Search
Search results
Paint Sparkles Draw
Education and Games
App
~~~ Top selling education app! Over 11,000,000 downloads around the world! ~~~ ~~~ No.1 Kids...
Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated Buying Samir (India's Street Kids #2) in Books
Jun 18, 2018
Buying Samir by Kimberly Rae is about a young girl, Jasmina, who has been rescued from the streets of India. Jasmina had been exploited by child traffickers, and now is on the road to learning how to trust again. Jasmina is given a safe place to live with loving adults, yet she desires to find her family that she betrays those who would look after her. She sets out to rescue Samir, her brother, but she tries to do it on her own.
This book describes the dangerous side of the streets throughout the story. Through Jasmina's story, we learn more ways that people are lured in and human trafficked in India. Parts of the story were exciting, but Jasmina was more passive than usual while she figured out what was going on with the "modelling" business. I'd expected this to be more about Samir's story, but it's not. It's Jasmina coming to terms with how human trafficking has destroyed her family.
By the end of the story we are left with the beautiful outcome of Jasmina accepting Jesus Christ as her Savior. We see how His love can turn her tragedies into a story of healing and triumph. Samir, on the other hand, has sadly chosen to embrace his hatred and anger. It has turned him into becoming the very people he hated. Life is like that. We face trials, and who we turn to...God or Satan/the lost world...will decide whether our story is triumphant or tragic.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
I received this book from BJU Press via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
This book describes the dangerous side of the streets throughout the story. Through Jasmina's story, we learn more ways that people are lured in and human trafficked in India. Parts of the story were exciting, but Jasmina was more passive than usual while she figured out what was going on with the "modelling" business. I'd expected this to be more about Samir's story, but it's not. It's Jasmina coming to terms with how human trafficking has destroyed her family.
By the end of the story we are left with the beautiful outcome of Jasmina accepting Jesus Christ as her Savior. We see how His love can turn her tragedies into a story of healing and triumph. Samir, on the other hand, has sadly chosen to embrace his hatred and anger. It has turned him into becoming the very people he hated. Life is like that. We face trials, and who we turn to...God or Satan/the lost world...will decide whether our story is triumphant or tragic.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
I received this book from BJU Press via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
Zumba Fitness
Health & Fitness and Lifestyle
App
The world of Zumba® Fitness is now in the palm of your hand! Find everything related to the Zumba...
Erika (17789 KP) rated ESPN in Apps
Apr 18, 2021
I have ESPN+ because of the bundle I purchased from Disney+ that included ESPN and Hulu. Initially, I thought I would not watch ESPN+ at all, but it's the service I watch the most due to it having a plethora of European Football games on every weekend.
The app is a POS. It is so absolutely terrible. It's slow, it's counter-intuitive, and overall, just a boondoggled mess. There need to be more options such as filtering out the sports you don't want to watch, i.e. MLB, and any US college sports. Seriously, I watch the Masters over those boring af sports. There also needs to be an option to set alerts when there are games you want to watch, because I missed the live Hibernian game this morning because they buried it at the end of the list behind college basketball games that wouldn't be on for another 5 hours.
Another annoyance concerning this app is organization. It knows I have an ESPN+ subscription, and not the actual channels. Why show me games that I want to watch, only for them to be blocked because I don't buy the channels??? Don't tempt me with FIFA World Cup Qualifiers that I want to watch, then I find out they're not available??
The good thing is that they seem to be attempting to improve it, but it's still unbearable some days.
The app is a POS. It is so absolutely terrible. It's slow, it's counter-intuitive, and overall, just a boondoggled mess. There need to be more options such as filtering out the sports you don't want to watch, i.e. MLB, and any US college sports. Seriously, I watch the Masters over those boring af sports. There also needs to be an option to set alerts when there are games you want to watch, because I missed the live Hibernian game this morning because they buried it at the end of the list behind college basketball games that wouldn't be on for another 5 hours.
