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Le Trésor de Rackham le Rouge (Red Rackham's Treasure) (Tintin #12)
8.0
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Herge's classic comic book creation Tintin is one of the most iconic characters in children's books....
As with most comics/graphic novels-into-movies I've read, I'll admit that I saw the movie (quite a few years back) before reading this.
Essentially a comic-book-brought-to-screen, the movie iteself was incredibly violent (but enjoyable), with ridiculous amoutns of blood and body parts splattered across the screen, and with more nudity than I was expecting alongside the whole sub-plot of King Leonidas wife getting the Spartans to march.
An entire sub-plot that is not in the source material at all.
I also have to say that the violence in this - while still there - is actually toned down quite a bit from what I was expecting, with several of the panels virtually lifted from the pages and put on to the screen.
The story, for anyone who doesn't already know, is centred around King Leonidas' view of Thermopylae - or 'The Hot Gates' - , a narrow pass defended by the 300 Spartans of the title (plus miscellaneous other Greeks, although you'd be forgive for thinking they weren't there the way this, and the legend, is told!) to the death, and which was immortalised by the poet Simodides as follows on an epigram placed on theri burial mound:
"Go tell the Spartans, you who passeth by,
That here, obedient to their laws, we lie."
(see: http://www.poetryatlas.com/poetry/poem/1458/go-tell-the-spartans.html)
Essentially a comic-book-brought-to-screen, the movie iteself was incredibly violent (but enjoyable), with ridiculous amoutns of blood and body parts splattered across the screen, and with more nudity than I was expecting alongside the whole sub-plot of King Leonidas wife getting the Spartans to march.
An entire sub-plot that is not in the source material at all.
I also have to say that the violence in this - while still there - is actually toned down quite a bit from what I was expecting, with several of the panels virtually lifted from the pages and put on to the screen.
The story, for anyone who doesn't already know, is centred around King Leonidas' view of Thermopylae - or 'The Hot Gates' - , a narrow pass defended by the 300 Spartans of the title (plus miscellaneous other Greeks, although you'd be forgive for thinking they weren't there the way this, and the legend, is told!) to the death, and which was immortalised by the poet Simodides as follows on an epigram placed on theri burial mound:
"Go tell the Spartans, you who passeth by,
That here, obedient to their laws, we lie."
(see: http://www.poetryatlas.com/poetry/poem/1458/go-tell-the-spartans.html)
TN
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Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl in Books
Jan 6, 2021
2.5 stars.
*I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
Someone recommended this book to me a few months ago but I was a little wary of reading it, since I wasn't a fan of graphic novels back then--though I have discovered a like of manga since--and then I saw it on Netgalley and decided to just go for it.
Unfortunately, I felt like I was chucked straight into the middle of the story. I didn't have a clue who was who or how they fit into the story at the start, which made it hard for me to get into. I persevered over several days and I got used to the amount of friends in Alba's little group but the whole end of the world thing threw me a little. I didn't quite get that part of the story.
But then we get the hint of a little romance for our main character and I cheered up a bit. I was only going to give it 2 stars up until the 90% mark and then Grady melted my heart a little so I pushed my rating a little higher.
Not really my kinda thing. I prefer my girl's to be receptive to the idea of romance and not as into comics as Alba was--especially when she was naming some I'd never heard of.
I may read other books by the author at some point.
*I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
Someone recommended this book to me a few months ago but I was a little wary of reading it, since I wasn't a fan of graphic novels back then--though I have discovered a like of manga since--and then I saw it on Netgalley and decided to just go for it.
Unfortunately, I felt like I was chucked straight into the middle of the story. I didn't have a clue who was who or how they fit into the story at the start, which made it hard for me to get into. I persevered over several days and I got used to the amount of friends in Alba's little group but the whole end of the world thing threw me a little. I didn't quite get that part of the story.
But then we get the hint of a little romance for our main character and I cheered up a bit. I was only going to give it 2 stars up until the 90% mark and then Grady melted my heart a little so I pushed my rating a little higher.
Not really my kinda thing. I prefer my girl's to be receptive to the idea of romance and not as into comics as Alba was--especially when she was naming some I'd never heard of.
I may read other books by the author at some point.
