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Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Avoiding the Abyss ( The Abyss Trilogy 1) in Books
Oct 26, 2023 (Updated Oct 26, 2023)
159 of 235
Kindle
Avoiding the Abyss ( The Abyss trilogy 1)
By A.C. Ward
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Aubrey never realized there was a better life beyond being the rebel leader’s disappointing teenage daughter. But when she’s abducted by the government and taught the demonic truth behind the rebellion at their official academy, she is torn between two worlds.
Wielding a power she didn’t know she had, Aubrey must decide who she can trust. The rebels want her to open a dark dimension that will destroy the government once and for all. It is the opportunity to earn the approval she’s always yearned for. But if she goes through with it, Aubrey will lose the person she’s beginning to love.
Can Aubrey master her power in time to prevent the end of the world?
This was a decent read with a very different approach to heaven and hell and all it’s demons. Are the gifted teenagers really gifted?? I did enjoy it.
Kindle
Avoiding the Abyss ( The Abyss trilogy 1)
By A.C. Ward
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Aubrey never realized there was a better life beyond being the rebel leader’s disappointing teenage daughter. But when she’s abducted by the government and taught the demonic truth behind the rebellion at their official academy, she is torn between two worlds.
Wielding a power she didn’t know she had, Aubrey must decide who she can trust. The rebels want her to open a dark dimension that will destroy the government once and for all. It is the opportunity to earn the approval she’s always yearned for. But if she goes through with it, Aubrey will lose the person she’s beginning to love.
Can Aubrey master her power in time to prevent the end of the world?
This was a decent read with a very different approach to heaven and hell and all it’s demons. Are the gifted teenagers really gifted?? I did enjoy it.
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) is a young woman who has no love for the evil Galactic Empire or authority. She has seen her share of tragedy and has learned to be a survivor in a cold and dangerous galaxy. Fate has other plans for Jyn in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”, as she may be the key to unlocking the secret’s to defeating the Empire’s new weapon, a planet killer known as “The Death Star”.
The Rebel Alliance believes that Jyn’s father Galen (Mads Mikkelsen) is the key thanks to information they have recovered from a defecting pilot.
Tasked with eliminating the threat, Jyn and Rebel intelligence officer Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), and his droid K-2S0 (Alan Tudyk), must race against time and overcome several obstacles to complete their mission.
Of course things are bigger and the stakes far more higher than anyone could have imagined and with the Rebel Alliance divided a small band of rebels hatch a plan born of desperation to save the galaxy.
The film moves along at a brisk pace but allows time to introduce several new planets into the Star Wars universe as well as several new characters, who we are given just enough about their backstories and motivations to make us care about them in the epic struggle they are undertaking.
Director Gareth Edwards paces the film well and unlike the Prequel Series; never lets the abundance of amazing effects overshadow the fact that the story at its core is a struggle of ordinary people facing overwhelming odds.
The look of the film is a loving tribute to the original series that tells its own unique and distinct story that fits well within the established storylines without seeming gratuitous or recycled.
The film does at times have a darker tone than fans would be used to seeing in the series, but it is done in a way that shows the seriousness of the situations facing the characters.
The strong cast works very well with one another and are each giving some memorable lines and moments which are sure to endear themselves to fans of the series that grew up on the classic films.
The finale third of the film is a great mix of action and suspense as conclusion builds and I can honestly say that “Rogue One” delivers the best space battle in the series and only falls short of the Hoth battle in terms of ground conflicts.
There are a few great surprises for fans sprinkled throughout and the film answers some of the questions people had from the original series but does so in a way that is respectful and in no way undermines the classic.
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” is an outstanding entry into the series and is one of the most compelling and rewarding.
I look forward to seeing what future efforts have in store for fans, as this film shows that the Force is indeed strong.
http://sknr.net/2016/12/13/non-spolier-review-rogue-one-star-wars-story/
The Rebel Alliance believes that Jyn’s father Galen (Mads Mikkelsen) is the key thanks to information they have recovered from a defecting pilot.
Tasked with eliminating the threat, Jyn and Rebel intelligence officer Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), and his droid K-2S0 (Alan Tudyk), must race against time and overcome several obstacles to complete their mission.
Of course things are bigger and the stakes far more higher than anyone could have imagined and with the Rebel Alliance divided a small band of rebels hatch a plan born of desperation to save the galaxy.
The film moves along at a brisk pace but allows time to introduce several new planets into the Star Wars universe as well as several new characters, who we are given just enough about their backstories and motivations to make us care about them in the epic struggle they are undertaking.
Director Gareth Edwards paces the film well and unlike the Prequel Series; never lets the abundance of amazing effects overshadow the fact that the story at its core is a struggle of ordinary people facing overwhelming odds.
