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Lee (2222 KP) rated #Alive (2020) in Movies
Sep 11, 2020
The bar for South Korean zombie movies, or for any kind of zombie movie for that matter, was set exceptionally high when Train to Busan was released back in 2016. #Alive, which arrived on Netflix earlier this week, having premiered in its home country of South Korea back in June, had a lot to live up to. But by focusing primarily on just a single character, #Alive manages to deliver a quarantine story that we can all relate to after the chaos and uncertainty of 2020 and brings a touch of originality to a very familiar genre.
#Alive certainly doesn’t waste much time in dropping us straight into the zombie apocalypse. Young gamer Oh Joon-woo wakes up at 10 am, alone in the high-rise apartment that he shares with his parents. A note left by them tells us that they’ve gone away for a few days, leaving Oh Joon-woo to fend for himself. “Make sure you pick up some groceries”, his mum tells him, but instead he heads back to his room and begins playing an online game with some friends. But shortly into their game, his friends are distracted by some disturbing news reports on the TV, so Oh Joon-woo goes to check for himself.
He doesn’t need to watch much of the news on TV before realising that he can look outside of his apartment window and see for himself what the panic is all about. Down on the streets, people are running and screaming in all directions while others are in a frenzied state, attacking and biting everyone around them. Family members turn on each other, a fire truck crashes into a row of cars, and a nearby explosion quickly sends a dazed and confused Oh Joon-woo back inside his apartment.
The news reports talk of people quickly turning violent and attacking others, immediately passing on whatever it is that has turned them into crazed zombies. It describes how you can tell a person is turning because they will be bleeding from the eyes. “Citizens must stay home and avoid going out.” is the advice given. Sound familiar?
Oh Joon-woo does what a lot of us probably did during lockdown - he plays video games, drinks his dad’s alcohol, and tries to just ride it all out the best he can. He quickly regrets ignoring his mum’s request to go and buy groceries though, as he lays out the very small amount of mostly unhealthy food items that are in the apartment out onto the table, and separates them into meals for each day over the coming week or so.
Days pass, but without any sign of the outside chaos subsiding. There are still zombies down on the streets, taking out any unfortunate survivor unlucky enough to be outside, and any investigative trips outside the apartment front door are fraught with danger. We’ve now passed day 20, and Oh Joon-woo is struggling.
At his lowest point, Oh Joon-woo notices a laser pointer shining into his apartment from the high-rise opposite. When he goes to investigate, he sees that there is another survivor looking back at him. Kim Yoo-bin is also at a fairly low point in her life, but with food, weapons and homemade zombie traps, she appears to be a bit of a badass, clearly better equipped at dealing with the crisis than Oh Joon-woo. She initially thinks Oh Joon-woo is an idiot, sending food across a wire that they manage to set up between their buildings so that he doesn’t starve. But they soon form a close bond, sending messages to each other before eventually employing the use of walkie-talkies so that they can discuss a way out of their predicament.
#Alive taps into the feelings that so many of us will have felt during lockdown this year - feeling isolated, lonely, scared. It’s the quiet human moments that work so well here, especially with the introduction of a friend and an ally in the form of Kim Yoo-bin. Finding each other does literally save both of their lives.
But it’s never too long before we’re jolted right back into some zombie action, and thankfully that aspect doesn’t disappoint. The news reports had already informed us that the zombies appeared to be able to remember certain human actions from before they turned, such as opening doors. They even appear to retain aspects of behaviour from their human occupations. This makes for some entertaining and unpredictable zombie fun, most notably a firefighter zombie who scales the outside of the high-rise in an attempt to try and reach Kim Yoo-bin.
There’s a late plot twist and a deus ex machina which may seem like a bit of a cop-out for some, but overall #Alive is certainly a worthwhile watch for fans of zombie action with a focus on the human characters.
