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Dean (6927 KP) rated The Lion King (2019) in Movies

Jul 19, 2019 (Updated Jul 19, 2019)  
The Lion King (2019)
The Lion King (2019)
2019 | Adventure, Animation, Family
Amazing life like animation of the animals (0 more)
Songs didn't seem that great (0 more)
Same story with different visuals
Yet another re-imaging update of a Disney classic. People will always have quite varied reactions to these films depending in how high regard they hold the original. So far they have been a bit hit and miss, with Dumbo the worst for me. This is more in line with the Jungle book, with the same director. The story is pretty much exactly the same as the original. The difference is the amazing life like animation of the animals. So good it will feel like a nature documentary at times, waiting for David Attenborough to narrate over.
The voice cast is OK with only James Earl Jones voice standing out as he has such a commanding tone. The songs were just ok for me and I think this is where most people might be disappointed with this version. Overall it's a good story still given a technically excellent make-over. Just maybe lacking a little charm here and there.
  
See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989)
See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989)
1989 | Action, Comedy, Mystery
9
7.6 (11 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Gene Wilder (3 more)
Richard Pryor
Some great one liners
The bar fight
Classic comedy from a classic pairing
This never fails to put a smile on my face
Wally (Pryor) hears a murder and smells the murderer whilst working for Dave (Wilder) who saw of the murderer leaving, through a series of misunderstandings they become suspects for the murder, being chased by both the police and the villains this duo must survive, not get arrested and prove their innocence...

Dave is deaf, and owns a magazine stand, Wally is blind and approaches Dave for a job, which is when the mayhem begins. Both actors play their parts brilliantly and you could almost believe they are blind and deaf, even with the slightly non pc subject matter and the fact it is a comedy, you don't feel they are mocking deafness or blindness.

This is strangely not considered as good as their two previous outings, Silver Streak and Stir Crazy but I think it is equally as good if not slightly better
  
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
1993 | Animation, Family, Sci-Fi

"I feel like at one point or another, this is everyone’s favorite movie. Danny Elfman is amazing. I’m a big fan of stop motion. I really have an admiration and appreciation for [it]. I think they do such an amazing job, and they take so long to make. It’s almost flawless. You can’t even tell that they’re fake toys. It looks like animation. I like the music; it was amazing. Danny Elfman always does it with his scores, and Tim Burton is really rad. It’s done so well for the time. That’s a movie that will come around every so often that will just hang in the air and will never — no matter how good the graphics get, or how good your TV gets — at the end of the day, it will never folly. There are some things you’ll put on and go “It looked like that?” But when you watch Nightmare Before Christmas, you know it never gets bad or old. The music is always amazing, and they worked really hard. And that rings through. Stop motion is so great."

Source
  
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Sarah (7800 KP) rated Zodiac (2007) in Movies

Sep 7, 2020  
Zodiac (2007)
Zodiac (2007)
2007 | Mystery
Good but drawn out
I've had this film on my to watch list for a long time, but the runtime has always put me off. Having finally found the time and inclination to watch it recently, I'm glad I finally did.

I'd completely forgotten this was a David Fincher film, and it is very well done. The style and overall cinematography are very good. It also has a fantastic cast too, although i wish there had been a little more RDJ. As thrillers go it's very understated, maybe a little too understated in parts but it at least doesn't go OTT on action or kills and there are some very suspenseful and tense scenes dotted throughout. My main problem is this is a very long film and often feels rather drawn out. I feel like it could've been cut done a little to up the pace a bit. But despite this it's still an enjoyable film and fascinating that it's based on a true story I knew little about.
  
All the Birds in the Sky
All the Birds in the Sky
Charlie Jane Anders | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
7
7.7 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
A good blend of genres
All the Birds in the Sky is a rather difficult book to classify. It’s a rather good mix of sci-fi, drama, fantasy and romance, all under the guise of a battle between magic and science. I wouldn’t have thought such a mix of genres would work, but actually this does rather well. The two main characters, Patricia and Laurence, are well developed and enjoyable to read about, even if they are a little frustrating at times. The world of science and magic that they live in is an interesting idea and fascinating to delve into, although I did feel that the book didn’t quite go into as much detail as I’d like. I also felt a little disappointed with the ending. The entire book had been building up to this massive battle between science and magic, and it all turned out rather lacklustre and tame. It’s a shame really as until the ending, I’d rather been enjoying the story and couldn’t wait to find out what was next.
  
Project Power (2020)
Project Power (2020)
2020 | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
Full disclosure: I'm a fan of both Jamie Foxx and JGL. I was very happy to hear that he was ending his hiatus to return for this film.

Netflix has released a couple of good things in recent memory, but they have also churned out some turds. I had great fears when I heard the synopsis to Project Power because I felt that if they didn't do it right that they would stop investing in the genre, or at least limit their investment.

I had read some pretty lackluster reviews before having a chance to see this for myself, and I'm thrilled that I didn't take those as a reason not to watch it myself. There are definitely some flaws in several different elements of the film, but overall I feel that they did a good job with the premise. Besides, nobody else was beating the door down to make something similar (a la White House Down/Olympus Has Fallen).

Definitely worth having a look for yourself. Interesting concept with some scathing undertones.
  
Into The Storm (Full Circle #2)
Into The Storm (Full Circle #2)
H.M. Wolfe | 2021 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
INTO THE STORM is the second book in the Full Circle series, a follow-on from The Base and, it seems, with references to another series too, The Island. In this one, we meet with Elias, Abernathy, and Riley -- three boys who each have a lot to learn about their pasts before they can move forward.

Once again, this story references situations and incidents in other books, as well as characters who I've never met before but have their own backstories that are relevant to this story. This makes it increasingly difficult to read as I feel as though I'm only getting half a story.

It appears I am in a minority feeling this way, and I can only presume other reviewers have read the previous books/series. The bit I could understand was good; I just didn't get the whole picture.

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
 
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
 
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!