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Veiled ( Releasing the Magic 4)
Maya Riley | 2023
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
134 of 235
Kindle
Veiled ( Releasing the Magic 4)
By Maya Riley
⭐️⭐️⭐️

What do you do when your past takes you back?

The years I’d spent growing up were the darkest of my life, even with counting the rotter outbreak. Then I gained my freedom, met some guys who refused to leave, and even got some of my siblings back. Then my past came for me.

Now I spend my days watching, biding my time, waiting for my chance to escape while also trying to keep my sanity. During this time, I’m forced to endure their experiments. Some will test me, and some could possibly break me. What I learn, though, could change everything I thought I’d ever known to be true. I will fight my way out for my freedom.

I did it before, I can do it again.

Nobody will knock me down for good.

Not even the monster in the pearl necklace.

I really like this series it’s a different twist on a zombie apocalypse mixing it with a bit of magic. It’s a light fun read with a bit of a reverse harem going on. This was a little rushed in parts but still enjoyable for a quick read.
  
Phoenix Rising
Phoenix Rising
Valerie Ullmer | 2024 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
It's a bit different to the usual adding a third troupe, and I do like a difference.
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

For the most part, I liked this book. It's a bit different to the usual adding a third troupe, and I do like a difference.

Luka and Burton live together, but at the beginning of this book, they are NOT a couple. Phoenix thinks they are. They both want Phoenix in their lives, but they also want each other.

Mostly, its three guys getting down and dirty, There is much, MUCH smexy times. I'm usually one to say I like my books on the smexy side, but I also like some story with my smex. And apart from these three getting together, the only real plot line is Phoenix' father and him getting his comeuppence. It was a bit too much smexy times, if I'm totally honest.

Some minor editing niggles: misplaced names was the biggest for me.

Did I love it? No. But I did enjoy it, and it's the first I've read of this author. I'd like to jump into their world.

4 good stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
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Gareth von Kallenbach (977 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition in Video Games

Jun 19, 2019  
Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition
Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition
2017 | Shooter
When it was first released in 2011; Bulletstorm earned solid reviews and became a cult hit in large part to the over the top action and winning mix of characters, settings, and humor. Sadly though the game never did sell that well which made it a commercial failure and pretty much ended any hopes for a sequel.

Thankfully the developer People Can Fly has teamed with Gearbox to bring us Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition which returns the game with upgraded graphics and framerates to let it take advantage of the new generation of gaming platforms, as well as the ability to play the campaign and online content as Duke Nukem.

 Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition combines action, humor, and enjoyable gameplay to create a winning product. The game was tells the story of privateer Grayson Hunt who has spent the last ten years of his life on a mission of revenge against a corrupt general who has wronged him and his crew. When the opportunity for revenge arises, Grayson crashes his own ship in order to bring the generals ship down which strands them on the hostile world of Stygia. Stygia used to be a resort world and now scores of mutants, monsters, dangerous plants, and more roam the landscape making short work of all they encounter.

With his friend Sato in need of medical care following the crash, Grayson and Sato set out to find the general in order to get off the planet and to get Sato proper medical care less his cyborg implants take over his body. Along the way Grayson and Sato must face many challenges and battle against never ending hordes of bad guys. Thankfully they have some awesome firepower at their disposal ranging from shotguns to assault rifles as well as sniper rifles and rocket launchers. The game requires players to purchase new weapons and ammo as well as the ability to upgrade your weapons from dropships which are scattered throughout the landscape.

The more bad guys you dispatch and the more creative you are with your kills earns you more points to spend on your arsenal. One of my favorite weapons is the sniper rifle which allows you to steer your fired shot into your enemies, which comes in handy considering how much cover they like to take. Should you run out of ammo, you can always send a bad guy flying, thanks to a kick from Grayson who has no issue with kicking hordes of bad guys into various obstacles. The game awards you for being creative with your kills like kicking someone to impale them on an object which gets you a Voodoo Doll reward as does sending an enemy into an electrical field or sending them into the jaws of a deadly plant.

