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Gareth von Kallenbach (977 KP) rated Futurama: Bender's Game (2008) in Movies
Aug 14, 2019
The third of the straight to DVD Futurama movies, “Futurama: Bender’s Game” has arrived and continues the winning formula of the television series and two previous films.
This time the film starts out as a standard episode rather than continue the events of the past film. In true Futurama style, there are references to past characters and pop culture gags throughout. The early focus of the story is on the Dark Matter fuel shortage that is controlled by the greedy Mom and her corporation. Mom insists that prices are way up so she has to charge more for the precious starship fuel, but avoids any questions related to her record profits related to the ever rising fuel prices.
With the rising fuel costs the Planetary Express Office, is put on a very strict flight schedule that causes havoc amongst the crew. Fry (Billy West), still drifts aimlessly about life, Amy (Lauren Tom) is as shallow as ever and Leela (Katey Sagal), has an ager issue and is outfitted with a shock collar that jolts her whenever she loses her temper.
Bender (John Di Maggio), has a larger issue as he spots some of the staff children and their friends playing Dungeons and Dragons and wants to be a part of the action. It is learned that robots were not built for imagination so when Bender takes up the game and becomes the entity Titanius, he soon has a hard time distinguishing between reality and fantasy. Combine this with Leela’s entry of the Planet Express ship into a Demo Derby and you get a premise ripe with laughter.
The story shifts into high gear when Professor Farnsworth (Billy West), decides to use his anti-backwards crystal to end his old flame Moms hold on the fuel industry. The Crew make a startling discovery as they battle mom, and thanks to the power of the crystal and Bender, find themselves in a strange medieval world where each of them has new identities in this alternate universe.
In a race against time, the Planet Express staff must not only survive the alternate universe, but defeat Mom and her plans for universal domination.
With sharp picture and sound, this is a very enjoyable new adventure for fans.
There are loads of extras which include deleted scenes, commentaries, and a look at the next film “Into The Wild Green Yonder”.
All in all a welcome and satisfying film that should delight fans and help keep us happy until the new film arrives next year.
This time the film starts out as a standard episode rather than continue the events of the past film. In true Futurama style, there are references to past characters and pop culture gags throughout. The early focus of the story is on the Dark Matter fuel shortage that is controlled by the greedy Mom and her corporation. Mom insists that prices are way up so she has to charge more for the precious starship fuel, but avoids any questions related to her record profits related to the ever rising fuel prices.
With the rising fuel costs the Planetary Express Office, is put on a very strict flight schedule that causes havoc amongst the crew. Fry (Billy West), still drifts aimlessly about life, Amy (Lauren Tom) is as shallow as ever and Leela (Katey Sagal), has an ager issue and is outfitted with a shock collar that jolts her whenever she loses her temper.
Bender (John Di Maggio), has a larger issue as he spots some of the staff children and their friends playing Dungeons and Dragons and wants to be a part of the action. It is learned that robots were not built for imagination so when Bender takes up the game and becomes the entity Titanius, he soon has a hard time distinguishing between reality and fantasy. Combine this with Leela’s entry of the Planet Express ship into a Demo Derby and you get a premise ripe with laughter.
The story shifts into high gear when Professor Farnsworth (Billy West), decides to use his anti-backwards crystal to end his old flame Moms hold on the fuel industry. The Crew make a startling discovery as they battle mom, and thanks to the power of the crystal and Bender, find themselves in a strange medieval world where each of them has new identities in this alternate universe.
In a race against time, the Planet Express staff must not only survive the alternate universe, but defeat Mom and her plans for universal domination.
With sharp picture and sound, this is a very enjoyable new adventure for fans.
There are loads of extras which include deleted scenes, commentaries, and a look at the next film “Into The Wild Green Yonder”.
All in all a welcome and satisfying film that should delight fans and help keep us happy until the new film arrives next year.
KalJ95 (25 KP) rated Pokémon Shield in Video Games
Jan 5, 2020
New Pokemon! (2 more)
New feature when battling mixes up the formula.
Exploration is fun.
Feels all too familiar with previous entries. (2 more)
Missing tonnes of original Pokemon.
Nothing new to excite fans.
