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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated The Taking (Afterlife #2) in Books
Nov 26, 2019
After her actions at the end of the first book in the series - Fledgling - the human-turned-angel Aurora has drawn the unwelcome attention of Separus, one of the most powerful of the demons. He covets her power and is determined to capture her and turn her to the side of darkness.
Aware of this Archangel Michael, leader of the angels, assigns her and her friends to be further trained by Zacharias, a rather bad tempered 'earthbound' angel who is an expert in fighting and weapons. As their - at times brutal - training takes place the demons are plotting to capture the three angel friends by using the ultimate bait for Aurora - Ethan. Aurora will need to make a choice, and not an easy one.
The Taking continues more-or-less where Fledgling left off although there is a distinct change of tone. Whereas in the first book Aurora, Cindy and Ben are out and about in the world saving innocents, here they are in training for very much of the time. In other hands this might be a disappointment, but Cope has an eye for telling the interesting bits of stories and not labouring the mundane. It also helps that the training is somewhat unusual, as is the teacher. As the major new character Zacharias is very well drawn, suitably grumpy and terse at being given 'humans' to train, as he sees it.
When conflict with the demons arises Cope again shows the flair for describing fight scenes from the first book and these, as would be expected, are far more intense battles with much more at stake. These are not serene angels gently guiding their human charges through life. These are kick-ass super heroes who are not afraid to put themselves in the way of extreme danger for what they believe is right.
Aurora must also confront her feelings for both Ethan, her human love, and Ben her angel friend. Both relationships are forbidden and this just complicates things further. I suspect that this aspect of the books would appeal more to female young adult readers but they are well written even if you will probably be shouting at the book telling Aurora not to be so silly at points.
Overall a second strong showing in this series and very recommended. If the angel/demon theme doesn't sound like your cup of tea then just give it a go. You will be pleasantly surprised
Aware of this Archangel Michael, leader of the angels, assigns her and her friends to be further trained by Zacharias, a rather bad tempered 'earthbound' angel who is an expert in fighting and weapons. As their - at times brutal - training takes place the demons are plotting to capture the three angel friends by using the ultimate bait for Aurora - Ethan. Aurora will need to make a choice, and not an easy one.
The Taking continues more-or-less where Fledgling left off although there is a distinct change of tone. Whereas in the first book Aurora, Cindy and Ben are out and about in the world saving innocents, here they are in training for very much of the time. In other hands this might be a disappointment, but Cope has an eye for telling the interesting bits of stories and not labouring the mundane. It also helps that the training is somewhat unusual, as is the teacher. As the major new character Zacharias is very well drawn, suitably grumpy and terse at being given 'humans' to train, as he sees it.
When conflict with the demons arises Cope again shows the flair for describing fight scenes from the first book and these, as would be expected, are far more intense battles with much more at stake. These are not serene angels gently guiding their human charges through life. These are kick-ass super heroes who are not afraid to put themselves in the way of extreme danger for what they believe is right.
Aurora must also confront her feelings for both Ethan, her human love, and Ben her angel friend. Both relationships are forbidden and this just complicates things further. I suspect that this aspect of the books would appeal more to female young adult readers but they are well written even if you will probably be shouting at the book telling Aurora not to be so silly at points.
Overall a second strong showing in this series and very recommended. If the angel/demon theme doesn't sound like your cup of tea then just give it a go. You will be pleasantly surprised
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) in Movies
Nov 28, 2019
When I first heard that Tom Hanks was playing Fred Rogers in a biopic, I was all on board. Who wouldn’t be? When I finally saw the film about a year and a half later, it was not the movie I was expecting. In such a fantastically good way.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood tells the story of the real life friendship between Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks) and journalist Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys, character based on real life journalist Tom Junod). Vogel is an investigative reporter for Esquire magazine in the late nineties and he is assigned a “puff” piece. The magazine was doing an issue on heroes, and Vogel was assigned Mr. Rogers, and would be a story unlike any other that he has written. After meeting and talking to Mr. Rogers for the first time, he couldn’t believe that this person was… well, perfect. Let’s be clear, Mr. Rogers is not perfect, but probably as close to perfect as many can imagine. So Vogel did what he does best. He started investigating. And during the course of his discoveries, he started to make discoveries about himself, and the relationships in his life, specifically with that of his father, Jerry Vogel (Chris Cooper).
This movie was so much more than I expected going in. I expected to tear up, I didn’t expect it to hit home the way show used to as I was growing up and watch the show well into my twenties. The cinematography was excellent. Many times it felt like I was watching the show as the movie essentially played out like an episode. The transitions were amazing, and the music was fantastic as well. They didn’t try to do anything artsy or new age with anything. All of the original themes and music was there. It was one of the most nostalgic movie going experiences I have ever had.
