Search

Search only in certain items:

    Road Not Taken

    Road Not Taken

    Games

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    "It looks like a cute fairy tale, but this is a turn-based game that's thorny with challenge and...

40x40

Darren (1599 KP) rated Numb (2015) in Movies

Nov 7, 2019  
Numb (2015)
Numb (2015)
2015 | International, Mystery
7
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Characters – Will is the out of work man, desperately trying to get a job to keep his family home with his wife after financial hardships, he takes part in the search in a hope to keep the lack of job a secret and his skills come in to help against the elements in nature. Dawn is his wife that believes they are getting to the turning around their lives, she does overcome her fears to make it. Lee is one of the strangers met on the road, he talks everyone into completing the search while protecting his sister along the way. Cheryl is the sister of Lee, she is clearly a loose cannon of the four. These are our main characters, while I do understand Lee and Cheryl being the we will do anything for the money, it is the married couple which confused me because they seem to be leaving a life above their pay checks as it seems clear they should be able to afford the basics of a home with the jobs they could do.

Performances – The performances from the four leads are good through the film, they make each character feel individual from one another, we understand the struggles their characters are going through too.

Story – The story here shows how four people can be driven by greed when it comes to getting rich quickly, we have an air of tension between the two couples as they don’t know who to trust when it comes to searching for the gold. The story does focus too much on Will’s side of things even though we learn in the opening scene that he survives, leaving us not having any belief in the peril he is in. the story keeps everything serious which is strange because of the decision-making process the characters are making.

Mystery – The movie does have a mystery about whether the gold is real and who can be trusted which does try to keep us guessing along the way.

Settings – The film does keep the film in the wilderness of the Canadian snow covered mountain range as the search for the gold does one.


Scene of the Movie – The escape.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – We know Will survives, so watching his solo peril adventure seems almost pointless.

Final Thoughts – This is a good mystery thriller, it keeps everything against the weather which is good while the human nature takes over through the film too.

 

Overall: Solid thriller worth watching.
  
40x40

Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Gate 76 in Books

Apr 9, 2019  
Gate 76
Gate 76
Andrew Diamond | 2018 | Mystery, Thriller
7
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Freddy Ferguson is a private investigator. While walking through the San Francisco airport, a blonde woman catches his attention as she is being escorted on to a flight to Hawaii. She doesn't look very pleased with her escort, maybe this is why she catches Freddy's attention. There are other people in the airport as well that seem to be watching her and her escort to see if they are doing what they should. After she boards the plane and her "handlers" clear the area, she gets off the Hawaii flight and gets on another bound for Chicago. Shortly after take off, the Hawaii flight explodes in the air. Did this woman know the plane was going to blow up? Where did she go and do the people who were looking after her know? Now working with the airline to try and find who did this, Freddy finds corruption in the highest of places. Will he be able to find out what is going on and find the girl?

Thank you to NetGalley and Stolen Time Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

At first this book started out slow for me. I didn't like taking so much time flashing back to Freddy's life. I'm not sure how it tied in with his current situation. Over all the book was pretty good. I felt a very personal connection to the book with all the places mentioned in it in the Washington, D.C. area where I currently live and in Texas where I spent my college years driving all around the state.

Overall, the book was pretty good, redeeming itself towards the end, keeping me drawn in to find out what was going to happen in the end.
  
This is definitely the best book of the series and the only thing that disappointed was that it was the last of the series.

The Suffragette Scandal follows the story of Frederica “Free” Marshall and Edward Clark. Edward is a scoundrel of the highest order and I positively love him. His character is amazing, and he’s got flaws but he admits them – flaunts them even.

“Which of my myriad flaws is making you uneasy, Miss Marshall?” He gave her a long, slow smile. “Is it my arrogant conceit or my wicked sense of humour?”

“I’m Edward Clark. Born Edward Delacey. Now apparently, Viscount Claridge.” He shut his eyes “You can address me by my preferred title: you idiot.”

The thing with Edward is that he isn’t afraid of admitting he’s wrong about something. I like how this book was told from equal POVs and that the whole book was about winning the girl but was instead about saving the day, winning the girl and then trying to save their marriage.



Free’s character was amazingly astute as well and so laid back but also very upfront – “Huzzah! Suffragettes!” – she meshes with Edward right from the beginning which was lovely, there wasn’t a massive overhaul of her principles after the marriage and in fact Edward tries to give her back her life.

The dynamic between them was amazing and Edward says the best thing about Free:

“I married her to unleash her on the world, not to keep her under wraps “

I’m pretty much just rambling about the characters because they were just that good. So well written and the relationship between them was amazing and it flowed expertly.

I’m kind of sad that the series has ended now after reading them all but they were very, very good. Highly recommended.
  
