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Bubba Gee (147 KP) rated Breaking Bad in TV
Jun 23, 2019
The best ever
Contains spoilers, click to show
This is an epic journey of a nice guy gone bad as he simply has had enough of being shat on.
We start with a nice mild mannered high school chemistry teacher Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston) who pays his taxes has an average life and finds out he has cancer.
Through his brother in law, a DEA agent and all around asshole, Walter White discovers how with his knowledge of chemistry he can make the purest crystal meth on the street.
Enter Jesse Pinkman (played by Aaron Paul)
an ex student of Mr White and low level weed dealer.
Walter uses Jesse to connect himself to the local alberquerque criminal underworld and begins production.
Over the next few series Walter White evolves into his alter ego Heisenberg, a badass, producer, seller, murderer, and generally all around kingpin of New Mexico.
From dealings with other criminals to Mexican drug cartels and beyond,this is an epic tale of a good man gone bad with murder, revenge, international trafficking, twists and turns all along the way.
It really is an absolute credit to the writers and cast.
It also enforces that you shouldn't underestimate anyone no matter how insignificant they may seem.
We start with a nice mild mannered high school chemistry teacher Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston) who pays his taxes has an average life and finds out he has cancer.
Through his brother in law, a DEA agent and all around asshole, Walter White discovers how with his knowledge of chemistry he can make the purest crystal meth on the street.
Enter Jesse Pinkman (played by Aaron Paul)
an ex student of Mr White and low level weed dealer.
Walter uses Jesse to connect himself to the local alberquerque criminal underworld and begins production.
Over the next few series Walter White evolves into his alter ego Heisenberg, a badass, producer, seller, murderer, and generally all around kingpin of New Mexico.
From dealings with other criminals to Mexican drug cartels and beyond,this is an epic tale of a good man gone bad with murder, revenge, international trafficking, twists and turns all along the way.
It really is an absolute credit to the writers and cast.
It also enforces that you shouldn't underestimate anyone no matter how insignificant they may seem.
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Colin Newman recommended Todd by Todd Rundgren in Music (curated)
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Pat Healy recommended Fanny and Alexander (1982) in Movies (curated)
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Edgar Wright recommended The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) in Movies (curated)
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Sean Astin recommended Gandhi (1982) in Movies (curated)
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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Tales From the Crypt (1972) in Movies
Sep 11, 2020
In The Vault of Horror!
Tales From The Crypt- is anethor excellent film by Amicus Productions.
The Plot: In the film, five strangers (Joan Collins, Ian Hendry, Robin Phillips, Richard Greene and Nigel Patrick) in a crypt encounter the mysterious Crypt Keeper (Ralph Richardson), who makes each person in turn relive the manner of their death.
Milton Subotsky of Amicus Productions had long been a fan of EC Comics' Tales from the Crypt and eventually persuaded his partner Max Rosenberg to buy the rights. The copyright owner, William Gaines, insisted on script approval. The budget of £170,000 was higher than usual for an Amicus production, and was partly funded by American International Pictures. Peter Cushing was originally offered the part played by Richard Greene, but wanted to try something different and played the elderly Grimsdyke instead.
And All Through the House, Blind Alleys and Wish You Were Here were all somewhat remade into episodes for the Tales From the Crypt television show. Blind Alleys and Wish You Were Here were both changed.
I love the fourth wall breaking in this film and The House That Dripped Blood. Talking to you the viewer.
Its a great film, but a better tv series.
The Plot: In the film, five strangers (Joan Collins, Ian Hendry, Robin Phillips, Richard Greene and Nigel Patrick) in a crypt encounter the mysterious Crypt Keeper (Ralph Richardson), who makes each person in turn relive the manner of their death.
Milton Subotsky of Amicus Productions had long been a fan of EC Comics' Tales from the Crypt and eventually persuaded his partner Max Rosenberg to buy the rights. The copyright owner, William Gaines, insisted on script approval. The budget of £170,000 was higher than usual for an Amicus production, and was partly funded by American International Pictures. Peter Cushing was originally offered the part played by Richard Greene, but wanted to try something different and played the elderly Grimsdyke instead.
And All Through the House, Blind Alleys and Wish You Were Here were all somewhat remade into episodes for the Tales From the Crypt television show. Blind Alleys and Wish You Were Here were both changed.
I love the fourth wall breaking in this film and The House That Dripped Blood. Talking to you the viewer.
Its a great film, but a better tv series.
![40x40](/uploads/profile_image/492/19e3e51f-2286-4dbe-a64c-791aa95a4492.jpg?m=1605368905)
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Never in Books
Jul 10, 2022
118 of 230
Book
Never
By Ken Follet
⭐️⭐️⭐️
A stolen US army drone.
A shrinking oasis in the Sahara Desert.
A secret stash of deadly chemicals.
