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Merissa (13840 KP) rated River Girl in Books

Dec 17, 2018 (Updated May 31, 2023)  
River Girl
River Girl
R.E. Whaley | 2016 | Contemporary, Romance
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Pauline is taking a river trip in memory of her sister, and to try to figure out what to do with her life. Her guide, Fiona, doesn't show up and so a replacement is assigned to her. Although sparks fly between them, Ellis has problems with his memory and blows hot and cold. The reasons for this are explained, and he gained my sympathy.

There is action, adventure and mystery in this story. The transition from one scene to another is sometimes a bit jolting, and the characters' feelings are very changeable, both to each other and in general circumstances.

A contemporary, a mystery, and a romance all rolled into one.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Mar 24, 2016
  
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Rob Zombie recommended Dracula (1958) in Movies (curated)

 
Dracula (1958)
Dracula (1958)
1958 | Horror
7.8 (6 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"""I could go on forever with the list, so I just picked five random ones, because I go through periods where I watch certain movies a lot. I don’t know why — I’ll get on a kick. I’ve been on a kick lately of watching Dracula, the 1931 version with Bela Lugosi, over and over and over and over. You know? I love everything from the ’30s. The 1930s is my absolute favorite time period for horror movies, because they were just so demented and sick. Sometimes you watch them and go, “Wow, they get away with a lot.” Then, of course, the codes came in and it ruined the party. When you watch movies from the 1940s, they seem so tame and so dry, but everything from the ’30s is just amazing. Lugosi in that film is so iconic, he doesn’t even seem like an actor giving a performance. Some of these people transcend to something else. It’s like Marilyn Monroe or something. They became something else. Sometimes people will make fun of his performance because of his accent, but he’s so… It’s so funny. I love watching him, because his performances are so unique. Sometimes there’s other people in the film — like David Manners, who’s like the lead, good-looking guy, and he’s so wooden and so 1930s-stiff acting, and Lugosi seems like Brando. You can see he’s so in it that when they yelled, “Cut!,” he didn’t cut. You can just see it. He’s so committed that his performance is funny, because it’s on such another level from anyone else in the film. Everybody in those movies back then, you watch them and it’s just — it’s that feeling like, “Eh, you know, even though they’re supposed to be boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife, they don’t [seem] like they’re having sex or something.” Lugosi seems like he wants to f— everything in the movie constantly. He just has that vibe. Really weird, man. You know? He does, essentially, I guess. Yeah, he does. He’s just not tame. I don’t know, maybe because he was Hungarian or whatever, he just has a different way of approaching, but he does not have that “uptight American actor from the ’30s” vibe at all. He just steals every moment. Not just him; Dwight Frye as Renfield is amazing. It’s funny — actors seem like they don’t want to do these types of movies, but as soon as you play a villain in something that’s like a horror movie, that’s what you’re going to be remembered for. Even if Anthony Hopkins won an Oscar for whatever — Remains of the Day or Howard’s End or I can’t even remember what it was — he’s Hannibal Lecter. Doesn’t matter if Jack Nicholson won an Oscar for Cuckoo’s Nest or whatever; he’s Jack Torrance. It’s so funny, these roles are just so — they stick."""

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The Flash (2023)
The Flash (2023)
2023 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
8
7.2 (12 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The Best DCEU Film Since the original WONDER WOMAN
At this point in time, the average movie-going public is suffering from “Super-Hero” fatigue, and (more than likely) “multi-verse” fatigue because the latest entries in this genre all are tapping the same type of experience (in order to pull in properties/characters from other films). It’s a smart strategy from a Movie Executive point-of-view as they can bring in other, generally liked/loved characters from previous films/entities.

Sometimes it works Excellently (SPIDER-MAN ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE), sometimes it works “Well Enough” (DR. STRANGE IN THE MULTI-VERSE OF MADNESS) and sometimes it is just plain boring (the latest ANT-MAN movie), so expectation is that the DCEU will find a way to screw this up and make dull and boring a premise (and characters) that should be exciting and fun.

And…with THE FLASH, the DCEU got it right (for once) and it is the most fun DCEU film since the first WONDER WOMAN film.

Based on the FLASHPOINT comics series and Directed by Andy Muschietti (IT and IT, Part II), THE FLASH Isn’t (really) a “multi-verse” story, it’s a time travel tale (that causes multi-verses). An important distinction for the Fanboy - but rather unimportant to the regular movie-going person. This tale brings a bunch of fun (and humor!) to the DCEU as well as touching on the fondness nerve for by-gone characters (and the actors who portrayed them).

