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EmersonRose (320 KP) rated Knight of The Dead II: Cavalry in Books
Nov 20, 2019
Knight of the Dead 2: Cavalry is author Ron Smorynski’s second book in this action-packed, zombie apocalypse book with a medieval twist. In the second book, Ronan and his family have found themselves a place to build up as their fortress and are ready to start bringing others into their midst. But as their little community grows, they find themselves faced with inner conflict as much as dealing with the danger the world has become. This conflict mainly arises from the fact that when it was just his family, Ronan shared the same beliefs as everyone else, they understood each other’s skills, and trusted each other completely, which is not the case with traumatized strangers. The book is a quick and easy read that is full of action-packed zombie fights and chases, interesting ways of surviving in an apocalyptic world, and sweet family moments. I would say that this book is best suited for those that love zombie, apocalypse, and Christian literature.
I really appreciated the small moments throughout the book that hold sweet moments of family. In a dark world, it is nice to see those moments of trying to keep a little innocence alive for young children, sharing love, the comradery of close friends, and the earnest desire to protect one another. What this book, and the series as a whole, are very strong in is the action. This does not just mean the actual fights but the interesting chases, the intense moments of sneaking through the city, searching for materials needed to survive, and trying to save others. I thought that the addition of new characters was great and through their eyes allowed us to learn even more about the central family. Especially when it came to dealing with conflict and trusting those around them. In this book, the family’s connection to God is strengthened and becomes a key aspect of their mental journeys and how they deal with the horror that surrounds them.
Smorynski has done an excellent job of creating an atmosphere in the series that feels possible. For both the physical shape of the world and the mental space of the characters, you can see this being a future for humanity despite the sci-fi premise. I found the book to be a fun read and look forward to reading the next installment in the series.
I really appreciated the small moments throughout the book that hold sweet moments of family. In a dark world, it is nice to see those moments of trying to keep a little innocence alive for young children, sharing love, the comradery of close friends, and the earnest desire to protect one another. What this book, and the series as a whole, are very strong in is the action. This does not just mean the actual fights but the interesting chases, the intense moments of sneaking through the city, searching for materials needed to survive, and trying to save others. I thought that the addition of new characters was great and through their eyes allowed us to learn even more about the central family. Especially when it came to dealing with conflict and trusting those around them. In this book, the family’s connection to God is strengthened and becomes a key aspect of their mental journeys and how they deal with the horror that surrounds them.
Smorynski has done an excellent job of creating an atmosphere in the series that feels possible. For both the physical shape of the world and the mental space of the characters, you can see this being a future for humanity despite the sci-fi premise. I found the book to be a fun read and look forward to reading the next installment in the series.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Fury (2014) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
To start, let me say that I’m a sucker for a good war movie. Growing up as a military brat, I have a profound respect for our nation’s veterans and history, especially those from the “greatest generation.” With that said, I approached David Ayer’s Fury with a bit of hesitation, after all, how will Fury be able to differentiate itself from so many other films in the genre? I am happy to say that, while Fury doesn’t show us anything we have not really seen before, strong performances by its ensemble cast help carry this story of a tank crew into a solid film.
Brad Pitt delivers a stellar performance as Don “Wardaddy” Collier. He is a war hardened Sergeant who struggles to keep the few shreds of his humanity while preparing his new “green” typist who was assigned to his tank after one of their battle brothers has fallen. Pitt takes the young Pvt. Norman Ellision (Logan Lerman) under his command and works to make him into war hardened soldier. Pitt knows that by doing so he will not only to save the young man’s life, but probably the lives of the other men in his care. This ensemble cast shines with solid performances from Michael Pena, Jon Bernthal and Shia LaBeouf. I want to take a moment to highlight LaBeouf especially. He has gained tons of negative press in recent months for several reasons and the promotion of this film has shown little of LaBeouf thus far. No doubt to protect itself from the backlash in his public life. But if you decide to not go and see this film because of him, you will miss out on a strong more dramatic performance we really haven’t seen from him often and one that will remind audiences that he is a good actor.
This action in this film is methodical and someone slow and somewhat cartoonish thanks to tracers on the gun and cannon fire that makes it look like “Star Wars” at times, however the intensity is constantly building from the opening sequence through the climax of the movie. Even in the middle of the film where we are seemingly in a safe place, the intensity is continues to build as we are unsure just how humane these characters are. This intensity leads us to care about these characters and search for relief in the climatic conclusion.
