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Darren (1599 KP) rated Doctor Sleep (2019) in Movies
Nov 7, 2019
Characters – Danny Torrance grew up to learn how to contain the nightmares of the Overlook Hotel, he has turned to alcohol and drugs to get him through adult life, until he looks to clean up his life and start fresh, using his ability to guide people to the afterlife. He does make a new friend that communicates through a wall, one that will force him into using his ability to a new fight, a new evil, where he must protect a teenage girl who is being targeted. Rose the Hat is the leader of the cult, she selects who to eat or who to turn, she is the strongest of her group and keeps them in line, she searches for the next targets, with her eyes set on Abra, only to learn just how strong she really is. Abra is a teenage girl that has the ability to look and see miles away from her location, feeling the pain of the victims, she communicates with Danny for years and now calls for his help to deal with Rose and her friends. Billy is the man that sees the good in Danny and wants to help him clean up his act, becoming his best friend. Snakebite Andi shows what it is like to be recruited by Rose, she is one character that you did want to learn more about, because it feels like certain parts of her arc are left in the editing room.
Performances – Ewan McGregor taking the leading role is wonderful in this film, showing how damaged his character’s life is. Rebecca Ferguson is a joy to watch in the villainous role. Kyliegh Curran gives a fantastic performance filled with fear, determination and aggression in the fight.
Story – The story here brings us into the modern times as Danny Torrance is all grown up, dealing with most of the nightmares from his childhood, until he starts communicating with a teenage girl that has seen herself targeted by a cult that preys on the children with the shining abilities. This is a sequel to the much-loved The Shining and does bring us a brand-new story that does make complete sense. We do see certain ideas from other Stephen King novels come to light, with the idea of good and evil joining up before a battle, much like The Stand, while we get references of others through the film. The biggest and best part of the story comes from the idea that both sides can be dealt with the scarier moments in the story, making nobody feel safe.
Horror – The horror is the most interesting and strongest part of the film, we get Danny having his nightmares and to impress more, Abra and Rose using their abilities to try and stay ahead of each other, not to mention one of the most disturbing sequences of the year.
Settings – The film might be known for the iconic location of the Overlook Hotel, the rest of the locations see the gypsy characters travelling around showing how the powers are more than just a long time alone in a hotel.
Special Effects – The effects in this film show just what will happen to the cult if they don’t receive the steam, while also managing to recreate iconic moments from the original.
Scene of the Movie – Rose visits Abra.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Snakebite Andi did seem to have more to her story.
Final Thoughts – This is by far the best horror film of the year, it spins the horror ideas on its head by having both sides being put through the horror elements and does continue the legacy created by The Shining.
Overall: One of the Best Horrors Ever.
Performances – Ewan McGregor taking the leading role is wonderful in this film, showing how damaged his character’s life is. Rebecca Ferguson is a joy to watch in the villainous role. Kyliegh Curran gives a fantastic performance filled with fear, determination and aggression in the fight.
Story – The story here brings us into the modern times as Danny Torrance is all grown up, dealing with most of the nightmares from his childhood, until he starts communicating with a teenage girl that has seen herself targeted by a cult that preys on the children with the shining abilities. This is a sequel to the much-loved The Shining and does bring us a brand-new story that does make complete sense. We do see certain ideas from other Stephen King novels come to light, with the idea of good and evil joining up before a battle, much like The Stand, while we get references of others through the film. The biggest and best part of the story comes from the idea that both sides can be dealt with the scarier moments in the story, making nobody feel safe.
Horror – The horror is the most interesting and strongest part of the film, we get Danny having his nightmares and to impress more, Abra and Rose using their abilities to try and stay ahead of each other, not to mention one of the most disturbing sequences of the year.
Settings – The film might be known for the iconic location of the Overlook Hotel, the rest of the locations see the gypsy characters travelling around showing how the powers are more than just a long time alone in a hotel.
Special Effects – The effects in this film show just what will happen to the cult if they don’t receive the steam, while also managing to recreate iconic moments from the original.
Scene of the Movie – Rose visits Abra.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Snakebite Andi did seem to have more to her story.
Final Thoughts – This is by far the best horror film of the year, it spins the horror ideas on its head by having both sides being put through the horror elements and does continue the legacy created by The Shining.
Overall: One of the Best Horrors Ever.
