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The claustrophobic setting (1 more)
The plot
Twists, turns, misdirection and murder
A murder mystery set on an oil rig with a skeleton staff couldn't possibly make an interesting TV series could it?
Surprisingly it works... The setting is perfect to make the tension greater, with the storm causing problems with power inside and making everything hazardous in the scenes out on the decks...
The crew distrust each other and don't get on, they have issues with the insurance assessor, the boss is about to lose control and its almost Christmas... Something has got to give....
I found it similar in feel (although obviously different) to Fortitude and is very much like a modern remake of a famous Agatha Christie novel (Which I won't mention the title of, as it could give the game away) although I'm sure it probably isn't actually based on it...
One criticism is, I think it was a little rushed in places and could probably have made a 8 or 10 episode series, and maybe explore some of the characters a little more, rather than cram it all into 6 Episodes...
I was going to rate the the ending as a good point and a bad point because I think it will divide people, for me it worked well, but I can see some people having issues with it (in my opinion) ... BUT, that is what makes a good story, something that causes debate......
I really recommend this as a series to slot in after finishing binge watching one long series and before starting another long show... 6 episodes about 45 min each, perfect for a lazy weekend...
Surprisingly it works... The setting is perfect to make the tension greater, with the storm causing problems with power inside and making everything hazardous in the scenes out on the decks...
The crew distrust each other and don't get on, they have issues with the insurance assessor, the boss is about to lose control and its almost Christmas... Something has got to give....
I found it similar in feel (although obviously different) to Fortitude and is very much like a modern remake of a famous Agatha Christie novel (Which I won't mention the title of, as it could give the game away) although I'm sure it probably isn't actually based on it...
One criticism is, I think it was a little rushed in places and could probably have made a 8 or 10 episode series, and maybe explore some of the characters a little more, rather than cram it all into 6 Episodes...
I was going to rate the the ending as a good point and a bad point because I think it will divide people, for me it worked well, but I can see some people having issues with it (in my opinion) ... BUT, that is what makes a good story, something that causes debate......
I really recommend this as a series to slot in after finishing binge watching one long series and before starting another long show... 6 episodes about 45 min each, perfect for a lazy weekend...
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) in Movies
Apr 20, 2019
Not bad, but nothing special
The first Ant-Man film was a pleasant surprise and much better than expected, but it was still lacking in some of the magic of the other Marvel films. Sadly Ant-Man and The Wasp suffers even more than the first.
I love Paul Rudd and I think he's the best thing about this film by far, his Scott Lang is nothing other than lovable. The second best things about this film are Michael Douglas who is surprisingly funny and of course Michael Pena, but sadly the rest of the cast fall flat. The bad guys aren't particularly threatening and the whole film lacks any real threat, tension or suspense. I'm also not a big fan of Hope. I have nothing against Evangeline Lilly but I find Hope a little dull and irritating and not endearing in the slightest.
The effects in this are good but after the first film there's nothing particularly remarkable. The plot just seems a bit generic and boring, and the film drags and it isn't even on for 2 hours. I just found the whole thing a bit meh, it's entertaining enough with just enough humour and nods to the other Marvel characters but it's nothing special. What I liked the most was the toy-like end credits sequence. Oh and the post credits scene is totally not worth it. This isn't a bad Marvel film, and certainly isn't anywhere near the likes of Iron Man 3, but it's just a good/average film lacking anything memorable. And that's not good enough when it has to follow something like Infinity War.
I love Paul Rudd and I think he's the best thing about this film by far, his Scott Lang is nothing other than lovable. The second best things about this film are Michael Douglas who is surprisingly funny and of course Michael Pena, but sadly the rest of the cast fall flat. The bad guys aren't particularly threatening and the whole film lacks any real threat, tension or suspense. I'm also not a big fan of Hope. I have nothing against Evangeline Lilly but I find Hope a little dull and irritating and not endearing in the slightest.
