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Loki: God of Mischief
Loki: God of Mischief
John Christian Hopkins | 2014 | Paranormal
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I love reading stories about different gods that is why I really enjoyed [Loki: God of Mischief] by [John Christian Hopkins]. The story telling was wonderful and the way everything flowed kept the plot moving. Some of the action was predictable but that did not take away from the story.

[Hopkins] also had a very tongue in cheek sense of humor that really made me laugh out loud at parts (Herr Ball). He is aware of current culture and beliefs and tests them with his story as well as makes a few jabs at the modern media(Godzilla could be good for the economy).

I would recommend this book to anyone. It was easier to read that [American Gods] with less adult content so I can safely recommend it to my students who love [Rick Riordan]. I will be looking for more from [Hopkins]
  
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Guy Pearce recommended The Elephant Man (1980) in Movies (curated)

 
The Elephant Man (1980)
The Elephant Man (1980)
1980 | Drama, History

"It came out in 1980 and I have a sister with an intellectual disability. I think in 1980 — when I was 12 and I saw The Elephant Man for the first time — the film just struck a chord in me that nothing ever had before, and it does to this day when I watch it. Obviously the performances by Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt and John Gielgud, etc. are just so sensitive and touching that it’s heartbreaking for me. It really touches me in a way that I think has — not to suggest that my sister has the same condition that Joseph Merrick had — but the way in which that character feels ostracized and the way in which people are judgmental of him are all things that really hit home for me as a young boy trying to protect my sister out there in the world. Very much connected to my upbringing, but obviously quite a different story. But I just think Anthony Hopkins in that film, the way that David Lynch captured him, and obviously the way he performed that role of Freddy Treves just… There’s nothing better. Anthony Hopkins is someone who I think does sensitivity on screen better than anybody anyway, so his heartbreak and his compassion for that character was just unforgettable really."

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Warwick Davis recommended Monsters (2010) in Movies (curated)

 
Monsters (2010)
Monsters (2010)
2010 | Drama, Horror, International
6.3 (11 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Okay, well now I’ve got one of two. Either The Muppets, the new movie, or a film called Monsters, which I really liked. I think I might put that one in. I loved the production design, which I gather [Gareth Edwards] did all himself, and the music by John Hopkins. I’m a huge fan of his music anyway, and his music is what introduced me to the film, which is weird. I look for anything that John’s done, and discovered he’d done the music to this film Monsters. I loved the soundtrack and I thought, “I wonder what this film’s like?” I loved the movie. I thought it was a terrific job."

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JT (287 KP) rated The Wolfman (2010) in Movies

Mar 10, 2020  
The Wolfman (2010)
The Wolfman (2010)
2010 | Horror, Mystery
As what we would describe as the classic monster horror, this remake of the 1941 black and white picture in some way does itself and the original some justice.

Back then horror was starting to carve itself out to a market of film goers who really didn’t have much of an idea as to how film could and would change their lives. The likes of Dracula and Frankenstein had also achieved great historic status.


The plot of the story stays true, man is bitten, man becomes werewolf, all hell breaks loose and it is the efforts of a love interest that tries in vein to break the curse. Something which not even the gypsies could achieve.

Special effects wise its impressive, Del Toro went through make up hell in order to gain the look, some three hours to apply and one to remove so his dedication must be applauded. As to whether he was the right choice for the part is another question, in some parts, in human form he loodke out of place with his foreign slightly merged American accent.

The original film ultimately was basic, a drama that based itself around a werewolf, there was no gore and hardly any blood. So of course it was only fitting that this film should contain both, and vast quantities of flying limbs and spouting red stuff. Did it need it? It surely must have only been there too satisfy an age where any lack of these effects would seem a disappointment.

The supporting cast ranging from Anthony Hopkins as Sir John Talbot, Hugo Weaving as Inspector Abberline and the beautiful Emily Blunt as Gwen all do a wonderful job adding their talents to the narrative. Hopkins especially was his usual dark, sinister and composed self.

There are some truly scary scenes, and some fantastic shots of a Gothic London but the film tends to drift off in places. Overall its a worthwhile watch but doesn’t do enough to really make it one of standouts of 2010.
  

