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David McK (3557 KP) rated Star Wars X-Wing: The Krytos Trap (X-Wing #3) in Books
Oct 26, 2024 (Updated Oct 26, 2024)
Now considered part of 'Legends' rather than canon, this is the third in the 90s series of Star Wars: X Wing books by MMichael A Stackpole, back before the sequels and even before the prequels were a thing!
Here, this novel primarily deals with the fallout from the conquest of Coruscant (or Imperial Centre, as it was originally called in the films), with the main character of Corran Horn captured by Ysanne Isard and believed dead by his comrades.
Isard, meanwhile, has unleashed a deadly contagion upon the denizens of the city planet in a plan to stir up foment amongst the various species (and leaders) of the New Republic.
While the novel does show its age somewhat - Jedi had family, no Padawans (remember, written before the prequels!) - this is still an entertaining read that, I feel, stands up well amongst several of the 'newer' novels.
Here, this novel primarily deals with the fallout from the conquest of Coruscant (or Imperial Centre, as it was originally called in the films), with the main character of Corran Horn captured by Ysanne Isard and believed dead by his comrades.
Isard, meanwhile, has unleashed a deadly contagion upon the denizens of the city planet in a plan to stir up foment amongst the various species (and leaders) of the New Republic.
While the novel does show its age somewhat - Jedi had family, no Padawans (remember, written before the prequels!) - this is still an entertaining read that, I feel, stands up well amongst several of the 'newer' novels.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Paranormal Activity (2007) in Movies
Oct 28, 2019 (Updated Jan 27, 2020)
The Found-Footage Rebirth
After the huge sucess of the blair witch project, Paramount pitcures and blumhouse decided many years later to rebirth the found-footage movies. And this result was this and so many god damn sequels later.
Here's how confusing the timeline is and how many sequels this movie has...
The film is the first (chronologically, the third) entry in the Paranormal Activity film series. A parallel sequel and prequel, Paranormal Activity 2, was released in 2010. The success of the first two films would spawn additional films in the series: the prequel Paranormal Activity 3 in 2011, and Paranormal Activity 4 (the sequel to the second installment) in 2012. The fifth installment, The Marked Ones, was released in 2014, and the sixth installment, The Ghost Dimension, was released in 2015.
So really this is the third movie in the franchise, but it came out first, than a prequel/sequel with the 2nd one, than the prequel with the 3d one, than the sequel to the 2nd one which is actually the 4th movie. Makes any sense, no!!!!! Confusing fuck yes!!!!!
Anyways the plot: Soon after moving into a suburban tract home, Katie (Katie Featherston) and Micah (Micah Sloat) become increasingly disturbed by what appears to be a supernatural presence. Hoping to capture evidence of it on film, they set up video cameras in the house but are not prepared for the terrifying events that follow.
Its very slow, its not that scary, nothing really happens, just people watching footage on a computer, repeat that couple of times, make sure who ever is holding the camera make it shake and out of focus. Also Cameras!!!!! So Many Cameras.
This movie was so overhyped and in the end that was its downfall. That and not being actaully really scary. Makes this film, really not good.
Lastly shout out to @Sarah for getting the hints/clues for this movie correct.
Here's how confusing the timeline is and how many sequels this movie has...
The film is the first (chronologically, the third) entry in the Paranormal Activity film series. A parallel sequel and prequel, Paranormal Activity 2, was released in 2010. The success of the first two films would spawn additional films in the series: the prequel Paranormal Activity 3 in 2011, and Paranormal Activity 4 (the sequel to the second installment) in 2012. The fifth installment, The Marked Ones, was released in 2014, and the sixth installment, The Ghost Dimension, was released in 2015.
So really this is the third movie in the franchise, but it came out first, than a prequel/sequel with the 2nd one, than the prequel with the 3d one, than the sequel to the 2nd one which is actually the 4th movie. Makes any sense, no!!!!! Confusing fuck yes!!!!!
Anyways the plot: Soon after moving into a suburban tract home, Katie (Katie Featherston) and Micah (Micah Sloat) become increasingly disturbed by what appears to be a supernatural presence. Hoping to capture evidence of it on film, they set up video cameras in the house but are not prepared for the terrifying events that follow.
Its very slow, its not that scary, nothing really happens, just people watching footage on a computer, repeat that couple of times, make sure who ever is holding the camera make it shake and out of focus. Also Cameras!!!!! So Many Cameras.
This movie was so overhyped and in the end that was its downfall. That and not being actaully really scary. Makes this film, really not good.
