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The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee

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Sometimes referred to as the country’s “most dangerous editor,” Washington Post executive...

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Superbike Hungary

Lifestyle and Magazines & Newspapers

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The Nieder & Mayer Ltd. has been publishing Hungary’s SuperBike magazine since December 2001....

Patchwork and Quilting - The Worlds Best Patchwork and Quilting Magazine

Lifestyle and Magazines & Newspapers

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Projects and features specifically to do with patchwork, quilting, appliqué or textiles....

Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated The Fast and the Furious (2001) in Movies

May 18, 2021

Contains spoilers, click to show

So this is the first time I've seen 'The Fast and the Furious' and the only other film in the franchise I've seen is 'Hobbs and Shaw', Which I knew was a (slightly) different beast but, with the new film out soon I thought I may as well start from the beginning.
First thoughts, 'The Fast and the Furious' is 'Point Brake' with cars instead of of surf boards. It's been a while since I've seen Point break but I'm sure the plots are very similar. Actually that's not quite true, my first thoughts were that it was a high school film with the races instead of the school. The first time we meet Dominic's Team they're acting like the typical 'Jock' or bully group who pick on the 'New kid' or weirdo, in this case Brian. Then we have the first race we see Brian at, when he looks around the track we see the different 'clicks', each one represented by a (slightly) different genre of music, all we needed was for one of the characters (probably Letty or Mia) to walk on and introduce the group's "Over here we have the goth's, there are the cheerleaders." etc.
Then the film settles down to 'Point Break mode, the big revel (near the start of the film) that (Spoilers) Brian is a cop and we're introduced to the people he works with and, to be honest they would almost fit into an 80's U.K. police show (or 'Life on mars/Ashes to Ashes' for those of you are too young for the 80's).
We have lots of cars and almost no crime. Really most of the crime is just talked about or a red herring. Then the big race, but we don't see that because we now have the actual heist and the set up Brian's big decision (although it's pretty obvious which side he'll choose). Big action scene, betrayed (kind off), some one dies for character development (but, surprisingly, not a woman), another race, for reasons, character bonding. Cut to credits.
So a bit formulaic, but that ok, a bit of Macho one upping, but that's ok, lots of cars, of course and surprisingly no sex. All of which is good, it suits the film. Even the early revel that Brian is a cop is ok, you don't need to put much though into 'The Fast and the Furious' meaning that you can just sit back 1 hour 45 and enjoy a no brainer whilst turning off your brain.

Kudos

LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) in Movies

Nov 13, 2020

2014 was a damn fine year for Marvel Studios in terms of quality, their two outputs being The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy. They're just a big double-whammy example of how comic book movies can get things right.

GOTG was a very niche property before hand. A bunch of little know Marvel characters galavanting around space, with revolving line ups involving inconsistent degrees of absurdity. The fact that batshit crazy characters such as Groot and Rocket Raccoon are now household names is an indication of just how effective this movie was.

James Gunn proves that he is the man for the job by melding together his own signature style (alongside his regular collaborator Michael Rooker of course) with the tried and tested Marvel formula of big action, and frequent humour. It's a toss up between this and Thor Ragnarok for funniest MCU movie for sure. Nearly every joke lands well, and unlike the sequel, the humour is never overdone. The balance is near perfect.
The cast are mainly to thank for that of course. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, and the voice talents of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel make up the titular Guardians, and they are all unique and have intriguing back stories. They are well developed as the film plays out, and together make for an irreplaceable band of misfits.
The supporting cast include the aformentioned Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, John C. Reilly, Lee Pace, Glenn Close, Peter Serafinowicz, Sean Gunn, Djimon Hounsou, Benicio Del Toro, and a first appearance by Josh Brolin as Thanos... It's another undeniably impressive ensemble cast for the MCU.

The special effects on display here are incredible. The whole film looks amazing and the big set pieces are hugely entertaining, and emotionally charged...These characters make a quick impression!
The only real criticism I have is that Ronan the Accuser, this films main antagonist, feels a little wasted. He looks great, and Lee Pace does the best with what he's given, but by the time the credits roll, he unfortunately joins the big pile of disposable MCU villains.
It's a small gripe when compared to all the good in this movie - that includes it's fantastic soundtrack by the way.

Guardians of the Galaxy is wonderful. It's proof that studios no longer have to rely on the big A-list names to make a great film, and as a result, this opened the doors for even more weird and wonderful characters to make their way into this behemoth of a series. One of my personal favourite MCU entries.