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Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated The Night Circus in Books
Oct 2, 2020
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I don’t even know how to start my book review for The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It was too magical, that I feel like everything I write will not do this book justice. To me, it felt like I was a part of one big secret. And in this book, Widget has something to say about secrets:
<b><i>“Secrets have power," Widget begins. "And that power diminishes when they are shared, so they are best kept and kept well. Sharing secrets, real secrets, important ones, with even one other person, will change them. Writing them down is worse, because who can tell how many eyes might see them inscribed on paper, no matter how careful you might be with it. So it’s really best to keep your secrets when you have them, for their own good, as well as yours.”</i></b>
Therefore, I feel like everything I might say will make this magical book a little less magical than it already is. I feel like this is an experience that you need to read for yourself, get acquainted with this Circus, with its characters, and feel like a part of it.
Two people, brought up in different circumstances, have been getting ready for the challenge all their lives. They can’t avoid it, they are bonded to it. Their task is to be better than the other person, be a better magician, be a better illusionist. Their destiny is magical and dangerous, and the circus is their arena.
<b><i>“You need to understand your limitations so you can overcome them.”</i></b>
The circus is a beautiful place.It is magical. It is everything you’ve ever wanted as a kid. The lights, the music, the mystery, the performers… Everything that happens in the circus has its own story. Many characters involved and their own adventures mix, get tangled and interfere with the two competitor’s destiny. I loved the descriptions of the different tents, the ice garden, the labyrinth, the cloud maze, the tent with the bottles...
<b><i>“People see what they wish to see. And in most cases, what they are told that they see.”</i></b>
The writing in The Night Circus is beautiful. It is slow-paced and very imaginative. Slowly, it takes you to a place where people perform illusions, read tarot and foresee the destiny, tell stories, build magical clocks. If you’ve ever been to a circus, you will feel like you are there again. If you haven’t experienced that before, this book will give you the best possible introduction. A story of magic, love, destiny and storytelling like you’ve never seen before and you’re unlikely to see soon. It’s no wonder this book receives such hype.
<b><i>"A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world."
- Oscar Wilde, 1888</i></b>
The Night Circus is a favourite. The ultimate favorite. Today, tomorrow, and probably until the rest of my life. For all the characters inside it that mattered. For the happy ever afters. But most importantly, for the storytellers. For my grandma, for Widget and for Erin. And for the other storytellers like them - because without them, we wouldn’t be able to truly find magic.
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I don’t even know how to start my book review for The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It was too magical, that I feel like everything I write will not do this book justice. To me, it felt like I was a part of one big secret. And in this book, Widget has something to say about secrets:
<b><i>“Secrets have power," Widget begins. "And that power diminishes when they are shared, so they are best kept and kept well. Sharing secrets, real secrets, important ones, with even one other person, will change them. Writing them down is worse, because who can tell how many eyes might see them inscribed on paper, no matter how careful you might be with it. So it’s really best to keep your secrets when you have them, for their own good, as well as yours.”</i></b>
Therefore, I feel like everything I might say will make this magical book a little less magical than it already is. I feel like this is an experience that you need to read for yourself, get acquainted with this Circus, with its characters, and feel like a part of it.
Two people, brought up in different circumstances, have been getting ready for the challenge all their lives. They can’t avoid it, they are bonded to it. Their task is to be better than the other person, be a better magician, be a better illusionist. Their destiny is magical and dangerous, and the circus is their arena.
<b><i>“You need to understand your limitations so you can overcome them.”</i></b>
The circus is a beautiful place.It is magical. It is everything you’ve ever wanted as a kid. The lights, the music, the mystery, the performers… Everything that happens in the circus has its own story. Many characters involved and their own adventures mix, get tangled and interfere with the two competitor’s destiny. I loved the descriptions of the different tents, the ice garden, the labyrinth, the cloud maze, the tent with the bottles...
<b><i>“People see what they wish to see. And in most cases, what they are told that they see.”</i></b>
The writing in The Night Circus is beautiful. It is slow-paced and very imaginative. Slowly, it takes you to a place where people perform illusions, read tarot and foresee the destiny, tell stories, build magical clocks. If you’ve ever been to a circus, you will feel like you are there again. If you haven’t experienced that before, this book will give you the best possible introduction. A story of magic, love, destiny and storytelling like you’ve never seen before and you’re unlikely to see soon. It’s no wonder this book receives such hype.
<b><i>"A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world."
- Oscar Wilde, 1888</i></b>
The Night Circus is a favourite. The ultimate favorite. Today, tomorrow, and probably until the rest of my life. For all the characters inside it that mattered. For the happy ever afters. But most importantly, for the storytellers. For my grandma, for Widget and for Erin. And for the other storytellers like them - because without them, we wouldn’t be able to truly find magic.
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Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Running on the Cracks in Books
Apr 27, 2018
Rating: 3-ish/5
<b> My Summary: </b> Leo is scared. She’s not quite sure what to think of her kooky uncle anymore, and she doesn’t want to take chances. What if he does something to her… Leo runs away. She goes in search of her grandparents, her only living relatives. She accidently gets her photo in the newspaper, and had to hide. She meets a boy named Finlay, who seems to be the one who’s going to put an end to her new freedom… at first anyway. But then Finlay becomes a friend to Leo, and he becomes her key to staying away from her uncle. Leo will do anything to keep from being found and being sent back there. She ends up staying with a crazy lady who is hospitable enough, but refuses to take her medication and whose friends aren’t much better. Then she realizes that her Uncle is on her tail. How will she stay away?
<b> What I thought: </b> Running on the Cracks was an enjoyable read. When I first saw the cover, I imagined an action filled YA novel with a lot of suspense. Although there was suspense, it wasn’t anything that got your blood racing. I thoroughly enjoyed this book when I sat down to read it, but I had to be in the right mood to do it.
<b> The Writing: </b> The format of writing was different than I’d read before, but it was very engaging. It switched viewpoints, had pieces of the story in written-story form (meaning a whole chapter was just a letter or a newspaper article or an e-mail), had whole sections where it was just dialogue (those were my favorite sections—mostly it was when characters were on the phone, and they were all very funny) and even had a few chapters from the “crazy” person’s perspective (it’s always interesting being inside the head of a madman…). Also, the writer has written the book in an accent, meaning that some of the words are spelled wrong so that you can hear it pronounced with an accent in your head—quite engaging and welcoming. The writing was good, but as it was foreign it was a little odd (i.e. “lead” instead of “leash” etc), but not in a bad way.
<b> The Characters: </b> The characters were pretty relatable. I felt scared for Leo when she was running from her Uncle, and sorry for Finlay when we was stressed about lying to his mom. The characters were really cool, well developed, and some of them were kooky. I really liked Leo and Finlay. They had such cool names! I loved the “President”, but the “Godfather” was my favorite. He was just so… weirdly cool… (I don’t know, maybe that’s because I’m a little insane myself). Not too much, I rather enjoyed it actually. It’s always fun to read something a little different.
<b> The Plot: </b> The plot was pretty believable, and I know that (sadly) there are true stories like this all the time. I don’t know how the police are over in Scotland but I doubt very seriously that Leo would have gotten away with hiding from the American police for as long as she did from the Scottish police (but that’s my opinion as a police and spy novel writer). Although there was suggestion of the Uncle trying to sexually abuse women in the book, it never actually happened, and it was very age appropriate.
<b> My Recommendation: </b> I would recommend it to a friend ages 11-15, maybe even a little younger, but not older than that. Again, I enjoyed it when I sat down to read it, but it wasn’t quite my personal attention level (I’m 18). All in all, I enjoyed this book a lot.
<i> Thank you to Henry Holt In Group for supplying my review copy of this book! </i>
For more reviews and giveaways,, please visit haleymathiot.blogspot.com
~Haleyknitz
<a href="http://haleymathiot.blogspot.com/2009/09/win-lockdown.html">PS- don’t forget—enter my giveaway for LOCKDOWN before October 20!
</a>
<b> My Summary: </b> Leo is scared. She’s not quite sure what to think of her kooky uncle anymore, and she doesn’t want to take chances. What if he does something to her… Leo runs away. She goes in search of her grandparents, her only living relatives. She accidently gets her photo in the newspaper, and had to hide. She meets a boy named Finlay, who seems to be the one who’s going to put an end to her new freedom… at first anyway. But then Finlay becomes a friend to Leo, and he becomes her key to staying away from her uncle. Leo will do anything to keep from being found and being sent back there. She ends up staying with a crazy lady who is hospitable enough, but refuses to take her medication and whose friends aren’t much better. Then she realizes that her Uncle is on her tail. How will she stay away?
<b> What I thought: </b> Running on the Cracks was an enjoyable read. When I first saw the cover, I imagined an action filled YA novel with a lot of suspense. Although there was suspense, it wasn’t anything that got your blood racing. I thoroughly enjoyed this book when I sat down to read it, but I had to be in the right mood to do it.
<b> The Writing: </b> The format of writing was different than I’d read before, but it was very engaging. It switched viewpoints, had pieces of the story in written-story form (meaning a whole chapter was just a letter or a newspaper article or an e-mail), had whole sections where it was just dialogue (those were my favorite sections—mostly it was when characters were on the phone, and they were all very funny) and even had a few chapters from the “crazy” person’s perspective (it’s always interesting being inside the head of a madman…). Also, the writer has written the book in an accent, meaning that some of the words are spelled wrong so that you can hear it pronounced with an accent in your head—quite engaging and welcoming. The writing was good, but as it was foreign it was a little odd (i.e. “lead” instead of “leash” etc), but not in a bad way.
<b> The Characters: </b> The characters were pretty relatable. I felt scared for Leo when she was running from her Uncle, and sorry for Finlay when we was stressed about lying to his mom. The characters were really cool, well developed, and some of them were kooky. I really liked Leo and Finlay. They had such cool names! I loved the “President”, but the “Godfather” was my favorite. He was just so… weirdly cool… (I don’t know, maybe that’s because I’m a little insane myself). Not too much, I rather enjoyed it actually. It’s always fun to read something a little different.
<b> The Plot: </b> The plot was pretty believable, and I know that (sadly) there are true stories like this all the time. I don’t know how the police are over in Scotland but I doubt very seriously that Leo would have gotten away with hiding from the American police for as long as she did from the Scottish police (but that’s my opinion as a police and spy novel writer). Although there was suggestion of the Uncle trying to sexually abuse women in the book, it never actually happened, and it was very age appropriate.
<b> My Recommendation: </b> I would recommend it to a friend ages 11-15, maybe even a little younger, but not older than that. Again, I enjoyed it when I sat down to read it, but it wasn’t quite my personal attention level (I’m 18). All in all, I enjoyed this book a lot.
<i> Thank you to Henry Holt In Group for supplying my review copy of this book! </i>
For more reviews and giveaways,, please visit haleymathiot.blogspot.com
~Haleyknitz
<a href="http://haleymathiot.blogspot.com/2009/09/win-lockdown.html">PS- don’t forget—enter my giveaway for LOCKDOWN before October 20!
</a>
Mothergamer (1514 KP) rated Birth of the Dragon (2016) in Movies
Apr 3, 2019
At first I was curious about the movie that was meant to be about Bruce Lee titled Birth of the Dragon. I love Bruce Lee. I grew up watching his movies, I watched episodes of The Green Hornet, and I voraciously read everything I could about him. One of my titos (that's Tagalog for uncle) told me about how he met Bruce Lee before and how kind he was. I am Filipino and white so I grew up with both these cultures and I'm grateful for it. My family has all kinds of people from all over and all walks of life and I love them dearly. When I would visit my Filipino family I loved that we would often gather round together on the couch with popcorn and snacks and watch Bruce Lee movies. This was special and it's one of my favorite memories from my childhood. I would watch Kung Fu Saturday when I was a kid and I would be excited when they would feature a Bruce Lee movie. My grandparents weren't really into it, but they would watch with me and my brother Rob sometimes.
I will always love Bruce Lee and his movies. He was an incredible person and so talented. Watching his movies was a huge part of my childhood and when I see that there's a Bruce Lee movie on, I always watch it.
I didn't know anything about Birth of the Dragon. There was a trailer that looked interesting. Then I kept hearing negative things about the film such as it's racist towards Asians and they made Bruce Lee the secondary character yet claimed it was a biopic about him. Then I read this: http://www.asamnews.com/2016/09/29/birth-of-the-dragon-biopic-enrages-bruce-lee-fans-buries-asians-in-favor-of-a-white-guy/
Birth of the Dragon is disappointing to me for this. It IS insulting to Asians and if we're really being brutally honest, it IS insulting not only to Bruce Lee, but to his family and friends who loved him. I don't understand making the white guy the main character when this was shopped as a Bruce Lee biopic. On top of this, it seems they made Bruce Lee appear to be this very one sided character who was just arrogant and stupid and it's simply not true. While Lee himself owned up to being foolish when he was younger, he was never stupid. Bruce Lee thought about each and every thing he did and in his movies there was always a political theme and the ideas expressed were intricate and well thought out. They provoked ideas and discussions as well as entertained. Read any of his books on martial arts and you see a deep philosophy and calm practicality to his teachings that show someone who was an incredibly thoughtful person.
