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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Don't Breathe (2016) in Movies
Jul 15, 2019
The petty crime trio of Rocky, Alex, and Money make a living from burglarizing homes throughout Detroit. They feel trapped by the poverty and destitution of the area and hope that one big score will allow them to escape their
circumstances. The opportunity appears in the form of a blind, reclusive war veteran living in an abandoned neighborhood. They quickly realize that they have underestimated this man.
Don’t Breathe is filled with tension and has audiences confused as to whether they want the trio to survive the night as they go from being the aggressors to the prey of this man as he defends himself and his home from these invaders.
The film turns the horror/suspense genre around and allows for the audience to feel the tension without being too predictable. You feel as limited as the thieves as they try to escape from the house that they have entered. You feel as though, at any moment, they will be caught, injured, or even killed in this deadly game that the blind man has started with them.
The strength of the film is not in gore or shocking moments, it is in the reality of the fear and anxiety that builds throughout Don’t Breathe. The film allows for depth of the storyline and ability for audiences to find themselves conflicted as to whether or not they should cheer for anyone in the film.
8No one is innocent. Don’t Breathe is multidimensional and does not insult the intelligence of its audience with contrived plots and clichés. The film allows us to realize that monsters exist everywhere, even in the most unassuming places and people.
circumstances. The opportunity appears in the form of a blind, reclusive war veteran living in an abandoned neighborhood. They quickly realize that they have underestimated this man.
Don’t Breathe is filled with tension and has audiences confused as to whether they want the trio to survive the night as they go from being the aggressors to the prey of this man as he defends himself and his home from these invaders.
The film turns the horror/suspense genre around and allows for the audience to feel the tension without being too predictable. You feel as limited as the thieves as they try to escape from the house that they have entered. You feel as though, at any moment, they will be caught, injured, or even killed in this deadly game that the blind man has started with them.
The strength of the film is not in gore or shocking moments, it is in the reality of the fear and anxiety that builds throughout Don’t Breathe. The film allows for depth of the storyline and ability for audiences to find themselves conflicted as to whether or not they should cheer for anyone in the film.
8No one is innocent. Don’t Breathe is multidimensional and does not insult the intelligence of its audience with contrived plots and clichés. The film allows us to realize that monsters exist everywhere, even in the most unassuming places and people.
Peter Shephard (2822 KP) rated Warhammer Quest in Tabletop Games
Aug 8, 2019 (Updated Aug 8, 2019)
Dungeon crawling goodness
The gaming group I am in played Warhammer Quest (or just Quest) for probably nearly two years, virtually every weekend for at least 4-5h. We loved it.
The basic rules involve the adventuring party (the players) choosing their adventurer, and exploring a hidden dungeon realm to find their objective room, battling monsters, earning gold and finding treasures and items. Pretty typical.
What makes Quest stand out is that it can be done as random, single adventures with "Dwarf" and "Elf" and "Barbarian" and it plays fine, but it can also be an extended campaign for names characters, with ongoing objectives and goals, and an added "between dungeon" system to determine what happens (good and bad) post-Objective Room.
With using miniatures, the game is really easy to visualise; using a standard 1in square makes the game simplistic to learn and easy to navigate, although it can be a little restrictive with some abilities.
The only bugbear I have about Quest is the cost, especially for the expansions - if you get lucky and can get the game at a good price, snap it up. If you have Warhammer fantasy armies, especially pre-Age of Sigmar, you will have ample models to represent most enemies you will face. Having them painted makes it even more involving and interesting. There is also a HUGE amount of player-created material available, some of which is overpowered (as you would expect) but a lot of it is flavourful-tweaking.
....I really wanna play Quest, now....
The basic rules involve the adventuring party (the players) choosing their adventurer, and exploring a hidden dungeon realm to find their objective room, battling monsters, earning gold and finding treasures and items. Pretty typical.
What makes Quest stand out is that it can be done as random, single adventures with "Dwarf" and "Elf" and "Barbarian" and it plays fine, but it can also be an extended campaign for names characters, with ongoing objectives and goals, and an added "between dungeon" system to determine what happens (good and bad) post-Objective Room.
