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Allotments
Book
The allotment is a much-loved part of every British city, town and village. At their height in the...

Chloe (778 KP) rated The Shadow Man in Books
Mar 6, 2021
Clever (2 more)
Interesting
Gripping
Unbelievable in places (1 more)
Not as scary as blurb suggests
Creepy but over described
I enjoyed this book overall, the blurb makes the villain seem a lot more threatening than he actually is, not that there aren't some gross parts. The plot was interesting and I like how it dealt with a unique disease.
The scene was set quite well early on but I think more could have been done to elicit this throughout the book.
I liked the main detective and the psychologist, I could see a sequel in the future with the usual love hate relationship emerging between them.
There were a few instances where the story was a little unbelievable, particularly around the flooring scene. Plus some of the facts of the case are happened upon and theories are very much close to the truth.
The scene was set quite well early on but I think more could have been done to elicit this throughout the book.
I liked the main detective and the psychologist, I could see a sequel in the future with the usual love hate relationship emerging between them.
There were a few instances where the story was a little unbelievable, particularly around the flooring scene. Plus some of the facts of the case are happened upon and theories are very much close to the truth.

David McK (3562 KP) rated Demolition Man (1993) in Movies
Feb 1, 2021
"There's a new Shepherd in town..."
I think I first saw this movie in the cinema when it came out.
In 1993.
So nearly 30 years ago now (writing this in early 2021).
Starring a pre tax evasion Wesley Snipes, Sylvester Stallone and a very young Sandra Bullock, this is a sci fi actioner set in a (supposedly) utopian future where there is no crime, and in which Snipes character of Simon Phoenix escapes from his cryo-freeze prison (in which he was placed in 1996!), leading the hopelessly outmatched police force of the time to reanimated his original captor John Spartan (Stallone) at the suggestion of the 90s-mad Sandra Bullock Lieutenant Huxley, who was also put on ice after being framed by Phoenix for the killing of 30 civilians.
Yes, it's aged.
Yes, it still well worth a watch.
In 1993.
So nearly 30 years ago now (writing this in early 2021).
Starring a pre tax evasion Wesley Snipes, Sylvester Stallone and a very young Sandra Bullock, this is a sci fi actioner set in a (supposedly) utopian future where there is no crime, and in which Snipes character of Simon Phoenix escapes from his cryo-freeze prison (in which he was placed in 1996!), leading the hopelessly outmatched police force of the time to reanimated his original captor John Spartan (Stallone) at the suggestion of the 90s-mad Sandra Bullock Lieutenant Huxley, who was also put on ice after being framed by Phoenix for the killing of 30 civilians.
Yes, it's aged.
Yes, it still well worth a watch.

Gloria Steinem recommended When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America in Books (curated)

The Hunger Games (2012)
Movie Watch
In a dystopian future, the totalitarian nation of Panem is divided into 12 districts and the...

David McK (3562 KP) rated Terminator 3 - Rise of the Machines (2003) in Movies
Sep 27, 2020
"She'll be back..."
Third entry in The Terminator series, which is no no longer considered to be in canon (nor are Terminator: Salvation or Terminator: Genisys), with Jonathan Mostow taking over the reins from James Cameron and with ol' Arnie - pre becoming The Governator (of California), I believe - reprising his most famous role of a Terminator, a killing machine from the future sent back to fulfill a mission.
And, here, that mission involves Nick Stahles (taking over from Edward Furlong's) now 25 year old John Connor, who is living off the grid and on the road.
There also yet another sleek Terminator sent back, here taking the form of Kristinna Loken's T-X, with her own mission: I must admit, as well, to being rather surprised at that downer of an ending the first time I saw this!
Third entry in The Terminator series, which is no no longer considered to be in canon (nor are Terminator: Salvation or Terminator: Genisys), with Jonathan Mostow taking over the reins from James Cameron and with ol' Arnie - pre becoming The Governator (of California), I believe - reprising his most famous role of a Terminator, a killing machine from the future sent back to fulfill a mission.
And, here, that mission involves Nick Stahles (taking over from Edward Furlong's) now 25 year old John Connor, who is living off the grid and on the road.
There also yet another sleek Terminator sent back, here taking the form of Kristinna Loken's T-X, with her own mission: I must admit, as well, to being rather surprised at that downer of an ending the first time I saw this!

