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Deng Xiaoping: A Revolutionary Life
Alexander V. Pantsov and Steven I. Levine
Book
Deng Xiaoping joined the Chinese Communist movement as a youth and rose in its ranks to become an...
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Ghosts of War (2020) in Movies
Nov 9, 2020
The ending is worth it
Ghosts of War follows a group of American soldiers as they make their way to take up post at a French chateau towards the end of the Second World War, and encounter much more than they bargained for in this slightly above average B movie.
Right from the start, this opens with your usual cliched group of soldiers that you’d find in any war film. Brenton Thwaites is Chris, the boss and leader, you have Skylar Astin as Eugene, the brains/intellectual, Kyle Gallner as the odd and trouble sniper Tappert, Alan Ritchson as a typical macho man and finally Theo Rossi as the filler. So far, so generic, and other than Tappert who gets a decent bit of creepy character development later on, the rest of the main group are virtually one dimensional. Which is a shame as the cast are a decent group of actors that have been let down by the poor writing. Although I did enjoy Billy Zane popping up with a intentionally cheesy blink and you’ll miss it cameo as a Nazi with horrific German accent.
The film begins like your typical war movie; a group of soldiers working their way across country to reach their destination. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before. However what helps lift this is a rather moving and poignant opening quote, and a score that accompanies this very well. The score in this would be at home on any dramatic war film, and almost seems out of place in a horror film. It gives this a feeling that it’s a lot more epic and grand than it actually turns out to be.
What really drags this film down is when the group arrive at the aforementioned chateau and begin to experience all of the supernatural going’s on. Aside from a a couple of potentially creepy scenes, the jump scares are tired and predictable and the ghosts look like every other spook that’s been in a modern day horror film recently. It reeks of a below average, typical ghost film with some hit and miss special effects (albeit with an respectable amount of blood and gore) and had it continued on like this, it would’ve been completely forgettable. However throughout the scenes in the chateau there are hints that there is something deeper and more sinister going on, and it starts to pick up again when the group encounter a party of Nazi soldiers trying to enter the building. Things start to get a little weird and confusing and then a big reveal in the last 20 minutes completely shifts this film into something you never expected. I didn’t see this particular twist coming and for me, this made this movie more than just a sub par horror film. The reveal has been met with mixed reviews from critics and reviews alike, but I think it injects some much needed enjoyment and intrigue – it’s just a shame we have to wait over an hour to get there. The entire twist and ending is rather disturbing and also quite moving and emotional, and the final scene, whilst one we’ve seen done many times before, did make this a satisfying and darkly entertaining end.
Ghosts of War starts off as a below average clichéd war horror film, however it you can get through the first hour, the ending packs a decent, enjoyable and rather surprising punch. It’s just a shame the first two acts don’t match up to the ending.
Right from the start, this opens with your usual cliched group of soldiers that you’d find in any war film. Brenton Thwaites is Chris, the boss and leader, you have Skylar Astin as Eugene, the brains/intellectual, Kyle Gallner as the odd and trouble sniper Tappert, Alan Ritchson as a typical macho man and finally Theo Rossi as the filler. So far, so generic, and other than Tappert who gets a decent bit of creepy character development later on, the rest of the main group are virtually one dimensional. Which is a shame as the cast are a decent group of actors that have been let down by the poor writing. Although I did enjoy Billy Zane popping up with a intentionally cheesy blink and you’ll miss it cameo as a Nazi with horrific German accent.
The film begins like your typical war movie; a group of soldiers working their way across country to reach their destination. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before. However what helps lift this is a rather moving and poignant opening quote, and a score that accompanies this very well. The score in this would be at home on any dramatic war film, and almost seems out of place in a horror film. It gives this a feeling that it’s a lot more epic and grand than it actually turns out to be.
