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Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Strike Force Heroes 3 in Video Games
Jun 19, 2019
The world of Free to Play Games has a fantastic new entry with the arrival of Strike Force Heroes 3. The game is harkens back to the classic side scrolling action games of the past but incorporates modern graphics, sound, and physics in a winning combination.
Players pick a squad character and then enter a mission armed with a variety of weapons such as an automatic rifle and a pistol. Players can switch between weapons as needed with a single key press and use the mouse to get a full 360 degree range of fire and vision as the leap between the various platforms to dispatch enemies, gain power ups, and avoid traps.
The campaign of the game offers 50 new missions and there are also new weapons and perks such as an aim bot that greatly help combat available for players compared to the previous game in the series.
The game also offers some solid music and sound effects, much better than one would come to expect in a free to play game and really helps ramp up the intensity of the game.
The high number of weapons and perks that become available to players as the game unfolds is really amazing as players have the freedom to find a loadout that best reflects their style of play rather than being forced to adapt to a rigid in game standard.
The game is played on a PC so that means that players will have to use a keyboard for movement. The W, A, S, D, as well as the Q key and other selected keys as the game unfolds for perks. Players will need to use a mouse as well as the ability to face left, right, up and fire in all directions is based upon the mouse to move the position of the gun and the mouse buttons to fire and reload. It can take some getting used to at first as well as the hang time that is associated with the jumps, but after a few moments it will be second nature for most players.
Players can also use the arrow keys in order to navigate the maps which involve lots of jumping and ducking and cover multiple levels. My first mission involved crawling the shafts, jumping over a trap frequently and climbing up a truck to leap to snow covered ledges as an example.
The enemies of the game are fierce as right off the bat I was forced to contend with shotgun and sword wielding bad guys who even coming at me one at a time were a challenge and took repeated and sustained fire in order to defeat. Let us also not forget that the enemies get harder as players advanced and that there are Boss Battles as well for players to deal with.
In Summary, Strike Force Heroes 3 is fun and challenging game that offers plenty of great things for fans of action games and who love to have a bit of retro gameplay as well.
http://sknr.net/2017/01/08/game-review-strike-force-heroes-3-free-online-game/
Players pick a squad character and then enter a mission armed with a variety of weapons such as an automatic rifle and a pistol. Players can switch between weapons as needed with a single key press and use the mouse to get a full 360 degree range of fire and vision as the leap between the various platforms to dispatch enemies, gain power ups, and avoid traps.
The campaign of the game offers 50 new missions and there are also new weapons and perks such as an aim bot that greatly help combat available for players compared to the previous game in the series.
The game also offers some solid music and sound effects, much better than one would come to expect in a free to play game and really helps ramp up the intensity of the game.
The high number of weapons and perks that become available to players as the game unfolds is really amazing as players have the freedom to find a loadout that best reflects their style of play rather than being forced to adapt to a rigid in game standard.
The game is played on a PC so that means that players will have to use a keyboard for movement. The W, A, S, D, as well as the Q key and other selected keys as the game unfolds for perks. Players will need to use a mouse as well as the ability to face left, right, up and fire in all directions is based upon the mouse to move the position of the gun and the mouse buttons to fire and reload. It can take some getting used to at first as well as the hang time that is associated with the jumps, but after a few moments it will be second nature for most players.
Players can also use the arrow keys in order to navigate the maps which involve lots of jumping and ducking and cover multiple levels. My first mission involved crawling the shafts, jumping over a trap frequently and climbing up a truck to leap to snow covered ledges as an example.
The enemies of the game are fierce as right off the bat I was forced to contend with shotgun and sword wielding bad guys who even coming at me one at a time were a challenge and took repeated and sustained fire in order to defeat. Let us also not forget that the enemies get harder as players advanced and that there are Boss Battles as well for players to deal with.
In Summary, Strike Force Heroes 3 is fun and challenging game that offers plenty of great things for fans of action games and who love to have a bit of retro gameplay as well.
http://sknr.net/2017/01/08/game-review-strike-force-heroes-3-free-online-game/
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Perfect Genesis: Adolescence in Books
Nov 21, 2019
This is a book of many levels and many emotions. Superficially it is a far-future science fiction book where societies have been engineered by some planet-spanning intelligence to create stable and sustainable places for humans to live. Under this runs a strong current of philosophy and meta physics about exactly what this means for the individuals involved - and the news isn't good.
The plot follows Leonardo Khalid, a genetically engineered genius who has dedicated his life to improving life for mankind. However when he is taken critically ill he agrees to undergo a procedure to scan and record is brain. He is warned that during the process he will appear to inhabit a very real and long lasting dream as his brain is stimulated.
The dream is extremely vivid - so much so that we don't see it just from Leonardo's point of view. So is it a dream? Or a very real future world that he has somehow been projected into? Leonardo certainly believes he is in a dream, but does that condone some of his more morally questionable actions?
There are plenty of questions raised by this book. As Hogan says in a brief introduction, this book is supposed to stay with the reader long after they have read it, and it will certainly do that. At times it is an uncomfortable read - the dream societies place little value on human life and women in particular are treated very badly. Death, violence and sexual exploitation are daily hazards for the members of the societies described, but these are engineered places, not designed to benefit the individual human but to ensure the longevity of the society itself. They have been created with cold and clinical efficiency with no regard for the individual members of the citizenry.
