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Sam (74 KP) rated Handle with Care in Books
Mar 27, 2019
Willow O’Keefe suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta, meaning that her bones break easily. Just doing simple daily tasks can cause her a catastrophic break. But other than that, she’s like every other 5 year old – well, one with an amazing IQ for her age. Charlotte is Willow’s mum, and she’s running out of money, fast. So when she gets the chance to sue for wrongful birth, she takes it, desperate for any money she can get to help Willow’s well-being.
It was definitely a beefy book, with major questions on morality. Throughout the book I couldn’t work out whether I was on Charlotte’s side or not, as to sue for wrongful birth, she is basically saying she wishes Willow had never been born, and I found it really hard to understand how a parent could say that.
I did struggle reading this book. It took me two weeks to read 2/3 of it, and everyone who regularly reads this blog knows that’s not like me at all. I ended up skimming the last 1/3 to just get it finished because I was too far in to DNF in but felt that the plot was starting to become a little drawn out and a bit repetitive.
It’s very similar to Picoult’s Small Great Things, and I think that’s why I liked it so much to begin with. It covers the issues in childbirth and raising a child.
I felt so much empathy for Amelia, Willow’s half-sister. Throughout the novel she feels forgotten about because all of the focus is on Willow and to see her fighting her own battles with nobody to help was hard. Her mental health took a battering on behalf of her sister, but she still didn’t say anything. She suffered in silence for too long and were one of the few things that made me start to shift over to Charlotte’s side of the argument over Willow’s birth.
This novel is definitely not lighthearted, so if you like reading books that aren’t dealing with serious subjects, this probably isn’t for you. It was a tough read for me, which is why I only gave it 3/5. However, if you like Jodi Picoult’s other books, I definitely think you’ll like this one.
It was definitely a beefy book, with major questions on morality. Throughout the book I couldn’t work out whether I was on Charlotte’s side or not, as to sue for wrongful birth, she is basically saying she wishes Willow had never been born, and I found it really hard to understand how a parent could say that.
I did struggle reading this book. It took me two weeks to read 2/3 of it, and everyone who regularly reads this blog knows that’s not like me at all. I ended up skimming the last 1/3 to just get it finished because I was too far in to DNF in but felt that the plot was starting to become a little drawn out and a bit repetitive.
It’s very similar to Picoult’s Small Great Things, and I think that’s why I liked it so much to begin with. It covers the issues in childbirth and raising a child.
I felt so much empathy for Amelia, Willow’s half-sister. Throughout the novel she feels forgotten about because all of the focus is on Willow and to see her fighting her own battles with nobody to help was hard. Her mental health took a battering on behalf of her sister, but she still didn’t say anything. She suffered in silence for too long and were one of the few things that made me start to shift over to Charlotte’s side of the argument over Willow’s birth.
This novel is definitely not lighthearted, so if you like reading books that aren’t dealing with serious subjects, this probably isn’t for you. It was a tough read for me, which is why I only gave it 3/5. However, if you like Jodi Picoult’s other books, I definitely think you’ll like this one.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Dead by Daylight: The Saw Chapter in Video Games
Jun 19, 2019
The Horror-Survival game Dead By Daylight has taken the immersion of Horror themed gaming to a new level with the release of the SAW content DLC. The game casts players as one of four survivors or a killer who must work with one another to survive and escape random locales. Players must locate and repair various generators to escape all the while avoiding a deranged killer who will be stalking their every move.
Players can play characters inspired by “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, “Halloween”,” Nightmare on Elm Street” and other films and uses random locales like Haddonfield, swamps, asylums, and so on.
The killer must locate and eliminate players by wounding them and carrying them to a hook station where they can attempt to impale and eliminate players. Players can try to free themselves but may damage themselves in the process and other players face the choice of helping free or heal injured players or using them as a distraction to complete tasks needed to escape.
Players do not have any weapons and have to use pallets to slow the path of the killer or take advantage of cabinets and cover to hide from danger.
When the killer strikes, players are informed of where other players are in need just the same way that wounded players and those working on generators can give away their location.
Playing a “SAW” Themed map did result in me getting caught and fitted with a Bear Trap but I was able to escape and find a way to remove the trap. This was key as the killer had me firm in their grasp when the exit opened and thankfully I was able to wriggle free and escape.
