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The Chocolate Lady (94 KP) rated On a Cold Dark Sea in Books
Oct 5, 2020
Yes, this is yet another novel about the Titanic, but I request you not click away just yet. Instead, please read my latest review on my blog that answers the question: has Elizabeth Blackwell found an angle to this old story that sets her novel apart from all the rest, or has she, like so many before her who are transfixed with this story, fallen into the same mundane traps? Find out in my review of “On a Cold Dark Sea” on my blog, here.
https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2018/03/31/portraits-in-survival/
https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2018/03/31/portraits-in-survival/
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Cube 2: Hypercube (2002) in Movies
Apr 5, 2020
A little too out there
The first Cube film for me was always an underrated low budget cult classic, and definitely a precursor for the likes of Saw etc. The original was a great idea with just enough maths and science to make it believable and not completely ridiculous. Sadly the same can’t be said about this sequel.
They’ve gone far too over the top on the science that whilst it does make some sense, it makes the whole idea of the cube a completely silly and ridiculous idea. And the ending itself as far as the cube goes is just laughably bizarre. There’s also the general plot and story, which seems to have left out all of the bits from the original that made it interesting - like the scary traps and numbered doors. Some of the characters are interesting, others are just carbon copies from the original or completely pointless and forgettable. You can tell they’ve got a bigger budget with the amount of CGI in this, it’s just a shame it’s rather poor and lacks the punch of the physical traps used in the original.
This is a rather sorry excuse for a sequel, and not one I’d recommend watching. The third film and prequel Cube Zero is a much better watch.
They’ve gone far too over the top on the science that whilst it does make some sense, it makes the whole idea of the cube a completely silly and ridiculous idea. And the ending itself as far as the cube goes is just laughably bizarre. There’s also the general plot and story, which seems to have left out all of the bits from the original that made it interesting - like the scary traps and numbered doors. Some of the characters are interesting, others are just carbon copies from the original or completely pointless and forgettable. You can tell they’ve got a bigger budget with the amount of CGI in this, it’s just a shame it’s rather poor and lacks the punch of the physical traps used in the original.
This is a rather sorry excuse for a sequel, and not one I’d recommend watching. The third film and prequel Cube Zero is a much better watch.
Jpb (34 KP) rated The Collector (2009) in Movies
Jan 11, 2021
Grizzly deeds
Well what can be said about this fairly grizzly film.
This film has you on the edge of your set gripped with suspense as Atkin trys to crack a safe in his employers house to pay his wife's debt and ensure his wife's safety, when this all goes wrong and it turns into a game of cat and mouse with a menacing psychopath has the house rigged with traps.
This is a must see film even with it massive hole in the story but I will let you figure that one out.
This film has you on the edge of your set gripped with suspense as Atkin trys to crack a safe in his employers house to pay his wife's debt and ensure his wife's safety, when this all goes wrong and it turns into a game of cat and mouse with a menacing psychopath has the house rigged with traps.
This is a must see film even with it massive hole in the story but I will let you figure that one out.
Connor Sheffield (293 KP) rated You Died, But a Necromancer Revived You in Video Games
Apr 19, 2019
Fast Paced Action (5 more)
Ever changing maps
Traps that make you think
Great art design
Great level design
Simple gameplay
Let Me Die!
You Died but a Necromancer Revived You......but you'll wish you had just stayed dead as you face the same levels over and over and over again. Speed and Accuracy are mandatory.
This game is so simple with no other controls to worry about other than your movement using the analog stick, or the D-Pads. The skill to get through the levels however becomes increasingly more difficult, and rapidly more frustrating as you will die.....over and over and over again, only to either respawn at the first level, or if you play on easy mode, you just have to play that same floor again where you just died, but don't bother memorising the traps placements, cos this game doesn't let you off the hook that easily....the maps change even when your playing the same floor you just died on.
Part of you might think at first, I'll wait for the trap to go before I move, but oh no, once again speed and accuracy are key here, you have to time your runs right, get through the traps, try not to get shot, stabbed, squashed, or even more so....try not to run off the edge into a floor full of spikes....it's not as easy to avoid as you might think, one small step in the wrong direction of those floors and you're gone.
This game is addictive, but so utterly frustrating and I had a good laugh on my own the first 100 times I died but I can imagine that with 3 other players on the board in 4-Player Co-Op mode, it will leave you in stitches (hopefully not literally....leave that to your character to injure themselves).
