Search
Search results
Zach Smith (62 KP) rated Aladdin (2019) in Movies
May 27, 2019
Will definitely keep your attention.
So I'm a big fan of the Disney classic and was looking forward to this. Right from the start I believe they got Aladdin cast member wrong. Sorry he has a freaking 5 o clock shadow through the majority of the film and hairy ass arms. I thought part of the magic was that the love story between two people at most 20 years of age. So yea not a fan of the post puberty Aladdin. The man sings and acts great however.
Will Smith as the genie was a welcome surprise. He brought his own majic to the part so not to dishonor the legend Robin Williams. The film is great because it is based off of Disney's Aladdin so it is not a word for word live action and even includes two new songs that hold up to the originals.
Another cast member I thought was missing major personality was Jasmine's father. Sure he looked the part but he was not fat or jolly and had a droll type manor. Despite these few differences the movie entertained my son and I and almost felt like a new movie. Snore factor of 0/10 great.
PS I miss Gilbert Godfrey as the birds voice.
Will Smith as the genie was a welcome surprise. He brought his own majic to the part so not to dishonor the legend Robin Williams. The film is great because it is based off of Disney's Aladdin so it is not a word for word live action and even includes two new songs that hold up to the originals.
Another cast member I thought was missing major personality was Jasmine's father. Sure he looked the part but he was not fat or jolly and had a droll type manor. Despite these few differences the movie entertained my son and I and almost felt like a new movie. Snore factor of 0/10 great.
PS I miss Gilbert Godfrey as the birds voice.
Lindsay (1760 KP) rated Roma, Underground in Books
Feb 15, 2018
Review: Roma Underground by Gabriel Valjan (Blog Tour) Roma Underground is done well. The author starts out with a woman we meet as Bianca N. We do learn a little about her past. Her name is mentioned, as Alabaster Black. You may think well, is that her real name or not? We also meet up with Dante, Alessandro, Farrugia and Gennaro. We also run into a few more people along the way.
What out a bit of a boring start with this story. It does get much better. Somehow this group gets involved with a smuggling artifact. Why is Bianca recruited by “Rendition”? Who are they, and what do they want?
Though you do not know how this group gets brought in to start a hoax? You will just be wandering in the world is going on and what it roughly about. Someone is stealing artifacts or art artifacts that have been going missing. The hoax is started by an idea that is shared by Dante.
You do go about learning about Roma Underground and what happens there along the history of Rome. I can not wait to find out what to happen next in the next book named “Wasp Nest.” This book is worth the reading and it offers so much more.
What out a bit of a boring start with this story. It does get much better. Somehow this group gets involved with a smuggling artifact. Why is Bianca recruited by “Rendition”? Who are they, and what do they want?
Though you do not know how this group gets brought in to start a hoax? You will just be wandering in the world is going on and what it roughly about. Someone is stealing artifacts or art artifacts that have been going missing. The hoax is started by an idea that is shared by Dante.
You do go about learning about Roma Underground and what happens there along the history of Rome. I can not wait to find out what to happen next in the next book named “Wasp Nest.” This book is worth the reading and it offers so much more.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Ready Player One (2018) in Movies
Mar 30, 2018
Good, but doesn't live up to the book
I've read (and loved) the book, but I really tried to go into this with an open mind and I think for the most part, I succeeded.
Visually, this film is spectacular. But considering its Spielberg, that isn't a surprise. The pop culture references are a lot of fun, and the soundtrack is fantastic. The cast are great, Tye Sheridan plays Wade very well and he's a likeable character. Mark Rylance as usual is very good, but I feel like we could've seen a bit more of him. The only one who didn't come across well was Ben Mendelsohn - his Nolan just doesn't come across as evil enough. He just isn't that threatening.
The main problem is that this is very different from the book. Some things have been changed for the better (the 2nd challenge in the film was a huge surprise and very enjoyable), but for the main I feel like too much of the detail from the book has been left out, leaving just a hollow shell of the story. It's a shame really as i think this could have been fantastic, if it had just stuck a little closer to the book. Instead of coming out of this feeling in awe, I came out feeling a little underwhelmed with the sense that something was missing.
