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Cyn Armistead (14 KP) rated Forever Werewolf in Books
Mar 1, 2018
Full disclosure: I was given a copy of this book to review. I'm glad I didn't buy it. I imagine I might have been harsher.
In <i>Forever Werewolf</i>, Tryst is just delivering a package to Wulfsiege on behalf of his father's security company when he gets trapped there by an avalanche. He doesn't mind, though, because the recipient of that package has a luscious daughter, Lexi.
Female werewolves are rare, and those few are protected like the precious treasures they are. Even though Tryst wasn't brought up in a pack, he knows that much. He also knows there's something very strange about the fact that Lexi isn't claimed by any of the males in the pack - in fact, they seem to give her a wide berth. She's obviously highly intelligent and competent, and she's beautiful. She's far more alluring to him than her spoiled, pampered princess sister could ever be.
Lexi is fascinated by Tryst, despite being warned away from the half-blooded wolf by her ailing father. He seems interested in her, as well, but she fears that's only because he doesn't know her crippling secret: she hasn't ever shifted. A werewolf who can't shift can't mate, so she's useless in the eyes of the pack.
Tryst is warned away from Lexi by her father, head of the pack, as well, but he can't seem to stay away from her. She's like no other woman, werewolf or mortal, he's ever encountered. What is it that draws them to each other? Is it worth risking their lives for?
It was obvious to me from the first pages of the book that Tryst and Lexi would get together, and that it would cost Tryst many bruises and much grief. The bad guy was all too obvious, as well - if the average reader can't identify him in the first mention, I'll be shocked. (Perhaps I should be more specific and say "experienced romance reader" instead.)
As for <i>Moon Kissed</i>, it was so forgettable that I'd have to look up the main male's name. The female was Bella, something I only recall due to bad memories of <i>Twilight</i>. Oh, wait, the male was Severo! Right then. Severo saves Bella from vampires who chase her, while frightening the hell out of her himself, groping her, and offering absolutely no explanations of the strange new realities her world is suddenly encompassing.
After that event, Bella learns that her best friend Seth's new girlfriend is a vampire, something Seth just hadn't quite gotten around to mentioning. Seth explains that Severo (whose name she doesn't yet know) is probably a werewolf, from her description of him and his actions. Severo has, in the meantime, started stalking Bella to protect her from the vampires he's sure will continue to hunt her (for reasons unknown to him when he starts on this plan of action). After seeing Seth with vampire Evie, with whom Severo has history, Severo realizes that Evie probably sicced the vampires on Bella due to jealousy.
One of the many, many things that bothered me about this book is that Bella is supposedly a web designer, but she never seems to work. She certainly doesn't have a laptop, which would be de rigeur, and she lives in a ridiculously upscale place (an apartment with its very own heated pool?) for someone in that profession. She can afford a lot of dance lessons, too - but her real source of income or capital is never explained. Apparently Hauf was just looking for a profession that could be "done anywhere" and someone suggested "web designer" so she grabbed that and ran with it.
Of course, Severo is also supposed to "do something with real estate" - how believable is that as a character detail? I guess we're supposed to just accept that he's rich, can spend his time as he pleases, and let everything else go without question. How is it that he has a Brownie for a housekeeper? What's the relationship between Faery and werewolves and vampires? Who knows?
The story does not get more believable as it goes on. Of course Bella falls in love with her stalker and trusts him completely. There are evil vampires. There's one good vampire, just to show that they aren't uniformly bad. But you can tell where Severo and Bella's relationship is going in the earliest scenes, and that's the most important part of the book, because it's a romance. There are complications but they'll be overcome, or it wouldn't be a romance.
In <i>Forever Werewolf</i>, Tryst is just delivering a package to Wulfsiege on behalf of his father's security company when he gets trapped there by an avalanche. He doesn't mind, though, because the recipient of that package has a luscious daughter, Lexi.
Female werewolves are rare, and those few are protected like the precious treasures they are. Even though Tryst wasn't brought up in a pack, he knows that much. He also knows there's something very strange about the fact that Lexi isn't claimed by any of the males in the pack - in fact, they seem to give her a wide berth. She's obviously highly intelligent and competent, and she's beautiful. She's far more alluring to him than her spoiled, pampered princess sister could ever be.
Lexi is fascinated by Tryst, despite being warned away from the half-blooded wolf by her ailing father. He seems interested in her, as well, but she fears that's only because he doesn't know her crippling secret: she hasn't ever shifted. A werewolf who can't shift can't mate, so she's useless in the eyes of the pack.
Tryst is warned away from Lexi by her father, head of the pack, as well, but he can't seem to stay away from her. She's like no other woman, werewolf or mortal, he's ever encountered. What is it that draws them to each other? Is it worth risking their lives for?
It was obvious to me from the first pages of the book that Tryst and Lexi would get together, and that it would cost Tryst many bruises and much grief. The bad guy was all too obvious, as well - if the average reader can't identify him in the first mention, I'll be shocked. (Perhaps I should be more specific and say "experienced romance reader" instead.)
As for <i>Moon Kissed</i>, it was so forgettable that I'd have to look up the main male's name. The female was Bella, something I only recall due to bad memories of <i>Twilight</i>. Oh, wait, the male was Severo! Right then. Severo saves Bella from vampires who chase her, while frightening the hell out of her himself, groping her, and offering absolutely no explanations of the strange new realities her world is suddenly encompassing.
After that event, Bella learns that her best friend Seth's new girlfriend is a vampire, something Seth just hadn't quite gotten around to mentioning. Seth explains that Severo (whose name she doesn't yet know) is probably a werewolf, from her description of him and his actions. Severo has, in the meantime, started stalking Bella to protect her from the vampires he's sure will continue to hunt her (for reasons unknown to him when he starts on this plan of action). After seeing Seth with vampire Evie, with whom Severo has history, Severo realizes that Evie probably sicced the vampires on Bella due to jealousy.
One of the many, many things that bothered me about this book is that Bella is supposedly a web designer, but she never seems to work. She certainly doesn't have a laptop, which would be de rigeur, and she lives in a ridiculously upscale place (an apartment with its very own heated pool?) for someone in that profession. She can afford a lot of dance lessons, too - but her real source of income or capital is never explained. Apparently Hauf was just looking for a profession that could be "done anywhere" and someone suggested "web designer" so she grabbed that and ran with it.
Of course, Severo is also supposed to "do something with real estate" - how believable is that as a character detail? I guess we're supposed to just accept that he's rich, can spend his time as he pleases, and let everything else go without question. How is it that he has a Brownie for a housekeeper? What's the relationship between Faery and werewolves and vampires? Who knows?
The story does not get more believable as it goes on. Of course Bella falls in love with her stalker and trusts him completely. There are evil vampires. There's one good vampire, just to show that they aren't uniformly bad. But you can tell where Severo and Bella's relationship is going in the earliest scenes, and that's the most important part of the book, because it's a romance. There are complications but they'll be overcome, or it wouldn't be a romance.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Sinister Entity in Books
Jun 7, 2018
(This review can also be found on my blog <a href="http://themisadventuresofatwentysomething.blogspot.com/">The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl</a>).
I had been craving a good ghost story, so when Sarah from Fae Books recommended Sinister Entity by Hunter Shea, I bought it on Amazon right afterwards. I'm glad I did because it was a fantastic read!
