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Bayesian Methods for Hackers: Probabilistic Programming and Bayesian Inference
Book
Master Bayesian Inference through Practical Examples and Computation-Without Advanced Mathematical...
From Brain to Mind: The Developmental Journey from Mimicry to Creative Thought Through Experience and Education
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Finalist for Foreword Magazine's 2011 Book of the YearWith his knack for making science intelligible...
Eaglewood Pavilion
Book
The two stories in this collection of Chinese stories are related to the life of people living in...
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated It Stains the Sands Red (2016) in Movies
Jul 7, 2020 (Updated Oct 29, 2020)
While Original In Concept, Fails On Delivery for 3/4 Of The Movie
Contains spoilers, click to show
This movie was a real let down for how it was hyped up by critics and movie reviewers. I mean I don't know why I let myself get excited when the premise is that the main character is dealing with one lone zombie. The main character Molly was also a character that I initially saw as annoying and hard to empathize with so it made most of the movie hard to watch. The special effects or movie makeup for the zombie wasn't that well done either for it being one zombie so that also stopped me from being fully immersed in the movie. There were times where I hated this character for being so stupid and never making good decisions or right choices in her survival. For being in the desert she drinks her water way too fast and never thinks about rationing it, she almost gets bit while stopping to do cocaine, she almost gets bit for going back for a bottle of vodka, and she ultimately gets bit for wanting to keep the zombie with her after she grows attached to it. Still as the movie went on and as the character Molly dealt with her ordeals one after the other, I couldn't help but want to root for her survfival. To me really the film only got better at the end when she gets to the airfield. As the movie had been going she spoke to the zombie and we learned more about her which made it easier to understand her motivations and that she had a child that she abandoned to be raised by her sister. Now that she has been through some things she wants to survive and get to this child so she can protect him. And that's when her attitude changes and she's not going to let anything stop her. To me though it was too little too late and the way the movie ended was a big disapointment as well. Just when it was getting good. I have to give this movie a 4/10. While there were parts that were good and some decent zombie scenes at the end the majority of the movie was a bore as the character monologues to a singular zombie the whole time and eventualyy tames/domesticates it taking away the fear that it's ever going to eat her. Way below average zombie movie.
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Here Alone (2017) in Movies
Jul 7, 2020 (Updated Oct 29, 2020)
Unexpectedly Engaging But Ultimately Disappointing For A Zombie
Contains spoilers, click to show
Man, I can't believe what a let down this movie wound up being when it had so much potential. It started off really strong and I like Ann (Lucy Walters) and thought she was a strong female lead/protagonist. She demonstrated early on the extremes she puts herself through to ensure her survival such as covering her naked body with a mixture of scat and mud to cover her scent, cutting herself to collect blood and use as bait to lure zombies away, and collecting her urine to douse herself with incase any zombies follow her back to her camp. She's shown rationing her food and scavenging maggots for protein, and keeping two camp sites incase one is lost. Even when she ventures out to get supplies, the moment she hears zombies, she doesn't wait to see them, she stops what she's doing and gets moving. What killed me with this film was that it was so slow building and wound up being nothing but dialogue. The flashbacks intrigued me, because I was interested in her backstory since it showed she wasn't always alone and had a husband and baby. But nothing ever happened even when she chose to help these strangers who she didn't know and house them in her camp and give them food. For more than an hours of the film there is probably only 1 minute of zombies. It's not until the last 15-20 minutes of the movie does it get good when Chris's daughter Olivia betrays her on a raid and knocks her out and ties her up, and screams to attract zombies before leaving her to die. It was already hinted at that Olvia didn't really like Ann as much as she was pretending to or that she was getting jealous of Chris and her relationship so this wasn't even a big of surprise as it shoud have been but it was a little shocking. I did like how when Ann goes to help them when she gets free that she forgets to grab more ammunition and has to chose who she will help survive. I thought that was very believable and a good final twist especially since she chooses Olivia who tried to kill her. Still everything in this movie could have been summed up in an epsiode of The Walking Dead and been better action wise if not as good drama wise but close. I still give this movie a 3/10.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Voyagers (2021) in Movies
Apr 7, 2021
The classic novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding is not only a beloved classic but has been assigned reading for generations of students since it was first published in 1954. The book has been adapted into plays and films over the years and remains a chilling and poignant cautionary tale.
In the new movie “Voyagers” audiences are introduced to an Earth that has been ravaged by climate change and disease. In an effort to save the species; a grand experiment to genetically create a group of children who are the origins of a colonization effort is undertaken.
The planet is 86 years away so the decision is made that the children will be raised and trained indoors without any exposure to nature, open skies, fresh air, and other aspects they will be deprived of on the ship.
Richard (Colin Farrell) decides to accompany the children on the mission as he wants to protect them and ensure things go as planned so their progeny will be well suited to continue on the mission to the next generation who will ultimately be the ones who colonize the planet.
Ten years into the mission things are going well until a discovery is made that a drink the children take daily known as “The Blue” is a drug used to suppress their emotions and keep them docile and easy to control.
When friends Christopher (Tye Sheridan) and Zac (Fionn Whitehead); who learned the secret of the drug decide to stop taking it; they soon reveal the truth of their discovery to the rest of the children who in turn stop using the drug.
In no time rampant emotions, aggressions, desires, paranoia, and mistrust start to run wild and Zac becomes obsessed with Sela (Lilly-Rose Depp). His unwelcome advances soon become more and more aggressive which causes Christopher and Richard to intervene and tragedy soon follows.
