Search

Search only in certain items:

Blood Father (2016)
Blood Father (2016)
2016 | Action, Mystery
7
7.3 (11 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Story: Blood Father starts as John Link (Gibson) who has recovered from his own substance abuse problems to be a tattooist while being parole. He has been searching for his daughter for years but when Lydia (Moriarty) calls him in need of help he races to her aid.

Link finds out that Lydia is in over her head which leads him into going on the run breaking his parole to protect her and locate the people who are trying to kill his daughter, using old connections along the way.

 

Thoughts on Blood Father

 

Characters – John Link is a former alcoholic convict, he has cleaned himself up but when his daughter finds herself in trouble he must go back into the routes that left him in prison, he must go after the men trying to kill his daughter, while stopping himself going off the bandwagon. Lydia is the teenager daughter runaway, she finds herself in too deep with the drug cartels but now she needs to trust her father to keep her safe. Jonah is the boyfriend of Lydia that she believes she killed cause the effects of the film. Preacher is one of the people Link turns to for help while Kirby is his support while trying to stay off the drinks.

Performances – Mel Gibson might have had troubled times recently but he shows us here the talent he holds to lead a movie in the action genre. Erin Moriarty is good in this film too because she shows us a street wise character beyond her years. Diego Luna is solid as the villain but we just don’t get enough from his character. This is a problem through the film, we don’t give the support characters enough time.

Story – The story is good, as it follows a distant father daughter relationship needing to rebuild after she finds herself in trouble with the law. This works for the story because we know how the aging hero is the new thing now, as an actor that can easily be the new one that saves his child and this gives us everything we want, we have moments of comedy as the two come from difference backgrounds but overall this is everything you would expect it to be

Action/Crime – The action is fire fights between Link and anyone that gets in his way, this does work well as the crime side of the story takes us into.

Settings – The settings show us the underworld that works for the hiding from potential trouble using no iconic landmarks which makes this fully believable.


Scene of the Movie – Showdown

That Moment That Annoyed Me – We don’t learn enough about the villains.

Final Thoughts – This is a good action film that is enjoyable, short sweet and gives you everything you want.

 

Overall: Action film 101.
  
Don't Look Up (2021)
Don't Look Up (2021)
2021 | Comedy
A Brilliant Satire
Satire is a tricky thing to get right, there is a balance between humor and pathos that must be struck in order to drive home the point.

The Netflix Original Satire, DON’T LOOK UP, Directed by Adam McKay (THE BIG SHORT) finds the right line, beautifully.

A send-up of the Climate Change debate (but also, a condemnation of the reaction to the current Global Virus), DON’T LOOK UP has a who’s who of performers that are at the top of their game and delivers a top-notch entertainment that also makes you think.

The plot of the film is simple enough - a PhD Student (Jennifer Lawrence) discovers a “planet killing” comet that is on a collision course with Earth and, joined by her Professor (Leonardo DiCaprio), tries to get the “powers-that-be” to listen to the threat.

DiCaprio (in essence, in the Anthony Fauci role) is superb as the Professor that tries to convince the Politicians about the Science of the threat. His frustration at hitting the brick wall of “political spin” crescendos in an absurdly bravura performance.

Meryl Streep is brilliant (of course) as the President who is more interested in how this situation affects her, politically, than how it affects the populace. She is joined by a sychophantic Jonah Hill (as her son and Chief of Staff). Hill has never been better and understands the nature of this character and mines it for comedic gold.

Cate Blanchette and Tyler Perry are also strong as the Cable News Anchors who are more interested in keeping the conversation “light and fun” and they actually have good “co-anchor” chemistry with each other.

Timothee Chalamet, Mark Rylance, Rob Morgan, Ron Perlman and, yes, Ariana Grande are also strong in smaller, almost cameo, roles.

But the standout star of this film is Jennifer Lawrence as PhD student Kate DiBiasky, the person who discovers the comet (and for whom the comet is named). It is easy to forget just how strong of a performer that Lawrence is but she goes toe-to-toe with Streep/DiCaprio/Blanchette et al and more than holds her own. Her character/performance is the backbone - and conscience - that holds this film together.

