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Nick Friesen (96 KP) rated Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) in Movies
Jul 23, 2017
New Characters are Excellent (3 more)
God Bless Alan Tudyk
Perhaps the Best Space Battle in Star Wars Yet
The Rebels "Storming the Beach"
A Crazy Caper Set in a Galaxy Far, Far Away
Rogue One is a fantastic film. It feels so fresh, despite being "a Star Wars Story," mostly because it is so different than any of the movies in the main saga. Better yet, it functions as an awesome prequel to the original trilogy. Even if you're of mind to forget Star Wars 1-3, I'm betting you'll be more than willing to add this movie to the start of your Original Trilogy marathons. Rogue One is a delightful mash of a couple genres, most notably spy, heist, and war films, and it works so well. It's a ground level look at the Rebellion and their efforts to steal plans to the Death Star, shown through the point-of-view of regular soldiers with no apparent Force powers to speak of. It's a thrilling ride, and one that also gets you invested in its well-written characters in a fairly short amount of time. Oh, and Disney, is there any way Alan Tudyk can come back to the series?
David McK (3557 KP) rated Alliances (Star Wars: Thrawn #2) in Books
Mar 21, 2019
Grand admiral Thrawn! (1 more)
Vader
First introduced in Timothy Zahn's 'Heir to the Empire' trilogy - a trilogy that, I fell, was instrumental in bringing Star Wars back to prominence - the character of the tactical brilliant and strategic genius Grand Admiral Thrawn is one of the few to survive Disney's cull of the old EU following their purchase of Lucasfilm.
And, what's even better, they even brought back the same writer.
This is thus the second Thrawn book in the 'new' timeline, flitting back and forth between the 'now' (early days of the empire, just after the Clone Wars) and the 'then' (during the Clone Wars, prior to Order 66) and moving between the characters of Thrawn himself (both periods), Padme Amidala (in the 'then' only, obviously!) and Vader/Anakin ('now'/'then' respectively) - I particularly liked the way that Vader refused to remember/call Anakin by name, but only ever as 'the Jedi', even if I wasn't so sold on the description of 'second sight' (although it does 'tie in' to the movies, particularly 'The Phantom Menace' in explaining how Jedi reflexes seem so fast).
And yes, I'm pretty sure that Thrawn expects - if not outright knows - Vader's big secret (i.e. his actual identity)
And, what's even better, they even brought back the same writer.
This is thus the second Thrawn book in the 'new' timeline, flitting back and forth between the 'now' (early days of the empire, just after the Clone Wars) and the 'then' (during the Clone Wars, prior to Order 66) and moving between the characters of Thrawn himself (both periods), Padme Amidala (in the 'then' only, obviously!) and Vader/Anakin ('now'/'then' respectively) - I particularly liked the way that Vader refused to remember/call Anakin by name, but only ever as 'the Jedi', even if I wasn't so sold on the description of 'second sight' (although it does 'tie in' to the movies, particularly 'The Phantom Menace' in explaining how Jedi reflexes seem so fast).
And yes, I'm pretty sure that Thrawn expects - if not outright knows - Vader's big secret (i.e. his actual identity)
Merissa (12854 KP) rated Shave & Shimmer (Sangre Trilogy #2) in Books
Mar 22, 2018
Shave & Shimmer (Sangre Trilogy #2) by Alex Carreras
Shave & Shimmer is the second novella in the Sangre Trilogy, and now that Asher has found love, he is determined everyone should. The first person on his matchmaking list is Tory, the high maintenance twink we were first introduced to in Asher & Niko's story. Tory wants to find The One, but has had no luck so far, which is why he agrees to Asher's suggestion that they go on a double-date. It starts off well, but ends badly, through no fault of Tory. He finds out more about Ray's past and what made him react that way.
This is once again a well-written but extremely fast-paced novella. It ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, no doubt leading to the third and final story. The story, this one moment in their lives, is well-told and is complete. I would love to know more about them, and what their futures hold though.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
http://glbt.theromancereviews.com/viewbooks.php?bookid=26515
This is once again a well-written but extremely fast-paced novella. It ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, no doubt leading to the third and final story. The story, this one moment in their lives, is well-told and is complete. I would love to know more about them, and what their futures hold though.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
http://glbt.theromancereviews.com/viewbooks.php?bookid=26515
David McK (3557 KP) rated Catching Fire in Books
Jan 28, 2019
The second book in Suzanne Collins' <i>The Hunger Games</i> trilogy, this is a true sequel to the first in the sense that it shares the same characters and refers to the same events as the original (as opposed to 'only' being set in the same universe).
At the start of the novel, and having survived <i>The Hunger Games</i>, Katniss is back in District 12 in the company of her mother, sister, and Peeta. Things aren't entirely all rosy, however, as her stunt with the berries has enraged President Snow (and the Capitol), who is now looking for ways to further punish her, leading to her heading back into the arena ...
