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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Dragon (Dirk Pitt #10) in Books
Nov 12, 2019
At the end of the Second World War, America sends more than two atomic bombs to be dropped on Japan, but the other planes crashed. Fast forward fifty years and against a backdrop of US paranoia about the rise of Japanese industry, it seems that at least one of those missing bombs has been found.
Dirk Pitt must race against the clock to uncover the fate of the weapons and what use they may be put to. And not all of his foes are human.
It has to be said you generally know what you are going to get with a Cussler book and this is exactly what you get. There's a villainous bad guy who wants to destroy America, almost insurmountable odds, incredible chases and ingenious escapes.
The whole is equal to the sum of its parts, so this is a completely standard Pitt adventure novel, but there are many of those parts that aren't quite up to scratch. With the fall of the Soviet Union as the Enemy Nation, Cussler has transferred this status to Japan, but it doesn't really work very well and comes across as more than a little xenophobic. And the threats aren't particularly threatening. By this point the plot twists that made the earlier novels so intriguing are basically absent with very little happening that isn't signposted. So although it's a standard Cussler thriller, it isn't anywhere near being one of the best
Dirk Pitt must race against the clock to uncover the fate of the weapons and what use they may be put to. And not all of his foes are human.
It has to be said you generally know what you are going to get with a Cussler book and this is exactly what you get. There's a villainous bad guy who wants to destroy America, almost insurmountable odds, incredible chases and ingenious escapes.
The whole is equal to the sum of its parts, so this is a completely standard Pitt adventure novel, but there are many of those parts that aren't quite up to scratch. With the fall of the Soviet Union as the Enemy Nation, Cussler has transferred this status to Japan, but it doesn't really work very well and comes across as more than a little xenophobic. And the threats aren't particularly threatening. By this point the plot twists that made the earlier novels so intriguing are basically absent with very little happening that isn't signposted. So although it's a standard Cussler thriller, it isn't anywhere near being one of the best
Valiant Boys: True Stories from the Operators of the UK's First Four-Jet Bomber
Tony Blackman and Anthony Wright
Book
Following on from the success of Victor Boys and Vulcan Boys, Tony Blackman, in collaboration with...
Andy K (10821 KP) rated Threads (1984) in Movies
Jan 12, 2019
Bleak and uncompromising...
I read about this film online and thought it sounded interesting. I had never heard of it but purchased anyways and I was not disappointed.
Maybe some of you British people may remember this film which aired on BBC 2 in 1984 and was basically about what would happen if Britain was caught in the crossfire between the US and USSR and the effects of not only the atomic bombs used, but the torturous unrelenting aftermath. Portions of the 2nd half of the film were reminiscent of scene's from Schindler's List or even a WWII holocaust documentary. The ravages of war make humanity do unspeakable things to each other and this film depicts it all.
The contrast of the "before" and "after" are what are the most striking. How the filmmaker sets a tone at the beginning and then turns everything on its end mid way through. I wasn't entirely sure where it was going or how things would end up; however, I was intrigued throughout.
Watch it if you are able.
Maybe some of you British people may remember this film which aired on BBC 2 in 1984 and was basically about what would happen if Britain was caught in the crossfire between the US and USSR and the effects of not only the atomic bombs used, but the torturous unrelenting aftermath. Portions of the 2nd half of the film were reminiscent of scene's from Schindler's List or even a WWII holocaust documentary. The ravages of war make humanity do unspeakable things to each other and this film depicts it all.
The contrast of the "before" and "after" are what are the most striking. How the filmmaker sets a tone at the beginning and then turns everything on its end mid way through. I wasn't entirely sure where it was going or how things would end up; however, I was intrigued throughout.
Watch it if you are able.
Powder Toy
Games
App
I AM NOT AFFILIATED WITH CREATORS OF THE ORIGINAL THE POWDER TOY The game is based on The Powder...
Enrico Fermi: The Obedient Genius: 2016
Giuseppe Bruzzaniti and Ugo Bruzzo
Book
This biography explores the life and career of the Italian physicist Enrico Fermi, which is also the...
Awix (3310 KP) rated Godzilla (1954) in Movies
Mar 24, 2018 (Updated Mar 24, 2018)
The very first Godzilla movie is essentially an unlicensed remake of Eugene Lourie's The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, with a prehistoric monster roused by atomic testing and going on the rampage - but being a bit worried about atom bombs is clearly not the same thing as actually having them used on your country, for this movie has a dark, traumatised quality to it completely absent from American monster movies.
The sequences with the human characters have that slightly melodramatic, soap-opera-ish feel to them common to many B-movies, but the actual monster attacks are astonishingly bleak and explicit about the massive body-count left in Godzilla's wake. You get a strong sense of a country left reeling, struggling to come to terms with why this catastrophe has been visited on them (the movie reflects the widespread Japanese belief that the country was a victim of the second world war, not an aggressor).
It's quite hard to compare this to most of the subsequent films, for this is obviously a much more serious parable. Some of the melodramatic plotting lets it down a bit, and the climax is rather disappointing given the strength of the earlier set pieces. But it's clear why people are still making movies about Godzilla nearly sixty-five years later.
