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Kym Penny (24 KP) rated Take Me With You in Books
Jul 23, 2017
Relatable characters (2 more)
Dark, intense thriller
Almost no stagnant "filler" parts
Great serial killer novel! Gotta love The Crazies!
This was a difficult book to put down. It has a great mix of features that makes an intense story; deep character development, detailed world building (but not too detailed because, you know, imagination), interesting backstories, mysteries, horror, a little (very little) humor, psychologically thrilling and it sticks with you for a time after the last page. This is the type of novel to read when you are sick of the typical happy-go-lucky, boy-meets-girl romance and you're looking for something dark but not too dark. On a darkness scale between Christian Grey and Black Sabbath, I'd give this a solid M. Night Shyamalan. (Whatever that means)
Awix (3310 KP) rated Iron Man 3 (2013) in Movies
Mar 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 28, 2020)
Somewhat atypical Marvel movie solves the problem of how to keep things fresh and interesting by recruiting Shane Black as director, who brings his usual blend of hardboiled thriller and screwball comedy to the genre. When a series of terror attacks by the mysterious Mandarin strikes close to home, Tony Stark vows to take him on - but not all is as it seems...
Hardly an essential movie in terms of the mighty Marvel meta-plot, but still a hugely clever, fun, well-constructed movie. Unfairly gets a raw deal from some comic fans for its radical interpretation of a classic Iron Man villain, but the sparklingly witty script and great performances from the principal cast more than make up for it. Black handles the big-scale action sequences as adroitly as the comic scenes. One of the more underrated movies in the MCU.
Hardly an essential movie in terms of the mighty Marvel meta-plot, but still a hugely clever, fun, well-constructed movie. Unfairly gets a raw deal from some comic fans for its radical interpretation of a classic Iron Man villain, but the sparklingly witty script and great performances from the principal cast more than make up for it. Black handles the big-scale action sequences as adroitly as the comic scenes. One of the more underrated movies in the MCU.
Miguel Covarrubias (143 KP) rated Maniac in TV
Apr 23, 2019
The Techno-Thriller-Comedy that Nobody knew we needed
We unexpectedly loved maniac. It had a lot to say about fantasy vs. reality. The beautiful modern take (extremely loosely) on Don Quixote had a lot to say to the current era that we find ourselves in. A near future almost hopeless setting shines a lot on how we currently attempt to cope with our reality by escaping into our virtual realities. It's especially difficult on millennials who are trying to overcome the arrested development that we've been placed in. We had too much of a good thing, technology, and haven't quite figured out how to balance virtual with analog reality. 9/10 well worth your time!
Billie Wichkan (118 KP) rated Dead Again in Books
May 22, 2019
A dark story of a woman returning from the dead a year later to solve her own murder brings a number of exciting twists. Can anyone be trusted in this tale of murder, betrayal and secrets? Is the woman who returned really Neve and what’s her link to a murdered woman twenty years ago?
Neve must find her killer before she’s….
Dead Again.
WOW; this is definitely a different take on the psychological thriller.
I really enjoyed the story as the plot is very interesting. There are a lot of twists and it will keep you guessing to the end.
I can't give too much away as it will spoil the story for you but it is definitely a roller coaster of a ride and I look forward to reading more from the author.
Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the eARC.
Neve must find her killer before she’s….
Dead Again.
WOW; this is definitely a different take on the psychological thriller.
I really enjoyed the story as the plot is very interesting. There are a lot of twists and it will keep you guessing to the end.
I can't give too much away as it will spoil the story for you but it is definitely a roller coaster of a ride and I look forward to reading more from the author.
Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the eARC.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Avengers in TV
Mar 4, 2018 (Updated Mar 4, 2018)
Iconic British cult adventure series. Very few shows change as much as The Avengers did over its seven season run; what started off as a gritty thriller about Ian Hendry's crime-busting doctor gradually transformed first into virtual science fiction (the Diana Rigg episodes feature mind-swapping machines, killer robots and a brain-controlling alien plant) and then a much more whimsical fantasy show for its final year or so.
Many of the early episodes are quite hard work now, but the two seasons where Macnee is paired with Diana Rigg are classic TV, and the sometimes-maligned final season with Linda Thorson also contains many neglected gems (the episode with the murderous clowns, for instance). Even when the show is not quite firing on all cylinders, there is always Patrick Macnee's inimitable performance as Steed to enjoy.
Many of the early episodes are quite hard work now, but the two seasons where Macnee is paired with Diana Rigg are classic TV, and the sometimes-maligned final season with Linda Thorson also contains many neglected gems (the episode with the murderous clowns, for instance). Even when the show is not quite firing on all cylinders, there is always Patrick Macnee's inimitable performance as Steed to enjoy.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2099 KP) rated The Nowhere Man (Orphan X, #2) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Evan Smoak is working to take down a human trafficking ring, but as he finds a last piece he needs to stop, he is captured by forces unknown. When he wakes up, he has no idea where he is. Can he escape?
