Search
Search results
Monster Math. Kids Fun Games
Education and Games
App
"It is simply one of the best maths apps we have seen." - PCAdvisor UK "This kind of programming...
Gods and Glory: Throne wars
Games and Stickers
App
Throw yourself into intense and tactical real-time fantasy PvP strategy. Clash with warriors...
Dog Sim Online: Build A Family
Games
App
Live the life of a dog, controlling your favourite breeds, exploring a massive 3D world and building...
Gareth von Kallenbach (962 KP) rated World War Z (2013) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
Inspired by the book of the same name, “World War Z” starring Brad Pitt has made it to theaters after several delays including seven weeks of additional shooting that was ordered by the studio after principal photography had ended. While the book covers survivor interviews in the wake of the zombie pandemic, the film covers the early days the outbreak and casts Pitt as Gerry Lane, a former U.N. troubleshooter who is left his life in the field for the ability to be a stay-at-home husband and dad to his wife and daughters. When an unexpected outbreak starts to lay waste to several cities, Gerry and his family are evacuated by his old U.N. Allies to a secure location aboard a naval flotilla and he is told that his family will remain in security providing he agrees to spearhead an investigation to determine the source of the outbreak.
With very few options Gerry leads a team to Korea in an attempt to get to the source of the outbreak and find a cure, or at the very least, a course of treatment to battle an outbreak that’s quickly is decimating the world’s population and threatening to destroy life as we know it in a very short time. The dangers are numerous and Gerry soon learns that there is a much larger puzzle to be solved which sets them on a journey around the world in a race against time to save humanity. Along the way he encounters signs of the world gone mad and utter devastation from locales ranging from Jerusalem to Cardiff as it becomes obvious that the infection has spared no region of the globe. With time running out, Gerry must find a way to turn the tide and save humanity before it is too late. With his resources dwindling he embarks on a desperate mission to test a theory and save the world.
The film does have its share of tense moments however the PG-13 rating does severely limit the amount of gore and horror that can be displayed. One key scene implied that a weapon had become imbedded in an infected enemy and that Gerry was struggling to extract it in order to use it to defend himself. Due to the limitations of the rating this had to be implied rather than shown and Pitt came across as more comical than tense and desperate.
The movie also suffers from converted 3-D which does absolutely nothing to enhance the film as there were very few moments that benefited from the 3-D technique. Perhaps if the film had been shot in 3-D the quality it would’ve been better but it was clear that several of the scenes in the film were not set up nor shot with 3-D in mind.
There are some very good effects; especially the ones were hordes of infected throw themselves recklessly like swarming insects upon barricaded survivors which really helped underscore just how hopeless and desperate the situation for the survivors was. No matter how much firepower you have, a wall of infected coming at you in endless waves is eventually going to outlast your supply of ammunition.
There had been some reported tensions on the set between Pitt and Director Marc Forster, but to me the biggest red flag was the seven additional weeks of shooting that were done after principal photography had been completed. While re-shoots are not uncommon, re-shoots of this length are, especially when it led to the film being delayed from its original planned release to the summer.
In the end what you have is an uneven effort. The film has a very good concept, good cast, and potential to be a fantastic series but suffers from a real lack of scares. It’s a sanitized look at a zombie invasion that greatly undermines the subject and the source material. The studio has hopes of doing a trilogy of films and I would definitely like to see future releases in the series provided they improve upon the original, offer films that are more in keeping with the book and are more respectful to zombie genre. As it stands now, Pitt does the best he can with the material but is let down by a script that is big on clichés and offers very little in the way of scares and originality.
http://sknr.net/2013/06/21/world-war-z/
With very few options Gerry leads a team to Korea in an attempt to get to the source of the outbreak and find a cure, or at the very least, a course of treatment to battle an outbreak that’s quickly is decimating the world’s population and threatening to destroy life as we know it in a very short time. The dangers are numerous and Gerry soon learns that there is a much larger puzzle to be solved which sets them on a journey around the world in a race against time to save humanity. Along the way he encounters signs of the world gone mad and utter devastation from locales ranging from Jerusalem to Cardiff as it becomes obvious that the infection has spared no region of the globe. With time running out, Gerry must find a way to turn the tide and save humanity before it is too late. With his resources dwindling he embarks on a desperate mission to test a theory and save the world.