The sequences with the human characters have that slightly melodramatic, soap-opera-ish feel to them common to many B-movies, but the actual monster attacks are astonishingly bleak and explicit about the massive body-count left in Godzilla's wake. You get a strong sense of a country left reeling, struggling to come to terms with why this catastrophe has been visited on them (the movie reflects the widespread Japanese belief that the country was a victim of the second world war, not an aggressor).
It's quite hard to compare this to most of the subsequent films, for this is obviously a much more serious parable. Some of the melodramatic plotting lets it down a bit, and the climax is rather disappointing given the strength of the earlier set pieces. But it's clear why people are still making movies about Godzilla nearly sixty-five years later.
Aces of the Pacific
6.8
Rate It
Video Game Watch
Aces of the Pacific features various warplanes of the era, such as the F6F Hellcat and the Zero. The...
RP
Raymond Pettibon: Surfers 1985-2015
Carlo McCormick and Adam Lindemann
Book
Limning a dizzying array of topics with his distinctive combinations of image and text, Raymond...
Around 1945: Literature, Citizenship, Rights
Book
Near the end of the Second World War, new ideas about citizenship, national identity, belonging, and...
Andy K (10821 KP) rated Emperor (2013) in Movies
Sep 9, 2019
A tough challenge
The end of Asian campaign of World War II is complicated. The Japanese surrender following the US dropping the pair of atomic bombs; killing hundreds of thousands, wounding many more and leaving cities in ruins. Tensions are still running at a fever pitch and many people are demanding answers and swift justice for those responsible.
"Supreme Commander" General Douglas MacArthur is put in charge of rebuilding Japan and enlists General Bonner Fellers the nearly impossible task of investigating the involvement of Japan's emperor Hirohito and whether or not he should be tried convicted and hung as a result of his orders. Did he order the attack on Pearl Harbor? What did he know and when did he know it? Was he the one who gave the orders or were his generals in charge of the overall operations? In addition, Fellers is given only 10 days to find his ruling before MacArthur has to report back to his commanders in the US.
Sellers starts with trying to figure out the people involved, find them, interview them and find those who don't want to be found. His interviews ask more questions than answer them and he feels like he is going nowhere fast.
Intertwined are his recollections of a romance he had years earlier with a Japanese exchange student who left the US and returned to her home in Japan. His emotions are getting the better of him while he thinks about his former love and attempts to locate her or learn her fate while he does his job.
Matthew Fox is the best part of this film. As a military man, he respects the chain of command and works within in, but also is able to show his emotions when he is with the woman he loves. I loved the flashback scenes as they were able to show the man as well as just the uniform and Fox did this very well.
Tommy Lee Jones played the character he plays in most of his movies. Barking orders to his underlings and enjoying very much being in charge.
I don't know very much about Japanese culture and this film helped me understand what values they hold sacred. These values highly motivate their actions which can be very noble and traditional or unrelenting and barbaric depending on the situation.
You feel real turmoil as the investigation concludes and the results which are found (or not found) and how the situation is resolved. The characters are flawed which makes them more real. This makes the story more emotional and believable.
The Japanese countryside is beautiful in the time of peace contrasted with the desolate scarred Earth shown after the bombs fell.
Compelling historical dramas always intrigue me and this one did the same.
"Supreme Commander" General Douglas MacArthur is put in charge of rebuilding Japan and enlists General Bonner Fellers the nearly impossible task of investigating the involvement of Japan's emperor Hirohito and whether or not he should be tried convicted and hung as a result of his orders. Did he order the attack on Pearl Harbor? What did he know and when did he know it? Was he the one who gave the orders or were his generals in charge of the overall operations? In addition, Fellers is given only 10 days to find his ruling before MacArthur has to report back to his commanders in the US.
Sellers starts with trying to figure out the people involved, find them, interview them and find those who don't want to be found. His interviews ask more questions than answer them and he feels like he is going nowhere fast.
Intertwined are his recollections of a romance he had years earlier with a Japanese exchange student who left the US and returned to her home in Japan. His emotions are getting the better of him while he thinks about his former love and attempts to locate her or learn her fate while he does his job.
Matthew Fox is the best part of this film. As a military man, he respects the chain of command and works within in, but also is able to show his emotions when he is with the woman he loves. I loved the flashback scenes as they were able to show the man as well as just the uniform and Fox did this very well.
Tommy Lee Jones played the character he plays in most of his movies. Barking orders to his underlings and enjoying very much being in charge.
I don't know very much about Japanese culture and this film helped me understand what values they hold sacred. These values highly motivate their actions which can be very noble and traditional or unrelenting and barbaric depending on the situation.
You feel real turmoil as the investigation concludes and the results which are found (or not found) and how the situation is resolved. The characters are flawed which makes them more real. This makes the story more emotional and believable.
The Japanese countryside is beautiful in the time of peace contrasted with the desolate scarred Earth shown after the bombs fell.
Compelling historical dramas always intrigue me and this one did the same.