I have to say, the parallels between the Capitol and ancient Rome are even more pronounced this time round than previously, especially in an early(ish) scene where Katniss and Peeta attend a banquet in the Capitol: a banquet that provides it's guests with the means to be sick so they can eat more more, while those in the districts starve (the myth of the Roman Vomitorium, anyone?). Once again, this is told in the immediate first-person sense, with the novel also ending in a definite cliff-hanger for the final part of the trilogy.
At the start of the novel, and having survived <i>The Hunger Games</i>, Katniss is back in District 12 in the company of her mother, sister, and Peeta. Things aren't entirely all rosy, however, as her stunt with the berries has enraged President Snow (and the Capitol), who is now looking for ways to further punish her, leading to her heading back into the arena ...
I have to say, the parallels between the Capitol and ancient Rome are even more pronounced this time round than previously, especially in an early(ish) scene where Katniss and Peeta attend a banquet in the Capitol: a banquet that provides it's guests with the means to be sick so they can eat more more, while those in the districts starve (the myth of the Roman Vomitorium, anyone?). Once again, this is told in the immediate first-person sense, with the novel also ending in a definite cliff-hanger for the final part of the trilogy.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Toy Story 4 (2019) in Movies
Jul 16, 2019
Good, but not necessary
I love the Toy Story films and really think that the third film was a fitting end to the trilogy. Or what we thought was the end of the trilogy. Instead they decided to bring out another film 9 years later and having seen it, I’m not entirely convinced this was the best idea.
Don’t get me wrong, this is still a Pixar film so as an animation goes it’s still pretty good and is a million times better than the other half boiled animations they release nowadays. I mean the animation itself is truly superb, but I suppose you’d expect nothing less from Pixar. The problem is with the story itself. Toy Story 3 left off on such a nice, sad emotional ending, and I feel like this film has spoilt it a little. The plot feels a little weaker, the new characters introduced are much weaker than previous films and even the humour isn’t quite as on point. There are a few funny moments, but nowhere near as much as I was expecting.
Overall this is nice sweet and well made animation, but I just feel like it’s lacking the usual Toy Story and Pixar magic. I really hope this is the last Toy Story film we’ll ever see.
Don’t get me wrong, this is still a Pixar film so as an animation goes it’s still pretty good and is a million times better than the other half boiled animations they release nowadays. I mean the animation itself is truly superb, but I suppose you’d expect nothing less from Pixar. The problem is with the story itself. Toy Story 3 left off on such a nice, sad emotional ending, and I feel like this film has spoilt it a little. The plot feels a little weaker, the new characters introduced are much weaker than previous films and even the humour isn’t quite as on point. There are a few funny moments, but nowhere near as much as I was expecting.
Overall this is nice sweet and well made animation, but I just feel like it’s lacking the usual Toy Story and Pixar magic. I really hope this is the last Toy Story film we’ll ever see.
Fifty Shades of Black 'n' Blue - Further Revelations of an Ingrained Police Culture of Cover-ups and Dishonesty
Book
A sensational second book in The Biggest Gang trilogy from detective turned author Stephen Hayes....
Authority (Southern Reach #2)
6.0
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The second volume of the extraordinary Southern Reach trilogy. 'Creepy and fascinating' Stephen...
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Summer Heat in Books
Sep 3, 2019
Oh dear...that ending...I'm wincing on behalf of both of them.
So this is my fifteenth book by the author, I think, and I've enjoyed all of them. This one was on the shorter side in length and a quick easy ready, but that didn't mean it didn't make me want the characters to get together and have their HAE.
Of course, though, it's a trilogy and I'll have to go and buy book 2 and 3 to see how Marlo and Ray get over that little revelation that's just been spilled in that shower stall.
One thing I will say, Rachel knows how to write male characters POV's. Most of the books I read tend to be in female POV's but Rachel always seems to write both and sometimes it's really great to see how the male characters are feeling in romances and I always tend to fall for them, too.
So, as mentioned before, I will definitely be off to Amazon in a little while to see about purchasing the rest of the Cruel Summer trilogy so I can finish this series after that intriguing start.
UPDATE: I can't find the rest of the series on Amazon! What am I going to do?!
So this is my fifteenth book by the author, I think, and I've enjoyed all of them. This one was on the shorter side in length and a quick easy ready, but that didn't mean it didn't make me want the characters to get together and have their HAE.
Of course, though, it's a trilogy and I'll have to go and buy book 2 and 3 to see how Marlo and Ray get over that little revelation that's just been spilled in that shower stall.
One thing I will say, Rachel knows how to write male characters POV's. Most of the books I read tend to be in female POV's but Rachel always seems to write both and sometimes it's really great to see how the male characters are feeling in romances and I always tend to fall for them, too.
So, as mentioned before, I will definitely be off to Amazon in a little while to see about purchasing the rest of the Cruel Summer trilogy so I can finish this series after that intriguing start.
UPDATE: I can't find the rest of the series on Amazon! What am I going to do?!
The Summer Girls
6.0
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From New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe, the heartwarming first installment in the...
Meds
7.0
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"Welcome to the Overflow. And remember, all roads lead back to Lakehurst." At the edge of a...
Amy Cross The Asylum Trilogy Meds Asylum The Madness of Annie Bradford