Playing as the killer is lots of fun as I was able to twice eliminate all who encountered me which required some hard choices and brutal tactics.
Players are able to access new abilities as they go on and this helps them survive. Players can also get objects like a flashlight and toolkit to help them make repairs and blind the vision of the killer.
While the game is not what gamers may expect from a major studio release, it is a fun distraction that allows players a great horror experience with their friends or other gamers online.
http://sknr.net/2018/01/29/saw-comes-dead-daylight/
Players can play characters inspired by “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, “Halloween”,” Nightmare on Elm Street” and other films and uses random locales like Haddonfield, swamps, asylums, and so on.
The killer must locate and eliminate players by wounding them and carrying them to a hook station where they can attempt to impale and eliminate players. Players can try to free themselves but may damage themselves in the process and other players face the choice of helping free or heal injured players or using them as a distraction to complete tasks needed to escape.
Players do not have any weapons and have to use pallets to slow the path of the killer or take advantage of cabinets and cover to hide from danger.
When the killer strikes, players are informed of where other players are in need just the same way that wounded players and those working on generators can give away their location.
Playing a “SAW” Themed map did result in me getting caught and fitted with a Bear Trap but I was able to escape and find a way to remove the trap. This was key as the killer had me firm in their grasp when the exit opened and thankfully I was able to wriggle free and escape.
Playing as the killer is lots of fun as I was able to twice eliminate all who encountered me which required some hard choices and brutal tactics.
Players are able to access new abilities as they go on and this helps them survive. Players can also get objects like a flashlight and toolkit to help them make repairs and blind the vision of the killer.
While the game is not what gamers may expect from a major studio release, it is a fun distraction that allows players a great horror experience with their friends or other gamers online.
http://sknr.net/2018/01/29/saw-comes-dead-daylight/
Darren (1599 KP) rated President Under Siege (2016) in Movies
Sep 26, 2019
Characters – Michael is the Prime Minister of Belgium, he is about the close one of the biggest deals of his career with a meeting with the President of United States of America, but he must show his levels of commitment to his cause and his family, when he gets blackmailed into killer the President. We get from this character a man that is pushed to his limits to do the right thing and protect his family. Christine is Michael’s wife, captured and forced to wait for her husband to complete his tasks while caring for their children. Eva is the assistant that has a secret with Michael and forced into playing into the games that are being played.
Performances – Koen De Bouw is great in this leading role, we see his desperation to keep his family safe and the turmoil he is feel inside about which decision to make. Tine Reymer is good as the wife which is shown to be strong for the children. Charlotte makes for a good supporting character too. The performances from the whole cast are good because they all play their part in the puzzle.
Story – The story follows the idea that a person in power is blackmailed into committing a crime which will ruin their career, life and legacy. We see how he tries to figure out a way to allude the enemies, while playing along with the game. As for twists and turns we are kept on edge wait to see where thing could go next, this is a highlight of the film and like all time-based movies, this story works for everything we are seeing.
Thriller – This movie does keep us on the edge of our seats from start to finish, we are left to see just how everything will unfold.
Settings – We do get multiple settings for this movie, this shows the life of the Prime Minister when it comes to having guests from America over for big announcements.
Scene of the Movie – Alone with the President.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Strange decisions being made by the Presidents staff.
Final Thoughts – This is an interesting thriller that does keep us guessing, it shows how politicians can be pushed to limits, even the good ones and throws up a story which would leave us wondering if it could happen in real life.
Overall: Thriller that truly does keep us guessing.
Performances – Koen De Bouw is great in this leading role, we see his desperation to keep his family safe and the turmoil he is feel inside about which decision to make. Tine Reymer is good as the wife which is shown to be strong for the children. Charlotte makes for a good supporting character too. The performances from the whole cast are good because they all play their part in the puzzle.
Story – The story follows the idea that a person in power is blackmailed into committing a crime which will ruin their career, life and legacy. We see how he tries to figure out a way to allude the enemies, while playing along with the game. As for twists and turns we are kept on edge wait to see where thing could go next, this is a highlight of the film and like all time-based movies, this story works for everything we are seeing.
Thriller – This movie does keep us on the edge of our seats from start to finish, we are left to see just how everything will unfold.
