Search
Search results
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Looper (2012) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
In the world of 2072, it is learned that time travel has been invented and is declared illegal by all the governments of the world. Naturally, the criminal elements of the future embrace the technology. Apparently getting rid of bodies and people in the future is tricky because of innovative tagging and tracking technology.
The criminal bosses of the future send a man named Abe (Jeff Bridges) 30 years into the past to serve the criminals of the future with a new type of hit man called a Looper. In the new film “Looper” Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Joe, a Looper who never lets morals get in the way of his job. He is happy to promptly dispatch anyone sent from the future without a second thought.
Joe is well paid for his work, and is happy to enjoy the drugs and women that come with his job. Yet Joe desires to leave it all one day and travel to France. For a Looper to be retired, he is forced to kill a future version of himself, and in doing so, gets a fantastic retirement payout and 30 years to live it up since that is how long it will take for time travel to be invented. Naturally an older version of yourself cannot be sent back to be killed by your younger self for at least 30 years. But the increase in retirements is a bit disconcerting for Joe.
Things change drastically for Joe when his older self (Bruce Willis), appears and manages to escape before he can be killed by his younger self. For a Looper to have his target escape is a serious infraction, and in no time, Joe finds himself not only hunting his older self, but also on the run from his former friends and allies who have made him both older and younger a priority.
At this point in the film, I was hooked, as my mind raced with twists, possibilities, and the promise of the film. Sadly the momentum grinds to a halt in the second half as the older Joe attempts to ally with his younger self to stop a future crime boss while he is a child. This quickly becomes a very blatant “Terminator” rip off as older Joe attempts to locate and kill children who may be the future crime lord while younger Joe is biding his time hiding from his former associates while protecting a young child and his mother from his older self.
It does not take much thought to see where this is going but sadly the remainder of the movie is underwhelming and disappointing as the film recycles scenarios that we have seen many times before in better movies. The second half lacks any real action and climactic finale to give the audience the well-deserved payoff they waited for.
Willis, Bridges, and Gordon-Levitt do solid work but seem to be going through the motions as they never really earn any sympathy from the audience. Much like last year’s “In Time”, “Looper” has a great premise that starts well and then fails to live up to its potential.
The criminal bosses of the future send a man named Abe (Jeff Bridges) 30 years into the past to serve the criminals of the future with a new type of hit man called a Looper. In the new film “Looper” Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Joe, a Looper who never lets morals get in the way of his job. He is happy to promptly dispatch anyone sent from the future without a second thought.
Joe is well paid for his work, and is happy to enjoy the drugs and women that come with his job. Yet Joe desires to leave it all one day and travel to France. For a Looper to be retired, he is forced to kill a future version of himself, and in doing so, gets a fantastic retirement payout and 30 years to live it up since that is how long it will take for time travel to be invented. Naturally an older version of yourself cannot be sent back to be killed by your younger self for at least 30 years. But the increase in retirements is a bit disconcerting for Joe.
Things change drastically for Joe when his older self (Bruce Willis), appears and manages to escape before he can be killed by his younger self. For a Looper to have his target escape is a serious infraction, and in no time, Joe finds himself not only hunting his older self, but also on the run from his former friends and allies who have made him both older and younger a priority.
At this point in the film, I was hooked, as my mind raced with twists, possibilities, and the promise of the film. Sadly the momentum grinds to a halt in the second half as the older Joe attempts to ally with his younger self to stop a future crime boss while he is a child. This quickly becomes a very blatant “Terminator” rip off as older Joe attempts to locate and kill children who may be the future crime lord while younger Joe is biding his time hiding from his former associates while protecting a young child and his mother from his older self.
It does not take much thought to see where this is going but sadly the remainder of the movie is underwhelming and disappointing as the film recycles scenarios that we have seen many times before in better movies. The second half lacks any real action and climactic finale to give the audience the well-deserved payoff they waited for.
Willis, Bridges, and Gordon-Levitt do solid work but seem to be going through the motions as they never really earn any sympathy from the audience. Much like last year’s “In Time”, “Looper” has a great premise that starts well and then fails to live up to its potential.
Amazon Prime Now
Shopping and Food & Drink
App
You have better things to do than go to the store. Skip the trip and shop for tens of thousands of...
Kurt Vile recommended The Sun Years by Jerry Lee Lewis in Music (curated)
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated The Girls Are All So Nice Here in Books
Jun 30, 2021
I love a good psychological thriller. In fact, that's one of my favorite genres. When I read the synopsis of The Girls Are All So Nice Here by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, I knew it was a book I had to read. It was giving me Pretty Little Liars vibes in a way. I ended up really liking this book.
