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Excalibur Epic Collection: The Sword is Drawn (Epic Collection: Excalibur)
Chris Claremont, Alan Davis and Michael Higgins
8.0
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Book
A legendary new X-team is born! Meet the United Kingdom's champion, Captain Britain, and his...
William Shakespeare's Jedi the Last: Star Wars Part the Eighth
10.0
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Book
The Star Wars saga continues, with Bard of Avon providing some of the biggest shocks yet! Alack, the...
Fury From the Tomb (The Institute for Singular Antiquities, #1)
7.0
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Book
Mummies, grave-robbing ghouls, hopping vampires, and evil monks beset a young archaeologist, in this...
David McK (3801 KP) rated Excalibur (The Arthurian Chronicles, #1) in Books
Oct 26, 2024 (Updated Oct 26, 2024)
King Arthur.
There's no proof he ever existed, with the 'original' (for want of a better word) imagining of him being all Medieval style, Knights on horses, shining armour, lances etc (think the film 'Excalibur').
More recently, that's shifted to post-Roman Dark Ages, in the period between the Romans leaving Britain and the Saxon invasion.
Which is very much the time period in which this novel is set, (re)imagining Arthur to belong to this period (and all that entails), and with Merlin as a Druid rather than a Wizard.
This also 'brings in' several notable characters from the Arthur story alongside both Arthur and Merlin - Guinevere, Kai, Igrainne and Uther all make appearances here - but there is one notable absence (Lancelot) who, I presume, will appear in later books.
Well worth a read.
There's no proof he ever existed, with the 'original' (for want of a better word) imagining of him being all Medieval style, Knights on horses, shining armour, lances etc (think the film 'Excalibur').
More recently, that's shifted to post-Roman Dark Ages, in the period between the Romans leaving Britain and the Saxon invasion.
Which is very much the time period in which this novel is set, (re)imagining Arthur to belong to this period (and all that entails), and with Merlin as a Druid rather than a Wizard.
This also 'brings in' several notable characters from the Arthur story alongside both Arthur and Merlin - Guinevere, Kai, Igrainne and Uther all make appearances here - but there is one notable absence (Lancelot) who, I presume, will appear in later books.
Well worth a read.
Dean (6927 KP) rated John Wick. Chapter 4 (2023) in Movies
Apr 10, 2023
Great Action (2 more)
Lots of locations
Donnie Yen
Bit repetitive at times in fight style (1 more)
Bullet proof suits?
Ninja Level
You know what you will get with a John Wick film, can it maintain the high standards and offer something new? Well there are plenty of fights against crazy characters and in fantastic locations.
The first half of the film really cranks it up a level again. Donnie Yen as the blind assassin is class. Bill Skarsgard is a good choice of villian.
The only slight downers were the idea of bullet proof smart suits and having to suspend belief at times for some fights. John falling down tons of steps in one scene was silly.
Overall though a great action film with amazing fights if a little repetitive over the long run time. Maybe the 3rd is just a little better allround.
The first half of the film really cranks it up a level again. Donnie Yen as the blind assassin is class. Bill Skarsgard is a good choice of villian.
The only slight downers were the idea of bullet proof smart suits and having to suspend belief at times for some fights. John falling down tons of steps in one scene was silly.
Overall though a great action film with amazing fights if a little repetitive over the long run time. Maybe the 3rd is just a little better allround.
ClareR (6241 KP) rated Fingers Crossed: How music saved me from success in Books
Nov 24, 2022
I read this on The Pigeonhole, and that was the one thing preventing me from inhaling it in one sitting.
Miki Berenyi was the lead singer of the 90’s band Lush, and boy does she have a story to tell. From a troubled upbringing with her Hungarian refugee father and Japanese actress mother, to her success and hard work (and it sounds really hard!) in Lush, Miki tells it all exactly as she remembers it. There are no holds barred - and it reads just like she’s speaking directly to you. I loved her writing style: easy to read and unputdownable, basically.
This is one of those books that may well have passed me by, if not for The Pigeonhole (it’s a reading app that serialises books - you should check it out!), and I’m so glad I got the chance to read it.
Miki Berenyi was the lead singer of the 90’s band Lush, and boy does she have a story to tell. From a troubled upbringing with her Hungarian refugee father and Japanese actress mother, to her success and hard work (and it sounds really hard!) in Lush, Miki tells it all exactly as she remembers it. There are no holds barred - and it reads just like she’s speaking directly to you. I loved her writing style: easy to read and unputdownable, basically.
This is one of those books that may well have passed me by, if not for The Pigeonhole (it’s a reading app that serialises books - you should check it out!), and I’m so glad I got the chance to read it.
