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Shelle Perry (66 KP) rated Murder at the Lakeside Library: A Lakeside Library Mystery in Books
Aug 9, 2021
Rain has made her way home to the Wisconsin Northwoods
Rain has made her way home to the Wisconsin Northwoods. Pine Lake: the family cabin originally built by her great grandfather, but added onto over the decades. Her grandfather was a published author and her mother has turned the original log-built cabin into a local library, which she shares with the entire laker community.
Rain is dealing with the death of her husband and an estrangement from her parents. She is just hoping to spend a quiet summer recharging, but best laid plans and all. First Rain is blindsided by the opening of the library, luckily she has friends Julia and Marge, to help out. Just as they get the project going, they stumble upon the dead body of a man who is reputed to be a close friend of her mother’s. Next to his body is a copy of Rain’s grandfather’s book, which should not be outside of the library under any circumstances. The mystery unfolds encompassing details from Rain’s family. Julia and Rain pick up their friendship where it left off all those summers ago growing up on the lake. Together they are impulsive and irrepressible and actually kind of fun. Other great characters flesh out Rain’s inner circle including a charismatic police officer that is prime material for romance at some point down the road when Rain has gotten things more together.
It is a terrific beginning to a new series I a looking forward to keeping up with
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
I received an advance review copy for free through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, and I am leaving this review voluntarily
Rain is dealing with the death of her husband and an estrangement from her parents. She is just hoping to spend a quiet summer recharging, but best laid plans and all. First Rain is blindsided by the opening of the library, luckily she has friends Julia and Marge, to help out. Just as they get the project going, they stumble upon the dead body of a man who is reputed to be a close friend of her mother’s. Next to his body is a copy of Rain’s grandfather’s book, which should not be outside of the library under any circumstances. The mystery unfolds encompassing details from Rain’s family. Julia and Rain pick up their friendship where it left off all those summers ago growing up on the lake. Together they are impulsive and irrepressible and actually kind of fun. Other great characters flesh out Rain’s inner circle including a charismatic police officer that is prime material for romance at some point down the road when Rain has gotten things more together.
It is a terrific beginning to a new series I a looking forward to keeping up with
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
I received an advance review copy for free through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, and I am leaving this review voluntarily
Night of the Vampire (Deathless Night - Into the Dark #1)
8.0
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Killian walked into my new voodoo shop late one night with an urgent request - he needed me to heal...
Paranormal Romance Vampires Witches
The Twelve Dice of Christmas
10.0
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Welcome to Serenity Cove, a peaceful Southern community where the residents like to play dice, play...
Flobella Adventures in the Creative Idea Dimension: Book 1 The Creative Path
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The Creative Path - Imagine the possibilities... Flobella is a creatress but she doesn't know it....
MG Middle Grade Fantasy fiction children's children
Hidden Masterpiece (Soli Hansen Mysteries #3)
Book
In this riveting third book in the Soli Hansen Mysteries series, a woman’s courage to follow her...
Historical Fiction Mystery Dual Timeline
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post
Feb 24, 2023
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated X-Men: First Class (2011) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
When the “X-Men:The Last Stand” failed to score big with critics and audiences in 2006, many fans began to wonder if they would ever see their favorite mutant superhero team on screen anytime soon. Despite mixed reviews, 2009’s standalone film “Wolverine“, did sufficient box office numbers to warrant a sequel which is currently in development, indicating that the likely future of the series was with standalone character films.
Then 20th Century Fox decided to tell a team-based origin story that focuses on the early days of the X-Men and how they became the team that they are today. This is a bit of a controversial move as it involves recasting several roles to play younger versions of beloved characters.
The result is X-Men: First Class which stars Scottish actor James McAvoy as Charles Xavier, a brilliant young academic who hides his unique and amazing telepathic gifts from the world. When a chance encounter proves to Charles that there are others in the world who share his gifts he dedicates his studies to unlocking the mysteries of genetic mutations and their possibilities.
At the same time a young man named Eric Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender), has embarked on a path of destruction and revenge against those who wronged and tormented him and his family during the Nazi occupation of their native Poland. Eric’s main target is man who now calls himself Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), who has surrounded himself with a team of skilled mutants and is manipulating US and Russia to the brink of nuclear war, for his own evil purposes.
When CIA Agent MacTaggart (Rose Byrne), learns of Shaw’s plans, she recruits Xavier, not knowing that he and his friend Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) are mutants themselves, with the hopes of understanding their new enemy and mounting a proper defense.