#Alive certainly doesn’t waste much time in dropping us straight into the zombie apocalypse. Young gamer Oh Joon-woo wakes up at 10 am, alone in the high-rise apartment that he shares with his parents. A note left by them tells us that they’ve gone away for a few days, leaving Oh Joon-woo to fend for himself. “Make sure you pick up some groceries”, his mum tells him, but instead he heads back to his room and begins playing an online game with some friends. But shortly into their game, his friends are distracted by some disturbing news reports on the TV, so Oh Joon-woo goes to check for himself.
He doesn’t need to watch much of the news on TV before realising that he can look outside of his apartment window and see for himself what the panic is all about. Down on the streets, people are running and screaming in all directions while others are in a frenzied state, attacking and biting everyone around them. Family members turn on each other, a fire truck crashes into a row of cars, and a nearby explosion quickly sends a dazed and confused Oh Joon-woo back inside his apartment.
The news reports talk of people quickly turning violent and attacking others, immediately passing on whatever it is that has turned them into crazed zombies. It describes how you can tell a person is turning because they will be bleeding from the eyes. “Citizens must stay home and avoid going out.” is the advice given. Sound familiar?
Oh Joon-woo does what a lot of us probably did during lockdown - he plays video games, drinks his dad’s alcohol, and tries to just ride it all out the best he can. He quickly regrets ignoring his mum’s request to go and buy groceries though, as he lays out the very small amount of mostly unhealthy food items that are in the apartment out onto the table, and separates them into meals for each day over the coming week or so.
Days pass, but without any sign of the outside chaos subsiding. There are still zombies down on the streets, taking out any unfortunate survivor unlucky enough to be outside, and any investigative trips outside the apartment front door are fraught with danger. We’ve now passed day 20, and Oh Joon-woo is struggling.
At his lowest point, Oh Joon-woo notices a laser pointer shining into his apartment from the high-rise opposite. When he goes to investigate, he sees that there is another survivor looking back at him. Kim Yoo-bin is also at a fairly low point in her life, but with food, weapons and homemade zombie traps, she appears to be a bit of a badass, clearly better equipped at dealing with the crisis than Oh Joon-woo. She initially thinks Oh Joon-woo is an idiot, sending food across a wire that they manage to set up between their buildings so that he doesn’t starve. But they soon form a close bond, sending messages to each other before eventually employing the use of walkie-talkies so that they can discuss a way out of their predicament.
#Alive taps into the feelings that so many of us will have felt during lockdown this year - feeling isolated, lonely, scared. It’s the quiet human moments that work so well here, especially with the introduction of a friend and an ally in the form of Kim Yoo-bin. Finding each other does literally save both of their lives.
But it’s never too long before we’re jolted right back into some zombie action, and thankfully that aspect doesn’t disappoint. The news reports had already informed us that the zombies appeared to be able to remember certain human actions from before they turned, such as opening doors. They even appear to retain aspects of behaviour from their human occupations. This makes for some entertaining and unpredictable zombie fun, most notably a firefighter zombie who scales the outside of the high-rise in an attempt to try and reach Kim Yoo-bin.
There’s a late plot twist and a deus ex machina which may seem like a bit of a cop-out for some, but overall #Alive is certainly a worthwhile watch for fans of zombie action with a focus on the human characters.
Chronicles of Crime: 2400
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“You are Kalia Lavel. You’ve always wanted to fight crime like your famous ancestors, so you...
Hadley (567 KP) rated The Hollow Ones: the Blackwood Tapes Vol. 1 in Books
Sep 9, 2020
Paranormal and occult (1 more)
Great story
A filler character with potential (1 more)
Overly used details
[This is the ARC version - - - John Silence was renamed Hugo Blackwood in the final version]
I've grown up watching a lot of Guillermo Del Toro's movies. One of my favorites that he was the screenwriter for is Hellboy. Yet, I spent almost four months at the beginning of this year playing the video game Death Stranding, which features Del Toro as a main character. I bring the former and latter up because they rank very high on some of my favorite things list, and I believe that The Hollow Ones is one of the best books I have read in a long time. This is one of those few rare books which I wish I could live in as a lover of the paranormal/occult.
