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Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Fast Five (2011) in Movies
Jun 15, 2021
Following on directly from 'Fast and Furious (4)' and still before 'Tokyo Drift', Dom, Brian and Mia are on the run after breaking Dom out of prison. When they cross the path of a Brazilian drug baron and with an FBI agent on there trail they need to get the family back together for (another) one last job.
Fast and Furious 5 (Fast 5) has taken the franchise from 'cops and robbers' and high school racing to a Heist movie and is bigger with more guns, more cars and more action.
With Brian now on Dom's team the franchise needs a new cop and, in Fast 5 this roll is given to Hobbs, played by Dwayne(the Rock) Johnson. Hobbs is more of an action guy than Brian was which leads to longer fight scenes and more shoot outs.
The end chase is one of the better one's I've seen with a huge amount of collateral damage.
Fast 5 shows that the franchise is getting bigger and better and it will be interesting to see where where it goes next.
Fast and Furious 5 (Fast 5) has taken the franchise from 'cops and robbers' and high school racing to a Heist movie and is bigger with more guns, more cars and more action.
With Brian now on Dom's team the franchise needs a new cop and, in Fast 5 this roll is given to Hobbs, played by Dwayne(the Rock) Johnson. Hobbs is more of an action guy than Brian was which leads to longer fight scenes and more shoot outs.
The end chase is one of the better one's I've seen with a huge amount of collateral damage.
Fast 5 shows that the franchise is getting bigger and better and it will be interesting to see where where it goes next.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated The Town (2010) in Movies
Sep 20, 2020
First half is flawed, as clichéd as a bank heist movie could possibly get - but that second half is a goddamned powerhouse (the only *half* conventional ending notwithstanding). Just sucks it took that long to become what it wanted to be the whole time. There's a really terrific story in here about parasitic men on both sides of the law playing with the lives of women like toys to either save their own asses, bring them down with them, or simply just because they can - all encased in a seedy, abusive popcorn heister of bullets and gracious amounts of Boston expletives - but I'm not sure this was ready to fully be that film. Think I'm willing to mostly forgive for how amazing Affleck is in this, and how amazing *everyone* is in this for that matter - along with how admittedly rousing the second hour is. But for the most part this takes nearly every predictable route you'd expect it to. Not really much more or less generic than 𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘉𝘺 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, just a lot less gutted.
Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Ocean’s 8 (2018) in Movies
Jan 22, 2021
I am sure the pitch for this sounded pretty good. It is the Ocean’s franchise but with all women. What on earth could possibly go wrong? Well, the script for starters. And the sleepy direction. The normally fairly dependable Gary Ross guilty on both fronts. Although there are some nice scenes and moments in isolation (usually involving Helena Bonham- Carter, who comes out of it all best, because at least she’s funny), it is all far too pedestrian and lacks momentum. A very easy film to fall asleep during, which for a heist movie is a problem! The talent on display is largely wasted, even though in a way they all come out of it with dignity and reputation intact. One other light I took from it was thinking Rihanna as the kooky “Nine Ball” showed some potential for being a decent screen actress, which pleasantly surprised me. Again, it is just about worth watching once, but has to go down as a botched job on the whole.
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ClareR (5603 KP) rated The Future in Books
Mar 26, 2024
I couldn’t get enough of The Future by Naomi Alderman. This book pressed all of my Sci-Fi/ Speculative fiction/ dystopian buttons ALL AT ONCE!!
I’m not actually sure how I should explain this… There’s so much going on in this book - doomsday preppers with an awful lot of money, climate breakdown and pollution, social media influencers.
Actually, that doesn’t explain half of it.
This is the story of a heist. A pretty daring one, and one that could so easily fail, but in order to save the future, a group of friends decide that they will have to do something to protect the world from three of the most powerful and influential billionaires.
The story is told in punchy, short chapters, interspersed with excerpts from a chatroom ( I loved these parts - I didn’t think I would to begin with, but I really enjoyed them). This style really propels the story forward. Actually, the STORY propels the story forward.
Look, I just really, really loved this book, and I think you should go and read it. Ok?