This is definitely a great movie to see, but do not mistake it for a children’s film, please. There are some very mature themes, language, and concepts. This is definitely meant to shine some light on the nature of human character versus the lessons taught by the legendary Mr. Rogers. That being said, go see it. It absolutely will not ruin your childhood.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood tells the story of the real life friendship between Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks) and journalist Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys, character based on real life journalist Tom Junod). Vogel is an investigative reporter for Esquire magazine in the late nineties and he is assigned a “puff” piece. The magazine was doing an issue on heroes, and Vogel was assigned Mr. Rogers, and would be a story unlike any other that he has written. After meeting and talking to Mr. Rogers for the first time, he couldn’t believe that this person was… well, perfect. Let’s be clear, Mr. Rogers is not perfect, but probably as close to perfect as many can imagine. So Vogel did what he does best. He started investigating. And during the course of his discoveries, he started to make discoveries about himself, and the relationships in his life, specifically with that of his father, Jerry Vogel (Chris Cooper).
This movie was so much more than I expected going in. I expected to tear up, I didn’t expect it to hit home the way show used to as I was growing up and watch the show well into my twenties. The cinematography was excellent. Many times it felt like I was watching the show as the movie essentially played out like an episode. The transitions were amazing, and the music was fantastic as well. They didn’t try to do anything artsy or new age with anything. All of the original themes and music was there. It was one of the most nostalgic movie going experiences I have ever had.
This is definitely a great movie to see, but do not mistake it for a children’s film, please. There are some very mature themes, language, and concepts. This is definitely meant to shine some light on the nature of human character versus the lessons taught by the legendary Mr. Rogers. That being said, go see it. It absolutely will not ruin your childhood.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Broken City (2013) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
In Broken City, Russell Crowe and Mark Wahlberg wade into the streets of a
fictional New York, portraying its mayor and a tormented cop, respectively. This film is very political, and it drives to the heart of an issue found all around our country: corruption at every level, especially the highest.
The story starts with a shooting. As one might imagine, officers are easily found innocent in shootings because of the nature of their job, and thus Billy Taggart(Wahlberg) is found innocent after facing accusations of murder. Unfortunately, Mayor Nicholas Hostetler (Crowe) has damning evidence that would cause considerable harm to the officer — who’s earned a reputation as a hero — as well
as the city leaders, if it were brought to light. He decides to let Taggart go, and allow everyone to save face, with a handshake and a promise of future remembrance.
Seven years later the tides turn, as Private Eye Taggart is asked by Mayor
Hostetler to investigate his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) for a hefty sum of money.
The cash-strapped Taggart takes the job, but finds himself diving headfirst into a political feeding frenzy two weeks prior to the election. Naturally, drama ensues.
Broken City is not a bad film. The problem is: it’s also not a great film. It has many of the elements of a good movie, but something is missing. It’s hard to blame the writing, as there was well-balanced humor and drama. It’s hard to blame
the cinematography, because the key shots are there. (But some awkward shots are there, too. For example, there’s an odd, segmented spinning shot of Crowe and Wahlberg in the mayor’s office.) It’s hard to blame the acting; everyone does a great job in that regard. But there was just something missing. I wasn’t drawn in.
The movie felt rushed in certain areas, and too long in others. It had major plot holes, like when (spoiler alert) Taggart’s girlfriend disappears, but never resurfaces. The main character never gets a true, deep, passionate call-to-action, which all heroes are supposed to have.
I enjoyed the role of Taggart’s assistant. Even the ending was a fresh take (though somewhat expected, because the main character wasn’t conflicted and chaotic enough to merit an unknown response).
All in all, Broken City is a good movie, but not a great one. You would be well-served to rent or stream it, and save your theater dollars.
fictional New York, portraying its mayor and a tormented cop, respectively. This film is very political, and it drives to the heart of an issue found all around our country: corruption at every level, especially the highest.
The story starts with a shooting. As one might imagine, officers are easily found innocent in shootings because of the nature of their job, and thus Billy Taggart(Wahlberg) is found innocent after facing accusations of murder. Unfortunately, Mayor Nicholas Hostetler (Crowe) has damning evidence that would cause considerable harm to the officer — who’s earned a reputation as a hero — as well
as the city leaders, if it were brought to light. He decides to let Taggart go, and allow everyone to save face, with a handshake and a promise of future remembrance.
Seven years later the tides turn, as Private Eye Taggart is asked by Mayor
Hostetler to investigate his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) for a hefty sum of money.
The cash-strapped Taggart takes the job, but finds himself diving headfirst into a political feeding frenzy two weeks prior to the election. Naturally, drama ensues.
Broken City is not a bad film. The problem is: it’s also not a great film. It has many of the elements of a good movie, but something is missing. It’s hard to blame the writing, as there was well-balanced humor and drama. It’s hard to blame
the cinematography, because the key shots are there. (But some awkward shots are there, too. For example, there’s an odd, segmented spinning shot of Crowe and Wahlberg in the mayor’s office.) It’s hard to blame the acting; everyone does a great job in that regard. But there was just something missing. I wasn’t drawn in.