Children's Bible PREMIUM – Stories, Comic Books & Movies for your Family and School with Kids over 7
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Children's Bible is an app which contains comics and movies with Bible stories for children. More...
Children's Bible Books & Movies | Family & School
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Children's Bible is an app which contains comics and movies with Bible stories for children. More...
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Sin City (2005) in Movies
Aug 14, 2019
In a dazzling blend of muted color, violence, and eroticism Frank Millers graphic novel Sin City has burst upon the screen with a visual style that is as diverse as the star studded cast that drives it.
Set in the fictional Basin City, the film is a series of segments that weave in and around each other to tell various stories and side plots without a clear cut beginning and end as the conclusion of one segment often mirrors portions of the events in another.
While the film does not have a linear plot in the traditional sense, each segment is a snapshot of life in Basin City and how it is viewed by the various people that dwell within. It does not take a genius to see that the city is rife with all manner of unsavory characters from child molesters to cannibals. Basin City is also a place where people are not always the sum of their parts as a violent and disfigured thug named Marv (Mickey Rourke) can show humanity and compassion as he attempts to avenge those who were wronged. It is a place where a person with a dubious past and a new face named Dwight (Clive Owen), is town between the life he left behind and his desire to protect those who are in danger.
The film is chocked full of dialogue that is reminiscent of classic pulp novels and comics of the 40’s and 50’s where characters were often as two dimensional as the pages in which their exploits were chronicled. While this at first seems awkward and hokey it tends to grow on you as it is an accurate reflection of the locales and inhabitants that comprise the city.
While most of the film is shot in a black and white style, there are flashes of color that make a gripping contrast to the usually blank characters. Examples of which are seen in many of the films violent action sequences where blood and other gore are used for artistic effect. In one example, graphic shooting segments are left in a muted black and white allowing us to see the gore in a muted sense. The impact of the scene is not lost but it is rendered in an artistic and unique manner that is amazing to see. While you should be horrified at what you see, you find yourself captivated by the clever color and camera work that is used to render the scene. At other times, the crimson color of blood is used to emphasize a scene and illustrate and illuminate a character.
If this sounds confusing, it is due to the fact that to many “Sin City”, is a film that is a unique looking film, that has a pacing and style all its own, and does not play by the traditional rules for a film. While films such as “Heavy Metal” and “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” have brought graphic novels and visually unique pulp stories to the screen, it is the constant adherence to the source material, and directors Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller, and Quentin Tarantinos ability to blend their unique styles seamlessly that makes this film interesting.
The action of the film is very well choreographed and despite being very, very graphic in places, it nonetheless entertains and rarely seems gratuitous. The film also has a surprising amount of comedy as there were several moments that caused the audience at my press screening to erupt.
While it does not offer much in the way of plot or acting, the performances are appropriate to the characters and settings .The all-star cast does a great job in conveying the motivations of their characters as the audience is given just what the need to know about a character to make the segments work.
While the film may not appeal to a mass audience due to the unique look and structure of the film, fans of Tarantino and Rodriguez are likely to embrace this film which should likely result in further adventures in Basin City sometime in the near future.
Set in the fictional Basin City, the film is a series of segments that weave in and around each other to tell various stories and side plots without a clear cut beginning and end as the conclusion of one segment often mirrors portions of the events in another.
While the film does not have a linear plot in the traditional sense, each segment is a snapshot of life in Basin City and how it is viewed by the various people that dwell within. It does not take a genius to see that the city is rife with all manner of unsavory characters from child molesters to cannibals. Basin City is also a place where people are not always the sum of their parts as a violent and disfigured thug named Marv (Mickey Rourke) can show humanity and compassion as he attempts to avenge those who were wronged. It is a place where a person with a dubious past and a new face named Dwight (Clive Owen), is town between the life he left behind and his desire to protect those who are in danger.
The film is chocked full of dialogue that is reminiscent of classic pulp novels and comics of the 40’s and 50’s where characters were often as two dimensional as the pages in which their exploits were chronicled. While this at first seems awkward and hokey it tends to grow on you as it is an accurate reflection of the locales and inhabitants that comprise the city.