Brad Pitt delivers a stellar performance as Don “Wardaddy” Collier. He is a war hardened Sergeant who struggles to keep the few shreds of his humanity while preparing his new “green” typist who was assigned to his tank after one of their battle brothers has fallen. Pitt takes the young Pvt. Norman Ellision (Logan Lerman) under his command and works to make him into war hardened soldier. Pitt knows that by doing so he will not only to save the young man’s life, but probably the lives of the other men in his care. This ensemble cast shines with solid performances from Michael Pena, Jon Bernthal and Shia LaBeouf. I want to take a moment to highlight LaBeouf especially. He has gained tons of negative press in recent months for several reasons and the promotion of this film has shown little of LaBeouf thus far. No doubt to protect itself from the backlash in his public life. But if you decide to not go and see this film because of him, you will miss out on a strong more dramatic performance we really haven’t seen from him often and one that will remind audiences that he is a good actor.
This action in this film is methodical and someone slow and somewhat cartoonish thanks to tracers on the gun and cannon fire that makes it look like “Star Wars” at times, however the intensity is constantly building from the opening sequence through the climax of the movie. Even in the middle of the film where we are seemingly in a safe place, the intensity is continues to build as we are unsure just how humane these characters are. This intensity leads us to care about these characters and search for relief in the climatic conclusion.
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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated BlacKkKlansman (2018) in Movies
Sep 9, 2020
BlacKkKlansman just ticked all the right boxes for me. Spike Lee has created a piece that is moving, hilarious, horrific, poignant and something truly important.
John David Washington and Adam Driver are a winning leading pair, portraying Ron Stallworth and Flip Zimmerman respectively, two police officers from Colorado Springs who manage to infiltrate a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan, in an attempt to foil a potentially fatal and racially charged attack, and it's all based on a quite incredible true story.
Washington and Driver are both fantastic, providing this movie with most of it's heart, humour and emotion.
Topher Grace is great as well, as David Duke, a top brass member of the KKK. He's so smarmy, and easy to dislike, much like his real life counter part. This applies to all the racist pieces of shit in this story actualy. The characters are all horrible, but the cast bring them to life in a disturbingly believable way.
The screenplay is nothing but tight from start to finish. It's very funny in places, and heart wrenching in others. A particular highlight is a speech spoken early on by black rights speaker Kwame Ture. It's a lengthy monologue that is so damn powerful. There are multiple scenes that strike hard throughout the runtime - another standout moment is the truly uncomfortable visuals of Ron Stallworth looking on in quiet despair as KKK members cheer loudly whilst watching The Birth of a Nation. Humanity can be extremely ugly, and although BlacKkKlansman veers towards comedy at times, Lee is sure to never stray too far from that fact.
Some of the criticism I've read of this movie are along the lines of "it has an agenda" and "it's being forced down the audiences throat". Well, yeah if course it has an agenda. It's dealing with a topic that shouldn't even exist in the first place, but it's certainly not being force fed. No one is forcing anybody to watch it, but I highly recommend that EVERYONE does watch it.
The inclusion of real life footage of protests in 2017 is a strong statement, it's a director publicly taking a stand for something he believes in. In 2020, these topics feel more important than ever.
BlacKkKlansman is an incredible movie, and nothing can change my mind about that.
John David Washington and Adam Driver are a winning leading pair, portraying Ron Stallworth and Flip Zimmerman respectively, two police officers from Colorado Springs who manage to infiltrate a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan, in an attempt to foil a potentially fatal and racially charged attack, and it's all based on a quite incredible true story.
Washington and Driver are both fantastic, providing this movie with most of it's heart, humour and emotion.
Topher Grace is great as well, as David Duke, a top brass member of the KKK. He's so smarmy, and easy to dislike, much like his real life counter part. This applies to all the racist pieces of shit in this story actualy. The characters are all horrible, but the cast bring them to life in a disturbingly believable way.
The screenplay is nothing but tight from start to finish. It's very funny in places, and heart wrenching in others. A particular highlight is a speech spoken early on by black rights speaker Kwame Ture. It's a lengthy monologue that is so damn powerful. There are multiple scenes that strike hard throughout the runtime - another standout moment is the truly uncomfortable visuals of Ron Stallworth looking on in quiet despair as KKK members cheer loudly whilst watching The Birth of a Nation. Humanity can be extremely ugly, and although BlacKkKlansman veers towards comedy at times, Lee is sure to never stray too far from that fact.
Some of the criticism I've read of this movie are along the lines of "it has an agenda" and "it's being forced down the audiences throat". Well, yeah if course it has an agenda. It's dealing with a topic that shouldn't even exist in the first place, but it's certainly not being force fed. No one is forcing anybody to watch it, but I highly recommend that EVERYONE does watch it.
The inclusion of real life footage of protests in 2017 is a strong statement, it's a director publicly taking a stand for something he believes in. In 2020, these topics feel more important than ever.
BlacKkKlansman is an incredible movie, and nothing can change my mind about that.
Andy K (10823 KP) rated Bride of Frankenstein (1935) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
She's alive!
I am trying to remember the last film I saw where the title character doesn't appear until the last 10 minutes? I don't think I can. In Superman, you don't see Christopher Reeve for the first hour, in Aliens you don't see any full grown Aliens until an hour in. Can you think of any others?
