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Billie Wichkan (118 KP) rated The Guilty Party in Books
May 22, 2019
On a night out, four friends witness a stranger in trouble. They decide to do nothing to help.
Later, a body washes up on the banks of the Thames – and the group realizes that ignoring the woman has left blood on their hands.
But why did each of them refuse to step in? Why did none of them want to be noticed that night? Who is really responsible?
And is it possible that the victim was not really a stranger at all?
You did nothing. That doesn’t mean you’re innocent.
The Guilty Party is a twisted psychological thriller that keeps coming back to the question "WHAT WOULD YOU DO?"
A very morally complex very well written novel.
The plot is very layered and delves into Toxic Friendships and makes you look into yourself and others more deeply.
Was gripped from the beginning as the tension just keeps building.
You will read through different PO-V's to give you Their reasoning.
The characters are developed so well you will find yourself arguing at them while reading.
The narrative here you think about the power of your words.
To sum up the description of the plot; this novel brings separate strands of a story about four friends and their individual reasons for doing something and then shows the full twisted picture.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND READING!
Many thanks to NetGalley, and Me McGrath for my ARC in return for an unbiased review.
Later, a body washes up on the banks of the Thames – and the group realizes that ignoring the woman has left blood on their hands.
But why did each of them refuse to step in? Why did none of them want to be noticed that night? Who is really responsible?
And is it possible that the victim was not really a stranger at all?
You did nothing. That doesn’t mean you’re innocent.
The Guilty Party is a twisted psychological thriller that keeps coming back to the question "WHAT WOULD YOU DO?"
A very morally complex very well written novel.
The plot is very layered and delves into Toxic Friendships and makes you look into yourself and others more deeply.
Was gripped from the beginning as the tension just keeps building.
You will read through different PO-V's to give you Their reasoning.
The characters are developed so well you will find yourself arguing at them while reading.
The narrative here you think about the power of your words.
To sum up the description of the plot; this novel brings separate strands of a story about four friends and their individual reasons for doing something and then shows the full twisted picture.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND READING!
Many thanks to NetGalley, and Me McGrath for my ARC in return for an unbiased review.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Live Free or Die Hard (2007) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
Sent to collect a computer hacker wanted for questioning by the FBI, McClane gets more than he bargained for when he interrupts the efforts of a group of mercenaries mid-assassination plan.
I don't know what it is with Die Hard ladies renouncing the McClane name, I'm not sure I'd prefer Gennaro.
After 4.0 came out it definitely became my favourite. I like the more modern subject matter mixed with some traditional Die Hard personal grudge violence. Yet again we get a fun little double act, but this time with the slightly innocent Farrell with the technophobe McClane.
This movie shines a light on shoddy building work. I worry about the state of Farrell's whole building if McClane can punch through the (admittedly partly destroyed) wall to pull a bad guy's head through it.
Why do I like this film? Because he kills a helicopter with a car. I'm fairly sure that it wouldn't have worked, but I love the movie magic that made me believe it could. I presume that this is the same movie magic that allowed McClane to drive a car through a building and drive it up Maggie Q's... well, anyway...
While there's movie magic there's also completely ridiculous stuff... I mean come on... who's going to believe that the guy at Woodlawn managed to plug all those cables in the right way round first try?! What a joke!
I don't know what it is with Die Hard ladies renouncing the McClane name, I'm not sure I'd prefer Gennaro.
After 4.0 came out it definitely became my favourite. I like the more modern subject matter mixed with some traditional Die Hard personal grudge violence. Yet again we get a fun little double act, but this time with the slightly innocent Farrell with the technophobe McClane.
This movie shines a light on shoddy building work. I worry about the state of Farrell's whole building if McClane can punch through the (admittedly partly destroyed) wall to pull a bad guy's head through it.
Why do I like this film? Because he kills a helicopter with a car. I'm fairly sure that it wouldn't have worked, but I love the movie magic that made me believe it could. I presume that this is the same movie magic that allowed McClane to drive a car through a building and drive it up Maggie Q's... well, anyway...
While there's movie magic there's also completely ridiculous stuff... I mean come on... who's going to believe that the guy at Woodlawn managed to plug all those cables in the right way round first try?! What a joke!
Leader of the Pack (Andy Carpenter #10)
8.0
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Over the course of his legal career, Andy Carpenter has lost a few cases. But that doesn't mean he...