Settings – We do get multiple settings for this movie, this shows the life of the Prime Minister when it comes to having guests from America over for big announcements.
Scene of the Movie – Alone with the President.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Strange decisions being made by the Presidents staff.
Final Thoughts – This is an interesting thriller that does keep us guessing, it shows how politicians can be pushed to limits, even the good ones and throws up a story which would leave us wondering if it could happen in real life.
Overall: Thriller that truly does keep us guessing.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Isabelle (2018) in Movies
Sep 26, 2019
Characters – Michael is the Prime Minister of Belgium, he is about the close one of the biggest deals of his career with a meeting with the President of United States of America, but he must show his levels of commitment to his cause and his family, when he gets blackmailed into killer the President. We get from this character a man that is pushed to his limits to do the right thing and protect his family. Christine is Michael’s wife, captured and forced to wait for her husband to complete his tasks while caring for their children. Eva is the assistant that has a secret with Michael and forced into playing into the games that are being played.
Performances – Koen De Bouw is great in this leading role, we see his desperation to keep his family safe and the turmoil he is feel inside about which decision to make. Tine Reymer is good as the wife which is shown to be strong for the children. Charlotte makes for a good supporting character too. The performances from the whole cast are good because they all play their part in the puzzle.
Story – The story follows the idea that a person in power is blackmailed into committing a crime which will ruin their career, life and legacy. We see how he tries to figure out a way to allude the enemies, while playing along with the game. As for twists and turns we are kept on edge wait to see where thing could go next, this is a highlight of the film and like all time-based movies, this story works for everything we are seeing.
Thriller – This movie does keep us on the edge of our seats from start to finish, we are left to see just how everything will unfold.
Settings – We do get multiple settings for this movie, this shows the life of the Prime Minister when it comes to having guests from America over for big announcements.
Scene of the Movie – Alone with the President.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Strange decisions being made by the Presidents staff.
Final Thoughts – This is an interesting thriller that does keep us guessing, it shows how politicians can be pushed to limits, even the good ones and throws up a story which would leave us wondering if it could happen in real life.
Overall: Thriller that truly does keep us guessing.
Performances – Koen De Bouw is great in this leading role, we see his desperation to keep his family safe and the turmoil he is feel inside about which decision to make. Tine Reymer is good as the wife which is shown to be strong for the children. Charlotte makes for a good supporting character too. The performances from the whole cast are good because they all play their part in the puzzle.
Story – The story follows the idea that a person in power is blackmailed into committing a crime which will ruin their career, life and legacy. We see how he tries to figure out a way to allude the enemies, while playing along with the game. As for twists and turns we are kept on edge wait to see where thing could go next, this is a highlight of the film and like all time-based movies, this story works for everything we are seeing.
Thriller – This movie does keep us on the edge of our seats from start to finish, we are left to see just how everything will unfold.
Settings – We do get multiple settings for this movie, this shows the life of the Prime Minister when it comes to having guests from America over for big announcements.
Scene of the Movie – Alone with the President.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Strange decisions being made by the Presidents staff.
Final Thoughts – This is an interesting thriller that does keep us guessing, it shows how politicians can be pushed to limits, even the good ones and throws up a story which would leave us wondering if it could happen in real life.
Overall: Thriller that truly does keep us guessing.
Kim Pook (101 KP) rated Rent-A-Pal (2020) in Movies
Nov 1, 2022
A man sits down to watch a vhs tape, it looks like one of those dating videos you used to be able to get years ago before the Internet. He fast forwards a few women but doesn't find any who takes his interest, so he sets about his daily tasks of taking care of his elderly mother with dementia and the household chores, before heading out to re record his own dating video.
Whilst collecting a few more dating profiles, he finds a tape called 'rent a pal' which promises that whoever watches will have a new best friend. Being someone who is lonely he decides to purchase the tape. He plays a little of the tape when he gets home before stopping it and watching a movie with his mum instead.
After putting his mum to bed he heads back to the basement to continue watching his new tape, he decides to talk to the guy on the tape as if he can hear him and passes out drunk.
The next day he finds out he got a match on his dating profile and goes to the store to collect the video, however, he forgets his wallet and goes back home to collect it, but when he returns, his match had already matched with someone else. He asks to take the video home anyway, so he could see what he missed.
