Search
Search results
Lucy Buglass (45 KP) rated Overlord (2018) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
As someone who isn’t much of a war film fan, I was apprehensive about Overlord. I often find war films quite repetitive in nature, and they’ve never really appealed to me. So when I was kindly invited to a press screening on behalf of JUMPCUT, I really wasn’t sure what to expect. I tried not to set my expectations too high, but as a J.J. Abrams fan, I was interested to see what he’d brought to the table as a producer. Maybe a blend of war and horror is exactly what I needed.
Straight away, the thing that stood out to me was the quality of the sound, especially in a cinema setting. If you’re able to, I would absolutely recommend you catch Overlord on the big screen because of it. The film opens with soldiers on a plane, and the deafening booms of bombs combined with the roar of the plane really puts you right in the middle of the action. This sequence is one of the most immersive experiences I’ve ever had. You’re forced to witness the horrors of war straight off the bat and identify with the soldiers’ point of view. Later on in the film, this excellent use of sound really adds to the suspense and makes for a truly uncomfortable experience.
After loving Wyatt Russell in Black Mirror, I was looking forward to his performance in particular, but the whole cast really delivered. Each solider is believable, flawed, and different in their personality to the point where you feel like you’re there with them. The character development throughout is excellent, and no one feels two-dimensional or glossed over. This is one of the problems I have with war films, that sometimes everyone seems to blend into one group and no one is easily distinguishable. With Overlord, every character has both purpose and a personality; something I thoroughly enjoyed. The characters that the soldiers encounter along the way are treated exactly the same too, and it’s nice to see secondary characters being treated with respect.
If you’re a fan of gory special effects, this is one to watch for sure. When it finally becomes clear to us what’s going on, and dark secrets are revealed, it is a terrifying experience. It’s best you go into it not knowing any more than that, as it would be a shame to have it spoiled. What I can say, is that the effects are nightmare inducing and reminiscent of many body horror films. The rest you need to witness for yourself. I’ve seen my fair share of gruesome stuff, but this really stood out to me. Overlord deserves recognition for its visual effects alone, they are a welcome addition to the horror genre.
Overall, Overlord is a smart film that blends war and horror together effortlessly, resulting in a truly terrifying experience. I’m unsure how it’ll translate on my TV after experiencing it on such a large-scale, but I am certainly up for watching it again to see what it’s like. It’s a very entertaining couple of hours that are action-packed and gruesome throughout.
https://jumpcutonline.co.uk/review-overlord-2018/
Straight away, the thing that stood out to me was the quality of the sound, especially in a cinema setting. If you’re able to, I would absolutely recommend you catch Overlord on the big screen because of it. The film opens with soldiers on a plane, and the deafening booms of bombs combined with the roar of the plane really puts you right in the middle of the action. This sequence is one of the most immersive experiences I’ve ever had. You’re forced to witness the horrors of war straight off the bat and identify with the soldiers’ point of view. Later on in the film, this excellent use of sound really adds to the suspense and makes for a truly uncomfortable experience.
After loving Wyatt Russell in Black Mirror, I was looking forward to his performance in particular, but the whole cast really delivered. Each solider is believable, flawed, and different in their personality to the point where you feel like you’re there with them. The character development throughout is excellent, and no one feels two-dimensional or glossed over. This is one of the problems I have with war films, that sometimes everyone seems to blend into one group and no one is easily distinguishable. With Overlord, every character has both purpose and a personality; something I thoroughly enjoyed. The characters that the soldiers encounter along the way are treated exactly the same too, and it’s nice to see secondary characters being treated with respect.
If you’re a fan of gory special effects, this is one to watch for sure. When it finally becomes clear to us what’s going on, and dark secrets are revealed, it is a terrifying experience. It’s best you go into it not knowing any more than that, as it would be a shame to have it spoiled. What I can say, is that the effects are nightmare inducing and reminiscent of many body horror films. The rest you need to witness for yourself. I’ve seen my fair share of gruesome stuff, but this really stood out to me. Overlord deserves recognition for its visual effects alone, they are a welcome addition to the horror genre.
Overall, Overlord is a smart film that blends war and horror together effortlessly, resulting in a truly terrifying experience. I’m unsure how it’ll translate on my TV after experiencing it on such a large-scale, but I am certainly up for watching it again to see what it’s like. It’s a very entertaining couple of hours that are action-packed and gruesome throughout.
https://jumpcutonline.co.uk/review-overlord-2018/
RealWorld Orthopaedics
Medical and Health & Fitness
App
* FEATURED IN AAOS' MULTIMEDIA EDUCATION CENTER * * Now compatible with iOS 8 * RealWorld...
