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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Deadpool 2 (2018) in Movies
Oct 18, 2019
Deadpool 2 sits firmly and comfortably somewhere between 'good' and 'average'.
The main problem is that it's not as funny as it thinks it is. The first 30 minutes or so just seem like a constant barrage of recycled jokes from the superior first film, and a lot of the jokes don't land that well.
That being said, there are some genuinely laugh out loud moments when the film eventually finds it feet, but it does feel like the writers just threw everything toward the audience to see what would stick.
Humour is only one element of Deadpool though.
The action exceeds the first film in every way, and the movie really shines in this aspect when Cable is introduced. Josh Brolins portrayal of the badass mutant from the future is pretty engaging. His serious nature gels fantastically with Ryan Reynolds quippy Deadpool.
It's nice to see Domino turn up for the ride as well. Everyone else is (quite literally) pretty disposable, but the inclusion of X-Force gives us a fantastic blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo.
The narrative leans towards a message of accepting people for who they are, which is a nice spin in a superhero blockbuster, and of course keeps the R rating good and present with some stupidly violent moments.
Overall, Deadpool 2 is a perfect example of more not always meaning better, but is still an enjoyable ride.
The main problem is that it's not as funny as it thinks it is. The first 30 minutes or so just seem like a constant barrage of recycled jokes from the superior first film, and a lot of the jokes don't land that well.
That being said, there are some genuinely laugh out loud moments when the film eventually finds it feet, but it does feel like the writers just threw everything toward the audience to see what would stick.
Humour is only one element of Deadpool though.
The action exceeds the first film in every way, and the movie really shines in this aspect when Cable is introduced. Josh Brolins portrayal of the badass mutant from the future is pretty engaging. His serious nature gels fantastically with Ryan Reynolds quippy Deadpool.
It's nice to see Domino turn up for the ride as well. Everyone else is (quite literally) pretty disposable, but the inclusion of X-Force gives us a fantastic blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo.
The narrative leans towards a message of accepting people for who they are, which is a nice spin in a superhero blockbuster, and of course keeps the R rating good and present with some stupidly violent moments.
Overall, Deadpool 2 is a perfect example of more not always meaning better, but is still an enjoyable ride.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2357 KP) rated Murder at the Mansion in Books
Nov 15, 2019
Redwood Cove Faces a Second Killer
Kelly Jackson has returned to Redwood Cove, California, ready to take on her new job as manager of one of the B&B’s in town. While it finishes up some renovations, she is helping out at a sister property, Redwood Heights. Redwood Heights has been having issue with jewelry being stolen from guest’s rooms, but things escalate when Kelly finds one of the guests murdered in that guest’s room. With the aid of the local senior citizen community watch, the Silver Sentinels, Kelly starts digging around. Can she figure out what happened?
Having grown up visiting the redwoods, I love this setting. I would love to visit in real life, between murders, of course. This book starts off strongly and never lets up, always giving us some complication or clue until Kelly pieces everything together. I didn’t have any problem remembering the characters, which is good since there are quite a few of them, but I do feel the cast could be a little better developed. I’m hoping that will come as the series continues. I also stumbled over a few editing errors. They were minor overall, fortunately. While there aren’t any recipes, there is more than enough talk about food to make your mouth water as you read the book. Overall, this is a good second in the series, and I hope to visit Kelly again soon.
Having grown up visiting the redwoods, I love this setting. I would love to visit in real life, between murders, of course. This book starts off strongly and never lets up, always giving us some complication or clue until Kelly pieces everything together. I didn’t have any problem remembering the characters, which is good since there are quite a few of them, but I do feel the cast could be a little better developed. I’m hoping that will come as the series continues. I also stumbled over a few editing errors. They were minor overall, fortunately. While there aren’t any recipes, there is more than enough talk about food to make your mouth water as you read the book. Overall, this is a good second in the series, and I hope to visit Kelly again soon.
Cassy Klindt (5 KP) rated Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019) in Movies
Dec 20, 2019
This ending of the trilogy closed many of the plot lines and the characters story lines played out well. (3 more)
Visually beautiful. The scenery was absolutely wonderful
The pace of the movie was very consistent. There wasn't a great place to get up and get refills or go to the bathroom because it was very consistent.
The score was wonderful, consistently for the scenes.
The ending felt a bit forced. They were trying to make all fans happy but in attempting to do so messed with relationships a bit more than necessary. The movie wasthis (1 more)
Some of the characters' story lines at the end felt out of character. They just didn't seem to connect.
This movie was much better than the last. Abrams did a good job bringing the story back to its original direction for the most part. I love how some of the characters followed previous ones in their story lines, but not enough to negate the character. The scenery was absolutely wonderful! The places they visited were very well done. Visually beautiful. The ending felt a bit forced as they were trying to close all story lines and make everyone happy and some of the things that happened didn't really feel like they fit the original story, but making everyone happy is impossible. Overall I think it was a good closing the the story line and the characters stories. I enjoyed seeing this movie and would definitely go see it again!
