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Ross (3284 KP) rated We Ride The Storm in Books
May 18, 2021
Great Asian-inspired twisting, back-stabbing fantasy
'We Ride the Storm' is an epic fantasy book set in an Asian-inspired world, with savage tribes, in-bred empires and age-old family rivalries.
We see the story unfold through the eyes of three characters: a princess of the Kisian empire (who is the step-daughter of the empire, so a princess in name only); an intriguing assassin and a tribal warrior forced into nomadic life. The plot revolves around a building conflict between the empire and its subjects and neighbours, largely driven by the accidental actions of the aforementioned assassin.
The princess is a well-formed character who quickly moves from plotting with her brother to take their family's rightful place at the head of the empire to siding with the crippled cruel emperor, seeking her own place. Her story is straight out of a Disney film, refused her chance to use her martial skills and forced to marry into power as her only contribution to the family's strength.
The nomadic warrior should have been intriguing, given his initial scene where he is cutting the heads off his fallen comrades and enemies, driven by a religious zeal that a person's head must be removed and properly laid to rest to release their soul. However, he quickly became flat and irritating, his zealous nature making him whiny. His story is the most exciting, though, as his tribe is forced into serving the empire (I think) and put aside their traditionally passive nature in order to secure new lands for themselves.
The final PoV character, the assassin, is by far the most original - she has an extra voice in her head (the background still a mystery), a presence who can inhabit corpses, allowing for some interesting escapes and plans. Her role is slightly comedic, dashing from one job to another across the country, often conflicting jobs, in order to try and release herself from the voice in her head.
The story involves a great amount of plotting and double-crossing, some excellent action scenes and a complex, weaving plot. The only downside for me was remembering who was who, who the empire was, their enemies etc, as different names were sometimes given and I found it hard to remember. Also, some major plot points were initially exposed in fairly throw-away style and later passages made no sense without picking up on them (specifically the voice in the assassin's head, but also aspects of the possession and other events which were easy to miss).
A great read and with a sequel already out, a series I will stick with.
I received a free copy from the publishers and netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
We see the story unfold through the eyes of three characters: a princess of the Kisian empire (who is the step-daughter of the empire, so a princess in name only); an intriguing assassin and a tribal warrior forced into nomadic life. The plot revolves around a building conflict between the empire and its subjects and neighbours, largely driven by the accidental actions of the aforementioned assassin.
The princess is a well-formed character who quickly moves from plotting with her brother to take their family's rightful place at the head of the empire to siding with the crippled cruel emperor, seeking her own place. Her story is straight out of a Disney film, refused her chance to use her martial skills and forced to marry into power as her only contribution to the family's strength.
The nomadic warrior should have been intriguing, given his initial scene where he is cutting the heads off his fallen comrades and enemies, driven by a religious zeal that a person's head must be removed and properly laid to rest to release their soul. However, he quickly became flat and irritating, his zealous nature making him whiny. His story is the most exciting, though, as his tribe is forced into serving the empire (I think) and put aside their traditionally passive nature in order to secure new lands for themselves.
The final PoV character, the assassin, is by far the most original - she has an extra voice in her head (the background still a mystery), a presence who can inhabit corpses, allowing for some interesting escapes and plans. Her role is slightly comedic, dashing from one job to another across the country, often conflicting jobs, in order to try and release herself from the voice in her head.
The story involves a great amount of plotting and double-crossing, some excellent action scenes and a complex, weaving plot. The only downside for me was remembering who was who, who the empire was, their enemies etc, as different names were sometimes given and I found it hard to remember. Also, some major plot points were initially exposed in fairly throw-away style and later passages made no sense without picking up on them (specifically the voice in the assassin's head, but also aspects of the possession and other events which were easy to miss).
A great read and with a sequel already out, a series I will stick with.
I received a free copy from the publishers and netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Killers Anonymous (2019) in Movies
Jan 3, 2021
A killers' support group? Ooooooh, this could be fun.
A group of killers come together to talk about their problems on the night a US Senator is assassinated in London. As they introduce themselves a bigger picture starts to unfold.
Spoiler alert (though the score will have given that away), this COULD have been fun.
The beginning of this film holds little to no... anything. I was 11 minutes in and had absolutely no idea what was happening. There seemed to be no story, no personality, nothing that made me want to carry on watching. At 22 minutes in I wrote, "what is even the point of this" in my notes. By the end I still couldn't see the point.
