A Cast of Falcons: Birder Murder Mystery 3
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The threat from above casts a dark shadow. A man falls to his death from a cliff face in western...
Clearly made on a punishingly low budget, and the vision of the future is occasionally a bit wonky from a modern perspective, but the five episodes written by series creator Chris Boucher are some of the best, most intelligent, wittiest and most cynical SF ever broadcast by the BBC. The other episodes not so much: everything gets a bit campy and there are a lot of national stereotypes on display. (Plus, the theme tune has been called the worst in TV history, and most of the incidental music is rubbish too.) Even when it's not particularly good, it's always trying to do something a bit different, and David Calder is consistently excellent as Spring. Not the first nor the last SF or fantasy show to be cut loose by the BBC before it had a chance to realise its potential.
They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us
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In an age of confusion, fear, and loss, Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib's is a voice that matters. Whether...
music culture
Russian Army Silent Assassin Sniper Shooter 3D: Crazy Head Shot Game
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Play the role of a sniper assassin trying to save his city from gangsters and criminals. Assassinate...
Microphones and Murder
9.0
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Tired of living life on the sidelines, Liv Olsen gave up everything—her job at the #1 podcast...
City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1)
8.0
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When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly...
One Taste Too Many
7.0
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For culinary challenged Sarah Blair, there’s only one thing scarier than cooking from...
Hazel (2934 KP) rated Ready Or Not in Books
Sep 26, 2021
A serial killer is on the loose murdering people at random and the police have no leads whatsoever. Tom and Alice are happily married with a beautiful baby girl but the cracks begin to show; they are exhausted by a lack of sleep, bruising begins to appear on their baby and Alice starts writing about the serial killer. As Alice becomes more embroiled in her story, it appears the killer has her in his sights.
Written from different perspectives and with timelines from the past which smoothly lead into the present, this is a fast paced and thrilling read where the tension builds and builds right until the end. Each and every character is strong and adds something to the story.
I have read some of Alex Lake's previous books and have enjoyed each and every one of them and I will certainly be looking out for the next.
Thank you to HarperCollins UK / HarperFiction and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
A Bird’s Eye View of Murder
8.0
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What’s a pet psychic’s worst nightmare? A tarot card-reading aunt, a cranky cockatoo, and a very...
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Hostage (2005) in Movies
Aug 14, 2019
As if this is not bad enough, Talley is having difficulties with his wife Jane (Serena Scott Thomas), and his daughter Amanda (Rumer Willis), who is not happy with their relocation to the quiet locale or the strain that is amongst her parents as it is clear that they still love each other very much.
The quiet town is disrupted when a robbery of a successful locale business man goes horribly wrong and ends up with a dead police officer and three hostages being held in a high tech, high security home.
Jeff responds to the incident and soon finds himself dealing with the three young men who are clearly in over their head and very dangerous due to the instability of the situation. Jeff decides to call in the Sheriff’s office as he believe his police force is not suited for this sort of situation and essentially decides to wash his hands of the situation and go home.
While driving home, Jeff is carjacked by a group of individuals who show Jeff that they have taken his wife and daughter hostage and instruct him not to let anyone in or out of the house where the hostage crisis is taking place. Jeff is also instructed to not deviate in any way from his instructions under pain of immediate death for his wife and daughter. His only communication with his new handlers will be via a cell phone, and he is to resume control of the negotiations.
It is learned that there is something in the house that the people holding Jeff’s family need and are willing to resort to very extreme measure to get it.
It is at this point that the very, very gripping and entertaining setup to the film begins to slide, as the second half of the film does not come close to matching the quality of the opening segments.
There are some very good cat and mouse moments as the men in the house start to argue amongst themselves, and interact with the family inside the house. The supporting performances are solid especially those of Jennifer (Michelle Horn), who plays the daughter held captive by the trio and the eerie performance of Ben Foster as the twisted Hostage taker Mars.
Sadly the film decides to turn to a series of brutal images and sequences rather than continue to develop the characters and work the story. The characters often embark on some inane courses of action and do things that not only contradict what we know about their characters but also fly into the lapse of logic as people in their situations would never do. I would love to expand on this by referencing a segment of the film but in the interest of not spoiling the film, I will explain it as when characters are told not to do something, why would they repeatedly do it, and then continue to do so without any consequences?
It is the continued lack of common sense and the and the very over the top and lazy finale to the film that sinks what could have and should have been a much better movie as the film is clearly sunk by the awful final 40 minutes of the show. Willis does a solid job with his role but the last act of the script let him down as even a star of his magnitude and talents cant make up for the films numerous shortcomings.