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David McK (3633 KP) rated Marston Moor (Civil War Chronicles, #6) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
Regarded as the turning point of the English Civil War, the battle of Marston Moor was the largest of the Civil War and saw a combined force of English Parliamentarians and Scottish Covenanters defeat the Royalist force under Prince Rupert of the Rhine.
As befitting any historical soldier protagonist of the ECW, it's also one in which (now) Major Stryker gets caught up (fighting for the Royalists). As the author states in the author's note at the end of the story, he'd originally intended to write the story just around the battle itself; however found the story needed the campaign to give it context. To my eyes, that was a good call - starting with the sack of Bolton and leading through the siege of York to Rupert's lightning march to relieve the same, this all leads into the reason for the battle (which itself takes up, say, roughly the last third of the story), providing more flavour and understanding to the reader of what is occurring than just diving headlong into said battle.
As befitting any historical soldier protagonist of the ECW, it's also one in which (now) Major Stryker gets caught up (fighting for the Royalists). As the author states in the author's note at the end of the story, he'd originally intended to write the story just around the battle itself; however found the story needed the campaign to give it context. To my eyes, that was a good call - starting with the sack of Bolton and leading through the siege of York to Rupert's lightning march to relieve the same, this all leads into the reason for the battle (which itself takes up, say, roughly the last third of the story), providing more flavour and understanding to the reader of what is occurring than just diving headlong into said battle.
Jessica - Where the Book Ends (15 KP) rated Very Wicked Beginnings (Briarcrest Academy, #1.5) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
This book was a complete surprise to me! I had no idea this book was coming (which was the point obviously). In this book we got the back story that we needed to fully understand the actions, behaviors, and choices that were made in Very Wicked Things. This book shows us how Dovey and Cuba meet.
When Cuba first saw Dovey dance it was love at first sight, which we all knew, but of course he didn't get the idea through his thick skull until a little later, which is okay.
This book was a great addition to this series, and I hope we see more like it in the future. I really enjoy novellas because they give you that extra look into the lives of the characters and maybe explain some of the more obvious whys behind everything.
You don't have to read this in order to read Very Wicked Things, but if you're like me and want to get your hands on every possible book in the series, I would recommend it.
When Cuba first saw Dovey dance it was love at first sight, which we all knew, but of course he didn't get the idea through his thick skull until a little later, which is okay.
This book was a great addition to this series, and I hope we see more like it in the future. I really enjoy novellas because they give you that extra look into the lives of the characters and maybe explain some of the more obvious whys behind everything.
You don't have to read this in order to read Very Wicked Things, but if you're like me and want to get your hands on every possible book in the series, I would recommend it.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Saw: The Final Chapter (2010) in Movies
Dec 22, 2018
They just get worse
I’ve always hated what they did to the Saw films. The first one was fantastic, the second one quite good and then the rest have gone downhill at an alarming rate.
This ‘final chapter’, which actually isn’t as they’ve started making Jigsaw films now, is the worst of the bunch. Not only are the traps actually quite dull and boring (they obviously outdid themselves with the traps in the first film), the special effects and gore look really bad too. Did nobody notice that the blood didn’t look even slightly real? In some scenes it was verging on fuschia. The plot itself is just convoluted as always and they’ve been trying to tie up loose ends with little success. They should’ve just left the original as a stand alone film instead of messing it up with all of Jigsaw’s accomplices in these 6 sequels. And the final twist reveal at the end? Come on, I predicted that from the second film onwards, and I’m sure many other people did too. Such a lame ending.
This ‘final chapter’, which actually isn’t as they’ve started making Jigsaw films now, is the worst of the bunch. Not only are the traps actually quite dull and boring (they obviously outdid themselves with the traps in the first film), the special effects and gore look really bad too. Did nobody notice that the blood didn’t look even slightly real? In some scenes it was verging on fuschia. The plot itself is just convoluted as always and they’ve been trying to tie up loose ends with little success. They should’ve just left the original as a stand alone film instead of messing it up with all of Jigsaw’s accomplices in these 6 sequels. And the final twist reveal at the end? Come on, I predicted that from the second film onwards, and I’m sure many other people did too. Such a lame ending.
Erika (17789 KP) rated Mary Queen of Scots (2018) in Movies
Dec 23, 2018
I finally saw this film yesterday, and I'm not going to nitpick the historical inaccuracies that much. The only one that really bothered me was Mary having a Scottish accent when she was raised in France. I did roll my eyes at some of them, but honestly, I'm not going to b about it.