Odessa Hardwicke - - - an FBI greenhorn - - - is ordering dinner with her partner, Walt Leppo, when they get a phone call that someone is on a shooting rampage from an airplane. (Hardwicke looks up to Leppo as a father figure, and he sees her as a daughter) We learn that the two have been on a corruption case involving a politician's former deputy chief of staff- - - they suddenly realize that the airplane may be tied to this man, and he may also be the one going on the killing spree. The pair speed off to the deputy chief's home in fear that he may be going to kill his recently divorced wife, who was waiting to receive not only their huge house, but a nice lump sum of money.
When Hardwicke and Leppo get to the house, after stopping the deputy chief, Hardwicke suddenly finds herself holding a gun on her partner while he tries to murder a little girl. She has only two choices to make: a) kill her partner, and face the backlash of shooting an agent in the line-of-duty or b) let him kill the girl and possibly herself- - - Hardwicke chooses to shoot and kill Leppo. Immediately after this, she sees something like a heatwave leave Leppo's body and disappear. When other agents arrive to the crime scene, Hardwicke keeps this information to herself, wanting to know instead why her partner suddenly turned into a murderer. Pending an investigation, Hardwicke is put on desk duty, including errands that the Bureau doesn't want to deal with. Enter Agent Earl Solomon.
On order by the FBI, Hardwicke is sent to clean out an office used by a retired agent that was hospitalized for a stroke. She takes his things to the hospital (not knowing what to do with them), and while discussing her plight with him and revealing that she had seen a sort of heat vapor leave Leppo's body, Solomon quickly tells her to write a letter to a man named John Silence, and place it in a nearly invisible mailbox in the Wallstreet area of New York.
From this point on, the book really begins to take off, and the fact that the authors brought in the religion of Palo (the Mayombe branch) is fascinating for anyone interested in the occult. The buildup of the story is really enjoyable, too, especially when Hardwicke decides to write and deliver the letter.
Readers also get to see Solomon's story from years before when he was one of the first African Americans to be recruited into the FBI. We see Solomon being sent to Mississippi in 1962, where a number of lynchings of African Americans have occurred, but the FBI hasn't been called in until the last murder: a lynching of a white man. Solomon can't help but question if he was only brought on this case because he is African American. Ignoring the bigotry, Solomon does his job, and comes across a young boy who is possessed by some sort of demon. The boy tells Solomon to bring him Silence, a man who Solomon has never heard of.
John Silence is also an interesting character; a nearly 500-year-old occult detective. We also get to see flashbacks of his life in the 1500's, learning about his occupation as a barrister, and his first encounter with the paranormal- - - something that has plagued him since- - - as well as his teacher in the occult. In the chapters of today, Silence is a mysterious figure, and carries himself much like a modern day Sherlock Holmes. Even by the end of the book, readers are still left with questions over what Silence has been through in the last 500 years. He, having only met Solomon 58 years prior- - - the two have a huge history together. Proven by the fact of how many 'cases' Solomon has hidden in his private records room that the two have embarked on together.
The Hollow Ones is a very enjoyable book, but I could only give it 3 out of 5 stars. The rating is because the authors- - - Del Toro and Hogan- - - used so many details, like the make and model of a passing vehicle, that it would interrupt the flow of the story, being bogged down by it. One other problem that I had was with the character Laurena; she was a 'filler character' (a character that is brought in just to make something happen in the story), but she was written to be Hardwicke's best friend. This was highly unbelievable with the two times she showed up in the story.
I really, really hope that Del Toro and Hogan decide to make this a series, and that the rest of the books show us Solomon's and Silence's journeys together! I highly recommend this book to people who love the paranormal/occult crime books.
