Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Children of the Different in Books
Nov 11, 2019
Narrah and Arika are twins who have been born in Australia since the madness; like all children who come after the Great Madness they will enter a coma as teenagers and their minds will enter what is known as the Changeland. This will indeed change them - some gain special powers, others return damaged and feral.
The Great Madness has decended and all but destroyed humankind. Of those that survived many have become less than human, feral, and hunt in packs preying on the rest.
Narrah and Arika are twins who have been born in Australia since the madness; like all children who come after the Great Madness they will enter a coma as teenagers and their minds will enter what is known as the Changeland. This will indeed change them - some gain special powers, others return damaged and feral.
Against this post-apocalyptic backdrop Flynn follows Arika and Narrah as they enter the Changeland and what follows after. The Changeland sections, which take up the first half of the story, resemble dreams and nightmares - but ones in which any threats are very real. From their experiences the twins discover that there is an adversary who wants to destroy them.
Back in the real world they go on very different journeys, exploring what is left of society and finding that the effects of the Great Madness might extend beyond just the Changeland and that the very future of the human race is threatened.
Flynn tells this with verve; the twins are very likeable protagonists and the reader will be rooting for them through all of their adventures. There are breathless action scenes as well as some introspection on the fragility of human life and how quickly the lifestyle we take for granted can be reduced to ashes. Some great twists are thrown in and as the last page approaches the stakes are raised ever higher.
Well worth a read for anyone young adult and up who likes to read post apocalyptic and zombie style stories with interesting and challenging ideas
Iron Blade
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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Rasputin, the Mad Monk (1966) in Movies
Nov 10, 2020
The story is largely fictionalized, although some of the events leading up to Rasputin's assassination are very loosely based on Prince Yusupov's account of the story. For legal reasons (Yusupov was still alive when the film was released), the character of Yusupov was replaced by Ivan (Matthews).
Christopher Lee play as Grigori Rasputin, the Russian peasant-mystic who gained great influence with the Tsars prior to the Russian Revolution.
The emphasis is on Rasputin's terrifying powers both to work magic and to seduce women.
Rasputin the Mad Monk was filmed back-to-back in 1965 with Dracula: Prince of Darkness, using the same sets at Hammer's Bray Studios. Lee, Matthews, Shelley and Farmer appeared in both films. In some markets, it was released on a double feature with The Reptile.
It was the third collaboration between Christopher Lee and Don Sharp, following The Devil Ship Pirates and The Face of Fu Manchu.
Lee later said, "The only way you can present him is the way he was historically described. He was a lecher and a drunk, and definitely had healing powers. So he was a saint and a sinner... There were very few good sides to him. Rasputin is one of the best things I’ve done. "
"I think it's the best thing Chris Lee's ever done," said Sharp in 1992. "Rasputin was supposed to have had this ability to hypnotise people.
The original ending had the lifeless Rasputin lying on the ice with his hands held up to his forehead in benediction. However, it was considered controversial for religious reasons, and was removed. Stills of the original ending still exist.
Sharp says the final fight scene between Francis Matthews and Christopher Lee was greatly cut by Tony Keys when Sharp had to leave the film during editing. Sharp had greatly enjoyed the experience of making his first two Hammer films - Kiss of the Vampire and Devil Ship Pirates - but not Rasputin.
As a child in the 1920s, Lee had actually met Rasputin's killer, Felix Yusupov. In later life Lee met Rasputin's daughter Maria.
Its a good horror film.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated The New Mutants (2020) in Movies
Sep 12, 2020
For a film that was delayed over and over again, and suffered apparent reshoots, I was glad to find a pretty coherent narrative, wrapped up in a modest X-Men package. I say modest because TNM for the most part, is a pretty grounded drama surrounding 5 teens in a facility designed to help them control their burgeoning mutant powers. The first two thirds of the film have little in the way of big superhero moments, some glimpses of powers here and there.
The cast are all believable enough - Anya Taylor-Joy is a standout as Illyana Rasputin aka Magik.
It's also refreshing to see and emphasis on some LGBTQ characters in these kind of movies.
I've been a fan of X-Men comics from a young age, so seeing the likes of some more obscure characters such as Magik, Mirage, Wolfsbane, Cannonball and Sunspot (who has appeared once before in Days of Future Past) is pretty cool. Without going into spoilers, the choices in antagonists is inspired as well.
The whole final act is actually a bit of a treat for people who know a bit about the wider X-Men comics.
Although I found a fair bit to like in TNM, it doesn't quite hit the strides that it could. There are horror elements present, but nothing remotely scary - I can't help but feel that once upon a time, there was a version of TNM somewhere that was a lot more full on. Its a film that whilst ok, has a lot of untapped potential that for one reason or another just wasn't realised, and it feels a little frustrating.
However, it's far from being the worst entry in the X-Men franchise, and the fact that it's finally landed and it's watchable is a small miracle in itself. I was so so convinced that it was going to be complete garbage, and it's nice to be wrong.
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