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Only God Forgives (2013)
Only God Forgives (2013)
2013 | Action, Crime, Drama, International
10
6.3 (6 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Wana fight
Number 5 in my #top10 favourite films is 'Only God Forgives'
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Very misunderstood and dripping in style from head to toe #OnlyGodForgives is such a stunningly #crafted film that i get #goosebumps from watching it every time. There may not be much dialog but every characters personality and past pain can flawlessly be seen and felt in facial expressions and acting alone. This combine with #beautiful cinematography and an intimidating/hostile atmosphere make for one of the most visually interesting, extremely rewarding and highly #depressing films I've ever seen. #Nicholaswindingrefn although #hated by many is my #favourite director of all time, his sheer ability to make me #feel a #deep #emotional connection using visuals and music alone is something I find absolutely #fascinating, #disturbing and extremely intoxicating. His films really are my favourite #drug.
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#nwr #taiboxing #fight #martialarts #ryangosling #horror #ufc #neon #dragon #violence #mondaymotivation #sundayfunday
  
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Debbiereadsbook (1110 KP) created a post

Dec 5, 2017  
Cold Fire, Emma Layne

Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book, direct from the author, that I write a review was not required.

I have a *thing* for dragons, as you well know, so when asked if I would like to read this, because, you know, I saw DRAGONS in the title! (This has however let me down before!) and who am I to dent dragons!

But I really REALLY enjoyed this book!

Faro and his brothers are on Earth to, basically, loot the planet of what they need to save THEIR planet, and since Earth is on the direct path of a comet, it's a bit of a free for all. Amy runs the hotel the brothers stay in, while doing their looting. She is struggling though, since the death of her father and Faro is drawn to her grief. Then he realises that maybe it's not her grief that draws his emphatic powers, but AMY herself, that she might just be the stuff of legends. She might just be his mate.

Like I said, really really enjoyed! Loved that the dragon doesn't show himself til very VERY late on in the book, but Faro tells Amy of his existence, and of where Faro and his brothers came from.

It's not overly complicated, or explicit or violent. Some of the words that Faro uses for various body parts are amusing, dated, like something out of an historical romance, BUT Faro does say, while his race is technically advanced, they do prefer the old ways, so maybe he meant old words too. Thats the way I read it. Liked that little clarification!

Told from both Amy and Faro's point of view, in the third person, it hit the right spot for me. It's a little on the long side for a hangover cure, but it was such an easy read, I cannot file it anywhere else. This is, by the way, a GOOD thing, being an easy read!

The passion between Faro and Amy simmers along nicely, but it is some time before they actually give in to it, and OH!!! what a surprise! I'm not gonna say what that is, but hey, lucky Amy! :-p

I'm expecting all the brothers, and the android to have their own story, and I saw at least one laying out here. And the issue of looting on Earth and the fate of Earth is going to run through those books. Because two years is not a long time, and before long Earth scientist will find out what's in their future.


Thank you to Ms Layne for my copy!

so, for an easy, dragon read

4 solid stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
     
Cold Fire: A Pre-Apocalyptic Dragon Romance (Ice Drake Series #1)
Cold Fire: A Pre-Apocalyptic Dragon Romance (Ice Drake Series #1)
Emma Layne | 2017 | Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
really great, fun read, 4 stars
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book, direct from the author, that I write a review was not required.

I have a *thing* for dragons, as you well know, so when asked if I would like to read this, because, you know, I saw DRAGONS in the title! (This has however let me down before!) and who am I to dent dragons!

But I really REALLY enjoyed this book!

Faro and his brothers are on Earth to, basically, loot the planet of what they need to save THEIR planet, and since Earth is on the direct path of a comet, it's a bit of a free for all. Amy runs the hotel the brothers stay in, while doing their looting. She is struggling though, since the death of her father and Faro is drawn to her grief. Then he realises that maybe it's not her grief that draws his emphatic powers, but AMY herself, that she might just be the stuff of legends. She might just be his mate.

