Search
Search results
David McK (3814 KP) rated The Muppets (2011) in Movies
Mar 15, 2026 (Updated Mar 15, 2026)
The Muppets.
Kermit the Frog
Miss Piggy
Animal
Rowlf
Gonzo.
I remember. as a kid, watching 'The Muppet Babies' and even the likes of 'The Muppets Christmas Carol' or 'The Muppets Treasure Island', but I never actually saw the original tv show.
The Muppets Tonight (late 90s, I believe), yes.
The original show?
Slightly before my time.
Anyway, this - unlike Treasure Island or Christmas Carol - is an original plot, following Jason Segal character of Gary and his (muppet) brother Walter, as they travel - alongside Gary's long-term girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) on their 10th anniversary - to L.A., home of the Muppets, and uncover a conspiracy to purchase and knockdown the old Muppet Theatre so a rich businessman can get to the oil underneath.
Only thing stopping it?
A new Muppet telethon, if Kermit can get the gang back together and raise the funds before midnight.
So a fairly formulaic plot, but that's really not why anyone would be watching this: more for the family-friendly good times, and the odd breaking of the 4th wall.
Kermit the Frog
Miss Piggy
Animal
Rowlf
Gonzo.
I remember. as a kid, watching 'The Muppet Babies' and even the likes of 'The Muppets Christmas Carol' or 'The Muppets Treasure Island', but I never actually saw the original tv show.
The Muppets Tonight (late 90s, I believe), yes.
The original show?
Slightly before my time.
Anyway, this - unlike Treasure Island or Christmas Carol - is an original plot, following Jason Segal character of Gary and his (muppet) brother Walter, as they travel - alongside Gary's long-term girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) on their 10th anniversary - to L.A., home of the Muppets, and uncover a conspiracy to purchase and knockdown the old Muppet Theatre so a rich businessman can get to the oil underneath.
Only thing stopping it?
A new Muppet telethon, if Kermit can get the gang back together and raise the funds before midnight.
So a fairly formulaic plot, but that's really not why anyone would be watching this: more for the family-friendly good times, and the odd breaking of the 4th wall.
Debbiereadsbook (1769 KP) rated In Darkness: The Shark in Books
Dec 20, 2022
It is clean and there is no violence
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
I'm going to struggle with this review, and I apologise for that. The reviews for books that do not garner much of any feelings from me (either positive or negative) I find the hardest to write.
I liked the tale, I did, it just came across a bit sappy for me. I liked the twist as to who/what Clarence really is, although I kinda saw something along those lines coming at me.
It is clean, there is no violence, save for the shark getting caught in the fishing net. I've tagged it Young Adult, because I think this is probably more suited to an upper teen (14-18) than for me.
First I've read of this author. Will I read more? Not of this series, no. Possibly something else, though.
I DID finish it, so that's why I gave it. . .
3 stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
I'm going to struggle with this review, and I apologise for that. The reviews for books that do not garner much of any feelings from me (either positive or negative) I find the hardest to write.
I liked the tale, I did, it just came across a bit sappy for me. I liked the twist as to who/what Clarence really is, although I kinda saw something along those lines coming at me.
It is clean, there is no violence, save for the shark getting caught in the fishing net. I've tagged it Young Adult, because I think this is probably more suited to an upper teen (14-18) than for me.
First I've read of this author. Will I read more? Not of this series, no. Possibly something else, though.
I DID finish it, so that's why I gave it. . .
3 stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
ClareR (6241 KP) rated The Man Who Saw Everything in Books
Oct 28, 2021
What can I say about The Man Who Saw Everything? Firstly, I enjoyed reading it. It certainly wasn’t predictable, and I had no idea how the book was going to go in either half. As I read on to the second half, it began to become a little clearer as to why that was, exactly. There is a reason why the main character, Saul Adler, slips around in time. And I can’t tell you why, because to do so will give away the whole book!
This is a book where time, sexuality and personality are all malleable and difficult to pin down - all at the same time. You don’t know what’s real, and what’s in the imagination. Past and present are portrayed not just in the ages of the main character, but also in the former East and West Germany and the old and new (post-Brexit) Europe.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to properly explain this - even if I tried. I do know, however, that I really liked it.
This is a book where time, sexuality and personality are all malleable and difficult to pin down - all at the same time. You don’t know what’s real, and what’s in the imagination. Past and present are portrayed not just in the ages of the main character, but also in the former East and West Germany and the old and new (post-Brexit) Europe.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to properly explain this - even if I tried. I do know, however, that I really liked it.