(Now I've read that most readers of review blogs don't like when a blog basically says again what a book is about, so I'm just going to give you a little bit more about what the book is about since it's not just about a doppelganger.) Jessica and Eddie are ghost hunters both with unique abilities. When they get a call from the Leigh family saying that they are seeing their daughter's double, Eddie and Jessica jump at the chance to help. However, the doppelganger is the least of the Leigh's problem. A more sinister force has set its sight on their 16 year old daughter. She is in more danger than anyone could have imagined.
Anything that has the word "entity" in it, I'm loving. I'm a sucker for ghost stories so the title definitely got my attention.
The cover conveys that it's going to be a scary story, but I think the cover could've been a little bit better. I would've liked to see a picture of Selena (the Leigh's daughter) and her doppelganger in a scary setting or something similar.
The world building was done rather well. I've been a part of a ghost hunting team, so I was more critical one it came to that aspect. However, Shea didn't disappoint. Not once did it feel as if the whole scary entity thing was over the top. I can't fault the world building at all. The whole normal family in suburbia thing feels natural and not pushed upon the reader.
The pacing at the beginning was a little slow. I felt that, at the beginning, it was too much info dumping. The book starts off with Jessica investigating another house. I felt like we didn't really need to read about that. The fact that she was a ghost hunter which we are told in the beginning was good enough. Also, we are also introduced to Eddie's special abilities in a university research type setting. I felt like this was a bit overkill. Just let Eddie explain his special abilities throughout the story instead of dumping them on us in the beginning. Saying that, the pacing picked up after the info dump at the beginning. I couldn't put the book down after that. The story continues to flow smoothly throughout the rest of the book.
Even though the plot in this type of story has been done before, I still enjoyed it. I love the doppelganger spin on this type of classic ghost story. I also must mention the plot reminded me of the stories of the late great Richard Laymon. (If you don't know who he is, look him up, and then read some of his novels). I also enjoyed the fact that the plot didn't really have any romance in it which was refreshing.
I enjoyed each of the characters even the sinister entity and Selena's doppelganger. I felt that each character was written exceptionally well. I especially enjoyed how strong of a character Jessica was. I never felt like she was inferior to Eddie just because she is a female. Both characters were just as strong as each other. As for Selena, I could actually feel her fear. I love how the author actually made her come across as a teenage girl. The way Selena acted and spoke were exactly what I imagined someone of her age doing/saying. I felt sorry for Selena throughout most of the book due to what was happening to her. I enjoyed the scenes with her doppelganger immensely, and I never expected the twist to happen. I even enjoyed how evilly the sinister entity was written.
The dialogue was really fun to read as it left me feeling a little bit afraid for everyone in the book. Not once did the dialogue between the characters feel forced. Like the pacing, the dialogue was smooth. As for the language, there are a few bad words when it comes to female and male anatomy, so just be warned if you're not big on that.
Overall, Sinister Entity by Hunter Shea is a very good and spooky ghost story. It has a classic ghost story feel which I enjoyed thoroughly.
I'd recommend this book to all fans of horror aged 17+ due to language used and themes throughout.
I had been craving a good ghost story, so when Sarah from Fae Books recommended Sinister Entity by Hunter Shea, I bought it on Amazon right afterwards. I'm glad I did because it was a fantastic read!
(Now I've read that most readers of review blogs don't like when a blog basically says again what a book is about, so I'm just going to give you a little bit more about what the book is about since it's not just about a doppelganger.) Jessica and Eddie are ghost hunters both with unique abilities. When they get a call from the Leigh family saying that they are seeing their daughter's double, Eddie and Jessica jump at the chance to help. However, the doppelganger is the least of the Leigh's problem. A more sinister force has set its sight on their 16 year old daughter. She is in more danger than anyone could have imagined.
Anything that has the word "entity" in it, I'm loving. I'm a sucker for ghost stories so the title definitely got my attention.
The cover conveys that it's going to be a scary story, but I think the cover could've been a little bit better. I would've liked to see a picture of Selena (the Leigh's daughter) and her doppelganger in a scary setting or something similar.
The world building was done rather well. I've been a part of a ghost hunting team, so I was more critical one it came to that aspect. However, Shea didn't disappoint. Not once did it feel as if the whole scary entity thing was over the top. I can't fault the world building at all. The whole normal family in suburbia thing feels natural and not pushed upon the reader.
The pacing at the beginning was a little slow. I felt that, at the beginning, it was too much info dumping. The book starts off with Jessica investigating another house. I felt like we didn't really need to read about that. The fact that she was a ghost hunter which we are told in the beginning was good enough. Also, we are also introduced to Eddie's special abilities in a university research type setting. I felt like this was a bit overkill. Just let Eddie explain his special abilities throughout the story instead of dumping them on us in the beginning. Saying that, the pacing picked up after the info dump at the beginning. I couldn't put the book down after that. The story continues to flow smoothly throughout the rest of the book.
Even though the plot in this type of story has been done before, I still enjoyed it. I love the doppelganger spin on this type of classic ghost story. I also must mention the plot reminded me of the stories of the late great Richard Laymon. (If you don't know who he is, look him up, and then read some of his novels). I also enjoyed the fact that the plot didn't really have any romance in it which was refreshing.
I enjoyed each of the characters even the sinister entity and Selena's doppelganger. I felt that each character was written exceptionally well. I especially enjoyed how strong of a character Jessica was. I never felt like she was inferior to Eddie just because she is a female. Both characters were just as strong as each other. As for Selena, I could actually feel her fear. I love how the author actually made her come across as a teenage girl. The way Selena acted and spoke were exactly what I imagined someone of her age doing/saying. I felt sorry for Selena throughout most of the book due to what was happening to her. I enjoyed the scenes with her doppelganger immensely, and I never expected the twist to happen. I even enjoyed how evilly the sinister entity was written.
The dialogue was really fun to read as it left me feeling a little bit afraid for everyone in the book. Not once did the dialogue between the characters feel forced. Like the pacing, the dialogue was smooth. As for the language, there are a few bad words when it comes to female and male anatomy, so just be warned if you're not big on that.
Overall, Sinister Entity by Hunter Shea is a very good and spooky ghost story. It has a classic ghost story feel which I enjoyed thoroughly.
I'd recommend this book to all fans of horror aged 17+ due to language used and themes throughout.
Alice (12 KP) rated Red Sister in Books
Jul 3, 2018
<i>Many thanks to Mark for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review </i>
Original review can be found on my blog Raptureinbooks <a href="http://wp.me/p5y0lX-1I9">here</a href>
<blockquote>It is important, when killing a nun, to bring an army of sufficient size.</blockquote>
I know they say to never judge a book by its cover but first impressions are everything. The above quote is the first line written in <i>Red Sister</i> - Mark Lawrence's newest masterpiece. I don't use the term lightly.
For those of you who haven't read his work before - know this: it will change how you read fantasy for the better. There's a really apt line in this book for this sentiment:
<blockquote>...a book is as dangerous as any journey you might take. The person who closes the back cover may not be the same one that opened the front one. </blockquote>
For those of you who have, you know his main characters are the ultimate in anti-heroes. All male, all rough, all the epitome of badassery. <i>Red Sister</i> is the first with a strong - and I mean strong -all female cast.
From the first instance you know this book is going to be top of the scale of epicness, <i>Red Sister</i> will draw you in within moments of opening the pages.
It follows the story of Nona Grey- an eight year old girl saved from the noose by an unlikely saviour - a nun - Abbess Glass, leader of the Sweet Mercy Convent. Nona becomes a novice nun and begins her journey to becoming a Red Sister- a nun skilled in combat. At first the book can feel a little like you've stepped backwards in time to where children are bought and sold on the road, where the Church has almost absolute power and where little girls do not become killer nuns; however as the story progresses and Nona's back story is revealed to us piece by piece I found my original thoughts to be utter bullshit because frankly the plot is outstanding.