Like I said, really really enjoyed! Loved that the dragon doesn't show himself til very VERY late on in the book, but Faro tells Amy of his existence, and of where Faro and his brothers came from.

It's not overly complicated, or explicit or violent. Some of the words that Faro uses for various body parts are amusing, dated, like something out of an historical romance, BUT Faro does say, while his race is technically advanced, they do prefer the old ways, so maybe he meant old words too. Thats the way I read it. Liked that little clarification!

Told from both Amy and Faro's point of view, in the third person, it hit the right spot for me. It's a little on the long side for a hangover cure, but it was such an easy read, I cannot file it anywhere else. This is, by the way, a GOOD thing, being an easy read!

The passion between Faro and Amy simmers along nicely, but it is some time before they actually give in to it, and OH!!! what a surprise! I'm not gonna say what that is, but hey, lucky Amy! :-p

I'm expecting all the brothers, and the android to have their own story, and I saw at least one laying out here. And the issue of looting on Earth and the fate of Earth is going to run through those books. Because two years is not a long time, and before long Earth scientist will find out what's in their future.


Thank you to Ms Layne for my copy!

so, for an easy, dragon read

4 solid stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
Birth of the Dragon (2016)
Birth of the Dragon (2016)
2016 | Drama
5
4.7 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
At first I was curious about the movie that was meant to be about Bruce Lee titled Birth of the Dragon. I love Bruce Lee. I grew up watching his movies, I watched episodes of The Green Hornet, and I voraciously read everything I could about him. One of my titos (that's Tagalog for uncle) told me about how he met Bruce Lee before and how kind he was. I am Filipino and white so I grew up with both these cultures and I'm grateful for it. My family has all kinds of people from all over and all walks of life and I love them dearly. When I would visit my Filipino family I loved that we would often gather round together on the couch with popcorn and snacks and watch Bruce Lee movies. This was special and it's one of my favorite memories from my childhood. I would watch Kung Fu Saturday when I was a kid and I would be excited when they would feature a Bruce Lee movie. My grandparents weren't really into it, but they would watch with me and my brother Rob sometimes.
I will always love Bruce Lee and his movies. He was an incredible person and so talented. Watching his movies was a huge part of my childhood and when I see that there's a Bruce Lee movie on, I always watch it.

I didn't know anything about Birth of the Dragon. There was a trailer that looked interesting. Then I kept hearing negative things about the film such as it's racist towards Asians and they made Bruce Lee the secondary character yet claimed it was a biopic about him. Then I read this: http://www.asamnews.com/2016/09/29/birth-of-the-dragon-biopic-enrages-bruce-lee-fans-buries-asians-in-favor-of-a-white-guy/




Birth of the Dragon is disappointing to me for this. It IS insulting to Asians and if we're really being brutally honest, it IS insulting not only to Bruce Lee, but to his family and friends who loved him. I don't understand making the white guy the main character when this was shopped as a Bruce Lee biopic. On top of this, it seems they made Bruce Lee appear to be this very one sided character who was just arrogant and stupid and it's simply not true. While Lee himself owned up to being foolish when he was younger, he was never stupid. Bruce Lee thought about each and every thing he did and in his movies there was always a political theme and the ideas expressed were intricate and well thought out. They provoked ideas and discussions as well as entertained. Read any of his books on martial arts and you see a deep philosophy and calm practicality to his teachings that show someone who was an incredibly thoughtful person.

The Filipino kid in me is extremely disappointed by this and a little angry too because Bruce Lee is one of my heroes and I'm disgusted by what appears to be blatantly anti-Asian propaganda in a film that was being sold as a biopic about him. This is irresponsible and Asian people have every right to be angry about this because once again Hollywood is shoving us into the background and telling us we're not as important because we're not white. I loved Bruce Lee because he was amazing and I loved that there was an Asian person who was the main character in his movies; someone like me and my brothers and my sister. That meant something to me and it still does. The people who made this movie should apologize for the horrible lie they told about this being a biopic about Bruce Lee and at least be honest about what it really is a film stating that white people are better than us. We'll never get that apology of course because these are the kinds of people who run Hollywood and have for years. I do know that I for one will not see this film and I will watch Bruce Lee's movies and celebrate the amazing person he was.
  