I've grown up watching a lot of Guillermo Del Toro's movies. One of my favorites that he was the screenwriter for is Hellboy. Yet, I spent almost four months at the beginning of this year playing the video game Death Stranding, which features Del Toro as a main character. I bring the former and latter up because they rank very high on some of my favorite things list, and I believe that The Hollow Ones is one of the best books I have read in a long time. This is one of those few rare books which I wish I could live in as a lover of the paranormal/occult.
Odessa Hardwicke - - - an FBI greenhorn - - - is ordering dinner with her partner, Walt Leppo, when they get a phone call that someone is on a shooting rampage from an airplane. (Hardwicke looks up to Leppo as a father figure, and he sees her as a daughter) We learn that the two have been on a corruption case involving a politician's former deputy chief of staff- - - they suddenly realize that the airplane may be tied to this man, and he may also be the one going on the killing spree. The pair speed off to the deputy chief's home in fear that he may be going to kill his recently divorced wife, who was waiting to receive not only their huge house, but a nice lump sum of money.
When Hardwicke and Leppo get to the house, after stopping the deputy chief, Hardwicke suddenly finds herself holding a gun on her partner while he tries to murder a little girl. She has only two choices to make: a) kill her partner, and face the backlash of shooting an agent in the line-of-duty or b) let him kill the girl and possibly herself- - - Hardwicke chooses to shoot and kill Leppo. Immediately after this, she sees something like a heatwave leave Leppo's body and disappear. When other agents arrive to the crime scene, Hardwicke keeps this information to herself, wanting to know instead why her partner suddenly turned into a murderer. Pending an investigation, Hardwicke is put on desk duty, including errands that the Bureau doesn't want to deal with. Enter Agent Earl Solomon.
On order by the FBI, Hardwicke is sent to clean out an office used by a retired agent that was hospitalized for a stroke. She takes his things to the hospital (not knowing what to do with them), and while discussing her plight with him and revealing that she had seen a sort of heat vapor leave Leppo's body, Solomon quickly tells her to write a letter to a man named John Silence, and place it in a nearly invisible mailbox in the Wallstreet area of New York.
From this point on, the book really begins to take off, and the fact that the authors brought in the religion of Palo (the Mayombe branch) is fascinating for anyone interested in the occult. The buildup of the story is really enjoyable, too, especially when Hardwicke decides to write and deliver the letter.
Readers also get to see Solomon's story from years before when he was one of the first African Americans to be recruited into the FBI. We see Solomon being sent to Mississippi in 1962, where a number of lynchings of African Americans have occurred, but the FBI hasn't been called in until the last murder: a lynching of a white man. Solomon can't help but question if he was only brought on this case because he is African American. Ignoring the bigotry, Solomon does his job, and comes across a young boy who is possessed by some sort of demon. The boy tells Solomon to bring him Silence, a man who Solomon has never heard of.
John Silence is also an interesting character; a nearly 500-year-old occult detective. We also get to see flashbacks of his life in the 1500's, learning about his occupation as a barrister, and his first encounter with the paranormal- - - something that has plagued him since- - - as well as his teacher in the occult. In the chapters of today, Silence is a mysterious figure, and carries himself much like a modern day Sherlock Holmes. Even by the end of the book, readers are still left with questions over what Silence has been through in the last 500 years. He, having only met Solomon 58 years prior- - - the two have a huge history together. Proven by the fact of how many 'cases' Solomon has hidden in his private records room that the two have embarked on together.
The Hollow Ones is a very enjoyable book, but I could only give it 3 out of 5 stars. The rating is because the authors- - - Del Toro and Hogan- - - used so many details, like the make and model of a passing vehicle, that it would interrupt the flow of the story, being bogged down by it. One other problem that I had was with the character Laurena; she was a 'filler character' (a character that is brought in just to make something happen in the story), but she was written to be Hardwicke's best friend. This was highly unbelievable with the two times she showed up in the story.