JT (287 KP) rated Good Boys (2019) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
Kids, they say the funniest things – or in the case of Good Boys, some of the dirtiest and rudest you’ll hear leave a tweens mouth. Baby faced Jacob Tremblay plays Max, a young boy approaching the outer reaches of puberty. His childhood friends Lucas (Keith L. Williams) and Thor (Brady Noon) equally have problems of their own. One is losing his parents to divorce and the other is fighting a tough exterior to pursue an ambition to sing.
In a basic plot, the trio, who call themselves the ‘beanbag boys’, need to replace Max’s Dad’s drone after using it to do some aerial reconnaissance. The boys are desperate to learn the right way to kiss a girl after being invited to a party by the cool kids at school.
The group find themselves in all sorts of trouble on a four mile adventure to the mall, from infiltrating a drug deal in a frat house to the sale of a sex doll – not to mention the most effective way to put back a dislocated shoulder.
Good Boys is littered with harmless gags but the script does feel a little bland and awkward at times. Its foul-mouthed humour can become stale and it’s by no means on the same level as Superbad or even American Pie for that matter.
What you do get is a film with the occasional laugh and the odd heartwarming moment. A solid cameo by Stephen Merchant is one of the few highlights.
In a basic plot, the trio, who call themselves the ‘beanbag boys’, need to replace Max’s Dad’s drone after using it to do some aerial reconnaissance. The boys are desperate to learn the right way to kiss a girl after being invited to a party by the cool kids at school.
The group find themselves in all sorts of trouble on a four mile adventure to the mall, from infiltrating a drug deal in a frat house to the sale of a sex doll – not to mention the most effective way to put back a dislocated shoulder.
Good Boys is littered with harmless gags but the script does feel a little bland and awkward at times. Its foul-mouthed humour can become stale and it’s by no means on the same level as Superbad or even American Pie for that matter.
What you do get is a film with the occasional laugh and the odd heartwarming moment. A solid cameo by Stephen Merchant is one of the few highlights.
Veronica Pena (690 KP) rated Strangers on a Train (1951) in Movies
Mar 30, 2020
i didn't think hitchcock could get weirder.
This movie left a bad taste in my mouth. I felt like I needed to take a shower to get a film off my skin - like the one you get when you've been outside for too long. It was just weird. And I really thought Hitchcock couldn't get any weirder. Bruno as a character reminded me of young Charly from "Shadow of a Doubt." Just how she had this weird infatuation for her uncle, I get that same feeling about Bruno. It's clear within the first 20 minutes of the film how it's going to play out, but the ending still somehow surprises you. I guess that's a good thing. Anyways, back to Bruno. He hooks onto Guy and really sinks his claws in. The way Bruno stalks him, calls him at various locations, "runs into him" when he's out with Anne or when he's with Anne's family during lunch (or wherever they were). He just gave me a creepy feeling. He's obviously delusional but I don't think Hitchcock played it off that well. I don't know if that was on purpose or not.
By now, I think most people know how Hitchcock makes me feel (the answer is not good, I don't like most of his work that I've seen thus far), and this film did not help his case. We still have a few to go so we'll see how those play out.
By now, I think most people know how Hitchcock makes me feel (the answer is not good, I don't like most of his work that I've seen thus far), and this film did not help his case. We still have a few to go so we'll see how those play out.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales in Books
Apr 2, 2020
Another great collection of stories
I feel like I need to include a preface with all of my Stephen King reviews, or some form of disclaimer, to warn any readers that he is my favourite author so my review may not be as neutral as it could be. Either that or he really is a great writer 😆
Everything’s Eventual is a collection of short stories that I read well over a decade ago, and as short stories require a lot less brain power than a full on novel, I decided to give this a go as I couldn’t recall many of the stories. And overall this is a very good collection of short stories. They’re all well written with developed characters (as you’d expect with King I’m sure), and the stories themselves have all got very good plots and storylines. The stories are all well balanced and there are none in here that are either overly long or too short, they’re very well paced. There are some great stories in here, most notably for me the John Dillinger story ‘The Death of Jack Hamilton’ and the Dark Tower prequel ‘The Little Sisters of Eluria’, but all of the stories are entertaining and very enjoyable. I wouldn’t say there are any amazing standout ‘wow’ stories in this, which is possibly why I’ve marked it down a little from some of King’s other collections of short stories.