This is a huge dichotomy and the heart of the book. The story itself - Leonardo exploring the land of his dream and overcoming the various obstacles that hinder him and his companions - skates along the top at a good pace, fizzing between plot points and twists, summoning the reader on to read just one more page. But underneath the dark heart will be throwing up awkward questions.
Exploitation of all sorts abounds, particularly sexual exploitation (not all of it men exploiting women). These sections can be an uncomfortable read but they are supposed to be - the questions around power and the abuse of power are valid and the reader is not supposed to be entirely sympathetic with any of the characters or their actions - even Leornardo. The civilisations are frequently brutal, either because of a dangerous environment or a ruthless ruler. People get hurt, people get abused, people die (sometimes horribly) but always the society lives on.
Read this book if you want to have a fantastic story exploring different places but at the same time have something to think about. By the end you will have seen what can happen if the concept of an ideal society is pursued to its limits. And it's not a utopia.
And yes this book will stay with me for a while. Definitely one of the best reads of 2014. Thoroughly recommended.
Rating: Sexual scenes, sexual violence and some torture.
The plot follows Leonardo Khalid, a genetically engineered genius who has dedicated his life to improving life for mankind. However when he is taken critically ill he agrees to undergo a procedure to scan and record is brain. He is warned that during the process he will appear to inhabit a very real and long lasting dream as his brain is stimulated.
The dream is extremely vivid - so much so that we don't see it just from Leonardo's point of view. So is it a dream? Or a very real future world that he has somehow been projected into? Leonardo certainly believes he is in a dream, but does that condone some of his more morally questionable actions?
There are plenty of questions raised by this book. As Hogan says in a brief introduction, this book is supposed to stay with the reader long after they have read it, and it will certainly do that. At times it is an uncomfortable read - the dream societies place little value on human life and women in particular are treated very badly. Death, violence and sexual exploitation are daily hazards for the members of the societies described, but these are engineered places, not designed to benefit the individual human but to ensure the longevity of the society itself. They have been created with cold and clinical efficiency with no regard for the individual members of the citizenry.
This is a huge dichotomy and the heart of the book. The story itself - Leonardo exploring the land of his dream and overcoming the various obstacles that hinder him and his companions - skates along the top at a good pace, fizzing between plot points and twists, summoning the reader on to read just one more page. But underneath the dark heart will be throwing up awkward questions.
Exploitation of all sorts abounds, particularly sexual exploitation (not all of it men exploiting women). These sections can be an uncomfortable read but they are supposed to be - the questions around power and the abuse of power are valid and the reader is not supposed to be entirely sympathetic with any of the characters or their actions - even Leornardo. The civilisations are frequently brutal, either because of a dangerous environment or a ruthless ruler. People get hurt, people get abused, people die (sometimes horribly) but always the society lives on.
Read this book if you want to have a fantastic story exploring different places but at the same time have something to think about. By the end you will have seen what can happen if the concept of an ideal society is pursued to its limits. And it's not a utopia.
And yes this book will stay with me for a while. Definitely one of the best reads of 2014. Thoroughly recommended.
Rating: Sexual scenes, sexual violence and some torture.
Natasha Khan recommended Bad by Michael Jackson in Music (curated)
Hazel (1853 KP) rated Operation: Hail Storm in Books
Dec 22, 2017
Killing the Terrorists
I received this eBook for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.
In the near distant future, terrorism is still a major problem throughout the world. Other things may have changed, such as a female president of the United States and cheaper method of producing energy, however, the world is still under threat, particularly from North Korea. After losing his wife and twin daughters in the biggest terrorist attack the world has seen, Physics Nobel Prize winner, Marshall Hail, an industrial billionaire, decides to take matters into his own hands.
Operation: Hail Storm is a work of science fiction, although, as the main character points out, he and his team only work with science and not fiction. With a selection of friends from his MIT days, and a pick of young gamers whose families had been killed in the terrorist attacks, aim to remove everyone listed on the FBI’s top ten terrorist list. After his drones successfully take out the leader of North Korea, Hail finds himself of interest to the CIA and US president.
Hail hopes the CIA would be pleased with him and supply a list and location of the remaining terrorists. Although they are impressed, the CIA is baffled over how Hail managed to assassinate someone in an extremely guarded country. To prove himself, Hail is given the task of blowing up a missile that is heading to North Korea with the potential to destroy half the world. He may do this however he wishes, however, he must have one member of the CIA with him. Enter Kara.
Kara, who is effectively the CIA’s courtesan, tries to use her skills to find out Hail’s secrets and report back to her boss. Naturally, Hail and his team are one step ahead and are monitoring all her phone calls. With a complicated relationship where both parties are pretending to trust each other, they must come together to successfully complete the mission before the CIA put their disastrous backup plan into place.
Although there are a handful of women in high positions, Operation: Hail Storm is more appropriate for the male population. With complicated mathematics and science, the story becomes similar to spy action novels, complete with an attractive woman: Kara. Physical description is reserved for Kara’s character, whose beauty is used to distract men, particularly villains.
Description is something the author, Brett Arquette, struggles with throughout the book. His choice of similes are questionable and may even upset some readers, for example, “It was like a blob of clay the size of a softball that had been worked by an angry mental patient wearing oven gloves.”
