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LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Slumdog Millionaire (2008) in Movies
Sep 21, 2020
A once again astounding Dev Patel sells otherwise sulking, superficial melodrama. Don't you hate when the framing device is more interesting than the actual story? If not for the calamitous ๐ ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ then the stuff when they were kids here would be some of the worst moments of Boyle's entire career - overedited to smithereens, fetishistic of plight, and vaguely offensive. Even when this gets good I'm convinced this movie is much more concerned with dragging these characters through the mud and inflicting pain to wring synthetic sympathy rather than fleshing them out beyond one-note characterizations and abrupt turnarounds. Still pressed this brilliant premise didn't get the justice it truly deserved but the last hour of this is executed about as engagingly as it could have been, for what it ended up being (which only makes the transition from the older stuff to the newer stuff more jarring) and randomly gets super entertaining, if not much less simplistic. Score is pretty decent, too. It's alright but not sure why this shook everyone's world back in the day, you guys do know Indian cinema exists too, no? Way better than ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ ๐๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ but way shittier than ๐๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ. The "Jai Ho" segment is as cringey as it is memorable.
BackToTheMovies (56 KP) rated Triple Threat (2019) in Movies
Jun 26, 2019
Triple Threat, from prolific action specialist Jesse V. Johnson and currently streaming on Netflix, is exactly as promised โ 95 minutes of complete ass-kicking from a ridiculous cast of ass-kickers who defy gravitational and physical logic with their supreme martial arts and combat skills. Unpretentious, unrelenting, and wildly entertaining, this is a throwback to old-school, non-CGI, action-programmers where the body count is absurdly high, the squibs are going off like crazy, and dynamic second unit work pumps up the aesthetic thrills โ itโs the best pure-action film of the year and the best of its type that Iโve seen since The Night Comes For Us (also on Netflix streaming).
Starring an action fanโs dream team of Iko Uwais, Scott Adkins, Michael Jai White, Tony Jaa, and Tiger Chen. The various beat-downs that these guys dish out look beyond lethal. I loved the real-deal explosions and Jonathan Hallโs slick and steady cinematography which highlighted the insane choreography. Matthew Lorentzโs crisp editing wastes not a moment of the basic but hard-charging script by Joey OโBryan, Fangjin Song, and Paul Staheli. But letโs be honest, weโre not here to experience Shakespearean-level swaths of dialogue. Triple Threat exists as an outlet for extreme thrills and near-constant mayhem.
Starring an action fanโs dream team of Iko Uwais, Scott Adkins, Michael Jai White, Tony Jaa, and Tiger Chen. The various beat-downs that these guys dish out look beyond lethal. I loved the real-deal explosions and Jonathan Hallโs slick and steady cinematography which highlighted the insane choreography. Matthew Lorentzโs crisp editing wastes not a moment of the basic but hard-charging script by Joey OโBryan, Fangjin Song, and Paul Staheli. But letโs be honest, weโre not here to experience Shakespearean-level swaths of dialogue. Triple Threat exists as an outlet for extreme thrills and near-constant mayhem.
Trigger Mortis: A James Bond Novel
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Literary legend James Bond returns to his 1950s heyday in this exhilarating thriller by Sunday Times...
Connected: Discovering Your Inner Guides: A Kid's Guide to Navigating Their Emotions
Seema Desai and James Ballance
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What if you could... make life easier and more fun? create choices for yourself, even when it...
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Terminator Genisys (2015) in Movies
Jun 11, 2019
Not a complete disaster
Sequels and reboots are making up the bulk of 2015โs cinematic offerings. With films added to franchises like Jurassic Park, Star Wars and James Bond, it was always going to be tough for others to make much of a dent.
Itโs been six years since Christian Bale took over lead billing from Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Terminator series in the critically panned Terminator Salvation. But director Alan Taylor (Thor: the Dark World), a newcomer to the sci-fi adventure series, resurrects the franchise with Terminator Genisys. But is it worth a watch?
Acting as a reboot and a sequel, the film follows the story of a young Kyle Reece (Jai Courtney), sent back in time by John Connor (Jason Clarke) to protect his mother Sarah, played by Game of Thronesโ Emilia Clarke. His aim is to stop the war before it even begins.
The duo are joined on their travels by the naturally charismatic Arnold Schwarzenegger who is one of the only highlights in a film full of soulless set-pieces, meaningless dialogue and a sickening sense of nostalgia.
Genisys constantly reminds you of the brilliance radiating from James Cameronโs first two films. Herein lies the problem, this sequel has none of the soul or charm of its predecessors with the homages coming across as insulting attempts to cash in on the series.
Even the iconic โIโll be backโ phrase is shoehorned into an awkward position where it doesnโt really make much sense.