The Filipino kid in me is extremely disappointed by this and a little angry too because Bruce Lee is one of my heroes and I'm disgusted by what appears to be blatantly anti-Asian propaganda in a film that was being sold as a biopic about him. This is irresponsible and Asian people have every right to be angry about this because once again Hollywood is shoving us into the background and telling us we're not as important because we're not white. I loved Bruce Lee because he was amazing and I loved that there was an Asian person who was the main character in his movies; someone like me and my brothers and my sister. That meant something to me and it still does. The people who made this movie should apologize for the horrible lie they told about this being a biopic about Bruce Lee and at least be honest about what it really is a film stating that white people are better than us. We'll never get that apology of course because these are the kinds of people who run Hollywood and have for years. I do know that I for one will not see this film and I will watch Bruce Lee's movies and celebrate the amazing person he was.
I will always love Bruce Lee and his movies. He was an incredible person and so talented. Watching his movies was a huge part of my childhood and when I see that there's a Bruce Lee movie on, I always watch it.
I didn't know anything about Birth of the Dragon. There was a trailer that looked interesting. Then I kept hearing negative things about the film such as it's racist towards Asians and they made Bruce Lee the secondary character yet claimed it was a biopic about him. Then I read this: http://www.asamnews.com/2016/09/29/birth-of-the-dragon-biopic-enrages-bruce-lee-fans-buries-asians-in-favor-of-a-white-guy/
Birth of the Dragon is disappointing to me for this. It IS insulting to Asians and if we're really being brutally honest, it IS insulting not only to Bruce Lee, but to his family and friends who loved him. I don't understand making the white guy the main character when this was shopped as a Bruce Lee biopic. On top of this, it seems they made Bruce Lee appear to be this very one sided character who was just arrogant and stupid and it's simply not true. While Lee himself owned up to being foolish when he was younger, he was never stupid. Bruce Lee thought about each and every thing he did and in his movies there was always a political theme and the ideas expressed were intricate and well thought out. They provoked ideas and discussions as well as entertained. Read any of his books on martial arts and you see a deep philosophy and calm practicality to his teachings that show someone who was an incredibly thoughtful person.
The Filipino kid in me is extremely disappointed by this and a little angry too because Bruce Lee is one of my heroes and I'm disgusted by what appears to be blatantly anti-Asian propaganda in a film that was being sold as a biopic about him. This is irresponsible and Asian people have every right to be angry about this because once again Hollywood is shoving us into the background and telling us we're not as important because we're not white. I loved Bruce Lee because he was amazing and I loved that there was an Asian person who was the main character in his movies; someone like me and my brothers and my sister. That meant something to me and it still does. The people who made this movie should apologize for the horrible lie they told about this being a biopic about Bruce Lee and at least be honest about what it really is a film stating that white people are better than us. We'll never get that apology of course because these are the kinds of people who run Hollywood and have for years. I do know that I for one will not see this film and I will watch Bruce Lee's movies and celebrate the amazing person he was.
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Alita: Battle Angel (2019) in Movies
Jun 10, 2019
A visual spectacle
It’s always a worry when a production company feels the need to force feed you the fact that a big-name is in a relatively minor role. In the case of Alita: Battle Angel, 20th Century Fox have been hammering home the fact that James Cameron is involved in a Producer capacity.
You have to feel a little sorry for director Robert Rodriguez as his name has been almost usurped by Cameron’s in the marketing push for this live-action adaptation of the classic manga. Of course, Cameron is too busy making the four Avatar sequels no-one actually cares about anymore and instead, entrusted his vision for Alita: Battle Angel to Rodriguez. He’s certainly an intriguing choice of director, but does the finished product work?
Set several centuries in the future, the abandoned Alita (Rosa Salazar) is found in the scrapyard of Iron City by Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate cyber-doctor who takes the unconscious cyborg Alita to his clinic. When Alita awakens, she has no memory of who she is, nor does she have any recognition of the world she finds herself in. As Alita learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield her from her mysterious past.
After spending nearly $200million on Alita, Fox clearly think they’ve got another massive hit on their hands and to an extent, they deserve one. Battle Angel is a majestic film, filled with visual presence not dissimilar to the spectacle of watching Avatar for the first time in 2009. The bustling world of Iron City feels as if it’s living and breathing right before our eyes and that’s a testament to both Cameron and Rodriguez as well as the visual effects people down at Weta Digital.
This thriving metropolis is populated by practical and CGI effects of varying qualities, but as a movie world, it works much better than Wakanda did in Black Panther and is leagues ahead of the empty, soulless Asgard from Thor.
It is reminiscent of Sakaar in Thor: Ragnarok however, with its narrow streets and market stalls. The difference here is that Iron City is a much darker, eerier place than Sakarr ever was, save for Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster towering above everything.
The casting is also very good and features some household names that were clearly intrigued by the project. Waltz is excellent as the compassionate Ido and Jennifer Connelly works well as his ex-wife, though she is underused throughout.
Alita: Battle Angel is a pleasant surprise from a director who has needed a hit for quite some time.
Ed Skrein turns up every now and then as Zapan, a cyborg bounty hunter and provides some light comic relief in a film that has more than its fair share of darker moments. TV actor Keann Johnson makes his big-budget film debut here and he is excellent as Hugo, Alita’s love interest.
Unfortunately, the initial optimism fades somewhat when you realise that Alita: Battle Angel struggles under the weight of its own script. Plot points in the first 45 minutes feel ridiculously rushed and then the film hurtles towards its climax without stopping for breath.
You get the feeling there was much more that had to be cut to trim the runtime down to a more family friendly 2 hours. The dialogue too isn’t a strong point. Overly expositional and riddled in cliché, Alita is not a film you watch because of its sparkling and witty one-liners.
Niggles aside though and Alita: Battle Angel is much better than I thought it was going to be. The plot, while unoriginal, is sweet and easy enough to swallow, making it a great family film. True, it has its darker moments, but the strong visuals and vibrant environment will make it enjoyable for older children and adults alike.
Overall, Alita: Battle Angel is a pleasant surprise from a director who has needed a hit for quite some time. It’s a flawed film that struggles to cope with its many ideas that continuously pull it in hundreds of different directions, but it’s worth a watch just for the visual spectacle and emotionally arresting story. Whether or not it recoups that colossal $200million budget remains to be seen.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2019/02/09/alita-battle-angel-review-a-visual-spectacle/
You have to feel a little sorry for director Robert Rodriguez as his name has been almost usurped by Cameron’s in the marketing push for this live-action adaptation of the classic manga. Of course, Cameron is too busy making the four Avatar sequels no-one actually cares about anymore and instead, entrusted his vision for Alita: Battle Angel to Rodriguez. He’s certainly an intriguing choice of director, but does the finished product work?
