All reviews - Movies (109) - TV Shows (7) - Books (52) - Games (3)

Fast Paced

Posted : 1 day ago on 26 August 2008 10:19 (A review of Bombproof)

Not bad for an action/thriller, something of which I usually prefer to watch in a movie but this kept me reading.
Perfect example of, not only people individually jumping to conclusions, but society as a whole jumping to conclusions especially with current paranoia and preoccupation with terrorism over the years. Something that this novel addresses very well.
A good writing style too as it was fast paced, fitting in with the subject and making it very hard to put it down.

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Hello There Sunshine

Posted : 2 days, 2 hours ago on 25 August 2008 08:22 (A review of Sunshine)

It's not often I find it hard to rate a book but it happens and this turned out to be one of those books.
I gave it a seven although I wanted to give it more but it can't be more. The few reasons I want to give it more then a seven is 1. I like the vampire. I thought as a vampire with his lack of humanity it was apt, especially after reading a paranormal romance (urgh I hate that term) I wanted to read about a vampire that actually turned out to be vampirish, not romanticised and made human.
2. I love how Sunshine acted towards events. So many books where the character goes through certain experiences they seem to not always suffer shock like a real person would and, somehow, accept and embrace the transition too easily. When it came to Sunshine, I found the way the character was written with her reactions to be far more believable then other stories.
3. I had a hard time putting it down. I think that says a lot, especially when I've been having trouble getting into any book lately but with this one I had a hard time putting it down.
There's also the style which at times bothered me because I'm so used to waiting for a chapter to end to be able to go and do something but McKinley didn't do clearly defined chapters (there were breaks but that's not good enough for me), but on the other hand I feel it added to, not necessarily to the fluidity of it, but the continuity.
As for the fluidity, and the reasons why I couldn't bring myself to give it more then a seven, I didn't feel it flowed much at all for all it's continuity. To me it read disjointedly. I felt there wasn't enough connecting detail between scenarios, as if the author thought it was fine to gloss over some areas or skip finer detail.
That and perhaps more detail about the world Sunshine lived in rather then waffling on about her and her heritage might have been nice. At least I would have liked more explanations for certain words and phrases because sometimes those certain words didn't always seem to fit in with the meaning I arrived at for them.
Maybe that's just me.
Otherwise it was a pretty good read to pass the time and I would recommend it for vampire nuts like myself seeing as, for me anyway, it turned out to have a proper portrayal of a vampire.

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The Lace Reader

Posted : 1 week, 5 days ago on 14 August 2008 10:55 (A review of The Lace Reader: A Novel)

The Lace Reader is a book I didn't really know what was about but one I'm glad I read. I found it to be so utterly engrossing, especially with Barry's writing style which is direct and brusque, making it literally a page turner. Which amazed me because for a style like that I don't expect to become so engrossed. In fact I'm not usually a speed reader but The Lace Reader is one of the very few books that I became so absorbed in I couldn't help but read it quickly.
I was taken by surprise with it. It wasn't predictable like I find so many books to be, it had lovely characters who were quirky but at the same time completely normal to me (might be because I'm slightly eccentric myself, who knows), and the ending literally took me by surprise itself. It was something I wasn't expecting and it made everything come together so perfectly especially as you can't help expecting something else and then it all gets turned on it's head.
I also love how it had little snippets of lace reading at the beginning of every chapter. I think that was a nice touch.

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30 Days of Night

Posted : 2 weeks, 3 days ago on 10 August 2008 02:04 (A review of 30 Days of Night)

Well I was all prepared for something horribly crappy but instead I was pleasantly surprised. It’s not exactly a stellar story line with a stellar cast but I thoroughly enjoyed this even with the fakeness of it, the ridiculous amount of blood and the fact that the vampires seemed to have fresh blood on them at all times.
I loved the look of the vampires with their gnarly teeth and their fingernails, lovely details in my opinion. Plus the acting wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be either, another thing I wasn’t expecting.
Sure it wasn’t scary, it didn’t make me jump, cringe or shock me in anyway but for some reason I still found it entertaining, especially the ending. I think the ending was the maker or breaker for me and I wonder if a sequel is a possibility.


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D-War

Posted : 2 weeks, 3 days ago on 10 August 2008 01:54 (A review of D-War)

I think this is a classic example of why Eastern films shouldn’t be westernized even if it’s made in Asia somewhere by Asians. As an Eastern film, I would have been able to stomach it if it stayed with Eastern traditions and didn’t instead try to meld Western & Eastern culture because the whole way through it all I could think of was the idiot that came up with this idea obviously thought they were going to get a bigger market by killing a story that could have had some possibility however remote, if it had good actors, didn’t miss out on much needed detail, cleaned up it’s dialogue and didn’t gloss over what wasn’t there with big drawn out action sequences of course.
I think with something like this, there needs to be more of a back story for it to have any hope at all, even if it’s a slim chance of hope. The fact that they are considering a sequel makes me think the people who make those decisions are on drugs. Yes, that’s how stupid it was and yet I give it a 5 because 1. I watched the whole thing (amazingly) even though I was close to falling asleep and 2. I liked the dragon.
If you’re still tempted to watch it I’d suggest waiting till it was on free to air tv rather then paying for it.

