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Dean (6927 KP) rated Max Payne (2008) in Movies
Apr 27, 2019
I haven't played the games, of which a third is due out soon?! So I can only merit it as a film in its own right. Aware of poor reviews, I wasn't aware too much of the story behind the games, other than a cop who hands out his own rough justice. It was an interesting film but I think most expected a lot more action, or maybe more blood and violence. Instead it's more of a film noir thriller. The visuals are impressive, not just the cgi angels but the overall cinematography. The action gets better towards the end with a good shoot-out, but overall it needed a bit more throughout. A good surprising cast line up though!
Rickey A. Mossow Jr. (689 KP) rated Suspiria (2018) in Movies
May 21, 2019
You can dress up garbage and call it art, but it's still garbage.
Don't really know what to say about this one. There are a few very disturbing scenes, but otherwise, this movie is a slog, to say the least. I was hooked in by seeing Dakota Johnson and hearing some reviews of this being the new scariest movie of the year. Well, Johnson wasn't particularly good in it, and the movie wasn't scary at all. It seemed to be disturbing just for the sake of being so. Maybe I just struggle with arthouse fare, but I was ready to turn this one off less than a half hour through. I'm mad at myself for knowingly choosing to push play on this movie.
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Jurassic Park (1993) in Movies
Jun 10, 2019
Released 25 years ago, Steven Spielberg’s take on Michael Crichton’s novel of the same name unbelievably holds up to this day. By holds up I’m referring to the incredible special effects that brought dinosaurs to life like never before.
The technology in the film however, doesn’t fare so well. Interactive CD-ROMs haven’t been relevant since the early 00s and Unix systems, well, the less said about that the better.
But this is a thrill ride like no other. The human characters rightly play second fiddle to the dinosaur cast. For pure popcorn entertainment, Jurassic Park is hard to beat. Make sure you watch the Jurassic Park movies in order for the best experience.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2017/07/15/jurassic-park-franchise-reviews/
The technology in the film however, doesn’t fare so well. Interactive CD-ROMs haven’t been relevant since the early 00s and Unix systems, well, the less said about that the better.
But this is a thrill ride like no other. The human characters rightly play second fiddle to the dinosaur cast. For pure popcorn entertainment, Jurassic Park is hard to beat. Make sure you watch the Jurassic Park movies in order for the best experience.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2017/07/15/jurassic-park-franchise-reviews/
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated The Final Destination (2009) in Movies
Jun 10, 2019
Touted to be the last film in the series, The Final Destination is even more disappointing than its predecessor and thankfully not the final outing for the franchise.
Utilising sloppy 3D effects that cheapened the film’s look was a bad move by director David R. Ellis and even the main disaster was uninspiring to watch – a NASCAR race just didn’t cut it after already having a vehicular disaster in Final Destination 2. The climax however, staged in a cinema, is incredibly clever.
Add to this some truly dreadful acting and awful dialogue and it makes for a low-point that thankfully was reversed just two years later. Unbelievably, this was also the most successful of the series.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2017/10/15/final-destination-franchise-reviews/
Utilising sloppy 3D effects that cheapened the film’s look was a bad move by director David R. Ellis and even the main disaster was uninspiring to watch – a NASCAR race just didn’t cut it after already having a vehicular disaster in Final Destination 2. The climax however, staged in a cinema, is incredibly clever.
Add to this some truly dreadful acting and awful dialogue and it makes for a low-point that thankfully was reversed just two years later. Unbelievably, this was also the most successful of the series.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2017/10/15/final-destination-franchise-reviews/
Gareth Michael Lewis (6 KP) rated Small Favor (The Dresden Files, #10) in Books
Jan 20, 2018
Never a dull moment
So, Harry has an apprentice and his life has been fairly quiet otherwise but a favour he owes to a powerful immortal is being called in.
I'm biased, I've said that in other reviews of Jim Butcher books, but even with my rose-tinted glasses on I can honestly say that each Dresden novel makes my heart beat a little faster upon reading that first page. I know I'm in for a treat. Sometimes the good guys get hurt, and badly, and Jim Butcher has made you invest in these characters so their pain hurts you a little.
I cannot recommend highly enough the novels of Jim Butcher.
I'm biased, I've said that in other reviews of Jim Butcher books, but even with my rose-tinted glasses on I can honestly say that each Dresden novel makes my heart beat a little faster upon reading that first page. I know I'm in for a treat. Sometimes the good guys get hurt, and badly, and Jim Butcher has made you invest in these characters so their pain hurts you a little.
