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David McK (3251 KP) rated The Dark Knight (2008) in Movies
Jun 23, 2019
Summmer 2008: at the time of writing this, now 11 years ago, and the cinematic landscape was rather different - the MCU was only just starting off (with Iron Man), and superheroes in the cinema were not as commonplace as they are today ( to the best of my memory).
While Christopher No.an had effectively rebooted perhaps DCs most famous character in Batman Begins, that film had (deliberately, IMO) kept the focus pretty much on Bruce Wayne/Batman rather than on his mos famous foes, ending with a deliberate tease of the introduction of the Joker.
And what an introduction he gets in this.
As portrayed by Heath Ledger (whose untimely death no doubt helped stoke the interest for this movie: his last full screen role), this Joker is very different than Jack Nicholson's 1989 portrayal. It's a definite magnetic tour de force from the actor, sure, although (personally) I've never really viewed the character as a Joker so much as as a genius psychopath.
"I'm an agent of chaos" he says at one point. "I'm a dog chasing a car. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it". And that, to me, is what is missing from the character-as-written.
Alongside Ledger, Aaron Eckhart also puts in a brilliant turn as Harvey Dent, completely blowing Tommy Lee Jones portrayal of the same character (in Batman Forever) out of the water. It's a far more realistic interpretation of what drives Dent to become Two-face, with some frightenly realistic effects.
And, finally, it may be a small thing: but in this Batman gets and operates (briefly) out of Gotham city, making his world seem more 'real' as a result.
While Christopher No.an had effectively rebooted perhaps DCs most famous character in Batman Begins, that film had (deliberately, IMO) kept the focus pretty much on Bruce Wayne/Batman rather than on his mos famous foes, ending with a deliberate tease of the introduction of the Joker.
And what an introduction he gets in this.
As portrayed by Heath Ledger (whose untimely death no doubt helped stoke the interest for this movie: his last full screen role), this Joker is very different than Jack Nicholson's 1989 portrayal. It's a definite magnetic tour de force from the actor, sure, although (personally) I've never really viewed the character as a Joker so much as as a genius psychopath.
"I'm an agent of chaos" he says at one point. "I'm a dog chasing a car. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it". And that, to me, is what is missing from the character-as-written.
Alongside Ledger, Aaron Eckhart also puts in a brilliant turn as Harvey Dent, completely blowing Tommy Lee Jones portrayal of the same character (in Batman Forever) out of the water. It's a far more realistic interpretation of what drives Dent to become Two-face, with some frightenly realistic effects.
And, finally, it may be a small thing: but in this Batman gets and operates (briefly) out of Gotham city, making his world seem more 'real' as a result.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Demon Magic and a Martini (The Guild Codex: Spellbound, #4) in Books
Jan 9, 2020
This has been borrowed from the Kindle Unlimited Library.
I read the first three books in this series a few months ago and got drawn into it quite quickly. The trio of friends grew on me a lot and I liked how they pulled Tori into their ranks and protected her from whatever dangers seem to follow them all around.
This one was no different with all the Guilds being put on a high alert after a warning of a loose demon in the area. Every member is given tasks and go out hunting for the rogue creature. As this one seems to be taking place around Halloween and Tori seems to find herself organising a Halloween Party she needs to head out and pick up some food she's ordered, only to find herself and Ezra being hunted by the demon. Only it seems the demon wants Ezra more than her anyone else...
I won't go into any more detail as that would totally ruin the story but we learn a lot more about Ezra in this. He takes a lot more of the spotlight and I enjoyed seeing more of him. It's definitely a bit of a surprise but he's still the gentle, sweet Ezra unless you royally pee him off
This has got a slight romance arc in it. She got together with Aaron in the second book, I think?, but they went their separate ways in the last one. She's always had a connection with Ezra and that grew in this one with them having a few moments where something flared.
I will definitely be reading the next one to see what other trouble this quartet get up to and to see if anything comes of her growing feelings for Ezra.
P.S. COVER LOVE!!
I read the first three books in this series a few months ago and got drawn into it quite quickly. The trio of friends grew on me a lot and I liked how they pulled Tori into their ranks and protected her from whatever dangers seem to follow them all around.
This one was no different with all the Guilds being put on a high alert after a warning of a loose demon in the area. Every member is given tasks and go out hunting for the rogue creature. As this one seems to be taking place around Halloween and Tori seems to find herself organising a Halloween Party she needs to head out and pick up some food she's ordered, only to find herself and Ezra being hunted by the demon. Only it seems the demon wants Ezra more than her anyone else...
I won't go into any more detail as that would totally ruin the story but we learn a lot more about Ezra in this. He takes a lot more of the spotlight and I enjoyed seeing more of him. It's definitely a bit of a surprise but he's still the gentle, sweet Ezra unless you royally pee him off
This has got a slight romance arc in it. She got together with Aaron in the second book, I think?, but they went their separate ways in the last one. She's always had a connection with Ezra and that grew in this one with them having a few moments where something flared.
I will definitely be reading the next one to see what other trouble this quartet get up to and to see if anything comes of her growing feelings for Ezra.
P.S. COVER LOVE!!