I really, really hope that Del Toro and Hogan decide to make this a series, and that the rest of the books show us Solomon's and Silence's journeys together! I highly recommend this book to people who love the paranormal/occult crime books.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Fear, Inc. (2016) in Movies
Oct 24, 2019
Contains spoilers, click to show
Characters – Joe is a stoner that has been promising to find a new job while living off his girlfriend, he loves horror movies and is looking for real fear from a horror event, which leads him to make the mistake to call Fear, Inc, this is easily one of the most unlikeable characters I have ever seen in the leading role in horror. Lindsey is his girlfriend, she seems to have a successful job which we never learn and has been putting up with Joe’s problems, the two have no chemistry and seem like complete opposites. Ben is the best friend that gives the warning to Joe about what will happen if they get involved with the game.
Performances – Lucas Neff in the leading role gives us one of the most annoying characters I have seen in horror. Caitlin Stasey is usually a good actress to watch, but in this film, it just doesn’t connect with what we are meant to see from them. Chris Martquette is solid enough in this role without doing anything truly memorable.
Story – The story here follows one man that wants to experience fear in this life and decides to get involved with a shady company promising to give him an experience unlike anything he has had before, how far will they go to get the scare? This is the question asked in this movie which doesn’t reach the potential it could as the led is the most unlikeable character you will see in horror, he makes everything out to be a joke never making us believe anything that is going on, even with the film having a great twist which should save it.
Comedy/Horror – The film tries to give us moments of comedy to mix with the horror, but the horror doesn’t hit the peril feeling moments you need from what could be going on.
Settings – The film tries to keep us around the house which clearly looks out priced for the couple involved, once we escape the house the film does become more interesting.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are good for what is created and could easily be the only highlight of the film.
Scene of the Movie – The final 30 minutes are the most interesting.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Joe is annoying throughout.
Final Thoughts – This is a horror comedy that fails to deliver on the levels it needs to, making us not care about the characters in this situation.
Overall: Terrible and boring.
Performances – Lucas Neff in the leading role gives us one of the most annoying characters I have seen in horror. Caitlin Stasey is usually a good actress to watch, but in this film, it just doesn’t connect with what we are meant to see from them. Chris Martquette is solid enough in this role without doing anything truly memorable.
Story – The story here follows one man that wants to experience fear in this life and decides to get involved with a shady company promising to give him an experience unlike anything he has had before, how far will they go to get the scare? This is the question asked in this movie which doesn’t reach the potential it could as the led is the most unlikeable character you will see in horror, he makes everything out to be a joke never making us believe anything that is going on, even with the film having a great twist which should save it.
Comedy/Horror – The film tries to give us moments of comedy to mix with the horror, but the horror doesn’t hit the peril feeling moments you need from what could be going on.
Settings – The film tries to keep us around the house which clearly looks out priced for the couple involved, once we escape the house the film does become more interesting.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are good for what is created and could easily be the only highlight of the film.
Scene of the Movie – The final 30 minutes are the most interesting.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Joe is annoying throughout.
Final Thoughts – This is a horror comedy that fails to deliver on the levels it needs to, making us not care about the characters in this situation.
Overall: Terrible and boring.
JT (287 KP) rated Dead Man's Shoes (2006) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
British films don’t really come more powerful as this, Shane Meadows has delivered a film so intense it’ll feel like the quickest most terrifying ninety minutes of your life.
Richard (Considine) has returned home from active service in order to seek vengeance against those who tormented his mentally challenged brother Anthony (Kebbell) some years ago.
Those responsible, Sonny (Stretch) the local drug dealer and his gang, attempt to tackle Richard head on, but Richard is stone faced and not in the least bit afraid. All the while Anthony follows Richard around like a lost puppy, happy just to have his brother with him.
Meadows uses black and white flash backs revealing just what happend to poor Anthony, which puts you at ease that what Richard is doing is more than justified. Nobody likes a bully but everyone loves it when they get their comeuppance.
With the group realising that there efforts are all for nothing it becomes just a waiting game as to when Richard comes for them, and come for them he does. Richard initially makes his presence in the town known, subtly at first and in the beginning he toys with the gang before taking his intentions just that little bit further.