Everything’s Eventual is a collection of short stories that I read well over a decade ago, and as short stories require a lot less brain power than a full on novel, I decided to give this a go as I couldn’t recall many of the stories. And overall this is a very good collection of short stories. They’re all well written with developed characters (as you’d expect with King I’m sure), and the stories themselves have all got very good plots and storylines. The stories are all well balanced and there are none in here that are either overly long or too short, they’re very well paced. There are some great stories in here, most notably for me the John Dillinger story ‘The Death of Jack Hamilton’ and the Dark Tower prequel ‘The Little Sisters of Eluria’, but all of the stories are entertaining and very enjoyable. I wouldn’t say there are any amazing standout ‘wow’ stories in this, which is possibly why I’ve marked it down a little from some of King’s other collections of short stories.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 (2018) in Movies
Aug 4, 2019
Forgettable
The problem with Ralph Breaks the Internet is that it suffers from a big case of the ‘unnecessary sequels’. Which isn’t a surprise seen as the majority of sequels are the same, but I’ve come to expect more from Disney.
Visually it looks stunning and the voice cast are as good as they were the first time, and it’s wonderful to see Alan Tudyk back again as the best new character KnowsMore. The Disney princesses are by far the best thing about this film, and apart from them the only scenes I really enjoyed and found funny were the 2 credits scenes (one of which had been in the trailer). It’s a little sad that you have to sit through a full 2 hour film before finding something truly enjoyable. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a bad film. It’s Disney after all. It’s just that the plot seems a little lacklustre and really quite forgettable. It seems to be missing the magic and the humour from the original, and comes across as very bland and uninteresting. Whilst the internet idea isn’t a bad one and there are some good quirky parts, I don’t feel like it was as well executed as it could’ve been.
The original is a film I adore that never gets old, but sadly this sequel is all too forgettable and not one I’d be interested in watching again.
Visually it looks stunning and the voice cast are as good as they were the first time, and it’s wonderful to see Alan Tudyk back again as the best new character KnowsMore. The Disney princesses are by far the best thing about this film, and apart from them the only scenes I really enjoyed and found funny were the 2 credits scenes (one of which had been in the trailer). It’s a little sad that you have to sit through a full 2 hour film before finding something truly enjoyable. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a bad film. It’s Disney after all. It’s just that the plot seems a little lacklustre and really quite forgettable. It seems to be missing the magic and the humour from the original, and comes across as very bland and uninteresting. Whilst the internet idea isn’t a bad one and there are some good quirky parts, I don’t feel like it was as well executed as it could’ve been.
The original is a film I adore that never gets old, but sadly this sequel is all too forgettable and not one I’d be interested in watching again.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Annie (2014) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
The 2014 re-make of Annie, starring Jamie Foxx as Will Stacks, Quvenzhané Wallis as
Annie, Rose Byrne as Grace, Bobby Cannavale as Guy and Cameron Diaz as Miss Hannigan
is a musical that is fun and caused me to sing along.
The story was cute, and obviously at least somewhat predictable if you are older
than 30-ish.
Parts of it were a very tiny bit scary for my son (6), mostly centered around Annie
being swept off by 'bad guys'.
Cameron Diaz does a pretty good job as Miss Hannigan and sings fairly well. She
doesn't 'copy' Carol Burnetts role as Miss Hannigan, but rather makes it her own,
modern version.
Jamie Foxx is great as Will Stacks and has a great voice. He portrays gruff and
unapproachable very well, and I liked him in the role.
The show stealer was Quvenzhané Wallis as Annie. Her performance was great and she
sang her little heart out. I connected with her emotionally and found her to be very
believable as a kid trying to find her place in the world.
I liked the film, and feel it is a good re-make. It isn't one hundred percent like
the original, but a new, modern twist on it.
My son liked it, and my husband liked it more than he thought he would.
We would be happy to see it again in the theatre.
I would give this over 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Annie, Rose Byrne as Grace, Bobby Cannavale as Guy and Cameron Diaz as Miss Hannigan
is a musical that is fun and caused me to sing along.
The story was cute, and obviously at least somewhat predictable if you are older
than 30-ish.
Parts of it were a very tiny bit scary for my son (6), mostly centered around Annie
being swept off by 'bad guys'.
Cameron Diaz does a pretty good job as Miss Hannigan and sings fairly well. She
doesn't 'copy' Carol Burnetts role as Miss Hannigan, but rather makes it her own,
modern version.
Jamie Foxx is great as Will Stacks and has a great voice. He portrays gruff and
unapproachable very well, and I liked him in the role.
The show stealer was Quvenzhané Wallis as Annie. Her performance was great and she
sang her little heart out. I connected with her emotionally and found her to be very
believable as a kid trying to find her place in the world.
I liked the film, and feel it is a good re-make. It isn't one hundred percent like
the original, but a new, modern twist on it.
My son liked it, and my husband liked it more than he thought he would.
We would be happy to see it again in the theatre.
I would give this over 3.5 out of 5 stars.
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