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Tim McGuire (301 KP) rated 1922 (2017) in Movies
Nov 2, 2019
Old Movie Revisited: 1922. Another sweet Netflix made Stephen King movie, within less than a month of Gerald's Game, another awesome sauce flick. This one brings back Thomas Jane into the King fold for at least the third time, a trend I hope he continues, seems to fit in well... a roll in the Dark Tower perhaps, well, isn't he already... In this one, taking place sometime before WW2 ;) we have farmer Wilfred James and his wife, Arlette, and son Henry. Now Arlette wants out of the midwest farm crap fest and move to the big city, sell the farm, get a divorce... Wilfred, well doesnt really seem to care about the divorce part, but losing the farm and Henry, cause of course the boy will go off with mommy, isnt going to happen. So what is a dad to do, duh, convince your 14 year old son to help murder your wife, invent a tale she ran off and expect everything to go well. You may have guessed, it doesn't... Hell, even little Henry becomes a outlaw. Good flick, bringing in some old Stephen King landmarks to tie in his universe a little tighter, takes place near Hemingford Home, where a few well known King characters hail from, big one being Abagail Freemantle, of The Stand... But more recently in theatres... IT, one little fat boy named Ben Hanscom also once roved it roads! Thomas Jane was awesome, if a Shining remake was ever in the works to be more true to the book, I'd love to see Mr. Jane as Jack, i think he'd be insane :) Filmbufftim on FB
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon in Books
Dec 29, 2020
I'd never heard of this Stephen King novel before but that's the joys of charity shops. The blurb on the back book didn't give much away and going into any King book blind can be a bit of a gamble, will it be horror, dark tower related, Shining related or some kind of hybrid. Oddly 'The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon' doesn't necessarily fit into any of these category's.
Set in Mane (Like a lot of Kings works.) 'The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon' follows 9 year old Trisha McFarland as she gets lost in the wood whilst on a hike with her mother and brother. The story is more about coping with horror than an actual horror story as Trisha tries to find her way out of the woods whilst having to contend with the changing landscape, dead animals, hunger, thirst and exposure. Oh and there may or may not be something stalking her and that's the real extent of the horror, the 'not knowing' what's out there. There is no 'Dark man' or plague and no one has any shine, the story is just a little girl trying to find her way home. King mix's the real threats with those of Trisha's imagination , blurring the line so that, by the end the reader is not sure what really happened. Pushed to her limits Trisha is forced to dwell on the nature of god(s) and whether she should wait for a miracle or try to save her self .
Overall a good book that is slightly different to Kings other works and, at just over 200 pages (the copy I read) it's a refreshingly quick read
Set in Mane (Like a lot of Kings works.) 'The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon' follows 9 year old Trisha McFarland as she gets lost in the wood whilst on a hike with her mother and brother. The story is more about coping with horror than an actual horror story as Trisha tries to find her way out of the woods whilst having to contend with the changing landscape, dead animals, hunger, thirst and exposure. Oh and there may or may not be something stalking her and that's the real extent of the horror, the 'not knowing' what's out there. There is no 'Dark man' or plague and no one has any shine, the story is just a little girl trying to find her way home. King mix's the real threats with those of Trisha's imagination , blurring the line so that, by the end the reader is not sure what really happened. Pushed to her limits Trisha is forced to dwell on the nature of god(s) and whether she should wait for a miracle or try to save her self .
Overall a good book that is slightly different to Kings other works and, at just over 200 pages (the copy I read) it's a refreshingly quick read
ClareR (5603 KP) rated The Queens Lady in Books
Dec 8, 2022
The Queens Lady is the second in the Queens of the Tower series, and picks up the Joan Vaux story where it left off in the last book. She’s now Lady Joan Guildford, and is Lady in Waiting to Queen Elizabeth, the wife of Henry VII. It’s a privileged position and means that Joan is at Court when Prince Arthur dies and Prince Henry is named as heir. Joan acts as something of a go between with the King and Queen, but King Henry is a serious, dour man - and this isn’t improved when the Queen dies shortly after her son.
