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David McK (3924 KP) rated Aliens: The Female War in Books

Jan 30, 2019

The third book in Dark Horse's spin-off series of novels and comics to include Billie and Wilks, this also throws Ripley into the mix, and finishes the story first began in [b:Aliens: Earth Hive|343281|Aliens Earth Hive|Steve Perry|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1366133734s/343281.jpg|333628] and continued in [b:Aliens: Nightmare Asylum|20873|Aliens Nightmare Asylum|Steve Perry|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388857061s/20873.jpg|22061]. Wheres the 1979 film 'Alien' had a single Alien stalking the crew of the Nostromo after they picked up the transmission, with the 1986 film 'Aliens' then introducing the concept of the Alien Queen, this extrapolates even further than that with the introduction of an Alien Queen Mother providing the deus ex machina for the plot.

Talking of the plot: this is maybe a bit slower than those previous two novels, with more emphasis on character development (I know, I know: is such a thing even possible in these types of books?).

As before, not going to set the literary world alight nor win any awards, but an enjoyable enough quick diversion for a day or two.

Kudos

Eilidh G Clark (177 KP) rated The Wind in the Willows in Books

Jul 2, 2019

The Wind in the Willows

Kenneth Grahame | 1908 | Children, Fiction & Poetry

7.3

(15 Ratings)

Book Rating

The language is beautiful (0 more)

Perhaps a little slow (0 more)

I was pleasantly surprised by this book

I was surprised by this book. I did a bit of a skim read to begin with because I intend to use some of the books content as part of an essay that I'm writing for children's literature. My skim read put me off reading it for a few days. When I did start reading it I was enthralled by Grahame's use of language and imagery. I have to say that his use of language to describe the countryside and the changing seasons is perhaps some of the most beautiful language I have ever read. He captures the scenery so perfectly that you can almost touch it.
The characters were good, toad in particular. It is clear to see that Grahame was talking about hysteria in the character of toad. Written in the early 20th century, the novel is typical of its slower pace when compared to modern literature for children. The humour and sentiment may be enough to grip even the 21st century child. As an adult though, this is a delightful little book that should never be skimmed.

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Tim McGuire (301 KP) rated Villains (2019) in Movies

Mar 3, 2020

Villains (2019)

2019 | Comedy, Drama, Horror

8.0

(5 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Should've called ahead...

393. Villains. I think we got the wrong house! The stars of 'It' and 'It Follows' team up to play a couple of fun lovin criminals, Mickey and Jules, trying to make their way to Florida, to sell seashells by the seashore, that's not a joke. After robbing a gas station, they, uh, run out of gas and decide to break into the only house around, and that was a bad choice. The house looks normal enough, grab a scooby snack from the closet, maybe outdated a bit, in the middle of exploring the owners of the house come on in. And their reaction to the unwanted guests isn't exactly what you'd expect. Do George and Gloria, homeowners, have something to hide, like the fact that they're psychopaths? Hmm maybe. Bill Skarsgard was great as Mickey, the charming slightly stupid guy. Jeffrey Donovon, of Burn Notice fame, Stanley knows what I'm talking about, and Kyra Sedgwick are freaking great as the seemingly normal yet psychotic next door neighbors! I wasn't too satisfied with the ending, however it definitely is a fun movie to watch! Filmbufftim on FB.

Kudos

Veronica Pena (690 KP) rated Midway (2019) in Movies

Feb 19, 2020

Midway (2019)

2019 | Action, Drama, History

6.8

(17 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

I'm a bit conflicted about this film. I thought the actors were great, I was attached to them and their story and that made this film enjoyable and heart wrenching at the same time. I wasn't in love with the scope of the timeline, I feel like it was a lot to remember - not that you have to remember the dates, but part of you feels kind of guilty if you don't, or is that just me? The hard part about that though is that none of it feels unnecessary. I feel like you get a well-rounded look at how we got to that point and all the events that led up to it. Obviously you could include so much more but then we'd be talking about a 6-hour movie and that'd be ridiculous.

I loved this cast. Luke Evans, Nick Jonas, Woody Harrelson, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid, Darren Criss, everyone was phenomenal and they played their parts well. Do I think I'll ever watch this film again? Hmmm, probably not. But I'm glad I spent the time to watch it and learn a little bit more too. It's definitely a great story.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated The Call Of The Wild (2020) in Movies

Feb 25, 2020

Rather too big-budget Jack London adaptation is long on CGI and short on grit, but remains engaging and dignified entertainment. Pampered house dog Buck is abducted from his California home and packed off to Alaska during the gold rush, slowly getting in touch with his wild side. Harrison Ford plays the main human part - there was something oddly familiar about seeing the star team up with a huge, hairy, almost totally non-verbal partner and then I remembered the Russian word for dog is sowbacca and it all made a bit more sense.

The harder edges of London's book have been sanded down considerably, and this does verge on the sentimental and cutesy in places - for one ghastly moment I thought the dogs were going to start talking to each other - and the fact it's made with a CGI dog (Terry Notary has been mo-capped) will probably put some people off. But it's solid, likeable stuff, lifted considerably by performances from Ford and Omar Sy. I still think it was madness to spend over $120 million on a film which will probably struggle to find an audience, but it has a definite charm to it.