The film does have its share of tense moments however the PG-13 rating does severely limit the amount of gore and horror that can be displayed. One key scene implied that a weapon had become imbedded in an infected enemy and that Gerry was struggling to extract it in order to use it to defend himself. Due to the limitations of the rating this had to be implied rather than shown and Pitt came across as more comical than tense and desperate.
The movie also suffers from converted 3-D which does absolutely nothing to enhance the film as there were very few moments that benefited from the 3-D technique. Perhaps if the film had been shot in 3-D the quality it would’ve been better but it was clear that several of the scenes in the film were not set up nor shot with 3-D in mind.
There are some very good effects; especially the ones were hordes of infected throw themselves recklessly like swarming insects upon barricaded survivors which really helped underscore just how hopeless and desperate the situation for the survivors was. No matter how much firepower you have, a wall of infected coming at you in endless waves is eventually going to outlast your supply of ammunition.
There had been some reported tensions on the set between Pitt and Director Marc Forster, but to me the biggest red flag was the seven additional weeks of shooting that were done after principal photography had been completed. While re-shoots are not uncommon, re-shoots of this length are, especially when it led to the film being delayed from its original planned release to the summer.
In the end what you have is an uneven effort. The film has a very good concept, good cast, and potential to be a fantastic series but suffers from a real lack of scares. It’s a sanitized look at a zombie invasion that greatly undermines the subject and the source material. The studio has hopes of doing a trilogy of films and I would definitely like to see future releases in the series provided they improve upon the original, offer films that are more in keeping with the book and are more respectful to zombie genre. As it stands now, Pitt does the best he can with the material but is let down by a script that is big on clichés and offers very little in the way of scares and originality.
http://sknr.net/2013/06/21/world-war-z/
FocusNow - Bye delay
Productivity and Utilities
App
*Most amazing Pomodoro App helps you overcome dilly-dally. *Most effective habit cultivation tool...
Darren (1599 KP) rated You Only Live Twice (1967) in Movies
Nov 7, 2019
Characters – James Bond has been gaining a lot of heat from his missions, now he must fake his own death to go underground. His latest mission takes him to Japan where he must uncover the truth about mission rockets, he is the same womaniser we know this being his biggest weakness, however we do learn how skilled he is when he can jump into any vehicle and know how to operate it and handle himself in any fight. Aki is the Bond girl here, she helps him around Tokyo meeting his connections and turning up just in time to rescue him from danger. Kissy is the fake wife that James must take while searching the island, could easily be considered one of the Bond girls in the movie. Blofeld is the cat stroking leader of SPECTRE Bond suspects he is involved and this will be the first meeting between the two.
Performances – Sean Connery is still good in this role, we continues to make this role the iconic on we all know and remember. Donald Pleasence in his role becomes the most iconic of all the Bond villains which is what we need this far into the franchise. When it comes to the Bond girls we get the beautiful women that don’t get too much to do other than to look great next to Bond.
Story – The story here follow James Bond on his latest mission after faking his death which takes him into battle against SPECTRE once again, by having a returning villainous threat is good for this franchise because we don’t need to keep establishing a new villain which does take time for any film, with the returning villain we can focus on Bond and just how difficult it is to keep his identity secret from the threats to the world. the story does follow the usual movements as we follow Bond meet allies, defeat enemies and save the world from potential world war three. This is one story that is the one I always remember with the final battle which happens to be my favourite for the whole franchise.
Action/Adventure – The action is mostly Bond battle enemies, be in hand to hand, helicopter to make shift helicopter, right down to the mass final battle which is one of the biggest in the franchise. The adventure does take Bond across the world again to Japan on his latest mission.
Settings – The film uses the settings well, we always see Bond in new locations and this takes him to Japan, the amount of small islands there helps add mystery to everything which is all we want as fans of the franchise.
Scene of the Movie – Base battle.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – She is sexiful, like this is a word.
Final Thoughts – This is easily one of my favourite Bond films, it is one I grew up watching the most, it does have flaws but we can’t help that, otherwise this is one you can enjoy and gets better as we go along.
Overall: One of the most fun Bond films.
Performances – Sean Connery is still good in this role, we continues to make this role the iconic on we all know and remember. Donald Pleasence in his role becomes the most iconic of all the Bond villains which is what we need this far into the franchise. When it comes to the Bond girls we get the beautiful women that don’t get too much to do other than to look great next to Bond.
