Search
Search results
Bible Maps by Olive Tree
Reference and Book
App
Bible+ Maps by Olive Tree is a must-have app for reading and studying God’s Holy Word. Take notes,...
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Watchmen - Season 1 in TV
Dec 26, 2019 (Updated Dec 27, 2019)
Pretty much perfect
Watchmen, in my opinion, is one of the best, if not the best graphic novels ever released. It's neon lit alternate reality setting and it's collection of jaded, flawed, and sometimes toxic characters were a far cry from usual comic book territory.
I was absolutely buzzing when I heard that HBO were going to be airing a series based on the property. A series would have more room to breathe and for exploration than the movie (that I still like, for the record). When it became apparent that it would be set some time after the comic, I was honestly a bit miffed. I was looking forward to seeing Rorschach and Co on the small screen...
But it turns out, I had no reason to be worried. Watchmen is outstanding through and through.
Plot wise, it's set in present day, and maintains the events of the comic in the 1980s. The world we're presented with is a world still feeling the effects from the mass killing via giant squid monster from the comic. A world where the police cover their faces to protect their identities. A world where racism is still rife and peddled by a white supremacist group calling themselves The Seventh Cavalry, a group that happen to wear Rorschach masks.
It's set mainly in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and it's distance from the neon New York setting of the comic gives it a more realistic feeling.
Angela Abar, aka Sister Night (Regina King), is heading the investigation into the Cavalry, and when things start to spiral out of control, the FBI send Laurie Blake (Jean Smart) - the retired Silk Spectre - to Tulsa to take over proceedings and figure out what's really happening behind the scenes.
To discuss the plot anymore than this would be spoiling it, but rest assured, after a fairly slow burning start, Watchmen quickly hits an ascending slope of quality that doesn't waver, and when concrete connections to the comic come out to play, the show hits some extremely lofty heights.
The cast are all brilliant. Regina King takes centre stage, and she manages to be badass, relatable, and sympathetic. Her relationship with her husband Cal (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is one of the best character elements throughout.
Characters that could be described more as 'side characters' played by the likes of Tim Blake Nelson, Louis Gossett Jr, James Woke, and Hong Chau (just to name a few), all end up with surprisingly strong development.
As for the characters from the original comic, we have the aforementioned Laurie Blake played by Jean Smart, and Adrian Veidt aka Ozymandius played by Jeremy Irons.
Jeremy Irons is a undoubtable highlight of the whole series. His portrayal of an older Veidt is pretty spot on, and his plot line is equal parts bizarre and humorous.
As seen from the trailers, Dr. Manhattan has a part to play here as well, but again, no spoilers here. Just have a look for yourself. It's great.
As the narrative jumps around and steams ahead, Watchmen still manages to touch on important subjects, such as war, family, and especially that of race and racism. There are some powerful moments littered throughout, and some genuinely emotional scenes that had me tearing up at times.
The direction and dialogue are brilliant, and the use of digital effects are mostly subtle and look great. The whole season is filled to the brim with amazing shots.
The music score is great as well, especially the original stuff, penned by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Reznor's distinctive industrial sound suits the series down to the ground.
I absolutely loved Watchmen from start to finish. It's shows consistent willingness to do something new and it's a hugely ambitious project that's pulled off so damn well. I really hope that a second season comes about, but if it doesn't, then I'm suitably satisfied by what we've already been given. Just fantastic.
I was absolutely buzzing when I heard that HBO were going to be airing a series based on the property. A series would have more room to breathe and for exploration than the movie (that I still like, for the record). When it became apparent that it would be set some time after the comic, I was honestly a bit miffed. I was looking forward to seeing Rorschach and Co on the small screen...
But it turns out, I had no reason to be worried. Watchmen is outstanding through and through.
Plot wise, it's set in present day, and maintains the events of the comic in the 1980s. The world we're presented with is a world still feeling the effects from the mass killing via giant squid monster from the comic. A world where the police cover their faces to protect their identities. A world where racism is still rife and peddled by a white supremacist group calling themselves The Seventh Cavalry, a group that happen to wear Rorschach masks.
It's set mainly in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and it's distance from the neon New York setting of the comic gives it a more realistic feeling.
