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Michael Korda recommended Brief Encounter (1974) in Movies (curated)
JT (287 KP) rated Greta (2019) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
Psychological thrillers come without much surprise these days. After the initial character introductions and back stories have bee laid out, the tension is ramped up until a climactic ending, which often falls flat – unless there is a clever twist.
With Greta, director Neil Jordan (Crying Game) uses an expensive green handbag to connect two lonely individuals together. One recovering from the death of her mother, while the other lives alone, longing for company and for someone to share meaningful conversation with.
While riding the subway after work one night Frances (Chloë Grace Moretz) comes across the green handbag and after being coerced into keeping the contents by her flatmate (Maika Monroe) her conscious tells her to return it. There she meets Greta, a softly spoken woman with a seemingly kind heart.
A revelation at dinner one night Frances confronts Greta and after an unnerving exchange, Frances leaves, in the hope that she will never see her again – but Greta is not about to let go of her that easily. French actress Isabelle Huppert gives a sinister performance – not many can stand still and look menacing without really trying, but she gets it spot on. It certainly put the fear in me.
Despite her quirky and innocent advances Frances is not fooled and does all she can to push back, without success. Even a private investigator intent on uncovering the truth about Greta is no match for the softly spoken malevolent loner.
There is some tense moments and the film is at the higher end of the psychological scale, but more could have been done with the writing to elevate it to one of sheer terror.
With Greta, director Neil Jordan (Crying Game) uses an expensive green handbag to connect two lonely individuals together. One recovering from the death of her mother, while the other lives alone, longing for company and for someone to share meaningful conversation with.
While riding the subway after work one night Frances (Chloë Grace Moretz) comes across the green handbag and after being coerced into keeping the contents by her flatmate (Maika Monroe) her conscious tells her to return it. There she meets Greta, a softly spoken woman with a seemingly kind heart.
A revelation at dinner one night Frances confronts Greta and after an unnerving exchange, Frances leaves, in the hope that she will never see her again – but Greta is not about to let go of her that easily. French actress Isabelle Huppert gives a sinister performance – not many can stand still and look menacing without really trying, but she gets it spot on. It certainly put the fear in me.
Despite her quirky and innocent advances Frances is not fooled and does all she can to push back, without success. Even a private investigator intent on uncovering the truth about Greta is no match for the softly spoken malevolent loner.
There is some tense moments and the film is at the higher end of the psychological scale, but more could have been done with the writing to elevate it to one of sheer terror.
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ClareR (5721 KP) rated The Scarlet Code in Books
Aug 23, 2020
These books must surely at least make it on to TV? They read like a film - I absolutely love them! I don’t know whether there were all-action, female spies around this time (I know there were female spies during the time just after the English Civil War, so why would they stop?), and frankly, I don’t much care. Well, I do, but what I’m hoping to get across here, is how much I LOVED this book! It’s rich in historical detail, the character development is equally good.
I’m really enjoying following Attica Morgan’s exploits (see what I did there? That’s not even a hint that I want more, that’s a “let there be more!”). Attica’s love of Paris, even at this really uncertain time between the fall of the Bastille and the actual start of the Revolution, is so well described that I felt that I could be there. I love a book where I can learn something. I’d always thought that the people released the prisoners from the Bastille (or in fact they didn’t, because it was virtually empty - or so I’ve been told), and then BAM! Voila la Révolution française! Well, by the sounds of it there was a bit of a tense hiatus between one thing and the next (we won’t discuss the fact that I was a French teacher in a former life - sshh!).
Anyway, if you enjoy a well written, historical romp, with an opinionated, strong female lead character - then this is the book for you! I can’t wait for the next one (not even hinting)!!
Many thanks to Readers First for sending me a copy of this book.
I’m really enjoying following Attica Morgan’s exploits (see what I did there? That’s not even a hint that I want more, that’s a “let there be more!”). Attica’s love of Paris, even at this really uncertain time between the fall of the Bastille and the actual start of the Revolution, is so well described that I felt that I could be there. I love a book where I can learn something. I’d always thought that the people released the prisoners from the Bastille (or in fact they didn’t, because it was virtually empty - or so I’ve been told), and then BAM! Voila la Révolution française! Well, by the sounds of it there was a bit of a tense hiatus between one thing and the next (we won’t discuss the fact that I was a French teacher in a former life - sshh!).