When the truth of his true nature is revealed, Charles teems with MacTaggart and scientist Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult), to locate and recruit other gifted individuals to their cause. Fate steps in when Erik and Charles meet and eventually become friends over there mutual pursuit of Shaw. Despite a great deal of understanding between the two individuals, Eric is intent upon killing Shaw. He warns his new friend not to trust humans, as his time under Nazi control taught him that it’s only a matter of time until he and his fellow mutants are targeted for extinction by the world. Despite this the Eric and Charles recruit and train a team to prepare to face Shaw and his followers, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.
The film starts off well and it was very enjoyable to see a deeper side of the characters. From young Charles hitting on women in bars and making jokes about losing his full head of hair to the deadly side of Eric and his abilities as well as the early relationship between the iconic characters. Somewhere along the way the film loses its initial momentum as the plot of the film takes a while to get going. As good as the cast is, they need something to do and after numerous debates and a few training and recruitment segments the film became somewhat boring. There simply was not a lot of action to sustain the plot.
Kevin Bacon was an interesting choice for the villain. He did a good job, although watching him strut around I kept expecting him to break into dance at any moment. Another issue I had was that some of the supporting characters were basically throwaway as I cared little about their stories and outcomes. Only the characters of Raven, Eric, and Charles held any real interest for me and watching their interplay with one another was one of the strong points of the film.
As the film move toward the finale there were several things about it that did not work for me starting with the makeup for The Beast. Complete with spectacles it was almost a laughable look that brought to mind Jason Bateman in “Teen Wolf 2“. The fact that the character was annoying as well did very little to help.
The biggest issue I had with the film was that after all this buildup the finale was actually very ho-hum and while it did contain some visually nice moments, I do not feel the action balanced with the storytelling, certainly not to the extent that audiences expect from nor require of a summer blockbuster.
There are a couple of moments in the film that will certainly be questioned by fans of the series as well as scenes which conflict with information from the earlier films in the series. It seems certain elements of continuity have been omitted for creative license. I will not spoil those here but suffice it to say that if my wife, who is a casual fan of the series, was able to note conflicts and discrepancies between this film and a previous film, then certainly hard-core fans may have some real issues.
The film does a good job with explaining the origin and nature of the characters, but fails to provide an adventure worthy of the effort and instead plays out in a very underwhelming fashion. Director Matthew Vaughn proved himself highly adept with adventure films when he produced “Kick Ass“, and other action-oriented films. He is clearly a fan of comics and action and I would love to have seen what could’ve resulted had he been given carte blanche with the film.
In the end, “X-Men: First Class“, for me was more entertaining than the previous ensemble films, but fails to live up to its potential and severely lacks enough action to sustain the early momentum of the film.
Then 20th Century Fox decided to tell a team-based origin story that focuses on the early days of the X-Men and how they became the team that they are today. This is a bit of a controversial move as it involves recasting several roles to play younger versions of beloved characters.
The result is X-Men: First Class which stars Scottish actor James McAvoy as Charles Xavier, a brilliant young academic who hides his unique and amazing telepathic gifts from the world. When a chance encounter proves to Charles that there are others in the world who share his gifts he dedicates his studies to unlocking the mysteries of genetic mutations and their possibilities.
At the same time a young man named Eric Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender), has embarked on a path of destruction and revenge against those who wronged and tormented him and his family during the Nazi occupation of their native Poland. Eric’s main target is man who now calls himself Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), who has surrounded himself with a team of skilled mutants and is manipulating US and Russia to the brink of nuclear war, for his own evil purposes.
When CIA Agent MacTaggart (Rose Byrne), learns of Shaw’s plans, she recruits Xavier, not knowing that he and his friend Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) are mutants themselves, with the hopes of understanding their new enemy and mounting a proper defense.
When the truth of his true nature is revealed, Charles teems with MacTaggart and scientist Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult), to locate and recruit other gifted individuals to their cause. Fate steps in when Erik and Charles meet and eventually become friends over there mutual pursuit of Shaw. Despite a great deal of understanding between the two individuals, Eric is intent upon killing Shaw. He warns his new friend not to trust humans, as his time under Nazi control taught him that it’s only a matter of time until he and his fellow mutants are targeted for extinction by the world. Despite this the Eric and Charles recruit and train a team to prepare to face Shaw and his followers, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.