The effects in this are good but after the first film there's nothing particularly remarkable. The plot just seems a bit generic and boring, and the film drags and it isn't even on for 2 hours. I just found the whole thing a bit meh, it's entertaining enough with just enough humour and nods to the other Marvel characters but it's nothing special. What I liked the most was the toy-like end credits sequence. Oh and the post credits scene is totally not worth it. This isn't a bad Marvel film, and certainly isn't anywhere near the likes of Iron Man 3, but it's just a good/average film lacking anything memorable. And that's not good enough when it has to follow something like Infinity War.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Line of Duty - Season 2 in TV
May 5, 2019 (Updated May 5, 2019)
Better than the first
I didn't believe it possible, but this second series has really surpassed the first. I think it's partly down to having main characters that are now well established and likeable at that, and their personal lives are shown briefly and all we ever get is an insight into the private lives rather than them being drawn out and over exaggerated. Not matter shows can pull this off without becoming dull or just cheesy.
This show is all about corrupt police, so theres always going to be an element of surprise and ambiguity. However for me this second series really excels. It takes ambiguity and grey areas to a completely new level and I spent the entire 6 episodes unsure of which way things were going to go until the final reveal. This series may not be quite as gory and violent as the first series, but it makes up for it in tension and intrigue, brought in part by the wonderful Keeley Hawes and the rest of the cast.
I should also add that I'm highly impressed with how accurate the portrayal of policing is on this. Yes there is some artistic license in place to make it look more exciting (and even get me started on their lax attitude to drink driving), but aside from this they've obviously done their research. It makes me feel like I'm at work, although obviously a more exciting version).
Although I have to admit the thing that surprised me the most today wasn't the ending to this series, but finding out that Martin Compston is actually Scottish! Arnott is a Scot, mind blown.
This show is all about corrupt police, so theres always going to be an element of surprise and ambiguity. However for me this second series really excels. It takes ambiguity and grey areas to a completely new level and I spent the entire 6 episodes unsure of which way things were going to go until the final reveal. This series may not be quite as gory and violent as the first series, but it makes up for it in tension and intrigue, brought in part by the wonderful Keeley Hawes and the rest of the cast.
I should also add that I'm highly impressed with how accurate the portrayal of policing is on this. Yes there is some artistic license in place to make it look more exciting (and even get me started on their lax attitude to drink driving), but aside from this they've obviously done their research. It makes me feel like I'm at work, although obviously a more exciting version).
Although I have to admit the thing that surprised me the most today wasn't the ending to this series, but finding out that Martin Compston is actually Scottish! Arnott is a Scot, mind blown.
Kayla Ackerman (15 KP) rated Bird Box (2018) in Movies
Jun 5, 2019
Sandra Bullock (2 more)
Sort of original plot?
Nice scenery
A combination of 'A Quiet Place' and 'The Happening' (3 more)
Two timelines were not needed to convey the story
The big bad is merely suggested, never revealed
Too much build up for a climax that never comes
Too much hype, not enough follow through.
Maybe in a linear timeline, this would have been a good story: It would have been about a cold, cut off woman learning to open up to those around her in the face of tragedy, only to be met with misery again, which she responds to by closing herself off and becoming cold, rational, and kinda mean, but in the end she has to learn that there is more to life than just survival. That sounds much better than the time jumpy nonsense that spoiled itself every step of the way and took all tension out of half the film because we know they survive at least as long as we have already seen them get.Battling an enemy that literally is the embodiment of your worst fear (or salvation to fractured minds?) is a pretty scary concept, or it would be if I could picture anything other than a Boggart from Harry Potter, which is the issue because I do have to make up my own mind about what it is that they are seeing that makes them kill themselves, since the film never saw fit to show us a sliver of anything. Watching someone react to something that you have never seen is not a lot of fun, and that was the whole movie: characters reacting to vague, off-screen monsters.
