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Willow (1988)
Willow (1988)
1988 | Action, Adventure, Drama
Warwick Davis (0 more)
Watched for the first time tonight in preparation for the disney plus version also staring Warwick Davis as willow I hope the new tv show will live up to the orignal anyway the film as I've never seen the orignal to now would I like it yes okay some of the effects look dated but that's okay Warwick Davis is the star of the movie and the best part of movie even val kilmer is good in this hard to believe that anyway good fantasy movie now for the tv show
  
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Al Gore recommended Spotlight (2015) in Movies (curated)

 
Spotlight (2015)
Spotlight (2015)
2015 | Drama, Mystery

"I hope that you will be understanding when I mention my fifth choice, which is An Inconvenient Truth. Davis Guggenheim justly received the Oscar for his work on that movie. He’s a great friend; I was with him last night. He’s so talented, and he did such a good job in that movie. Of course, I’m hopelessly biased in including that in the list, but I’m encouraged by how many positive comments people made about how it affected them."

Source
  
I've Got You
I've Got You
Becca Seymour | 2019 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
a stunning follow up!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is sort of the second book in the set, Let Me Show You is the first, and you really should read that one, I think, to give you the full picture of what Scott did to Carter in that book, and why he feels so bad about himself in this one. Not totally NECESSARY, but I think it would help a great deal.

Scott was awful to Carter, and then came out to him, which made what Scott did all the worse. When Scott kisses Davis, Tanner’s best friend, at Carter and Tanner’s party, Scott runs. It takes a great deal of Carter to bring Scott out of himself. Davis is profoundly affected by that kiss, and he knows what Scott did to Carter was bad, but when Davis sees Scott, really SEES deep into his eyes, Davis knows Scott is desperately unhappy with his lot. But can the newly outed vet be happy with the single dad? Can he be happy, at ALL?

Like I said, I think it would help a great deal to read Carter and Tanner’s book before this one. If only to give you the full picture of what Scott did to Carter, and why Tanner is reluctant to forgive Scott, even if Carter does, and just why Scott hates himself so much. You need that bigger picture, I think. Just my personal opinion, is all.

Scott is hurting. He knows what he did was wrong, and the fact that Carter has taken it upon himself to become Scott’s best friend shocks him but gives him hope. He doesn’t know if he will ever be truly happy with himself for that, but he has to try. Meeting Davis at Carter and Tanner’s party was a bit of a revelation. He doesn’t know why he kissed Davis, but he liked it, a lot. Getting to know Davis seems like a good idea, but a deeply scary one for Scott, especially since Davis has a baby daughter.

Davis is lovely! I loved his patience with Scott, he knows Scott is hurting, and he knows Scott is newly out, so he understands explaining stuff is hard work, but very quickly, very early on, Davis knows Scott is the man for him. He just has to bide his time while Scott gets himself sorted. When Scott comes to work in Davis’ coffee shop, it gives Davis the ideal opportunity to get close to Scott. And when Scott meets Libby?? Davis is smitten, deeply!

There is, for Scott, a great deal of soul-searching in this book. Davis is an open book here and Scott is not. It takes time for Scott to come out of himself, and for the relationship between Davis and Scott to develop and I loved that. In Carter and Tanner’s review, I said I loved being made to wait for the main event but here? I wasn’t even sure we would GET the main event! It’s a close thing, I tell ya. But it’s right and proper that these two take their time, and get to know each other properly, I think.

It has some sexy time, some deeply emotional time, some funny moments and some shocking ones. Both Davis and Scott have their say, in the first person. Both voices are very different, and each change is clearly headed at the beginning of a chapter.

It also has some very homophobic comments from a shocking source, where you don’t expect them, but once you know, you understand why Scott was in a bad place before.

We leave this little town, with Scott and Davis, and Carter and Tanner happily settling down to their new lives together. We also get to meet Scott’s sister. I’d like her to be happy too. She had it tough for a long time, and reconnecting with Scott gives her the courage to do something about her life. She deserves the kind of happiness her brother has found, too, please Ms Seymour!

Not quite as warm and fuzzies and too stinking cute as Let Me Some You, but it’s a very close thing! Still. . .

5 full and shiny stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
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Eilidh G Clark (177 KP) Jul 4, 2019

Interesting. I think I'll put this on my to read list

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MaryAnn (14 KP) rated Unscripted in Books

Nov 4, 2019  
Unscripted
Unscripted
Davis Bunn | 2019
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Young line producer Danny Byrd is well-known in Hollywood for being someone who gets things done on time and under budget. But when his reputation takes a beating after his partner--and former best friend--makes off with their investors' money, Danny has but one chance to redeem himself and restore his ruined career.