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Codenames in Tabletop Games
Jul 17, 2020 (Updated Jul 18, 2020)
Fun to play (2 more)
Easy to Learn
High Replayability
Getting the assassin (2 more)
Getting the bystander
Getting the other teams word
Excellent Deduction Party Game
Codenames- is one of the two games i bought at this years Pax East. It is also one of the first board games that i bought. The second being Coup. Now since then I have like 25 board games. I love collecting board games cause i can either play them with my family or go solo. Personality i love going solo in board games.
I learn about this game through the Funhaus Channel. And personality wanted to buy it after watching it. It looked easy, fun and entertaining. So when i saw it at Pax i knew i had to by it. If you dont know what Codenames is or never heard of it. Let me explain.
Codenames is a party deduction word card name for 2-8 people. It came out in 2015, designed by Vlaada Chvátil and published by Czech Games Edition.
The Objective: Two teams compete by each having a "spymaster" give one-word clues that can point to multiple words on the board. The other players on the team attempt to guess their team's words while avoiding the words of the other team.
The Gameplay:
Players split into two teams: red and blue. One player of each team is selected as the team's spymaster; the others are field operatives.
Twenty-five Codename cards, each bearing a word, are laid out in a 5×5 rectangular grid, in random order. A number of these words represent red agents, a number represent blue agents, one represents an assassin, and the others represent innocent bystanders.
The hint's word can be chosen freely, as long as it is not (and does not contain) any of the words on the code name cards still showing at that time. Code name cards are covered as guesses are made.
After a spymaster gives the hint with its word and number, their field operatives make guesses about which code name cards bear words related to the hint and point them out, one at a time. When a code name card is pointed out, the spymaster covers that card with an appropriate identity card – a blue agent card, a red agent card, an innocent bystander card, or the assassin card – as indicated on the spymasters' map of the grid. If the assassin is pointed out, the game ends immediately, with the team who identified him losing. If an agent of the other team is pointed out, the turn ends immediately, and that other team is also one agent closer to winning. If an innocent bystander is pointed out, the turn simply ends.
The game ends when all of one team's agents are identified (winning the game for that team), or when one team has identified the assassin (losing the game).
Its a fun entertaining deduction party card game and can be played over and over again without losing its charm. Its excellent board game and a must buy if you haven't bought it yet.
I learn about this game through the Funhaus Channel. And personality wanted to buy it after watching it. It looked easy, fun and entertaining. So when i saw it at Pax i knew i had to by it. If you dont know what Codenames is or never heard of it. Let me explain.
Codenames is a party deduction word card name for 2-8 people. It came out in 2015, designed by Vlaada Chvátil and published by Czech Games Edition.
The Objective: Two teams compete by each having a "spymaster" give one-word clues that can point to multiple words on the board. The other players on the team attempt to guess their team's words while avoiding the words of the other team.
The Gameplay:
Players split into two teams: red and blue. One player of each team is selected as the team's spymaster; the others are field operatives.
Twenty-five Codename cards, each bearing a word, are laid out in a 5×5 rectangular grid, in random order. A number of these words represent red agents, a number represent blue agents, one represents an assassin, and the others represent innocent bystanders.
The hint's word can be chosen freely, as long as it is not (and does not contain) any of the words on the code name cards still showing at that time. Code name cards are covered as guesses are made.
After a spymaster gives the hint with its word and number, their field operatives make guesses about which code name cards bear words related to the hint and point them out, one at a time. When a code name card is pointed out, the spymaster covers that card with an appropriate identity card – a blue agent card, a red agent card, an innocent bystander card, or the assassin card – as indicated on the spymasters' map of the grid. If the assassin is pointed out, the game ends immediately, with the team who identified him losing. If an agent of the other team is pointed out, the turn ends immediately, and that other team is also one agent closer to winning. If an innocent bystander is pointed out, the turn simply ends.
The game ends when all of one team's agents are identified (winning the game for that team), or when one team has identified the assassin (losing the game).
Its a fun entertaining deduction party card game and can be played over and over again without losing its charm. Its excellent board game and a must buy if you haven't bought it yet.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Drag Me to Hell (2009) in Movies
Oct 28, 2020
Sam Raimi (1 more)
Alison Lohman
PG-13 (1 more)
Justin Long
Old Lady Curse
Drag me to Hell- is a anethor movie that ive wanted to see for couple years now and it was not disappointed. Its gory, horrorfying, terrorfying, scary, gory and overall a excellent movie.
