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Under Pressure
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Imagine a world without natural light, where you can barely stand up straight for fear of knocking...
Darren (1599 KP) rated 22 Bullets (2013) in Movies
Jul 2, 2019
Story: 22 Bullets starts when retired Mafia godfather Charly Mattei (Reno) is ambushed by multiply gun man who riddle his body with bullets, 22 in his body and somehow, he survives the attack. The man behind the attack Tony Zacchia (Merad) wants the job finished so he can take the control he wants over the business, while detective Marie Goldman (Fois) has her own scores to settle with Mafia who were behind her husband’s and fellow cops’ death.
Charly brings his trusted friends back together to go into a full-blown war with Tony which see the bodies piling up, until he can get his hands-on Tony himself.
Characters – Charly Mattei is the retired Mafia godfather that walked away from the business with strict rules on how it will continue, he gets left for dead by the new boss who wants to play by his own rules. Now the bear has been poked he will seek revenge on everyone who tried to eliminate him, no matter how many bodies get left in his way, he knows this is the only way to keep his family safe. Tony Zacchia has taken over the business, he doesn’t want to play by the same rules though, he needs to take care of Charly before changing the rules and after that attempts fails, he starts to throw waves of men as Charly to finish the job. Martin is the closest friend to Charly, he will help make the connections to who else was involved in the assassination attempt. Marie Goldman is a cop that lost her husband to the Mafia, she has wanted to take them down for years now and this will be her best chance after she get put in the middle of the blood war.
Performances – Jean Reno is fantastic in the leading role of the film, he brings back the type of performance we saw in Leon where he is the cold-hearted killer with the heart of gold. Kad Merad, Jean-Pierre Darroussin are both good in the supporting role, though it can be easy to mix the two up. Marina Fios is good as the detective trying to get to the bottom of everything with her own tragic back past.
Story – The story here follows a former Mafia Godfather that goes on a revenge mission against the new godfather after he failed to have his assassinated bring France into a battle for power between the two leading sides in the war. This does play out like a revenge thriller with plenty of bullets, we have seen this done most recently with John Wick and this follows the same tone and body numbers you would be seeing in this one. The added side story of the cop wanting to final takedown the person who killed her husband adds to everything making this feel like a three-way war between the sides. The does play out how you would imagine which is great to see and the story doesn’t hold back either.
Action/Crime – The action is brutal when it comes to the bullet wound, even if certain moments can become overkill when it comes to the bullets flying. The crime world shown gives us an insight into the world in and out of the world with people wanting out or control.
Settings – The film is set in Marseille which shows us a new type of city for a crime film to take place in, we have all the locations you would imagine for a Mafia film.
Scene of the Movie – Dinner meeting.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Sometimes overkill.
Final Thoughts – This is an enjoyable action revenge thriller, that puts Jean Reno front and centre on a bloody rampage, one well worth watching for the action fans.
Overall: Enjoyable Action Film.
Charly brings his trusted friends back together to go into a full-blown war with Tony which see the bodies piling up, until he can get his hands-on Tony himself.
Characters – Charly Mattei is the retired Mafia godfather that walked away from the business with strict rules on how it will continue, he gets left for dead by the new boss who wants to play by his own rules. Now the bear has been poked he will seek revenge on everyone who tried to eliminate him, no matter how many bodies get left in his way, he knows this is the only way to keep his family safe. Tony Zacchia has taken over the business, he doesn’t want to play by the same rules though, he needs to take care of Charly before changing the rules and after that attempts fails, he starts to throw waves of men as Charly to finish the job. Martin is the closest friend to Charly, he will help make the connections to who else was involved in the assassination attempt. Marie Goldman is a cop that lost her husband to the Mafia, she has wanted to take them down for years now and this will be her best chance after she get put in the middle of the blood war.
Performances – Jean Reno is fantastic in the leading role of the film, he brings back the type of performance we saw in Leon where he is the cold-hearted killer with the heart of gold. Kad Merad, Jean-Pierre Darroussin are both good in the supporting role, though it can be easy to mix the two up. Marina Fios is good as the detective trying to get to the bottom of everything with her own tragic back past.