Story – The story here follow James Bond on his latest mission after faking his death which takes him into battle against SPECTRE once again, by having a returning villainous threat is good for this franchise because we don’t need to keep establishing a new villain which does take time for any film, with the returning villain we can focus on Bond and just how difficult it is to keep his identity secret from the threats to the world. the story does follow the usual movements as we follow Bond meet allies, defeat enemies and save the world from potential world war three. This is one story that is the one I always remember with the final battle which happens to be my favourite for the whole franchise.
Action/Adventure – The action is mostly Bond battle enemies, be in hand to hand, helicopter to make shift helicopter, right down to the mass final battle which is one of the biggest in the franchise. The adventure does take Bond across the world again to Japan on his latest mission.
Settings – The film uses the settings well, we always see Bond in new locations and this takes him to Japan, the amount of small islands there helps add mystery to everything which is all we want as fans of the franchise.
Scene of the Movie – Base battle.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – She is sexiful, like this is a word.
Final Thoughts – This is easily one of my favourite Bond films, it is one I grew up watching the most, it does have flaws but we can’t help that, otherwise this is one you can enjoy and gets better as we go along.
Overall: One of the most fun Bond films.
The Godfather Game
Games and Stickers
App
For the first time ever, The Godfather officially comes to you as a brand new mobile game in an...
Brutal Street 2
Games, Entertainment and Stickers
App
Brutal Street's sequel has finally come to fruition! Five years is a long wait, but now that wait is...
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated No Time to Die (2021) in Movies
Oct 16, 2021
Works well enough - despite a weak villain
The Daniel Craig James Bond films are a different breed of Bond films. Instead of each one being a “one-off, fun romp” filled with Gadgets, Villains, Beautiful Ladies and Wild Stunts, the 5 films of the “Daniel Craig era” of Bond films was something else…gritty, serious and serialized, each film standing on it’s own but also building on the previous one to tell one long story.
It will be up to the individual to decide whether this type of storytelling works for Bond.
For me, it does.
Picking up where SPECTRE left off, NO TIME TO DIE follows Bond and his lady love from that film, Madeliene (Lea Seydoux) as they are followed and threatened by agents from SPECTRE. After an action-packed opening, Bond heads into retirement only to be drawn back in.
Director Cary Fukunaga (BEASTS OF NO NATION) crafts a satisfying, if somewhat too long and dragged out, finale for Craig as Bond battles villains joined by old friends (and fiends) along the way (as a bit of a final Curtain Call for them all), meets some new allies (and adversaries) all while dealing with his own feelings.
And it is this part of the film that “Bond purists” will be the most annoyed about. JAMES BOND HAS FEELINGS! He isn’t just a “Super-Spy” with a quip and a gadget, Fukunaga and perennial Bond writers Neal Purvis & Robert Wade (along with Fukunaga and Phoebe Waller-Bridge) craft a Bond that has cracks in his veneer that show doubts and fears underneath.
This rounding out of the character works for me in this film, especially if you put this film in the context of all 5 Craig Bond films. It is a natural growth for the character and one that Craig handles well.
As for the performances, regular Bond players Ralph Fiennes (M), Naomi Harris (Moneypenny), Ben Whishaw (Q), Rory Kinnear (Tanner) and Jeffrey Wright (CIA Agent Felix Leiter) all have a moment (or 2) to shine and they show up on the screen like old friends showing up at a going away party. Christoph Walz also reprises his role of Blofeld from SPECTRE (it’s not a spoiler, it’s in the trailers) and it was good to see Blofeld and Bond play chess one last time and Seydoux’s performance as Bond’s “lady love” is “good enough”.
But it is the newcomers to this story that stand out to me - with one strong exception. Lashana Lynch (as a fellow 00 agent) and Billy Magnussen both shine in this film as do Ana de Armas as another femme that Bond encounters - this is the 3rd strong performance I’ve seen from the former model (following strong turns in BLADE RUNNER 2049 and opposite Craig in KNIVES OUT) and am eagerly awaiting what she will do next.
Only Rami Malek as villain Safin fails to be interesting and that’s where this film falls down. Safin’s encounters with Bond bring the energy and excitement down, thanks to Malek’s “underplaying” of a role that should have been overplayed. His performance just doesn’t work.
