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Lindsay (1717 KP) rated The Fourth Courier in Books
Mar 5, 2019
Are you a Crime Fan or even a detective Fan? Well you may be missing out on another amazing book. This book is called “The Fourth Courier” by Timothy Jay Smith. I enjoyed this book once I got into it.
The setting is set in Poland. You will learn a bit of the lifestyle. I never been dropped into Poland in a book setting or any historical fiction book. This author does this and I can see myself walking along the sidewalks.
The author does wonderful for his crime and detective of this book. It even got a thriller to it. I just love the way this book grabs you and take you for a ride. I am now wanting to learn more about Poland and it effects on it people and landscape.
Amazing and riving is my way to describe this book in all. Though I suggest children be at least aware that there a murders and a murder and some sex scenes in it. Nothing to bad but I would suggest children be at least the age of 14 and up. It up the parents to decide for there own children though.
We got a adventure with and FBI agent and an agent that in the embassy in Poland. Will they find the missing bomb and it Courier? Will they be able to stop and save Poland from an Atomic bomb or will be the end of their new world?
The setting is set in Poland. You will learn a bit of the lifestyle. I never been dropped into Poland in a book setting or any historical fiction book. This author does this and I can see myself walking along the sidewalks.
The author does wonderful for his crime and detective of this book. It even got a thriller to it. I just love the way this book grabs you and take you for a ride. I am now wanting to learn more about Poland and it effects on it people and landscape.
Amazing and riving is my way to describe this book in all. Though I suggest children be at least aware that there a murders and a murder and some sex scenes in it. Nothing to bad but I would suggest children be at least the age of 14 and up. It up the parents to decide for there own children though.
We got a adventure with and FBI agent and an agent that in the embassy in Poland. Will they find the missing bomb and it Courier? Will they be able to stop and save Poland from an Atomic bomb or will be the end of their new world?
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Game Of Thrones - Season 7 in TV
Apr 2, 2019
Immensely satisfying
I’ve just rewatched this series in preparation for the final series (only 12 days to go!) and this really is a ridiculously satisfying penultimate series. With a limited number of episodes in comparison with earlier series, the writers really have forgotten any pointless filler and gotten straight down to business. They’ve brought together and wrapped up so many individual story arcs and characters, and being a huge fan I can’t begin to explain how warm and fuzzy it makes me feel seeing certain characters back together after so many series, or those getting their well deserved comeuppance (without any spoilers, you all know who I mean), or indeed certain characters finally doing or learning about what we as viewers have wanted or known all along.
It’s the same old Game of Thrones, thrilling, funny and quite scary and serious all at the same time. And with some great physical effects and CGI thrown in too. Watching this again, I honestly can’t fault this at all - aside from the fact that there is still at least 1 secret to be revealed that as a viewer we’ve known for ages, which is a tad frustrating. What worries me the most though is that the warm fuzzy feeling I have from watching this series is likely to be completely shattered with the final series, as it’s highly unlikely that all of my favourite characters willl survive. I don’t think my heart can take it!
It’s the same old Game of Thrones, thrilling, funny and quite scary and serious all at the same time. And with some great physical effects and CGI thrown in too. Watching this again, I honestly can’t fault this at all - aside from the fact that there is still at least 1 secret to be revealed that as a viewer we’ve known for ages, which is a tad frustrating. What worries me the most though is that the warm fuzzy feeling I have from watching this series is likely to be completely shattered with the final series, as it’s highly unlikely that all of my favourite characters willl survive. I don’t think my heart can take it!
Fred (860 KP) rated Venom (2018) in Movies
Apr 10, 2019
Great fun!
If you've read my reviews, you'll see I'm not that keen on the new trend of superhero movies. Everything's gotta be "epic" & so dark. This is the problem with most of DC's films & some of Marvel's films as well. To me, Wonder Woman was terrible & Black Panther just so-so. Infinity Wars was rushed & an over-load of a mess of heroes. So, it was finally nice to see a movie like Venom, where they could take a villain from the comics, & make him a fun anti-hero.
