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graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated The Tale of Halcyon Crane in Books
Feb 15, 2019
THE TALE OF HALCYON CRANE is an interesting, easy Gothic read. It wasn't a book that held my interest in one sitting, but was enjoyable whenever I picked it up. A bit slow to start, it didn't really pick up until halfway, maybe two-thirds of the way through. The end was a bit anti-climatic but it fit the book, so that's fine. The author has a wonderful imagination and usually brought that through life, mainly through the island setting and the Hill history, which was enthralling. I loved the inclusion of two Alaskan Malamutes, which are one of my favorite dogs. So, if you like Gothics, and like a more modern setting with a heroine who isn't helpless, give it a go. It's a good book that's very easy to read.
3.5 stars
3.5 stars
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2395 KP) rated The Thank You Book (Elephant & Piggie, #25) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Piggie is thinking about all the people who have enriched her life, so she decides to thank them all. While Gerald likes the idea, he worries she will forget someone important. Will she miss anyone?
This is the final (sob!) Elephant and Piggie book from the talented Mo Willems, and it works well as a series finale. Viewing it as another in the series, it will seem a little weird, but knowing this is the final one makes it very special. There are some fun cameos, including one from Pigeon. And the lesson about thankfulness is good but presented in a fun way. In other words, it’s another great book in the series.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/06/book-review-thank-you-book-by-mo-willems.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
This is the final (sob!) Elephant and Piggie book from the talented Mo Willems, and it works well as a series finale. Viewing it as another in the series, it will seem a little weird, but knowing this is the final one makes it very special. There are some fun cameos, including one from Pigeon. And the lesson about thankfulness is good but presented in a fun way. In other words, it’s another great book in the series.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/06/book-review-thank-you-book-by-mo-willems.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Yoga and Spiritual Retreats: Relaxing Spaces to Find Oneself
Book
Modern life is marred by hectic pace, stress and negative environmental influences. Places to get...
The Kinfolk Table
Book
Kinfolk - launched to great acclaim and instant buzz in 2010 - is an independently owned quarterly...
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated The Big Hit (1998) in Movies
Jan 8, 2021
Action Packed (1 more)
Comedy
Bros Being Bros
The Big Hit- is a excellent film. Its a very underrated slapstick comedy action drama film. Mark Walhberg and Lou Diamond Phillips are excellent in this film.
The plot: Affable hit man Melvin Smiley (Mark Wahlberg) is constantly being scammed by his cutthroat colleagues in the life-ending business. So, when he and his fellow assassins kidnap the daughter of an electronics mogul, it's naturally Melvin who takes the fall when their prime score turns sour. That's because the girl is the goddaughter of the gang's ruthless crime boss. But, even while dodging bullets, Melvin has to keep his real job secret from his unsuspecting fiancée, Pam (Christina Applegate).
If you havent seen this film, than go watch it. Its really good.
The plot: Affable hit man Melvin Smiley (Mark Wahlberg) is constantly being scammed by his cutthroat colleagues in the life-ending business. So, when he and his fellow assassins kidnap the daughter of an electronics mogul, it's naturally Melvin who takes the fall when their prime score turns sour. That's because the girl is the goddaughter of the gang's ruthless crime boss. But, even while dodging bullets, Melvin has to keep his real job secret from his unsuspecting fiancée, Pam (Christina Applegate).
If you havent seen this film, than go watch it. Its really good.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated High Life (2019) in Movies
Aug 11, 2020 (Updated Aug 11, 2020)
What The Hell Was This Movie
High Life- from the trailer it looked like a survival horror movie in space. It is that but way much more in a bad/creepy/what the fuck way. I wont go into details, you just have to see it yourselfs and judge it.
The plot: Monte and his baby daughter are the last survivors of a damned and dangerous mission to the outer reaches of the solar system. They must now rely on each other to survive as they hurtle toward the oblivion of a black hole.
I can say this both Robert Pattinson and Juliette Binoche were good in it. I wouldnt recordmend watching it, but i same time i do recordmend it cause its such a weird movie. Check it if you want to.
The plot: Monte and his baby daughter are the last survivors of a damned and dangerous mission to the outer reaches of the solar system. They must now rely on each other to survive as they hurtle toward the oblivion of a black hole.
I can say this both Robert Pattinson and Juliette Binoche were good in it. I wouldnt recordmend watching it, but i same time i do recordmend it cause its such a weird movie. Check it if you want to.
Mary, Called Magdalene
Book
Was Mary Magdalene a prostitute, a female divinity figure, a church leader, or all of those?...
Lee KM Pallatina (951 KP) rated Scream (2022) in Movies
Aug 9, 2022
Scream..... Some more
Ok so scream was rebooted once again in what I can only describe after seeing this one, is not much more than a cash grab sequel that's just DYING to squeeze the life out of the remaining original characters.
Riffing on the original plot, which is constantly brought up in its own poor attempt at being meta by using the fictional movie stab which is based on the original movies events.... (hey you, ya still there? Are you keeping up?) and being used as a terrible guide book if you will...
The only good thing about this movie is the return/inclusion of the original cast...
Honestly, this movie just kinda fell flat quickly and had its moments throughout its run but its nothing to brag about.
Seriously....
Riffing on the original plot, which is constantly brought up in its own poor attempt at being meta by using the fictional movie stab which is based on the original movies events.... (hey you, ya still there? Are you keeping up?) and being used as a terrible guide book if you will...
The only good thing about this movie is the return/inclusion of the original cast...
Honestly, this movie just kinda fell flat quickly and had its moments throughout its run but its nothing to brag about.