There are so many ways to take out enemies half the fun is finding out new ways to do so. I also liked being able to supercharge my weapon and vaporize any underlings that got in my way. The game also allows players a leash which fires an electrical tether to manipulate objects. I love latching onto enemies and pulling them into harms way, or towards me so I could kick them into harms way, or unleash a fury of bullets upon them.

The graphics of the game are solid as the Unreal engine has taken what was a great looking game and made it look even better and has brought it up to modern standards even in areas where the graphics may seem a bit dated. From scenic landscapes to epic monsters the game deftly handles them all. An early chase from a gigantic mining wheel is still awesome as it encompasses the depth of the landscape and surroundings of Stygia. The language in the game is very sharp. Characters will unleash salvos of profanity that would make a drill sergeant cringe, but they are often done in very funny and unique combinations.

The multiplay modes of the game shine as well. You can really enjoy teaming up for unique kills. The control system of the game is good as I was easily able to move between movement and fire modes without any issues which allowed me to concentrate on the game and its challenges rather than having to fight a control system. Bulletstorm is also very clever with the locations of the game as one minute I am flying in an airship taking on a gigantic creature whereas another time I was guiding a giant robotic dinosaur through an amusement park to dispatch the bad guys. I also enjoy playing the Echoes mode which requires players to complete various locales and creatively dispatching enemies to earn points which will unlock new levels.

Being able to play as Duke Nukem in both the campaign and online was fun as it allowed me to experience the game from a new perspective and it is always great to see Duke in action.

From the winning mix of action and humor to the numerous variations the gameplay offers Bulletstorm is a winner from top to bottom. Some may find the solo play campaign a bit short and may say that some of the boss battles were overly tricky. I prefer to see the game as a great action romp which is set up perfectly for a sequel and is still one of the best action shooters in recent history.

http://sknr.net/2017/04/10/bulletstorm-full-cliip-edition/
  
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)
2006 | Horror, Mystery
5
7.3 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Story: All the Boys Love Mandy Lane starts with a teenage house party where one of the cool kids tries to hit on the beautiful Mandy Lane (Heard) but when one of the boys chasing her dies in an attempt to impress her we see how close Mandy is to Emmet (Welch). 9 months have passed since the accident and Red (Himelstein) is arranging a party at his family’s ranch which will include the invitation of Mandy Lane.

We watch as a group of high school friends head off to a ranch for a weekend off fun with plenty or drinks, drugs and sex with all the boys after Mandy Lane. We watch as the friend go through the traditional high school relationship issues and adding in the alcohol we get everything elevated to the next level. The weekend away takes twist when somebody starts picking off the friends before we learn that there is a bigger motive behind everything that happens.

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane really is just a bogged standard slasher film for the most part, but it does have an interesting twist you don’t see coming. The characters are very painful generic and the story just follows everything you would expect to see in a slasher film. The film tries something different with the ending which is the only positive about this film otherwise it really is just offer nothing new. (5/10)

 

Actor Review

 

Amber Heard: Mandy Lane is the gorgeous girl that all the high school guys want to be with but she is very independent not falling for any of the guys lines. She strikes jealousy between the friends who each believe they are in the driving seat to get her. Amber does a solid job in the role but clearly only works because of how beautiful she is. (6/10)

 mandy

Anson Mount: Garth is the ranch hand on the ranch that all the girls fall for but he ends up planning babysitter to all of the high school kids who can’t handle their drinks. Anson does a basic job as the older wise protector of the film but doesn’t do enough with the whole story. (4/10)

 

Whitney Able: Chloe is the insecure member of the friends who thinks all the girls need a perfect skinny body to impress the guys. Whitney does end up being the very generic character that we are all expecting to get what is coming to her early on. (5/10)

 

Michael Welch: Emmet is Mandy’s old friend who is the guy picking off the popular kids to make them pay for what happened after the party incident. Michael plays the killer well using no remorse through the film. (6/10)

 

Support Cast: All the Boys Love Mandy Lane has a supporting cast that is basically there just to be disposable and only become helpful to make Emmet look more crazed.

