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Vegas (725 KP) rated You Cannot Hide in TV

Feb 2, 2020  
You Cannot Hide
You Cannot Hide
2020 | Action, Drama, Thriller
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
Builds to a satisfying ending (1 more)
The story
A very jumbled start (1 more)
Takes a few episodes to work out what's going on.
Good, eventually
A mother and daughter flee from Mexico to Spain on witness protection and far from being a settled safe life for them it all goes wrong.

The first episode is quite confusing, with so much seemingly unrelated stuff going on it is a lot to take in especially who is who and what part of the story they are connected to.

In my opinion it remains a bit of a jumble through a few episodes and I almost gave up on it after episode 4, however I persevered and I'm glad I did, it all calmed down and once you knew who was who, it made much more sense. Leading to a reasonably worthwhile viewing with some parts feeling a little like 24 in story progression.

Not the best I have seen recently but worth watching if you like action thriller type series.
  
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
2017 | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi
LITTLE GROOT (2 more)
the last few scenes (the funeral)
Silvester Stalone cameo - yes please
Little Groot is the real MVP
Here I am, only a day later, watching the second movie because I just couldn't sit down and relax, knowing that there is a second Guardians of the Galaxy movie and I haven't seen it yet.

The storyline was better than the first one, with more plot twists and unpredictable tangles and entanglements. I loved some of the new characters that appeared. I got to witness Silvester Stalone lead people in the galaxy.

Little Groot is my love. Does anyone know where I can get my own live dancing Groot. Although, worthy to mention, my boyfriend said no, only because he is afraid he might wake up one day with one toe less. I loved the ending, and I felt so emotional at the end, with the beautiful funeral.

Definitely loved it. Certainly one of my most treasured movies.
  
Pumpkin Pied
Pumpkin Pied
Karen MacInerney | 2015 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Halloween Hijinks
Natalie Barnes has a rare few days off at her bed and breakfast, her only guest being her college roommate Lucy Resnick. The timing is perfect since the annual Cranberry Island Harvest Festival is about to start. However, rumors are swirling that the area is haunted, and Natalie and Lucy witness a few weird things themselves. What is going on?

As a fan, it was fun to pop in to visit these characters in this October set short story. The plot was good and entertaining. It perfectly kept my attention for this short read. This is a short story that took me under an hour to read. Fans of the author will recognize Lucy as the star of her own series, and I enjoyed seeing her first appearance here as well as visiting the residents of Cranberry Island. Throw in a couple of delicious sounding pumpkin recipes, and you’ve got a festive winner.
  
Very visual - easy to "see" the subject, features some characters from history that are not always well known, informative and entertaining. Philippa Gregory may have her critics, but I am not one of, (0 more)
One of Philippa Gregory's Best
Philippa Gregory may have her critics, but I am not one of them. This is one of my favourite novels of hers and she does a great job of introducing the reader to the formidable Bess of Hardwick, a figure from history that I knew next to nothing about, but who was a witness to, and a part of, some important moments in history. One thing that I like about Philippa Gregory is that she is honest about how she "fills in the gaps" of history to craft her novels - her Author's notes at the end of her works always explain this and sometimes detail how it was done. I often reread Philippa's work and I'm definitely going to go back to this, it's been too long.
  
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
2013 | Action, Sci-Fi
The second of the four films based on Suzanne Collins 'Hunger Games', which picks up not that long from the end of the previous movie and sees Jennifer Lawrence's Katnissn Everdeen suffering from PTSD as a result of her victory in the 74th annual 'Hunger Games', in which she and the other tributes had to fight to the death for the amusement of the Capitol.

Sent on an anniversary tour by President Snow, she and co-winner Peeta witness revolution brewing in the District's, before they are forced back into the arena once more for a 'quarter quell', where the tributes are all picked from previous winners of the Games.

As the middle part of a trilogy, this is a little bit on the slower side, more concerned with building the world and in linking the start and the finale together. Basically, an Act 2 of 3.

Less shaky cam this time around, though, replaced with wider sweeping shots!
  
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Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Cut in Books

Jul 24, 2022  
C
Cut
Marc Raabe | 2022
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
129 of 230
Book
Cut
By Marc Raabe
⭐️⭐️⭐️

The serial killer thriller that took Europe by storm.

At 11 years old, Gabriel Naumann is witness to a horrific crime. Twenty-nine years later his girlfriend is taken. Then the messages begin. 'If you want to find her, then you'll have to find me.'

Somebody knows the truth. Somebody knows what he did. And now his girlfriend will pay for it - unless he can find her in time. When you've spent decades running from your past, what do you do when it finally catches up with you?

This was an enticing cover!

I was told how gory and scary this book was and I was kinda expecting more! It was a good read but just that a good read. When I’m told to expect gore and horror then I want it to hit me in the face and this didn’t. The story was ok and well told but yea I wanted so much more!
  
Rush Hour 3 (2007)
Rush Hour 3 (2007)
2007 | Action, Comedy
8
6.8 (12 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Foreign detective's in Paris
At the time of its announcement I was very sceptical and was 50/50 upon its release.

Plot - Inspector Lee and LAPD detective James Carter travel to Paris to protect a French witness from the attacks of the Chinese triads. The two battle it out against the world's most deadly criminals.