Story – The story here follows a former Mafia Godfather that goes on a revenge mission against the new godfather after he failed to have his assassinated bring France into a battle for power between the two leading sides in the war. This does play out like a revenge thriller with plenty of bullets, we have seen this done most recently with John Wick and this follows the same tone and body numbers you would be seeing in this one. The added side story of the cop wanting to final takedown the person who killed her husband adds to everything making this feel like a three-way war between the sides. The does play out how you would imagine which is great to see and the story doesn’t hold back either.
Action/Crime – The action is brutal when it comes to the bullet wound, even if certain moments can become overkill when it comes to the bullets flying. The crime world shown gives us an insight into the world in and out of the world with people wanting out or control.
Settings – The film is set in Marseille which shows us a new type of city for a crime film to take place in, we have all the locations you would imagine for a Mafia film.
Scene of the Movie – Dinner meeting.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Sometimes overkill.
Final Thoughts – This is an enjoyable action revenge thriller, that puts Jean Reno front and centre on a bloody rampage, one well worth watching for the action fans.
Overall: Enjoyable Action Film.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Hunter Killer (2018) in Movies
Nov 3, 2018
Surpisingly Good
Ever since he uttered the immortal line "We Are Sparta" as King Leonidas in the 2006 surprise hit 300, Gerard Butler has filled the screen with unadulterated machismo and virility. So I was expecting just more of the same when I went to check out the submarine flick HUNTER KILLER, figuring it was just a "B" action flick with Butler throwing up macho line after macho line and punching anyone who was in his way.
But...HUNTER KILLER is, surprisingly, much, much more.
Telling the story of a "Hunter Killer" submarine under a new captain that must go into enemy territory to check out the sinking of another American submarine, this adept action-thriller by South African Director Donovan Marsh is a pleasant surprise for only 1/2 of the film is about the action aboard the submarine, or the action back at HQ where a screaming Gary Oldman insists on less diplomacy and more aggressive action. The other part of the film is a very gripping, tense and exciting "behind enemy lines" war flick following the exploits of 4 Special Ops members (led by Toby Stephens) who must grab a person and then unite with the submarine.
Color me shocked by this. While Butler and Oldman gave me exactly what I wanted, the Special Ops soldiers, the stakes and the action sequences are a notch above your every day effort. If you are looking for a fun action flick, that can easily pass a few hours on a rainy and cold Saturday afternoon, you could do much, much worse than this one.
Letter Grade: B+
8 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)
But...HUNTER KILLER is, surprisingly, much, much more.
Telling the story of a "Hunter Killer" submarine under a new captain that must go into enemy territory to check out the sinking of another American submarine, this adept action-thriller by South African Director Donovan Marsh is a pleasant surprise for only 1/2 of the film is about the action aboard the submarine, or the action back at HQ where a screaming Gary Oldman insists on less diplomacy and more aggressive action. The other part of the film is a very gripping, tense and exciting "behind enemy lines" war flick following the exploits of 4 Special Ops members (led by Toby Stephens) who must grab a person and then unite with the submarine.
Color me shocked by this. While Butler and Oldman gave me exactly what I wanted, the Special Ops soldiers, the stakes and the action sequences are a notch above your every day effort. If you are looking for a fun action flick, that can easily pass a few hours on a rainy and cold Saturday afternoon, you could do much, much worse than this one.
Letter Grade: B+
8 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)
I was sent [b:Fear Week|17157832|Fear Week|Andrew McBurnie|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1356078463s/17157832.jpg|23580878] by [a:Andrew McBurnie|2920822|Andrew McBurnie|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1377149028p2/2920822.jpg], the author, in exchange for an honest review. The plot appealed to me as I'd never heard of, let alone read anything about the Cuban missile crisis, and I wanted a chance to learn about that and the Cold War.
The story centres around Adrian Thorby and the events that happen to him over the week of the Cuban missile crisis. His age is never mentioned, but I'd put it at around 13. The tension between America and Russia is affecting Hull in 1962, but those aren't the only things that worry Adrian that week.
Generally, when starting a book I read as little of the blurb as possible, so I was a little shocked when, on the second page, there's the line:
<blockquote>"He felt his willy twitching..."</blockquote>
Don't get me wrong, it's realistic, but I hadn't been expecting it! There was more on this subject throughout the book, and at times it was somewhat awkward, but this was probably proportionate to the embarrassment Adrian was feeling!
