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Joe Goodhart (27 KP) rated DC Universe: Rebirth #1 in Books
Nov 30, 2020
When I still had my physical comic colletion, this had been one of the last ones purchased before making the change over to digital only, selling off the physical copies. That was then, this is now. Long story short, this review is based off of a re-read as part of my "Marvel's Making Some Dumb AF Decisions of Late, Let's Go With DC Instead" Tour!
Let me just say I remember much of it, but it still hit me hard at the end of it! Just lots and lots of SUPER-feels (is that even a word/thing? Oh well, if not, it is now! lol)! Having the story told from Wally West's POV really helped to drive the overall feeling home.
Unfortunately (and this did not necessarily wreck my enjoyment), this re-reading helped to fuel my desire for DOOMSDAY CLOCK to just finish up already! Still not sure on how you can solicit something without it even being close to completely finished! Or better still how Windows 10 can be ready for release, yet every other week there's a new patch or update for it! :S
There was a lot of set-up for what was to come in the DCU, as well as some nods to things past (including WATCHMAN and CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS) and the New 52 (which, for the longest time, I hated with a passion)! You don't have to be a pro at "Where's Waldo?" or even Sherlock Holmes, you just need to be alert and taking in everything with a careful eye.
Speaking of attention to detail... Let me give a shout to all the artists involved in this undertaking: Gary Frank (I love the man's art, but his slowness as far as DOOMSDAY CLOCK is frustrating. Clearly, as this book indicates, he is better at illustrating shorter vignettes, rather than epic 12-issue maxi-series!), Ethan Van Sciver (love or hate, you gotta appreciate his art! Bee-yoo-ti-ful!), Phil Jimenez (always love me some Jimenez pencilling!), and Ivan Reis (never a disappointment). And as important as the artists were, it would be unfair of me not to also acknowledge the inkers and colorists on this: Brad Anderson, Jason Wright, and Joe Prado. So, a big ol' panda-rific round of applause and adulation for the art teams for all their hard work! You guys are all aces!
Over the years, DC has published a more than fair amount of solid events and single issues. Is this the best book they've ever published? I wouldn't go that far, but it a damned good one! And at the end of the day, that's what it really comes down to: whether it's a good or a bad one, hence the name of this pretty cool less-FB-ish social media site! :)
Let me just say I remember much of it, but it still hit me hard at the end of it! Just lots and lots of SUPER-feels (is that even a word/thing? Oh well, if not, it is now! lol)! Having the story told from Wally West's POV really helped to drive the overall feeling home.
Unfortunately (and this did not necessarily wreck my enjoyment), this re-reading helped to fuel my desire for DOOMSDAY CLOCK to just finish up already! Still not sure on how you can solicit something without it even being close to completely finished! Or better still how Windows 10 can be ready for release, yet every other week there's a new patch or update for it! :S
There was a lot of set-up for what was to come in the DCU, as well as some nods to things past (including WATCHMAN and CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS) and the New 52 (which, for the longest time, I hated with a passion)! You don't have to be a pro at "Where's Waldo?" or even Sherlock Holmes, you just need to be alert and taking in everything with a careful eye.
Speaking of attention to detail... Let me give a shout to all the artists involved in this undertaking: Gary Frank (I love the man's art, but his slowness as far as DOOMSDAY CLOCK is frustrating. Clearly, as this book indicates, he is better at illustrating shorter vignettes, rather than epic 12-issue maxi-series!), Ethan Van Sciver (love or hate, you gotta appreciate his art! Bee-yoo-ti-ful!), Phil Jimenez (always love me some Jimenez pencilling!), and Ivan Reis (never a disappointment). And as important as the artists were, it would be unfair of me not to also acknowledge the inkers and colorists on this: Brad Anderson, Jason Wright, and Joe Prado. So, a big ol' panda-rific round of applause and adulation for the art teams for all their hard work! You guys are all aces!