This lack of interest was a serious hindrance, neither of the two main storylines had an impact. I'm sitting here now wondering whether the film was too complicated, or not complicated enough... it genuinely could be either. After having finished the film I'm concerned that there are so many things in it that scream "sequel incoming". Please, no.
Talent was crammed into this film though, you just have to look at the poster for the movie to see that, even some of those not featured you'd recognise from other things. And all of those actors weren't that bad, we know they can act well, so the question is... why are they in this? With this cast, I think it says something when even they couldn't save this film from the lacklustre material.
We're introduced to the characters in the group one at a time, giving us an overview of their backstory... I had lots of feelings about this. Firstly, it reminded me of an imitation Bad Times At The El Royale. But beyond that mild excitement that maybe we were about to see something good it was a mish-mash of lots of different things. The style was all over the place, and that seemed to be a theme throughout.
Single lit characters, merging scenes that are happening in different locations, graphic novel drawing, it has a lot happening. That along with the madness of some of the scenes made everything rather choppy.
I'm genuinely trying to think of things to say, but every point I look at makes me sigh... that sad sort of sign that makes you disappointed. There are no redeeming features to this apart from the idea, which is so sad, a killers' support group has so many possibilities and this is what we got. And I've just seen the estimated budget was $26 million... that seems like a lot.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/01/killers-anonymous-movie-review.html
A group of killers come together to talk about their problems on the night a US Senator is assassinated in London. As they introduce themselves a bigger picture starts to unfold.
Spoiler alert (though the score will have given that away), this COULD have been fun.
The beginning of this film holds little to no... anything. I was 11 minutes in and had absolutely no idea what was happening. There seemed to be no story, no personality, nothing that made me want to carry on watching. At 22 minutes in I wrote, "what is even the point of this" in my notes. By the end I still couldn't see the point.
This lack of interest was a serious hindrance, neither of the two main storylines had an impact. I'm sitting here now wondering whether the film was too complicated, or not complicated enough... it genuinely could be either. After having finished the film I'm concerned that there are so many things in it that scream "sequel incoming". Please, no.
Talent was crammed into this film though, you just have to look at the poster for the movie to see that, even some of those not featured you'd recognise from other things. And all of those actors weren't that bad, we know they can act well, so the question is... why are they in this? With this cast, I think it says something when even they couldn't save this film from the lacklustre material.
We're introduced to the characters in the group one at a time, giving us an overview of their backstory... I had lots of feelings about this. Firstly, it reminded me of an imitation Bad Times At The El Royale. But beyond that mild excitement that maybe we were about to see something good it was a mish-mash of lots of different things. The style was all over the place, and that seemed to be a theme throughout.
Single lit characters, merging scenes that are happening in different locations, graphic novel drawing, it has a lot happening. That along with the madness of some of the scenes made everything rather choppy.
I'm genuinely trying to think of things to say, but every point I look at makes me sigh... that sad sort of sign that makes you disappointed. There are no redeeming features to this apart from the idea, which is so sad, a killers' support group has so many possibilities and this is what we got. And I've just seen the estimated budget was $26 million... that seems like a lot.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/01/killers-anonymous-movie-review.html
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Tron Legacy (2010) in Movies
Nov 20, 2020
Contains spoilers, click to show
Ok this was actually good which is a bit surprising as there have been a few sequels to older films released over the past few years and they haven't all be great, not that they haven't necessarily been bad but, depending on how they continuing they have been a bit problematic. Either by using now outdated concepts or trying to to match modern political standards and missing the mark, Ghostbusters I'm looking at you. Tron: Legacy goes down the path of of handing the franchise over to the next generation in a similar manner to Bill and Ted Face the Music and I think Tron does it better.
I'll start by saying that Tron: Legacy is not as original or forward thinking as it's predecessor but that is to be expected. The original had Ideas that were slightly before it's time which i talk about in my review of that film. Tron: Legacy can't re do that originality, partly because its a sequel and so is constrained by the world built in the original but also because a lot of the ideas have been used since, we've had the likes of 'The Matrix' and 'Wreck-it Ralph' and so Tron: Legacy seems to concentrate on being a Tron film and nothing more.
