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Mothergamer (1568 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Stardew Valley in Video Games

Feb 15, 2019  
Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley
2016 | Simulation
Easy to get into, Interesting characters (0 more)
24 hour days go by too quickly (0 more)
Wonderful, Relaxing Game
A friend suggested Stardew Valley to me because I love the Harvest Moon game series. I was hooked in right away. I chose my farm (you can choose from five different farms) and went from there. It was very easy to get into and the characters in the game are interesting. It is so clear where the nods to Harvest Moon are, but it is also its own thing too. I love that I don't have to just farm, I can fight monsters in the mines, or go fishing. You can make friends with the villagers and you can romance the available love interest of your choice. I also loved the festival days you can attend in the game because they are so much fun. I just wish the days weren't 24 hours, because they go by very quickly and sometimes it feels like there isn't enough time to do everything. It definitely makes you plan out your days however, so you have to think carefully about what you want to do and who you want to romance. I'm on my second playthrough of the game with a different farm and I'm still enjoying it and having so much fun with it. Stardew Valley is a great chill out game that offers a lot of fun.
  
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
2018 | Action, Sci-Fi
Almost everything (0 more)
It's clearly one half of a full story (0 more)
Thanos is badass
Starring - EVERYONE!! (almost)

Plot - Mad Titan Thanos is hunting down the infinity stones to add to his gauntlet so he can kill half the universe. Avengers, Guardians and co must stop him.

First impressions - Holy crap this film looks excellent. As expected the trailer was the unfinished article and this film looks amazing.
The plot is thin but with 10years of back story, I'd say that's allowed. Thanos is an excellent villain who is fleshed out and well motivated. Something that has been lacking from most MCU Villians.

Were the Russo brothers able to pull off so many characters being in one film?
- in a word, yes. True that some characters get more time than others but the way they jump between plot lines and sub plots feels incredibly well stitched together.

Action?
Action a plenty and very well done. Inventive and on a cosmic scale.

Is it a clever film?
....it has plot holes but they could be explained away if you so wish. My advice, just go with it. It's a universe with rage monsters, Gods and Titans.

Is it worthy of the MCU?
This is the MCU at some of its finest.

Sum up:

This is balls to the wall crazy. Some of the most fun I've had at the cinema in years. I cheered on multiple occasions, found myself holding my breath and gave it a standing ovation.
  
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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated The Mummy (2017) in Movies

May 27, 2019 (Updated May 27, 2019)  
The Mummy (2017)
The Mummy (2017)
2017 | Action, Adventure
An abrupt and poorly executed end to the Dark Universe
Since The Mummy came out in 2017, Universals planned Dark Universe has come to a shuddering stop.
After watching this movie I can see why.

The movie starts off ok I guess, the pretty standard 'tomb raiding' you can expect from a Mummy film.

It Tom Cruise that starts to tank it for me - I've always been able to take or leave Tom Cruise. Sometimes I like him, sometimes I don't, and in The Mummy, I definitely didn't. It just seems like he's playing a parody of himself at this point.

When we are introduced midway through the film to the plot device that was supposed to start linking The Mummy to future Dark Universe films - namely Russell Crowe as Jekkyl/Hyde - the movie falls apart even further, causing what little coherence it did have to slowly crumble.
Annabelle Wallace's character is reduced to someone who panders after Tom Cruise, even with his character constantly being an arsehole.
Jake Johnson's character is used as a weird exposition tool that pops randomly without rhyme or reason.
It's just all a little messy.

Some saving graces - The CGI effects or pretty good for the most part and I did quite like Sofia Boutella as The Mummy.

Maybe the first Brendan Frasier Mummy film was just a one off, which is kind of sad, as I was quite excited to see the Universal Monsters brought back to life.
  
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Sassy Brit (97 KP) rated Godeena in Books

Jun 5, 2019  
Godeena
Godeena
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
In this military, science fiction adventure, Godeena, Croatian author Stjepan Vareševac-Cobet delves into a world of modified soldiers, and alien monsters in this imaginative sci-fi fantasy adventure.

Brigadier Henry Broncon is sent to gather prisoners from a high security prison to complete a military mission that guarantees certain death to any of those who attempt it. But what’s it matter? Henry is a Cyber and modified with cybernetics. He won’t die. And what of his team? They’re dangerous prisoners who don’t even deserve to live. They’ll not be missed. Without this mission, they were never going to escape their prison sentences anyway.

I did find some sentences and point of view changes a little jarring, which took me out of the story at times, but I appreciate the author is from another country and can write in two languages, which I can’t, so kudos for that. However, it is most likely because of this I also found the sentence structures of the dialogue stilted, and at times felt that some of these dangerous, violent prisoners were talking a little bit too well-to-do sounding for my liking.

That said, the author has a fantastic imagination and managed to write a fully formed adventure surrounding a group of hand-picked, hardened criminals, with no choice than to go on a fatal mission of which there may be no way back. It’s even got a touch of romance, too.
  
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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) in Movies

Jun 10, 2019 (Updated Jun 11, 2019)  
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Big, loud, fun.
I'm not quite sure where all the bad reviews are coming from with this one, truth be told! I fully accept that there many action film cliches littered throughout, and the dialogue is just silly at times, but how much can you really dislike the spectacle of this sequel when the monsters turn up (and that doesn't take long!)