I'll hold my hand up and say I've never read a book about nuns before but Red Sister has ruined me for any other.
As signature with Mark's work, Red Sister has the perfect balance between seriousness and humour with some brilliant descriptions of the most simplest of things:
<blockquote>...and a quill. This latter gave the impression that the bird from which it was taken had died of some wasting disease, falling from its perch into a dirty puddle before being run over by several carts and finally thoroughly chewed by a hungry cat.</blockquote>
The dialogue was witty and the right tone for what is ultimately a group of girls in boarding school who both love and hate each other and what they do on a daily basis. The friendships made at Sweet Mercy are friendships built to last through the toughest of scenarios, literally through thick and thin. Nona's past catches up with her frequently and she is tested to her highest limits and on occasion shoved over that limit.
<blockquote>"Trust is the most insidious of poisons." </blockquote>
There are some harsh lessons to be learned in <i>Red Sister</i> and not just the physical ones - of which there are many. The plot is thick with action, betrayal, uncanny abilities and supernatural old world bloodlines that show through in current generations that haven't been seen since the first tribes settled in Abeth; with prophecies galore and the odd psycho, bare knuckle fighting in the pits and justice is wrought.
The revelations are spectacular and revealed in unexpected ways that have totally done them justice. The writing style of Mark Lawrence is once more on point with the right amount of length for each chapter; the supernatural demon element was written in a great way. Overall, it was a masterpiece of the genre and deserves all the stars.
<i>Red Sister</i> has been one of the highlights of my year so far and it is outstanding. I've tried not to give anything away which is hard cause I want to give all the spoilers! I'll leave you with a parting quote that sums up the book nicely.
<blockquote>"Words are steps along a path: The important thing is to get where you're going."</blockquote>
Original review can be found on my blog Raptureinbooks <a href="http://wp.me/p5y0lX-1I9">here</a href>
<blockquote>It is important, when killing a nun, to bring an army of sufficient size.</blockquote>
I know they say to never judge a book by its cover but first impressions are everything. The above quote is the first line written in <i>Red Sister</i> - Mark Lawrence's newest masterpiece. I don't use the term lightly.
For those of you who haven't read his work before - know this: it will change how you read fantasy for the better. There's a really apt line in this book for this sentiment:
<blockquote>...a book is as dangerous as any journey you might take. The person who closes the back cover may not be the same one that opened the front one. </blockquote>
For those of you who have, you know his main characters are the ultimate in anti-heroes. All male, all rough, all the epitome of badassery. <i>Red Sister</i> is the first with a strong - and I mean strong -all female cast.
From the first instance you know this book is going to be top of the scale of epicness, <i>Red Sister</i> will draw you in within moments of opening the pages.
It follows the story of Nona Grey- an eight year old girl saved from the noose by an unlikely saviour - a nun - Abbess Glass, leader of the Sweet Mercy Convent. Nona becomes a novice nun and begins her journey to becoming a Red Sister- a nun skilled in combat. At first the book can feel a little like you've stepped backwards in time to where children are bought and sold on the road, where the Church has almost absolute power and where little girls do not become killer nuns; however as the story progresses and Nona's back story is revealed to us piece by piece I found my original thoughts to be utter bullshit because frankly the plot is outstanding.
I'll hold my hand up and say I've never read a book about nuns before but Red Sister has ruined me for any other.
As signature with Mark's work, Red Sister has the perfect balance between seriousness and humour with some brilliant descriptions of the most simplest of things:
<blockquote>...and a quill. This latter gave the impression that the bird from which it was taken had died of some wasting disease, falling from its perch into a dirty puddle before being run over by several carts and finally thoroughly chewed by a hungry cat.</blockquote>
The dialogue was witty and the right tone for what is ultimately a group of girls in boarding school who both love and hate each other and what they do on a daily basis. The friendships made at Sweet Mercy are friendships built to last through the toughest of scenarios, literally through thick and thin. Nona's past catches up with her frequently and she is tested to her highest limits and on occasion shoved over that limit.
<blockquote>"Trust is the most insidious of poisons." </blockquote>
There are some harsh lessons to be learned in <i>Red Sister</i> and not just the physical ones - of which there are many. The plot is thick with action, betrayal, uncanny abilities and supernatural old world bloodlines that show through in current generations that haven't been seen since the first tribes settled in Abeth; with prophecies galore and the odd psycho, bare knuckle fighting in the pits and justice is wrought.
The revelations are spectacular and revealed in unexpected ways that have totally done them justice. The writing style of Mark Lawrence is once more on point with the right amount of length for each chapter; the supernatural demon element was written in a great way. Overall, it was a masterpiece of the genre and deserves all the stars.
<i>Red Sister</i> has been one of the highlights of my year so far and it is outstanding. I've tried not to give anything away which is hard cause I want to give all the spoilers! I'll leave you with a parting quote that sums up the book nicely.
<blockquote>"Words are steps along a path: The important thing is to get where you're going."</blockquote>
Alice (12 KP) rated The Promise of the Child (The Amaranthine Spectrum #1) in Books
Jul 3, 2018
<blockquote>How little is the promise of the child fulfilled in the man</blockquote>
The Promise of the Child was one of those impulse books bought because I’d attended a festival (Gollancz festival October 15th 2016 I think) with the author in attendance and I liked the sound of both him and his debut novel; I have no regrets for purchasing this book on impulse unlike some of my impulse buys.
I think, personally, that 100 pages is all you get to grab me, if your book fails to grab me by then there’s a likelihood that I’ll abandon it sooner rather than later and I will admit I came so incredibly close to abandoning at about 80 pages because the book hadn’t grabbed me enough to keep me interested – I am glad I didn’t and persevered to the 100 page mark as shortly after my thoughts to abandon the book picked up massively.
The book is understandably a little confusing in places, sometimes a touch frustrating also but the world building was brilliantly done. It’s the 147th century and there are so many species of creature as to overload a new reader – which I will admit, I am and yes, it did happen – but there’s a wonderful glossary at the back of the book which for the first 150 pages or so I kept flicking backwards and forwards between to understand what it was I was reading. Tom also kindly answered my random Twitter message about the Melius – a giant non-reptilian chameleon-esque creature that wear colours instead of clothes (can I get a hell yeah?) and he’s such a nice guy (Tom, not the Melius, though they are quite nice too) he also suggested that the glossary would basically be my new best friend and no truer words have ever been spoken.
The characters were great – three main characters and a few main side characters that got a little more page time that you’d expect a secondary character to get.
Lycaste – a Melius who has been blessed/cursed with good looks and a soft heart.
Sotiris – an Amaranthine approximately 12,000 years old who mourns the death of his sister and plots to stop the man determined to become Emperor.
Ghaldezuel – a Lacaille knight of the stars who must steal the object that the Pretender will stop at nothing to obtain.
Each character had their own little quirks which didn’t deter from their overall character view but merely added to it. Lycaste for example is really soft hearted in the beginning but then another male encroaches on what he considers his territory and he flips – he’s a totally different man from how I’d gotten used to him and what I liked was that this new Lycaste continued throughout the rest of the book – he became infinitely more “masculine” than the hermit Lycaste of the beginning of the book.
For a debut novel the writing style was fresh if just a touch wordy, a lot of new words and styles of words specifically designed for The Amaranthine Spectrum world and though they’re long, and do put a bit of potentially unnecessary wordage in the book, I think that without them, The Promise of the Child wouldn’t have been the book it was.