And there we move onto the second issue. It makes hardly any sense at all. With continuity errors abound, Genisys relies on your knowledge of Terminator and Judgement Day being in tip-top shape, and after more than two decades itโs safe to say the majority of people will need a refresher course first.
The set pieces are, on the whole, glorious and despite being slightly overlong at 126 minutes, Genisys is a well-paced film without a boring moment to its name. Itโs just a shame the plot doesnโt make more of an impact.
It feels like the characters are stuck in a video game, with a climactic action piece signalling the next level, moving on up until the obligatory big-boss fight that makes a further sequel seem incredibly likely.
Emilia Clarke is well-worth noting however. Despite being more used to being in the company of dragons rather than robots, she plays her character well and steps into Linda Hamiltonโs shoes with ease. The casting is spot on here with Clarke having more than a whiff of Hamilton in her appearance.
The rest of the cast, bar Schwarzenegger fail to make an impression with Jai Courtneyโs character proving particularly dull.
Overall, Terminator Genisys isnโt a complete disaster but comes close to being a write off. The action pieces are thrilling but a lack of soul, comprehension and individuality ensures itโll end up being forgotten once 2015 is over.
With a sequel almost definitely on the cards, all fans of the franchise can hope for is a film worthy of James Cameronโs brilliant original โ and this is not it.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2015/07/05/not-a-complete-disaster-terminator-genisys-review/
Itโs been six years since Christian Bale took over lead billing from Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Terminator series in the critically panned Terminator Salvation. But director Alan Taylor (Thor: the Dark World), a newcomer to the sci-fi adventure series, resurrects the franchise with Terminator Genisys. But is it worth a watch?
Acting as a reboot and a sequel, the film follows the story of a young Kyle Reece (Jai Courtney), sent back in time by John Connor (Jason Clarke) to protect his mother Sarah, played by Game of Thronesโ Emilia Clarke. His aim is to stop the war before it even begins.
The duo are joined on their travels by the naturally charismatic Arnold Schwarzenegger who is one of the only highlights in a film full of soulless set-pieces, meaningless dialogue and a sickening sense of nostalgia.
Genisys constantly reminds you of the brilliance radiating from James Cameronโs first two films. Herein lies the problem, this sequel has none of the soul or charm of its predecessors with the homages coming across as insulting attempts to cash in on the series.
Even the iconic โIโll be backโ phrase is shoehorned into an awkward position where it doesnโt really make much sense.
And there we move onto the second issue. It makes hardly any sense at all. With continuity errors abound, Genisys relies on your knowledge of Terminator and Judgement Day being in tip-top shape, and after more than two decades itโs safe to say the majority of people will need a refresher course first.
The set pieces are, on the whole, glorious and despite being slightly overlong at 126 minutes, Genisys is a well-paced film without a boring moment to its name. Itโs just a shame the plot doesnโt make more of an impact.
It feels like the characters are stuck in a video game, with a climactic action piece signalling the next level, moving on up until the obligatory big-boss fight that makes a further sequel seem incredibly likely.
Emilia Clarke is well-worth noting however. Despite being more used to being in the company of dragons rather than robots, she plays her character well and steps into Linda Hamiltonโs shoes with ease. The casting is spot on here with Clarke having more than a whiff of Hamilton in her appearance.
The rest of the cast, bar Schwarzenegger fail to make an impression with Jai Courtneyโs character proving particularly dull.
Overall, Terminator Genisys isnโt a complete disaster but comes close to being a write off. The action pieces are thrilling but a lack of soul, comprehension and individuality ensures itโll end up being forgotten once 2015 is over.
With a sequel almost definitely on the cards, all fans of the franchise can hope for is a film worthy of James Cameronโs brilliant original โ and this is not it.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2015/07/05/not-a-complete-disaster-terminator-genisys-review/
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Insurgent (2015) in Movies
Apr 23, 2021
Not as decent as ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ป๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ, not as horrendous as ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด, on nearly exactly the same level as the first ๐๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต. I'm still shocked these still manage to be kind of entertaining even in spite of telling one of the dumbest stories to ever be translated to screen. At least half the cast just seems bored, but Jai Courtney and Daniel Dae Kim shine in supporting roles - which isn't all too hard to do here actually considering these two lead characters are inexplicably even *more* lifeless than they were in the first one. Great, we get to see more of this mid-2010s "trauma romance" crap - but at least they have the common decency to make the action sorta fun (the shameful choice to exchange Burger's visual panache [and... actual color] for this ugly ash-gray palette notwithstanding). And I'll always give credit to this one for being a lot ballsier than most of these YA copies-of-each-other - it's pretty violent and a fair amount of people get shot in the head, we even see more blood than just a nosebleed for once! Makes no human sense but that's also what makes it kind of enjoyable tbh. The Woodley character is the weakest link: emulating every overdramatic shithead teenager who thinks they're a revolutionary for making a Tweet about how much they hate 5th period geometry doesn't really help the cringe factor any (the 'dramatic haircut' smash cut into the flock of crows flying through the forest to triumphant music is one of the worst things ever). If this were made today Tris would be trying to cancel Kate Winslet's character for using the term "spirit animal" 11 years ago.
iTablaPro - Tabla Tanpura Player
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Come sit down for a session with our Tabla Pro. Experience virtuoso, realistic tabla playing, and...
Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated Insurgent (2015) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
With the faction system thrown out of balance, Jeanine Matthews(Kate Winslet) the leader of Erudite needs to find someone who can open a box with the answer to fix it all. Unfortunately, only a special Divergent can open the box, and Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) is that one. Based on Veronica Rothโs bestselling book Insurgent comes second installment of The Divergent Series: Insurgent.
With Tris, Four (Theo James), Peter (Miles Teller) and Caleb (Ansel Elgort) on the run from Eric (Jai Courtney) and other members of the Dauntless who follow Erudite. Now being blamed for the attack on Abnegation Tris and the others must fight to stay alive; to do so they seek refuge with Amity. From that point on Tris and Four realize they must find the rest of the Dauntless to stop Jeanine from slaughtering anymore innocent lives. With betrayal, alliances, and having to face the truth; Tris struggles to forgive herself for the events that happened in Divergent. Will the truth set her free or will she get herself killed?
The second installment of the Divergent franchise brings a strong focus to plot progression and more so action. With the main characters on the run the pace of the movie is fast and keeps the viewer entertained. Be warned though, the 3D is kind of a pain; since a lot of the scenes having running or speedy shots the glasses definitely took away from the experience. If I were to go see it again it would be 2D for me. The acting between the two stars Shailene Woodley and Theo James is a homerun; the chemistry from the first movie did not fade in the second! However, one problem I had with this film is the soundtrack; I feel the first movie had such a dynamic background track. Unfortunately, this filmโs soundtrack really did not stand out as must as the first one.
I would recommend this movie to anyone who loved the first one, but to the fans of the books I would take it with a grain of salt. Itโs not exactly like the book, but as a fan of the books and the first movie I thought it was a great adaptation.
With Tris, Four (Theo James), Peter (Miles Teller) and Caleb (Ansel Elgort) on the run from Eric (Jai Courtney) and other members of the Dauntless who follow Erudite. Now being blamed for the attack on Abnegation Tris and the others must fight to stay alive; to do so they seek refuge with Amity. From that point on Tris and Four realize they must find the rest of the Dauntless to stop Jeanine from slaughtering anymore innocent lives. With betrayal, alliances, and having to face the truth; Tris struggles to forgive herself for the events that happened in Divergent. Will the truth set her free or will she get herself killed?
The second installment of the Divergent franchise brings a strong focus to plot progression and more so action. With the main characters on the run the pace of the movie is fast and keeps the viewer entertained. Be warned though, the 3D is kind of a pain; since a lot of the scenes having running or speedy shots the glasses definitely took away from the experience. If I were to go see it again it would be 2D for me. The acting between the two stars Shailene Woodley and Theo James is a homerun; the chemistry from the first movie did not fade in the second! However, one problem I had with this film is the soundtrack; I feel the first movie had such a dynamic background track. Unfortunately, this filmโs soundtrack really did not stand out as must as the first one.
I would recommend this movie to anyone who loved the first one, but to the fans of the books I would take it with a grain of salt. Itโs not exactly like the book, but as a fan of the books and the first movie I thought it was a great adaptation.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Man Down (2016) in Movies
Sep 16, 2019
Characters โ Gabriel is a marine that believed he was fighting for the right thing but when the war came to America when he was away, he must search the destruction in hope of finding his son. Devin is the best friend and marine to Gabriel, he supports him through his missions and search for his son. Counsellor Peyton is the man learning about the mission that went wrong, as we learn that his mindset might not be as clean as we are led to believe.
Performances โ Shia LaBeouf is good in this leading role showing a range we have questioned before. Jai Courtney is good in the supporting role showing us there is talent with the right material. Gary Oldman is great and that is how we like him calm and collective.
Story โ The story is told in four parts, as we follow Gabriel in his home life, war time, meetings with a counsellor and in the post-apocalyptic time, these timelines only confuse the story telling process as by the end of it we will find ourselves wondering just what actually happened to these men, what is real and what is not. By the end you will understand what happened but it does make certain parts feeling random, but the true message is important.
Thriller โ The thrilling side of the film does feel slow in places, it shows us certain moments only to make a complete switch in the final act.
Settings โ The settings do help keep us in the different location for each moment of the story, we can identify with each part of the story we are watching too.
Scene of the Movie โ The final act, and how it is shot is beautiful.
