Search

Search only in certain items:

Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
2013 | Action, Sci-Fi
Marvel Studios has certainly been on a roll in recent years with a string of successful film adaptations of their popular comic book series. The recent overwhelming worldwide successes for “The Avengers”, and “Iron Man 3”, which topped $1 billion each globally has certainly raised the bar for their next cinematic offerings.

“Thor: The Dark World”, is poised to carry on the success of the Marvel film franchise as it successfully mixes action and character form the rare sequel that is better than the film that spawned it.

Chris Hemsworth once again stars as the title character who has been spending his time clearing up discord on the planets of the Nine Realms following his outing with The Avengers.

With peace at hand, his father Odin, (Sir Anthony Hopkins), believes the time is right for Thor to prepare for his reign as king of Asgard and protector of the realms.

Thor is not ready to embrace his destiny as his mind and heart are focused on Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), we has not seen since the events of the first film. His father warns him that a mortal is not suited to be his future queen and suggest that his fellow warrior Sif (Jaimie Alexander), would be far more suitable.

To further complicate matters Thor’s treacherous brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), is seething at the prospect of spending eternity in captivity for his past crimes which only furthers his desire for power and revenge.
While all of this would be enough to keep Thor very busy, a new threat has arisen from the past that threatens to destroy the known universe. A powerful force known as the Aether which had been hidden by Thor’s grandfather has emerged and is drawn the attention of a Dark Elf named Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), who has been hiding away for centuries from those who believed him to be dead.

Malekith wants to take advantage of a pending convergence of the realms to use the supernatural power for his own purposes and in doing so destroy and subjugate all those who are before him. Fate intervenes and brings Jane and Thor together again just as the enemy forces arrived to ransack Asgard.

Faced with a battle against time not only to protect his beloved homeland but to save the known universe, Thor must work with his treacherous brother Loki in a race against time to save the day.

There are plenty of action sequences that follow and the visual effects are quite good even though the film is presented in converted 3-D after being shot in a standard format. The leads are fantastic and truly seem to have a grasp of their characters and the supporting work especially that of Kat Dennings much-needed comic relief is a very nice mix.

The only issue I had with the film other than the converted 3-D, was that the enemy while menacing did not seem to be one of the larger-than-life enemies that one has come to expect from a Marvel film. While certainly dangerous and menacing, there almost seemed to be an air of and confidence about the character as it was clear that he was simply biting off more than he could handle with the forces that were available to him.

That being said the film was extremely enjoyable as were the two bonus scenes that play during the middle of and the end of the credits.

While it may not went over box offices to the level of the two previous Marvel outings, Director Alan Taylor keeps things moving at a steady clip and the film nor the characters do not overstay their welcome.

With another Avengers movie on the horizon and a promise that Thor will return, fans can definitely enjoy this latest offering and look forward to the future for this promising series.

http://sknr.net/2013/11/08/thor-the-dark-world/
  
Flame in the Mist
Flame in the Mist
Renee Ahdieh | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
6
7.3 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
<i>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.</i>

Famed for her highly rated <i>The Wrath & The Dawn</i>, Renée Ahdieh has created a new fantasy world full of original characters. Set in a land similar to the Middle Eastern countries we are familiar with, <i>Flame in the Mist</i> incorporates out-dated ideology, ancient lifestyle with a hint of supernatural, and, of course – it is a Young Adult novel after all – a dash of romance. With an eclectic mix of themes, it is a book without cessation of adventure.

The protagonist, Hattori Mariko, at the mere age of 17, is destined to marry the son of the Emperor’s favourite concubine, Prince Raidan. The book commences with the journey from her home, however, Mariko never makes it to the city. Ambushed and presumed dead, Mariko is alone in the dangerous forest, at risk of being discovered by the infamous Black Clan. Instead of waiting for rescue, Mariko, fed up of women being treated as inferior to men, decides she does not want to go home, nor does she want to marry the prince. Her only remaining option is to locate the Black Clan and discover who attempted to murder her. But for this to work, she needs to convince everyone she is a boy.

Whilst Mariko is worming her way into the clan, her twin brother is determined to track down and rescue his sister. Unbeknownst to him, Mariko is beginning to feel more affiliated with their enemies than with her own family. And so a dilemma arises. Does Mariko betray her new “friends” or be unfaithful to the brother she loves?

