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BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Oppenheimer (2023) in Movies
Jul 27, 2023
Gonna Win A Ton of Awards
Clear your shelves, Christopher Nolan and many of those involved in the making of his new movie OPPENHEIMER, you’re going to need the space for the many, many trophies you are going to receive next spring.
Based on the life of the “Father of the Atomic Bomb”, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Nolan’s latest epic is a rarity in today’s Motion Picture landscape - a prestige picture, bankrolled lavishly, filmed gorgeously and populated with a veritable who’s who of “A” list actors that tells a complex story of a complicated man who ends up remorseful of what he has unleashed in this world.
And it works very, very well.
Nolan regular, Cillian Murphy, is equal parts quirky, driven, determined and haunted in his multi-layered performance as the titular character - who is in almost every scene of this 3 hour film. He is fascinating to watch and his “more internal than external” performance draws the audience in throughout the events depicted in this film. It is the Best Performance of the career of one of the most interesting actors of this generation and one should not be surprised if his name is called during awards season next year.
Murphy is capably supported by a long list of strong performers giving strong performances in roles that are much smaller than ones they normally receive. Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett(!), Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, Matthew Modine, Kenneth Branagh (of course, it’s a Nolan film), Jason Clarke and Alden Ehrenreich bring their “A” game to roles that could have been thrown away.
Also, good ol’ Tom Conti (one of the most interesting actors from the late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s) shows up in this film as Albert Einstein and reminds us all why he is such a good performer…and…wait until you see who shows up for one scene in this film as President Harry S. Truman!
Oh…and don’t forget Emily Blunt (as Oppenheimer’s wife) and (surprisingly) Robert Downey, Jr. (as a politician using Oppenheimer for his own purposes). Both of them put in Award-winning-level uspporting performances, elevating two “A” list actors to the “A+ list”.
But this film is more than just it’s performers. Nolan demands - and receives - top notch work from the Cinematographer, the Sound Designer, the Editor, the Costume Designer and the Composer (Ludwig Goranssson, NOT Nolan regular Hans Zimmer). They (along with Nolan) craft a beautifully made and put together film that will dazzle the senses. If you get a chance, see this film in a movie theater and, if you can, see it in either iMAX or 70mm, you will be glad you did.
What holds this film back - just a little bit - is the story that is being told. Nolan (as he is want to do) plays with time and pretty frenetically cuts back and forth between about 4 different timelines to tell this story. It’s effective most of the time, but at other times, it becomes distracting and….with a 3 hour run time…does drag a bit at times.
But these are quibbles to a film that is “as good as it gets” by the BEST DIRECTOR plying his trade today. It is another triumph for Nolan and he will be making many, many acceptance speeches in just a few short months.
Letter Grade: A
9 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Based on the life of the “Father of the Atomic Bomb”, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Nolan’s latest epic is a rarity in today’s Motion Picture landscape - a prestige picture, bankrolled lavishly, filmed gorgeously and populated with a veritable who’s who of “A” list actors that tells a complex story of a complicated man who ends up remorseful of what he has unleashed in this world.
And it works very, very well.
Nolan regular, Cillian Murphy, is equal parts quirky, driven, determined and haunted in his multi-layered performance as the titular character - who is in almost every scene of this 3 hour film. He is fascinating to watch and his “more internal than external” performance draws the audience in throughout the events depicted in this film. It is the Best Performance of the career of one of the most interesting actors of this generation and one should not be surprised if his name is called during awards season next year.
Murphy is capably supported by a long list of strong performers giving strong performances in roles that are much smaller than ones they normally receive. Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett(!), Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, Matthew Modine, Kenneth Branagh (of course, it’s a Nolan film), Jason Clarke and Alden Ehrenreich bring their “A” game to roles that could have been thrown away.
Also, good ol’ Tom Conti (one of the most interesting actors from the late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s) shows up in this film as Albert Einstein and reminds us all why he is such a good performer…and…wait until you see who shows up for one scene in this film as President Harry S. Truman!
Oh…and don’t forget Emily Blunt (as Oppenheimer’s wife) and (surprisingly) Robert Downey, Jr. (as a politician using Oppenheimer for his own purposes). Both of them put in Award-winning-level uspporting performances, elevating two “A” list actors to the “A+ list”.
But this film is more than just it’s performers. Nolan demands - and receives - top notch work from the Cinematographer, the Sound Designer, the Editor, the Costume Designer and the Composer (Ludwig Goranssson, NOT Nolan regular Hans Zimmer). They (along with Nolan) craft a beautifully made and put together film that will dazzle the senses. If you get a chance, see this film in a movie theater and, if you can, see it in either iMAX or 70mm, you will be glad you did.
What holds this film back - just a little bit - is the story that is being told. Nolan (as he is want to do) plays with time and pretty frenetically cuts back and forth between about 4 different timelines to tell this story. It’s effective most of the time, but at other times, it becomes distracting and….with a 3 hour run time…does drag a bit at times.
But these are quibbles to a film that is “as good as it gets” by the BEST DIRECTOR plying his trade today. It is another triumph for Nolan and he will be making many, many acceptance speeches in just a few short months.
Letter Grade: A
9 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Jamie (131 KP) rated When Dimple Met Rishi in Books
Aug 15, 2017
Sweet romance (1 more)
Great commentary about cultural identity
Underdeveloped plot (2 more)
Unconvincing setting
Frustrating main character
A sweet summer romance with potential that just didn't work for me
Sigh. It’s hard for me to decide how to start this review because I found myself confused and disappointed when I finished. I think I suffered a little bit from overhype about this book since it was recommended so highly and talked about like mad over the summer. I wanted to love this book because everything just sounded so perfect: a strong willed STEM girl heroine, a clash between cultures, a sweet summer romance with lots of laughs, and one of the cutest book covers I’ve seen in a long time–I was all over it!
I absolutely adored the first half of this book. I could sympathize with both of the main characters, especially Dimple, whose mother reminded me of my own. I too was that nerdy awkward girl that felt uncomfortable wearing makeup and dresses and found happiness in front of a computer screen grinding out code to make websites and browser games. Like my mom, Dimple’s mother pushes her to be more feminine and doesn’t fully understand modern western culture. Dimple struggles with feeling like an outsider in both of her worlds, an experience shared by many American children with immigrant parents. It made me happy that this duality is explored in the novel as I think it’s important for children and teens that, like me, had difficulties with their cultural identity.
