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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated The Long Cosmos in Books
Nov 20, 2019
The Long Earth saga - and Terry Pratchett's prolific output - come to an end with this fifth volume of the series.
From the intelligent beginning I found the series to gradually slip downhill to the extent that The Long Utopia garnered a mere two star review from me. So it was with mixed feelings that I started to read this. However this was very much a suitable and capable ending of the series, providing some answers but allowing enough freedom at the end for the characters to keep living on in the mind of the reader.
It is not perfect; I found the start rather drawn out with some of the characters showing up seemingly just to provide a valedictory cameo. Some of the writing joining the plot sections together - obviously done by Baxter following Pratchett's death - feels quite forced as well, but really under the circumstances this is to be expected. This must have been such a hard book for Baxter to complete on his own.
However it gets far more right; we get some good new ideas in the Long Earth (the big trees, for example, providing a desperate chase while also being fun and also a neat extension of biological evolution) and even The Next have something to do that justifies their rather 'stuck-on' plot strand that previously wasn't going anywhere.
Great characters abound as well; Joshua is front and centre as would be expected but the supporting cast works well. The adventure through the Long Cosmos is humbling and awe-inspiring, although I could have done without the 'search for grandson' excuse for doing it - surely Joshua and Lobsang would have done this anyway simply because it is there?
Overall a good ending to the series and even if you lost faith with the series as it went on, I would definitely give it a go.
From the intelligent beginning I found the series to gradually slip downhill to the extent that The Long Utopia garnered a mere two star review from me. So it was with mixed feelings that I started to read this. However this was very much a suitable and capable ending of the series, providing some answers but allowing enough freedom at the end for the characters to keep living on in the mind of the reader.
It is not perfect; I found the start rather drawn out with some of the characters showing up seemingly just to provide a valedictory cameo. Some of the writing joining the plot sections together - obviously done by Baxter following Pratchett's death - feels quite forced as well, but really under the circumstances this is to be expected. This must have been such a hard book for Baxter to complete on his own.
However it gets far more right; we get some good new ideas in the Long Earth (the big trees, for example, providing a desperate chase while also being fun and also a neat extension of biological evolution) and even The Next have something to do that justifies their rather 'stuck-on' plot strand that previously wasn't going anywhere.
Great characters abound as well; Joshua is front and centre as would be expected but the supporting cast works well. The adventure through the Long Cosmos is humbling and awe-inspiring, although I could have done without the 'search for grandson' excuse for doing it - surely Joshua and Lobsang would have done this anyway simply because it is there?
Overall a good ending to the series and even if you lost faith with the series as it went on, I would definitely give it a go.
Hazel (2934 KP) rated After Dark in Books
May 15, 2022
What an interesting and different read that was!
In a country that has decided that enough is enough when it comes to violence against women, a radical solution is put in place - men are electronically tagged and are not allowed outside between the hours of 7pm and 7am. Women are no longer afraid to go out at night and it appears to be 'working' when, one morning, the badly beaten body of a woman is found in a park. It couldn't have been a man ... could it?
The premise of the story is an interesting one but, for me, it didn't really deliver how I thought it would; I was hoping there would be a balanced view but it felt to me like is was very anti-male and the overwhelming thought is that all men are evil. We know that is not the case but there wasn't one male character in this book that provided another viewpoint and this was disappointing for me. I do, however, recognise that I have never been subject to male violence and therefore may have come at this from a different frame of reference and because of this, I can certainly see why some may think the future world described in this book would be utopia but, for me, I don't like tarring everyone with the same brush.
Told from different points of view and in two timelines, this book moves along at a good pace. The characters, both male and female, are not particularly likeable with the teenage daughter being the most irritating and, annoyingly, stereotypical and this caused me to not care about any of them particularly so the mystery around who was murdered wasn't that intriguing but I did like how we didn't find out until towards the end.
Overall though it was an interesting and thought-provoking read but not as good as I think it could have been but I must thank Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book and share my thoughts.
In a country that has decided that enough is enough when it comes to violence against women, a radical solution is put in place - men are electronically tagged and are not allowed outside between the hours of 7pm and 7am. Women are no longer afraid to go out at night and it appears to be 'working' when, one morning, the badly beaten body of a woman is found in a park. It couldn't have been a man ... could it?
The premise of the story is an interesting one but, for me, it didn't really deliver how I thought it would; I was hoping there would be a balanced view but it felt to me like is was very anti-male and the overwhelming thought is that all men are evil. We know that is not the case but there wasn't one male character in this book that provided another viewpoint and this was disappointing for me. I do, however, recognise that I have never been subject to male violence and therefore may have come at this from a different frame of reference and because of this, I can certainly see why some may think the future world described in this book would be utopia but, for me, I don't like tarring everyone with the same brush.
Told from different points of view and in two timelines, this book moves along at a good pace. The characters, both male and female, are not particularly likeable with the teenage daughter being the most irritating and, annoyingly, stereotypical and this caused me to not care about any of them particularly so the mystery around who was murdered wasn't that intriguing but I did like how we didn't find out until towards the end.
