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Blown Away (1994)
7.0
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After staging a particularly gory jailbreak, Irish Republican Army agent Ryan Gaerity (Tommy Lee...
Celebrate The Music of Peter Green by Mick Fleetwood & Friends
Album
2CD Digipack including a 20 page book featuring new liner notes by Anthony Bozza in conjunction with...
Marvel's Iron Fist
6.0
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When Danny Rand was 10-years old, he survived a mysterious plane crash that claimed the lives of his...
Hazel (2934 KP) rated Keep It In The Family in Books
Oct 23, 2022
I haven't read anything by John Marrs before but I will keep my eyes open in the future as this dark, family drama/thriller kept me engaged most of the time. I must provide a warning that this book deals with child abuse and murder and some scenes are upsetting as you can imagine so be aware.
Mia and Finn have put all their money into buying a derelict property to do up but during the renovation, a grisly discovery in the attic causes all manner of problems and long held, deep, dark secrets are revealed with devastating consequences.
With a cast of flawed characters and a dark and twisty plot, this was an engaging read and although it went a bit flat in the middle, it held my interest and I thank Amazon Publishing / Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of Keep it in the Family.
Mia and Finn have put all their money into buying a derelict property to do up but during the renovation, a grisly discovery in the attic causes all manner of problems and long held, deep, dark secrets are revealed with devastating consequences.
With a cast of flawed characters and a dark and twisty plot, this was an engaging read and although it went a bit flat in the middle, it held my interest and I thank Amazon Publishing / Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of Keep it in the Family.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated American Horror Story - Season 9 in TV
May 10, 2020
The ninth season of AHS, subtitled "1984" is definitely up there in terms of silliness. However, where this has been an issue for me with a few previous seasons, this time around it's a huge strong point.
1984 is one big homage to 80s slasher films, in particular Friday the 13th. If you've read my any of my reviews before, you will know that I bloody love a slasher, even the shitty ones, so this premise was always going to be a winner for me.
A big change this time around is the absence of big AHS names. No Sarah Paulson, no Evan Peters, no Kathy Bates. Their presence is certainly missed in some sort of capacity, but the cast we have do a solid job at carrying the season. Emma Roberts and Billie Lourd take centre stage here, and are both great. We also see some familiar faces in Leslie Grossman, Cody Fern, John Carroll Lynch, Finn Wittrock, Leslie Jordan, Lily Rabe, and Dylan McDermott, so it still has that signature AHS feel. A couple of newcomers are introduced as well - Matthew Morrison and Gus Kenworthy are both hilarious. Zach Villa plays real life serial killer Richard Ramirez (who briefly appeared all the way back in Hotel) and the guy is genuinely menacing. If another season of Twin Peaks ever gets made - he's a dead ringer for Killer Bob.
One of the highlights is "villain" Mr. Jingles (John Carroll Lynch). He's such a finely crafted character, that he honestly deserves to stand next to the Jason and Freddy's of the slasher world.
The story is pretty fun. Mixing 80s campy horror with more familiar AHS elements (such as ghosts not being able to leave the place they died etc) and is pretty engaging for the most part. It gets a little convoluted near the end, and lacks the depth that seasons such as Asylum and Roanoke gave, but it's forgiveable considering the quality of everything else.
As a final thought - the synthwave version of the theme tune is fucking awesome.
1984 is one big homage to 80s slasher films, in particular Friday the 13th. If you've read my any of my reviews before, you will know that I bloody love a slasher, even the shitty ones, so this premise was always going to be a winner for me.
A big change this time around is the absence of big AHS names. No Sarah Paulson, no Evan Peters, no Kathy Bates. Their presence is certainly missed in some sort of capacity, but the cast we have do a solid job at carrying the season. Emma Roberts and Billie Lourd take centre stage here, and are both great. We also see some familiar faces in Leslie Grossman, Cody Fern, John Carroll Lynch, Finn Wittrock, Leslie Jordan, Lily Rabe, and Dylan McDermott, so it still has that signature AHS feel. A couple of newcomers are introduced as well - Matthew Morrison and Gus Kenworthy are both hilarious. Zach Villa plays real life serial killer Richard Ramirez (who briefly appeared all the way back in Hotel) and the guy is genuinely menacing. If another season of Twin Peaks ever gets made - he's a dead ringer for Killer Bob.