David McK (3562 KP) rated Geostorm (2017) in Movies
Dec 23, 2020
Do you remember the Film 'Armageddon'
'The Day After Tomorrow'?
Or even '2012'?
This is more of the same, this time with Gerard Butler taking the lead in a not-so-distant future of 2022 after a network of satellites is sent up into space in 2019 (I must have missed that - I'm reviewing in 2020) to control the weather.
Of course, things then start t go wrong with said satellites (mainly due to sabotage), leading ex-chief engineer Jake Lawson to be recruited by his politician brother (who had previously fired him) to go back up into space to see if he can put things right, in a race against time.
So, Gerard Butler vs The Weather. It's no contest.
(it's also almost completely a cheesy B movie, which can be unintentionally funny if you let it!)
'The Day After Tomorrow'?
Or even '2012'?
This is more of the same, this time with Gerard Butler taking the lead in a not-so-distant future of 2022 after a network of satellites is sent up into space in 2019 (I must have missed that - I'm reviewing in 2020) to control the weather.
Of course, things then start t go wrong with said satellites (mainly due to sabotage), leading ex-chief engineer Jake Lawson to be recruited by his politician brother (who had previously fired him) to go back up into space to see if he can put things right, in a race against time.
So, Gerard Butler vs The Weather. It's no contest.
(it's also almost completely a cheesy B movie, which can be unintentionally funny if you let it!)

Vegas (725 KP) rated Good Omens in TV
Jul 11, 2019 (Updated Jul 11, 2019)
The 2 main charcters (1 more)
The story
I have read some Pratchett but I hadn't read this one, so didn't know what to expect, which also means I cannot compare the book to series... I watched it after being bombarded with adverts for it, and I am glad I did, it's wacky, funny and a bit bizarre with 2 main charcters who you actually can like and enjoy the complex relationship between the two... The acting chemistry Michael Sheen and David Tennant worked really well and the production of the show made it a really enjoyable series to just watch rather than watch and have to think too much, as some series tend to over think things.
I don't know if it was the whole of the book or if there is a sequel but hopefully we see more Good Omens in the future..
I don't know if it was the whole of the book or if there is a sequel but hopefully we see more Good Omens in the future..

Awix (3310 KP) rated Pain and Glory (2019) in Movies
Sep 5, 2019
Reflective drama from Pedro Almodóvar. An aging film director whose health is beginning to fail looks back upon key events and relationships from his life and contemplates his future. Clearly there is a semi-autobiographical element to this film, which is informed to a great extent by Almodóvar's own life - Bandera's character hasn't spoken to another character for decades, reflecting the twenty-year falling-out between Banderas and Almodóvar himself, while various other key collaborators appear in small roles.
More sober and introspective than many of the director's films, but made with the usual skill and subtlety; he hasn't lost his fondness for outrageous plot contrivances, either. In the end this is an arthouse drama, so perhaps not to all taste - but while this can be a bit slow and talky, it is also very satisfying, warm and humane.
More sober and introspective than many of the director's films, but made with the usual skill and subtlety; he hasn't lost his fondness for outrageous plot contrivances, either. In the end this is an arthouse drama, so perhaps not to all taste - but while this can be a bit slow and talky, it is also very satisfying, warm and humane.

David McK (3562 KP) rated Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) in Movies
Oct 7, 2019
"Ah'll be back ..." (to rewatch this)
For may people the best film in The Terminator series, with big Arnie again reprising his most iconic role and with Linda Hamilton returning to her role as Sarah Connor, the mother of the future leader of the Resistance against Skynet, John Connor.
For reason that are never fully explained, after the failure of the first Terminator to kill Sarah Connor in the 1980s, a second Terminator is sent back in time, this time to the early 1990s, in an effort to track down and kill John Connor (played, here, by a then unknown Edward Furlong).
As before, the Resistance are able to send back a lone protector through time ...
And, I have to say, now nearly 30 years after they were first seen, the 'liquid metal' T-1000 effects still hold up pretty well!
For reason that are never fully explained, after the failure of the first Terminator to kill Sarah Connor in the 1980s, a second Terminator is sent back in time, this time to the early 1990s, in an effort to track down and kill John Connor (played, here, by a then unknown Edward Furlong).
As before, the Resistance are able to send back a lone protector through time ...
And, I have to say, now nearly 30 years after they were first seen, the 'liquid metal' T-1000 effects still hold up pretty well!