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Consider the Lobster
Book
Do lobsters feel pain? Did Franz Kafka have a sick sense of humour? What is John Updike's deal...
What Just Happened?: Bitter Hollywood Tales from the Front Line
Book
Forget everything you've heard about Hollywood. What Just Happened: Bitter Hollywood Tales from the...
Taller, Slimmer, Younger: 21 Days to a Foam Roller Physique
Book
There's a new buzzword in the fitness world: fascia. It's the connective tissue that wraps around...
Mark Jaye (65 KP) rated Iron Man 3 (2013) in Movies
May 21, 2019
Downey JR....is....Iron Man!
Contains spoilers, click to show
Continuing my post 'Endgame' stroll down the MCU's memory lane I turned to the third solo outing for Iron Man.
Whilst having good memories of this instalment it was better than I recalled. Picking up after the events of 'Avengers Assemble ' we see Tony Stark dealing with PTSD, suffering anxiety and panic attacks. It's interesting to see now - after Endgame, the change in direction for Stark. Here is a man who knows - who has seen, there's greater threats out there. It's the start of what 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' progresses 4 MCU movies later.
The story is straight forward enough. Initially we are led to believe that the villain of the piece is The Mandarin, played by Ben Kingsley (or so we presume), the terrorist threat with whom Iron Man goes up against. Half way through we are thrown a twist with the reveal that Kingsley is actually Tony Slattery, an actor in the employ of the real puppet master - Aldrich Lillian (As played by Guy Pearce) who is using the terrorist threat to cover his real agenda....Extremis.
Great action, Acting, Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Iron Man 3 is the best of the trilogy helping to solidify RDJ's status as founding player of this cinematic universe.
Whilst having good memories of this instalment it was better than I recalled. Picking up after the events of 'Avengers Assemble ' we see Tony Stark dealing with PTSD, suffering anxiety and panic attacks. It's interesting to see now - after Endgame, the change in direction for Stark. Here is a man who knows - who has seen, there's greater threats out there. It's the start of what 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' progresses 4 MCU movies later.
The story is straight forward enough. Initially we are led to believe that the villain of the piece is The Mandarin, played by Ben Kingsley (or so we presume), the terrorist threat with whom Iron Man goes up against. Half way through we are thrown a twist with the reveal that Kingsley is actually Tony Slattery, an actor in the employ of the real puppet master - Aldrich Lillian (As played by Guy Pearce) who is using the terrorist threat to cover his real agenda....Extremis.
Great action, Acting, Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Iron Man 3 is the best of the trilogy helping to solidify RDJ's status as founding player of this cinematic universe.
Elizabeth Sharrod (5 KP) rated Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) in Movies
Jul 10, 2019
It's great but I fell sleep
For years I have been adamant that McGuire was THE Spiderman since I didn't like Garfield's version.
However, when this one popped up on Netflix one Saturday evening, I thought "why the heck not." I wasn't disappointed. It is really difficult not to like Tom Holland. An I biased because he's British? No. The kid was talent. He is funny, can do impressive tricks and a professional dancer... it's no wonder why they chose him. But let's swing back into the review shall we?
So Pete is trying hard to be noticed by our MCU's Stark after the events of Cival War. (I fell asleep watching that too but that's a review for another day.) He swings into action, sort of accidentally causing more trouble than saving it but you can't deny he wants to help people.
The SFX were okay but the whole build up to the fight at the end literally brought me to sleepy land. It may hold your attention for that brief moment but I woke up wondering where Gwyneth Paltrow came from and was she in this movie the whole time?
Other than that, Holland has become my favourite Spidey. I haven't seen far from home yet but I do hope it lives up to this version of the friendly neighbourhood spiderman.
However, when this one popped up on Netflix one Saturday evening, I thought "why the heck not." I wasn't disappointed. It is really difficult not to like Tom Holland. An I biased because he's British? No. The kid was talent. He is funny, can do impressive tricks and a professional dancer... it's no wonder why they chose him. But let's swing back into the review shall we?
So Pete is trying hard to be noticed by our MCU's Stark after the events of Cival War. (I fell asleep watching that too but that's a review for another day.) He swings into action, sort of accidentally causing more trouble than saving it but you can't deny he wants to help people.
The SFX were okay but the whole build up to the fight at the end literally brought me to sleepy land. It may hold your attention for that brief moment but I woke up wondering where Gwyneth Paltrow came from and was she in this movie the whole time?
Other than that, Holland has become my favourite Spidey. I haven't seen far from home yet but I do hope it lives up to this version of the friendly neighbourhood spiderman.
How Much Of These Hills is Gold
10.0
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'The boldest debut of the year . . . It is refreshing to discover a new author of such grand scale,...
Historical fiction The Gold Rush
PING
Lisa Lucas and Steve Landsberg
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PING, which was originally conceived in 2016, precedes the current cultural popularity in Ping Pong,...
Literary Fiction Historical Fiction Women in Sports Table Tennis
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Contagion (2011) in Movies
Jun 11, 2019
Steven Soderbergh has produced some fine films in his time as an established director; Ocean’s Eleven was a sublime mix of dark humour and action, whilst Ocean’s Twelve and Thirteen remained decent but not exactly pulse-racing. Here, it seems Soderbergh sticks to what he knows best, how to deliver a brilliantly shot, gripping film. Here we have, Contagion.