An Eccentric Engagement
An Eccentric Engagement
Donna Lea Simpson | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
3
5.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Sweet romance (1 more)
Good commentary about social justice
Does more telling than showing (1 more)
Felt more like a lecture than a love story
A sweet regency romance
So this was a bit of a non-traditional romance as it takes place after the courtship. Sorrow and Bertram are engaged to be married and the two return to Sorrow’s country home for the wedding. The two are very clearly in the early stages of excitement over a new relationship, stealing kissing and admiring each other — the “puppy love” stage. Neither of the two truly love each other but are already prepared for marriage. The actual romance was more told than shown and it unfortunately just didn’t work for me. The romantic aspect seemed to take a back seat to the other two major plot lines: Sorrow’s altruistic family and Bert’s difficult relationship with his overbearing father.

Both of these plot lines are actually really good, but I felt that they both needed more time to be developed and would have been better in a full length novel. All of the conflict was resolved in a few pages with barely any resistance and the discussion felt more like a lecture that was repeated multiple times. Not that the message was bad, I appreciated the way they approach discussing the mentally ill and the elderly, and I actually liked the Marchand’s way of life, but I think it could have been delivered better.

It also didn’t help that Sorrow kind of annoyed me. When she talks to other people to try and explain her views it again turns into a mildly pretentious lecture. Her insistence on absolute harmony and willingness to throw everything out of the window if she didn’t get her way was also extremely grating. Creating needless drama for the sake of drama is not a good way of filling up pages.

Overall its not bad, it’s a cute and clean love story that will appeal to folks with a strong sense of social justice. It was a fluffy and pleasant way to pass the time, but I didn’t feel much of anything while reading it.
  
The Fourth Kind (2009)
The Fourth Kind (2009)
2009 | Mystery
5
5.0 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Based on true events, “The Fourth Kind” is a thriller/semi-documentary covering the seemingly unexplained true events that occurred to psychologist Abigail Turner, portrayed in the film by Milla Jovovich. “The Fourth Kind” presents Abby’s story merging dramatic renditions with actual video and audio footage of the strange occurrences.

It is a creepy film filled with close up shots of spooky owls and the hauntingly foggy skies of Nome, Alaska. All this imagery creates a mystical scene but it left me wondering whether is it the films content or an extremely good knowledge of camera angles that created the lingering possibility of truth?

Furthering my dislike of the film are the unnecessary plot deviations, such as the start and conclusion by Jovovich, and the slow and disjointed family sequences which make the characters hard to relate to. Moreover, it seems as if much of the film’s content could be removed and possibly presented as a stronger case for an encounter of the fourth kind as short film or even television episode.

But the most glaring objection to the film’s premise is that it is built on a very small amount of evidence. Sure, the evidence that is presented is disturbing but the limited actual video and audio clips utilized make the film feel gimmicky. Dr. Turner’s story is intriguing but it does not support a satisfying a full-length film, especially for audiences hoping to see something that will force them to reexamine their stance on alien life forms.

In the end what you probably want to know is if this movie significantly change my views on the possibility of alien life forms or if it scared me to my core. The simple answer is no, but it did make me less enthusiastic about visiting to Nome, Alaska.
  
Brawl In Cell Block 99 (2017)
Brawl In Cell Block 99 (2017)
2017 | Action, Thriller
This ain't no Wedding Crashers
Having just watched Bone Tomahawk (you must watch it) and learning writer/director S. Craig Zahler also helmed this film, I was even more anxious to see.

After Vince Vaughn loses his job, he is forced into a life as a drug runner. His big score goes wrong, he makes some tough decisions and ends up in prison. He is then manipulated and has to make even more intense decisions in order to make events happen in his favor.


Vaughn is believable as a tough, abrasive husband trying to save his family. His morality is questionable and you can't decide whether to root for him pr hate him. Don Johnson is also a standout as the warden.


I found it fascinating and exhilarating at the same time. Some of the fight scenes are maybe a little excessively violent, but that is the nature of prison life I imagine.


Zahler is slowly making a name for himself with these two films. He also has Dragged Across Concrete coming out later this year.



He hasn't reached Tarantino status quite yet, but he is off to a good start.


  
Love...Under Different Skies
Love...Under Different Skies
Nick Spalding | 2013 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Another fun instalment
As ive said before, Nick Spalding will never win any literary prizes for this series of books, he really does well to sum up real life situations and emotions. The writing is good but what really makes this story entertaining is the characters. Laura and Jamie are a very relatable couple and their diary/blog entries are so down to earth and realistic. I doubt anyone could read this book (or any others in the series) and not find a handful of comments, thoughts or situations that they’ve experienced in their own life. This story is also pretty funny and I found myself laughing out loud on many occasions.

It may not be the most thought provoking or insightful of reads, but this is a great fun and lighthearted story that is refreshingly short. There are parts in this book that are a little far fetched and scepticism does sink in at times, but I that’s really what you expect from a work of fiction. This kept me highly entertained when I had to get public transport into work this week, although I did have to restrain my laughter at times!