Set several centuries in the future, the abandoned Alita (Rosa Salazar) is found in the scrapyard of Iron City by Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate cyber-doctor who takes the unconscious cyborg Alita to his clinic. When Alita awakens, she has no memory of who she is, nor does she have any recognition of the world she finds herself in. As Alita learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield her from her mysterious past.
After spending nearly $200million on Alita, Fox clearly think they’ve got another massive hit on their hands and to an extent, they deserve one. Battle Angel is a majestic film, filled with visual presence not dissimilar to the spectacle of watching Avatar for the first time in 2009. The bustling world of Iron City feels as if it’s living and breathing right before our eyes and that’s a testament to both Cameron and Rodriguez as well as the visual effects people down at Weta Digital.
This thriving metropolis is populated by practical and CGI effects of varying qualities, but as a movie world, it works much better than Wakanda did in Black Panther and is leagues ahead of the empty, soulless Asgard from Thor.
It is reminiscent of Sakaar in Thor: Ragnarok however, with its narrow streets and market stalls. The difference here is that Iron City is a much darker, eerier place than Sakarr ever was, save for Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster towering above everything.
The casting is also very good and features some household names that were clearly intrigued by the project. Waltz is excellent as the compassionate Ido and Jennifer Connelly works well as his ex-wife, though she is underused throughout.
Alita: Battle Angel is a pleasant surprise from a director who has needed a hit for quite some time.
Ed Skrein turns up every now and then as Zapan, a cyborg bounty hunter and provides some light comic relief in a film that has more than its fair share of darker moments. TV actor Keann Johnson makes his big-budget film debut here and he is excellent as Hugo, Alita’s love interest.
Unfortunately, the initial optimism fades somewhat when you realise that Alita: Battle Angel struggles under the weight of its own script. Plot points in the first 45 minutes feel ridiculously rushed and then the film hurtles towards its climax without stopping for breath.
You get the feeling there was much more that had to be cut to trim the runtime down to a more family friendly 2 hours. The dialogue too isn’t a strong point. Overly expositional and riddled in cliché, Alita is not a film you watch because of its sparkling and witty one-liners.
Niggles aside though and Alita: Battle Angel is much better than I thought it was going to be. The plot, while unoriginal, is sweet and easy enough to swallow, making it a great family film. True, it has its darker moments, but the strong visuals and vibrant environment will make it enjoyable for older children and adults alike.
Overall, Alita: Battle Angel is a pleasant surprise from a director who has needed a hit for quite some time. It’s a flawed film that struggles to cope with its many ideas that continuously pull it in hundreds of different directions, but it’s worth a watch just for the visual spectacle and emotionally arresting story. Whether or not it recoups that colossal $200million budget remains to be seen.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2019/02/09/alita-battle-angel-review-a-visual-spectacle/
Darren (1599 KP) rated 47 Ronin (2013) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
Story: 47 Ronin starts as we learn how Kai (Reeves) a half-breed is discovered in ancient Japan, he is bought into village by Lord Asano (Tanaka). Attracted to his daughter Mika (Shibasaki) and looked down on by her brother Oishi (Sanada) and the rest of the samurai Kai lives on the outskirts. Even after saving Oishi from a beast he is looked down by the samurai.
When Lord Kira (Asano) visits not everything is as it seems as Kai believes one of the members is in fact a witch. When Lord Asano becomes bewitched into harming Lord Kira he must accept the ancient act of Seppuku the rest of the samurais and Kai go out for revenge once they discover that Lore Kira has been planning this all along.
47 Ronin gives us a very simple samurai storyline that we can easily follow and offers us very little fresh. We get the revenge story that is driven by honour as is apparently based on real events I am guessing it doesn’t include the mental supernatural side to everything. I do feel we could have had more in this story because I found Kai was kind of a confusing character one minute he is the main character the next he is the support. I would have also liked to have seen more of the supernatural side to the story. This is an easy watch but never challenging.
Actor Review
Keanu Reeves: Kai is a half-breed in the middle of Japan, he is loyal to the man that saved him even if the rest of the men disapprove of him being part of their village. When he is the one to first notice the witchcraft he is questioned but after the master is killed he must work with the samurai that final see him as one of their own to get revenge. Keanu is solid but does sometimes look out of place at times.kai
Hiroyuki Sanada: Oishi is the son of the Lord Asano, he is in charge of the samurai and doesn’t like Kai around because of honour. When his father is framed he most turn to Kai and his men to lead a revenge mission against Kira. Hiroyuki does well in this role getting to show off his skills.oishi
Ko Shibasaki: Mika is the daughter of Lord Asano that is involved in a forbidden love is Kai, when her father is killed she is forced into marrying Lord Kira so he can take over the village. Ko is solid in this role where she does become the damsel in distress.
Tadanobu Asano: Lord Kira is the evil man using witchcraft to take over the ancient kingdoms, he takes Mika to be his wife while taking out anybody who gets in his way. Tadanobu is solid in this role but I feel we needed to see more from his character.
Support Cast: 47 Ronin has a supporting cast that are all involved in the fights without being overly memorable.
Director Review: Carl Rinsch – Carl gives us an easy to watch film without really testing the audience.
Action: 47 Ronin has plenty of action when it comes to the fight scenes.
Adventure: 47 Ronin puts our characters on the adventure to get their revenge.
Fantasy: 47 Ronin shows us a world where witches and demons are in fact real.
Settings: 47 Ronin doesn’t create any truly memorable location which doesn’t help when it comes to the story.
Special Effects: 47 Ronin has solid effects when entering the supernatural side of everything but if it is based on a real story where did they come from?
Suggestion: 47 Ronin is one to try, it isn’t the most memorable but could be enjoyed without having to think much. (Try It)
Best Part: Final fight.
Worst Part: Slightly too long.
Believability: It is based on a legend.
Chances of Tears: No
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Budget: $175 Million
Runtime: 1 Hour 59 Minutes
Tagline: This Christmas, seize eternity.
Overall: Samurai film done in very easy style.
https://moviesreview101.com/2017/09/02/keanu-reeves-weekend-47-ronin-2013/
When Lord Kira (Asano) visits not everything is as it seems as Kai believes one of the members is in fact a witch. When Lord Asano becomes bewitched into harming Lord Kira he must accept the ancient act of Seppuku the rest of the samurais and Kai go out for revenge once they discover that Lore Kira has been planning this all along.
47 Ronin gives us a very simple samurai storyline that we can easily follow and offers us very little fresh. We get the revenge story that is driven by honour as is apparently based on real events I am guessing it doesn’t include the mental supernatural side to everything. I do feel we could have had more in this story because I found Kai was kind of a confusing character one minute he is the main character the next he is the support. I would have also liked to have seen more of the supernatural side to the story. This is an easy watch but never challenging.
