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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Sherlock Gnomes (2018) in Movies
Jul 8, 2019
The original "Gnomeo & Juliet" movie was a sweet spin on the Shakespeare
inspired story of Romeo and Juliet, but with two clans of gnomes at war
with the main destruction being to each other's gardens. Two star-crossed
lovers, Gnomeo & Juliet fall in love and after all the chaos, hate, and
near death experiences, both "gnomes houses" seek a truce and learn to
co-exist.
In the sequel, the gnomes move to London. Juliet (Emily Blunt) is so
preoccupied with rebuilding the garden, she fails to notice Gnomeo's (James
MacAvoy) needs and feelings. In other parts of London, Sherlock Gnomes
(Johnny Depp) and his faithful companion Watson (Chiwetel Eljiofor) are
investigating the disappearance of several gnomes throughout London. One
day, Gnomeo attempts at a romantic gesture goes awry when he tries to steal
an orchid for Juliet from a flower shop. Juliet ends up saving Gnomeo,
causing them to bicker and squabble and not realize all their gnome friends
and family were kidnapped. One thing leads to another and they find
themselves teaming up with Sherlock and Watson to track down all the clues
in hopes of saving their loved ones.
From the director who brought us "Kung Fu Panda," this was a major misstep
for John Stevenson. The movie was fast paced, but the story line was very
disjointed. I understand what angle they were attempting to hit here:
Don't take your loved ones for granted, but I just could not connect with
the characters. In the first film, they really focused on the
relationships between Gnomeo and his mother, Juliet and her father, and both
Gnomeo and Juliet. Those relationships were lost in this film. From the
adult perspective, the movie lacked depth, but was still entertaining.
However, the kiddos on hand loved it. They enjoyed all the high flying
suspenseful moments, the potty humor, and over the top one liners.
inspired story of Romeo and Juliet, but with two clans of gnomes at war
with the main destruction being to each other's gardens. Two star-crossed
lovers, Gnomeo & Juliet fall in love and after all the chaos, hate, and
near death experiences, both "gnomes houses" seek a truce and learn to
co-exist.
In the sequel, the gnomes move to London. Juliet (Emily Blunt) is so
preoccupied with rebuilding the garden, she fails to notice Gnomeo's (James
MacAvoy) needs and feelings. In other parts of London, Sherlock Gnomes
(Johnny Depp) and his faithful companion Watson (Chiwetel Eljiofor) are
investigating the disappearance of several gnomes throughout London. One
day, Gnomeo attempts at a romantic gesture goes awry when he tries to steal
an orchid for Juliet from a flower shop. Juliet ends up saving Gnomeo,
causing them to bicker and squabble and not realize all their gnome friends
and family were kidnapped. One thing leads to another and they find
themselves teaming up with Sherlock and Watson to track down all the clues
in hopes of saving their loved ones.
From the director who brought us "Kung Fu Panda," this was a major misstep
for John Stevenson. The movie was fast paced, but the story line was very
disjointed. I understand what angle they were attempting to hit here:
Don't take your loved ones for granted, but I just could not connect with
the characters. In the first film, they really focused on the
relationships between Gnomeo and his mother, Juliet and her father, and both
Gnomeo and Juliet. Those relationships were lost in this film. From the
adult perspective, the movie lacked depth, but was still entertaining.
However, the kiddos on hand loved it. They enjoyed all the high flying
suspenseful moments, the potty humor, and over the top one liners.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated the Xbox One version of Alien: Isolation in Video Games
Jan 22, 2020
Isolation Within Inside The Ship
Alien Isolation- is a phenomenal game, its terrorfying, horrorfying, scary, and overall fantastic survival game. Think Dead Space, Lost Planet and Prey combind into one epic game.
The game is set 15 years after the events of the original 1979 film Alien, and follows engineer Amanda Ripley, daughter of Alien protagonist Ellen Ripley, as she investigates the disappearance of her mother. Which is cool, because now you in the shoes of Ripley's daughter, trying to find her mom.
The Game requiries the player to avoid and outsmart a single Alien creature with tools such as a motion tracker and flamethrower.