Joan no longer has a place at court, and her husband falls out of favour when his enemies gain considerable influence with the King.
It was really interesting to learn about the inner workings of the English court and the precarious line that courtiers had to tread. Joan also gave some insight into some significant historical events: the Field of the Cloth of Gold in France, Princess Margaret’s marriage to King James, the arrival of Catherine of Aragon, and accompanying Princess Mary to Paris when she marries King Louis.
I’m an absolute sucker for historical fiction, and I loved the details and the very human, realistic style this book was written in. And I really liked Joan.
The ravens are a constant - after all, Joan is the Lady of the Ravens. Bu they’re not as central to the storyline this time.
I don’t know whether this will just be a duology, or if there’s more to come, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Highly recommended.
Joan no longer has a place at court, and her husband falls out of favour when his enemies gain considerable influence with the King.
It was really interesting to learn about the inner workings of the English court and the precarious line that courtiers had to tread. Joan also gave some insight into some significant historical events: the Field of the Cloth of Gold in France, Princess Margaret’s marriage to King James, the arrival of Catherine of Aragon, and accompanying Princess Mary to Paris when she marries King Louis.
I’m an absolute sucker for historical fiction, and I loved the details and the very human, realistic style this book was written in. And I really liked Joan.
The ravens are a constant - after all, Joan is the Lady of the Ravens. Bu they’re not as central to the storyline this time.
I don’t know whether this will just be a duology, or if there’s more to come, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Highly recommended.
Kaysee Hood (83 KP) rated Tower Of Dawn in Books
Nov 3, 2017
Badass Women (2 more)
Big Birds
Acceptance
Vlag Ladies (2 more)
Giant Spiders
Spies
Uncovered Secrets
With the sixth book in the Throne of Glass series we come find there is more to the Vlag than what was originally thought to be. Chaol and Nesryn both discover pieces of the puzzle as well as parts of themselves through the healer, Yrene Towers, and Prince Sartaq in an attempt to raise an army to move North and to have his back healed.
Once more Mass had me caught up in the pages of her book and it was kind of bizarre to be captured by a ToG novel, yet the focus is on the Hand of the King and the newly appointed Captain of the Guard rather than Aelin, which I was glad for. I don't believe if EoS and ToD were combined as planned it could not have conveyed important plot points, character growth, and development of new characters and plots as well as being two separate books. In ToD we're able to see Chaol progress not only with his injury, but within himself as he deals with the horrors from QoS. We're able to read through how Yrene is unwillingly to work with Chaol to how she realizes it is within herself. Nesryn is able to find herself, her actual self she was not able to express in Adarlan., Even the royal family here makes progress, tiny steps to better themselves. Combined that with what is found about the Vlag as well as a certain few people and Tower of Dawn is another successful ToG book.
So if you're a fan of the others then go find a copy. If you've been wanting to read the series then it is a good time to start as the end is getting closer.
Once more Mass had me caught up in the pages of her book and it was kind of bizarre to be captured by a ToG novel, yet the focus is on the Hand of the King and the newly appointed Captain of the Guard rather than Aelin, which I was glad for. I don't believe if EoS and ToD were combined as planned it could not have conveyed important plot points, character growth, and development of new characters and plots as well as being two separate books. In ToD we're able to see Chaol progress not only with his injury, but within himself as he deals with the horrors from QoS. We're able to read through how Yrene is unwillingly to work with Chaol to how she realizes it is within herself. Nesryn is able to find herself, her actual self she was not able to express in Adarlan., Even the royal family here makes progress, tiny steps to better themselves. Combined that with what is found about the Vlag as well as a certain few people and Tower of Dawn is another successful ToG book.
So if you're a fan of the others then go find a copy. If you've been wanting to read the series then it is a good time to start as the end is getting closer.