As well as scientific jargon, a number of foreign languages enter the narrative. Unfortunately, although it is possible to get the gist of what is being said, the actual phrases are never translated.
Operation: Hail Storm is a cleverly thought out novel with an impressive knowledge of science, drones and explosive devices. Whether these are wholly accurate is undetermined, however, there do not appear to be any discrepancies during throughout the narrative. As for the storyline, it is nothing spectacular or refreshing, instead, it is a typical male-oriented piece of sci-fi with a lot of blowing things up.
(less)
In the near distant future, terrorism is still a major problem throughout the world. Other things may have changed, such as a female president of the United States and cheaper method of producing energy, however, the world is still under threat, particularly from North Korea. After losing his wife and twin daughters in the biggest terrorist attack the world has seen, Physics Nobel Prize winner, Marshall Hail, an industrial billionaire, decides to take matters into his own hands.
Operation: Hail Storm is a work of science fiction, although, as the main character points out, he and his team only work with science and not fiction. With a selection of friends from his MIT days, and a pick of young gamers whose families had been killed in the terrorist attacks, aim to remove everyone listed on the FBI’s top ten terrorist list. After his drones successfully take out the leader of North Korea, Hail finds himself of interest to the CIA and US president.
Hail hopes the CIA would be pleased with him and supply a list and location of the remaining terrorists. Although they are impressed, the CIA is baffled over how Hail managed to assassinate someone in an extremely guarded country. To prove himself, Hail is given the task of blowing up a missile that is heading to North Korea with the potential to destroy half the world. He may do this however he wishes, however, he must have one member of the CIA with him. Enter Kara.
Kara, who is effectively the CIA’s courtesan, tries to use her skills to find out Hail’s secrets and report back to her boss. Naturally, Hail and his team are one step ahead and are monitoring all her phone calls. With a complicated relationship where both parties are pretending to trust each other, they must come together to successfully complete the mission before the CIA put their disastrous backup plan into place.
Although there are a handful of women in high positions, Operation: Hail Storm is more appropriate for the male population. With complicated mathematics and science, the story becomes similar to spy action novels, complete with an attractive woman: Kara. Physical description is reserved for Kara’s character, whose beauty is used to distract men, particularly villains.
Description is something the author, Brett Arquette, struggles with throughout the book. His choice of similes are questionable and may even upset some readers, for example, “It was like a blob of clay the size of a softball that had been worked by an angry mental patient wearing oven gloves.”
As well as scientific jargon, a number of foreign languages enter the narrative. Unfortunately, although it is possible to get the gist of what is being said, the actual phrases are never translated.
Operation: Hail Storm is a cleverly thought out novel with an impressive knowledge of science, drones and explosive devices. Whether these are wholly accurate is undetermined, however, there do not appear to be any discrepancies during throughout the narrative. As for the storyline, it is nothing spectacular or refreshing, instead, it is a typical male-oriented piece of sci-fi with a lot of blowing things up.
(less)
Rachel King (13 KP) rated Blue in Books
Feb 11, 2019
Getting into this book was a tad slow since there was alot of back story to get through before I felt like I understood what was occurring in the present time of the book. Once I got through that, there were a few things that I could easily predict about the plot. First, the plot would very much favor the father over the mother in regards to the relationship shared with the main character, fourteen-year-old Becky. Second, it is inevitable that Becky's leukemia is going to relapse. Third, this fantasy world of Tamarisk would somehow play a part in both Becky's disease and her parent's ugly divorce.
What I could not predict was how absolutely fascinating the world of Tamarisk is. I actually thought about researching all of the made-up names of the plants, animals, and geology before I completely realized the depth of creativity to which Becky and her father Chris went in the creation of this fantasy world. What began as a coping mechanism for a young child going through the rigors of chemotherapy became a world in an alternate universe that existed with its own laws of physics. I was completely enthralled by this unbelievable world of blue foliage, black dirt, microfarming, moldable crystal, smelling of chocolate and raspberries, and featuring transportation in the form of giant flying birds - and that is only the beginning of all that this world holds to tantalize the senses and ignite the imagination. Becky's voyages into Tamarisk alone are enough to fill countless children's stories that would hold any grown adult rapt with wonder.
On the alternate side of this fantastic world is the grievous reality of the ongoing feud between Chris and Polly, Becky's divorced parents. Even though Polly has remarried, she still harbors intensely negative feelings towards Chris. In addition, Chris's whole life is about finding ways to connect with Becky better, as the reader watches him fail at blind date after blind date. Becky wants so badly to hang onto her life that she lives in denial of her increasingly-severe symptoms. My heart went out to all of the characters at different points as I connected with the different emotions and situations. As a mother, I can not even fathom one of my children going through the horrors of childhood cancer, and as a wife, the thought of abandoning my spouse is inconceivable, especially during such a difficult time. My heart broke for Becky's best friend Lonnie, and I felt the awkward sadness of Becky's stepfather Al. These characters are as real as if this story were not fiction, but a memoir or biography.
I could not help noticing the parallels between belief in Tamarisk and the beliefs of Christianity. Polly either could not or would not believe in Tamarisk, and many of her arguments against it matched the common ones against a belief in the existence of God and Heaven.
The ending was bittersweet, but light on bitter and rich on sweet. I shed a tear, but Chris's perspective was very fitting for how I felt about this conclusion. This was a very, very good read that would enrich any reader's book collection. What I gained from this book will stick with me for a long time to come.