One of the highlights is "villain" Mr. Jingles (John Carroll Lynch). He's such a finely crafted character, that he honestly deserves to stand next to the Jason and Freddy's of the slasher world.
The story is pretty fun. Mixing 80s campy horror with more familiar AHS elements (such as ghosts not being able to leave the place they died etc) and is pretty engaging for the most part. It gets a little convoluted near the end, and lacks the depth that seasons such as Asylum and Roanoke gave, but it's forgiveable considering the quality of everything else.
As a final thought - the synthwave version of the theme tune is fucking awesome.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019) in Movies
Dec 24, 2019
"Satisfying Enough" Conclusion
I am a fan of the STAR WARS films. Ever since I first went to a place A LONG TIME AGO IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY I have enjoyed the adventures of the ragtag group of rebels taking on the evil Galactic Empire. Like most folks, I was blown away by the first STAR WARS film, LOVED the sequel, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, thought the concluding film in the original trilogy, RETURN OF THE JEDI was "good enough", hated the prequels and have been cautiously optimistic when both THE FORCE AWAKENS and ROGUE ONE were good films. Finally, of course, I was disappointed (like everyone else) with THE LAST JEDI and SOLO. So...I was going to go to THE RISE OF SKYWALKER no matter what anyone else says.
And...I was satisfied.
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER is an above average, "good enough" conclusion to the Skywalker saga of Star Wars, bringing enough action, energy, adventure and character moments - and character cameos - to satisfy my appetite for all things Star Wars.
Directed by returning Director J.J. Abrams, ROS picks up events after the events of THE LAST JEDI. Rey is training to be a Jedi and Poe, Finn, Leia and Chewie are fighting Kylo Ren and the First Order. The film starts out rapidly - perhaps too rapidly - as multiple events take place with action pieces and fast pacing that does leave you slightly breathless - it also feels just a bit rushed, as if J.J. is trying to pack 10 lbs. of movie into a 5 lb bag. By gosh, he was not going to accused of delivering a film that was not "fast-paced".
The performances of the leads are strong - Daisy Ridley (Rey), Adam Driver (Kylo), John Boyega (Finn) and Oscar Isaac (Poe) all know their characters by now and they are able to play in them well. Joined by the expected CGI and costumed droids and aliens (C3PO, R2D2, BB8 and good ol' Chewie), I was happily entertained to see them all together on screen - along with "veterans" like Lando (Billy Dee Williams) and General (not Princess) Leia (the late Carrie Fisher). The filmmakers put a loving tribute to her in this film that is effective (though I could see where they had to use a body double in places), but it is still well done. And, of course, there are plenty of callbacks and cameos to make any StarWars afficianado happy.
Ultimately, the emotional stakes of the denouement fell a bit short for me (as the "big bad" in this didn't have the emotional heft of Darth Vader), but it was a "good enough" emotional ending buried in an above average "final space battle" to have me leave the film satisfied.
And...that's all you can ask for from the 9th film of a series...enough to keep you "satisfied".
Letter Grade: B+
8 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)
And...I was satisfied.
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER is an above average, "good enough" conclusion to the Skywalker saga of Star Wars, bringing enough action, energy, adventure and character moments - and character cameos - to satisfy my appetite for all things Star Wars.
Directed by returning Director J.J. Abrams, ROS picks up events after the events of THE LAST JEDI. Rey is training to be a Jedi and Poe, Finn, Leia and Chewie are fighting Kylo Ren and the First Order. The film starts out rapidly - perhaps too rapidly - as multiple events take place with action pieces and fast pacing that does leave you slightly breathless - it also feels just a bit rushed, as if J.J. is trying to pack 10 lbs. of movie into a 5 lb bag. By gosh, he was not going to accused of delivering a film that was not "fast-paced".