Anyway, if you enjoy a well written, historical romp, with an opinionated, strong female lead character - then this is the book for you! I can’t wait for the next one (not even hinting)!!
Many thanks to Readers First for sending me a copy of this book.
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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
The story of Valerian is a good one. We open on Mül, a idyllic place of peace and a simple life. But this peace is shattered when fire rains from the sky devastating the entire planet. The last moment of Mül sees the Princess, doomed to die in the explosion, release her energy into the universe, through time and space.
Valerian, sunning himself on his ship, is hit with a sudden vision of the cataclysm on Mül. Unsure about it's meaning he goes back to the task at hand, retrieving a relic from some disreputable people on the black market. The "converter" is the last of it's kind in the universe, it will eat anything and rapidly replicate it, and as such is a very valuable commodity.
The mission is to return the converter to Alpha station. But when they arrive they discover that the station has been infected with something right at its heart. It's spreading, and all those that enter do not come back. When events lead to Valerian being drawn into the infected area, Laureline isn't willing to give up hope, and she battles her way in. Once she's reunited with Valerian they work travel to the centre of the station and discover the shocking truth about how the infection began...
The film is based on Valerian and Laureline, a French sci-fi comic series written by Pierre Christin and illustrated by Jean-Claude Mézières. I have got the first one to read, but as is my tradition, I have yet to do so. The first one is available free on Kindle at the moment if anybody is that way inclined. I expect that it will get a much better reaction in Europe than it seem to have done in the States, which is a bit of a shame. Possibly the way to go would have been with bigger stars, but *shrugs shoulders* it's too late now.
As I said, the story itself is a good one, and while people are nit picking and saying there are plot holes... there aren't if you don't look for them. I have this horrible ability to just watch a film for what it is, if you just go and see something to have some fun you don't notice any of that. It's a horribly nice way to be able to live my life, I enjoy a lot more things that way.
What I'm about to say is going to contradict my overall feeling for the film... I didn't really enjoy Dane DeHaan or Cara Delevingne. I had originally thought that I hadn't seen DeHaan in anything before, but was soon getting recollections of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Scrolling through Delevingne's few years of films I've only seen Suicide Squad, and her acting as a "real person" is quite a small piece in that. While I can't think of anyone who would have perfectly suited either role, I feel like many other actors could have done an equal, or better, performance.
You get a wonderful introduction to what the station is, and has become. And we're treated to the potted history of alien species, several of which would sit quite nicely in the Whoniverse. I'm quite looking forward to reading the graphic novel. I can see stories unfolding in the different sections of the station, and that works. It almost feels like it would have made an amazing TV series, because it is essentially Star Trek with glitzier aliens and ecosystems.
As far as the secondary characters go we're treated to several memorable moments. Including Ethan Hawke as Jolly the Pimp, which is as flamboyant as you'd expect. Clive Owen as Commander Filitt, stern and ruthless, the sort who would stab you in the back (or the front) for his own gain. Sam Spruell as General Okto-Bar, who acted his part incredibly well... I'm honestly surprised I've not seen any of the other things he's been in, but I will be checking them out. Rihanna as Bubble, I'm a little surprised about how much I heard about her being in this considering how short her role is. But the same is true of a few things I've seen recently. We first meet her at Jolly's den of iniquity, where the music video training definitely came in handy.
As a whole the film moves along smoothly, with only a few little bits that seemed like they didn't belong, or could have been cut out. Unlike other films though, these little additions didn't harm the overall product.
Here is where my love for the film takes a steep nose-drive. Imagine crying with joy to resting bitch-face in the space of a few seconds. The 3D was hideous. I can't even think of a nice thing to say about it.
When the scenes were general crowd shots or indoors, everything was fine... although these shots didn't really benefit from the effect. The exterior shots however, in my not so expert opinion, were a terrible idea. I found some of them actually painful to watch, particularly long range shots of Alpha with ships coming in to dock. It was near on impossible to deal with the perspective as there was so much happening. For the last half of the film I took my 3D glasses off every time these shots appeared on screen as my head was rapidly starting to hurt, and I wasn't the only one having trouble.
If it wasn't for the painful exterior shots I honestly would have forgotten I was watching the film in 3D. Unlike other 3D films, you weren't aware that things were coming out of the screen at you. Not once.
