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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019) in Movies

Dec 2, 2019 (Updated Jan 13, 2020)

X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)

2019 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

5.5

(81 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

With the (eventually true) whispers about the Disney-Fox merger doing the rounds around Dark Phoenix's release, it arrived to little fanfare. Most people had already written off as a pointless film, and it was a prime target for negativity. So much so, that it was actually the first and only X-Men film I ended up missing in the cinema.

I recently watched it on home release, really not expecting much. After the swing-and-a-miss of Apocalypse, I wasn't feeling too invested in the characters.
So imagine my surprise when I remained glued to the screen for most of the runtime.

Dark Phoenix isn't perfect by any means, and far from the lofty heights of the top tier X-Men movies, buts it no where near as awful as I had heard.
I thought the story was actually ok. I was glad that it partially took place in space, like the original comic, and unlike The Last Stand.
Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy are fantastic as they usually are, as is Nicholas Hoult. I also thing Jennifer Lawrence I makes a good Mystique, even though I'm still not a massive fan of this franchises portrayal of her character.
Ty Sheridan and Sophie Turner are given more to do this time around, and are both fine. It's a shame that Evan Peters' Quicksilver is sidelined for this particular adventure.
There are some genuinely powerful emotional beats throughout the film, and it's clear as day that all the actors involved care about their characters, and are having fun.

My main criticism is predictably the villains. The D'bari are a fairly uninspired choice for such a big storyline, and they look like generic CGI aliens. I found Jessica Chastain quite wooden and uninteresting, and they made for a very underwhelming force if evil.
The main focus of Dark Phoenix is of course in Jean Grey's turn to the dark side, so vanilla bad guys shouldn't really be that important anyway.

Dark Phoenix does a slightly better job than The Last Stand of adapting this beloved storyline, but so can't help but feel that it would benefit from multiple movies, instead of cramming into one feature, a I really hope that's something that happens going into the MCU with these characters.

We still have New Mutants to go (if it ever actually comes out) but as a last main entry into the FOX X-Men franchise, you could do a lot worse. It's not the best, it's not the worst. Dark Phoenix sits somewhere quite comfortably in the middle.
Dare I say, I think it might actually be better than the first film...

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Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Splintered (Splintered, #1) in Books

Jan 23, 2020

Splintered (Splintered, #1)

A.G. Howard | 2013 | Young Adult (YA)

7.9

(7 Ratings)

Book Rating

I loved Splintered, even though this is such a peculiar book.

As the descendant of Lewis Carroll's inspiration for Alices Adventures in Wonderland, Alyssa and all the females after Alice Liddell can hear the thoughts of plants and animals. In an attempt to stop the whispers, Alyssa collects bugs and plants and uses them for her art. She keeps it hidden from those around her, but deep down she knows that she'll eventually be in an asylum like her mother. To fix the madness running in her family, Alyssa has to journey down the rabbit hole Alice went and fix her mistakes.

Splintered is quite phenomenal – the writing is extremely vivid and doesn't stray too far from the original classic while the story is being set up. After the story is set up, Howard sends us down the rabbit hole with a dark and grotesque twist of the original classic. We have skeletal rabbits, carnivorous plants, a ghost from Alice's past that's out for vengeance, and other dark creatures that makes Wonderland a complete irony of its name.

But... but... there's a love triangle.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vCNbLv8rQAU/VcN_9G7BWAI/AAAAAAAAE0k/XoASwOo_DEA/s1600/giphy.gif"><img src="http://bookwyrmingthoughts.bookblog.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/317/2015/08/giphy-2.gif"; width="320" height="179" border="0" /></a></div>
Jeb and Morpheus both have a history with Alyssa – Morpheus just has a past with her in dreams while Jeb has a history with her in flesh and blood. None of them are absolute strangers to Alyssa. They're both possessive and over-protective. They antagonize each other, have a few brawls here and there throughout the story. By the end, Alyssa chooses a side, but we might as well be back at square one when Howard brings us back to the dark makings of Wonderland again in the sequel. There is no way Jeb and Morpheus won't be at each other's throats again.

I like neither of them. I don't like Jeb, I don't like Morpheus. I don't care they're hot – I just don't like them. I feel indifferent towards them and it could go on either a good route or bad route. Enough said on this love triangle.

Simply put, I loved every aspect of Splintered and the dark adventure Howard takes us down the rabbit hole. I just don't like the candidates of this love triangle.

Methinks Tim Burton and other horror directors doth approve of this retelling.

<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-splintered-by-ag-howard/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>

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Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) in Movies

Jan 9, 2020

Epic Indeed

In Guardians of the Galaxy, a group of unlikely heroes for a team to keep a powerful weapon out of the hands of a madman.

Acting: 10

Beginning: 10

Characters: 10
The team is perfect and there’s no disputing it. They’re led by Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) who goes by the name of Starlord. He’s a self-loving womanizer who’s got comebacks for days. He falls in love with Gamora (Zoe Saldana), a green alien badass who is the daughter of a tyrant. Out of the five of them, my personal favorite is Groot (Vin Diesel), a tree being who only says, “I am Groot” yet his good friend Rocket Raccoon (weapons expert and maniac) seems to be the only one that understands the true context of his words. And I could do two more paragraphs on Drax (Dave Bautista) alone. You can’t help but love this team.

Beyond these characters, the movie really excels by bringing in a number of memorable characters that have smaller roles. Ronin (Lee Pace) the villain is a fun bad guy you definitely respect. Meanwhile, the mohawked Yondu is on the hunt for Starlord. Yondu (Michael Rooker) carries around a cool weapon that responds to his whistling. These characters are not only endearing, but experience growth throughout the movie.

