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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Aliens (1986) in Movies
Feb 13, 2020
An absolute screamer of a sequel
Aliens may very well be the best sequel of all time, if not it's certainly up there!
The original Alien is about as perfect as sci-fi horror can get, so it was a smart move on James Cameron's part to not recycle that again, and take Alien in a different direction.
The slow burning, claustrophobic high tension of the original is replaced here with all out war.
The simple idea of multiple Xenomorphs is effective and terrifying, and packs the runtime of Aliens with top tier action.
Sigourney Weaver returns as Ellen Ripley, and whilst she was a tough yet vulnerable survivor first time around, here we get to see her vulnerability crumble away. By the time the final act kicks in and Ripley is decked out in a mech...she just a badass from here on out.
She's is joined by a group of gun toting, 80s as fuck mercenaries, including the likes of Michael Biehn (fresh from the recently released, first Terminator movie), Bill Paxton, Al Matthews, Jenette Goldstein, and of course Lance Henriksen as Android, Bishop. It's a fantastic cast, who all end up mattering one way or another, even the ones who don't last very long.
The Xenomorphs themselves look as horrifying as ever, still practically achieved, and have an urgent sense of visceral danger whenever they're on screen.
Aliens is also the debut if the Alien Queen, a classic staple of the series since.
No matter how much time goes by, Aliens never fails to be entertaining, and still looks great. It's James Cameron at the top of his game.
The original Alien is about as perfect as sci-fi horror can get, so it was a smart move on James Cameron's part to not recycle that again, and take Alien in a different direction.
The slow burning, claustrophobic high tension of the original is replaced here with all out war.
The simple idea of multiple Xenomorphs is effective and terrifying, and packs the runtime of Aliens with top tier action.
Sigourney Weaver returns as Ellen Ripley, and whilst she was a tough yet vulnerable survivor first time around, here we get to see her vulnerability crumble away. By the time the final act kicks in and Ripley is decked out in a mech...she just a badass from here on out.
She's is joined by a group of gun toting, 80s as fuck mercenaries, including the likes of Michael Biehn (fresh from the recently released, first Terminator movie), Bill Paxton, Al Matthews, Jenette Goldstein, and of course Lance Henriksen as Android, Bishop. It's a fantastic cast, who all end up mattering one way or another, even the ones who don't last very long.
The Xenomorphs themselves look as horrifying as ever, still practically achieved, and have an urgent sense of visceral danger whenever they're on screen.
Aliens is also the debut if the Alien Queen, a classic staple of the series since.
No matter how much time goes by, Aliens never fails to be entertaining, and still looks great. It's James Cameron at the top of his game.
Super Girls and Halos: My Companions on the Quest for Truth, Justice, and Heroic Virtue
Book
Award-winning author Maria Morera Johnson follows up her bestselling book, My Badass Book of Saints,...
Kaysee Hood (83 KP) rated Tower Of Dawn in Books
Nov 3, 2017
Badass Women (2 more)
Big Birds
Acceptance
Vlag Ladies (2 more)
Giant Spiders
Spies
Uncovered Secrets
With the sixth book in the Throne of Glass series we come find there is more to the Vlag than what was originally thought to be. Chaol and Nesryn both discover pieces of the puzzle as well as parts of themselves through the healer, Yrene Towers, and Prince Sartaq in an attempt to raise an army to move North and to have his back healed.
Once more Mass had me caught up in the pages of her book and it was kind of bizarre to be captured by a ToG novel, yet the focus is on the Hand of the King and the newly appointed Captain of the Guard rather than Aelin, which I was glad for. I don't believe if EoS and ToD were combined as planned it could not have conveyed important plot points, character growth, and development of new characters and plots as well as being two separate books. In ToD we're able to see Chaol progress not only with his injury, but within himself as he deals with the horrors from QoS. We're able to read through how Yrene is unwillingly to work with Chaol to how she realizes it is within herself. Nesryn is able to find herself, her actual self she was not able to express in Adarlan., Even the royal family here makes progress, tiny steps to better themselves. Combined that with what is found about the Vlag as well as a certain few people and Tower of Dawn is another successful ToG book.
So if you're a fan of the others then go find a copy. If you've been wanting to read the series then it is a good time to start as the end is getting closer.
