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Abominable (2019)
Abominable (2019)
2019 | Adventure, Animation, Comedy
Abominable is a new animated film that is co-produced between Dreamworks Studio and Pearl studio (out of China).

The main character is called Yi, voiced by Chloe Bennett.

Yi is a bit lost, and sad due to the death of her father. We are introduced to her in the film working working working and barely slowing down enough to eat, and never spending and family time with her mother (voiced by Michelle Wong) and grandmother (Tsai Chin).

I could tell there was more to Yi’s reluctance to spend time with her family than just ‘work’, and the movie, from an adult perspective, showed that Yi didn’t feel like she really HAD a family anymore, because of the loss of her dad.

We find out that she is working so hard to earn money to travel to all the spots she was supposed to travel with her father to.

Discovering a Yeti on the roof of her apartment building puts a monkey wrench in her plans, however.

Yi discovers that the Yeti needs to find his way home to HIS family, and that his home is Mount Everest. She promptly tags the Yeti with the name ‘Everest’.

Her best friend Peng (voiced by Albert Tsai) and Pengs cousin Jin (voiced by Tenzing Norgay Trainor – who is actually the grandson of Tenzing Norgay, one of the first men to reach the summit of Everest), get roped into the adventure.

The group must avoid being captured by a man intent on collecting novel and new animals, named Burnish (Eddie Izzard) and his assistant Dr. Zara (Sarah Paulson) who is not what she seems, who Everest had escaped from.

The movie moves along quickly and kept even my 3 year old who never-stops-moving pretty engaged for at least the first hour.

My 11 year old son was entranced the whole way through.

I thought that the animation was great, the visuals (scenery) that the movie existed in were phenomenally done and the music was perfectly arranged to go with the story line.

The story itself was sweet, and a bit sad, but did evolve well and showed the possibilities of moving beyond deep sadness and the healing power of music and friends and helping others as well.

It’s a great family film, and I would go see it again for sure.

I would actually give this movie 5 out of 5 stars as a kids / family movie.

It’s a must see!
  
Pokemon Colosseum
Pokemon Colosseum
2003 | Action/Adventure
Great looking 3D graphics the first ever 3D graphics on a Pokemon game of the traditional RPG genre (1 more)
Very interesting ambitious story that definitely goes to a different direction
The game is rather Limited in how many Pokemon you can catch which would definitely be a big turn-off for any big Pokemon fans (1 more)
The game has a somewhat straightforward game progression and you pretty much have to fast travel everywhere which takes away a lot of the exploration aspects that the franchise is so known for
Probably the most ambitious Pokemon game ever
Contains spoilers, click to show
This game is truly unique within the Pokemon franchise

It was the first ever Pokemon game put out on the a non handheld console


That was considered a turn based RPG yes you had games like Pokemon Stadium and Pokemon snap but those
Where attempts at Different genres



But rather than follow the time-tested formula that people love so much they decided to go in a very experimental path featuring story revolving around a Pokemon


Thief That would steal other people's Pokemon


Game had a very solid storyline but it definitely suffers


Constraining level designs the small amount of Pokemon available and the lack of the overall charm of the franchise
  
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Sean Farrell (9 KP) rated The Fold in Books

Mar 15, 2018  
The Fold
The Fold
Peter Clines | 2015 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
9.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
The idea of being able to travel vast distances in only a few steps is a compelling one, and it's hard not to imagine that there is at least some work being done trying to discover ways to make it happen. As such, that makes the premise of "The Fold" all that much more believable: that a team of scientists being funded by DARPA has invented a portal that bends space-time to bring 2 points closer together, allowing a person to simply step across and be any distance away in an instant. Of course, something seems not quite right about the goings-on at the lab, and Mike Erikson is recruited to head there and investigate things. I won't tell you what happens from there, and I think the less one knows about it going into the book the better. Let's just say that things don't work out quite the way they want them to, and this winds up being one of the scarier, more suspenseful books I've read in a while. If I hadn't had to work in the mornings, I would have probably stayed up all night reading this one, it's that compelling. Easily the most entertaining book I've read in 2015 so far.
  
Deadpool 2 (2018)
Deadpool 2 (2018)
2018 | Action, Comedy
I'll refrain from gushing, but needless to say, this movie was wonderfully entertaining mindless violence. Just what I look for in a film. I'm still cheesed off that there wasn't a midnight screening, but it was a wonderful showing with loads of us packed in to see it. There's no denying that a packed house makes for a better experience. We were all laughing and cringing together, such fun.

As you can see just a little further down the screen, I saw this another two times, and I'm still not convinced that I saw all the little nods to other things. Top tip for the DVD commentary... one with actual commentary, and one with Peter just telling you what all the little things were.

Speaking of Peter, he is definitely one of my top five things about DP2. He's magnificent, and I genuinely panicked when bad things started happening to X-Force... and damn the script writers for lulling me into a false sense of security.