The costumes were absolutely beautiful, and I really liked the general story line. Though, I can live my entire life without seeing another damn birth scene in a film. They're all the same, please cut it out film industry.
All of the actors were well suited to their roles, and I did overall enjoy it. The film starts out with the execution scene (not a spoiler alert, it happened in the 1580s), and I was slightly confused as to why Mary hadn't aged at all, but it's definitely explained in the end. It was very effective story telling. This film definitely had the aim of rehabilitating Mary's image, and I believe it was mostly successful. I would definitely see this film again.
The costumes were absolutely beautiful, and I really liked the general story line. Though, I can live my entire life without seeing another damn birth scene in a film. They're all the same, please cut it out film industry.
All of the actors were well suited to their roles, and I did overall enjoy it. The film starts out with the execution scene (not a spoiler alert, it happened in the 1580s), and I was slightly confused as to why Mary hadn't aged at all, but it's definitely explained in the end. It was very effective story telling. This film definitely had the aim of rehabilitating Mary's image, and I believe it was mostly successful. I would definitely see this film again.
Andy K (10823 KP) rated They Shall Not Grow Old (2018) in Movies
Dec 28, 2018
Everyone alive needs to watch this!
Director Peter Jackson spent four years pouring over 100 hours of archive film footage and over 600 hours of interviews to weave this complex, intriguing documentary masterpiece together.
To say the movie is compelling is a vast understatement. I'm glad I saw theatrically so I could bear witness to the multiple audience gasps, applauds and reaction to some of the miraculous moments.
Jackson said afterwards in a making of documentary he had a hard time deciding on the story he wanted to tell vacillating between airplane footage, U-Boats, the use of women in the military, etc. He ultimately decided showing the life of the "everyday" grunt soldier would be the most compelling since any side or nationality would be able to relate.
It doesn't take much to make me cry, so the water works were a flowing with this one. If you have the chance, please watch. A film like this does not come along very often at all and you won't be disappointed.
To say the movie is compelling is a vast understatement. I'm glad I saw theatrically so I could bear witness to the multiple audience gasps, applauds and reaction to some of the miraculous moments.
Jackson said afterwards in a making of documentary he had a hard time deciding on the story he wanted to tell vacillating between airplane footage, U-Boats, the use of women in the military, etc. He ultimately decided showing the life of the "everyday" grunt soldier would be the most compelling since any side or nationality would be able to relate.
It doesn't take much to make me cry, so the water works were a flowing with this one. If you have the chance, please watch. A film like this does not come along very often at all and you won't be disappointed.
ClareR (6001 KP) rated Bumblebee (2018) in Movies
Dec 31, 2018
Worth it just for the soundtrack alone!
Transformers are back!!
The last couple of Transformers movies were a bit lacklustre, but this seems to put them back on track. I loved it! I think I saw at the end of the movie that it was written by a woman, and in that case, you can tell. The main female character is independent, struggling with the loss of her father, and doesn’t feel as though she needs to be impressing anyone else. Her love interest gets a peck on the cheek and told that’s all he’s going to get ‘for now’, and he accepts that. So thanks for that. This story is driven by Bumblebees story, not a love story element (and my 12 and 14 year old boys will be forever grateful!).
We all walked out of the movie saying how Bumblebee always has been and always will be our favourite Transformer. And I went home and found the soundtrack on Spotify, because THAT is what really made the film for me!
The last couple of Transformers movies were a bit lacklustre, but this seems to put them back on track. I loved it! I think I saw at the end of the movie that it was written by a woman, and in that case, you can tell. The main female character is independent, struggling with the loss of her father, and doesn’t feel as though she needs to be impressing anyone else. Her love interest gets a peck on the cheek and told that’s all he’s going to get ‘for now’, and he accepts that. So thanks for that. This story is driven by Bumblebees story, not a love story element (and my 12 and 14 year old boys will be forever grateful!).
We all walked out of the movie saying how Bumblebee always has been and always will be our favourite Transformer. And I went home and found the soundtrack on Spotify, because THAT is what really made the film for me!
Elli H Burton (1288 KP) rated Zombieland (2009) in Movies
Oct 30, 2019
It's so funny (1 more)
Woody Harrelson. He is just brilliant.
Even a whimp like me can enjoy this!
So i first saw this on a zombie night with friends, no idea what possessed a whimp like me to participate in a zombie night but they assured me I'd like this one. They were right.
