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Roadside America
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The team at RoadsideAmerica.com has spent decades exploring the weird wonders of America’s...
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Winning Dentist Magazine - Practice Smarter
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Winning Dentist Magazine is for Private Practicing General Dentists as we navigate the challenges to...
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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Rambo: Last Blood (2019) in Movies
Nov 5, 2019
Had I not see any of the other films before this I think I would still get a sense of the character but I wouldn't have been able to appreciate the trauma behind it all. You can tell he's got some kind of combat background and from the fact he's built himself a warren of tunnels and makes his own weapons you know there's something major in the backstory.
It could be a stand alone movie as it is but it probably would have been a better one with some more character work.
Everyone plays to their character well and the sheer volume of violence they all manage to bring to the screen with mostly fitting reactions is incredible. The amount of extra characters is something to behold and I particularly liked the way the gang comes together when Rambo goes hunting for them.
We're introduced to Carmen who is on her own hunt like Rambo, sadly she is a little underused and is mainly a way to get Rambo out of trouble so he can get to the next part of the film. Her story is summed up pretty quickly and this could easily have been developed into a bigger part.
Stallone... What do you want me to say? He's here to kick ass in the only way Stallone can. He does the crazed thing really well and I liked the way his parental instincts kicked, but there isn't a whole lot of acting to deal with in this really.
I want to avoid spoilers but there are a couple of emotional scenes that are done quite well and make a nice contrast with the "all hell breaks loose" action.
Let's just get to that action, shall we? Rambo basically Home Alones the shit out of his property. I'm honestly surprised that there wasn't the inclusion of some Wile E. Coyote traps to get a bit of everything in there. I enjoyed the montage of him kitting the place out, it really worked and built the anticipation of what was to come.
If there's one thing I knew before seeing this film it's that nothing was going to be subtle and the way he gets the gangs attention for the finale really threw subtle out the window. Sometimes you just need ridiculous violence, this was pretty ridiculous.
Full review originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2019/11/rambo-last-blood-movie-review.html
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Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated The Rochester Runes in Books
Jan 9, 2020
Unlike the first book that detailed a lightning-tailed squirrel's journey through Freiyon this story follows the three human Rochester siblings. The three siblings., Robert, Charles, and Sarah move with their mother into their grandparents old manor. None of the children are exactly thrilled about the move and are surprised to find the manor to have traps in it. After finding a mysterious stone that unlocks a door at the end of a secret passage the children find themselves in Freiyon.
It is in this world of talking animals and sentient trees that they search for the rune stones that will lift their familys curse. The rune stones, once gathered together also have the ability to grant wishes. The Rochester siblings. use these wishes to aid them in protecting Freiyon from The Grabbers, who are also in search of the rune stones. This is an adventure that will bring their entire family together, but it may also tear some of them apart.
What I liked best was Freiyon still feeling a lot like Narnia. Then there is also the fact that this book is tied very nicely in with the first one. Some of the human characters even made me question if they are in any way related to the unnamed boy at the end of the first book, but that is just speculation on my part. What I did not like is just like the first book the writing felt oversimplified. At times it did seem like maybe this was on purpose with the goal of preventing the book from being too long. If that is the case than the book suffers from it. The ending also felt very confusing and as if it was unnecessary for things to turn out the way the did, but I dont want to give any major spoilers.
Once again I would suggest that middle school-aged children and some elementary students can visit the would of Freiyon. The violence that made me question how some parents of younger children might perceive this series even appeared to be a little less graphic this time around. I rate this book a 2 out of 4 just like the first. Once again the book seems to jump from one major sequence of events to another with only minimal transitioning. Still, the world itself is intriguing if only it was given a better description. The ending of this one also made it lose major points.
https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.com/
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Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated The Collection (2012) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
Fans of the Saw films will find that The Collection is a spitting image of its sister movie with the same gruesome killer and horrific killing machines. Granted that the ideas may be similar the stories are quite different and executed very well. The film is very bloody yet heroic at the same time and though some scenes and dialog proved to be quite ridiculous as generated by the audience’s laughter, in the end was somewhat of an entertaining thrill ride. The film is not your run of the mill slasher film where the killer is after a young group of kids who are being chased in a forest out in the middle of nowhere. The victims in this film are all types of people who are wanted for the killers collection of gruesome horrors.
You do not need to see the previous film in the series “The Collector” to enjoy this film but the background knowledge does help with the mythos of the character.