The performances of the leads are strong - Daisy Ridley (Rey), Adam Driver (Kylo), John Boyega (Finn) and Oscar Isaac (Poe) all know their characters by now and they are able to play in them well. Joined by the expected CGI and costumed droids and aliens (C3PO, R2D2, BB8 and good ol' Chewie), I was happily entertained to see them all together on screen - along with "veterans" like Lando (Billy Dee Williams) and General (not Princess) Leia (the late Carrie Fisher). The filmmakers put a loving tribute to her in this film that is effective (though I could see where they had to use a body double in places), but it is still well done. And, of course, there are plenty of callbacks and cameos to make any StarWars afficianado happy.
Ultimately, the emotional stakes of the denouement fell a bit short for me (as the "big bad" in this didn't have the emotional heft of Darth Vader), but it was a "good enough" emotional ending buried in an above average "final space battle" to have me leave the film satisfied.
And...that's all you can ask for from the 9th film of a series...enough to keep you "satisfied".
Letter Grade: B+
8 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Ad Astra (2019) in Movies
Sep 27, 2019
A missed opportunity
Like crossing the vast expanse of oceans in a sailing ship, rocketing across the vast expanse of our Galaxy would, naturally, lead one to self-contemplation. In the film AD ASTRA Brad Pitt spends a lot of time contemplating.
Unfortunately, that is pretty much all PItt - and this film - does.
AD ASTRA follows the adventure of Astronaut Roy McBride (Pitt) who's father Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones) is a fabled Astronaut who disappeared while on a deep space mission to Neptune. When a Galaxy-wide energy pulse emanating from Neptune threatens life on Earth, suspicion is that Clifford is still alive in orbit around Neptune and the hope is that Roy can contact him and stop this life threatening force.
Sounds like an interesting premise, doesn't it? And it could have been. And the world that was built for this movie - a world set in the "near future", one where we did not stop going to the moon and space and there are now space stations - and colonies and pirates(!) - on the Moon and Mars, is an interesting concept and I really wanted to explore that world.
Unfortunately, Director and Writer James Gray (THE LOST CITY OF Z) was not interested in exploring this (so why build it?!?) - he was more interested in contemplating the meaning of life's purpose and fate and legacies and do the sins of the father really come back to seek payment by the son? And I do mean contemplate, for that is what Pitt's character does through most of this film - sit and think (which we hear through voice over), while contemplative music plays wistfully.
It's a good recipe to cure insomnia.
While Pitt does a nice enough job in the lead - an actor can only do so much with looking, thoughtfully, out the window. Ruth Negga and Donald Sutherland both try to inject some life in this film, but their parts are, in essence, extended cameos and the likes of "that guy" actors like Donnie Kashawarz, John Finn and John Ortiz pop up for a scene or two along the way as we travel across our Galaxy with Pitt but don't really register Only Tommy Lee Jones manages to liven things up...but his presence is too little too late.
Like a parent, I am not upset at this film, just disappointed at the choices that were made. I thought Pitt and Gray knew better.
Letter Grade: B- (it is well made and pretty to look at)
6 Stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Unfortunately, that is pretty much all PItt - and this film - does.
AD ASTRA follows the adventure of Astronaut Roy McBride (Pitt) who's father Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones) is a fabled Astronaut who disappeared while on a deep space mission to Neptune. When a Galaxy-wide energy pulse emanating from Neptune threatens life on Earth, suspicion is that Clifford is still alive in orbit around Neptune and the hope is that Roy can contact him and stop this life threatening force.
Sounds like an interesting premise, doesn't it? And it could have been. And the world that was built for this movie - a world set in the "near future", one where we did not stop going to the moon and space and there are now space stations - and colonies and pirates(!) - on the Moon and Mars, is an interesting concept and I really wanted to explore that world.
Unfortunately, Director and Writer James Gray (THE LOST CITY OF Z) was not interested in exploring this (so why build it?!?) - he was more interested in contemplating the meaning of life's purpose and fate and legacies and do the sins of the father really come back to seek payment by the son? And I do mean contemplate, for that is what Pitt's character does through most of this film - sit and think (which we hear through voice over), while contemplative music plays wistfully.
It's a good recipe to cure insomnia.