Difficulty levels I have seen this far are simply Easy, or Normal. I don't know if a hard difficulty unlocks after complete the game, because honestly at the minute....I can't complete it. The levels where you face the Necromancer himself are super frustrating and very difficult to do without messing up again and again. However, don't thin easy level makes the traps etc any easier....all it does is simply keep you on the floor you died (unless its a boss battle). The difficulty level of the traps does not change and in Normal mode, if you die, you go right back to the beginning of the level, but luckily there are checkpoints along the way so you don't start from square one again.
Oh and did I mention that as time goes on, the floor eventually starts blowing up behind you, making you rush through to the end.
There are a variety of awesome 8-bit characters to choose from, which gives this whole game a great nostalgic vibe of playing retro games, but with so much added in that it stills feels modern and definitely a game you'll keep going back to. Especially for a game night with friends.
I highly recommend this game for anyone who's a fan of action packed arcade games with a retro feel.
Just try not to throw the remote.
This game is so simple with no other controls to worry about other than your movement using the analog stick, or the D-Pads. The skill to get through the levels however becomes increasingly more difficult, and rapidly more frustrating as you will die.....over and over and over again, only to either respawn at the first level, or if you play on easy mode, you just have to play that same floor again where you just died, but don't bother memorising the traps placements, cos this game doesn't let you off the hook that easily....the maps change even when your playing the same floor you just died on.
Part of you might think at first, I'll wait for the trap to go before I move, but oh no, once again speed and accuracy are key here, you have to time your runs right, get through the traps, try not to get shot, stabbed, squashed, or even more so....try not to run off the edge into a floor full of spikes....it's not as easy to avoid as you might think, one small step in the wrong direction of those floors and you're gone.
This game is addictive, but so utterly frustrating and I had a good laugh on my own the first 100 times I died but I can imagine that with 3 other players on the board in 4-Player Co-Op mode, it will leave you in stitches (hopefully not literally....leave that to your character to injure themselves).
Difficulty levels I have seen this far are simply Easy, or Normal. I don't know if a hard difficulty unlocks after complete the game, because honestly at the minute....I can't complete it. The levels where you face the Necromancer himself are super frustrating and very difficult to do without messing up again and again. However, don't thin easy level makes the traps etc any easier....all it does is simply keep you on the floor you died (unless its a boss battle). The difficulty level of the traps does not change and in Normal mode, if you die, you go right back to the beginning of the level, but luckily there are checkpoints along the way so you don't start from square one again.
Oh and did I mention that as time goes on, the floor eventually starts blowing up behind you, making you rush through to the end.
There are a variety of awesome 8-bit characters to choose from, which gives this whole game a great nostalgic vibe of playing retro games, but with so much added in that it stills feels modern and definitely a game you'll keep going back to. Especially for a game night with friends.
I highly recommend this game for anyone who's a fan of action packed arcade games with a retro feel.
Just try not to throw the remote.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Saw II (2005) in Movies
Oct 3, 2020
Out of the slew of sequels that followed in the wake of the success of the first film, Saw II is easily the most watchable.
Everything is upped - more blood, more victims, more absurd traps for them to escape from - but it succeeds where the other sequels miserably failed, keeping it all fairly reigned in for the most part, assuring that the plot carries a substantial amount of intrigue, instead of getting buried under gratuitous torture.
We get to see more Tobin Bell this time around, which is certainly a good thing. His increased presence as antagonist Jigsaw is a high point of the movie. Donnie Wahlberg and Shawnee Smith have a little more to do in the franchise going forward, but the rest of the cast are hugely dull and forgettable, obvious cannon fodder for Jigsaws' games.
The various traps are imaginative without going overboard as well, and are effective - the pit of syringes, the pig carcasses, and especially the lockbox with wrist slicing blades, are all pretty memorable without throwing heaps of gore at the viewer.
Saw II is a half decent follow up to the great original. You could happily watch the first two and not bother with any of the others, and still be suitably satisfied, unless, like me, you're a glutton for punishment.
Everything is upped - more blood, more victims, more absurd traps for them to escape from - but it succeeds where the other sequels miserably failed, keeping it all fairly reigned in for the most part, assuring that the plot carries a substantial amount of intrigue, instead of getting buried under gratuitous torture.
We get to see more Tobin Bell this time around, which is certainly a good thing. His increased presence as antagonist Jigsaw is a high point of the movie. Donnie Wahlberg and Shawnee Smith have a little more to do in the franchise going forward, but the rest of the cast are hugely dull and forgettable, obvious cannon fodder for Jigsaws' games.
The various traps are imaginative without going overboard as well, and are effective - the pit of syringes, the pig carcasses, and especially the lockbox with wrist slicing blades, are all pretty memorable without throwing heaps of gore at the viewer.
Saw II is a half decent follow up to the great original. You could happily watch the first two and not bother with any of the others, and still be suitably satisfied, unless, like me, you're a glutton for punishment.