Actor Review
Keanu Reeves: Kai is a half-breed in the middle of Japan, he is loyal to the man that saved him even if the rest of the men disapprove of him being part of their village. When he is the one to first notice the witchcraft he is questioned but after the master is killed he must work with the samurai that final see him as one of their own to get revenge. Keanu is solid but does sometimes look out of place at times.kai
Hiroyuki Sanada: Oishi is the son of the Lord Asano, he is in charge of the samurai and doesn’t like Kai around because of honour. When his father is framed he most turn to Kai and his men to lead a revenge mission against Kira. Hiroyuki does well in this role getting to show off his skills.oishi
Ko Shibasaki: Mika is the daughter of Lord Asano that is involved in a forbidden love is Kai, when her father is killed she is forced into marrying Lord Kira so he can take over the village. Ko is solid in this role where she does become the damsel in distress.
Tadanobu Asano: Lord Kira is the evil man using witchcraft to take over the ancient kingdoms, he takes Mika to be his wife while taking out anybody who gets in his way. Tadanobu is solid in this role but I feel we needed to see more from his character.
Support Cast: 47 Ronin has a supporting cast that are all involved in the fights without being overly memorable.
Director Review: Carl Rinsch – Carl gives us an easy to watch film without really testing the audience.
Action: 47 Ronin has plenty of action when it comes to the fight scenes.
Adventure: 47 Ronin puts our characters on the adventure to get their revenge.
Fantasy: 47 Ronin shows us a world where witches and demons are in fact real.
Settings: 47 Ronin doesn’t create any truly memorable location which doesn’t help when it comes to the story.
Special Effects: 47 Ronin has solid effects when entering the supernatural side of everything but if it is based on a real story where did they come from?
Suggestion: 47 Ronin is one to try, it isn’t the most memorable but could be enjoyed without having to think much. (Try It)
Best Part: Final fight.
Worst Part: Slightly too long.
Believability: It is based on a legend.
Chances of Tears: No
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Budget: $175 Million
Runtime: 1 Hour 59 Minutes
Tagline: This Christmas, seize eternity.
Overall: Samurai film done in very easy style.
https://moviesreview101.com/2017/09/02/keanu-reeves-weekend-47-ronin-2013/
Darren (1599 KP) rated Alone in the Dark (2005) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
Story: I am going to first look at this only as a story, no opinions on the CGI or casting choices. If you were to look at the story as a solo idea you get a solid action horror. Now I hear people going ‘no its just crap’ so let’s look at the details. First off we have an idea of scientific experiment on children to create sleepers, but something goes wrong so we don’t see why it happened until more discoveries in the future. Then we have a search for hidden treasures of a lost ancient people. Add in a paranormal investigator, a secret government paranormal investigating team and the search for a truth. Now looking at those factors we should have a good story not special but enjoyable. Now with terrible casting decisions, awful CGI and a script that could have been written but a child everything goes south fast. As an idea for a story this is good, but as an execution of a story it’s bad. (5/10)
Actor Review
Christian Slater: Edward Carnby a paranormal investigator who has been trying to uncover the truth about his childhood, this puts him in danger as this time he has got closer than ever before. He must team up with his old organisation to final uncover the truth that has lost him the memories of his childhood. Slater strolls for this role without showing any of the skills that made him a star in the early 90s. (5/10)
slater
Tara Reid: Aline Cedrac assistant curator at the museum who also happens to be Edward’s girlfriend, she gets caught up in the middle of the battle after she uncover the location of the door. Going to take a deep breath before going for this one, just no how did this happen? Try your luck in romantic comedies. (2/10)
reid
Stephen Dorff: Commander Burke leader of a military team trying to keep the monsters away from the public, old partner of Edward but after seeing the truth he teams up with them to uncover the truth. Stephen can act and has proven it many times, just need to give him something to work with. (4/10)
dorff
Frank C Turner: Sam an old connection within the organisation that still communicates with Edward, he fills in the science gaps and you can guess what happens to him by the end. Basic supporting performance. (4/10)
fisher
Matthew Walker: Professor Hudgens scientist trying to open the door to the truth about the ancient people, he will do anything to get his answers including sacrificing anybody who gets in his way. As villains go this is generic one that doesn’t need too much to make them special. (4/10)
profes
Director Review: Uwe Boll – He not only managed to mess up a relatively easy story with awful CGI and lack of directing ideas. (2/10)
Action: Plenty of guns being fired, not sure if they ever hit anything as everything is in the pitch black. (3/10)
Horror: Doesn’t give you any scares, frights, well made with the acting. (1/10)
Settings: The settings used for the gun fights are used well, because they would make real settings for such a discover if someone wanted to keep it quiet. (6/10)
Special Effects: Terrible special effects that I only saw one good one and that was a soldier’s head split in two. (1/10)
Suggestion: I think if you are bored one night and this is on it would be acceptable to watch it as it slips close to the line of so bad you have to see. (Late Night TV)
Best Part: The idea
Worst Part: The CGI, Acting and Execution of the idea.
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: Actually has one sequel
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Box Office: $10 Million
Budget: $20 Million
Runtime: 1 Hour 39 Minutes
Tagline: Can mankind defeat the army of darkness unleashed by an ancient evil cult?
Overall: Not only did this film destroy the source material, it ruined any chance the video game had of returning.
https://moviesreview101.com/2014/11/09/alone-in-the-dark-2005/
Actor Review
Christian Slater: Edward Carnby a paranormal investigator who has been trying to uncover the truth about his childhood, this puts him in danger as this time he has got closer than ever before. He must team up with his old organisation to final uncover the truth that has lost him the memories of his childhood. Slater strolls for this role without showing any of the skills that made him a star in the early 90s. (5/10)
slater
Tara Reid: Aline Cedrac assistant curator at the museum who also happens to be Edward’s girlfriend, she gets caught up in the middle of the battle after she uncover the location of the door. Going to take a deep breath before going for this one, just no how did this happen? Try your luck in romantic comedies. (2/10)
reid
Stephen Dorff: Commander Burke leader of a military team trying to keep the monsters away from the public, old partner of Edward but after seeing the truth he teams up with them to uncover the truth. Stephen can act and has proven it many times, just need to give him something to work with. (4/10)
dorff
Frank C Turner: Sam an old connection within the organisation that still communicates with Edward, he fills in the science gaps and you can guess what happens to him by the end. Basic supporting performance. (4/10)
fisher
Matthew Walker: Professor Hudgens scientist trying to open the door to the truth about the ancient people, he will do anything to get his answers including sacrificing anybody who gets in his way. As villains go this is generic one that doesn’t need too much to make them special. (4/10)
profes
Director Review: Uwe Boll – He not only managed to mess up a relatively easy story with awful CGI and lack of directing ideas. (2/10)
Action: Plenty of guns being fired, not sure if they ever hit anything as everything is in the pitch black. (3/10)
Horror: Doesn’t give you any scares, frights, well made with the acting. (1/10)
Settings: The settings used for the gun fights are used well, because they would make real settings for such a discover if someone wanted to keep it quiet. (6/10)
Special Effects: Terrible special effects that I only saw one good one and that was a soldier’s head split in two. (1/10)
Suggestion: I think if you are bored one night and this is on it would be acceptable to watch it as it slips close to the line of so bad you have to see. (Late Night TV)
Best Part: The idea
Worst Part: The CGI, Acting and Execution of the idea.