The film keeps close to the original by bringing back quite a few things, we have Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner reprising their roles of Kevin Flynn And Alan Bradley, with Kevin now trapped in the computer world known as the Grid. The light cycles are back as well as few other craft. The effects have been updated but the grid and it's games are still very recognisable and there are a few through back lines and scenes.
Tron: Legacy does feel a bit Matrixy at times, neither of the flynns are Neo but it does draw on the familiar God/Devil tropes that you often see. The costumes are more cyber punk than the original, still using the red/blue lighting but also being more PVC and trench coat in its aesthetic with many characters supporting visors or crash helmets, to the point that Daft Punk actually look like they belong there.
Like a lot of Cyberpunk films there is a night club and this has one of the films stand out characters, Castor, played by Michael Sheen who is doing his best 'Ziggy Stardust' impression.
The strange thing is, this is a good film, with good franchise potential and Disney don't seem to have marketed it well, it's 10 years old (at the time of writing) and isn't mentioned much and it's only due to watching this on Disney+ that I now know about the spin off animated series, Tron: Uprising, which I'm going to have to watch.
I'll start by saying that Tron: Legacy is not as original or forward thinking as it's predecessor but that is to be expected. The original had Ideas that were slightly before it's time which i talk about in my review of that film. Tron: Legacy can't re do that originality, partly because its a sequel and so is constrained by the world built in the original but also because a lot of the ideas have been used since, we've had the likes of 'The Matrix' and 'Wreck-it Ralph' and so Tron: Legacy seems to concentrate on being a Tron film and nothing more.
The film keeps close to the original by bringing back quite a few things, we have Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner reprising their roles of Kevin Flynn And Alan Bradley, with Kevin now trapped in the computer world known as the Grid. The light cycles are back as well as few other craft. The effects have been updated but the grid and it's games are still very recognisable and there are a few through back lines and scenes.
Tron: Legacy does feel a bit Matrixy at times, neither of the flynns are Neo but it does draw on the familiar God/Devil tropes that you often see. The costumes are more cyber punk than the original, still using the red/blue lighting but also being more PVC and trench coat in its aesthetic with many characters supporting visors or crash helmets, to the point that Daft Punk actually look like they belong there.
Like a lot of Cyberpunk films there is a night club and this has one of the films stand out characters, Castor, played by Michael Sheen who is doing his best 'Ziggy Stardust' impression.
The strange thing is, this is a good film, with good franchise potential and Disney don't seem to have marketed it well, it's 10 years old (at the time of writing) and isn't mentioned much and it's only due to watching this on Disney+ that I now know about the spin off animated series, Tron: Uprising, which I'm going to have to watch.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Mary Poppins Returns (2018) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
I'm not going to lie, the trailer for this worried me greatly. Despite Emily Blunt's roots her accent sounds like someone's stereotypical idea of a prim and proper British nanny, it stuck out like a sore thumb from the trailer.
Right from the outset you can see that spark from the original film in the animation, the character traits and style. Everything is very familiar and yet different.
I have to say though that the songs were not memorable. If fact I left the cinema thinking about the original more and ended up having a little Mary Poppin medley on my journey back. When you didn't think it could get any worse she actually converts to cockney for one of the songs and I'm left enjoying some of the uninspiring dance routines while wishing I had a remote control to mute the sound.
I'm struggling to remember if the chimney sweep dance routine and the lamp lighter routine in the new film have a lot of similarities. What I can say about it is that there were some very odd camera shots in there. It felt very much like they wanted you to only focus on Miranda and so we got lots of creepy close ups. The sequence really didn't work for me, and honestly I can't even remember the song.
There were some very touching moments in the latter half of the film. Whishaw wasn't really working for me early on but he has a very powerful moment in the middle that kicks off some much better pieces. I can't say that any of the acting particularly thrilled me, the best was probably in the animated characters.
I was genuinely thrilled to see Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins Returns though. I smiled from ear to ear when he started dancing, that moment alone is the main reason for the stars this film earned. But even after the dance routine I wasn't keen on his part in it.
The real question about MP films is if every second Wednesday Topsy's world goes upside-down... what happens to Mary Poppins on every second Tuesday? (Do we know the answer to this? Have I just missed it somewhere?)