I’m not actually sure how I should explain this… There’s so much going on in this book - doomsday preppers with an awful lot of money, climate breakdown and pollution, social media influencers.
Actually, that doesn’t explain half of it.
This is the story of a heist. A pretty daring one, and one that could so easily fail, but in order to save the future, a group of friends decide that they will have to do something to protect the world from three of the most powerful and influential billionaires.
The story is told in punchy, short chapters, interspersed with excerpts from a chatroom ( I loved these parts - I didn’t think I would to begin with, but I really enjoyed them). This style really propels the story forward. Actually, the STORY propels the story forward.
Look, I just really, really loved this book, and I think you should go and read it. Ok?
Darren (1599 KP) rated Sexy Beast (2000) in Movies
Jul 25, 2019
Story: Sexy Beast starts as we meet retired safecracker Gal (Winstone) living the life of luxury in a Spanish villa which he enjoys relaxing by the pool enjoying his retirement. His retirement is put to the test when brutal gangster Don Logan (Kingsley) arrives in Spain to try and force him into doing one more job for him, he won’t take no for an answer.
Reluctantly taking the job, Gal returns to London and as most heist style movies, things don’t go to plan.
Thoughts on Sexy Beast
Characters – Gal was once the go to safecracker, now he is in retirement in Spain loving his life in the sun with his pool and friends, he has zero interest in returning to the game even after Don Logan pushes him. He stays relaxed through each scene because he knows his answer will always be no. he does reluctantly return for this last job mostly to get rid of Don. Don Logan is the brutal gangster, he knows who he wants for the jobs and this time it is Gal, he will not take ‘No’ as an answer, he will get violent and his outbursts will be the things you remember the most. Teddy is the man that the job is for, a fellow gangster that wants the best men for the job. DeeDee is the wife of Gal, she will stand by Gal in every decision even after the endless insults thrown their way.
Performances – Ray Winstone is great in this leading role, he is the perfect choice for a cockney criminal who knows there is a better life out there away from London. Ben Kingsley clearly steals every single scene in this movie with his performance that is filed with so much anger and aggression, you won’t be able to take your eyes off him. Ian McShane is great too where he brings us a calmer gangster who is also filled with anger. These three take most of the spotlight away from any other performers in the film.
Story – The story follows a retired criminal that gets forced to return to the game for one final job by an aggressive gangster, where this film does stand out from the other films in this genre, is that our hero Gal is 100% not interested in returning as most film give us the idea of ‘ok, I will do it’ on an easier formula. The story does have a nice twist on how things go and gives us the characters we could believe are from this world. if you are looking for a heist storyline, you will be disappointed though as this film focuses on the idea of getting the man to do the job.
Crime/Thriller – The crime world we enter giving us gangsters which will not take no for an answer, we don’t learn enough of their previous lives in the world though, only going on reputations.
Settings – The film uses Spain for the setting which gives us the retirement feel for a Brit to take, the sun increases the idea of the heat in the scenes.
Scene of the Movie – The heated argument.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The lack of heist action.
Final Thoughts – This is a true British crime film, it has great characters and a stunning performance from Ben Kingsley.
Overall: British Crime 101
Reluctantly taking the job, Gal returns to London and as most heist style movies, things don’t go to plan.
Thoughts on Sexy Beast
Characters – Gal was once the go to safecracker, now he is in retirement in Spain loving his life in the sun with his pool and friends, he has zero interest in returning to the game even after Don Logan pushes him. He stays relaxed through each scene because he knows his answer will always be no. he does reluctantly return for this last job mostly to get rid of Don. Don Logan is the brutal gangster, he knows who he wants for the jobs and this time it is Gal, he will not take ‘No’ as an answer, he will get violent and his outbursts will be the things you remember the most. Teddy is the man that the job is for, a fellow gangster that wants the best men for the job. DeeDee is the wife of Gal, she will stand by Gal in every decision even after the endless insults thrown their way.