The film starts off well and it was very enjoyable to see a deeper side of the characters. From young Charles hitting on women in bars and making jokes about losing his full head of hair to the deadly side of Eric and his abilities as well as the early relationship between the iconic characters. Somewhere along the way the film loses its initial momentum as the plot of the film takes a while to get going. As good as the cast is, they need something to do and after numerous debates and a few training and recruitment segments the film became somewhat boring. There simply was not a lot of action to sustain the plot.
Kevin Bacon was an interesting choice for the villain. He did a good job, although watching him strut around I kept expecting him to break into dance at any moment. Another issue I had was that some of the supporting characters were basically throwaway as I cared little about their stories and outcomes. Only the characters of Raven, Eric, and Charles held any real interest for me and watching their interplay with one another was one of the strong points of the film.
As the film move toward the finale there were several things about it that did not work for me starting with the makeup for The Beast. Complete with spectacles it was almost a laughable look that brought to mind Jason Bateman in “Teen Wolf 2“. The fact that the character was annoying as well did very little to help.
The biggest issue I had with the film was that after all this buildup the finale was actually very ho-hum and while it did contain some visually nice moments, I do not feel the action balanced with the storytelling, certainly not to the extent that audiences expect from nor require of a summer blockbuster.
There are a couple of moments in the film that will certainly be questioned by fans of the series as well as scenes which conflict with information from the earlier films in the series. It seems certain elements of continuity have been omitted for creative license. I will not spoil those here but suffice it to say that if my wife, who is a casual fan of the series, was able to note conflicts and discrepancies between this film and a previous film, then certainly hard-core fans may have some real issues.
The film does a good job with explaining the origin and nature of the characters, but fails to provide an adventure worthy of the effort and instead plays out in a very underwhelming fashion. Director Matthew Vaughn proved himself highly adept with adventure films when he produced “Kick Ass“, and other action-oriented films. He is clearly a fan of comics and action and I would love to have seen what could’ve resulted had he been given carte blanche with the film.
In the end, “X-Men: First Class“, for me was more entertaining than the previous ensemble films, but fails to live up to its potential and severely lacks enough action to sustain the early momentum of the film.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated The Karate Kid (2010) in Movies
Aug 8, 2019
It may not be “use the force”, but the phrase “wax on, wax off” has stood the test of time in popular culture and cinematic fame. Would the newest Karate Kid film do the same? Could I stomach another ghastly remake in a year that seems endlessly full of them? Well, I am happy to report that I didn’t have to.
Jaden Smith crafts an engaging portrayal of the lead character, Dre Parker, a kid trying to fit in and make friends as an African-American in China. Equally impressive was Jackie Chan as maintenance man by day, Kung Fu master by night, Mr. Han. Chan’s performance was surprisingly dramatic and, for once, did not entirely center on his undeniable martial arts appeal. Don’t get me wrong, the martial arts are in there but for Chan this film displays his tenure as a veteran of the big screen.
It seems there is only one thing that could have been better: Tarji P. Hensen who played Dre’s dopey mom, Sherry Parker. No parent could seem this self-absorbed and unaware of a situation yet maintain wholesome parental figure status, and the acting was poor to boot. Overshadowing Hensen’s lame interjections was Dre’s adorable love interest, Meiying (played by Wenwen Han). The performance of Meiying managed to captured not only Dre’s heart but also that of the entire audience while staying on the film’s well-plotted course.
“The Karate Kid” is emotionally charged and action packed, there is really no denying it. And so what if the whole thing also looks a lot like a tourist film for China, the great landscapes and classic shots only add to the imagery.
Film buffs and fans of the original Karate Kid series will enjoy the mix of subtly-placed and more blatant references to the original films. Better yet it quickly becomes clear that Jackie Chan is not trying to top the legendary performance of Pat Morita but manages to prove that the story we all got so wrapped up in 1984 is still relevant in today’s modern world.
Jaden Smith crafts an engaging portrayal of the lead character, Dre Parker, a kid trying to fit in and make friends as an African-American in China. Equally impressive was Jackie Chan as maintenance man by day, Kung Fu master by night, Mr. Han. Chan’s performance was surprisingly dramatic and, for once, did not entirely center on his undeniable martial arts appeal. Don’t get me wrong, the martial arts are in there but for Chan this film displays his tenure as a veteran of the big screen.