<i>Flame in the Mist</i> is not only about Mariko’s predicament; it also concerns an age-old feud between powerful families, involving the wrongful death of a disgraced Samurai. As the younger generation reach maturity, they determine to avenge the deaths of their fathers, and, without knowing, Mariko ends up in the centre of two warring parties.

It is a little difficult to get into the story initially; many characters are introduced, but their significance is not obvious for some time. To add to the confusion, vital persons are only formally presented at the end of the novel, which finishes on a cliffhanger. The similarity of the foreign sounding names also creates uncertainty.

Ahdieh cleverly includes a problematic situation that our own world has (almost) overcome. Mariko represents the female population, a gender that is believed to be inferior to their male counterparts. Controlled by fathers, husbands, and powerful leaders, women do not have the opportunity to make their own decisions about their lives. Although it is disconcerting that someone wishes to take Mariko’s life, the ambush provides her with the freedom and chance to prove women are as capable as men. Sadly, she has to pretend to be a boy in order to do this.

It was inevitable that there would be a love interest in <i>Flame in the Mist</i>, however, it is not as inspiring as readers may hope for. The attraction between Mariko and a member of the Black Clan almost comes out of nowhere. Not only was Mariko believed to be male for a wide stretch of the novel, the character in question was one of the more abusive.

<i>Flame in the Mist</i> being the first novel I have read by Renée Ahdieh, I have nothing with which to compare it or state why it is readers particularly admire her writing. The story was mediocre at best, with very little characters that garner respect. Having been published less than a month ago, there is already a lot of hype surrounding this book – either I am missing something vital, or readers are going to be disappointed.
  
Eternal Darkness: Sanity&#039;s Requiem
Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
Action/Adventure
Psychological Warfare
Contains spoilers, click to show
Eternal Darkness- why does no one talk about this game. It is amazing, its horrorfying, terroryfying, spooky, creepy, thrilling, chilling and so much more. Plus it came out only for the gamecube, which is huge because nintendo doesnt put out or release alot of horror games. This, luigi's mansion and Resident Evil 4 were the big horror games for the gamecube. Maybe more came out, but those 3 were the big ones. Lets talk about this game, shall we....

The narrative of the game's story switches between two phases. The main phase focuses on a series of chapters in which players take control of a new character each time. The other phase acts as an intermission. The game boasts twelve playable characters, split between four distinct locations, and from different periods of time.

The story features multiple paths that can be taken. This choice not only determines which of the game's three other antagonists are aligned to the plot, but it also has subtle effects on the gameplay in chapters and intermission periods. Some changes include slight differences in puzzles and items, but most changes revolve around enemy placement, which will determine how the player engages them. This can even have an effect on the relative difficulty of the game in certain situations. Red tinted enemies, for example, are tougher than their counterparts.

The other distinctive gameplay aspect comes from "Sanity Effects", the game's standout concept that Nintendo patented. Upon beginning the game's second chapter, players must keep watch on a Sanity meter – a green bar which decreases when the player is spotted by an enemy. As the bar becomes low, subtle changes to the environment and random unusual events begin to occur, which reflect the character's slackening grip on reality.

While minor effects include a skewed camera angle, heads of statues following the character, and unsettling noises, stronger effects include bleeding on walls and ceilings, entering a room that is unrealistic before finding that the character never left the previous room, the character suddenly dying, and fourth wall breaking effect such as "To Be Continued" promotions for a "sequel", and simulated errors and anomalies of the TV or GameCube. While the latter does not affect gameplay, they can be misconstrued by the player as being actual technical malfunctions.

Lets talk about the plot/story....

The story of Eternal Darkness takes place over four principal locations which the game skips back and forth between. They include an underground temple complex called the Forbidden City, in Persia; a Khmer temple in Angkor Thom, Cambodia; Oublié Cathedral in Amiens, France (not to be confused with Amiens Cathedral); and the Roivas Family Estate in Rhode Island, which also leads to an ancient underground city named Ehn'gha beneath the mansion. Each time a location is visited, it is done so in a different time period. Spanning from 26 BC to 2000 AD. Almost half of which take place in the 20th century. Each different era and character offers a different periodic and personal perspective on the location.