On occasion, the book didn’t quite flow as well as I would have thought but it was made better by the general flow of it and the overall world building, characters and the plot line. The plot line was at first a bit confusing (I’d like to point out that I knew this going into the book and that this is no detriment on the book as a whole) but once it hit past the 100 page mark the plots stabilised and became their own individual side plots mixed together to make the one big plot.
The ending of the book threw me for a loop as I didn’t expect that ending in the slightest. It didn’t seem to match up with the beginning of the book where a random kid is taken by the Pretender and you don’t really hear about this child for the rest of the book. Then BAM! Dinosaur.
Yes. Dinosaur.
The book is perfectly spacey and sci/fi but it has that sweet touch of fantasy with the seemingly random designed creatures and alien species.
In all, this was a good book and I’d recommend it.
The Promise of the Child was one of those impulse books bought because I’d attended a festival (Gollancz festival October 15th 2016 I think) with the author in attendance and I liked the sound of both him and his debut novel; I have no regrets for purchasing this book on impulse unlike some of my impulse buys.
I think, personally, that 100 pages is all you get to grab me, if your book fails to grab me by then there’s a likelihood that I’ll abandon it sooner rather than later and I will admit I came so incredibly close to abandoning at about 80 pages because the book hadn’t grabbed me enough to keep me interested – I am glad I didn’t and persevered to the 100 page mark as shortly after my thoughts to abandon the book picked up massively.
The book is understandably a little confusing in places, sometimes a touch frustrating also but the world building was brilliantly done. It’s the 147th century and there are so many species of creature as to overload a new reader – which I will admit, I am and yes, it did happen – but there’s a wonderful glossary at the back of the book which for the first 150 pages or so I kept flicking backwards and forwards between to understand what it was I was reading. Tom also kindly answered my random Twitter message about the Melius – a giant non-reptilian chameleon-esque creature that wear colours instead of clothes (can I get a hell yeah?) and he’s such a nice guy (Tom, not the Melius, though they are quite nice too) he also suggested that the glossary would basically be my new best friend and no truer words have ever been spoken.
The characters were great – three main characters and a few main side characters that got a little more page time that you’d expect a secondary character to get.
Lycaste – a Melius who has been blessed/cursed with good looks and a soft heart.
Sotiris – an Amaranthine approximately 12,000 years old who mourns the death of his sister and plots to stop the man determined to become Emperor.
Ghaldezuel – a Lacaille knight of the stars who must steal the object that the Pretender will stop at nothing to obtain.
Each character had their own little quirks which didn’t deter from their overall character view but merely added to it. Lycaste for example is really soft hearted in the beginning but then another male encroaches on what he considers his territory and he flips – he’s a totally different man from how I’d gotten used to him and what I liked was that this new Lycaste continued throughout the rest of the book – he became infinitely more “masculine” than the hermit Lycaste of the beginning of the book.
For a debut novel the writing style was fresh if just a touch wordy, a lot of new words and styles of words specifically designed for The Amaranthine Spectrum world and though they’re long, and do put a bit of potentially unnecessary wordage in the book, I think that without them, The Promise of the Child wouldn’t have been the book it was.
On occasion, the book didn’t quite flow as well as I would have thought but it was made better by the general flow of it and the overall world building, characters and the plot line. The plot line was at first a bit confusing (I’d like to point out that I knew this going into the book and that this is no detriment on the book as a whole) but once it hit past the 100 page mark the plots stabilised and became their own individual side plots mixed together to make the one big plot.
The ending of the book threw me for a loop as I didn’t expect that ending in the slightest. It didn’t seem to match up with the beginning of the book where a random kid is taken by the Pretender and you don’t really hear about this child for the rest of the book. Then BAM! Dinosaur.
Yes. Dinosaur.
The book is perfectly spacey and sci/fi but it has that sweet touch of fantasy with the seemingly random designed creatures and alien species.
In all, this was a good book and I’d recommend it.
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Friday the 13th (2009) in Movies
Aug 14, 2019
In the 1980’s the so- called slasher film genre was in full swing. When Michael Myers and the “Halloween” franchise became the highest grossing independent film in cinema history, the studios scrambled to get in on the booming genre and unleashed a flood of psycho killers on the viewing public, for the better part of a decade and a half.
Along with the aforementioned Michael Myers, and the later Freddy Krueger from the “Nightmare on Elm Street” series, Jason Voorhees of the “Friday The 13Th” series has become a cultural landmark. He has appeared in over ten movies (eleven if you count “Freddy Vs. Jason”) and unleashed havoc on countless oversexed and loaded teens, as well as those unfortunate enough to cross his path.
While the series, to many fans, become stale and largely self mocking with the Jason-in-space themed “Jason X”, the character rebounded nicely with “Freddy Vs. Jason” and had many fans clamoring for a second match up between the two iconic bad guys.
Eventually the powers-that-be decided to go the remake route, which had proven successful with “Halloween” and “My Bloody Valentine”, and have crafted a new “Friday the 13th” which they hope will re-energize the series.
The film opens with a modern re-telling of what was part of the finale of the original film, and hits the ground running with an impressive opening sequence that has Jason menacing a group of teens camping in the woods. The intense first twenty minutes of the film had the audience at the test screening gasping and cheering as the events set the stage for the body of the film, which revolves around another group of young adults taking a trip into the woods for a scenic getaway.
As the group stops for supplies, they encounter a young man who is looking for his sister who vanished in the area six weeks earlier. Despite little luck in his search, and the insistence by the local police that his sister is not anywhere in the area, he remains undaunted and continues his search.
At the same time, the group of young adults embarks on a frenzy of sex, drinking, drugs, and carefree living in the woods unaware that they are about to gain the attention of Camp Crystal Lake’s most infamous former camper.
As the film unfolds, Jason soon unleashes his customary brutality on the group as well as any townies that come across him, and the film deftly mixes some humor with classic horror mayhem. In the time honored formula, a group of survivors soon finds themselves under siege by Jason and must find a way to survive Jason’s wrath.
While the film lacks much in the way of plot and is loaded with a cast of largely unknowns, the film is a refreshing update to the series, knowing what the fans have come to expect and providing plenty of gore and scares. Since the cast exists to be little more than fodder for Jason, there is little effort devoted to fleshing them out as characters other than to provide excuses for most of the ladies in the film to shed their clothes, and a few of the male cast to establish themselves as comic relief, or the jerk who is destined for something special.
Director Marcus Nispel who has a solid pedigree with the recent “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, viral videos of Resident Evil 5, as well as the pending “Alice.” He clearly knows his subject matter and working with Producer Michael Bay and a script from Damian Shannon and Mark Swift (the duo behind “Freddy vs. Jason”), produced a solid by the numbers horror film.
Fans of the series will note clever references to the past films such as Jason’s original mask and will find themselves yelling at the screen over the constant stupidity of the victims as well as the inventive way Jason dispatches his victims. I found myself enjoying the updated Jason because while the movie is faithful to the character, it revitalized him to show a more cunning predator who is not above using traps, bait, and plotting to achieve his means. There was a plot thread in the film that did not really get developed as much as I had hoped, but in the end, the film delivered the goods and sets the stage well for future outings of the machete-wielding Jason.
Along with the aforementioned Michael Myers, and the later Freddy Krueger from the “Nightmare on Elm Street” series, Jason Voorhees of the “Friday The 13Th” series has become a cultural landmark. He has appeared in over ten movies (eleven if you count “Freddy Vs. Jason”) and unleashed havoc on countless oversexed and loaded teens, as well as those unfortunate enough to cross his path.