Angela Abar, aka Sister Night (Regina King), is heading the investigation into the Cavalry, and when things start to spiral out of control, the FBI send Laurie Blake (Jean Smart) - the retired Silk Spectre - to Tulsa to take over proceedings and figure out what's really happening behind the scenes.
To discuss the plot anymore than this would be spoiling it, but rest assured, after a fairly slow burning start, Watchmen quickly hits an ascending slope of quality that doesn't waver, and when concrete connections to the comic come out to play, the show hits some extremely lofty heights.
The cast are all brilliant. Regina King takes centre stage, and she manages to be badass, relatable, and sympathetic. Her relationship with her husband Cal (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is one of the best character elements throughout.
Characters that could be described more as 'side characters' played by the likes of Tim Blake Nelson, Louis Gossett Jr, James Woke, and Hong Chau (just to name a few), all end up with surprisingly strong development.
As for the characters from the original comic, we have the aforementioned Laurie Blake played by Jean Smart, and Adrian Veidt aka Ozymandius played by Jeremy Irons.
Jeremy Irons is a undoubtable highlight of the whole series. His portrayal of an older Veidt is pretty spot on, and his plot line is equal parts bizarre and humorous.
As seen from the trailers, Dr. Manhattan has a part to play here as well, but again, no spoilers here. Just have a look for yourself. It's great.
As the narrative jumps around and steams ahead, Watchmen still manages to touch on important subjects, such as war, family, and especially that of race and racism. There are some powerful moments littered throughout, and some genuinely emotional scenes that had me tearing up at times.
The direction and dialogue are brilliant, and the use of digital effects are mostly subtle and look great. The whole season is filled to the brim with amazing shots.
The music score is great as well, especially the original stuff, penned by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Reznor's distinctive industrial sound suits the series down to the ground.
I absolutely loved Watchmen from start to finish. It's shows consistent willingness to do something new and it's a hugely ambitious project that's pulled off so damn well. I really hope that a second season comes about, but if it doesn't, then I'm suitably satisfied by what we've already been given. Just fantastic.
Tiggly Chef Addition: Preschool Math Cooking Game
Education and Games
App
This is a math learning app, which will help your child learn addition, and represent addition...
Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Alita: Battle Angel (2019) in Movies
Jan 22, 2021
Robert Rodriguez is not a good director. He isn’t an especially good writer or producer either. This is the guy responsible for four Spy Kids films, that start below average and downgrade exponentially into excruciatingly awful. What he is pretty good at is ideas, and seeing the potential of something visually arresting and exciting. That is what led to the success of Sin City, arguably his best effort to date, because he saw how the comic book creations of Frank Miller could become live action and he made it happen.
Alita: Battle Angel is a similar deal. This time Yukito Kishiro’s early 90s manga creation is the inspiration. With James Cameron as producer, and the considerable talents of Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly and Mahershala Ali onboard, it would have been pretty hard for even Rodriguez to mess this up entirely. Although at times he does seem to try, mostly by doing too much and making certain sections too busy and too confusingly cross-genre, like he is frantically trying to colour within the lines whilst using every felt-tip in the pack. A habit that means every now and again something great happens, but you may have missed it in all the background noise.
Compare this film, that just falls short of qualifying for my Bad Movie Triple Bill list, to Spielberg’s superior yet similarly busy Ready Player One. Both involve high concept future realities that are very tech and AI driven. Both make extensive use of CGI and vivid colour palettes. Both are frenetic and demand an audience pays attention in order to fully appreciate the storyline. The difference is that one zig-zags back and forth in tone and momentum, and one is razor sharp in moving us from one idea to the next on a perfect learning curve towards a satisfying climax and conclusion. Guess which one is which? This is why Spielberg is Spielberg and Rodriguez is… a hack.
That said, Alita as a character and concept is charming, and you do therefore find yourself at least wanting to discover her story. The action scenes are also quite electric, and the visuals are often breath-taking. But the whole is less than the sum of the parts here, and we are left with something that can only really exist in the same box as dozens of admirable sci-fi B-movies aimed at teenagers, such as The Maze Runner, Mortal Engines and The City of Ember. It also continues to prove the point alongside Ghost in the Shell and Speed Racer that Anime / Manga into live action is a very tricky business.
