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Sarah (7799 KP) rated Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018) in Movies
Jan 4, 2019
Not as good as the first
I need to admit straight off that I was never a huge fan of the first Pacific Rim film. It was good, but never lived up to my admittedly high expectations. And I'm sad to say this sequel isn't even as good as the first.
What really let's this film down was the plot. It was ridiculously weak and silly, even for a film about giant machines and monsters. It was uninteresting and definitely made for a younger audience. Which was only too evident from the cast of mostly irritating teenagers. There also seemed to be a lot of minor characters thrown in for no real purpose whatsoever. The effects were good though and the fighting scenes were at least predictably impressive. These, along with a brilliant turn from John Boyega (who's sure to go even further than he has already), at least made this film bearable for its overly long run time. It's shame the rest of the cast were forgettable, although Charlie Dag wasn't half as irritating as he was in the original.
I'm afraid to say you can really tell that Guillermo Del Toro hasn't hand much of a hand in this. It's definitely missing some darkness,some seriousness and a little bit of heart. But like Transformers and other similar films, if you don't expect much then it's at least watchable.
What really let's this film down was the plot. It was ridiculously weak and silly, even for a film about giant machines and monsters. It was uninteresting and definitely made for a younger audience. Which was only too evident from the cast of mostly irritating teenagers. There also seemed to be a lot of minor characters thrown in for no real purpose whatsoever. The effects were good though and the fighting scenes were at least predictably impressive. These, along with a brilliant turn from John Boyega (who's sure to go even further than he has already), at least made this film bearable for its overly long run time. It's shame the rest of the cast were forgettable, although Charlie Dag wasn't half as irritating as he was in the original.
I'm afraid to say you can really tell that Guillermo Del Toro hasn't hand much of a hand in this. It's definitely missing some darkness,some seriousness and a little bit of heart. But like Transformers and other similar films, if you don't expect much then it's at least watchable.
Lee (2222 KP) rated Mary Poppins Returns (2018) in Movies
Dec 22, 2018
Good but not as memorable as the original
To be honest, I'm kind of struggling to know what to say about this. The main thing is, I enjoyed it, and the rest of my family loved it too. It just wasn't enough to leave any big lasting impression on me. The songs are all good, usually accompanied by some wonderful visuals and fun choreography, but none of the songs are particularly memorable. There's nothing that I can imagine being as repeatable, or as catchy as 'A spoonful of sugar' for example. Emily Blunt is wonderful as always and the movie does a fantastic job of paying homage to the original Mary Poppins and keeping to the style and tone of the movie, there's just something missing that I can't quite put my finger on. I can remember leaving the cinema after seeing The Greatest Showman a year ago, having the songs stuck in my head, downloading the soundtrack and wanting to see the movie again. I didn't really feel like that at all with Mary Poppins Returns.
That being said, this is still a good fun family movie and if you enjoyed the original you should find enjoyment in this. With all the doom and gloom in the world right now, the world definitely needs something like this for all the family to enjoy at Christmas time.
That being said, this is still a good fun family movie and if you enjoyed the original you should find enjoyment in this. With all the doom and gloom in the world right now, the world definitely needs something like this for all the family to enjoy at Christmas time.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Remnants of Ash (Reign of Fae #1) in Books
Dec 4, 2019
Mere mortal. Fae hunter. Oh, and the apocalypse? Yeah, that happened!
She’s an unstoppable human. He’s an immovable beast. But the Fae have scorched the earth, thrusting it into unending darkness, and humans are next...
Through her research, University of Washington student Chloe Etain stumbled into an ancient war between the Light and Dark Fae that has culminated in her world being thrown into pre-industrial chaos. Dark Fae scum now roam free, feeding on unsuspecting humans. Chloe knows the truth though and, possibly, how to stop it. But as a mere mortal, what can she do?
That’s when the fates step in. Bram Tice, a fae hunting his own kind, vows to help Chloe. But he won’t say which Court demands his allegiance. Together, they set out to right the imbalance plaguing her world and save humanity before they turn into nothing more than remnants of ash.
