Remote Control Pro - Wireless trackpad, keyboard & numpad
Productivity and Utilities
App
Remote Control Pro transforms your iPhone, iPod Touch or even your iPad into a wireless trackpad...
How to Date a Fury (Syn City Shifters #1)
Book
Who knew dying would be the easy part of my day? It all started the night Chase, my mountain...
Paranormal Romance Mystery
Weekly Ads & Sales PRO
Catalogs
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Do you like finding great deals and saving money? Weekly Ads & Sales app helps you do just that!...
Ross (3284 KP) rated Prince of Fools in Books
Mar 6, 2018
While the writing is enjoyable in the moment and in short bursts, I don't tend to find it too engaging and find my attention wandering off quite often and have to reread passages. I also tended to find that I didn't particularly care what was happening to the characters, I just felt I was along for the ride without a clear idea of where I was going or why. I think Lawrence has said this is how he writes, he knows who the characters are and where they are headed but a lot of the plot emerges as he writes. This seems to please a lot of fans, but I don't think I have the discipline for that sort of reading. I'm the same with open-world video games - I don't have the discipline to force myself to focus on one mission, I wander off up a mountain and get mauled by a lion after not saving for an hour. I need a degree of linearity in my life and can't deal with too much chaos. But this is about me and not a criticism of the book.
Overall I enjoyed the read but felt at times the journey was a little bumpy.
David Livingstone, Africa's Greatest Explorer: The Man, the Missionary and the Myth
7.0
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Book
In 1841, a twenty-eight-year-old Scottish missionary, David Livingstone, began the first of his...
Air Display 3
Utilities and Productivity
App
Air Display 3 turns your iOS screen into a wireless (or USB!) display for your Mac. HOLIDAY SALE:...
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Prey (2022) in Movies
Aug 6, 2022
under Disney ownership since their purchase of 20th Century Fox. “Prey”
takes a look back in order to move the franchise forward and it does
this by setting in amongst the Comanche community roughly three hundred
years in the past.
The film follows a young girl named Naru (Amber Midthunder) who looks to
become a warrior but in a male-dominated setting, only her brother is
relatively supportive of her ambition and talks about when she will face
a trial which she must endure to show her worth.
At the same time, a Predator has arrived and begins to hunt the local
wildlife. Naru sees evidence of his work and tries to convince the tribe
that the carnage they are finding is not the work of a bear or a
mountain lion as the community believes.
When the nature of the threat manifests itself, Naru must find the
courage and skills to track and face the enemy who threatens to destroy
her tribe.
The film is directed by Dan Trachtenberg and he mixes a good amount of
action along with a very interesting setting and characters to create an
engaging tale.
There are some moments that the FX was not as sharp as one might expect
but the sequences with the Predator are filled with action and suspense
and should make fans of the franchise very happy. The film at times does
require some leaps of faith from the audience but in the end, “Prey” is
a satisfying film that is superior to “The Predator” and rates as one of
the stronger entries in the series and that the franchise is in good
hands for the future.
It will be interesting to see where the franchise goes next as there is lots of material for the franchise to explore, but for now, “Prey” is a refreshing take on the series and one fans should enjoy.
Learn Cocoa on the Mac
Jack Nutting and P. Clark
Book
The Cocoa frameworks are some of the most powerful for creating native OS X apps available today....
Lionhearts: Part Two Box Set
8.0
Rate It
Book
Into the Arena He will fight for the one he loves, no matter what it takes. Cesare Bianco is a...
Adult Paranormal Romance M_M
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Encanto (2021) in Movies
Nov 15, 2021
In the new Disney film “Encanto”; audiences are told the story of how the family patriarch founded the community with a magical candle and how upon reaching a certain age; all members of her family receive a “gift” from the magical house which gives them an ability to help the community. From being able to heal with cooking to talking to the animals and super strength; the family Madrigal is the beloved pillar of the community.
To every rule there is an exception and young Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz); is the only member of her family not to receive a gift of powers. As such she is seen as a pariah from the family and believes she is more tolerated than loved especially compared to her siblings who are endowed with amazing abilities.
Things change when a new member of the family goes through the gifting ceremony; the first one since Mirabel was denied, and receives an amazing gift and basks in the love of the town and family. Mirabel has a vision of the house cracking and falling into ruin. She tries to warn her family but they see the house in its usual pristine condition and blame Mirabel for being jealous for not having a gift and wanting to take attention away from those who do.
Mirabel believes in what she saw and learns that members of her family may know more than they admit and that they hold the key to saving the day. This leads to a quest to find the absent Uncle Bruno (John Leguizamo); who has been absent as many believe his gift of prophecy only leads to bad things coming to fruition and has gone into hiding as a result.
Mirabel is soon forced to look deep inside herself and find her strength to overcome her own insecurities and save her family and community.
The film has great animation and is awash in color as it brings the magical community to life. The music is lively and is what you would expect from Lin- Manuel Miranda as it brings joy and energy to the film that is in keeping with the Disney tradition of amazing music in their animated films.
The biggest issue that I had with the film is that while fun and entertaining; the story never took the next step forward and at times dragged. This is not to say that “Encanto” is a bad film as it is lively, colorful, and fun; however it does not reach the heights of Disney classics like “Frozen” “Moana” and other classics. Think of it this way; “Lilo & Stitch” is a fine animated film but few would hold it in the same regard as “The Lion King”, “Beauty and the Beast”, and “The Little Mermaid”.
In the end “Encanto” offers a fun experience for the family and fans to enjoy and shows how even when they do not hit the top of the mountain; Disney is still the Gold Standard in animation.
4 stars out of 5