Skip to main content
Category

Reviews

Film Review: Jurassic World – Fantastic, Epic and This Year’s Absolute Must See

By Amazon, Happiness & Joy, Reviews, TV, Online Streaming & FilmsNo Comments
jurassic-world-logo

Jurassic World Logo Copyright © Universal

 Jurassic World is fantastic, epic and this year’s absolute must see.

Jurassic World is set in the near future, a zoo/theme park has been set up on the original Jurassic Park Island with real dinosaurs.

Claire Dearing (played by Bryce Dallas Howard) is the Operational Manager, responsible for the over twenty thousands guests in the park at any one time.

Her nephews Zach and Gray Mitchell are coming to the park to experience it and spend some time with their aunt. But she’s too busy and instead arranges for her assistant to take care of them.

Then a new dinosaur created by merging the DNA of two species, named the Indominus escapes from its enclosure. The Indominus is bigger than the T-Rex and scarier than the Velociraptors. It was created by Dr. Henry Wu and was intended to be the next new attraction.

Owen Grady (played by Chris Pratt) is a Animal Behaviourist and general hero hot guy. When Claire’s nephews disappear after the Indominus escapes, she enlists his help to find her nephews and to try to save the other guests in the park.

Here is the trailer:

Click here to display content from YouTube.
Learn more in YouTube’s privacy policy.

Open video directly

The plot was captivating, imaginative and followed a similar formula of the original Jurassic Park. All of which worked well. The plot left an opening for a further film. Personally, I hope they do another trilogy, especially if they are all up to the same standard as this one. The directing was good and effects were superb. The length of the film was perfect.

I didn’t mind the Coca-Cola product placement, Owen is working on his bike and takes a refreshing gulp of Coca-Cola. I did mind the Starbucks product placement. Claire is in the control centre, asking about visitor numbers and then the camera cuts to her and suddenly, out of no where, she has a Starbucks cup in her hand. From what I could see there wasn’t even a Starbucks store on the island.

I liked the little nods to the original Jurassic Park film including a statue of Richard Attenborough in one of the buildings.

I never, ever expected to write this, and I warn you that what I am about to write is controversial and only my opinion. But in my opinion Jurassic World was better than the original Jurassic Park.

I’ve already pre-ordered my Jurassic World DVD, which is released on 19th October 2015.

Review soon,

Antony



I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


Share on Social Media:
Sunday 19 July 2015

Book Review: The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
the-zombie-survival-guide-max-brooks-book-cover The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks was disappointing. Although it was informative and a worthwhile read if you’ve ever contemplated or seriously thought about what you’d do in a zombie apocalypse, it lacked any real hooks to keep the reader captivated.

The Zombie Survival Guide is split into sections, covering: The Undead, Weapons and Combat Techniques, Defence, being On The Run and going On The Attack.

The is a section of Recorded Attacks – evidence of zombie outbreaks from history that were both fascinating and enjoyable to read.

UK readers may dislike the Americanism in The Zombie Survival Guide. However to be fair, Brooks did address this in an Author’s Note right at the beginning of the book.

Overall The Zombie Survival Guide is worth a read, mainly for the Recorded Attacks section at the end of the book.

Brooks also wrote World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, which I have reviewed here.

Review soon,

Antony

mental-health-wisdom-banner



I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


Share on Social Media:
Sunday 12 July 2015

Health Tech Review: Contour Next USB Glucose Meter by Bayer

By Health, Reviews, TechnologyNo Comments
diabetes-BM-reader-large

Diabetes/Health Illustration Logo.
© Antony Simpson/Sye Watts.

 I’m a type 1 diabetic. See my blog post How I was diagnosed with Diabetes to learn more about my diabetes story. Anyway today I’m reviewing the Contour Next USB Glucose Meter.

Sometime ago, I switched to the Contour Next USB Glucose Meter. It was one of the best diabetes-related things I’ve ever done.

The Contour Next USB Glucose Meter is small, easy to use and track trends. There’s so many good things about the Contour Next USB Glucose Meter, that I’ve put together a list of features that I like:

  • It’s small – tiny in comparison to most other Glucose Meters. Something I appreciate and that I imagine others would.
  • It’s easy to use – with it’s big colour display and three options. It’s three options being: Logbook, Trends and Setup.
  • As well as logging blood sugars it has the options to log carbs and/or insulin.
  • USB connection to the computer with java-based software that’s Windows & Mac compatible.
  • Software – That creates great detailed reports in PDF format that you can then share with your GP, Diabetes Nurse, Diabetes Consultant, etc.
  • Both the device and software track trends – the software reports giving much more details on trends.
  • USB charges meter battery – not that in the plus 6 months I’ve had it I’ve needed to charge it.
  • Meter allows you to fill the same strip with extra blood if you didn’t put enough blood in the first time. Rather than starting again.
  • No coding or quality testing required.
  • Finger-pricking device is small.
  • Comes with a slightly bulkier case that keeps everything together – the meter, the testing strips and the finger-pricking device.

Here are some images of the Contour Next USB Glucose Meter:

next-contour-USB-box

Contour Next USB Box
contour-next-USB-glucose-meter

What The Meter Looks Like
PDF-report-screenshot-contour-next-USB-glucose-meter

Sample of PDF Report that the software creates.

The only thing I dislike is that the java-based software can be slow and occasionally crashes. But the benefits the software brings far outweigh these slight annoyances.

Overall the Contour Next USB Glucose Meter is by far the best glucose meter I’ve used. It’s probably the best on the market. An improvement on future models could include connection/communication with Apps that could be used on the iPhone or iPad.

You can Request a FREE Contour Next USB Glucose Meter or Find Out More about the Contour Next USB Glucose Meter here.

Review soon,

Antony



I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


Share on Social Media:
Sunday 5 July 2015

Book Review: Run by Ann Patchett

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
run-ann-patchett-book-cover Run is a touching and sentimental novel by the marvellous Ann Patchett.

Run starts with a family dispute over the ownership of a statue of Mary. Traditionally it had been handed down from mother to daughter, the mother choosing the daughter who most looked like the statue.

But Bernadette and Doyle didn’t have any daughters. They’d had Sullivan and later had adopted Tip and Teddy. Tip and Teddy loved the statue and it reminded them of their mother who’d died when they were little. Doyle had broken family tradition by giving it to the boys.

Some years later on a snowy and cold night, Tip argues with Doyle and steps out into the road without looking. He is pushed out of the way of an on coming car by Tennessee. Tennessee is a woman that has been watching Tip and Teddy all their lives in the background. Tennessee is taken to hospital with severe injuries, leaving Kenya, her daughter with no one to look after her.

Doyle, Tip and Teddy decide to take Kenya in. And this is where the revelations start. Doyle, Tip and Teddy are forced to confront some truth’s about their lives and Kenya suddenly has the opportunity to fulfil her dreams.

Patchett’s voice is soothing, as it takes you on a journey into these character’s lives. Her description creates an almost film like moving image in your mind. The words in Run just flow, making it an easy and pleasurable read. The pacing is just right and the ending brings everything together beautifully.

In short Run is how creative writing should be done. Creative writing is an art and one that Patchett is superb at.

Run is available to buy on Amazon and at all good bookshops.

Review soon,

Antony

mental-health-wisdom-banner



I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


Share on Social Media:
Sunday 21 June 2015
×