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David McK (3248 KP) rated The Hobbit in Books

Jan 28, 2019  
The Hobbit
The Hobbit
J.R.R. Tolkien | 1937 | Children
8
8.4 (144 Ratings)
Book Rating
JRR Tolkiens classic children's(?) tale of Bilbo Baggins, and his journey to the Lonely Mountain in the company of Gandalf the Wizard and 12 Dwarves who are seeking to reclaim their inheritance from the dragon Smaug.

(According to the preface in the edition I read), this was written before his Magnum Opus of <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> trilogy, with Tolkien later going back and revising key portions of this - namely, the Riddles in the Dark sequence where Bilbo encounters Gollum, and finds the Ring of Power - to bring it more in line with those sequels.

Like <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>, while this may be (is) a good story, the prose can also be a little bit on the dry side - I did find myself occasionally skimming through some of the chapters. Not as dry, however, as I remember <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> to be!
  
The Hobbit
The Hobbit
J.R.R. Tolkien | 1937 | Children
9
8.4 (144 Ratings)
Book Rating
Characters (2 more)
Plot
Introduction and backstory to a character
What good is a book without a dragon or two in it?
The Hobbit is my all time favourite book not just as a child but as an adult as well, capturing my imagination and love from the first time I picked it up to it now being my go to book when I am feeling sad or when I need to feel like ‘home’.
This book is definitely not as lengthly as the it’s cousin, Lord of the Rings, but it holds a certain charm to it. We come to love the foolish but courageous Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, and follow his adventure to the lonely mountain with the rag-tag group of Dwarves and the mischievous and ever in trouble Gandalf the Grey.
Coming from a small town that was similar to Hobbiton (I was told that Tolkien actually based Hobbiton on the town I am from) I could relate so well to Bilbo when he had misgivings about leaving his home, but that urge for adventure and lust for the unknown was too much to resist.
This story, although quite sad at the end, is full of humour, wit and no end of riddles and charm that even the grumpiest reader should not be able to resist. Perhaps it is not the most powerful or awe-inspiring book, but I think that’s what makes it so great. It’s not trying to be the best book that you’ve ever read, it’s simply telling a story the best way it can, you can’t help but be drawn in to the characters and the descriptions that Tolkien gives you.
It might not be The Lord of the Rings, but to me it will always be my favourite and best book to keep with me wherever I go and I would be lost without it!
  
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
2018 | Action/Adventure
I have loved the Dragon Quest games since I was a kid and have played many of them. I was quite thrilled that a new Dragon Quest game was coming out so as soon as I got my hands on Dragon Quest XI: Echoes Of An Elusive Age, I started playing immediately. Right from the start the game starts off with a fantastic introduction with music played by the Tokyo Symphonic Orchestra and beautiful scenes from the game. The story starts with an interesting beginning showing the hero who is known as the Luminary a hero of light who is the only one that can fight the powers of darkness and a villain known as Mordegon.

Once the initial introduction is done, this is where Dragon Quest really gets going. You have a few side quests that give you a tutorial on how the battle system works and there is a small bit of exploration in the hero's home village.



The hero exploring a cave in his village.


Exploration is very much encouraged in Dragon Quest without being overwhelming. Dungeons are fairly linear so there's no confusion about where to go. The battle system has been revamped a bit with the ability to have the AI on your party members set to specific things such as focusing on healing or fighting wisely. The way I had mine set up was that I had control of the hero with the follow orders setting and had the party members set to certain AI controls like having designated healers and melee fighters.

Another part of fighting in these turn based battles is something called pep powers. Basically after party members take a certain amount of damage from enemies they gain the power of pep. Each pep power is different and you unlock more for your hero and party members as you level up. These pep powers allow the hero and his friends to team up during battles to unleash epic attacks or heal everyone depending on what the situation calls for. Pep powers do not last forever however and if you don't use them right away they can wear off. A trick around this is to have the party member who is pepped up swap places with a party member who isn't. This is where the tactics and line up option in the battle menu comes in handy. It allows you to swap members in and out as needed until everyone has their pep powers ready to go.