This has been in my tbr pile for a while so I was looking forward to getting stuck in.
I can't really say I enjoyed it it wasn't a bad read but something was missing for me.
The storyline seemed to have a few holes and it was quite jumpy in parts (not the scary jumpy either 🤣 )
I will continue with book 2 as I don't like to give up on any series.
⭐⭐⭐
She’s an unstoppable human. He’s an immovable beast. But the Fae have scorched the earth, thrusting it into unending darkness, and humans are next...
Through her research, University of Washington student Chloe Etain stumbled into an ancient war between the Light and Dark Fae that has culminated in her world being thrown into pre-industrial chaos. Dark Fae scum now roam free, feeding on unsuspecting humans. Chloe knows the truth though and, possibly, how to stop it. But as a mere mortal, what can she do?
That’s when the fates step in. Bram Tice, a fae hunting his own kind, vows to help Chloe. But he won’t say which Court demands his allegiance. Together, they set out to right the imbalance plaguing her world and save humanity before they turn into nothing more than remnants of ash.
This has been in my tbr pile for a while so I was looking forward to getting stuck in.
I can't really say I enjoyed it it wasn't a bad read but something was missing for me.
The storyline seemed to have a few holes and it was quite jumpy in parts (not the scary jumpy either 🤣 )
I will continue with book 2 as I don't like to give up on any series.
⭐⭐⭐
Ross (3284 KP) rated Siege and Sacrifice in Books
Dec 12, 2019
A good conclusion
Contains spoilers, click to show
The final part of this trilogy starts with what should be an almighty conflict. The (somewhat damp squib of a) second book in the series ended with the much-feared monster being summoned into the body of the presumed-dead Anon, Sandis' brother. Sadly, this opening scene is short-lived as the heroes scarper and live to fight another day (though admittedly it was always going to be that way!).
That opening anti-climax out of the way, this book is a more intelligent and thoughtful one that the previous two. Finally we have some answers and insight into the world we are in, and where the ancient mystical race went, as well as where the summoned demons come from. While I didn't feel this was missing from the first two books, it is good to have some answers and extra world-building to get stuck into.
The first third of the book rattles along quite well, the humans trying to track down the host of the demon and hence stop its daily attacks. The middle third was a bit of a slog, with much less happening, quite heavy on the exposition and endless narrative descriptions. The final was much more pacey, though I was starting to tire of the book by then and skimmed some chapters.
All in all a good conclusion to an enjoyable series.
That opening anti-climax out of the way, this book is a more intelligent and thoughtful one that the previous two. Finally we have some answers and insight into the world we are in, and where the ancient mystical race went, as well as where the summoned demons come from. While I didn't feel this was missing from the first two books, it is good to have some answers and extra world-building to get stuck into.
The first third of the book rattles along quite well, the humans trying to track down the host of the demon and hence stop its daily attacks. The middle third was a bit of a slog, with much less happening, quite heavy on the exposition and endless narrative descriptions. The final was much more pacey, though I was starting to tire of the book by then and skimmed some chapters.
All in all a good conclusion to an enjoyable series.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2273 KP) rated Murder on the Half Shell in Books
Feb 5, 2020
Life’s Not Quite a Beach
Penelope Sutherland and her catering crew are working on a period mystery filming on an island in Florida. Penelope has hired a few locals to help out, including two teen girls who work part time as servers. After a party one Friday night, the teens disappear. Suspicion falls on Emilio, one of the chefs that Penelope studied under at culinary school. Penelope doesn’t want to believe her old teacher is guilty, but there is something in his past that makes Penelope doubt her judgement. Where are the girls? Who is responsible for what is going on?
It’s been a few years since I read the first in this series, and I didn’t remember who everyone was. Sadly, this book assumes you remember the relationships, and it took me longer than it should have to figure out those connections. The characters are good, but they don’t feel fully developed to me. I was pulled into the plot, however, with the missing teens making it easy to care about the outcome. There are plenty of twists and turns, and the climax was satisfying. Being able to visit a beach location during the winter was a great treat, and I found the balance of the mystery with the slower life of the island was well done. This is a quick read, and I enjoyed it.
