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Real Steel (2011)
Real Steel (2011)
2011 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
This is a good film, not a great film but very good.
Contains spoilers, click to show
This film is the reason I decided to do my own movie reviews. After hearing a review for this film from BBC Radio 1's movie reviewer, I decided to start my own review page. She reviewed this film seeing nothing more than the robots. She totally missed out on the whole plot of the movie, and then her comment "the climax takes a long time to come and it happens right at the end" made me want to climb into the radio and tape her mouth shut. I know where I expect the climax of a film to be, and I know it is nowhere but at the end of the film. Yes this film has big giant robots in it, but the plot is way more than that, it is a story about redemption and doing the right thing no matter how hard the journey. I got that much from just seeing the trailer, she saw the whole thing and missed the whole point.

OK rant over.

This is a good film, not a great film but very good. Hugh Jackman is good in this but to be fair he is good in most things. He gets to show off a bigger range of his acting skills than he has in the X-Men films. He plays Charlie Kenton, a former boxer now heavily in debt due to pushing his fighting robots too hard and expecting more than they can give, like fighting a 300lb bull! This also stars Evangeline Lilly in I believe her first role since the series Lost ended. She is also very good in this. However, the star of the film is Dakota Goya as Max Kenton. He shines as the child thrown together with the father he doesn't know. He enters the world of robot fighting with his father and manages to rescue a robot from a scrap pile. He then convinces his father to enter the robot in the fights. You really get to experience the wonder of the Robots through him. The other star is the robot he rescues, Atom. Although not sentient, the director manages to bring him to life with good camera angles and subtle sounds. You really start to feel for the robot and you manage to forget the fights aren't real. The other very clever part of the film is the setting. It is set in the near future, but the only really futuristic thing is the robots. There are no fancy cars or clothes and this enables you to connect with the film easier.

The climax of the film (at the end!), is a big showdown with the undefeated champion. Instead of just two robots bashing each other, you get Atom, the underdog, controlled by Max, and helped by his father. You see and feel each blow the robot takes and through the acting skills of Dakota Goya, you forget it's a machine and you can't help but cheer him on.

This could have been an average film, but the fine performances by the cast and the skill of the director in bringing Atom to life with just the use of camera shots and clever subtle sounds turns this film in to a joy to watch as you take the journey with father, son and giant robot.
  
Groundhog Day (1993)
Groundhog Day (1993)
1993 | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
the legend that holds up
Contains spoilers, click to show
I feel like this movie is one of those legends in a lot of ways. So many people love it, I've heard so many great things over the years and I've just never watched it. Not because I haven't been interested, but because I've never actively looked. Who knew it took a worldwide pandemic for me to watch.

I really enjoyed this film. I love Bill Murray - I think he is a phenomenal actor and so funny. I love his character in the movie. At first, he is so easy to hate, it's so clear he's just a bad guy. He's the guy that everyone knows in real life and you're just like, "really? you again?" and you end up feeling exhausted after talking to them because they're just the worst. But as you go through the film, you go through all the emotions and events and frustrations that he's feeling. You see the pain and the devastation, the breaking points, the good things, the bad things, the really crazy things (running into that huge groundhog after that car chase), and you feel it all with him. I don't think there are movies that often that make you feel that and I always love when they do.

I think, overall, the cast is great. I don't have any particular complaints about anyone, but nobody stands out to me as much as Bill because he just nailed it. I definitely think this is a film I'll come back to over and over again.
  
40x40

Lee KM Pallatina (951 KP) Mar 16, 2020

This is a genuine classic, it's often imitated never duplicated.

So many movies & shows have pinched the idea to create another success.

Extraction (2020)
Extraction (2020)
2020 | Action
I thought this was an okay film. I can say that it's almost 100% likely that I'll watch anything with Chris Hemsworth in it and he's great. I will say that I wish I held onto him a little more. I feel like if they would've rolled out his story sooner or built the connection with Ovi more, I would've really felt a connection to him. I just felt like it came a little too late.

I've said it before, but I love it when films have a short timeline because I feel like it allows for a richer story with more details and not as much to contend with in making sure the details align and it all makes sense. I think that if this film would've had a longer plot time, it would've messed up the rhythm.

I liked that they left an ending that could provide for a sequel but didn't need it. If it does end up standing alone, it's a film that can do that. But it could also benefit from a sequel. It doesn't feel like this entire first film was a set up for a second film. This movie has enough to stand on its own and still be a good watch.

I am glad I watched it and I will probably watch the sequel if they do release one, but I can't say I'll ever come back to it or that I highly recommend. Watch it for Hemsworth or don't watch it at all.
  