I really enjoyed the plot of The Girls Are All So Nice Here, and the pacing was perfect. To say I devoured this book is an understatement. I had to know more. I had to know more about Amb, Sully, and Flora. I was totally invested in this story. I will say that most of the book is predictable with a few unpredictable plot twists. It's quite obvious, for the most part, how the story will end and who the guilty party is. However, the execution was done very well that knowing what was going to happen didn't put me off reading the book. I wanted more backstory for my theories, and the author did not disappoint. I enjoyed that the story alternated between Amb in college and Amb in the present time. One thing I didn't predict was what happened to Sully and Amb at the end of the book. I will say the ending was a tad rushed and a bit unbelievable with how easy it was for one such character to get away with what they did. However, this book does try to convey the lesson of be careful how you treat people.
I found the characters in The Girls Are All So Nice Here to be fleshed out enough to feel more like real people instead of just some random characters in a book. I really, really did not like Sully and Amb, not because they weren't written very well (which they are written amazingly), but because they were just so mean and selfish. They were the total mean girls at college. I think everyone knew at least one mean girl at some point in their life. I enjoyed reading about Sully and Amb then and now. It was fun to learn how much they had (or hadn't in some cases) matured. I really loved Flora and how much she genuinely seemed to care about everyone even those she never met. I wanted to be friends with Flora, and when I read about how mean Amb and Sully were to her, it broke my heart. Flora did not deserve any hate.
Trigger warnings for The Girls Are All So Nice Here include profanity, promiscuity, many sex references though not super graphic, rape, murder, mentions of suicide, underage drinking, drugs, and gaslighting.
Overall, The Girls Are So Nice Here is an intriguing read that will pull its readers in from the very first page. With characters the reader will love to hate and a story line that sucks you in, this is one novel that you won't soon forget. I would definitely recommend The Girls Are All So Nice Here by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn to those aged 18+ who are after a well developed story that will leave you gasping by the last page.
I really enjoyed the plot of The Girls Are All So Nice Here, and the pacing was perfect. To say I devoured this book is an understatement. I had to know more. I had to know more about Amb, Sully, and Flora. I was totally invested in this story. I will say that most of the book is predictable with a few unpredictable plot twists. It's quite obvious, for the most part, how the story will end and who the guilty party is. However, the execution was done very well that knowing what was going to happen didn't put me off reading the book. I wanted more backstory for my theories, and the author did not disappoint. I enjoyed that the story alternated between Amb in college and Amb in the present time. One thing I didn't predict was what happened to Sully and Amb at the end of the book. I will say the ending was a tad rushed and a bit unbelievable with how easy it was for one such character to get away with what they did. However, this book does try to convey the lesson of be careful how you treat people.
I found the characters in The Girls Are All So Nice Here to be fleshed out enough to feel more like real people instead of just some random characters in a book. I really, really did not like Sully and Amb, not because they weren't written very well (which they are written amazingly), but because they were just so mean and selfish. They were the total mean girls at college. I think everyone knew at least one mean girl at some point in their life. I enjoyed reading about Sully and Amb then and now. It was fun to learn how much they had (or hadn't in some cases) matured. I really loved Flora and how much she genuinely seemed to care about everyone even those she never met. I wanted to be friends with Flora, and when I read about how mean Amb and Sully were to her, it broke my heart. Flora did not deserve any hate.
Trigger warnings for The Girls Are All So Nice Here include profanity, promiscuity, many sex references though not super graphic, rape, murder, mentions of suicide, underage drinking, drugs, and gaslighting.
Overall, The Girls Are So Nice Here is an intriguing read that will pull its readers in from the very first page. With characters the reader will love to hate and a story line that sucks you in, this is one novel that you won't soon forget. I would definitely recommend The Girls Are All So Nice Here by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn to those aged 18+ who are after a well developed story that will leave you gasping by the last page.
Lee Ronaldo recommended Dancing In Your Head by Ornette Coleman in Music (curated)
Tom Jones recommended Back to Black by Amy Winehouse in Music (curated)
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Nope (2022) in Movies
Jul 26, 2022
Original...Tense...and Entertaining
Producer/Writer/Director Jordan Peele has managed to accomplish something with his latest horror film - he has managed to make a completely original film both in concept and in execution.
