as a manly enough figure in their relationship. He was smart and brave, but not as smart and brave as Ruby.
I couldn’t somehow connect with him.
The character that intrigued me the most is Ox. I loved how Julia has shown us the psychological profile of this man, and the way he thinks. It was lovely reading about his part of his story, and even though he was on the wrong side, it is what he believes in. And the way it is written in so extraordinary, that at times I could see myself giving him an excuse.
The only part that I couldn’t agree with, and I am refusing to accept is – THE ENDING! I will withdraw myself from spoilers, but that’s not how things should have ended! That is not the ending I wanted, that is not the ending I was hoping for. No, no, no. It made me upset, and angry, and I wanted to break something very bad! That was a huge disappointment for me and it changed my whole perception of the story and the book itself.
If you ever get the chance to read this book – you should expect a lot of twists, a lot of ups and downs, and if you are like me and are trying hard to not bite your nails – well, you’re about to fail. This is not your typical book about zombie apocalypse. This is not your usual book about a heroine being kidnapped. This is not your usual book of how a person saves the world. This will be nothing like you expected, and everything you hoped for.
<b><i>When bio-terrorism threatens to obscure humanity, one woman has the power to restore hope.</i></b>
Ruby Spencer is a wife and a mother. She also happens to be the only person that could save the people on Earth from dying! In moments when she is planning to resign from the U.S. Special Warfare Council, Ruby and her husband Clay are sent to one last mission.
With the last assignment being a low-risk mission to Taiwan where they need to analyze the zombie infection and consult with scientists, it seems like they are about to go on a long-deserved mini honeymoon.
But everything goes wrong! They get kidnapped, the biggest world powers all plan a war ahead, and it seems that only the ones that have Ruby are likely to win the war. They all fight over her, and she has no clue why. What makes her so special?
<img src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DcGYE79WkAErxL3.jpg"/>;
<b><i>Review:</i></b>
First of all, I have to thank the author, Julia Ash, for sending over this amazing book to me, in exchange for an honest review!
The beginning of The One and Only is extremely breathtaking! I believe that the beginning might be the best part of the book, actually! The flow of the story is well-thought, and I especially loved the scenes where the author refers to the past, and made me feel like there was another book before that. It is quite easy to catch up with the beginning and the brief details of the past, but if in the future there is a prequel that explains it all – I would love to be the first one to know about it!
Now, the characters are probably the reason that made the book the way it is! We have Ruby, who is our heroine, a brave lady, ready to give all the love, courage and wisdom in the world. She is a mother, a wife, and a brave fighter that never gives up and is never afraid to stand up against evil.
On the other hand, we have her husband – Clay. He was… alright. I suppose? His love for Ruby and their daughter is incredible, but somehow, I could think of him as a manly enough figure in their relationship. He was smart and brave, but not as smart and brave as Ruby.
I couldn’t somehow connect with him.
The character that intrigued me the most is Ox. I loved how Julia has shown us the psychological profile of this man, and the way he thinks. It was lovely reading about his part of his story, and even though he was on the wrong side, it is what he believes in. And the way it is written in so extraordinary, that at times I could see myself giving him an excuse.
The only part that I couldn’t agree with, and I am refusing to accept is – THE ENDING! I will withdraw myself from spoilers, but that’s not how things should have ended! That is not the ending I wanted, that is not the ending I was hoping for. No, no, no. It made me upset, and angry, and I wanted to break something very bad! That was a huge disappointment for me and it changed my whole perception of the story and the book itself.
If you ever get the chance to read this book – you should expect a lot of twists, a lot of ups and downs, and if you are like me and are trying hard to not bite your nails – well, you’re about to fail. This is not your typical book about zombie apocalypse. This is not your usual book about a heroine being kidnapped. This is not your usual book of how a person saves the world. This will be nothing like you expected, and everything you hoped for.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Hands Down in Books
Jan 15, 2021
Borrowed this from the Kindle Unlimited Library.
This starts with Bianca at work and taking a call from her cousin who asks her to go and get NFO star and his best friend Zac, since they haven't been able to get hold of him to tell him that his Paw-Paw has been admitted to hospital. It's been about ten years since Bianca last saw Zac, her teenage crush, and is reluctant to see him again but because she loves her cousin like a brother, she agrees to go see Zac and let him know what's happened. Before she realises it, Zac is a major part of her life again and the friendship they used to have has come back into full force. Only those pesky feelings she used to have for him haven't completely disappeared.