Another annoyance concerning this app is organization. It knows I have an ESPN+ subscription, and not the actual channels. Why show me games that I want to watch, only for them to be blocked because I don't buy the channels??? Don't tempt me with FIFA World Cup Qualifiers that I want to watch, then I find out they're not available??
The good thing is that they seem to be attempting to improve it, but it's still unbearable some days.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Resident Evil: Extinction (2007) in Movies
Nov 25, 2020
"Slowly but surely, the Earth began to wither and die." - Alice
This quote sums up how I feel about the Resident Evil series and it's effect on the world of movies...
Resident Evil: Extinction is the third in the franchise, and honestly, it's a big improvement on the first two. The effects are a lot better for a start, and it feels more like a horror. It at least attempts (and unfortunately fails) to make you care about other characters other than Milla Jovovich's Alice, and it does have some good shots here and there, courtesy of Highlander director Russell Mulcahy.
However it has a butt load of issues (surprise surprise).
Although it leans more towards horror than before, Extinction ticks off every zombie cliché in the book, but has the arrogance to act like it's showing the audience something new. This culminates in a laughable number of unearned and predictable jump scares, and any action scenes are once again riddled with unnecessary edits and cuts.
The characters are another issue. This series continues to drip feed characters from the games, but they're nothing more than glorified cameos. Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) is adapted this time around, and although it's nice to see her character, she doesn't really do much beyond leading a group of survivors around, a group of characters who feel like they're straight out of one of the boring episode of The Walking Dead.
Then there's poor Iain Glen. Before Game of Thrones came along, he was destined to always be that evil dude who got to be in video game movies. *Spoiler Alert* - he turns into the Tyrant from the game series near the end, but he still sounds like Iain Glen when he talks (which is really fucking weird), and is then dispatched without much hassle, meaning that once again, this film series fucks up another classic Resident Evil monster. We also get a tease of Albert Wesker but it's all thoroughly underwhelming.
Apart from all that, I still struggle to connect to Alice as a protagonist, no matter how undeniably badass she may be.
Extinction is way more watchable than most of these movies but still, they should be better, and they're not. Ugh.
This quote sums up how I feel about the Resident Evil series and it's effect on the world of movies...
Resident Evil: Extinction is the third in the franchise, and honestly, it's a big improvement on the first two. The effects are a lot better for a start, and it feels more like a horror. It at least attempts (and unfortunately fails) to make you care about other characters other than Milla Jovovich's Alice, and it does have some good shots here and there, courtesy of Highlander director Russell Mulcahy.
However it has a butt load of issues (surprise surprise).
Although it leans more towards horror than before, Extinction ticks off every zombie cliché in the book, but has the arrogance to act like it's showing the audience something new. This culminates in a laughable number of unearned and predictable jump scares, and any action scenes are once again riddled with unnecessary edits and cuts.
The characters are another issue. This series continues to drip feed characters from the games, but they're nothing more than glorified cameos. Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) is adapted this time around, and although it's nice to see her character, she doesn't really do much beyond leading a group of survivors around, a group of characters who feel like they're straight out of one of the boring episode of The Walking Dead.
Then there's poor Iain Glen. Before Game of Thrones came along, he was destined to always be that evil dude who got to be in video game movies. *Spoiler Alert* - he turns into the Tyrant from the game series near the end, but he still sounds like Iain Glen when he talks (which is really fucking weird), and is then dispatched without much hassle, meaning that once again, this film series fucks up another classic Resident Evil monster. We also get a tease of Albert Wesker but it's all thoroughly underwhelming.
Apart from all that, I still struggle to connect to Alice as a protagonist, no matter how undeniably badass she may be.
Extinction is way more watchable than most of these movies but still, they should be better, and they're not. Ugh.
Last Woman Standing
6.0
Rate It
Book
“Riveting”—Entertainment Weekly From the author of Good as Gone comes a brilliant and...
mystery thriller
MSD Professional Version
Medical and Health & Fitness
App
SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT DOWNLOAD *** This very large app (the entire content of the MSD Manual) can take...