Overall though it was an interesting and thought-provoking read but not as good as I think it could have been but I must thank Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book and share my thoughts.
Darren (1599 KP) rated ABCs of Death 2 (2014) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
Favourite Letters – A – Amateur I liked this because it pokes fun at the slick nature people believe hitmen going through vents can be showing the truth about what you will find.
D – Deloused this is a delightfully twists animated tale that is everything from disturbing to disgusting.
L – Legacy, I liked this one because it is bold, bloody and entertaining.
N – Nexus, this is a well built up moment where we follow all the people involved before the final moment.
O – Ochlocracy, this short gives us a fresh look at the zombie genre.
S – Split, this is a story that could be run of the mill but clearly has the best twist of any of the short stories here.
T- Torture Porn, this is one that went in a direction you didn’t see coming which adds shock value to it.
U – Utopia, this sums up modern society nicely for shocking effect.
Y – Youth, this is plain weird but also feels heart breaking throughout the story.
Z – Zygote, well this is a short story that is seriously twisted and delightful ending to these horror tales.
Hardest to Watch – H – Head Games, I think this is because it is bigger than expected because you could read into it the most.
K – Knell, I have this one here because I didn’t understand the end it at all.
Worst Letters – G – Grandad, this one just didn’t click and felt like filler.
P – P-P-P-P – Scary, this just felt like it was part comedy to full weird and not the type I like.
Biggest Disappointments – B – Badger, most because this felt like there was still five minutes to go which could have been the blood bath we got teased for.
I – Invincible, this is here much like B as it is a film you would like to have seen more from.
Ones That I Would Like to See a Full Feature – F – Falling, this story feels like it could be a brilliant thriller that over a 90 minute could build characters up nicely for the climax.
Q – Questionnaire, this is an interesting one and could be turned into a very interesting horror film.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – V – Vacation, one because it is shot badly and two because the guys assholes.
Final Thoughts – In all fairness this has a lot of good chapters which are fun, bloody, gore and everything you like, if you like short horror stories go and enjoy.
Overall: Full fun horror chapter.
https://moviesreview101.com/2018/10/01/a-z-halloween-horror-a-abcs-of-death-2-2014/
D – Deloused this is a delightfully twists animated tale that is everything from disturbing to disgusting.
L – Legacy, I liked this one because it is bold, bloody and entertaining.
N – Nexus, this is a well built up moment where we follow all the people involved before the final moment.
O – Ochlocracy, this short gives us a fresh look at the zombie genre.
S – Split, this is a story that could be run of the mill but clearly has the best twist of any of the short stories here.
T- Torture Porn, this is one that went in a direction you didn’t see coming which adds shock value to it.
U – Utopia, this sums up modern society nicely for shocking effect.
Y – Youth, this is plain weird but also feels heart breaking throughout the story.
Z – Zygote, well this is a short story that is seriously twisted and delightful ending to these horror tales.
Hardest to Watch – H – Head Games, I think this is because it is bigger than expected because you could read into it the most.
K – Knell, I have this one here because I didn’t understand the end it at all.
Worst Letters – G – Grandad, this one just didn’t click and felt like filler.
P – P-P-P-P – Scary, this just felt like it was part comedy to full weird and not the type I like.
Biggest Disappointments – B – Badger, most because this felt like there was still five minutes to go which could have been the blood bath we got teased for.
I – Invincible, this is here much like B as it is a film you would like to have seen more from.
Ones That I Would Like to See a Full Feature – F – Falling, this story feels like it could be a brilliant thriller that over a 90 minute could build characters up nicely for the climax.
Q – Questionnaire, this is an interesting one and could be turned into a very interesting horror film.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – V – Vacation, one because it is shot badly and two because the guys assholes.
Final Thoughts – In all fairness this has a lot of good chapters which are fun, bloody, gore and everything you like, if you like short horror stories go and enjoy.
Overall: Full fun horror chapter.
https://moviesreview101.com/2018/10/01/a-z-halloween-horror-a-abcs-of-death-2-2014/
Andrew Sinclair (25 KP) rated Demolition Man (1993) in Movies
Nov 25, 2019 (Updated Nov 25, 2019)
I've decided it will be fun to review this classic action-packed sci-fi thriller as I watch it. I've watched it many times before and I guess I'm feeling nostalgic.
The film opens with a violent action scene with Stallone the hero pursuing his nemesis Wesley Snipes. It's tense stuff as they come face to face and stare each other down. It's literally an explosive beginning. Snipes manic laughter in that first scene gives you an idea of the kind of psychopath he is playing. After the destruction they have both caused they are both sentenced to be cryogenicly frozen for their crimes. That's a harsh punishment for an over-zealous cop but probably a fair one for a psychotic killer.