The plot: Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) has a loving boyfriend (Justin Long) and a great job at a Los Angeles bank. But her heavenly life becomes hellish when, in an effort to impress her boss, she denies an old woman's request for an extension on her home loan. In retaliation, the crone places a curse on Christine, threatening her soul with eternal damnation. Christine seeks a psychic's help to break the curse, but the price to save her soul may be more than she can pay.
Raimi wrote Drag Me to Hell with his brother, Ivan, before working on the Spider-Man trilogy.
The original story for Drag Me to Hell was written ten years before the film went into production and was written by Sam Raimi and his brother Ivan Raimi. The film went into production under the name The Curse. The Raimis wrote the script as a morality tale, desiring to write a story about a character who wants to be a good person, but makes a sinful choice out of greed for her own betterment and pays the price for it. The Raimis tried to make the character of Christine the main focal point in the film, and tried to have Christine in almost all the scenes in the film.
The most significant parallel is that both stories involve the passing of a cursed object, which has to be passed to someone else, or its possessor will be devoured by one or more demons. Unlike his past horror films, Raimi wanted the film to be rated PG-13 and not strictly driven by gore, stating, "I didn't want to do exactly the same thing I had done before."
After finishing the script, Raimi desired to make the picture after the first draft of the script was completed, but other projects such as the Spider-Man film series became a nearly decade-long endeavor, pushing opportunities to continue work on Drag Me to Hell to late 2007. Raimi offered director Edgar Wright to direct Drag Me to Hell which Wright turned down as he was filming Hot Fuzz and felt that "If I did it, it would just feel like karaoke." After the previous three Spider-Man films, Raimi came back to the script of Drag Me to Hell, wanting to make a simpler and lower-budget film.
Raimi said he set out to create “a horror film with lots of wild moments and lots of suspense and big shocks that’ll hopefully make audiences jump. But I also wanted to have a lot of dark humor sprinkled throughout. I spent the last decade doing Spider-Man and you come to rely on a lot of people doing things for you and a lot of help, but it’s refreshing and wonderful to be reminded that, as with most filmmakers, the best way to do it is yourself, with a tight team doing the main jobs."
Its a excellent movie.
The plot: Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) has a loving boyfriend (Justin Long) and a great job at a Los Angeles bank. But her heavenly life becomes hellish when, in an effort to impress her boss, she denies an old woman's request for an extension on her home loan. In retaliation, the crone places a curse on Christine, threatening her soul with eternal damnation. Christine seeks a psychic's help to break the curse, but the price to save her soul may be more than she can pay.
Raimi wrote Drag Me to Hell with his brother, Ivan, before working on the Spider-Man trilogy.
The original story for Drag Me to Hell was written ten years before the film went into production and was written by Sam Raimi and his brother Ivan Raimi. The film went into production under the name The Curse. The Raimis wrote the script as a morality tale, desiring to write a story about a character who wants to be a good person, but makes a sinful choice out of greed for her own betterment and pays the price for it. The Raimis tried to make the character of Christine the main focal point in the film, and tried to have Christine in almost all the scenes in the film.
The most significant parallel is that both stories involve the passing of a cursed object, which has to be passed to someone else, or its possessor will be devoured by one or more demons. Unlike his past horror films, Raimi wanted the film to be rated PG-13 and not strictly driven by gore, stating, "I didn't want to do exactly the same thing I had done before."
After finishing the script, Raimi desired to make the picture after the first draft of the script was completed, but other projects such as the Spider-Man film series became a nearly decade-long endeavor, pushing opportunities to continue work on Drag Me to Hell to late 2007. Raimi offered director Edgar Wright to direct Drag Me to Hell which Wright turned down as he was filming Hot Fuzz and felt that "If I did it, it would just feel like karaoke." After the previous three Spider-Man films, Raimi came back to the script of Drag Me to Hell, wanting to make a simpler and lower-budget film.
Raimi said he set out to create “a horror film with lots of wild moments and lots of suspense and big shocks that’ll hopefully make audiences jump. But I also wanted to have a lot of dark humor sprinkled throughout. I spent the last decade doing Spider-Man and you come to rely on a lot of people doing things for you and a lot of help, but it’s refreshing and wonderful to be reminded that, as with most filmmakers, the best way to do it is yourself, with a tight team doing the main jobs."
Its a excellent movie.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Ghost in the Shell (2017) in Movies
Jul 12, 2019
Ghost in the Shell is a film adaptation of a 1989 manga and subsequent 1995 anime. Set in the “not so distant future,” Scarlet Johansson plays as Major, the first functioning human brain/consciousness saved from an accident and placed into a full cybernetic body. Effectively, she is the perfect soldier and member of the Section 9 special task-force devoted to counter-terrorism operations.