On the other hand there’s Rishi, who embraces his cultural heritage and doesn’t care whether or not he “fits in” with either group. He is still a modern young man adapted to western culture that also values tradition and believes with all of his heart in the fairy tale romance of his parents. He is exceptionally sweet and witty and is pretty much the ideal cute nerd boyfriend. The romance between Dimple and Rishi is swoon-worthy and made my heart melt.. Which was great for exactly half of the book.
With the Insomnia Con setting what I expected was a summer “coding camp” similar to ones like the Make School Summer Academy and others held on college campuses around the country every year. Many of these camps usually offer workshops to practice making programs, opportunities to make professional connections and to meet industry leaders, and very often have competitions where they can create and submit their own apps for a cool cash prize. I guess my expectations were misplaced because What I got, sadly, was high school drama with hook ups and a talent show that turned more into a dance competition? Dance? In a coding camp??
This was the start of when the book stopped working for me.
A large part of Dimple’s story revolves around her desire to develop her own app to catapult her into a successful tech career. The book talks at length about how much this matters to her, how she’s dying to make connections to help her on her way, and how she’s so different from other girls by being interested in coding. The book tells the reader all of these things but fails to actually show the reader these things. It’s easy to forget that the main characters are even at a coding camp because so little time is spent on it. The plot just gets plain weird and doesn’t seem to have any sort of focus, even the romance felt rushed.
Also I’m sorry, the dance competition was exceedingly boring to read. That and, well, the love story has already happened by then so the build up for that is finished as well. So what else was there? I thought heavily about skimming or just putting the book down at that point but I honestly wanted to know if Dimple would win the competition (the app one, not the dance one) and achieve her dream of becoming a high powered STEM girl. I was still optimistic that the book would get back to the code camp, but it never does. In fact, three weeks out of the six week camp is skipped completely as the story fast forwards to the result of the app completion. The more I read the more disappointed I was as the plot became more and more juvenile.
By the 3/4 mark it seemed like there was no story left to tell and was starting to seriously drag. So of course there had to be some drama to keep it going. I hated this part. Dimple’s actions in the later portion of the book quite frankly left me feeling confused because they didn’t make any sense whatsoever. It was frustrating and I quite frankly got a little mad at how Dimple treated Rishi in the latter half of the novel. Such a shame considering how amazing the story set up was and how strong the early chapters were.
The characters drift from dinners, parties, and dance practices with next to no time actually coding and it made for a surprisingly boring and mediocre read for me personally. Even despite my criticisms, When Dimple Met Rishi is still a sweet summer romance that shined in the first half of the book. Just because it didn’t work out so well for me doesn’t mean that it won’t work out for others, in fact I seem to be in quite the minority for this book. This book definitely had a lot of potential and I honestly wish that the tech girl part of the story could have been developed better and for the setting to be a little more convincing.
I absolutely adored the first half of this book. I could sympathize with both of the main characters, especially Dimple, whose mother reminded me of my own. I too was that nerdy awkward girl that felt uncomfortable wearing makeup and dresses and found happiness in front of a computer screen grinding out code to make websites and browser games. Like my mom, Dimple’s mother pushes her to be more feminine and doesn’t fully understand modern western culture. Dimple struggles with feeling like an outsider in both of her worlds, an experience shared by many American children with immigrant parents. It made me happy that this duality is explored in the novel as I think it’s important for children and teens that, like me, had difficulties with their cultural identity.
On the other hand there’s Rishi, who embraces his cultural heritage and doesn’t care whether or not he “fits in” with either group. He is still a modern young man adapted to western culture that also values tradition and believes with all of his heart in the fairy tale romance of his parents. He is exceptionally sweet and witty and is pretty much the ideal cute nerd boyfriend. The romance between Dimple and Rishi is swoon-worthy and made my heart melt.. Which was great for exactly half of the book.
With the Insomnia Con setting what I expected was a summer “coding camp” similar to ones like the Make School Summer Academy and others held on college campuses around the country every year. Many of these camps usually offer workshops to practice making programs, opportunities to make professional connections and to meet industry leaders, and very often have competitions where they can create and submit their own apps for a cool cash prize. I guess my expectations were misplaced because What I got, sadly, was high school drama with hook ups and a talent show that turned more into a dance competition? Dance? In a coding camp??
This was the start of when the book stopped working for me.
A large part of Dimple’s story revolves around her desire to develop her own app to catapult her into a successful tech career. The book talks at length about how much this matters to her, how she’s dying to make connections to help her on her way, and how she’s so different from other girls by being interested in coding. The book tells the reader all of these things but fails to actually show the reader these things. It’s easy to forget that the main characters are even at a coding camp because so little time is spent on it. The plot just gets plain weird and doesn’t seem to have any sort of focus, even the romance felt rushed.
Also I’m sorry, the dance competition was exceedingly boring to read. That and, well, the love story has already happened by then so the build up for that is finished as well. So what else was there? I thought heavily about skimming or just putting the book down at that point but I honestly wanted to know if Dimple would win the competition (the app one, not the dance one) and achieve her dream of becoming a high powered STEM girl. I was still optimistic that the book would get back to the code camp, but it never does. In fact, three weeks out of the six week camp is skipped completely as the story fast forwards to the result of the app completion. The more I read the more disappointed I was as the plot became more and more juvenile.
By the 3/4 mark it seemed like there was no story left to tell and was starting to seriously drag. So of course there had to be some drama to keep it going. I hated this part. Dimple’s actions in the later portion of the book quite frankly left me feeling confused because they didn’t make any sense whatsoever. It was frustrating and I quite frankly got a little mad at how Dimple treated Rishi in the latter half of the novel. Such a shame considering how amazing the story set up was and how strong the early chapters were.
The characters drift from dinners, parties, and dance practices with next to no time actually coding and it made for a surprisingly boring and mediocre read for me personally. Even despite my criticisms, When Dimple Met Rishi is still a sweet summer romance that shined in the first half of the book. Just because it didn’t work out so well for me doesn’t mean that it won’t work out for others, in fact I seem to be in quite the minority for this book. This book definitely had a lot of potential and I honestly wish that the tech girl part of the story could have been developed better and for the setting to be a little more convincing.
