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Dungeon Mayhem
Dungeon Mayhem
2018 | Action, Card Game, Fantasy, Fighting, Medieval
Quick Game (1 more)
Fun
4 Player Maximum (0 more)
A fantasy battle royale! Choose you're hero; the axe wielding barbarian, the spell slinging wizard, the dagger throwing rogue, or the divine paladin and prepare for battle. Every character has a 28 card deck filled with spells and abilities specific to that character. To start the game every player sets their health to 10 and draws 3 cards to make their hand. Every round each player will play a card from their hand, and some cards let you play another card. This continues until there is only one player left. 4 heroes enter but only 1 leaves the battle alive. Each game lasts approximately 10 to 20 minutes and is a fun game for a small group of friends.
  
HeroQuest
HeroQuest
1989 | Adventure, Exploration, Fantasy, Fighting, Miniatures
The original and best. HeroQuest is such a gentle, yet thrilling entry into the world of RPGs, where simple dice throwing, teamwork and spell casting can allow a team to pit their strength against pre-designed quests. A vast array of furniture, special tiles, doors and evil creatures are waiting to be put on the board when you enter the room, but be prepared to have to search for traps, secret doors and pitfalls or you won't get far. One player acts as Dungeon Master, the rest pick their characters (barbarian, dwarf, wizard or elf), each with their own skills and abilities.
Dice rolling was as simple as skulls or shields - beat the enemy's roll (allowing for handicaps) to defeat them and move on.
  
They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)
They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)
2018 | Documentary, History, War
Wow. This documentary was amazing. The restoration work, and the care that was taken with the footage is awe-inspiring. The Fathom Event showing had a short 30 minute program afterwards where Peter Jackson gave more insight into what all was done.
At first, it's all in black and white, when the colorization portion started, there was a collective gasp in the full theater. It was definitely reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz, in terms of the overall reveal.
The use of the actual veterans talking about life during the Great War were really interesting to hear, and though they used dozens of people, they were blended together seamlessly. I absolutely loved it, and can't wait until I can purchase it.
  
Show all 3 comments.
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Erika (17788 KP) Dec 22, 2018

Definitely stay to watch the 30 minute documentary afterwards, it was really cool.

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Andy K (10821 KP) Dec 22, 2018

Ok thanks I will. Very excited to see this.

CE
Christmas Eve
Jim Butcher | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I read this when it was provided as an addendum to 'Battle Ground' (that's book #17).

I was unaware that, apparently, this had also been released previously, on Jim Butcher's own website, back even before Peace Talks (or book #16) was released.

it is set after Battle Ground - thankfully giving no spoilers but only dropping hints to what will transpire - with Harry Dresden, Chicago's only professional wizard, attempting to put together a bicycle for his daughter on Christmas Eve, while staying with Michael and Charity Carpenter.

A bit like Scrooge, he receives numerous supernatural visitors on that night (although for very different reasons than Scrooge did!), with the final visitor and the final portion of the story bringing a tear to the eyes.
  
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Darren (1599 KP) rated Judy (2019) in Movies

Dec 15, 2019  
Judy (2019)
Judy (2019)
2019 | Biography, Drama, Musical
Verdict: Zellweger Shines

Story: Judy starts in the late 1960’s where screen legend Judy Garland (Zellweger) has been running low on money, struggling to keep a roof over her children’s heads, she must let her ex-husband Sidney Luft (Sewell) look after them, while she travels to London, where she has a fan base dying to see her in sell-out concerts.
In London Judy is managed by Rosalyn Wilder (Buckley) who must make sure she makes the shows, Judy is trying to make the money, while experiencing the flashbacks of her time working on the Wizard of Oz, being order into certain diets, being controlled. She does make new friends and learns about her own personal problems.

Thoughts on Judy

Characters – Judy Garland is the screen legend, she has been struggling in the mid-40s with a reputation that claims she is difficult, needing to find a way to have an income, she moves to London for a string of shows, which soon sell out, giving her a chance at recovering her career, only her demons will continue to haunt her. Sidney Luft is the ex-husband that wants to have custody of their children back in America. Rosalyn Wilder is trying to manage Judy on the London, she does what she can, getting the most out of her. Bernard Delfont is financing the concerts, he is left disappointed with Judy, echoing what it was like for her as a child star. Most of the supporting characters don’t get much to do, while we focus a lot more on Judy’s life.
Performances – Renee Zellweger is fantastic in this leading role, completely controlling the scenes, making us feel every emotion that Judy would go through. Rufus Sewell, Jessie Buckley and Michael Gambon are all strong, though they don’t get much to work with.
Story – The story here follows Judy Garland’s arrival in London for a set of concerts, hoping to revive her career, only her past demons and reputation come back to haunt her once again. The story might show more of her time on the big stage in London which is all fine, but the tragic side of her story only comes in small flashbacks, these scenes are filled with pain and would have been a lot more interesting to see, just how badly she was treated at a young age by the blossoming Hollywood system. We don’t see much between The Wizard of Oz and 1968 either, which is where her bad reputation comes from, this would have also been nice to see, what caused this reputation, was it fair etc. we just seem to skip a lot, despite how interesting the loneliness Judy is experiencing in London would be.
Biopic – We only get to see a couple of moments from Judy’s life, part of the making of Wizard of Oz and then her 1968 concert tour in London, different stages of her career, different problems in her life.
Settings – The film has a couple of main settings, the set of Wizard of Oz, the stage in London and the hotel where she was staying in her time in London, they show her strength, her weakness and the place that broke her early in her life.