Over the years, DC has published a more than fair amount of solid events and single issues. Is this the best book they've ever published? I wouldn't go that far, but it a damned good one! And at the end of the day, that's what it really comes down to: whether it's a good or a bad one, hence the name of this pretty cool less-FB-ish social media site! :)
Connor Sheffield (293 KP) rated Blackbeard in TV
May 28, 2017
Good cast (1 more)
Decent for a TV miniseries/movie
Not entirely accurate (2 more)
The characters and boats are far too clean
TV effects (or lack of) might spoil some scenes
Somewhat entertaining
So I was on the search for some more Pirate movies at my local DVD stores, in hopes of finding something with the effects of Pirates of the Caribbean, but a more serious plot like that of the Black Sails series. Something that feels more like how the golden age of piracy would seem, not quite as quirky and humorous as the Disney films, although I cannot fault them for they are some of my favourite movies. It was on my search, that I came across this, and my initial thoughts were that whilst it looked cheap, it could be an entertaining film. As it turns out, I discovered this was a TV miniseries, merged into roughly a 162 minute film.
It has some charm, I can say that much for it. The cast are decent with very few famous names, and the acting itself isn't dreadful. However, there seems to be some lacking in the actual filming and editing of the episodes/feature. It has a decent plot which involves a hunt for treasure, a hunt for justice and slight revenge, which makes the viewing, feel like a pirate experience should be, but there still seems to lack the proper visuals to complete the experience.
If you take a look at Pirates of the Caribbean, one aspect that makes those films so darn good is the visuals. The pirates are dirty, rotting teeth, golden teeth, dirty fingernails, and their ships are battle worn with scars in the woodwork and again, the dirt from barnicles, and land. The ships in this feature on the other hand, are the cleanest ships you'll see in a pirate themed show or movie, and they look as if they were freshly made straight from the ship builder themselves. There doesn't appear to be any barnicles clung onto them, nor are there any battle scars, even after you witness a battle in the beginning of the film. The pirates themselves are also clean, all with white teeth as though they visited a dentist and brushed their teeth with colgate or the next best brand. There's not a single sign of scurvy which was popular among pirates during the golden age, and I didn't really spot any scars from battles apart from the obvious ones where you witness a member of Blackbeards crew have part of his leg removed due to injury (you don't see the gruesome imagery, as it's 12 rated series). Other than that though, there no facial scars, no sign to tell us that Blackbeard has fought enough battles and lived through them to become reknowned as a devil instead of a man. We only see what appears to be a couple of weeks of him as a Captain, and yet he claims to already be known as the scurge of the seas, which is highly unlikely given that we only see him battle one ship and spend the rest of his time hunting treasure, never running across another opposing ship until the finale, which sees Blackbeard battle against a crew of Royal Navy soldiers led by Lieutenant Robert Maynard.
Whilst the plot had me intrigued for the most part, I can't say that this is a film I would 'Highly' recommend, but if you fancy watching a pirate movie, this could be somewhat sufficient until you find something else, despite some of the deaths in battle seeming very staged, as sometimes I would notice a sword being shoved theatrically into someones armpit, only for the victim of the blade to fall lifeless to the floor, some holding onto the blade as though left in their body, others being retrieved from the 'corpse' with no visible blood on the blade.
With very historical accuracy's, mostly about the legend of Captain Kidd, hiding treasure, and the title's that Blackbeard earned, before his life was taken by that of Robert Maynard, the location of his death, and some other less important factors, were dramatized for the series alone and should not be taken as historically accurate.
It's a decent film, but it's just not quite what I was hoping for, and certainly not as great as it could have been.
It has some charm, I can say that much for it. The cast are decent with very few famous names, and the acting itself isn't dreadful. However, there seems to be some lacking in the actual filming and editing of the episodes/feature. It has a decent plot which involves a hunt for treasure, a hunt for justice and slight revenge, which makes the viewing, feel like a pirate experience should be, but there still seems to lack the proper visuals to complete the experience.