Contains spoilers, click to show
Where to begin with my review? I guess I should start out by being completely honest and mentioning that I did not buy Cinder for myself, and I likely never would have either. After begging me to read it for a while, my best friend ended up buying me a copy for Christmas in the hope that I would give it a go. And to be fair to her, I did. Four times to be precise. The first three times I ended up giving up before chapter four. However, don't let that deter you. On my fourth attempt, I loved it! The only reason I can think of as to why I struggled the other times was because I was in a serious book hangover from another story. So I was a little reluctant to start a new story with characters I wasn't invested in yet, and a story I already knew. Or at least, I thought I did.
So let's start with the plot. Cinder is a retelling of Cinderella. Perhaps another reason for my lack of interest in the beginning as I've never really been a huge fan of that particular princess. What I do enjoy is a fresh twist on a well known story, so I should have known I would enjoy it if I gave it a chance. Like Cinderella, Cinder follows the story of a young girl who lives with her step-mother, and her two step-sisters, no love lost between them. In both, the girl leads a tough, though somewhat mundane life, right up until she meets her prince, and then things start to look up. Blah, blah, blah... We all know the story right? No. Marissa Meyer gives the traditional tale a new spin, and it was like reading the story for the first time. Because of this, I easily finished the story over one (busy) weekend. The story contained just the right mix of adventure, romance, and sci-fi to keep me hooked, even if -in places- the story seemed to drag a little. This was more than made up for with the explosive ending though. The story ends with enough unresolved conflict to keep you wanting more... And if you're anything like me, thankfully you don't have to wait months for the next one (It's called Scarlet BTW). Another great part of this story was the world building and backstory. At one point, the events of WW4 are mentioned, giving us a little insight as to how the world we know morphed into the one in the story. This also prevented the world from becoming too complicated when other races (The Lunars) are introduced, and helped blend the backstories of both races nicely. Lunars are the genetically mutated humans that live on the moon (Luna), and they have the ability to use a power known as "Glamour" to influence other's minds and make them see and believe what they want them to. This particular part impressed me as it was a clever way of introducing magic in an otherwise "normal" world. Because I'm a sucker for a bit of magic. The only real problem I had with this story was that the plot was somewhat predictable at times... For example, pretty much as soon as it was mentioned that there was once a princess who -if she was still alive- could usurp the Queen of the Lunars and restore peace to the two worlds... It was obvious that it was going to end up being Cinder. (This is confirmed at the end of the book).
Now, onto the characters! Meet our protagonist, Linh Cinder. Cinder is a sixteen-year-old living in New Beijing with her evil Step-mother and two step-sisters... But that's pretty much where the similarities with her and the traditional Cinderella end. Not only is our protagonist more than just a pretty face with a kind heart, she is a badass! Throughout the story she impressed me with her attitude, intelligence, and ability to call people out on their bullshit. Fair enough she came across a little whiny at times, but this can be overlooked when you remember she is pretty much still a child who has had a pretty rough life. Unable to remember her life before a crash that claimed the lives of her family, she was adopted by a man who soon died, leaving her at the mercy of his wife, who was not a fan of Cinder. Why, you ask? Well, Cinder is a cyborg, and that is unforgivable and clearly Cinder's fault... According to the step mother at least. Still, despite being shunned by most people who knew the truth about her, Cinder still manages to be a likable character. Yeah she has her flaws, but that's what I liked about her. She's realistic. She's embarrassed by the fact she is a cyborg, especially when she meets the handsome Prince Kai. It was frustrating at times to read scenes with these two, mainly because Cinder was reluctant to tell Kai about her being a cyborg, and it built a wall between them. I mean, I can see where she's coming from. It would be a nice change to just be a normal girl to someone after years of being told she was less. BUT DAMN GIRL! KAI IS A CINNAMON ROLL AND WOULD LOVE YOU EITHER WAY!!!
*Clears throat* Anyway, moving on... Now we can talk about Kai. Handsome, charming, clueless, Prince Kai. We meet Kai pretty early on in the story (first chapter in fact) and from the moment we meet him, we know he and Cinder are destined. Or at least I hope so... I haven't read the second book yet! The only child of the emperor, Kai will someday rule the Eastern Commonwealth. Unfortunately that day comes all too soon when his father contracts the plague and soon after dies, leaving the job to the young Prince. If I'm being completely honest, I was expecting him to crash and burn at some point, but I was pleasantly surprised when he managed to hack it, even going as far as to stand up to the Lunar Queen- A megabitch we will discuss later- despite the fact she could start a war that would cause chaos for the Earthlings. His character development was fun to read. He started as a charismatic prince with a rebellious streak, and by the end of the book he was an Emperor loyal to his people and smarter than he lets on. I was a little disappointed in his reaction to finding out Cinder was a cyborg (and a Lunar), but under the circumstances, he can be forgiven. I'm quite interested in how the rest of Emperor Kai's story is going to play out, especially as he seemed to have something planned at the end of the first book, but I have yet to see if my suspicions are correct about him.
Now time to talk about our main antagonist, Queen Levana AKA The Megabitch. As far as antagonists go, she isn't the most evil I've met, but she is one of the more interesting. Queen of the Lunars, she is a cold, flawless, evil lady, who hates technology, and is infamous for using her glamour to hide her true face. Her motives seem pretty simple. She wants to rule. As Queen of the Lunars, she can do this by marriage, or she can take it by force. She doesn't really seem to care which way she goes about it, but she does suggest a marriage alliance with Prince/Emperor Kai Puh-lease. He and Cinder are OTP. (Also, I have to praise Meyer for the lack of a love triangle here, even though it would have been easy enough to include one. Bless you, child!) For the majority of the story she seems to be cool and in control, which is worrying for those of us rooting for the heroes, but at the Ball Naturally Cinder manages to crack the flawless facade and give us a little insight to the Queen's weakness Score 1 for Cinder! I have a feeling though that the next time we see the Queen, she is going to up her game and really give our heroes some problems, but we shall see!
Overall, I really enjoyed Cinder and I'm glad that I gave it another go. I should really start listening when my friend suggests books to me. It was an entertaining, frustrating, and even heart-breaking story at times, but I loved it. Marissa Meyer has definitely earned another fan, and I cannot wait to get my hands on the rest of the series. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO MY SHIP. The book had a few issues of course, but not enough that I would hesitate to read the next book... Hopefully I'll get around to it soon! In the mean time, anyone debating reading Cinder, you should definitely do it! 100%. And if anyone -like me- is struggling to get into it... Stick at it! I swear it's worth it in the end!