Cet (105 KP) rated Hunt Showdown in Video Games
Feb 10, 2018
Not just run and gun. (3 more)
PVE PVP
Perma death
Repeater rifles
New take on the Battle Royale Genre
Contains spoilers, click to show
Currently in Closed Alpha. Hunt Showdown is a new take on the BR scene. 5 teams of 1 or 2 compete to find and kill an objective. Recruit your hunter you start randomly on a set map set to find 3 clues to your target whilst avoiding, zombie dogs, zombies, other hellish creatures, and of course players. Through skill, safety or strategy perhaps your hunter will live to die another day. If you do fall and have no teammate to revive you, your hunter is permanently lost. Hunter levels, gear, and traits are lost. Account levels and money are kept.
Within the alpha itself there are 2 hunts. A spider and a butcher. Both have their strengths and require you to plan just a tad prior to leaving the safety of the menu. Hunting either in day or night changes the experience ever so slightly. In the end finding and killing the objective lacks tension compared to other horror games. However add in the fact that you have to look over your shoulder or due East because you heard a gunshot... This is where Hunt shines. You must find, kill, collect, and leave with your bounty in order to be fully rewarded. All whilst competing with 4 other teams trying to do the exact same. Sure you could hide in a bush all game but your xp and funds won't benefit from it.
With some TLC and of course taking feedback Hunt Showdown could be a huge hit.
Within the alpha itself there are 2 hunts. A spider and a butcher. Both have their strengths and require you to plan just a tad prior to leaving the safety of the menu. Hunting either in day or night changes the experience ever so slightly. In the end finding and killing the objective lacks tension compared to other horror games. However add in the fact that you have to look over your shoulder or due East because you heard a gunshot... This is where Hunt shines. You must find, kill, collect, and leave with your bounty in order to be fully rewarded. All whilst competing with 4 other teams trying to do the exact same. Sure you could hide in a bush all game but your xp and funds won't benefit from it.
With some TLC and of course taking feedback Hunt Showdown could be a huge hit.
Bookapotamus (289 KP) rated The House Swap in Books
May 29, 2018
Wow, did this book have me on the edge of my seat the ENTIRE TIME. So much tension in this book - a marriage in shambles, addictions of the physical and mental kind, suspicious neighbors, and a house full of devastating clues of an affair that had deadly consequences ... I found myself flipping pages at a rapid speed, watching these clues and secrets unfold.
Caroline and Francis swap houses in what seems to be an innocent week away to try to rekindle a very strained marriage. The narrative flips back from Caroline's past and future, with a bit of Francis injected thoughout, as well as this mysterious person they've swapped houses with. Things. Get. Weird. I felt myself having some heart palpitations at different points of the story and jumping at noises in my house as I was reading alone at night! What an awesome movie this would make.
Somehow this house is connected to her, and little snippets of a past life keep peeking through and they totally freak Caroline out and totally freaked me out as well! I cannot imagine going though such paranoia, but I also can't help but thinking Caroline made her bed, and now she has to lie in it. It's always safe to assume that when you hold on to such horrible secrets, eventually, no matter how hard you try to forget them, they'll be revealed when you least expect it - and in the most freakingly intense ways! And that just makes this book all the better.
Edge of my seat might be an understatement - I was totally entranced by this book and I enjoyed the suspense very much.
Caroline and Francis swap houses in what seems to be an innocent week away to try to rekindle a very strained marriage. The narrative flips back from Caroline's past and future, with a bit of Francis injected thoughout, as well as this mysterious person they've swapped houses with. Things. Get. Weird. I felt myself having some heart palpitations at different points of the story and jumping at noises in my house as I was reading alone at night! What an awesome movie this would make.
Somehow this house is connected to her, and little snippets of a past life keep peeking through and they totally freak Caroline out and totally freaked me out as well! I cannot imagine going though such paranoia, but I also can't help but thinking Caroline made her bed, and now she has to lie in it. It's always safe to assume that when you hold on to such horrible secrets, eventually, no matter how hard you try to forget them, they'll be revealed when you least expect it - and in the most freakingly intense ways! And that just makes this book all the better.
Edge of my seat might be an understatement - I was totally entranced by this book and I enjoyed the suspense very much.
