Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (2091)

Content

Awix (3310 KP) rated Crack in the World (1965) in Movies

May 5, 2019 (Updated May 5, 2019)

Crack in the World (1965)

1965 | Sci-Fi, Thriller

6.5

(4 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Decent sci-fi / disaster movie hybrid doesn't dwell on its limited special effects budget or somewhat shaky grasp of geology and concentrates on solid characterisation and storytelling basics. Scientists meddle with forces they do not fully understand (again), it all goes pear-shaped, a large chunk of the Indian Ocean winds up being launched into space while Janette Scott's costume disintegrates in a suspiciously rapid and unprovoked manner.

I always get this one mixed up with The Day the Earth Caught Fire and When the Earth Cracked Open, which is some achievement considering the latter film was never even made. The storyline with the crack is kind of predictable and suffers because the movie doesn't have the budget to actually show towns being wiped out or islands crumbling into the sea; characters just hear about it over the phone. The human interest B-story is really a melodrama, but it's written and played just well enough to keep the film credible and engaging. Well-mounted climax even if it really comes out of nowhere.

Kudos

Andy K (10823 KP) rated Hostiles (2017) in Movies

Jan 28, 2018

Hostiles (2017)

2017 | Western

7.8

(10 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Bring westerns back!

I love Christian Bale and I love westerns, so it is no surprise I found this an immensely entertaining film.

It is hard to believe humanity even survived the relentless, bleak, hostile and morose period in American history when native Americans were hunted down, slaughtered and removed from their land. They became equally brutal in retaliation and defending their property.

When Bale (Capt. Joseph J. Blocker) is ordered to transport a dying Indian Chief and former adversary and his family back to Montana based on his dying wish, Bale reluctantly agrees.

Their journey would be marked with heartache, sacrifice and brutality. Bale and his men come under attack and have to band together to survive.

I have seen few westerns which showcase the brutality of the Old West better than this film. Your heart goes out to the men and women left to survive with very little left in their lives to look forward to. Somehow, they manage to carry on and should be inspiring to the rest of us to do the same.

Kudos

ClareR (5916 KP) rated The Ministry of Utmost Happiness in Books

Jul 11, 2018

This is a novel to take your time over. It wasn't written in a rush, and it really feels like it when you're reading it. I might even have to read it again. There are three or four separate stories which end up weaving their way together by the end of the novel.
We look at how Indians treat Anjum and her fellow Hijra, the political unrest in Kashmir and the atrocities that are committed by those who should know better. The latter is seen through the eyes of Tilo and the men who love her: Musa, Biplab and Naga.
A lot of this isn't comfortable reading at all. It is beautifully told, it's frustrating and it is teaching us a lot about what it is to be Indian, Kashmiri, Hijra, female and of a low caste. Some of it is unimaginably sad and seems hopeless; but we are left with a sliver of hope. And we have Anjum to thank for that, I think.
Many thanks to NetGalley for my copy of this beautiful book.

Kudos

David McK (3587 KP) rated This One's on Me (The Bandy Papers, #6) in Books

Jan 30, 2019

This is the 6th entry in Donald Jack's 'Bandy Papers', and is set during the 1920s rather than the Great War period of the earlier entries.

As this start, Bandy is down on his luck, travelling back to England from Canada after the events of [b:Me Too|897972|Me Too (The Bandy Papers, #5)|Donald Jack|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1179282725s/897972.jpg|883159]: a trip that sees him stop in Iceland on the way and meet the next great love-of-his-life.

Travelling on to England, he then saves the life of a downed pilot who later proves to be the son of the second richest man in the world, who hires him to create an airforce for his Indian state.

While this does have its comedic elements, I have to say that I've found these books to run out of steam somewhat the further we move away from the earlier entries: for my money, those set during the era of World War oNe (and slightly after) are actually more laugh-out-loud funny than these later entries.