If you take a look at Pirates of the Caribbean, one aspect that makes those films so darn good is the visuals. The pirates are dirty, rotting teeth, golden teeth, dirty fingernails, and their ships are battle worn with scars in the woodwork and again, the dirt from barnicles, and land. The ships in this feature on the other hand, are the cleanest ships you'll see in a pirate themed show or movie, and they look as if they were freshly made straight from the ship builder themselves. There doesn't appear to be any barnicles clung onto them, nor are there any battle scars, even after you witness a battle in the beginning of the film. The pirates themselves are also clean, all with white teeth as though they visited a dentist and brushed their teeth with colgate or the next best brand. There's not a single sign of scurvy which was popular among pirates during the golden age, and I didn't really spot any scars from battles apart from the obvious ones where you witness a member of Blackbeards crew have part of his leg removed due to injury (you don't see the gruesome imagery, as it's 12 rated series). Other than that though, there no facial scars, no sign to tell us that Blackbeard has fought enough battles and lived through them to become reknowned as a devil instead of a man. We only see what appears to be a couple of weeks of him as a Captain, and yet he claims to already be known as the scurge of the seas, which is highly unlikely given that we only see him battle one ship and spend the rest of his time hunting treasure, never running across another opposing ship until the finale, which sees Blackbeard battle against a crew of Royal Navy soldiers led by Lieutenant Robert Maynard.
Whilst the plot had me intrigued for the most part, I can't say that this is a film I would 'Highly' recommend, but if you fancy watching a pirate movie, this could be somewhat sufficient until you find something else, despite some of the deaths in battle seeming very staged, as sometimes I would notice a sword being shoved theatrically into someones armpit, only for the victim of the blade to fall lifeless to the floor, some holding onto the blade as though left in their body, others being retrieved from the 'corpse' with no visible blood on the blade.
With very historical accuracy's, mostly about the legend of Captain Kidd, hiding treasure, and the title's that Blackbeard earned, before his life was taken by that of Robert Maynard, the location of his death, and some other less important factors, were dramatized for the series alone and should not be taken as historically accurate.
It's a decent film, but it's just not quite what I was hoping for, and certainly not as great as it could have been.
Chris Sawin (602 KP) rated The Legend of Hell House (1973) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
Mr. Rudolph Deutsch has hired Lionel Barrett to investigate a haunted house. This isn't any normal haunted house though. It seems as though anyone who enters the house either leaves the house insane or winds up dead. In addition to Mr Barrett, his wife, Ann Barrett, a mental medium named Florence Tanner, and a physical medium who is also the only survivor of the last team of investigators to visit the house named Benjamin Fischer are all visiting Hell House to try and solve this phenomenon. $100,000 is theirs for the taking if they can do it within a week, but will they be able to survive what's caged inside Hell House? Emeric Belasco, a self-proclaimed genius ahead of his time, may have other plans.
The Legend of Hell House isn't your average horror film about paranormal activity. I'll be up front with you right now, I'm not a big fan of movies about ghosts. I'm just not. I've come across a few that were decent, but I didn't think they were anything special or I just wound up not liking them at all. I actually liked this a lot more than I thought I would. The film isn't heavy on blood, gore, or cheap scares. In fact, more often than not, the scares come from what you don't see rather than what you actually do.
The acting is definitely a strong point in the film. The entire cast has their moments of brilliance during the insanity Hell House is putting them through, but Roddy McDowall is the actor who stands out amonst the rest. His performance just seems to outshine everyone else and he steals just about every scene he's in. There's a scene in the film where he starts screaming and falls to the floor in a seizure like maneuver that reminded me a lot of some of the scenes with Bruce Campbell in Evil Dead. The explanation was that he was blocking himself off from the house since he had been there before. As a physical medium, he was basically putting up walls to defend himself from the house this time around. And in this scene, I guess he tried lowering his guard for a bit and...this happened. The speeches he gives though, his facial expressions and body language, and cold tone. It's weird, but a guy that you look at at the beginning of the film and say to yourself that you're going to hate him because he looks smarmy and only really cares about himself winds up being the highlight of the film.
Another aspect of the film I really enjoyed were the special effects of the film. There's no CGI or anything, but the effects in the film are done very well. There's a scene where Ms. Tanner looks into her bedroom and sees someone lying under the covers in her bed and when she lifts up the covers, you can't see anyone but the door opens and slams like someone was getting up and leaving. It was just done very well. The effects like that were done very well. There are a few that look cheesy(cat in the shower scene, anyone?), but overall they look very good given how old the film is.
