Deadhouse Gates
10.0
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Weakened by events in Darujhistan, the Malazan Empire teeters on the brink of anarchy. In the vast...
Black Skull Island
Tabletop Game
Seas of peril you’ve crossed, fighting monsters and men, to set foot on the fabled Black Skull...
PirateGames CardGames PartyGames
Thin Air
7.0
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An atmospheric tale of corruption and abduction set on Mars, from the author of the award-winning...
Science Fiction Mars
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
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The time is 1933, the place, Berlin, when William E. Dodd becomes America's first ambassador to...
Elder Sign
8.1
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Game description from the publisher: It is 1926, and the museum's extensive collection of exotic...
Death In Provence
10.0
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The first entry in a clever, lighthearted mystery series set in modern Provence—a delightful blend...
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Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Three Identical Strangers (2018) in Movies
Sep 28, 2021
An extraordinary story.
We start with Robert Shafran as a freshman who spends his first day at a small and anonymous college on the outskirts of New York. It’s a strange experience: the friendliest college ever! The blokes hug him like an old friend; girls come up to him and kiss him on the lips! This triggers a series of encounters that will change his life and that of two other “Identical Strangers” forever.
You will be able to find more details in other reviews online. But this is a dish best served cold so I will leave it there.
So it’s a 20 minute film?
It’s all wrapped up after 20 minutes. Or so you think. For the documentary starts to peel back layers of intrigue that go to far darker places than you would ever think possible. Again, to say more would provide spoilers.
As a criticism though, there is a point where I felt the film overstretched itself; reaching for a conclusion that didn’t seem to be born out by the facts (however hard the filmmaker tried to concoct them). That’s a shame, since there is more than enough to fill 90 minutes.
But no Oscar nomination?
Given how powerful (and well-regarded) the documentary is it’s surprising the film didn’t make the Oscar nomination (it made the 15 film shortlist but no more).
But it’s well worth catching: a tale that almost defies belief.
Merissa (12066 KP) rated Tempted by a Rogue Prince (Eternal Mates #3) in Books
Apr 7, 2023 (Updated Apr 10, 2023)
Vail is a perfectly flawed character and you can see exactly what he's fighting against. Rosalind has her own demons to fight (pardon the pun!) the not least of which is that she is being held against her will and thinks that she has just met the man foretold to appear before her death. So she is a Witch which immediately makes Vail's blood boil and his appearance foretells her death, which she is keen to avoid. How on earth, or in Hell, are these two supposed to get together?
By telling a story with intrigue, depth, and layer upon layer of emotion - that's how. I started this book and thought that I'd just read a bit before bed, just to get it started. After a few hours, I put the book down, fully finished and bleary-eyed. I devoured this book and to be honest, I still need more. Vail has managed to get under my skin and I need to know that he's okay, that he's got and is keeping his H-E-A with Rosalind.
LOVED THIS BOOK!!! Highly, highly, highly recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
December 19, 2018
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Mother/Android (2021) in Movies
Jan 14, 2022
Starting with said positives - Chloë Grace Moretz is always trying her best and here is no different. It's also nice to see Raúl Castillo popping up more and more at the moment and here is no different. There's a scene fairly late on, set in a house full of androids that is genuinely quite tense and is an obvious highlight.
Other than that, it's pretty dire. The dialogue is shoddy, and the writing is all over the place. None of the characters are particularly likable and there's not really anyone to root for (started rooting for the androids by the end). The opening scene is one of intrigue, promising something vaguely resembling Detroit: Become Human, but the story is rushed along so quickly that we're thrown straight into 9 months later, following a pregnant lady through some woods in America, whilst trying to stay silent. Very A Quiet Place. The android designs do nothing to differentiate from the designs seen in Terminator.
However, the most insulting moment of plagiarism comes during the climax, the events of which are quite bleak, and aim for the heartstrings. This moment is intercut with flashes of a happier time, whilst chaos unfolds in the distance, set to some somber music. All of which would have landed way better if it wasn't ripped straight from the undead hands of Train to Busan!
I'm sure that there will be plenty of people out there who find something to like when it comes to Mother/Android but for me, it just came across as plain lazy, lifting ideas from far superior movies left, right, and centre.
Debbiereadsbook (1202 KP) rated Love, Untruths, and the Smuggler's Ruse (A Tenet Gentlemen's Club #2) in Books
Oct 20, 2022
This is book 2 in the Tenet Gentleman's Club series, but I have not read book 1. I did not feel as I missed anything for not doing so, since the couple in that book are not mentioned, I don't think, in this one.
You get pulled straight into this book, and what Elizabeth is trying to solve, right from page one, and It does not really let you go!
I liked that both Elizabeth and Langdon have a say, although it took me a little bit to grasp Langdon's first name and put the two together.
I liked that there is intrigue and drama. I did have an inkling, right from the start, about a certain character, so it was fun watching that all come to pass.
It is an historical romance, so its full of the rules and regulations of the time, along with words for various things. Made me chuckle a time or two how the feelings these two had for each other were described towards the beginning. It's not overly explicit but it does carry some steam, once Elizabeth gave into the need to have Langdon in the way she wanted.
It's a well written story, that delivered to me just what I needed at the right time.
One teeny niggle though. The book is set in London, and as such, I expected ENGLISH words to describe certain things. A couple of things were given AMERICAN wordings.
First I've read of this author. Will I read more? Quite possibly if the blurb grabs. If it's an historical, I will know to look for the English/American wordings and it won't bother me so much!
4 good, solid stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere