MusicCritics (472 KP) rated Wonderful Wonderful by The Killers in Music
Oct 3, 2017
Original Score: 4 out of 5
Read Review: http://diymag.com/2017/09/22/the-killers-wonderful-wonderful
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) in Movies
Oct 3, 2017
The first movie was released with no hype behind it and for most people was a pleasant surprise. This film has a lot more to live up to and unfortunately it doesn't quite get there. Although the movie does feel like a sequel, it's not the worst sequel I've ever seen and it's not the worst sequel released this year.
Julianne Moore plays the antagonist in the movie and whilst her motivations for what she was doing were questionable, you could tell she was having fun with the character and it was a fun performance to watch. The action scenes were as fast paced and as fun as you would want them to be and although they do feel cartoony, there are a few crazy set pieces that you can’t help but grin at.
This movie also introduces the Statesman, an American version of the Kingsman who work out of a whisky factory rather than a tailor’s shop. Jeff Bridges and Halle Berry don’t get much screen time, which is fine, but Channing Tatum is hardly in the movie at all, despite appearing on a lot of the marketing for the film. I think he is onscreen in Hateful Eight for longer than he is in this.
Ok, spoiler time. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, don’t read on past this point. I mean if you have seen any of the trailers for the movie then you already know that they have brought Colin Firth back from the dead.
The explanation for this is sort of anti-climactic. Essentially, The Statesman have came up with a cure to gunshot wounds to the head and any other fatal wound that you may sustain, the process involves wrapping the wound in a gel strip and then inflating it with two syringes. Sure, you can argue this is a heightened reality where crazy stuff like this is entirely possible, but my problem with it, is that it immediately lowers all of the stakes. If anyone can be brought back from the dead, then how is there any peril left for the characters in the franchise?
After this whole revelation, they kill off Merlin, the character played by Mark Strong. His death is really pathetic and something that could have easily been avoided. Eggsy accidentally steps on a landmine, (even though they specifically point out that they are using a minesweeper,) then Merlin sprays the mine with a freeze gel so that Eggsy can step off of the mine and Merlin takes his place, then he distracts some guards and gets blown up. What I’m left wondering is the limit of what can be fixed with the regeneration strip. Surely if a bullet to the head can be walked off, then getting blown up by a landmine is fair game? Could they not have tried piecing him together like a jigsaw a wrapping him in the magic gel strips? I guess they could bring him back in the next movie and I’m sure if they do, we will know when the first trailer for Kingsman 3 is released.
Overall this isn’t a bad movie, it’s just disappointing. There are some entertaining action scenes, but rubbish dialogue and ridiculous plot elements make this inferior to the first Kingsman movie and pretty mediocre overall.
MusicCritics (472 KP) rated GEMINI by Macklemore in Music
Oct 3, 2017
Original Score: 7 out of 10
Read Review: http://www.rapreviews.com/feature.html
MusicCritics (472 KP) rated By Any Means 2 by Kevin Gates in Music
Oct 3, 2017
Original Score: 4.5 out of 9
Read Review: https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/kevin-gates-drops-off-sequel-to-by-any-means-new-mixtape.117492.html
MusicCritics (472 KP) rated Concrete And Gold by Foo Fighters in Music
Oct 3, 2017
Original Score: 8 out of 10
Read Review: http://www.popmatters.com/review/foo-fighters-concrete-and-gold/
GameCritics (290 KP) rated Mary Skelter: Nightmares in Video Games
Oct 3, 2017
Original Score: 4.5 out of 5
Read Review: http://www.digitallydownloaded.net/2017/09/review-mary-skelter-nightmares-sony.html
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated American War in Books
Oct 3, 2017
It is written in the perspective of a dying historian in the 22nd century, attempting to recollect the role of his aunt, who essentially was leading the insurgency against the north. She was as much a victim as aggressor in this novel, being groomed as a child soldier and being tortured in prison as a young adult. In the background, a rising Pan-Arab empire helps stoke the fires in the US.
It is slow but relentless, and rather fitting for what is currently happening all over the world. A fascinating read indeed.
GameCritics (290 KP) rated Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition in Video Games
Oct 3, 2017
Original Score: 9 out of 10
Read Review: https://www.rpgsite.net/review/5982-pillars-of-eternity-complete-edition-review
Books Editor (673 KP) shared own list
Oct 3, 2017
Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing
Book
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author and columnist comes a "fiercely funny, powerfully...
Long Road to Hard Truth: The 100 Year Mission to Create the National Museum of African American History and Culture
Book
In Long Road to Hard Truth: The 100 Year Mission to Create the National Museum of African American...
History social sciences
The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between
Book
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography, 2017 Hisham Matar was 19 when his...
Libya Politics Biography
The Sympathizer
Book
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION 2016 It is April 1975, and Saigon is in chaos. At his...
The Mothers: A Novel
Book
The Mothers is a surprising story about young love, a big secret in a small community - and the...