To tell too much about the story of NOPE would be to spoil it - and letting this unique film unfold in front of you is a large part of the journey - but, to sum up…Hollywood Horse Wrangler, Otis Haywood Sr. (the great Keith David, THE THING), his son, Otis Haywood, Jr. - or as he is called in this film OJ (the incomparable Oscar-winner Daniel Kaluuya) and his daughter, Emerald (Keke Palmer of Disney Channel fame, amongst others) encounter some strange phenomena. Their investigation will draw in their neighbor, former child star Ricky “Jupe” Park (Steven Yeun, THE WALKING DEAD), a tech from the local IT Hardware store, Angel Torres (Brandon Perea, THE OA) and a wildlife cinematographer, Antlers Holst, who specializes in getting the “impossible” shot (Michael Wincott, THE CROW).
It’s a wildly entertaining, grip-your-armchair type of film that unfolds on the screen in clever ways (without getting “too” weird) - all with the pragmatic sensibilities of Peele, the former member of the comedy duo KEYE & PEELE. Jordan has grown into a filmmaker that must not be missed and in NOPE he showcases his skill with strong effect, being in complete control of the artistic point of view while delivering a highly entertaining thriller.
Of course, it helps that you have a performer as interesting to watch as Kaluuya - one of the finest performers in film today. He plays the taciturn OJ with complete “taciturn-ness” (if that is a word) and, in his skilled body, this performance works very, very well. He says more with a glance or a shrug than most people can say with a 1,000 words and he draws you into the screen and into his thoughts with tremendous intimacy.
Keke Palmer, by contrast, is the exact opposite. Her Emerald is flamboyant, chatty, up-beat and beset by inner demons made manifest by drugs, alcohol and smoke. It is a movie-saving performance by Palmer as she brings the heart and the energy to the proceedings while Kaluuya is the quiet brains and the soul.
Perea, Yeun, David and (especially) Wincott all add to the tapestry of the events and bring something interesting and worth looking at (and into) during the course of this film.
Peele ratchets the tension throughout this film like an expert and the Special Effects are used in exactly the right way that they needed to be used and showcased throughout the film - filling you with awe when that is called for and having you think to yourself “you’ve got to be kidding me” when that is exactly what the characters are thinking.
A masterful, original concept of a film by Peele - one that is not for everyone - but those that are into this type of thing are going to be in for a unique and original film filled with unique characters and more than one jump along the way.
Letter Grade: A
9 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
To tell too much about the story of NOPE would be to spoil it - and letting this unique film unfold in front of you is a large part of the journey - but, to sum up…Hollywood Horse Wrangler, Otis Haywood Sr. (the great Keith David, THE THING), his son, Otis Haywood, Jr. - or as he is called in this film OJ (the incomparable Oscar-winner Daniel Kaluuya) and his daughter, Emerald (Keke Palmer of Disney Channel fame, amongst others) encounter some strange phenomena. Their investigation will draw in their neighbor, former child star Ricky “Jupe” Park (Steven Yeun, THE WALKING DEAD), a tech from the local IT Hardware store, Angel Torres (Brandon Perea, THE OA) and a wildlife cinematographer, Antlers Holst, who specializes in getting the “impossible” shot (Michael Wincott, THE CROW).
It’s a wildly entertaining, grip-your-armchair type of film that unfolds on the screen in clever ways (without getting “too” weird) - all with the pragmatic sensibilities of Peele, the former member of the comedy duo KEYE & PEELE. Jordan has grown into a filmmaker that must not be missed and in NOPE he showcases his skill with strong effect, being in complete control of the artistic point of view while delivering a highly entertaining thriller.
Of course, it helps that you have a performer as interesting to watch as Kaluuya - one of the finest performers in film today. He plays the taciturn OJ with complete “taciturn-ness” (if that is a word) and, in his skilled body, this performance works very, very well. He says more with a glance or a shrug than most people can say with a 1,000 words and he draws you into the screen and into his thoughts with tremendous intimacy.
Keke Palmer, by contrast, is the exact opposite. Her Emerald is flamboyant, chatty, up-beat and beset by inner demons made manifest by drugs, alcohol and smoke. It is a movie-saving performance by Palmer as she brings the heart and the energy to the proceedings while Kaluuya is the quiet brains and the soul.
Perea, Yeun, David and (especially) Wincott all add to the tapestry of the events and bring something interesting and worth looking at (and into) during the course of this film.
Peele ratchets the tension throughout this film like an expert and the Special Effects are used in exactly the right way that they needed to be used and showcased throughout the film - filling you with awe when that is called for and having you think to yourself “you’ve got to be kidding me” when that is exactly what the characters are thinking.