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Gemini Man (2019) in Movies
Jul 7, 2020
Innovative and Intriguing, Double The Will Smith Fails To Push The Movie From Good To Great
Contains spoilers, click to show
So before I saw this movie I actually saw Will Smith on The Stephen Colbert Show. They rolled a clip from the motorcycle fight scene from the movie and I was taken aback by how fake some of it looked. And not the action of it but the movements of the younger Will Smith clone. On the show Will Smith said that this is the first film where the entire character of the young clone was completely digital and there was no MOCAP or digital de-aging. I'm not sure if it was this new way of having the character there that caused the movement to look so fake but some of the scenes had parts that were downright laughable. Since I knew this already I tried not to go into the movie with too high of expectations. And because of this and really giving it a chance I think I was more able to enjoy it then others who will definitely be turned off by it. I hate that for some people it will hurt there ability to suspend belief because that's one reason we all go to the theater. To get sucked into another world where anything is possible and forget about the real world for an hour or two. This really was a good movie besides that being it's greatest fault. There are even some scenes where it looks totally fine and really good. Most scenes like that are zoomed into his face during dialogue and the amount of detail they did was really fantastic. I mean Will Smith did a great job as this disillusioned assassin, Mary Elizabeth Winstead did a good job as a rookie agent meant to be surveiling him, and Benedict Wong was cool as Baron his friend and ex-colleague. Even Clive Owen did good as Clay Varris, head of a top-secret black ops unit codenamed "Gemini". The plot wasn't very complicated, Will retires and starts learning that people he killed were innocent and then people start trying to kill him before he can learn the truth. He finds out that a younger clone of himself is trying to kill him and he tries not to kill him as he tries to take down the man responsible for this. Nothing remarkable but there were some pretty good action scenes especially the finale where they fight in the town. As I said I give this movie a 6/10.
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Sixteen Candles (1984) in Movies
May 3, 2018
Fun 80's Comedy
Samantha's (Molly Ringwald) family is busy, so busy in fact that they forgot her sixteenth birthday. Samantha has to cope with this while dealing with various misadventures surrounding her life. It's an innocent 80's comedy that takes you on a fun ride from beginning to end.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 10
Characters: 10
Cinematography/Visuals: 8
There are a number of memorable shots that stick out, including the opening scene where you're first introduced to Samantha's family in her Chicago home. Everything is pure chaos causing for a hilarious beginning. A number of other scenes stick out from Samantha's grandma feeling her up to Samantha's convo with The Geek (Anthony Michael Hall) inside the hollowed-out car in the school's garage. A lot of different set pieces kept the film interesting.
Conflict: 6
One of the weaker portions of the film for me. So people forgot her birthday, boo hoo. Don't get me wrong, Samantha is a very likable character and there was a large part of me that felt sorry for her. I'm just not sure her situation warranted an entire film. Perhaps a different angle would have created more conflict for me.
Genre: 8
Very solid 80's comedy. You can't name films within the decade that stand out without mentioning this one. Coming of age films? This ranks right up there although not quite as strong as some of the ones I've seen in recent years, masterpieces like Boyhood and Lady Bird.
Memorability: 10
Pace: 10
Plot: 7
The story itself is fine. It's believable even as comedies go. Again, the lack of conflict made things a little bland for me. I will say that the number of memorable moments helped pick up the slack from what the film lacked in conflict.
Resolution: 3
Overall: 82
Another 80's classic I can check off the list. A fun film that still stands the test of time.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 10
Characters: 10
Cinematography/Visuals: 8
There are a number of memorable shots that stick out, including the opening scene where you're first introduced to Samantha's family in her Chicago home. Everything is pure chaos causing for a hilarious beginning. A number of other scenes stick out from Samantha's grandma feeling her up to Samantha's convo with The Geek (Anthony Michael Hall) inside the hollowed-out car in the school's garage. A lot of different set pieces kept the film interesting.
Conflict: 6
One of the weaker portions of the film for me. So people forgot her birthday, boo hoo. Don't get me wrong, Samantha is a very likable character and there was a large part of me that felt sorry for her. I'm just not sure her situation warranted an entire film. Perhaps a different angle would have created more conflict for me.
Genre: 8
Very solid 80's comedy. You can't name films within the decade that stand out without mentioning this one. Coming of age films? This ranks right up there although not quite as strong as some of the ones I've seen in recent years, masterpieces like Boyhood and Lady Bird.