So let's start with the plot. Cinder is a retelling of Cinderella. Perhaps another reason for my lack of interest in the beginning as I've never really been a huge fan of that particular princess. What I do enjoy is a fresh twist on a well known story, so I should have known I would enjoy it if I gave it a chance. Like Cinderella, Cinder follows the story of a young girl who lives with her step-mother, and her two step-sisters, no love lost between them. In both, the girl leads a tough, though somewhat mundane life, right up until she meets her prince, and then things start to look up. Blah, blah, blah... We all know the story right? No. Marissa Meyer gives the traditional tale a new spin, and it was like reading the story for the first time. Because of this, I easily finished the story over one (busy) weekend. The story contained just the right mix of adventure, romance, and sci-fi to keep me hooked, even if -in places- the story seemed to drag a little. This was more than made up for with the explosive ending though. The story ends with enough unresolved conflict to keep you wanting more... And if you're anything like me, thankfully you don't have to wait months for the next one (It's called Scarlet BTW). Another great part of this story was the world building and backstory. At one point, the events of WW4 are mentioned, giving us a little insight as to how the world we know morphed into the one in the story. This also prevented the world from becoming too complicated when other races (The Lunars) are introduced, and helped blend the backstories of both races nicely. Lunars are the genetically mutated humans that live on the moon (Luna), and they have the ability to use a power known as "Glamour" to influence other's minds and make them see and believe what they want them to. This particular part impressed me as it was a clever way of introducing magic in an otherwise "normal" world. Because I'm a sucker for a bit of magic. The only real problem I had with this story was that the plot was somewhat predictable at times... For example, pretty much as soon as it was mentioned that there was once a princess who -if she was still alive- could usurp the Queen of the Lunars and restore peace to the two worlds... It was obvious that it was going to end up being Cinder. (This is confirmed at the end of the book).
Now, onto the characters! Meet our protagonist, Linh Cinder. Cinder is a sixteen-year-old living in New Beijing with her evil Step-mother and two step-sisters... But that's pretty much where the similarities with her and the traditional Cinderella end. Not only is our protagonist more than just a pretty face with a kind heart, she is a badass! Throughout the story she impressed me with her attitude, intelligence, and ability to call people out on their bullshit. Fair enough she came across a little whiny at times, but this can be overlooked when you remember she is pretty much still a child who has had a pretty rough life. Unable to remember her life before a crash that claimed the lives of her family, she was adopted by a man who soon died, leaving her at the mercy of his wife, who was not a fan of Cinder. Why, you ask? Well, Cinder is a cyborg, and that is unforgivable and clearly Cinder's fault... According to the step mother at least. Still, despite being shunned by most people who knew the truth about her, Cinder still manages to be a likable character. Yeah she has her flaws, but that's what I liked about her. She's realistic. She's embarrassed by the fact she is a cyborg, especially when she meets the handsome Prince Kai. It was frustrating at times to read scenes with these two, mainly because Cinder was reluctant to tell Kai about her being a cyborg, and it built a wall between them. I mean, I can see where she's coming from. It would be a nice change to just be a normal girl to someone after years of being told she was less. BUT DAMN GIRL! KAI IS A CINNAMON ROLL AND WOULD LOVE YOU EITHER WAY!!!
*Clears throat* Anyway, moving on... Now we can talk about Kai. Handsome, charming, clueless, Prince Kai. We meet Kai pretty early on in the story (first chapter in fact) and from the moment we meet him, we know he and Cinder are destined. Or at least I hope so... I haven't read the second book yet! The only child of the emperor, Kai will someday rule the Eastern Commonwealth. Unfortunately that day comes all too soon when his father contracts the plague and soon after dies, leaving the job to the young Prince. If I'm being completely honest, I was expecting him to crash and burn at some point, but I was pleasantly surprised when he managed to hack it, even going as far as to stand up to the Lunar Queen- A megabitch we will discuss later- despite the fact she could start a war that would cause chaos for the Earthlings. His character development was fun to read. He started as a charismatic prince with a rebellious streak, and by the end of the book he was an Emperor loyal to his people and smarter than he lets on. I was a little disappointed in his reaction to finding out Cinder was a cyborg (and a Lunar), but under the circumstances, he can be forgiven. I'm quite interested in how the rest of Emperor Kai's story is going to play out, especially as he seemed to have something planned at the end of the first book, but I have yet to see if my suspicions are correct about him.
Now time to talk about our main antagonist, Queen Levana AKA The Megabitch. As far as antagonists go, she isn't the most evil I've met, but she is one of the more interesting. Queen of the Lunars, she is a cold, flawless, evil lady, who hates technology, and is infamous for using her glamour to hide her true face. Her motives seem pretty simple. She wants to rule. As Queen of the Lunars, she can do this by marriage, or she can take it by force. She doesn't really seem to care which way she goes about it, but she does suggest a marriage alliance with Prince/Emperor Kai Puh-lease. He and Cinder are OTP. (Also, I have to praise Meyer for the lack of a love triangle here, even though it would have been easy enough to include one. Bless you, child!) For the majority of the story she seems to be cool and in control, which is worrying for those of us rooting for the heroes, but at the Ball Naturally Cinder manages to crack the flawless facade and give us a little insight to the Queen's weakness Score 1 for Cinder! I have a feeling though that the next time we see the Queen, she is going to up her game and really give our heroes some problems, but we shall see!
Overall, I really enjoyed Cinder and I'm glad that I gave it another go. I should really start listening when my friend suggests books to me. It was an entertaining, frustrating, and even heart-breaking story at times, but I loved it. Marissa Meyer has definitely earned another fan, and I cannot wait to get my hands on the rest of the series. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO MY SHIP. The book had a few issues of course, but not enough that I would hesitate to read the next book... Hopefully I'll get around to it soon! In the mean time, anyone debating reading Cinder, you should definitely do it! 100%. And if anyone -like me- is struggling to get into it... Stick at it! I swear it's worth it in the end!
LilyLovesIndie (123 KP) rated The Hobbit in Books
Nov 5, 2018
See the latest version of this review over on Ramble Media http://www.ramblemedia.com/?p=19585
Wow, am I glad that watching the film made me want to reread this timeless classic! I first read this as an eleven year old at school, trying to prove a point to a teacher that a child could read a book like this. I succeeded in reading it, thought the fantasy great, but remembered very little of the story or the fact there was another epic adventure waiting to be told by the much praised JRR Tolkien.
