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The Marinated Meeple (1853 KP) rated Blue Peg, Pink Peg in Podcasts
Mar 23, 2018
I really enjoy the way they talk about games.
This podcast isn't epic, but it does feel like friends you would have talking about games, they have foibles and aren't always polished but that adds to the genuineness of it. They obviously love to play games and all different kinds. They tend to focus on family and midweight games, but sometimes dabble in the heavy as well and obscure trivia. They added a new member when Whoop Whoop team droop left. Too early to judge how he fits in with the crowd, but he's been a friend for years so probably gonna be just fine. Give it a listen and once you get past the opening trivia, the game conversation usually starts. Usually.
This is one of the top 5 podcasts about board games out there.
This is one of the top 5 podcasts about board games out there.
Sean Farrell (9 KP) rated A Storm of Swords: Part 1 Steel and Snow (Reissue) in Books
Mar 15, 2018
This series just gets better and better with each book. While this is certainly quite a long read, it winds up being very rewarding as the last half of it is filled with enough shocks and twists to leave one's head spinning. I can't really go into very much detail about what happens so as not to inadvertently spoil anything for anyone who has managed to avoid finding out the major details thus far, but suffice it to say, that it is in this book when it becomes apparent that surviving through this epic story is a challenge that an increasingly slim number of characters appear to be up to. I can honestly say that I don't really know where exactly the story is going to go next, but I am very excited to find out!
Awix (3310 KP) rated Thor: The Dark World (2013) in Movies
Jun 9, 2018 (Updated Jun 9, 2018)
Marvel's second Thor movie is a not especially well-judged mixture of somewhat leaden epic fantasy and cutesy, kooky rom-com. Looks spiffy throughout, but it doesn't half drag in places: you can see why they decided to shake things up so thoroughly in the third one.
The thing about the Marvel Studios films is that they are routinely so good that when one is merely a fairly competent blockbuster, as is the case here, it does feel unreasonably disappointing. Apart from the sluggish pace and mishandled humour, the main problem here is that the script doesn't feel particularly well-focused or engaging, with the new villains eclipsed by Tom Hiddleston as Loki, and a reliance on lavish spectacle over characters you actually care about. Still not much worse than many a successful blockbuster, but one of the more dispensable Marvel movies nevertheless.
The thing about the Marvel Studios films is that they are routinely so good that when one is merely a fairly competent blockbuster, as is the case here, it does feel unreasonably disappointing. Apart from the sluggish pace and mishandled humour, the main problem here is that the script doesn't feel particularly well-focused or engaging, with the new villains eclipsed by Tom Hiddleston as Loki, and a reliance on lavish spectacle over characters you actually care about. Still not much worse than many a successful blockbuster, but one of the more dispensable Marvel movies nevertheless.
Andy K (10823 KP) rated Shoah (1985) in Movies
Jul 20, 2018
Unforgettable
Director Claude Lanzmann, who recently passed away at the age of 92, spent a significant portion of his life working on interviews, editing and putting together this immaculate epic masterpiece portrait of the Holocaust through the words of people who were there and lived through the torture.
I sobbed for days after watching the more than 13 hours of footage from the documentary and the DVD extras. Some of the descriptions and scenes were so moving I actually had to pause for a moment to collect myself before continuing.
I purchased when Criterion had one of their 50% off sales and it was well worth it. You will be changed forever as a person after watching this and you will start to think all your first-world problems are minuscule in comparison.
I sobbed for days after watching the more than 13 hours of footage from the documentary and the DVD extras. Some of the descriptions and scenes were so moving I actually had to pause for a moment to collect myself before continuing.
I purchased when Criterion had one of their 50% off sales and it was well worth it. You will be changed forever as a person after watching this and you will start to think all your first-world problems are minuscule in comparison.
Kristie (106 KP) rated The Brilliant Death in Books
Sep 18, 2018 (Updated Sep 18, 2018)
Great storyline
The Brilliant Death by Amy Rose Capetta is a great young adult fantasy novel with a unique storyline. The designs inside the book and the cover art are absolutely gorgeous and I can't wait to see what the final version of this book will look like. I really enjoyed the characters and how they develop as the story goes on, and the rich setting of this world. I really enjoyed learning about the strega and their history alongside Teodora as she learns about her self and how she came to have her unique magic. I loved how Teo and Cielo's love develops and unfolds through the story and I can't wait to see what is next for them. The story had an amazing ending that already has me anticipating book two in this epic new fantasy series.
Ross (3284 KP) rated Thanos Rising in Books
Oct 24, 2018
Decent short backstory for the big screen super-baddie
This 5 issue collection gives a backstory to Thanos and adds some explanation for why he is the way he is. Certain elements of this fit in with the Jim Starlin Infinity Gauntlet/War books but add an interesting few viewpoints and aspects of his persona.