Ocean Rain by Echo & The Bunnymen
Ocean Rain by Echo & The Bunnymen
2008 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I produced this track, so that’s one of the reasons why I put it in here and “The Cutter” was one of those songs that meant a lot to me, because they were my mates. We’d all talked about being in bands and we’d all been in bands together - even though half of them had never had a rehearsal! When Echo & The Bunnymen actually did rehearse, you could instantly see the chemistry from the very start. There was just three of them with a drum machine at first, but right from the start it was very special. I was shocked actually, I remember being shocked at how good it was. I’d never produced a record and I had no ambition to be a producer, so it was a real surprise when they asked me to produce a track. “The Cutter” was the breakthrough track, we’d done “The Back Of Love” which had made it to Top Of The Pops and was in the top twenty, but “The Cutter” took it to another level. When I worked with them it was a bit different because they were my mates, so I almost joined the band really. I played a bit of guitar and put in the middle-eights with Ian. I feel like a lot of myself went into that tune, and when it became a hit for them it was a really big moment. I think it made me feel like I could do something, I didn’t know what, but it made me feel like I could."

Source
  
The Earth Bleeds Red
The Earth Bleeds Red
Jackson Paul Baer | 2017 | Mystery, Thriller
6
4.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
a good book, just not one for me!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

Scott and Jessie, and their 17 year old daughter Ashley, live a good life, a happy life. Til one day, it all goes terribly wrong and Ashley is kidnapped, possibly dead. Scott and Jessie need to keep it together long enough for Ashley to be found alive, or not.

Sometimes, stepping out of your comfort zone is a really good thing but, while a well told story, this one just didn't quite hit the spot. And I don't really know why!

Told mostly from Scott's point of view, in the first, it deals with how a family copes when tragedy strikes.

We do get some other people, in the third person, but they felt more of a narration of their voice, rather than THEM speaking, if that makes any sense?? I didn't connect to them in any way, not even when the bad guy has his five minutes, and you know how much I LOVE getting into the mind of the bad guy! I just felt, apart from Scott, totally disconnected from everyone else.

It is well written, and I saw no editing or spelling errors. It does get a little graphic in places, when being told what was done to Ashley when she was kidnapped, but it is not in any way romantic. Not even before Ashley was kidnapped, did I feel the romance between Scott and Jessie.

A good book, just not one for me and I'm sorry for that!

3 stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
Big Little Lies
Big Little Lies
2017 | Drama
The best thing about good programming is good writing!
I just finished binge watching all 7 episodes of this fantastic HBO limited series featuring a mostly female cast (I'm sure everyone knows of this by now).

The story centers around three women, all raising children trying to lead "normal" lives, but have hidden scars and emotional baggage in their relationships they are trying to work through. Tensions continue to escalate through a series of confrontations and slow burn emotional scenes, but the payoff is ultimately worth it. I am much more a fan of vague endings than most people, so I would say I thought they could have left out the final scene and left us to wonder what happened, but I'm sure I'm in the minority on that.

The acting is certainly stellar all around; however, the real royalty here is the screenplay. too often great writing gets overlooked since it's not the flashiest of production values, but this one should not be ignored. It shows that everyone you encounter in life is a human being with strengths and weaknesses. You have to take the good with the bad sometimes, or make the tough choices to save your situation and make a better life for yourself.

After finishing I read they are doing a second season. Not sure how I feel about that. It would be all right maybe if it was a completely separate story, but this is going to be a continuation. They are adding Meryl Streep so I guess that's a good start.

I will have to wait and see!

  
The Wrestler (2008)
The Wrestler (2008)
2008 | Drama
Mickey Rourke (0 more)
Great Drama
I heard a lot of good things about this film. By far the best thing about it is Micky Rourke performance of a once popular wrestler in the 80's now 20 years on making appearances on the small time circuit to try and make ends meets. It's a sad, touching drama of someone who has a fall from grace, struggling to carry on doing what they love and trying to put things right from where they went wrong in the past. It has a raw gritty feel to it and made on a low budget but it doesn't deter from the great acting on show. Might be a bit slow for those who are not in to dramas.
  
Green Book (2018)
Green Book (2018)
2018 | Drama
Casting (2 more)
Script
Feel Good
So I went into this movie only ever having seen the trailer before another movie and so I was expecting some action film about a bodyguard.... HOW WRONG WAS I!!
This film was beautiful, heart wrenching in places, down to earth and a complete joy to watch.
There is such a journey during this movie both physically and metaphorically, between the two main characters, and watching their relationship grow was humbling and beautiful.
So even though this was not what I was expecting I think it ended up being so much more and I would urge anyone who had even the slightest though of 'oh that looks interesting' to take the leap and watch it when you get a chance.
  
The War of the Worlds (1953)
The War of the Worlds (1953)
1953 | Action, Classics, Horror
Classic Gold
This movie is just classic. There is no other way to describe it. The story follows the the plight of mankind having to contend with a more advanced alien invasion force from Mars. The acting was good and the special effects were great for the time. There hasn't been a War of the Worlds movie that can touch this one in terms of a pure invasion movie( yes even the Tom Cruise version which is another story). You feel the danger and hopelessness of the situation. The acting was great and the ending was what you expect if you know the story. Maybe someday someone will do a great WotW movie that is great like this one with the technology of today.