Dean (6927 KP) rated I Know What You Did Last Summer in TV
Nov 14, 2021
Few differences to the film (1 more)
Good production
Annoying characters (1 more)
Weak ending
Decent Slasher series but with a poor ending
Quite excited when I saw a TV series on one of the my fave Slasher films. Only a few ties to the film in terms of the incident that leads to the I know what you did last summer message. But otherwise it's quite different.
There is a twin element key to the main story and it's set on Hawaii. There are a lot of characters to start with, some are quite weak and annoying. The production does feel good quality overall though.
The first few episodes are pretty good and with a fare few kills and gore. The last few episodes start to focus on the Whodunit side more.. But the ending was a surprise and didn't sit right really with the rest of the series.
Overall decent to start with if running out of momentum towards the end, and an ending I don't think many will like. Worth checking out if you liked the Scream series.
There is a twin element key to the main story and it's set on Hawaii. There are a lot of characters to start with, some are quite weak and annoying. The production does feel good quality overall though.
The first few episodes are pretty good and with a fare few kills and gore. The last few episodes start to focus on the Whodunit side more.. But the ending was a surprise and didn't sit right really with the rest of the series.
Overall decent to start with if running out of momentum towards the end, and an ending I don't think many will like. Worth checking out if you liked the Scream series.
Winterian Sky (Ninety Planets)
9.0
Rate It
Book
With his planet under attack by the Moracci, and a strange virus devouring his people by the droves,...
MM Science Fiction Thriller Romance
Murder in the Family
7.0
Rate It
Book
A shocking thriller about a cold case, a fictional true crime series, and the family caught in the...
Finding Finlay (Hawthorne Bluff #1)
6.0
Rate It
Book
When banker Finlay Reynolds learns that Clayton Bradley is back in town, he’s both excited and a...
Contemporary MM Romance
ClareR (6241 KP) rated No One Saw a Thing in Books
Jun 2, 2023
No One Saw a Thing is a great thriller that races along at a breakneck speed. It left me guessing right up to the point where Andrea Mara decided the reader should know what was happening - I wasn’t going to be able to work this one out myself!
If you’ve ever been near a train or the underground with small children, telling them not to move an inch from your side, and they start to walk ahead, then you’ll get the general feeling of this. Except Sive’s children DO get on the train ahead of her. And the doors close. And then the race is on to catch her 6 and 2 year olds at the next station. When she gets there however, only the youngest has been found.
There follows one of the most tense stories I’ve read in a long time. I was suspecting everyone, and I was still wrong! And the thing about it, was that it all seemed completely believable!
This was a thrilling read - and recommended!
Thanks to The Pigeonhole and to Andrea Mara for reading along.
If you’ve ever been near a train or the underground with small children, telling them not to move an inch from your side, and they start to walk ahead, then you’ll get the general feeling of this. Except Sive’s children DO get on the train ahead of her. And the doors close. And then the race is on to catch her 6 and 2 year olds at the next station. When she gets there however, only the youngest has been found.
There follows one of the most tense stories I’ve read in a long time. I was suspecting everyone, and I was still wrong! And the thing about it, was that it all seemed completely believable!
This was a thrilling read - and recommended!
Thanks to The Pigeonhole and to Andrea Mara for reading along.
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Run All Night (2015) in Movies
Jun 11, 2019
Neeson at his gritty best
It’s fair to say Liam Neeson has picked some decidedly dodgy acting jobs since his rise to become an A-list Hollywood action hero. From a disappointing turn in the most recent A Team movie to the laughably bad Taken 3, he seems to have been turned from fan favourite to the butt of so many jokes.
After January’s poorly received Taken 3, Neeson returns to give the genre another go in Run All Night, but does Jaume Collet-Serra’s intriguing direction return him to the top of the food chain?
Run All Night follows the story of Neeson’s Jimmy Conlon as he does his best to keep his son Michael, played by Joel Kinnaman, away from the deadly clutches of Sean Maguire, a brutal underworld gangster portrayed by Ed Harris, after the murder of Sean’s son Danny over the course of 16 hours.
What ensues is a formulaic action thriller featuring by-the-numbers set pieces that are interspersed with some inspiring cinematography and all the actors at the top of their game.
Neeson’s Jimmy is an alcoholic former hit man, previously employed by Maguire, who has decided to move away from his shady past and become a more rounded individual. His interactions with Ed Harris’ brilliant Sean are excellent and the pair have genuine chemistry – it’s just a shame that their backstory isn’t built on a little more.