35 years later and America is a very different place. There is barely any crime but very little freedom. It is even illegal to swear. It's this philosophical debate that the film sheds light on which makes it both intriguing and funny. When the main characters, Snipes first then Stallone, find themselves in this supposed utopia their reactions are both humorous and volatile.
However one character played by Sandra Bullock actually appreciates Stallone's hardline old-fashioned ways as she has a fascination for the 20th Century. This creates an amusing and romantic interaction between them. Her inept attempts at 20th Century phrases adds to the comedy.
The scene where the police need instructions to arrest a violent criminal from a device which is like a modern day tablet makes me smile. And the line "We're police officers. We're not trained for this kind of violence!" makes me laugh out loud.
There is also a conspiracy story line. Snipes was released on purpose in order to hunt down rebels who resent the choice limiting laws. Meanwhile others unaware of this conspiracy release Stallone in order to capture Snipes. Then things really kick off!
The list of things that have been made illegal is laughable and this is brilliantly summed up with Stallone's line "Are you shitting me?!"
The films futuristic vision is entertaining and is also a good vehicle for humour as Stallone and Snipes are constantly taken aback by the technology. They both finally cross paths again in a museum where Snipes is stealing old weapons as of course weapons are illegal now. From this point on they continue their cat and mouse pursuit until the spectacular climax.
I love this film! It's over the top full-on fun which also manages to be philosophically thought-provoking. Definitely worth watching!
The film opens with a violent action scene with Stallone the hero pursuing his nemesis Wesley Snipes. It's tense stuff as they come face to face and stare each other down. It's literally an explosive beginning. Snipes manic laughter in that first scene gives you an idea of the kind of psychopath he is playing. After the destruction they have both caused they are both sentenced to be cryogenicly frozen for their crimes. That's a harsh punishment for an over-zealous cop but probably a fair one for a psychotic killer.
35 years later and America is a very different place. There is barely any crime but very little freedom. It is even illegal to swear. It's this philosophical debate that the film sheds light on which makes it both intriguing and funny. When the main characters, Snipes first then Stallone, find themselves in this supposed utopia their reactions are both humorous and volatile.
However one character played by Sandra Bullock actually appreciates Stallone's hardline old-fashioned ways as she has a fascination for the 20th Century. This creates an amusing and romantic interaction between them. Her inept attempts at 20th Century phrases adds to the comedy.
The scene where the police need instructions to arrest a violent criminal from a device which is like a modern day tablet makes me smile. And the line "We're police officers. We're not trained for this kind of violence!" makes me laugh out loud.
There is also a conspiracy story line. Snipes was released on purpose in order to hunt down rebels who resent the choice limiting laws. Meanwhile others unaware of this conspiracy release Stallone in order to capture Snipes. Then things really kick off!
The list of things that have been made illegal is laughable and this is brilliantly summed up with Stallone's line "Are you shitting me?!"
The films futuristic vision is entertaining and is also a good vehicle for humour as Stallone and Snipes are constantly taken aback by the technology. They both finally cross paths again in a museum where Snipes is stealing old weapons as of course weapons are illegal now. From this point on they continue their cat and mouse pursuit until the spectacular climax.
I love this film! It's over the top full-on fun which also manages to be philosophically thought-provoking. Definitely worth watching!
Ben Howkins (7 KP) rated How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) in Movies
Feb 14, 2019 (Updated Feb 17, 2019)
Visuals (1 more)
Story
A fitting farewell to Hiccup and Toothless
The basic plot of the movie is: 1 year after the events of the 2nd film, the new chief of Berk, Hiccup and his friends have taken to rescuing captured dragons and taking them back to Berk, which Hiccup has decided make a Viking/ Dragon utopia. This, unfortunately, gets the attention of a band of a group of Warlords, who wish to use the dragons themselves for their plans. The Warlords enlist a legendary dragon hunter called “Grimmel The Grisly” to kidnap Hiccup’s Night Fury dragon Toothless as he is the alpha and all the other dragons will obey him. To do this, Grimmel uses a female, white Night Fury (dubbed a Light Fury) as bait to play with Toothless emotions. As a way of helping Toothless with his matters of the heart and to get away from Gimmel, Hiccup decides to go looking for a legendary place which his dad used to talk of, where all dragons came from, called “The Hidden World”
Because this was an animated film I find it really hard to do any sort of proper performance reviews of the characters and associated performers. In all honesty, in my opinion, it is very hard to muck up read lines off of a sheet (though it can be done). This is, in my opinion, a double-edged sword, as though it is really hard to really stand out in voice performances (though some people always do aka Mr Hayter, Mr North and Mr Baker), the fact that I believed this to be a very good film shows the quality of the script, story and animation. The people of Berk still feel like a group of empty-headed, muscular idiots just like they were in the first film, whilst at the same time all growing as characters. All the relationships show on screen have their own distinct elements which add to the story, be it the romance between Hiccup and girlfriend Astrid, the awkward and silly crush Snotlout has for Hiccup’s mum Valka or of course the eternal friendship between Hiccup and Toothless. And finally, the visual art style and animation work amazingly well and capture the scenery perfectly at times, be it the giant waterfalls of “Old” and “New” Berk, the bright and vibrant colours of inside “The Hidden World” or even just the effects of making the Light Fury look so elegant and mysterious.
