Search
Search results
Christi Saunders Fortson (1 KP) rated Morgan (2016) in Movies
Mar 5, 2018
Sometimes science goes a little too far
Morgan is a psychological thriller about a secret program to develop bio-engineered "humans" for use as thinking, problem solving weapons. When things go wrong, they go very wrong, and it's up to the risk management team to determine if the project should continue.
I enjoyed the movie, though I think a longer film would have allowed for more character development. Just as I was really getting drawn into the story, the movie was over. With so many psychological thrillers, the ending is spoiled by being a little too obvious. This movie definately kept me guessing til the very end.
The cast was excellent, they just needed more story to really flesh-out the characters.
Would definately recommend.
I enjoyed the movie, though I think a longer film would have allowed for more character development. Just as I was really getting drawn into the story, the movie was over. With so many psychological thrillers, the ending is spoiled by being a little too obvious. This movie definately kept me guessing til the very end.
The cast was excellent, they just needed more story to really flesh-out the characters.
Would definately recommend.
Entertainment Editor (1988 KP) rated Quandary in Tabletop Games
Mar 7, 2018
I have used the term 'over produced' in the past, but never before has it been so appropriate. Quandary is, to all intents and purposes, a straight re-issue of Reiner Knizia's Flinke Pinke - an Amigo game which came in a box no larger than 10cm square and cost about $10. Quandary comes in a big, long box, with good quality components and costs at least three times that - the trade off is that it's generally available. It remains almost the same game, if anything a little lighter than the original, but for all that Quandary was the most played game here over Christmas. It's certainly light, but it works as well as any other Knizia designed bauble - and you'll already know if you can live with these usually punchy, but sometimes rather thin, endeavours.
Critic: Mike Siggins
Read the full review here: http://www.gamecabinet.com/reviews/Quandary.html
Critic: Mike Siggins
Read the full review here: http://www.gamecabinet.com/reviews/Quandary.html
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2506 KP) rated One Foot in the Grove (Olive Grove Mystery #1) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
After her second disastrous wedding happened without her getting married, Eva Knox retreated to her family’s plantation in Georgia. She’s hardly been back a week before she stumbles over a dead body in the olive grove. With the local gossip insisting she knows what happened, Eva starts poking around to figure out what really happened. Can she clear her name?
This debut was definitely a mixed bag. The plot had some nice twists and nice twists on the cozy formula, which I appreciated. On the other hand, Eva sometimes was just handed the information she needed or acted very stupidly to get it. Some characters were interesting while others are very cliche. If the premise sounds interesting, give it a shot, but it won’t be for everyone.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/11/book-review-one-foot-in-grove-by-kelly.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
This debut was definitely a mixed bag. The plot had some nice twists and nice twists on the cozy formula, which I appreciated. On the other hand, Eva sometimes was just handed the information she needed or acted very stupidly to get it. Some characters were interesting while others are very cliche. If the premise sounds interesting, give it a shot, but it won’t be for everyone.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/11/book-review-one-foot-in-grove-by-kelly.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Lumos (380 KP) rated Quarriors! in Tabletop Games
Mar 19, 2018
A unique spin on the "deck builder". I like that instead of building a deck of cards, you are building a bag of dice. Each die has a different "spell" with a different power depending on how you roll. The game has the potential to be different every time you play, depending on the expansions you have. The fighting mechanic is well done and easy to maneuver. I would suggest using the "mat" included on the back of the instructions as sometimes it is hard to remember what has been spent and what is locked or on deck.
If you like to have complete sets of games and own all the expansions (like my friends and I do), it's good to know that the Light and Dark expansion doesn't really play well when mixed with the rest of the game. It does work as a stand alone though.
If you like to have complete sets of games and own all the expansions (like my friends and I do), it's good to know that the Light and Dark expansion doesn't really play well when mixed with the rest of the game. It does work as a stand alone though.
Rickstrong23 (216 KP) rated Black Panther (2018) in Movies
Feb 28, 2018
Another super hero
So i was glad to see there are honest reveiws.i allways check movies before i go see or rent .if you listened to press tv radio this wwas the best movie to come outta marvel ever.not even close.liked the characters.the setting the story and the villian.but it wasnt anything special.if i was gonna ever make a movie i want this movies hype/ publicist.anyway good movie .but liked it better as a less is more mystery .sometimes they dont need a movie.they can share one and have more impact.they wil have a pt 2 so .but definitley not the marvels greatest movie. .i actually liked green latern dc. Movie more .and supposely no one liked that one .sorry but thats why i love smashbomb to read diffrent raitings and its good to have a voice or hear other pesons reveiw.i just didnt think it was all that ..
Erika Kehlet (21 KP) rated Finding Fraser in Books
Feb 21, 2018
This was a fun read, even for someone who has never read any of the Outlander series.
The book alternates between chapters telling us the story, and blog posts that Emma writes as she goes along. The blog posts are short and sweet, and sometimes provide a little insight into things that have not yet been fully disclosed in the story.
