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David McK (3562 KP) rated Pyramids: Discworld Novel 7 in Books
Jun 11, 2023
7th novel in Terry Pratchett's ongoing Discworld series (and the first individual novel), this was quite possibly my introduction to that series - I can't remember having read any before this one (though I have read them all since).
As this is set quite early on, a lot of the now familiar characters were yet to be introduced and expanded upon. Indeed, you can even see the beginnings of what would become "Small Gods" in the pages of this book.
As this is set quite early on, a lot of the now familiar characters were yet to be introduced and expanded upon. Indeed, you can even see the beginnings of what would become "Small Gods" in the pages of this book.
Connor Sheffield (293 KP) rated Arrow - Season 1 in TV
May 25, 2017
Stephen Amell is brilliant as Oliver Queen (3 more)
Great cast
Brilliantly directed with great special effects (CGI & Practical)
Action Sequences are brilliantly choreographed
My name is Oliver Queen.. (every single episode) (1 more)
Everyone seems to want to start an argument with Ollie
My name, is Oliver Queen...
Green Arrow is my favourite character in comic books. A modern day Robin Hood, with greater foes that he manages to overcome. However, this show isn't about the Green Arrow, not exactly anyways. It is about The Arrow.
Oliver Queen brings a vigilante justice that crosses a line, as he lets his arrows fly without a care of the lives he takes, as long as they are on the side of the corrupt, they deserve to die. This is his burden to bare, and eventually with the recruitment of John Diggle, he learns that there are others who share his point of view, about the corruption in the city. Finally, with the third addition to their team, Felicity Smoke, Oliver Queen discovers that whilst his goal is good, his methods are not.
Secrets unfold and each episode leaves you wanting more. However, being a CW show, there is a lot of drama between characters, and a lot of audience members seem to find this an issue, because they want more action and don't like to see their heroes facing real world issues with friends and family.
In this first season, it seems that despite him being gone for 5 years, everyone wants to argue with him over petty things. To me, this just brings out a reality to the show that most audiences wouldn't expect from a comic book show. However, if you read more classic Green Arrow comics, you'll discover that there is in fact a lot of drama between Ollie and other characters that help him to evolve into a better man. This show has a lot of drama, the result of which is a great character development throughout the following episodes and seasons.
With a great cast, great writers and brilliant choreographed action, as well as some great references to the comics, and other DC Characters, this season of the show is one of the better seasons, and had me hooked from episode 1.
Oliver Queen brings a vigilante justice that crosses a line, as he lets his arrows fly without a care of the lives he takes, as long as they are on the side of the corrupt, they deserve to die. This is his burden to bare, and eventually with the recruitment of John Diggle, he learns that there are others who share his point of view, about the corruption in the city. Finally, with the third addition to their team, Felicity Smoke, Oliver Queen discovers that whilst his goal is good, his methods are not.
Secrets unfold and each episode leaves you wanting more. However, being a CW show, there is a lot of drama between characters, and a lot of audience members seem to find this an issue, because they want more action and don't like to see their heroes facing real world issues with friends and family.
In this first season, it seems that despite him being gone for 5 years, everyone wants to argue with him over petty things. To me, this just brings out a reality to the show that most audiences wouldn't expect from a comic book show. However, if you read more classic Green Arrow comics, you'll discover that there is in fact a lot of drama between Ollie and other characters that help him to evolve into a better man. This show has a lot of drama, the result of which is a great character development throughout the following episodes and seasons.
With a great cast, great writers and brilliant choreographed action, as well as some great references to the comics, and other DC Characters, this season of the show is one of the better seasons, and had me hooked from episode 1.
Sheridan (209 KP) rated All I See Is You (2017) in Movies
Feb 3, 2019
Decent acting (1 more)
Beautiful visuals
Confusing storyline (3 more)
Doesn't deliver
A lot is implied
Weird sexual parts that make no sense
A Poor Attempt at a Romantic Thriller
Contains spoilers, click to show
I'd never heard of this until it popped up on my Stan account. The summary sounded like it was going to be a gritty romantic thriller - boy was I wrong! While the acting was decent and the 'blind' effects were gorgeous, the storyline left something to be desired. Their marriage was clearly a disaster, the husband is needy and posessive and her complete personality change when she was able to see with one eye was jarring to say the least. The doctor was able to restore her sight in her right eye, but not once did they touch on how difficult it is to just see with one eye. Your balance is off, your perception is off - it's a complete disaster until you become used to it, yet they gave her the ease and impression that she could see with both eyes again. A lot is heavily implied (him messing with her eyedrops to cause blindness again, him staging a break in to get rid of her dog Ginger, her cheating on him with Daniel, her lying about being able to see etc.), there is never a confrontation between the pair about any of it. At the end you get the impression he's dead and she has the baby, but none of it is actually confirmed. It's just an utter mess. Nothing comes together and the story falls flat. There's also a lot of very unsettling sexual overtones from the get go which are never explained or understood. It feels like these were added as part of the story that was never revealed - maybe left on the editing floor - so they don't make much sense. The movie could have easily happened without them so why have them there when they didn't serve an actual purpose? Overall, it was a confusing, slightly disturbing mess that just - didn't work. It had a lot of potential but just didn't deliver. I wouldn't bother with it if you're looking for something good to watch, it just isn't there with this one.