The player can use the motion tracker to track the Alien's location. While motion was detected in front of the tracker, a circle will appear on its screen, indicating where the motion is detected. Which you will use often to track where the alien is.
The Alien creature cannot be defeated, requiring the player to use stealth tactics in order to survive. Instead of following a predetermined path, the Alien has the ability to actively investigate disturbances and hunt the player by sight or sound. Along the way, the player can use both a flashlight and a motion tracker to detect the Alien's movements. However, using any of these increases the chance of the Alien finding the player. For example, if the Alien is moving and close enough, the tracker's sound will attract the Alien, forcing the player to use the tracker wisely and remove it as soon as it detects motion. The motion tracker cannot detect enemies when they are not moving and cannot determine if the alien creature is up in the ducts or on ground level.
You have to use your survival skills and your stealth skills cause you dont you will get killed often by the alien.
A must play game for those who love the alien franchise and those who love survival isolation stealth horror games like Dead Space, Lost Planet and Prey.
The game is set 15 years after the events of the original 1979 film Alien, and follows engineer Amanda Ripley, daughter of Alien protagonist Ellen Ripley, as she investigates the disappearance of her mother. Which is cool, because now you in the shoes of Ripley's daughter, trying to find her mom.
The Game requiries the player to avoid and outsmart a single Alien creature with tools such as a motion tracker and flamethrower.
The player can use the motion tracker to track the Alien's location. While motion was detected in front of the tracker, a circle will appear on its screen, indicating where the motion is detected. Which you will use often to track where the alien is.
The Alien creature cannot be defeated, requiring the player to use stealth tactics in order to survive. Instead of following a predetermined path, the Alien has the ability to actively investigate disturbances and hunt the player by sight or sound. Along the way, the player can use both a flashlight and a motion tracker to detect the Alien's movements. However, using any of these increases the chance of the Alien finding the player. For example, if the Alien is moving and close enough, the tracker's sound will attract the Alien, forcing the player to use the tracker wisely and remove it as soon as it detects motion. The motion tracker cannot detect enemies when they are not moving and cannot determine if the alien creature is up in the ducts or on ground level.
You have to use your survival skills and your stealth skills cause you dont you will get killed often by the alien.
A must play game for those who love the alien franchise and those who love survival isolation stealth horror games like Dead Space, Lost Planet and Prey.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2474 KP) rated Death with a Dark Red Rose in Books
Feb 29, 2020
Mysterious Disappearance
Life is going well for Lena London. Her latest collaboration with bestselling novelist Camilla Graham is doing well, she and her fiance, Sam West, are just starting to plan their wedding, and she enjoys spending time with her new friends in Blue Lake. The only shadow is the new factory that is being built just outside of town. It looks like the building is going to be an eye sore, and Lena is not happy about it and other ways it might change this area she considers home. However, a cold wind blows in when someone vanishes. Soon, Lena and her friends are caught up in another race to figure out what is happening before things turn deadly. Will they solve things in time?
I thought this novel’s beginning was weak, but it was the weakest part of the story. Even then, that is a minor complaint since I was hooked from the very first page and could hardly put the book down until I reached the end. If real life didn’t interfere, I could have easily finished it in one sitting. I did see one or two twists coming, but there were plenty others I didn’t suspect, but they made perfect sense by the time we reached the end of the story. I love Lena and her friends, and we got plenty of time with them in these pages. Their relationships are fantastic. Each chapter starts with a quote from the projects that Lena and Camilla are currently working on, and I found they helped me better understand just how this series works Gothic elements into each book. Honestly, I’d love to read their books if they were real. It is best to read this series in order since some events of previous books are spoiled by necessity. That’s not an issue since all the books in this series are great. Set aside plenty of time when you pick up this book because you won’t want to put it down until you’ve read every thrilling page.