It’s a violent film make no question of that, you almost feel sorry for Sonny and his gang.
One particular scene sees Richard spike the kettle with a concoction of drugs that gives three of the gang the most spaced out cup of tea they’ve ever had. Watching it almost makes you feel like you’re high with them. Considine gives a breathtaking performance, Richard is a cold and calculated killer and he’s not in the least bit afraid. He plans everything meticulously, like a lion stalking its prey.
That said all the cast do an amazing job, and its a brilliantly written script as well, with Meadows delving into each character. The film also has a slight black comedy element to it, while we shouldn’t be laughing in some scenes although it is hard not to, this doesn’t detract from the fact its a brutally disturbing film, and is arguably the best British film I have seen.
Richard (Considine) has returned home from active service in order to seek vengeance against those who tormented his mentally challenged brother Anthony (Kebbell) some years ago.
Those responsible, Sonny (Stretch) the local drug dealer and his gang, attempt to tackle Richard head on, but Richard is stone faced and not in the least bit afraid. All the while Anthony follows Richard around like a lost puppy, happy just to have his brother with him.
Meadows uses black and white flash backs revealing just what happend to poor Anthony, which puts you at ease that what Richard is doing is more than justified. Nobody likes a bully but everyone loves it when they get their comeuppance.
With the group realising that there efforts are all for nothing it becomes just a waiting game as to when Richard comes for them, and come for them he does. Richard initially makes his presence in the town known, subtly at first and in the beginning he toys with the gang before taking his intentions just that little bit further.
It’s a violent film make no question of that, you almost feel sorry for Sonny and his gang.
One particular scene sees Richard spike the kettle with a concoction of drugs that gives three of the gang the most spaced out cup of tea they’ve ever had. Watching it almost makes you feel like you’re high with them. Considine gives a breathtaking performance, Richard is a cold and calculated killer and he’s not in the least bit afraid. He plans everything meticulously, like a lion stalking its prey.
That said all the cast do an amazing job, and its a brilliantly written script as well, with Meadows delving into each character. The film also has a slight black comedy element to it, while we shouldn’t be laughing in some scenes although it is hard not to, this doesn’t detract from the fact its a brutally disturbing film, and is arguably the best British film I have seen.
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Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated The Chosen (Contender #1) in Books
Jan 23, 2020
<b><i>The author/publisher provided a free copy of the book for review purposes - thank you! Receiving a review copy does not guarantee a positive review and therefore do not affect the opinion or content of the review.</i></b>
It's midnight and apparently, it was a good idea for me to crank out reading a book in the span of 2 days. I don't know why I'm like this, but anyways, I somehow finished <em>The Chosen</em>?
The first book in Taran Matharu's <em>Contender</em> series introduces us to Cade, who finds himself in a boarding school after being wrongly accused. But shortly after he settles down, he and his classmates find themselves in another world filled with items and people from various mysteries throughout history. They're forced into a game controlled by the Strategos as contenders, only knowing if they fail, there will be consequences.
<h2><em><strong>The Chosen</strong></em><strong> is a quick, action-packed read.</strong></h2>
At least, in the beginning. Hold that thought for a moment. Matharu captured my attention from the first chapter as Cade finds himself having to fend for his life, not knowing his whereabouts. There's a lot of action throughout that made me want to know more as Cade made discoveries and his moves.
<h2><strong>But there's nothing much going on.</strong></h2>
I am all about characters running and fighting for their lives from pre-historic dinosaurs. <em>The Chosen</em> is practically a survival book, but about 60% through, I realized, <em>there's not actually anything going on</em>. Cade, his classmates and eventually the people he meets who join the cause -- they're running around with a timer floating around them. (That timer is also a handy dandy floating Google, which is just plain cool if you ask me.)
Then about 90%, everything happens and Cade finds out more information about <em>why</em> they're on the world. <em>And</em> he finds out both he and his companions got fucked over big time. It's not a one-time battle, there's more to come! A massive internal groan from Cade -- just when you thought it was over, the entire universe laughs.
