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Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Hero Mask in TV
Jul 5, 2020
Part Crime Mystery Part Sci-fi Thriller - 6/10
Hero Mask is a sci-fi action thriller anime series written and directed by Hiroyasu Aoki and animated by Studio Pierrot; with character designs by Takahisa Katagiri and music by Hisaki Kato.
James Blood is an officer for the elite "Special Service of Crime" (SSC) division of the Capital Police Department in London. After Monica Campbell, Crown Prosecutor, suddenly drops dead mysteriously and an enemy James thought dead goes on a rampage at a police station, the SSC begins to investigate. James teams up with Sarah Sinclair, a subordinate of Monica's, to uncover the truth behind who's involved in a ever growing conspiracy including a powerful paramilitary corporation, escaped prisoners who were executed, and masks that give their wearers superhuman abilities.
Hero Mask is in no way a perfect anime, but that didn't stop me from enjoying a lot of what it had to offer. It is full of cliches and might not be the most original but I thought the story telling was great and the way it unfolded over the 15 episodes was done quite well. James Blood is an action hero personified. As I watched I felt like I was watching an actual action thriller. Critics complained about the action being slow but to me it felt more grounded in reality and believable instead of over the top. Also I really liked the way the whole mystery and investigation unfolded piece after piece and how it all came together. The animation was top notch and what originally drew me into viewing it as well as the concept. I wouldn't recommend this to the average anime fan but if you are looking for a crime/mystery plot, then you shouldn't write this one off. I give it a 6/10.
James Blood is an officer for the elite "Special Service of Crime" (SSC) division of the Capital Police Department in London. After Monica Campbell, Crown Prosecutor, suddenly drops dead mysteriously and an enemy James thought dead goes on a rampage at a police station, the SSC begins to investigate. James teams up with Sarah Sinclair, a subordinate of Monica's, to uncover the truth behind who's involved in a ever growing conspiracy including a powerful paramilitary corporation, escaped prisoners who were executed, and masks that give their wearers superhuman abilities.
Hero Mask is in no way a perfect anime, but that didn't stop me from enjoying a lot of what it had to offer. It is full of cliches and might not be the most original but I thought the story telling was great and the way it unfolded over the 15 episodes was done quite well. James Blood is an action hero personified. As I watched I felt like I was watching an actual action thriller. Critics complained about the action being slow but to me it felt more grounded in reality and believable instead of over the top. Also I really liked the way the whole mystery and investigation unfolded piece after piece and how it all came together. The animation was top notch and what originally drew me into viewing it as well as the concept. I wouldn't recommend this to the average anime fan but if you are looking for a crime/mystery plot, then you shouldn't write this one off. I give it a 6/10.
Hazel (2934 KP) rated Silent Night in Books
Nov 8, 2020
This is the second book featuring the British Sign Language interpreter, Paige Northwood, and the second I have read and although you don't particularly have to have read the first (The Silent House), it does help.
Here we have a complex story of the murder of a teacher and the disappearance of one of his pupils; the police employ Paige as the interpreter but she soon becomes embroiled in the investigation whilst she is also having to deal with a lot of angst in her own life and herein lies the problem for me. The story already covers a lot of themes; the deaf community, bullying, coercion, domestic abuse, relationships and that's before we get to the murder and the missing child! On top of all this, there is a lot of time taken up about Paige and, I felt, it was just too much and I found it became more and more tedious, repetitive and annoying so by the end, it had an impact on my enjoyment of the book. I am sure however that there are many out there who will find this focus on the main character and her story appealing as opposed to the crime itself but it just spoiled it a bit for me I'm afraid.
Putting that aside, the twists and red herrings were excellent and I was constantly trying to guess who-done-it. The characters were well developed and interesting. The pace was a little slow to begin with but picked up in the second half/final third. The look into the frustrations experienced by the police when witnesses/suspects don't cooperate and withhold vital information was infuriating and probably pretty accurate!
Overall, a pretty solid book but just a bit too much focus on the main character for me.
Thank you to Avon Books UK via NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in return for an unbiased review.
Here we have a complex story of the murder of a teacher and the disappearance of one of his pupils; the police employ Paige as the interpreter but she soon becomes embroiled in the investigation whilst she is also having to deal with a lot of angst in her own life and herein lies the problem for me. The story already covers a lot of themes; the deaf community, bullying, coercion, domestic abuse, relationships and that's before we get to the murder and the missing child! On top of all this, there is a lot of time taken up about Paige and, I felt, it was just too much and I found it became more and more tedious, repetitive and annoying so by the end, it had an impact on my enjoyment of the book. I am sure however that there are many out there who will find this focus on the main character and her story appealing as opposed to the crime itself but it just spoiled it a bit for me I'm afraid.
Putting that aside, the twists and red herrings were excellent and I was constantly trying to guess who-done-it. The characters were well developed and interesting. The pace was a little slow to begin with but picked up in the second half/final third. The look into the frustrations experienced by the police when witnesses/suspects don't cooperate and withhold vital information was infuriating and probably pretty accurate!
