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Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Ninja Assassin (2009) in Movies
Dec 2, 2019
Bland Characters Equals Meh Movie
A former member of a sect of secret ninjas escapes the clan, but has to fight for his life when the past catches up to him.
Acting: 4
I have seen paper bags act better than Rain the actor who plays main character Raizo. I think the screenwriters knew this and tried to mask his lack of chops with less lines, but it definitely didn’t work. He is as bland as the chicken I feed my dog when he has diarrhea. The rest of the crew isn’t terribly better and aren’t worth much of a mention.
Beginning: 10
The movie actually gets off to a great start. It starts off in a gangster hideout and an old man is giving one of the gangsters a tattoo. A letter shows up with black sand in it. Black sand is basically the kiss of death for these ninjas so it’s not too long after that bedlam ensues. Dope scene, got me excited to watch more.
Characters: 2
Cinematography/Visuals: 8
Conflict: 10
The action was also a plus. The beginning is definitely an indicator of things to come. You want crazy martial fighting? Check. Blood and gore? Blamo! Insane slowmo sequences? Coming right up. This is basically an action junkie’s wet dream. Actually, I think I’m giving it too much credit…
Entertainment Value: 7
Memorability: 7
Pace: 7
While I appreciate certain things like at least making an attempt at a backstory, there were other portions that slowed the movie down in a couple of spots. Like seriously, how much training do we need to see this dude do? A few rounds on the good ole speed bag will suffice for me, thanks. Nope, this dude is doing splits, using ninja swords, fighting air. I also thought they spent a bit too much time on the main detective Mika (Naomie Harris) researching the ninjas. Pretty painful, but mostly fine.
Plot: 8
I didn’t hate the story. As I mentioned above, it was cool that you got a look into Raizo’s earlier life in the ninja clan and what got him to where he was. Crappy character, but I appreciated the effort to develop him. While the story got sidetracked here and there, it got you from Point A to Point B fairly smoothly.
Resolution: 6
Overall: 69
What disappoints me most about Ninja Assassin is the sheer amount of potential it had. Because it didn’t invest in quality actors or working in characters we care about, there is little margin for error in the rest of the movie. It wants to be likable, yet it didn’t put in the work to earn your friendship. I do not recommend.
Acting: 4
I have seen paper bags act better than Rain the actor who plays main character Raizo. I think the screenwriters knew this and tried to mask his lack of chops with less lines, but it definitely didn’t work. He is as bland as the chicken I feed my dog when he has diarrhea. The rest of the crew isn’t terribly better and aren’t worth much of a mention.
Beginning: 10
The movie actually gets off to a great start. It starts off in a gangster hideout and an old man is giving one of the gangsters a tattoo. A letter shows up with black sand in it. Black sand is basically the kiss of death for these ninjas so it’s not too long after that bedlam ensues. Dope scene, got me excited to watch more.
Characters: 2
Cinematography/Visuals: 8
Conflict: 10
The action was also a plus. The beginning is definitely an indicator of things to come. You want crazy martial fighting? Check. Blood and gore? Blamo! Insane slowmo sequences? Coming right up. This is basically an action junkie’s wet dream. Actually, I think I’m giving it too much credit…
Entertainment Value: 7
Memorability: 7
Pace: 7
While I appreciate certain things like at least making an attempt at a backstory, there were other portions that slowed the movie down in a couple of spots. Like seriously, how much training do we need to see this dude do? A few rounds on the good ole speed bag will suffice for me, thanks. Nope, this dude is doing splits, using ninja swords, fighting air. I also thought they spent a bit too much time on the main detective Mika (Naomie Harris) researching the ninjas. Pretty painful, but mostly fine.
Plot: 8
I didn’t hate the story. As I mentioned above, it was cool that you got a look into Raizo’s earlier life in the ninja clan and what got him to where he was. Crappy character, but I appreciated the effort to develop him. While the story got sidetracked here and there, it got you from Point A to Point B fairly smoothly.
Resolution: 6
Overall: 69
What disappoints me most about Ninja Assassin is the sheer amount of potential it had. Because it didn’t invest in quality actors or working in characters we care about, there is little margin for error in the rest of the movie. It wants to be likable, yet it didn’t put in the work to earn your friendship. I do not recommend.
OK K.O.! Lakewood Plaza Turbo
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Become a hero with K.O. and use super radical moves to battle the evil Lord Boxman in OK, K.O.!...
