Books Editor (673 KP) shared own list
Oct 9, 2017
Tales of Two Americas: Stories of Inequality in a Divided Nation
Book
America is broken. You don't need a fistful of statistics to know this. Visit any city, and evidence...
The Not So Subtle Art of Being a Fat Girl
Book
Plus-size supermodel Tess Holliday’s passionate plea for modern women, whoever they are, is to...
Biography
After the Eclipse: A Mother's Murder, a Daughter's Search
Book
A fierce memoir of a mother's murder, a daughter's coming-of-age in the wake of immense loss, and...
Biography memoir true crime
Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of '70s and '80s Horror Fiction
Book
Take a tour through the horror paperback novels of the 1970s and ’80s . . . if you dare. Page...
Horror Reference
and 10 other items
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Blade Runner 2049 (2017) in Movies
Oct 9, 2017 (Updated Oct 13, 2017)
Somehow, Denis Villeneuve has achieved the impossible. He has directed a movie every year for the last five years and they have all been absolutely incredible, also he has managed to pull off a fantastic sequel to a 35 year old classic.
I loved almost every part of this movie. The direction was masterful to watch, with the movie being moved along at a deliberate, purposeful pace, rather than rushing through from action scene to action scene. The sets in this were out of this world, some props were really cool to look at and the use of mostly practical backdrops made a huge difference as opposed to using an abundance of green screen. Rodger Deakins' cinematography was astonishing, you could honestly screen grab an image from any time stamp in this movie and it would work perfectly as a beautiful desktop background.
I also thought that the performances were fantastic and everyone did a great job. Although Ford doesn't appear until the movie's third act, when he does he is great. Gosling commands his leading man role as we've come to expect him to. Robin Wright and Dave Bautista were the other standouts for me in terms of their performances.
The more technical elements of the movie worked perfectly in tandem with the story being told as well. The special effects were beautifully implemented and the lighting in the movie added a whole other layer of visual depth as well. The score also worked for the tone that the movie was aiming to achieve. The script was also solid and tightly woven.
The only thing I will say is; if you are going into the film expecting a sci-fi action blockbuster, you will come out disappointed. This is a slow paced, sci-fi noir, detective story. There are a few sparse moments of action and it does feel impactful when it occurs, but it is not the focus of the movie at all.
The one small element that bothered me was Jared Leto's performance. He took me out of the movie and was the only cast member who didn't feel like a real character within this world. Maybe I'm just being biased, as Jared Leto has always annoyed me in general, but for me he was the one bad part of this near masterpiece. Thankfully he doesn't get that much screen time, so it could have been worse. Also, the fact that David Bowie was originally cast in that role adds an extra sprinkle of salt in the wound.
Unfortunately, much like the original movie, this hasn't done great at the box office on its opening weekend. If like me, you are sick of mindless sequel cash cows that are total garbage such as Jurassic World, go and see this movie and vote with your wallet. If you don't, we are telling Hollywood that as a collective, we don't want sequels with depth and integrity, we want dumb, rushed, forgettable nonsense and that is what we will end up getting. Support this movie for the betterment of filmmaking and cinema, even if you haven't seen the original.
Overall I loved the movie, but I can see why people are finding it divisive. For me though, the vast majority of this movie's parts were absolutely fantastic and come together to form a journey that you must experience for yourself.
Books Editor (673 KP) shared own list
Oct 9, 2017
Lab Girl
Book
Lab Girl is a book about work and about love, and the mountains that can be moved when those two...
Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries
Book
Do you have strong feelings about the word “irregardless”? Have you ever tried to define the...
Biography writing reference
Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong
Book
From intelligence to emotion, for centuries science has told us that men and women are fundamentally...
science gender studies
Girl Code: Gaming, Going Viral, and Getting It Done
Andrea Gonzales and Sophie Houser
Book
In their debut, teenage tech phenoms Sophie Houser and Andrea Gonzales reveal the true story behind...
Technology
Chemistry: A Novel
Book
Named a “Most Anticipated Novel of 2017” by Entertainment Weekly, The Millions, and Bustle A...
Fiction
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) shared Books Editor 's list
Oct 9, 2017
Lab Girl
Book
Lab Girl is a book about work and about love, and the mountains that can be moved when those two...
Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries
Book
Do you have strong feelings about the word “irregardless”? Have you ever tried to define the...
Biography writing reference
Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong
Book
From intelligence to emotion, for centuries science has told us that men and women are fundamentally...
science gender studies
Girl Code: Gaming, Going Viral, and Getting It Done
Andrea Gonzales and Sophie Houser
Book
In their debut, teenage tech phenoms Sophie Houser and Andrea Gonzales reveal the true story behind...
Technology
Chemistry: A Novel
Book
Named a “Most Anticipated Novel of 2017” by Entertainment Weekly, The Millions, and Bustle A...
Fiction