What you should do
In my opinion this remake was made on the basis of "if it ain't broke don't fix it", except in the process of making it look like a sequel... they broke it. But, I seem to be in a minority on this one. If you want the nostalgic feeling but don't want to replace the amazing songs from the original then you should be alright seeing this.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
Some of whatever Mary Poppins is smoking?
Right from the outset you can see that spark from the original film in the animation, the character traits and style. Everything is very familiar and yet different.
I have to say though that the songs were not memorable. If fact I left the cinema thinking about the original more and ended up having a little Mary Poppin medley on my journey back. When you didn't think it could get any worse she actually converts to cockney for one of the songs and I'm left enjoying some of the uninspiring dance routines while wishing I had a remote control to mute the sound.
I'm struggling to remember if the chimney sweep dance routine and the lamp lighter routine in the new film have a lot of similarities. What I can say about it is that there were some very odd camera shots in there. It felt very much like they wanted you to only focus on Miranda and so we got lots of creepy close ups. The sequence really didn't work for me, and honestly I can't even remember the song.
There were some very touching moments in the latter half of the film. Whishaw wasn't really working for me early on but he has a very powerful moment in the middle that kicks off some much better pieces. I can't say that any of the acting particularly thrilled me, the best was probably in the animated characters.
I was genuinely thrilled to see Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins Returns though. I smiled from ear to ear when he started dancing, that moment alone is the main reason for the stars this film earned. But even after the dance routine I wasn't keen on his part in it.
The real question about MP films is if every second Wednesday Topsy's world goes upside-down... what happens to Mary Poppins on every second Tuesday? (Do we know the answer to this? Have I just missed it somewhere?)
What you should do
In my opinion this remake was made on the basis of "if it ain't broke don't fix it", except in the process of making it look like a sequel... they broke it. But, I seem to be in a minority on this one. If you want the nostalgic feeling but don't want to replace the amazing songs from the original then you should be alright seeing this.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
Some of whatever Mary Poppins is smoking?
Kara Skinner (332 KP) rated Note to Self in Books
Sep 10, 2019
Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQ
Goodreads rating: 3.73 out of 5 stars
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Anna never considered herself bisexual or a lesbian. She’s totally in love with her husband and happy with her life as a wife, mother, and cop. But that all changes when she meets Susan, a pretty, feminine doctor, who turns Anna’s world upside down. Confused and full of guilt from thinking erotic thoughts about Susan while married to Nick, Anna turns to her journal to sort it all out.
Okay, once this story gets going, it’s great. But in the beginning it is so damn boring. Journal or not, Anna does not get to the frigging point for like four or five pages! I was tempted to go wash the dishes at least twice in the beginning of the book. When the dishes are pulling me away from a book, and not the other way around, something is very wrong.
However, it does read like a real diary, so kudos on that.
Once Anna gets her shit together and actually starts telling what happened, the story gets a lot better. Her inner turmoil is relatable and realistic and makes me like her alot. Susan’s character is also great. Being very girly, Susan has a nice contrast with Anna, and that makes their time together that much sweeter. I always love it when characters are developed, even for short erotica pieces like this one.
I do have a problem with Anna being married, though. Her husband is a great guy who is very supportive of her and their son. He showed up to their son’s kindergarten barbecue, doesn’t mind his wife being “one of the guys”, and doesn’t even get jealous from other men’s stares at her.
It’s really clear that they are still very much in love and unless it becomes clear in the sequel that he’s a serial cheater or hiding huge secrets, (like, “I killed my boss and embezzled five million dollars” type of secret. Not “that purple dress really did make you look like Barney and I didn’t tell you even though I knew pictures were going on Facebook” type of secret) then I’m never going to like Anna’s and Susan’s relationship as much as I could.
Lesbian relationship? No problem. More power to ya. Cheating on a very sweet person? Huge problem. Shouldn’t happen. Burn in hell.
You can read Note to Self on Smashwords for free. I recommend you check it out if it sounds like your cup of tea. Speaking of tea, take some time to read with a cup of it. The holidays are coming up, and you need some relaxation before your life dissolves into chaos. Take care!
Goodreads rating: 3.73 out of 5 stars
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Anna never considered herself bisexual or a lesbian. She’s totally in love with her husband and happy with her life as a wife, mother, and cop. But that all changes when she meets Susan, a pretty, feminine doctor, who turns Anna’s world upside down. Confused and full of guilt from thinking erotic thoughts about Susan while married to Nick, Anna turns to her journal to sort it all out.