LA lawyer Megan Pierce has sacrificed years of her life proving herself to her impossible bosses only to find herself disgusted at their snobbery and their specious business practices. When an opportunity to actually make a difference comes her way, she knows she has to grab it--even though she's not entirely clear what "it" is.

Danny and Megan are each other's best hope for redemption. What they never could have imagined was that they might also be each other's best hope for love.

Bestselling and award-winning author Davis Bunn takes you into the beating heart of Hollywood with two characters determined to thrive in a cutthroat business.



My Thoughts: An interesting story that revolves around LA and the movie industry. This novel deals with the subject of redemption, forgiveness learning to trust and starting over. Danny started life hard, growing up in foster homes, his best friend and his partner who ruins his career. Danny soon learns that there are people he can trust and that he can start over.


A very interesting read that I am sure readers will enjoy.
  
Rampage (2018)
Rampage (2018)
2018 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
I have long written about the troubled history of bringing video game movies to the screen. For every success such as “Resident Evil” there are failures such as “Super Mario Bros”, “Wing Commander”, “DOOM”, and countless others. In recent years studios have taken more control of films based on their titles and we have seen some better success at least from a financial point. I was on set and very briefly in “Postal” and “Far Cry” and between scenes it was explained to me that with many video game films, you can use names and a basic premise from the game, but visuals, scenarios and such are usually forbidden as they cannot follow past stories or impede on any possible new projects. What is left is usually something with the name of the game and a very loose association.

“Tomb Raider” and “Assassin’s Creed” recently had a solid box office and while “Warcraft” fizzled domestically it did well overseas but not enough to trigger a sequel but showed an upward trend of star power and bigger budgets for game related films.

All of which brings us to “Rampage”; which is based on a classic arcade game which spawned version on multiple gaming platforms and sequels over the years.

The movie stars Dwayne Johnson as Davis Okoye; a former military operative who joined an anti-poaching task force and now resides in San Diego caring for Primates. His associates note that he has a better relationship with the animals in his care than he does the people around him and Davis is more than fine with this.

His favorite animal is an Albino Gorilla named George and Davis has even managed to teach him and other members of the group to speak to him via sign language.

All seems well until debris from a satellite crashes into George’s enclosure one night as well as various locales around the country.

George begins to grow at an alarming rate and shows increased aggression which is troubling to Davis and draws the attention of a genetics company who are involved in a rogue genetics experiment and a disgraced scientist named Dr. Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris) who strive to help George and get control of the situation. Naturally the people behind the experiment are not going to let this happen and involve Government Agent Russell (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), to transport them all to a secure locale.

Naturally things do not go as planned and with multiple creatures now on the loose and heading to Chicago, and the military powerless to stop the carnage, it is up to Davis to save George and save the day.

The film uses some lavish visuals to depict the creatures and the action scenes are very entertaining. For a game with a very basic premise, it was nice to see the attempt made to flesh out the backstory and characters and not make the film just an extended FX reel.

There are some scenes and lines that would not be appropriate for younger viewers as a couple at our screener seemed to have some issues with the intensity at times. That being said, “Rampage” delivers an over the top, campy, and fully entertaining mix of video games and classic monster movies. The strong cast and great effects make for an enjoyable action film as long as you accept things with a wink and a smile. I hope this is a success as I would love to see a future film in the series and Johnson, Morgan, and Harris were a very winning combination.

http://sknr.net/2018/04/11/rampage/
  
The Last Time I Lied
The Last Time I Lied
Riley Sager | 2018 | Thriller
10
8.7 (11 Ratings)
Book Rating
Fifteen years ago, Emma Davis attended Camp Nightingale for the first time. She shared a cabin with three older girls, Vivian, Allison and Natalie and one night they snuck out of the cabin and never came back. This is something that has haunted Emma all this time. So much so that she has included these girls in all of her paintings since that time, hidden in the woods they disappeared into. Now, Emma has been invited back to camp which is reopening after fifteen years. She is determined to find out what happened to the girls so that she can move on with life. But will she be able to do that? Will the people who are responsible for the girls disappearance and maybe death, try to stop her?

I loved this book! I read The Final Girls earlier this year and loved that one as well. I couldn't wait to read this one. I will say at the beginning I felt the story started off a little slowly, taking us back and forth from present day to Camp Nightingale fifteen years ago. We learn more about Emma's youth and about the girls who disappeared, especially Vivian who Emma seemed most obsessed with.