It has the odd jumpy bits which i can tolerate. This is where I usually hate a film, i HATE to be made to jump, this one does here and there but its nothing major. It's obviously got blood and guts which isn't actually what I'm bothered about.
Out of the zombie films around, its refreshing to see one that's not about the imminent death, but the survival and camaraderie of living in such a place. Reminds me of Shaun of the Dead in that respect, not about making the audience scared but laugh.
Because I'm a major whimp and i enjoy it, it speaks volumes that it's a decent film lol. Definitely recommend it and cannot wait to watch the sequel!
It has the odd jumpy bits which i can tolerate. This is where I usually hate a film, i HATE to be made to jump, this one does here and there but its nothing major. It's obviously got blood and guts which isn't actually what I'm bothered about.
Out of the zombie films around, its refreshing to see one that's not about the imminent death, but the survival and camaraderie of living in such a place. Reminds me of Shaun of the Dead in that respect, not about making the audience scared but laugh.
Because I'm a major whimp and i enjoy it, it speaks volumes that it's a decent film lol. Definitely recommend it and cannot wait to watch the sequel!
Mediocre
After reading the blurb, I was excited when I first saw this film pop up on my recommendation list. Despite this, the film fell short of my expectations.
The actors were well cast, and believable in their emotions and actions. Striving to make their way in a world deemed uninhabitable by pollution. However the plot line was slow moving and lacked depth. My interpretation of a good sci-fi, is a story that makes the unbelievable, believable and in The case of IO, I did not get this feeling- if they knew higher ground was habitable, why was more of the population not saved? Why was the colonisation of Mars not considered, rather than take the struggling remains of humanity to far reaching unknowns? In actuality the film raised more questions than it answered.
The film was slow going with periods of melancholic inactivity. I believe the film would be better as a book, although comparisons could be made with Z for Zachariah.
Overall, this did not make it to my must watch again list.
The actors were well cast, and believable in their emotions and actions. Striving to make their way in a world deemed uninhabitable by pollution. However the plot line was slow moving and lacked depth. My interpretation of a good sci-fi, is a story that makes the unbelievable, believable and in The case of IO, I did not get this feeling- if they knew higher ground was habitable, why was more of the population not saved? Why was the colonisation of Mars not considered, rather than take the struggling remains of humanity to far reaching unknowns? In actuality the film raised more questions than it answered.
The film was slow going with periods of melancholic inactivity. I believe the film would be better as a book, although comparisons could be made with Z for Zachariah.
Overall, this did not make it to my must watch again list.
Sonofdel (6291 KP) rated The Exorcist in Books
Nov 7, 2019
Descriptive and Chilling horror
I saw this film many years ago and have meant to get around to reading the book. William Blatty does a nice foreword and explains why the book was written and about the extra character that is in it. Its a gripping read from the very start but be warned it goes into very graphic, obscene and depraved descriptions so if you are easily offended stay away (well it is a book about possession after all). A very good read that keeps you wanting to just read a bit more, good back stories to some of the characters help to explain situations that were not dealt with in the film. The character of father Merrin could have been written for Max Von Sydow (who played him in the film). I would give this four stars as i thought it ended a little too quickly and it would have been better if the ending had been stretched out and explained (like the film).
Kate (493 KP) rated The House of Twelve in Books
Nov 26, 2019
I did enjoy this book. I like crime novels and was not aware this was paranormal as well but it did all make sense and tie in at the end.
Once I started reading I couldn't out the book down - I read it in a day.
The story flowed well and it was interesting to find out the back ground of each character. I did like the twist at the end when the newspaper cut outs and reports were found. It really tied everything together.
I couldn't connect with the characters but that could be because some of them weren't around long and others I just didn't feel anything for. I didn't care what happened to each character and/or when it happened.
The story reminded me of the Saw films. They were more about a game and torture which I don't like so the book was better.
The book was very well put together.
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author via Voracious Readers Only.
Once I started reading I couldn't out the book down - I read it in a day.
The story flowed well and it was interesting to find out the back ground of each character. I did like the twist at the end when the newspaper cut outs and reports were found. It really tied everything together.
I couldn't connect with the characters but that could be because some of them weren't around long and others I just didn't feel anything for. I didn't care what happened to each character and/or when it happened.
The story reminded me of the Saw films. They were more about a game and torture which I don't like so the book was better.
The book was very well put together.
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author via Voracious Readers Only.