Seriously....
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Onitama: Way of the Wind in Tabletop Games
Feb 10, 2021
In the expansion review series, we take a look at a game expansion to discuss whether it is a necessary purchase/addition to one’s collection.
This breakdown is for the excellent two-player game Onitama, and the expansion is named Way of the Wind, from Arcane Wonders.
This expansion includes two new Move cards, a new Wind Spirit mini, and eight Wind Spirit cards. The Wind Spirit mini is placed in the middle of the board at setup. Either player can move the Wind Spirit on their turn by playing one of the specific Wind Spirit Move cards. These special Move cards are divided into two segments where the top segment is for normal student/master movement and the bottom is for Wind Spirit movement. Should the Wind Spirit be moved onto an existing student, the Wind Spirit and student switch spots on the board. It can never be moved onto a master’s spot, and the Wind Spirit cannot be captured nor can it capture another piece on the board.
Right away, this small expansion adds more animal Move cards to the base game. That’s a good thing. Variety is the spice of life, no? It also adds another wonderful mini in a translucent blue to be moved around the board. That’s also a good thing. Along with the mini the Wind Spirit also brings its own special Move cards and rules for movement. Good. All in all, the expansion adds more things to the base game and new things for the expansion. I like it.
Is it necessary to own? No. Is it nice to have to spice up your game of Onitama? Absolutely. Being able to thwart your opponent’s plans by placing the Wind Spirit in the way is a nice touch, and it adds more great table presence with the new mini.
Official recommendation: Grab it if you are a fan of Onitama and want to throw something new into the mix, but do not feel obligated to add it. Onitama is good enough on its own without this, but I am certainly glad I have my copy.
This breakdown is for the excellent two-player game Onitama, and the expansion is named Way of the Wind, from Arcane Wonders.
This expansion includes two new Move cards, a new Wind Spirit mini, and eight Wind Spirit cards. The Wind Spirit mini is placed in the middle of the board at setup. Either player can move the Wind Spirit on their turn by playing one of the specific Wind Spirit Move cards. These special Move cards are divided into two segments where the top segment is for normal student/master movement and the bottom is for Wind Spirit movement. Should the Wind Spirit be moved onto an existing student, the Wind Spirit and student switch spots on the board. It can never be moved onto a master’s spot, and the Wind Spirit cannot be captured nor can it capture another piece on the board.
Right away, this small expansion adds more animal Move cards to the base game. That’s a good thing. Variety is the spice of life, no? It also adds another wonderful mini in a translucent blue to be moved around the board. That’s also a good thing. Along with the mini the Wind Spirit also brings its own special Move cards and rules for movement. Good. All in all, the expansion adds more things to the base game and new things for the expansion. I like it.
Is it necessary to own? No. Is it nice to have to spice up your game of Onitama? Absolutely. Being able to thwart your opponent’s plans by placing the Wind Spirit in the way is a nice touch, and it adds more great table presence with the new mini.
Official recommendation: Grab it if you are a fan of Onitama and want to throw something new into the mix, but do not feel obligated to add it. Onitama is good enough on its own without this, but I am certainly glad I have my copy.
RəX Regent (349 KP) rated Wreck-It-Ralph (2012) in Movies
Feb 25, 2019
Wish it had been made by Pixar...
Contains spoilers, click to show
At first glance this would appear, as some reviews have sighted, the new Toy Story (1995). Maybe it is, but I just didn't feel it. I'm old enough to remember these 8-bit games and even though Fix It Felix, Hero's Duty and Sugar Rush are all fictitious, they're all rooted in the reality of the industry, with their real life counterparts being Donkey Kong, Call Of Duty and Super Mario Cart.
The plot is basically that of any Disney film and this is kind of where it fails a little. This isn't Pixar and I'm spending most of the time wishing that it was. Tangled (2010) had the same problem, with it being good, in fact better on the second viewing but not as good the masters of digi-mation would have made it. But Wreck-It Ralph would seem to cry out for the Pixar treatment. Its similarity in tone to Toy Story, with computer game characters coming to life when the kids leave, rather than toys, as well as the fact that this is the perfect subject for a Computer Generated movie!
The comedy was decent, with more of the successful jokes revolving around candy, Mentos and cola, rather than the arcade worlds themselves, but still, plenty of references for the game heads, which my wife is but I'm not, really. It was fun and the final reel was exiting, with the running time pushing two hours, it wasn't overly long but still felt wanting.
I think that it would have been better if there was more that just one line cameos from the established arcade characters, but I'll say it again, that for me, this wanted to be a Pixar classic but just couldn't match the standards.
The plot is basically that of any Disney film and this is kind of where it fails a little. This isn't Pixar and I'm spending most of the time wishing that it was. Tangled (2010) had the same problem, with it being good, in fact better on the second viewing but not as good the masters of digi-mation would have made it. But Wreck-It Ralph would seem to cry out for the Pixar treatment. Its similarity in tone to Toy Story, with computer game characters coming to life when the kids leave, rather than toys, as well as the fact that this is the perfect subject for a Computer Generated movie!
The comedy was decent, with more of the successful jokes revolving around candy, Mentos and cola, rather than the arcade worlds themselves, but still, plenty of references for the game heads, which my wife is but I'm not, really. It was fun and the final reel was exiting, with the running time pushing two hours, it wasn't overly long but still felt wanting.
I think that it would have been better if there was more that just one line cameos from the established arcade characters, but I'll say it again, that for me, this wanted to be a Pixar classic but just couldn't match the standards.