Overall I feel like this is a fitting end to what I feel is Dreamwork’s best made and least loved series. It is filled with laughs, cheers and unless you have a soul of stone, DEFINITELY some tears.
Because this was an animated film I find it really hard to do any sort of proper performance reviews of the characters and associated performers. In all honesty, in my opinion, it is very hard to muck up read lines off of a sheet (though it can be done). This is, in my opinion, a double-edged sword, as though it is really hard to really stand out in voice performances (though some people always do aka Mr Hayter, Mr North and Mr Baker), the fact that I believed this to be a very good film shows the quality of the script, story and animation. The people of Berk still feel like a group of empty-headed, muscular idiots just like they were in the first film, whilst at the same time all growing as characters. All the relationships show on screen have their own distinct elements which add to the story, be it the romance between Hiccup and girlfriend Astrid, the awkward and silly crush Snotlout has for Hiccup’s mum Valka or of course the eternal friendship between Hiccup and Toothless. And finally, the visual art style and animation work amazingly well and capture the scenery perfectly at times, be it the giant waterfalls of “Old” and “New” Berk, the bright and vibrant colours of inside “The Hidden World” or even just the effects of making the Light Fury look so elegant and mysterious.
Overall I feel like this is a fitting end to what I feel is Dreamwork’s best made and least loved series. It is filled with laughs, cheers and unless you have a soul of stone, DEFINITELY some tears.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated the Xbox 360 version of BioShock in Video Games
Oct 21, 2019
Would You Kindly
Contains spoilers, click to show
Bioshock- is a horrorfying game, it has adventure, chills, thrills, twist, turns and so much more. It is a fantasic game to play. If you havent not played it, than i would highly reccordmend it. Lets talk about it...
The Plot: BioShock is set in 1960. The player guides the protagonist, Jack, after his airplane crashes in the ocean near the bathysphere terminus that leads to the underwater city of Rapture. Built by the business magnate Andrew Ryan, the city was intended to be an isolated utopia, but the discovery of ADAM, a genetic material which can be used to grant superhuman powers, initiated the city's turbulent decline. Jack tries to find a way to escape, fighting through hordes of ADAM-obsessed enemies, and the iconic, deadly Big Daddies, while engaging with the few sane humans that remain and eventually learning of Rapture's past.
The player, as Jack, can defeat foes in several ways by using weapons, utilizing plasmids that give unique powers, and by turning Rapture's defenses against them.
The twist is unexpected and once you find out, it is so unexpected. It's revealed that Atlas is actually the gangster Frank Fontaine, who'd smuggled Jack to the surface several years earlier with the intention of bringing him back as a weapon, as "your" DNA can operate a lot of Rapture's systems that only Ryan would otherwise have access to. Jack has been abused, hypnotized to carry fabricated memories and respond to a key phrase: "Would you kindly." Fontaine has been, to this point in the game, using it to control Jack's progression through Rapture.
Bioshock aslo has two different ends: The ending depends on how the player interacted with the Little Sisters:
1. If the player rescues all of the Little Sisters (or harvests only one of them), Jack takes them back to the surface with him and adopts five of them as his daughters, and Tenenbaum happily narrates how they go on to live full lives under his care, eventually surrounding him on his deathbed. This ending is consideredc anon in BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea.
2. If the player harvests more than one Little Sister, Jack turns on the Little Sisters to harvest their ADAM. Tenenbaum sadly narrates what occurred, condemning Jack and his actions. A US Navy submarine then comes across the wreckage of the plane and finds itself suddenly surrounded by bathyspheres containing Splicers who attack the crew and take control of it. The submarine is revealed to be carrying nuclear missiles, with Tenenbaum claiming that Jack has now "stolen the terrible secrets of the world": the more Little Sisters are harvested, the harsher and more furious Tenenbaum's narrative becomes.
Dont forget about the big daddy.
I love this game, it is a classic. I wouls highly reccordmend playing this game.
The Plot: BioShock is set in 1960. The player guides the protagonist, Jack, after his airplane crashes in the ocean near the bathysphere terminus that leads to the underwater city of Rapture. Built by the business magnate Andrew Ryan, the city was intended to be an isolated utopia, but the discovery of ADAM, a genetic material which can be used to grant superhuman powers, initiated the city's turbulent decline. Jack tries to find a way to escape, fighting through hordes of ADAM-obsessed enemies, and the iconic, deadly Big Daddies, while engaging with the few sane humans that remain and eventually learning of Rapture's past.
The player, as Jack, can defeat foes in several ways by using weapons, utilizing plasmids that give unique powers, and by turning Rapture's defenses against them.