Bit of a spoiler alert here if you haven't seen it... I love the credit scene... but who in their right mind would give Deadpool a time travel device?! What about that seemed sensible to you, Negasonic Teenage Warhead? WHAT?
  
My Heart & Soul (Lyrics of Love #11)
My Heart & Soul (Lyrics of Love #11)
Melody Sweet | 2020 | Contemporary, Romance
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
My Heart & Soul is the eleventh book in the Lyrics of Love series and was previously published as Rather Be by Melissa Pearl. In this story, you meet Charlie and Nixon - two high school sweethearts who let life (and parents) get in the way.

Charlie is the free-spirited one, the one who wants to travel the world. Nixon is the steady one, the one whose parents want him to become a lawyer. At first glance, it appears these two have nothing in common but the music they both like so much. Can there be more to their story than just music though?

Their story is as much hopeful as heartbreaking and there are plenty of times when I just wanted them both to spit out just how they felt about each other. It happened, trust me, but all in good time. It was great seeing previous characters in this and catching up on their stories too, whilst the focus remains firmly on Chix.

A great, sweet, contemporary romance that I enjoyed and have no hesitation in recommending.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Avengers: Endgame (2019) in Movies

May 14, 2019 (Updated May 14, 2019)  
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
2019 | Sci-Fi, Thriller
A truly incredible end to the MCU Infinity Saga
SPOLIER FREE REVIEW

Avengers: Endgame is finally here after the shocking events of Infinity War.

First and foremost, a huge amount of respect is owed to the Russo brothers for managing to juggle so many characters across these two films (and Civil War) to a hugely satisfying degree.

But with a smaller cast to manage this time around, this is a film that is able to focus more on the original six Avengers from 2012.

The majority of the film is quite dialogue heavy, as the film focuses on a fun time travel plot, that takes us through a nostalgia filled trip through some of the past MCU films, filled with cameos galore.
The usual mix of thrilling set pieces, emotional beats (that scene set in 1970?), and comedy land just as well as they always have done, with Paul Rudd and Chris Hemsworth delivering most of the humour.

Robert Downey Jr and Scarlett Johansson shine as Tony Stark and Black Widow, as they always do, and I also enjoyed the amount of time they spent with characters like Hawkeye and Nebula, characters who would usually be considered secondary.

A concern I had going in was that they might use the recently added Captain Marvel, but thankfully isn't the case. She is used sparingly, and therefore effectively.

The only real gripe I have with Endgame, is that Thanos is forced more into a backseat role, after his incredible character arc throughout Infinity War, but is understandable, as mentioned above, this film is all about the original 6, and that's where the main focus lies. Saying that though, I did feel pretty unsatisfied with how they concluded the story arc for Black Widow...


As the movie approaches the inevitable big showdown, the ensuing battle is nothing short of thrilling, a pure scene of unobstructed comic book joy, that will have any Marvel fan trying not to shout at the screen.

All in all, it's a phenomenal ending to this chapter of the MCU, and I can't wait for what comes next (especially now that Marvel Studios have the Fox properties back)
  
Morrigan's Cross
Morrigan's Cross
Nora Roberts | 2006 | Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Magical & beautifully written
I was gifted this book by Nora Roberts herself as a “thank you” for putting together the #CopyPasteCrisList & helping bring all of the plagiarism by Cristiane Serruya to light. Needless to say, when I opened the package I cried tears of excitement & dived into Morrigan’s Cross almost immediately. This is my very first Nora Roberts, and I can guarantee that it won’t be my last.

I’ve always been hesitant to read Nora Roberts. When I first got into romance, I avoided many of the well-known authors simply because I felt the need to be “cool.” Luckily, I got out of that phase because I would have missed out on some of the best books I have read. Morrigan’s Cross by Nora Roberts is beautiful. The writing is spectacular, and I didn’t know what to do with myself after finishing it. The writing style was so formal and elegant. I’m a quote hoarder, and this book was heaven. There were so many quotable moments and phrases that I had to stop myself from highlighting the entire book.

One thing that struck me with this book was just how developed each character was. Many of the books I have read can’t compare. It was refreshing and beautiful to read a book that was so flushed out. It was like every sentence had a purpose, and every character was there for a reason. Because of this, it took me a while to read this book. I realized about halfway into the book that this book needed to be savored and not devoured like I was used to. Everything was just so well done that I took my time entirely immersing myself into this book.

The plot was something completely different. I loved all of the various plot points to it. The time travel aspect was a fun twist, and I loved having both vampire and wizard elements. The romance was also top notch and kept me swooning the entire time.

I could keep going with how amazing this book was, but my words can’t do it justice. This book was beautiful, and I can see why Nora Roberts is a household name.
  
Queen Naija by Queen Naija
Queen Naija by Queen Naija
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
Queen Naija is a famous Youtuber and an R&B/Soul singer-songwriter out of Detroit, Michigan. Not too long ago, she released her beautiful self-titled debut EP.

“MEDICINE”

The video finds Queen Naija, dressed in yellow attire, reading text messages on her phone. She confronts her man when he enters the room and addresses his cheating ways. Later, she gives him a taste of his own medicine.