Pokemon is no doubt a global phenomenon in both its television series, books, merchandise and especially in its games, both card and electronically. I started my Gameboy life with Pokemon Yellow, and it still remains my favourite. Over the years, I drifted in and out of the various entries, but with the Nintendo Switch, I gladly bought Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu, as its technically a remaster of Pokemon Yellow. However, I realised at the time that Game Freak had never moved on and created anything new with their Pokemon games, that being ever so more correct with Pokemon Shield and Sword, which as usual is exactly the same game with about five percent difference.
The good? Well it's the same Pokemon games that everyone knows and loves. Turn based battles, exploring and catching Pokemon, and collecting Gym Badges to become the greatest Pokemon trainer. The formula does work though, as they still remain as relevant and popular with their fans. I did genuinely have fun with Shield within my first fifteen hours. The variations of Pokemon (Four hundred altogether) is enough to keep you playing to catch them all, the locations are detailed brimming with vibrancy, and even the battles with new abilities to make your Pokemon become a giant, is really cool concept.
Yet, once I looked back at my time playing both games, they are incredibly disappointing. Game Freak doesn't seem to want to expand and create new ideas with their games, as they are the same games made over twenty years ago. The different areas look stunning, taking much inspiration from British locations, but there's nothing to do apart from battle the Gym leader. The whole game feels hollow and bare. Yes, Four hundred Pokemon is a roster to make any fan jump for joy, but the brand has been going for over twenty years. Where is the original one hundred and fifty? Theres only fifty three. The promise of a new Pokemon experience, a next generation experience even, is just not true.
The sales of both games speak for themselves with Pokemon Shield and Sword, they are an astounding success. Both games however, as a fan of the original games on Gameboy, are dense and lacking new ideas. I would much rather pull out my Gameboy Advance SP, and play Pokemon Yellow.
The good? Well it's the same Pokemon games that everyone knows and loves. Turn based battles, exploring and catching Pokemon, and collecting Gym Badges to become the greatest Pokemon trainer. The formula does work though, as they still remain as relevant and popular with their fans. I did genuinely have fun with Shield within my first fifteen hours. The variations of Pokemon (Four hundred altogether) is enough to keep you playing to catch them all, the locations are detailed brimming with vibrancy, and even the battles with new abilities to make your Pokemon become a giant, is really cool concept.
Yet, once I looked back at my time playing both games, they are incredibly disappointing. Game Freak doesn't seem to want to expand and create new ideas with their games, as they are the same games made over twenty years ago. The different areas look stunning, taking much inspiration from British locations, but there's nothing to do apart from battle the Gym leader. The whole game feels hollow and bare. Yes, Four hundred Pokemon is a roster to make any fan jump for joy, but the brand has been going for over twenty years. Where is the original one hundred and fifty? Theres only fifty three. The promise of a new Pokemon experience, a next generation experience even, is just not true.
The sales of both games speak for themselves with Pokemon Shield and Sword, they are an astounding success. Both games however, as a fan of the original games on Gameboy, are dense and lacking new ideas. I would much rather pull out my Gameboy Advance SP, and play Pokemon Yellow.
My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle, Teacher for a Day
Book and Education
7.0
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“Friendship is Magic!” MY LITTLE PONY is now available as an interactive storybook to read...
Lonely Planet Great Britain
Lonely Planet, Marc Di Duca, Neil Wilson and Oliver Berry
5.0
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Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher Lonely Planet Great Britain is your...
Lonely Planet Los Angeles, San Diego & Southern California
Lonely Planet, Adam Skolnick, Sara Benson and Andrew Bender
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Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher Lonely Planet Los Angeles, San Diego &...
Look and Find® Elmo on Sesame Street for iPad
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This is an interactive games app, which will help teach your child observation and memory skills in...