Children's Bible Daily Prayers for Family & School
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Children's Prayer is an app for Christian families, teachers and catechists with kids of all ages....
Hazel (1853 KP) rated Nirvana (Nirvana #1) in Books
Dec 7, 2018
<i>This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review </i>
Imagine a world without any bees. That is the world that J. R. Stewart conjures up in this new dystopian series, <i>Nirvana</i>. Twenty years from now, the bees have become extinct. There are no more trees, flowers, fruits or vegetables; and more animals have become extinct as a result. Young adult, Larissa, is living in a world that seems unimaginable, but not only is she dealing with this new way of life, she is also grieving the loss of her husband, Andrew.
Andrew was a scientist, an occupation that earned himself and Larissa a place in the Barracks where he could continue with his important research. They both believed they were lucky to receive this opportunity, but then Andrew went out on a mission and never came back. No matter how hard people try to convince her, Larissa cannot accept that her husband is dead, especially as she has seen him in <i>Nirvana</i> – a virtual reality world. As she struggles to piece together what is real and what is not, secrets are being uncovered that blur the lines between reality and the cybernetic domain.
<i>Nirvana </i>is an interesting concept. Firstly, the issue with the extinction of the bees is a very real concern for scientists at the moment. If bees were to die out there would be no pollination of the vital plants that humans use daily. Humanity would be faced with a future not unlike Larissa’s. Secondly, with the advance in computer technology, virtual reality has become a popular phenomenon in contemporary society, and with more expansion it is likely that something similar to Nirvana will be produced.
As a story, however, nothing exciting really happened. There was no major build up to the ending. Characters were suspected of hiding the truth from the very beginning and therefore it was no surprise when certain facts came to light later in the novel. <i>Nirvana</i> is also a very short first installment of the series, which does not give the story much chance to develop at an adequate pace, thus it is difficult to get our heads around the virtual reality concept that Stewart writes about.
Despite these misgivings there is the chance that the following novels in this series will become more thrilling as the truth begins to unravel about Andrew’s disappearance or death.
Imagine a world without any bees. That is the world that J. R. Stewart conjures up in this new dystopian series, <i>Nirvana</i>. Twenty years from now, the bees have become extinct. There are no more trees, flowers, fruits or vegetables; and more animals have become extinct as a result. Young adult, Larissa, is living in a world that seems unimaginable, but not only is she dealing with this new way of life, she is also grieving the loss of her husband, Andrew.
Andrew was a scientist, an occupation that earned himself and Larissa a place in the Barracks where he could continue with his important research. They both believed they were lucky to receive this opportunity, but then Andrew went out on a mission and never came back. No matter how hard people try to convince her, Larissa cannot accept that her husband is dead, especially as she has seen him in <i>Nirvana</i> – a virtual reality world. As she struggles to piece together what is real and what is not, secrets are being uncovered that blur the lines between reality and the cybernetic domain.
<i>Nirvana </i>is an interesting concept. Firstly, the issue with the extinction of the bees is a very real concern for scientists at the moment. If bees were to die out there would be no pollination of the vital plants that humans use daily. Humanity would be faced with a future not unlike Larissa’s. Secondly, with the advance in computer technology, virtual reality has become a popular phenomenon in contemporary society, and with more expansion it is likely that something similar to Nirvana will be produced.
As a story, however, nothing exciting really happened. There was no major build up to the ending. Characters were suspected of hiding the truth from the very beginning and therefore it was no surprise when certain facts came to light later in the novel. <i>Nirvana</i> is also a very short first installment of the series, which does not give the story much chance to develop at an adequate pace, thus it is difficult to get our heads around the virtual reality concept that Stewart writes about.
Despite these misgivings there is the chance that the following novels in this series will become more thrilling as the truth begins to unravel about Andrew’s disappearance or death.
Saving Normal: An Insider's Revolt Against Out-of-Control Psychiatric Diagnosis, DSM-5, Big Pharma, and the Medicalization of Ordinary Life
Book
From "the most powerful psychiatrist in America" (New York Times) and "the man who wrote the book on...
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Abominable (2019) in Movies
Oct 2, 2019
Abominable is a new animated film that is co-produced between Dreamworks Studio and Pearl studio (out of China).
The main character is called Yi, voiced by Chloe Bennett.