While the series, to many fans, become stale and largely self mocking with the Jason-in-space themed “Jason X”, the character rebounded nicely with “Freddy Vs. Jason” and had many fans clamoring for a second match up between the two iconic bad guys.
Eventually the powers-that-be decided to go the remake route, which had proven successful with “Halloween” and “My Bloody Valentine”, and have crafted a new “Friday the 13th” which they hope will re-energize the series.
The film opens with a modern re-telling of what was part of the finale of the original film, and hits the ground running with an impressive opening sequence that has Jason menacing a group of teens camping in the woods. The intense first twenty minutes of the film had the audience at the test screening gasping and cheering as the events set the stage for the body of the film, which revolves around another group of young adults taking a trip into the woods for a scenic getaway.
As the group stops for supplies, they encounter a young man who is looking for his sister who vanished in the area six weeks earlier. Despite little luck in his search, and the insistence by the local police that his sister is not anywhere in the area, he remains undaunted and continues his search.
At the same time, the group of young adults embarks on a frenzy of sex, drinking, drugs, and carefree living in the woods unaware that they are about to gain the attention of Camp Crystal Lake’s most infamous former camper.
As the film unfolds, Jason soon unleashes his customary brutality on the group as well as any townies that come across him, and the film deftly mixes some humor with classic horror mayhem. In the time honored formula, a group of survivors soon finds themselves under siege by Jason and must find a way to survive Jason’s wrath.
While the film lacks much in the way of plot and is loaded with a cast of largely unknowns, the film is a refreshing update to the series, knowing what the fans have come to expect and providing plenty of gore and scares. Since the cast exists to be little more than fodder for Jason, there is little effort devoted to fleshing them out as characters other than to provide excuses for most of the ladies in the film to shed their clothes, and a few of the male cast to establish themselves as comic relief, or the jerk who is destined for something special.
Director Marcus Nispel who has a solid pedigree with the recent “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, viral videos of Resident Evil 5, as well as the pending “Alice.” He clearly knows his subject matter and working with Producer Michael Bay and a script from Damian Shannon and Mark Swift (the duo behind “Freddy vs. Jason”), produced a solid by the numbers horror film.
Fans of the series will note clever references to the past films such as Jason’s original mask and will find themselves yelling at the screen over the constant stupidity of the victims as well as the inventive way Jason dispatches his victims. I found myself enjoying the updated Jason because while the movie is faithful to the character, it revitalized him to show a more cunning predator who is not above using traps, bait, and plotting to achieve his means. There was a plot thread in the film that did not really get developed as much as I had hoped, but in the end, the film delivered the goods and sets the stage well for future outings of the machete-wielding Jason.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Jojo Rabbit (2019) in Movies
Jan 16, 2020 (Updated Jan 16, 2020)
Cutting satire (1 more)
Great ensemble cast
Don't be stupid, be a smarty
Taika Waititi's much discussed movie is an odd beast. Set in a small German town towards the end of the war, Jojo (Roman Griffith Davis), is a young boy indoctrinated with Nazi fervour as a member of the Hitler youth. Together with his rotund and bespectacled friend Yorki (Archie Yates), they are not likely to spread fear into the approaching Allied forces: they are a pair that would be likely to get picked last for 'sides' in a school football match.
Perhaps to bolster his flagging self-esteem, Jojo has an imaginary friend - - Adolf Hitler (played by director Taika Waititi). Hitler provides him with sage - and sometimes foolish - advice. His mother (Scarlett Johansson), as well as obviously being hot and thus obtaining lustful looks from returning troops, is also kindly. She makes up for the absence of Jojo's father, due to the war, with the help of some play-acting and a sooty beard.
But, when alone in the house, Jojo hears noises from upstairs, his world - and his whole belief system - begins to unravel.
Comedies have tip-toed around the sensibilities of World War II in the past, most famously with Mel Brook's "The Producers". I don't think anyone's previously been brave enough to introduce the holocaust into the comedy mix. And - to a degree... we are NOT talking excessive bad taste here - the movie goes there. There's an underlying sharpness to some of the dialogue that - despite not being Jewish myself - nevertheless put my sensibilities on edge: the pit in hell 'set aside for Jews', for example, is filled with not only piranhas... but also bacon.
As a satire lampooning Antisemitism, much of the comedy is slapstick and the anti-Jewish sentiments expressed are deliberately ludicrous. And it's one of my issues I guess with the film. There are some good lines (Rebel Wilson's fanatical Nazi screaming "Let's burn some books" at the students) but some of the slapstick farce just didn't work for me. Sam Rockwell is great as a one-eyed ex-war hero looking for new challenges and exuberant costumes! But a lame gag from him about German Shepherds made me go "What? Really?". And this lessens the impact for me of the satire.
The second half of the film for me was far better, taking a much darker and edgier tone. There's a sudden turn in the film - brilliantly executed - that is truly shocking. This scene is somewhat reminiscent of one in that other great Holocaust comedy, "Schindler's List". It's understated, yet devastating. (Now, before seeing the film I'd heard from other reviews that the film "turned darker" and - based on the trailer - I'd kind of set in my mind what that would be. But I was wrong! So take this comment not as a spoiler, but as an anti-spoiler!).
As the war unravels for Germany, a late re-appearance by the imaginary Hitler is also memorable.
As the young star, Welsh kid Roman Griffith Davis - with no previous acting experience - turns in a star performance. Though to say that the performance ranks alongside the top 5 male performances of 2019 is, I think, overstepping the mark. Scarlett Johansson got a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role. And I think this is deserved.
Elsewhere in the cast, few seemed to have recognized Thomasin McKenzie's role playing Elsa. The 19 year-old New Zealander really delivered for me. A strong female character, she's vulnerable yet with a will of iron under the surface. She made me really care about the outcome of the story.
Less positive for me is Rebel Wilson. Here she is marginally less annoying than I normally find her in that she's playing a deliberately annoying and unhinged character. But the role seemed largely redundant to me: it didn't add anything to the overall story (unlike Rockwell's - surprising - character arc).
If there was an Oscar for originality - and that WOULD be a good new award category - then this film would be a contender. It's certainly novel: amusing in places; disturbing in others. If you like your comedies on the edge and bit whacky - like "Death of Stalin" - then you will probably enjoy this. I'm not sure it's the best film of the year - and there are probably others I would swap into that Oscars nomination list - but it's still a well-made movie and a recommended watch.
(For the full graphical review, please check out One Mann's Movies at https://bob-the-movie-man.com/2020/01/16/one-manns-movies-film-review-jojo-rabbit-2020/ )
Perhaps to bolster his flagging self-esteem, Jojo has an imaginary friend - - Adolf Hitler (played by director Taika Waititi). Hitler provides him with sage - and sometimes foolish - advice. His mother (Scarlett Johansson), as well as obviously being hot and thus obtaining lustful looks from returning troops, is also kindly. She makes up for the absence of Jojo's father, due to the war, with the help of some play-acting and a sooty beard.
But, when alone in the house, Jojo hears noises from upstairs, his world - and his whole belief system - begins to unravel.
Comedies have tip-toed around the sensibilities of World War II in the past, most famously with Mel Brook's "The Producers". I don't think anyone's previously been brave enough to introduce the holocaust into the comedy mix. And - to a degree... we are NOT talking excessive bad taste here - the movie goes there. There's an underlying sharpness to some of the dialogue that - despite not being Jewish myself - nevertheless put my sensibilities on edge: the pit in hell 'set aside for Jews', for example, is filled with not only piranhas... but also bacon.