A masterful, original concept of a film by Peele - one that is not for everyone - but those that are into this type of thing are going to be in for a unique and original film filled with unique characters and more than one jump along the way.
Letter Grade: A
9 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years (2016) in Movies
Oct 24, 2017
Four Lads Who Shook The World
Last night the Ron Howard directed Beatles documentary, Eight Days A Week: The Touring Years, premiered in London. As much as I would have loved to attend the premier, I have just started a new year at university and couldn’t afford to go both financially and educationally. Therefore I had to settle for going to see it in my local cinema, but it was still an awesome experience. From six o’clock, the cinema streamed the premier in London, hosted by John Bishop and Edith Bowman and featuring interviews from Ron Howard, Paul and Ringo. Then the cinema auctioned off a poster for the film for charity, (which went for £100 if you are curious,) then finally the film started.
It is a fantastic insight into what went on during the years of Beatlemania while the Beatles were on tour and what they were like as people in those more innocent days. The music is of course fantastic, but even for someone who isn’t a massive Beatles fan I think that this documentary is still relevant and tells of an important piece of recent history in an exciting, stylish way.
There are some gripes I have with the movie though, the first one being a case of some revisionist history. The only talk about the group taking any form of drugs was a blink and you’ll miss it mention of them smoking dope on the set of Help, there was no mention of them smoking a joint in the toilets in Buckingham Palace while waiting to receive their MBE’s, there was also no mention of the fact that John returned his MBE and they didn’t even mention the amount of acid they took whilst in India and in the later days. Also, all of John’s more offensive behaviour has been vastly censored and toned down. There is footage of the Beatles first American concert at the Coliseum in Washington D.C, where Paul introduces the band and asks the audience to ‘clap their hands and stomp their feet,’ as Paul is saying this John appears to be impersonating a handicapped person doing exaggerated clapping and stomping movements, which is something he did repeatedly during their first American tour, but in the film they cut away to the audience during this to avoid showing John being offensive. We also never see the footage from their Royal Variety performance, when John told the people in the poor seats to clap their hands and the rich people, including the Royal family, to just rattle their jewellery. I don’t know why they are trying to make John look like an innocent saint when he was never like that, he was always rebellious and cheeky and was never afraid to say what was on his mind. The second gripe I have is more of a personal one in that us hardcore Beatles fans were promised a story that had never been told and while there was some footage that I hadn’t seen before, I wasn’t exactly mind blown by the story that the footage told as there was very little in the film that I didn’t already know about. However despite these minor gripes the movie is fantastic, an immense story told by a master filmmaker about the greatest band in history, what’s not to love?
It is a fantastic insight into what went on during the years of Beatlemania while the Beatles were on tour and what they were like as people in those more innocent days. The music is of course fantastic, but even for someone who isn’t a massive Beatles fan I think that this documentary is still relevant and tells of an important piece of recent history in an exciting, stylish way.
There are some gripes I have with the movie though, the first one being a case of some revisionist history. The only talk about the group taking any form of drugs was a blink and you’ll miss it mention of them smoking dope on the set of Help, there was no mention of them smoking a joint in the toilets in Buckingham Palace while waiting to receive their MBE’s, there was also no mention of the fact that John returned his MBE and they didn’t even mention the amount of acid they took whilst in India and in the later days. Also, all of John’s more offensive behaviour has been vastly censored and toned down. There is footage of the Beatles first American concert at the Coliseum in Washington D.C, where Paul introduces the band and asks the audience to ‘clap their hands and stomp their feet,’ as Paul is saying this John appears to be impersonating a handicapped person doing exaggerated clapping and stomping movements, which is something he did repeatedly during their first American tour, but in the film they cut away to the audience during this to avoid showing John being offensive. We also never see the footage from their Royal Variety performance, when John told the people in the poor seats to clap their hands and the rich people, including the Royal family, to just rattle their jewellery. I don’t know why they are trying to make John look like an innocent saint when he was never like that, he was always rebellious and cheeky and was never afraid to say what was on his mind. The second gripe I have is more of a personal one in that us hardcore Beatles fans were promised a story that had never been told and while there was some footage that I hadn’t seen before, I wasn’t exactly mind blown by the story that the footage told as there was very little in the film that I didn’t already know about. However despite these minor gripes the movie is fantastic, an immense story told by a master filmmaker about the greatest band in history, what’s not to love?
Beckie Shelton (40 KP) rated Two Sisters in Books
May 28, 2017
Such a great Read
Two Sisters By Kerry Wilkinson is well worth a read.
I would describe this as a psychological mystery but with the added bonus of it dipping its toe into the waters of mental illness and addiction to.