Riley Sager will is another author I am now adding to my list of author's whose books I will read regardless of the description. I hope everything he writes turns out to be as big a hit as the previous two.
  
TO
The Outlaw Takes a Bride
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Can an outlaw find love and happiness when his life is nothing but a lie?




Springtime in Colorado, 1885. Johnny Paynter is accused of a murder and flees towards his brother’s ranch in Texas. Although when he arrives, he finds his brother Mark dead! Folk in town think that Johnny is Mark, and Johnny doesn’t correct them. He begins to start a new life as Mark and things go rather well. Until he finds out that Mark has a mail order bride on her way to Texas. Deciding that there is nothing else to do, he takes Sally as his wife and continues life as Mark Paynter. With a relationship founded on lies, how can it survive?




The foundation of any relationship should be founded on truth and honesty. If it isn’t, there is much turmoil working through the mess. But there is always hope, the Lord can heal the hurt and His mercies are new every day. We can always begin again. I have enjoyed both books that I have read by Susan Page Davis now. The Outlaw Takes a Bride is a western romance, with really good Christian principles. She reminds us that we should strive to live an honest life, but even when we mess things up, the Lord is there to forgive and restore what has been broken. This book is action packed with bandits, touching and romantic, and an overall good read!




I received a free digital copy of The Outlaw Takes a Bride from Barbour Publishing, Inc. through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
  
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Chris Sawin (602 KP) rated The Nines (2007) in Movies

Jun 19, 2019 (Updated Jun 22, 2019)  
The Nines (2007)
The Nines (2007)
2007 | International, Comedy, Drama
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The Nines tells the story of Gary, Gavin, and Gabriel with each character given a specific segment in the film. The first segment tells the story of Gary, an actor who has more than a few issues. The second introduces us to Gavin as we're given a reality TV show look behind the scenes as he tries to get his show onto the air. The final segment is about Gabriel, a married man who designs video games. All of the segments are related and focus around the number 9. Discovering the truth about these characters and what they really are is what really makes the film worth watching.

I had been wanting to see this for awhile and I finally got around to seeing it today. It was actually better than I was expecting it to be. I haven't seen a film tie together multiple segments like this in a long time. Everything comes together quite well and it's pretty satisfying once all the cards are put on the table. Ryan Reynolds proves once again that his acting is quite strong and has more to him than being the casual funny man. Melissa McCarthy is also worth mentioning. She starts off being kind of irritating, but turns out being incredibly charming once the credits roll. Hope Davis was the last piece of the puzzle and is crucial to the overall story. At first, she just seems like the typical jealous and conniving female character who didn't get what she wanted. As the film progresses, however, her role becomes more interesting and it's revealed how important she is in Gary/Gavin/Gabriel's path to discovering what's really going on.

The Nines deserves a watch from anyone looking for something a little different. It'll definitely satisfy Ryan Reynolds fans and it'll probably meet or exceed what you expect from the film once it's all said and done. It surprised me quite a bit with a strong story, a great cast, and an incredibly solid script.
  
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TheDefunctDiva (304 KP) rated The Fly (1986) in Movies

Mar 13, 2021 (Updated Mar 15, 2021)  
The Fly (1986)
The Fly (1986)
1986 | Horror, Sci-Fi
Jeff Goldblum seems to star as himself. Always a plus. (0 more)
That ex! (0 more)
Come Fly With Me...
Contains spoilers, click to show
The Fly, Directed by David Cronenberg, 1986

To the victor go the spoils. To the reader, go the spoilers.

We watched The Fly the other night. I observed, with fond amusement, that the energetic and quirky Jeff Goldblum always seems to star as himself. In this film, he plays a scientist named Seth Brundle. His offbeat handsomeness pairs well with the pale beauty of Geena Davis, who stars alongside him as journalist Veronica Quaife. As the two characters hit it off, I tried to ignore the fact that Goldblum’s character came off as somewhat creepy.

Then we were introduced to Veronica’s ex-boyfriend, who is also her boss. Stathis, played by John Getz, is unhinged. His performance was exaggerated, almost a caricature. He presents himself as the pinnacle alpha-male. Talk about a stalker. His attempts to control Veronica, and his jealousy, were epic. I commented that the scariest thing about this movie was Veronica’s ex. Little did I know what the rest of the film had in store.

Seth, an undiscovered genius, has invented a transporter. Seth shows Veronica how his invention works by transporting her stocking from one pod to another. Veronica wants to publish a story about it, but Seth insists that his technology is not ready. Seth and Veronica become involved, and she helps document his experiments.