As the audience follows Jimmy and Michael evading the police, mobsters and professional hired killers, the film traces their backstory, almost using the action-packed set pieces as checkpoints for a bit more history and from a genre that rarely utilises character development, this is a welcome addition.
The cinematography is truly stunning. The sweeping shots of New York City are inspired and the use of tracking and aerial panning instead of simply fading between scenes stylises the film like no other action movie from the last few years.
There is an air of The Taking of Pelham 123 in Serra’s direction, and of course the similarities to Neeson’s Taken and Serra’s very own Non-Stop that also starred the Irish actor are obvious.
Unfortunately, all these comparisons mean that Run All Night isn’t particularly original in premise despite its unique direction. We’ve seen it all before, we saw Neeson running about and shooting bad guys in Taken, Taken 2 and Taken 3. We saw him try to get the bottom of a serious problem in Non-Stop and we saw him take on the role of a troubled alcoholic in The Grey.
Yes, after Taken 3, Run All Night showcases Neeson at his gritty best, but it’s in Ed Harris that we find the most intriguing
character and he puts everything into Sean Maguire – despite his more than familiar name.
Thankfully, Serra and the production crew steered away from creating a film that would please the masses and opted for an often brutal, yet strangely warming action thriller – along the way avoiding the pitfalls of some of Neeson’s previous efforts.
Overall, Run All Night isn’t the disaster it could have been and shows what everyone’s favourite Irish actor is capable of when given the right material to work with. Ed Harris is also on point and Jaume Collet-Serra’s direction goes above and beyond what the genre asks for.
Only an underwhelming final act and a highly unoriginal story stop it from becoming the film it so deeply wanted to be.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2015/03/15/neeson-at-his-gritty-best-run-all-night-review/
After January’s poorly received Taken 3, Neeson returns to give the genre another go in Run All Night, but does Jaume Collet-Serra’s intriguing direction return him to the top of the food chain?
Run All Night follows the story of Neeson’s Jimmy Conlon as he does his best to keep his son Michael, played by Joel Kinnaman, away from the deadly clutches of Sean Maguire, a brutal underworld gangster portrayed by Ed Harris, after the murder of Sean’s son Danny over the course of 16 hours.
What ensues is a formulaic action thriller featuring by-the-numbers set pieces that are interspersed with some inspiring cinematography and all the actors at the top of their game.
Neeson’s Jimmy is an alcoholic former hit man, previously employed by Maguire, who has decided to move away from his shady past and become a more rounded individual. His interactions with Ed Harris’ brilliant Sean are excellent and the pair have genuine chemistry – it’s just a shame that their backstory isn’t built on a little more.
As the audience follows Jimmy and Michael evading the police, mobsters and professional hired killers, the film traces their backstory, almost using the action-packed set pieces as checkpoints for a bit more history and from a genre that rarely utilises character development, this is a welcome addition.
The cinematography is truly stunning. The sweeping shots of New York City are inspired and the use of tracking and aerial panning instead of simply fading between scenes stylises the film like no other action movie from the last few years.
There is an air of The Taking of Pelham 123 in Serra’s direction, and of course the similarities to Neeson’s Taken and Serra’s very own Non-Stop that also starred the Irish actor are obvious.
Unfortunately, all these comparisons mean that Run All Night isn’t particularly original in premise despite its unique direction. We’ve seen it all before, we saw Neeson running about and shooting bad guys in Taken, Taken 2 and Taken 3. We saw him try to get the bottom of a serious problem in Non-Stop and we saw him take on the role of a troubled alcoholic in The Grey.
Yes, after Taken 3, Run All Night showcases Neeson at his gritty best, but it’s in Ed Harris that we find the most intriguing
character and he puts everything into Sean Maguire – despite his more than familiar name.
Thankfully, Serra and the production crew steered away from creating a film that would please the masses and opted for an often brutal, yet strangely warming action thriller – along the way avoiding the pitfalls of some of Neeson’s previous efforts.
Overall, Run All Night isn’t the disaster it could have been and shows what everyone’s favourite Irish actor is capable of when given the right material to work with. Ed Harris is also on point and Jaume Collet-Serra’s direction goes above and beyond what the genre asks for.
Only an underwhelming final act and a highly unoriginal story stop it from becoming the film it so deeply wanted to be.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2015/03/15/neeson-at-his-gritty-best-run-all-night-review/
Darren (1599 KP) rated An Acceptable Loss (2018) in Movies
Jul 25, 2019
Story: An Acceptable Loss starts as Libby (Sumpter) takes a new job in education, her former career saw her working under the Vice President Rachel (Curtis) being part of a campaign known as ‘Total Victory’ which saw her career change. Libby’s new job shows how she doesn’t have any forms of communication and one of the students Martin (Tavassoli) has taken an extra interest in her life, following her around, spying her on her.