Cinematography/Visuals: 10

Conflict: 10
The first ten minutes takes you on sheer adventure and it never lets up from there. The stakes are high (they’re guarding the galaxy for God’s sake!) and the villain is a legit threat. There are space chases, prison breakouts, and more that will keep you entertained for the duration of the movie.

Entertainment Value: 10

Memorability: 10
It’s rare that I clap, laugh, and tear up all in the same movie. I lost count of the number of scenes that could be considered all-time greats in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I love that the movie dives into finding family int the most unlikely of places.

Pace: 10
Hard to believe the movie was over two hours when I checked the run time. It runs so smoothly and quickly. When it’s over, you feel like you’ve been on a massive adventure in a short amount of time.

Plot: 10
There were a number of places throughout the movie where an average story could have lost its way. Guardians of the Galaxy never misses a beat. It connects all of its dots while reaching out to the extended universe at the same time.

Resolution: 10
Groot…I love you. That’s all I will say.

Overall: 100
Endless adventure. Funny for days. Touching moments. A budding romance. Guardians of the Galaxy is why I love movies.

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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated The Incredible Hulk (2008) in Movies

Feb 11, 2020 (Updated Apr 7, 2020)

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

2008 | Action, Sci-Fi

6.9

(50 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

The second entry into the ever expanding MCU has it's flaws, but it's still an entertaining enough monster movie featuring one of Marvel Comics most beloved characters.

Edward Norton is a fantastic actor, and his involvement here as Bruce Banner is an inspired choice. It's a shame that behind the scenes politics resulted in him leaving the franchise so soon, even though I love Mark Ruffalo!
He plays Banner as a fairly broody individual, but with an awkward edge, a man who's constantly in fear if what he can turn into.
Liv Tyler plays Betty Ross, and she's pretty much just Liv Tyler throughout. She's actually pretty charming as the character and it would be nice to see her turn up in future MCU films (hey, if they can get Natalie Portman involved again then surely it's a possibility!)
Tim Roth and William Hurt play the antagonists to Banner, and are both enjoyable in the more villainous roles, even if Roth is more or less relegated to spouting out cheesy one liners. Hurt has of course reprised his role in later films and is a welcome main stay in the franchise.
We also have Tim Blake Nelson and Ty Burrell, set up as future characters (The Leader and Doc Samson respectively), but neither of these have yet to come to fruition, so as it stands, both feel like wasted opportunities.

The narrative is pretty straightforward as Banner is pursued across the planet, but it gets the job done, ending in a big showdown between Hulk and Abomination in the middle of Harlem.
One of my main criticisms stems from this scene actually, with the film climaxing in a big CGI fight, between the hero, and an evil version of the hero, exactly like in Iron Man, and unfortunately, in a fair few MCU films further down the line (Iron Man 2, Black Panther, Ant Man). The CGI, whilst still good enough, doesn't hold up anywhere near as well as Iron Man however (which came out in the same year), and the green/grey colour scheme of both characters, and the night-time setting, gives the whole scene a dull edge, even if Hulk does tear a car in half and use both halves as boxing gloves...

The Incredible Hulk is a mostly decent film, but it shows signs of a franchise still finding its feet, and these signs grow in obviousness the older it gets, which is a big contrast when compared to the confident nature of Iron Man.
It also feels a bit stuck in the "look at this cool shot" superhero formula that became rampant during the 2000s.
It's still a fun film however, and deserves it's place in a Marvel movie marathon.

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Debbiereadsbook (1730 KP) rated Shadow and Light (Arizona Raptors #3) in Books

Mar 30, 2020

Shadow and Light (Arizona Raptors #3)

RJ Scott, V.L. Locey | 2020 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance

10.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

best of the three!

Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is book three in the Arizona Raptors series. It says that it is not a stand alone and you should read books one and two first, however, I don't think its entirely NECESSARY, but it certainly would help. I have read those two books, and they were both solid 4 star reads.

THIS one, though, is a whole different kettle of fish!

I LOVED this book!

You feel for Henry. His life has taken a turn he didn't expect. The man who was using him, almost killed him. His money is all gone, and he is living in someone else's house, mansion, all by himself. His hockey is on the line, because of the accident and his mind is on a downward spiral.

Enter Apollo.

Apollo is the best friend of Adler, the man paying for the house, who is Henry's brother's friend. Apollo is at a loose end since Adler is all loved up, and Apollo needs some sun. So Apollo goes to Arizona to look after Henry while he gets backs on his feet and back onto the ice.

Apollo is just the kind of man Henry wants, but who would want a washed up hockey player who might go blind? Apollo clearly wants Henry, but he is supposed to be going home at the end of the summer. Can he let his heart take the break?

This one is my favourite of the three, it really is.

It had me crying in places, laughing in others. Shouting at the kindle, and cheering away. I wanted to wrap Henry up in cotton wool and I wanted to smack him upside the head. Apollo too!

There are numerous references to The Harrisburg Railers players and pop ups from all the major players and team from this series. I loved that.

The relationship between Apollo and Henry is slow and sweet, and I loved that. They grow into each other, you know, as the book progresses. It's beautifully written, and gave me so many feels!

Ryker Madsen is Henry's team mate, he plays the same line (although, to be honest, I have no idea what that actually means, I just thought someone MIGHT!) and HIS book was in the Owatonna U Hockey series. I did NOT like Ryker in that book. He does redeem himself in that series somewhat, but HERE? As Henry's best friend, that kid done good! So, as a totally irrelevent point, Ryker? I forgive you!

So, my favourite of the three so far, but I know there is one more out later this year.

5 stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**