But, this is a Bond film, so the acting and plot always take a backseat to the action - and the action in this film is better than average, but not A-M-A-Z-I-N-G as one expects from Bond films. Couple that with Malek’s underwhelming performance and this Bond film will leave audiences with an unfulfilled feeling.
Unless, you are invested in the journey that Craig has taken Bond on - and the culmination of that journey to conclude this film. If you are invested in that, this film work. If you are not, it will not.
It worked for me.
Letter Grade: B+
7 1/2 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
It will be up to the individual to decide whether this type of storytelling works for Bond.
For me, it does.
Picking up where SPECTRE left off, NO TIME TO DIE follows Bond and his lady love from that film, Madeliene (Lea Seydoux) as they are followed and threatened by agents from SPECTRE. After an action-packed opening, Bond heads into retirement only to be drawn back in.
Director Cary Fukunaga (BEASTS OF NO NATION) crafts a satisfying, if somewhat too long and dragged out, finale for Craig as Bond battles villains joined by old friends (and fiends) along the way (as a bit of a final Curtain Call for them all), meets some new allies (and adversaries) all while dealing with his own feelings.
And it is this part of the film that “Bond purists” will be the most annoyed about. JAMES BOND HAS FEELINGS! He isn’t just a “Super-Spy” with a quip and a gadget, Fukunaga and perennial Bond writers Neal Purvis & Robert Wade (along with Fukunaga and Phoebe Waller-Bridge) craft a Bond that has cracks in his veneer that show doubts and fears underneath.
This rounding out of the character works for me in this film, especially if you put this film in the context of all 5 Craig Bond films. It is a natural growth for the character and one that Craig handles well.
As for the performances, regular Bond players Ralph Fiennes (M), Naomi Harris (Moneypenny), Ben Whishaw (Q), Rory Kinnear (Tanner) and Jeffrey Wright (CIA Agent Felix Leiter) all have a moment (or 2) to shine and they show up on the screen like old friends showing up at a going away party. Christoph Walz also reprises his role of Blofeld from SPECTRE (it’s not a spoiler, it’s in the trailers) and it was good to see Blofeld and Bond play chess one last time and Seydoux’s performance as Bond’s “lady love” is “good enough”.
But it is the newcomers to this story that stand out to me - with one strong exception. Lashana Lynch (as a fellow 00 agent) and Billy Magnussen both shine in this film as do Ana de Armas as another femme that Bond encounters - this is the 3rd strong performance I’ve seen from the former model (following strong turns in BLADE RUNNER 2049 and opposite Craig in KNIVES OUT) and am eagerly awaiting what she will do next.
Only Rami Malek as villain Safin fails to be interesting and that’s where this film falls down. Safin’s encounters with Bond bring the energy and excitement down, thanks to Malek’s “underplaying” of a role that should have been overplayed. His performance just doesn’t work.
But, this is a Bond film, so the acting and plot always take a backseat to the action - and the action in this film is better than average, but not A-M-A-Z-I-N-G as one expects from Bond films. Couple that with Malek’s underwhelming performance and this Bond film will leave audiences with an unfulfilled feeling.
Unless, you are invested in the journey that Craig has taken Bond on - and the culmination of that journey to conclude this film. If you are invested in that, this film work. If you are not, it will not.
It worked for me.
Letter Grade: B+
7 1/2 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated The Second Siege (The Tapestry, #2) in Books
Jan 23, 2020
Original Review posted on <a title="The Second Siege by Henry H. Neff" href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2013/05/review-the-second-siege-by-henry-h-neff.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Original Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Owls
Note: Formatting is lost due to copy and paste
In the second book to The Tapestry series, Astaroth has already been released from his confinement and is causing trouble in the outside world with his allies. Max McDaniels and his roommate David Menlo are traveling to different worlds on a quest to acquire the dangerous Book of Thoth before Astaroth gets to it first.
I'm sorry if I can't help but compare the series to Harry Potter (actually, I can't help but compare a lot of books to another book/series...). Both series are just so... similar in so many ways. It may sound ironic, but in my humble opinion, Astaroth isn't that... villainy. I mean, sure, he's cunning and evil when necessary, but I'm pretty sure that if Voldy and Astaroth had a face off, Voldy would probably crush him. Big time. Even if he's noseless. Basically because Voldy is evil 24/7.