The threequel received very mixed reviews from both critics and movie goers.
Although not the worst movie ever and was still packed with its usual high octane and action packed movie scenes and fight sequences, the plot itself felt recycled which was a shame as a new setting was a great idea but wasn't enough to carry it.

Still a fun film to watch that sits nicely with its predecessors, a forth installment is said to be in the works, so with any luck we may have some of that 90s magic back.. Even if its for one last run.
  
TB
The Blue Zone
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
From the outside, the Rabb family looks like the perfect family. They live in an amazing house, drive nice cars, their oldest daughter is a research assistant at the local University, their son get great grades, and the youngest is a ranked squash player. Benjamin Rabb is a gold dealer, and for the past twenty years has been doing very well for his family. When Benjamin Rabb is investigated by the FBI for money laundering, fraud, and conspiracy with known drug dealers, his family is placed in the Witness Protection Program. All, except Kate, who is old enough to do her own thing. When Kate makes some interesting discoveries and strange things start to happen, she may find that her perfect family may not be just so.

This is the first solo authored book I have read by Andrew Gross. I am pleased to say that this book had me on the edge of my seat from the very beginning to the very end. So many different surprises and twists in this book. The book centers around Kate rabb and her life after her father has testified in court against the Mercado Family and her family has been in Witness Protection for more than a year. The thing I really like about this book is that I never knew what was going to happen next or who I could trust. Everytime you turn around, another something falls in your face that makes you yell expletives at the book. Not knowing who to believe and where to turn for help, makes a person feel lost. Kate's determination to find the truth and get her family back together, has her in the fight of her life, in more ways than one.

I listened to the audio of this book and it was read by Ilyana Kadushin. She gave an excellent performance and made me feel as if I was a part of the action. I could see the action as it played out. I can't wait to read other solo authored books by Andrew Gross. Another great author to add to my every growing list of favorites.
  
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Fred (860 KP) rated Love, Death & Robots in TV

Mar 24, 2019  
Love, Death & Robots
Love, Death & Robots
2019 | Action, Animation, Comedy
A Heavy Metal reboot? I'm in!
This is an anthology series, airing on Netflix. Originally, it was going to be a theatrical reboot of the Heavy Metal animated movies, but became a series instead. It's split into 18 animated shorts (well, 17 & one mostly live-action) with an average length of about 10 minutes or so each. Unlike the original Heavy Metal movie, there is nothing tying the shorts together, like the Loc-nar.

I want to say, overall, the series is great. Most of the animation is great. Some of it, like in the short "The Witness" is so realistic, you'll think you're watching actual film. However, there are some shorts where the animation is done in the choppy, crappy CGI-drawn animation & this takes away from them. Just like the original Heavy Metal, some shorts work, some don't. Fortunately, most of them work, overall. Some have problems with their endings. They seem to either have no ending, or they're just not satisfying enough. I kind of wish they were 20 minutes each. But there are also some where the ending is the best part.

My favorite short is probably "Three Robots", which is about...3 robots. They're "taking a vacation" through an apocalyptic wasteland. It's funny & smart. My least favorite is probably "When the Yogurt Took Over", which is about...sentient yogurt. Fortunately, this one is also the shortest of them. Funny enough, both of these shorts were written by the same writer.

I see people complaining about the show's sexism towards women. Yes, this is a problem. But a minor one. The show does have fan service, especially in the short "The Witness" I mentioned. There's nudity just for the sake of having nudity. I feel that although in this day & age, in America, this is frowned upon, it fits with these shorts. It's not like it's non-stop nudity, it's just here & there. It also fits with the Heavy Metal series & I'm happy that it's there.

I could talk about each short separately, but I don't think they need to be. You can watch the entire series in a few hours & it's worth it. So what you waiting for?
  
The Last Straw
The Last Straw
Ed Duncan | 2019 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
When I read the synopsis for this book, I thought “Aah, here’s a story with some oomph!” The book starts with the line “Perry Mason unzipped his pants…” and I thought “I didn’t think it was that sort of a book!” There were no erotic scenes though, but there was violence and drama aplenty!

The events in the book are sparked by the witnessing of a murder at a car hijacking gone awry. However, there is a snowball-come-avalanche effect for the surrounding characters. The central character is Rico, a hit man with conscience, albeit a very selective conscience. Rico’s sworn enemy is tasked with taking out the murder witness, but this puts a friend of Rico’s at risk, and tensions quickly escalate between the hit men.

There are countless high octane action scenes, and they are shocking! Rico often put me in mind of Jack Reacher, and his killer instincts mean the action scenes are so rapid that I found myself reading them twice to take everything in. And the death count becomes comparable to Game of Thrones!

In between the action scenes, a lot of background information is provided on the surrounding characters, such as the on the lawyer looking after the murder witness. And many of these characters are often working through their own moral dilemmas in relation to what’s going on. (As usual, NO spoilers in my book reviews!)

This book is the second in a series, and I usually start with the first in a series (unless I’ve seen the first portrayed in a film) but the synopsis had me sold! Much of what happened in the first book is explained in dribs and drabs throughout the second. You certainly don’t need to read the first book to enjoy the second, but I imagine you’d get more from it by reading the whole series.

It wasn’t always the most realistic story in places; like when Rico does nothing to cover his tracks after a hit, but then again we often read novels as a means of escapism, it’s not supposed to represent the real world. And in fairness, it’s done a damn good job of distracting me from my current worries. Recommended!