He is devastated to see that the girl had similar interests to him and was also a carer. He soon turns to his rent a pal video again to talk to it like a real person. Eventually he is watching it over and over again each day, to the point where it becomes an obsession. Even when he goes on a date, he comes home to tell the video about his day and starts letting the guy in the video dictate his life.
It is a very strange movie, the guy in the video isn't actually talking to him but he pretends he is and even calls him his best friend!! It is a well acted movie though, especially by the woman playing David's mother, she really is believable in playing a woman with dementia. It's definitely one of those movies where you become drawn in and eager to see how it ends, but I wouldn't watch it again.
Whilst collecting a few more dating profiles, he finds a tape called 'rent a pal' which promises that whoever watches will have a new best friend. Being someone who is lonely he decides to purchase the tape. He plays a little of the tape when he gets home before stopping it and watching a movie with his mum instead.
After putting his mum to bed he heads back to the basement to continue watching his new tape, he decides to talk to the guy on the tape as if he can hear him and passes out drunk.
The next day he finds out he got a match on his dating profile and goes to the store to collect the video, however, he forgets his wallet and goes back home to collect it, but when he returns, his match had already matched with someone else. He asks to take the video home anyway, so he could see what he missed.
He is devastated to see that the girl had similar interests to him and was also a carer. He soon turns to his rent a pal video again to talk to it like a real person. Eventually he is watching it over and over again each day, to the point where it becomes an obsession. Even when he goes on a date, he comes home to tell the video about his day and starts letting the guy in the video dictate his life.
It is a very strange movie, the guy in the video isn't actually talking to him but he pretends he is and even calls him his best friend!! It is a well acted movie though, especially by the woman playing David's mother, she really is believable in playing a woman with dementia. It's definitely one of those movies where you become drawn in and eager to see how it ends, but I wouldn't watch it again.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Teenage mutant ninja turtles mutant mayhem (2023) in Movies
Aug 2, 2023
The popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Franchise has taken a break from the recent live-action updates and has returned to animation to reboot and modernize the franchise.
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” is a loving and updated look at the story as Seth Rogen and his creative team have shaken up the franchise but remained true to the core characters and universe.
The film follows the four Turtles Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), Raphael (Brady Noon), Donatello (Micah Abbey), and Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.), who are looking to find acceptance in the world despite their father Splinter (Jackie Chan), warning them not to trust humans and that they will never be accepted.
As typical teens do, the boys frequently rebel to sneak out and use their Ninja skills to travel New York to do tasks ranging from shopping to watching outdoor movies which only fuels their desires to be accepted and
have normal experiences such as High School.
At the same time as a crimewave is happening attributed to a menace known as Superfly (Ice Cube), who is gathering all kinds of high-end gear for his nefarious scheme.
When the brothers become aware of this while helping a human named April (Ago Edebiri), they become obsessed with her and desire to help her get to the bottom of the thefts and hope to win her approval as well as human acceptance in the process.
What follows is a madcap adventure with plenty of action and humor and
several celebrity voices which adds a new level of fun to the expanded
cast of supporting characters.
The animation style is at times a bit rough to watch over an extended
period but as the film progressed I became used to it and it did much like the two recent Spider-man animated films grow on me even if it can be distracting at times.
The cast is solid and the film seemed to play well to viewers of all ages
as there were jokes and references for all ages and the storyline was engaging even if it did at times seem to drag in places.
In the end the film is a loving and solid entry into the franchise and one that I am sure we will be seeing more animated entries from in the near future and is a must watch for fans of all ages.
4 stars out of 5
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” is a loving and updated look at the story as Seth Rogen and his creative team have shaken up the franchise but remained true to the core characters and universe.
The film follows the four Turtles Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), Raphael (Brady Noon), Donatello (Micah Abbey), and Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.), who are looking to find acceptance in the world despite their father Splinter (Jackie Chan), warning them not to trust humans and that they will never be accepted.
As typical teens do, the boys frequently rebel to sneak out and use their Ninja skills to travel New York to do tasks ranging from shopping to watching outdoor movies which only fuels their desires to be accepted and
have normal experiences such as High School.
At the same time as a crimewave is happening attributed to a menace known as Superfly (Ice Cube), who is gathering all kinds of high-end gear for his nefarious scheme.