<img src="http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll152/Contele_Draqula/VoldemortandDeathEaters.jpg"; width="200" height="143" />
On the other hand, Astaroth's "minions" are well... completely the opposite of the Death Eaters. The Death Eaters are pretty loyal, but there's always these little loose knots here and there when it comes to loyalty. Apparently, Astaroth's minions are too loyal to the demon, that there are practically no loose ends at all. One big happy family in taking over the world? Possibly... but don't take my word for granted. I may be wrong for all I know and all of his minions will soon overthrow him as leader of Malevolency.
In a nutshell, you can say I'm sadly disappointed that Astaroth just doesn't seem like a villain at certain times. I don't know. Maybe he'll be more evil later in the series, but for now, I think I'll categorize him a bit as Mr. Nice Guy. I'll nominate him as Dr. Evil II when he has more of the muahaha added in (okay, not exactly muahaha, but closer).
<img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OjrbRW6e1VE/THP3sett2tI/AAAAAAAAFBw/rsQC8kBELBw/s200/Dr_Evil.jpg"; />
So, the ending. Er, not exactly. Kind of a happy-sad ending, but not exactly an ending that will make me emotional that I'll need a Kleenex in hand and hide someplace so no one sees me crying, because if I get seen crying, it'll be as embarrassing as saying something in an awkward silence.. But I'm pretty glad that Max and his father saw someone they deeply cared for at least one more time after so many years. It's also not an ending where there's this lovely cliffhanger that keeps you at the edge of the seat, eager to read the next book.
As much as I hate cliffhangers, I just feel that there needs to be some sort of cliff waiting to catch more "victims" at the end when it comes to a series (maybe I'm so used to that frame of mind...), which I find missing in The Second Siege. Though hopefully I'm just missing that cliffhanger and just need to dig deeper...
Original Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Owls
Note: Formatting is lost due to copy and paste
In the second book to The Tapestry series, Astaroth has already been released from his confinement and is causing trouble in the outside world with his allies. Max McDaniels and his roommate David Menlo are traveling to different worlds on a quest to acquire the dangerous Book of Thoth before Astaroth gets to it first.
I'm sorry if I can't help but compare the series to Harry Potter (actually, I can't help but compare a lot of books to another book/series...). Both series are just so... similar in so many ways. It may sound ironic, but in my humble opinion, Astaroth isn't that... villainy. I mean, sure, he's cunning and evil when necessary, but I'm pretty sure that if Voldy and Astaroth had a face off, Voldy would probably crush him. Big time. Even if he's noseless. Basically because Voldy is evil 24/7.
<img src="http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll152/Contele_Draqula/VoldemortandDeathEaters.jpg"; width="200" height="143" />
On the other hand, Astaroth's "minions" are well... completely the opposite of the Death Eaters. The Death Eaters are pretty loyal, but there's always these little loose knots here and there when it comes to loyalty. Apparently, Astaroth's minions are too loyal to the demon, that there are practically no loose ends at all. One big happy family in taking over the world? Possibly... but don't take my word for granted. I may be wrong for all I know and all of his minions will soon overthrow him as leader of Malevolency.
In a nutshell, you can say I'm sadly disappointed that Astaroth just doesn't seem like a villain at certain times. I don't know. Maybe he'll be more evil later in the series, but for now, I think I'll categorize him a bit as Mr. Nice Guy. I'll nominate him as Dr. Evil II when he has more of the muahaha added in (okay, not exactly muahaha, but closer).
<img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OjrbRW6e1VE/THP3sett2tI/AAAAAAAAFBw/rsQC8kBELBw/s200/Dr_Evil.jpg"; />
So, the ending. Er, not exactly. Kind of a happy-sad ending, but not exactly an ending that will make me emotional that I'll need a Kleenex in hand and hide someplace so no one sees me crying, because if I get seen crying, it'll be as embarrassing as saying something in an awkward silence.. But I'm pretty glad that Max and his father saw someone they deeply cared for at least one more time after so many years. It's also not an ending where there's this lovely cliffhanger that keeps you at the edge of the seat, eager to read the next book.
As much as I hate cliffhangers, I just feel that there needs to be some sort of cliff waiting to catch more "victims" at the end when it comes to a series (maybe I'm so used to that frame of mind...), which I find missing in The Second Siege. Though hopefully I'm just missing that cliffhanger and just need to dig deeper...