Rachel now being President sends her Chief of Staff Adrian (Hephner) and former lover of Libby to make sure she isn’t going to spill the beans on what happened in this case, all while Libby is trying to make sure she can just get on with her life.
Thoughts on An Acceptable Loss
Characters – Libby once worked for the Vice President on one of the most controversial projects in defence and dealing with potential terrorist against America, she has left this job because of what happened trying to find a new career in education, she wants to stay off the radar with how she lives, which sees her avoid her former colleagues and fellow members of the faculty. Rachel is the former Vice-President, now President who is trying to tie up the loose ends of operation Total Victory, this will see her challenge Libby on whether she will expose the truth of her actions. Martin is a student that has taken an interest in Libby following her around spying on her looking for some kind of answer. Adrian is the Chief of Staff and former lover of Libby’s, he has been assigned to keep Libby quiet.
Performances – Tika Sumpter does give us a strong performance, we do see how her guilt is controlling her life, while showing how she will do what she can to fix her mistake. Jamie Lee Curtis is the star of the film because every time she is on camera we seeing everything upped to the next level. Ben Tavassoli and Jeff Hepnher both complete the main cast and both do a solid enough role.
Story – The story follows a former staff worker for the Vice President and one of the major parts of a project which saw many people killed, she has moved on with her life away from politics, hoping to one day tell the truth against the now current President. This story is a heavy political set up which shows us just how they will do anything to cover up any secrets, the story does jump around between the two times and careers that Libby has which does just come and go way to often. The problem with this story comes from the fact this could have been a lot more intense because of the subject matter we are going into.
Thriller – The could be a thriller that is truly one of the most intense movies of the year, because the subject could have been showing bigger consequences instead of a couple of friendly conversations.
Settings – The film is set in the everyday location, it shows how easy it could be to get people coming after somebody who might hold a secret.
Scene of the Movie – Jamie Lee Curtis scenes.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It does become very predictable.
Final Thoughts – This is a predictable thriller that does tackle a bigger subject matter that goes through cover ups, we are saved by Jamie Lee Curtis scene stealing performance.
Overall: Predictable, through entertaining.
Rachel now being President sends her Chief of Staff Adrian (Hephner) and former lover of Libby to make sure she isn’t going to spill the beans on what happened in this case, all while Libby is trying to make sure she can just get on with her life.
Thoughts on An Acceptable Loss
Characters – Libby once worked for the Vice President on one of the most controversial projects in defence and dealing with potential terrorist against America, she has left this job because of what happened trying to find a new career in education, she wants to stay off the radar with how she lives, which sees her avoid her former colleagues and fellow members of the faculty. Rachel is the former Vice-President, now President who is trying to tie up the loose ends of operation Total Victory, this will see her challenge Libby on whether she will expose the truth of her actions. Martin is a student that has taken an interest in Libby following her around spying on her looking for some kind of answer. Adrian is the Chief of Staff and former lover of Libby’s, he has been assigned to keep Libby quiet.
Performances – Tika Sumpter does give us a strong performance, we do see how her guilt is controlling her life, while showing how she will do what she can to fix her mistake. Jamie Lee Curtis is the star of the film because every time she is on camera we seeing everything upped to the next level. Ben Tavassoli and Jeff Hepnher both complete the main cast and both do a solid enough role.
Story – The story follows a former staff worker for the Vice President and one of the major parts of a project which saw many people killed, she has moved on with her life away from politics, hoping to one day tell the truth against the now current President. This story is a heavy political set up which shows us just how they will do anything to cover up any secrets, the story does jump around between the two times and careers that Libby has which does just come and go way to often. The problem with this story comes from the fact this could have been a lot more intense because of the subject matter we are going into.
Thriller – The could be a thriller that is truly one of the most intense movies of the year, because the subject could have been showing bigger consequences instead of a couple of friendly conversations.
Settings – The film is set in the everyday location, it shows how easy it could be to get people coming after somebody who might hold a secret.
Scene of the Movie – Jamie Lee Curtis scenes.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It does become very predictable.
Final Thoughts – This is a predictable thriller that does tackle a bigger subject matter that goes through cover ups, we are saved by Jamie Lee Curtis scene stealing performance.
Overall: Predictable, through entertaining.