David McK (3932 KP) rated Ready Player One in Books
Sep 19, 2021
Have also seen the movie mentioned below. It was just OK; not great.
<original 2016 review>
Prior to reading this, I'd heard good things about it, and was aware that - like seemingly nearly all of the current Young Adult Dystopian novels - there was a movie for it in the pipeline, by none other than Spielberg himself.
Set in the near-future, I found this to be like a cross between the Bruce Willis movie Surrogates (in that nearly everybody seems to live their life vicariously through other means), The Matrix (cyber reality) and maybe even a bit of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the MacGuffin that gets the plot rolling). it probably helps that - unlike the characters - I actually *was* a kid in the 80s, and so get plenty of the various pop-culture references made.
Plenty, but not all - this, remember, is set in America, so leans more towards the American or Japanese spectrum of popular culture than European.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated The Tattooist (2018) in Movies
Sep 28, 2021
Positives:
Well! This should be a case study for Zack Snyder that you don’t need a film to be a bladder-busting 242 minutes in order to tell a story. At just 80 seconds long, this is a masterclass in subliminal editing.
The film is both disturbing and quirky. Is the tattooist just day-dreaming? Is what he is thinking about down in his shop’s cellar right now? Is the semi-naked girl on the table to be next? All questions and no answers are forthcoming!
It’s impressive when you think of all of the production design that had to go into making each of those subliminal shots (e.g. the still below). As in Wong’s previous short film (“The Story of 90 Coins“), the lighting and cinematography is first rate.
Negatives:
None. For what it is, it’s very impressive.
David McK (3932 KP) rated Implacable (The Lost Fleet: Outlands #3) in Books
Jul 14, 2024 (Updated Jul 14, 2024)
Whilst surprised to see you, they none-the-less invite you in and introduce you to their friends (new to you).
Then your own relatives, who only have a passing relationship with your mate, start showing up uninvited as well; start being pass-remarkable, making demands and throwing their weight around.
That's pretty much the situation facing Admiral 'Black Jack' Geary, out beyond the frontiers of human space, in this the latest novel in the long-running 'Lost Fleet' series, with - as it turns out - experimental (and dangerous) jump space technology leaked to those left behind after he started his journey - technology that makes everything, in the words of one character 'more so'.
The result is another enjoyable read in the series, with plenty of plot threads left hanging for the inevitable sequel.
What Comes Around
10.0
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The River Has Roots
10.0
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Follow the river Liss to the small town of Thistleford, on the edge of Faerie, and meet two sisters...
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ClareR (6256 KP) rated Lowest Common Denominator in Books
Feb 10, 2026
LCD bounces around somewhat in time from toddlerhood to the present day. It’s auto fiction, really, although I had to double check that. So I suppose it’s a mix of Saisio’s autobiography that has been fictionalised in places.
I found the details of a child growing up in Finland, Saisio’s communist parents, along with 1950’s Finnish life, fascinating. It also made me curious about the war and occupation of the Russians in Finland, and I consequently did a bit of background reading about that.
I love reading translated books, and the translator, Mia Spangenberg, has made sure that this has lost none of its humour. The relationships between the narrator and their family members are so well drawn. Their experiences, traumas, upbringings and their expectations of this small child make for an engrossing read.
Intrusion (Reflections #4)
8.0
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Jess awoke to a world she doesn’t really understand, hounded by impulses that are quite literally...
Young Adult Paranormal Romance Short Story