The plot was surprising, as well. I wasn't expecting anything really original or anything, but the fact that science is involved so heavily in trying rid the house of its supernatural presence was not only interesting, but a breath of fresh air compared to other methods I would've expected based on other films.
I think it's safe to say that The Legend of Hell House is one of the best haunted house films ever made and the best one I've seen as of this review. It probably isn't the type of horror film for gorehounds or if you're looking for a bloodfest. It's more of a paranormal film with a slight psychological twist. The acting is top notch and the story is a bit more clever than you may give it credit for at first glance.
The Legend of Hell House isn't your average horror film about paranormal activity. I'll be up front with you right now, I'm not a big fan of movies about ghosts. I'm just not. I've come across a few that were decent, but I didn't think they were anything special or I just wound up not liking them at all. I actually liked this a lot more than I thought I would. The film isn't heavy on blood, gore, or cheap scares. In fact, more often than not, the scares come from what you don't see rather than what you actually do.
The acting is definitely a strong point in the film. The entire cast has their moments of brilliance during the insanity Hell House is putting them through, but Roddy McDowall is the actor who stands out amonst the rest. His performance just seems to outshine everyone else and he steals just about every scene he's in. There's a scene in the film where he starts screaming and falls to the floor in a seizure like maneuver that reminded me a lot of some of the scenes with Bruce Campbell in Evil Dead. The explanation was that he was blocking himself off from the house since he had been there before. As a physical medium, he was basically putting up walls to defend himself from the house this time around. And in this scene, I guess he tried lowering his guard for a bit and...this happened. The speeches he gives though, his facial expressions and body language, and cold tone. It's weird, but a guy that you look at at the beginning of the film and say to yourself that you're going to hate him because he looks smarmy and only really cares about himself winds up being the highlight of the film.
Another aspect of the film I really enjoyed were the special effects of the film. There's no CGI or anything, but the effects in the film are done very well. There's a scene where Ms. Tanner looks into her bedroom and sees someone lying under the covers in her bed and when she lifts up the covers, you can't see anyone but the door opens and slams like someone was getting up and leaving. It was just done very well. The effects like that were done very well. There are a few that look cheesy(cat in the shower scene, anyone?), but overall they look very good given how old the film is.
The plot was surprising, as well. I wasn't expecting anything really original or anything, but the fact that science is involved so heavily in trying rid the house of its supernatural presence was not only interesting, but a breath of fresh air compared to other methods I would've expected based on other films.
I think it's safe to say that The Legend of Hell House is one of the best haunted house films ever made and the best one I've seen as of this review. It probably isn't the type of horror film for gorehounds or if you're looking for a bloodfest. It's more of a paranormal film with a slight psychological twist. The acting is top notch and the story is a bit more clever than you may give it credit for at first glance.
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Mindhunter - Season 1 in TV
Oct 15, 2017 (Updated Oct 15, 2017)
A sum total of nothing
Totally disappointed with this series. It's slow and at times seems completely pointless. The premise sounds fantastic - two behavioural psychologists set up a team within the FBI to establish the first idea of serial killers, finding patterns in speech and action from notorious convicts such as Edmund Kemper and Richard Speck, in order to create a pioneering guide into forensic psychology. It is based on the true crime book Mind Hunter: Inside The FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit written by Mark Olshaker and John E. Douglas.
The series is produced by David Fincher and Charlize Theron, so you would hope for something rather spectacular. Alas, it just completely falls short, each episode seems to just waste away into nothingness and the only thread there is, is the irritating behaviour of the main character who seems to be an arrogant narcissist himself and seems to completely unravel by the end of the series.
There's also a mysterious character throughout the series that doesn't come to fruition so you're left literally scratching your head wondering why the hell he was used in the first place. The acting is the only part where I can say, without a doubt, is extraordinary but that's it.
The series is produced by David Fincher and Charlize Theron, so you would hope for something rather spectacular. Alas, it just completely falls short, each episode seems to just waste away into nothingness and the only thread there is, is the irritating behaviour of the main character who seems to be an arrogant narcissist himself and seems to completely unravel by the end of the series.