Once more Mass had me caught up in the pages of her book and it was kind of bizarre to be captured by a ToG novel, yet the focus is on the Hand of the King and the newly appointed Captain of the Guard rather than Aelin, which I was glad for. I don't believe if EoS and ToD were combined as planned it could not have conveyed important plot points, character growth, and development of new characters and plots as well as being two separate books. In ToD we're able to see Chaol progress not only with his injury, but within himself as he deals with the horrors from QoS. We're able to read through how Yrene is unwillingly to work with Chaol to how she realizes it is within herself. Nesryn is able to find herself, her actual self she was not able to express in Adarlan., Even the royal family here makes progress, tiny steps to better themselves. Combined that with what is found about the Vlag as well as a certain few people and Tower of Dawn is another successful ToG book.
So if you're a fan of the others then go find a copy. If you've been wanting to read the series then it is a good time to start as the end is getting closer.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Predators (2010) in Movies
May 14, 2019 (Updated Dec 4, 2019)
Another Predator movie, another misfire
Contains spoilers, click to show
In reality, the only truly decent Predator film is the original (although I do have a soft spot for Predator 2 but shhh).
Predators is just a bit of a mess from the get go. We're very swiftly introduced to a cast of bland, cliched, "badass" characters, none of whom are particularly likable, and I can only find myself blaming the script for the most part. This cast includes true talents, including Adrian Brody, Laurence Fishburne, and Mahershala Ali, and none them succeed in making positive impact.
It also stars Topher Grace, who's character goes through some absolute-nonsense-sudden-shift-to-evil-douche plot twist near the end, by which point, you just struggle to care.
As for the actual Predator side of things - it's pretty underwhelming. The trailer promised a big number of the alien hunters, where in reality we get 4, who hardly get any screen time (which wouldn't be a problem if the human characters were actually interesting).
The opportunity to explore an alien world, rather than the usual setting of Earth is a nice idea, but mostly wasted bar a couple of nice looking landscape shots.
The whole thing comes down to a showdown between a lone Predator, and a shirtless Adrian Brody covered in mud, in what I Imagine was supposed to be an ode and call back to the original, but in reality, it just reminds you that you could be spending your time watching that instead.
Final thought - after the lengths that Arnie went through in the original to take down the Predator, I absolutely refuse to accept that one dude with a katana can cut one down with relative ease.
Predators is just a bit of a mess from the get go. We're very swiftly introduced to a cast of bland, cliched, "badass" characters, none of whom are particularly likable, and I can only find myself blaming the script for the most part. This cast includes true talents, including Adrian Brody, Laurence Fishburne, and Mahershala Ali, and none them succeed in making positive impact.
It also stars Topher Grace, who's character goes through some absolute-nonsense-sudden-shift-to-evil-douche plot twist near the end, by which point, you just struggle to care.
As for the actual Predator side of things - it's pretty underwhelming. The trailer promised a big number of the alien hunters, where in reality we get 4, who hardly get any screen time (which wouldn't be a problem if the human characters were actually interesting).
The opportunity to explore an alien world, rather than the usual setting of Earth is a nice idea, but mostly wasted bar a couple of nice looking landscape shots.
The whole thing comes down to a showdown between a lone Predator, and a shirtless Adrian Brody covered in mud, in what I Imagine was supposed to be an ode and call back to the original, but in reality, it just reminds you that you could be spending your time watching that instead.
Final thought - after the lengths that Arnie went through in the original to take down the Predator, I absolutely refuse to accept that one dude with a katana can cut one down with relative ease.
Dana (24 KP) rated A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes #2) in Books
Mar 23, 2018
After reading this book for forever, I have finally finished it.
I loved the character development of all of our favorites and the introduction of some new ones. The Soul Catcher is a favorite of mine, to be completely honest. She is amazing and I aspire to be as badass as she is one day.
Helene was more bearable in this book than the first one. I liked how she was independent and strong and didn't take shit from anyone. Plus, she wasn't as moony over Elias in this book which I adored.
Laia was a bad ass in her own right. I loved her strength as well. She is a persistent little one, isn't she? The only thing I didn't like about her story line was Keenan. He bugs the hell out of me and has from the beginning. (BTW, I knew there was something shady about him from the beginning.)
Elias is a cinnamon roll too precious for this world. Yes, he can kill people with basically just a look, but damn, he does it well. And he's always looking out for other people before himself. To be honest, he is my second favorite behind the Soul Catcher.
Tas and Bee were adorable and I hated them being hurt.