I thought this novel’s beginning was weak, but it was the weakest part of the story. Even then, that is a minor complaint since I was hooked from the very first page and could hardly put the book down until I reached the end. If real life didn’t interfere, I could have easily finished it in one sitting. I did see one or two twists coming, but there were plenty others I didn’t suspect, but they made perfect sense by the time we reached the end of the story. I love Lena and her friends, and we got plenty of time with them in these pages. Their relationships are fantastic. Each chapter starts with a quote from the projects that Lena and Camilla are currently working on, and I found they helped me better understand just how this series works Gothic elements into each book. Honestly, I’d love to read their books if they were real. It is best to read this series in order since some events of previous books are spoiled by necessity. That’s not an issue since all the books in this series are great. Set aside plenty of time when you pick up this book because you won’t want to put it down until you’ve read every thrilling page.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Hand on the Wall (Truly Devious #3) in Books
Mar 19, 2020
The finale to the Truly Devious trilogy does not disappoint. Stevie Bell believes she has solved the famous Truly Devious case. But she hasn't really told anyone yet. After all, yet another person is dead, someone else (whom she has kissed) has disappeared, and then another accident strikes Ellingham Academy. All while a giant snowstorm is about to hit the school. Stevie is sure everything is tied together--the deaths in the past, the deaths in the present. But it's finally too much for Ellingham. The school is being evacuated. Stevie is being sent home. It's over. So she makes the only rational choice. Time to stay at the school in the face of an insane storm--and a potential murderer.
Oh I love this series so very much. I highly recommend it. Stevie is such a wonderful character, filled with real flaws and amazing skills. Johnson's treatment of Stevie's anxiety across the trilogy is spot-on, and she just captures Stevie so perfectly. Her love of crime, her intelligence, her wit. It's impossible not to adore this girl.
Book three starts off with a bang--the format alternates between the present and parts of the past, depicting scenes involving the Truly Devious case that Stevie has worked so hard to solve. Filling in the pieces of that famous case--the disappearance of Albert Ellingham's wife and daughter. It works perfectly and it's captivating, finally finding out exactly what happened to Iris and Alice--and all the other players in the 1930s.
I don't want to say much more and spoil anything, except to say it was all perfect. Stevie and the cast of characters is great--I've come to care for so many of them now. And Johnson excels at having a diverse group in her books, which I love. The conclusion of the mystery is excellent; I was frantically flipping pages and caught on every word. The ending is quite fitting for a beloved series. 4.5 stars.
Oh I love this series so very much. I highly recommend it. Stevie is such a wonderful character, filled with real flaws and amazing skills. Johnson's treatment of Stevie's anxiety across the trilogy is spot-on, and she just captures Stevie so perfectly. Her love of crime, her intelligence, her wit. It's impossible not to adore this girl.
Book three starts off with a bang--the format alternates between the present and parts of the past, depicting scenes involving the Truly Devious case that Stevie has worked so hard to solve. Filling in the pieces of that famous case--the disappearance of Albert Ellingham's wife and daughter. It works perfectly and it's captivating, finally finding out exactly what happened to Iris and Alice--and all the other players in the 1930s.
I don't want to say much more and spoil anything, except to say it was all perfect. Stevie and the cast of characters is great--I've come to care for so many of them now. And Johnson excels at having a diverse group in her books, which I love. The conclusion of the mystery is excellent; I was frantically flipping pages and caught on every word. The ending is quite fitting for a beloved series. 4.5 stars.
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Hazel (2934 KP) rated Silent Night in Books
Nov 8, 2020
This is the second book featuring the British Sign Language interpreter, Paige Northwood, and the second I have read and although you don't particularly have to have read the first (The Silent House), it does help.
Here we have a complex story of the murder of a teacher and the disappearance of one of his pupils; the police employ Paige as the interpreter but she soon becomes embroiled in the investigation whilst she is also having to deal with a lot of angst in her own life and herein lies the problem for me. The story already covers a lot of themes; the deaf community, bullying, coercion, domestic abuse, relationships and that's before we get to the murder and the missing child! On top of all this, there is a lot of time taken up about Paige and, I felt, it was just too much and I found it became more and more tedious, repetitive and annoying so by the end, it had an impact on my enjoyment of the book. I am sure however that there are many out there who will find this focus on the main character and her story appealing as opposed to the crime itself but it just spoiled it a bit for me I'm afraid.