While most of the film is shot in a black and white style, there are flashes of color that make a gripping contrast to the usually blank characters. Examples of which are seen in many of the films violent action sequences where blood and other gore are used for artistic effect. In one example, graphic shooting segments are left in a muted black and white allowing us to see the gore in a muted sense. The impact of the scene is not lost but it is rendered in an artistic and unique manner that is amazing to see. While you should be horrified at what you see, you find yourself captivated by the clever color and camera work that is used to render the scene. At other times, the crimson color of blood is used to emphasize a scene and illustrate and illuminate a character.
If this sounds confusing, it is due to the fact that to many “Sin City”, is a film that is a unique looking film, that has a pacing and style all its own, and does not play by the traditional rules for a film. While films such as “Heavy Metal” and “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” have brought graphic novels and visually unique pulp stories to the screen, it is the constant adherence to the source material, and directors Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller, and Quentin Tarantinos ability to blend their unique styles seamlessly that makes this film interesting.
The action of the film is very well choreographed and despite being very, very graphic in places, it nonetheless entertains and rarely seems gratuitous. The film also has a surprising amount of comedy as there were several moments that caused the audience at my press screening to erupt.
While it does not offer much in the way of plot or acting, the performances are appropriate to the characters and settings .The all-star cast does a great job in conveying the motivations of their characters as the audience is given just what the need to know about a character to make the segments work.
While the film may not appeal to a mass audience due to the unique look and structure of the film, fans of Tarantino and Rodriguez are likely to embrace this film which should likely result in further adventures in Basin City sometime in the near future.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Sin City (2005) in Movies
Jan 7, 2021 (Updated Jan 11, 2021)
I absolutely adored Sin City when it first released way back in 2005, and I still do to a point, albeit a little less than I used to.
The main positives are of course the cast, and the style.
The cast is stacked - Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson, Benicio Del Toro, Brittany Murphy, Michael Madsen, Clive Owen, Micky Rourke, Jessica Alba, Elijah Wood, Powers Boothe, Devon Aoki, Rutger Hauer, Michael Clarke Duncan, Carla Gugino, Jaime King... that's a fair ensemble if you ask me.
The style is of course a huge part of Sin City. It's neo noir black and white with splashes of colour translate perfectly from page to screen. 15 years later, the effects still look pretty decent and the overall look of the film is practically watching the graphic novels come to life, a strength that is bolstered by the cast involved.
It has a cheesy yet engaging screenplay - the runtime clocks in at over two hours, but never gets boring (just about), and the constant growly voiceovers and on the nose script beats could have potentially been laughable in anyone else's hands, but Robert Rodriguez somehow gets away with it.
The comics ultraviolence is well realised - the movie doesn't shy away from the grimness of proceedings. Some of the content however feels a little problematic in this day and age. The whole thing is plagued by a steady stream of misogyny, which would have probably been toned down if released today, but in my opinion, it's never glamorised. 95% of the male characters are grim shitbags, and the audience know it well.
I understand why a fair few people have an issue with Sin City and it's content, but personally, I find it to be a unique film with plenty of positives, a project that respects it's source material, and just about manages to avoid falling inside of its own arse.
The main positives are of course the cast, and the style.
The cast is stacked - Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson, Benicio Del Toro, Brittany Murphy, Michael Madsen, Clive Owen, Micky Rourke, Jessica Alba, Elijah Wood, Powers Boothe, Devon Aoki, Rutger Hauer, Michael Clarke Duncan, Carla Gugino, Jaime King... that's a fair ensemble if you ask me.
The style is of course a huge part of Sin City. It's neo noir black and white with splashes of colour translate perfectly from page to screen. 15 years later, the effects still look pretty decent and the overall look of the film is practically watching the graphic novels come to life, a strength that is bolstered by the cast involved.
It has a cheesy yet engaging screenplay - the runtime clocks in at over two hours, but never gets boring (just about), and the constant growly voiceovers and on the nose script beats could have potentially been laughable in anyone else's hands, but Robert Rodriguez somehow gets away with it.
The comics ultraviolence is well realised - the movie doesn't shy away from the grimness of proceedings. Some of the content however feels a little problematic in this day and age. The whole thing is plagued by a steady stream of misogyny, which would have probably been toned down if released today, but in my opinion, it's never glamorised. 95% of the male characters are grim shitbags, and the audience know it well.
I understand why a fair few people have an issue with Sin City and it's content, but personally, I find it to be a unique film with plenty of positives, a project that respects it's source material, and just about manages to avoid falling inside of its own arse.