Visually, this film is spectacular. But considering its Spielberg, that isn't a surprise. The pop culture references are a lot of fun, and the soundtrack is fantastic. The cast are great, Tye Sheridan plays Wade very well and he's a likeable character. Mark Rylance as usual is very good, but I feel like we could've seen a bit more of him. The only one who didn't come across well was Ben Mendelsohn - his Nolan just doesn't come across as evil enough. He just isn't that threatening.
The main problem is that this is very different from the book. Some things have been changed for the better (the 2nd challenge in the film was a huge surprise and very enjoyable), but for the main I feel like too much of the detail from the book has been left out, leaving just a hollow shell of the story. It's a shame really as i think this could have been fantastic, if it had just stuck a little closer to the book. Instead of coming out of this feeling in awe, I came out feeling a little underwhelmed with the sense that something was missing.
Kelli Curran (5 KP) rated Encino Man (1992) in Movies
Jun 9, 2018
Buried 'treasure'. (2 more)
Pauly Shore singing 'shoofly don't bother me.'
RAD MOBILE!!!
Why can't all cavemen look like that?
Contains spoilers, click to show
I saw this movie for the first time when I was about ten years old. I was really into dinosaurs at the time and the idea of digging up a caveman in my backyard thrilled me about as much as finding One Eyed Willie. There is something innocently fun about movies made in the 80s and as silly as the plotline for this one is, the movie is still my absolute favorite.
Two nerdy, loner, high school seniors decide to dig a pool in one of their backyards in hopes of throwing a big party after prom and landing the most popular girl in school. What they didn't expect was to come across a caveman frozen inside a solid mass of ice who they thaw out using space heaters in their garage. After coming home to find their house trashed, they come face to face with a very not dead 1,000,000 year old man ... Or teenager. Makeover montage ensues, giving us the newly minted (not so missing) 'Link'. Boys take Link to school, Link wins over everyone, boys remain unpopular.
This movie is worth watching at least once just to see Pauly wheeze the juice and Brendan dance around like a crazy person.
Two nerdy, loner, high school seniors decide to dig a pool in one of their backyards in hopes of throwing a big party after prom and landing the most popular girl in school. What they didn't expect was to come across a caveman frozen inside a solid mass of ice who they thaw out using space heaters in their garage. After coming home to find their house trashed, they come face to face with a very not dead 1,000,000 year old man ... Or teenager. Makeover montage ensues, giving us the newly minted (not so missing) 'Link'. Boys take Link to school, Link wins over everyone, boys remain unpopular.
This movie is worth watching at least once just to see Pauly wheeze the juice and Brendan dance around like a crazy person.
Little Concepts: ABC French: Take a fun journey through the alphabet and learn some French! by Daniel Roode is an alphabet book introducing mostly animal nouns A-Z based on their French words with the English noun below.
The illustrations are brightly colored and in a cartoon-like style kids should enjoy. This is a fairly good intro to French vocabulary. I say only fairly good because not all of the animals have their article before them and in French you've got to know if it is le or la to say it correctly. The description says there is a pronunciation guide, but it was not included in the preview so I can't comment on it. In addition, the pages for letters I, J, K, M, Q, R, V,W,X, and Y were also not included. I hope that this gets fixed before it is published; otherwise, it is a great introduction book to French.
If you're looking for a foreign language picture book or a different kind of alphabet book, this is a visually attractive option. I would love to have this added to my classroom/ school library.
I received this ARC from Quarto Publishing Group – Walter Foster, Jr. via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars. If it was not missing pages or information it would receive 5/5 stars.
The illustrations are brightly colored and in a cartoon-like style kids should enjoy. This is a fairly good intro to French vocabulary. I say only fairly good because not all of the animals have their article before them and in French you've got to know if it is le or la to say it correctly. The description says there is a pronunciation guide, but it was not included in the preview so I can't comment on it. In addition, the pages for letters I, J, K, M, Q, R, V,W,X, and Y were also not included. I hope that this gets fixed before it is published; otherwise, it is a great introduction book to French.
If you're looking for a foreign language picture book or a different kind of alphabet book, this is a visually attractive option. I would love to have this added to my classroom/ school library.
I received this ARC from Quarto Publishing Group – Walter Foster, Jr. via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars. If it was not missing pages or information it would receive 5/5 stars.