The twist is unexpected and once you find out, it is so unexpected. It's revealed that Atlas is actually the gangster Frank Fontaine, who'd smuggled Jack to the surface several years earlier with the intention of bringing him back as a weapon, as "your" DNA can operate a lot of Rapture's systems that only Ryan would otherwise have access to. Jack has been abused, hypnotized to carry fabricated memories and respond to a key phrase: "Would you kindly." Fontaine has been, to this point in the game, using it to control Jack's progression through Rapture.
Bioshock aslo has two different ends: The ending depends on how the player interacted with the Little Sisters:
1. If the player rescues all of the Little Sisters (or harvests only one of them), Jack takes them back to the surface with him and adopts five of them as his daughters, and Tenenbaum happily narrates how they go on to live full lives under his care, eventually surrounding him on his deathbed. This ending is consideredc anon in BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea.
2. If the player harvests more than one Little Sister, Jack turns on the Little Sisters to harvest their ADAM. Tenenbaum sadly narrates what occurred, condemning Jack and his actions. A US Navy submarine then comes across the wreckage of the plane and finds itself suddenly surrounded by bathyspheres containing Splicers who attack the crew and take control of it. The submarine is revealed to be carrying nuclear missiles, with Tenenbaum claiming that Jack has now "stolen the terrible secrets of the world": the more Little Sisters are harvested, the harsher and more furious Tenenbaum's narrative becomes.
Dont forget about the big daddy.
I love this game, it is a classic. I wouls highly reccordmend playing this game.
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated The Wrong Stars in Books
Aug 26, 2018 (Updated Aug 26, 2018)
Diversity (2 more)
World-building
Amazing alien species
I've watched my fair share of Space Opera (Firefly, Dark Matter, Farscape, Star Trek, Star Wars - don't try to tell me those last two aren't Space Opera, THEY TOTALLY ARE) - but I haven't read much of it. I picked up The Wrong Stars mostly because reviews said it had a demisexual main character, rather than because it's a Space Opera. Regardless, I am SO GLAD I DID. The book is excellent.
First off, the diversity! Over the course of the story, we meet people who are, in no particular order, gay, bisexual, demisexual, asexual, transgender, and non-binary. The story is set 500 years after Earth sends out its first colony ships, and in that time, culture has evolved. Marriage is not common, but contractually-bound relationships exist. Promiscuity and non-monogamy aren't viewed any different than monogamy, and in the same way, the distinctions between gay, straight, and bi don't carry any negative connotations. It's not a complete utopia - it's still a capitalist society, and there is still scarcity - but socially, at least, it has definitely evolved a lot from the present!
Elena, one of our main characters, was a biologist sent out on one of the first colony ships. Stocked with seeds, crude replicators, and cryo-sleep pods, a small crew was sent out, in stasis, on a five-hundred year journey to a system with probable life-supporting planets. They were called Goldilocks ships, in the hope they'd find a planet that was "just right." What humanity didn't expect was that in the intervening five hundred years, they would make contact with an alien species and be given the means for true space travel via wormholes. Some of the ships arrived at their destinations to find human colonies already thriving on their target planets! Elena, however, found something quite different, and it's a very disconcerting difference. She is rescued by the motley crew of the White Raven, and they quickly get drawn into the mystery.
I really enjoyed the world-building and characterization in The Wrong Stars. The science of it made sense to me, but I'm not very versed in science, so I can't really say how realistic it is. It was at least pretty internally consistent. I'd like to learn more about how the AIs are created, though. Luckily, there is a sequel coming! The Dreaming Stars should be coming out this September, and I'm DEFINITELY going to read it.
If you like Dark Matter, Firefly, or Farscape, you should definitely read The Wrong Stars. There's a little bit of light romance threaded into the larger plot, and one fade-to-black sex scene. It's definitely not the focus of the book. There is some violence, but nothing incredibly graphic. I would put it at about the same maturity level as Star Trek.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
First off, the diversity! Over the course of the story, we meet people who are, in no particular order, gay, bisexual, demisexual, asexual, transgender, and non-binary. The story is set 500 years after Earth sends out its first colony ships, and in that time, culture has evolved. Marriage is not common, but contractually-bound relationships exist. Promiscuity and non-monogamy aren't viewed any different than monogamy, and in the same way, the distinctions between gay, straight, and bi don't carry any negative connotations. It's not a complete utopia - it's still a capitalist society, and there is still scarcity - but socially, at least, it has definitely evolved a lot from the present!
Elena, one of our main characters, was a biologist sent out on one of the first colony ships. Stocked with seeds, crude replicators, and cryo-sleep pods, a small crew was sent out, in stasis, on a five-hundred year journey to a system with probable life-supporting planets. They were called Goldilocks ships, in the hope they'd find a planet that was "just right." What humanity didn't expect was that in the intervening five hundred years, they would make contact with an alien species and be given the means for true space travel via wormholes. Some of the ships arrived at their destinations to find human colonies already thriving on their target planets! Elena, however, found something quite different, and it's a very disconcerting difference. She is rescued by the motley crew of the White Raven, and they quickly get drawn into the mystery.