Dean (6925 KP) rated Mindhunters (2005) in Movies
Aug 26, 2017
Great cast (2 more)
Remote location
A mix of Thriller, Whodunit & Horror
Great cat & mouse Thriller
I really enjoyed this despite the fact it seemed to go straight to DVD. It has a well known cast including LL Cool J, Val Kilmer and Christian Slater. It has good production values as well.
A team of Fbi profilers are at a remote location under going a training selection when they start getting bumped off one by one. It has ideas from And then there were none and even some death traps like the Saw films. Well worth checking out if any of that appeals. Similar to @D-Tox (Eye See You) (2002) as well.
A team of Fbi profilers are at a remote location under going a training selection when they start getting bumped off one by one. It has ideas from And then there were none and even some death traps like the Saw films. Well worth checking out if any of that appeals. Similar to @D-Tox (Eye See You) (2002) as well.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Saw (2004) in Movies
Dec 17, 2019 (Updated Jan 8, 2020)
The Start
Saw- this one started it all, this one started the franchise. This one is the best one out of all of them. This one has the best story, the best plot and the best twist ending to all of them. This one is more detective film than a tourture film, it still had tourture in it, but its more about the two main charcters trying to survivor and figure out where their are and the detective trying to find them. With introduction Jigsaw/John Kramer, doctor Gordon and Amanda Young.
The Plot: Photographer Adam Stanheight (Leigh Whannell) and oncologist Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) regain consciousness while chained to pipes at either end of a filthy bathroom. As the two men realize they've been trapped by a sadistic serial killer nicknamed "Jigsaw" and must complete his perverse puzzle to live, flashbacks relate the fates of his previous victims. Meanwhile, Dr. Gordon's wife (Monica Potter) and young daughter (Makenzie Vega) are forced to watch his torture via closed-circuit video.
After this one, the franchise became more of a tourture porn franchise, well it did become tourture porn in the sequels, with focus more on tourture and the traps rather than a story. The story is just sprinkled within inside the tourture porn and traps, you just have to find the story.
Like i said before this one is the best one out of all of them, the best story, the best plot and the best twist ending.
Want to play a game, do you punk? Well do you?
The Plot: Photographer Adam Stanheight (Leigh Whannell) and oncologist Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) regain consciousness while chained to pipes at either end of a filthy bathroom. As the two men realize they've been trapped by a sadistic serial killer nicknamed "Jigsaw" and must complete his perverse puzzle to live, flashbacks relate the fates of his previous victims. Meanwhile, Dr. Gordon's wife (Monica Potter) and young daughter (Makenzie Vega) are forced to watch his torture via closed-circuit video.
After this one, the franchise became more of a tourture porn franchise, well it did become tourture porn in the sequels, with focus more on tourture and the traps rather than a story. The story is just sprinkled within inside the tourture porn and traps, you just have to find the story.
Like i said before this one is the best one out of all of them, the best story, the best plot and the best twist ending.
Want to play a game, do you punk? Well do you?
Dean (6925 KP) rated The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010) in Movies
Feb 4, 2018
Another solid film in the Narnia series. The first is my fave, as I know that story so well, the 2nd had some good battle scenes and a bit more action. This is entertaining but in a different way to the others. I found the new cousin in this rather annoying and it's a pity many of the characters of the previous films are not in it that much.
Otherwise it felt a bit like the Sinbad films for me, a great looking ship, plenty of creatures and traps and riddles to overcome before a big finale. The SFX are very good, especially for the green mist effects. Overall a great family adventure if not quite on the level as the first two in my opinion.
Otherwise it felt a bit like the Sinbad films for me, a great looking ship, plenty of creatures and traps and riddles to overcome before a big finale. The SFX are very good, especially for the green mist effects. Overall a great family adventure if not quite on the level as the first two in my opinion.
Ross (3282 KP) rated HeroQuest in Tabletop Games
Apr 4, 2018
The original and best. HeroQuest is such a gentle, yet thrilling entry into the world of RPGs, where simple dice throwing, teamwork and spell casting can allow a team to pit their strength against pre-designed quests. A vast array of furniture, special tiles, doors and evil creatures are waiting to be put on the board when you enter the room, but be prepared to have to search for traps, secret doors and pitfalls or you won't get far. One player acts as Dungeon Master, the rest pick their characters (barbarian, dwarf, wizard or elf), each with their own skills and abilities.
Dice rolling was as simple as skulls or shields - beat the enemy's roll (allowing for handicaps) to defeat them and move on.
Dice rolling was as simple as skulls or shields - beat the enemy's roll (allowing for handicaps) to defeat them and move on.