Mariana Zapata is the Queen of slow burn romances. You only ever see the woman's POV in her books and have to read the body language of the males to figure out what they're thinking and I think she is brilliant at it. Zac's facial expressions in this gave a lot away about how he was feeling but it still took somewhere around the 90% mark for the words to be spoken - the "I love you"s.
Her books are always long - I've pointed out several times I'm not the biggest fan of long books - but most of the time you don't even realise it because you're so engrossed in the story. The same could be said of this one although I did find Bianca a bit annoying at times with her persistent belief that Zac was only hanging around because he felt guilty for losing touch with her when he made sure she was there for everything and always wanted to hang out with her. I did feel like giving her a slap every now and then because it was pretty obvious he cared about you, you donut!
I also love how she writes the characters from her previous books into her latest. We see several of them in this one including characters from From Lukov with Love and The Wall of Winnipeg and Me and even DeMaio House gym plays a vital part in this book.
P.S. I can't help feeling like we've met Enzo somewhere before...?
This starts with Bianca at work and taking a call from her cousin who asks her to go and get NFO star and his best friend Zac, since they haven't been able to get hold of him to tell him that his Paw-Paw has been admitted to hospital. It's been about ten years since Bianca last saw Zac, her teenage crush, and is reluctant to see him again but because she loves her cousin like a brother, she agrees to go see Zac and let him know what's happened. Before she realises it, Zac is a major part of her life again and the friendship they used to have has come back into full force. Only those pesky feelings she used to have for him haven't completely disappeared.
Mariana Zapata is the Queen of slow burn romances. You only ever see the woman's POV in her books and have to read the body language of the males to figure out what they're thinking and I think she is brilliant at it. Zac's facial expressions in this gave a lot away about how he was feeling but it still took somewhere around the 90% mark for the words to be spoken - the "I love you"s.
Her books are always long - I've pointed out several times I'm not the biggest fan of long books - but most of the time you don't even realise it because you're so engrossed in the story. The same could be said of this one although I did find Bianca a bit annoying at times with her persistent belief that Zac was only hanging around because he felt guilty for losing touch with her when he made sure she was there for everything and always wanted to hang out with her. I did feel like giving her a slap every now and then because it was pretty obvious he cared about you, you donut!
I also love how she writes the characters from her previous books into her latest. We see several of them in this one including characters from From Lukov with Love and The Wall of Winnipeg and Me and even DeMaio House gym plays a vital part in this book.
P.S. I can't help feeling like we've met Enzo somewhere before...?
Fred (860 KP) rated Case Closed in TV
May 27, 2019
If you can overlook the silly & useless premise, this is one great anime
Every review you'll see of this show or book, will tell you the back story of "Case Closed". They'll tell you how the teenage Shinichi Kudo (a genius detective) is given an experimental pill by some thugs and is transformed into a child again. He calls himself Conan Edogawa & wherever he goes, a crime happens & he solves the crime. He keeps his predicament to himself & an inventor friend of his. The inventor gives him Bond type gadgets that help him get by, since he's a child again. One of these gadgets, a bow-tie, changes his voice, so he can sound exactly like anyone. When he solves the crime, he knocks out an adult with a dart hidden in his watch, hides behind the sleeping adult, talks through his bow-tie to sound like the adult & tells everyone within earshot who the criminal is.
Now, I love anime & I love this show. But, this is maybe the silliest premise ever in an anime. And it's an utterly useless premise. Having Conan as a child serves no purpose in the show at all. He still acts like an adult & most of the time, he's just hanging out with his girlfriend (who doesn't know Conan is her boyfriend) & her father (who is a detective & a very bad one at that). This little "kid" is allowed to walk around the crime scene (usually a dead body) like it's perfectly normal. He sometimes gives the clues he finds out loud. Most of the time, the adults take his advice, other times, they yell at him to shut up, even though he has given clues that have solved the crimes before hand. It just doesn't make any sense. If he's going to act like an adult, just make his character an adult. The side-story of the thugs who changed him is hardly (if ever) brought up again. It's pointless.
Luckily, most of the detective stories themselves are great enough to overlook the premise. Well, almost overlook them. Whenever I see Conan crouching behind a chair, speaking into his tie, I cringe at how silly it is.) The characters are realistic & the stories are very dark sometimes. Definitely not for kids (another reason the premise is stupid). The animation itself is top notch & each character stands out, so you can tell them apart when trying to figure out "who did it". I do recommend this show to anime fans & people who like detective shows. I would have given it a 10, but the premise is just too ridiculous. Still, knocking it 2 points is not bad.