Darin, holy shit, man. I just feel bad for all of the shit he has gone through. Let's give the guy a break, maybe a cup of tea and some soup and a big warm blanket so he can curl up and sleep for a while.
The story line was well paced, and I really enjoyed it while I was reading it. Not like you could tell with my four month reading spell...but I honestly really enjoyed this book. I am glad we are getting two more after this one!!
I loved the character development of all of our favorites and the introduction of some new ones. The Soul Catcher is a favorite of mine, to be completely honest. She is amazing and I aspire to be as badass as she is one day.
Helene was more bearable in this book than the first one. I liked how she was independent and strong and didn't take shit from anyone. Plus, she wasn't as moony over Elias in this book which I adored.
Laia was a bad ass in her own right. I loved her strength as well. She is a persistent little one, isn't she? The only thing I didn't like about her story line was Keenan. He bugs the hell out of me and has from the beginning. (BTW, I knew there was something shady about him from the beginning.)
Elias is a cinnamon roll too precious for this world. Yes, he can kill people with basically just a look, but damn, he does it well. And he's always looking out for other people before himself. To be honest, he is my second favorite behind the Soul Catcher.
Tas and Bee were adorable and I hated them being hurt.
Darin, holy shit, man. I just feel bad for all of the shit he has gone through. Let's give the guy a break, maybe a cup of tea and some soup and a big warm blanket so he can curl up and sleep for a while.
The story line was well paced, and I really enjoyed it while I was reading it. Not like you could tell with my four month reading spell...but I honestly really enjoyed this book. I am glad we are getting two more after this one!!
Scott Tostik (389 KP) rated Halloween (2018) in Movies
Nov 2, 2018
.....Fuckin comedians
Michael Myers is back.... And this is supposed to be what actually happened... 40 years later???
I'm sorry if any of you disagree with me... But this movie blew....
Don't get le wrong. I love the fact that Jamie Lee is back and more of a badass than i wpuld have ever expected.
But come on...
Denying the fact that almost 40 years worth of mythology happened... Thats a hard sell. Let's do some math as well.
You expect me to believe that Michael is wandering around at 61 years old, after being locked up for 40 years... And he's picking up 200 pound men one handed and crushing their windpipes???
I love the Halloween series of films. Even the Rov Zombie offerings... I love the fact that Rob gave us a back story. You found out why Michael was the way he was...
But this??? This was nothing more than two morons... And yes, I think Danny McBride is an idiot. And he should stick to Vice Principals and Eastbound and Down. And stay the fuck away from horror films.
He should've taken a hint from his lackluster and shitty preformance in Alien Covenant... And leave horror to the pros.
I'm sorry but the only person who should've carried on this franchise was John Carpenter himself... But even he knows that you shouldn't dip your pen in the company ink too many times.
Ignoring the mythology of the films and expecting die hard fans to believe that characters like Jamie Lloyd and Tommy Doyle didn't exist in the history is ludicrous.
Some people enjoyed the sequels and some people didnt. But expecting us to forget forty years of horror history???
Not on your life, comedian.
I'm sorry if any of you disagree with me... But this movie blew....
Don't get le wrong. I love the fact that Jamie Lee is back and more of a badass than i wpuld have ever expected.
But come on...
Denying the fact that almost 40 years worth of mythology happened... Thats a hard sell. Let's do some math as well.
You expect me to believe that Michael is wandering around at 61 years old, after being locked up for 40 years... And he's picking up 200 pound men one handed and crushing their windpipes???
I love the Halloween series of films. Even the Rov Zombie offerings... I love the fact that Rob gave us a back story. You found out why Michael was the way he was...
But this??? This was nothing more than two morons... And yes, I think Danny McBride is an idiot. And he should stick to Vice Principals and Eastbound and Down. And stay the fuck away from horror films.
He should've taken a hint from his lackluster and shitty preformance in Alien Covenant... And leave horror to the pros.
I'm sorry but the only person who should've carried on this franchise was John Carpenter himself... But even he knows that you shouldn't dip your pen in the company ink too many times.
Ignoring the mythology of the films and expecting die hard fans to believe that characters like Jamie Lloyd and Tommy Doyle didn't exist in the history is ludicrous.
Some people enjoyed the sequels and some people didnt. But expecting us to forget forty years of horror history???
Not on your life, comedian.