The look of the film is a loving tribute to the original series that tells its own unique and distinct story that fits well within the established storylines without seeming gratuitous or recycled.
The film does at times have a darker tone than fans would be used to seeing in the series, but it is done in a way that shows the seriousness of the situations facing the characters.
The strong cast works very well with one another and are each giving some memorable lines and moments which are sure to endear themselves to fans of the series that grew up on the classic films.
The finale third of the film is a great mix of action and suspense as conclusion builds and I can honestly say that “Rogue One” delivers the best space battle in the series and only falls short of the Hoth battle in terms of ground conflicts.
There are a few great surprises for fans sprinkled throughout and the film answers some of the questions people had from the original series but does so in a way that is respectful and in no way undermines the classic.
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” is an outstanding entry into the series and is one of the most compelling and rewarding.
I look forward to seeing what future efforts have in store for fans, as this film shows that the Force is indeed strong.
http://sknr.net/2016/12/13/non-spolier-review-rogue-one-star-wars-story/
Entertainment Editor (1988 KP) rated Star Wars: Imperial Assault in Tabletop Games
Mar 7, 2018
Star Wars: Imperial Assault: The Kotaku Review
Imperial Assault is a board game that was released in late 2014. I only got around to playing it over the weekend, and I already count those months between as wasted.
Having made a ton of money off their excellent X-Wing game before moving onto capital ship battles, Imperial Assault is Fantasy Flight’s shot at moving Star Wars into more traditional tabletop territory.
If you’ve ever played HeroQuest, Space Crusade or even XCOM, you’ll be familiar with the basics here: players take control of a character and take turns to move about a grid-based battlefield, using terrain as cover as they battle enemies and complete objectives.
It’s designed for 2-5 players, but shines brighter the closer you get to the latter. A single player—basically the dungeon master—takes control of all Imperial forces, while everyone else selects a single Rebel character, choosing from a stable of RPG class stalwarts (support, sniper, etc).
Reviewer: Luke Plunkett
Read the full review here: https://kotaku.com/star-wars-imperial-assault-the-kotaku-review-1734772222
Having made a ton of money off their excellent X-Wing game before moving onto capital ship battles, Imperial Assault is Fantasy Flight’s shot at moving Star Wars into more traditional tabletop territory.
If you’ve ever played HeroQuest, Space Crusade or even XCOM, you’ll be familiar with the basics here: players take control of a character and take turns to move about a grid-based battlefield, using terrain as cover as they battle enemies and complete objectives.
It’s designed for 2-5 players, but shines brighter the closer you get to the latter. A single player—basically the dungeon master—takes control of all Imperial forces, while everyone else selects a single Rebel character, choosing from a stable of RPG class stalwarts (support, sniper, etc).
Reviewer: Luke Plunkett
Read the full review here: https://kotaku.com/star-wars-imperial-assault-the-kotaku-review-1734772222
Allan Arkush recommended Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) in Movies (curated)
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated The Secret Life of Pets (2016) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Every wonder what your pets do while you’re away? The premise of this film is the social lives pets lead while their owners are out of the picture. From throwing parties, to visiting each other’s apartments, and utilizing all the household tools to create their own lap of luxury lifestyle.
From the studio that brought you those lovable Minions, the Secret Life of Pets is Illumination Entertainment’s pet version of Disney’s Toy Story. The film opens up with Max (Louis CK), a cute, funny loving, gregarious little terrier with an extreme attachment to his owner, Katie (Ellie Kemper). One day, Katie brings home a new “brother” to keep Max company. Duke (Eric Stonestreet), a scruffy, friendly, shaggy dog that competes with Max for Katie’s affection. The competition gets so out of hand that both Max and Duke end up lost in the streets of New York City and without their only form of identification, their collars. Now, they are on the run from the dogcatchers that want to take them to the Pound. They manage to make their way to the sewers and befriend a group of rebel castaway pets whose mission is to destroy all the pampered pets and their owners. Fortunately for Max, his pet friends band together to try to find Max and Duke and help bring them home.
Despite the similar storyline tone as Toy Story, this movie definitely stands on its own. Albeit, the emotional tones were not as poignant. Even though Max seemed to be the primary character in the movie, each individual character stood out on their own. Gidget (Jenny Slate), the feisty Pomeranian who will stop at nothing to save the Max, her true love. Snowball (Kevin Hart), the wise cracking leader of the rebel animal gang. You would have never thought so much hilarity and animosity could come from such a cute little bunny.
Visually, Pets gives us a great animal’s perspective into what it would be like to wander the city as a pet. It took us on an adventure through the not only between the city skyscrapers, the adventure continued through the sewers, and even the Hudson River.
There is enough in this movie to keep parents entertained, kiddos laughing, and it will definitely bring you closer to your own pet!
