Search
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires (Half-Moon Hollow, #1) in Books
Jan 11, 2021
I've always been drawn to this book - series, really - so when I saw it at 99p a while back I couldn't resist buying it.
This starts with Iris in the supermarket buying items for her vampire clients to make their lives easier, sorting out their wants and needs while they sleep during the day so she never actually comes face to face with them. She heads over to leave a welcome basket for her newest client, Cal, when she ends up falling over his body in his kitchen. He's been poisoned and they negotiate for him to come stay with her while he recovers and tries to find out who's behind his poisoning
This was equal parts fun and quirky, intriguing and romantic. Fun and quirky because it's full of snark and some strangely funny vampire related conversations. Intriguing with trying to figure out who's behind Cal's poisoning. And romantic because Iris and Cal have some really cute and some really hot scenes together. There was a really sort of cute bit with Cal and Gigi - Iris's younger sister - where he gets really protective of her seeing guys and buys her a bubble-gum pink taser so she can protect herself.
I was not expecting the bad guy to be who it was. That took me by surprise, so well done for that. I was convinced it was someone else for most of the book.
I did like the romance between our main characters. As I mentioned above it was really cute at times and that end bit where he pretty much re-staged their initial meeting with him laid out on the floor so she can fall over him. What else can I say but CUTE.
This was just a fun all round read and I cannot wait to read more of this series.
This starts with Iris in the supermarket buying items for her vampire clients to make their lives easier, sorting out their wants and needs while they sleep during the day so she never actually comes face to face with them. She heads over to leave a welcome basket for her newest client, Cal, when she ends up falling over his body in his kitchen. He's been poisoned and they negotiate for him to come stay with her while he recovers and tries to find out who's behind his poisoning
This was equal parts fun and quirky, intriguing and romantic. Fun and quirky because it's full of snark and some strangely funny vampire related conversations. Intriguing with trying to figure out who's behind Cal's poisoning. And romantic because Iris and Cal have some really cute and some really hot scenes together. There was a really sort of cute bit with Cal and Gigi - Iris's younger sister - where he gets really protective of her seeing guys and buys her a bubble-gum pink taser so she can protect herself.
I was not expecting the bad guy to be who it was. That took me by surprise, so well done for that. I was convinced it was someone else for most of the book.
I did like the romance between our main characters. As I mentioned above it was really cute at times and that end bit where he pretty much re-staged their initial meeting with him laid out on the floor so she can fall over him. What else can I say but CUTE.
This was just a fun all round read and I cannot wait to read more of this series.
Playing Offstage: The Theater as a Presence or Factor in the Real World
Book
Fourteen scholars who work on campus or in the theater address this issue of what it means to play...
MF
Music Festivals in the UK: Beyond the Carnivalesque
Book
The popular music festival market has developed and expanded over the past twenty years to become a...
Ryan McGinley: Whistle for the Wind
John Kelsey, Chris Kraus, Ryan McGinley and Gus Van Sant
Book
In 2000, Ryan McGinley, then a student, staged his first exhibition of photographs in an abandoned...
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) in Movies
May 13, 2019
See it soar
#howtotrainyourdragon3 is a delightful, #passionate & #epic end to one of the best #animated trilogies of all time. This 3rd film sets itself apart from the others with its realistic portrayals of #love & by the sheer #heart & #dedication that's clearly gone into its making. Ill start with the themes explored here for a #kids animated #film are so well done that at times i felt not only #goosebumps & shivers going up my #body but my eyes were almost on the verge of tears too. Neglect, progression, sacrafice acceptance, belonging, #family bonds, learning & loyalty are explored here vastly but the biggest surprise comes from how the film depicts love & loss. Courtship is displayed here with such power/realism that my connection to the characters became stronger & #memories of my own #relationships came flooding back instantly bringing a #smile to my face. This film captures the thrill, the excitement, the #magic, the #nerves, the #butterflies of falling in love & meeting someone new so well that you simply can not help feel giddy, #happy & intoxicated by it all which is rare & something big blockbusters even fail to achieve these days. But with love always comes loss/betrayal too & as romantic love, family love & #friendship are handled extremely well so is the loss of love which hits like a punch to the gut & produces a huge dramatic effect ensuring you really do feel the lows as well as the highs each of these characters experience. Animation is glorious here with #dreamworks raising the bar to a #pixar quality flawless animation. Textures are photo realistic, lighting is blinding, action is beautifully staged & facial detail (especially for the main villain) is so good it gives the characters extra dimension & believability. Talking of the main #villain he is worth the price alone, never have i seen such a cold, calculating, methodical & merciless yet #charming & #smart bad guy in a #kids film before & #fmurrayabraham voice work goes beyond for him too. Score wise it shines providing both epic & sombre music adding great tension, atmosphere & heart. Such a well made, touching/moving tale full of heart, #soul & love. EPIC. #Odeon #howtotrainyourdragon #dragon
Paul Kellett (118 KP) rated Dawn of the Zeds (Third edition) in Tabletop Games
May 20, 2019
Staged rules to ease you in slowly (1 more)
Strong solo game plus team and 1 Vs many rules
The Ultimate Zombie Tower Defense
I've been wanting DotZ for some time so jumped on the reprint and expansions when they hit Kickstarter last year.