I’m not usually a fan of plotlines where we follow a prisoner, and this book definitely fell into some of those pacing pitfalls. Still, this was a fun read with good twists to keep things fresh, and I was turning pages quickly most of the time. The character development for Evan was quite interesting here, and he is surrounded by a mostly strong cast of new characters, although one of them felt over the top. Overall, a fun, page turning thriller.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/05/book-review-nowhere-man-by-gregg.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
I’m not usually a fan of plotlines where we follow a prisoner, and this book definitely fell into some of those pacing pitfalls. Still, this was a fun read with good twists to keep things fresh, and I was turning pages quickly most of the time. The character development for Evan was quite interesting here, and he is surrounded by a mostly strong cast of new characters, although one of them felt over the top. Overall, a fun, page turning thriller.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/05/book-review-nowhere-man-by-gregg.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Mickey Haller’s latest murder case involves the death of a prostitute with her pimp as the prime suspect. Only Mickey knew Gloria when she was alive, working out what he thought was a deal to get her out of the life. Where has she been for the last eight years? And can Mickey get his client off when the odds keep piling up against him?
This was another gripping legal thriller that was almost impossible to stop reading. There were great twists and surprises along the way, yet there was still time for the characters to continue growing. I hope it isn’t too long before we are treated with another case for this great team.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/03/book-review-gods-of-guilt-by-michael.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
This was another gripping legal thriller that was almost impossible to stop reading. There were great twists and surprises along the way, yet there was still time for the characters to continue growing. I hope it isn’t too long before we are treated with another case for this great team.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/03/book-review-gods-of-guilt-by-michael.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated The Girl on the Train in Books
Mar 15, 2018
A gripping thriller by an excellent author. Girl on the Train doesn't fail to excite you the whole way through, with twists and turns around every corner!
Rachel is a troubled, and somewhat annoying and nosey, character who leads us through her bland existence which begins unravelling due to events she would have been better keeping her nose out of, but you'll be glad she did! This story comes at you thick and fast, entertaining anybody who reads it.
Though I predicted most of the end of the book by about halfway in, that didn't take any of the excitement away from the story and it actually made want to keep turning the pages to see how things were going to turn out.
A book I've recommended highly to many family and friends, be sure not to miss this off your reading list!
Rachel is a troubled, and somewhat annoying and nosey, character who leads us through her bland existence which begins unravelling due to events she would have been better keeping her nose out of, but you'll be glad she did! This story comes at you thick and fast, entertaining anybody who reads it.
Though I predicted most of the end of the book by about halfway in, that didn't take any of the excitement away from the story and it actually made want to keep turning the pages to see how things were going to turn out.
A book I've recommended highly to many family and friends, be sure not to miss this off your reading list!
Awix (3310 KP) rated Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) in Movies
Feb 24, 2018
1977's other great fantasy movie is somewhat forgotten, relatively speaking, probably because it wasn't franchised to death. Scientist Francois Truffaut and everyman Richard Dreyfuss both become aware of the impending visitation of alien beings, must decide how to react.
Not really much of an SF movie, strictly speaking, but it works brilliantly as a both a thriller-drama and a fantasy film. Always seems to me to be a film about what it means to find faith and surrender yourself to it: ordinary guy Roy finds the transcendental and unknown inserting itself into his life, finds himself becoming devoted to it, willing to sacrifice everything to it. Great performances from the leads, but it's really Spielberg's film, containing some of his neatest moments of directorial legerdemain. Still one of Spielberg's most iconic movies, 40+ years on.
Not really much of an SF movie, strictly speaking, but it works brilliantly as a both a thriller-drama and a fantasy film. Always seems to me to be a film about what it means to find faith and surrender yourself to it: ordinary guy Roy finds the transcendental and unknown inserting itself into his life, finds himself becoming devoted to it, willing to sacrifice everything to it. Great performances from the leads, but it's really Spielberg's film, containing some of his neatest moments of directorial legerdemain. Still one of Spielberg's most iconic movies, 40+ years on.
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated Unravelling Oliver in Books
Mar 9, 2018
An incredibly creepy look at sociopaths
This psychological thriller is unlike most others because there isn't a big reveal as such but it is based on the behaviour of the criminal mind.
In this case, we look at Oliver, who is a sociopath, and feels very little remorse for the terrible crimes he has committed but instead feels aggrieved at his lack of entitlement.
While half of the book is written from his perspective looking back at his past, the rest is written by people around him who believe they could sense his immoral behaviour. Hence it is a case of whether it is nature of nurture that has forced him to behave in such way, and if society truly did think that he was a monster. Interesting concept, but as expected, you'll hate the main character.
In this case, we look at Oliver, who is a sociopath, and feels very little remorse for the terrible crimes he has committed but instead feels aggrieved at his lack of entitlement.
While half of the book is written from his perspective looking back at his past, the rest is written by people around him who believe they could sense his immoral behaviour. Hence it is a case of whether it is nature of nurture that has forced him to behave in such way, and if society truly did think that he was a monster. Interesting concept, but as expected, you'll hate the main character.