The chapters found in the game are not discovered in chronological order. Instead, to make the narrative more dramatic, each chapter jumps around the timeline of the plot. However, despite the overall story skipping back and forth through time, the chapters do follow chronological order within their respective locations. This is because each setting also has its own contained story.

This game is so good, its epic, im surprised that not of people know about this game and heard about this game.

I highly reccordmend playing this game.

Lastly shout out to @LeftSideCut for getting the hints/clues for this review.
  
Skinwalkers (2007)
Skinwalkers (2007)
2007 | Action, Horror, Mystery
6
5.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Story: Skinwalkers starts as Varek (Behr) leads the hunt for a young boy for his werewolf pack, joined by Sonja (Malthe) he learns the location of Timothy (Knight) which takes him to small town to collect him.

Varek didn’t count on Timothy being under the watch of another prepared werewolf pack led by Jonas (Koteas) and his daughter-in-law Rachel (Mitra) who wasn’t ready to learn the truth that on Tim’s 13th birthday everything changes in the battle.

 

Thoughts on Skinwalkers

 

Characters – Varek is the leader of the werewolf pack that wants Timothy dead to stop the event he will cause, he hunts calmly through the film knowing how to get ahead of his enemies, though he is unaware of his connection to the child. Jonas has been protecting his nephew for years now, knowing what he means to the species, he has built the team his truss around him to make sure he is safe. Rachel is the mother of Timothy, she thinks he is just a normal kid and that she lives in a normal town, he must learn fast how to cope in this world filled with werewolves and protect her son. Sonja is the deadliest fighter on Varek side of the war, she enjoys hurting people and we see her take pleasure in this.

Performances – Jason Behr as the conflicted werewolf is good to watch, he shines on the bad boy side of this story, though when he must show the other side of the emotions we see him struggle at times. Elias Koteas is strong for his role which is one that we often see him in. Rhona Mitra does well in the reluctant heroes being the strong need to learn to battle mother figure in the film. everyone else in the film is fine without needing to be anything special, they fit their roles well to help the story flow.

Story – The story here follows two warring werewolf packs that know the importance of a child for both their existences, so basically something we have seen before only with a modern style to it. The fact the story does feel like an introduction to a much big world building idea is promising and while it isn’t the film’s fault we didn’t see the next chapter, it does show us how story telling can think ahead of time. If we are being honest this is a by the book storyline, it doesn’t bring us anything new to the werewolf mythology it just tries to keep it in the modern world.

Action/Fantasy/Horror – The action sequences are mixed bag because we have shoot-out which are routine and lack the peril for certain characters, while the fights show the effects that two werewolves fighting would have on each other. The fantasy world of werewolves living among humans is nicely done, showing two sides to them, though the horror does seem weak because we never feel terrified by what we are seeing.

Settings – The film uses the settings in a mix of quality and generic, the small town gets the big surprise with everyone being part of the protection, then we hit the road and its nothing we haven’t seen before.

Special Effects – The effects for the werewolves and wounds look nice, its just most are hidden from the full effect of the shock.


Scene of the Movie – Town stand off.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – There are a few blink and you miss it moments.

Final Thoughts –This is a by the book werewolf film, it has good moments, it has forgettable moments and ends up feeling like the pilot for a television show.

 

Overall: The werewolf genre done safely.
  
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
2013 | Action, Sci-Fi
Story: Thor: The Dark World starts as Thor (Hemsworth) must restore the power in Asgard after Loki’s (Hiddleston) actions, this has made him in the position he should be, waiting to take over his father Odin’s (Hopkins) role. Meanwhile on Earth Jane (Portman) is trying to move with her life, but in London she discovers an unusual series of events which ends up taking her to Elf world.

When Jane becomes cursed, Thor takes her to Asgard to find a cure, which gives Malekith (Eccleston) a chance to lead his army back into combat so he can return the universe back to darkness. Thor must turn to Loki t help him defeat Malekith and save the universe.