To summarise we have two sisters Megan and Chloe who after the death of their parents in a road accident, journey back to their parents holiday cottage in Whitecliff to stay, supposedly to sort out their affairs and get the cottage in order.
But for Megan, there are different reasons for her return she has received a postcard with the letter Z spelt on it.
years ago the girls older brother Zak went missing at Whitecliff his body never found, Megan the oldest sister is determined to figure out the truth of what has happened to her brother and she will bulldoze down whoever gets in her way.
Now the sisters are an interesting pair, having spent their time at different boarding schools growing up, these two are like chalk and cheese.
We have Chloe the younger of the two nearly seventeen a bit shy, but friendly and open, Chloe doesn't like to rock the waters and I get the impression she's a bit of a people pleaser. She's also a fabulous artist, A vegan and looks like her mother.
Now Megan, by contrast, is the exact polar opposite of her younger sister, she's prickly, bad tempered, goes out of her way to cause strife and shock in people.
there's a lot of deep-seated issues that are girl needs to get a handle on she is addicted to prescription drugs which she acquires through dubious means and as if that's not enough she is also suffering from an eating disorder, which her sister pretends to turn a blind eye too.
So as you can see there is an awful lot going on here.
As the story progresses truths that people want buried come to light, Megan puts herself and sister in extreme danger and some people are so not what they seem in Whitecliff.
Two sisters was definitely a page turner with a flowing easy storyline that sucked you in from the start. I especially appreciated Megan's issues, this added a whole extra layer to the storyline enriching it greatly. Eating disorders are a subject close to my heart, so it was fascinating to kind of get into the mindset of an individual suffering from this type of mental illness. The addiction storyline was also an extremely fascinating issue, we often see drug taking in novels but prescription drug addiction, even know so prevalent, is not explored so frequently in fiction.
But I have to say my favourite aspect of Two Sisters was seeing the two girls connect together after being virtual strangers growing up, now that was really charming indeed.
So, in conclusion, I found this a Fabulous book and I would definitely recommend this to other readers.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free advance reader copy of Two Sisters by Kerry Wilkinson. This is my own unbiased opinion of this novel.
Arc Reviewed By BeckieBookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9460945-bex-beckie-bookworm
I would describe this as a psychological mystery but with the added bonus of it dipping its toe into the waters of mental illness and addiction to.
To summarise we have two sisters Megan and Chloe who after the death of their parents in a road accident, journey back to their parents holiday cottage in Whitecliff to stay, supposedly to sort out their affairs and get the cottage in order.
But for Megan, there are different reasons for her return she has received a postcard with the letter Z spelt on it.
years ago the girls older brother Zak went missing at Whitecliff his body never found, Megan the oldest sister is determined to figure out the truth of what has happened to her brother and she will bulldoze down whoever gets in her way.
Now the sisters are an interesting pair, having spent their time at different boarding schools growing up, these two are like chalk and cheese.
We have Chloe the younger of the two nearly seventeen a bit shy, but friendly and open, Chloe doesn't like to rock the waters and I get the impression she's a bit of a people pleaser. She's also a fabulous artist, A vegan and looks like her mother.
Now Megan, by contrast, is the exact polar opposite of her younger sister, she's prickly, bad tempered, goes out of her way to cause strife and shock in people.
there's a lot of deep-seated issues that are girl needs to get a handle on she is addicted to prescription drugs which she acquires through dubious means and as if that's not enough she is also suffering from an eating disorder, which her sister pretends to turn a blind eye too.
So as you can see there is an awful lot going on here.
As the story progresses truths that people want buried come to light, Megan puts herself and sister in extreme danger and some people are so not what they seem in Whitecliff.
Two sisters was definitely a page turner with a flowing easy storyline that sucked you in from the start. I especially appreciated Megan's issues, this added a whole extra layer to the storyline enriching it greatly. Eating disorders are a subject close to my heart, so it was fascinating to kind of get into the mindset of an individual suffering from this type of mental illness. The addiction storyline was also an extremely fascinating issue, we often see drug taking in novels but prescription drug addiction, even know so prevalent, is not explored so frequently in fiction.
But I have to say my favourite aspect of Two Sisters was seeing the two girls connect together after being virtual strangers growing up, now that was really charming indeed.
So, in conclusion, I found this a Fabulous book and I would definitely recommend this to other readers.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free advance reader copy of Two Sisters by Kerry Wilkinson. This is my own unbiased opinion of this novel.
Arc Reviewed By BeckieBookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9460945-bex-beckie-bookworm