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Playing for Keeps (Love Goals #1)
Playing for Keeps (Love Goals #1)
Kristian Parker | 2025 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
the football talk is kept to a minimum!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

OK, here's the thing. I am not, in any way, shape or form, a football fan. I have to know about football for work, but that's all. I do not watch, or follow any teams. So I approached this book with caution. I've read other books by Parker and I loved them, so I gave it a go.

I am pleased to say, the football talk was kept to a minimum!

But.

I liked this, I cannot love it.

I found the speed of the relationship fast, but there was hardly any soul searching. Given as these two together could cost them both their careers, I expected some deep internal monologues and I don't get them.

I found the emotional connection a little flat, between Udo and Steven. Some of that is a follow on from the previous point, but I just felt a bit let down by that.

The steam level is fairly low, but that's not a bad thing. I liked that.

That said!

I did finish it, and there are some interesting side characters, who I hope will get a story. I will try another in this series to see who comes next!

3 good stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
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Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Final Destination 5 (2011) in Movies

Jun 10, 2019 (Updated Jun 11, 2019)  
Final Destination 5 (2011)
Final Destination 5 (2011)
2011 | Horror
8
7.3 (14 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Did we really need another Final Destination film? After the last, merely average movie, the answer on everyone’s lips was a firm and resounding no. However, a surprising return to form for the franchise has ensured that even this old goat has life in it yet.

Gone are the cheap, cheesy shocks that littered Final Destination 3 and 4. In their place are the genuine thrills and spills from the first two films. The movie returns the guessing game element to its audience and for that I am thoroughly grateful.

Newcomer Steven Quale helms this instalment which combines excellent 3D with fantastic special effects and a dazzling set of opening credits which showcase the deaths from the films that preceded it. I wasn’t expecting much from this film, I have to admit, but the credits really are a highlight as you try and remember which film each death is from.

As with any film in the Final Destination franchise, an epic opening disaster is the norm. Whilst the motorway pileup from Final Destination 2 has been the best up until now, the bridge collapse in this film is utterly mesmerising and edge of your seat thrilling. From the flawless special effects to the scale of the production, it surpasses anything seen before in the series.

The deaths have also returned to form too. Instead of out and out cheese, they’re shocking to the point of jaw-dropping. It’ll have you checking every loose nut and bolt from now on and probably have you resisting that fashionable laser eye surgery too. Thankfully though, away from the deaths, it errs on the side of humorous without delving into slapstick.

Nicholas D’Agosto leads a small cast as they try and find a way to cheat death after surviving that epic bridge disaster. An interesting storyline this time around has the cast told that they are able to cheat death by killing someone else, therefore having their life swapped with yours. The acting from all corners leaves a lot to be desired and the dialogue and performances are unashamedly wooden but this is a small point in a film that really does shock and surprise.

However, perhaps the best part of the film and the reason why it’s so enjoyable is the final twist, a twist that will leave you shouting at the screen in dismay. It’s practically impossible to see it coming until the last 5 minutes and in these last minutes you realise just how clever director Steven Quale has been in creating this film.

It may not be the most original movie to ever grace the big screen and the cast aren’t going to trouble the Oscars but Final Destination 5 returns a lifeless franchise to what it once was, bloody good fun and as such it is by far, the best in the series.

So, the question now is; do we need Final Destination 6?


https://moviemetropolis.net/2011/09/21/review-final-destination-5-2011/
  
Revenge of the Green Dragons (2014)
Revenge of the Green Dragons (2014)
2014 | Mystery
5
5.5 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Story: Revenge of the Green Dragons starts as we follow the two young boys that immigrated from China to America and New York City, in a neighbourhood that is run by the Chinese gang known as the Green Dragons.

Recruited at a young age Sonny (Chon) and Steven (Wu) have grown up as part of the Green Dragons under the leadership of Paul (Shum Jr) a businessman that uses the gang to get what he wants. We get to see how the two rise through the ranks in the Green Dragons that even grabs the attention of the FBI.

 

Thoughts on Revenge of the Green Dragons

 

Characters – Sonny is the quieter of the two friends that gets taken in by the gang, he is the one that would like a life outside the gang which isn’t as easy as it seems, even when he falls in love. Steven was built for the gang, even after he gets seriously injured in the battle between the gangs, he becomes the one that won’t hesitant to pull the trigger. Paul is the leader of the Green Dragons, a businessman on the outside, that uses his intelligence to make sure he can stay ahead of the game in the gang battle.

Performances – The performances in this movie are fine, nothing is great or bad, we get to see the different ranges of emotions that the two friends must face during their decisions. We don’t have any of the performances that stand out though.

Story – The story follows the gangster storylines we have seen before, two young men or in this case boys get recruited to a rising gang to become big players in their gang in a war against another gang, until they step out of line. This time we follow Chinese immigrants in New York and it shows how they would never hold back on anybody of any age or gender. This does give us a brutality in the story, but in the end it is just more of the same.

Action/Crime – The action is just gun battles and brutality to the people who get in the way of the crimes being committed by the Green Dragons, as we see how they try to stay off the radar while conducting their business

Settings – New York will always be a great choice for settings for crime movies, this is unlike any other showing us how gangs had neighbourhoods and always want more.


Scene of the Movie – Put the gun down, it brings a clever kill.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It offered nothing new to the genre.

Final Thoughts – This is a by the book crime movie, it shows the rise of two in a gang and just where they would go onto be in the gang, but otherwise gives us nothing we haven’t seen before.

 

Overall: Been Here Seen This.

https://moviesreview101.com/2019/06/18/revenge-of-the-green-dragons-2014/