How I have missed out! The story follows a very plain, and at times fussy, Mr Baggins of Bagend, a Hobbit of Hobbiton, in the 'reasonable West', as he takes an adventure, in the company of 'dwarves' to save their long forsaken home. The company encounter many trials and tribulations along the way, from angry goblins, to giant spiders, to meddlesome elves and even Smaug the Terrible, but they triumph over them all.
Honestly, I cannot give praise enough for the book, and many have done so before in, what I am sure, will be better expressed reviews and accolades of praise, so I will aim to keep this short and sweet, picking up on key, outstanding features that bowled me over. The first thing I have to raise is the characterisation. The 'cast' of assembled characters, from the main company of the dwarves, to the helpers and and those that hinder them along their journey, are all thoroughly well explained by the creative use of authorial voice in the narration of events. Mr Baggins is, although a little fussy at times, an incredibly likable character, as I'm sure most hobbits are, who's funny outbursts and ideas make him the comedy relief at tense times. He is also, without a doubt, the brains and drive behind the adventure, once Gandalf has left, and proves that anyone, no matter how small can be a hero - a great quality to see in a major character who is less 'normal' than most as too often it's the popular, stereotypical heroes that dominate literature! Thorin and his company of bedraggled dwarves are a barrel of laughs at times (no pun intended!) and are all well developed in what is a relatively short story.
And that, I suppose, is the best feature of this book, for me at least! The development of plot, characters, scenery and everything else you could possibly wish to know about anyone involved in a story (eg background history etc) is all given to you in abundance, but they never overpower each other, they are instead woven intricately together in a brand of storytelling that belongs in oral tradition, not in words on a page. It is clear, especially after reading the foreword, that the Hobbit originated as a story to be told, not read, and incredibly, that makes it all the more readable as it hooks you in a way few books ever will. It aims to drag you, however reluctantly or willingly, into the adventure and take you away from your own little, safe, hobbit hole across the Shire and the Wild, and everywhere else they travel, with you feeling completely immersed as the final member of the company, but one who goes as unnoticed by the others as if you were wearing Bilbo's ring. However, the extremely clever thing that Tolkien does, and of this I am supremely envious of as I wish I could do this in my own writing, is that even though you feel so well informed, you still want to know more about them, and for the creative among us, we want to fill those gaps with our own imagination! Very rarely do I come across an author who manages to inform, excite, engage, and engender creativity in such a way in under 300 pages.
Finally, I guess I have to give credit to the wonderful drawings accompanying the text. Beautifully drawn, incredibly supportive of your own imaginative process, yet strangely, not limiting in letting you continue to let your imagination wander. The are a wonderful addition to the book, and I say that as someone who doesn't think a real book should have pictures, and add a greater accessibility to all of the new experiences you encounter as you travel through the story to the Lonely Mountain at the end.
And so, I draw my ramblings to a close, however there is plenty more to be said, that will be left unsaid, partly due to my desire to go and read Lord of the Rings for the first time as a result of reading The Hobbit. I can only conclude with the highest praise for this story, and the highest level of recommendation to anyone who has not yet read it, or those like me that think because they read it as a child it counts. This is a book that should, and deserves, to be read over and over again, and one of those occasions should be reading it aloud to a child, as that, is the only way to truly experience the wonderful story weaved by a master storyteller.
Wow, am I glad that watching the film made me want to reread this timeless classic! I first read this as an eleven year old at school, trying to prove a point to a teacher that a child could read a book like this. I succeeded in reading it, thought the fantasy great, but remembered very little of the story or the fact there was another epic adventure waiting to be told by the much praised JRR Tolkien.
How I have missed out! The story follows a very plain, and at times fussy, Mr Baggins of Bagend, a Hobbit of Hobbiton, in the 'reasonable West', as he takes an adventure, in the company of 'dwarves' to save their long forsaken home. The company encounter many trials and tribulations along the way, from angry goblins, to giant spiders, to meddlesome elves and even Smaug the Terrible, but they triumph over them all.
Honestly, I cannot give praise enough for the book, and many have done so before in, what I am sure, will be better expressed reviews and accolades of praise, so I will aim to keep this short and sweet, picking up on key, outstanding features that bowled me over. The first thing I have to raise is the characterisation. The 'cast' of assembled characters, from the main company of the dwarves, to the helpers and and those that hinder them along their journey, are all thoroughly well explained by the creative use of authorial voice in the narration of events. Mr Baggins is, although a little fussy at times, an incredibly likable character, as I'm sure most hobbits are, who's funny outbursts and ideas make him the comedy relief at tense times. He is also, without a doubt, the brains and drive behind the adventure, once Gandalf has left, and proves that anyone, no matter how small can be a hero - a great quality to see in a major character who is less 'normal' than most as too often it's the popular, stereotypical heroes that dominate literature! Thorin and his company of bedraggled dwarves are a barrel of laughs at times (no pun intended!) and are all well developed in what is a relatively short story.
And that, I suppose, is the best feature of this book, for me at least! The development of plot, characters, scenery and everything else you could possibly wish to know about anyone involved in a story (eg background history etc) is all given to you in abundance, but they never overpower each other, they are instead woven intricately together in a brand of storytelling that belongs in oral tradition, not in words on a page. It is clear, especially after reading the foreword, that the Hobbit originated as a story to be told, not read, and incredibly, that makes it all the more readable as it hooks you in a way few books ever will. It aims to drag you, however reluctantly or willingly, into the adventure and take you away from your own little, safe, hobbit hole across the Shire and the Wild, and everywhere else they travel, with you feeling completely immersed as the final member of the company, but one who goes as unnoticed by the others as if you were wearing Bilbo's ring. However, the extremely clever thing that Tolkien does, and of this I am supremely envious of as I wish I could do this in my own writing, is that even though you feel so well informed, you still want to know more about them, and for the creative among us, we want to fill those gaps with our own imagination! Very rarely do I come across an author who manages to inform, excite, engage, and engender creativity in such a way in under 300 pages.
Finally, I guess I have to give credit to the wonderful drawings accompanying the text. Beautifully drawn, incredibly supportive of your own imaginative process, yet strangely, not limiting in letting you continue to let your imagination wander. The are a wonderful addition to the book, and I say that as someone who doesn't think a real book should have pictures, and add a greater accessibility to all of the new experiences you encounter as you travel through the story to the Lonely Mountain at the end.
