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Chris Hooker (419 KP) rated Zombie's Y'All in Books
Jan 12, 2018
I was excited to get this book as to review from LibraryThing since I now reside in Savannah. I wasn't disappointed. The description of the city locations were spot on and the students described the type you can find all over Savannah due to the local art college.
The story was a different take on zombies, which in this zombie infested market is hard to accomplish. The zombies are ghost zombies destroying one of Savannah's most well known attractions, it's ghosts.
The characters remind me of Carl Hiaasen's. The smart, the goofy and the clueless. All unique and entertaining. This is a very character driven novel.
My only complaint was the use of the Asian stereo type when the characters had a conversation. I did not feel this was necessary. Although, over all I would recommend this book.
The story was a different take on zombies, which in this zombie infested market is hard to accomplish. The zombies are ghost zombies destroying one of Savannah's most well known attractions, it's ghosts.
The characters remind me of Carl Hiaasen's. The smart, the goofy and the clueless. All unique and entertaining. This is a very character driven novel.
My only complaint was the use of the Asian stereo type when the characters had a conversation. I did not feel this was necessary. Although, over all I would recommend this book.

Steve Fearon (84 KP) rated Digging Up The Marrow (2014) in Movies
Sep 19, 2018
Weird and Wonderful (Sort of)
Mr Hatchet himself, Adam Green, fronts this mockumentary, playing himself.
In this movie he is investigating the claims of a fan that monsters exists, and that even more than that, he can show Adam where the monsters live!
The movie follows Adam's interviews and investigations as he seeks proof that monsters live in the world below us, in a sort of parallel society that his enigmatic fan has seen himself.
There are a number of developments, regarding the intent and story behind the fan, and you do get some glimpses of...well that would be telling.
The film is a bit goofy, but largely in a good way, and it is mostly a pretty funny take on what the film-maker clearly knew was a surreal plot.
In this movie he is investigating the claims of a fan that monsters exists, and that even more than that, he can show Adam where the monsters live!
The movie follows Adam's interviews and investigations as he seeks proof that monsters live in the world below us, in a sort of parallel society that his enigmatic fan has seen himself.
There are a number of developments, regarding the intent and story behind the fan, and you do get some glimpses of...well that would be telling.
The film is a bit goofy, but largely in a good way, and it is mostly a pretty funny take on what the film-maker clearly knew was a surreal plot.

Stephin Merritt recommended Workshop 21 by BBC Radiophonic in Music (curated)

Awix (3310 KP) rated Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) in Movies
Feb 12, 2018
Third time's a charm
Wasn't it Oscar Wilde who said that to cast one actor as Spider-Man is a sound artistic choice, but to cast three in only fifteen years is possibly taking the mickey? Hey ho. Marvel Studios bring all their usual skill to this latest addition to the series, and the result is as entertaining as you'd expect.
They do make quite a big deal out of the fact that Spider-Man is back in continuity with the Avengers (et al), much more so than happens in the other MCU films, but I suppose it's forgivable. The movie's two big innovations are to basically tell the story as a goofy 80s-style high school comedy, and to actually have a genuinely strong and memorable villain (Michael Keaton makes a real impression as another sort of birdman). Solid script; also very funny; doesn't quite supplant memories of the Sam Raimi-Tobey Maguire films, but stands comparison to them very well.
They do make quite a big deal out of the fact that Spider-Man is back in continuity with the Avengers (et al), much more so than happens in the other MCU films, but I suppose it's forgivable. The movie's two big innovations are to basically tell the story as a goofy 80s-style high school comedy, and to actually have a genuinely strong and memorable villain (Michael Keaton makes a real impression as another sort of birdman). Solid script; also very funny; doesn't quite supplant memories of the Sam Raimi-Tobey Maguire films, but stands comparison to them very well.