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Kong: Skull Island (2017) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
The legendary King Kong returns in an all new adventure that gives the classic tale a much needed update and new setting. Unlike Perter Jackson’s retelling of the original Black and White film, “Kong: Skull Island” eschews the old for the new and in doing so breathes a much needed new life and vitality into the franchise.
The film is set in 1973 when William Randa (John Goodman), informs the government that they have detected a previously unknown island and need to investigate it before the Soviets learn of it and beat them to whatever the island my hold.
William recruits a team which includes a former British officer named James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston), and Photographer Mason Weaver (Brie Larson), to assist his team lead by Houston Brooks (Corey Hawkins), in mapping the island.
William also asks for a military escort and the government enlists Lt. Colonel Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson), and his team to accompany the mission. Packard is trying to find his place in the world as he and his helicopter combat team are dealing with the recent end of the Vietnam War. His men are looking forward to going home and resuming their lives, but a dour Packard jumps at the chance for another mission over the uncertainty of the future.
Upon arriving on the mysterious island and starting their survey mission by using seismic charges, the team attract the attention of Kong who is not at all pleased with the intrusion on his island. Kong makes short work of the copters and the team finds themselves scattered about the dangerous island. They soon learn that Kong is not the only danger on the island and must find a way to rejoin each other and make it to their extraction point alive.
Naturally some of the characters have a hidden agenda and there are dangerous and action around every corner. Further complicating matters is the appearance of Marlow (John C. Reilly), a downed WWII pilot who has been stranded on the island for 23 years and warns of dangers far greater than Kong that are ahead of the team.
The film combines a solid cast with state of the art special effects to take a new twist on the standard adventure fare. While many parts of the film remain silly Popcorn entertainment, the quality of the assembled cast allows the film to move beyond being just an assembly of potential victims for a menagerie of CGI creatures to dispatch.
While the story is more in lines with the linear and thin plots of adventure films of old, the sum of the parts does add up to an enjoyable film experience for those who like the giant creature films. You will want to make sure to stay after the credits as there is a very good scene that shows a setup for a future film that had those in attendance at our press screening cheering.
The film may be a bit intense for younger viewers but if you are looking for a touch of nostalgia and action, you may find the film just what you need.
http://sknr.net/2017/03/08/kong-skull-island/
The film is set in 1973 when William Randa (John Goodman), informs the government that they have detected a previously unknown island and need to investigate it before the Soviets learn of it and beat them to whatever the island my hold.
William recruits a team which includes a former British officer named James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston), and Photographer Mason Weaver (Brie Larson), to assist his team lead by Houston Brooks (Corey Hawkins), in mapping the island.
William also asks for a military escort and the government enlists Lt. Colonel Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson), and his team to accompany the mission. Packard is trying to find his place in the world as he and his helicopter combat team are dealing with the recent end of the Vietnam War. His men are looking forward to going home and resuming their lives, but a dour Packard jumps at the chance for another mission over the uncertainty of the future.
Upon arriving on the mysterious island and starting their survey mission by using seismic charges, the team attract the attention of Kong who is not at all pleased with the intrusion on his island. Kong makes short work of the copters and the team finds themselves scattered about the dangerous island. They soon learn that Kong is not the only danger on the island and must find a way to rejoin each other and make it to their extraction point alive.
Naturally some of the characters have a hidden agenda and there are dangerous and action around every corner. Further complicating matters is the appearance of Marlow (John C. Reilly), a downed WWII pilot who has been stranded on the island for 23 years and warns of dangers far greater than Kong that are ahead of the team.
The film combines a solid cast with state of the art special effects to take a new twist on the standard adventure fare. While many parts of the film remain silly Popcorn entertainment, the quality of the assembled cast allows the film to move beyond being just an assembly of potential victims for a menagerie of CGI creatures to dispatch.
While the story is more in lines with the linear and thin plots of adventure films of old, the sum of the parts does add up to an enjoyable film experience for those who like the giant creature films. You will want to make sure to stay after the credits as there is a very good scene that shows a setup for a future film that had those in attendance at our press screening cheering.