 

Thoughts on Thor: The Dark World

 

Characters – Thor is once again preparing to take his throne in Asgard, he has restored faith in the nine realms, but he still misses Jane. When she becomes cursed, he returns to Earth to save her, which only brings back an ancient enemy to the Asgardians in the Dark Elves, he must disobey his father once again to end the threat and save the woman he loves. Jane is trying to get on with her life now, her research has taken her to London where she is trying to get over Thor, her investigation sees her cursed and taken to Asgard to learn about Thor’s home world. Loki is locked up for his actions, after his mother is murdered, Thor turns to him for help to get vengeance. Malekith is the leader of the Dark Elves, he has waited for his chance to bring the universe into darkness once again, killing Frigga the mother of Thor.

Performances – Chris Hemsworth continues to make Thor one of the most entertaining character in the universe. Natalie Portman was known to not be interested in being in the film, it does show in her performance which does disappoint. Tom Hiddleston brings another dimension to his character here which is only going to make him a more loved character. Christopher Eccleston does give us a basic villain, one that is only after power and is mostly under make up, making his performance harder to judge.

Story – The story here follows Thor on his latest adventure, one where he must face an ancient enemy who wants to put the universe into darkness, while finally returning to Jane who has become cursed by the Dark Elves magic. This is another sequel that does address the previous films in the franchise by showing the hints the Thor and Loki could still rebuild their bond even after what Loki has done, we address forbidden relationships between Thor and Jane, have a villain that is obsessed with power, though isn’t the most three-dimensional and see Thor needing to learn more about his responsibilities as a potential king. This is everything you would expect a sequel to be in this universe.

Action/Fantasy – The action involved in this film is mostly big CGI chases sequences between spacecrafts, we do get Thor doing the hammer routine which works well enough for the film. the fantasy side of the film continues to build on the idea that the worlds above have been fighting longer than people could imagine with fresh enemies waiting in the shadows.

Settings – The film uses Asgard, the home world of the Dark Elves and London as the main settings, each has its own action sequences which also shows what Thor is fighting for.

Special Effects – The effects are not as strong as previous films, but we do get some very impressive scenes none the less, the certain moments of weakness do hold the marks up though,


Scene of the Movie – London battle.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The villain isn’t as interesting as previous ones.

Final Thoughts – This is still an entertaining sequel, it might not be as strong as some of the previous films, but it entertains throughout.

 

Overall: Fantasy Filled Sequel.
  
    Hyena Simulator

    Hyena Simulator

    Games and Education

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Enter into the savanna and live the life of a Hyena! Survive in the wild grassy plains of the animal...

40x40

Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated the PlayStation version of Resident Evil in Video Games

Jun 27, 2020 (Updated Jun 27, 2020)  
Resident Evil
Resident Evil
1996 | Action/Adventure, Horror
The Atmosphere (2 more)
The Horror
The depending on what you need or think that's important.
That Damn Camera Angle (0 more)
The Infested Mansion
Resident Evil- like Silent Hill, the atmosphere of a the horror genre is excellent. Resident Evil ask you the question, if you and your team got stranded and the only place to go is a old creepy manison and survive it, can you do it?. The answer for me, no! But for Chris and Jill their have to, no other choice. Thats what i love about Resident Evil, is the atmosphere of the manison, the creepest, the mystery, the suspense, the thrills and the creatures that live inside of it.

The plot: Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, are members of an elite task force known as S.T.A.R.S., as they investigate the outskirts of Raccoon City following the disappearance of their team members. They soon become trapped in a mansion infested with zombies and other monsters. The player, having selected to play as Chris or Jill at the start of the game, must explore the mansion to uncover its secrets.

Gameplay: The player's character is a member of a special law enforcement task force who is trapped in a mansion populated by dangerous mutated creatures. The objective of the game is to uncover the mystery of the mansion and ultimately escape alive.

To fulfill the game's objective, the player uncovers various documents that provide exposition about the game's narrative, as well as clues that help them solve various puzzles within the mansion. Key items are also available that give the player access to other items or new areas. The player can arm their character with weapons to defend themselves from enemies, although the ammunition available for each firearm is limited and the player must learn to conserve the ammunition they have for situations where they will really need it

The carrying capacity of the player is limited depending on the character and items that the player does not wish to carry at the moment can be stored into an item box to be retrieved for later use. To save their progress, the player must pick up an ink ribbon and use it on any of the typewriters scattered through key locations in the game. However, the supply of ink ribbons the player can acquire is limited much like the player's ammo and healing supplies. Players will encounter and fight various infected creatures as flesh-eating zombies, undead dogs, giant spiders, and other monsters.