As a satire lampooning Antisemitism, much of the comedy is slapstick and the anti-Jewish sentiments expressed are deliberately ludicrous. And it's one of my issues I guess with the film. There are some good lines (Rebel Wilson's fanatical Nazi screaming "Let's burn some books" at the students) but some of the slapstick farce just didn't work for me. Sam Rockwell is great as a one-eyed ex-war hero looking for new challenges and exuberant costumes! But a lame gag from him about German Shepherds made me go "What? Really?". And this lessens the impact for me of the satire.
The second half of the film for me was far better, taking a much darker and edgier tone. There's a sudden turn in the film - brilliantly executed - that is truly shocking. This scene is somewhat reminiscent of one in that other great Holocaust comedy, "Schindler's List". It's understated, yet devastating. (Now, before seeing the film I'd heard from other reviews that the film "turned darker" and - based on the trailer - I'd kind of set in my mind what that would be. But I was wrong! So take this comment not as a spoiler, but as an anti-spoiler!).
As the war unravels for Germany, a late re-appearance by the imaginary Hitler is also memorable.
As the young star, Welsh kid Roman Griffith Davis - with no previous acting experience - turns in a star performance. Though to say that the performance ranks alongside the top 5 male performances of 2019 is, I think, overstepping the mark. Scarlett Johansson got a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role. And I think this is deserved.
Elsewhere in the cast, few seemed to have recognized Thomasin McKenzie's role playing Elsa. The 19 year-old New Zealander really delivered for me. A strong female character, she's vulnerable yet with a will of iron under the surface. She made me really care about the outcome of the story.
Less positive for me is Rebel Wilson. Here she is marginally less annoying than I normally find her in that she's playing a deliberately annoying and unhinged character. But the role seemed largely redundant to me: it didn't add anything to the overall story (unlike Rockwell's - surprising - character arc).
If there was an Oscar for originality - and that WOULD be a good new award category - then this film would be a contender. It's certainly novel: amusing in places; disturbing in others. If you like your comedies on the edge and bit whacky - like "Death of Stalin" - then you will probably enjoy this. I'm not sure it's the best film of the year - and there are probably others I would swap into that Oscars nomination list - but it's still a well-made movie and a recommended watch.
(For the full graphical review, please check out One Mann's Movies at https://bob-the-movie-man.com/2020/01/16/one-manns-movies-film-review-jojo-rabbit-2020/ )
Henry Rollins recommended Apocalypse Now (1979) in Movies (curated)
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Black Widow (2021) in Movies
Jul 11, 2021
After the MCU rounded up with Endgame I was having Marvel fatigue, I had my issues with the Spider-man movie, and I haven't been thrilled by the TV series that we've been getting on Disney+. I had managed to avoid most of the Black Widow coverage until getting back to the cinema, but even seeing the trailer on the big screen didn't get me pumped for it.
Natasha Romanoff is on the run... rewind the MCU a bit... Black Widow is on the run after the incident with the Sokovia accords. While she's on the move (and somehow invisible to detection despite being an Avenger... on the run) her past catches up with her, and after an awkward family reunion, they have to work together to rectify the mistakes of the past.
So how did this next outing in the MCU go down?
I wasn't mad about, or at, it. It nicely aligned itself with its position in the universe in a way that didn't feel too forced, and finally getting the history that the previous films alluded to... well, it was about time. I was surprised how well it managed to condense her story down and still manage to give enough to help it flow. I'm not sure it's the story I was expecting, or necessarily hoped for, but it was good. (I had assumed that we would be getting more about the inside of the Red Room, and not the results of it on the older recruits.)
Johansson gave a solid performance as you'd expect, she's perfected the role over the years and this performance sat well within the character she'd already developed. But what about the other cast members?
MVP for me was Florence Pugh as Yelena. A little frustrating for me to say, but I said it. The sisterly bond with Natasha was there in spades and she managed to grasp the emotion of the family moments so well. And her comedic timing with the sharp script was magnificent. I was delighted every time I saw her on the screen.
Playing Natasha and Yelena's parents are David Harbour and Rachel Weisz. An amusing pairing, with a very opposites attract kind of vibe. Alexie (Harbour) seems to change a lot from the historical points, and he also gets the comical treatment too, but in a more over the top way than Yelena. He had his moments, though I'm not sure it all landed. Weisz plays Melina, a straight-laced scientist/spy. Together they make an interesting team, but I'm not convinced that Melina would have stood up without Alexie.
My only problem with the case? Sometimes I found it a little jarring hearing those accents. Sure, it's nice to have a big recognisable cast, but listening to those accents from people you know really well from other things was continually off-putting.
I was thankful when the story started to pick up a bit. The beginning felt like a bit of a slog, and I was starting to lose hope. Looking back on it, 2 hours 13 minutes is a lot for what happened. It could easily have tightened up a bit and come in at around 2 hours. (And on the other end of the film, though completely separate to the run time... why put the credit scene right at the end?!)
The benefit of this film when it came to effects is that there was very little out of the ordinary that needed to be done. That meant that everything looked good on screen. I honestly didn't spot anything that stuck out like a sore thumb... or a Thanos henchman... that seems more appropriate given the film's universe. The studio have got CGI down to a fine art at this point.
As I said above, Black Widow gave a nice story to the character, and I can't help but think that they could have given her this before now, and not kicked her out into the sidelines behind the male superheroes. (Well, apart from Hawkeye, poor bugger.) I'm not bothered about seeing this again, which is odd for me as I will usually try and see a Marvel in 3D too. Even odder, because it's basically all that's on at my cinema right now. But I don't feel like I need to go back to try and spot things to link to other films. It feels very inconsequential at this point and, while I enjoyed it, a bit of a letdown.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/07/black-widow-movie-review.html
Natasha Romanoff is on the run... rewind the MCU a bit... Black Widow is on the run after the incident with the Sokovia accords. While she's on the move (and somehow invisible to detection despite being an Avenger... on the run) her past catches up with her, and after an awkward family reunion, they have to work together to rectify the mistakes of the past.
So how did this next outing in the MCU go down?
I wasn't mad about, or at, it. It nicely aligned itself with its position in the universe in a way that didn't feel too forced, and finally getting the history that the previous films alluded to... well, it was about time. I was surprised how well it managed to condense her story down and still manage to give enough to help it flow. I'm not sure it's the story I was expecting, or necessarily hoped for, but it was good. (I had assumed that we would be getting more about the inside of the Red Room, and not the results of it on the older recruits.)
Johansson gave a solid performance as you'd expect, she's perfected the role over the years and this performance sat well within the character she'd already developed. But what about the other cast members?
MVP for me was Florence Pugh as Yelena. A little frustrating for me to say, but I said it. The sisterly bond with Natasha was there in spades and she managed to grasp the emotion of the family moments so well. And her comedic timing with the sharp script was magnificent. I was delighted every time I saw her on the screen.
Playing Natasha and Yelena's parents are David Harbour and Rachel Weisz. An amusing pairing, with a very opposites attract kind of vibe. Alexie (Harbour) seems to change a lot from the historical points, and he also gets the comical treatment too, but in a more over the top way than Yelena. He had his moments, though I'm not sure it all landed. Weisz plays Melina, a straight-laced scientist/spy. Together they make an interesting team, but I'm not convinced that Melina would have stood up without Alexie.