An all-star cast with the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Matt Damon and Jude Law is bolstered by excellent cinematography and nail-biting claustrophobia in a film which never forgets its purpose: to shock.
Contagion starts with a cough, a single cough from a single woman, which in turn spreads across the globe, killing over 20 million people in every country on the planet and becoming one of the worst viral epidemics the world has ever seen. The directing style is exquisite and focuses on the days after the first contraction of the deadly virus; close-ups of door knobs and drinking fountains add to the heightened panic and sense of claustrophobia and the continuous references to bird-flu bring it home how frail a race we actually are.
Soderbergh gets stuck into the details of the virus straight away and the pace never lets up, you’ll be gasping for air with the infected as you struggle to keep pace with what’s going on; it’s a relentless film, much like the disease itself. The movie is one of many recent developments that have parallel storylines running throughout; Kate Winslet is a scientist at the centre of disease research, whilst Matt Damon plays a middle aged father protecting his daughter.
Gwyneth Paltrow plays a wife and mother who has been embarking on a dangerous affair whilst away on business and it has to be said, she is excellent in her role, even though it lasts a mere 20 minutes before she pegs it. Her illness is well controlled on screen and you share the pain she is in.
Matt Damon is somehow immune to the virus after losing his wife (Paltrow) and more disturbingly, his son in scenes unbefitting of the films 12A certificate and Kate Winslet looks surprisingly angelic in her body bag… oops, didn’t mean to spoil that for you.
Alas, it’s not all good news as Jude Law pops up now and again as an annoying journalist trying to discover a cure and shame the money grabbing pharmaceutical companies, he plays the character well and you definitely buy into his sense of ‘crazy’ but out of all the stories shuffling for your attention, his is the one you care least about.
Unfortunately, some other small issues hold the film from being a complete success. Parallel storylines are all well and good but there are perhaps too many here. Whilst focusing on Winslet dealing with the fact she has contracted the virus, you forget about how Mr. Damon is coping looking after his potentially not immune daughter and the same can be said for Law’s character too. Which one are we to focus on?
Contagion is artistically, a brilliant film, but it could be said that it’s more style over substance. Yes, the characters have depth, though not as much as we’d like, the story is well written and the shots are beautifully choreographed but that good, solid story is lost about half way through as Soderbergh tries to handle all the different viewpoints. It’s a fantastic film, but not the outright success it could have been. You will however, be reaching for that anti-bacterial hand cleanser a little more often.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2011/11/08/review-contagion-2011/
An all-star cast with the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Matt Damon and Jude Law is bolstered by excellent cinematography and nail-biting claustrophobia in a film which never forgets its purpose: to shock.
Contagion starts with a cough, a single cough from a single woman, which in turn spreads across the globe, killing over 20 million people in every country on the planet and becoming one of the worst viral epidemics the world has ever seen. The directing style is exquisite and focuses on the days after the first contraction of the deadly virus; close-ups of door knobs and drinking fountains add to the heightened panic and sense of claustrophobia and the continuous references to bird-flu bring it home how frail a race we actually are.
Soderbergh gets stuck into the details of the virus straight away and the pace never lets up, you’ll be gasping for air with the infected as you struggle to keep pace with what’s going on; it’s a relentless film, much like the disease itself. The movie is one of many recent developments that have parallel storylines running throughout; Kate Winslet is a scientist at the centre of disease research, whilst Matt Damon plays a middle aged father protecting his daughter.
Gwyneth Paltrow plays a wife and mother who has been embarking on a dangerous affair whilst away on business and it has to be said, she is excellent in her role, even though it lasts a mere 20 minutes before she pegs it. Her illness is well controlled on screen and you share the pain she is in.
Matt Damon is somehow immune to the virus after losing his wife (Paltrow) and more disturbingly, his son in scenes unbefitting of the films 12A certificate and Kate Winslet looks surprisingly angelic in her body bag… oops, didn’t mean to spoil that for you.
Alas, it’s not all good news as Jude Law pops up now and again as an annoying journalist trying to discover a cure and shame the money grabbing pharmaceutical companies, he plays the character well and you definitely buy into his sense of ‘crazy’ but out of all the stories shuffling for your attention, his is the one you care least about.
Unfortunately, some other small issues hold the film from being a complete success. Parallel storylines are all well and good but there are perhaps too many here. Whilst focusing on Winslet dealing with the fact she has contracted the virus, you forget about how Mr. Damon is coping looking after his potentially not immune daughter and the same can be said for Law’s character too. Which one are we to focus on?
Contagion is artistically, a brilliant film, but it could be said that it’s more style over substance. Yes, the characters have depth, though not as much as we’d like, the story is well written and the shots are beautifully choreographed but that good, solid story is lost about half way through as Soderbergh tries to handle all the different viewpoints. It’s a fantastic film, but not the outright success it could have been. You will however, be reaching for that anti-bacterial hand cleanser a little more often.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2011/11/08/review-contagion-2011/
SD
Skin Deep: Notes on Beauty from the World's Most Famous Faces
Book
In this collection of more than 40 columns, New York Times beauty writer Bee Shapiro gets the...