McBurnie created really realistic relationships between the characters, whether Adrian's family or friends. I loved the sibling rivalry, and could really relate to the sense of panic Adrian's friend Tim and he felt when they 'lost' his brother's book.
It took me a little while to get into this, but once I did, I enjoyed it. It's a creeper! McBurnie captures the little things really well - fears about the nuclear threat, and family niggles, for example. I also thought that, once it got going, the story managed to evoke the history it was representing. The casual acceptance of caning in school helped with a lot of this, haha!
The story centres around Adrian Thorby and the events that happen to him over the week of the Cuban missile crisis. His age is never mentioned, but I'd put it at around 13. The tension between America and Russia is affecting Hull in 1962, but those aren't the only things that worry Adrian that week.
Generally, when starting a book I read as little of the blurb as possible, so I was a little shocked when, on the second page, there's the line:
<blockquote>"He felt his willy twitching..."</blockquote>
Don't get me wrong, it's realistic, but I hadn't been expecting it! There was more on this subject throughout the book, and at times it was somewhat awkward, but this was probably proportionate to the embarrassment Adrian was feeling!
McBurnie created really realistic relationships between the characters, whether Adrian's family or friends. I loved the sibling rivalry, and could really relate to the sense of panic Adrian's friend Tim and he felt when they 'lost' his brother's book.
It took me a little while to get into this, but once I did, I enjoyed it. It's a creeper! McBurnie captures the little things really well - fears about the nuclear threat, and family niggles, for example. I also thought that, once it got going, the story managed to evoke the history it was representing. The casual acceptance of caning in school helped with a lot of this, haha!
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Godblind (The Godblind Trilogy #1) in Books
Jan 25, 2020
Stick with it!! It gets good!
Contains spoilers, click to show
The Mireces worship the bloodthirsty Red Gods. Exiled from Rilpor a thousand years ago, and left to suffer a harsh life in the cold mountains, a new Mireces king now plots an invasion of Rilpor’s thriving cities and fertile earth.
Dom Templeson is a Watcher, a civilian warrior guarding Rilpor’s border. He is also the most powerful seer in generations, plagued with visions and prophecies. His people are devoted followers of the god of light and life, but Dom harbours deep secrets, which threaten to be exposed when Rillirin, an escaped Mireces slave, stumbles broken and bleeding into his village.
Meanwhile, more and more of Rilpor’s most powerful figures are turning to the dark rituals and bloody sacrifices of the Red Gods, including the prince, who plots to wrest the throne from his dying father in the heart of the kingdom. Can Rillirin, with her inside knowledge of the Red Gods and her shocking ties to the Mireces King, help Rilpor win the coming war?
I seriously struggled with this for the first quarter of the book. It was almost expecting you to automatically know what these god's were and who these characters were. Im so glad I stuck with it. The world building got easier to recognise and you become invested in the characters. I actually shouted out a few times in anger at Galtas and the treacherous prince Rivil. A brutal battle of good Vs evil
The last sentence in the book really says it all, Blood streaked Dom's chin as he ate himself. And he laughed and laughed at the pretty pictures.
Yea looking forward to book 2!
⭐⭐⭐
Dom Templeson is a Watcher, a civilian warrior guarding Rilpor’s border. He is also the most powerful seer in generations, plagued with visions and prophecies. His people are devoted followers of the god of light and life, but Dom harbours deep secrets, which threaten to be exposed when Rillirin, an escaped Mireces slave, stumbles broken and bleeding into his village.
Meanwhile, more and more of Rilpor’s most powerful figures are turning to the dark rituals and bloody sacrifices of the Red Gods, including the prince, who plots to wrest the throne from his dying father in the heart of the kingdom. Can Rillirin, with her inside knowledge of the Red Gods and her shocking ties to the Mireces King, help Rilpor win the coming war?
I seriously struggled with this for the first quarter of the book. It was almost expecting you to automatically know what these god's were and who these characters were. Im so glad I stuck with it. The world building got easier to recognise and you become invested in the characters. I actually shouted out a few times in anger at Galtas and the treacherous prince Rivil. A brutal battle of good Vs evil
The last sentence in the book really says it all, Blood streaked Dom's chin as he ate himself. And he laughed and laughed at the pretty pictures.
Yea looking forward to book 2!
⭐⭐⭐
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