My only problem with the case? Sometimes I found it a little jarring hearing those accents. Sure, it's nice to have a big recognisable cast, but listening to those accents from people you know really well from other things was continually off-putting.
I was thankful when the story started to pick up a bit. The beginning felt like a bit of a slog, and I was starting to lose hope. Looking back on it, 2 hours 13 minutes is a lot for what happened. It could easily have tightened up a bit and come in at around 2 hours. (And on the other end of the film, though completely separate to the run time... why put the credit scene right at the end?!)
The benefit of this film when it came to effects is that there was very little out of the ordinary that needed to be done. That meant that everything looked good on screen. I honestly didn't spot anything that stuck out like a sore thumb... or a Thanos henchman... that seems more appropriate given the film's universe. The studio have got CGI down to a fine art at this point.
As I said above, Black Widow gave a nice story to the character, and I can't help but think that they could have given her this before now, and not kicked her out into the sidelines behind the male superheroes. (Well, apart from Hawkeye, poor bugger.) I'm not bothered about seeing this again, which is odd for me as I will usually try and see a Marvel in 3D too. Even odder, because it's basically all that's on at my cinema right now. But I don't feel like I need to go back to try and spot things to link to other films. It feels very inconsequential at this point and, while I enjoyed it, a bit of a letdown.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/07/black-widow-movie-review.html
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) in Movies
Dec 23, 2020
Gal Gadot returns as Diana Prince in “Wonder Woman 1984” which has seen its release date shift a few times due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The film has started to open overseas and will arrive in the U.S. on Christmas day with a limited debut on HBO Max as well.
The story sees Diana now living in Washington D.C. in 1984. Diana is popular but has refused male companionship as she still longs for her late love Steve Trevor (Chris Pine).
Diana works in the Smithsonian Institute in antiquities and keeps her secret identity under wraps even when a daring mall heist forces her to leap into action.
A shy and passive employee named Barbara (Kirsten Wiig); who is afraid of her own shadow and largely ignored by her peers is befriended by Diana and they discover one item from the heist is inscribed with the ability to grant a wish. Unknowingly Diana wishes for Steve to return and Barbara wishes to be more like Diana which sets a chain of events into motion.
A shady business man named Maxwell Lord (Perdro Pascal) has his site on obtaining the relic as he believes having the ability to grant wishes will allow him to save his failing business and give him the power he craves.
With such a promising setup; the film ultimately does not deliver on its premise and becomes bogged down in drawn out sequences with surprisingly little action and gaps in logic that defy even standards for a comic book film.
The first 90 minutes of the film has roughly 10-15 minutes of action tops and we are instead given lengthy scenes of Steve trying to find an 80s fashion look; flying over fireworks, and Maxwell trashing from one locale to another without much needed continuity.
An action scene involving a convoy chase through the desert seems very inspired by “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and ultimately does not deliver especially with such a long gape between the action sequences.
The final act does attempt to redeem the film as seeing Barbara transform into her new persona is interesting and Wiig does a very solid job with the role. This sadly is undermined with a single line of dialogue which takes away a big part of the transformation that audiences deserved to see.
There was also a sequence where Diana races down the streets and takes to flight with her Lasso and then discovers she can fly like Superman. Not only is this not in keeping with the character; but we see this extended fast moving sequence where she is clearly heading away from D.C. at great speed only to arrive at a destination with an item which had been established to be back at her home in D.C. It is this sort of sloppiness that really detracts from the film. There is also the fact that Steve has to fly her around on a jet that even as a pilot he should not know how to fly as he has never flown a jet aircraft in his life.
When the big confrontation comes it is a letdown as it is not overly epic and the CGI really does not seem to mesh. What is an even bigger disappointment is that a certain character stands emoting for several minutes while Diana gives such a bland and extended speech that even my wife had to ask “who wrote these lines”.
The film was not a total disaster as the characters were interesting and worked well with one another making the film entertaining in parts despite being really disappointed with it.
The film strikes me as a product of the talented Patty Jenkins being able to do whatever she wanted after the success of the first film. Jenkins not only Directed but did the screenplay for it. Considering the amazing job she did writing “Monster” I had high expectations for the film but to me it seemed like it could have used a bit more attention to several aspects.
My summary would be the following… good cast, entertaining in parts, not much action over two hours, takes huge liberties with Diana and her abilities, massive gaps in logic even for a comic movie. It aims to be epic and comes up lacking. At least the mid. credit scene was worth it.
3 stars out of 5
The story sees Diana now living in Washington D.C. in 1984. Diana is popular but has refused male companionship as she still longs for her late love Steve Trevor (Chris Pine).
Diana works in the Smithsonian Institute in antiquities and keeps her secret identity under wraps even when a daring mall heist forces her to leap into action.
A shy and passive employee named Barbara (Kirsten Wiig); who is afraid of her own shadow and largely ignored by her peers is befriended by Diana and they discover one item from the heist is inscribed with the ability to grant a wish. Unknowingly Diana wishes for Steve to return and Barbara wishes to be more like Diana which sets a chain of events into motion.
A shady business man named Maxwell Lord (Perdro Pascal) has his site on obtaining the relic as he believes having the ability to grant wishes will allow him to save his failing business and give him the power he craves.
With such a promising setup; the film ultimately does not deliver on its premise and becomes bogged down in drawn out sequences with surprisingly little action and gaps in logic that defy even standards for a comic book film.
The first 90 minutes of the film has roughly 10-15 minutes of action tops and we are instead given lengthy scenes of Steve trying to find an 80s fashion look; flying over fireworks, and Maxwell trashing from one locale to another without much needed continuity.
An action scene involving a convoy chase through the desert seems very inspired by “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and ultimately does not deliver especially with such a long gape between the action sequences.
The final act does attempt to redeem the film as seeing Barbara transform into her new persona is interesting and Wiig does a very solid job with the role. This sadly is undermined with a single line of dialogue which takes away a big part of the transformation that audiences deserved to see.
There was also a sequence where Diana races down the streets and takes to flight with her Lasso and then discovers she can fly like Superman. Not only is this not in keeping with the character; but we see this extended fast moving sequence where she is clearly heading away from D.C. at great speed only to arrive at a destination with an item which had been established to be back at her home in D.C. It is this sort of sloppiness that really detracts from the film. There is also the fact that Steve has to fly her around on a jet that even as a pilot he should not know how to fly as he has never flown a jet aircraft in his life.
When the big confrontation comes it is a letdown as it is not overly epic and the CGI really does not seem to mesh. What is an even bigger disappointment is that a certain character stands emoting for several minutes while Diana gives such a bland and extended speech that even my wife had to ask “who wrote these lines”.
The film was not a total disaster as the characters were interesting and worked well with one another making the film entertaining in parts despite being really disappointed with it.
The film strikes me as a product of the talented Patty Jenkins being able to do whatever she wanted after the success of the first film. Jenkins not only Directed but did the screenplay for it. Considering the amazing job she did writing “Monster” I had high expectations for the film but to me it seemed like it could have used a bit more attention to several aspects.
My summary would be the following… good cast, entertaining in parts, not much action over two hours, takes huge liberties with Diana and her abilities, massive gaps in logic even for a comic movie. It aims to be epic and comes up lacking. At least the mid. credit scene was worth it.
3 stars out of 5
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Adrift (2018) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
“Hurricane Raymond has been upgraded to a category 5”
“Should we be worried” says Tami. Well, yes dear, you really should.