Stuart Braithwaite recommended Spiderland by Slint in Music (curated)
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated It: Chapter Two (2019) in Movies
Sep 7, 2019
Contains spoilers, click to show
IT, Chapter two
The Losers are all grown up and living their own lives when they each receive a call to return to Derry, the town they all grew up in. The problem is none of them remember their childhoods or why they need to return.
IT Chapter Two picks up 27 years after the first film, the main cast have all moved on with their lives when Pennywise re-appears in Derry and so they all have to return to try to stop the creature once and for all.
There is a lot going on in the film, first off, it is a lot more like the original mini-series as it predominantly follows the losers as adults but also flashes back to them as children. The flashbacks show each of the young losers having separate meetings with Pennywise and none of these are shown in the first film. We also find out more about where Pennywise came from although the film does give us two possibilities’ (Kind of) although only one is real. There is also details of a group of native Americans who encountered and (Supposedly) defeated Pennywise, although he was not in clown form then. We also get more of a glimpse of Pennywise’s shape changing ability’s which include the spider form that is seen in the original mini-series.
IT Chapter two also plays homage to a lot of other films, the most obvious are the thing, the shining and poltergeist. There is also a recurring theme where it is mentioned by a number of different characters (one played by Stephen King) that Bill does not know how to finish a story, this is a complaint that Stephen King has received more than once, some people found a scene at the end of the IT novel wrong and a lot of people didn’t like the ending of the seventh and final (At the time) ‘Dark Tower’ book.
All of this leads to the film being just under three hours long, but honestly you don’t notice it.
The Losers are all grown up and living their own lives when they each receive a call to return to Derry, the town they all grew up in. The problem is none of them remember their childhoods or why they need to return.
IT Chapter Two picks up 27 years after the first film, the main cast have all moved on with their lives when Pennywise re-appears in Derry and so they all have to return to try to stop the creature once and for all.
There is a lot going on in the film, first off, it is a lot more like the original mini-series as it predominantly follows the losers as adults but also flashes back to them as children. The flashbacks show each of the young losers having separate meetings with Pennywise and none of these are shown in the first film. We also find out more about where Pennywise came from although the film does give us two possibilities’ (Kind of) although only one is real. There is also details of a group of native Americans who encountered and (Supposedly) defeated Pennywise, although he was not in clown form then. We also get more of a glimpse of Pennywise’s shape changing ability’s which include the spider form that is seen in the original mini-series.
IT Chapter two also plays homage to a lot of other films, the most obvious are the thing, the shining and poltergeist. There is also a recurring theme where it is mentioned by a number of different characters (one played by Stephen King) that Bill does not know how to finish a story, this is a complaint that Stephen King has received more than once, some people found a scene at the end of the IT novel wrong and a lot of people didn’t like the ending of the seventh and final (At the time) ‘Dark Tower’ book.
All of this leads to the film being just under three hours long, but honestly you don’t notice it.
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Out of the Shadows (2017) in Movies
Oct 8, 2017
Lots of jumping out of your seat
So the story is flimsy and it seems like a seriously low budget production, plus the documentary style horror has been done to death (excuse the pun) - so expect a lot of cheap thrills.
The premise of this film begins with a ghost hunter who was haunted by his mistake of leaving his friend inside of an asylum after being chased by ghosts. He is then approached again some years later to return to the scene of the crime to find out what happened there.
No doubt, I did keep having to distract myself with my phone in order to avoid keep jumping out of my seat. The main poltergeist /demon in question is more than slightly creepy but there was too much of a mish mash of horror stories. From Blair Witch, The Grudge to The Quiet Ones, all of which did a lot better with the genre. So if you want to see a life-changing film, this isn't it.
The premise of this film begins with a ghost hunter who was haunted by his mistake of leaving his friend inside of an asylum after being chased by ghosts. He is then approached again some years later to return to the scene of the crime to find out what happened there.