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Alien Sex, Not What You Think

Posted : 2 weeks, 5 days ago on 7 August 2008 11:43 (A review of Rock'n'Roll Babes from Outer Space)

Fantastic! I might be bias because I'm an Aussie who has hung around the places mentioned in the book and I loved the 90's but this book had me hooked by the first few pages.
By page three I had already laughed at some of it and by page six I had decided that I would have to read the rest of Jaivin's book after this one.
It's such a fun, fast paced novel that really packs a punch. The use of slang and innuendo's are hilarious and make for an even more entertaining read. It has a lot of sex, drugs and music and I think that's what so great about it, because even though it has aliens it represents the 90's subculture so well. Plus the Aussie slang makes it really refreshing, well for an Aussie, to read. I don't know how it would go over with someone outside of Australia though. You might want to get your hands on a slang dictionary just in case but I highly recommend it, given Jaivin's creative and amusing imagination.

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Breaking Dawn

Posted : 2 weeks, 5 days ago on 7 August 2008 11:18 (A review of Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4))

Well I'm a tad disappointed, unfortunately. On one hand I loved the book because I love the series and the characters. The first part had me so hooked. The change of perspective in book/part 2 (Breaking dawn is done in three parts or three "books") was great and probably my most favourite part of the whole thing but there was something lacking come part 3.
Then there are some of the things that happened that I was not expecting. That had me stopping in disbelief, for the most part I found it hard to put down but unlike the other books in the series I found it easier to put down when I had to. At first I thought perhaps I was more disappointed from the book because the series had ended but after thinking on it for awhile I realise it's because of the book itself. For starters all the drama and intrigue seemed to be in the first half of the book or coming to a close at the end of part 2. Then there was waiting for something exceptional to happen with Bella. Sure something happened eventually but when it did I was left wondering "was that all?", which brings me to the last confrontation and well for all the build up and expectation I think it fell short.
I still love the book and enjoyed it as far as a good little read goes but it's nowhere near my favourite in the series. I think the best thing to do is, if you do read this book, to read it without high expectations (a bit hard for all the Twilight fans out there I'm sure).

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Hmmm

Posted : 3 weeks, 3 days ago on 3 August 2008 04:13 (A review of The X-Files: I Want to Believe)

I'm in two minds over this movie. First off, I'm an X Files fan so I may be bias. From an X Files fan stand point, I don't feel it would live up to expectations. Not only was it far from what I was expecting but it wasn't X File-ish enough for me. What I had read about it is that it could have been a stand alone movie and going by that it is a possibility except for certain parts of the story that eluded to other information. The thing is, if you could watch the series and be filled in enough to have those small bits of information make sense then it would have been ok (and not a stand alone at all, which it really wasn't anyway when it comes down to it), but I don't remember anything from the tv series having anything to do with the information mentioned, at all.
Now if you're not an X Files fan but, like a lot of people know what X Files is about (or have a vague idea), which is aliens, consipracy and science fiction, you're not going to get what you're expecting at all. You might still enjoy it though and I recommend going into see it but not thinking of the X Files at all.
My feel for it was that of a crime/mystery movie that could have done well as a non X Files related movie.

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The Seeker

Posted : 1 month, 2 weeks ago on 9 July 2008 11:56 (A review of The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising)

As much as I enjoyed the cinematography and special effects on this movie I felt like there was something wrong. The story was good enough and the acting was fine but it was lacking. If it had of gone for a little bit longer but also had far more detail to it then I think I would have been happy but as it is the story felt like it could have been told in 20 minutes. My impression of it was that the cinematography and special effects was just being used to mask the fact that there really wasn’t much effort put into and that it was being stretched out. Basically it turned into visual candy for the senses rather then being anything remotely in depth.
Funnily enough I still found it really engrossing for what it was lacking and it was enough to make me want to read the book it was based on to see not only what they missed out on but also because I liked the story line.
Going by a child’s reaction though I don’t think this is really a winner for the young ones, granted it’s only one child’s reaction but seeing as he started to fidget half way through the movie and then left not long after I don’t think it’s possible to hide the fact of what was wrong with this movie from children by using big effects.
A shame really because it had a lot of potential

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Beauty's Punishment

Posted : 1 month, 2 weeks ago on 9 July 2008 10:23 (A review of Beauty's Punishment)

I think this is a great continuation from the first novel and although I love all three at times this would have to be my favourite. The fact that it offers a new experience for the slaves to be in makes it seem far more brutal and far more interesting. I think it helps to add more depth and then there is the introduction of a new character and the story being told from their perspective as well as Beauty’s. I quite like the new perspective and seeing as it is a different slave to what Beauty is (a different type of slave) I think it adds a better dimension compared to the first but only in so far that it helps add more dimension to Beauty’s character.
Then there is the introduction to Laurent (my favourite character) and seeing as these books are so short and it’s really only feeling like it’s getting to the heart of it just as it ends I always get a bit upset at the ending because of it’s abruptness. In saying that I think it’s an abruptness that’s needed to continue the slaves growth, but still I like the brutality, mainly because I’ve found it to be a more colourful novel and even more detailed then the first.

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