 

Director Review: Jonathan Levine – Jonathan does a solid job with the horror film because it follows the same old routine but throws you out of the comfort zone with the ending. (5/10)

 

Horror: All the Boys Love Mandy Lane follows all the slasher ABC style very easily. (8/10)

Settings: All the Boys Love Mandy Lane puts our characters in an isolated location for the horror to take place where the killer can get away with whatever they wants. (7/10)

Suggestion: All the Boys Love Mandy Lane is one for the horror fans to enjoy otherwise it will just end up being very average. (Horror Fans Try)

 

Best Part: Final Twist.

Worst Part: Nothing new in the opening part.

 

Believability: No (0/10)

Chances of Tears: No (0/10)

Chances of Sequel: No

Post Credits Scene: No

Similar Too: Most Slasher films.

 

Oscar Chances: No

Budget: $750,000

Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

Tagline: Everyone is dying to be with her. Someone is killing for it.

 

Overall: Just another slasher that we have seen too many times before.

https://moviesreview101.com/2015/10/02/movie-reviews-101-halloween-midnight-horror-all-the-boys-love-mandy-lane-2006/
  
The Boondock Saints (1999)
The Boondock Saints (1999)
1999 | Action, Comedy, Drama
9
8.6 (9 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The action, the Irish guys (0 more)
B is for Bad A**
Contains spoilers, click to show
This entertaining action film opens with aerial views of Boston and narration of the Lord's Prayer on St. Patty's Day. Soon, we are introduced to two Irish brothers, Connor and Murphy MacManus. The terrible twosome work in a meat-packing plant: in their spare time, they slaughter evildoers. What could be better? With their black shirts, black blazers, and blue jeans, the brothers seem like Mormon missionaries gone horribly wrong.

Connor and Murphy (played by Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus), fall into the
profession of murdering bad guys quite by accident. Initially, the fact that they killed a Russian crime lord, and his associate, after a bar fight seems a coincidental act of self-defense. They are hailed, at first, as heroes. They somehow continue to avoid prosecution, though from the beginning they are being pursued by FBI agent Paul Smecker. They start targeting the crime lords on purpose, and they eventually end up being hunted by a more ominous figure, the legendary hitman Il Duce.

Willem Dafoe gets an A for awesome in my book for his performance as FBI agent Paul Smecker. Smecker is a homosexual, and he is not apologetic about it. In fact, he draws attention to his orientation in many scenes. Particularly memorable is the moment where he corrects an officer’s use of the word “symbology” by hissing a pronounced s: “ssssymbolism.” Later in the film, Dafoe even gets the opportunity to use his feminine wiles by dressing in drag, a visual experience which I promise is as disconcerting as it sounds.

The presentation of Smecker’s crime scene explanations was particularly impressive. The crime scene was shown first, and the events that created it unfolded in retrospect as Smecker described the scene. Enhanced by the intensity of the score, Dafoe offered a memorable narration of an epic shootout, during which he resembles an insane conductor.

The writing in this film was great, with witty one-liners throughout to break the tension. There were several moments in the film where one wonders if the brothers’ success is due to dumb luck or divinity. The MacManus twins certainly seem to believe that their cause is a righteous one.

I must also acknowledge the score, by Jeff Danna, which beautifully compliments the opening sequence and the rest of the film. The score even includes a variation of a hymn, infused with a beat you can dance to.

I love a good revenge film, and this is one for the ages. To sum up my complex feelings about the vigilante-style justice in this film, I must end with a quote by Connor MacManus: "I'm strangely comfortable with it."
  
TL
The Lawyer's Lawyer (Jack Tobin, #3)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
You know what makes certain books fantastic? Character development. That was the strongest point of The Lawyer’s Lawyer; the characters were wonderful.

Jack, the protagonist, was clever and intelligent and innovative and full of emotion (and hilarious when drunk). He was the kind of person I’d want to hang around… and for that matter, so were his friends. They left you with the feeling of belonging, of security. And by the end of the book, you’re thanking your lucky stars Jack had those friends, because they saved his rear end!