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated The Hunger Games (2012) in Movies
Sep 20, 2020 (Updated Nov 26, 2020)
One of the most clueless things I've ever seen, as painstakingly unintelligent as it is one-dimensional and blunt. My problem isn't so much that every YA movie from then until at least 2018 cribbed from it (and for the most part, did it better lol) mercilessly until they left nothing left to this one but its picked-clean carcass - but moreso with the fact that it does only a couple steps above the bare minimum. How awesome would this have been as a Battle Royale-style, anti-fascist bloodbath where a bunch of kids are picked at random and exposed to both the elements and a shit-ton of weapons in a 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘸-esque battlefield commentated by a flamboyant Stanley Tucci and Toby Jones? But no, fuck that right? Instead we get a garbage-looking, shakycam exercise in going through the motions with bad characters and toothless action (wasps? most of the characters dying offscreen? are you kidding me?). Plus we're treated to another awful forced romance, dull-arrowed swipes at classism which amount to nothing more than overtly-obvious visual signifiers with nothing to actually chew on (I assume out of cowardice - which makes it worse), and one of the most infamous cases of vaguely misogynistic attempts at a 'strong female lead' by making her mean and stripped of any actual personality. Somehow it doesn't really drag, but it's pretty viciously unexciting. There's some real bite to the scenes where Katniss's every expression let alone word is picked apart by a capricious crowd and disingenuous MC, and Haymitch painfully watching the rich children play with the toy sword - though not only does it refuse to dive into the treasure trove of possible commentary it sets up, but I actually have to apologize to the (worlds better) 𝘋𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵 for goofing on its idiotic politics because this is somehow even dumber. "We want to make sure there's never another uprising again, show we're a gracious + caring government, and entertain the public all at once. How do we do that? Well we'll just start abducting and killing children at random on national television of course!" Lmfao. Doesn't lean into anything that could have made this enjoyable, and there's a lot - so they had to have *tried* to make it this flat. Also one of those movies that only knows how to express its limited emotion through unbearable "everything sucks" world-building. Great... that would be another thing entirely if it even earned the right to do that, which naturally this doesn't. Cheesy and unintentionally funny.
Gareth von Kallenbach (977 KP) rated Greenland (2020) in Movies
Dec 17, 2020
John Garrity (Gerard Butler) is a man trying to put his life in order. Despite being a successful structural engineer; he has recently moved back home with his wife Allison (Morena Baccarin), and their son Nathan (Roger Dale Floyd).
John and Allison are attempting to rebuild their marriage and despite some awkwardness at first they are moving ahead. In the new film “Greenland” life is about to become far more complicated for the Garrity family in the form of a comet that is set to pass very close to earth.
The authorities have told the public there is no cause for concern but John notices a large group of military aircraft in the skies shortly before he receives an automated call from Homeland Security telling him to come to an evacuation location with his wife and son.
Not sure what to make of the message; things become abundantly clear when a “harmless fragment” strikes and destroys a city on live television.
With panic setting in the Garrity family head to the evacuation site only to face complications which leave them separated and facing many dangers and obstacles as they attempt to reunite and get to safety before the big chunk hits in two days.
The film is very engaging and what really stood out for me was how the film relied on the cast versus an array of special effects and action sequences which are so common for films in the disaster genre.
Despite the circumstances the characters were very relatable and the tension of the pending impact helped shape their actions instead of being a countdown to an elaborate array of FX sequences showing cities being devastated. While there is footage of this sort; it is generally confined to news reports versus being the focal points.
Butler was very strong in a departure from his usual action oriented parts as a father trying to make things right in a world that is falling apart around him. It was also nice to hear him using his natural accent for a change as well.
While some may wonder about the timing of releasing a disaster film at the end of 2020 and during the Holiday Season the film is so engaging that it did not matter to me in the slightest.
“Greenland” is a film that came in under the radar in terms of hype and expectation but has delivered an enjoyable and memorable viewing experience that is not to be missed.
John and Allison are attempting to rebuild their marriage and despite some awkwardness at first they are moving ahead. In the new film “Greenland” life is about to become far more complicated for the Garrity family in the form of a comet that is set to pass very close to earth.
The authorities have told the public there is no cause for concern but John notices a large group of military aircraft in the skies shortly before he receives an automated call from Homeland Security telling him to come to an evacuation location with his wife and son.
Not sure what to make of the message; things become abundantly clear when a “harmless fragment” strikes and destroys a city on live television.
With panic setting in the Garrity family head to the evacuation site only to face complications which leave them separated and facing many dangers and obstacles as they attempt to reunite and get to safety before the big chunk hits in two days.