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Captive State (2019) in Movies
Jul 6, 2020
Not Captivating Enough - 6/10
Captive State is a 2019 sci-fi/thriller movie directed by Rupert Wyatt and co-written by Rupert Wyatt and Erica Beeney. It was produced by Amblin Partners and Participant Media with producers Rupert Wyatt and David Crockett. The film stars John Goodman, Ashton Sanders, Jonathan Majors, and Vera Farmiga.
In 2019, Chicago is placed under Martial Law as extraterrestrials invade Earth. Attempting to flee the city, the Drummond family, breaks through a barricade to a tunnel exit. Before they can back up and reverse, the aliens attack, vaporizing both parents, with the children having survived in the backseat. Nine years later, 2028, the world has surrendered to the conquering alien forces, who have now become the governing authority. They are called "The Legislators" because all rules of governance and subsequent laws come from them. Walled off from the rest of the city and deep beneath the ground, they've had conscripted humans build them suitable habitats called "Closed Zones" where only high government officials are granted access. Gabriel Drummond (Ashton Sanders), the younger son of the Drummond family is confronted by Chicago Police Commander William Mulligan (John Goodman) who believes he is a part of the resistance. Gabriel's brother Rafe Drummond (Jonathan Majors) was part of the resistance but died on a mission and murals are painted of him in Pilsen, the poor part of town, where Gabriel lives. Mulligan however is not convinced the resistance group, called Phoenix has been neutralized as believed and continues to work towards bringing them down.
This movie was not at all what I expected. I thought it was going to be better than what it was and that's because I didn't even have high expectations going into it. So from the previews/trailers it looked like it was going to be a bigger scale resistance. When I hear resistance fighting, I guess I picture more like fighting like Fallen Skies or like the resistance fighters in Star Wars. This was more of a political/spy thriller going back and forth between the point of view from members of the resistance and those tasked with bringing them down. It had sprinkling of sci-fi and aliens but was too grounded in reality to make it entertaining. It seemed very "done before" and lacked originality. John Goodman did a good job and so did Ashton Sanders but I feel this movie suffered from a bad plot to begin with. Or maybe it sounds good on paper but the delivery failed. Visually it was appealing, the aliens and ships and things looked wonderful but after watching seemed like it wasn't enough to leave the audience satisfied. I give it a 6/10.
In 2019, Chicago is placed under Martial Law as extraterrestrials invade Earth. Attempting to flee the city, the Drummond family, breaks through a barricade to a tunnel exit. Before they can back up and reverse, the aliens attack, vaporizing both parents, with the children having survived in the backseat. Nine years later, 2028, the world has surrendered to the conquering alien forces, who have now become the governing authority. They are called "The Legislators" because all rules of governance and subsequent laws come from them. Walled off from the rest of the city and deep beneath the ground, they've had conscripted humans build them suitable habitats called "Closed Zones" where only high government officials are granted access. Gabriel Drummond (Ashton Sanders), the younger son of the Drummond family is confronted by Chicago Police Commander William Mulligan (John Goodman) who believes he is a part of the resistance. Gabriel's brother Rafe Drummond (Jonathan Majors) was part of the resistance but died on a mission and murals are painted of him in Pilsen, the poor part of town, where Gabriel lives. Mulligan however is not convinced the resistance group, called Phoenix has been neutralized as believed and continues to work towards bringing them down.
This movie was not at all what I expected. I thought it was going to be better than what it was and that's because I didn't even have high expectations going into it. So from the previews/trailers it looked like it was going to be a bigger scale resistance. When I hear resistance fighting, I guess I picture more like fighting like Fallen Skies or like the resistance fighters in Star Wars. This was more of a political/spy thriller going back and forth between the point of view from members of the resistance and those tasked with bringing them down. It had sprinkling of sci-fi and aliens but was too grounded in reality to make it entertaining. It seemed very "done before" and lacked originality. John Goodman did a good job and so did Ashton Sanders but I feel this movie suffered from a bad plot to begin with. Or maybe it sounds good on paper but the delivery failed. Visually it was appealing, the aliens and ships and things looked wonderful but after watching seemed like it wasn't enough to leave the audience satisfied. I give it a 6/10.
Gods Of Rome
Games
App
An epic fighting game set in an age of myth and legend that shows you exactly what your mobile...