Danny was awesome. For the sake of keeping this review spoiler-free, I’ll just say this: The best people are the ones who do everything in love—whether those things are good or bad is up for you to decide.

And the bad guys! Sometimes the bad guys are the best! This was definitely the case in this book. One of the characters, Sam (the police chief), started off as this guy who was a little annoying. But as the story went on, I began to like him less and less, and finally at the end, I despised him. And the lawyer who represented the State in the case? Man that guy was a twit. I hated his guts. I wanted to slap him across the face.

The other exceptional attribute of this book was the narrator for the audiobook. He is incredibly talented, giving unique and identifiable voices to each character that totally described their person in a few sounds. I’m adding Rick Zieff to my list of narrators to look for in the future!

There were a few parts I would have liked to see improved: namely the beginning of the story, a chapter in the middle, and the very last scene. In the beginning, we are met with character development and background information, which is all fine… but there’s this one random case that Jack works that has nothing to do with the main plot. I kept waiting for it to come back into the main story, but it never did, and it felt out of place.

Then there was the scene in the middle, and the other part, the ending. These scenes were just borderline sappy. Danny and Jack are in love and they date and have hot sex and get all wishy-washy and twitterpated. And I’ll be the first to admit that I thoroughly enjoy being twitterpated, especially with sexy fictional characters. But I’m going to be brutally honest here… James Sheehan, you are a thriller writer… NOT a romance writer. And there’s a good reason for that: Because you suck at romance.

All in all, I absolutely loved The Lawyer’s Lawyer, and look forward to more from Sheehan.

Content/Recommendation: Some language, mild violence, mention of sex. Ages 17+
  
Braveheart (1995)
Braveheart (1995)
1995 | Drama, History, War
Epic
The Story of Scottish Patriot William Wallace (Mel Gibson) and his quest to unite the clans and rise up against their English oppressors.

Acting: 10


Beginning: 10
The film gets off to a hot start by immediately drawing you into the story. Once the camera pans into the hut with all of the hanging bodies, they had my attention right away. The sheer intrigue was enough to make me want to see more.

Characters: 10
The Scots are a crazy bunch and I LOVE them. Whether old or young, they're all tough guys in their own right. One crazy person is enough to make a film interesting, but you put a bunch of them together and now you're really cooking with fire. William Wallace, of course, takes the cake of all the crazies. His character is easily one of my all-time favorite protagonists from his demeanor to the strong message he carries.

Cinematography/Visuals: 10
You kind of cheat when you shoot a film in Scotland, let's be honest. Beautiful landscapes abound, filled with mountains and lush valleys. I got lost watching William Wallace ride through the countryside on horseback. Made me think, "Damn, am I taking enough vacations?"

It's not the landscapes, however, as the battles are epic and sprawling. You get a taste of a bit of blood or something gory right before it cuts to a new fight. Seeing a fight that probably took hours abbreviated into a couple minutes is jarring and effective. These are some of the best battles captured on film.

Conflict: 10

Genre: 7

Memorability: 8
Braveheart is a film that easily stands the test of time. The brotherhood of the clans alone is memorable in and of itself. These are guys that lay down their lives for each other to advance their nation. The battles that ensue as a result of the stand that these men take are sheer inspiration. "They can take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!"

Pace: 10
While the film slows down just slightly after the opening scenes, once the fighting starts, things move forward at a breakneck pace. It drives you from one scene to the next with intensity and passion. Just when you think you've had enough action, you're graced with more! Very solid pace.

Plot: 10

Resolution: 5
The ending was a bit deflating, at least for my taste. I respected the realism, but it felt counterintuitive to what the rest of the film was accomplishing. Not horrible, but perhaps a different approach would warrant a better score.

Overall: 90
I never had any interest whatsoever to watch this film and, after finally seeing it, I can't believe I waited this long. Such an inspirational, all-time classic. Loved it.