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Benelux Railways
Book
The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg are three separate European countries that have their own...
Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare
Book
Pol Pot was an idealistic, reclusive figure with great charisma and personal charm. He initiated a...
Love Wins: The Lovers and Lawyers Who Fought the Landmark Case for Marriage Equality
Jim Obergefell and Debbie Cenziper
Book
Twenty-one years ago when Jim Obergefell walked into a bar in Cincinnatti and sat down next to John...
HT
Hugo: The Shooting Script
Book
Director Martin Scorsese, the legendary storyteller, decided to make his first-ever 3D film based on...
Lee (2222 KP) rated Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018) in Movies
Mar 27, 2018
More of the same... not that there's anything wrong with that
It's 10 years since the apocalypse was cancelled. The son of the man who uttered those immortal words is Jake Pentecost (John Boyega), currently doing anything but follow in his fathers footsteps. Scavenging fallen Jaegers for parts in order to sell to the highest bidder and living a carefree party lifestyle.
His hunt for a highly expensive Jaeger part leads him to a 15 year old girl called Amara, who is a bit of a mechanical hacking genius and has managed to use old spare parts she has scavenged (including the big one that Jake had his eye on) to build her own, much smaller, Jaeger. Rogue Jaegers are illegal, so after a bit of a tussle with one of the official, bigger Jaegers, Jake and Amara find themselves in trouble with the law. Thanks to Jakes sister stepping in though, they find themselves paying for their crime by being sent to the PPDC (Pan Pacific Defense Corps) where they begin training for a possible return of a Kaiju related world threat. And, coincidentally, one of those just happens to be right around the corner!
John Boyega manages to carry this movie with his lovable roguish charm for quite a while, in what is otherwise a pretty average movie. But, we're here for Jaegers and the Kaiju (well, I was anyway), and once that action kicks in, that's when the movie really steps up a gear. To be fair, if you enjoyed the original Pacific Rim, then you know exactly what you're in for and really should enjoy this second outing. For me, I enjoyed it just as much as the first.
Something that many other reviews have commented on is the fact that the fight scenes in Uprising tend to take place during daylight, whereas the original tended to favour night. I found the daylight scenes to be a huge improvement, allowing for much greater enjoyment of the incredible fight choreography on display, along with the gloriously detailed CGI destruction of Tokyo!
His hunt for a highly expensive Jaeger part leads him to a 15 year old girl called Amara, who is a bit of a mechanical hacking genius and has managed to use old spare parts she has scavenged (including the big one that Jake had his eye on) to build her own, much smaller, Jaeger. Rogue Jaegers are illegal, so after a bit of a tussle with one of the official, bigger Jaegers, Jake and Amara find themselves in trouble with the law. Thanks to Jakes sister stepping in though, they find themselves paying for their crime by being sent to the PPDC (Pan Pacific Defense Corps) where they begin training for a possible return of a Kaiju related world threat. And, coincidentally, one of those just happens to be right around the corner!
John Boyega manages to carry this movie with his lovable roguish charm for quite a while, in what is otherwise a pretty average movie. But, we're here for Jaegers and the Kaiju (well, I was anyway), and once that action kicks in, that's when the movie really steps up a gear. To be fair, if you enjoyed the original Pacific Rim, then you know exactly what you're in for and really should enjoy this second outing. For me, I enjoyed it just as much as the first.
Something that many other reviews have commented on is the fact that the fight scenes in Uprising tend to take place during daylight, whereas the original tended to favour night. I found the daylight scenes to be a huge improvement, allowing for much greater enjoyment of the incredible fight choreography on display, along with the gloriously detailed CGI destruction of Tokyo!
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Gray Mountain in Books
Feb 13, 2018
It's a little unfair to John Grisham, but I probably would have rated this book 4 stars if he didn't write it. It was a pretty good book, but I kept waiting for the typical Grisham-flair to pop up - a huge courtroom battle, an epic good versus evil duel, etc.
Instead, the battle and storyline I would have really wanted to read about goes on in the background as a secondary storyline. The main plot follows Samantha Kofer, a young law associate at a powerful firm in New York City. However, when the recession hits in '08, Samantha finds herself furloughed and in order to keep her health insurance, and to potentially get her old job back, must intern at a rural legal aid clinic in Brady, Virginia.
There Samantha meets a cast of characters, including Mattie, who runs the clinic; her nephew, Donovan, also a lawyer; Donovan's shady brother, Jeff; and a host of other rural townsfolk. She also gets her first taste of real law. We, the reader, learn about the atrocities of Big Coal and strip mining, including Black Lung Disease, which the book goes into in great detail (and which personally, makes me want to become a lawyer or social worker, as it's all awful).