LilyLovesIndie (123 KP) rated Truth (Finding Anna, #3) in Books
Nov 5, 2018
This book was reviewed as part of a blog tour on Lily Loves Indie, and whilst there's a snippet of the review below, the whole review can be found here http://lilylovesindie.co.uk/?p=188
The third book in the Finding Anna series is much better than the second, and it carries on pretty much where 'Need' left off. I found this a much more enjoyable read, and much easier to get into as well. There were still niggles, personally, I feel the three books could have quite easily been put into two, without sacrificing any of the story, however it definitely picked up this time round and it felt like Hayes had really found her stride.
The plot seems much more pacy, more driven and more developed in this book, and it reads so much better for it. Although there are areas where it is drawn out slightly more than I would like, it picks up quickly and is immensely difficult to put down at times. The different threads of the story that are drawn together are well developed in their own right, but together they add so many more dynamics and layers to the story. There's Brianna's developing confidence, her relationship with Stephan, the investigation into Ian and her father, it all just culminates beautifully into a wonderful read with a dramatic ending.
So I touched on it there, but the ending is really high paced, full of tension and a great way to end the book. It leaves you literally waiting on tenterhooks for more, and when you realise that's all you're getting, it's a huge feeling of loss. . .
The third book in the Finding Anna series is much better than the second, and it carries on pretty much where 'Need' left off. I found this a much more enjoyable read, and much easier to get into as well. There were still niggles, personally, I feel the three books could have quite easily been put into two, without sacrificing any of the story, however it definitely picked up this time round and it felt like Hayes had really found her stride.
The plot seems much more pacy, more driven and more developed in this book, and it reads so much better for it. Although there are areas where it is drawn out slightly more than I would like, it picks up quickly and is immensely difficult to put down at times. The different threads of the story that are drawn together are well developed in their own right, but together they add so many more dynamics and layers to the story. There's Brianna's developing confidence, her relationship with Stephan, the investigation into Ian and her father, it all just culminates beautifully into a wonderful read with a dramatic ending.
So I touched on it there, but the ending is really high paced, full of tension and a great way to end the book. It leaves you literally waiting on tenterhooks for more, and when you realise that's all you're getting, it's a huge feeling of loss. . .
Josh Burns (166 KP) rated Soul Dimension in Video Games
Jun 21, 2019
A gem of a game, now forgotten
Soul Dimension is a beautiful game, the lighting, the art style, the way the white opaque curtains look almost ethereal in the moonlight. You are greeted by a woman who is decked out in masquerade garb in your home asking if you're ready to play a game before she disappears down the hallway. Afterwords you explore your home and piece together what is potentially a very powerful story. There is a constant feeling if tension created from the lighting, ambient soundtrack, and the masked woman taunting you. There becomes a point where reality becomes more and more distorted, a room you were just in may change completely the next time you visit it. There is one particular room after you leave it to go back to the room you came from, you open the door to find yourseof on a wooden bridge surrounded by darkness aside from a white glowing tree ahead that is on a small patch of land and demons flying in the air attacking you. It's trippy, beautiful, powerful but... I have a hard time recommending it. The problem is, this is the 1st episode and it released a few years ago with no word of a follow up. It took me a half hour my first playthrough, and 15 minutes the second. The story leaves off on a hell of an unresolved cliffhanger that leaves you burning for more, but no one knows if more is coming. So while I adore the episode, without any sign of a resolution it ends up being more frustrating than anything.
ClareR (5996 KP) rated Your House Will Pay in Books
Oct 29, 2019
Your House Will Pay is about racial tensions in LA, and it follows two families - one Korean-American, the other African-American - and the shooting of a black girl in the 1990’s. Shaun Matthews sister, Ava, was that teenaged girl, and the killing of another black teenager and the subsequent rallies and demonstrations bring back bad memories of that time. His family is trying hard to keep on the straight and narrow, especially after his cousin Ray is released from prison.
Grace Parks is a pharmacist in a Korean pharmacy and lives with her parents. She has a strained relationship with her sister who left home and refused to speak to her mother thereafter. She won’t, however, tell Grace why she won’t talk to their mother.