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: Actually has one sequel
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Box Office: $10 Million
Budget: $20 Million
Runtime: 1 Hour 39 Minutes
Tagline: Can mankind defeat the army of darkness unleashed by an ancient evil cult?
Overall: Not only did this film destroy the source material, it ruined any chance the video game had of returning.
https://moviesreview101.com/2014/11/09/alone-in-the-dark-2005/
Darren (1599 KP) rated The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
Story: This follows up from the first one so we have to remember unlike the Avengers and Dark Knight we are dealing with a teenage superhero. He has different problems like whether he wants a girlfriend or whether to go to college, you know the serious stuff. We have him putting out all the cheesy lines against the person he fights not taking anything seriously. While Peter is trying to figure out what his life holds next, the people against him start their own stories. We have the generic loner scientist who ends up having an accident, gaining powers and using them for evil, been there seen that in every Spider-man film. We also have the Harry Osborn who wants Spider-Man’s blood to cure his sickness and when he can’t have it he goes on a rampage against Spider-Man. It would be fair this is a slow moving film and it really is building up for the next chapter. (7/10)
Actor Review
Andrew Garfield: Spider-Man/Peter Parker while trying to figure out what to do with his life he carries on fighting crime, he has to decide whether to keep with his girlfriend when her father’s dying wish was to leave her so she couldn’t get caught up in trouble. He does ends up having to face the biggest battle of his life after his battles with Electro and Green Goblin. Good performance in a character that develops as the film unfolds. (8/10)
spide
Emma Stone: Gwen Stacy ambitious girlfriend of Peter, who wants to excel in her studies and gets that chance to but with Peter in her life she will always be in danger. Good supporting performance, but I always find relationships for superheroes only get in the way and annoy. (7/10)
emma
Jamie Foxx: Electro lonely scientist who has helped the city design a better power source. He feels like everyone is against him but when Spider-Man saves him he gets a boost of confidence. Just when things look good for Max he ends up having an accident at work and turning into Electro, who starts off just wanting help but when he feels betrayed by Spider-Man he wants to take out the web-slinger and the city. Good performance playing a very difficult character that really looks the part. (8/10)
eletrco
Dane DeHaan: Green Goblin/Harry Osborn an old friend of Peter who wants him to find Spider-Man so he can use his blood to cure his terminal illness. After both Peter and Spider-Man refuse for safety reason he finds out his company secretly has some stored away and he uses it and becomes the Green Goblin out to stop Spider-Man. Good performance from the always solid Dane. (8/10)
harry
Director Review: Marc Webb – Great direction creating a story that really is building to something bigger, creating some very memorable fight scenes and a villain in Electro like nothing we have seen before. (8/10)
Action: When the action happens it is all very good, with some great camera spinning shots of Spider-Man in battle. (8/10)
Superhero: A solid entry in the superhero genre. (8/10)
Settings: New York makes a great setting because without all the building Spider-Man couldn’t swing as much. (9/10)
Special Effects: Great special effects used throughout the film. (10/10)
Suggestion: This must be watch by all the superhero fans out there, it is creating a big picture without having to use separate films to add to one of franchise. (Superhero Fans Watch)
Best Part: Spider-Man battles Electro round two.
Worst Part: It does start slow, nearly an hour before we meet Electro.
Action Scene Of The Film: The final battles
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: Has one planned
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Box Office: $708 Million
Budget: $200 Million
Runtime: 2 Hours 22 Minutes
Tagline: His greatest battle begins
Overall: Solid Addition to Spider-Man Franchise
https://moviesreview101.com/2014/09/01/the-amazing-spider-man-2-2014/
Actor Review
Andrew Garfield: Spider-Man/Peter Parker while trying to figure out what to do with his life he carries on fighting crime, he has to decide whether to keep with his girlfriend when her father’s dying wish was to leave her so she couldn’t get caught up in trouble. He does ends up having to face the biggest battle of his life after his battles with Electro and Green Goblin. Good performance in a character that develops as the film unfolds. (8/10)
spide
Emma Stone: Gwen Stacy ambitious girlfriend of Peter, who wants to excel in her studies and gets that chance to but with Peter in her life she will always be in danger. Good supporting performance, but I always find relationships for superheroes only get in the way and annoy. (7/10)
emma
Jamie Foxx: Electro lonely scientist who has helped the city design a better power source. He feels like everyone is against him but when Spider-Man saves him he gets a boost of confidence. Just when things look good for Max he ends up having an accident at work and turning into Electro, who starts off just wanting help but when he feels betrayed by Spider-Man he wants to take out the web-slinger and the city. Good performance playing a very difficult character that really looks the part. (8/10)
eletrco
Dane DeHaan: Green Goblin/Harry Osborn an old friend of Peter who wants him to find Spider-Man so he can use his blood to cure his terminal illness. After both Peter and Spider-Man refuse for safety reason he finds out his company secretly has some stored away and he uses it and becomes the Green Goblin out to stop Spider-Man. Good performance from the always solid Dane. (8/10)
harry
Director Review: Marc Webb – Great direction creating a story that really is building to something bigger, creating some very memorable fight scenes and a villain in Electro like nothing we have seen before. (8/10)
Action: When the action happens it is all very good, with some great camera spinning shots of Spider-Man in battle. (8/10)
Superhero: A solid entry in the superhero genre. (8/10)
Settings: New York makes a great setting because without all the building Spider-Man couldn’t swing as much. (9/10)
Special Effects: Great special effects used throughout the film. (10/10)
Suggestion: This must be watch by all the superhero fans out there, it is creating a big picture without having to use separate films to add to one of franchise. (Superhero Fans Watch)
Best Part: Spider-Man battles Electro round two.
Worst Part: It does start slow, nearly an hour before we meet Electro.