Performances – Ray Winstone is great in this leading role, he is the perfect choice for a cockney criminal who knows there is a better life out there away from London. Ben Kingsley clearly steals every single scene in this movie with his performance that is filed with so much anger and aggression, you won’t be able to take your eyes off him. Ian McShane is great too where he brings us a calmer gangster who is also filled with anger. These three take most of the spotlight away from any other performers in the film.
Story – The story follows a retired criminal that gets forced to return to the game for one final job by an aggressive gangster, where this film does stand out from the other films in this genre, is that our hero Gal is 100% not interested in returning as most film give us the idea of ‘ok, I will do it’ on an easier formula. The story does have a nice twist on how things go and gives us the characters we could believe are from this world. if you are looking for a heist storyline, you will be disappointed though as this film focuses on the idea of getting the man to do the job.
Crime/Thriller – The crime world we enter giving us gangsters which will not take no for an answer, we don’t learn enough of their previous lives in the world though, only going on reputations.
Settings – The film uses Spain for the setting which gives us the retirement feel for a Brit to take, the sun increases the idea of the heat in the scenes.
Scene of the Movie – The heated argument.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The lack of heist action.
Final Thoughts – This is a true British crime film, it has great characters and a stunning performance from Ben Kingsley.
Overall: British Crime 101
Kyera (8 KP) rated The Last Magician in Books
Jan 31, 2018
This was a brilliantly woven time-traveling, magical heist book and I didn't even know how much I wanted it in my life. The book is written from multiple perspectives, which took a couple of chapters to get used to (as I was listening to the audiobook and there weren't multiple narrators) but soon I recognized each character's unique voice and fell into the story. In general, the plot was not fast paced but Maxwell vibrantly painted the world our main character finds herself in.
Esta is an orphan and a thief who is tasked with going back in time to alter the events of a heist that occurred in 1904 New York City. New York City is a world of mages, people will unique affinities, like Esta's ability to manipulate the fabric of time. Esta herself is a likable main character and the lens through which we learn about the other characters. As she is also from our time period, she must occasionally readjust her worldview, actions or outward opinions to match those of the time. Despite the fact that she is a thief, we get to see her smart and sarcastic side as well as her stubborn determination.
Despite the large cast of characters, I felt that they were generally well-developed and had the time to grow. I really enjoyed getting to know Dolph as the multi-faceted head of a gang and Harte the magician that Esta has been warned against. The crew reminded me of the Dregs from Six of Crows at times, although they didn't have quite the same chemistry. It was still enjoyable to watch them, although I hope that the others in the gang are developed further because I would like to see more of their personalities or backstories.
There wasn't as much focus on the magic dynamics as I expected there to be, but I was so enamored by the characters and world-building that it wasn't noticeable. Maxwell did a fabulous job reconstructing New York City at the start of the twentieth century and I fell in love. Overall, I felt the book satisfyingly wrapped up most of the threads from the book and introduced a few more that can be explored in book two. I really enjoyed the read and cannot wait to see how it ends in the second book.
Esta is an orphan and a thief who is tasked with going back in time to alter the events of a heist that occurred in 1904 New York City. New York City is a world of mages, people will unique affinities, like Esta's ability to manipulate the fabric of time. Esta herself is a likable main character and the lens through which we learn about the other characters. As she is also from our time period, she must occasionally readjust her worldview, actions or outward opinions to match those of the time. Despite the fact that she is a thief, we get to see her smart and sarcastic side as well as her stubborn determination.
Despite the large cast of characters, I felt that they were generally well-developed and had the time to grow. I really enjoyed getting to know Dolph as the multi-faceted head of a gang and Harte the magician that Esta has been warned against. The crew reminded me of the Dregs from Six of Crows at times, although they didn't have quite the same chemistry. It was still enjoyable to watch them, although I hope that the others in the gang are developed further because I would like to see more of their personalities or backstories.
There wasn't as much focus on the magic dynamics as I expected there to be, but I was so enamored by the characters and world-building that it wasn't noticeable. Maxwell did a fabulous job reconstructing New York City at the start of the twentieth century and I fell in love. Overall, I felt the book satisfyingly wrapped up most of the threads from the book and introduced a few more that can be explored in book two. I really enjoyed the read and cannot wait to see how it ends in the second book.