Christopher and Zac soon find themselves at odds with one another and fear and paranoia lead the crew to form into factions and turn on one other which not only threatens the mission but their very survival.
The film was very engaging and while I saw the influence of Lord of the Flies early on; the engaging cast and setting make the film entertaining and enjoyable despite any really unexpected twists.
The young leads work well with one another and it will be very interesting to watch how their careers unfold in the years to come. “Voyagers” is a refreshing new take on a classic tale and provides an entertaining and engaging adventure for viewers to enjoy.
In the new movie “Voyagers” audiences are introduced to an Earth that has been ravaged by climate change and disease. In an effort to save the species; a grand experiment to genetically create a group of children who are the origins of a colonization effort is undertaken.
The planet is 86 years away so the decision is made that the children will be raised and trained indoors without any exposure to nature, open skies, fresh air, and other aspects they will be deprived of on the ship.
Richard (Colin Farrell) decides to accompany the children on the mission as he wants to protect them and ensure things go as planned so their progeny will be well suited to continue on the mission to the next generation who will ultimately be the ones who colonize the planet.
Ten years into the mission things are going well until a discovery is made that a drink the children take daily known as “The Blue” is a drug used to suppress their emotions and keep them docile and easy to control.
When friends Christopher (Tye Sheridan) and Zac (Fionn Whitehead); who learned the secret of the drug decide to stop taking it; they soon reveal the truth of their discovery to the rest of the children who in turn stop using the drug.
In no time rampant emotions, aggressions, desires, paranoia, and mistrust start to run wild and Zac becomes obsessed with Sela (Lilly-Rose Depp). His unwelcome advances soon become more and more aggressive which causes Christopher and Richard to intervene and tragedy soon follows.
Christopher and Zac soon find themselves at odds with one another and fear and paranoia lead the crew to form into factions and turn on one other which not only threatens the mission but their very survival.
The film was very engaging and while I saw the influence of Lord of the Flies early on; the engaging cast and setting make the film entertaining and enjoyable despite any really unexpected twists.
The young leads work well with one another and it will be very interesting to watch how their careers unfold in the years to come. “Voyagers” is a refreshing new take on a classic tale and provides an entertaining and engaging adventure for viewers to enjoy.
Darren (1599 KP) rated The Mountain Between Us (2017) in Movies
Oct 14, 2019
Characters – Ben Bass is a surgeon, he needs to get back to New York to perform an operation, when the crash happens, he focuses on aiming to stay at the crash site believing he will get rescued, reluctant to follow Alex’s idea to find their own way out. His skills as a doctor are key to survive this one. Alex is a photographer heading home for her wedding, she does get hurt in the crash and wants to go in search of help rather than wait. These two are professionals that make decisions based on logic over panic which is why even if they are opposite, their discussions make sense.
Performances – Idris Elba and Kate Winslet are the only ones that get any major screen time, they are both great in this film as we see them both playing to their strengths.
Story – The story here follows two strangers who are involved in a plane crash in a mountain range and must put their differences a side to survive while searching and hoping for rescue. This is a survival movie at heart with a weak romance movie on the side, we go through the normal can they survive situations, each one becoming deadlier as they go along and leaving us guessing how rather than if they will get rescued, it seems to clear to say that they won’t make it because of it only being a two person. The fact that the dog is the most interesting character doesn’t help us out here and the timing we go through just seems weak when it comes to telling us how long they have been there, we get the odd scene, but learn nothing about moments inbetween.
Action/Adventure/Romance – The action comes from the scene in which the plane crashed, it is shot well but is the only one we see. The adventure side of the film shows us just what the two must go through to survive their ordeal. The romance between them seems to just get tagged in for no particular reasons.
Settings – The film puts us in the middle of nowhere in a mountain range, it looks stunning with views from the top, the biggest problem with the setting is we just don’t get the full scale of the situation.
Scene of the Movie – The crash scene.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not explaining the time period there are lost for.
Final Thoughts – This is a standard movie with a simple story that gets everything it needs to in the film without being anything overly memorable.
Overall: Standard and safe.
Performances – Idris Elba and Kate Winslet are the only ones that get any major screen time, they are both great in this film as we see them both playing to their strengths.
Story – The story here follows two strangers who are involved in a plane crash in a mountain range and must put their differences a side to survive while searching and hoping for rescue. This is a survival movie at heart with a weak romance movie on the side, we go through the normal can they survive situations, each one becoming deadlier as they go along and leaving us guessing how rather than if they will get rescued, it seems to clear to say that they won’t make it because of it only being a two person. The fact that the dog is the most interesting character doesn’t help us out here and the timing we go through just seems weak when it comes to telling us how long they have been there, we get the odd scene, but learn nothing about moments inbetween.
Action/Adventure/Romance – The action comes from the scene in which the plane crashed, it is shot well but is the only one we see. The adventure side of the film shows us just what the two must go through to survive their ordeal. The romance between them seems to just get tagged in for no particular reasons.
Settings – The film puts us in the middle of nowhere in a mountain range, it looks stunning with views from the top, the biggest problem with the setting is we just don’t get the full scale of the situation.
Scene of the Movie – The crash scene.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not explaining the time period there are lost for.
Final Thoughts – This is a standard movie with a simple story that gets everything it needs to in the film without being anything overly memorable.
Overall: Standard and safe.
Zoo Craft: Build & Design
Games and Entertainment
App
New zoo games! Trip to the zoo with kids! Build zoo, care about animals, become a zoo tycoon! Theme...
Car Demolition Simulator
Games and Entertainment
App
Race, drive to survive, smash and crash all the cars! Yours and opponent's - doesn't matter as long...