Now, I love anime & I love this show. But, this is maybe the silliest premise ever in an anime. And it's an utterly useless premise. Having Conan as a child serves no purpose in the show at all. He still acts like an adult & most of the time, he's just hanging out with his girlfriend (who doesn't know Conan is her boyfriend) & her father (who is a detective & a very bad one at that). This little "kid" is allowed to walk around the crime scene (usually a dead body) like it's perfectly normal. He sometimes gives the clues he finds out loud. Most of the time, the adults take his advice, other times, they yell at him to shut up, even though he has given clues that have solved the crimes before hand. It just doesn't make any sense. If he's going to act like an adult, just make his character an adult. The side-story of the thugs who changed him is hardly (if ever) brought up again. It's pointless.
Luckily, most of the detective stories themselves are great enough to overlook the premise. Well, almost overlook them. Whenever I see Conan crouching behind a chair, speaking into his tie, I cringe at how silly it is.) The characters are realistic & the stories are very dark sometimes. Definitely not for kids (another reason the premise is stupid). The animation itself is top notch & each character stands out, so you can tell them apart when trying to figure out "who did it". I do recommend this show to anime fans & people who like detective shows. I would have given it a 10, but the premise is just too ridiculous. Still, knocking it 2 points is not bad.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Inception (2010) in Movies
May 20, 2018
A Modern Classic
I have a confession to make - INCEPTION is one of my favorite Christopher Nolan films - and, perhaps, it is in my list of TOP 10 ALL TIME FAVORITE films, so this might not be a fair and impartial review of the film. To be fair to me, I did make a conscience effort whilst watching this movie to scrape away my previous preconceptions and opinions of this film and just let it wash over me in this "new light" of my blog to see what my reaction is.
My reaction: I LOVE THIS FILM!!!
I was asked how far back do you have to go before you can consider a film a "classic" and, I guess, I'd have to say 2010, for this film - to me - is a classic.
In INCEPTION, Nolan, and his co-writer brother Jonathan Nolan, go into the dreamworld with the premise that we can join in "shared dreams" to extract information from people that are locked away deep in their conscious (or in some cases unconscious) minds. This film deals with the idea of "Inception", planting an idea into someone's mind. This is, in essence, a "heist" film where our team of heroes is constantly at war with the minds they are inhabiting (since they are seen as parasites). The clock is ticking and they must get in and get out before they get lost.
Speaking of time, Nolan - once again - plays with the idea of time in this film. Once you go into a dream, 1 minute is like 1 hour and when you go into a dream of a dream, then 1 minute is like 60 hours and when you go into a dream within a dream within a dream, then...well...you get the idea.
If someone loses their way in this film, it's because they are trying to make logical sense of a dream world that defies physics - and time. My suggestion to you is to let go and let the movie take you to some fantastical places - with some fantastical imagery and plot machinations - that I enjoyed the heck out of.
Helping out this film is that it is impeccably cast. Leonardo DiCaprio is Cobb the head of this group that enters the dream realm. He is perfectly cast and Nolan, and this film, relies on his likeableness, his charm and the feeling that something just isn't quite right with him. All to very good effect. Ellen Page is strong as Ariadne, the rookie of the team that is our eyes and ears into this world. Ken Watanabe brings his typically strong game to the role of Saito - the man that gives the team the job and goes along for the ride. Nolan regular Cillian Murphy is a welcome addition as the person who they are trying to "Incept" and even small parts are filled with wonderful character actors like the late great, Pete Postlethwaite, Tom Berenger and good ol' Michael Caine.
But it is the emergence of two of the co-stars that, up until this film I thought were "fair actors but not great" that really elevates this film for me. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was always the "long haired kid from 3RD ROCK FROM THE SUN", but in this - as Cobb's right-hand man Arthur - he excels and really jumps out of the film as a screen presence. Of course, it really helps him that he has one of the best action sequences - for the most part practically shot - that I have ever scene. And, of course, there's TOM HARDY. He is a movie star and really shows it in the supporting role of Eames. This guy will win an Oscar one day, probably for a film that Nolan Directs him in.
My only quibble - and it is a QUIBBLE - is that I didn't really feel any strong chemistry between Marion Cotillard's Mal and DiCaprio's Cobb. She was supposed to be the big "love of his life" and I just didn't sense that. She was very good - and imposing - as she infiltrated Cobb's mind (which is, I think, the purpose of her character), but I could have used a little more between her and DiCaprio. But...as I say...a quibble.