Of course, credit for all of this must go to Writer/Director Adam McKay who showed in THE BIG SHORT that he is more than “the comedy Director” of such films like ANCHORMAN and he puts that ability to work, strongly, in this film. He clearly had a vision of what he wanted to put across in this film and straddles the line between humor and seriousness in such a way that no matter what side of the “Global Change” and “Global Pandemic” crisis you are on, you will think that this film skewers you and favors the other side.

Which is the sign of a terrific satire.

Letter Grade: A-

8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
  
The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
2017 | Action, Animation, Comedy
8
7.7 (100 Ratings)
Movie Rating
All Hail the Bricks
LEGO may have just single-handedly saved the DC Universe. Yep, you heard me right; the construction toy has come to the aid of one of the comic-book heavyweights in spectacular fashion.

Of course, this is not the first time the world’s biggest toy company has released a film. 2014’s LEGO Movie catapulted the popular bricks into the minds of more people than ever before, it was an astounding success, and deserved every inch.

Now, they’re back with The LEGO Batman Movie, a film with so many side jokes and movie references, it’s impossible to spot them all the first time around.

There are some big changes brewing in the city of Gotham, but if Batman (Will Arnett) wants to save the city from the Joker’s (Zach Galifianakis) hostile takeover, he may have to drop the lone vigilante shtick, try to work with others and perhaps, learn to lighten up; if that’s humanly possible. Maybe his superhero sidekick Robin (voiced by Michael Cera) and loyal butler Alfred (played by Ralph Fiennes) can show him a thing or two?

After depressing cinema-goers with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the studio interference that caused Suicide Squad to be a hideous mess (which is referenced in the flick marvellously), DC was in serious trouble – its universe was unravelling before it had even got going. Marvel certainly had nothing to worry about from its biggest rival, but that may have changed after this.

Everything from the voice acting to the ridiculously dry script and exceptional animation makes The LEGO Batman Movie a treat for children and adults. There are references to: get ready… Jurassic Park, Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Gremlins, The Lord of the Rings and every single Batman film to name but a few, all expertly placed within a story that betters any DC film before it.

The cast gels together perfectly. Will Arnett clearly had a ball playing the caped crusader, channelling Ben Affleck and Christian Bale flawlessly. Michael Cera gives his best performance in years and Ralph Fiennes is great as Alfred. Would you believe me if I said Mariah Carey even got in on the action? Well, she does. There are small roles for Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill and Eddie Izzard too.

Elsewhere, the animation is of course, blocky. Beautifully so in fact. It’s always exciting seeing individual locations transformed into LEGO and Gotham is no exception. It’s rendered to an exquisite standard with each and every frame stuffed to the brim with colour and detail. The music is also a highlight throughout with Lorne Balfe’s faithful score juxtaposed with some original songs and classic pop hits.

Overall, The LEGO Batman Movie was always going to be a gamble, but perhaps less of a risk considering the low quality of DC’s current crop of films. With some great animation, a genuinely funny and at times heart-warming story and a cast that works together incredibly well, it’s a cracking addition to the ever-expanding superhero genre.

https://moviemetropolis.net/2017/02/11/all-hail-the-bricks-the-lego-batman-movie-review/
  
Sausage Party (2016)
Sausage Party (2016)
2016 | Animation, Comedy
7
5.8 (37 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Utterly Ridiculous
Just when Sharknado: the 4th Awakens made you think film-making couldn’t get any more ridiculous, a movie like Sausage Party comes along to remind you that Hollywood can always go that one step further to mind-boggling peculiarity.

Of course, that’s not always a bad thing, there have been countless weird and wacky films over the years that have gone on to become cult classics – look at Kick-Ass or even Pulp Fiction for examples of that. But for every Pulp Fiction there’s a Sharknado. So is Sausage Party good weird or as stale as a month-old bagel?

From the mind of Seth Rogen, Sausage Party is a strictly adults only animation that combines hugely offensive language and racial stereotypes with surprisingly meaningful religious undertones. And do you know what? It’s a breath of fresh air.

