Smashbomb

"I’ve always found Robert Montgomery to be a somewhat mysterious figure. He was in comedies, but he never seemed very funny. He played likable people but was not well liked. His right-wing politics angered many on the left. In 1947, the year this film came out, he was the president of the Screen Actors Guild. As a friendly witness for HUAC, he hurt many careers. He directed and starred in two great, innovative noirs, Lady in the Lake and Ride the Pink Horse, both made in 1947, and then stopped directing. Wanda Hendrix, who is superb in this film, really didn’t work much after Ride the Pink Horse, which is another aspect that makes watching the film curious and special. Starring as Pancho, the excellent Thomas Gomez became the first Hispanic American to be nominated for an Oscar. This postwar noir film begins at a bus stop in a Mexican border town. When Montgomery, as Lucky Gagin, steps off the bus, you pretty much know he’s going to get mixed up in something dark. The film has a haunting score, and it is reminiscent of another Mexican border “noir” by another actor-director, Orson Welles’s Touch of Evil. There are a couple of things that make Ride the Pink Horse art-house cool. First, it’s filled with long, complicated takes, which were innovative for the time. I remember sitting with Martin Scorsese, who turned me on to this movie. He kept trying to figure out how Montgomery had done the opening shot, where he gets off the bus and goes into the bus station, then back outside again. Scorsese said, “There was no Steadicam. I don’t see tracking. How did he do it?” So look for that! There’s sentimentality in Montgomery’s directing that contrasts with hard-boiled Lucky Gagin and that gives the film heart. Dorothy B. Hughes is the author of the books that both Ride the Pink Horse and In a Lonely Place are based on. These stories have something in common. A violent man is changed by the innocent love of a woman. In In a Lonely Place, he changes too late and loses the girl. In Ride the Pink Horse, Gagin is a solitary and cynical figure. Even while Pila is helping him, he derides her with all kinds of racist remarks. Yet she is his savior and continues to help him. It’s the oddball nature of their relationship that hooks you. He’s so powerful, such a tough guy, yet he needs this child to help him. She in turn is drawn to him. They can’t be together romantically, but there is love between them. She saves his life and his soul by her intervention."

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BookInspector (124 KP) rated Target in the Sun (Carlos & Mia #1) in Books

Sep 24, 2020

The provided description of the book hardly leaves much out, but there is way more to this book. There are three main characters in the book: FBI detective Lucia, Carlos and Mia. While reading this book, I found that the characters chosen in this book are really interesting and disturbed in their own way. I really liked that a character is retelling the story of other characters, which makes two stories going on at the same time. I really liked Carlos as a character; he is this bad boy with incredibly kind heart in a way, and always trying to help. He is very interesting to read about. After reading about the author, Mia’s life story somehow reminds me of the author’s life story. Was the author writing about her wishes and experiences??? Let’s leave that to your imagination. I’m very grateful, that author gave voice to more than one character, it was great to see the story from their perspective and it makes the whole book more interesting to read.

While reading this book, I really enjoyed the plot itself. This exotic life in Mexico and the daily struggle, which ordinary people have to go through, really fascinated me. Even though the story was interesting, I missed some twists and turns in this story, it kind of plodded along. The writing style in this publication was really interesting; it was like a diary with this very naive way of writing. The language was very easy to read, but there were some Spanish phrases for which you might need to use some sort of translator. I am not a fan of long chapters as it gets me bored really easy, that’s why I was very happy to see that chapters in this novel are short and quick to read. This book is not very suitable for young people; it does contain a lot of sexual scenes and talks about sex. I really liked that this book discussed the situations which are everyday life in Mexico. The struggles which ordinary Mexicans have to face to feed their families and how easy it is to slip into a criminal’s life. I really enjoyed that author was discussing the drug problems and how it is influencing all people down the trafficking chain. The ending of the book was really well thought through and concluded the book really nicely. When I heard that there is a second book, I was surprised but at the same time intrigued. So to conclude, if you are looking for something related with Mexican drug cartels, exotic and romantic, give this book a go and you might be pleasantly surprised.

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Joe Goodhart (27 KP) rated X-23 (2018-) #1 in Books

Nov 30, 2020

X-23 (2018-) #1

Mariko Tamaki | 2018 | Comics & Graphic Novels

7.0

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

As mentioned in my reviews Kyle & Yost's X-FORCE TPBs, I am quite a fan of the character of Laura Kinney. There is nothing of 'shipping or anything of the sort. To me, she is a character with a scarred background, one in which she struggles to move forward from it, leaving her past as a trained killer behind her. I find her to be multi-layered, with a lot of potential for future character development.

When it was announced several months ago that Tom Taylor's ALL-NEW WOLVERINE would be coming to a close, I was saddened. While I didn't always like the light-hearted approach, esp. when it involved Laura's clone "sister" Gabby, I felt that he had done so much to move Laura forward, allowing to become so much more than a) a female version of Wolverine and b) another cold-hearted mutant killer.

Laura's book would be relaunched as 'X-23', with her Wolverine title being traded in for her old Weapon X classification. Canada's Mariko Tamaki (SUPERGIRL: BEING SUPER mini for DC as well as non-superhero prose novels) would be helming it, with ANW's Juann Cabal would be joining her on the art end. I felt good about the art side of it, but I was not all that familiar with Tamaki, as I had never read anything she written previously.

My biggest fear in regard to the new series? How was Laura going to go back to her former title/classification? It made no sense, and considering how they handled her transition into Wolverine (um, yeah, nope. Marvel dropped the editorial ball when ANW was launched!), my worries did not seem entirely unfounded.