All in all, a terrific - different - film. One that I am calling a "classic".
Letter Grade: A+
10 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
My reaction: I LOVE THIS FILM!!!
I was asked how far back do you have to go before you can consider a film a "classic" and, I guess, I'd have to say 2010, for this film - to me - is a classic.
In INCEPTION, Nolan, and his co-writer brother Jonathan Nolan, go into the dreamworld with the premise that we can join in "shared dreams" to extract information from people that are locked away deep in their conscious (or in some cases unconscious) minds. This film deals with the idea of "Inception", planting an idea into someone's mind. This is, in essence, a "heist" film where our team of heroes is constantly at war with the minds they are inhabiting (since they are seen as parasites). The clock is ticking and they must get in and get out before they get lost.
Speaking of time, Nolan - once again - plays with the idea of time in this film. Once you go into a dream, 1 minute is like 1 hour and when you go into a dream of a dream, then 1 minute is like 60 hours and when you go into a dream within a dream within a dream, then...well...you get the idea.
If someone loses their way in this film, it's because they are trying to make logical sense of a dream world that defies physics - and time. My suggestion to you is to let go and let the movie take you to some fantastical places - with some fantastical imagery and plot machinations - that I enjoyed the heck out of.
Helping out this film is that it is impeccably cast. Leonardo DiCaprio is Cobb the head of this group that enters the dream realm. He is perfectly cast and Nolan, and this film, relies on his likeableness, his charm and the feeling that something just isn't quite right with him. All to very good effect. Ellen Page is strong as Ariadne, the rookie of the team that is our eyes and ears into this world. Ken Watanabe brings his typically strong game to the role of Saito - the man that gives the team the job and goes along for the ride. Nolan regular Cillian Murphy is a welcome addition as the person who they are trying to "Incept" and even small parts are filled with wonderful character actors like the late great, Pete Postlethwaite, Tom Berenger and good ol' Michael Caine.
But it is the emergence of two of the co-stars that, up until this film I thought were "fair actors but not great" that really elevates this film for me. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was always the "long haired kid from 3RD ROCK FROM THE SUN", but in this - as Cobb's right-hand man Arthur - he excels and really jumps out of the film as a screen presence. Of course, it really helps him that he has one of the best action sequences - for the most part practically shot - that I have ever scene. And, of course, there's TOM HARDY. He is a movie star and really shows it in the supporting role of Eames. This guy will win an Oscar one day, probably for a film that Nolan Directs him in.
My only quibble - and it is a QUIBBLE - is that I didn't really feel any strong chemistry between Marion Cotillard's Mal and DiCaprio's Cobb. She was supposed to be the big "love of his life" and I just didn't sense that. She was very good - and imposing - as she infiltrated Cobb's mind (which is, I think, the purpose of her character), but I could have used a little more between her and DiCaprio. But...as I say...a quibble.
All in all, a terrific - different - film. One that I am calling a "classic".
Letter Grade: A+
10 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Obsessed book reviews (49 KP) rated Chasing Swells in Books
May 7, 2019
this is the first by this author that I've read and it definitely wont be the last. this is a beautiful love story. the author has a fab way of making you feel like your right there with the characters every step of the way. this story flows at a very steady pace through out the book. the characters were very interesting and keep me reading long into the night. the relationship between the characters goes on a journey of lots of ups and downs till they reach the right path. i cant wait to read more by this author in the future.
highly recommended
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highly recommended
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Cumberland (1142 KP) rated A Fool's Gold Christmas (Fool's Gold, #9.5) in Books
Dec 16, 2018
Fun Christmas Read
This is a great book for anyone looking to get into the holiday spirit. The plot is much like that for your typically Hallmark movie, and I for one love it.
Evie is a dancer who finds herself in the small town of Fools Gold after she is injured. The story follows her as she reconnects with her family, and fights against her attraction for the boy next door.
This is technically part of a series, but you do not need to be familer with the other books to enjoy it. I do want to read the other books as soon as possible now. Mostly in hopes of my favorite characters making an appearance.
Evie is a dancer who finds herself in the small town of Fools Gold after she is injured. The story follows her as she reconnects with her family, and fights against her attraction for the boy next door.
This is technically part of a series, but you do not need to be familer with the other books to enjoy it. I do want to read the other books as soon as possible now. Mostly in hopes of my favorite characters making an appearance.