Dana (24 KP) rated Annihilation, Book One in Books
Mar 23, 2018
So this was my first time being introduced to some of these characters, others, such as Drax, Ronan, Thanos and Gamora I was a bit more familiar with, but only their basic story lines from Guardians of the Galaxy.
My dad gave me these three books to borrow and read because I had told him I wanted to read more graphic novels. I quite enjoyed this series! I loved getting to know the lesser known characters, well, lesser known to me.
The overarching plot wasn't clear at the beginning, but I was okay with that. It kept me guessing what the hell was happening, which I am almost always happy with!
In this book, we get three different comics in the bound book.
The first comic we get is with Drax. We get to see part of his origin story, and his new beginning in this universe. He meets a girl, Cassie, who is honestly one of my favorite (if not my top) character in this series. She is so great! As a combination of sass, bravery, kick-ass-ness, and just an all around badass, she is what more girls need to see in what they are reading. This girl is about eleven years old or so and she is strong. She wears beanies and skirts, but has to deal with problems at home and, spoiler alert, being introduced to an alien race and not batting an eyelash! I just loved this girl.
As for the Drax story, it was mainly setting up the issue of the series and giving a background on why it matters. But that is a good thing. Without this introduction, there would have been no reason to care about the story or the characters in it.
Now, onto the next story: following Richard Rider, a member of the Nova Corps! Now, here is another character/set of characters we are briefly introduced to in the Guardians of the Galaxy movie, but I loved getting to know more about it and their role in the universe and a little into their culture and relationships to the rest of the universe. I think Richard is a compelling character and I I enjoyed getting to see him have to deal with adversity from the beginning.
We are also introduced to Super Skrull. I have to be honest, I had no idea who this guy was when I picked up these comics, but I really like this character. His whole culture he comes from is cool to get to explore, but I just loved seeing him do his thing. I am stoked to see what else he has to bring to the table!
Getting the cut ins from the Nova Corps intelligence bank on each of the new characters was both a brilliant way to give new readers like me a brief introduction as to why these characters matter as well as a great way to refresh the memories of those who have known about these characters, but do not necessarily remember their significance to this story. This aspect was expertly done!
Overall, this was a really good beginning to what I think will be a pretty cool set of comics! I can't wait to read the next one!
My dad gave me these three books to borrow and read because I had told him I wanted to read more graphic novels. I quite enjoyed this series! I loved getting to know the lesser known characters, well, lesser known to me.
The overarching plot wasn't clear at the beginning, but I was okay with that. It kept me guessing what the hell was happening, which I am almost always happy with!
In this book, we get three different comics in the bound book.
The first comic we get is with Drax. We get to see part of his origin story, and his new beginning in this universe. He meets a girl, Cassie, who is honestly one of my favorite (if not my top) character in this series. She is so great! As a combination of sass, bravery, kick-ass-ness, and just an all around badass, she is what more girls need to see in what they are reading. This girl is about eleven years old or so and she is strong. She wears beanies and skirts, but has to deal with problems at home and, spoiler alert, being introduced to an alien race and not batting an eyelash! I just loved this girl.
As for the Drax story, it was mainly setting up the issue of the series and giving a background on why it matters. But that is a good thing. Without this introduction, there would have been no reason to care about the story or the characters in it.
Now, onto the next story: following Richard Rider, a member of the Nova Corps! Now, here is another character/set of characters we are briefly introduced to in the Guardians of the Galaxy movie, but I loved getting to know more about it and their role in the universe and a little into their culture and relationships to the rest of the universe. I think Richard is a compelling character and I I enjoyed getting to see him have to deal with adversity from the beginning.
We are also introduced to Super Skrull. I have to be honest, I had no idea who this guy was when I picked up these comics, but I really like this character. His whole culture he comes from is cool to get to explore, but I just loved seeing him do his thing. I am stoked to see what else he has to bring to the table!
Getting the cut ins from the Nova Corps intelligence bank on each of the new characters was both a brilliant way to give new readers like me a brief introduction as to why these characters matter as well as a great way to refresh the memories of those who have known about these characters, but do not necessarily remember their significance to this story. This aspect was expertly done!
Overall, this was a really good beginning to what I think will be a pretty cool set of comics! I can't wait to read the next one!