Putting that aside, the twists and red herrings were excellent and I was constantly trying to guess who-done-it. The characters were well developed and interesting. The pace was a little slow to begin with but picked up in the second half/final third. The look into the frustrations experienced by the police when witnesses/suspects don't cooperate and withhold vital information was infuriating and probably pretty accurate!
Overall, a pretty solid book but just a bit too much focus on the main character for me.
Thank you to Avon Books UK via NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in return for an unbiased review.
Here we have a complex story of the murder of a teacher and the disappearance of one of his pupils; the police employ Paige as the interpreter but she soon becomes embroiled in the investigation whilst she is also having to deal with a lot of angst in her own life and herein lies the problem for me. The story already covers a lot of themes; the deaf community, bullying, coercion, domestic abuse, relationships and that's before we get to the murder and the missing child! On top of all this, there is a lot of time taken up about Paige and, I felt, it was just too much and I found it became more and more tedious, repetitive and annoying so by the end, it had an impact on my enjoyment of the book. I am sure however that there are many out there who will find this focus on the main character and her story appealing as opposed to the crime itself but it just spoiled it a bit for me I'm afraid.
Putting that aside, the twists and red herrings were excellent and I was constantly trying to guess who-done-it. The characters were well developed and interesting. The pace was a little slow to begin with but picked up in the second half/final third. The look into the frustrations experienced by the police when witnesses/suspects don't cooperate and withhold vital information was infuriating and probably pretty accurate!
Overall, a pretty solid book but just a bit too much focus on the main character for me.
Thank you to Avon Books UK via NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in return for an unbiased review.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Local Woman Missing in Books
May 27, 2021
I'm so excited to be a part of the blog tour for this dark, frantic page-turner of a thriller
First Shelby Tebow goes missing. A new mom, Shelby's husband is quickly suspected in her disappearance. Then Meredith Dickey and her young daughter, Delilah--who live just blocks from Shelby--vanish. The rest of the neighborhood, including couple Bea and Kate, are terrified. Are the cases related? An investigation is launched, with few results. Then, eleven years later, Delilah is found, bringing back memories of all the incidents, especially for her father Josh and brother Leo. Everyone wants answers, but Delilah is too traumatized to provide them. Besides, the secrets unearthed with Delilah's return may be too much for everyone.
"I don't know how old I am. I don't know how long they've been keeping me here."
This was a captivating page-turner that I read in three breathless sittings. It's undeniably compelling and sucks you in from the beginning. It starts with Delilah's point of view, shocking and terrifying, and sort of never lets you go. Her voice and story are hard to forget. Among other narrators, we hear from Meredith, eleven years ago, and then Kate and Leo in the present. Working out how the various families and characters are interconnected is part of the challenge and honestly, I was truly shocked at various points in the story. How exactly these missing women and Delilah are tied together is incredibly dark and twisty.
I was completely into this book for most of the story and thought I was looking at 4.5+ star read. It started to dissolve a bit at the end, as things (including some characters) went a little crazy. Still, some of the twists were truly awesome and breathtaking. I think--in that way--this is one of Kubica's best in a while.
Overall, this is an addictive thriller filled with some truly shocking plot twists. It keeps you guessing the entire time, and its complex and layered plot is different and exciting. 4+ stars.
"I don't know how old I am. I don't know how long they've been keeping me here."
This was a captivating page-turner that I read in three breathless sittings. It's undeniably compelling and sucks you in from the beginning. It starts with Delilah's point of view, shocking and terrifying, and sort of never lets you go. Her voice and story are hard to forget. Among other narrators, we hear from Meredith, eleven years ago, and then Kate and Leo in the present. Working out how the various families and characters are interconnected is part of the challenge and honestly, I was truly shocked at various points in the story. How exactly these missing women and Delilah are tied together is incredibly dark and twisty.
I was completely into this book for most of the story and thought I was looking at 4.5+ star read. It started to dissolve a bit at the end, as things (including some characters) went a little crazy. Still, some of the twists were truly awesome and breathtaking. I think--in that way--this is one of Kubica's best in a while.
Overall, this is an addictive thriller filled with some truly shocking plot twists. It keeps you guessing the entire time, and its complex and layered plot is different and exciting. 4+ stars.