I cannot recommend highly enough the novels of Jim Butcher.
Entertainment Editor (1988 KP) rated Stone Age in Tabletop Games
Mar 7, 2018 (Updated Mar 7, 2018)
Dice are most of the time anathema to Euro gamers. The numbered cubes are seen as the center of luck-driven games. Almost all of us have a tale to tell of knocking on the door of Irkutsk with a giant army only to be fended off by a few lucky rolls.
Reviewer: Farmerlenny
Read the full review here: http://islaythedragon.com/game-reviews/a-rolling-stone-gathers-no-moss-a-review-of-stone-age/
Reviewer: Farmerlenny
Read the full review here: http://islaythedragon.com/game-reviews/a-rolling-stone-gathers-no-moss-a-review-of-stone-age/
Entertainment Editor (1988 KP) rated Ra in Tabletop Games
Mar 8, 2018
It’s difficult to spend time in the board gaming hobby and not hear the name “Reiner Knizia.” His name is a staple in the industry, and depending on your gaming sensibilities, that can be a good thing or a bad thing. For my birthday, my sister gave me one of Knizia’s flagship games, Ra. And while for me Knizia’s fame is a very good thing, not everyone agrees with me (namely, @Futurewolfie). Read on for an explanation of the game and our review. Spoiler alert: lots of disagreement ahead.
Original Rating: 7.8
Reviewer: Wolfie and Farmerlenny
Read the Full Review here: http://islaythedragon.com/game-reviews/auctions-in-egypt-a-review-of-ra/
Original Rating: 7.8
Reviewer: Wolfie and Farmerlenny
Read the Full Review here: http://islaythedragon.com/game-reviews/auctions-in-egypt-a-review-of-ra/
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated T is for Trespass (Kinsey Millhone, #20) in Books
Feb 13, 2018
Perhaps the only thing that disturbed me about this book is that I read too many reviews before starting that warned that I would be reading Grafton's "most disturbing" novel to date -- I therefore kept waiting, worriedly, for something to horrible and awful to happen. Many bad things happen, but nothing quite to the magnitude I thought... perhaps I've read worse. But that's certainly not Grafton's fault. This book departs from Grafton's usual style of letting her protagonist, Kinsey, tell the entire story and goes back and forth between Kinsey and the other main character. It's an interesting, thoughtful, page-turner, as most Grafton novels are. I certainly recommend it and am sad at the thought of waiting another year, or more, to read the next installment.
Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated There Will Come Soft Rains in Books
Mar 15, 2018
This is pretty cool, considering it was written in 1950. This is a story about an automated house doing all its programmed chores on a house not affected by the nuclear apocalypse that's left the entire world empty. With things like Amazon's Alexa and other AI things appearing on the market, you can imagine this is the way people will live their lives in the future, with fully automated houses.
This is quite a sad tale really. No matter how advanced our technologies become doesn't mean we're able to escape death and destruction.
<i>I'm sorry I'm bombarding you with short story reviews, I've just really got into them these past couple of days and you can find so many free online, via https://archive.org/ !! </i>
This is quite a sad tale really. No matter how advanced our technologies become doesn't mean we're able to escape death and destruction.
<i>I'm sorry I'm bombarding you with short story reviews, I've just really got into them these past couple of days and you can find so many free online, via https://archive.org/ !! </i>
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Post (2017) in Movies
Feb 12, 2018
First class post
Solid historical drama finds Steven Spielberg in serious, awards-trawling mode. Tale of noble, principled people working in the media who find themselves under scurrilous attack from hostile and mendacious president makes you glad you're not living in the 70s; good job this sort of thing couldn't happen nowadays.
Script does a good job of turning a potentially wordy story - various journalists, lawyers, and executives stand around discussing the ethics of publishing news - into a genuinely gripping drama, well performed by Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep. Perhaps just a bit simplistic in its presentation of politicians = bad, journalists = good, but that's essentially the message of the film (did I mention what good reviews it's had in all the papers?).
Script does a good job of turning a potentially wordy story - various journalists, lawyers, and executives stand around discussing the ethics of publishing news - into a genuinely gripping drama, well performed by Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep. Perhaps just a bit simplistic in its presentation of politicians = bad, journalists = good, but that's essentially the message of the film (did I mention what good reviews it's had in all the papers?).