Jon Hansen (9 KP) rated Magic Rush: Heroes in Apps
May 2, 2019
Boring (3 more)
Gacha (random character drawing)
Throttled progress
Free to play, pay to progress: Hostageware
The latest in a long line of soulless Gacha
This game gets a solid C for effort. An RPG with occasionally tower defense elements is okay in concept, but this implimentation is sure to leave you feeling hungry for more. As in, more of some other game. Because let me be clear there's nothing satisfying here to playing this game. Take a look at the central gameplay mechanics:
- Energy system arbitrarily keeps you from playong the game at a pace necessary to actually enjoy it (oh, of course, you can insert a quarter in the form of $5 % to keep playing for another twenty seconds)
- hero draw mechanic makes sure that you have no control over what champions you have and whether they're good or not, leaving zero room for customization
- Standard Battles amount to little more than an Idle clicker.
- Alliances encourage you to team up with people you don't know and don't and won't ever care about to do nothing
- weak and meaningless pvp battles because they're still just the aforementioned idle clicker
- re-raid previously completed maps for junk to progress! This of course costs money, and with its poor interface it is left taking days longer than it needs to. But hey, for those of us who like farming but not gameplay, I guess it makes sense.
- constant ads and offers for bundles that cost your life savings and do nothing
- ...and much, much more, ensuring the game is 4x as generic as every other game on the entire app store. 2 stars for good (read:non-buggy) implimentation of this cash grab street beggar simulator.
- Energy system arbitrarily keeps you from playong the game at a pace necessary to actually enjoy it (oh, of course, you can insert a quarter in the form of $5 % to keep playing for another twenty seconds)
- hero draw mechanic makes sure that you have no control over what champions you have and whether they're good or not, leaving zero room for customization
- Standard Battles amount to little more than an Idle clicker.
- Alliances encourage you to team up with people you don't know and don't and won't ever care about to do nothing
- weak and meaningless pvp battles because they're still just the aforementioned idle clicker
- re-raid previously completed maps for junk to progress! This of course costs money, and with its poor interface it is left taking days longer than it needs to. But hey, for those of us who like farming but not gameplay, I guess it makes sense.
- constant ads and offers for bundles that cost your life savings and do nothing
- ...and much, much more, ensuring the game is 4x as generic as every other game on the entire app store. 2 stars for good (read:non-buggy) implimentation of this cash grab street beggar simulator.
The Marinated Meeple (1848 KP) rated Top Gun (1986) in Movies
Apr 1, 2018
Karaoke scenes (5 more)
Insisting on a shower
Taking me to bed before you lose me forever
Having goose talk to you....
Val Kilmer is awesome, despite not wanting to even be in it, had to for contractual reasons... it's one of his all time best.
The "Danger Zone" soundtrack
A Modern Classic, and Tom Cruise's best work.
this is an 80's classic, a movies movie. Cinema perfection. It embodies a time with no excuses, and really delivers on every level. want to know how quotable this movie is: The real Top Gun School imposes a five dollar fine to anyone in the staff that quotes the movie.
Val Kilmer is amazing: When the guys, as students, were first being spoken to by Charlie in the hanger, Maverick explains that he gave "the bird" to a MiG. She asks how he saw the MiG up close, and he says he was flying inverted. Right then, Ice coughs "bullshit" and the guys laughed. The "bullshit" line was ad libbed by Val Kilmer, and everyone's reactions are genuine.
Also a little known fat.No one had ever "buzzed the tower" at Miramar before. The Navy pilots, who were flying the scenes for the film, drew straws to see who would get to do it. It went to Lieutenant Commander Lloyd "Bozo" Abel. Michael Ironside just happened to be at the hangar that day, and the plane flew low enough to where he could actually see into the cockpit as it flew by. He said it was one of the most spectacular things he'd ever seen.
As is this movie good sir... as is this movie....
Also here is an awesome alternate movie poster for your enjoyment. I hope it holds you over until Top Gun 2 comes out.