Use the pep powers to defeat enemies in battle.

There are tons of side quests in Dragon Quest where you help villagers find items, defeat monsters for them, or just wear the right outfit and you get rewarded with not just experience but items for crafting, healing items, or gear for your party members. There are also some mini games like horse racing and a casino where you can exchange tokens for things like costumes and crafting recipes.



Horse racing is just one of the mini games you can play in the game.

Crafting is a big part of Dragon Quest XI. When you are at campfires, you can use the fun sized forge to craft weapons, armor, and accessories for your hero and his friends. I enjoyed this part of the game a lot because there are a variety of items you can make and if you make them well you get some pretty good stats on them. As you level up, you unlock abilities that can enhance your forging skills and increase your chances of successfully crafting items. If you screw up a crafting session you can always go back and rework the item if you have the right number of perfectionist's pearls. Some of the side quests require you to craft specific items so this is where the fun sized forge comes in handy. It's a nice break from level grinding and adventuring and you can save your game progress at the campfire as well.



Craft a variety of items with the fun sized forge.

Another fun aspect of the game is the variety of costumes you can get for your hero and party members. Some do offer pretty great defense stats and some are just for fun like Jade's bunny costume. There are a few side quests that offer costumes as rewards and some of the costumes you can craft with the forge. Running around getting all the costumes is a lot of fun and each one looks great and goes well with the party member it's for.



Just one of the many costumes you can get in the game.

Does Dragon Quest XI have flaws? In a word, yes. While I loved running around exploring everywhere, enjoyed the story, and didn't mind the level grinding there are serious issues with many of the boss battles in the game. My biggest one is that the old fashioned way of not being able to see a boss battle's HP bar does not work. There are times where a battle will drag on a little too long and there is no way to tell if you are even doing any damage at all or if the boss is close to being defeated. Fighting and hoping for the best just does not work.

Another factor is just how much level grinding is needed in order to win against certain bosses. I love Dragon Quest and while I don't mind challenging having to run around for long periods of time to level grind just to win a boss fight is incredibly tedious which brings me to the next major issue with the game. Towards the end of the game there is a final boss that is the biggest pain in the ass to fight. To add to the frustration in this final area there is only one save point and it's at the beginning of the dungeon. There is no warning about the final boss coming up, no save point before it, and it just throws you into the fray. I did not win the first time or even the second because the boss fight was in two parts and the second part had an outrageous difficulty spike to the point of being so frustrating that I had to take a break from the game.

I did finish the game eventually, but that part of the game alone and the odd spikes in difficulty in various boss fights shows that Dragon Quest needs to modernize a bit and get with the times. It does not need to do anything drastic, but it at least needs to make some changes that are more friendly to the people playing their game such as showing an enemy's HP gauge and not have such a steep learning curve for important boss battles.

Other than those things, I enjoyed Dragon Quest XI a lot. It has an interesting story, wonderful characters, and is a great adventure overall. There is a lot to see and do, the mini games are fun, and the voice acting in the game is very well done. The artwork in the game is terrific and you definitely notice Akira Toriyama's unique art style. The music for the game is great also. When you finish the game, there are things you can do afterwards such as collecting all the crafting recipes and finishing some level 60 side quests. If you are a fan of the series, it is one that you will enjoy playing because it is a great addition to the Dragon Quest universe.
  
SA
Smoke and Mirrors ( Harem of Freaks 3)
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
103 of 220
Kindle
Smoke and Mirrors ( Harem of Freaks 3)
By Crystal Ash
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The hardest part of being ringmistress? Juggling my feelings for three men.

Connor, my stubborn protector always battling his demons. Hunter, the dashing wolf shifter who sends my heart into overdrive. And Razvan, the dragon I wish I could stop thinking about.

What was supposed to be a fun, lighthearted date turns into a shocking discovery about myself. I wasn't ready for this, and I'm not sure I'm up for the responsibility this discovery brings me.