What I could not predict was how absolutely fascinating the world of Tamarisk is. I actually thought about researching all of the made-up names of the plants, animals, and geology before I completely realized the depth of creativity to which Becky and her father Chris went in the creation of this fantasy world. What began as a coping mechanism for a young child going through the rigors of chemotherapy became a world in an alternate universe that existed with its own laws of physics. I was completely enthralled by this unbelievable world of blue foliage, black dirt, microfarming, moldable crystal, smelling of chocolate and raspberries, and featuring transportation in the form of giant flying birds - and that is only the beginning of all that this world holds to tantalize the senses and ignite the imagination. Becky's voyages into Tamarisk alone are enough to fill countless children's stories that would hold any grown adult rapt with wonder.
On the alternate side of this fantastic world is the grievous reality of the ongoing feud between Chris and Polly, Becky's divorced parents. Even though Polly has remarried, she still harbors intensely negative feelings towards Chris. In addition, Chris's whole life is about finding ways to connect with Becky better, as the reader watches him fail at blind date after blind date. Becky wants so badly to hang onto her life that she lives in denial of her increasingly-severe symptoms. My heart went out to all of the characters at different points as I connected with the different emotions and situations. As a mother, I can not even fathom one of my children going through the horrors of childhood cancer, and as a wife, the thought of abandoning my spouse is inconceivable, especially during such a difficult time. My heart broke for Becky's best friend Lonnie, and I felt the awkward sadness of Becky's stepfather Al. These characters are as real as if this story were not fiction, but a memoir or biography.
I could not help noticing the parallels between belief in Tamarisk and the beliefs of Christianity. Polly either could not or would not believe in Tamarisk, and many of her arguments against it matched the common ones against a belief in the existence of God and Heaven.
The ending was bittersweet, but light on bitter and rich on sweet. I shed a tear, but Chris's perspective was very fitting for how I felt about this conclusion. This was a very, very good read that would enrich any reader's book collection. What I gained from this book will stick with me for a long time to come.
Hazel (1853 KP) rated Operation: Hail Storm in Books
Dec 14, 2018
<i>I received this eBook for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.</i>
In the near distant future, terrorism is still a major problem throughout the world. Other things may have changed, such as a female president of the United States and cheaper method of producing energy, however, the world is still under threat, particularly from North Korea. After losing his wife and twin daughters in the biggest terrorist attack the world has seen, Physics Nobel Prize winner, Marshall Hail, an industrial billionaire, decides to take matters into his own hands.
<i>Operation: Hail Storm </i>is a work of science fiction, although, as the main character points out, he and his team only work with science and not fiction. With a selection of friends from his MIT days, and a pick of young gamers whose families had been killed in the terrorist attacks, aim to remove everyone listed on the FBI’s top ten terrorist list. After his drones successfully take out the leader of North Korea, Hail finds himself of interest to the CIA and US president.
Hail hopes the CIA would be pleased with him and supply a list and location of the remaining terrorists. Although they are impressed, the CIA is baffled over how Hail managed to assassinate someone in an extremely guarded country. To prove himself, Hail is given the task of blowing up a missile that is heading to North Korea with the potential to destroy half the world. He may do this however he wishes, however, he must have one member of the CIA with him. Enter Kara.
Kara, who is effectively the CIA’s courtesan, tries to use her skills to find out Hail’s secrets and report back to her boss. Naturally, Hail and his team are one step ahead and are monitoring all her phone calls. With a complicated relationship where both parties are pretending to trust each other, they must come together to successfully complete the mission before the CIA put their disastrous backup plan into place.
Although there are a handful of women in high positions, Operation: Hail Storm is more appropriate for the male population. With complicated mathematics and science, the story becomes similar to spy action novels, complete with an attractive woman: Kara. Physical description is reserved for Kara’s character, whose beauty is used to distract men, particularly villains.
Description is something the author, Brett Arquette, struggles with throughout the book. His choice of similes are questionable and may even upset some readers, for example, “It was like a blob of clay the size of a softball that had been worked by an angry mental patient wearing oven gloves.”
As well as scientific jargon, a number of foreign languages enter the narrative. Unfortunately, although it is possible to get the gist of what is being said, the actual phrases are never translated.
<i>Operation: Hail Storm</i> is a cleverly thought out novel with an impressive knowledge of science, drones and explosive devices. Whether these are wholly accurate is undetermined, however, there do not appear to be any discrepancies during throughout the narrative. As for the storyline, it is nothing spectacular or refreshing, instead, it is a typical male-oriented piece of sci-fi with a lot of blowing things up.
In the near distant future, terrorism is still a major problem throughout the world. Other things may have changed, such as a female president of the United States and cheaper method of producing energy, however, the world is still under threat, particularly from North Korea. After losing his wife and twin daughters in the biggest terrorist attack the world has seen, Physics Nobel Prize winner, Marshall Hail, an industrial billionaire, decides to take matters into his own hands.
<i>Operation: Hail Storm </i>is a work of science fiction, although, as the main character points out, he and his team only work with science and not fiction. With a selection of friends from his MIT days, and a pick of young gamers whose families had been killed in the terrorist attacks, aim to remove everyone listed on the FBI’s top ten terrorist list. After his drones successfully take out the leader of North Korea, Hail finds himself of interest to the CIA and US president.