From the studio that brought you those lovable Minions, the Secret Life of Pets is Illumination Entertainment’s pet version of Disney’s Toy Story. The film opens up with Max (Louis CK), a cute, funny loving, gregarious little terrier with an extreme attachment to his owner, Katie (Ellie Kemper). One day, Katie brings home a new “brother” to keep Max company. Duke (Eric Stonestreet), a scruffy, friendly, shaggy dog that competes with Max for Katie’s affection. The competition gets so out of hand that both Max and Duke end up lost in the streets of New York City and without their only form of identification, their collars. Now, they are on the run from the dogcatchers that want to take them to the Pound. They manage to make their way to the sewers and befriend a group of rebel castaway pets whose mission is to destroy all the pampered pets and their owners. Fortunately for Max, his pet friends band together to try to find Max and Duke and help bring them home.
Despite the similar storyline tone as Toy Story, this movie definitely stands on its own. Albeit, the emotional tones were not as poignant. Even though Max seemed to be the primary character in the movie, each individual character stood out on their own. Gidget (Jenny Slate), the feisty Pomeranian who will stop at nothing to save the Max, her true love. Snowball (Kevin Hart), the wise cracking leader of the rebel animal gang. You would have never thought so much hilarity and animosity could come from such a cute little bunny.
Visually, Pets gives us a great animal’s perspective into what it would be like to wander the city as a pet. It took us on an adventure through the not only between the city skyscrapers, the adventure continued through the sewers, and even the Hudson River.
There is enough in this movie to keep parents entertained, kiddos laughing, and it will definitely bring you closer to your own pet!
Eve (9 KP) rated One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) in Movies
Aug 26, 2018
Top notch filmery!
Ok, so where do I start? This is my favourite film and i could write about it all day! This film has every single emotion you can think about, i laughed, cried, felt angry, laughed again and cried and pretty much just fell in love with the film.
Mcmurphy is moved from prison to a psychiatric hospital as they think he is showing signs of being mad! When he gets there he starts to reveal that he is quite obviously not mad and is just a rebel!
He starts to bring life into the hospital doing some crazy things and also trying to drive the head nurse Mrs ratched crazy! They seem to have a love hate relationship. The patients who have never had any chaos in the hospital are all taking a real shine to mcmurphy and are becoming more and more chaotic which causes miss ratched to become extremely angry and nervous, she has a tightly run ship!
The actors in this film are top and do an amazing job of acting out the story, especially jack nicholson, he is just amazing and really gets you believing he is mcmurphy.
Mcmurphy is moved from prison to a psychiatric hospital as they think he is showing signs of being mad! When he gets there he starts to reveal that he is quite obviously not mad and is just a rebel!
He starts to bring life into the hospital doing some crazy things and also trying to drive the head nurse Mrs ratched crazy! They seem to have a love hate relationship. The patients who have never had any chaos in the hospital are all taking a real shine to mcmurphy and are becoming more and more chaotic which causes miss ratched to become extremely angry and nervous, she has a tightly run ship!
The actors in this film are top and do an amazing job of acting out the story, especially jack nicholson, he is just amazing and really gets you believing he is mcmurphy.
David McK (3251 KP) rated Star Wars Omnibus: X-Wing Rogue Squadron, Vol. 1 in Books
Jan 30, 2019
Generally speaking, I'm not really a comic-book guy kinda person.
However, I have read (and actually quite enjoyed) the Star Wars: X-Wing series of books, and was aware that these were also (pre Prequel trilogy) comics. However, I was unaware (until relatively recently) that the comics were not just visualizations of the novels, but were rather stories in their own right.
When I found this out, and when I came across the digital version of this Omnibus - which collects the first 3 stories in the X-Wing series [so Goodreads, should count as 3 towards my yearly challenge!] , I thought I would give it a try.
Of the 3 stories contained - Rogue Leader, the Rebel Opposition and The Phantom Affair - the second and third of these were co-written by Michael Stackpole, who also wrote the first X-Wing novels. Personally, while the story may be better in those two than in the first, I preferred the art of the first story, finding the panes easier to follow.
I haven't yet decided, but I may also pick up the next volume(s) in the series.
However, I have read (and actually quite enjoyed) the Star Wars: X-Wing series of books, and was aware that these were also (pre Prequel trilogy) comics. However, I was unaware (until relatively recently) that the comics were not just visualizations of the novels, but were rather stories in their own right.
When I found this out, and when I came across the digital version of this Omnibus - which collects the first 3 stories in the X-Wing series [so Goodreads, should count as 3 towards my yearly challenge!] , I thought I would give it a try.