As a solo player, having a town defense game designed as a solo game first was a big draw for me and the game certainly doesn't disappoint.
After hearing so much about it and the complexity, I was surprised to find it a lot smaller than I expected - the board is smaller than most modern board games and there aren't anywhere near as many chits and cards as other wargames. The game will play easily on a coffee table.
The first thing you see are the 5 rule books, but these are handily split into a "Start Here" basic game book which lets you quickly jump in and play a basic game, just your heroes fending off the Zeds from reaching the town, the advanced rules which lead you through the next level of difficulty, adding in extra rules, the set-up guide with all the instructions for each difficulty level plus epilogues to see how well you did. Next there is the Farmingdale Dossier - a reference book with all the various hero and zombie special skills and finally, the complete rules A-Z with rules for all difficulty levels and game modes.
The levels are all colour coded so it is easy to sort and set up the desired difficulty level and the rules are similarly split up and each rule numbered so you can quickly find what you need.
Gameplay is tight and atmospheric, you really feel like you are holding back the zombie hoardes. Careful planning and strategy is vital as actions are limited (and you never actually know how many actions you will get from turn to turn making you make some hard choices as to what is best to do each turn.
Overall a very satisfying game that will keep me busy for a long time and the ability to add more advanced rules when I feel comfortable is great.
As a solo player, having a town defense game designed as a solo game first was a big draw for me and the game certainly doesn't disappoint.
After hearing so much about it and the complexity, I was surprised to find it a lot smaller than I expected - the board is smaller than most modern board games and there aren't anywhere near as many chits and cards as other wargames. The game will play easily on a coffee table.
The first thing you see are the 5 rule books, but these are handily split into a "Start Here" basic game book which lets you quickly jump in and play a basic game, just your heroes fending off the Zeds from reaching the town, the advanced rules which lead you through the next level of difficulty, adding in extra rules, the set-up guide with all the instructions for each difficulty level plus epilogues to see how well you did. Next there is the Farmingdale Dossier - a reference book with all the various hero and zombie special skills and finally, the complete rules A-Z with rules for all difficulty levels and game modes.
The levels are all colour coded so it is easy to sort and set up the desired difficulty level and the rules are similarly split up and each rule numbered so you can quickly find what you need.
Gameplay is tight and atmospheric, you really feel like you are holding back the zombie hoardes. Careful planning and strategy is vital as actions are limited (and you never actually know how many actions you will get from turn to turn making you make some hard choices as to what is best to do each turn.
Overall a very satisfying game that will keep me busy for a long time and the ability to add more advanced rules when I feel comfortable is great.
A Better Me: The Official Autobiography
Book
'This is the book I wished I'd had to turn to.' Gary BarlowGary Barlow is one of the most successful...
American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee
Book
With the critically acclaimed Sin in the Second City, bestselling author Karen Abbott “pioneered...
theVman (16 KP) rated Ready Player One (2018) in Movies
Apr 6, 2018
Visual effects (1 more)
action scenes
Script (2 more)
Exposition
Casting
Ready Player Bomb!
I understand certain decisions and changes have to be made when adapting a book for the screen but with this one i just didnt understand or agree with 90% of them. For the most part the changes underminds the actual story the book was telling.
However, trying to be objective the best i can and looking at it just as a movie - i still didnt like it. For me it felt like the structure of the whole move was fractured. Everyone was totally miscast for my liking, leaving all the characters un-charismatic and un-endearing, leaving the story without a heart or a soul. I felt like the exposition was clunky at best, leading to the relationships between characters to either feel forced or not given them enough time to grow naturally, especially the "love interest" story. Also I felt it glossed over some key elements of the plot at the beginning, mainly due to the aforementioned clunky exposition, but also with its eagerness to go straight for throat with high octane action, which although brilliantly staged and choreographed through the camera, left me feeling like it was pointless, due to lack of context or feeling of any real threat. I never really felt like it got any of this right until the final battle in the climax of the film, but by then id given up the films ability to win me back.
Add to that the changes/difference from the book that failed to make any sense to me, or understand why they choose that direction to take - my frustration only grows and grows. The only real big change that i liked was the car race at the beginning which does not feature at all in the book...because it would be visually more exciting than what was actually written in the book. Some of the changes i felt like they were taking the safe option and lacked the balls of the book, such as the film choosing to let some character(s) not die, and pretty much totally ignoring the social commentary the book was making about big corporations, media influences, economic status of the world etc..... all things that i felt made the book as popular as it is in the first place. Popular enough that Spielberg wanted to turn it into a major motion picture.