Val Kilmer is amazing: When the guys, as students, were first being spoken to by Charlie in the hanger, Maverick explains that he gave "the bird" to a MiG. She asks how he saw the MiG up close, and he says he was flying inverted. Right then, Ice coughs "bullshit" and the guys laughed. The "bullshit" line was ad libbed by Val Kilmer, and everyone's reactions are genuine.
Also a little known fat.No one had ever "buzzed the tower" at Miramar before. The Navy pilots, who were flying the scenes for the film, drew straws to see who would get to do it. It went to Lieutenant Commander Lloyd "Bozo" Abel. Michael Ironside just happened to be at the hangar that day, and the plane flew low enough to where he could actually see into the cockpit as it flew by. He said it was one of the most spectacular things he'd ever seen.
As is this movie good sir... as is this movie....
Also here is an awesome alternate movie poster for your enjoyment. I hope it holds you over until Top Gun 2 comes out.
Andy K (10821 KP) rated Overlord (2018) in Movies
Dec 1, 2019
Saving Private Ryan meets Resident Evil!
Had heard mixed reviews on this, but saw it for 4 bucks for Black Friday so I figured I couldn't lose!
Basically, to prevent the Allied forces being massacred on D-Day, US troops are ordered to detonate a Nazi communication tower. A small band of brothers actually makes it to the ground and finds a small French town equipped with a cute French girl and her brother. When a Nazi commander comes calling for more than an interrogation, the surviving troops must decide whether t reveal themselves to save her.
I actually really got into this movie and thought the action mixed with horror was pretty cool. Some of the fight/shootout sequences were cleverly done along with some of the secrets and experiments the Nazis are hiding deep within their stronghold. There are tough decisions and ultimate sacrifices to be made and the film threads the needle between genres successfully. I could see how if you were thinking this was going to be a full out horror film you would be disappointed; however, I had kind of heard a little about it ahead of time so my expectations were redirected.
The SFX held well throughout and didn't stick out as being bad or taking you out of the action. When some of the more extreme elements are revealed, I went along with it like I was watching my son play one of his weird FPS games. A lot of the film did feel like I was watching Call of Duty or something like that. Boy do I wish I could have those yeas of my life watching my son play that crap back!
Colossally entertaining!
Basically, to prevent the Allied forces being massacred on D-Day, US troops are ordered to detonate a Nazi communication tower. A small band of brothers actually makes it to the ground and finds a small French town equipped with a cute French girl and her brother. When a Nazi commander comes calling for more than an interrogation, the surviving troops must decide whether t reveal themselves to save her.
I actually really got into this movie and thought the action mixed with horror was pretty cool. Some of the fight/shootout sequences were cleverly done along with some of the secrets and experiments the Nazis are hiding deep within their stronghold. There are tough decisions and ultimate sacrifices to be made and the film threads the needle between genres successfully. I could see how if you were thinking this was going to be a full out horror film you would be disappointed; however, I had kind of heard a little about it ahead of time so my expectations were redirected.
The SFX held well throughout and didn't stick out as being bad or taking you out of the action. When some of the more extreme elements are revealed, I went along with it like I was watching my son play one of his weird FPS games. A lot of the film did feel like I was watching Call of Duty or something like that. Boy do I wish I could have those yeas of my life watching my son play that crap back!
Colossally entertaining!
ClareR (5603 KP) rated The Lady of the Ravens in Books
Jan 7, 2020
The Lady of the Ravens is based on the real historical character of Joan Vaux. I find historical fiction fascinating, especially those books which have a foot firmly placed in what was the real world.
Joan and her mother are taken in to the care of Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII’s mother, during the end years of the Wars of the Roses. She becomes a good friend to Princess Elizabeth in the time before she marries Henry, and goes on to be a Lady in Waiting and eventually the Lady Governess to the Princesses Margaret and Mary.
I really enjoyed all of the historical detail and what life was really like in Tudor England: the preoccupation with death and the many ways that a woman especially, could die, and the precariousness of children’s lives.