When the brothers become aware of this while helping a human named April (Ago Edebiri), they become obsessed with her and desire to help her get to the bottom of the thefts and hope to win her approval as well as human acceptance in the process.
What follows is a madcap adventure with plenty of action and humor and
several celebrity voices which adds a new level of fun to the expanded
cast of supporting characters.
The animation style is at times a bit rough to watch over an extended
period but as the film progressed I became used to it and it did much like the two recent Spider-man animated films grow on me even if it can be distracting at times.
The cast is solid and the film seemed to play well to viewers of all ages
as there were jokes and references for all ages and the storyline was engaging even if it did at times seem to drag in places.
In the end the film is a loving and solid entry into the franchise and one that I am sure we will be seeing more animated entries from in the near future and is a must watch for fans of all ages.
4 stars out of 5
Ali A (82 KP) rated The Bletchley Riddle in Books
Oct 14, 2024
Nineteen-year-old Jakob Novis and his fourteen-year-old sister, Lizzie, share a love of riddles and puzzles. As WWII gets closer and closer to Britain, the siblings find themselves amongst the greatest secrets of all - Britain’s codebreaking facility at Bletchley Park. As Jakob joins the country’s top minds to crack Nazi’s Enigma cipher, Lizzie transfers notes between departments in the park and tries to solve the mysterious disappearance of their mother in her off time.
While the Novis siblings work hard on their tasks, messages and codes begin to arrive under their doorstep. It doesn’t help that while they try to figure out if the messages are truly for them (and possibly from their mother), that there is an inspector lurking outside the gates of the park, watching Jakob and Lizzie’s every move. They must figure out a way to put their bickering aside and work together to decipher the clues if they want to uncover the answers to the puzzle.
As usual, I will pick up anything Ruta Sepetys touches and learn about a part of history I hadn’t known about before I read the book. This book is no exception as we take a deeper dive into the codebreakers Bletchley Park during WWII. I knew there were codebreakers during WWII, but what I didn’t realize is that they consisted of mathematicians, chess champions, and librarians (which, as a librarian, this absolutely makes sense why they were needed!).
Though this book is aimed at middle grade, I will say it felt like it would be more for upper middle grade / younger high school age. Lizzie is fourteen and Jakob is nineteen so their voices were a little older, but nothing major or graphic happened that would make the novel need to be young adult.
Even as an adult, when it came to the description of the codes’ breakthroughs or the ins and outs of the Enigma machines, I would get lost, but overall I just assumed the characters knew what they were talking about and trusted them.
Overall, I loved the twists and turns that kept the pages moving for me. I know I had a hard time as an adult solving the clues, so young readers who like spies and code cracking, are sure to love this too.
*Thank you Viking Books for Young Readers and BookishFirst for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
While the Novis siblings work hard on their tasks, messages and codes begin to arrive under their doorstep. It doesn’t help that while they try to figure out if the messages are truly for them (and possibly from their mother), that there is an inspector lurking outside the gates of the park, watching Jakob and Lizzie’s every move. They must figure out a way to put their bickering aside and work together to decipher the clues if they want to uncover the answers to the puzzle.
As usual, I will pick up anything Ruta Sepetys touches and learn about a part of history I hadn’t known about before I read the book. This book is no exception as we take a deeper dive into the codebreakers Bletchley Park during WWII. I knew there were codebreakers during WWII, but what I didn’t realize is that they consisted of mathematicians, chess champions, and librarians (which, as a librarian, this absolutely makes sense why they were needed!).
Though this book is aimed at middle grade, I will say it felt like it would be more for upper middle grade / younger high school age. Lizzie is fourteen and Jakob is nineteen so their voices were a little older, but nothing major or graphic happened that would make the novel need to be young adult.
Even as an adult, when it came to the description of the codes’ breakthroughs or the ins and outs of the Enigma machines, I would get lost, but overall I just assumed the characters knew what they were talking about and trusted them.
Overall, I loved the twists and turns that kept the pages moving for me. I know I had a hard time as an adult solving the clues, so young readers who like spies and code cracking, are sure to love this too.