Lastly shout out to @Sarah for getting the hints/clues for this movie correct.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Alien (1979) in Movies
Nov 16, 2019
A masterpiece through and through
Alien is simply put is on of the most perfect horror movies ever committed to film. Decades worth of sequels, prequels, and spin offs don't match it (although Aliens comes pretty damn close) and that is a true testament to the quality of Alien.
The plot is straightforward, and immediately gripping, as a merchant space vessel called The Nostromo, and it's crew, pick up an unidentified distress signal from a nearby moon.
Upon arrival, one of the Crue is attacked by an alien lifeform, and accidentally smuggles something back onto the ship with him, resulting in the infamous chest bursting scene, and a crew trapped floating through space, whilst being hunted one by one.
Said chest bursting scene is one of the single most disturbing scenes in horror, with genuine reactions of surprise by the cast, and horrific practical effects.
Once the plot kicks in, we're presented with a master class of tension. The shadowy setting hides the Xenomorph alien for most of the runtime, offering fleeting glimpses, and occasional bursts of violence.
H. R. Gigers design of the creature is of course iconic, abrasive, and terrifying.
Sigourney Weaver offers a strong female lead in Ellen Ripley, a character that remains a highlight, even throughout the later underwhelming sequels.
Even though Ripley is thrown front and centre in the aftermath of Alien, during this film, she is part of a crew that don't boast any heroes. Everyone aboard feels like real people, way out of their depth in what they're dealing with, and it just adds to the already unsettled surroundings.
Ridley Scott's directing and camera work in Alien manages to be claustrophobic, atmospheric and isolating all at, combining uneasy sound cues with amazing visuals to create a sci-fi horror like no other.
Alien is a film I never tire of watching. As far as this genre goes, it's near perfect.
The plot is straightforward, and immediately gripping, as a merchant space vessel called The Nostromo, and it's crew, pick up an unidentified distress signal from a nearby moon.
Upon arrival, one of the Crue is attacked by an alien lifeform, and accidentally smuggles something back onto the ship with him, resulting in the infamous chest bursting scene, and a crew trapped floating through space, whilst being hunted one by one.
Said chest bursting scene is one of the single most disturbing scenes in horror, with genuine reactions of surprise by the cast, and horrific practical effects.
Once the plot kicks in, we're presented with a master class of tension. The shadowy setting hides the Xenomorph alien for most of the runtime, offering fleeting glimpses, and occasional bursts of violence.
H. R. Gigers design of the creature is of course iconic, abrasive, and terrifying.
Sigourney Weaver offers a strong female lead in Ellen Ripley, a character that remains a highlight, even throughout the later underwhelming sequels.
Even though Ripley is thrown front and centre in the aftermath of Alien, during this film, she is part of a crew that don't boast any heroes. Everyone aboard feels like real people, way out of their depth in what they're dealing with, and it just adds to the already unsettled surroundings.
Ridley Scott's directing and camera work in Alien manages to be claustrophobic, atmospheric and isolating all at, combining uneasy sound cues with amazing visuals to create a sci-fi horror like no other.
Alien is a film I never tire of watching. As far as this genre goes, it's near perfect.
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Men in Black International (2019) in Movies
Jul 7, 2020
Weighed, Measured and Found Wanting
Men In Black International is a 2019 sci-fi action/comedy directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. It is based on the Malibu/Marvel comic book series by Lowell Cunningham. The film was produced by Amblin Entertainment, Columbia Pictures, Image Nation, Tencent Pictures and MacDonald/Parkes Productions and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. The movie stars Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Rebecca Ferguson, Kumail Nanjiani, Emma Thompson, and Liam Neeson.
Molly Wright (Tessa Thompson) witnesses her parents being neuralized by agents of Men in Black in Brooklyn 1996. Avoiding neuralization as her parents assumed that she was asleep, she helps an alien escape. Twenty-three years later, she manages to track Men in Black agents back to MiB headquarters in New York. Molly makes an impression on Agent O (Emma Thompson), despite being caught entering the building. She is assigned to the London branch on a probationary agent status as "Agent M".
This movie was very predictable. There really wasn't one part of the movie that surprised me plot wise. From the twists and turns that they try and throw at you to the big reveal at the end. A lot of critics said this movie was very forgettable with lackluster action and they are not wrong. However, the movie was quite enjoyable for myself and others. The chemistry between Thompson and Hemsworth was awesome and particularly the voice acting for Kumail Nanjiani's character. His character Pawney, stole the show and really made the movie good. He was the comic relief and center of any scene he was in. The special effects were great and they even threw in a couple of new aliens as they often do with the sequels of this series. The movie also didn't have near the emotional impact of the sequels. It was a decent movie but not as funny, surprising, or stupendous as the first film in the franchise. I give it a 7/10,
Molly Wright (Tessa Thompson) witnesses her parents being neuralized by agents of Men in Black in Brooklyn 1996. Avoiding neuralization as her parents assumed that she was asleep, she helps an alien escape. Twenty-three years later, she manages to track Men in Black agents back to MiB headquarters in New York. Molly makes an impression on Agent O (Emma Thompson), despite being caught entering the building. She is assigned to the London branch on a probationary agent status as "Agent M".