Last night, I had those fears shushed away, as I dove into reading the digital version of Tamiki's X-23 (thank you, Comixology, for allowing the first three issues to be included as part of this weekend's BOGO sale). From Cabal's A-MAZ-ING art, to Tamiki's superb handling of Laura (both her inner thoughts and dialogue, as well as her interactions with Gabby), this was such an UNEXPECTED WiN

And a minor spoiler-of-sorts, Issue 3 has Laura saying why she has chosen to go back to being X-23. Not going to say anything more, other than it makes sense. Oh, and that it was this reveal that made me decide to start reading the new series.

As I said, I was not sure about the new series, but after devouring the first issue, i feel safe now having withnessed Tamaki's approach to Laura. There is no scale in mind that can showr Ms. Tamaki with the amount of praise she has earned for this brilliant undertaking! Color me impressed!

RECOMMENDED!!

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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Almost Christmas (2016) in Movies

Jul 12, 2019

It’s that time of year again, well maybe a little bit sooner than I would prefer because we haven’t hit thanksgiving yet. Holiday Season is here! So the attempts from the studios to get a piece of the holiday season box office. This new comedy from writer David E. Talbert (Baggage Claim) and producer Will Packer (Ride Along, Think Like a Man series, This Christmas), Almost Christmas, tells the story of a beloved patriarch, Walter, played by Danny Glover, a retired mechanic who owned a chain of auto shops and is now getting ready to spend the holiday with his four adult children and their families.

This year is the family’s first Christmas since the death of Walter’s wife, Grace, and the film flashes back to show us a beautiful 45 year relationship, that even when their home overflowed with children, they kept their love and affection.

Grace showed her dedication to Walter and the rest of her family with delicious recipes, especially her sweet potato pie.

Walter asks his family for one gift this holiday season to spend five days under the same roof without killing one another.

But later in the film you find out that the real drama is the rivalry between Rachel and Cheryl and the undergoing feud over each other’s life choices. Rachel (Gabrielle Union) a divorced mom, who after different career attempts, finally decided to become a law student; but unfortunately this last one made her financially unstable. Rachel’s overachieving big sister, Cheryl (Kimberly Elise) is always hiding her own insecurities and trying to control her obnoxious husband J.B. Smoove, and older retired athlete, who played basketball in Croatia in the 80’s, and considers himself a celebrity and an American hero.

Their brothers Christian (Romany Malco) is occupied with his congressional run, and Evan (Jessie Usher), the surprise baby of the family, is attempting to conquer a college football injury and secretly abusing of pain killers.

Finally we have aunt May (Mo’nique), who deserves a special mention for being extremely hilarious having a still-functioning career as a backup singer and in the past performed with Mick Jagger and Chaka Khan and now enjoys imparting all of her wisdom to her nieces, nephews and Walter.

The movie’s sibling dynamics feels authentic, with a relatable blend of rivalry, nostalgia, and dependence; Glover’s quest to perfect his wife’s signature dish will pull at anyone’s heartstrings.

It is surprisingly funny and hits it mark more than it misses. But it is not a secret that the major strength of this movie is its cast led by Danny Glover, and how we start to get too old for some shit, and an amazing team of charming actors and actresses that can transport you in the time with the right music and some dancing in the kitchen.

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Darren (1599 KP) rated Mr. Holmes (2015) in Movies

Sep 13, 2019

Mr. Holmes (2015)

2015 | International, Drama, Mystery

7.0

(8 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Characters – Sherlock Holmes is one of the iconic characters in any mystery tale, this time we following him in his latter years, as we follow the three moments, the last case he didn’t solve, the trip to Japan and how he is writing the story about his last case. This character is interesting to find because we see a great mind struggling to remember everything that he should. Mrs Munro is the housekeeper looking after Sherlock while he focuses on his projects and bees, she does want to move away with her son because she finds Sherlock more in need of a nurse than a housekeeper. Roger is her young son that Sherlock takes under his wing, he is eager to learn more about his stories and the bees which can leave him in trouble at times. Tamiki has invited Sherlock to Japan, claiming to be a big fan, but he has different motives for this, we don’t really see enough of this character though.

Performances – Ian McKellen is fantastic in the leading role, but could we expect anything less from one of the greatest of all times? Laura Linney has always been able to mould herself into any supporting character and here is no different. Milo Parker is good for a child star, nailing the important scenes and keeping his innocence about him. Hiroyuki Sanada is a man we would have liked to have seen more in this film, I feel there is a lot more that we could have had from his character.

Story – Sherlock Holmes, the icon, the legend, the detective that solves every case, is now old and trying to put together parts of his memory o finish a final book, as he tries to remember the chapters of his life. Following the three different stages of his elderly life, can in places become confusing, but everything is tied up by the end and plays into the idea of what is real or part of a story well. The pace of the story is slow in places which doesn’t help keep on top of everything though.

Mystery – The mystery side of the film, comes off slow, we have a couple of mysteries Holmes wants to solve, but we never get left in a position to want to see them unfold.

Settings – The settings play into the late 40s well, Japan is haunting for this, the beach/cliff top location looks beautiful too.

Scene of the Movie – Japan and the aftermath.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It is very slow.

Final Thoughts – This is a slow mystery movie that does focus on certain parts of the later life of a Holmes figure which is different as it is him battle against his own mind while trying to remember or solve the cases.

Overall: Slow, but interesting.