As an adaptation, fans of the franchise will be pleased to know that Ghost in the shell nails the aesthetic and tone of the source material to provide a stunning, “lived in” future world. The special effects are excellent and really shine to bring this film to life and help us understand the world these characters inhabit.
The characters themselves, while “cool,” lack any real depth. It is not that Scarlet Johansson does an excellent job at being pensive and fits the role fine. It is just that there is no real human quality to her for us to attach to. Instead, everything she does feel “robotic.” Similar to her performance in Lucy with a little bit of Black Widow from the marvel universe crossed in.
Yes, I know she is supposed to be a cyborg. But the film wants us to believe she has actual interest in finding out who she was before the “accident,” but she shows very little human emotion to get us there. Furthermore, if she was the first human mind saved and put into a cyborg body, why doesn’t she show more human emotion when she starts to uncover her past. Meanwhile, her partner, Batou (Pilou Asbaek) showcases just slightly more emotion because he likes to feed stray dogs, however in his case, we at least understand that he is a loyal solder and friend to Major, and thus understand why he is along for the ride.
Additionally (or perhaps as a result) the story suffers from some pacing issues as the film doesn’t always provide clear or strong markers to help the viewer understand what exactly is motivating the characters throughout the film. Rather the film often holds a bit too long on sequences in an attempt to showcase the beautiful world and let the view ponder their own meaning of what they are watching.
This becomes problematic as the characters never really become likeable or establish any depth beyond the paint by numbers plot. Human becomes Cyborg, Cyborg works for a corporation/government, Cyborg figures out they have been lied to, revenge ensues.
In the end, I found myself checking my watch more than I had hoped as the film felt long and tired. If it wasn’t for the stunning world created on screen I would have been completely bored. It’s a shame because I really wanted to like this film. I cannot help but think that if this film had come out in 1999, it would have been amazing!
But in 2017 it feels average at best. Still, Ghost in the Shell is an adequate adaptation that fans of the franchise will enjoy. However I feel this adaptation does not help elevate the franchise beyond what the 1995 Anime has already accomplished.
As an adaptation, fans of the franchise will be pleased to know that Ghost in the shell nails the aesthetic and tone of the source material to provide a stunning, “lived in” future world. The special effects are excellent and really shine to bring this film to life and help us understand the world these characters inhabit.
The characters themselves, while “cool,” lack any real depth. It is not that Scarlet Johansson does an excellent job at being pensive and fits the role fine. It is just that there is no real human quality to her for us to attach to. Instead, everything she does feel “robotic.” Similar to her performance in Lucy with a little bit of Black Widow from the marvel universe crossed in.
Yes, I know she is supposed to be a cyborg. But the film wants us to believe she has actual interest in finding out who she was before the “accident,” but she shows very little human emotion to get us there. Furthermore, if she was the first human mind saved and put into a cyborg body, why doesn’t she show more human emotion when she starts to uncover her past. Meanwhile, her partner, Batou (Pilou Asbaek) showcases just slightly more emotion because he likes to feed stray dogs, however in his case, we at least understand that he is a loyal solder and friend to Major, and thus understand why he is along for the ride.
Additionally (or perhaps as a result) the story suffers from some pacing issues as the film doesn’t always provide clear or strong markers to help the viewer understand what exactly is motivating the characters throughout the film. Rather the film often holds a bit too long on sequences in an attempt to showcase the beautiful world and let the view ponder their own meaning of what they are watching.
This becomes problematic as the characters never really become likeable or establish any depth beyond the paint by numbers plot. Human becomes Cyborg, Cyborg works for a corporation/government, Cyborg figures out they have been lied to, revenge ensues.
In the end, I found myself checking my watch more than I had hoped as the film felt long and tired. If it wasn’t for the stunning world created on screen I would have been completely bored. It’s a shame because I really wanted to like this film. I cannot help but think that if this film had come out in 1999, it would have been amazing!
But in 2017 it feels average at best. Still, Ghost in the Shell is an adequate adaptation that fans of the franchise will enjoy. However I feel this adaptation does not help elevate the franchise beyond what the 1995 Anime has already accomplished.
pwSafe 2 - Password Safe
Utilities and Productivity
App
pwSafe 2 offers Touch ID, Safari and apps autofill, iPhone 6+ landscape mode, adaptive text, a new...
AniMatch: Animal Pairs and Sounds Matching Game
Games and Entertainment
10.0
Rate It
App
AniMatch is great FUN for kids and adults alike! "This is a MUST HAVE APP for anyone with an...