This movie was very predictable. There really wasn't one part of the movie that surprised me plot wise. From the twists and turns that they try and throw at you to the big reveal at the end. A lot of critics said this movie was very forgettable with lackluster action and they are not wrong. However, the movie was quite enjoyable for myself and others. The chemistry between Thompson and Hemsworth was awesome and particularly the voice acting for Kumail Nanjiani's character. His character Pawney, stole the show and really made the movie good. He was the comic relief and center of any scene he was in. The special effects were great and they even threw in a couple of new aliens as they often do with the sequels of this series. The movie also didn't have near the emotional impact of the sequels. It was a decent movie but not as funny, surprising, or stupendous as the first film in the franchise. I give it a 7/10,
Awix (3310 KP) rated The 5th wave (2016) in Movies
Jun 13, 2018
Thick-headed attempt to secure a slice of that lucrative post-Hunger Games YA demographic pie wastes the talents of Chloe Grace Moretz, Liev Schrieber, and various CGI technicians. Aliens show up and start conquering the world really slowly, starting by shutting down Instagram and moving on to floods, bird flu, etc etc. Plucky teenage girl sets out to save her young sibling while juggling the attentions of a couple of carefully-differentiated young hunks.
Painfully obvious and derivative, leadenly assembled; mostly just plain bad. What moves it beyond the inept and into the realms of the regrettable is a plotline about child soldiers - if this is trying to make a real-world point it does so with incredible crassness, though it may well be the film simply doesn't operate on that level of awareness. So-so box office returns means it appears we may be spared the threatened sequels; who know, maybe there is a God.
Painfully obvious and derivative, leadenly assembled; mostly just plain bad. What moves it beyond the inept and into the realms of the regrettable is a plotline about child soldiers - if this is trying to make a real-world point it does so with incredible crassness, though it may well be the film simply doesn't operate on that level of awareness. So-so box office returns means it appears we may be spared the threatened sequels; who know, maybe there is a God.
Andy K (10823 KP) rated Jurassic Park (1993) in Movies
May 31, 2018
Why do we like dinosaurs so much?
Just when Spielberg was on a minor low after the critical and box office disappointment of "Hook" in 1991, he decided to make not only A movie about dinosaurs, but THE movie about dinosaurs to turn things around.
The original Jurassic Park is a modern marvel of cinema in many ways, but mostly the ground-breaking visual effects. Yeah, there had been other movies with prehistoric beasts, but none that integrated them seamlessly with human actors before this film.
What a great idea (based on the book) of having human beings visit a remote coming soon amusement park and watch what happens when everything goes wrong.
There are so many iconic scenes, I can't even begin to list them. The T-Rex, the raptors, the spitting ones. It was all just magic.
The tension build to the ultimate climax will never be beaten even with the 27 sequels.
The original Jurassic Park is a modern marvel of cinema in many ways, but mostly the ground-breaking visual effects. Yeah, there had been other movies with prehistoric beasts, but none that integrated them seamlessly with human actors before this film.
What a great idea (based on the book) of having human beings visit a remote coming soon amusement park and watch what happens when everything goes wrong.
There are so many iconic scenes, I can't even begin to list them. The T-Rex, the raptors, the spitting ones. It was all just magic.
The tension build to the ultimate climax will never be beaten even with the 27 sequels.
David McK (3557 KP) rated The Hobbit in Books
Jan 28, 2019
JRR Tolkiens classic children's(?) tale of Bilbo Baggins, and his journey to the Lonely Mountain in the company of Gandalf the Wizard and 12 Dwarves who are seeking to reclaim their inheritance from the dragon Smaug.
(According to the preface in the edition I read), this was written before his Magnum Opus of <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> trilogy, with Tolkien later going back and revising key portions of this - namely, the Riddles in the Dark sequence where Bilbo encounters Gollum, and finds the Ring of Power - to bring it more in line with those sequels.
Like <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>, while this may be (is) a good story, the prose can also be a little bit on the dry side - I did find myself occasionally skimming through some of the chapters. Not as dry, however, as I remember <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> to be!