Central to this film is, of course, THE FLASH, played by Ezra Miller. Your enjoyment of this film will swing on whether you find Miller’s performance “fun” or “annoying” for it strides that line between the two. For the BankofMarquis, Miller’s performance was a ton of fun - which added to the enjoyment rather than taking away from it.

He is joined by a bevy of cameo appearances - to name any would be to spoil them - but (since it is in the trailer), Miller does spend much of this film interacting with his younger self and he succeeds (more than he fails) during this part of the film. The 2 Millers are also joined by Michael Keaton, reprising his role as Batman from the 1980’s (again…not a spoiler - he’s in the trailer). Keaton brings starpower - and star energy - to this film and he lifts the middle portion of this movie.

Muschietti conducts this orchestra of multiple-cameos, multiple versions of the same character and multiple special effects professionally and cleanly, never letting the audience get lost and (most certainly) never letting the camera (or the film) linger too long on any plot device (which hides the holes that, inevitably, show up).

A fun, enough, installment in the DCEU - with some heart and a large portion of nostalgia - THE FLASH is a positive way to say goodbye to the DCEU.

Letter Grade: B+

7 1/2 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
  
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groundedGeek (4 KP) rated Welcome to Night Vale in Podcasts

Jan 10, 2018 (Updated Jan 10, 2018)  
Welcome to Night Vale
Welcome to Night Vale
Comedy
10
8.7 (36 Ratings)
Podcast Rating
Voice acting (3 more)
Stories
Writing
Music
Welcome to Night Vale is sheer brilliance
Welcome to Night Vale is a brilliant concept for a podcast and has created a world that is so outlandish and weird that every visit is amazing. While it is somewhat difficult to jump in the middle since it's ongoing, after a few episodes you may begin to get the drift, but I highly recommend binging this from the beginning. There are characters that recur and "in-jokes" that long-time listeners will enjoy much more than a new listener, but nothing to take away from the experience of a new listener. We have actually gone to see one of their live shows and they are absolutely entertaining and well worth it. The writing is tight and eerie and often hilarious. Once you find yourself a new citizen of Night Vale, you will find it very difficult to leave. It is hands down my favorite podcast and it only keeps getting better.

Each episode features Cecil, the golden voiced community radio host updating you on the goings on in the desert town of Night Vale where the weird and bizarre are simply the norm. Usually something happens that becomes the central theme of that episode's story arc and Cecil comes back to it from time to time, updating us as he goes... and then it's always time for the "weather:" which is actually an indie artist song. Sometimes the musical guest is amazing, sometimes it is hit or miss, but it's a great way to hear and find new kind of obscure artists to listen to. When the "weather" is over, Cecil usually returns and wraps up the current storyline and the listener is left to fret and dismay as they are thrust back into the real world again and must wait until the next episode to return to their beloved Night Vale.

The writing is actually genius. No lie.
  
Bears vs Babies
Bears vs Babies
2017 | Animals, Card Game, Comic Book / Strip, Humor
Cool Idea (1 more)
Monsters Eating Babies
Can Get Frustrating (1 more)
Winner Is Usually Obvious Very Early
You Get To Build Monsters (And Eat Babies)
I Kickstartered this game when it was released despite not really loving Exploding Kittens beyond the art and the concept. The large draw was that I did not have any other game in my collection that I could pet and stroke when I was stressed and who doesn't like building monsters?

To be honest, this is a decent game with some strategy elements. The main issue is that the winner generally becomes evident early on in the game when they take a large number of points and wipe out everyone else's monsters and it become difficult for everyone else to catch up if the leader plays to obstruct.

The art is cute and sometimes rather disturbing, especially in the NSFW expansion (which should certainly not be used with kids at the table unless you want some deep and terrible conversations about schlongs). The monsters you make are funny and you can get a little attached to them. Sadly, that is a bad strategy as they can be wiped out in the Baby War at any point when someone provokes one of the baby armies and they kill everyone.

One of the biggest frustrations with this game is that sometimes you get to a point where you have nothing but legs and nothing else. All you want is a head or a cool body to attach all your legs to. You don't want to waste a turn diving in the discard for a head so you keep drawing more legs until you can hardly hold all your cards. At the end of the game you realize the Dave has all the heads and you hate him. Screw you, Dave!

Overall, its OK, You won't play it all the time, but it can be fun with a beer in the right crowd.