World Flags Quiz Game – Guess the Country Flag – Free Educational Trivia
Games and Entertainment
App
Guess the country by its flag with this fun and educational geography game app! How well do you...
Bubble Bust! - Pop Bubble Shooter
Games and Entertainment
App
Over 25 million people around the world are playing this original arcade bubble shooter! Thank...
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Gone for Good in Books
Aug 26, 2021
An excellent mystery where a cold case intersects with a new murder
In the 1990s, the Lovelorn Killer killed seven women and disappeared. The last known victim was Katherine Duffy, the wife of a police officer, who was killed on Halloween. After twenty years, many wonder if he's gone for good. But a group of amateur online sleuths, known as the Grave Diggers, don't think that. They take on cold cases and investigate them. One of these Diggers is Grace Harper, a grocery store worker. Grace is sure the Lovelorn Killer is out there, blending into the same neighborhoods he hunted in. Detective Annalisa Vega's father--also a cop--was partnered with Katie Duffy's husband back in the day. Her murder was a defining moment in Annalisa's life. When Annalisa is called to the scene of Grace's murder and realizes she was killed in a similar manner to the Lovelorn Killer, she wonders if the killer is back. Investigating will mean dredging up Annalisa's childhood memories and giving everything she has to catch a murderer.
"With each passing year, the Lovelorn Killer recedes into history and people shrug at the mention of his name. Looks like he's gone for good."
This is an excellent mystery--honestly no surprise when it's by Schaffhausen. I love her Ellery/Reed series, and I'm excited that there's a new series from her. This is a dark read and Annalisa's personal ties to the case and investigation only strengthen this book. It's wonderful reading a story with a strong female detective (and a female boss). Annalisa is a new detective, struggling with the fact that she must work with her ex-husband, Nick Carelli, the established detective on the force. But she doesn't let that, or anything, stop her. Schaffhausen is so good at writing a police procedural; she writes about the processes and force dynamics so well. You feel a part of the investigation and Annalisa's police family superbly. Same with the city of Chicago. She captures the city perfectly. As someone with Chicago ties, this book is so Chicago. I cannot wait for my parents, who grew up in the Chicago suburbs, to read it.
Told from Annalisa's perspective and interspersed with excerpts from Grace's journal, GONE FOR GOOD is tense and crackling with suspense. It's a fast moving read that keeps you guessing from the very beginning, which opens with Grace's death. Yet Grace always feels like another living character in the book, and she's integral to the plot. This is truly a dark read, with a lot of death and murder, and a "bad guy" who is quite bad. I'm always impressed at how Schaffhausen can write stories that permeate with evil and tension.
Overall, I loved everything about this book. The unification of old and new cases and way the Internet sleuths added to the cases. How Annalisa's personal life intertwined with the investigation. GOOD is well-written and keeps you guessing until the very end. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. 4.5 stars.
I received a copy of this book from Minotaur Books and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.
"With each passing year, the Lovelorn Killer recedes into history and people shrug at the mention of his name. Looks like he's gone for good."
This is an excellent mystery--honestly no surprise when it's by Schaffhausen. I love her Ellery/Reed series, and I'm excited that there's a new series from her. This is a dark read and Annalisa's personal ties to the case and investigation only strengthen this book. It's wonderful reading a story with a strong female detective (and a female boss). Annalisa is a new detective, struggling with the fact that she must work with her ex-husband, Nick Carelli, the established detective on the force. But she doesn't let that, or anything, stop her. Schaffhausen is so good at writing a police procedural; she writes about the processes and force dynamics so well. You feel a part of the investigation and Annalisa's police family superbly. Same with the city of Chicago. She captures the city perfectly. As someone with Chicago ties, this book is so Chicago. I cannot wait for my parents, who grew up in the Chicago suburbs, to read it.
Told from Annalisa's perspective and interspersed with excerpts from Grace's journal, GONE FOR GOOD is tense and crackling with suspense. It's a fast moving read that keeps you guessing from the very beginning, which opens with Grace's death. Yet Grace always feels like another living character in the book, and she's integral to the plot. This is truly a dark read, with a lot of death and murder, and a "bad guy" who is quite bad. I'm always impressed at how Schaffhausen can write stories that permeate with evil and tension.
Overall, I loved everything about this book. The unification of old and new cases and way the Internet sleuths added to the cases. How Annalisa's personal life intertwined with the investigation. GOOD is well-written and keeps you guessing until the very end. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. 4.5 stars.
I received a copy of this book from Minotaur Books and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.