The film is very engaging and what really stood out for me was how the film relied on the cast versus an array of special effects and action sequences which are so common for films in the disaster genre.
Despite the circumstances the characters were very relatable and the tension of the pending impact helped shape their actions instead of being a countdown to an elaborate array of FX sequences showing cities being devastated. While there is footage of this sort; it is generally confined to news reports versus being the focal points.
Butler was very strong in a departure from his usual action oriented parts as a father trying to make things right in a world that is falling apart around him. It was also nice to hear him using his natural accent for a change as well.
While some may wonder about the timing of releasing a disaster film at the end of 2020 and during the Holiday Season the film is so engaging that it did not matter to me in the slightest.
“Greenland” is a film that came in under the radar in terms of hype and expectation but has delivered an enjoyable and memorable viewing experience that is not to be missed.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Jasper Jones (2016) in Movies
Sep 13, 2019
Characters – Charlie Bucktin is the teenager that is in the middle of the mystery about the death of the girl in the town. He befriends the one person everyone thinks it is as he must see the prejudice that the non-locals deal with being in the town. Ruth is Charlie’s mother that is always worrying about Charlie when he keeps breaking the curfew. Eliza is the sister of the dead girl, she becomes friends with Charlie as she needs someone to keep her feeling the right mind set during the wait. Jasper Jones is the outcast of the town who is easily the suspect the town will blame for the murder.
Performances – Levi Miller is good in the leading role, we have seen him in other movies and he has been making a reputation with this type of role. Toni Collette shines as we know she always will, she is such an incredible actress. Angourie Rice after The Nice Guys is an actress we want to see where she went next, here she is good and shows her potential. The rest of the stars are good for what they need to do.
Story – The story follows the mystery surrounding the death of a young woman and the mystery about who was the one responsible. We get secrets which help with the mystery as well as dealing with racial behaviour of the town’s people towards the ones that aren’t Australian. We do touch on other important subjects which come from the ending of the film, so won’t be spoiling them. This feels like a story that should have such a big impact though we don’t get enough time to process each moment to its full effect, this only disappoints because you do need to process large parts of this film.
Mystery – The mystery in this film comes from just wondering who was behind the death of the girl, even though this isn’t the only major talking point in the film as we end up seeing other subjects getting dealt with.
Settings – The small town setting in one that works for the film, it shows you could never know everything about your neighbours and you will need to be friends when things go wrong.
Scene of the Movie – The truth about the body.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – So many serious subjects, not enough time to process.
Final Thoughts – This does feel like a massively powerful movie that just doesn’t give us the time to process all the major talking points within the movie, this needed to be longer or a television show.
Overall: Too much to process at times.
Performances – Levi Miller is good in the leading role, we have seen him in other movies and he has been making a reputation with this type of role. Toni Collette shines as we know she always will, she is such an incredible actress. Angourie Rice after The Nice Guys is an actress we want to see where she went next, here she is good and shows her potential. The rest of the stars are good for what they need to do.
Story – The story follows the mystery surrounding the death of a young woman and the mystery about who was the one responsible. We get secrets which help with the mystery as well as dealing with racial behaviour of the town’s people towards the ones that aren’t Australian. We do touch on other important subjects which come from the ending of the film, so won’t be spoiling them. This feels like a story that should have such a big impact though we don’t get enough time to process each moment to its full effect, this only disappoints because you do need to process large parts of this film.
Mystery – The mystery in this film comes from just wondering who was behind the death of the girl, even though this isn’t the only major talking point in the film as we end up seeing other subjects getting dealt with.
Settings – The small town setting in one that works for the film, it shows you could never know everything about your neighbours and you will need to be friends when things go wrong.
Scene of the Movie – The truth about the body.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – So many serious subjects, not enough time to process.
Final Thoughts – This does feel like a massively powerful movie that just doesn’t give us the time to process all the major talking points within the movie, this needed to be longer or a television show.
Overall: Too much to process at times.
The Gourmands’ Way: Six Americans in Paris and the Birth of a New Gastronomy
Book
“In The Gourmands’ Way, Justin Spring brilliantly recounts the French odyssey of six remarkable...
Biography food