Okay, once this story gets going, it’s great. But in the beginning it is so damn boring. Journal or not, Anna does not get to the frigging point for like four or five pages! I was tempted to go wash the dishes at least twice in the beginning of the book. When the dishes are pulling me away from a book, and not the other way around, something is very wrong.
However, it does read like a real diary, so kudos on that.
Once Anna gets her shit together and actually starts telling what happened, the story gets a lot better. Her inner turmoil is relatable and realistic and makes me like her alot. Susan’s character is also great. Being very girly, Susan has a nice contrast with Anna, and that makes their time together that much sweeter. I always love it when characters are developed, even for short erotica pieces like this one.
I do have a problem with Anna being married, though. Her husband is a great guy who is very supportive of her and their son. He showed up to their son’s kindergarten barbecue, doesn’t mind his wife being “one of the guys”, and doesn’t even get jealous from other men’s stares at her.
It’s really clear that they are still very much in love and unless it becomes clear in the sequel that he’s a serial cheater or hiding huge secrets, (like, “I killed my boss and embezzled five million dollars” type of secret. Not “that purple dress really did make you look like Barney and I didn’t tell you even though I knew pictures were going on Facebook” type of secret) then I’m never going to like Anna’s and Susan’s relationship as much as I could.
Lesbian relationship? No problem. More power to ya. Cheating on a very sweet person? Huge problem. Shouldn’t happen. Burn in hell.
You can read Note to Self on Smashwords for free. I recommend you check it out if it sounds like your cup of tea. Speaking of tea, take some time to read with a cup of it. The holidays are coming up, and you need some relaxation before your life dissolves into chaos. Take care!
Lee (2222 KP) rated Angel Has Fallen (2019) in Movies
Aug 23, 2019
Gerard Butler returns once again as secret service agent Mike Banning in this third entry in the 'fallen' series. The first movie, Olympus Has Fallen (not to be confused with White House Down, the Channing Tatum movie which was also released in 2013 and also covered a similar plot!) saw Banning trapped in the White House during a terrorist attack. It had an enjoyable Die Hard feel to it, and a sequel was inevitable. London Has Fallen (2016) saw Banning venture to London for the funeral of the Prime Minister and becoming involved in a terrorist plot to assassinate the world leaders who were in attendance. Not quite as good as Olympus, losing that enclosed claustrophobic setting from the first movie, but it was still a fun piece of action.
Which brings us to Angel Has Fallen. That angel being Mike Banning, guardian angel to President Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) who has now been promoted from vice president in the last movie. Mike is starting to feel the strain of old age and his years of being a hero and one man army - insomnia, a reliance on pills, migraines. His secret service colleagues, even the president, are noticing his health issues and his doctor plainly tells him "You're a disaster waiting to happen"!
This time round, the terrorist attack comes in the form of a swarm of drones, which appear in the skies over the lake where the president is fishing on a boat. Taking out the secret service team on protection duty, both the president and Banning are forced into the water in order to try and avoid being blown to pieces. But, instead of being hailed a hero once again, Banning is now accused of masterminding and orchestrating the attack and it becomes clear that he is being setup, forcing him to go on the run in order to try and clear his name.
Once again, it's all ridiculous crowd pleasing stuff. Some elements make absolutely no sense whatsoever, and it's not exactly difficult to work out who the bad guys are right from the offset - hell, the trailer even gives one of them away! The action for the most part is fairly enjoyable, although it does suffer from the occasional bit of dodgy CGI and there are moments of dark close-up action - quickly edited, shaky camera work, which make it frustratingly difficult to work out what on earth is going on at times.
As with London Has Fallen, we lose that claustrophobic and confined Die Hard action once again, giving us something more alike to The Fugitive and a poor mans John Wick 3. But overall, it's still an enjoyable ride, with a fun cameo from Nick Nolte as Mike's long lost father and a third act which actually delivers.
Which brings us to Angel Has Fallen. That angel being Mike Banning, guardian angel to President Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) who has now been promoted from vice president in the last movie. Mike is starting to feel the strain of old age and his years of being a hero and one man army - insomnia, a reliance on pills, migraines. His secret service colleagues, even the president, are noticing his health issues and his doctor plainly tells him "You're a disaster waiting to happen"!