Otway93 (580 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Assassin's Creed: Origins in Video Games
May 17, 2020
Fighting (4 more)
Choice of weapons
Less limited climbing
Choice of horse/camel...and chariot.
Skill tree
Story (2 more)
Story length
Amount of side missions
One of the most fun to play, shame about the story.
For starters, a lot of thing change in this game. The fighting style takes a little bit of getting used to if you play it straight after Syndicate. It quickly gets easier though, so don't panic!
As for the weapons, the choice of weapons is huge compared to previous games. Available on this game, and regularly picked up, you have:
- Regular swords.
- Curved swords.
- Spears.
- Sceptres.
- Battle axes.
- Giant hammers.
- Dual Wield swords.
- Bows (with flaming arrows, controllable arrows, poison arrows etc.
- And of course the classic sleep darts and smoke bombs which kill instantly when you get powerful enough (as this game you level up!)
In this game, you start with a basic camel as well, which you can keep, but collect others as well, including faster, rarer camels, as well as horses and chariots (which honestly are quite infuriating in tighter areas like towns and villages).
Climbing is also greatly improved, as you are less limited. You can climb any realistically climbable surface including any almost any cliff faces, buildings etc.
As seen in Syndicate, for better or worse there is levelling up and a skill tree. Leveling up isn't too bad, but to complete the skill tree it took me until about level 53 (two levels below max), and every other point giving activity. So the tree is a bit excessive, but has some pretty fun abilities, such as animal taming (lions, crocodiles etc.).
Now with the negatives. Unfortunately I have to start with the main story, which felt incredibly short and unimaginative. The whole story is a revenge story.
Though there are more main assassinations (possibly 13?), most if these are condense into one or two slightly longer than usual missions. So it does shorten the game significantly. S
This is made up for by the seemingly unending side missions. These side missions can be interesting, but for the most part they aren't. Each mission is either a rescue mission, an escort mission, an assassination mission, or a bit of all three. Mostly they are rescue and escort missions.
As for the DLC, I would probably not bother. "The Hidden Ones", which I have just completed, is easily forgettable, to the point I already can't remember what the point of it was. And "The Curse of the Pharaohs", which I have no progressed far in, is already showing desperation and dipping into the supernatural again, including various egyptian legends, which honestly aren't that interesting.
Where the previous games have focused a lot on history, this one touches on well-known egyptian history, but mainly focuses on it's own disappointing story.
As for the weapons, the choice of weapons is huge compared to previous games. Available on this game, and regularly picked up, you have:
- Regular swords.
- Curved swords.
- Spears.
- Sceptres.
- Battle axes.
- Giant hammers.
- Dual Wield swords.
- Bows (with flaming arrows, controllable arrows, poison arrows etc.
- And of course the classic sleep darts and smoke bombs which kill instantly when you get powerful enough (as this game you level up!)
In this game, you start with a basic camel as well, which you can keep, but collect others as well, including faster, rarer camels, as well as horses and chariots (which honestly are quite infuriating in tighter areas like towns and villages).
Climbing is also greatly improved, as you are less limited. You can climb any realistically climbable surface including any almost any cliff faces, buildings etc.
As seen in Syndicate, for better or worse there is levelling up and a skill tree. Leveling up isn't too bad, but to complete the skill tree it took me until about level 53 (two levels below max), and every other point giving activity. So the tree is a bit excessive, but has some pretty fun abilities, such as animal taming (lions, crocodiles etc.).
Now with the negatives. Unfortunately I have to start with the main story, which felt incredibly short and unimaginative. The whole story is a revenge story.
Though there are more main assassinations (possibly 13?), most if these are condense into one or two slightly longer than usual missions. So it does shorten the game significantly. S
This is made up for by the seemingly unending side missions. These side missions can be interesting, but for the most part they aren't. Each mission is either a rescue mission, an escort mission, an assassination mission, or a bit of all three. Mostly they are rescue and escort missions.
As for the DLC, I would probably not bother. "The Hidden Ones", which I have just completed, is easily forgettable, to the point I already can't remember what the point of it was. And "The Curse of the Pharaohs", which I have no progressed far in, is already showing desperation and dipping into the supernatural again, including various egyptian legends, which honestly aren't that interesting.
Where the previous games have focused a lot on history, this one touches on well-known egyptian history, but mainly focuses on it's own disappointing story.