I really don't want to be so negative about this film, it was an enjoyable watch (without the optical illusion created by the 3D). I would recommend it to anyone who has a passing interest in sci-fi and adaptations of comics. And I feel like, if nothing else, it might get the graphic novels themselves more circulation outside of Europe.
But please... watch it in 2D.
Valerian, sunning himself on his ship, is hit with a sudden vision of the cataclysm on Mül. Unsure about it's meaning he goes back to the task at hand, retrieving a relic from some disreputable people on the black market. The "converter" is the last of it's kind in the universe, it will eat anything and rapidly replicate it, and as such is a very valuable commodity.
The mission is to return the converter to Alpha station. But when they arrive they discover that the station has been infected with something right at its heart. It's spreading, and all those that enter do not come back. When events lead to Valerian being drawn into the infected area, Laureline isn't willing to give up hope, and she battles her way in. Once she's reunited with Valerian they work travel to the centre of the station and discover the shocking truth about how the infection began...
The film is based on Valerian and Laureline, a French sci-fi comic series written by Pierre Christin and illustrated by Jean-Claude Mézières. I have got the first one to read, but as is my tradition, I have yet to do so. The first one is available free on Kindle at the moment if anybody is that way inclined. I expect that it will get a much better reaction in Europe than it seem to have done in the States, which is a bit of a shame. Possibly the way to go would have been with bigger stars, but *shrugs shoulders* it's too late now.
As I said, the story itself is a good one, and while people are nit picking and saying there are plot holes... there aren't if you don't look for them. I have this horrible ability to just watch a film for what it is, if you just go and see something to have some fun you don't notice any of that. It's a horribly nice way to be able to live my life, I enjoy a lot more things that way.
What I'm about to say is going to contradict my overall feeling for the film... I didn't really enjoy Dane DeHaan or Cara Delevingne. I had originally thought that I hadn't seen DeHaan in anything before, but was soon getting recollections of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Scrolling through Delevingne's few years of films I've only seen Suicide Squad, and her acting as a "real person" is quite a small piece in that. While I can't think of anyone who would have perfectly suited either role, I feel like many other actors could have done an equal, or better, performance.
You get a wonderful introduction to what the station is, and has become. And we're treated to the potted history of alien species, several of which would sit quite nicely in the Whoniverse. I'm quite looking forward to reading the graphic novel. I can see stories unfolding in the different sections of the station, and that works. It almost feels like it would have made an amazing TV series, because it is essentially Star Trek with glitzier aliens and ecosystems.
As far as the secondary characters go we're treated to several memorable moments. Including Ethan Hawke as Jolly the Pimp, which is as flamboyant as you'd expect. Clive Owen as Commander Filitt, stern and ruthless, the sort who would stab you in the back (or the front) for his own gain. Sam Spruell as General Okto-Bar, who acted his part incredibly well... I'm honestly surprised I've not seen any of the other things he's been in, but I will be checking them out. Rihanna as Bubble, I'm a little surprised about how much I heard about her being in this considering how short her role is. But the same is true of a few things I've seen recently. We first meet her at Jolly's den of iniquity, where the music video training definitely came in handy.
As a whole the film moves along smoothly, with only a few little bits that seemed like they didn't belong, or could have been cut out. Unlike other films though, these little additions didn't harm the overall product.
Here is where my love for the film takes a steep nose-drive. Imagine crying with joy to resting bitch-face in the space of a few seconds. The 3D was hideous. I can't even think of a nice thing to say about it.
When the scenes were general crowd shots or indoors, everything was fine... although these shots didn't really benefit from the effect. The exterior shots however, in my not so expert opinion, were a terrible idea. I found some of them actually painful to watch, particularly long range shots of Alpha with ships coming in to dock. It was near on impossible to deal with the perspective as there was so much happening. For the last half of the film I took my 3D glasses off every time these shots appeared on screen as my head was rapidly starting to hurt, and I wasn't the only one having trouble.
If it wasn't for the painful exterior shots I honestly would have forgotten I was watching the film in 3D. Unlike other 3D films, you weren't aware that things were coming out of the screen at you. Not once.
I really don't want to be so negative about this film, it was an enjoyable watch (without the optical illusion created by the 3D). I would recommend it to anyone who has a passing interest in sci-fi and adaptations of comics. And I feel like, if nothing else, it might get the graphic novels themselves more circulation outside of Europe.
But please... watch it in 2D.
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