"Well, I grew up in the sixties. In 1962, I bought the first Rolling Stones single, and I still have it. I still have every single they released, in order, right up until Brian Jones was murdered. I saw Pink Floyd god knows how many times, and even did a couple of light shows for them... We started listening to pirate radio and John Peel’s Perfumed Garden, and had a friend at school called Spidey who was very good at spotting interesting new music. John Peel was the first person to play The Velvet Underground, and Spidey said, “Listen to this, you’re gonna love this!”. That’s when we got the first violin. We used to go to Birmingham, to this tiny little record shop that had nothing of interest except some Albert Ayler and free jazz. There was a record in there, and we recognised the artwork from Oz magazine so we knew it was by Hapshash and The Coloured Coat, because they used to do psychedelic posters and Oz. So we bought it just because of that. It was on Magnet Records. When we pulled out [the disc], we were shocked to see that it was on red vinyl, which we’d never seen before. We later discovered that all these people on the scene in London wanted to raise money for the legals fees of John “Hoppy” Hopkins, the first person who’d been busted for drugs and who co-founded the International Times. He was a real mover and shaker of the times. It’s like twenty to a hundred people high on acid jamming! We fell in love with it and still listen to it all the time. When we DJ, people come up to us and ask, “What was that with that great riff?” Guess what one of them ended up doing? Writing “We Are The Wombles”! That really got me in the head, that was worse than a bad acid trip!"

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Amistad (1997)
Amistad (1997)
1997 | Drama, History, Mystery
Give Us Us Free
Slaves are put on trial when they start a mutiny on the ship bringing them over to America. Although a little long in the tooth, Amistad is a memorable movie that gives you something to root for.

Acting: 10
This was the first time I got to see a performance from Djimon Hounsou. I was blown away by his tenacity. You felt his passion in every single line he utters. This movie wouldn’t have been the same without him. I would argue the same for Anthony Hopkins playing the role of John Quincy Adams. Hopkins is no secret to blockbuster performances so it’s no surprise that he knocks this one out of the park.

Beginning: 10
This is how you start a movie! For me, it has one of the top ten beginning of all time for any movie. It’s riveting and terrifying at the same time. The way Spielberg shot it was genius.

Characters: 10

Cinematography/Visuals: 10
No surprise here with one of the most iconic directors of all time at the helm. He always has a way of choosing the best angle for the greatest impact. I could spend a whole entry talking about the subtle things he does to leave large impacts. It’s a cinematic treat.

Conflict: 7
The struggle here is the movie mostly revolves around two major cases. The courtroom can be boring in spots on the big screen if not done right. Even in the case of Amistad where things are done right, it can still be a bit much to consume. You feel like nothing is happening when actually there is a whole lot happening at once.

Entertainment Value: 8
I was intrigued to see how this story would unfold from beginning to end. I loved the character development and the understanding of what got both sides to their respective points. Again, despite its length, you will be engaged throughout.

Memorability: 6

Pace: 1

Plot: 10

Resolution: 9

Overall: 81
Improve the pacing here and you have a masterpiece point blank. Despite its length, Amistad is definitely worth the time spent. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
  
The Two Popes (2019)
The Two Popes (2019)
2019 | Biography, Comedy, Drama
Verdict: A Pryce & Hopkins Masterclass

Story: The Two Popes starts with the death of Pope John Paul II, the Vatican must elect a new Pope, bring the Cardinals from around the world together to go through the voting system, one the world is waiting to hear the news. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Pryce) and Cardinal Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger (Hopkins) are the favourites to wise to the spot, with Ratzinger becoming Pope Benedict.
Jump forward to 2012, Pope Benedict is involved in a scandal, which sees Jorge return to Rome hoping to be granted his retirement. Pope Benedict refuses his request, as the two clash on their beliefs, with Jorge wanting to see the church move to the future, while Pope Benedict believes the church should never change.

Thoughts on The Two Popes

Characters – Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio is from Argentina, he has always bought the people together, he sees the church needing to not only let the future in, but embrace the changes they could never have considered because of their beliefs, he is one of the two challengers voted for to become the next Pope before stepping away from the votes. Years later, he wants to retire and isn’t getting answers, he confronts the pope, wanting to get answers, until he learns the true reason for their meeting. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was always meant to replace Pope John Paul II, he wins and becomes Pope Benedict. His reign will see him facing scandal before he decides to make a massive decision, one unheard of in the church. He has always believed in follow everything the church has before, which is why he gets challenged the most. We only meet a younger version of Jorge as we see his journey to rise to Cardinal in Argentina, while anybody else is usually just showing the two around.
Performances – Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins give two of the greatest performances of the year, the two legends of the industry shine carrying the film with their performances through the film.
Story – The story here follows the close election of a new Pope and how the Cardinal who stepped out of the race he never wanted to be in, is the one person that the new Pope can turn to in his time of need to save the church from a scandal which could destroy it. This is one of the most interesting and engrossing stories you will see, it shows a behind the curtain look at how the church operates, with minds that believe in a God, even if they do follow different beliefs with how they can connect to more people. We do get to learn how Jorge was given his chance in the first place, had experiences that Pope Benedict never went through to get to his position. The idea that this is a conversation between two religious men with differences, it shows how people can disagree without needing to turn into an ugly fight for no reason, they can respect their differences.
Biopic/Comedy – The biopic side of the film shows the private conversation between two religious figureheads that went through to make one of the biggest decisions in the church’s history, which is also done in a comedic way, where we get to see the two have a joke along the way.
Settings – The settings are beautiful from the country house to how the Vatican is recreated to make us believe we are right there with the Popes.