*Thank you Viking Books for Young Readers and BookishFirst for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Elder Sign in Tabletop Games
Jul 17, 2020 (Updated Jul 18, 2020)
The Theme (3 more)
Solo Gameplay
The Setting
High Replayabity
Little Pieces, Easy to lose (1 more)
Luck of the dice
Call of Cthulhu
Elder Sign- is a excellent fantasy adventure, horror card game. I learn about this game through Tabletop. And to me it looked really good. And plus you can play it solo. So i had to buy it, cause of the solo experience. I only played this solo and its fun, but hard to win. I love the theme of the game which is based on the Cthulhu Mythos of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft and Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game. I love both H.P. Lovecraft, and Cthulhu. If you don't know what Elder Sign is I will explain it.
Elder Sign- is a cooperative card and dice game, based on the Cthulhu Mythos of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft and Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game. It is published by Fantasy Flight Games, which also produces the Cthulhu Mythos games Arkham Horror, Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game, Mansions of Madness, and Eldritch Horror.
Gameplay:
Players randomly select a monster (known as an Ancient One) to oppose. The Ancient One requires a certain number of elder sign tokens to "seal" or imprison it. Conversely, the Ancient One can be "awakened" or released by a number of doom tokens.
There are also many other less powerful monsters that can appear during the game.
Each player chooses an investigator to play as (usually randomly), each investigator having unique abilities.
Players take turns exploring a randomly generated room (there are Adventure cards and Other World cards). If a player succeeds at completing all of the tasks in the room they are exploring, they obtain a reward. Conversely, if they fail, they receive a penalty. If the player's investigator is devoured (either by losing all of their stamina and/or sanity), they lose what they originally had, a doom token is added to the doom track, and the player returns to play as a different investigator.
Rooms are explored until either the Ancient One is "sealed" or "awakened". If the Ancient One is sealed, the players immediately win. If the Ancient One awakens, the players must face it in battle. This battle is designed to be extremely difficult with a low chance of success, so players must try to prevent the Ancient One from awakening at all costs.
Its a excellent gothic horror game, it has fantasy, dice, cards and adventure and alot of replayablity. Buy it if you havent already. Cause its excellent.
Elder Sign- is a cooperative card and dice game, based on the Cthulhu Mythos of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft and Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game. It is published by Fantasy Flight Games, which also produces the Cthulhu Mythos games Arkham Horror, Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game, Mansions of Madness, and Eldritch Horror.
Gameplay:
Players randomly select a monster (known as an Ancient One) to oppose. The Ancient One requires a certain number of elder sign tokens to "seal" or imprison it. Conversely, the Ancient One can be "awakened" or released by a number of doom tokens.
There are also many other less powerful monsters that can appear during the game.
Each player chooses an investigator to play as (usually randomly), each investigator having unique abilities.
Players take turns exploring a randomly generated room (there are Adventure cards and Other World cards). If a player succeeds at completing all of the tasks in the room they are exploring, they obtain a reward. Conversely, if they fail, they receive a penalty. If the player's investigator is devoured (either by losing all of their stamina and/or sanity), they lose what they originally had, a doom token is added to the doom track, and the player returns to play as a different investigator.
Rooms are explored until either the Ancient One is "sealed" or "awakened". If the Ancient One is sealed, the players immediately win. If the Ancient One awakens, the players must face it in battle. This battle is designed to be extremely difficult with a low chance of success, so players must try to prevent the Ancient One from awakening at all costs.
Its a excellent gothic horror game, it has fantasy, dice, cards and adventure and alot of replayablity. Buy it if you havent already. Cause its excellent.