Around half of the story deals with Thanos' childhood, growing up different on the perfect Titan and how this started to warp his mind, and then leads in to him travelling the universe exploring as a pacifist and siring numerous children (this section fitting in nicely with the Jonathan Hickman Infinity epic), finishing with his final arrival at Mad Tyrant Central.
Strong artwork throughout and a decent story make this a good attempt at putting some meat on the bones of Thanos' backstory.
Around half of the story deals with Thanos' childhood, growing up different on the perfect Titan and how this started to warp his mind, and then leads in to him travelling the universe exploring as a pacifist and siring numerous children (this section fitting in nicely with the Jonathan Hickman Infinity epic), finishing with his final arrival at Mad Tyrant Central.
Strong artwork throughout and a decent story make this a good attempt at putting some meat on the bones of Thanos' backstory.
Kacey Dunbar (6 KP) rated Love Never Dies - Andrew Lloyd Webber Broadway Musical (2010) in Movies
Dec 14, 2018
Music (3 more)
Acting
Voices
Scene Transitions
Amazing Sequel of Epic Proportions
*NO SPOILERS, I promise* This being my very first musical, suffice it to say I was floored by the quality of the show. The actors really managed to bring the emotion out in this compelling sequel to The Phantom of the Opera. It follows the story of Christine and Erik 10 years later after their first fateful encounter. Nothing about the performance disappointed me. Minus a single technical difficulty that was resolved in less than 10 minutes, there were no interruptions. The music was also amazing. If you're not interested yet you might as well stop reading. For those of you who are, I seriously recommend following the crew for info on their upcoming shows. It's so worth the money and time you spend on it.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Abominable (2019) in Movies
Oct 23, 2019 (Updated Oct 23, 2019)
The Abominable Yeki Snowman
This is such as great movie. Dreamworks does it again with its animation. It is visually beautiful.
The Plot: When teenage Yi (Chloe Bennet, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) encounters a young Yeti on the roof of her apartment building in Shanghai, she and her mischievous friends, Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor) and Peng (Albert Tsai), name him “Everest” and embark on an epic quest to reunite the magical creature with his family at the highest point on Earth. But the trio of friends will have to stay one-step ahead of Burnish (Eddie Izzard), a wealthy man intent on capturing a Yeti, and zoologist Dr. Zara (Sarah Paulson) to help Everest get home.
It is a great movie and has a great message. If you havent seen it, than i would highly reccordmend it.
The Plot: When teenage Yi (Chloe Bennet, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) encounters a young Yeti on the roof of her apartment building in Shanghai, she and her mischievous friends, Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor) and Peng (Albert Tsai), name him “Everest” and embark on an epic quest to reunite the magical creature with his family at the highest point on Earth. But the trio of friends will have to stay one-step ahead of Burnish (Eddie Izzard), a wealthy man intent on capturing a Yeti, and zoologist Dr. Zara (Sarah Paulson) to help Everest get home.
It is a great movie and has a great message. If you havent seen it, than i would highly reccordmend it.
Lee KM Pallatina (951 KP) rated Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) in Movies
Dec 2, 2019
He's back (& apparently never left?)
Contains spoilers, click to show
After multiple failed attempts at terminator movies since the epic T2 judgement day, the franchise has consistently been tarnished of its unique credibility with only a rewatchable (imo) sequel in terminator : salvation.
Since the announcement of Linda Hamilton reprising her role of Sarah Connor I have been eager to see the outcome & I am very happy with what I saw, especially when it comes to taking into consideration its predecessors (excluding T1 &T2 of course).
Linda Hamilton plays her role as if she'd only taken a short break & with Schwarzeneggers T-800 learning to adapt to human life allows for great character encounters with the T-800 killing John Connor 22 years prior.
Fantastic movie, worth the wait.
Since the announcement of Linda Hamilton reprising her role of Sarah Connor I have been eager to see the outcome & I am very happy with what I saw, especially when it comes to taking into consideration its predecessors (excluding T1 &T2 of course).
Linda Hamilton plays her role as if she'd only taken a short break & with Schwarzeneggers T-800 learning to adapt to human life allows for great character encounters with the T-800 killing John Connor 22 years prior.
Fantastic movie, worth the wait.
Dean (6927 KP) rated The Witcher - Season 1 in TV
Jan 13, 2020
Toss a coin to your Witcher
I can't say I know anything of the games or books. Saw this pop up on Netflix and hoped for something to fill the GoT void. With Magic and a monster hunter I hoped for great things especially as it seems to have a big budget. Although it is good and entertaining it wasn't the grand scale epic I thought it might be. For a monster hunter there are few episodes with any grand beasts. Some of them were a little underwhelming. It can be a bit slow in some episodes and Cavill's dull tones do become a bit annoying after a while. Thankfully it did pick up towards the end. Hopefully if they do a second series we will see a bit more monster action.