Resident Evil was very well received critically and commercially, and is often credited for defining the survival horror genre. Beyond video games, Resident Evil has been credited with re-popularising zombies in mainstream popular culture from the late 1990s onwards (along with The House of the Dead), leading to a renewed interest in zombie films during the 2000s. Resident Evil has since been hailed as one of the most influential and greatest video games of all time. Its success has spawned a multimedia franchise including video games, films, comics, novels, and other merchandise. The game has received dedicated ports to the Sega Saturn, Windows, and Nintendo DS. In 2002, a remake of the same name was released for the GameCube featuring updated graphics, sound, and changes to the gameplay and story. A high-definition remaster of the GameCube game was released in 2015 for modern platforms.

Resident Evil- is one of my favorite survivor horror games of all time and one of my favorite games of all times. Its intense, thrilling, suspenseful and overall scary. Resident Evil is a must to play, if you haven't already. Will you survivie the manison or not!
  
The Seven Deadly Sins
The Seven Deadly Sins
2014 | Adventure, Animation, Fantasy
8
9.0 (4 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
They created a cool world full of magic, knights and fantasy; a lot of very different looking characters, cool character design, interesting group dynamic since all based on 7 deadly sins (0 more)
Quite a bit of "Fan Service" (not always a bad thing), that weird confusing 4 episode 2nd season, at first I didn't like the way the faces were drawn but it grew on me (0 more)
No Sins Deadlier - 8/10
The Seven Deadly Sins anime was created by A-1 Pictures and directed by Tensai Okamura. It was written by Shotaro Suga with Keigo Sasaki providing character designs and music by Hiroyuki Sawano. (Season1) The second season which is actually 4 television specials or episodes featured a story by Nakaba Suzuki. It was produced by A-1 Pictures and directed by Tomokazu Tokoro, Season 2 was also written by Yuniko Ayana and Yuichiro Kido, with character designs by Keigo Sasaki and music by Hiroyuki Sawano and Takafumi Wada. (Season2) Season 3 was an actual 24 episode season again with some changes to the creative team as well. Takeshi Furuta and Takao Yoshioka replaced Tensai Okamura and Shotaro Suga as director and series composer while most first season staff members to reprise their roles.


Once an active group of knights in the region of Britannia, "The Seven Deadly Sins" disbanded after supposedly plotting to overthrow the Liones Kingdom. Their defeat was believed to have been at the hands of the Holy Knights of Liones however persistent rumors continued that they were alive. Ten years later, the third princess, Elizabeth, begins her journey to find the "Seven Deadly Sins". She must get their help to save the Kingdom of Liones from the corrupt Holy Knights and those who plan to take over the kingdom.


This is a really great anime series. I can't believe it took me so long to get around to finishing it. They really left us hanging, waiting for season 2, and when Netflix released those 4 episodes as a whole season I was really confused. I was told by other fans of the series not to even watch them but to also not worry. A real season 2, or in this case season 3 was in the works and on the way. And not only were they right but a full length anime film released not long after. Anyways, sorry for getting off topic. The first thing I have to say when talking about this series is that there is a lot of "fan service". If you are not familiar with the term, in general fan service refers to scenes designed to excite or entice the viewer, usually of a racy or sexual nature. If that bothers you, this series is not for you. But if you can get past that there is a fantastical land of magic and knights with an epic tale of adventure waiting. At first I didn't like the character designs because to me the faces were very different from what I was use to at the time but then they grew on me and didn't seem to bother me as much. There are a lot of different looking characters, which I really enjoy seeing in anime, which was a plus to me. They also had a very interesting group dynamic since they were all based off of the seven deadly sins. There was good chemistry between the characters and a lot of camaraderie. I really enjoyed the enemies that they encountered in antagonist as well. Overall I give this series a 8/10.


If you liked this anime, after watching the entire series then watch the movie The Seven Deadly Sins Movie: Prisoners of the Sky.