It’s been a few years since I read the first in this series, and I didn’t remember who everyone was. Sadly, this book assumes you remember the relationships, and it took me longer than it should have to figure out those connections. The characters are good, but they don’t feel fully developed to me. I was pulled into the plot, however, with the missing teens making it easy to care about the outcome. There are plenty of twists and turns, and the climax was satisfying. Being able to visit a beach location during the winter was a great treat, and I found the balance of the mystery with the slower life of the island was well done. This is a quick read, and I enjoyed it.
Hazel (2934 KP) rated A Conspiracy of Bones (Temperance Brennan #19) in Books
Mar 14, 2020
Disappointed
Having read previous outings involving Temperance Brennan, although not for some time, I was keen to dip back in to find out what was going on with her but, and I am really sorry to say this, this one just didn't grab me like they usually do and I found myself jumping in and out rather than being captivated and enthralled. If I'm honest, I think this is my fault ... I should have kept up with the series as I believe I have missed out on an awful lot.
I found the story really hard to get into with quite a bit of inner dialogue which was a little tedious. It did pick up the more I read but just not enough to keep my interest from start to finish. The characters however are excellent and the bones of the story is there, I just felt the execution wasn't as good as previous books from this author.
I do think that people who have read the entire series will enjoy it more than I did and I would therefore suggest that if you are thinking of starting with this one, don't as it will put you off reading more of this author's work and you will certainly be missing out.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster UK and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.
I found the story really hard to get into with quite a bit of inner dialogue which was a little tedious. It did pick up the more I read but just not enough to keep my interest from start to finish. The characters however are excellent and the bones of the story is there, I just felt the execution wasn't as good as previous books from this author.
I do think that people who have read the entire series will enjoy it more than I did and I would therefore suggest that if you are thinking of starting with this one, don't as it will put you off reading more of this author's work and you will certainly be missing out.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster UK and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) created a post
Apr 6, 2020
Sara Cox (1845 KP) rated Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men in Books
Feb 23, 2020
I’ve read a book similar to this before so was interested when I saw it on the library shelf. This is about the gender data gap. I know what some of you are thinking “oh look a book that’s going to slam men”. But this isn’t about that. This is about missing data, not because it’s been done on purpose but because some of the tests have never thought about. Some of these absolutely shocked me though. For example, did you know the female crash test dummy hasn’t been put in the driver’s seat? How mad is that?!?!
At some points I did find this book a little one sided. I mean it’s hard when you’re trying to delve into a data gap bit one example that stood out to me was “unpaid work”. There was a big continuing theme about the unpaid work women do that isn’t thought of to include in data (child care, housework, elderly care) and yes men do these too (that was pointed out), but what about the unpaid work men do that I bet isn’t thought of to be included in data? Like DIY? I did enjoy listening to this (borrowed on #borrowbox ) but I found it did become tedious in places. Would recommend for some who enjoys data…..like myself.
At some points I did find this book a little one sided. I mean it’s hard when you’re trying to delve into a data gap bit one example that stood out to me was “unpaid work”. There was a big continuing theme about the unpaid work women do that isn’t thought of to include in data (child care, housework, elderly care) and yes men do these too (that was pointed out), but what about the unpaid work men do that I bet isn’t thought of to be included in data? Like DIY? I did enjoy listening to this (borrowed on #borrowbox ) but I found it did become tedious in places. Would recommend for some who enjoys data…..like myself.
The Devil at Genesee Junction: The Murders of Kathy Bernhard and George-Ann Formicola, 6/66
Book
Today you'd call Ballantyne suburban, but back then, at the start of the summer of 1966, it was...
The Disappearance of Maria Glenn: A True Life Regency Mystery
Book
Taunton, 1817. What seems a simple newspaper report of "elopement gone wrong" turns out to be a...