Tim McGuire (301 KP) rated Some Freaks (2017) in Movies
Dec 24, 2019
178. Some Freaks. A pretty decent little drama about young life, and young love and the way it just kicks you in the fucking balls at times. Meet Matt (played by a guy named Thomas Mann, that I'm pretty sure has been in teen dramas as a teen for the past 20 to 40 years) he has got one eyeball, even wears an eyepatch, pretty badass, but he's in high school, and high schoolers are dicks, and do anything possible to make his life shittier, daily. One day, he gets a new lab partner named Jill, and she goes through her own high school torture because shes overweight. I wouldnt say they hit it off right away, but things click, and they fall in love. Then high school ends. Jill goes off to college and Matt goes to work. 6 months pass and the two plan too meet... All the while the two have secrets to share... He no longer has only one eye, sorta. And Jill worked out like a fiend and shed 50 or so pounds, and of course they both are like wow, and both dig what they're seeing. But Matt also notices other dudes checking out his special lady friend, that wouldnt be so bad, but maybe shes digging the attention too much, or is Matt just a dumbell... Could go either way. It was a really cool flick, does not have the fairy tail ending thats too be expected most of the times... And uh-oh, its filmed in Rhode Island, don't really see to much of it, except they do go to the AS220, and some gorgeous shots of TF Green Airport... I'm just kidding there cant possibly be any gorgeous shots of TF Green lol. Check it out, it was a good drama... Filmbufftim on FB
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Rampage (2018) in Movies
Dec 11, 2019 (Updated Dec 11, 2019)
A stupidly fun pile of nonsense
Rampage is a big old pile of dumb fun, teeming with mostly passable CGI, and featuring The Rock fighting giant monsters.
The plot is something along the lines of - big shady corporation is practicing illegal genetic tinkering (in space, because Hollywood), they lose control, space ship crashes, experimental lab must infects a few animals, including a Gorilla that is looked after and raised by The Rock (an ex military badass zookeeper helicopter pilot, because Hollywood), the animals become big and aggressive, blah blah blah, BIG MONSTERS FIGHTING EACH OTHER AND DWAYNE JOHNSON AND DESTROYING CHICAGO.
It's absolutely absurd from start to finish, but it knows what kind of film it is.
The Rock is hugely likable as always, Jeffery Dean Morgan is likable as always, everyone else I can kind of give it take.
The script is pretty standard for this kind of film, but does verge into laughable at times, especially when the films 'villains' are on screen. Played by Malin Akerman and Jake Lacy, they go just a bit too overboard with the whole evil CEO schtick, to the point of annoyance.
Also, Naomie Harris is in it for some reason, but doesn't really serve much of a purpose, and therefore, is a waste of her talent.
The CGI is pretty decent for the most part, but make no mistake, Ramage is a CGI orgy, and as such, it does fall apart here and there (that parachuting scene is just haunting).
Rampage is stupid, loud, obnoxious, but it's entertaining enough to be a good time.
The Rock holds it all together, and it could have been a lot worse had it been lead by someone else, and as far as video game movies go, it's not half bad.
The plot is something along the lines of - big shady corporation is practicing illegal genetic tinkering (in space, because Hollywood), they lose control, space ship crashes, experimental lab must infects a few animals, including a Gorilla that is looked after and raised by The Rock (an ex military badass zookeeper helicopter pilot, because Hollywood), the animals become big and aggressive, blah blah blah, BIG MONSTERS FIGHTING EACH OTHER AND DWAYNE JOHNSON AND DESTROYING CHICAGO.
It's absolutely absurd from start to finish, but it knows what kind of film it is.
The Rock is hugely likable as always, Jeffery Dean Morgan is likable as always, everyone else I can kind of give it take.
The script is pretty standard for this kind of film, but does verge into laughable at times, especially when the films 'villains' are on screen. Played by Malin Akerman and Jake Lacy, they go just a bit too overboard with the whole evil CEO schtick, to the point of annoyance.
Also, Naomie Harris is in it for some reason, but doesn't really serve much of a purpose, and therefore, is a waste of her talent.
The CGI is pretty decent for the most part, but make no mistake, Ramage is a CGI orgy, and as such, it does fall apart here and there (that parachuting scene is just haunting).
Rampage is stupid, loud, obnoxious, but it's entertaining enough to be a good time.
The Rock holds it all together, and it could have been a lot worse had it been lead by someone else, and as far as video game movies go, it's not half bad.
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