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated Rambo: Last Blood (2019) in Movies
Sep 19, 2019
Last Bore
Rambo Last Blood is a bloody mess of a movie that feels so disjointed from all the other rambo films it will leave you confused and unfulfilled. Its starts of fine enough, we see Rambo in an ordinary life taking care of the farm doing average day to day tasks and growing old but clearly still troubled and haunted by his memories of war. We are then introduced to a couple of people he cares a lot about and from there trouble starts to brew. Problem is this beginning segment is an absolute shambles, not only is it extremely boring and tedious every single character is highly unlikeable, hollow, bland and annoying with no personality either. Then on top of that we have writing and dialog that are woeful almost like no effort was put into them whatsoever and the sad part is we are forced to sit through well over an hour of this too. This hour at times was actually so painful to watch especially for a film that knows most of us are only there for the kills. After waiting that long and sitting through a story that feels like it was meant for a Taken sequel you would think the action would make up for it..... right?. Wrong, while action is ok its still not great coming off more of a brief kill montage more than anything else. Kills are deliciously brutal thats for sure but they feel rushed because the film just cant wait to move on to the next one as fast as it can. All this brutal killing also at times can feel a little ujustified too making me acquire a disconnect from the Rambo we have come to know and love. If this film was meant to be another sequel it fails, if it was meant to be a Rambo tribute it fails and to top it all off it just ends abruptly out of no where with no real conclusion or point to be made. Last Blood seems like it didnt try to be a good film or a fun film and it left me confused, bored and baffled to why it exists at all. There are a few brief over the top cool kills but all in all its a pointless movie thats not worth anyones time. To top it all off my bike got stolen while I was inside watching this too and I have to say I got more excitement from seeing that had happened than watching this crap. Rambo Last Blood more like Rambo Last Bike.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated the PC version of Atomic Heart in Video Games
Mar 5, 2023
I first heard of Atomic Heart several years ago and aside from brief and sporadic updates; the progress of the game seemed to be a slow process until a few months before release.
I was eager to try a game that was described as a mix of Fallout and Bioshock as a fan of the two franchises, the new entry seemed like a game that I would enjoy.
The game is set in a fictional future filled with advanced scientific discoveries and playing as an agent assigned to the rollout of a new facility; players will soon find things have gone very wrong when the robots assigned to serve have begun brutally attacking and killing all they encounter.
Players must travel deep into an underground facility to find weapons and materials which they can craft into more powerful weapons as they take on an increasingly difficult series of enemies and puzzles.
Using a special glove that can heal and move objects, players have to at times do a series of timed jumps to navigate the damaged facility and complete necessary tasks.
While all of this sounds good, the game at times throws too many puzzles at you as having to decipher locks repeatedly tends to take away from the action, and dealing with the over-amorous upgrade machines goes from being amusing to tedious quickly.
Another issue I had was a recent patch broke the game for me as I was unable to start the game from the main screen and had to delete and install the game again to resume my play. There is also the matter of why the agent sounds like he should be in an office in California as his tone and mannerisms do not reflect the character.
Atomic Heart does provide entertainment I found the combat and graphics to be dated and that aspects of the game grew old very quickly. The best strategy for me was to play the game in segments and take a break of a few days between sessions which gave me a fresh perspective versus trying to do things in a series of extended sessions.
In the end, the game is enjoyable for those willing to be patient and accept the game for what it is and hopefully, with a few more updates the full potential of the game will be achieved. The game is available on the Microsoft Game Pass and is worth a look.
3 stars out of 5
I was eager to try a game that was described as a mix of Fallout and Bioshock as a fan of the two franchises, the new entry seemed like a game that I would enjoy.
The game is set in a fictional future filled with advanced scientific discoveries and playing as an agent assigned to the rollout of a new facility; players will soon find things have gone very wrong when the robots assigned to serve have begun brutally attacking and killing all they encounter.
Players must travel deep into an underground facility to find weapons and materials which they can craft into more powerful weapons as they take on an increasingly difficult series of enemies and puzzles.
Using a special glove that can heal and move objects, players have to at times do a series of timed jumps to navigate the damaged facility and complete necessary tasks.
While all of this sounds good, the game at times throws too many puzzles at you as having to decipher locks repeatedly tends to take away from the action, and dealing with the over-amorous upgrade machines goes from being amusing to tedious quickly.
Another issue I had was a recent patch broke the game for me as I was unable to start the game from the main screen and had to delete and install the game again to resume my play. There is also the matter of why the agent sounds like he should be in an office in California as his tone and mannerisms do not reflect the character.
Atomic Heart does provide entertainment I found the combat and graphics to be dated and that aspects of the game grew old very quickly. The best strategy for me was to play the game in segments and take a break of a few days between sessions which gave me a fresh perspective versus trying to do things in a series of extended sessions.
In the end, the game is enjoyable for those willing to be patient and accept the game for what it is and hopefully, with a few more updates the full potential of the game will be achieved. The game is available on the Microsoft Game Pass and is worth a look.
3 stars out of 5