What really drags this film down is when the group arrive at the aforementioned chateau and begin to experience all of the supernatural going’s on. Aside from a a couple of potentially creepy scenes, the jump scares are tired and predictable and the ghosts look like every other spook that’s been in a modern day horror film recently. It reeks of a below average, typical ghost film with some hit and miss special effects (albeit with an respectable amount of blood and gore) and had it continued on like this, it would’ve been completely forgettable. However throughout the scenes in the chateau there are hints that there is something deeper and more sinister going on, and it starts to pick up again when the group encounter a party of Nazi soldiers trying to enter the building. Things start to get a little weird and confusing and then a big reveal in the last 20 minutes completely shifts this film into something you never expected. I didn’t see this particular twist coming and for me, this made this movie more than just a sub par horror film. The reveal has been met with mixed reviews from critics and reviews alike, but I think it injects some much needed enjoyment and intrigue – it’s just a shame we have to wait over an hour to get there. The entire twist and ending is rather disturbing and also quite moving and emotional, and the final scene, whilst one we’ve seen done many times before, did make this a satisfying and darkly entertaining end.
Ghosts of War starts off as a below average clichéd war horror film, however it you can get through the first hour, the ending packs a decent, enjoyable and rather surprising punch. It’s just a shame the first two acts don’t match up to the ending.
Tripoli: A History
Book
It has been called a "Noble Possession", abused as "A Nest of Corsairs" and extolled as "The Pearl...
Modernity Britain: Book Two: A Shake of the Dice, 1959-62: Book 2
Book
David Kynaston's history of post-war Britain has so far taken us from the radically reforming Labour...
Merissa (11928 KP) rated Masters' Mistress (The Angel Eyes #1) in Books
May 6, 2020
Masters' Mistress is the first book in The Angel Eyes series and it tells the story of a post-apocalyptic world where women have taken over and men are kept as slaves. We start off in the past and then skip to the present where most of the story takes place.
A lot of thought has been given to the structure of this world, and like any, there are good and bad characters in it. Angel is one of the good ones (obviously) and is trying to get her world on a more even-footing. Darla and her cronies disagree and want things to remain as they are. There is some reference to how the two sides are 'at war' but nothing really happens in the book to emphasise that apart from Angel outbidding Darla for Bret.
Bret is the main male character with a huge chip on his shoulder. He has baggage in his past but instead of trying to work through it and let it go, holds it to him like a hot water bottle on a cold night. He wants Angel but doesn't like or trust her. Angel wants him but denies her feelings. This leads to a LOT of back and forth - the majority of the book. I'm all for overwhelming feelings of attraction but not when you do something you really don't want to do. I got a bit annoyed with Angel whenever she would "fall apart when he touched her."
This is a long book with plenty of descriptions in some areas and then not in others. I would have liked a bit more of a view of the world outside their ranch but maybe that is coming in the future books. On the whole, this was an enjoyable read that has a sort of HFN ending that leads you onto the next book.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
A lot of thought has been given to the structure of this world, and like any, there are good and bad characters in it. Angel is one of the good ones (obviously) and is trying to get her world on a more even-footing. Darla and her cronies disagree and want things to remain as they are. There is some reference to how the two sides are 'at war' but nothing really happens in the book to emphasise that apart from Angel outbidding Darla for Bret.
Bret is the main male character with a huge chip on his shoulder. He has baggage in his past but instead of trying to work through it and let it go, holds it to him like a hot water bottle on a cold night. He wants Angel but doesn't like or trust her. Angel wants him but denies her feelings. This leads to a LOT of back and forth - the majority of the book. I'm all for overwhelming feelings of attraction but not when you do something you really don't want to do. I got a bit annoyed with Angel whenever she would "fall apart when he touched her."
This is a long book with plenty of descriptions in some areas and then not in others. I would have liked a bit more of a view of the world outside their ranch but maybe that is coming in the future books. On the whole, this was an enjoyable read that has a sort of HFN ending that leads you onto the next book.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Funny How Things Turn Out: Love, Death and Unsuitable Husbands - a Mother and Daughter Story
Book
Muriel Newmarch was born in North London in 1903. She died in 2009, aged 106. Judith Bruce is her...
My Father, Frank: Unresting Spirit of Everest
Book
Frank Smythe's mountaineering achievements in the decade before the Second World War became a part...