The song was crafted during a detrimental time in Naija’s life when she was having problems with her ex. People wanted to know if she was staying with him or leaving. She recorded “Medicine” and perhaps her entire EP as a response.

“KARMA”

The video was captured inside Capitol Records’ Studio A. It finds Queen Naija in a pinstripe outfit singing her heart out about moving on from being hurt.

Her relationship turned sour after her ex-man started making money and got a sudden case of amnesia. He replaced Naija with a bunch of promiscuous women. So she applauded him for doing that by saying, “Congratulations to you, what you wanted is what you got now.”

“MAMA’S HAND”


Queen Naija dedicates a lovely song to her son. She promises to give him everything and encourages him to have optimistic thoughts about the future. But most importantly, she wants him to put God first and never let go of her hand while they travel through life and its unexpecting journey.

“BUTTERFLIES”

Queen Naija bears her soul, revealing she’s deeply in love. With perhaps someone new? She gets butterflies in her stomach whenever she sees him. Also, she’s thinking about getting into a relationship because she can’t let go of him. Ever since he crossed her path, her life hasn’t been the same.

“BAD BOY”

Queen Naija reveals she’s a good girl and this is her first time being in love with a bad boy. Although she loves their connection, she knows she has to be cautious and take her time. Also, she feels, maybe, her goodness will cause him to change for the better.

CONCLUSION

Queen Naija’s self-titled debut EP is a solid body of work. Produced entirely by 30HertzBeats, it contains charismatic instrumentation, soulful vocals, and charming melodies.

https://www.bongminesentertainment.com/queen-naija-debut-ep/
  
PB
Pale Blue Scratch
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Full review can be found on: diaryofdifference.com/2018/06/18/pale-blue-scratch-jay-dinitto-book-review/

I was lucky enough to be approached by Jay DiNitto himself, and he sent me a copy of his first novel - Pale Blue Scratch in exchange for an honest review. This is a book unlike anything else I have ever read, and it left me impressed. I dearly enjoyed it, and maybe you will too.

As mentioned above, this is a book unlike any other that I have read. It is a great mix of fiction / action / fast-paced scenes / philosophy / psychology and a little bit of time-travelling.
Even though we have two main characters - Elizabeth and Vincent, this book focused more on Elizabeth, for various reasons.

<img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1455591169l/28919161.jpg"/>;

There were times when the scenes were slow, and somewhat a bit dull, but there were also times when there were fast-paced scenes that make me bite my nails. Though, as a whole, I found the story to not quite fit my taste. It felt like Elizabeth didn’t have a great or a strong enough reason to do this adventure.

Elizabeth’s character - now this is something quite amusing! I have never met a character like this - so twisted in a cute hippocrytical way. A nun with an adorable sense of humor, that goes around on a mission to make a time-travel machine, and happens to hurt people on her way… I loved her character in a very weird way (don’t judge!)

Now Vincent didn’t quite hit the mark. He seemed more of a plain character, like a little copy of someone else, somewhere, once upon a time. He gave the impression of a person that, unlike Elizabeth, didn’t quite knew where he belonged and what he’s doing. It felt like it didn’t bother him at all. And that’s alright. The moment when this started to hurt me was at the end - when he didn’t change a bit.
Even though a bit disappointed that I didn’t get to read much about time-travelling as I would want to, this book was quite amusing and it covered various random topics that I quite liked. I loved that variety when one moment you talk about religion, the other moment a great action scene happens, and then here we are again, discussing life philosophy.

All in all, to sum it all up - I greatly enjoyed this book! It was definitely unusual read, and unique in every single way. And if you love fiction / action / a bit of time-travelling / humor and philosophy, this might be easily your new favourite book!

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Back to the Future Part II (1989)
Back to the Future Part II (1989)
1989 | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Continues the story very well
Not many sequels not only continue right where the first film ended, but at such a fever pitch. Seems like from the moment this film starts with Doc, Marty and Jennifer going to see "their kids" in 2015, the story never really stops.

It's funny now to look at the film since we are already well past the "future" time of what filmmakers got correct (Cubs winning the World Series against "Miami" and video chatting) and what they had incorrect (flying cars, fax machines, Hover Boards). They still has mailboxes on the city streets!



Since parts 2 and 3 were filmed back to back (one of the first times this was done) the screenplay does a ton of foreshadowing of what is to come which is really cool. When Doc talks about trying to conquer "women" or how he would like to visit the Old West.

As with most time travel films, if you start to think about some of the nuances or small details too much some of them don't really jive, but this is a small detail.

I love how the last third of the film really weaves in between the events of the original Back to the Future film trying hard not to change any of those events to keep the narrative and "timeline" going as best as possible.

I remember sitting there when it ended really mad I had to wait until May of 1990 (6 whole months later) to find out what happened to Marty and Doc. Not quite as bad as having to wait 3 years to find out what happened to Han Solo after he was frozen in Carbonite, but that's another story.