The movie felt rushed in certain areas, and too long in others. It had major plot holes, like when (spoiler alert) Taggart’s girlfriend disappears, but never resurfaces. The main character never gets a true, deep, passionate call-to-action, which all heroes are supposed to have.
I enjoyed the role of Taggart’s assistant. Even the ending was a fresh take (though somewhat expected, because the main character wasn’t conflicted and chaotic enough to merit an unknown response).
All in all, Broken City is a good movie, but not a great one. You would be well-served to rent or stream it, and save your theater dollars.
izneo BD Comics Manga
Book, Comics and Entertainment
1.0
Rate It
App
Izneo BD Comics Manga is the best app for French-Belgian comics, with thousands of digital comic...
BBC Match of the Day magazine
Sports and Magazines & Newspapers
App
Match of the Day is Britain’s best-selling football magazine. We bring our youth audience closer...
My Old Man by I Am the Polish Army
Album Watch
From the privacy of a dorm room in 2005 to the streets of Brooklyn in 2016, I Am The Polish Army has...
The 15:17 To Paris (2018)
6.2
Rate It
Movie Watch
From Clint Eastwood comes “The 15:17 to Paris,” which tells the real-life story of three men...
Yacht Were You Thinking?: An A-Z of Boat Names Good and Bad
Book
Naming a boat is as personal as naming a baby (even if few male skippers would risk telling the wife...
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) in Movies
Jul 11, 2019
Alpha, the inter-universal coalition of a thousand planets that has evolved to support millions of life forms, is under attack. Valerian and his partner, Laureline are assigned to find the culprits and destroy them. Based on the main characters in the 1967 French comic book series Valerian and Laureline. Luc Besson sends us out into the vastness of the universe and shows us how wondrous it can be.
The director of The Fifth Element has been working on this film for about ten years. Besson has mentioned he had wanted to work on this project for years and it would not have been made before the technology used in James Cameron’s Avatar. The film is a eye-gasming smorgasbord of star systems, planets and five hundred different alien species. The story itself does not hold many surprises. Heroes looking for villains, lasers pew-pewing across time and space. Goal to save the world as they know.
Valerian (Dane DeHann) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) have a cool/electric repartee of partners who know each other well and are working to combat the underlying…tensions. We learn that Valerian, quite confident in his abilities does not work as well without Laureline by him. Not as the sidekick, but equal. Throughout the film, we see the humor in their relationship with the push and push of their personalities trying to gain the upper hand. The film has some visual and physical comedic moments that tip the hat to screwball, buddy comedies.
The movie is such an incredible visually dazzling event throughout, there’s so much going on that at times I wondered what I could have been missing . The characters are striking: Rhianna’s performance as Bubble was an ocular delight. The costuming and makeup were fanciful, artistic and offbeat. All the CG work in this movie truly makes me wonder what it is like to live in Luc Besson’s mind. I can see the inspiration taken from the comic books which give us the characters and storyline, but the imagination that illustrates Valerian and Laureline’s universe on the big screen is absolutely mind-blowing.
If you are a fan of the Fifth Element, you will enjoy this film. However, you don’t need to be a fan to enjoy this adventure. I highly recommend that you view this in 3D, it enhances the vision created by Besson.
The director of The Fifth Element has been working on this film for about ten years. Besson has mentioned he had wanted to work on this project for years and it would not have been made before the technology used in James Cameron’s Avatar. The film is a eye-gasming smorgasbord of star systems, planets and five hundred different alien species. The story itself does not hold many surprises. Heroes looking for villains, lasers pew-pewing across time and space. Goal to save the world as they know.
Valerian (Dane DeHann) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) have a cool/electric repartee of partners who know each other well and are working to combat the underlying…tensions. We learn that Valerian, quite confident in his abilities does not work as well without Laureline by him. Not as the sidekick, but equal. Throughout the film, we see the humor in their relationship with the push and push of their personalities trying to gain the upper hand. The film has some visual and physical comedic moments that tip the hat to screwball, buddy comedies.
The movie is such an incredible visually dazzling event throughout, there’s so much going on that at times I wondered what I could have been missing . The characters are striking: Rhianna’s performance as Bubble was an ocular delight. The costuming and makeup were fanciful, artistic and offbeat. All the CG work in this movie truly makes me wonder what it is like to live in Luc Besson’s mind. I can see the inspiration taken from the comic books which give us the characters and storyline, but the imagination that illustrates Valerian and Laureline’s universe on the big screen is absolutely mind-blowing.
If you are a fan of the Fifth Element, you will enjoy this film. However, you don’t need to be a fan to enjoy this adventure. I highly recommend that you view this in 3D, it enhances the vision created by Besson.