I'm so consumed by the shifter visions in my head, I don't realize how much Connor is hurting. He's walking down a dark path and this time, I'm not sure if even I can save him.

Step right up and take a front row seat to my heart breaking.

I like this series it’s an easy enjoyable read. This did not disappoint at all I literally finished it within 2 hours. We find out what kind of supernatural Melody is and her link to these 3 men is growing stronger. Also those pups are just too cute.
  
Red Dragon
Red Dragon
Thomas Harris | 1989 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences, Thriller
9
7.8 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
194 of 200

Red Dragon ( Hannibal Lecter book 1)
By Thomas Harris

RED DRAGON: the novel that introduced Hannibal Lecter
Will Graham was a brilliant profiler of criminals for the FBI - until he suffered terrible injuries in the process of capturing Dr Hannibal 'the Cannibal' Lecter.

Years later, a reluctant Will agrees to help the FBI hunt down a depraved serial killer. But he soon realises that he needs the help of the only mind better than his own at understanding madmen.

The mind of Hannibal Lecter...


I’m a huge fan of Thomas Harris and this is possibly my third reread of this book and series! This time I seemed to enjoy it that little more and I’m not sure if it’s because I have a clearer picture of the characters and feelings surrounding the books from the tv series! He has a way of writing so you get so involved with the story and the characters, that to me is what keeps me coming back to read these books over and over. For the short intervals that Hannibal is in theses books gives you a feeling he’s watching over everything you read. Poor old Will really has had it tough too! On to silence of the lambs!!!
  
Dragonslayer (Twitterlight #1)
Dragonslayer (Twitterlight #1)
Matthew Lang | 2018 | LGBTQ+, Paranormal, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
creeps up on ya, but so bloody good!
Independent reviewer for Divine Magazine, I was gifted my copy of this book.

Adam, a student, is pulled into a world, a fight, he knows nothing about. A fight involving a sword and a dragon and hero that it seems he is! Faced with four armed beasts, flying lizards, magic and sorcery, fur sprouting lovers, and many more challenging things, Adam must kill the dragon, and return home, or die trying.

I don't know about you, but I read a lot, a LOT, a lot. And much of that reading is within the same genres and I'm happy to be doing all that reading, don't get me wrong. It's just much of the same. And I don't know what I was expecting from this book, but I'm fairly certain I saw the word dragon in the blurb and that did it for me.

This book, right here?? Totally way out of my comfort zone, and it is high fantasy at its very best! I freaking LOVED this book, bar one teeny tiny thing, but I'll come back to that. So bloody good!

Adam is pulled into the twitterlight world, where there is no sun, nor moon, and the world is bathed in this half light. A princess, a warrior, and a child cast out from his people find Adam, and immediately bring him into their quest. And Adam is like " oh, ok, lets get to it then!" He literally just jumps straight in and I loved that he did not question much in the beginning; more so, once he realised that HE was the one meant to kill the dragon, but still, he was mostly " yeah ok!"

Duin, the child cast out from his people but a child no more, creeps into Adam heart, much as he does his bed, and I loved that, while fully aware that such things are not the norm in this twitterlight world, Duin can't keep away from Adam.

I LOVED the twist at the end, I really did not see that one coming!

Which brings me to why I knocked a whole star off, even though I loved this book.

Single
Person
Point
Of
View.

Only Adam gets a voice! And I wanted, no I desperately NEEDED to hear from Duin, I really did! There were to many to mention points along the way that Duin needed to be heard and he wasn't. And that really pissed me off, even though I did LOVE this book! Oh, don't get me wrong, it's a bloody great book, even without Duin's voice, but I WANTED his voice, you know?? It would really have made this a stand out of the year book, for me!

It's billed as Twitterlight book one, but I can't see anything pertaining to future books. I don't know if they will be about Adam and Duin future adventures, or if they will be about other people we have met here. I don't care, I want to read them. This is the first I've read of Matthew Lang, and he is firmly in my crosshairs.

So, ONLY because Duin doesn't get a say

4 stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**