Tom Hardy was excellent as the title character, and his alter-ego, Eddie Brock. And even though none of the other actors in the film were memorable enough that I can remember them by name, it's Hardy that holds this thing together. He's funny, strong & plays the character of a no-nonsense reporter perfectly. When Venom does show up, he's everything you want in the character. He vicious, with that touch of humor that he has in the comics.
The special effects are good as well. Venom really looks like he's there & the fight between him & the villain, Riot is done well.
Unlike most superhero movies of today, this is a fun watch. It's not too long, it's not too dark (which it could have easily been, considering) & I enjoyed myself from the beginning to the end. I'm glad to see they are making a part 2.
Tom Hardy was excellent as the title character, and his alter-ego, Eddie Brock. And even though none of the other actors in the film were memorable enough that I can remember them by name, it's Hardy that holds this thing together. He's funny, strong & plays the character of a no-nonsense reporter perfectly. When Venom does show up, he's everything you want in the character. He vicious, with that touch of humor that he has in the comics.
The special effects are good as well. Venom really looks like he's there & the fight between him & the villain, Riot is done well.
Unlike most superhero movies of today, this is a fun watch. It's not too long, it's not too dark (which it could have easily been, considering) & I enjoyed myself from the beginning to the end. I'm glad to see they are making a part 2.
Miguel Covarrubias (143 KP) rated Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) in Movies
May 1, 2019
All Flash, No Bang
There are some major flaws with Age of Ultron. Didn't realize how bad it was until our most recent watch through of the Marvel movies. Joss Whedon's flaws run rampant in this film. If you find truth in the film stop reading now as I do not wish to ruin it for you.
Whedon does an excellent job at making television shows which does not translate very well to the big screen. He rushed this plot to get to his favorite parts, the fight scenes. The action has more screen time than any character arc. This reduces the characters to cartoonish caricatures of the work done in prior films. There is no real plot development, just jumping from one fight to the next. Ultron was reduced to a mere means to fight, which made it less believable rather than frightening; which Ultron should have been.
The story theme, "Justice was served because the Avengers are mightier than Ultron" became preachy when counterpoints were not set up in believable or thought provoking ways. Ultimately, it fell flat and was just a means to set up future films.
A better example of the theme in a better story format is "Civil War". Wherein the Russo's present the idea that justice was served, however, neither side was correct due to the complex nature of the issue.
Whedon does an excellent job at making television shows which does not translate very well to the big screen. He rushed this plot to get to his favorite parts, the fight scenes. The action has more screen time than any character arc. This reduces the characters to cartoonish caricatures of the work done in prior films. There is no real plot development, just jumping from one fight to the next. Ultron was reduced to a mere means to fight, which made it less believable rather than frightening; which Ultron should have been.
The story theme, "Justice was served because the Avengers are mightier than Ultron" became preachy when counterpoints were not set up in believable or thought provoking ways. Ultimately, it fell flat and was just a means to set up future films.
A better example of the theme in a better story format is "Civil War". Wherein the Russo's present the idea that justice was served, however, neither side was correct due to the complex nature of the issue.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated The Mummy (2017) in Movies
May 27, 2019 (Updated May 27, 2019)
An abrupt and poorly executed end to the Dark Universe
Since The Mummy came out in 2017, Universals planned Dark Universe has come to a shuddering stop.
After watching this movie I can see why.
The movie starts off ok I guess, the pretty standard 'tomb raiding' you can expect from a Mummy film.
It Tom Cruise that starts to tank it for me - I've always been able to take or leave Tom Cruise. Sometimes I like him, sometimes I don't, and in The Mummy, I definitely didn't. It just seems like he's playing a parody of himself at this point.
When we are introduced midway through the film to the plot device that was supposed to start linking The Mummy to future Dark Universe films - namely Russell Crowe as Jekkyl/Hyde - the movie falls apart even further, causing what little coherence it did have to slowly crumble.