Hail hopes the CIA would be pleased with him and supply a list and location of the remaining terrorists. Although they are impressed, the CIA is baffled over how Hail managed to assassinate someone in an extremely guarded country. To prove himself, Hail is given the task of blowing up a missile that is heading to North Korea with the potential to destroy half the world. He may do this however he wishes, however, he must have one member of the CIA with him. Enter Kara.
Kara, who is effectively the CIA’s courtesan, tries to use her skills to find out Hail’s secrets and report back to her boss. Naturally, Hail and his team are one step ahead and are monitoring all her phone calls. With a complicated relationship where both parties are pretending to trust each other, they must come together to successfully complete the mission before the CIA put their disastrous backup plan into place.
Although there are a handful of women in high positions, Operation: Hail Storm is more appropriate for the male population. With complicated mathematics and science, the story becomes similar to spy action novels, complete with an attractive woman: Kara. Physical description is reserved for Kara’s character, whose beauty is used to distract men, particularly villains.
Description is something the author, Brett Arquette, struggles with throughout the book. His choice of similes are questionable and may even upset some readers, for example, “It was like a blob of clay the size of a softball that had been worked by an angry mental patient wearing oven gloves.”
As well as scientific jargon, a number of foreign languages enter the narrative. Unfortunately, although it is possible to get the gist of what is being said, the actual phrases are never translated.
<i>Operation: Hail Storm</i> is a cleverly thought out novel with an impressive knowledge of science, drones and explosive devices. Whether these are wholly accurate is undetermined, however, there do not appear to be any discrepancies during throughout the narrative. As for the storyline, it is nothing spectacular or refreshing, instead, it is a typical male-oriented piece of sci-fi with a lot of blowing things up.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Fast & Furious 9 (2021) in Movies
Jul 11, 2021
I might not be obsessed with this series but I can't argue with its ridiculous action. I had a catch up on the others as it had been a while, though I discovered I watched them in the wrong order... never mind! Here's a bit of a rundown.
The Fast and the Furious - good
2 Fast 2 Furious - meh
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift - too peoply, not enough cars
Fast & Furious - good
Fast Five - my favourite
Fast & Furious 6 - good
Furious 7 - good
The Fate of the Furious - good
F9...
Who really needs an extended synopsis on this one? Cars, family, Corona, space the final frontier. And does it even need any comments on the plot? At this point it's very much random bits of chaos and ridiculous things with cars. Quite honestly, that's the reason I enjoy the films more now they lean into it. Although this one may have become a little too self-aware... in an amusing way.
It wasn't until I did the rewatch that I noticed how much they ignore the concept of genetics when it comes to adding family members. Here we have John Cena playing Jakob, Dom and Mia's brother. It's not the most unbelievable thing in the movie, but it's well up there. Cena has grown on me as an actor, I enjoyed him in The Marine, Bumblebee, and his comedy stylings in Blockers... but we don't talk about Playing With Fire... we never talk about Playing With Fire. He can do funny and he can do serious, but I'm not convinced he was the best choice to combine the two here. His performance was okay, but his style didn't really fit with any of the others. I don't know who I might have put in this role instead, but I think they could have gone with recognisable but not quite as high profile/
As for the other cast members, well, same sh*t different day as they say! Gibson and Ludacris have the same fun dynamic and bring their comedic element to the proceedings. Vin Diesel says the requisite amount of "family" throughout the films, and everyone else does their thing.
Doing the rewatch made me surprisingly emotional when they did the Paul Walker send-off, and there was a nice out to keep the legacy intact. And while it's nice that they keep him in the films, maybe it should just be something that's accepted and not talked about. There's a moment in the film where they say Dom's son is with Brian, and my first thought was horror because I forgot Brian is alive in the franchise, and the look on Dom's face didn't help in that moment either.
F9 has some even whackier action, and it is entirely satisfying to watch. Though unsurprisingly it doesn't take them long to defy the laws of physics... spectacular destruction nevertheless. We know we're in for a tenth instalment, we can only hope for a musical or LEGO version... that last one would be my approved choice.
(I have so many spoiler comments t make about this, but I don't want to ruin the fun of discovering them all for yourself.)
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/07/f9-fast-saga-movie-review.html
The Fast and the Furious - good
2 Fast 2 Furious - meh
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift - too peoply, not enough cars
Fast & Furious - good
Fast Five - my favourite
Fast & Furious 6 - good
Furious 7 - good
The Fate of the Furious - good
F9...
Who really needs an extended synopsis on this one? Cars, family, Corona, space the final frontier. And does it even need any comments on the plot? At this point it's very much random bits of chaos and ridiculous things with cars. Quite honestly, that's the reason I enjoy the films more now they lean into it. Although this one may have become a little too self-aware... in an amusing way.
It wasn't until I did the rewatch that I noticed how much they ignore the concept of genetics when it comes to adding family members. Here we have John Cena playing Jakob, Dom and Mia's brother. It's not the most unbelievable thing in the movie, but it's well up there. Cena has grown on me as an actor, I enjoyed him in The Marine, Bumblebee, and his comedy stylings in Blockers... but we don't talk about Playing With Fire... we never talk about Playing With Fire. He can do funny and he can do serious, but I'm not convinced he was the best choice to combine the two here. His performance was okay, but his style didn't really fit with any of the others. I don't know who I might have put in this role instead, but I think they could have gone with recognisable but not quite as high profile/
As for the other cast members, well, same sh*t different day as they say! Gibson and Ludacris have the same fun dynamic and bring their comedic element to the proceedings. Vin Diesel says the requisite amount of "family" throughout the films, and everyone else does their thing.
