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The Cunning Cruise Ship Caper
8.0
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It’s been years since Sandy Fairfax was a teen idol and starred in his hit ‘70s television...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2434 KP) rated Lion Down (FunJungle #5) in Books
Mar 10, 2019
Framing a Lion
While FunJungle is located in a mostly uninhabited area of Texas, there are some larger estates and ranches that border the park’s property. Living in one of those is Lincoln Stone, a radio and TV news personality that is known for saying very controversial things. He has a dog he loves, and, unfortunately, that dog has been killed. Lincoln is quick to blame it on the mountain lion that roams in the area, but the agent of the Department of Fish and Wildlife put in charge of the case doesn’t think that’s true. Thanks to Teddy’s reputation for solving puzzles at FunJungle, the agent turns to Teddy for help. Teddy agrees that the evidence left behind doesn’t add up. Can he figure out what happened? Meanwhile, Teddy and Summer, his girlfriend, are asked to figure out why the giraffes in FunJungle get sick every Monday. Will this case distract them from saving the mountain lion?
It’s nice to see Teddy get involved in one mystery that takes place outside the parks in this one. The mysteries are strong and are balanced perfectly, with clues that ultimately lead Teddy to the solution. The climax pulls in all the elements of the book in an unexpected way that leads into a page turning race to save the day. While this series has balanced the environmental message and the mystery well, this one got close to lecturing us a couple of times instead of working it in more organically. I thought the characters created for this book were a little thin and more caricature than character. Both of these complaints are things that adults will notice more than the kids who are the target age range for the books, however. The series regulars are still strong, and I especially love Teddy, Summer, and their families. The usual suspects also bring us several very funny scenes.
It’s nice to see Teddy get involved in one mystery that takes place outside the parks in this one. The mysteries are strong and are balanced perfectly, with clues that ultimately lead Teddy to the solution. The climax pulls in all the elements of the book in an unexpected way that leads into a page turning race to save the day. While this series has balanced the environmental message and the mystery well, this one got close to lecturing us a couple of times instead of working it in more organically. I thought the characters created for this book were a little thin and more caricature than character. Both of these complaints are things that adults will notice more than the kids who are the target age range for the books, however. The series regulars are still strong, and I especially love Teddy, Summer, and their families. The usual suspects also bring us several very funny scenes.
Kevin Wilson (179 KP) rated Black Mirror - Season 3 in TV
Jul 14, 2018 (Updated Jul 14, 2018)
Interesting and frightening stories (2 more)
So many twists
Fantastic acting
The series just keeps getting better
This series I feels just keeps getting better and better. I loved season 3. There were definitely some episodes that stood out as the best you will see on TV altogether.
It also felt completely relevant to what is actually happening in the world today. The first episode was about how your perceived through social networking and how your judged through being rated. 1 about the dangers of downloading unknown programs that may contain viruses and another about how the technology behind VR is progressing. As a gamer that was most interesting.
As far as acting goes, the episode that really stood out was the 4th called San Junipero. I'll be honest I spent a majority of the episode confused because it seemed to be set during time period but then it all made sense. The twists and the emotion in the scenes were incredible and I was in tears by the end.
The 5th was good, it reminded me a lot of startship troopers for a while and the twists were great. Twists seems to be where black mirror thrives. I don't like giving spoilers usually so trying not to say much. It's all about the army and blindly following orders without question.
The last episode I could take or leave. It was good but I wasn't as invested as the others. It was about killer machincal bees I guess I can say.its basically a cop drama episode about someone solving a murder. Bees are not the twist to be honest.
What I love about black mirror is how all this is actually possible. It's something that could happen 1 day and that terrifies me. It's a frightening concept and It feels it's all set now but with added tech. You don't need to watch these in any order but I'd still recommend watch every episode.
It also felt completely relevant to what is actually happening in the world today. The first episode was about how your perceived through social networking and how your judged through being rated. 1 about the dangers of downloading unknown programs that may contain viruses and another about how the technology behind VR is progressing. As a gamer that was most interesting.
As far as acting goes, the episode that really stood out was the 4th called San Junipero. I'll be honest I spent a majority of the episode confused because it seemed to be set during time period but then it all made sense. The twists and the emotion in the scenes were incredible and I was in tears by the end.
The 5th was good, it reminded me a lot of startship troopers for a while and the twists were great. Twists seems to be where black mirror thrives. I don't like giving spoilers usually so trying not to say much. It's all about the army and blindly following orders without question.
The last episode I could take or leave. It was good but I wasn't as invested as the others. It was about killer machincal bees I guess I can say.its basically a cop drama episode about someone solving a murder. Bees are not the twist to be honest.
What I love about black mirror is how all this is actually possible. It's something that could happen 1 day and that terrifies me. It's a frightening concept and It feels it's all set now but with added tech. You don't need to watch these in any order but I'd still recommend watch every episode.
Forensic Science: A Very Short Introduction
Book
Forensic science is a subject of wide fascination. What happens at a crime scene? How does DNA...
VV
Virtual Villagers 3
Games and Entertainment
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Villagers: The Secret City is the third chapter in the award-winning Virtual Villagers series from...
Virtual Villagers 3 for iPad
Games and Entertainment
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Virtual Villagers: The Secret City is the third chapter in the award-winning Virtual Villagers...
Virtual Villagers 4
Games and Entertainment
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Virtual Villagers 4: The Tree of Life is the fourth chapter in the award-winning Virtual Villagers...