Memorability: 10
Pace: 10
Plot: 7
The story itself is fine. It's believable even as comedies go. Again, the lack of conflict made things a little bland for me. I will say that the number of memorable moments helped pick up the slack from what the film lacked in conflict.
Resolution: 3
Overall: 82
Another 80's classic I can check off the list. A fun film that still stands the test of time.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Codenames in Tabletop Games
Jul 17, 2020 (Updated Jul 18, 2020)
Fun to play (2 more)
Easy to Learn
High Replayability
Getting the assassin (2 more)
Getting the bystander
Getting the other teams word
Excellent Deduction Party Game
Codenames- is one of the two games i bought at this years Pax East. It is also one of the first board games that i bought. The second being Coup. Now since then I have like 25 board games. I love collecting board games cause i can either play them with my family or go solo. Personality i love going solo in board games.
I learn about this game through the Funhaus Channel. And personality wanted to buy it after watching it. It looked easy, fun and entertaining. So when i saw it at Pax i knew i had to by it. If you dont know what Codenames is or never heard of it. Let me explain.
Codenames is a party deduction word card name for 2-8 people. It came out in 2015, designed by Vlaada Chvátil and published by Czech Games Edition.
The Objective: Two teams compete by each having a "spymaster" give one-word clues that can point to multiple words on the board. The other players on the team attempt to guess their team's words while avoiding the words of the other team.
The Gameplay:
Players split into two teams: red and blue. One player of each team is selected as the team's spymaster; the others are field operatives.
Twenty-five Codename cards, each bearing a word, are laid out in a 5×5 rectangular grid, in random order. A number of these words represent red agents, a number represent blue agents, one represents an assassin, and the others represent innocent bystanders.
The hint's word can be chosen freely, as long as it is not (and does not contain) any of the words on the code name cards still showing at that time. Code name cards are covered as guesses are made.
After a spymaster gives the hint with its word and number, their field operatives make guesses about which code name cards bear words related to the hint and point them out, one at a time. When a code name card is pointed out, the spymaster covers that card with an appropriate identity card – a blue agent card, a red agent card, an innocent bystander card, or the assassin card – as indicated on the spymasters' map of the grid. If the assassin is pointed out, the game ends immediately, with the team who identified him losing. If an agent of the other team is pointed out, the turn ends immediately, and that other team is also one agent closer to winning. If an innocent bystander is pointed out, the turn simply ends.
The game ends when all of one team's agents are identified (winning the game for that team), or when one team has identified the assassin (losing the game).
Its a fun entertaining deduction party card game and can be played over and over again without losing its charm. Its excellent board game and a must buy if you haven't bought it yet.
I learn about this game through the Funhaus Channel. And personality wanted to buy it after watching it. It looked easy, fun and entertaining. So when i saw it at Pax i knew i had to by it. If you dont know what Codenames is or never heard of it. Let me explain.
Codenames is a party deduction word card name for 2-8 people. It came out in 2015, designed by Vlaada Chvátil and published by Czech Games Edition.
The Objective: Two teams compete by each having a "spymaster" give one-word clues that can point to multiple words on the board. The other players on the team attempt to guess their team's words while avoiding the words of the other team.
The Gameplay:
Players split into two teams: red and blue. One player of each team is selected as the team's spymaster; the others are field operatives.
Twenty-five Codename cards, each bearing a word, are laid out in a 5×5 rectangular grid, in random order. A number of these words represent red agents, a number represent blue agents, one represents an assassin, and the others represent innocent bystanders.
The hint's word can be chosen freely, as long as it is not (and does not contain) any of the words on the code name cards still showing at that time. Code name cards are covered as guesses are made.
After a spymaster gives the hint with its word and number, their field operatives make guesses about which code name cards bear words related to the hint and point them out, one at a time. When a code name card is pointed out, the spymaster covers that card with an appropriate identity card – a blue agent card, a red agent card, an innocent bystander card, or the assassin card – as indicated on the spymasters' map of the grid. If the assassin is pointed out, the game ends immediately, with the team who identified him losing. If an agent of the other team is pointed out, the turn ends immediately, and that other team is also one agent closer to winning. If an innocent bystander is pointed out, the turn simply ends.
The game ends when all of one team's agents are identified (winning the game for that team), or when one team has identified the assassin (losing the game).
Its a fun entertaining deduction party card game and can be played over and over again without losing its charm. Its excellent board game and a must buy if you haven't bought it yet.
The Last Time I Saw You
5.0
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Ties That Bind ( Detective Madison Knight Series Book 1)
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