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Star Chef: Cooking Game
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Are you a foodie? Are you a cook? Do you like to create recipes or simply put together a good...
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Knock at the cabin (2023) in Movies
Feb 4, 2023
Writer/Director M. Night Shyamalan is back with his new thriller “Knock at
the Cabin” and like his earlier works; the film blends reality with
supernatural elements to put ordinary people in circumstances that are
dangerous and unnatural.
The film involves a same-sex couple named Eric (Jonathan Groff) and Andrew
(Ben Aldridge), who have taken their adopted daughter Wen (Kristen Cui),
to a secluded cabin for a relaxing vacation.
The arrival of four strangers lead by the imposing but soft-spoken Leonard
(Dave Bautista) becomes dangerous when Leonard informs them that the world
is about to end and only by choosing to sacrifice one of them can the
Apocalypse be diverted.
Leonard explains that the four had the same vision of the end of the world
and that they were drawn to save it by taking such drastic actions. They
inform their captives that they will not harm them but they will not be
allowed to leave as they must make the choice and failure to do so will
doom everyone and force the three of them to exist as the sole-survivors
of the aftermath.
Convinced that the intruders are insane; Eric and Andrew refuse the offer
and watch as one of the four captives sacrifices themselves which is soon
followed by news on the television of a massive earthquakes which resulted
in tsunamis.
Convinced it is a ruse or simply timed events to the days news; the
captives again refuse a request only to see another sacrifice followed by
more news of devastation happening around the world.
What follows is a tight thriller as Eric and Andrew learn more about their
captives and the changing world situation which forces them to confront a
world gone mad.
The film is good at setting a tone and maintaining a mild tension
throughout as the audience is left to wonder how real what is being
presented by Leonard and his associates are. I liked the fact that the
movie did not try to wrap things up nice and tidy and left the audiences
with some questions about the events as well as what would happen in the
aftermath.
Bautista gives an career-best performance and shows that his is capable of
doing more than the action-comedy genre which he has been playing to date
and I hope he continues to seek roles such as this.
While the film may not reach the levels of some of his earlier classics,
Shyamalan has crafted an entertaining film that keeps you guessing.
3.5 stars out of 5
the Cabin” and like his earlier works; the film blends reality with
supernatural elements to put ordinary people in circumstances that are
dangerous and unnatural.
The film involves a same-sex couple named Eric (Jonathan Groff) and Andrew
(Ben Aldridge), who have taken their adopted daughter Wen (Kristen Cui),
to a secluded cabin for a relaxing vacation.
The arrival of four strangers lead by the imposing but soft-spoken Leonard
(Dave Bautista) becomes dangerous when Leonard informs them that the world
is about to end and only by choosing to sacrifice one of them can the
Apocalypse be diverted.
Leonard explains that the four had the same vision of the end of the world
and that they were drawn to save it by taking such drastic actions. They
inform their captives that they will not harm them but they will not be
allowed to leave as they must make the choice and failure to do so will
doom everyone and force the three of them to exist as the sole-survivors
of the aftermath.
Convinced that the intruders are insane; Eric and Andrew refuse the offer
and watch as one of the four captives sacrifices themselves which is soon
followed by news on the television of a massive earthquakes which resulted
in tsunamis.
Convinced it is a ruse or simply timed events to the days news; the
captives again refuse a request only to see another sacrifice followed by
more news of devastation happening around the world.
What follows is a tight thriller as Eric and Andrew learn more about their
captives and the changing world situation which forces them to confront a
world gone mad.
The film is good at setting a tone and maintaining a mild tension
throughout as the audience is left to wonder how real what is being
presented by Leonard and his associates are. I liked the fact that the
movie did not try to wrap things up nice and tidy and left the audiences
with some questions about the events as well as what would happen in the
aftermath.
Bautista gives an career-best performance and shows that his is capable of
doing more than the action-comedy genre which he has been playing to date
and I hope he continues to seek roles such as this.
While the film may not reach the levels of some of his earlier classics,
Shyamalan has crafted an entertaining film that keeps you guessing.
3.5 stars out of 5
Interior Design for iPad
Lifestyle and Productivity
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--- Note - for a more professional interior design app, please check out our other app, TapGlance....
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated It's Not Summer Without You (Summer, #2) in Books
Apr 27, 2018
Everything changed after Susannah died. Her two sons, both of whom Belly loves in different ways, have changed. Jeremiah is older. Conrad is empty. Belly's mother is different. And Belly is different, too. After her painful break-up with Conrad, she isn't expecting to enjoy summer, she just wants to get through it. But when Jeremiah calls her and tells her that Conrad has vanished from summer school, she goes with him to find him… and try to make things write. But Conrad has his own agenda, and his own idea of what is right. Belly has to decide if she's willing to let her heart get torn and healed by Conrad's ever-changing emotions in relation to her—as changing as the sea at her summer house—or if she's ready to let go.