In the glorious surroundings of Tahiti, the American footloose traveller Tami Oldham (Shailene Woodley, “Divergent trilogy“, “The Descendents) meets British footloose traveller Richard Sharp (Sam Claflin, “Journey’s End“, “Me Before You“) and a nautical-based love beckons. Richard is hired by his friends Peter (Jeffrey Thomas) and Christine (Elizabeth Hawthorne) to sail their luxury 44 foot yacht Hazana from Tahiti to Tami’s home city of San Diego. But they hadn’t reckoned on the decidedly un-romantic attentions of Raymond and severely battered and bruised it’s a battle for survival on the vast expanse of the Pacific.
I was intrigued by this film as it seems to have divided the professional critics’ opinions: Kevin Maher in The Times gave it five stars… five! Conversely Edward Porter in The Sunday Times gave it two stars. After seeing the film, I’m with Mr Maher on this one (breaking convention as I haven’t exactly been in tune with this reviewer recently!).
As a story with romantic undertones, the film will live or die on your belief in this aspect. And fortunately the romance works. There is real chemistry between the pair despite them striking you as an odd couple. This is in no small part to the quality of the acting: Claflin proves again that he is a safe pair of hands as a male lead, but it’s Shailene Woodley, who has to carry large portions of the film single-handedly, who again demonstrates just how excellent an actress she is. The camera of Tarentino favourite Robert Richardson (“The Hateful Eight“, “Django Unchained”) stays tightly on Woodley’s features dramatically capturing her tiniest of grimaces.
Woodley is also deliciously un-Hollywood, getting to where she has through acting talent as much as her looks. Yes, she has a great body (liberally, perhaps a tad lasciviously, featured here both above and under the water) but her face is gloriously assymettical with little wrinkles appearing unexpectedly when she grins. She’s a good role model for young girls that perfection is not a pre–requisite for success. (What’s perhaps less good, role-model-wise, is that Woodley allegedly ate only 350 calories a day to get to the emaciated state seen at the end of the film! But to compensate, it’s notable that she looks so much better/sexier at the start of the film than at the end).
It’s also interesting to note that the 27-year old Woodley is also a co-producer on the film, a sign perhaps that as well as being the ‘Meryl Streep of the future'(TM), she is also likely to become a significant mover and shaker in Hollywood when getting there.
A bit like “The Shallows“, it’s unapologetically a B movie, but it’s delivered with such style and chutzpah that it drives its way through the apallingly cheesy dialogue just as the poor Hazana bashes its way throught the mountainous seas. It’s even self-mocking, with Tami rolling her eyes at the corniness of Richard’s, very English, attempts at romantic dialogue. The script is more successful in establishing back-stories for Tami and Richard, demonstrating a degree of parallelism that perhaps better explains their mutual attraction. The irony of fate taking Tami back to her damaged past is exquisite.
A controversial and brave decision by Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur is to constantly flashback between the survival scenes and Tami and Richard’s courtship that leads up to the cataclismic event. This can be a little distracting, but given the gut-wrenching twist in the third act a linear storytelling would simply have not worked. It’s very well done too, with matched cross-cuts that really work well. Kormákur’s previous film “Everest” was his biggest hit to date, and I noted the cheeky addition of the book “Everest” on the bookshelf on Richard’s boat! (As an aside, “Everest” is for some reason the film review on One Mann’s Movies that has been viewed more often than any other… no idea why… must be down to search engine results!)
Extraordinarily, it’s a true story with the closing frames of the film being genuinely moving.
With many similarities to the excellent Robert Redford thriller “All Is Lost”, this is a robust and enthralling thriller-cum-romance that unusually delivers on both counts. The romance is believable and the thrills suitably thrilling, especially when a panic-ridden Tami is separated from her one patch of dry land. Although slightly let down by some dodgy dialogue, sitting amongst all the big-hitter summer blockbusters this is a movie you should definitely seek out.
In the glorious surroundings of Tahiti, the American footloose traveller Tami Oldham (Shailene Woodley, “Divergent trilogy“, “The Descendents) meets British footloose traveller Richard Sharp (Sam Claflin, “Journey’s End“, “Me Before You“) and a nautical-based love beckons. Richard is hired by his friends Peter (Jeffrey Thomas) and Christine (Elizabeth Hawthorne) to sail their luxury 44 foot yacht Hazana from Tahiti to Tami’s home city of San Diego. But they hadn’t reckoned on the decidedly un-romantic attentions of Raymond and severely battered and bruised it’s a battle for survival on the vast expanse of the Pacific.
I was intrigued by this film as it seems to have divided the professional critics’ opinions: Kevin Maher in The Times gave it five stars… five! Conversely Edward Porter in The Sunday Times gave it two stars. After seeing the film, I’m with Mr Maher on this one (breaking convention as I haven’t exactly been in tune with this reviewer recently!).
As a story with romantic undertones, the film will live or die on your belief in this aspect. And fortunately the romance works. There is real chemistry between the pair despite them striking you as an odd couple. This is in no small part to the quality of the acting: Claflin proves again that he is a safe pair of hands as a male lead, but it’s Shailene Woodley, who has to carry large portions of the film single-handedly, who again demonstrates just how excellent an actress she is. The camera of Tarentino favourite Robert Richardson (“The Hateful Eight“, “Django Unchained”) stays tightly on Woodley’s features dramatically capturing her tiniest of grimaces.
Woodley is also deliciously un-Hollywood, getting to where she has through acting talent as much as her looks. Yes, she has a great body (liberally, perhaps a tad lasciviously, featured here both above and under the water) but her face is gloriously assymettical with little wrinkles appearing unexpectedly when she grins. She’s a good role model for young girls that perfection is not a pre–requisite for success. (What’s perhaps less good, role-model-wise, is that Woodley allegedly ate only 350 calories a day to get to the emaciated state seen at the end of the film! But to compensate, it’s notable that she looks so much better/sexier at the start of the film than at the end).
It’s also interesting to note that the 27-year old Woodley is also a co-producer on the film, a sign perhaps that as well as being the ‘Meryl Streep of the future'(TM), she is also likely to become a significant mover and shaker in Hollywood when getting there.
A bit like “The Shallows“, it’s unapologetically a B movie, but it’s delivered with such style and chutzpah that it drives its way through the apallingly cheesy dialogue just as the poor Hazana bashes its way throught the mountainous seas. It’s even self-mocking, with Tami rolling her eyes at the corniness of Richard’s, very English, attempts at romantic dialogue. The script is more successful in establishing back-stories for Tami and Richard, demonstrating a degree of parallelism that perhaps better explains their mutual attraction. The irony of fate taking Tami back to her damaged past is exquisite.
A controversial and brave decision by Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur is to constantly flashback between the survival scenes and Tami and Richard’s courtship that leads up to the cataclismic event. This can be a little distracting, but given the gut-wrenching twist in the third act a linear storytelling would simply have not worked. It’s very well done too, with matched cross-cuts that really work well. Kormákur’s previous film “Everest” was his biggest hit to date, and I noted the cheeky addition of the book “Everest” on the bookshelf on Richard’s boat! (As an aside, “Everest” is for some reason the film review on One Mann’s Movies that has been viewed more often than any other… no idea why… must be down to search engine results!)
Extraordinarily, it’s a true story with the closing frames of the film being genuinely moving.
With many similarities to the excellent Robert Redford thriller “All Is Lost”, this is a robust and enthralling thriller-cum-romance that unusually delivers on both counts. The romance is believable and the thrills suitably thrilling, especially when a panic-ridden Tami is separated from her one patch of dry land. Although slightly let down by some dodgy dialogue, sitting amongst all the big-hitter summer blockbusters this is a movie you should definitely seek out.