This time round, the terrorist attack comes in the form of a swarm of drones, which appear in the skies over the lake where the president is fishing on a boat. Taking out the secret service team on protection duty, both the president and Banning are forced into the water in order to try and avoid being blown to pieces. But, instead of being hailed a hero once again, Banning is now accused of masterminding and orchestrating the attack and it becomes clear that he is being setup, forcing him to go on the run in order to try and clear his name.
Once again, it's all ridiculous crowd pleasing stuff. Some elements make absolutely no sense whatsoever, and it's not exactly difficult to work out who the bad guys are right from the offset - hell, the trailer even gives one of them away! The action for the most part is fairly enjoyable, although it does suffer from the occasional bit of dodgy CGI and there are moments of dark close-up action - quickly edited, shaky camera work, which make it frustratingly difficult to work out what on earth is going on at times.
As with London Has Fallen, we lose that claustrophobic and confined Die Hard action once again, giving us something more alike to The Fugitive and a poor mans John Wick 3. But overall, it's still an enjoyable ride, with a fun cameo from Nick Nolte as Mike's long lost father and a third act which actually delivers.
Mystery of Fortune 2
Games and Entertainment
App
Mystery of Fortune 2 is the eighth episode of Fortune Chronicle Episodes. This is the official...
Wonderlines: match-3 puzzle game
Games
App
Once, during an expedition to South America, a famous archaeologist found some strange hieroglyphic...
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Spree (2020) in Movies
Aug 16, 2020
Contains spoilers, click to show
When he was younger, Kurt Kunkle was a streamer but life got in the way and he had to get a job as a 'Spree' driver (an Uber driver). Now he has an Idea of haw to get his viewers back, by streaming him self as he goes on a killing Spree of his Spree customers.
Spree is a warning about the impact streaming and Vlogging can have, both on the streamers and the viewers. Both Kurt and Jessie are shown as being addicted to getting views, although for different reasons; Kurt feels that, if he isn't getting views and streaming everything then he is nothing, he even looks down on others because they are not streaming. Jessie, on the other hand streams to get her act and message across and (to begin with) see's herself as a different, more superior kind of Vlogger to Kurt.
The viewer are shown as being detached from the reality of Kurt's actions (At least until the very final scene). To begin with they think it's all fake, where as Kurt is shown as thinking some other blogs are real, and no-one is really interested until the killings get more extreme, then the viewers don't seem to care whether it's real or not and even involve themselves by egging Kurt on and joining in with polls.
The Spree customers are shown almost as stereotypes, most are self centred and obsessed with their own streams, or they are racist or sexist.
The story is good and not overly reliant on gore, a lot of the actual kills are made off screen with just blood that needs to be washed off the car. One death you don't even see.
Spree is shot mainly as Kurt's stream and often goes split screen as he crosses over with other streams an, at times this can be a bit distracting as, as well as the video footage you also see the comments which are, most of the time, flowing too fast to read, only slowing down when necessary or flashing up on the main screen if they are important enough.
This is the only problem i had with Spree though. As a light weight slasher it lacks some of the tension (at least at the beginning) you might expect but still has some decent kills and manages to make some social statements although the biggest one is probably after everything has happen and we are shown how the video lives on on the web even when it has supposedly been taken down, which is odd because this also has the feel of a set up for a possible sequel.
Spree is a warning about the impact streaming and Vlogging can have, both on the streamers and the viewers. Both Kurt and Jessie are shown as being addicted to getting views, although for different reasons; Kurt feels that, if he isn't getting views and streaming everything then he is nothing, he even looks down on others because they are not streaming. Jessie, on the other hand streams to get her act and message across and (to begin with) see's herself as a different, more superior kind of Vlogger to Kurt.
The viewer are shown as being detached from the reality of Kurt's actions (At least until the very final scene). To begin with they think it's all fake, where as Kurt is shown as thinking some other blogs are real, and no-one is really interested until the killings get more extreme, then the viewers don't seem to care whether it's real or not and even involve themselves by egging Kurt on and joining in with polls.
The Spree customers are shown almost as stereotypes, most are self centred and obsessed with their own streams, or they are racist or sexist.
The story is good and not overly reliant on gore, a lot of the actual kills are made off screen with just blood that needs to be washed off the car. One death you don't even see.