The film may be a bit intense for younger viewers but if you are looking for a touch of nostalgia and action, you may find the film just what you need.
http://sknr.net/2017/03/08/kong-skull-island/
Darren (1599 KP) rated Allied (2016) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
Story: Allied starts as Canadian Intelligence Officer Max Vatan (Pitt) lands in Morocco to work with French Resistance Fighter Marianna Beausejour (Cotillard) as they pretend to be married as they complete their mission. The two fall in love for real and return to London to get married against the his superior Frank Heslop (Harris) opinion.
After a year of marriage Heslop comes to Max believing Marianna is indeed a spy, this leaves Max questioning, which side of the story to believe and what is the truth.
Thoughts on Allied
Characters – Max Vatan is Canadian intelligence working in Africa, highly skilled he can blend into his environment, but he does fall in love with his undercover wife. When he gets informed she could well be a spy, his life is turned upside down with doubts about what is the truth. Marianna is the French resistance fighter working with the Canadian Max as his fake wife, but she also falls in love with Max and returns to start a family with him. We don’t learn too much apart from that she is a loving wife and mother though.
Performances – Brad Pitt is good for the opening mission, you believe his every decision, but when he becomes the family man, he just doesn’t reach the levels you know he can. Marion Cotillard is good without being her breath-taking best in this role.
Story – The story here follows love and spies during World War II, we see how two people from different sides of the war fall in love and they must decide which side of the war they are supporting. This film doesn’t become as intense as it could be because seeing it from both sides could have heighted the experience and by the end it just doesn’t feel like it reaches the levels it should.
Action/Romance/War – The action during the film is tame with very little being used or looking overly real. The romance doesn’t feel whirlwind like you think it should be either, but the war side comes off strong as we see how the tension between the sides cause most of the issues in the lives.
Settings – The settings look authentic for the time, which does work well for the film.
Scene of the Movie – The truth.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Just fizzles out in the second half of the film.
Final Thoughts – This is a war romance film that just never reaches the levels it should do, it just seems to go on and becomes one of the average films that you forget by the end.
Overall: Average and disappointing.
https://moviesreview101.com/2019/02/01/abc-film-challenge-oscar-nomination-a-allied-2016/
After a year of marriage Heslop comes to Max believing Marianna is indeed a spy, this leaves Max questioning, which side of the story to believe and what is the truth.
Thoughts on Allied
Characters – Max Vatan is Canadian intelligence working in Africa, highly skilled he can blend into his environment, but he does fall in love with his undercover wife. When he gets informed she could well be a spy, his life is turned upside down with doubts about what is the truth. Marianna is the French resistance fighter working with the Canadian Max as his fake wife, but she also falls in love with Max and returns to start a family with him. We don’t learn too much apart from that she is a loving wife and mother though.
Performances – Brad Pitt is good for the opening mission, you believe his every decision, but when he becomes the family man, he just doesn’t reach the levels you know he can. Marion Cotillard is good without being her breath-taking best in this role.
Story – The story here follows love and spies during World War II, we see how two people from different sides of the war fall in love and they must decide which side of the war they are supporting. This film doesn’t become as intense as it could be because seeing it from both sides could have heighted the experience and by the end it just doesn’t feel like it reaches the levels it should.
Action/Romance/War – The action during the film is tame with very little being used or looking overly real. The romance doesn’t feel whirlwind like you think it should be either, but the war side comes off strong as we see how the tension between the sides cause most of the issues in the lives.
Settings – The settings look authentic for the time, which does work well for the film.
Scene of the Movie – The truth.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Just fizzles out in the second half of the film.
Final Thoughts – This is a war romance film that just never reaches the levels it should do, it just seems to go on and becomes one of the average films that you forget by the end.
Overall: Average and disappointing.
https://moviesreview101.com/2019/02/01/abc-film-challenge-oscar-nomination-a-allied-2016/