It seems there is only one thing that could have been better: Tarji P. Hensen who played Dre’s dopey mom, Sherry Parker. No parent could seem this self-absorbed and unaware of a situation yet maintain wholesome parental figure status, and the acting was poor to boot. Overshadowing Hensen’s lame interjections was Dre’s adorable love interest, Meiying (played by Wenwen Han). The performance of Meiying managed to captured not only Dre’s heart but also that of the entire audience while staying on the film’s well-plotted course.
“The Karate Kid” is emotionally charged and action packed, there is really no denying it. And so what if the whole thing also looks a lot like a tourist film for China, the great landscapes and classic shots only add to the imagery.
Film buffs and fans of the original Karate Kid series will enjoy the mix of subtly-placed and more blatant references to the original films. Better yet it quickly becomes clear that Jackie Chan is not trying to top the legendary performance of Pat Morita but manages to prove that the story we all got so wrapped up in 1984 is still relevant in today’s modern world.
The Arab of the Future: Volume 3: A Childhood in the Middle East, 1985-1987 - A Graphic Memoir
Book
VOLUME 3 IN THE UNFORGETTABLE STORY OF AN EXTRAORDINARY CHILDHOOD Praise for The Arab of the Future...
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Retribution (Dark Hunters #19) in Books
Sep 20, 2019
Contains spoilers, click to show
Harm no human...
A hired gunslinger, William Jessup Brady lived his life with one foot in the grave. He believed that every life had a price. Until the day when he finally found a reason to live. In one single act of brutal betrayal, he lost everything, including his life. Brought back by a Greek goddess to be one of her Dark-Hunters, he gave his immortal soul for vengeance and swore he'd spend eternity protecting the humans he'd once considered prey.
Orphaned as a toddler, Abigail Yager was taken in by a family of vampires and raised on one belief - Dark-Hunters are the evil who prey on both their people and mankind, and they must all be destroyed. While protecting her adoptive race, she has spent her life eliminating the Dark-Hunters and training for the day when she meeting the man who killed her family: Jess Brady.
A gun in the hand is worth two in the holster....
Jess has been charged with finding and terminating the creature who's assassinating Dark-Hunters. The last thing he expects to find is a human face behind the killings, but when that face bears a striking resemblance to the one who murdered him centuries ago, he knows something evil is going on. He also knows he's not the one who killed her parents. But Abigail refuses to believe the truth and is determined to see him dead once and for all.
Brought together by an angry god and chased by ancient enemies out to kill them both, they must find a way to overcome their mutual hatred or watch as one of the darkest of powers rises and kills both the races they've sworn to protect.
I love this series to be honest there's not a Kenyon book I don't enjoy! Loved learning about Jess and Abigail the story was so involved not sure I'd enjoy the plagues though!
I enjoy the relationships in this book as we don't normally get so many Dark Hunters in one place!
The bonus chapter was even more special showing a very rare occasion of Artemis doing something nice for Ash! Oh and Simi no book is complete without Simi and her BBQ sauce.
A hired gunslinger, William Jessup Brady lived his life with one foot in the grave. He believed that every life had a price. Until the day when he finally found a reason to live. In one single act of brutal betrayal, he lost everything, including his life. Brought back by a Greek goddess to be one of her Dark-Hunters, he gave his immortal soul for vengeance and swore he'd spend eternity protecting the humans he'd once considered prey.
Orphaned as a toddler, Abigail Yager was taken in by a family of vampires and raised on one belief - Dark-Hunters are the evil who prey on both their people and mankind, and they must all be destroyed. While protecting her adoptive race, she has spent her life eliminating the Dark-Hunters and training for the day when she meeting the man who killed her family: Jess Brady.
A gun in the hand is worth two in the holster....
Jess has been charged with finding and terminating the creature who's assassinating Dark-Hunters. The last thing he expects to find is a human face behind the killings, but when that face bears a striking resemblance to the one who murdered him centuries ago, he knows something evil is going on. He also knows he's not the one who killed her parents. But Abigail refuses to believe the truth and is determined to see him dead once and for all.
Brought together by an angry god and chased by ancient enemies out to kill them both, they must find a way to overcome their mutual hatred or watch as one of the darkest of powers rises and kills both the races they've sworn to protect.
I love this series to be honest there's not a Kenyon book I don't enjoy! Loved learning about Jess and Abigail the story was so involved not sure I'd enjoy the plagues though!
I enjoy the relationships in this book as we don't normally get so many Dark Hunters in one place!
The bonus chapter was even more special showing a very rare occasion of Artemis doing something nice for Ash! Oh and Simi no book is complete without Simi and her BBQ sauce.