With using miniatures, the game is really easy to visualise; using a standard 1in square makes the game simplistic to learn and easy to navigate, although it can be a little restrictive with some abilities.
The only bugbear I have about Quest is the cost, especially for the expansions - if you get lucky and can get the game at a good price, snap it up. If you have Warhammer fantasy armies, especially pre-Age of Sigmar, you will have ample models to represent most enemies you will face. Having them painted makes it even more involving and interesting. There is also a HUGE amount of player-created material available, some of which is overpowered (as you would expect) but a lot of it is flavourful-tweaking.
....I really wanna play Quest, now....
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Us (2019) in Movies
Dec 15, 2019
The first thing I'll say about Us is just how unnerving it . It's one of those horror films that leaves you with a sense of unease at everyday normal things.
Jordan Peele's second horror offering verges on standard horror tropes, clearly taking influence from horror that had come before, and at times feeling similar in nature to The Strangers, and It Follows, but it's intriguing underneath-the-surface plot and underlying social commentary save it from being just another horror film.
The idea of doppelganger horror has been explored before, but it feels a bit more apt in todays climate, as Peele explores the fear of outsiders, whilst also carrying a message about wealth gaps and the effect of privilege obliviousness.
In doing so, he successfully crafts a family of character we can root for, facing off against 'monsters' that sometimes feel all to familiar.
Lupita Nyong'o in particular is a massive stand out here, playing an inherently good central character, desperately protecting her family against a shadow of herself, who at times come across as relatable.
The plot has a decent amount of depth to it, and I'm glad that the narrative explores beyond the central family.
Jordan Peele's camerawork is fantastic throughout. There are striking shots put forwards from start to finish. He also makes fantastic work of colour... The vibrant setting of Santa Cruz works nicely, and the simple colour setup for The Tethered creates a look that is sure to become iconic in the horror genre.
I found Us to be a hugely enjoyable experience, and between Peele and Ari Aster, the future of horror is looking pretty exciting.
Jordan Peele's second horror offering verges on standard horror tropes, clearly taking influence from horror that had come before, and at times feeling similar in nature to The Strangers, and It Follows, but it's intriguing underneath-the-surface plot and underlying social commentary save it from being just another horror film.
The idea of doppelganger horror has been explored before, but it feels a bit more apt in todays climate, as Peele explores the fear of outsiders, whilst also carrying a message about wealth gaps and the effect of privilege obliviousness.
In doing so, he successfully crafts a family of character we can root for, facing off against 'monsters' that sometimes feel all to familiar.
Lupita Nyong'o in particular is a massive stand out here, playing an inherently good central character, desperately protecting her family against a shadow of herself, who at times come across as relatable.
The plot has a decent amount of depth to it, and I'm glad that the narrative explores beyond the central family.
Jordan Peele's camerawork is fantastic throughout. There are striking shots put forwards from start to finish. He also makes fantastic work of colour... The vibrant setting of Santa Cruz works nicely, and the simple colour setup for The Tethered creates a look that is sure to become iconic in the horror genre.
I found Us to be a hugely enjoyable experience, and between Peele and Ari Aster, the future of horror is looking pretty exciting.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Deadly Desire (Riley Jensen #7) in Books
Mar 17, 2020
Contains spoilers, click to show
Seduction that kills. Pleasure to die for. She just can’t resist…
Guardian Riley Jenson always seems to face the worst villains. And this time’s no different. For it’s no ordinary sorceress who can raise the dead to do her killing. But that’s exactly what Riley expects to find at the end of a trail of female corpses used—and discarded—in a bizarre ritual of evil. With pressure mounting to catch one fiend, another series of brutal slayings shocks the vampire world of her lover, Quinn. So the last thing Riley needs is the heat of the upcoming full moon bringing her werewolf hormones to a boil—or the reappearance of a sexy bounty hunter, the rogue wolf Kye Murphy.
Riley has threatened Murphy with arrest if he doesn’t back off the investigation, but it’s Riley who feels handcuffed by Kye’s lupine charm. Torn between her vamp and wolf natures, between her love for Quinn and her hots for Kye, Riley knows she’s courting danger and indulging the deadliest desires. For her hunt through the supernatural underworld will bring her face-to-face with what lurks in a darkness where even monsters fear to tread.