Doing the rewatch made me surprisingly emotional when they did the Paul Walker send-off, and there was a nice out to keep the legacy intact. And while it's nice that they keep him in the films, maybe it should just be something that's accepted and not talked about. There's a moment in the film where they say Dom's son is with Brian, and my first thought was horror because I forgot Brian is alive in the franchise, and the look on Dom's face didn't help in that moment either.
F9 has some even whackier action, and it is entirely satisfying to watch. Though unsurprisingly it doesn't take them long to defy the laws of physics... spectacular destruction nevertheless. We know we're in for a tenth instalment, we can only hope for a musical or LEGO version... that last one would be my approved choice.
(I have so many spoiler comments t make about this, but I don't want to ruin the fun of discovering them all for yourself.)
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/07/f9-fast-saga-movie-review.html
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated The Cloverfield Paradox (2018) in Movies
Oct 7, 2020
Contains spoilers, click to show
The Cloverfield Paradox is the third and (at time of writing) the last Cloverfield film and it's main purpose is to explain where Clover and his friends come from. Does it do this in an easy to follow, straight forward way that fits easily into the already established Cloverfield universe? Hell no.
The first film was a found footage monster movie and the second film was a psychological thriller that was loosely linked to the first so naturally the third film is a hard Sci-Fi set in the near future. The earth has used up most of it's resources and everyone is nearly at war, the last hope is the Cloverfield space-station which has the 'Shepard' beam, an experimental particle beam that, if it works, will produce an endless supply of energy. The lack of resources and looming war are the only problems, there are no monsters and there never were.
The Cloverfield Paradox mainly follows the crew of the space station and quickly turns into a Sci-Fi horror in a similar vain to 'Event Horizon'. Basically the crew activate the Shepard Beam, it works then crashes and the earth disappears. Then strange things start to happen. At the same time something happens on earth, there is an attack on America and a few people run around trying to find out what happens and one hides in a bunker similar to the one in 10 Cloverfield Lane. Meanwhile the crew of the Cloverfield try to find out where the earth is.
As a Sci-Fi, the Cloverfield Paradox works well, it uses just enough jargon and theoretical physics and as a horror it works well, killing off the cast in weird and wonderful ways. And as an explanation for Clover well SPOILER that's what attacked Earth, of course this is only reviled right at the end and there is no explanation to how they got to the past in the other film's. Except there is, about twenty minuets into the film, after everything has been set up but before everything goes wrong there is a news program shown on a monitor whilst the crew begin to start their experiments. The news show is interviewing the author of a book called 'The Cloverfield Paradox' and, in the interview the author explains everything from what is going to happen to how Clover and the other monsters appear on earth even though know one in the future knows anything about them, so pay attention.
One thing the all three Cloverfield films did well was all of the extra stuff. The original film started with tease trailers, infomercial's form company's seen in the film and fake news reels. This kind of marketing continued for all three films and other information was made available including one big link between Cloverfield and the Cloverfield Paradox. The last scene of the first film, the scene that was set before everything that happened with the couple by the beach shows something falling from the sky in the background, this is part of the Cloverfield space station.
With the revelation that the creatures now exist all through time a fourth film was rumoured - Overlord- however, even though the film was made by the same company and the same people it was never part of the Cloverfield universe and is/was meant to be the start of it's own franchise. Even though it could easily fit even as a ret con.
The first film was a found footage monster movie and the second film was a psychological thriller that was loosely linked to the first so naturally the third film is a hard Sci-Fi set in the near future. The earth has used up most of it's resources and everyone is nearly at war, the last hope is the Cloverfield space-station which has the 'Shepard' beam, an experimental particle beam that, if it works, will produce an endless supply of energy. The lack of resources and looming war are the only problems, there are no monsters and there never were.
The Cloverfield Paradox mainly follows the crew of the space station and quickly turns into a Sci-Fi horror in a similar vain to 'Event Horizon'. Basically the crew activate the Shepard Beam, it works then crashes and the earth disappears. Then strange things start to happen. At the same time something happens on earth, there is an attack on America and a few people run around trying to find out what happens and one hides in a bunker similar to the one in 10 Cloverfield Lane. Meanwhile the crew of the Cloverfield try to find out where the earth is.
As a Sci-Fi, the Cloverfield Paradox works well, it uses just enough jargon and theoretical physics and as a horror it works well, killing off the cast in weird and wonderful ways. And as an explanation for Clover well SPOILER that's what attacked Earth, of course this is only reviled right at the end and there is no explanation to how they got to the past in the other film's. Except there is, about twenty minuets into the film, after everything has been set up but before everything goes wrong there is a news program shown on a monitor whilst the crew begin to start their experiments. The news show is interviewing the author of a book called 'The Cloverfield Paradox' and, in the interview the author explains everything from what is going to happen to how Clover and the other monsters appear on earth even though know one in the future knows anything about them, so pay attention.