The 2nd Frankenstein film is certainly a continuation as it starts right when the last film ends. The monster is presumed dead, during the windmill fire. He is eventually found, chained and hauled off to prison. He escapes and then wanders the countryside encountering a friendly bling man. Unknowing the hideous nature of his new friend, he invites the monster in to eat, drink and smoke. The monster begins to actually act civilized for a bit even spurting out his first words and smiling. This is short-lived as he is again located and flees.
Meanwhile, Dr. Frankenstein is still recovering himself when he meets Doctor Pretorius, an even more wacky scientist bent on creating his own abomination. Frankenstein has had a change of mind and heart about his monster and wants it to be destroyed. Pretorius kidnaps Frankenstein's new wife and blackmails him into helping with the new project.
Eventual success brings us the Bride of Frankenstein!
Karloff continues his stellar performance as the monster, this time giving him humanity, humor and benevolence in addition to the usual rage. You see his loneliness and wanting to belong with no one who gazes upon him ever giving him a chance to have a personality.
The look of the film also has a starring role including the vast depth of the Frankenstein home which seems to go on forever and again showcased in glorious black and white. The majesty of the outdoor landscapes are also beautiful and really assist the audience in merging with its storytelling beautifully.
I did find is strange they introduced the bride so late in the film. She doesn't really have much to do other than get introduced to her new groom and make a few grunting noises. I am assuming she will play a bigger role in Son of Frankenstein which is up next!
The 2nd Frankenstein film is certainly a continuation as it starts right when the last film ends. The monster is presumed dead, during the windmill fire. He is eventually found, chained and hauled off to prison. He escapes and then wanders the countryside encountering a friendly bling man. Unknowing the hideous nature of his new friend, he invites the monster in to eat, drink and smoke. The monster begins to actually act civilized for a bit even spurting out his first words and smiling. This is short-lived as he is again located and flees.
Meanwhile, Dr. Frankenstein is still recovering himself when he meets Doctor Pretorius, an even more wacky scientist bent on creating his own abomination. Frankenstein has had a change of mind and heart about his monster and wants it to be destroyed. Pretorius kidnaps Frankenstein's new wife and blackmails him into helping with the new project.
Eventual success brings us the Bride of Frankenstein!
Karloff continues his stellar performance as the monster, this time giving him humanity, humor and benevolence in addition to the usual rage. You see his loneliness and wanting to belong with no one who gazes upon him ever giving him a chance to have a personality.
The look of the film also has a starring role including the vast depth of the Frankenstein home which seems to go on forever and again showcased in glorious black and white. The majesty of the outdoor landscapes are also beautiful and really assist the audience in merging with its storytelling beautifully.
I did find is strange they introduced the bride so late in the film. She doesn't really have much to do other than get introduced to her new groom and make a few grunting noises. I am assuming she will play a bigger role in Son of Frankenstein which is up next!
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated Ad Astra (2019) in Movies
Sep 18, 2019
Through hardships, to the stars.
Ad Astra is the kind of film they dont make anymore. Visually breathtaking, harrowing and it has such a deep pain and sadness to it that i left the theatre with tears in my eyes and a smile on my face. Ad Astra is the first film this year to leave me speechless and I'm actually finding it hard to put into words what I have just experienced. I will try my hardest not to spoil anything as this movie is best if you go into it blind to appreciate it to full effect. What an experience, I can safely say i had goosebumps, chills up my spine, a lump in my throat and on the brink or tears 90% of the runtime. Atmosphere and visual wise what they have accomplished here is not only teeming with beauty but an incredible feel of movies from the past. A cross between Blade Runner, Dune, apocalypse now and 2001 Ad Astra invoked in me the same heightened emotions I felt watching those films for the first time many years ago. Theres a constant sence of wonder, discovery and lingering dread present the entire film keeping you constantly fearful, on edge and floating in a state of happy sadness. Brad Pitt gives the performance of his career every part of his troubled mind playing out on in his facial expressions and behind his eyes. Theres an over arching theme about mental illness, social awkwardness and anxiety here and its truly depressing watching Brads character battle his inner demons while still putting on a brave face while know one else seems to notice or offer advice, comfort or guidance. Theres also a lot about the need for progression regardless of the sacrifice and emotional toll it takes on people and questions about if humanity deserves a future as we become more selfish, destructive and cold. Its primarily a character story about mental struggles, self destruction, burdens, loneliness, pain, legacy and destiny and at times its tuff to stomach watching this character suffer caught between right and wrong, but its always fascinating, relatable and rewarding. Set pieces are cold/disturbing and harrowing not only shocking you but leaving a lasting impression that most horror films struggle to achieve. I urge anyone into film go see this its a modern day masterpiece.
Choice of the Cat
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6.0
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From the two-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter behind the groundbreaking album Exile in...