Annabelle Wallace's character is reduced to someone who panders after Tom Cruise, even with his character constantly being an arsehole.
Jake Johnson's character is used as a weird exposition tool that pops randomly without rhyme or reason.
It's just all a little messy.
Some saving graces - The CGI effects or pretty good for the most part and I did quite like Sofia Boutella as The Mummy.
Maybe the first Brendan Frasier Mummy film was just a one off, which is kind of sad, as I was quite excited to see the Universal Monsters brought back to life.
After watching this movie I can see why.
The movie starts off ok I guess, the pretty standard 'tomb raiding' you can expect from a Mummy film.
It Tom Cruise that starts to tank it for me - I've always been able to take or leave Tom Cruise. Sometimes I like him, sometimes I don't, and in The Mummy, I definitely didn't. It just seems like he's playing a parody of himself at this point.
When we are introduced midway through the film to the plot device that was supposed to start linking The Mummy to future Dark Universe films - namely Russell Crowe as Jekkyl/Hyde - the movie falls apart even further, causing what little coherence it did have to slowly crumble.
Annabelle Wallace's character is reduced to someone who panders after Tom Cruise, even with his character constantly being an arsehole.
Jake Johnson's character is used as a weird exposition tool that pops randomly without rhyme or reason.
It's just all a little messy.
Some saving graces - The CGI effects or pretty good for the most part and I did quite like Sofia Boutella as The Mummy.
Maybe the first Brendan Frasier Mummy film was just a one off, which is kind of sad, as I was quite excited to see the Universal Monsters brought back to life.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) in Movies
Jun 10, 2019 (Updated Jun 11, 2019)
Big, loud, fun.
I'm not quite sure where all the bad reviews are coming from with this one, truth be told! I fully accept that there many action film cliches littered throughout, and the dialogue is just silly at times, but how much can you really dislike the spectacle of this sequel when the monsters turn up (and that doesn't take long!)
I liked the first one a lot, even though we didn't see a huge amount of Godzilla himself, and I also really rate Kong: Skull Island as well, so I've been looking forward to this one, and it's exactly what I expected it to be - it's loud, and it's dumb, but it works because it's an impressive looking monster film - and there a huge amount of them this time around.
Lifting various Godzilla opponents from the Japanese run of films, watching Kaiju like Ghidorah, Rhodan and Mothra get involved is pretty thrilling, especially coupled with the old school Godzilla theme music.
The effects themselves are pretty impressive, and all makes for an enjoyable blockbuster.
I didn't really care too much about the human characters (except Millie Bobbie Brown, and Charles Dance... Because it's Charles Dance) but I wasn't there for them!
And I guess there is where my main issue was, there was just a bit too much time spent on characters I struggled to care about.
Aside from that, it was pretty entertaining. Bring on Godzilla vs Kong!
I liked the first one a lot, even though we didn't see a huge amount of Godzilla himself, and I also really rate Kong: Skull Island as well, so I've been looking forward to this one, and it's exactly what I expected it to be - it's loud, and it's dumb, but it works because it's an impressive looking monster film - and there a huge amount of them this time around.
Lifting various Godzilla opponents from the Japanese run of films, watching Kaiju like Ghidorah, Rhodan and Mothra get involved is pretty thrilling, especially coupled with the old school Godzilla theme music.
The effects themselves are pretty impressive, and all makes for an enjoyable blockbuster.
I didn't really care too much about the human characters (except Millie Bobbie Brown, and Charles Dance... Because it's Charles Dance) but I wasn't there for them!
And I guess there is where my main issue was, there was just a bit too much time spent on characters I struggled to care about.
Aside from that, it was pretty entertaining. Bring on Godzilla vs Kong!
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) in Movies
Mar 31, 2018
Enjoyable
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is not quite as good as its predecessor, but still manages to serve up some good fun. Set moments after the first, Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) and his crew end up at a rescue facility where Thomas suspects strange things are happening. What Thomas ultimately finds is far more than what he expected.
