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Mad Politics: Keeping Your Sanity in a World Gone Crazy
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If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different...
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated The New Mutants (2020) in Movies
Aug 29, 2020
Contains spoilers, click to show
At the time of writing this, The New Mutants has been out in the UK for about 3 days, on preview, and I have already seen a review headed 'The worst X-Men movie yet', I didn't read the review so maybe the reviewer makes some insightful points but, with a lead like that i doubt it.
You see The New Mutants isn't an X-men film, it's set in the (fox? maybe) X-men universe but it's not superheros'/mutants vs other mutants/robots/government, even thought there is a bit of mutants vs baddies.
It is a 'genesis' story, unlike the X-men films, we are seeing the creation of a new team. Like the X-Men films it starts with a new mutant meeting other Mutants.
The 'new mutant' to the New Mutants is Danielle Moonstar, a native American who's reserve and family are destroyed by a tornado leaving her as the only survivor. Danielle wakes up in a hospital to be told of her lose and that the only reason she survived was because she was mutant and she is now in a hospital where she can learn how to use her powers and then she is introduced to the patients/mutants who are at the hospital.
The mutant roster is the New Mutants of the 80's & 90's comics (minus one or two) and the film has a very 80's feel to it.
The New Mutants has a slow start and almost has a 'Breakfast club with powers' feel to it, you have a group of teens who have been placed together and are unable to leave. They sit around and talk about their past and fight and make friends and kiss and fight their worst nightmares and, suddenly your no longer watching 'The Breakfast Club with powers' but 'Nightmare on Elm street 3: the dream warriors, with powers' (Yes I know the kids in Elm Street 3 get powers for a bit but this is different). The Mutants have to team up to fight all sorts of nasties from their pasts, become one cohesive team and find out who is creating the nightmares.
The New Mutants pulls off the 80's teen movie style well but some of the CGI seems a bit off.
Even with the 80's feel we don't actually know when the film is set, the T.V's in the hospital are often showing 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' (the series) so that would imply that it's at least late 90's and the X-Men are mentioned although they are referred to as heroes which doesn't seem to fit elsewhere in the fox universe.
And this, of course is the biggest problem with the film (and it's not the
films fault), New Mutants was started as a Fox film, as part of their X-Men universe but then it got delayed and then fox got brought out by Disney and the film got delayed again (and many thought it would never to see light day.) Then it got released but, the Disney Marvel cinematic Universe doesn't (yet) have mutants (because they were owned by fox ) so it doesn't fit in with any of the Disney films or, as it was finished by Disney it doesn't fit with any X-Men film and so is floating in the strange limbo shared with Legion and the Gifted.
As a stand alone film it is ok however, as Disney had time to re edit it, it makes you wonder why it has been left open, The New Mutants are formed and ready to see what else life can throw at them, is this how mutants are going to be introduce to the Disney-verse or are we just going to be left hanging.
You see The New Mutants isn't an X-men film, it's set in the (fox? maybe) X-men universe but it's not superheros'/mutants vs other mutants/robots/government, even thought there is a bit of mutants vs baddies.
It is a 'genesis' story, unlike the X-men films, we are seeing the creation of a new team. Like the X-Men films it starts with a new mutant meeting other Mutants.
The 'new mutant' to the New Mutants is Danielle Moonstar, a native American who's reserve and family are destroyed by a tornado leaving her as the only survivor. Danielle wakes up in a hospital to be told of her lose and that the only reason she survived was because she was mutant and she is now in a hospital where she can learn how to use her powers and then she is introduced to the patients/mutants who are at the hospital.
The mutant roster is the New Mutants of the 80's & 90's comics (minus one or two) and the film has a very 80's feel to it.
The New Mutants has a slow start and almost has a 'Breakfast club with powers' feel to it, you have a group of teens who have been placed together and are unable to leave. They sit around and talk about their past and fight and make friends and kiss and fight their worst nightmares and, suddenly your no longer watching 'The Breakfast Club with powers' but 'Nightmare on Elm street 3: the dream warriors, with powers' (Yes I know the kids in Elm Street 3 get powers for a bit but this is different). The Mutants have to team up to fight all sorts of nasties from their pasts, become one cohesive team and find out who is creating the nightmares.
The New Mutants pulls off the 80's teen movie style well but some of the CGI seems a bit off.
Even with the 80's feel we don't actually know when the film is set, the T.V's in the hospital are often showing 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' (the series) so that would imply that it's at least late 90's and the X-Men are mentioned although they are referred to as heroes which doesn't seem to fit elsewhere in the fox universe.
And this, of course is the biggest problem with the film (and it's not the
films fault), New Mutants was started as a Fox film, as part of their X-Men universe but then it got delayed and then fox got brought out by Disney and the film got delayed again (and many thought it would never to see light day.) Then it got released but, the Disney Marvel cinematic Universe doesn't (yet) have mutants (because they were owned by fox ) so it doesn't fit in with any of the Disney films or, as it was finished by Disney it doesn't fit with any X-Men film and so is floating in the strange limbo shared with Legion and the Gifted.
As a stand alone film it is ok however, as Disney had time to re edit it, it makes you wonder why it has been left open, The New Mutants are formed and ready to see what else life can throw at them, is this how mutants are going to be introduce to the Disney-verse or are we just going to be left hanging.