However, trying to be objective the best i can and looking at it just as a movie - i still didnt like it. For me it felt like the structure of the whole move was fractured. Everyone was totally miscast for my liking, leaving all the characters un-charismatic and un-endearing, leaving the story without a heart or a soul. I felt like the exposition was clunky at best, leading to the relationships between characters to either feel forced or not given them enough time to grow naturally, especially the "love interest" story. Also I felt it glossed over some key elements of the plot at the beginning, mainly due to the aforementioned clunky exposition, but also with its eagerness to go straight for throat with high octane action, which although brilliantly staged and choreographed through the camera, left me feeling like it was pointless, due to lack of context or feeling of any real threat. I never really felt like it got any of this right until the final battle in the climax of the film, but by then id given up the films ability to win me back.
Add to that the changes/difference from the book that failed to make any sense to me, or understand why they choose that direction to take - my frustration only grows and grows. The only real big change that i liked was the car race at the beginning which does not feature at all in the book...because it would be visually more exciting than what was actually written in the book. Some of the changes i felt like they were taking the safe option and lacked the balls of the book, such as the film choosing to let some character(s) not die, and pretty much totally ignoring the social commentary the book was making about big corporations, media influences, economic status of the world etc..... all things that i felt made the book as popular as it is in the first place. Popular enough that Spielberg wanted to turn it into a major motion picture.
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Burlesque (2010) in Movies
Feb 17, 2019
Could Have Been Better
When Ali (Christina Aguilera) moves to LA to make it big, she decides to settle for working in a burlesque house instead. Oh my God, here we go…
Acting: 7
Beginning: 8
Characters: 10
Cinematography/Visuals: 2
I guess this is as good a place to start as any. While there were some decent shots within the burlesque club itself, the film pretty much centers around this one location so there’s not a whole lot of room for expansion. Your eyes are supposed to be set on stage which would work if this were a play. I also thought they failed in capturing the sensuality of the burlesque genre. It felt extremely flat to say the least and I almost wish they had changed the title of the film to something else more relevant like, I don’t know, Pretty People Lip-Syncing? Huge fail here.
Conflict: 1
Much ado about nothing here as get a feel for exactly where the story is heading the entire time. The obstacles Ali experienced seemed staged, never natural, as if they were putting something in her way for the sake of it continuing the awful story. In the end, the film could never decide on where it wanted to create the conflict. Whether it was the club closing, someone wanting to take over the club, an awkward relationship triangle, or trouble on the big stage, Burlesque was all over the damn place.
Genre: 6
Memorability: 6
Pace: 4
Plot: 6
If I’m being honest, Ali’s drive was the only thing that kept me motivated to watch the movie the rest of the way. Her story is touching and, despite the Hallmark feel of it all, you want her to succeed. Other than that, I really couldn’t make heads or tails of much else. This movie is like a tree with crazy branches sprouting off into a bunch of different directions…but never really going anywhere important.
Resolution: 6
Overall: 56
Burlesque is the first film attacked in a podcast called “How Did This Get Made?”, a show that takes awful movies and rips them apart in deserved fashion. I started the movie thinking to myself, “Well, this isn’t so bad…” which became “Ok, what’s going on here?” which finally became, “Dear God, this needs to end!” Steer clear. You have been warned.
Acting: 7
Beginning: 8
Characters: 10
Cinematography/Visuals: 2
I guess this is as good a place to start as any. While there were some decent shots within the burlesque club itself, the film pretty much centers around this one location so there’s not a whole lot of room for expansion. Your eyes are supposed to be set on stage which would work if this were a play. I also thought they failed in capturing the sensuality of the burlesque genre. It felt extremely flat to say the least and I almost wish they had changed the title of the film to something else more relevant like, I don’t know, Pretty People Lip-Syncing? Huge fail here.
Conflict: 1
Much ado about nothing here as get a feel for exactly where the story is heading the entire time. The obstacles Ali experienced seemed staged, never natural, as if they were putting something in her way for the sake of it continuing the awful story. In the end, the film could never decide on where it wanted to create the conflict. Whether it was the club closing, someone wanting to take over the club, an awkward relationship triangle, or trouble on the big stage, Burlesque was all over the damn place.
Genre: 6
Memorability: 6
Pace: 4
Plot: 6
If I’m being honest, Ali’s drive was the only thing that kept me motivated to watch the movie the rest of the way. Her story is touching and, despite the Hallmark feel of it all, you want her to succeed. Other than that, I really couldn’t make heads or tails of much else. This movie is like a tree with crazy branches sprouting off into a bunch of different directions…but never really going anywhere important.
Resolution: 6
Overall: 56
Burlesque is the first film attacked in a podcast called “How Did This Get Made?”, a show that takes awful movies and rips them apart in deserved fashion. I started the movie thinking to myself, “Well, this isn’t so bad…” which became “Ok, what’s going on here?” which finally became, “Dear God, this needs to end!” Steer clear. You have been warned.