Scene of the Movie – The truth conversation.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not hearing the confession.
Final Thoughts – This is an acting masterclass from two of the greatest actors Hollywood has seen, it highlights the big change the church would take and how to have a conversation where both sides disagree, but accept the difference of opinions.

Overall: Acting Masterclass.
  
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
1991 | Horror, Thriller

"It’s my all time favorite, hands down. It’s just me. I really love the dark side and one of my girlfriends is one of the world’s experts on serial killers and she has John Wayne Gacy’s brain in her basement. I’ve SEEN it! Next to her sons hockey sticks. I didn’t know anything about it. We were on tour. We were in Corpus Cristi, Texas and had a night off and I always took the band and crew out for dinner and we go to this mall. I guess it was the last movie of the night and we’re the only ones in this theater and when we got out of the movie theater the whole mall was empty and we were locked in it. So, the whole night was creepy because we weren’t staying in an expensive hotel and there was just that little button on the door knob that locked our door. So I put all the heavy furniture in the room against the door. I can literally repeat the lines now and when I met Tony Hopkins — and nobody gets me; I’m just not impressed by celebrities unless they do something life saving or they’re a hero type — but anyway I don’t ever approach celebrities, but I couldn’t stand not to, and he did the lines for me. And then I was sitting next to Hannibal in a make up chair — the movie was called Heat and you know when you hang out with somebody for a long time… Ashley was doing that movie with him, so I had him do it. But absolutely my favorite."

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Red 2 (2013)
Red 2 (2013)
2013 | Action, Drama
8
7.2 (11 Ratings)
Movie Rating
RED was such a great movie that it was inevitable a sequel would be made. And here we have it, RED 2. In this follow up to the 2010 film, we find Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) and Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker) trying to adjust to life in a relationship. Only this is not your typical relationship. Frank’s goal is to keep Sarah safe, while Sarah just wants to get into the thick of things, which quickly happens as Frank and Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich) are being hunted due to their involvement in an old operation only known as Nightshade.
The humor is quick to come from Malkovich, Parker and Willis who have an incredible chemistry together on screen. We then add in some notables such as the returning characters of Victoria (Helen Mirren) and Ivan Simonov (Brian Cox), and more with new characters such as Katja (Catherine ZetaJones), Bailey (Anthony Hopkins) and the brilliant performance of Byung-hun Lee as Han Cho Bai. This movie is cooking from start to finish.
There is a lot that is recycled from the first movie, including a new twist on the famous scene where Willis steps out of the moving car smooth as butter. But the great thing about this movie is it doesn’t take itself too seriously. The film makers did a great job of not trying to make the film a hardcore action flick or a cut-up comedy, but rather a great blend of the two. The comic timing combined with the action scenes is fantastic, and the cast of characters interact remarkably well with each other.
Is this movie going to be something everyone can enjoy? Probably not. But if you were a fan of the first movie, and you do not mind when film makers take a proven formula and apply it again, then you will enjoy the film. I would recommend it, and hope that we see another one. It was definitely left that way.
  
The Conversation (1974)
The Conversation (1974)
1974 | Drama, Mystery

"Well the next one is less action oriented. This is where I began to struggle. Because I had my first four and was like, “Okay, that’s perfect,” and then I had to pick another one. This decision is a bit tough; there’s a three way tie for this, I should say. I’m going to pick The Conversation with Gene Hackman and John Cazale. And the reason I’m thinking this is, I did a movie with Anthony Hopkins called The Rite, and the director of photography — we talked a bit. And he really wanted to have that ’70s feel and stuff — it’s when they just started to use the zoom lens for the first time, and how innovative it was. And then in the 1980s, it became overused and used for the wrong reasons and all that kind of stuff. The Conversation is one that, if you watch The Conversation for the opening sequence where you hear a conversation taking place as the master — this zoom from way up is zooming in over a park. And I was just absolutely blown away by it because you can hear exactly what’s happening, but you don’t see. You’ve got no idea who’s talking. You don’t know where they are or what’s happening. I was blown away. And Gene Hackman is one of my favorite actors. I just think he’s incredible; I could watch him read the phone book. I could watch him pretty much not do anything [laughing]. You just wonder what’s going on in his mind. He’s one of those actors who is saying one thing, but you know there’s so many different things going on inside of his head. You just never know exactly what it is and stuff. I love that. I love being kept guessing. Francis Ford Coppola is one of the greatest directors of all time, and what I thought was great was that it sort of embodies that period of time. Even though it was made in the ’70s and it’s a very specific ’70s movie, I think it’s very, very particular to today. You know, with surveillance and all that kind of stuff. And I just think the whole idea of it is incredible, and it’s just so well made."

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