Serena (8 KP) rated Everything She Needs in Books
Nov 22, 2017
After deciding she needs time to figure everything out Lily heads home to the UK. Heading out to spend some time with her friends Lily thinks that she sees Alfie, but realises that’s impossible until she gets a call from her dad letting her know that an American friend called Alfie will be there to see her in the morning.
Lily decides that she needs to listen to what Alfie needs to say or she will be always wondering what if, but she knows he also needs to realise how much he hurt her. Lily and Will’s friendship has never been the same since the one night they both regretted, and Jack is her one constant friend though out and realises that she does need to know what if.
Lily and Alfie have an amazing chemistry, but everything seems to be fighting against them, even after Alfie tells her everything. Circumstances have Lily misreading things that she has seen and Alfie always explaining himself to her.
Lily becomes more confident when she gets a job singing with a band and her life is looking brighter with Alfie always in the back of her mind. Lily finally realises with the help of Jack that no matter how much she loves Alfie that she has to put herself first, and to do that she must let him go.
Lily decides that she needs to listen to what Alfie needs to say or she will be always wondering what if, but she knows he also needs to realise how much he hurt her. Lily and Will’s friendship has never been the same since the one night they both regretted, and Jack is her one constant friend though out and realises that she does need to know what if.
Lily and Alfie have an amazing chemistry, but everything seems to be fighting against them, even after Alfie tells her everything. Circumstances have Lily misreading things that she has seen and Alfie always explaining himself to her.
Lily becomes more confident when she gets a job singing with a band and her life is looking brighter with Alfie always in the back of her mind. Lily finally realises with the help of Jack that no matter how much she loves Alfie that she has to put herself first, and to do that she must let him go.
John Garrett (27 KP) rated Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) in Movies
Jul 11, 2017
Tom Holland (2 more)
The villain (thank god)
The script
No real stakes (1 more)
Not enough fighting scenes
Spiderman has never been better
Contains spoilers, click to show
Tom Holland is fantastic. Never has writing a review been so releaving. After the car wrecks that were the first 2 amazing Spiderman movies we finally get a great depiction of the friendly neighbourhood Spiderman. Tom played both the quick witted Spiderman and nerdy Peter Parker fantastically and actually looks like a high school kid.
Michael Keaton plays another winged comic book character in the vulture who unlike other marvel villains added some gravitas and was not just a throw away. He played almost a sympathetic villain where you understand his motivations.
The story was solid. We actually got to see a teenage Peter Parker with teenage worries in high school rather than trying to skip over his school life quickly in other iterations of the character. His high school sidekick Ned was a great comic relief and in my opinion created most of the laughs in this film.
One major worry going in was that iron man would steel the show. Luckily Robert Downey Jr was used almost sparingly and was there in just a mentoring capacity which was good to see.
Overall this was a funny, charming story with a great portrayal of one of the world's most loved characters.
Michael Keaton plays another winged comic book character in the vulture who unlike other marvel villains added some gravitas and was not just a throw away. He played almost a sympathetic villain where you understand his motivations.
The story was solid. We actually got to see a teenage Peter Parker with teenage worries in high school rather than trying to skip over his school life quickly in other iterations of the character. His high school sidekick Ned was a great comic relief and in my opinion created most of the laughs in this film.
One major worry going in was that iron man would steel the show. Luckily Robert Downey Jr was used almost sparingly and was there in just a mentoring capacity which was good to see.
Overall this was a funny, charming story with a great portrayal of one of the world's most loved characters.
Jenny Houle (24 KP) rated The Library Of Fates in Books
Jan 13, 2018
I received an ARC of this book from FirstToRead.com for an unbiased opinion.
I read the author's note at the beginning of the book, and admittedly put the book down for a few days...I was afraid it would alter my ability to enjoy the book.
When I picked it up five days later, though, and went on from there, the note cleared from my mind, I found I couldn't stop reading until the book was completely finished. I read the author's note a second time, afterward, and found that it was fitting.
Khorana creates a vivid image of each character, as well as each location, to the point that a reader can smell the mangrove trees when Amarita walks among them, can feel her pain as she watches those she loves under attack, and can feel her fear as she flees to save herself. When her and Thala travel, you see all the beauty they encounter along the way.
This is not the story of a princess, though, who returns home to her throne after fighting a battle to save her kingdom. Khorana set out to create a story of mortal and immortal love, and what one sacrifices to save humanity over their own personal happiness, and this book embodies that. (This is why, after the fact, I had more appreciation for the author's note.)