Christine A. (965 KP) rated The Birthday (Detective Natalie Ward #1) in Books
Dec 9, 2018
The 1st book in the Detective Natalie Ward series
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review. “The Birthday” is the first in the Detective Natalie Ward series, a new series by Carol Wyer. A five-year-old girl goes missing at a classmate’s birthday party. Two years later her body is found. Soon after, another little girl, who was also at the party, disappears. Det. Ward is in charge of the investigation and worries it will end like her last job which did not end well.
I enjoyed the story-line involving the disappearances of the little girls. However, her last job was mentioned often and did not move the story along. Also included is the detective’s house life with her husband and two teenage children. I found myself attempting to skim those parts too. For me, the disappearance story-line has a nice pace to it. It does not drag or rush the story. The other parts just broke up that story-line and it did not seem to flow well.
I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. According to the scale used by Goodreads, which means it’s OK. I did not think the book was a waste of time. I would read another book by Wyer but it would not be a priority “to be read” book.
I enjoyed the story-line involving the disappearances of the little girls. However, her last job was mentioned often and did not move the story along. Also included is the detective’s house life with her husband and two teenage children. I found myself attempting to skim those parts too. For me, the disappearance story-line has a nice pace to it. It does not drag or rush the story. The other parts just broke up that story-line and it did not seem to flow well.
I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. According to the scale used by Goodreads, which means it’s OK. I did not think the book was a waste of time. I would read another book by Wyer but it would not be a priority “to be read” book.
Caffeinated Fae (464 KP) rated Anne of Green Gables: A Graphic Novel in Books
Jul 12, 2018
I received this Graphic Novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I have been meaning to read Anne of Green Gables for years upon years. About a month ago I picked up the audiobook and decided to listen/read it. I really enjoyed the story. It was so beautiful in it's simplicity. When I saw there was a graphic novel on netgalley, I immediately had to download it and read it.
The artwork in this book is spectacular. It's beautifully done and just transports you to the lake of shining waters and makes you feel almost as if you're there with Anne enjoying the day. I loved how simplistic the story was and how placing into a graphic novel just seemed to work. The artwork is simplistic yet complex in its variety of colors and beauty.
With reading the book just a few weeks ago, I did notice a bit of the story missing or redone which is completely understandable. You can't fit everything in all the time. I mention this solely for those kids who might decide to read this instead of the book for school.
All in all, this graphic novel expertly shows you the simplicity of the story and enhances it with the beautiful artwork. If you love Anne of Green Gables, I highly recommend taking a look at this. It's spectacular!
I have been meaning to read Anne of Green Gables for years upon years. About a month ago I picked up the audiobook and decided to listen/read it. I really enjoyed the story. It was so beautiful in it's simplicity. When I saw there was a graphic novel on netgalley, I immediately had to download it and read it.
The artwork in this book is spectacular. It's beautifully done and just transports you to the lake of shining waters and makes you feel almost as if you're there with Anne enjoying the day. I loved how simplistic the story was and how placing into a graphic novel just seemed to work. The artwork is simplistic yet complex in its variety of colors and beauty.
With reading the book just a few weeks ago, I did notice a bit of the story missing or redone which is completely understandable. You can't fit everything in all the time. I mention this solely for those kids who might decide to read this instead of the book for school.
All in all, this graphic novel expertly shows you the simplicity of the story and enhances it with the beautiful artwork. If you love Anne of Green Gables, I highly recommend taking a look at this. It's spectacular!
Caffeinated Fae (464 KP) rated Fitbit Versa in Tech
Aug 10, 2018
Color Screen (3 more)
Waterproof
Sleep Tracker
Fitness Tracker
Battery Life (1 more)
Not integrated with apple health
So far so good
I had a first generation Apple Watch and after 3 years it broke on me. When I started my journey into smart watches I kept thinking of all of the things I wanted my Apple Watch to do and everything that I used in functionality. Ultimately, I decided to try the Fitbit Versa.
One of the things that I love about the Fitbit Versa is that it is a sleep tracker along with a fitness tracker. That was the one thing I always felt was missing with my Apple Watch. I also love the fitbit app more than the apple health app. It gives you great insight and it seems a little more thorough information on your health, steps, floors, and what not.
