The Royals: Masters of War
Book
* The year is 1940. As the Blitz destroys London and kills thousands, the Royal Family looks on. But...
Screamers (1996)
6.8
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Movie Watch
The year is 2078. The man is rebel Alliance Commander Col. Joseph Hendricksson (Peter Weller),...
Child Behind The Wall
8.0
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Book
4 a.m. on the outskirts of London A police squad descend swiftly on a house, eager to exploit the...
Kill the Angel
9.0
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Book
When a high-speed train from Milan draws into the station in Rome with a carriage full of dead...
Dean (6926 KP) rated Halloween Kills (2021) in Movies
Nov 1, 2021
There isn't a great deal of depth to the story as such but Michael is one lethal killing machine. The scene when faced with a whole fire crew is pure carnage. A little sub plot of the town coming together as a mob to tackle Michael was a bit silly. By the end you know Michael is pure evil and sets up for Halloween Ends next year.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) in Movies
Oct 7, 2021
The sequel to the surprisingly well made - and well acted - 2018 VENOM that introduced audiences to the (sometimes) villain, (sometimes) anti-hero, VENOM and the human/symbiot that he has bonded to (it makes sense in the first film) - this sequel looks and feels like a quick “money-grab” that is keeping this character “warm” for bigger things (I hope) down the road.
Directed by famed motion capture expert, Andy Serkis, VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE feels like a movie that was directed by a Special FX veteran for this film is long on special effects and short on what makes a film work - plot and character.
And that’s too bad for the 2018 VENOM film was a surprise in that while it had it’s CGI moments (and plenty of them), it also had interesting plot and characters and took full advantage of two of the better actors working today - Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams.
The sequel looked promising enough as both Hardy and Williams were back and Woody Harrelson was cast as the main villain (with Naomi Harris along as the villain’s sidekick) so some of the ingredients were there for a quality sequel.
Unfortunately, this sequel leaned heavily into the CGI-ness of the first film and made the CGI Alien Venom the focal point of the story, relegating the humans to the back. No actor was pushed further to the back than Williams who was stuck with a weak “damsel in distress” arc while Harrelson and Harris take turns over-acting the other making their pair of villains some of the weakest in recent comic-book movies memory.
And then there is the performance of Hardy as Eddie Brock. He is sleepwalking his way through this film, looking like he has very little interest in what is going on and just wants to grab his paycheck and get home.
Some of these sins could be forgiven if the CGI elements - and the battles between Venom and Carnage - are interesting. Unfortunately, they just are not - they are “fine”, but nothing interesting or original, so this film is destined to get washed off the shore (and memory) as quickly as a sandcastle is washed away on a beach.
If you are going to check out this flick, make sure you stay for the “end credits” scene (which is only, thankfully, about 2 minutes into the credits), it is the best part of this film.
Letter Grade: C+
5 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
The Sinner (Rizzoli & Isles, #3)
8.2
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Book
Not even the icy temperatures of a typical New England winter can match the bone-chilling scene of...
Rasputin's Shadow
Book
From the bestselling author of THE LAST TEMPLAR, an action-packed adventure thriller of an ancient...