Of the 3 stories contained - Rogue Leader, the Rebel Opposition and The Phantom Affair - the second and third of these were co-written by Michael Stackpole, who also wrote the first X-Wing novels. Personally, while the story may be better in those two than in the first, I preferred the art of the first story, finding the panes easier to follow.
I haven't yet decided, but I may also pick up the next volume(s) in the series.
Erika (17788 KP) rated Jojo Rabbit (2019) in Movies
Nov 2, 2019
I think my expectations were too high for this film. I love Taika Waititi's films, and @What We Do In The Shadows (2014) is one of my favorite movies.
The satire wasn't strong enough in my opinion, this film was very much JoJo's Bildungsroman. There's nothing wrong with that, but I feel like that should have been more prominent in the marketing. There was not enough of making fun of Nazis. Taika was amusing as (s)Hitler. Something that bothered me (which probably won't bother other people), was the amount of 'Heil Hitlers'; that phrase just creeps me out to my core.
An interesting observation made at the beginning of the film was that the fans of Hitler were very much like the crazed fans of the Beatles. The way it's shown is very interesting.
Rebel Wilson was annoying, and her character added nothing. The stupid lines she had should have been left on the cutting room floor. Same Rockwell was my favorite character, by far. The kid that played JoJo was also very good, and I hope he does more films.
Overall, worth a watch if you're a Taika fan, but I personally needed more ruthless teasing of Nazis.
The satire wasn't strong enough in my opinion, this film was very much JoJo's Bildungsroman. There's nothing wrong with that, but I feel like that should have been more prominent in the marketing. There was not enough of making fun of Nazis. Taika was amusing as (s)Hitler. Something that bothered me (which probably won't bother other people), was the amount of 'Heil Hitlers'; that phrase just creeps me out to my core.
An interesting observation made at the beginning of the film was that the fans of Hitler were very much like the crazed fans of the Beatles. The way it's shown is very interesting.
Rebel Wilson was annoying, and her character added nothing. The stupid lines she had should have been left on the cutting room floor. Same Rockwell was my favorite character, by far. The kid that played JoJo was also very good, and I hope he does more films.
Overall, worth a watch if you're a Taika fan, but I personally needed more ruthless teasing of Nazis.
James Koppert (2698 KP) rated Rory O'Shea Was Here (aka Inside I'm Dancing) (2004) in Movies
Nov 6, 2019
One of the best films Britain made yet no one watched
You've seen Brassed Off, you've seen Four Weddings and Funeral, you've seen Notting Hill and the Full Monty. But you didn't watch this. So few people watched Inside I'm Dancing that they re-released it with the new name Rory O'Shea Was Here and removed any images of wheelchairs from the cover.
It must have been the wheelchairs that did it. No one watched this incredible film about two disabled friends and their rebellion against disability stereotypes. It's absolutely incredible and it will make you laugh, it will make you cry and will make you think and challenge your perspectives.
There are two friends, one is a reserved chap who does as he's told, the other is a punk rock rebel in a wheelchair and refuses to confirm how everyone says he has to. Watch how one comes out of their shell and the other wrestles with their sense of self.
I've shown this film to so many people who haven't heard of it but then rate it full marks after laughing and crying. Will you be another one?
It must have been the wheelchairs that did it. No one watched this incredible film about two disabled friends and their rebellion against disability stereotypes. It's absolutely incredible and it will make you laugh, it will make you cry and will make you think and challenge your perspectives.
There are two friends, one is a reserved chap who does as he's told, the other is a punk rock rebel in a wheelchair and refuses to confirm how everyone says he has to. Watch how one comes out of their shell and the other wrestles with their sense of self.
I've shown this film to so many people who haven't heard of it but then rate it full marks after laughing and crying. Will you be another one?
Tim McGuire (301 KP) rated Harbinger Down (2015) in Movies
Nov 13, 2019
Old Movie Revisited: Harbinger Down. Now if you're anything like me, you've spent a fair amount of time thinking, Man, they should remake The Thing with Lance Henriksen. Well those dreams have been answered in the form of Harbinger Down. Now sure there are differences, Instead of an Arctic outpost, they are on a cargo ship in the arctic... Instead of a ufo crashing to earth with a nasty alien on board, this one has a russian space capsule, crashing to earth contaminated with a space virus... And from there its pretty much the same... including the mimicking of the host... Shit even the ending is the same, sorta, a lone survivor stranded in the arctic. Now all that aside, it wasn't a bad little low budget flick, and c'mon it has the low budget movie God in it, Mr Lance Henrikson, remember how he wowed us all in Close Encounters of the Third Kind as the guy standing in the background. Its almost as incredible as Cliff Clavin being part of the Rebel Alliance, its true!! But that was a long, long time ago, in what seems like a galaxy far far away... Filmbufftim on FB