One thing the all three Cloverfield films did well was all of the extra stuff. The original film started with tease trailers, infomercial's form company's seen in the film and fake news reels. This kind of marketing continued for all three films and other information was made available including one big link between Cloverfield and the Cloverfield Paradox. The last scene of the first film, the scene that was set before everything that happened with the couple by the beach shows something falling from the sky in the background, this is part of the Cloverfield space station.
With the revelation that the creatures now exist all through time a fourth film was rumoured - Overlord- however, even though the film was made by the same company and the same people it was never part of the Cloverfield universe and is/was meant to be the start of it's own franchise. Even though it could easily fit even as a ret con.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Captain Fantastic (2016) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
Dysfunctionally functional.
The second of my catch-up films for next Sunday’s Oscars, this time featuring Viggo Mortensen who is up for a Best Actor Oscar.
“Captain Fantastic” starts with a dramatic hunting expedition introducing us to the unusual Cash family. Dad Ben (Viggo Mortensen) is bringing up his six kids – Bodevan, Kielyr, Vespyr, Rellian, Zaja and Nai – in the wilds of Washington state. Ben takes home-schooling to a completely new level, with intense study and examinations in quantum physics, philosophy and politics matched with a militaristic approach to weapons-training and physical fitness. Ben also teaches extreme self-sufficiency, most evident during a dramatic rock-climbing sequence.
Where is their mum in all of this? That would be a spoiler (so don’t watch the trailer either) but is central to the plot as the family board their old camper van – “Steve” – on a road trip back to the ‘real world’ and the children’s grandparents – the crusty and assertive Jack (a marvellous Frank Langella) and Abigail (Ann Dowd). What follows is filled with black humour, tragedy, not just one but two amazing funeral services and one of the most extraordinarily black and comic laying-to-rests ever seen on the big screen.
Viggo Mortensen is… well… fantastic in his portrayal, getting to run the full gamut of joy, grief, self-doubt, guilt and despair during the movie’s run-time. He’s clearly not going to win the Oscar on Sunday – surely Casey Affleck must be a slam-dunk for that – but this is a well-judged nomination by the Academy.
While the focus is on Mortensen, this shouldn’t overshadow the performances of some of the rest of the young cast, and I would specifically call out those of George MacKay and young Shree Crooks as the youngest of the kids. MacKay has been building up an impressive run of UK-based films with “Sunshine on Leith” and “Pride” but with this (and his key role in the recent TV mini-series “11.22.63”) he should see a break-through to more mainstream feature roles. In “Captain Fantastic” his socially-inept proposal to the delectable Claire (Erin Moriaty) is one of the high-points of the film. He is a name to watch, for sure.
And young Ms Crooks should be given a special honorary Oscar for the ability to learn such dense portions of script and deliver them so faultlessly!
The whole cast in fact was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture – one of my favourite award categories, but beaten by “Hidden Figures”. And it is that sort of film: a really great ensemble effort.
The film is written and directed by Matt Ross, only his second feature since 2012’s “28 Hotel Rooms” (which I was not aware of, but would now like to seek out). I thought it was terrific; deeply comedic; riveting from beginning to end; a roller-coaster of emotion and ultimately a feelgood classic on the value of family that I will remember fondly for a long time. Once again, the second film this week, that would have made me reconsider my “top films of 2016” list. I strongly recommend that you seek this out on download or DVD and give it a try.
“Captain Fantastic” starts with a dramatic hunting expedition introducing us to the unusual Cash family. Dad Ben (Viggo Mortensen) is bringing up his six kids – Bodevan, Kielyr, Vespyr, Rellian, Zaja and Nai – in the wilds of Washington state. Ben takes home-schooling to a completely new level, with intense study and examinations in quantum physics, philosophy and politics matched with a militaristic approach to weapons-training and physical fitness. Ben also teaches extreme self-sufficiency, most evident during a dramatic rock-climbing sequence.
Where is their mum in all of this? That would be a spoiler (so don’t watch the trailer either) but is central to the plot as the family board their old camper van – “Steve” – on a road trip back to the ‘real world’ and the children’s grandparents – the crusty and assertive Jack (a marvellous Frank Langella) and Abigail (Ann Dowd). What follows is filled with black humour, tragedy, not just one but two amazing funeral services and one of the most extraordinarily black and comic laying-to-rests ever seen on the big screen.
Viggo Mortensen is… well… fantastic in his portrayal, getting to run the full gamut of joy, grief, self-doubt, guilt and despair during the movie’s run-time. He’s clearly not going to win the Oscar on Sunday – surely Casey Affleck must be a slam-dunk for that – but this is a well-judged nomination by the Academy.
While the focus is on Mortensen, this shouldn’t overshadow the performances of some of the rest of the young cast, and I would specifically call out those of George MacKay and young Shree Crooks as the youngest of the kids. MacKay has been building up an impressive run of UK-based films with “Sunshine on Leith” and “Pride” but with this (and his key role in the recent TV mini-series “11.22.63”) he should see a break-through to more mainstream feature roles. In “Captain Fantastic” his socially-inept proposal to the delectable Claire (Erin Moriaty) is one of the high-points of the film. He is a name to watch, for sure.
And young Ms Crooks should be given a special honorary Oscar for the ability to learn such dense portions of script and deliver them so faultlessly!
The whole cast in fact was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture – one of my favourite award categories, but beaten by “Hidden Figures”. And it is that sort of film: a really great ensemble effort.
