Onnect

Onnect (Android)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The timer can be a little annoying, but the match rules and variants with the images can be highly addictive as an easy game that still manages to get your brain thinking and give just enough challenge to stay entertaining without being overwhelming. Not something I'd pay for VIP status to drop the bombs or ads for, but still entertaining.

Design Home

Design Home (Android)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is an interesting take on the freemium game play. Instead of playing puzzles to choose from a set of 3-5 items for your design, you can earn money and diamonds to buy various items to complete your designs. Completed designs are submitted for voting and those votes can additionally earn you items to design with. Likewise, design markers earn additional items and bonuses for your projects. As with most freemium games, there are items and packages you can buy as well, but those cost real money. Something you'll want to keep an eye on to avoid if you want to play solely for free, which may limit some of the challenges you can enter as some of the items can get rather pricey to finish the designs.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


The kids rented this by accident, so of course we had to watch it to get the money worth. Still, it was definitely on the side of stranger movies I have watched. Also lead to an odd discussion about how apparently guys relate to these kind of daydreams and totally get where Walter is coming from in this movie where to me it just seemed like he was beyond delusional and needed help, even if I also got the purpose of the daydreams and how they progressively fade as he chooses to actually live and take charge of his life. Something to say supposedly about a negative assets manager for Life magazine needing to learn how to really live, while at the same time also discovering exactly who he is and what his life and work means to those around him.

Word Villas

Word Villas (Android)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I've been pleasantly surprised with this game. It does have some of the standard freemium play-by-play you come to expect, but you aren't locked into them like in many other games if you really want to advance. The word spin is a refreshing changing of space from the blaster/match-3 puzzles. There are also several special events run throughout the time line for events (like the Super Bowl) and holidays (like Chinese New Year or Christmas). There are a variety of decor items to choose from as well, and the choices can be changed later on.... so long as you have the coins to pay for it - though they aren't nearly as difficult to com by in this game than in many others I've tried over time. It also has daily rewards you can save up if you need/want the hint helpers for the puzzles at any given time.

Joker

Joker (2019)

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This is the story of Arthur Fleck and how he transforms from a rather disturbed stand up comedian and clown into the serial killer known as the Joker. Not overly thrilling or engaging, but there are throw backs to the original story line and Joker design that will draw in any longer-standing Batman fan. The film does pick up significantly towards the end as Arthur's world ultimately unravels and he takes on the Joker persona full time.

Divergent 3: Allegiant

Divergent 3: Allegiant (2016)

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Tris and Four take their small group beyond the wall trying to escape a return to the Factions under Four's mother, Evelyn. In the process, they learn more about Chicago and what their lives mean to those beyond the wall, forcing them to return home once again to save their city and hope to once again make a stand that all of their lives matter. There are some hints through the series that make it somewhat reminiscent of The Hunger Games.

Divergent 2: Insurgent

Divergent 2: Insurgent (2015)

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Tris is on the run with Four, but you can't run forever when all of the other Factions have been forced under Erudite's control. It seems a stroke of luck the Candor is willing to give them refuge only after undergoing their truth trials to prove their innocence. Jeanine couldn't have expected that her hunt for Tris would not bring her the ultimate control and return to regiment she craves, but instead brings her entire world crashing down with questions of what lies beyond the city wall now at the forefront as Divergents are no longer feared and hunted.

Divergent 1

Divergent 1 (2014)

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Tris knows she's different, but it's only as her world turns upside down that she discovers just how much. She has to learn very quickly that her parents knew of her difference and her closest ally, Four, who helps her fit in with Dauntless after she chooses to leave Abnegation, will have to learn how to escape and search for a way to return back home. A task that will be increasingly difficult as Jeanine has taken over Erudite and the rest of the Factions from there.