While Pitt does a nice enough job in the lead - an actor can only do so much with looking, thoughtfully, out the window. Ruth Negga and Donald Sutherland both try to inject some life in this film, but their parts are, in essence, extended cameos and the likes of "that guy" actors like Donnie Kashawarz, John Finn and John Ortiz pop up for a scene or two along the way as we travel across our Galaxy with Pitt but don't really register Only Tommy Lee Jones manages to liven things up...but his presence is too little too late.
Like a parent, I am not upset at this film, just disappointed at the choices that were made. I thought Pitt and Gray knew better.
Letter Grade: B- (it is well made and pretty to look at)
6 Stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Southern Frontier Humor: An Anthology
M. Thomas Inge and Edward J. Piacentino
Book
If, as some suggest, American literature began with "Huckleberry Finn", then the humorists of the...
Andy Meakin (5 KP) rated Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017) in Movies
Jan 8, 2018
Great visuals let down by meandering story
For those who are unaware, The Jast Jedi is the latest instalment in the core Star Wars series, and picks up from where Force Awakens left off. Rey (played by the decidedly average Daisy Ridley) is on an island with Mark Hamill (playing himself it seems as the mannerisms of the character bore no similarity to the one we saw in Episodes 4, 5 and 6). Chewbacca is also there, but you wouldn’t really tell aside from a few “comedy” moments with the creatures of the island shoehorned in to seemingly ignore the trauma of losing his blood-oath life companion in the last film (Han Solo….keep up people) and instead have him there to just growl at “The Most Annoying and Unnecessary Additions To Film Since Jar Jar”™ from time to time. Whilst there she seeks to recruit Mark to aid Carrie Fisher’s rebellion (again…something not quite right about the character, and another who seems to have gotten over a traumatic murder of a loved one….by a loved one…quite rapidly) and also train her up in the way of the Super-Jedi (seriously, the powers are far beyond anything we have come to know from Jedi before).
Meanwhile Finn wakes up so he can perform comedy pratfalls a lot, Poe has become a one-man-army who could possibly defeat the whole Empire if Carrie would just stop demoting him, and BB8 seems to have more internal mechanical abilities than Cyborg in the DC comics. Remember how much the paring of Rey and Finn worked in the previous film? Yeah, that’s not here. How about Poe and Finn…that bromance? Nope. Okay…what about….ah forget it.
So, on the flip-side Kylo Ren (Adam Driver who I genuinely don’t get the obsession some folk have with) is acting all emo at how Supreme Leader Snoke is seemingly in love with General Hux (Domhall Gleeson, who acts like he’s in a Carry On film). Snoke is no longer a huge hologram, but is now a physical entity in the film, played (rather excellently I must add) by CGI mo-cap legend Andy Serkis. Strange that a CGI character feels more real than any of the rest of the cast, but hey-ho. With his mighty fleet, Snoke leads the battle to wipe the last remnants of the Rebellion….
The film opens with a spectacular space battle, and certainly doesn’t skimp on set-pieces throughout, with land and space being covered in glory. But story wise there isn’t much going on, even though Rian Johnson clearly thinks there is. Not really a spoiler, but when the Rebel fleet are on the run, trying to stay out of reach of the First Order craft, you do wonder why a few of the first order fleet didn’t just jump to a short hyperdrive to pen the Rebels in, rather than just following behind like sheep. That minor niggle is the smallest of the film’s story problems.
The issue seems to be that many moments have been engineered purely to pull the rug out from under the fan-theorists, rather than being included to actually serve the story on offer. None of the reveals are particularly clever, and one moment in particular resonated in the same manner the “Martha!” moment did in Batman v Superman, so poorly presented that it was almost hilarious in the reveal. Shoehorn in a few cameos, and contrived scene set ups and the whole thing feels like it is trying to pack two films into one, and in order to do so decided to cut out all the bits that make sense to make room for ‘action…fights….explosions…and…..’
…PORGS! Damn those things to Hades! Absolutely unnecessary, irritating, and jarring enough when on screen to make you stop actually caring about the action going on. They are used at the most inopportune moments in a poor attempt to generate laughs! I’ve seen people argue that, “Star Wars is for kids, so of course some things would be childish!” A poor excuse, and it’s the same one George Lucas used for Jar Jar Binks. Still feel it’s a good excuse? They are a marketing ploy to sell cuddly merchandise, and they are awful!