There is definitely an audience out there for this movie, and I dare say at some point I will be tempted to give it another watch. What is definitely worth watching however, is how James Cameron uses this as a stepping stone to perfecting virtual humans on the big screen. I am sure everyone involved learned a lot in that respect, so all is far from lost.
Alita: Battle Angel is a similar deal. This time Yukito Kishiro’s early 90s manga creation is the inspiration. With James Cameron as producer, and the considerable talents of Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly and Mahershala Ali onboard, it would have been pretty hard for even Rodriguez to mess this up entirely. Although at times he does seem to try, mostly by doing too much and making certain sections too busy and too confusingly cross-genre, like he is frantically trying to colour within the lines whilst using every felt-tip in the pack. A habit that means every now and again something great happens, but you may have missed it in all the background noise.
Compare this film, that just falls short of qualifying for my Bad Movie Triple Bill list, to Spielberg’s superior yet similarly busy Ready Player One. Both involve high concept future realities that are very tech and AI driven. Both make extensive use of CGI and vivid colour palettes. Both are frenetic and demand an audience pays attention in order to fully appreciate the storyline. The difference is that one zig-zags back and forth in tone and momentum, and one is razor sharp in moving us from one idea to the next on a perfect learning curve towards a satisfying climax and conclusion. Guess which one is which? This is why Spielberg is Spielberg and Rodriguez is… a hack.
That said, Alita as a character and concept is charming, and you do therefore find yourself at least wanting to discover her story. The action scenes are also quite electric, and the visuals are often breath-taking. But the whole is less than the sum of the parts here, and we are left with something that can only really exist in the same box as dozens of admirable sci-fi B-movies aimed at teenagers, such as The Maze Runner, Mortal Engines and The City of Ember. It also continues to prove the point alongside Ghost in the Shell and Speed Racer that Anime / Manga into live action is a very tricky business.
There is definitely an audience out there for this movie, and I dare say at some point I will be tempted to give it another watch. What is definitely worth watching however, is how James Cameron uses this as a stepping stone to perfecting virtual humans on the big screen. I am sure everyone involved learned a lot in that respect, so all is far from lost.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Breakthrough (2019) in Movies
Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)
The fact that this film is based on a true story is incredible to think about. I haven't read the book that was written by the boy's mother or read about the actual incident and events online, I'm not sure I want to. I usually like finding out the differences to the actual stories but I wonder if in this instance it might make me change the way I feel about the film.
John is off with his friends having fun, and what's more fun than playing out on a frozen lake? By the time they hear the crack it's too late, the three boys go under. With the emergency services on their way it's a countdown to rescuing them. Two of them have their head above water, but John, knocked unconscious while trying to help his friend out of the water, is sinking. When water rescue appears it may already be too late. They take the search slowly, but John could be anywhere, it's almost certainly too late. Tommy is about to call an end to the search when he hears someone telling him to go back, and there he is.
Rushed to the hospital, the doctors and staff work on trying to bring him back, but as the time elapses there is nothing to do but continue until his family arrive. Joyce, his mother, is devastated and not willing to accept that it's the end... and she prays, asking god to save her son... the monitor beeps to life.
Everywhere I see descriptions of this it says "christian drama". I honestly don't see that the word "christian" needs to be in there. Sure, Joyce prays a fair bit, and their pastor is in it a lot too, but it's still just a drama about something miraculous happening.
By far the best performance for me was Chrissy Metz. Joyce comes across as a very determined woman in everything that she does, and Metz really makes that stand out. From the happiness to the heartbreak, it's all believeable, which sometimes doesn't happen with films that are based on true stories.
I enjoyed Mike Colter as Tommy too. As a non-religious man trying to deal with what happened to him, and what he sees happening to John, the thought process was clear on his face and I liked how he visually interacted with those around him in those moments.