Keri Arthur is such a brilliant writer and this is one of my favourite series I just love Riley Jensen. This book did not disappoint it was full of suspense , action and sex!! I love the characters in this series and the way the books just flow. So Riley finally finds her soul mate in this one and I totally agree Kye is not suitable but I'm looking forward to seeing it all unravel! Poor Quinn 😢
Guardian Riley Jenson always seems to face the worst villains. And this time’s no different. For it’s no ordinary sorceress who can raise the dead to do her killing. But that’s exactly what Riley expects to find at the end of a trail of female corpses used—and discarded—in a bizarre ritual of evil. With pressure mounting to catch one fiend, another series of brutal slayings shocks the vampire world of her lover, Quinn. So the last thing Riley needs is the heat of the upcoming full moon bringing her werewolf hormones to a boil—or the reappearance of a sexy bounty hunter, the rogue wolf Kye Murphy.
Riley has threatened Murphy with arrest if he doesn’t back off the investigation, but it’s Riley who feels handcuffed by Kye’s lupine charm. Torn between her vamp and wolf natures, between her love for Quinn and her hots for Kye, Riley knows she’s courting danger and indulging the deadliest desires. For her hunt through the supernatural underworld will bring her face-to-face with what lurks in a darkness where even monsters fear to tread.
Keri Arthur is such a brilliant writer and this is one of my favourite series I just love Riley Jensen. This book did not disappoint it was full of suspense , action and sex!! I love the characters in this series and the way the books just flow. So Riley finally finds her soul mate in this one and I totally agree Kye is not suitable but I'm looking forward to seeing it all unravel! Poor Quinn 😢
How can you prove what is real? This is essentially what Grzegorz Kunowski is asking in his novellaUbiety. The title relates to the state of existing and being in a localised space, which is what the protagonist Adam Johnson is challenging throughout the story. Designed to help people face up to reality and question endless possibilities about what could or should be, Adam finds himself in many bizarre situations that blur the lines between reality and fantasy.
Quite frankly difficult to follow, Ubiety includes many dream scenes that border on madness. “Since the dawn of time common folk and wise men have scratched their heads as they asked about topics to do with dreams, such as why do we have them?” (Page 9, PDF version) Through his dreams, Adam’s brilliant mind creates scenes based on human fears and curiosity, however, it is difficult to tell which parts of the novel are “reality” since everything is equally absurd.
Adam is a person who thinks too much, resulting in overanalysing every aspect of life. The imaginary monsters that haunt his dreams begin to seem less scary than the hidden evils in the real world. Through his writing, Kunowski questions whether we are truly free or are we slaves? Slaves to machines, slaves to technology, slaves to social norms and so forth.
Unfortunately, Ubiety is difficult to read, however, within the confusion, there are a couple of gems that make you think and philosophise about life, the world and reality. Heading each chapter with a quote from a historical thinker, Kunowski draws our attention to the “realities” of the past, present and future, encouraging us to challenge what we know and believe.
Quite frankly difficult to follow, Ubiety includes many dream scenes that border on madness. “Since the dawn of time common folk and wise men have scratched their heads as they asked about topics to do with dreams, such as why do we have them?” (Page 9, PDF version) Through his dreams, Adam’s brilliant mind creates scenes based on human fears and curiosity, however, it is difficult to tell which parts of the novel are “reality” since everything is equally absurd.
Adam is a person who thinks too much, resulting in overanalysing every aspect of life. The imaginary monsters that haunt his dreams begin to seem less scary than the hidden evils in the real world. Through his writing, Kunowski questions whether we are truly free or are we slaves? Slaves to machines, slaves to technology, slaves to social norms and so forth.
Unfortunately, Ubiety is difficult to read, however, within the confusion, there are a couple of gems that make you think and philosophise about life, the world and reality. Heading each chapter with a quote from a historical thinker, Kunowski draws our attention to the “realities” of the past, present and future, encouraging us to challenge what we know and believe.
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