Scene of the Movie – Somewhere Over the Rainbow.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not learning enough about why Judy became difficult to work with.
Final Thoughts – This is an interesting biopic, where we get to see a difficult stage of her career, Zellweger is fantastic and elevates this film to new levels.

Overall: Nice Biopic, With Something Missing.
  
A Lion Among Men
A Lion Among Men
Gregory Maguire | 2009 | Fiction & Poetry
6
6.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Out of the Wicked series, I liked this book the least so far. I couldn't get into it the way I did the first 2 books. My favorite piece of the book is the fact that you get the REAL story on the history of several of the characters...especially Mother Yackle.
I think part of the reason I didn't enjoy this as much is that this book is the story of the Cowardly Lion. I never appreciated him much in the Wizard of Oz as it is so I went into this book with a bit of bias already. I just didn't find Brrr (yes, that's his name) as interesting a character as I did the others. The book was still well written however so that saved it in my eyes.
  
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
2001 | Adventure, Fantasy
One of the most successful movie franchises of all time, McKellen played yet another iconic character in Gandalf. This wise wizard was a mainstay in the series and became a fan favourite thanks to his brilliant line-delivery and magical abilities.

McKellen was also asked to audition for the part of Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series but declined after suggesting he’d had enough of wizards. He did of course return to the role of Gandalf in the Hobbit trilogy that ran from 2012 to 2014.

A supremely talented man who clearly still has a long and bright career ahead of him. Happy birthday Sir Ian McKellen, thank you for bringing so many amazing characters to the big screen! What are your favourite Ian McKellen performances?

https://moviemetropolis.net/2019/05/25/top-5-ian-mckellen-performances/
  
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
Entertainment, Games
Every Potterheads dream
I love this game! Make friends, do duels, take lessons, earn house points, complete tasks with characters you love. I really like that it gives you choices you get to pick your wizard name and your house, and at different moments throughout the game you get to decide how to respond to certain situations (ex. Someone is bullying you 1. Attack/duel 2. Talk it out 3. Walk Away They can barely even update quick enough for me. Most of my friends are still in year two or three I’m in the middle of four. I know some people may get bored of it but I don’t think I ever could. I didn’t expect it to be so interactive. When I do finish year seven I think I’ll just start over to experience the magic again.
  
M.Y.T.H. Inc Link (Myth Adventures #7)
M.Y.T.H. Inc Link (Myth Adventures #7)
Robert Asprin | 1986 | Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy, Science Fiction/Fantasy
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The first six books of the series follow apprentice wizard Skeeve and his mentor Aahz as they have misadventures across different worlds and dimensions. With that formula running out of steam this book marks the move towards a more group-based approached where the other characters that have been introduced during the series can step up and have their own adventures.

The format then is a series of short stories, each outlining a different job narrated by a different member of the team. This allows for some good changes of pace, and seeing the other characters as being capable in their own right is a breath of fresh air.

As such this book provides provides momentum to the series just before it starts to become stale, and gives range and substance to all of the characters
  
A Woman Under the Influence (1975)
A Woman Under the Influence (1975)
1975 | Classics, Drama
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Next to The Wizard of Oz, it’s my favorite movie of all time. The most honest on-screen depiction of mental illness ever. Cassavetes perfectly nails the heartbreak and frustration that eclipses a family when a loved one’s sanity slips away. It’s at times both gut-wrenching and oddly hilarious, and Cassavetes manages to make gorgeous cinema with colors and composition. Besides the impeccable, monumental performances of Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk, the supporting cast is flawless, including both Cassavetes’s and Rowlands’s own real-life mothers, Katherine and Lady, and in particular George Dunn in his role as Mabel’s one-night stand Garson Cross. In any other film the character would be played as a cad the audience would be rooting against. Not so in a Cassavetes film, where the roles of hero and villain shift moment to moment."

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