Laura (6 KP) rated The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019) in Movies
Jun 11, 2019
Good for a kids film
After seeing the secret Life of pets, I felt I needed to then see the second one. We opted for the new odeon luxe that has opened. I feel that this may have contributed to an increased score. The storyline was good, no prolonged intro which was great for the kids. Some scary moments which my daughter wasn't too impressed with but every movie needs its ups and downs! Some excellent humour and some excellent correlation to real life (fox in the farm, cone of shame). Overall, something just didn't hit the spot to say it was fantastic, however overall a good film
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2423 KP) rated The Job (Fox and O'Hare, #3) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
When someone starts framing Nick Fox for an international crime spree, FBI agent Kate O’Hare has to jump in to find the true villain. But answers just lead them to a con that is the most dangerous of their partnership.
As always, this book is fast paced and fun with humor to keep things light and danger to keep the pages turning. The characters are getting better, but they could still be stronger. Still, I had so much fun reading this book.
NOTE: I was sent an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2014/11/book-review-job-by-janet-evanovich-and.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
As always, this book is fast paced and fun with humor to keep things light and danger to keep the pages turning. The characters are getting better, but they could still be stronger. Still, I had so much fun reading this book.
NOTE: I was sent an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2014/11/book-review-job-by-janet-evanovich-and.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2423 KP) rated That Is Not a Good Idea! in Books
Mar 9, 2018
When a Fox invites a Chicken to join him for a walk in the forest, it is not a good idea. And as things continue to unfold, the bad ideas continue to evolve. But who are they bad ideas for?
This is another unique picture book from Mo Willems with pictures on some pages and dialogue on others, kind of like an old silent film. Then there’s a Greek chorus of baby chicks constantly giving the warning in the title. The end of the book contains a great laugh, making this book so much fun.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/09/book-review-that-is-not-good-idea-by-mo.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
This is another unique picture book from Mo Willems with pictures on some pages and dialogue on others, kind of like an old silent film. Then there’s a Greek chorus of baby chicks constantly giving the warning in the title. The end of the book contains a great laugh, making this book so much fun.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/09/book-review-that-is-not-good-idea-by-mo.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated Vincent the Vixen: A Story to Help Children Learn about Gender Identity in Books
Jun 14, 2018
Beautifully illustrated and a simple
This is a great start in explaining trans gendered to children, whither the feelings are theirs, or someone in their social group. It’s extremely simpleized, which I think is great for the age it’s geared towards. I do think there needs to be some explanation of what a “Vixen”. Vincent talks about his brothers and sisters, but they are always described as a fox. But the ending line is “Vincent grew up and lived happily as Vincent the Vixen” with no explanation of why that is important. The illustrations help greatly with the concept, but I think it needs to be in words as well.
Crystal (9 KP) rated The Secret Teachers of the Western World in Books
Jul 4, 2018
I really wanted to like this book and really did for the most part. There is a lot of information in this book, and it is all fascinating to me. Only I came across a problem when the author was discussing the Fox sisters, who held the first séances in the late 1800's. But one thing the Author did not mention was that the girls later admitted to faking the 'rappings' that were supposed to be the spirits. The lack of this information itself is not horrible as it wasn't really necessary in the context, but it made me put into question if there was any other information that had been left out, possibly on purpose.
David McK (3610 KP) rated Zootopia (2016) in Movies
Dec 31, 2019
Known as Zootropolis in the UK, this Disney animation is set in a world where talking animals have evolved and live in peace and harmony, with the city of Zootroplis the New York (or London) of that world.
While they may have evolved, most animals still fall into several roles: the police (or security) forces, for instance, are nearly entirely composed of predators, with this film following the ZPD's first Bunny recruit as she attempts to solve a mystery around a missing person (animal) case, and ends up teaming up with a street smart, wise talking fox.
With an underlying theme of racism, the message, in short, is that anyone can be anything they want to be!
While they may have evolved, most animals still fall into several roles: the police (or security) forces, for instance, are nearly entirely composed of predators, with this film following the ZPD's first Bunny recruit as she attempts to solve a mystery around a missing person (animal) case, and ends up teaming up with a street smart, wise talking fox.
With an underlying theme of racism, the message, in short, is that anyone can be anything they want to be!
David Betteridge (327 KP) rated Deadpool (2016) in Movies
Mar 4, 2020
Ryan reynolds (3 more)
Gags
Characters
The real deadpool
Too short (1 more)
Not enough crossover
Can the real Wade Wilson please stand up!
After X-Men origins I was worried when this announced as Deadpool had already been muted by Fox. Although after seeing the test footage and reading an early draft of the script I couldn't have been more excited.
This film does a really good job of introducing the character without a straight up origin story. The film is very short but the fast pace keeps you engaged and the jokes keep coming from the first second to the last.
It's one of the best superhero movies outside the MCU and better than some that are in it.
This film does a really good job of introducing the character without a straight up origin story. The film is very short but the fast pace keeps you engaged and the jokes keep coming from the first second to the last.
It's one of the best superhero movies outside the MCU and better than some that are in it.
Baby Puzzles & Games – by BabyTV
Education
App
It’s Play Time! With over 100 different puzzles, this app provides your child with hours of fun...