I liked the first one a lot, even though we didn't see a huge amount of Godzilla himself, and I also really rate Kong: Skull Island as well, so I've been looking forward to this one, and it's exactly what I expected it to be - it's loud, and it's dumb, but it works because it's an impressive looking monster film - and there a huge amount of them this time around.

Lifting various Godzilla opponents from the Japanese run of films, watching Kaiju like Ghidorah, Rhodan and Mothra get involved is pretty thrilling, especially coupled with the old school Godzilla theme music.
The effects themselves are pretty impressive, and all makes for an enjoyable blockbuster.

I didn't really care too much about the human characters (except Millie Bobbie Brown, and Charles Dance... Because it's Charles Dance) but I wasn't there for them!
And I guess there is where my main issue was, there was just a bit too much time spent on characters I struggled to care about.

Aside from that, it was pretty entertaining. Bring on Godzilla vs Kong!
  
TY
The Year's Work at the Zombie Research Center
Edward P. Comentale, Aaron Jaffe | 2014 | Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I had to read this book for my zombie film course at UCI and I can honestly say it was incredibly interesting. I loved seeing all these ideas about how deep the zombie narrative is because it made me think in ways I would not have otherwise.

There are essays on race, post feminism, the health care system, and so many more.

I loved how it related to both zombie films from the 1930s as well as the more prevalent films known about today. These essays took into consideration the history of zombies and the actual cultural significance of these monsters instead of ignoring it. Many of these essays made references to the Haitian culture surrounding zombies which was awesome.

I enjoyed seeing the different cultural and gender perspectives on all of these issues. Instead of only seeing the viewpoint of some middle aged white male, we get to see women and men of color all engaging in this scholarship and being able to keep it entertaining enough to keep the readers engaged.

If you like reading essays on popular culture connecting to both social and political issues of the time period, then definitely pick this book up, it is worth the read. Honestly, even if you don't like reading those types of books, pick it up because it could give you a different perspective on something you feel like you already know.
  
"When you’re old and gray like me, and someone asks you for your story, what would you rather have – nothing at all or the story you lived through tonight?"

I really enjoyed this book, but found it somewhat predictable as I knew how the book was going to end . The artwork to this book was really good and I felt that it suited the story very well with limited colours being used. I found the font quite spooky but also difficult to see what words were written in parts.

There are 3 separate short stories that were intertwined within the book , two were written in verse and one was silent which I think I understood but it’s just pictures for you to interpret in your own way.

There were important messages throughout the book, such as being out of your comfort zone, bullies,sticking up for yourself and confidence.The different monsters in the book were very creepy and all shapes and sizes. This is definitely targeted for middle graders (8-12yrs), however can be enjoyed by all ages as there were references to Sean Connery and I don’t think there are going to be many kids knowing who he is (I may be worng)

This is the first book by Kory Merritt and would be interested in reading others.

Overall I rated this 3.5 stars out of 5.

For more check out louiselovesbooks.wordpress.com
  
The Maze Runner
The Maze Runner
James Dashner | 2011 | Children
4
8.0 (55 Ratings)
Book Rating
I decided to read this after watching the film of the same name based on it, in both cases more out of a sense of curiosity than out of any real desire to watch/read it.

In both cases, if I was asked for one word to sum it up, that word would probably be 'M'eh'.

Bleak in nature, this (IMO) is definitely one of - if not the - weakest of the Young Adult genre books I have read recently, that seem to have experienced a surge in popularity of late. In a break from what seems to be the norm, however, the main protagonists in this are predominantly male.

For anyone who doesn't know: the central character (Thomas) wakes up in a lift, with no memory of his previous life, to find himself deposited in what seems to be a glade surrounded by a massive maze which reconfigures itself every night, and in which monsters roam. He finds himself driven to become a Runner - i.e. a maze explorer - just as events start to unfold that will mark the end of their way of life (or the experiment in which the kids are all unwilling participants).

Reading that back, it's almost as if this is experiments done on mice told from the mice's point of view!

I've read it, but currently have no real desire to read any of the others in the series.
  
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Otway93 (580 KP) rated Doctor Who in TV

Oct 28, 2019  
Doctor Who
Doctor Who
1963 | Adventure, Family, Sci-Fi
Stories (3 more)
Educational
Casting
Imagination
Some Casting Choices (1 more)
Can rely too much on nostalgia
All round fun, from the newest to the oldest bubblewrap monsters!
Doctor Who will always be my favourite show of all time, but it has had its ups and downs, just like every show.

The original run of Doctor Who from 1963-1989 was 95% brilliant, an almost constant flow of imagination from some incredibly talents writers. From the more you educational episodes of the first two series to the somewhat difficult days of the late 80s, fun was always there, but at the same time teaching morality and kindness. The show also created some of the most notorious villains in science fiction history, with such enemies as the Daleks, the Cybermen and not forgetting one of the greatest nemesis of all time, The Master! The older stories, family fun for all!

Then in 2005 after a 16 year hiatus it returned to a new audience and its original audience. With shorter stories and fewer episodes, the show continues to attract fans worldwide and keep (most of) the original fans happy.

The only real downsides I can think of are some poor writing in Season 22 and 24 of the original run, and 8 and 11 of the new run, and a few poor casting choices, mainly being Bonnie Langford in the original run, and Tosin Cole in the most recent series, but plenty of other perfect casting choices to make up for it!