It's interesting to have Grisham write in the voice of a young female. It takes me back to Darby Shaw (of "The Pelican Brief" - one of my all-time favorite Grisham novels), though Samantha is *no* Darby Shaw, by any stretch of the imagination. She's a bit spineless, though, really, she's not given much story to work with. The first 3/4 of the book I mostly enjoyed and then the last 1/4 just sort of tapers off. It almost seems as if a sequel is in order, but who knows.
Again, I think I might have liked Samantha and her story a bit more if it wasn't Grisham, as I might have expected a bit less. It's a good read, but leaves you wanting more.
Instead, the battle and storyline I would have really wanted to read about goes on in the background as a secondary storyline. The main plot follows Samantha Kofer, a young law associate at a powerful firm in New York City. However, when the recession hits in '08, Samantha finds herself furloughed and in order to keep her health insurance, and to potentially get her old job back, must intern at a rural legal aid clinic in Brady, Virginia.
There Samantha meets a cast of characters, including Mattie, who runs the clinic; her nephew, Donovan, also a lawyer; Donovan's shady brother, Jeff; and a host of other rural townsfolk. She also gets her first taste of real law. We, the reader, learn about the atrocities of Big Coal and strip mining, including Black Lung Disease, which the book goes into in great detail (and which personally, makes me want to become a lawyer or social worker, as it's all awful).
It's interesting to have Grisham write in the voice of a young female. It takes me back to Darby Shaw (of "The Pelican Brief" - one of my all-time favorite Grisham novels), though Samantha is *no* Darby Shaw, by any stretch of the imagination. She's a bit spineless, though, really, she's not given much story to work with. The first 3/4 of the book I mostly enjoyed and then the last 1/4 just sort of tapers off. It almost seems as if a sequel is in order, but who knows.
Again, I think I might have liked Samantha and her story a bit more if it wasn't Grisham, as I might have expected a bit less. It's a good read, but leaves you wanting more.
Digital Forensics
Book
The definitive text for students of digital forensics, as well as professionals looking to deepen...
The Guardians
7.5
Rate It
Book
22 years ago Quincy Miller was sentenced to life without parole. He was accused of killing Keith...
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Jigsaw (2017) in Movies
Jan 28, 2020
The Disappointment
Saw - The Start
Saw II - The Clock
Saw III - The Consquence's
Saw IV - The Games
Saw V - The Detective
Saw VI - The Legacy
Saw VII - The Finale
This one - The Disappointment
Let Me Explain- so it toke seven whole years for the studio to come up with a good enough story, so that it can be released to theaters. I mean thats good, isnt. Not in this case. Seven years for a overall disappointing movie, Seven whole years and what did come up with as the result/outcome, this movie. This movie was weird, it was strange, to me it didnt feel like a saw movie, i mean it had some of the elements of a saw movie, but overall to me it didnt seem like one. More of lets try our best to make a reboot of the saw franchise and see how that works out. It didnt work. Now have to wait until May of all months for the next instellment of the saw franchise.
The Plot: After a series of murders bearing all the markings of the Jigsaw killer, law enforcement officials find themselves chasing the ghost of a man who has been dead for over a decade, and they become embroiled in a new game that's only just begun. Is John Kramer back from the dead to remind the world to be grateful for the gift of life? Or is this a trap set by a killer with designs of his own?
The only good thing about this movie was the return of Tobin Bell as John Kramer/Jigsaw.
Hopefully Chris Rock of all people can save the Saw Franchise and Darren Lynn Bousman returns which is a plus. Well have to wait until May to find out.
Saw II - The Clock
Saw III - The Consquence's
Saw IV - The Games
Saw V - The Detective
Saw VI - The Legacy
Saw VII - The Finale
This one - The Disappointment
Let Me Explain- so it toke seven whole years for the studio to come up with a good enough story, so that it can be released to theaters. I mean thats good, isnt. Not in this case. Seven years for a overall disappointing movie, Seven whole years and what did come up with as the result/outcome, this movie. This movie was weird, it was strange, to me it didnt feel like a saw movie, i mean it had some of the elements of a saw movie, but overall to me it didnt seem like one. More of lets try our best to make a reboot of the saw franchise and see how that works out. It didnt work. Now have to wait until May of all months for the next instellment of the saw franchise.
The Plot: After a series of murders bearing all the markings of the Jigsaw killer, law enforcement officials find themselves chasing the ghost of a man who has been dead for over a decade, and they become embroiled in a new game that's only just begun. Is John Kramer back from the dead to remind the world to be grateful for the gift of life? Or is this a trap set by a killer with designs of his own?
The only good thing about this movie was the return of Tobin Bell as John Kramer/Jigsaw.
Hopefully Chris Rock of all people can save the Saw Franchise and Darren Lynn Bousman returns which is a plus. Well have to wait until May to find out.