ESPN Player – Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia
Sports and Photo & Video
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“With your ESPN Player subscription, and the free ESPN Player app, you can instantly watch sports...
TravelersWife4Life (31 KP) rated Network of Deceit in Books
Feb 22, 2021
Great Deductive Reasoning
Detective Amara Alvarez from the SAPD (San Antonio Police Department) Homicide brings us a great new case in Network of Deceit. From the first page, I was hooked on this story. I was a big fan of Collision of Lies the first book in this stand-alone series, for the character development Tom Threadgill uses, and how he walks us through the case just as if we were there asking the questions to figure out the case right along Detective Alvarez. Detective Alvarez has a light sense of humor, and she is a bit of a quirky character take this for instance: “[Detective Alvarez] heading home to Larry, her three-foot-long pet iguana”. I also love Tom Threadgill’s use of dry sarcastic humor and wit in the conversations between Detective Alvarez and Detective Jeremiah “Starsky” Peckham is it fun to read and adds another layer to the story.
This particular case was rife with speculation, suspense, and unanswered questions that left me guessing until the end. A true mystery in every sense of the word. We are shown every step in the case and it is not tv fast paced, it is realistic. Tom Threadgill gives accurate timelines for the turnaround on things like autopsy reports and toxicology reports, unlike most tv shows. I also really enjoyed the cybercrime aspects of the story and I thought that it was explained in an easy-to-understand way for anyone, even if you do not have any previous knowledge of cybercrimes.
I would suggest that you go back and read Collision of Lies before this one as it gives you more background on the characters and you would have a better understanding of the case the previous book covers that is mentioned a few times in this one. But this one can be read as a stand-alone since the whole case is started and wrapped up in this book. Overall, I truly loved this book, and the way Tom Threadgill moved the case along, and I am looking forward to what other adventures that Detective Alvarez takes me on. 5 out of 5 stars.
This particular case was rife with speculation, suspense, and unanswered questions that left me guessing until the end. A true mystery in every sense of the word. We are shown every step in the case and it is not tv fast paced, it is realistic. Tom Threadgill gives accurate timelines for the turnaround on things like autopsy reports and toxicology reports, unlike most tv shows. I also really enjoyed the cybercrime aspects of the story and I thought that it was explained in an easy-to-understand way for anyone, even if you do not have any previous knowledge of cybercrimes.
I would suggest that you go back and read Collision of Lies before this one as it gives you more background on the characters and you would have a better understanding of the case the previous book covers that is mentioned a few times in this one. But this one can be read as a stand-alone since the whole case is started and wrapped up in this book. Overall, I truly loved this book, and the way Tom Threadgill moved the case along, and I am looking forward to what other adventures that Detective Alvarez takes me on. 5 out of 5 stars.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
I'm not sure whether you need to watch the other films in this series being that this is number four in the sequence. I did buy them before this came out but never got round to them. I don't think I've missed out of anything, but you can never be sure.
We get a lot of striking black and white (sort of) shots throughout the film. The snow and dark buildings are very effective. As were the action sequences. You can see a snippet of the home invasion in the trailer and the slow motion leap. I do wonder how many films put them in just because they think it's the done thing. But the whole piece worked well.
I don't really know what it is about her but I'm not a fan of Claire Foy. This is the third film with her in this year and none of them have hit the spot. Out of the three this one in my favourite, there's something a little less irritating about her on-screen presence. Perhaps it's that the character of Lisbeth is naturally awkward.
When I saw Stephen Merchant in the trailer I'm not going to lie, I was a little concerned. I find him amusing and generally enjoy his hop across the pond to movies and TV. Those have mostly got a comedic lean to them though. This roll however had none and I'm not really sure it suited him. He's still got those slightly oddball characteristics that don't really fit in such a serious movie.
Sadly I don't feel like there's much more I want to say about The Girl In The Spider's Web apart from mentioning the James Bond vibes you get from everything from the opening credits to, well, the general feel of the whole thing.
What you should do
It's certainly not a waste of time watching it, definitely catch it when it hits streaming or the TV.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
Some amazing IT/hacking skills wouldn't go amiss in my day to day life.
We get a lot of striking black and white (sort of) shots throughout the film. The snow and dark buildings are very effective. As were the action sequences. You can see a snippet of the home invasion in the trailer and the slow motion leap. I do wonder how many films put them in just because they think it's the done thing. But the whole piece worked well.
I don't really know what it is about her but I'm not a fan of Claire Foy. This is the third film with her in this year and none of them have hit the spot. Out of the three this one in my favourite, there's something a little less irritating about her on-screen presence. Perhaps it's that the character of Lisbeth is naturally awkward.
When I saw Stephen Merchant in the trailer I'm not going to lie, I was a little concerned. I find him amusing and generally enjoy his hop across the pond to movies and TV. Those have mostly got a comedic lean to them though. This roll however had none and I'm not really sure it suited him. He's still got those slightly oddball characteristics that don't really fit in such a serious movie.
Sadly I don't feel like there's much more I want to say about The Girl In The Spider's Web apart from mentioning the James Bond vibes you get from everything from the opening credits to, well, the general feel of the whole thing.
What you should do
It's certainly not a waste of time watching it, definitely catch it when it hits streaming or the TV.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
Some amazing IT/hacking skills wouldn't go amiss in my day to day life.