Though the film is somewhat entertaining with all its gruesomeness, I seem to be more of a fan of the Saw franchise. Even with the same sort of plot of mice all headed for the cheese just with a bunch of death traps in the way. It just seemed as though there wasn’t really a back story and it did not expand upon the previous film that much. Granted one really is not needed it may have helped with the flow of the film. The Collection is recommended but is not a must see film and does not add to the excitement of movies to come in the coming years.
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Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) in Movies
May 12, 2021
This tension has caused Zeke to be shot in the line of duty when fellow officers refused to respond to his calls for backup which even further inflamed a tense situation and made Zeke a Lone Wolf who is hesitant to work with others and has cost him his marriage.
Unfortunately for Zeke; a grisly murder happens and he is assigned a new partner named William Schenk (Max Minghella); to investigate what appears to be a copycat of the long-dead Jigsaw.
The fact that the victim is a fellow cop inflames the office and when Zeke is sent a package from the killer which promises more killings to follow as the corruption within his department needs to be stopped.
As the victims begin to mount; Zeke and William find themselves in a race against time to discover the identity of the killer and stop the killings.
“Spiral: From The Book Of SAW”; is an interesting new entry into the franchise and in keeping with “Jigsaw:’ was more engaging than several of the last films in the main franchise as it gives audiences deeper characters and scenarios than normally shown in the series.
While the traps are as clever and gruesome as fans of the series would expect; the decision to target cops is an interesting choice and in many ways reflects the growing cries for reforming the Police but does it in an extreme way and balances out that there are good cops in the mix who serve and protect.
Chris Rock also served as a Producer was good in the role and it was refreshing to see him play a darker and more dramatic character. While he still has moments of clever riffs; they are appropriately placed within the film and do not take away from the fact that Zeke is a troubled and driven individual.
The supporting cast is solid and while I was able to identify the individual behind the killings fairly early; there were enough Red Herrings along the way that may keep audiences guessing.
Director Darren Lynn Bousman who directed the second to the fourth film in the series has made a solid return to the franchise and keeps the dark and dirty look of the film’s trap sequences and while they are gory; there is a cleverness to them that should delight fans of the series.
In the end “Spiral” has enough of what fans of the franchise expect and infuses some interesting new characters and scenarios to make one of the more complete and enjoyable entries in the series.
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Secrets of Real Estate
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Secrets of Real Estate could save you thousands of dollars! This concise, no-nonsense guide gives...
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The Survivor: Rusty Forest
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Welcome to the world of "The Survivor", hit by unknown virus which has wiped out most of the world's...
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Kitten Sanctuary
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Rescue kittens from alien traps and keep them safe & happy in your kitten sanctuaries. Recommended...
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Bookapotamus (289 KP) rated Unsheltered in Books
Jun 22, 2018
The book is set in two different eras, in the same town, on the same street, in Vineland, NJ. Willa Knox, present day, is fictional. AS is her family. Mary Treat in 1871, is apparently a real person, a lover of science, plants and creatures. The connection between the two stories is a bit weak I felt. Not sure if it was intentional, but it just didn't really capture my attention in the way I believe it was supposed to. In 1871, Thatcher Greenwood (fictional as well I believe?) meets Mary, and they get along because their beliefs mesh well - they believe in science, and follow Darwin's teachings, and Thatcher finds himself in a bit of jam as the town is "ruled" by Landis, a strict believer that God has created everything, and science is witchcraft.
Willa, is struggling when we meet her - in fact, her entire family - every single one of them seems to have some serious issues! I found it depressing and really didn't find myself liking any of the family very much. We see some similar struggles to Thatcher (their houses are both falling down around them) but not much else mirrors the past.
I do know based on initial talk of this novel, and the title of course, that the joining of the past vs present is in the "Unsheltered" aspect of both of these stories, the way Landis mirrors Trump, the ways a world can come unraveled by rules and rulers, as well as the courage to stand for what you believe in. But it just wasn't there for me - it was so subtle, uninspiring, slow and boring.
I did LOVE the plants and stuff - it's the main reason I wanted to read this book, but sadly they just weren't too heavily featured. The little tidbits of random facts about Pitcher Plants and Venus Fly Traps, and some other plants and bugs was pretty fun and fascinating and I wish there was more of it.
In the end - this just fell really flat for me. I know some of the people and events are real, but some are not (which was hard for me to follow) and Barbara's research and writing is top-notch. I just really wanted an engaging story, with a bit more interest, and a lot less heavy eyelid.