After having just finished It's Not Summer Without You, I'm not sure if I feel like smiling, or if I feel smug, or if I want to kill Conrad—or at least hit him—or maybe I want to kill Jeremiah, or maybe I want to cry. I think I feel like Belly. I feel sorry for her, that's for sure.
It's Not Summer Without You is beautiful in a painful kind of way. I loved the way the story was woven, but I'm not sure I liked the way it turned out. It's the kind of story that starts looking scary, because you know that in the end everyone is going to get hurt, and that someone is going to have to choose between two good things, and you'll never be completely satisfied with the choice. But then, maybe that's the way it is in the real world. That's what makes this story good: it's real.
I read it in one sitting, on the same day I got it, and I couldn't put it down. Just like The Summer I Turned Pretty, the main aspect of the book is the characters. They are what keep you reading, they are what makes you care about the book. I care about Belly, I care about Conrad, I care about Jeremiah. I just don't care about them in the same ways I used to.
The writing felt smooth, poetic, and lyric, but the entire book had a negative energy to it. It felt depressing to read. I don't feel like I just read a summer romance, I feel like I just read a sad book and I need a light summer romance to cheer me up. That's not to say I didn't like it, but it was rather depressing to read.
The whole thing, from start to finish, felt like a lost cause with a possible hopeful end—meaning Belly and Conrad would never be together again, everything is falling apart after Susannah's death, and nothing will ever be good again…unless, unless, unless—and I'm not quite sure if it had that end. It wasn't enough of an ending for me. There wasn't enough closure between the characters, I'm still not exactly sure what happened and where everyone stands, and the epilogue wasn't enough to decode what was being said. Hopefully, more was added to the epilogue in the finished copy of the book. That's the only reason I gave it four stars and not five: I didn't enjoy it enough. It was good, it was just hard to read and hard to enjoy.
All in all, I did like it, I liked most of what happened, and I liked how real it was. It's Not Summer Without You evokes real emotions because it plays out in the real world.
Content: Some language
Recommendation: Ages 16+
After having just finished It's Not Summer Without You, I'm not sure if I feel like smiling, or if I feel smug, or if I want to kill Conrad—or at least hit him—or maybe I want to kill Jeremiah, or maybe I want to cry. I think I feel like Belly. I feel sorry for her, that's for sure.
It's Not Summer Without You is beautiful in a painful kind of way. I loved the way the story was woven, but I'm not sure I liked the way it turned out. It's the kind of story that starts looking scary, because you know that in the end everyone is going to get hurt, and that someone is going to have to choose between two good things, and you'll never be completely satisfied with the choice. But then, maybe that's the way it is in the real world. That's what makes this story good: it's real.
I read it in one sitting, on the same day I got it, and I couldn't put it down. Just like The Summer I Turned Pretty, the main aspect of the book is the characters. They are what keep you reading, they are what makes you care about the book. I care about Belly, I care about Conrad, I care about Jeremiah. I just don't care about them in the same ways I used to.
The writing felt smooth, poetic, and lyric, but the entire book had a negative energy to it. It felt depressing to read. I don't feel like I just read a summer romance, I feel like I just read a sad book and I need a light summer romance to cheer me up. That's not to say I didn't like it, but it was rather depressing to read.
The whole thing, from start to finish, felt like a lost cause with a possible hopeful end—meaning Belly and Conrad would never be together again, everything is falling apart after Susannah's death, and nothing will ever be good again…unless, unless, unless—and I'm not quite sure if it had that end. It wasn't enough of an ending for me. There wasn't enough closure between the characters, I'm still not exactly sure what happened and where everyone stands, and the epilogue wasn't enough to decode what was being said. Hopefully, more was added to the epilogue in the finished copy of the book. That's the only reason I gave it four stars and not five: I didn't enjoy it enough. It was good, it was just hard to read and hard to enjoy.
All in all, I did like it, I liked most of what happened, and I liked how real it was. It's Not Summer Without You evokes real emotions because it plays out in the real world.
Content: Some language
Recommendation: Ages 16+
Iron Fist Boxing Lite
Games and Sports
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Don’t settle for imitations! Iron Fist Boxing is THE original real-time 3D MMA (Mixed Martial...
BUX - Easy Stock Trading
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Stock trading made exciting for everyone! Dive into the world of trading with BUX and discover the...
Art Authority for iPad
Art & Design, Education and Reference
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"Best iPad Reference App" -- App Store editorial team. Art Authority for iPad transports you to an...
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Tractors - Giants of Agriculture
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Tractors – Giants of Agriculture is loaded with photos and information about the biggest tractors...
The World Ends with You: Solo Remix
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SUPPORTED DEVICES iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 6, iPhone6 plus and...
Hazel (1853 KP) rated A Piece Of The World in Books
May 30, 2018
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Until reading Christina Baker Kline’s note at the end of the book, it is impossible to guess that it is based on real people, although, admittedly, it is a little strange to name the main character after oneself. In fact, A Piece of the World is written around a single painting in the Museum of Modern Art, New York: Christina’s World (1948) by Andrew Wyeth, a man who appears and paints this work in the story.