By far the strongest scene for me was the one I mentioned above in the hospital. I think it's always quite challenging to create something that has an impact on the viewer when they already know what the outcome is going to be. In this instance we already know that John doesn't die, we just don't know how the situation is remedied. The hospital staff have left the room and Joyce is with her son, she doesn't want to accept what's before her eyes. We cut between her and the staff outside in the hall in what builds up to an incredible moment. The staff reacting to Joyce as she wails in pain is something that was just stuck in my chest, I could really feel it.
While some are saying that Breakthrough is a christian film, but personally it feels more like a film about community. It's about family, about friends, about everyone around us. It also captures some of the things you have to deal with in these situations. Although fleeting at the end of the film, we see John coming to terms with the fact he survived, his miracle is hard to take for other people and they feel like they need answers, but from where? Him?
Everything about the film felt thoughtful and real, even though some bits felt a little cramped at times. By that I mean they clearly wanted to show the "negativity" and realistic thinking of those around John, he didn't have good odds and everyone would be talking about that. But getting that in felt a little cluttered with everything else going on.
I enjoyed this "christian" film, or as I like to call it "film". I spent a significant amount of time with my sleeves pressed up under my eyes, and when the doctors on screen were telling people to breathe I was doing it to recover. It's not a pushy film, I didn't feel the urge to go and join a congregation after watching it, it's just a wonderful reminder that miracles can happen, and while you wait for them there will be people all around you for support even when you don't expect it.
What you should do
It may not be a film to watch for some, I imagine the content may bring back memories that are difficult, but if you're up to it then it's well worth a watch.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
Just a smidge of Joyce's determination would be good.
John is off with his friends having fun, and what's more fun than playing out on a frozen lake? By the time they hear the crack it's too late, the three boys go under. With the emergency services on their way it's a countdown to rescuing them. Two of them have their head above water, but John, knocked unconscious while trying to help his friend out of the water, is sinking. When water rescue appears it may already be too late. They take the search slowly, but John could be anywhere, it's almost certainly too late. Tommy is about to call an end to the search when he hears someone telling him to go back, and there he is.
Rushed to the hospital, the doctors and staff work on trying to bring him back, but as the time elapses there is nothing to do but continue until his family arrive. Joyce, his mother, is devastated and not willing to accept that it's the end... and she prays, asking god to save her son... the monitor beeps to life.
Everywhere I see descriptions of this it says "christian drama". I honestly don't see that the word "christian" needs to be in there. Sure, Joyce prays a fair bit, and their pastor is in it a lot too, but it's still just a drama about something miraculous happening.
By far the best performance for me was Chrissy Metz. Joyce comes across as a very determined woman in everything that she does, and Metz really makes that stand out. From the happiness to the heartbreak, it's all believeable, which sometimes doesn't happen with films that are based on true stories.
I enjoyed Mike Colter as Tommy too. As a non-religious man trying to deal with what happened to him, and what he sees happening to John, the thought process was clear on his face and I liked how he visually interacted with those around him in those moments.
By far the strongest scene for me was the one I mentioned above in the hospital. I think it's always quite challenging to create something that has an impact on the viewer when they already know what the outcome is going to be. In this instance we already know that John doesn't die, we just don't know how the situation is remedied. The hospital staff have left the room and Joyce is with her son, she doesn't want to accept what's before her eyes. We cut between her and the staff outside in the hall in what builds up to an incredible moment. The staff reacting to Joyce as she wails in pain is something that was just stuck in my chest, I could really feel it.
While some are saying that Breakthrough is a christian film, but personally it feels more like a film about community. It's about family, about friends, about everyone around us. It also captures some of the things you have to deal with in these situations. Although fleeting at the end of the film, we see John coming to terms with the fact he survived, his miracle is hard to take for other people and they feel like they need answers, but from where? Him?
Everything about the film felt thoughtful and real, even though some bits felt a little cramped at times. By that I mean they clearly wanted to show the "negativity" and realistic thinking of those around John, he didn't have good odds and everyone would be talking about that. But getting that in felt a little cluttered with everything else going on.
I enjoyed this "christian" film, or as I like to call it "film". I spent a significant amount of time with my sleeves pressed up under my eyes, and when the doctors on screen were telling people to breathe I was doing it to recover. It's not a pushy film, I didn't feel the urge to go and join a congregation after watching it, it's just a wonderful reminder that miracles can happen, and while you wait for them there will be people all around you for support even when you don't expect it.