David McK (3801 KP) rated Die Another Day (2002) in Movies
Sep 4, 2022
Brosnan's last Bond
Pierce Brosnan's last outing as James Bond, commonly viewed as one of the worst in the oeuvre (especially with the introduction of the Aston Martin Vanish car)
it's not all that bad, however - I have to say, I still prefer this style of Bond film - guns, gadgets, insane plans, etc - over the overly-dour and oh-so-serious films that were to follow in Daniel Craig's tenure.
Anyway, this is the film that starts with Bond captured by the North Koreans before being released as part of a prisoner exchange, that has Rosamunde Pike in an early breakout role (and *that* Madonna cameo), and that also stars Halle Berry as Jinx.
Yes, the plot is ridiculous and feels like something out of a video game (of which this was turned into, in the PS2 era), but still and all ...
it's not all that bad, however - I have to say, I still prefer this style of Bond film - guns, gadgets, insane plans, etc - over the overly-dour and oh-so-serious films that were to follow in Daniel Craig's tenure.
Anyway, this is the film that starts with Bond captured by the North Koreans before being released as part of a prisoner exchange, that has Rosamunde Pike in an early breakout role (and *that* Madonna cameo), and that also stars Halle Berry as Jinx.
Yes, the plot is ridiculous and feels like something out of a video game (of which this was turned into, in the PS2 era), but still and all ...
Darren (1599 KP) rated Manhattan Night (Manhattan Nocturne) (2016) in Movies
Nov 7, 2019
Characters – Porter Wren is a well-respected journalist in New York, he has a comfortable job in his paper because of his reputation for telling people’s stories. His latest case however will get him looking into the murder mystery that will push himself to the limits when he gets involved with the victim’s wife. He narrates a lot of this which is the films way of trying to have a dig a modern society. Caroline is the wife whose husband has been killed, she seduces Porter, which plays her out to be a siren, only she soon feels like a victim with this character get caught in the middle we never know which side she is meant to be, one that gets what she wants or just a victims. Simon is the husband that has been murdered meaning we only see him in flashback of how the two were married. Lisa is the wife of Porter, she is doctor and from how Porter tells the story they don’t get along as they once did.
Performances – Adrien Brody does well in the leading role in the film even if he doesn’t make his character feel much different than any others from the similar genre. Yvonne Strahovski fits the seductive side to her character, though without being the strongest in the serious side of the story. Campbell Scott and Jennifer Beals just don’t get enough time to show their skills off in this film.
Story – The story here follows an investigation into an unsolved murder which brings the investigative reporter into a series of cover ups and conspiracy in true noir style. Using the noir style is clear here, the execution of the noir style doesn’t quite come off though because the siren doesn’t feel like a siren and by the end you will be left wondering just why the investigation wasn’t solved by the police in the first place, let alone why the reporter is even asked to investigate it. Nothing really comes out of solving the case which is the biggest disappointment from everything we are getting invested in.
Crime/Mystery – The crime side of this mystery does involve a murder that hasn’t been solved, it does have other crime elements involved too which just confuse the simply plot.
Settings – The film is set in New York and uses a secret house to show a place of peace in this busy city and how people can meet and connect through life.
Scene of the Movie – The truth.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The case felt pointless to solve.
Final Thoughts – This is a noir styled crime mystery that gives us a case that almost doesn’t need to be solved in the end.
Overall: Mystery that didn’t need solving.
Performances – Adrien Brody does well in the leading role in the film even if he doesn’t make his character feel much different than any others from the similar genre. Yvonne Strahovski fits the seductive side to her character, though without being the strongest in the serious side of the story. Campbell Scott and Jennifer Beals just don’t get enough time to show their skills off in this film.
Story – The story here follows an investigation into an unsolved murder which brings the investigative reporter into a series of cover ups and conspiracy in true noir style. Using the noir style is clear here, the execution of the noir style doesn’t quite come off though because the siren doesn’t feel like a siren and by the end you will be left wondering just why the investigation wasn’t solved by the police in the first place, let alone why the reporter is even asked to investigate it. Nothing really comes out of solving the case which is the biggest disappointment from everything we are getting invested in.
Crime/Mystery – The crime side of this mystery does involve a murder that hasn’t been solved, it does have other crime elements involved too which just confuse the simply plot.
Settings – The film is set in New York and uses a secret house to show a place of peace in this busy city and how people can meet and connect through life.
Scene of the Movie – The truth.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The case felt pointless to solve.
Final Thoughts – This is a noir styled crime mystery that gives us a case that almost doesn’t need to be solved in the end.
Overall: Mystery that didn’t need solving.
Pro HTML5 and CSS3 Design Patterns
Victor Sumner, Michael Bowers and Dionysios Synodinos
Book
Pro HTML5 and CSS3 Design Patterns is a reference book and a cookbook on how to style web pages...