I read the author's note at the beginning of the book, and admittedly put the book down for a few days...I was afraid it would alter my ability to enjoy the book.
When I picked it up five days later, though, and went on from there, the note cleared from my mind, I found I couldn't stop reading until the book was completely finished. I read the author's note a second time, afterward, and found that it was fitting.
Khorana creates a vivid image of each character, as well as each location, to the point that a reader can smell the mangrove trees when Amarita walks among them, can feel her pain as she watches those she loves under attack, and can feel her fear as she flees to save herself. When her and Thala travel, you see all the beauty they encounter along the way.
This is not the story of a princess, though, who returns home to her throne after fighting a battle to save her kingdom. Khorana set out to create a story of mortal and immortal love, and what one sacrifices to save humanity over their own personal happiness, and this book embodies that. (This is why, after the fact, I had more appreciation for the author's note.)
ClareR (5950 KP) rated The Dangerous Kind in Books
Mar 27, 2019 (Updated Mar 27, 2019)
1 in 100 People
This was such an enjoyable book - the subject matter however, was very uncomfortable. The story is set in the present day and 2002. In the present day, a radio presenter for Radio 4 and former newspaper reporter, Jessamine, presents a programme about potentially dangerous people, and whether there had been signs of their violence in the past. In 2002, we follow a 13 year old girl called Rowan, who is in care. She becomes involved with some very disturbing men. Paedophiles. Nothing is described explicitly, but anyone with any kind of imagination will be able to fill in the gaps from the descriptions we’re given.
This was such a well written book - there was an underlying feeling of menace through both timelines that made me feel very uncomfortable (which was no bad thing as it really added to the experience!) and the main characters had me fighting in their corners throughout.
I’m a big fan of the ‘literary twist’, and this certainly delivered. This book is well worth your time and money, I highly recommend it!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and the author for reading along with her readers.
And the 1 in 100 refers to those who are likely to go on to commit some sort of violent criminal act. Not such a nice thought....
This was such a well written book - there was an underlying feeling of menace through both timelines that made me feel very uncomfortable (which was no bad thing as it really added to the experience!) and the main characters had me fighting in their corners throughout.
I’m a big fan of the ‘literary twist’, and this certainly delivered. This book is well worth your time and money, I highly recommend it!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and the author for reading along with her readers.
And the 1 in 100 refers to those who are likely to go on to commit some sort of violent criminal act. Not such a nice thought....
ClareR (5950 KP) rated Those Who Are Loved in Books
May 30, 2019
An emotional look at modern Greek history.
This book is about the lives of the Koralis family, and particularly Themis, from 1930 to 2016. We follow them through some of the most disruptive times in Greek history - I hadn’t actually realised how deeply traumatic recent Greek history was.
Themis is a partisan fighter during WW2, trying to get the Germans out of Greece, and then fighting the right-wing government who had supported the invading Germans. She ends up a prisoner and endures terrible living conditions and violence at the hands of her prison guards. She returns home, marries and has a family, but her past is always with her. Greece doesn’t allow her to forget, as it continues to be led by a military government under martial law.
I loved following Themis and her siblings lives in the earlier chapters of the book, the history I’d never known about before (that Victoria Hislop describes so well), and her children and their lives in the latter half of the book.
Themis is a quietly formidable woman, who always stands by her beliefs and her family, and there are some really very emotional parts to this book.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this wonderful book - I’ll definitely be buying some copies as birthday presents this year, that’s for sure.
Themis is a partisan fighter during WW2, trying to get the Germans out of Greece, and then fighting the right-wing government who had supported the invading Germans. She ends up a prisoner and endures terrible living conditions and violence at the hands of her prison guards. She returns home, marries and has a family, but her past is always with her. Greece doesn’t allow her to forget, as it continues to be led by a military government under martial law.
I loved following Themis and her siblings lives in the earlier chapters of the book, the history I’d never known about before (that Victoria Hislop describes so well), and her children and their lives in the latter half of the book.
Themis is a quietly formidable woman, who always stands by her beliefs and her family, and there are some really very emotional parts to this book.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this wonderful book - I’ll definitely be buying some copies as birthday presents this year, that’s for sure.
Dean (6927 KP) Dec 2, 2019
Phillip McSween (751 KP) Dec 3, 2019 (Updated Dec 3, 2019)