<h2><em><strong>The Chosen</strong></em><strong> is engaging, though.</strong></h2>
Seriously, I appreciate a good, action-packed book that is engaging enough, I don't notice the entire book is full of running until I'm in deep. By that time, I'm a little too invested - I want to know the end.
Despite being a somewhat huge cast, it was fun seeing most of them come together. It was also fun seeing the choices Cade makes and how creative he is in implementing them in the game they've been forced in. And call me evil, but I'm delighted with the end (we'll even insert an evil laugh here) and want to see what Matharu will put the characters through in the second book.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/the-chosen-by-taran-matharu/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
It's midnight and apparently, it was a good idea for me to crank out reading a book in the span of 2 days. I don't know why I'm like this, but anyways, I somehow finished <em>The Chosen</em>?
The first book in Taran Matharu's <em>Contender</em> series introduces us to Cade, who finds himself in a boarding school after being wrongly accused. But shortly after he settles down, he and his classmates find themselves in another world filled with items and people from various mysteries throughout history. They're forced into a game controlled by the Strategos as contenders, only knowing if they fail, there will be consequences.
<h2><em><strong>The Chosen</strong></em><strong> is a quick, action-packed read.</strong></h2>
At least, in the beginning. Hold that thought for a moment. Matharu captured my attention from the first chapter as Cade finds himself having to fend for his life, not knowing his whereabouts. There's a lot of action throughout that made me want to know more as Cade made discoveries and his moves.
<h2><strong>But there's nothing much going on.</strong></h2>
I am all about characters running and fighting for their lives from pre-historic dinosaurs. <em>The Chosen</em> is practically a survival book, but about 60% through, I realized, <em>there's not actually anything going on</em>. Cade, his classmates and eventually the people he meets who join the cause -- they're running around with a timer floating around them. (That timer is also a handy dandy floating Google, which is just plain cool if you ask me.)
Then about 90%, everything happens and Cade finds out more information about <em>why</em> they're on the world. <em>And</em> he finds out both he and his companions got fucked over big time. It's not a one-time battle, there's more to come! A massive internal groan from Cade -- just when you thought it was over, the entire universe laughs.
<h2><em><strong>The Chosen</strong></em><strong> is engaging, though.</strong></h2>
Seriously, I appreciate a good, action-packed book that is engaging enough, I don't notice the entire book is full of running until I'm in deep. By that time, I'm a little too invested - I want to know the end.
Despite being a somewhat huge cast, it was fun seeing most of them come together. It was also fun seeing the choices Cade makes and how creative he is in implementing them in the game they've been forced in. And call me evil, but I'm delighted with the end (we'll even insert an evil laugh here) and want to see what Matharu will put the characters through in the second book.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/the-chosen-by-taran-matharu/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Tomb Raider (2018) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
The third film in the “Tomb Raider” film series has arrived and much like
the recent entries in the video game series that inspire it; the film
serves as a reboot of the franchise.
This time out Alicia Vikander takes over the title role from Angelina
Jolie and brings us a younger and far less experienced Lara Croft who
toils as a bike messenger struggling to get by in London. She has a feisty
and competitive nature but is haunted by the absence of her father
(Dominic West), who has been missing for seven years and is presumed dead.
As such, Lara is his sole heir and is being pressured to sign documents
that will legally declare him dead and turn over a vast corporation and
fortune to Lara. True to her nature, Lara resists this as she is
unwilling to move on from her father and cannot bring herself to declare
him dead and take her inheritance.
In time Lara learns that her father was also a dabbler in the supernatural
and artifacts and may have vanished trying to find a secluded tomb on a
remote Japanese island.
Undaunted, Lara sets off to get answers and finds herself in the company
of a boat Captain named Lu Ren (Daniel Wu), who reluctantly takes her to
the dangerous island. Danger arrives first in a storm then in the form of
a Mercenary named Matthias Vogel (Walton Goggins), who wants to find the
mysterious tomb as well for nefarious reasons and will stop at nothing
including murder to get it.