Yi is a bit lost, and sad due to the death of her father. We are introduced to her in the film working working working and barely slowing down enough to eat, and never spending and family time with her mother (voiced by Michelle Wong) and grandmother (Tsai Chin).
I could tell there was more to Yi’s reluctance to spend time with her family than just ‘work’, and the movie, from an adult perspective, showed that Yi didn’t feel like she really HAD a family anymore, because of the loss of her dad.
We find out that she is working so hard to earn money to travel to all the spots she was supposed to travel with her father to.
Discovering a Yeti on the roof of her apartment building puts a monkey wrench in her plans, however.
Yi discovers that the Yeti needs to find his way home to HIS family, and that his home is Mount Everest. She promptly tags the Yeti with the name ‘Everest’.
Her best friend Peng (voiced by Albert Tsai) and Pengs cousin Jin (voiced by Tenzing Norgay Trainor – who is actually the grandson of Tenzing Norgay, one of the first men to reach the summit of Everest), get roped into the adventure.
The group must avoid being captured by a man intent on collecting novel and new animals, named Burnish (Eddie Izzard) and his assistant Dr. Zara (Sarah Paulson) who is not what she seems, who Everest had escaped from.
The movie moves along quickly and kept even my 3 year old who never-stops-moving pretty engaged for at least the first hour.
My 11 year old son was entranced the whole way through.
I thought that the animation was great, the visuals (scenery) that the movie existed in were phenomenally done and the music was perfectly arranged to go with the story line.
The story itself was sweet, and a bit sad, but did evolve well and showed the possibilities of moving beyond deep sadness and the healing power of music and friends and helping others as well.
It’s a great family film, and I would go see it again for sure.
I would actually give this movie 5 out of 5 stars as a kids / family movie.
It’s a must see!
The main character is called Yi, voiced by Chloe Bennett.
Yi is a bit lost, and sad due to the death of her father. We are introduced to her in the film working working working and barely slowing down enough to eat, and never spending and family time with her mother (voiced by Michelle Wong) and grandmother (Tsai Chin).
I could tell there was more to Yi’s reluctance to spend time with her family than just ‘work’, and the movie, from an adult perspective, showed that Yi didn’t feel like she really HAD a family anymore, because of the loss of her dad.
We find out that she is working so hard to earn money to travel to all the spots she was supposed to travel with her father to.
Discovering a Yeti on the roof of her apartment building puts a monkey wrench in her plans, however.
Yi discovers that the Yeti needs to find his way home to HIS family, and that his home is Mount Everest. She promptly tags the Yeti with the name ‘Everest’.
Her best friend Peng (voiced by Albert Tsai) and Pengs cousin Jin (voiced by Tenzing Norgay Trainor – who is actually the grandson of Tenzing Norgay, one of the first men to reach the summit of Everest), get roped into the adventure.
The group must avoid being captured by a man intent on collecting novel and new animals, named Burnish (Eddie Izzard) and his assistant Dr. Zara (Sarah Paulson) who is not what she seems, who Everest had escaped from.
The movie moves along quickly and kept even my 3 year old who never-stops-moving pretty engaged for at least the first hour.
My 11 year old son was entranced the whole way through.
I thought that the animation was great, the visuals (scenery) that the movie existed in were phenomenally done and the music was perfectly arranged to go with the story line.
The story itself was sweet, and a bit sad, but did evolve well and showed the possibilities of moving beyond deep sadness and the healing power of music and friends and helping others as well.
It’s a great family film, and I would go see it again for sure.
I would actually give this movie 5 out of 5 stars as a kids / family movie.
It’s a must see!
Radio Pro HQ
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"Radio Pro HQ" is a modern internet radio receiver that enables you to listen lots of internet radio...
Shadow and Light (Arizona Raptors #3)
RJ Scott and V.L. Locey
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Is it easier to fall into the shadows than hold onto the light? Injured in a horrific car...
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Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated The Giver (2014) in Movies
Jun 10, 2019
A Striking visual translation
Over the last decade, cinema-going audiences have had the treat of numerous adaptations of popular young adult novels. Some of them have been particularly great – the Harry Potter series the highlight – whilst others have been less than stellar – Twilight, I’m looking at you.
However, with The Hunger Games on the edge of its tantalising conclusion, director Phillip Noyce introduces teens and adults alike to a whole new world in The Giver, but can it seduce audiences which have already had numerous fantasy worlds to enjoy?