Action Scene Of The Film: The final battles
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: Has one planned
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Box Office: $708 Million
Budget: $200 Million
Runtime: 2 Hours 22 Minutes
Tagline: His greatest battle begins
Overall: Solid Addition to Spider-Man Franchise
https://moviesreview101.com/2014/09/01/the-amazing-spider-man-2-2014/
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated The Vault of Dreamers in Books
Jan 23, 2020
I've always wanted to read a book about dreams. Nothing too specific – but the synopsis for O'Brien's latest novel piqued my interest because it was just that. Dreams. A book on dreams may have been on my reading bucket list of unique books, and now I can happily cross it off. An impossible bucket list item is to complete my TBR pile. If not, at least 50% – that'll only happen if I add no more books, which isn't happening anytime soon.
The Vault of Dreamers had a completely different concept that I had been dreaming of, but despite the fact I was thinking of something else entirely, the idea behind The Vault of Dreamers was perfect. Dreams = Hope. What better way than placing that in a prestigious school of art, competition, and to top it off – a reality show? Definitely a dream come true for some – as much as I want to try my hand in acting one day, a camera stalking my every move 24/7 is NOT my dream come true.
Rosie Sinclair is one of the students attending the school – called the Forge School, and the show is called the Forge Show. Not exactly a creative name in my opinion (Forge???). Though, as you read the book and as Rosie finds out what's really happening at night at the Forge School, the name makes a lot of sense. Especially when you take a peek at forge's etymology.
Rosie's sort of different from other characters I read – she's rebellious from the start. She doesn't find anything amiss among the school at first, so her breaking rules straight from the beginning is simple – she misses night. Most I come across are say... going with the flow. Everything's happy until something sinister happens or said character finds something sinister about something. Rosie, well, she's all "I'm a rebellious person, and I'll be breaking rules after laying low for awhile."
The voices Rosie has is really weird as well. O'Brien writes those as though Rosie is two people – she even replies with her thoughts to that voice! If that's not odd, I don't know what is. Actually, I can think of a lot of other things that can be more odd, but that's beside the point.
What I still don't get, however, is why Rosie went to the Forge School when a) she hates cameras and prefers being behind them instead and b) she knew full well when she applied that she would be watched 24/7. The Forge Show isn't one of those shows that go blah – it's widely popular. And with the Internet still existing in Rosie's world, why isn't there a YouTube of sorts? Is everyone that addicted to The Forge Show that there's nothing else to watch? Or is it just the thrill of watching 12 hours – even AGT isn't that long! – of students in grades 10-12 competing for fame? No wonder reality shows are flying up the charts – guys, what happened to the wondrous days of Code Lyoko? :p
As much as I enjoyed following Rosie around as she tries to find out what's going on at night at The Forge School, I was sort of disappointed in the ending. Well, the last chapter, which technically counts as the end. The run down? <spoiler>Rosie gets caught breaking the rules twice, finds out the actual truth of what's going on, dean and co tries to stop her, which results in her being whisked away from the world forever. Essentially, Rosie is dead, yet not dead. Until she's 18, but how much time passes between getting caught and the last chapter, I have no clue. The ending's all very open-ended – which CAN have it's perks – but I don't know what's going to happen with Rosie. However... it's rare the villain wins.</spoiler>
The Vault of Dreamers will most likely appeal to those interested in reading about a reality show where everything is not what it may seem behind cameras. I may look into O'Brien's other works.
------------------
Advanced review copy provided by Macmillan for review
Original Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Original Review posted at <a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2014/09/arc-review-the-vault-of-dreamers-by-caragh-m-obrien.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
<a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cG5gfBqJVzk/VA5BIojjZ9I/AAAAAAAAD1g/7srLUfpAGEU/s1600/banner.png"; /></a>
The Vault of Dreamers had a completely different concept that I had been dreaming of, but despite the fact I was thinking of something else entirely, the idea behind The Vault of Dreamers was perfect. Dreams = Hope. What better way than placing that in a prestigious school of art, competition, and to top it off – a reality show? Definitely a dream come true for some – as much as I want to try my hand in acting one day, a camera stalking my every move 24/7 is NOT my dream come true.
Rosie Sinclair is one of the students attending the school – called the Forge School, and the show is called the Forge Show. Not exactly a creative name in my opinion (Forge???). Though, as you read the book and as Rosie finds out what's really happening at night at the Forge School, the name makes a lot of sense. Especially when you take a peek at forge's etymology.
Rosie's sort of different from other characters I read – she's rebellious from the start. She doesn't find anything amiss among the school at first, so her breaking rules straight from the beginning is simple – she misses night. Most I come across are say... going with the flow. Everything's happy until something sinister happens or said character finds something sinister about something. Rosie, well, she's all "I'm a rebellious person, and I'll be breaking rules after laying low for awhile."
The voices Rosie has is really weird as well. O'Brien writes those as though Rosie is two people – she even replies with her thoughts to that voice! If that's not odd, I don't know what is. Actually, I can think of a lot of other things that can be more odd, but that's beside the point.
What I still don't get, however, is why Rosie went to the Forge School when a) she hates cameras and prefers being behind them instead and b) she knew full well when she applied that she would be watched 24/7. The Forge Show isn't one of those shows that go blah – it's widely popular. And with the Internet still existing in Rosie's world, why isn't there a YouTube of sorts? Is everyone that addicted to The Forge Show that there's nothing else to watch? Or is it just the thrill of watching 12 hours – even AGT isn't that long! – of students in grades 10-12 competing for fame? No wonder reality shows are flying up the charts – guys, what happened to the wondrous days of Code Lyoko? :p
As much as I enjoyed following Rosie around as she tries to find out what's going on at night at The Forge School, I was sort of disappointed in the ending. Well, the last chapter, which technically counts as the end. The run down? <spoiler>Rosie gets caught breaking the rules twice, finds out the actual truth of what's going on, dean and co tries to stop her, which results in her being whisked away from the world forever. Essentially, Rosie is dead, yet not dead. Until she's 18, but how much time passes between getting caught and the last chapter, I have no clue. The ending's all very open-ended – which CAN have it's perks – but I don't know what's going to happen with Rosie. However... it's rare the villain wins.</spoiler>
The Vault of Dreamers will most likely appeal to those interested in reading about a reality show where everything is not what it may seem behind cameras. I may look into O'Brien's other works.
------------------
Advanced review copy provided by Macmillan for review
Original Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Original Review posted at <a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2014/09/arc-review-the-vault-of-dreamers-by-caragh-m-obrien.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
<a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cG5gfBqJVzk/VA5BIojjZ9I/AAAAAAAAD1g/7srLUfpAGEU/s1600/banner.png"; /></a>
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Lucy in the Sky (2019) in Movies
Mar 9, 2020
Natalie Portman and Jon Hamm together (1 more)
Interesting premise
Mind. Blown - A thoughtful film that's hard to like.