And so, I draw my ramblings to a close, however there is plenty more to be said, that will be left unsaid, partly due to my desire to go and read Lord of the Rings for the first time as a result of reading The Hobbit. I can only conclude with the highest praise for this story, and the highest level of recommendation to anyone who has not yet read it, or those like me that think because they read it as a child it counts. This is a book that should, and deserves, to be read over and over again, and one of those occasions should be reading it aloud to a child, as that, is the only way to truly experience the wonderful story weaved by a master storyteller.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Pacific Rim (2013) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
Director Guillermo Del Toro has introduced an interesting new twist to the “giant monster run amok” genre with his latest film “Pacific Rim”. The movie details how extraterrestrial life has appeared upon the earth via a rift in the ocean floor. These gigantic alien life are known as Kaijus after the Japanese word for gigantic creature and have unleashed utter devastation upon the coastal cities of the world. Since the first attack took six days to repel, the leaders of the world devised a new plan of defense which involves the building of gigantic mechanized robots or Jaegers, after the German word for hunter. It is learned that the initial results were very promising however as time went along, the alien threat continued to evolve and adapt and were soon becoming a challenge for the mech defenses.
Enter into the mix Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam), a young Jaeger pilot who, with his brother, pilots the Gypsy Danger mech. It is learned that two pilots are needed to control the mechs as the neural demands were too much for one individual alone. Through a process known as “drifting” the pilots are linked to one another’s minds which allows them each to control one half of the machine in combat situations. Needless to say it is vital that the two pilots are compatible as the connection allows them to see into each other’s minds and memories so therefore having somebody of a compatible nature is key to success.
Six years into the war tragedy strikes leaving Raleigh dissolution and alone. In the ensuing seven years he is working on a last gasp project to build gigantic walls around coastal cities in an effort to stop the alien menace and protect cities. Things have not been going well and due to increasing losses the command has canceled the Jaeger program and ordered the few remaining next to Hong Kong to provide a measure of defense will wall is completed.
This does not sit well with Defense Marshall Pentecost (Idris Elba), who believes that the mechs offer humanity’s best defense against the enemy and as such he seeks down Raleigh and return Sam reluctantly to the program. It is learned that there are only four mechs left and a desperate plan to deliver a nuclear payload through the rift directly to the enemy is put in place. Of course complications arise specifically in the form that Raleigh needs to find a new copilot and by far and away the best candidate for him Rinko (Mako Mori) is being blocked from taking part in the mission by the Defense Marshall. This combined with tension between their rival pilot and Raleigh certainly has him rethinking his place in the mission.
As if this was not complicated enough, base scientist Newton (Charlie Day), is convinced that there is a much bigger threat coming and that their current course of action is not going to be enough to save the day.What follows is an FX heavy spectacle of action as humanity makes a last-ditch stand against the alien apocalypse in spectacular style.
The movie, while entertaining, does strain credibility to a serious extreme even by adventure film standards. We’re supposed to believe that enormous amounts of money have been spent to develop and maintain the defense program when the weaponry aboard the mechs as well as conventional weaponry such as Tomahawk missiles and such could be mounted aboard ships and coastal batteries and deployed with similar success at a significantly reduced cost. We are told that the initial attack took six days to repel using jets and tanks but from my point of view heavy assault gunships, rail guns, cruise missiles, as well as the plasma weaponry shown in the film would certainly do the job from any floating or fixed coastal location.
Even though the 3-D in the movie was converted it was done very well and there were some very good moments of immersion especially during the very well done combat sequences. My biggest issue was that the middle of the film tended to drag as we had a lot of interpersonal dramas play out but they lacked attention and character development that they needed to be fully effective. Despite the extremely solid cast, many of the characters were very thinly developed as the emphasis on the movie was clearly on putting giant robots against giant creatures and unleashing as much carnage and mayhem as possible.
In this regard the film worked however the times in between do not work so well and there is a surprising lack of chemistry amongst many of the leads which undermines the sense of urgency, desperation, and sacrifice which is key to the story.
Charlie Day provides some good comic relief in his role and Hunnam and Elba do a good job with the limited characters that they are given.
While it is not a bad film by any stretch the imagination, it could have been so much more because as it stands now it is basically in the vein of the Toho Godzilla movies just with a bigger budget and better effects.
http://sknr.net/2013/07/11/pacific-rim/
Enter into the mix Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam), a young Jaeger pilot who, with his brother, pilots the Gypsy Danger mech. It is learned that two pilots are needed to control the mechs as the neural demands were too much for one individual alone. Through a process known as “drifting” the pilots are linked to one another’s minds which allows them each to control one half of the machine in combat situations. Needless to say it is vital that the two pilots are compatible as the connection allows them to see into each other’s minds and memories so therefore having somebody of a compatible nature is key to success.
Six years into the war tragedy strikes leaving Raleigh dissolution and alone. In the ensuing seven years he is working on a last gasp project to build gigantic walls around coastal cities in an effort to stop the alien menace and protect cities. Things have not been going well and due to increasing losses the command has canceled the Jaeger program and ordered the few remaining next to Hong Kong to provide a measure of defense will wall is completed.
This does not sit well with Defense Marshall Pentecost (Idris Elba), who believes that the mechs offer humanity’s best defense against the enemy and as such he seeks down Raleigh and return Sam reluctantly to the program. It is learned that there are only four mechs left and a desperate plan to deliver a nuclear payload through the rift directly to the enemy is put in place. Of course complications arise specifically in the form that Raleigh needs to find a new copilot and by far and away the best candidate for him Rinko (Mako Mori) is being blocked from taking part in the mission by the Defense Marshall. This combined with tension between their rival pilot and Raleigh certainly has him rethinking his place in the mission.
As if this was not complicated enough, base scientist Newton (Charlie Day), is convinced that there is a much bigger threat coming and that their current course of action is not going to be enough to save the day.What follows is an FX heavy spectacle of action as humanity makes a last-ditch stand against the alien apocalypse in spectacular style.
The movie, while entertaining, does strain credibility to a serious extreme even by adventure film standards. We’re supposed to believe that enormous amounts of money have been spent to develop and maintain the defense program when the weaponry aboard the mechs as well as conventional weaponry such as Tomahawk missiles and such could be mounted aboard ships and coastal batteries and deployed with similar success at a significantly reduced cost. We are told that the initial attack took six days to repel using jets and tanks but from my point of view heavy assault gunships, rail guns, cruise missiles, as well as the plasma weaponry shown in the film would certainly do the job from any floating or fixed coastal location.