Each is a threat to global stability. Each can be overcome with only the highest levels of diplomacy. But when those in charge disagree and refuse to back down, an international chain reaction kicks off with potentially catastrophic consequences: a world edging closer to war . . .
Now three people must work with the utmost skill to stop that from happening:
A spy working undercover with jihadis.
A brilliant Chinese spymaster.
A US president beleaguered by a populist rival for the next election.
The only question is – in a game of brinksmanship, can the inevitable ever be stopped?
This took longer than It usually does for me to finish a Ken Follet I did enjoy the book and find it quite current with everything going on in the world at the minute. It was good but I don’t know something was missing for me. I liked the way he worked in those little relationships with certain characters I think those are what actually made the book likeable. I really wanted to love this and be giving it full 5 stars such a shame it fell a little flat.
Book
Never
By Ken Follet
⭐️⭐️⭐️
A stolen US army drone.
A shrinking oasis in the Sahara Desert.
A secret stash of deadly chemicals.
Each is a threat to global stability. Each can be overcome with only the highest levels of diplomacy. But when those in charge disagree and refuse to back down, an international chain reaction kicks off with potentially catastrophic consequences: a world edging closer to war . . .
Now three people must work with the utmost skill to stop that from happening:
A spy working undercover with jihadis.
A brilliant Chinese spymaster.
A US president beleaguered by a populist rival for the next election.
The only question is – in a game of brinksmanship, can the inevitable ever be stopped?
This took longer than It usually does for me to finish a Ken Follet I did enjoy the book and find it quite current with everything going on in the world at the minute. It was good but I don’t know something was missing for me. I liked the way he worked in those little relationships with certain characters I think those are what actually made the book likeable. I really wanted to love this and be giving it full 5 stars such a shame it fell a little flat.
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Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Hitman: Agent 47 (2015) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Video game movies get an incredibly bad rep these days. I think it’s because people go into them expecting them to be something there not. The expectation of these films to follow the rules of our reality, instead of the reality of the game itself, which is not always the same. I think that it is for this reason that many reviewers out there, including some that I saw the film with, will lambaste this movie in their write-ups. Now full disclosure, I may be one of the few who actually enjoyed the first Timothy Olyphant Hitman from 2007. I own the DVD. But did Hitman: Agent 47 surpass it, or will it join it down at the very bottom of everyone’s list? Read on.
Agent 47 begins by giving background on what the “Agent” program is: a research project to genetically enhance humans to make them the perfect weapons; however, Litvenko (Clarán Hinds), the man who unlocked the key to the genetics behind the program, morally disagreed with the direction the program was going in and went on the run with his young daughter. Fast forward to present day where we find Katia (Hannah Ware) search for Litvenko, but she doesn’t know that he is her father. She just know that she needs to find him. The problem is that Syndicate International, the corporation trying to restart the agent program, is searching for her believing that she knows where her father is. They send an agent of their own, John Smith (Zachary Quinto), to find her and protect her, though he is not exactly what he seems to be. Enter Agent 47 (Rupert Friend) who reveals the nefarious plans of Syndicate International, and begins to unlock the secrets to Katia’s past, and her own enhanced abilities.
Now remember, this is based on a very popular video game franchise. The rules of reality that we know do not necessarily apply. You already need to take into account the fact that “Agents” exist where they have been genetically altered to not feel fear, love, sadness… anything really. Genetically altered humans to be faster, smarter, instinctual, and emotionless. But people tend to forget this when we start to see what Syndicate International has done in their own attempts to create an agent. I do not want to give much away on that, as some of it plays big to the plot, but just keep an open mind.
So was it good? I believe so. I am a big fan of the highly successful game franchise. Even though I liked the 2007 film, it did bother me that it didn’t feel like the game I had come to love and play over and over. Agent 47 hits that feel right on the nose. The mission he is sent on is fraught with scenarios that would be right in the game, and the story line is similar enough to some of the plots we have seen, that the movie was really enjoyable. The action sequences were great, the story was decent, and Friend managed to portray the stoic agent well enough that I almost thought I was watching the game for a short time.
All in all, this is a good film if you are a fan of the game franchise. Also, if you can go into it with an open mind about some of the ideals and plotlines involved in the movie, you will love it. Some do not know this, but the late Paul Walker was originally set to star in the role as Agent 47. Knowing this going into the film, I could pinpoint certain lines of dialogue that may have been written with him in mind, and it made me wonder if the film would have been better, or worse, received than its current form. Sadly, we will never know.
If you want some good, if not over the top, action sequences, along with an interesting take on the Hitman universe, definitely check out this film. This is one that is going into my collection upon home release.