No doubt, I did keep having to distract myself with my phone in order to avoid keep jumping out of my seat. The main poltergeist /demon in question is more than slightly creepy but there was too much of a mish mash of horror stories. From Blair Witch, The Grudge to The Quiet Ones, all of which did a lot better with the genre. So if you want to see a life-changing film, this isn't it.
Kieran Harvey (51 KP) rated Heat (1995) in Movies
Jul 18, 2017
Acting is outstanding (5 more)
Directing is great
Storylines balanced well
Pacing is good
Action is amazing
Minor characters very good as well
A perfect Heist movie
This is a movie with a lot of "heat" coming off of it......okay no more puns. Everyone I know that has seen it has said how great it is but I just hadn't got round to wathing it until recently and wow. Wow wow wow this movie blew me away. I loved every minute of this movie and there's a lot of them ! There are great films and then there are works of art and I think this is a work of art because it is truly incredible and revolutionary. Every member of the cast is brilliant and some of the themes are very cleverly used as well as showcasing the high levels of intellect the criminals have when setting out a score. If you love movies then this is something you really need to watch and you will likely find it as amazing as I did.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated The Blue Nowhere in Books
Feb 2, 2019
An interesting take on hacking, with disappointing twists
I don’t think I’ve ever read such a detailed book about hacking before, so for me at least this part of the book was very interesting, even if I’m not entirely sure how possible it all is. Main character Wyatt is a decent main character for the most part, although him and the entire book in general did rather remind me of the Jack Reacher books - and not in a good way.
The plot was good and there were a lot of twists, but my issue was they were all fairly predictable or just downright disappointing. Around halfway through there is a ‘twist’ that was so shocking & unpredictable I loved it. Only to find out a few pages later that it wasn’t as it appeared, which is such a huge shame and I never really recovered throughout the rest of the book. It’s not a terrible book, it’s entertaining mostly but I think i was just expecting a lot more.
The plot was good and there were a lot of twists, but my issue was they were all fairly predictable or just downright disappointing. Around halfway through there is a ‘twist’ that was so shocking & unpredictable I loved it. Only to find out a few pages later that it wasn’t as it appeared, which is such a huge shame and I never really recovered throughout the rest of the book. It’s not a terrible book, it’s entertaining mostly but I think i was just expecting a lot more.
Andy K (10823 KP) rated Scarface (1983) in Movies
Feb 7, 2019
Say hello to a modern classic!
Brian DePalma has had an interesting career making some truly classic films and a lot of real crap. Obviously, this film is the former and is probably his best work.
A role written for Al Pacino by Oliver Stone, the story is a basic one I suppose, the rise of a Cuban drug lord. The old replaced by the new. Gruesome violence (a lot of which isn't actually seen, but heard and implied).
The film still holds up as a tour de force performance by Pacino and an epic drug gangster film that has not been equaled.
The cinematography and beautiful look of the film is also interesting in that it seems to capture the locale well even though they only filmed in south Florida for a few weeks (the locals heard about the making of the film and decided they didn't like the idea of it before even seeing).
One of my all time favorites!
A role written for Al Pacino by Oliver Stone, the story is a basic one I suppose, the rise of a Cuban drug lord. The old replaced by the new. Gruesome violence (a lot of which isn't actually seen, but heard and implied).
The film still holds up as a tour de force performance by Pacino and an epic drug gangster film that has not been equaled.
The cinematography and beautiful look of the film is also interesting in that it seems to capture the locale well even though they only filmed in south Florida for a few weeks (the locals heard about the making of the film and decided they didn't like the idea of it before even seeing).
One of my all time favorites!
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Angel: After the Fall, Volume 2: First Night in Books
Feb 15, 2019
So far my opinion of the Angel continuation is much higher than the Buffy graphic novels. The plot is a lot more engaging and makes some sort of sense, (most of) the artwork really grabs me, and I just enjoy them a whole heck of a lot more. I enjoyed reading what happened to everyone immediately 'after the fall' into Hell and liked the different feel to each story. This had the Trifecta of Angel-y goodness: it had drama, it had action, it had humor! *singing: <i>"It had style, it had grace, it had Gwen give good face."</i> LOL Clearly I am insane.* And I giggled even more at Brian Lynch's 'ramblings' at the end, which includes a drinking game for anyone interested. I especially loved the continuation of titles, and I'll share the first one so I don't muddle up an explanation: <i>Angel: After the Fall: First Night: Curse of the Black Pearl</i>. How can I not laugh at that? Remember, if you have your own logo, you've really gotten somewhere. :D