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Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated The Boy Caught in the Starlight in Books
Feb 29, 2020
Honest Review for Free Copy of Book
The Boy Caught In The Starlight by Michael J H Taylor is a wonderful adventure where the heroes never go any farther than a cabin a little ways from home. This tale is expected to be the first in a series.
Jake lives with his mother who loves bragging about him a little too much. He is smothered by her overwhelming pressure to be perfect and longs for adventure. However, there really is not much in the lines of adventure for a young teenager these days. So being board Jake asks his mother if he can spend the weekend with his father, mostly for a change. Jake goes with his father to pick up an old Bubble Car that his father recently purchased from Professor Septimus Kneebone, self-proclaimed genius. It is this trip that sets Jake on the course for the dangerous adventure that he so longs for.
It turns out that the Bubble Car is no longer a car but a very special machine. This machine has the unique ability to show images of things past to those who know how to work it. Although no one can interact with the images in anyway they can show wondrous things, such as the location of treasure. As luck would have it a gang of thieves know about the machine and have been using it to find long lost treasurer to get rich. Yet what would such a gang do when they discover the Professor has decided to dismantle the machine forever.
This book was surprisingly unique. It offered multiple turns that I did not expect. The story brought me to many different theories along the way to discovering the truth. I hope the promised second book is just as entertaining as the first. What I did not like was that at first, I pegged this book to be much like back to the future. As it turns out I was wrong. This is a problem because the description of the book comes off differently. I just don’t want anyone to go into this book with the wrong expectations.
Young adults and children alike will enjoy this tale. Though a little on the long side for very young children a tale of adventure such as this would be good spread out over multiple days as a wonderful bedtime story. I rate this book 3 out of 4. I was very happy with this book. The slightly misleading description lost a rating point for me, but other than that I found no major complaint. I believe this book to be a good story for all who pick it up.
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Jake lives with his mother who loves bragging about him a little too much. He is smothered by her overwhelming pressure to be perfect and longs for adventure. However, there really is not much in the lines of adventure for a young teenager these days. So being board Jake asks his mother if he can spend the weekend with his father, mostly for a change. Jake goes with his father to pick up an old Bubble Car that his father recently purchased from Professor Septimus Kneebone, self-proclaimed genius. It is this trip that sets Jake on the course for the dangerous adventure that he so longs for.
It turns out that the Bubble Car is no longer a car but a very special machine. This machine has the unique ability to show images of things past to those who know how to work it. Although no one can interact with the images in anyway they can show wondrous things, such as the location of treasure. As luck would have it a gang of thieves know about the machine and have been using it to find long lost treasurer to get rich. Yet what would such a gang do when they discover the Professor has decided to dismantle the machine forever.
This book was surprisingly unique. It offered multiple turns that I did not expect. The story brought me to many different theories along the way to discovering the truth. I hope the promised second book is just as entertaining as the first. What I did not like was that at first, I pegged this book to be much like back to the future. As it turns out I was wrong. This is a problem because the description of the book comes off differently. I just don’t want anyone to go into this book with the wrong expectations.
Young adults and children alike will enjoy this tale. Though a little on the long side for very young children a tale of adventure such as this would be good spread out over multiple days as a wonderful bedtime story. I rate this book 3 out of 4. I was very happy with this book. The slightly misleading description lost a rating point for me, but other than that I found no major complaint. I believe this book to be a good story for all who pick it up.
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https://smashbomb.com/nightreader
https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.com/
JT (287 KP) rated Argo (2012) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
Does making a film based on a true story make it any more endearing to the Oscar big wigs? Possibly, but one thing is for sure, Ben Affleck’s third film Argo is an outstanding piece of film making with exceptional attention to detail and sense of realism.
In 1979 Iran was overrun by Iranian revolutionaries, these revolutionaries stormed the American embassy taking several Americans hostage. Six of those managed to escape to the official residence of the Canadian Ambassador where the CIA was eventually ordered to get them out of the country by whatever means necessary.
Led by Tony Mendez (Affleck) a CIA expert in exfiltration he puts together an elaborate plan to go in as a film producer and rescue the six who’ll pose as a film crew on a location hunt for new sci-fi flick, Argo. Even if this was fiction it would be a pretty daring plan in an environment that was so hostile for its time they’re hanging people by cranes in the street, and women carry machine guns!
In order to make the film seem as real as possible Mendez enlists the help of John Chambers (John Goodman) a Hollywood make-up artist whose helped the CIA out before and film producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin). Between them they put the film into fake production, concoct false identities for the six and set about taking them out directly though the Iranian airport in a daring escape.
Affleck gets the cinematography spot on, creating a grainy perspective for that era and using some real footage as well. It all helps convey the narrative and plot that this was one of the most dangerous missions of its time and one what would live long in CIA and American history.
Goodman and Arkin add a humorous element to the proceedings “if it’s going to be a fake film I want it to be a fake hit” Lester claims when he’s approached about the project. The other side feels like a 70s version of 24 with the political suits in boardrooms arguing about the best way to execute the plan.
The tension is built slowly with everything climaxing to a pulsating last act which will have your heart pounding and seat gripped. Personally I didn’t endear to any of the six escapees, their stories are not built up enough other than they’re all unsure if they can trust Mendez to get them back on home soil safely.
Argo got the best picture Oscar over a lot of other seemingly worthy nominees, but you couldn’t deny Affleck his moment in the spotlight and cementing him as one of the best actor to director transitions. While the film might not be entirely accurate, Affleck just wants to get to the heart of this espionage thriller and does so while finding a perfect balance between comedy and drama.