When a terrible crime happens, Grace is confronted with another crime that happened 30 years before, and the Parks family are forced to face the Matthews family.
I really loved this book - the build up and the slow reveal was really well done, I thought. It looked at a part of American life that I, as a white British female, would have little personal knowledge of - other than what I’ve read. It was so thought provoking. This isn’t an escapist read, and I could feel the tension coming off the page, but it was a page turner that I didn’t want to put down. I read this on The Pigeonhole, so due to the fact that they released a stave a day for 10 days, I HAD to wait 24 hours for each instalment!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for choosing such a great book for us to read!
Grace Parks is a pharmacist in a Korean pharmacy and lives with her parents. She has a strained relationship with her sister who left home and refused to speak to her mother thereafter. She won’t, however, tell Grace why she won’t talk to their mother.
When a terrible crime happens, Grace is confronted with another crime that happened 30 years before, and the Parks family are forced to face the Matthews family.
I really loved this book - the build up and the slow reveal was really well done, I thought. It looked at a part of American life that I, as a white British female, would have little personal knowledge of - other than what I’ve read. It was so thought provoking. This isn’t an escapist read, and I could feel the tension coming off the page, but it was a page turner that I didn’t want to put down. I read this on The Pigeonhole, so due to the fact that they released a stave a day for 10 days, I HAD to wait 24 hours for each instalment!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for choosing such a great book for us to read!
Otway93 (580 KP) rated the PlayStation 3 version of Resident Evil 5 in Video Games
Oct 21, 2019
Couch Co-op (3 more)
Graphics
Choice of Weaponry
DLC
Story (2 more)
Fewer Puzzles
Less Scary
Outrageously fun, but not without flaws.
Contains spoilers, click to show
This game is one of my favourite games of all time, though after a recent replay, it still is!
This game does not add a wealth of background to the Resident Evil lore, but it is fun.
Being the first game in the Resident Evil's 13 years to allow multiplayer was an excellent choice, and is thoroughly enjoyable, and occasionally hilarious, even for beginner gamers I have discovered!
As some may know, you can purchase unlimited ammo for it's vast array of weapons, which makes a second, third or even fourth playthrough absolutely hilarious, especially with unlimited RPGs to take out single zombies.
DLC is also a huge plus on this game, so I thoroughly recommend paying that small amount extra, as it provides an introduction to the game, and an explanation to one key part of the game.
But now the bad. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The game itself is the least scary of all the games apart from maybe the Wii Umbrella and Darkside Chronicles, taking away most of the tension, and getting rid of the puzzles that caused such stress anxiety in the 90s and early 2000s.
But the story is the most disappointing thing, mainly the ending, or to put it simply, killing off Albert Wesker, one of the games main antagonists since day one, turning him into a superpowered killing machine? Go for it, turning him into another random blob of gunk? Not so inspired, and a poor end for such a key character.
This game does not add a wealth of background to the Resident Evil lore, but it is fun.
Being the first game in the Resident Evil's 13 years to allow multiplayer was an excellent choice, and is thoroughly enjoyable, and occasionally hilarious, even for beginner gamers I have discovered!
As some may know, you can purchase unlimited ammo for it's vast array of weapons, which makes a second, third or even fourth playthrough absolutely hilarious, especially with unlimited RPGs to take out single zombies.
DLC is also a huge plus on this game, so I thoroughly recommend paying that small amount extra, as it provides an introduction to the game, and an explanation to one key part of the game.
But now the bad. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The game itself is the least scary of all the games apart from maybe the Wii Umbrella and Darkside Chronicles, taking away most of the tension, and getting rid of the puzzles that caused such stress anxiety in the 90s and early 2000s.
But the story is the most disappointing thing, mainly the ending, or to put it simply, killing off Albert Wesker, one of the games main antagonists since day one, turning him into a superpowered killing machine? Go for it, turning him into another random blob of gunk? Not so inspired, and a poor end for such a key character.