For the most part, yes. Noyce directs this adaptation with extreme visual flair and commands some great performances from the veteran actors, even if the young thespians pale a little in comparison.The-Giver-Brenton-Thwaites-character-poster-691x1024
The Giver follows a community dealing with the aftermath of a brutal conflict. The Elders (people in charge) have been forced to eradicate all feelings, emotion, colour and memories from the past to ensure that this doesn’t happen again. Unfortunately, the plan isn’t fool-proof and one person each generation must be tasked with storing information from the past to ensure the progression of the future.
The book’s intriguing premise brings a striking visual translation. The majority of the picture is shot in black and white which adds to the emotionless atmosphere – just how The Elders want it.
Meryl Streep plays the Chief Elder and despite her limited screen time manages to command each scene she is a part of – though we have come to expect nothing less from the woman who played Margaret Thatcher so beautifully. Jeff Bridges is the title character – The Giver, who manages to impart wisdom to the one teenager each generation.
The teenage characters, despite their constant presence on screen, lack the magic and sparkle of their older counterparts. Brenton Thwaites stars as The Receiver Jonas and is probably the best of the younger stars, though a decent turn by True Blood’s Alexander Skarsgard helps alleviate the offerings somewhat, and there’s even a small role for Taylor Swift.
Despite it’s reasonably small budget of $25million compared to The Hunger Games $78million, the special effects are all of a decent standard. Of course there’s a few lapses here and there in areas were most people would probably never notice, and a few larger issues involving unrealistic space ships – but there isn’t too much to criticise as the striking cinematography is were the eyes are drawn.
Overall, it’s easy to feel sorry for The Giver, it’s come at an awkward time when audiences aren’t ready to get invested in another young adult movie and therefore I predict its box office success will fall short of the quality of the film itself.
The acting is on the whole very good and it’s nice to see Meryl Streep getting her teeth into the role of a villain in a style similar to her role in The Devil Wears Prada, but it all feels a little unsure of itself. Is it a sentimental rom-com or a utopian thriller? Who knows, but it’s definitely worth a watch for the striking visuals alone.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2014/09/24/a-striking-visual-translation-the-giver-review/
However, with The Hunger Games on the edge of its tantalising conclusion, director Phillip Noyce introduces teens and adults alike to a whole new world in The Giver, but can it seduce audiences which have already had numerous fantasy worlds to enjoy?
For the most part, yes. Noyce directs this adaptation with extreme visual flair and commands some great performances from the veteran actors, even if the young thespians pale a little in comparison.The-Giver-Brenton-Thwaites-character-poster-691x1024
The Giver follows a community dealing with the aftermath of a brutal conflict. The Elders (people in charge) have been forced to eradicate all feelings, emotion, colour and memories from the past to ensure that this doesn’t happen again. Unfortunately, the plan isn’t fool-proof and one person each generation must be tasked with storing information from the past to ensure the progression of the future.
The book’s intriguing premise brings a striking visual translation. The majority of the picture is shot in black and white which adds to the emotionless atmosphere – just how The Elders want it.
Meryl Streep plays the Chief Elder and despite her limited screen time manages to command each scene she is a part of – though we have come to expect nothing less from the woman who played Margaret Thatcher so beautifully. Jeff Bridges is the title character – The Giver, who manages to impart wisdom to the one teenager each generation.
The teenage characters, despite their constant presence on screen, lack the magic and sparkle of their older counterparts. Brenton Thwaites stars as The Receiver Jonas and is probably the best of the younger stars, though a decent turn by True Blood’s Alexander Skarsgard helps alleviate the offerings somewhat, and there’s even a small role for Taylor Swift.
Despite it’s reasonably small budget of $25million compared to The Hunger Games $78million, the special effects are all of a decent standard. Of course there’s a few lapses here and there in areas were most people would probably never notice, and a few larger issues involving unrealistic space ships – but there isn’t too much to criticise as the striking cinematography is were the eyes are drawn.
Overall, it’s easy to feel sorry for The Giver, it’s come at an awkward time when audiences aren’t ready to get invested in another young adult movie and therefore I predict its box office success will fall short of the quality of the film itself.