Stories Of Holy Prophets
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Micah Ulibarri (79 KP) rated Star War #44 in Books
Mar 15, 2018
A Strong start to a new story
Contains spoilers, click to show
A new story begins in Marvel's flagship series for the Star Wars universe. After the destruction of the Death Star, the Alliance's greatest heroes; Leia, Han, and Luke, must convince the Mon Calamari to join their rebellion and donate their great capital ships to the cause.
Readers familar with the Star Wars galaxy will understand how important this never before told story is to the universe. The rebellion has few warships at this time and decide to ask their friend and everyone's favorite Star wars meme, Admiral Ackbar, to call in a favor from his planet. In a time when Star Wars comics has been criticized for being irrelevant in the grand scheme, this story is one worth telling and with real stakes on the galaxy.
Don't worry. You're faborite Star wars characters are written with great respect to who the characters are while still keeping them fresh and interesting. I particularly found myself enjoying Han in this issue.
While the previous arcs had been somewhat episodic and disjointed, this one seems to make sense and includes reveals from the previous issue, leading to a more cohesive overall feel to the series since Kieron Gillen took over from Jason Aaron.
The main thing holding the issue back from being great is its need to exposit and introduce what the next arc will include. A couple times the exposition can be a bit cumbersome.
Finally, my hope is that this series will bring another tie-in from The Clone Wars animated series. They seem to be telegraphing the return of Mon Cal king Lee-Char. I would be quite tickled if we got to see a more wisened version of him in this series.
Conclusion: A fun and strong start with just a couple hiccups in the set up and a great place to junp on for the curious.
Readers familar with the Star Wars galaxy will understand how important this never before told story is to the universe. The rebellion has few warships at this time and decide to ask their friend and everyone's favorite Star wars meme, Admiral Ackbar, to call in a favor from his planet. In a time when Star Wars comics has been criticized for being irrelevant in the grand scheme, this story is one worth telling and with real stakes on the galaxy.
Don't worry. You're faborite Star wars characters are written with great respect to who the characters are while still keeping them fresh and interesting. I particularly found myself enjoying Han in this issue.
While the previous arcs had been somewhat episodic and disjointed, this one seems to make sense and includes reveals from the previous issue, leading to a more cohesive overall feel to the series since Kieron Gillen took over from Jason Aaron.
The main thing holding the issue back from being great is its need to exposit and introduce what the next arc will include. A couple times the exposition can be a bit cumbersome.
Finally, my hope is that this series will bring another tie-in from The Clone Wars animated series. They seem to be telegraphing the return of Mon Cal king Lee-Char. I would be quite tickled if we got to see a more wisened version of him in this series.
Conclusion: A fun and strong start with just a couple hiccups in the set up and a great place to junp on for the curious.
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Get Him to the Greek (2010) in Movies
Aug 8, 2019
Russell Brand created one of the more memorable characters of 2008 in Forgetting Sarah Marshall with his role as Aldous Snow. Get Him to the Greek is by and large an extension of his role in that movie, but ramped up in the “crazy rock star” department. Jonah Hill, playing the ambitious record company intern Aaron Green tries to bring Aldous Snow from London to Los Angeles to play a show at the Greek Theater. The problem with this simplistic plot is that it doesn’t lead to any character development, and only leads to more jokes. While surprisingly funny in some parts, the characters don’t really make a splash unless they’re doing something ridiculous, which happens quite often.
The main characters, drunk on absinthe in one scene, deliver truly cringe-worthy performances, and I’m not talking about funny cringes. Later on in the film, another scene with another drug is sure to be remembered as one of the funniest bits in the entire film. Unfortunately, this is representative of the entire film. There are hits and misses on nearly every metric you can think of. Rose Byrne and Sean Combs are fantastic in their respective supporting roles, Russell Brand is charmingly hilarious with his rock star attitude, and while Jonah Hill does a good job of showing the anxiety of a responsible guy just trying to handle an irresponsible rock star, he’s still miles away from his scene-stealing performance in Superbad.
In the end, however, Get Him to the Greek just had no closure. The ending was forced, like the director ran out of time, and the lack of character growth really forced the film to rely on a “moral of the story” type of ending, which ended up muddling the film’s ending further. Still, the ending doesn’t detract wholly from the movie. Much like watching a lesser version of Spinal Tap, this movie is still amusing to watch.
The main characters, drunk on absinthe in one scene, deliver truly cringe-worthy performances, and I’m not talking about funny cringes. Later on in the film, another scene with another drug is sure to be remembered as one of the funniest bits in the entire film. Unfortunately, this is representative of the entire film. There are hits and misses on nearly every metric you can think of. Rose Byrne and Sean Combs are fantastic in their respective supporting roles, Russell Brand is charmingly hilarious with his rock star attitude, and while Jonah Hill does a good job of showing the anxiety of a responsible guy just trying to handle an irresponsible rock star, he’s still miles away from his scene-stealing performance in Superbad.
In the end, however, Get Him to the Greek just had no closure. The ending was forced, like the director ran out of time, and the lack of character growth really forced the film to rely on a “moral of the story” type of ending, which ended up muddling the film’s ending further. Still, the ending doesn’t detract wholly from the movie. Much like watching a lesser version of Spinal Tap, this movie is still amusing to watch.