Overall, a pretty solid book but just a bit too much focus on the main character for me.
Thank you to Avon Books UK via NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in return for an unbiased review.
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) in Movies
May 28, 2021
Paul Walker reprises his role as Brian O'Conner as he's recruited to find out how a drug dealer is getting his ill gotten gains out of the country, using the talent of street racing.
I think that 2 Fast 2 Furious is actually slightly better than the first film (the Fast and the Furious), it has many of the same tropes and ideas of the first film, the street racing, cars and crime and it seems to have a better balance between the main elements. In both films Brian is tasked with infiltrating a criminal organisation with the task of finding out information and, from a narrative prospective 2 Fast seems to make a better job of this.
There is slightly less time given over to actual street racing but this is replaced with car chases which seem to use more police cars than 'The Blues Brothers'.
There is some time given over to character development as we find out more about Brian's past with the introduction of his old friend, Roman Pearce which gives us a bit more information as to his actions at the end of the first film.
Brian's relationship with the polices is surprisingly similar to the first film, even though Brian is now a wanted convict he is still aids and trust him. We also have the agent who doesn't trust Brian, this time in the form of customs Agent Markhan which basically gives us the same police set up the first film.
2 Fast 2 Furious does a good job of not being a clone of it's predecessor whilst still keeping the cars, the speed, the races and chases. There are a couple of scenes at the start that are similar to the first film but these are to help re introduce Brian and set the tone of the film. If you liked the first one then you should give the sequel a watch. (But you probably already know that as this is an old film 😊 )
I think that 2 Fast 2 Furious is actually slightly better than the first film (the Fast and the Furious), it has many of the same tropes and ideas of the first film, the street racing, cars and crime and it seems to have a better balance between the main elements. In both films Brian is tasked with infiltrating a criminal organisation with the task of finding out information and, from a narrative prospective 2 Fast seems to make a better job of this.
There is slightly less time given over to actual street racing but this is replaced with car chases which seem to use more police cars than 'The Blues Brothers'.
There is some time given over to character development as we find out more about Brian's past with the introduction of his old friend, Roman Pearce which gives us a bit more information as to his actions at the end of the first film.
Brian's relationship with the polices is surprisingly similar to the first film, even though Brian is now a wanted convict he is still aids and trust him. We also have the agent who doesn't trust Brian, this time in the form of customs Agent Markhan which basically gives us the same police set up the first film.
2 Fast 2 Furious does a good job of not being a clone of it's predecessor whilst still keeping the cars, the speed, the races and chases. There are a couple of scenes at the start that are similar to the first film but these are to help re introduce Brian and set the tone of the film. If you liked the first one then you should give the sequel a watch. (But you probably already know that as this is an old film 😊 )
BookInspector (124 KP) rated The Distant Dead in Books
Jul 1, 2021
The protagonist in this novel is Stella, but there are multiple storylines going on in this book. Stella is a quite complicated character, she has a lot of things going on in her life. It does not help that while running from her past life she stumbles onto a murdered true-crime podcaster. And once again she gets involved with another investigation. The characters of this book are very interesting personalities, and I was very curious to know more about them. And there is a very wide variety of characters, so sometimes it can be a little difficult to remember who is who.
The beginning of the book was quite slow and confusing for me. This book carries two separate investigations, the one going on in 1940 during WWII, and another investigation happening at the present day. I would have liked more suspense in this book, the culprits were quite easy to guess, but I enjoyed the interactions between the characters while solving both of the crimes. I especially liked the investigation that happened in the 1940ies, I loved reading about that era and the description of West London was very intriguing and educational to me. Also, I really liked to see how different police work was compared to the present day, and I did feel annoyed with the police ignoring the obvious. 😀
The writing style of this book was very enjoyable and well researched. I liked the different settings and atmospheres as well. The chapters have medium length, but it did not leave me bored. As I mentioned before, the ending of the book was quite predictable, but I liked how this book was rounded up. Even though this book was part of the series, I was able to read it as a stand-alone.
So, to conclude, it was a cleverly written crime story, filled with a very wide variety of different and intriguing characters as well as the murder stories that were different but very entwined.
The beginning of the book was quite slow and confusing for me. This book carries two separate investigations, the one going on in 1940 during WWII, and another investigation happening at the present day. I would have liked more suspense in this book, the culprits were quite easy to guess, but I enjoyed the interactions between the characters while solving both of the crimes. I especially liked the investigation that happened in the 1940ies, I loved reading about that era and the description of West London was very intriguing and educational to me. Also, I really liked to see how different police work was compared to the present day, and I did feel annoyed with the police ignoring the obvious. 😀
The writing style of this book was very enjoyable and well researched. I liked the different settings and atmospheres as well. The chapters have medium length, but it did not leave me bored. As I mentioned before, the ending of the book was quite predictable, but I liked how this book was rounded up. Even though this book was part of the series, I was able to read it as a stand-alone.
So, to conclude, it was a cleverly written crime story, filled with a very wide variety of different and intriguing characters as well as the murder stories that were different but very entwined.
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