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in TV
Apr 24, 2021 (Updated Jul 16, 2021)
Contains spoilers, click to show
On the surface, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier starts off in a familiar fashion. The first couple of episodes feel like a (welcome) return to the earlier days of the MCU, but as the story develops, it just blossoms into so much more.
The narrative mainly focuses on the two titular Avengers taking on a revolutionary group, hell bent on returning to a post snap world. It deals head first with the fallout of Thanos' devastating blow in Infinity War, and the subsequent return of the 3.5 billion people who re-materialised after Endgame, and the issues that came with them. It's good to see that Marvel Studios aren't avoiding these complicated plot points that could have potentially just been swept under the rug.
The series also develops the John Walker/U.S. Agent comic story. Its well realised and Wyatt Russell is fantastic in the role. Daniel Brühl returns as Baron Zemo after an underwhelming narrative in Civil War, and unexpectedly is plain hilarious (and finally in full costume, even if it is for one scene).
As well as all this, fans of the comics are treated to a plethora of potential future stories - The introduction of Madripoor marks the first proper acknowledgement of X-Men material. Lesser known comic characters such as Isiah Bradley, Madame Hydra, Battlestar, Batroc, and Ayo are given screentime. There's even some carrots dangled for a potential Young Avengers adaption with the appearance of Eli Bradley/Patriot (and with Kate Bishop incoming, surely this is a thing)
Perhaps most importantly, TFATWS doesn't shy away from tackling race issues, touching upon real world events, and developing them into the plot. This spills over into the future of Captain America, and what the shield represents to the black community. There are some truly powerful moments of dialogue, especially between Isiah and Sam. It's all handled respectfully, and brings new depth the MCU, as they stride into a more diverse future.
With this series, and the preceding WandaVision, this new phase for the MCU is off to an incredibly strong start, and I'm so excited to see where they take it. Between Falcon rightfully taking the reigns as Captain America, the upcoming Shang Chi movie finally adapting the martial arts corner of Marvel for the MCU, and the tantalising promise of the multiverse, it's a good time to be a Marvel fan.
The narrative mainly focuses on the two titular Avengers taking on a revolutionary group, hell bent on returning to a post snap world. It deals head first with the fallout of Thanos' devastating blow in Infinity War, and the subsequent return of the 3.5 billion people who re-materialised after Endgame, and the issues that came with them. It's good to see that Marvel Studios aren't avoiding these complicated plot points that could have potentially just been swept under the rug.
The series also develops the John Walker/U.S. Agent comic story. Its well realised and Wyatt Russell is fantastic in the role. Daniel Brühl returns as Baron Zemo after an underwhelming narrative in Civil War, and unexpectedly is plain hilarious (and finally in full costume, even if it is for one scene).
As well as all this, fans of the comics are treated to a plethora of potential future stories - The introduction of Madripoor marks the first proper acknowledgement of X-Men material. Lesser known comic characters such as Isiah Bradley, Madame Hydra, Battlestar, Batroc, and Ayo are given screentime. There's even some carrots dangled for a potential Young Avengers adaption with the appearance of Eli Bradley/Patriot (and with Kate Bishop incoming, surely this is a thing)
Perhaps most importantly, TFATWS doesn't shy away from tackling race issues, touching upon real world events, and developing them into the plot. This spills over into the future of Captain America, and what the shield represents to the black community. There are some truly powerful moments of dialogue, especially between Isiah and Sam. It's all handled respectfully, and brings new depth the MCU, as they stride into a more diverse future.
With this series, and the preceding WandaVision, this new phase for the MCU is off to an incredibly strong start, and I'm so excited to see where they take it. Between Falcon rightfully taking the reigns as Captain America, the upcoming Shang Chi movie finally adapting the martial arts corner of Marvel for the MCU, and the tantalising promise of the multiverse, it's a good time to be a Marvel fan.
Terminal Uprising (Book Two of the Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse)
9.0
Rate It
Book
Human civilization didn't just fall. It was pushed. The Krakau came to Earth in the year 2104. By...