I had never really thought about the Ravens in the Tower of London (you’re never interested about the places that are on your doorstep as you’re growing up, I fear 🤷🏼♀️), assumed they’d always been there and that they’d always been seen as important to the realm. But in this novel, we learn that they were actually seen as vermin by the nobility and soldiers stationed there, until Joan and her servant looked after them, convincing others - royalty especially - of their significance to the safety of England and the Royal Family.
I haven’t read Joanna Hickson books before, but I really enjoyed the characters, the insights into the royal family, the uncertainty around the possible sons of York (Perkin Warbeck for one), the descriptions of everyday life - and just the evocative styled her writing.
Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for my copy of this great book to read and review.
Joan and her mother are taken in to the care of Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII’s mother, during the end years of the Wars of the Roses. She becomes a good friend to Princess Elizabeth in the time before she marries Henry, and goes on to be a Lady in Waiting and eventually the Lady Governess to the Princesses Margaret and Mary.
I really enjoyed all of the historical detail and what life was really like in Tudor England: the preoccupation with death and the many ways that a woman especially, could die, and the precariousness of children’s lives.
I had never really thought about the Ravens in the Tower of London (you’re never interested about the places that are on your doorstep as you’re growing up, I fear 🤷🏼♀️), assumed they’d always been there and that they’d always been seen as important to the realm. But in this novel, we learn that they were actually seen as vermin by the nobility and soldiers stationed there, until Joan and her servant looked after them, convincing others - royalty especially - of their significance to the safety of England and the Royal Family.
I haven’t read Joanna Hickson books before, but I really enjoyed the characters, the insights into the royal family, the uncertainty around the possible sons of York (Perkin Warbeck for one), the descriptions of everyday life - and just the evocative styled her writing.
Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for my copy of this great book to read and review.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Sapphire and Steel in TV
Apr 2, 2020
It would be easy to mark Sapphire and Steel down just for being so obviously a low-budget, studio-bound TV show, but this would be to overlook just what a startlingly distinctive and uncompromising piece of... well, entertainment doesn't quite cover it, for the programme seemingly sets out to baffle the viewer as well as divert them. It is notionally a fantasy, but elements of SF and horror also appear. Stories mostly take place in out-of-the-way places like remote cottages, junk shops, the tops of tower blocks, disused railway stations and so on. The structure of time seems to be weaker in these places and when it breaks down or is interfered with, operatives such as Sapphire and Steel and their occasional colleagues appear to resolve the situation.
This is pretty much all we are told about the format of the series - who and what Sapphire and Steel are, what the limits of their powers are, and who they answer to, is never made clear (even the nature of their mission seems to change from story to story). The cryptic, often surreal nature of the series is one of its main attractions, along with the chemistry between the stars (occasional ally Silver, played by David Collings, is also a joy to watch).
The bleak and eerie atmosphere of the stories is consistently impressive, as is the clear understanding of visual style possessed by the makers: stories are filled with startling images and symbols, occasionally drawn from the visual arts (one adversary is basically a Magritte painting brought to life). Always memorable, and never more so than in its final episodes: the sheer unexpected bizarreness of Sapphire and Steel's fate makes it all the more shocking and downbeat. A unique and very distinctive series.
This is pretty much all we are told about the format of the series - who and what Sapphire and Steel are, what the limits of their powers are, and who they answer to, is never made clear (even the nature of their mission seems to change from story to story). The cryptic, often surreal nature of the series is one of its main attractions, along with the chemistry between the stars (occasional ally Silver, played by David Collings, is also a joy to watch).
The bleak and eerie atmosphere of the stories is consistently impressive, as is the clear understanding of visual style possessed by the makers: stories are filled with startling images and symbols, occasionally drawn from the visual arts (one adversary is basically a Magritte painting brought to life). Always memorable, and never more so than in its final episodes: the sheer unexpected bizarreness of Sapphire and Steel's fate makes it all the more shocking and downbeat. A unique and very distinctive series.