I did feel that the heroine was a bit naive for 29. I often wanted to yell into the book at her, and to point out how blind she was being, or how ridiculous some of her choices were. Even so, Emma is a likable character, and I couldnt help but root for her and wish her success in her quest to find love.
NOTE: I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The book alternates between chapters telling us the story, and blog posts that Emma writes as she goes along. The blog posts are short and sweet, and sometimes provide a little insight into things that have not yet been fully disclosed in the story.
I did feel that the heroine was a bit naive for 29. I often wanted to yell into the book at her, and to point out how blind she was being, or how ridiculous some of her choices were. Even so, Emma is a likable character, and I couldnt help but root for her and wish her success in her quest to find love.
NOTE: I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Battle: Los Angeles (2011) in Movies
Feb 22, 2018
Ho-hum attempt to disguise a load of war movie clichés by hiding them in an alien invasion SF movie, or possibly vice versa. Belligerent alien gits come storming up the beaches of California and it's up to Aaron Eckhart and his guys to hold the line.
Very much just a collection of other bits you've seen done better elsewhere, inasmuch they can be done better at all considering they're really not very impressive per se. Watching as a non-American, one is inevitably slightly put off by the uncritical wooh-yeah-hurray attitude towards members of the US armed forces, who are almost universally presented as flawless paragons of virtue, not to mention the post-9/11 subtext that sometimes it is morally justified to do Bad Stuff (torturing prisoners to death, that sort of thing) in the defence of America. Also quite boring.
Very much just a collection of other bits you've seen done better elsewhere, inasmuch they can be done better at all considering they're really not very impressive per se. Watching as a non-American, one is inevitably slightly put off by the uncritical wooh-yeah-hurray attitude towards members of the US armed forces, who are almost universally presented as flawless paragons of virtue, not to mention the post-9/11 subtext that sometimes it is morally justified to do Bad Stuff (torturing prisoners to death, that sort of thing) in the defence of America. Also quite boring.
ClareR (6106 KP) rated Furiously Happy in Books
Feb 11, 2018 (Updated Feb 11, 2018)
Not to be read in public places, unless you're good at describing ridiculous things succinctly!
This book has been hours of me laughing out loud, sometimes hysterically, then having to explain to my husband why I'm laughing and him not getting it at all, because he hasn't read the book! So entertainment all round then!
I really liked how Jenny Lawson mixes her hilarious ramblings in with the sensible, sobering stuff. I would say that I'm hugely impressed with how she has exposed herself to the world, telling them about her mental health issues along with the other conditions she has, but I suppose this is the era of people starting to realise that 1 in 4 will have a mental health problem at some point in their lives. It's not a secret, and nothing to be ashamed about.
Anyway, this was hugely entertaining, and slightly embarrassing to read in public!
I really liked how Jenny Lawson mixes her hilarious ramblings in with the sensible, sobering stuff. I would say that I'm hugely impressed with how she has exposed herself to the world, telling them about her mental health issues along with the other conditions she has, but I suppose this is the era of people starting to realise that 1 in 4 will have a mental health problem at some point in their lives. It's not a secret, and nothing to be ashamed about.
Anyway, this was hugely entertaining, and slightly embarrassing to read in public!
Connie (244 KP) rated Amazon Kindle in Apps
Jun 7, 2018
Wide variety of books available and growing daily (2 more)
Partnered with Audible
Account is transferable from device to device
My go-to for ebooks!
This is an app I depend on daily. I can find everything from hidden gems, free books and classics to wildly popular current titles and even self-published books. Most titles that I want to find are available, sometimes even before the physical copy can be found nearby! Add in that I can get the audio book for a greatly reduced price through Audible if I buy the book via Kindle first, and I'm totally sold on this app. I also greatly appreciate that the books sync across devices, which makes it a heck of a lot easier to keep up with the material I'm reading.
Basically, there's nothing not to love about this app!
Basically, there's nothing not to love about this app!
ClareR (6106 KP) rated Watching You in Books
Jul 21, 2018
Well, this had me guessing right up to the end!
This has all the ingredients for a good thriller or mystery: a teenaged voyeur, a potentially unreliable witness with mental health issues, teenaged girls with a crush, career driven men, unfaithful spouses. Quite a lot for a book that's under 500 pages long!
An unspecified dead body appears in the first chapter, and the book then goes on to tell us the sequence of events that lead up to that moment. There are some interesting police interviews tucked in now and again too, that help to clarify (or sometimes obfuscate!) what is actually going on.
This was really good. There was no way that I was going to guess who was murdered and by whom, until the end - I liked that touch. The end was a proper bombshell moment. Great writing from Lisa Jewell!
An unspecified dead body appears in the first chapter, and the book then goes on to tell us the sequence of events that lead up to that moment. There are some interesting police interviews tucked in now and again too, that help to clarify (or sometimes obfuscate!) what is actually going on.
This was really good. There was no way that I was going to guess who was murdered and by whom, until the end - I liked that touch. The end was a proper bombshell moment. Great writing from Lisa Jewell!