I really enjoyed the world-building and characterization in The Wrong Stars. The science of it made sense to me, but I'm not very versed in science, so I can't really say how realistic it is. It was at least pretty internally consistent. I'd like to learn more about how the AIs are created, though. Luckily, there is a sequel coming! The Dreaming Stars should be coming out this September, and I'm DEFINITELY going to read it.
If you like Dark Matter, Firefly, or Farscape, you should definitely read The Wrong Stars. There's a little bit of light romance threaded into the larger plot, and one fade-to-black sex scene. It's definitely not the focus of the book. There is some violence, but nothing incredibly graphic. I would put it at about the same maturity level as Star Trek.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Zombieland: Double Tap (2019) in Movies
Dec 8, 2019
I think it was a fairly safe bet to assume this was going to be entertaining. Comedy hijinks and zombies? Yes please!
Our band of merry zombie hunters have been living a great life in what's left of the world since the zombie legion rose, but things are becoming a little too samey. Little Rock is growing up and looking for something more than just their dysfunctional family, so when the first eligible bachelor appears she's all for leaving.
Wichita is set on going after her, the hippy boyfriend was headed to Babylon, a utopia of peace where there's no need of weapons, so that's where they're headed. Trouble is, they're not the only ones.
You can't be mad at this film, it's so much fun. Every time I think of Harrelson's gleeful face as he bodyslams a zombie I get a warm feeling inside. I love the way it mocks itself in the recap intro. I don't think there's a single thing in this movie I didn't like. It was pure pedal to the metal fun and it made a great break from a lot of the serious things I've been watching recently.
I always think that these sorts of things can be judged at least partly on its audience. There were teens and OAPs, couples, loners, groups of friends, it was such a cross-section. From what I could tell we were all laughing and having a good time. Any film that can do that has got its balance right.
The only I could grumble about is actually in the trailer, we get the inclusion of a Bill Murray scene and being that it isn't in the actual film seems like a bit of a daft thing to give away. The full scene is great but I don't know that putting it in the trailer made any difference to anyone wanting to see the film.
Continuing a story so long after the original was going to be difficult but I think the path they chose to go down nicely brought the characters back for us. It made sense where they focused the change and they managed to get across the jump of time really well. I still have my doubts about surviving in an apocalypse, but for the sake of this comedy I'm willing to overlook them.
The cast were great again, though Breslin didn't seem to have much enthusiasm for her part. The star-studded support cast helped to break the film up and add something even dafter into the mix. Luke Wilson and Thomas Middleditch made fun doppelgangers but the gag might have gone on a little too long.
Double Tap still makes great action like the original, the opening sequence that we partially see during the trailers brought a smile to my face. The all-out murdery goodness really does calm the soul.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2019/12/zombieland-double-tap-movie-review.html
Our band of merry zombie hunters have been living a great life in what's left of the world since the zombie legion rose, but things are becoming a little too samey. Little Rock is growing up and looking for something more than just their dysfunctional family, so when the first eligible bachelor appears she's all for leaving.
Wichita is set on going after her, the hippy boyfriend was headed to Babylon, a utopia of peace where there's no need of weapons, so that's where they're headed. Trouble is, they're not the only ones.
You can't be mad at this film, it's so much fun. Every time I think of Harrelson's gleeful face as he bodyslams a zombie I get a warm feeling inside. I love the way it mocks itself in the recap intro. I don't think there's a single thing in this movie I didn't like. It was pure pedal to the metal fun and it made a great break from a lot of the serious things I've been watching recently.
I always think that these sorts of things can be judged at least partly on its audience. There were teens and OAPs, couples, loners, groups of friends, it was such a cross-section. From what I could tell we were all laughing and having a good time. Any film that can do that has got its balance right.
The only I could grumble about is actually in the trailer, we get the inclusion of a Bill Murray scene and being that it isn't in the actual film seems like a bit of a daft thing to give away. The full scene is great but I don't know that putting it in the trailer made any difference to anyone wanting to see the film.
Continuing a story so long after the original was going to be difficult but I think the path they chose to go down nicely brought the characters back for us. It made sense where they focused the change and they managed to get across the jump of time really well. I still have my doubts about surviving in an apocalypse, but for the sake of this comedy I'm willing to overlook them.
The cast were great again, though Breslin didn't seem to have much enthusiasm for her part. The star-studded support cast helped to break the film up and add something even dafter into the mix. Luke Wilson and Thomas Middleditch made fun doppelgangers but the gag might have gone on a little too long.