The acting is on the whole very good and it’s nice to see Meryl Streep getting her teeth into the role of a villain in a style similar to her role in The Devil Wears Prada, but it all feels a little unsure of itself. Is it a sentimental rom-com or a utopian thriller? Who knows, but it’s definitely worth a watch for the striking visuals alone.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2014/09/24/a-striking-visual-translation-the-giver-review/
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Half a King (Shattered Sea #1) in Books
Nov 14, 2019
It seems to have been a long wait since Red Country for another book from Lord Grimdark himself, Joe Abercrombie. Not only is this the first book in a new sequence, but it is also labelled as Young Adult. I have to say I had my reservations about that since I wondered how the author of the very grim and very dark First Law books would be able to make a book suitable for young adults... it would be like Quentin Tarantino making a Disney film...
I needn't have worried. It seems all Abercrombie has done is create his usual cast of dark, mysterious, vengeful and misfit characters, set them on a bloody quest during which they can philosophise, complain and make pithy remarks to each other while hacking their enemies into pieces. It seems the only nods to being a 'Young Adult' book is that there is no sex and maybe some of the gore has been turned down a notch. The writing, the plot or the characters don't suffer from this at all.
The plot concerns Yarvi, youngest son of the king in a land where strength and ability in battle is everything. However Yarvi was born with a deformed hand and he is an embarrassment to his father and fated to join the ministry - which normally only women do - to become and adviser to a king rather than a king himself.
However destiny strikes a cruel blow when his father and older brother are both killed. Yarvi is now the king - unprepared as he is and as unpopular as he is with his subjects. He is soon betrayed and sets out on a quest for revenge.
This is pure Abercrombie from start to finish. Yarvi's journey takes him from being a king to being the lowest of the low - if not lower. He might lack the strength or ability to fight but he has wisdom, knowledge, cunning and a thirst for revenge to make up for that. From a lonely and unhappy child he becomes a leader of men - and women - and has to fight for survival across a continent to get home to take his rightful place at the throne.
The book is perhaps a little slow to start - until Yarvi is betrayed - but it is essential that this time is taken to lay the groundwork for what follows. Once it gets going the book races along with barely a stop for breath as events carry the young hero along, sometimes with some control of the situation but often just as much a bystander as the reader. There are characters aplenty - some plain mean and nasty, some friendly and amusing, some mean and nasty and amusing. As would be expected from Abercrombie nobody falls into a neat pigeonhole or trope. When deaths among Yarvi's comrades occur they are touchingly written - but with the senseless random nature of war and death writ large across their last words.
Definitely a great read, hope it will not be so long before the next in the series.
I needn't have worried. It seems all Abercrombie has done is create his usual cast of dark, mysterious, vengeful and misfit characters, set them on a bloody quest during which they can philosophise, complain and make pithy remarks to each other while hacking their enemies into pieces. It seems the only nods to being a 'Young Adult' book is that there is no sex and maybe some of the gore has been turned down a notch. The writing, the plot or the characters don't suffer from this at all.
The plot concerns Yarvi, youngest son of the king in a land where strength and ability in battle is everything. However Yarvi was born with a deformed hand and he is an embarrassment to his father and fated to join the ministry - which normally only women do - to become and adviser to a king rather than a king himself.
However destiny strikes a cruel blow when his father and older brother are both killed. Yarvi is now the king - unprepared as he is and as unpopular as he is with his subjects. He is soon betrayed and sets out on a quest for revenge.
This is pure Abercrombie from start to finish. Yarvi's journey takes him from being a king to being the lowest of the low - if not lower. He might lack the strength or ability to fight but he has wisdom, knowledge, cunning and a thirst for revenge to make up for that. From a lonely and unhappy child he becomes a leader of men - and women - and has to fight for survival across a continent to get home to take his rightful place at the throne.
The book is perhaps a little slow to start - until Yarvi is betrayed - but it is essential that this time is taken to lay the groundwork for what follows. Once it gets going the book races along with barely a stop for breath as events carry the young hero along, sometimes with some control of the situation but often just as much a bystander as the reader. There are characters aplenty - some plain mean and nasty, some friendly and amusing, some mean and nasty and amusing. As would be expected from Abercrombie nobody falls into a neat pigeonhole or trope. When deaths among Yarvi's comrades occur they are touchingly written - but with the senseless random nature of war and death writ large across their last words.
Definitely a great read, hope it will not be so long before the next in the series.