Agent 47 begins by giving background on what the “Agent” program is: a research project to genetically enhance humans to make them the perfect weapons; however, Litvenko (Clarán Hinds), the man who unlocked the key to the genetics behind the program, morally disagreed with the direction the program was going in and went on the run with his young daughter. Fast forward to present day where we find Katia (Hannah Ware) search for Litvenko, but she doesn’t know that he is her father. She just know that she needs to find him. The problem is that Syndicate International, the corporation trying to restart the agent program, is searching for her believing that she knows where her father is. They send an agent of their own, John Smith (Zachary Quinto), to find her and protect her, though he is not exactly what he seems to be. Enter Agent 47 (Rupert Friend) who reveals the nefarious plans of Syndicate International, and begins to unlock the secrets to Katia’s past, and her own enhanced abilities.
Now remember, this is based on a very popular video game franchise. The rules of reality that we know do not necessarily apply. You already need to take into account the fact that “Agents” exist where they have been genetically altered to not feel fear, love, sadness… anything really. Genetically altered humans to be faster, smarter, instinctual, and emotionless. But people tend to forget this when we start to see what Syndicate International has done in their own attempts to create an agent. I do not want to give much away on that, as some of it plays big to the plot, but just keep an open mind.
So was it good? I believe so. I am a big fan of the highly successful game franchise. Even though I liked the 2007 film, it did bother me that it didn’t feel like the game I had come to love and play over and over. Agent 47 hits that feel right on the nose. The mission he is sent on is fraught with scenarios that would be right in the game, and the story line is similar enough to some of the plots we have seen, that the movie was really enjoyable. The action sequences were great, the story was decent, and Friend managed to portray the stoic agent well enough that I almost thought I was watching the game for a short time.
All in all, this is a good film if you are a fan of the game franchise. Also, if you can go into it with an open mind about some of the ideals and plotlines involved in the movie, you will love it. Some do not know this, but the late Paul Walker was originally set to star in the role as Agent 47. Knowing this going into the film, I could pinpoint certain lines of dialogue that may have been written with him in mind, and it made me wonder if the film would have been better, or worse, received than its current form. Sadly, we will never know.
If you want some good, if not over the top, action sequences, along with an interesting take on the Hitman universe, definitely check out this film. This is one that is going into my collection upon home release.
![40x40](/uploads/profile_image/914/a1e29908-b9a6-481b-8a2e-fad1a3959914.jpg?m=1522355496)
Sean Farrell (9 KP) rated Ararat in Books
Mar 15, 2018
"Popcorn" books can be a lot of fun no matter what time of year it is, but they seem especially appropriate in the Summer time, and this latest horror offering from Christopher Golden is a pretty perfect Summer book. Engaged, moutain-climbing authors / documentary filmmakers Adam and Meryam are in a race to be first up Mt. Ararat into a cavern that has opened up as the result of an earthquake, possibly revealing Noah's Ark. Unsurprisingly they make it and discover that the cavern appears to actually be the ark itself, and it contains a rather disturbing discovery inside. Nevertheless, they assemble a team of international archaeologists, religious experts, mountain guides, and government representatives and get to work studying their findings. As a blizzard approaches, effectively trapping them inside the Ark, things begin to take a turn for the worse at the site as the body count begins piling up, and the tone of the book switches from adventure mixed with some mystery to a straight-up frightfest. This is one of the scarier books I've read in a while, using some pretty shocking violence to really up the fear factor. As a result, while not likely to win any literary rewards, Mr. Golden has created one of the year's most entertaining books, and written a story that would make a great Summer blockbuster.
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Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Central Intelligence (2016) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
When we get those High School reminder cards in the mail or messages on social media, many of us disregard them because we don’t want to relive the past due to our geekiness, bullying, or awkward moments that we all go through. Some of us avoid them altogether because we don’t want to be reminded of the possibilities that existed with youth if we had not lived up to them. In Central Intelligence, Calvin Joyner (Kevin Hart) is tackling the malaise and mundanity that comes with adulthood.
He doesn’t feel as though his life panned out quite like he hoped it would have when he graduated. He was elected “most likely to succeed” and the most popular kid in school, however, those accolades did not translate into “Real World” success. He is contacted by a former classmate, Bob (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) and is quickly involved in a web of international espionage. Johnson and Hart’s chemistry rivals that of Wilder and Pryor.
The timing and freshness to the humor keeps the film moving without any lulls or without the moments being forced. The entire movie is fun and allows for audiences to have a new comedic duo that they can look forward to in the future. Central Intelligence allows us to laugh at ourselves and the reflect on the absurdities associated with trying to relive the “glory days” of our youth.
He doesn’t feel as though his life panned out quite like he hoped it would have when he graduated. He was elected “most likely to succeed” and the most popular kid in school, however, those accolades did not translate into “Real World” success. He is contacted by a former classmate, Bob (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) and is quickly involved in a web of international espionage. Johnson and Hart’s chemistry rivals that of Wilder and Pryor.
The timing and freshness to the humor keeps the film moving without any lulls or without the moments being forced. The entire movie is fun and allows for audiences to have a new comedic duo that they can look forward to in the future. Central Intelligence allows us to laugh at ourselves and the reflect on the absurdities associated with trying to relive the “glory days” of our youth.