What you should do
It may not be a film to watch for some, I imagine the content may bring back memories that are difficult, but if you're up to it then it's well worth a watch.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
Just a smidge of Joyce's determination would be good.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
This isn't a bad film all in all, it certainly fills a more traditional (?) magical gap in recent releases.
The best thing about The House With A Clock In Its Walls is definitely Cate Blanchett, she plays eccentric beautifully in this one and I don't think there were any of her scenes that I wasn't fond of. She bounces well with Jack Black, and their little moments of bickering are amusing and express their playful friendship really well.
Jack Black is very, well, Jack Black in this. He's a good comedic actor, but his roles are always quite similar in ways. That's not a negative thing as such, I like that he's consistent and you know you'll enjoy his performance.
We've been blessed with some great performances from kids in films recently, Shuya Sophia Cai as Meiying in The Meg and Jacob Tremblay as Rory McKenna in The Predator, were both brilliant in their roles and were blessed with some great scenes and lines. Owen Vaccaro in this portrayed the awkward Lewis with conviction and was on point for what the film set out for him, but what he was given was on par with the film as a whole. It was good, but it didn't have any oomph behind it.
The story itself seemed to be jogging along nicely in the background, but I'm always left wondering about the baddie reveals. Would the film have felt better if there was less lead up and more of the spooky bad guy moments? I'm honestly not sure, but he seemed to appear and then disappear in a puff of smoke. I wonder how much screen time he had in total?
I will say this... I don't ever need to see "baby" Jack Black ever again. It was creepy, the graphics were horrendous and it was completely inaccurate to the events that were about to unfold, as was evident with the rest of the town who we see experiencing the same thing.
Based on the book The House With A Clock In It's Walls by John Bellairs.
What should you do?
It's not a bad family film to go and see if you've got a couple of hours to spare.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
Having the magic would be too cliché, I'd like a topiary winged lion please.
The best thing about The House With A Clock In Its Walls is definitely Cate Blanchett, she plays eccentric beautifully in this one and I don't think there were any of her scenes that I wasn't fond of. She bounces well with Jack Black, and their little moments of bickering are amusing and express their playful friendship really well.
Jack Black is very, well, Jack Black in this. He's a good comedic actor, but his roles are always quite similar in ways. That's not a negative thing as such, I like that he's consistent and you know you'll enjoy his performance.
We've been blessed with some great performances from kids in films recently, Shuya Sophia Cai as Meiying in The Meg and Jacob Tremblay as Rory McKenna in The Predator, were both brilliant in their roles and were blessed with some great scenes and lines. Owen Vaccaro in this portrayed the awkward Lewis with conviction and was on point for what the film set out for him, but what he was given was on par with the film as a whole. It was good, but it didn't have any oomph behind it.
The story itself seemed to be jogging along nicely in the background, but I'm always left wondering about the baddie reveals. Would the film have felt better if there was less lead up and more of the spooky bad guy moments? I'm honestly not sure, but he seemed to appear and then disappear in a puff of smoke. I wonder how much screen time he had in total?
I will say this... I don't ever need to see "baby" Jack Black ever again. It was creepy, the graphics were horrendous and it was completely inaccurate to the events that were about to unfold, as was evident with the rest of the town who we see experiencing the same thing.
Based on the book The House With A Clock In It's Walls by John Bellairs.
What should you do?
It's not a bad family film to go and see if you've got a couple of hours to spare.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
Having the magic would be too cliché, I'd like a topiary winged lion please.
On the Road
8.5
Rate It
Book
Five decades after it was first published, Jack Kerouac's seminal Beat novel On the Road finally...
ShuBook 2P
Book and Productivity
App
ShuBook 2P supercedes our popular first-generation app ShuBook and ShuBook SE in all functional and...
UK Car Driving Theory Test
Education and Reference
App
Official and latest theory test revision questions to prepare your theory test. For iPhone, iPad and...
A Brief Guide to Agatha Christie
6.0
Rate It
Book
Agatha Christie's 80 novels and short-story collections have sold over 2 billion copies in more than...