Even though the 3-D in the movie was converted it was done very well and there were some very good moments of immersion especially during the very well done combat sequences. My biggest issue was that the middle of the film tended to drag as we had a lot of interpersonal dramas play out but they lacked attention and character development that they needed to be fully effective. Despite the extremely solid cast, many of the characters were very thinly developed as the emphasis on the movie was clearly on putting giant robots against giant creatures and unleashing as much carnage and mayhem as possible.
In this regard the film worked however the times in between do not work so well and there is a surprising lack of chemistry amongst many of the leads which undermines the sense of urgency, desperation, and sacrifice which is key to the story.
Charlie Day provides some good comic relief in his role and Hunnam and Elba do a good job with the limited characters that they are given.
While it is not a bad film by any stretch the imagination, it could have been so much more because as it stands now it is basically in the vein of the Toho Godzilla movies just with a bigger budget and better effects.
http://sknr.net/2013/07/11/pacific-rim/
Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated Holding Out for a Hero (Jelvia: Not Human #1) in Books
Jan 9, 2020
Honest Review for Free Copy of Book
WARNING: FOR READERS 18 YEARS OLD AND OLDER ONLY!
Normally I would put who I believe the target readers are at the end of my review, but because of the genre of this book things are going to be a little different. The target readers for this book are adults, 18 years old and older. This book is labeled as an erotica. There are vivid sex scenes with mild bondage and kinky play throughout this book. You have been warned.
Jelvia Not Human 1: Holding Out for a Hero by T. E. Kessler was originally published under the author name of L. Wise and with a different cover. Most erotica fantasy books use vampires or werewolves as a main character type but this book introduced is an entirely new race, the Jelvia. From reading this book I have learned that they are similar to humans and appearance, only they are significantly taller. I don't want to give away too much about who or what they are as I enjoyed learning about them during the book.
Macy, a journalist for a newspaper called the London Echo, lives with her friend Courtney. One night Courtney is attacked by a group of guys outside of a store. Suddenly her attack flee and Courtney find herself face to face with a Jelvia. Now Macy's sets out to prove that Jelvias are not the dangerous threat to mankind that everyone seems to think they are. After William, the owner of the paper Macy works for, sees a video of Macy speaking to a Jelvia he invite her to work directly for him. He has this idea of a special team for a paper that will report the truth on Jelvias all of the fear inducing media hype other papers publish.
As it turns out William is not exactly who he says he is. He askes Macy to get close to a Jelvia to get information from him. As it turns out the Jelvia, named Narcifer, has received the same orders in regards to Macy. Things get even more complicated when Macy and Narcifer fall for each other and realize that both of their bosses are using them. The two races do not approve of or trust the other, so now it is up to Macy and Narcifer decide if their love is worth everything they may lose. Can they approve to humans that the Jelvia are not as dangerous as they are made out to be? Can they prove to the Jelvias that look down on humans that humans are not just wheat creatures that are in the way or a danger to their own race?
What I liked best about this book is that it stayed true to the erotica style. Many erotica books tend to fall too much toward the side of a mushy romance instead. It also contained a strong storyline that remained interesting. The sex, while it was consistent, was not the main focus of the story and was appropriate in its timing. What I liked least about the book is actually a common complaint of mine. Parts of the story were repeated multiple times as information was spread from one person to another. To me this starts to make a book drag and I find myself wanting to skim over paragraphs or even pages at a time.
Overall I rate this book a 3 out of 4. It is hard to find an erotica book that bounces the sex and story well. This book is very well balanced and the plot was strong. Only reason why it got a 3 instead of a 4 was because of it being repetitive. I do look forward to reading more of this series as it becomes available and hope that I have a chance to review the rest of the books. I am very interested and where Macy's relationship will lead and if humans and Jelvia ever become mostly tolerant of each other.
https://www.facebook.com/nightreaderreviews
Normally I would put who I believe the target readers are at the end of my review, but because of the genre of this book things are going to be a little different. The target readers for this book are adults, 18 years old and older. This book is labeled as an erotica. There are vivid sex scenes with mild bondage and kinky play throughout this book. You have been warned.
Jelvia Not Human 1: Holding Out for a Hero by T. E. Kessler was originally published under the author name of L. Wise and with a different cover. Most erotica fantasy books use vampires or werewolves as a main character type but this book introduced is an entirely new race, the Jelvia. From reading this book I have learned that they are similar to humans and appearance, only they are significantly taller. I don't want to give away too much about who or what they are as I enjoyed learning about them during the book.
Macy, a journalist for a newspaper called the London Echo, lives with her friend Courtney. One night Courtney is attacked by a group of guys outside of a store. Suddenly her attack flee and Courtney find herself face to face with a Jelvia. Now Macy's sets out to prove that Jelvias are not the dangerous threat to mankind that everyone seems to think they are. After William, the owner of the paper Macy works for, sees a video of Macy speaking to a Jelvia he invite her to work directly for him. He has this idea of a special team for a paper that will report the truth on Jelvias all of the fear inducing media hype other papers publish.
As it turns out William is not exactly who he says he is. He askes Macy to get close to a Jelvia to get information from him. As it turns out the Jelvia, named Narcifer, has received the same orders in regards to Macy. Things get even more complicated when Macy and Narcifer fall for each other and realize that both of their bosses are using them. The two races do not approve of or trust the other, so now it is up to Macy and Narcifer decide if their love is worth everything they may lose. Can they approve to humans that the Jelvia are not as dangerous as they are made out to be? Can they prove to the Jelvias that look down on humans that humans are not just wheat creatures that are in the way or a danger to their own race?
What I liked best about this book is that it stayed true to the erotica style. Many erotica books tend to fall too much toward the side of a mushy romance instead. It also contained a strong storyline that remained interesting. The sex, while it was consistent, was not the main focus of the story and was appropriate in its timing. What I liked least about the book is actually a common complaint of mine. Parts of the story were repeated multiple times as information was spread from one person to another. To me this starts to make a book drag and I find myself wanting to skim over paragraphs or even pages at a time.
