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De Niro: A Biography
De Niro: A Biography
John Baxter | 2003 | Biography
5
5.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
an in-depth analysis (0 more)
too much negativity (0 more)
More an attack than a good read
What amazed me about this book which details the life of a great actor is that i always thought that he was one of the most successful and wanted actors in Hollywood. I have seen lots of his films (my two favourites being Once Upon a Time in America and Casino) and to me his acting is outstanding. I rather felt that the writer here spent too much time saying what was bad about the films and concentrating on the negatives. Dont get me wrong i know that de niro had problems off screen and on screen but this felt more like an attack than a biography.
  
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Dean (6926 KP) rated Mary Queen of Scots (2018) in Movies

Aug 29, 2020 (Updated Aug 29, 2020)  
Mary Queen of Scots (2018)
Mary Queen of Scots (2018)
2018 | Biography, Drama, History
Saoirse Ronan (1 more)
Costumes and locations
Usual Hollywood approach to History (0 more)
Queen takes Queen
This isn't the type of film I normally watch but the cast swung me. It's the type of film that will win awards for the costume department and production. Saoirse Ronan really carries the film and without her I would score it a bit lower. Margot Robbie is sadly under used in this.
Tied up in a political, religious and royal game of real life chess as to whom will be heir to the throne of England. There is plenty of scheming and treason by both Royal courts. It's interesting but also at times a little dull. If you like slow period dramas you'll love it, if not you're not missing much.
  
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    Gun Sounds Catalog

    Catalogs and Entertainment

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    This app features over 50 high quality gun sounds from the best Hollywood Studios. You will find...

Walking Tall (2004)
Walking Tall (2004)
2004 | Action, Drama
Cast (1 more)
Story
When the chips are down...
2004 saw the official beginning of one Dwayne Johnsons transition from the squared circle to the bright lights of Hollywood.

Starring as the protagonist in one of his first major leading roles, Rock "The Dwayne" Johnson put on a pretty steady and hard hitting performance as Chris Vaughn, a former member US Army Special Forces returning hometown after eight years.
Vaughn determined not to crumble under pressure from a local crime boss, battling his henchmen and corrupt officers who have all but taken over the town,

Slick, hard hitting action backed up by a solid story and performance.

No over the top special effects make this a nice Nod to past, lesser known action movies.
  
The Fifth Estate (2013)
The Fifth Estate (2013)
2013 | Biography, Drama, History
The tension is palpable; the writing strong. The actors are top-notch. (0 more)
The Assange character isn’t as complete as it should be. There isn’t enough movement in the plot. It goes straight towards denouement and then nothing. Very boring structure. (0 more)
Excellent pacing, great acting.
The factual fiction genre (think this film and The Social Network), is intriguing in that it’s very interesting. Like biography but never intending to be so, teetering on expose but remaining filmic in structure and narrative... anyway, The 5th Estate (or the 5ifth estate...whatever) is about the rise of Wikileaks, its enigmatic founder, Julian Assange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and the line it walks between freedom of information and guerilla journalism.

As such, it’s quite entertaining to watch, and while Cumberbatch’s Assange is more Cumberbatch than Assange (tho props to the makeup team, because he rocks the look!) it’s told in a quite exciting “rise from nobody to someone to dangerous with power” that most of these films take.

The acting is solid. The dialogue is well written and the cinematography is spot-on. Hits the “internet persona” well without too much of the hacker tropes we all expect from Hollywood.

That said, the arc is too linear. It’s too smooth, and too Hollywood to be fully believable as the whole story, and too thin on character to be invested in the Assange character much. His ego is well represented but his depth is not. We don’t get much in terms of motivation, which isn’t sad as there’s a lot to mine that the film barely scratches.

Overall definitely worth a watch. But not one you’ll likely purchase to watch again.
  
The Boy Next Door (2015)
The Boy Next Door (2015)
2015 | Mystery
2
4.8 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The theme of the dangerous person living next door as well as forbidden attraction and desires are no stranger to Hollywood as they are themes that have powered some of the most intense and erotic dramas in recent memory.

The latest offering from Hollywood has Jennifer Lopez as Claire, a woman who is newly divorced and falls for her new neighbor played by Ryan Guzman.

At first the relationship is exciting for Claire but things take a turn for the worse and Claire soon learns that her new neighbor is not what he first appeared to be and is a very dangerous and manipulative individual.

You would think with a premise such as this and a decent cast that this would at least be a passable thriller but instead it is about as lifeless and formulaic a film as they come.

The film was completely predictable aside form one brief moment at the end of the film that was mildly unexpected, but other than that I found myself whispering to my husband throughout the movie what was going to happen next, and it did.

Supporting actors John Corbett, playing Lopez’ (estranged) husband, and Ian Nelson as their teenage son, did a passable job given the material they were working with but deserved much better.

Ryan Guzman who plays 19-year-old neighbor Noah, manages to play the creepy psycho part pretty well, but the material was as I said previously; so very predictable.

 

I wish I could offer more than 1 star out of 5, but I can’t for the film which is a shame as the audience and the cast deserved so much more with this premise.