Lara is soon faced with the fight of her life as she must battle Vogel and
his men as well as the island and other forces in order to survive and
protect the world.
The film moves at a pace slower than you might expect as the first half of
the film is mostly setup but there are a few moments of action included to
keep things interesting. While many of the action sequences may seem like
they are either restrained or influenced from other films, they do still
work and entertain. While some may call this a female “Indiana Jones”
film, Lara is very much her own character as she has a spunk and grit that
makes her equal adapt in a cultured setting as she is solving a dangerous
trap or mixing it up with deadly threats.
Vikander also portrays Lara with a sense of vulnerability as she does get
injured, bruised and tormented. This is not an unstoppable action machine,
but rather a real person who knows there is a time use your brain and then
a time to take action, but is also remorseful about the consequences of
her actions at times.
The film does move to a satisfying finale and sets up a further chapter
very well. There are some great nods to prior games in the film which was
refreshing as I joked to my wife during some of the more intense scenes
that I feel like I need to be pushing the X and O button on our Dualshock
4 controllers to help Lara run faster and jump higher.
In the end “Tomb Raider” is a satisfying if safe reboot for the franchise
that I expect should keep fans of the series happy. I do think that
audiences in North America may want a bit more action but the film should
play well in the Asian and European markets.
http://sknr.net/2018/03/16/tomb-raider/
the recent entries in the video game series that inspire it; the film
serves as a reboot of the franchise.
This time out Alicia Vikander takes over the title role from Angelina
Jolie and brings us a younger and far less experienced Lara Croft who
toils as a bike messenger struggling to get by in London. She has a feisty
and competitive nature but is haunted by the absence of her father
(Dominic West), who has been missing for seven years and is presumed dead.
As such, Lara is his sole heir and is being pressured to sign documents
that will legally declare him dead and turn over a vast corporation and
fortune to Lara. True to her nature, Lara resists this as she is
unwilling to move on from her father and cannot bring herself to declare
him dead and take her inheritance.
In time Lara learns that her father was also a dabbler in the supernatural
and artifacts and may have vanished trying to find a secluded tomb on a
remote Japanese island.
Undaunted, Lara sets off to get answers and finds herself in the company
of a boat Captain named Lu Ren (Daniel Wu), who reluctantly takes her to
the dangerous island. Danger arrives first in a storm then in the form of
a Mercenary named Matthias Vogel (Walton Goggins), who wants to find the
mysterious tomb as well for nefarious reasons and will stop at nothing
including murder to get it.
Lara is soon faced with the fight of her life as she must battle Vogel and
his men as well as the island and other forces in order to survive and
protect the world.
The film moves at a pace slower than you might expect as the first half of
the film is mostly setup but there are a few moments of action included to
keep things interesting. While many of the action sequences may seem like
they are either restrained or influenced from other films, they do still
work and entertain. While some may call this a female “Indiana Jones”
film, Lara is very much her own character as she has a spunk and grit that
makes her equal adapt in a cultured setting as she is solving a dangerous
trap or mixing it up with deadly threats.
Vikander also portrays Lara with a sense of vulnerability as she does get
injured, bruised and tormented. This is not an unstoppable action machine,
but rather a real person who knows there is a time use your brain and then
a time to take action, but is also remorseful about the consequences of
her actions at times.
The film does move to a satisfying finale and sets up a further chapter
very well. There are some great nods to prior games in the film which was
refreshing as I joked to my wife during some of the more intense scenes
that I feel like I need to be pushing the X and O button on our Dualshock
4 controllers to help Lara run faster and jump higher.
In the end “Tomb Raider” is a satisfying if safe reboot for the franchise
that I expect should keep fans of the series happy. I do think that
audiences in North America may want a bit more action but the film should
play well in the Asian and European markets.
http://sknr.net/2018/03/16/tomb-raider/