Overall I rate this book a 3 out of 4. It is hard to find an erotica book that bounces the sex and story well. This book is very well balanced and the plot was strong. Only reason why it got a 3 instead of a 4 was because of it being repetitive. I do look forward to reading more of this series as it becomes available and hope that I have a chance to review the rest of the books. I am very interested and where Macy's relationship will lead and if humans and Jelvia ever become mostly tolerant of each other.
https://www.facebook.com/nightreaderreviews
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated American Reunion (2012) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
It has often been said that you cannot turn back the hands of time, but thankfully Hollywood is a place where magical things happen. In the case of the gang from American Pie and the creative talents of writer directors Jon Hurwitz Hayden Schlossberg, the gang is back, better than ever, for another slice if pie. Hurwitz and Schlossberg are the creative team behind the ” Harold and Kumar” series and have been entrusted by Universal to carry on the American Pie series which had recently been relegated to four direct-to-DVD releases.
The new film reunites the entire cast from the original three films and centers around the gang’s 13 year high school reunion. Life has definitely taken them all in some unexpected directions. Jim (Jason Biggs) is married to Michelle (Alyson Hannigan), and are now parents to a little boy and enjoying a comfortable, if a tad uneventful, suburban lifestyle.
Oz (Chris Klein), is a successful Los Angeles sportscaster as well as a recent contestant on a popular national dance show. He spends his time mixing with celebrities and indulging a girlfriend who loves to party just a bit too much. Meanwhile, Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), is happily married but needs an escape from a domestic routine that includes watching reality shows with his wife.
Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) fancies himself a nomadic spirit who wanders the globe from one esoteric adventure to another, still looking for his true love while Stiffler (Seann William Scott), works at a prestigious firm and remains the guy who never misses an opportunity to wisecrack or sexually harass any female who crosses his path.
As reunion-type movies go, there are the expected moments of awkwardness and hilarity. And of course, it wouldn’t be an American Pie movie without moments of ridiculously crude antics, mainly from Stifler. What separates the film from the bevy of raunchy comedies that flooded the market after the success of the initial film, is that there is some maturity amongst the mayhem.
In between the outrageous antics, the various characters are forced to take deep examinations of their lives since graduation and in some cases grow up for the first time in their lives. Oz must comes to grips with his feelings for his former girlfriend Heather (Mena Suvari), as does Kevin when his former flame Vicky (Tara Reid), returns to town for the reunion. Jim and Michelle have to find a way to bring some sexual spark back into their lives while Finch needs to accept the mundane reality of his. And Stifler. Well, let’s just say he needs to find his true calling.
What really sold the film for me was not just the great chemistry between the cast but the way the script deftly moved the raunchy comedy along while combining character development and depth that is not normally found in films of this type. As I watched, I found that I had really missed this crew of unlikely friends, and really enjoyed catching up with them even when they were not extricating themselves from one over-the-top situation after another.
While the film did drag a bit slightly there was always an outrageous moment right around the corner that had the theater errupting in laughter or shrieking in disbelief. This film is rated R for good reason. The cast worked really great together and it was especially nice to see Klein back in the mix, as he had been noticeably absent from the last film in no small part due to his offscreen issues.
Eugene Levy and Jennifer Coolidge (Stifler’s mom) have some absolutely hysterical moments in film especially when Mr. Levenstein, widowed now for three years, decides to cut loose at a party and we get to see has wild side. I would also encourage viewers to make sure to stay through the credits as there is more comedy from this pair that must not be missed.
The supporting characters from the previous films were all given their moments to shine even if it is just in a small cameo. Shannon Elizabeth, Natasha Lyonne, John Cho, and of course, the Sherminator were all given a chance to bring back some memories, making this film is welcome and enjoyably nostalgic trip. It proves that there’s still some life and good times left in the series, and if the creative talents can keep quality to this level I, for one, would certainly welcome another slice of pie in the future.
The new film reunites the entire cast from the original three films and centers around the gang’s 13 year high school reunion. Life has definitely taken them all in some unexpected directions. Jim (Jason Biggs) is married to Michelle (Alyson Hannigan), and are now parents to a little boy and enjoying a comfortable, if a tad uneventful, suburban lifestyle.
Oz (Chris Klein), is a successful Los Angeles sportscaster as well as a recent contestant on a popular national dance show. He spends his time mixing with celebrities and indulging a girlfriend who loves to party just a bit too much. Meanwhile, Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), is happily married but needs an escape from a domestic routine that includes watching reality shows with his wife.
Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) fancies himself a nomadic spirit who wanders the globe from one esoteric adventure to another, still looking for his true love while Stiffler (Seann William Scott), works at a prestigious firm and remains the guy who never misses an opportunity to wisecrack or sexually harass any female who crosses his path.
As reunion-type movies go, there are the expected moments of awkwardness and hilarity. And of course, it wouldn’t be an American Pie movie without moments of ridiculously crude antics, mainly from Stifler. What separates the film from the bevy of raunchy comedies that flooded the market after the success of the initial film, is that there is some maturity amongst the mayhem.
In between the outrageous antics, the various characters are forced to take deep examinations of their lives since graduation and in some cases grow up for the first time in their lives. Oz must comes to grips with his feelings for his former girlfriend Heather (Mena Suvari), as does Kevin when his former flame Vicky (Tara Reid), returns to town for the reunion. Jim and Michelle have to find a way to bring some sexual spark back into their lives while Finch needs to accept the mundane reality of his. And Stifler. Well, let’s just say he needs to find his true calling.
What really sold the film for me was not just the great chemistry between the cast but the way the script deftly moved the raunchy comedy along while combining character development and depth that is not normally found in films of this type. As I watched, I found that I had really missed this crew of unlikely friends, and really enjoyed catching up with them even when they were not extricating themselves from one over-the-top situation after another.
While the film did drag a bit slightly there was always an outrageous moment right around the corner that had the theater errupting in laughter or shrieking in disbelief. This film is rated R for good reason. The cast worked really great together and it was especially nice to see Klein back in the mix, as he had been noticeably absent from the last film in no small part due to his offscreen issues.
Eugene Levy and Jennifer Coolidge (Stifler’s mom) have some absolutely hysterical moments in film especially when Mr. Levenstein, widowed now for three years, decides to cut loose at a party and we get to see has wild side. I would also encourage viewers to make sure to stay through the credits as there is more comedy from this pair that must not be missed.
The supporting characters from the previous films were all given their moments to shine even if it is just in a small cameo. Shannon Elizabeth, Natasha Lyonne, John Cho, and of course, the Sherminator were all given a chance to bring back some memories, making this film is welcome and enjoyably nostalgic trip. It proves that there’s still some life and good times left in the series, and if the creative talents can keep quality to this level I, for one, would certainly welcome another slice of pie in the future.