Natalie Portman plays the eponymous Lucy Cola, a NASA astronaut who has achieved her ambition of reaching space and experienced the enormity of the universe first hand. Her mind is officially blown. Such that, on returning to earth, nothing seems ‘enough’ any more. Her family; her comfortable home; her life.
She becomes desperate to be selected for the next program… to get that literal) ‘high’ all over again. So desperate that her mind and morals burn up on trying to re-enter.
You look at the career choices of Natalie Portman, and they have often revolved around cool and detached woman: “Black Swan” and “Jackie” for example. Here, looking incredibly fit and strong (as you would expect from an astronaut at the peak of her powers) , she again plays something of an ice queen. She is – of course – brilliant at it.
Starring with her here is the ever-watchable Jon Hamm as fellow astronaut Mark Goodwin, the omni-present – at the moment – Zazie Beetz as a fellow program competitor and Dan Stevens (from “Downton”) as her exasperated colleague and husband Drew. (Stevens was COMPLETELY UNRECOGNISABLE to me in this movie…. just like in “Beauty and the Beast“! To the extent that I had to wind back the film from the end-titles after seeing his name to check!).
This was always a film that was going to struggle to identify its audience. Yes, it starts in space, but it is in NO WAY a “Sci-Fi” movie (which is one of its tags on IMDB. Shameful!). This is a drama about a woman progressively losing her grip on reality: almost a PTSD movie, but without the “S” being “T” in the normal sense of things.
Lucy’s ‘other-worldliness’ is reflected in the aspect ratio of the movie, which varies from a claustrophobic ‘old-TV’ format 4:3 ratio to a ratio bordering on ‘Cinemascope’. (This makes for a very challenging watch on a small airline TV screen, as I was doing!). It’s a motif that’s obviously meant to reflect Lucy’s drifting grip on reality. But it eventually gets irritating…. I had the sense that first-time feature director Noah Hawley was ‘trying too hard’ for something quirky and different.
Far more successful is a ‘green-screened’ trippy sequence seeing Lucy being transported to a hospital bedside to the rendition of The Beatles iconic song, performed by Lucy Hannigan (listen here). It’s dreamlike and unsettling. In fact, one of the high-spots of the movie for me was Jeff Russo‘s score, which I have made a mental note to make sure to listen to again on Spotify. It’s more electronica than orchestral but matches the mood of the film really well.
But, here’s the thing. I didn’t enjoy it. The problem is (and no spoilers here) that Portman’s Lucy is such a downright BITCH that it is impossible to warm to her as the movie’s star. There is, in fact, only one of the characters that you really side with, and she’s the one doing the most damage to them.
This shouldn’t be a problem to the story, since the film is reflecting (loosely) true events: the astronauts in question were Lisa Nowak and William Oefelein. And there are lots of ‘feel-bad’ films about mental illness (“One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, for example) that stand on their own merits. But this one just seemed to be a fairly miserable and destructive story that didn’t have enough of a payoff – either positive or negative – to merit the journey.
This was disappointing, since after hearing the premise, I’d been looking forward to this one.
For those who love movies, and the way movies are structured, it is an interesting watch. But it is not by any stretch an entertaining mainstream movie. The director Noah Hawley will need to do better in the “commercially-appealing” stakes for his next film: since he’s been (rather surprisingly) given the helm for the sequel to “Star Trek: Beyond“.
(For the full graphical review, check out the review on One Mann's Movies here - https://bob-the-movie-man.com/2020/03/09/one-manns-movies-dvd-review-lucy-in-the-sky-2019/ ).
She becomes desperate to be selected for the next program… to get that literal) ‘high’ all over again. So desperate that her mind and morals burn up on trying to re-enter.
You look at the career choices of Natalie Portman, and they have often revolved around cool and detached woman: “Black Swan” and “Jackie” for example. Here, looking incredibly fit and strong (as you would expect from an astronaut at the peak of her powers) , she again plays something of an ice queen. She is – of course – brilliant at it.
Starring with her here is the ever-watchable Jon Hamm as fellow astronaut Mark Goodwin, the omni-present – at the moment – Zazie Beetz as a fellow program competitor and Dan Stevens (from “Downton”) as her exasperated colleague and husband Drew. (Stevens was COMPLETELY UNRECOGNISABLE to me in this movie…. just like in “Beauty and the Beast“! To the extent that I had to wind back the film from the end-titles after seeing his name to check!).
This was always a film that was going to struggle to identify its audience. Yes, it starts in space, but it is in NO WAY a “Sci-Fi” movie (which is one of its tags on IMDB. Shameful!). This is a drama about a woman progressively losing her grip on reality: almost a PTSD movie, but without the “S” being “T” in the normal sense of things.
Lucy’s ‘other-worldliness’ is reflected in the aspect ratio of the movie, which varies from a claustrophobic ‘old-TV’ format 4:3 ratio to a ratio bordering on ‘Cinemascope’. (This makes for a very challenging watch on a small airline TV screen, as I was doing!). It’s a motif that’s obviously meant to reflect Lucy’s drifting grip on reality. But it eventually gets irritating…. I had the sense that first-time feature director Noah Hawley was ‘trying too hard’ for something quirky and different.
Far more successful is a ‘green-screened’ trippy sequence seeing Lucy being transported to a hospital bedside to the rendition of The Beatles iconic song, performed by Lucy Hannigan (listen here). It’s dreamlike and unsettling. In fact, one of the high-spots of the movie for me was Jeff Russo‘s score, which I have made a mental note to make sure to listen to again on Spotify. It’s more electronica than orchestral but matches the mood of the film really well.
But, here’s the thing. I didn’t enjoy it. The problem is (and no spoilers here) that Portman’s Lucy is such a downright BITCH that it is impossible to warm to her as the movie’s star. There is, in fact, only one of the characters that you really side with, and she’s the one doing the most damage to them.
This shouldn’t be a problem to the story, since the film is reflecting (loosely) true events: the astronauts in question were Lisa Nowak and William Oefelein. And there are lots of ‘feel-bad’ films about mental illness (“One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, for example) that stand on their own merits. But this one just seemed to be a fairly miserable and destructive story that didn’t have enough of a payoff – either positive or negative – to merit the journey.
This was disappointing, since after hearing the premise, I’d been looking forward to this one.
For those who love movies, and the way movies are structured, it is an interesting watch. But it is not by any stretch an entertaining mainstream movie. The director Noah Hawley will need to do better in the “commercially-appealing” stakes for his next film: since he’s been (rather surprisingly) given the helm for the sequel to “Star Trek: Beyond“.
(For the full graphical review, check out the review on One Mann's Movies here - https://bob-the-movie-man.com/2020/03/09/one-manns-movies-dvd-review-lucy-in-the-sky-2019/ ).
