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Student Study Bible: English Standard Version (ESV)
Book
Adapted from the acclaimed ESV Study Bible, the ESV Student Study Bible, is the most content-rich,...

Allah Does Not Have an Exit Visa
Book
This is a personal look at one life, lived by an ordinary guy, who has visited some extraordinary...

Bostonian916 (449 KP) rated Gemini Man (2019) in Movies
Jun 29, 2020
I believe that this movie has taken A LOT of flack due to unrealistic expectations. One of the things that I heard a lot before I saw it was that the CGI that made Will Smith appear younger was really poor. Let's take into consideration what is happening with this. They are making a man look over 20 years YOUNGER. FOR AN ENTIRE MOVIE. While the current version of said actor stands next to him. Of course it isn't going to be perfect. Nothing ever could be. But I think Ang Lee and company did a helluva job with it. The action was at times a bit generic but nothing that I would put in the terrible column.
The story itself was pretty original. I won't give too much away, as I try to avoid spoilers when I review things, but you'll likely be surprised on a couple of different occasions.
In regards to the action, I have to admit that it was all kinds of gnarly to see Will Smith fight himself. And due to his acting ability you believed the shock on his face and in his actions as it was happening for the first time.
Don't listen to all the hate, this movie isn't awful. Definitely worth a viewing if you're a science fiction fan.
The story itself was pretty original. I won't give too much away, as I try to avoid spoilers when I review things, but you'll likely be surprised on a couple of different occasions.
In regards to the action, I have to admit that it was all kinds of gnarly to see Will Smith fight himself. And due to his acting ability you believed the shock on his face and in his actions as it was happening for the first time.
Don't listen to all the hate, this movie isn't awful. Definitely worth a viewing if you're a science fiction fan.

Darren Hayman recommended The Kids from "Fame" by Kids From Fame in Music (curated)

LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) in Movies
Mar 2, 2021
I Know What You Did Last Summer opens with the Type O Negative cover of Summer Breeze, which is always going to be a winner in my book.
This film is rightly considered a bit of a classic these days, and there's really not a whole bunch to complain about. It has well written characters, a decent cast, a visually creepy villain, an engaging whodunit plot, one of the best chase scenes in slasher movie history (that's right), and still manages to stand on its own two feet in a world where it's constantly compared to Scream.
I find this to be an unfair comparison. Beyond the 90s setting, teen characters, slasher tropes, and shared writer in Kevin Williamson, there's not much else that ties them together. Scream is of course a fantastic horror, but relishes in being satire, whereas IKWYDLS is a straight shooting horror. Its the exact kind of film that Scream takes aim at, but it still manages to be a decent slasher without feeling silly, and delivers some well earned jump scares for good measure. I also really enjoy it's fishing town setting and the hole movie is accompanied by a hilariously epic score courtesy of John Debney. It's great.
I will always have a lot of time for IKWYDLS, overshadowed by some of its contemporaries, but a hugely satisfying and entertaing horror in its own right.
This film is rightly considered a bit of a classic these days, and there's really not a whole bunch to complain about. It has well written characters, a decent cast, a visually creepy villain, an engaging whodunit plot, one of the best chase scenes in slasher movie history (that's right), and still manages to stand on its own two feet in a world where it's constantly compared to Scream.
I find this to be an unfair comparison. Beyond the 90s setting, teen characters, slasher tropes, and shared writer in Kevin Williamson, there's not much else that ties them together. Scream is of course a fantastic horror, but relishes in being satire, whereas IKWYDLS is a straight shooting horror. Its the exact kind of film that Scream takes aim at, but it still manages to be a decent slasher without feeling silly, and delivers some well earned jump scares for good measure. I also really enjoy it's fishing town setting and the hole movie is accompanied by a hilariously epic score courtesy of John Debney. It's great.
I will always have a lot of time for IKWYDLS, overshadowed by some of its contemporaries, but a hugely satisfying and entertaing horror in its own right.