Jake Lacy recommended Ghostbusters (2016) in Movies (curated)

Awix (3310 KP) rated Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) in Movies
Apr 2, 2021 (Updated Apr 7, 2021)
Epically corny monster mash. When Godzilla suddenly seems to become hostile to the human race, Monarch recruits Kong to lead researchers to the hollow earth in pursuit of a new energy source that will allow them to defeat the giant lizard. But just what has got the Big G so riled?
Scores extremely heavily on the garish spectacle front, with monster rasslin' aplenty and some eye-catching visuals (although it does feel like the earth's core is next door to the uncanny valley). However, the film is often critically under-exposited and many of the plot devices and developments are frankly nonsensically. Various actors do their best not to get overshadowed by the special effects, usually to no avail, Kong gets more screen-time than Godzilla, the new design of a classic Toho monster is rather decent, and the various fights are thumpingly effective. Not as good as either the last Kong or Godzilla standalone movie, but reasonably effective goofy blockbuster fun nevertheless.
Scores extremely heavily on the garish spectacle front, with monster rasslin' aplenty and some eye-catching visuals (although it does feel like the earth's core is next door to the uncanny valley). However, the film is often critically under-exposited and many of the plot devices and developments are frankly nonsensically. Various actors do their best not to get overshadowed by the special effects, usually to no avail, Kong gets more screen-time than Godzilla, the new design of a classic Toho monster is rather decent, and the various fights are thumpingly effective. Not as good as either the last Kong or Godzilla standalone movie, but reasonably effective goofy blockbuster fun nevertheless.

Nicholas Stoller recommended Time Bandits (1981) in Movies (curated)

Andy K (10823 KP) rated LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga in Video Games
Dec 16, 2017
Goofy sense of humor (1 more)
Very replayable
The LEGO games how now gotten too complicated with many additional features and challenges that I do not like. Some of the newer LEGO games even have the characters TALKING. What's up with that?
The original LEGO Star Wars games were so much fun. I especially loved the challenges of having to figure out which character you had to use in which situation or if you needed a special helmet to get into a particular area.
The game is still very replayable as you need to both complete the story mode and then go back to each level and find everything hidden within it.
I think one my favorite parts was when you could make the characters dance or a disco ball would show up and everyone would get down.
Also, all ages can enjoy.
I never seemed to do well at the vehicle missions and always died a million times before I completed them. Maybe it was just me.
Very great game!
The original LEGO Star Wars games were so much fun. I especially loved the challenges of having to figure out which character you had to use in which situation or if you needed a special helmet to get into a particular area.
The game is still very replayable as you need to both complete the story mode and then go back to each level and find everything hidden within it.
I think one my favorite parts was when you could make the characters dance or a disco ball would show up and everyone would get down.
Also, all ages can enjoy.
I never seemed to do well at the vehicle missions and always died a million times before I completed them. Maybe it was just me.
Very great game!

Marqees (17 KP) rated Kingdom Hearts III in Video Games
Feb 10, 2019
Contains spoilers, click to show
I waited 14+ years for Kingdom Hearts 3 and for the most part it delivered. Overall the game is incredible, high octane action, intense story elements, and a fluid control system. The game picks up after Dream Drop Distance. Sora has lost a bit of power and is on a trek with Donald and Goofy to power up again. The game is stunning and beautiful running on the Unreal engine for the first time. Combat is way easier as now block and dodge are already activated. It is crazy fun summoning attractions like Splash Canyon and the Tea Cups. The huge worlds are fun to traverse and look for items, hidden emblems, and recipe ingredients. However, there are some downfalls, for starters the game is a way to short. Though the worlds were large there are fewer of them. The attraction combos happen way too often and kill combos. There is no Arena and no Sephiroth fight. Overall a good game.

Kelly (279 KP) rated The Protector in TV
Dec 18, 2018
The backdrop of Istanbul (1 more)
Relationships between the main characters.
A Turkish superhero story
The story of the protector is one that we are familiar with: unlikely orphaned hero suddenly finds out that he was destined to defeat a big evil villain. A story, that over the years we have seen many times in many different ways. Somehow however, this did not bore me as much as it should. The backdrop of Istanbul made the plot line much more interesting to me (having no Turkish background and little knowledge of the country).
The characters were intriguing and I did genuinely care for them, as well as being interested in the love triangle that emerged between Hakan, Leyla and Zeynep. The female characters in the series were portrayed as strong women, which I particularly enjoyed. Hakan was goofy at times, but a likeable character overall. The immortal villain in the series could have been a bit more sinister, but this is just nitpicking.
Overall, I found the show really enjoyable, and hope that Netflix find the opportunity to make a sequel.
The characters were intriguing and I did genuinely care for them, as well as being interested in the love triangle that emerged between Hakan, Leyla and Zeynep. The female characters in the series were portrayed as strong women, which I particularly enjoyed. Hakan was goofy at times, but a likeable character overall. The immortal villain in the series could have been a bit more sinister, but this is just nitpicking.
Overall, I found the show really enjoyable, and hope that Netflix find the opportunity to make a sequel.