The film is written and directed by Matt Ross, only his second feature since 2012’s “28 Hotel Rooms” (which I was not aware of, but would now like to seek out). I thought it was terrific; deeply comedic; riveting from beginning to end; a roller-coaster of emotion and ultimately a feelgood classic on the value of family that I will remember fondly for a long time. Once again, the second film this week, that would have made me reconsider my “top films of 2016” list. I strongly recommend that you seek this out on download or DVD and give it a try.
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Rise of the Triad in Video Games
Jun 19, 2019
Back in 1993 The Internet was mainly confined to college campuses and would not start to arrive in homes for another year. Those who went online used dial up modems to access local bulletin boards to share pictures, play social games, and use chat programs in the early precursors to social networks.
With the success of the Doom games, First Person Shooters were all the rage and numerous companies cranked out games in this genre trying to appeal to a consumer base eager for games of this type and who wanted to experience to get in on the fairly new concepts of online play with their friends.
One such game was Rise of the Triad. Originally planned as a Wolfenstein sequel by Apogee Software the game cast players as a member of a United Nations special forces team who is dispatched to an island to take down a dangerous cult that has arisen.
Gameplay was frantic and fast as players had to mow down as many bad guys as they could with all manner of weapons and gear. The game was innovative in that there were all sorts of traps and objects that players could bounce from and they could even become a dog during power ups as they took the fight to the bad guys in both offline and online modes.
Jump forward to 2013, Rise of the Triad is back with a slick makeover that while looking more contemporary is still very much a retro game loaded with throwback elements.
The plot is essentially the same and aside from the improved graphics and physics, the game looks and plays very much like the original. The graphics are not eye popping examples of modern technology, rather they are improved and take advantage of graphic cards which were not widely in use back in 1993.
My first reaction was how much it played like a game of old. Aside from being faster and smoother than games of that era, the combat mechanics and techniques were very much as they were back in games of the day.
I enjoyed the nostalgia as I took down enemies and used the bounce pads to ascend to upper levels of buildings and collect power up coins that were littered throughout the map. I also enjoyed the over the top gore and humor of the game such as being rewarded with a pair of eyeballs splattered on the screen after I dispatched an enemy with a rocket launcher.
My biggest frustration was with the check point save system as having to replay elements of a game over and over when you die is not my favorite thing. Many times I would make solid progress only to be killed and forced to replay the previous segments over and over.
Enemies still come at you fairly directly when they attack but they can be very effective and deadly so players will need to be on their toes art all times.
The amount of firepower you can deploy is great from dual pistols to machines guns and rocket launchers, carnage is the way of the game.
I also had some issues getting matched online during my earlier attempts but as time went on, this became easier and I was able to enjoy the online nostalgia.
Rise of the Triad is great for those who remember the original and that era of gaming but for those who are accustomed to the mechanics and polish of modern shooters, they may find elements of the game frustrating and best left in the past.
For the rest of us, it was a welcome trip to the past that helped illustrate just how far games have evolved in the last twenty years.
http://sknr.net/2013/09/22/rise-of-the-triad/
With the success of the Doom games, First Person Shooters were all the rage and numerous companies cranked out games in this genre trying to appeal to a consumer base eager for games of this type and who wanted to experience to get in on the fairly new concepts of online play with their friends.
One such game was Rise of the Triad. Originally planned as a Wolfenstein sequel by Apogee Software the game cast players as a member of a United Nations special forces team who is dispatched to an island to take down a dangerous cult that has arisen.
Gameplay was frantic and fast as players had to mow down as many bad guys as they could with all manner of weapons and gear. The game was innovative in that there were all sorts of traps and objects that players could bounce from and they could even become a dog during power ups as they took the fight to the bad guys in both offline and online modes.
Jump forward to 2013, Rise of the Triad is back with a slick makeover that while looking more contemporary is still very much a retro game loaded with throwback elements.
The plot is essentially the same and aside from the improved graphics and physics, the game looks and plays very much like the original. The graphics are not eye popping examples of modern technology, rather they are improved and take advantage of graphic cards which were not widely in use back in 1993.
My first reaction was how much it played like a game of old. Aside from being faster and smoother than games of that era, the combat mechanics and techniques were very much as they were back in games of the day.
I enjoyed the nostalgia as I took down enemies and used the bounce pads to ascend to upper levels of buildings and collect power up coins that were littered throughout the map. I also enjoyed the over the top gore and humor of the game such as being rewarded with a pair of eyeballs splattered on the screen after I dispatched an enemy with a rocket launcher.
My biggest frustration was with the check point save system as having to replay elements of a game over and over when you die is not my favorite thing. Many times I would make solid progress only to be killed and forced to replay the previous segments over and over.
Enemies still come at you fairly directly when they attack but they can be very effective and deadly so players will need to be on their toes art all times.
The amount of firepower you can deploy is great from dual pistols to machines guns and rocket launchers, carnage is the way of the game.
I also had some issues getting matched online during my earlier attempts but as time went on, this became easier and I was able to enjoy the online nostalgia.
Rise of the Triad is great for those who remember the original and that era of gaming but for those who are accustomed to the mechanics and polish of modern shooters, they may find elements of the game frustrating and best left in the past.
For the rest of us, it was a welcome trip to the past that helped illustrate just how far games have evolved in the last twenty years.
http://sknr.net/2013/09/22/rise-of-the-triad/