There's also a mysterious character throughout the series that doesn't come to fruition so you're left literally scratching your head wondering why the hell he was used in the first place. The acting is the only part where I can say, without a doubt, is extraordinary but that's it.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Cats (2019) in Movies
Dec 24, 2019
Here's where I wrinkle my nose up at the Smashbomb scoring system - Cats isn't so much 'shoddy' as - well, it's such a particularly strange film that it's actually quite hard to tell whether it's any good or not. My instinct is to say not: a selection of character actors, comedians and musical theatre stars are CGI'd into human-animal hybrids like something out of The Island of Dr Moreau and hoof and yowl their way through a selection of TS Eliot's comic poems set to music. The plot does a good impression of being absolute gibberish, as the singing cat-people compete to get sent off to the bit of the sky that radio waves bounce off where they will receive a new life, while Idris Elba schemes to rig the contest. It's just weird.
Alternatively, this is a quasi-Lovecraftian surreal Arabesque which, fatally, fails to consider the difference between presentational and representational performance modes inherent in the transference of a narrative between theatrical and cinematic contexts. (i.e., people dressed as singing cats in a theatre can be beautiful and moving; people CGI'd into singing cats in a big-budget movie is more disturbing than anything else.) Jennifer Hudson's maximum-Streep, maximum-volume onslaught on 'Memory' made me want to hide under my seat.
Alternatively, this is a quasi-Lovecraftian surreal Arabesque which, fatally, fails to consider the difference between presentational and representational performance modes inherent in the transference of a narrative between theatrical and cinematic contexts. (i.e., people dressed as singing cats in a theatre can be beautiful and moving; people CGI'd into singing cats in a big-budget movie is more disturbing than anything else.) Jennifer Hudson's maximum-Streep, maximum-volume onslaught on 'Memory' made me want to hide under my seat.
Running Like a Girl
Book
"If you've ever wept, "Why Do I Want To Run?" your answer is here". (Caitlin Moran). Alexandra...
Hot Feminist
Book
Hot (adj.) : (Of a person) Attractive 'a hot chick' Fem-i-n-ist (n.) : A person who supports...
Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat: A Calvin and Hobbes Collection
10.0
Rate It
Book
Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat chronicles another segment of the multifarious adventures of this wild...
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Yin and the Yang of Mr. Go (1970) in Movies
Dec 9, 2020
'It'll make you think of Dr No!' promises the poster for this almost indescribable comedy-thriller written and directed by Burgess Meredith. It didn't make me think of Dr No: it made me think of what it must be like to take hallucinogenic drugs while suffering from a bad case of the flu. The details of the plot are almost enough to defeat the English language - suffice to say that the key turning point in the story comes when the Buddha (who also narrates the story) uses his mystic powers to turn villainous Chinese-Mexican Mr Go (James Mason - yes, it's James Mason trying to play a Chinese-Mexican) into a benevolent philanthropist.
It's not just that the film is bizarre and incoherent, with plenty of gratuitous nudity, and European actors cheerfully playing Asian characters: it's also that the production values are incredibly primitive. It's almost like watching pornography without the sex (or so I would imagine). Not one element of this film is robust enough to elevate it into 'so bad it's funny' territory. It's just bad. That said, Jeff Bridges made his film debut in it, which presumably goes to show that even the least promising starts can lead to a distinguished career. But even so - for masochists and the troubled only.
It's not just that the film is bizarre and incoherent, with plenty of gratuitous nudity, and European actors cheerfully playing Asian characters: it's also that the production values are incredibly primitive. It's almost like watching pornography without the sex (or so I would imagine). Not one element of this film is robust enough to elevate it into 'so bad it's funny' territory. It's just bad. That said, Jeff Bridges made his film debut in it, which presumably goes to show that even the least promising starts can lead to a distinguished career. But even so - for masochists and the troubled only.
Mad Bullets
Games and Entertainment
App
THE BEST RAIL SHOOTER ON THE APP STORE! Mad Bullets, the wackiest shooter will put your reflexes...