Double Tap still makes great action like the original, the opening sequence that we partially see during the trailers brought a smile to my face. The all-out murdery goodness really does calm the soul.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2019/12/zombieland-double-tap-movie-review.html
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Perfect Genesis: Adolescence in Books
Nov 21, 2019
This is a book of many levels and many emotions. Superficially it is a far-future science fiction book where societies have been engineered by some planet-spanning intelligence to create stable and sustainable places for humans to live. Under this runs a strong current of philosophy and meta physics about exactly what this means for the individuals involved - and the news isn't good.
The plot follows Leonardo Khalid, a genetically engineered genius who has dedicated his life to improving life for mankind. However when he is taken critically ill he agrees to undergo a procedure to scan and record is brain. He is warned that during the process he will appear to inhabit a very real and long lasting dream as his brain is stimulated.
The dream is extremely vivid - so much so that we don't see it just from Leonardo's point of view. So is it a dream? Or a very real future world that he has somehow been projected into? Leonardo certainly believes he is in a dream, but does that condone some of his more morally questionable actions?
There are plenty of questions raised by this book. As Hogan says in a brief introduction, this book is supposed to stay with the reader long after they have read it, and it will certainly do that. At times it is an uncomfortable read - the dream societies place little value on human life and women in particular are treated very badly. Death, violence and sexual exploitation are daily hazards for the members of the societies described, but these are engineered places, not designed to benefit the individual human but to ensure the longevity of the society itself. They have been created with cold and clinical efficiency with no regard for the individual members of the citizenry.
This is a huge dichotomy and the heart of the book. The story itself - Leonardo exploring the land of his dream and overcoming the various obstacles that hinder him and his companions - skates along the top at a good pace, fizzing between plot points and twists, summoning the reader on to read just one more page. But underneath the dark heart will be throwing up awkward questions.
Exploitation of all sorts abounds, particularly sexual exploitation (not all of it men exploiting women). These sections can be an uncomfortable read but they are supposed to be - the questions around power and the abuse of power are valid and the reader is not supposed to be entirely sympathetic with any of the characters or their actions - even Leornardo. The civilisations are frequently brutal, either because of a dangerous environment or a ruthless ruler. People get hurt, people get abused, people die (sometimes horribly) but always the society lives on.
Read this book if you want to have a fantastic story exploring different places but at the same time have something to think about. By the end you will have seen what can happen if the concept of an ideal society is pursued to its limits. And it's not a utopia.
And yes this book will stay with me for a while. Definitely one of the best reads of 2014. Thoroughly recommended.
Rating: Sexual scenes, sexual violence and some torture.
The plot follows Leonardo Khalid, a genetically engineered genius who has dedicated his life to improving life for mankind. However when he is taken critically ill he agrees to undergo a procedure to scan and record is brain. He is warned that during the process he will appear to inhabit a very real and long lasting dream as his brain is stimulated.
The dream is extremely vivid - so much so that we don't see it just from Leonardo's point of view. So is it a dream? Or a very real future world that he has somehow been projected into? Leonardo certainly believes he is in a dream, but does that condone some of his more morally questionable actions?
There are plenty of questions raised by this book. As Hogan says in a brief introduction, this book is supposed to stay with the reader long after they have read it, and it will certainly do that. At times it is an uncomfortable read - the dream societies place little value on human life and women in particular are treated very badly. Death, violence and sexual exploitation are daily hazards for the members of the societies described, but these are engineered places, not designed to benefit the individual human but to ensure the longevity of the society itself. They have been created with cold and clinical efficiency with no regard for the individual members of the citizenry.
This is a huge dichotomy and the heart of the book. The story itself - Leonardo exploring the land of his dream and overcoming the various obstacles that hinder him and his companions - skates along the top at a good pace, fizzing between plot points and twists, summoning the reader on to read just one more page. But underneath the dark heart will be throwing up awkward questions.
Exploitation of all sorts abounds, particularly sexual exploitation (not all of it men exploiting women). These sections can be an uncomfortable read but they are supposed to be - the questions around power and the abuse of power are valid and the reader is not supposed to be entirely sympathetic with any of the characters or their actions - even Leornardo. The civilisations are frequently brutal, either because of a dangerous environment or a ruthless ruler. People get hurt, people get abused, people die (sometimes horribly) but always the society lives on.
Read this book if you want to have a fantastic story exploring different places but at the same time have something to think about. By the end you will have seen what can happen if the concept of an ideal society is pursued to its limits. And it's not a utopia.
And yes this book will stay with me for a while. Definitely one of the best reads of 2014. Thoroughly recommended.
Rating: Sexual scenes, sexual violence and some torture.
WHEN golden banded honeybees, so often likened to summer and honey sweetness, become the metaphor of a dystopian version of British Government and the Monarchy, what is one left to think?
Established British playwright Laline Paull’s debut novel, The Bees, represents just that. I may just be reading too much into the buzz, but the Oxford alumni who has had two plays performed at the Royal National Theatre must have some of the country in her subconscious as she writes.