One thing that I wish is that the battery life really was the 4 days that it promised. I tend to find that my Versa will need charging on that 3rd day. The other thing that I wish was offered was integration with the apple heath app. I don't use it often but I like when things actually work together.
All in all, this has a better battery life than the Apple Watch & some pretty cool screens.
One of the things that I love about the Fitbit Versa is that it is a sleep tracker along with a fitness tracker. That was the one thing I always felt was missing with my Apple Watch. I also love the fitbit app more than the apple health app. It gives you great insight and it seems a little more thorough information on your health, steps, floors, and what not.
One thing that I wish is that the battery life really was the 4 days that it promised. I tend to find that my Versa will need charging on that 3rd day. The other thing that I wish was offered was integration with the apple heath app. I don't use it often but I like when things actually work together.
All in all, this has a better battery life than the Apple Watch & some pretty cool screens.
Cori June (3033 KP) rated The Wolf and the Rain in Books
Dec 3, 2018
Voluntary honest review after receiving a free ARC.
An excellent book and fun read, if a bit of a bumpy beginning. It takes a little time to get into it.
After a collapse of civilization due to climate change. The North and South of a country has split into opposites. Divided by a heavily militarized border. The North is chaos and almost anarchy where the only authority are the elite compounds or the gangs there are many ways to die in the harsh living conditions. The people are ruled by superstition and fear. Most of the citizens are illiterate and disease is rampant, even if you go to a "stitcher" it is just as risky or riskier as doing nothing. In the South there is order and an almost totalitarian society where the government uses science and logic asking for complete obedience in return. And that you fill out a form for almost everything, even when choosing a sexual partner.
Samarra (Sam) is the main character. She has made a new home in the North after escaping from the South. She has a job as a carrier to one of the compounds that inhabit the North. Felling guilty about taking the place of a former teammate and daughter of a friend. She becomes obsessed with trying to find out what happened to the missing (possibly dead) girl.
An excellent book and fun read, if a bit of a bumpy beginning. It takes a little time to get into it.
After a collapse of civilization due to climate change. The North and South of a country has split into opposites. Divided by a heavily militarized border. The North is chaos and almost anarchy where the only authority are the elite compounds or the gangs there are many ways to die in the harsh living conditions. The people are ruled by superstition and fear. Most of the citizens are illiterate and disease is rampant, even if you go to a "stitcher" it is just as risky or riskier as doing nothing. In the South there is order and an almost totalitarian society where the government uses science and logic asking for complete obedience in return. And that you fill out a form for almost everything, even when choosing a sexual partner.
Samarra (Sam) is the main character. She has made a new home in the North after escaping from the South. She has a job as a carrier to one of the compounds that inhabit the North. Felling guilty about taking the place of a former teammate and daughter of a friend. She becomes obsessed with trying to find out what happened to the missing (possibly dead) girl.
Meagans life ended 2 years ago when her husband walked out the door and died in the war. She had to keep it together for her children and make a life for them to grow and thrive in. She never thought her broken heart would heal until one day the missing piece came back.
Edward left his family to go off to war, thinking he was making the right choice, he knows now it was for selfish reasons not legitimate ones. He was left for dead on the battlefield and now has a second chance at this family. He just has to believe he is worth the second chance.
Meagan has to work hard to get Edward to see that his life was spared for a reason. A reason to fight for his family this time and not fight for the country. He has some limitations with his injuries but she knows in her heart that her Edward is strong as ever. No matter how much Edward objects to her observations.
Edward must work past his own limitations to find his strength within. Seeing his children in a new light reaches deep in his soul and gives him the will to survive and thrive. Together they mend his broken spirit and remind each other of their love and strengths.
Edward left his family to go off to war, thinking he was making the right choice, he knows now it was for selfish reasons not legitimate ones. He was left for dead on the battlefield and now has a second chance at this family. He just has to believe he is worth the second chance.
Meagan has to work hard to get Edward to see that his life was spared for a reason. A reason to fight for his family this time and not fight for the country. He has some limitations with his injuries but she knows in her heart that her Edward is strong as ever. No matter how much Edward objects to her observations.
Edward must work past his own limitations to find his strength within. Seeing his children in a new light reaches deep in his soul and gives him the will to survive and thrive. Together they mend his broken spirit and remind each other of their love and strengths.