(According to the preface in the edition I read), this was written before his Magnum Opus of <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> trilogy, with Tolkien later going back and revising key portions of this - namely, the Riddles in the Dark sequence where Bilbo encounters Gollum, and finds the Ring of Power - to bring it more in line with those sequels.
Like <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>, while this may be (is) a good story, the prose can also be a little bit on the dry side - I did find myself occasionally skimming through some of the chapters. Not as dry, however, as I remember <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> to be!
David McK (3557 KP) rated Tarnished Knight (The Lost Stars, #1) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
Spin-off from <i>The Lost Fleet</i> series, with this taking place after the events off/concurrently with those of [b:The Lost Fleet Beyond the Frontier Dreadnaught|9676849|The Lost Fleet Beyond the Frontier Dreadnaught (The Lost Fleet Beyond the Frontier, #1)|Jack Campbell|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388524088s/9676849.jpg|14564728] (and it's sequels).
Following the defeat of the Syndicate Worlds at the hands of 'Black Jack' Geary, more and more former Syndicate Worlds are rising up against their old masters - this novel concentrating on one such world, that of Midway.
However, neither former CEOs Artur Drakon or Gwen Iceni are sure if they can trust the other ...
As a spin-off, this introduces almost-entirely new characters, along with some mentioned in passing, or who have had a small role in previous novels. It also makes occasional reference to those earlier novels - particularly to 'Black Jack' Geary himself and some of his actions, even though he is entirely absent from the story.
Following the defeat of the Syndicate Worlds at the hands of 'Black Jack' Geary, more and more former Syndicate Worlds are rising up against their old masters - this novel concentrating on one such world, that of Midway.
However, neither former CEOs Artur Drakon or Gwen Iceni are sure if they can trust the other ...
As a spin-off, this introduces almost-entirely new characters, along with some mentioned in passing, or who have had a small role in previous novels. It also makes occasional reference to those earlier novels - particularly to 'Black Jack' Geary himself and some of his actions, even though he is entirely absent from the story.
David McK (3557 KP) rated Traitor's Blood (Civil War Chronicles #1) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
Billed as 'The Sharpe of the Civil War' (ever notice how these types of novels always use that character as their benchmark?), it's easy to see the influence of Cornwell's most famous creation on this novel, which (according to the author) is the first in a planned series of 10 books set during the English Civil War.
This is told from the POV of a soldier in the (doomed) Royalist army: a soldier who has a history with some in authority (like Sharpe and Wellesley), and who is chosen to go behind the enemy lines on a top secret mission (again, like Sharpe), with the beginning and end of the novel taking place during one of the battles of that war (yet again, just like a Sharpe novel ...). Enjoyable enough, and gets off to a strong start, but is just not as polished as one of Cornwells books. Still, an impressive effort for a debut novel, and I may pick up more of the sequels ...
This is told from the POV of a soldier in the (doomed) Royalist army: a soldier who has a history with some in authority (like Sharpe and Wellesley), and who is chosen to go behind the enemy lines on a top secret mission (again, like Sharpe), with the beginning and end of the novel taking place during one of the battles of that war (yet again, just like a Sharpe novel ...). Enjoyable enough, and gets off to a strong start, but is just not as polished as one of Cornwells books. Still, an impressive effort for a debut novel, and I may pick up more of the sequels ...
David McK (3557 KP) rated The Painted Man (the Demon Cycle, Book 1) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
First in "The Demon Cycle", this is very much what I would term a dark fantasy novel: not urban fantasy (like The Dresden Files), not heroic fantasy (David Gemmell) and not high fantasy (Lord of the Rings).
This is set in a world where Demons rise through the ground every night to terrorise/slowly cull the few remaining humans, the novel follows three seperate survivors of such attacks. It's pretty obvious that they are, eventually, going to meet up, which only happens in the latter porion of the book, by which stage one of the survivors has become The Painted Man (i.e. covered in magical wards, which the demons can't stand) of the title.
An enjoyable enough read, but I did find this to be occassionally hard going. I also picked it up when Waterstones had it on sale for about £3: for that price, I'm happy enough, but I also wouldn't be looking for the sequels at full price either.
This is set in a world where Demons rise through the ground every night to terrorise/slowly cull the few remaining humans, the novel follows three seperate survivors of such attacks. It's pretty obvious that they are, eventually, going to meet up, which only happens in the latter porion of the book, by which stage one of the survivors has become The Painted Man (i.e. covered in magical wards, which the demons can't stand) of the title.
An enjoyable enough read, but I did find this to be occassionally hard going. I also picked it up when Waterstones had it on sale for about £3: for that price, I'm happy enough, but I also wouldn't be looking for the sequels at full price either.