The novel follows the life of worker honeybee Flora 717, born of the lowest class of bee society. In a world where mutation and difference is destroyed on sight, the larger-than-average Flora is saved from destruction by opportunities born from austerity in the hive, where ‘the season is deformed by rain, and the flowers shun’ the bees, so they need every available worker.
The life of the honeybee turns out to be symmetrical of Plato’s Republic and his utopia, where children are told what role they will have in life based on their ‘blood’. Plato divided the bronze craftsman, silver guardians and golden philosophers, and Paull divides bees in their ‘kin’ groups, named after flowers, and are priestesses to police, foragers who can fly outside the hive to the sanitation Flora, the lowest, and are given ‘no flower’. ‘A Flora may not make Wax for she is unclean, nor Propolis for she is clumsy, nor ever may she forage for she has no taste, but only may she serve her hive by cleaning,’ but the talented Flora 717 wants more.
Throughout the novel, Paull shows the same attachment to characters as George R R Martin, author of the Game of Thrones novels; the frequent loss deepens the heartbreak Flora must overcome as she fights to defy her set fate and claim the most illegal of desires. No reader will escape the anguish that concludes each new adventure.
The hive is akin to a cult, with leaders keeping their inferiors in check, with fear, intoxication and just a little hypnosis. The cult is complete with its own religion, mantra and even a parody of the Lord’s Prayer, ‘Hallowed be thy womb’, arguably my favourite part. This made the story really exciting, being on the ‘outside looking in’ as the reader, I wanted to encourage Flora to defy, but felt the fear of going against her sisters (this isn’t a cult bond word, they are all blood sisters, for only ‘the queen may breed’).
Paull’s scriptwriting has nurtured the ability to make the reader visualise her words exactly how she writes them, and that is clear within The Bees. I can see the wax panels that Flora 717 scuttles across as she travels around her hive, I can imagine the wax cribs in the nursery and know the deadly yellow and fine lines of the enemy wasp. In the ‘glass cage’ when Flora discovers the Venus Fly Trap, Paull never mentions the plant by name, but speaks only of their ‘red mouths’ with ‘white filaments’ on each ‘inner lip’, they ‘bore no pollen, the only nectar a viscous slick at the join of the petals’. But for all her beautiful imagery seeping off the pages, The Bees was not a book I have felt submerged in.
Full review on <a href="http://www.natari-himi.com">natari-himi.com</a>;
Established British playwright Laline Paull’s debut novel, The Bees, represents just that. I may just be reading too much into the buzz, but the Oxford alumni who has had two plays performed at the Royal National Theatre must have some of the country in her subconscious as she writes.
The novel follows the life of worker honeybee Flora 717, born of the lowest class of bee society. In a world where mutation and difference is destroyed on sight, the larger-than-average Flora is saved from destruction by opportunities born from austerity in the hive, where ‘the season is deformed by rain, and the flowers shun’ the bees, so they need every available worker.
The life of the honeybee turns out to be symmetrical of Plato’s Republic and his utopia, where children are told what role they will have in life based on their ‘blood’. Plato divided the bronze craftsman, silver guardians and golden philosophers, and Paull divides bees in their ‘kin’ groups, named after flowers, and are priestesses to police, foragers who can fly outside the hive to the sanitation Flora, the lowest, and are given ‘no flower’. ‘A Flora may not make Wax for she is unclean, nor Propolis for she is clumsy, nor ever may she forage for she has no taste, but only may she serve her hive by cleaning,’ but the talented Flora 717 wants more.
Throughout the novel, Paull shows the same attachment to characters as George R R Martin, author of the Game of Thrones novels; the frequent loss deepens the heartbreak Flora must overcome as she fights to defy her set fate and claim the most illegal of desires. No reader will escape the anguish that concludes each new adventure.
The hive is akin to a cult, with leaders keeping their inferiors in check, with fear, intoxication and just a little hypnosis. The cult is complete with its own religion, mantra and even a parody of the Lord’s Prayer, ‘Hallowed be thy womb’, arguably my favourite part. This made the story really exciting, being on the ‘outside looking in’ as the reader, I wanted to encourage Flora to defy, but felt the fear of going against her sisters (this isn’t a cult bond word, they are all blood sisters, for only ‘the queen may breed’).
Paull’s scriptwriting has nurtured the ability to make the reader visualise her words exactly how she writes them, and that is clear within The Bees. I can see the wax panels that Flora 717 scuttles across as she travels around her hive, I can imagine the wax cribs in the nursery and know the deadly yellow and fine lines of the enemy wasp. In the ‘glass cage’ when Flora discovers the Venus Fly Trap, Paull never mentions the plant by name, but speaks only of their ‘red mouths’ with ‘white filaments’ on each ‘inner lip’, they ‘bore no pollen, the only nectar a viscous slick at the join of the petals’. But for all her beautiful imagery seeping off the pages, The Bees was not a book I have felt submerged in.
Full review on <a href="http://www.natari-himi.com">natari-himi.com</a>;