Baker Cline researched thoroughly into the background story of the painting. Christina Olson, the main character of this book, was a real person who posed for Wyeth as he painted this striking picture. Although the overall story is a work of fiction, the dates and key characters are biographically accurate. Beginning in 1939, the narrative weaves too and fro, from Christina’s present day to her childhood and back again. Christina is an ageing woman who can barely walk and lives in a dilapidated cottage with her brother on a hill in the village of Cushing, Maine. Having lived in this state for so long, it is a welcome surprise to be visited by the young Andrew Wyeth who falls in love with the cottage and regularly comes to work on his canvases in their upper rooms. Through their peaceful relationship and flashbacks to her past, Christina’s character development is investigated and knitted together to explain why she has become this recluse on a hill.
Christina had problems from a very young age. After almost dying from a fever, she developed an undiagnosed degenerative disease that slowly ate away at the nerves in her arms and legs. Today, neurologists believe this to be Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease but there were no doctors able to provide this diagnosis at the time. Christina suffered aches and pains growing up and could barely walk in a straight line. Her determination to keep going is admirable and makes her a strong female protagonist.
One day in her early twenties, Christina meets a boy who pays her the kind of attention that she has never received before. Believing his promises that they will be together forever, she dares to dream of having a normal life. The reader, however, knows that the future Christina is alone with only her brother for company, making it heartbreaking to read of their developing romance knowing that it is not going to last.
There is no “happy-ever-after” to this story, nor is there a sad ending. It is an account of a woman who had been dealt a raw deal in life but continued getting on despite it. The end result, the painting Christina’s World, shows Christina as she sees herself. She may not be able to walk but she is still a woman; she made the most of her childhood, she never complained. This painting is her “letter to the World that never wrote to [Her].”
A Piece of the World is a powerful novel about purpose and determination. Christina may not have had a typical, successful life or become famous but she had her daily achievements: crawling through a field for an hour to visit a friend, cooking dinners despite not being able to stand up, carrying on after the end of a romantic relationship …
Written as gracefully as the brushstrokes of a painting with elements of Emily Dickinson thrown in here and there, A Piece of the World is a beautiful piece of work. It is something that can be enjoyed as you are mentally drawn into the storyline, leaving you wondering what happens to Christina and her brother after the completion of the painting. It is a novel the author can be proud of.
Until reading Christina Baker Kline’s note at the end of the book, it is impossible to guess that it is based on real people, although, admittedly, it is a little strange to name the main character after oneself. In fact, A Piece of the World is written around a single painting in the Museum of Modern Art, New York: Christina’s World (1948) by Andrew Wyeth, a man who appears and paints this work in the story.
Baker Cline researched thoroughly into the background story of the painting. Christina Olson, the main character of this book, was a real person who posed for Wyeth as he painted this striking picture. Although the overall story is a work of fiction, the dates and key characters are biographically accurate. Beginning in 1939, the narrative weaves too and fro, from Christina’s present day to her childhood and back again. Christina is an ageing woman who can barely walk and lives in a dilapidated cottage with her brother on a hill in the village of Cushing, Maine. Having lived in this state for so long, it is a welcome surprise to be visited by the young Andrew Wyeth who falls in love with the cottage and regularly comes to work on his canvases in their upper rooms. Through their peaceful relationship and flashbacks to her past, Christina’s character development is investigated and knitted together to explain why she has become this recluse on a hill.
Christina had problems from a very young age. After almost dying from a fever, she developed an undiagnosed degenerative disease that slowly ate away at the nerves in her arms and legs. Today, neurologists believe this to be Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease but there were no doctors able to provide this diagnosis at the time. Christina suffered aches and pains growing up and could barely walk in a straight line. Her determination to keep going is admirable and makes her a strong female protagonist.
One day in her early twenties, Christina meets a boy who pays her the kind of attention that she has never received before. Believing his promises that they will be together forever, she dares to dream of having a normal life. The reader, however, knows that the future Christina is alone with only her brother for company, making it heartbreaking to read of their developing romance knowing that it is not going to last.
There is no “happy-ever-after” to this story, nor is there a sad ending. It is an account of a woman who had been dealt a raw deal in life but continued getting on despite it. The end result, the painting Christina’s World, shows Christina as she sees herself. She may not be able to walk but she is still a woman; she made the most of her childhood, she never complained. This painting is her “letter to the World that never wrote to [Her].”
A Piece of the World is a powerful novel about purpose and determination. Christina may not have had a typical, successful life or become famous but she had her daily achievements: crawling through a field for an hour to visit a friend, cooking dinners despite not being able to stand up, carrying on after the end of a romantic relationship …
Written as gracefully as the brushstrokes of a painting with elements of Emily Dickinson thrown in here and there, A Piece of the World is a beautiful piece of work. It is something that can be enjoyed as you are mentally drawn into the storyline, leaving you wondering what happens to Christina and her brother after the completion of the painting. It is a novel the author can be proud of.