In 1979 Iran was overrun by Iranian revolutionaries, these revolutionaries stormed the American embassy taking several Americans hostage. Six of those managed to escape to the official residence of the Canadian Ambassador where the CIA was eventually ordered to get them out of the country by whatever means necessary.
Led by Tony Mendez (Affleck) a CIA expert in exfiltration he puts together an elaborate plan to go in as a film producer and rescue the six who’ll pose as a film crew on a location hunt for new sci-fi flick, Argo. Even if this was fiction it would be a pretty daring plan in an environment that was so hostile for its time they’re hanging people by cranes in the street, and women carry machine guns!
In order to make the film seem as real as possible Mendez enlists the help of John Chambers (John Goodman) a Hollywood make-up artist whose helped the CIA out before and film producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin). Between them they put the film into fake production, concoct false identities for the six and set about taking them out directly though the Iranian airport in a daring escape.
Affleck gets the cinematography spot on, creating a grainy perspective for that era and using some real footage as well. It all helps convey the narrative and plot that this was one of the most dangerous missions of its time and one what would live long in CIA and American history.
Goodman and Arkin add a humorous element to the proceedings “if it’s going to be a fake film I want it to be a fake hit” Lester claims when he’s approached about the project. The other side feels like a 70s version of 24 with the political suits in boardrooms arguing about the best way to execute the plan.
The tension is built slowly with everything climaxing to a pulsating last act which will have your heart pounding and seat gripped. Personally I didn’t endear to any of the six escapees, their stories are not built up enough other than they’re all unsure if they can trust Mendez to get them back on home soil safely.
Argo got the best picture Oscar over a lot of other seemingly worthy nominees, but you couldn’t deny Affleck his moment in the spotlight and cementing him as one of the best actor to director transitions. While the film might not be entirely accurate, Affleck just wants to get to the heart of this espionage thriller and does so while finding a perfect balance between comedy and drama.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated The Conjuring (2013) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
It’s quite easy to think you have a ghost haunting your home. The creeks and cracks of settling foundation, leaky pipes, drafty windows or appliances can sound aerie. Why is it that our imaginations jump to that conclusion and not simply the truth. In some cases this causes people to essentially “cry wolf”, making it hard for us to believe in the true hauntings that have plagued families for generations. The Perron family was one of the many that had been terrorized by a malevolent spirit in their recently purchased farmhouse.
The story follows Ed and Lorraine Warren who’s lives have spent dealing with hundreds of cases of hauntings all around the US. From small hauntings to haunted items and more importantly exorcisms. The film begins with one of their possession cases that involves two young woman who were under the impression that they were being haunted by a little girl who took a likening to their Annabelle doll. They invited the girl to live inside of the doll not knowing that the entity was a daemon. (I do want to interject that the real Annabelle doll was a raggedy Anne doll but for the films sake they made the doll look like it was related to Chucky).
Annabelle is just an introduction to the audience of what Ed and Lorraine Warren do. One of their bigger cases is that of the Perron family. Roger (Ron Livingston), his wife Carolyn (Lili Taylor) and their five daughters move to an old farmhouse in a remote area not knowing the past of the land or the home itself. Ed and Lorraine agree to help the family exorcise their home, not realizing that the case was more dangerous than they had originally thought.
This film is by far the best true ghost story film that I have seen to date. Granted it has somewhat of a slow beginning, once the scares start happening it gets better and better. The acting was not the best nor the dialogue, however if you pay close attention to the story, those weaknesses of the film are easily forgotten. It is extremely refreshing to not see any CGI in a film like this and knowing that it can be as equally scary if not more with simple camera angles and excellent concepts. I also like the absence of blood and gore that has seen to be quite overdone with most horror films lately. The way that practical makeup was used to create such scary characters is only a small part of how much thought was put into this.
This film is scary and when I say that I really mean it. When I screened this, I was sitting in the middle of two big burley men who also jumped at every surprise. If you have been waiting for a film to scare you, this my friends will do it. It is definitely not for the faint of heart.
The story follows Ed and Lorraine Warren who’s lives have spent dealing with hundreds of cases of hauntings all around the US. From small hauntings to haunted items and more importantly exorcisms. The film begins with one of their possession cases that involves two young woman who were under the impression that they were being haunted by a little girl who took a likening to their Annabelle doll. They invited the girl to live inside of the doll not knowing that the entity was a daemon. (I do want to interject that the real Annabelle doll was a raggedy Anne doll but for the films sake they made the doll look like it was related to Chucky).
Annabelle is just an introduction to the audience of what Ed and Lorraine Warren do. One of their bigger cases is that of the Perron family. Roger (Ron Livingston), his wife Carolyn (Lili Taylor) and their five daughters move to an old farmhouse in a remote area not knowing the past of the land or the home itself. Ed and Lorraine agree to help the family exorcise their home, not realizing that the case was more dangerous than they had originally thought.
This film is by far the best true ghost story film that I have seen to date. Granted it has somewhat of a slow beginning, once the scares start happening it gets better and better. The acting was not the best nor the dialogue, however if you pay close attention to the story, those weaknesses of the film are easily forgotten. It is extremely refreshing to not see any CGI in a film like this and knowing that it can be as equally scary if not more with simple camera angles and excellent concepts. I also like the absence of blood and gore that has seen to be quite overdone with most horror films lately. The way that practical makeup was used to create such scary characters is only a small part of how much thought was put into this.
This film is scary and when I say that I really mean it. When I screened this, I was sitting in the middle of two big burley men who also jumped at every surprise. If you have been waiting for a film to scare you, this my friends will do it. It is definitely not for the faint of heart.
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