Acting: 9
Dylan O'Brien is a rising star in my book. His role requires a strong mix of emotions and he carries out each without flaw. He seems to work with what he's given, never trying to overdo it. I appreciate the intensity he brings to the screen. I also appreciated the solid efforts from the supporting cast as well.
Beginning: 9
Characters: 10
Cinematography/Visuals: 7
The special effects throughout the film were superb. The "cranks" reminded me of the World War Z zombies, just terrifying once they got rolling. Their horde attacks made me grip my seat a few times. And that sewer scene. Oh man, the sewer...
Personal favorite scene: The tilted building scene. If you haven't seen the film yet, I won't ruin it by saying anything else other than very nicely done. Not only is it great to look at, but also very unique.
Conflict: 7
Genre: 10
Memorability: 7
Pace: 8
Plot: 6
Resolution: 5
Overall: 78
Not a life changing movie by any means, but definitely worth a watch for some solid action.
Acting: 9
Dylan O'Brien is a rising star in my book. His role requires a strong mix of emotions and he carries out each without flaw. He seems to work with what he's given, never trying to overdo it. I appreciate the intensity he brings to the screen. I also appreciated the solid efforts from the supporting cast as well.
Beginning: 9
Characters: 10
Cinematography/Visuals: 7
The special effects throughout the film were superb. The "cranks" reminded me of the World War Z zombies, just terrifying once they got rolling. Their horde attacks made me grip my seat a few times. And that sewer scene. Oh man, the sewer...
Personal favorite scene: The tilted building scene. If you haven't seen the film yet, I won't ruin it by saying anything else other than very nicely done. Not only is it great to look at, but also very unique.
Conflict: 7
Genre: 10
Memorability: 7
Pace: 8
Plot: 6
Resolution: 5
Overall: 78
Not a life changing movie by any means, but definitely worth a watch for some solid action.
Booksnthreads (19 KP) rated The Things a Brother Knows in Books
Jun 5, 2018
I really wanted to love this book. The topic of returning veterans from Afghanistan deserves a place in young adult literature. Unfortunately, The Things a Brother Knows has some significant weaknesses that overshadowed what should have been the meat of the story.
Reinhardt seems to feel the need to cater to adolescent hormones by throwing in a few unnecessarily suggestive scenes that really lend nothing to the plot. Is she afraid that teenagers won’t read her work otherwise? (In defense of suggestive scenes, I don’t typically have anything against them when they are integral to the story line. One look at my past reading lists should hint at that.)
In this case, the romantic relationships that develop in the story not only come off as improbably and entirely sudden, but personally, I feel they detract from the main plot line of a young man trying to reconnect with and understand his brother who has recently returned home from the war.
I will say, however, that I really do like how Reinhardt has dealt not only with the effects of war on returning soldiers, but also with the family dynamic. Not having any personal experience with this, all I can say is that from an outsider’s standpoint, the portrayals feel authentic. I also really appreciate how she manages to skirt the political issues of the war in favor of focusing on the human aspect.
Reinhardt seems to feel the need to cater to adolescent hormones by throwing in a few unnecessarily suggestive scenes that really lend nothing to the plot. Is she afraid that teenagers won’t read her work otherwise? (In defense of suggestive scenes, I don’t typically have anything against them when they are integral to the story line. One look at my past reading lists should hint at that.)
In this case, the romantic relationships that develop in the story not only come off as improbably and entirely sudden, but personally, I feel they detract from the main plot line of a young man trying to reconnect with and understand his brother who has recently returned home from the war.