Later, things get hairy. Naturally, they want to see if the pods are capable of transporting living beings. Instead of experimenting on a bug, or a mouse, or a smaller creature, they attempt to transport a full-sized monkey.

Suffice to say, things do not go well. Kudos to the special effects team for creating that pile of retch.

More modifications are made, and another monkey survives the transportation trip.

The romance grows between Seth and Veronica. I had a hard time buying into the chemistry between Goldblum and Davis. They both seemed a little distant. Regardless, the love story pushes forward. There is even talk of the pair going away together “like an old married couple.” Then Veronica’s boss throws a wrench in the mix. Veronica is forced to deal with his antics. Seth, who is also a bit of a jealous type, gets drunk and sends himself through the transporter, since the monkey seemed fine.

Then there comes the stuff of nightmares. Seth isn’t himself. He is immediately charged with manic energy. He performs quite an impressive gymnastics routine (thank you, stunt Goldblum).Veronica is clearly distraught that her boyfriend is losing it.

The physical metamorphosis begins. Seth develops weird, wiry hairs protruding from a cut on his back. His sex drive goes wonky, and when he alienates Veronica, he finds a random lady from a bar to sleep with. His complexion worsens dramatically. He discovers that his machine has melded his genetic information with the DNA of a fly that was in the pod of the transporter with him. THE DNA FUSED AT A MOLECULAR LEVEL. This, my dear viewers, is not good. Not the sort of thing you can get addressed at your nearest urgent care clinic.

Things get worse, and incredibly gross, from there. Fingernails fall off and bug juice oozes. The makeup and special effects departments did an extremely convincing job. I felt incredibly bad for this seemingly highly intelligent man. My boyfriend kept calling for a flame thrower.

Veronica tries to help, and is empathetic. But watching your newfound love deteriorate so rapidly, and being powerless to help, is extremely traumatic. Davis brought her A-game to this portion of the performance. And, true to the sci-fi soap opera plot, she discovers that she is pregnant with Seth’s baby.

I don’t want to spoil the ending for you. But do you imagine this story ends well? I had hope. But it was squashed like a bug. If you have the stomach for good, old-fashioned movie gore, and you like Weird Science with a touch of Bad Romance, this film is for you.
  
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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) in Movies

Oct 29, 2019 (Updated Oct 29, 2019)  
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
I'll start by saying that Terminator: Dark Fate isn't quite the glorious return to form that a lot of people were hoping it would be. It's not a scratch on the first two, but there's enough good here to provide a mostly enjoyable sequel.
The Terminator series has had a bit of an extended rough patch over the last 15-20 years to say the least. Many fans (including myself) are quite happy to pretend that any entries after T2 just don't exist.
Lucky for us then that Dark Fate feels the same way.

Picking up after the events of T2, with a bit of digital trickery, we're first subjected to a sweet shot of nostalgia that we seem to be getting used to these days.
One thing I found apparent throughout DF, is that it drip feeds nostalgia quite subtly, without ever going overboard.

From there we're introduced to characters old and new including a new Terminator target Dani (Natalia Reyes), her cybernetically augmented human protector-from-the-future, Grace (Mackenzie Davis) and the new improved Terminator model for this chapter, the 'Rev-9' (Gabriel Luna).
And then of course Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), back and more badass than ever.
I enjoyed the cast as a whole during DF, but I'll admit that whenever Hamilton was involved in a scene was when my attention was at a peak.

The pacing drags at times - the action scenes are pretty hectic, and mostly entertaining, and a decent script holds the slower moments together for the most part, but i found parts of the middle act a little dull at times.

Arnold Schwarzenegger appears fairly late on, and the film picked up a notch for me at this point. The position we find him in is initially quite jarring, but does (kind of) make sense once explained. It's also Schwarzenegger that provides the bulk of Dark Fate's sparse humour, and it's done very well. Just like the nostalgia aspect, it never quite goes overboard, allowing for some genuinely funny moments in an otherwise serious movie.

The climax of the film is stupidly entertaining, with thrilling action, and some genuinely emotional moments. Dark Fate felt like a 6/10 to me until the last 25 minutes, and it's a strong final sequence that closes the film nicely.

The CGI is mostly decent. Mostly. There are some moments early on that look dodgy AF, and an action set piece on a huge plane a bit later on that is glaringly awful, but it's not enough to tank what is overall, an entertaining action vehicle, with a great cast.

I honestly (and probably naively) hope that the Terminator franchise is left alone now. There's only so many ways one can shoehorn Arnie into a new Terminator narrative, and Dark Fate does just enough to make up for the last three films. And that's good enough for me.