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2357 KP) rated Murder in Greenwich Village in Books
Mar 10, 2021 (Updated Mar 10, 2021)
The Murdered Roommate
In the summer of 1913, Louise Faulk is enjoying her new life in New York City until one evening when she and her roommate, Callie, return to their apartment to find Callie’s cousin, Ethel, dead. Ethel had been staying with them for several weeks, but was from out of town and hardly knew anyone. The police focus on someone that Louise knows would never commit murder, so she starts to investigate. But who could have motive to kill Ethel?
The book starts off quickly, but I did feel the pacing was a bit uneven as the story unfolded. There was one thing that I wasn’t satisfied with at the end of the book as well, but only because I disagreed with Louise’s conclusion. Overall, the plot is interesting and held my interest all the way until we reached the logical climax. Louise is a wonderful main character, and I’m very interested to see where the series takes her next. The suspects are strong, and the rest of the cast is interesting. The book was a little darker than I was expecting, more a traditional than the cozies I normally read. As long as you know that going in, you’ll be fine. I will definitely be visiting Louise again. I’m anxious to find out what happens to her next.
The book starts off quickly, but I did feel the pacing was a bit uneven as the story unfolded. There was one thing that I wasn’t satisfied with at the end of the book as well, but only because I disagreed with Louise’s conclusion. Overall, the plot is interesting and held my interest all the way until we reached the logical climax. Louise is a wonderful main character, and I’m very interested to see where the series takes her next. The suspects are strong, and the rest of the cast is interesting. The book was a little darker than I was expecting, more a traditional than the cozies I normally read. As long as you know that going in, you’ll be fine. I will definitely be visiting Louise again. I’m anxious to find out what happens to her next.

Joe Elliott recommended Billion Dollar Babies by Alice Cooper in Music (curated)

Nicky Wire recommended ...Like Clockwork by Queens Of The Stone Age in Music (curated)

Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Creeper (Brennan and Esposito #2) in Books
Jul 21, 2021
113 of 260
Book
The Creeper ( Brennan & Esposito book 2)
By Tania Carver
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
Suzanne Perry is having a vivid nightmare. Someone is in her bedroom, touching her, and she can't move a muscle. She wakes, relieved to put the nightmare behind her, but when she opens the curtains, she sees a polaroid stuck to the window. A photo of her sleeping self, taken during the night. And underneath the words: 'I'm watching over you'. Her nightmare isn't over. In fact, it's just beginning. Detective Inspector Phil Brennan of the Major Incident Squad has a killer to hunt. A killer who stalks young women, insinuates himself into their lives, and ultimately tortures and murders them in the most shocking way possible. But the more Phil investigates, the more he delves into the twisted psychology of his quarry, Phil realises that it isn't just a serial killer he's hunting but something ? or someone ? infinitely more calculating and horrific. And much closer to home than he realised ...
I didn’t think they could follow up from The Surrogate but they did! I loved this the authors have this crazy way of playing on those fears. The characters are well thought out and executed. This book didn’t take long as I just devoured it. Can’t wait to see what comes next!
Book
The Creeper ( Brennan & Esposito book 2)
By Tania Carver
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
Suzanne Perry is having a vivid nightmare. Someone is in her bedroom, touching her, and she can't move a muscle. She wakes, relieved to put the nightmare behind her, but when she opens the curtains, she sees a polaroid stuck to the window. A photo of her sleeping self, taken during the night. And underneath the words: 'I'm watching over you'. Her nightmare isn't over. In fact, it's just beginning. Detective Inspector Phil Brennan of the Major Incident Squad has a killer to hunt. A killer who stalks young women, insinuates himself into their lives, and ultimately tortures and murders them in the most shocking way possible. But the more Phil investigates, the more he delves into the twisted psychology of his quarry, Phil realises that it isn't just a serial killer he's hunting but something ? or someone ? infinitely more calculating and horrific. And much closer to home than he realised ...
I didn’t think they could follow up from The Surrogate but they did! I loved this the authors have this crazy way of playing on those fears. The characters are well thought out and executed. This book didn’t take long as I just devoured it. Can’t wait to see what comes next!

LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Night Moves (2014) in Movies
Sep 20, 2020
For all intents and purposes, this is a fatally flawed movie - I mean it practically dumps all its would-be themes right after the first half, drags hard, deliberately leaves a ton of stuff unresolved, and turns into a rather conventional thriller that leaves a lot to be desired in the end. Yet I was completely enthralled by it almost every second - breathless - because this is a near-perfectly built product. Firstly this is undoubtedly in my top ten movie scores of all time, I just adore this stuff - it elevates where the writing needed a boost and it's the exact type of moody digital backdrop I crave out of movies. And that color palette? Fucking sublime. This weaponizes Eisenberg's meek neuroticism, Fanning's niceness, Sarsgaard's "What the fuck did you just say?" demeanor, and Reichardt's caution into a product that's always one step away from the abyss - a product constantly on edge. Every pedestrian is a threat, every set of headlights in the distance a threat, every trivial but still less-than-perfectly-normal action incriminating. Composed within an inch of its life in almost every regard. And this is all not even to mention how impeccably it captures how weird and unable to function with regular society these types of delusional misanthropic environmentalists are - even down to the homely appearance and always seemingly agitated demeanor.