It’s not entirely bad, though. As mentioned the action and effects work is stunning, and there are some marvellous visual feasts on offer. The score is, as expected from music maestro John Williams, enchanting, thrilling, and with plenty of echoes of previous themes morphed into the mix. It’s just that, overall, this feels less like part of the Star Wars series, and more like a fan-fiction. It’s a shame as Rian Johnson has a strong pedigree with Brick and Looper, and hearing he has been granted a new trilogy of films of his own design was exciting news. After this, however, all I can say is that I’m glad JJ Abrams is coming back for the final part – maybe the magic will return with him.
Better than the prequels, including Rogue One, but the weaker of the rest, The Last Jedi is overlong for no real reason, and not as sharp as it wants to be. All gloss and style, but with very little substance.
Meanwhile Finn wakes up so he can perform comedy pratfalls a lot, Poe has become a one-man-army who could possibly defeat the whole Empire if Carrie would just stop demoting him, and BB8 seems to have more internal mechanical abilities than Cyborg in the DC comics. Remember how much the paring of Rey and Finn worked in the previous film? Yeah, that’s not here. How about Poe and Finn…that bromance? Nope. Okay…what about….ah forget it.
So, on the flip-side Kylo Ren (Adam Driver who I genuinely don’t get the obsession some folk have with) is acting all emo at how Supreme Leader Snoke is seemingly in love with General Hux (Domhall Gleeson, who acts like he’s in a Carry On film). Snoke is no longer a huge hologram, but is now a physical entity in the film, played (rather excellently I must add) by CGI mo-cap legend Andy Serkis. Strange that a CGI character feels more real than any of the rest of the cast, but hey-ho. With his mighty fleet, Snoke leads the battle to wipe the last remnants of the Rebellion….
The film opens with a spectacular space battle, and certainly doesn’t skimp on set-pieces throughout, with land and space being covered in glory. But story wise there isn’t much going on, even though Rian Johnson clearly thinks there is. Not really a spoiler, but when the Rebel fleet are on the run, trying to stay out of reach of the First Order craft, you do wonder why a few of the first order fleet didn’t just jump to a short hyperdrive to pen the Rebels in, rather than just following behind like sheep. That minor niggle is the smallest of the film’s story problems.
The issue seems to be that many moments have been engineered purely to pull the rug out from under the fan-theorists, rather than being included to actually serve the story on offer. None of the reveals are particularly clever, and one moment in particular resonated in the same manner the “Martha!” moment did in Batman v Superman, so poorly presented that it was almost hilarious in the reveal. Shoehorn in a few cameos, and contrived scene set ups and the whole thing feels like it is trying to pack two films into one, and in order to do so decided to cut out all the bits that make sense to make room for ‘action…fights….explosions…and…..’
…PORGS! Damn those things to Hades! Absolutely unnecessary, irritating, and jarring enough when on screen to make you stop actually caring about the action going on. They are used at the most inopportune moments in a poor attempt to generate laughs! I’ve seen people argue that, “Star Wars is for kids, so of course some things would be childish!” A poor excuse, and it’s the same one George Lucas used for Jar Jar Binks. Still feel it’s a good excuse? They are a marketing ploy to sell cuddly merchandise, and they are awful!
It’s not entirely bad, though. As mentioned the action and effects work is stunning, and there are some marvellous visual feasts on offer. The score is, as expected from music maestro John Williams, enchanting, thrilling, and with plenty of echoes of previous themes morphed into the mix. It’s just that, overall, this feels less like part of the Star Wars series, and more like a fan-fiction. It’s a shame as Rian Johnson has a strong pedigree with Brick and Looper, and hearing he has been granted a new trilogy of films of his own design was exciting news. After this, however, all I can say is that I’m glad JJ Abrams is coming back for the final part – maybe the magic will return with him.
Better than the prequels, including Rogue One, but the weaker of the rest, The Last Jedi is overlong for no real reason, and not as sharp as it wants to be. All gloss and style, but with very little substance.