That Moment That Annoyed Me โ A lot of what we see is not as important.
Final Thoughts โThis is a standard movie for the most part, it starts being confusing for the first hour but when it unfolds you will be taken back where this movie goes.
Overall: Slow and confusing nearly saved by a wonderful final act.
Performances โ Shia LaBeouf is good in this leading role showing a range we have questioned before. Jai Courtney is good in the supporting role showing us there is talent with the right material. Gary Oldman is great and that is how we like him calm and collective.
Story โ The story is told in four parts, as we follow Gabriel in his home life, war time, meetings with a counsellor and in the post-apocalyptic time, these timelines only confuse the story telling process as by the end of it we will find ourselves wondering just what actually happened to these men, what is real and what is not. By the end you will understand what happened but it does make certain parts feeling random, but the true message is important.
Thriller โ The thrilling side of the film does feel slow in places, it shows us certain moments only to make a complete switch in the final act.
Settings โ The settings do help keep us in the different location for each moment of the story, we can identify with each part of the story we are watching too.
Scene of the Movie โ The final act, and how it is shot is beautiful.
That Moment That Annoyed Me โ A lot of what we see is not as important.
Final Thoughts โThis is a standard movie for the most part, it starts being confusing for the first hour but when it unfolds you will be taken back where this movie goes.
Overall: Slow and confusing nearly saved by a wonderful final act.
Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated The Suicide Squad (2021) in Movies
Aug 5, 2021
James Gunn returns with the sequel to 2016โs Suicide Squad. This time, the nefarious company woman Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), returns to Belle Reve to recruit the next iteration of Task Force X. Initially, we are introduced to the new recruits: Savant (Michael Rooker), Blackguard (Pete Davidson), Javelin (Flula Borg), Mongal (Mayling Ng), T.D.K. (Nathan Fillion) and The Weasel (Sean Gunn). We meet our favorites from the first film: Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney). They have signed on to be dropped into a small island nation, Corto Maltese.
This country, just taken over by a military coup has a lab with a 30-year secret weapon. Ms. Waller offers them years off each team memberโs sentence to โSave the Worldโ. Or, in this case, infiltrate Corto Maltese to find and destroy the project. Our hapless but highly skilled group lands and takes on heavy fire.
Meanwhile, we have Team B led by Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena), Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), Polka Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), King Shark (The physical, John Economos with the voice of Sylvester Stallone). As the separate teams go forth and bond in violence, we find out more about their personal childhood traumas that made them the criminals they have become.
This sequel has James Gunnโs DNA all over the film. He raised the bar from the first film by providing bright, visual treats. The action is violent in a cartoonish manner that buffers the impact when one looks at the many ways one can dispatch a human. The story goes from sarcasm, dry wit, demented clown to the stoogesโ physical hilarity. As we watch the Squad fight their way across the island, there are points where these characters are skilled killers despite the humor in their murderous madness.
I was laughing throughout the film, it certainly felt like a panacea for these challenging times. Pay attention, there are little moments of snappy comebacks that feel like theyโre from old-school Mad Magazine. The pace runs steadily which helps the dissonance become more impactful. The Suicide Squad was not boring, it was very entertaining and such a campy ride. FYI: there are TWO after-credit scenes.
The Soundtrack is so very good from the first shot, to the after credit, shotsThis Summer Blockbuster certainly delivers the entertainment.
4.75 out of 5 Stars
This country, just taken over by a military coup has a lab with a 30-year secret weapon. Ms. Waller offers them years off each team memberโs sentence to โSave the Worldโ. Or, in this case, infiltrate Corto Maltese to find and destroy the project. Our hapless but highly skilled group lands and takes on heavy fire.
Meanwhile, we have Team B led by Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena), Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), Polka Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), King Shark (The physical, John Economos with the voice of Sylvester Stallone). As the separate teams go forth and bond in violence, we find out more about their personal childhood traumas that made them the criminals they have become.
This sequel has James Gunnโs DNA all over the film. He raised the bar from the first film by providing bright, visual treats. The action is violent in a cartoonish manner that buffers the impact when one looks at the many ways one can dispatch a human. The story goes from sarcasm, dry wit, demented clown to the stoogesโ physical hilarity. As we watch the Squad fight their way across the island, there are points where these characters are skilled killers despite the humor in their murderous madness.
I was laughing throughout the film, it certainly felt like a panacea for these challenging times. Pay attention, there are little moments of snappy comebacks that feel like theyโre from old-school Mad Magazine. The pace runs steadily which helps the dissonance become more impactful. The Suicide Squad was not boring, it was very entertaining and such a campy ride. FYI: there are TWO after-credit scenes.
The Soundtrack is so very good from the first shot, to the after credit, shotsThis Summer Blockbuster certainly delivers the entertainment.
4.75 out of 5 Stars