I will say, however, that I really do like how Reinhardt has dealt not only with the effects of war on returning soldiers, but also with the family dynamic. Not having any personal experience with this, all I can say is that from an outsider’s standpoint, the portrayals feel authentic. I also really appreciate how she manages to skirt the political issues of the war in favor of focusing on the human aspect.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) in Movies
Jun 6, 2018 (Updated Jun 7, 2018)
Star Trek: the Motion Picture - more gruelling to make, or to watch? We may never know the answer. Actually, viewed these days, it's not quite that bad - Enterprise crew reconvene after big cloud is sighted on a course for Earth. Many conversations ensue, intercut with stately special effects sequences which feel like they go on forever. Mainly because they do.
To be honest, if you stop thinking about TMP as a movie and view it instead as the most lavish TV pilot in history, many of its problems are a bit more understandable. It explains why the crew take ages getting back together, and why they don't really seem like their old selves until near the end. It explains why much time is devoted to introducing new characters (even if they don't, in the end, make it out of the movie alive - although Will and Ilia were sort of reincarnated as Will and Deanna some years later). It doesn't really explain why the plot is so derivative of TV Trek, but you can't have everything I suppose.
It is true you can get a very good sense of the history of Star Trek without ever watching this movie, and also that the first three minutes may actually be the most engaging bit of it. But if you're watching it at all, you'll most likely have enough affection for the original characters to overlook the numerous flaws in the film.
To be honest, if you stop thinking about TMP as a movie and view it instead as the most lavish TV pilot in history, many of its problems are a bit more understandable. It explains why the crew take ages getting back together, and why they don't really seem like their old selves until near the end. It explains why much time is devoted to introducing new characters (even if they don't, in the end, make it out of the movie alive - although Will and Ilia were sort of reincarnated as Will and Deanna some years later). It doesn't really explain why the plot is so derivative of TV Trek, but you can't have everything I suppose.
It is true you can get a very good sense of the history of Star Trek without ever watching this movie, and also that the first three minutes may actually be the most engaging bit of it. But if you're watching it at all, you'll most likely have enough affection for the original characters to overlook the numerous flaws in the film.
Andy K (10821 KP) rated Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) in Movies
Oct 7, 2018
Another Coppola classic!
Coppola's take on the classic Dracula story is to use the book as the source! So many of the other adaptations, including the 1931 classic, changed or combined characters, rather than stay true to the source material.
So many of his decisions were great when making the film including firing his original visual effects team and hiring his son, Roman Coppola to take a more "traditional" route when setting up the film's look through "old school" techniques instead of the modern day approach the original team wanted. The result was very unique, almost "cheapish" looking, but the way the filmmaker wanted it to look.
There has been much written over the years about Keanu Reeves' role in the film and how he felt out of place with the rest of the remarkable cast. In retrospect, he may have been miscast, but I have grown to enjoy his performance over years. The performances of Gary Oldman and Anthony Hopkins (fresh off his cannibalistic Oscar win) certainly carry the film. Oldman almost makes the character of Dracula a sympathetic one. You almost want to root for him to be successful instead of damning him back to hell as the master vampire.
Overall, one of my top 3 vampire flicks of all time and a consistent rewatch. Just purchased on 4K which made the look and fell, colors and darkness of the film as fresh as ever. Highly recommended.
So many of his decisions were great when making the film including firing his original visual effects team and hiring his son, Roman Coppola to take a more "traditional" route when setting up the film's look through "old school" techniques instead of the modern day approach the original team wanted. The result was very unique, almost "cheapish" looking, but the way the filmmaker wanted it to look.
There has been much written over the years about Keanu Reeves' role in the film and how he felt out of place with the rest of the remarkable cast. In retrospect, he may have been miscast, but I have grown to enjoy his performance over years. The performances of Gary Oldman and Anthony Hopkins (fresh off his cannibalistic Oscar win) certainly carry the film. Oldman almost makes the character of Dracula a sympathetic one. You almost want to root for him to be successful instead of damning him back to hell as the master vampire.
Overall, one of my top 3 vampire flicks of all time and a consistent rewatch. Just purchased on 4K which made the look and fell, colors and darkness of the film as fresh as ever. Highly recommended.