Search

Search only in certain items:

Forsaken (Shadow Cove Saga #1)
Forsaken (Shadow Cove Saga #1)
J.D. Barker | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
9
8.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Absolutely loved it
I absolutely adored this novel, it felt like it was written just for me!
This is the first J.D. Barker I have read but it certainly won't be the last. I will be adding any sequels to my wish list immediately.

Forsaken This novel starts with a reference that any horror lover will recognise immediately. I was slightly confused by this - the dates do not work - but don't worry, all is explained by the end of the book.
The story started slowly and gradually built momentum, like all good stories should. It starts innocently enough with a bad dream of Rachael's, who is married to an author called Thad and nearing the end of her pregnancy of their second child. Eight year old Ashley and Buster the dog complete the family.
I very quickly found myself liking the character's. They are well rounded and believable. All of the conversation between them is natural and background information about them is presented at just the right pace.

I read just under 70% of the book in one sitting. I would have finished it in a day if annoying illness hadn't of made holding my Kindle impossible! It really is that kind of book, you need to keep reading because you need to know what is going to happen next. It managed to surprise me a number of times without resorting to wild twists.

Some of the novel is told through the eyes of a scribe in the 1600's and this adds to the excitement of reading - I both wanted to hear more from him whilst being desperate to get back to the main storyline. His sections are not written in olde English which is a good thing. It's rare for that to work and not become an annoyance.

It is a fast paced story without feeling rushed. I never felt confused about what was going on. Well, actually, that did happen once but was due to it being 5am and me not reading a characters name correctly!

The ending is a cliffhanger of sorts but, as this is #1 of a series, that really is to be expected. I am genuinely excited about reading the next book and I am going to look it up as soon as I finish this review.
I love horror/supernatural books and am constantly searching for 'the perfect' story. I'm not sure if many books could be described as such but this came close.
  
    Alarm Clock Premium

    Alarm Clock Premium

    Utilities

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Alarm Clock Premium turns your iPad into a multi-functional dock system, integrating bedside alarm...

    Blueturn

    Blueturn

    Weather and Education

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    This is the real Earth. Check our website for our vision and achievements: http://blueturn.earth/ ...

    Episode

    Episode

    Entertainment and Games

    8.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Episode lets you LIVE your stories with love, romance, adventure, and drama. Wouldn’t it be...

Hotel Artemis (2018)
Hotel Artemis (2018)
2018 | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
Los Angeles of 2028 is a riot laden area where Martial Law is the norm and brutality is a way of life. Amidst this setting, the Hotel Artemis is open for business.. The Artemis is not your typical hotel as it provides emergency medical services to members who engage in criminal activities.

The Nurse (Jodie Foster) runs the facility and with the help of her massive Orderly Everest (Dave Bautista), they ensure that only members get admitted and follow the rules as well as receive state of the art care while in the facility.

 Guests at the facility are giving names based on the suite in which they are assigned which involve geographical locales and there are a very strict set of rules they must follow such as no guns, bombs, killing other guests, and so on.

The Hotel Artemis is not a simple stitch and bandage facility as they offer advanced medical services such as Nanites, replacement organ printing, robotic A.I. medical treatment and other services which in 2018 seem like Science Fiction.

Enter Waikiki (Sterling K. Brown), who has tried to leave his criminal past behind him yet was savvy enough to keep paying his membership fees at the Artemis all the while. He and his brother have been injured in a heist and with the city under a deadly riot, they make their way to the Artemis to get treatment and hide out from the chaos outside.

Thanks to their services, the hotel is rarely empty and an Arms Dealer named Acapulco (Charlie Day), and an assassin named Nice (Sofia Boutella), are also in residence. The fact that Nice and Waikiki have a past association makes things a bit interesting as guests are always mindful of those around them even though the strict rules of membership exist to ward off any threats or danger to the guests or staff.

Complications arise when the near capacity hotel is informed that the Wolf King of L.A. (Jeff Goldblum) is en- route. The Nurse opts to follow the rules of first come first served and in doing so enrages his son (Zachary Quinto), who decided to barricade the Hotel to make sure nobody gets in before his father, who incidentally owns the facility.

As if this was not enough of a complication, a police officer from troubled past of The Nurse arrives begging for help which sets a very dangerous chain of events into motion.

The film is a very fresh and entertaining story filled with interesting characters, strong performances, and just enough action to keep the film moving along but yet keeping the focus as a character based drama.

First time Director Drew Pearce gets the most of his cast and has used his script to create a very entertaining and unique film that is well worth a watch. It is so nice to see Jodie Foster showing us once again that she is one of the most gifted actresses of our time as the two-time Oscar winner goes all in to portray a very damaged and troubled character who for what she lacks in glamour; more than makes up for with a determined strength.

I hope this film is a success as I would love to see more stories from the Hotel as I really enjoyed the film from start to finish.

http://sknr.net/2018/06/07/hotel-artemis/
  
Shrek the Third (2007)
Shrek the Third (2007)
2007 | Animation, Comedy, Family
5
6.6 (39 Ratings)
Movie Rating
When last we saw the Ogre Shrek, (Mike Meyers), he and his wife Fiona (Cameron Diaz), they were happily celebrating their love and triumph over the dastardly Prince Charmings (Rupert Everett), latest attempt to rule the magical kingdom of Far, Far Away. In the new film Shrek the Third,

Shrek has grown weary of filling in for the ailing King and years to return to his swamp home with Fiona.

When a twist of fate leaves Shrek in line for the throne, he wants no part of it, and seeks to find the next heir, Arthur (Justin

Timberlake), and install him as the next leader of the land. With Donkey (Eddie Murphy), and Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas), at his side, Shrek sets off to meet Arthur and bring him to his future
kingdom.
Of course things do not go as planned, as upon meeting Arthur, Shrek and his friends are shocked to learn that he is a meek individual who is constantly picked on by his fellow classmates, and is far from King material.

Undaunted, the trio set back home with Arthur and find themselves at odds over Shrek’s claims that Arthur was granted the throne as the last wish of the former monarch. The fact that Shrek was actually the chosen successor is of little concern to Shrek as he is more concerned with returning home and the recent news that he is to become a father.

When fate steps in and strands them during the journey home, Shrek and friends encounter a former

eccentric professor (Eric Idle) of Arthur, who magically whisks the adventurers

back home, but with some unexpected and amusing side effects.

During this time, Prince Charming has mounted an attack on the Kingdom with the aid of several local villains in an attempt to take the crown for himself and rid the world of Shrek. What follows is a Frantic adventure as Shrek and his friends must find a way to save the day and help Arthur find his destiny.
While I was a big fan of the previous two films in the series, this Shrek did not work for me nearly as well as the other two did.

Yes there are some funny moments and I am sure this film will do huge business at the box office, but it is severely lacking.

First and foremost is the humor in the film, which while at times funny, is far to few and far between to make an effective comedy.

The previous films were loaded with laughs and pop culture references which in this one are more subdued and confined. I kept thinking while I watched the film that much of this film could easily have been comprised of outtakes from the previous films as there is precious little new material in the film and many of the jokes just do not seem that inspired.

Another issue with the film is that Murphy and Banderas are far to underused especially since their characters are the most interesting in the film, and they generate the biggest laughs when they are allowed to shine.

The film has a cute quality to it and own its own, it would be a decent family film. However when compared with the previous film in the series, this Shrek is Far, Far and Away the worst of the three.