Spree is shot mainly as Kurt's stream and often goes split screen as he crosses over with other streams an, at times this can be a bit distracting as, as well as the video footage you also see the comments which are, most of the time, flowing too fast to read, only slowing down when necessary or flashing up on the main screen if they are important enough.
This is the only problem i had with Spree though. As a light weight slasher it lacks some of the tension (at least at the beginning) you might expect but still has some decent kills and manages to make some social statements although the biggest one is probably after everything has happen and we are shown how the video lives on on the web even when it has supposedly been taken down, which is odd because this also has the feel of a set up for a possible sequel.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2020) in Movies
Apr 14, 2020
The hugely popular Mortal Kombat franchise has a new cinematic entry with the release of Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge. The film is based on the very popular game series which began in the arcades and grew to dominate home gaming systems.
The franchise has also included theatrical films, toys, and scores of merchandise and the recent Mortal Kombat XI game was a massive success as well.
With news of a new live-action film in the works; Warner Bros has given fans something that truly fits the franchise well in the form of an R-Rated animated film.
While the prior films had a PG-13 rating, this one relishes the gore and violence and gives fans plenty of what they have come to expect.
The plot follows elements of the game and early film in that the evil Shao Khan has called forth the champions from the various realms to fight in a generational tournament where the realm who wins 10 strait events will have control over all the realms.
With 9 consecutive wins in place for Shao Khan and his champion Goro (Kevin Michael Richardson), the God Raiden (Dave B. Mitchell), has assembled a team of champions to save Earth.
There is Liu Kang (Jordan Rodrigues), Sonya Blade (Jennifer Carpenter), and the ego maniac Johnny Cage (Joel McHale).
The team must battle all manner of enemies which includes a very impressive list from the game series and it was great to see so many of them appear even if their roles were small.
The main story focuses on Scorpion (Patrick Seitz) and his attempt to regain what was taken from him and it is his backstory which sets the tone and frames much of the events.
Action wise the film delivers as there are the moves, graphic internal close ups, and gore that fans will expect. There are also a few surprises along the way that I do not want to spoil. I did wonder why every creature in the film had red blood as I do remember there being a bit of variety amongst the non-human creatures but this is a minor fact in what is otherwise an enjoyable film that fans should like.
While the plot does not hold much in the way of surprises; it does give fans the action and characters they love and does bring some interesting new elements to the franchise as well as the basis for some character growth in future films.
The animation and voice work is first-rate and really captures the look and tone of the series while having a visual style of its own.
The ending clearly seems to be setting up a sequel and I for one cannot wait to see what they have in store next.
4 stars out of 5
The franchise has also included theatrical films, toys, and scores of merchandise and the recent Mortal Kombat XI game was a massive success as well.
With news of a new live-action film in the works; Warner Bros has given fans something that truly fits the franchise well in the form of an R-Rated animated film.
While the prior films had a PG-13 rating, this one relishes the gore and violence and gives fans plenty of what they have come to expect.
The plot follows elements of the game and early film in that the evil Shao Khan has called forth the champions from the various realms to fight in a generational tournament where the realm who wins 10 strait events will have control over all the realms.
With 9 consecutive wins in place for Shao Khan and his champion Goro (Kevin Michael Richardson), the God Raiden (Dave B. Mitchell), has assembled a team of champions to save Earth.
There is Liu Kang (Jordan Rodrigues), Sonya Blade (Jennifer Carpenter), and the ego maniac Johnny Cage (Joel McHale).
The team must battle all manner of enemies which includes a very impressive list from the game series and it was great to see so many of them appear even if their roles were small.
The main story focuses on Scorpion (Patrick Seitz) and his attempt to regain what was taken from him and it is his backstory which sets the tone and frames much of the events.
Action wise the film delivers as there are the moves, graphic internal close ups, and gore that fans will expect. There are also a few surprises along the way that I do not want to spoil. I did wonder why every creature in the film had red blood as I do remember there being a bit of variety amongst the non-human creatures but this is a minor fact in what is otherwise an enjoyable film that fans should like.
While the plot does not hold much in the way of surprises; it does give fans the action and characters they love and does bring some interesting new elements to the franchise as well as the basis for some character growth in future films.
The animation and voice work is first-rate and really captures the look and tone of the series while having a visual style of its own.
The ending clearly seems to be setting up a sequel and I for one cannot wait to see what they have in store next.
4 stars out of 5