Life is good for all the food items that occupy the shelves at the local supermarket. Frank (Seth Rogen) the sausage, Brenda (Kristen Wiig) the hot dog bun, Teresa Taco and Sammy Bagel Jr. (Edward Norton) can’t wait to go home with a happy customer. Soon, their world comes crashing down as poor Frank learns the horrifying truth that he will eventually become a meal. After warning his pals about their similar fate, the panicked perishables devise a plan to escape from their human enemies.

Directors Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan take Rogen’s intriguing premise and inject a warmly familiar animation style, distancing itself just enough to make any comparisons simply inconceivable. Sausage Party is like nothing you will have ever seen.

The voice-acting is great too. Rogen plays his usual film staple – in sausage form – with the spicy Salma Hayek outdoing everyone else as a lustful taco. Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Michael Cera and Jonah Hill also lend their familiar voices to a hot-dog bun, a bottle of spirit and two other frankfurters respectively.

Elsewhere, the comedy, for the most part, hits the spot. As dreadful as it sounds, the racial stereotyping works incredibly well in food form. British tea, Mexican taco shells and German sauerkraut will have you rolling about the aisles with their outrageous vulgarity, but everyone needs to release their inner teenager once in a while.

Unfortunately, the films standout sequence has already been shown in the trailer – a side-splitting food-eye view of a normal kitchen, before every edible item is butchered; that poor Irish potato didn’t stand a chance. This is a real shame as the rest of the film doesn’t quite match up to the standard of that scene.

Nevertheless, there’ll be chuckles throughout as numerous celebrities are parodied in food form. One in particular, immortalised in chewing gum, is incredibly well thought out.

And that’s where Sausage Party succeeds the most. Underneath the polished animation and crude humour, this film is actually kind of clever. It tackles religion, war, race, sexuality and food waste very well indeed and that’s something the genre doesn’t ask for. It’s just unfortunate that it’s not quite as funny as the trailer would have you believe.

https://moviemetropolis.net/2016/09/03/utterly-ridiculous-sausage-party-review/
  
WD
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<i>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

Way Down Dark</i> is the first in the <i>Australia</i> trilogy by J.P. Smythe, a brand new dystopian series for young adult readers. The world has been destroyed and humans boarded space ships in order to find somewhere to live, however, generations later the passengers aboard <i>Australia</i> have not found anywhere. The years have taken their toll on the ship, which is slowly falling to pieces, it’s inhabitants reduced to scavengers.

Recently orphaned Chan is living alone and trying to fend for herself as the Lows, an ever-increasing band of murderous thugs, wage war on everyone else. Nowhere is safe and quite often Chan finds herself in a situation where it is either kill or be killed. When Chan’s mother died her last instructions were to stay out of trouble, be selfish and don’t die. Chan on the other hand finds it extremely difficult to be selfish when she sees other people in life threatening situations. Thankfully she has Angela, a fifty something woman, looking out for her. But then Angela introduces Chan to a part of the ship no one has ever been to before, a part that challenges the truth behind the stories believed by everyone about the destruction of Earth. This new knowledge fuels Chan’s determination to save the lives of as many she can, thus finding herself in perilous situations.

Despite being set in the distant future, the characters at the beginning are living lives similar to those of the past – making clothes, shoes and weapons from scratch, picking fruit in the arboretum in order to eat. So although many dystopian novels involve some kind of enhanced technology, <i>Way Down Dark</i> does not, which separates it from other books of the same genre.

As well as Chan’s narrative, the novel also contains Angela’s stories of the past when Chan’s mother was young. These help to explain some of the situations the characters find themselves in now. It is also through Angela that Chan begins to discover the truth about the ship <i>Australia</i> and the lies they have been led to believe.

The main characters are very likable and display a range of personalities, each adding something different to the story. Chan is quick thinking, strong-willed and unselfish whereas, although Angela cares and protects, she keeps more to herself rather than jump into the fight in order to be a hero. Finally, Jonah, a young man who teams up with Chan and Angela, is a mix of Chan’s personalities with a religious streak, or what passes as religious on the <i>Australia</i>.

Although it is less futuristic than other popular young adult novels such as <i>Divergent</i> or <i>The Hunger Games</i>, readers are bound to enjoy <i>Way Down Dark</i> and its sequels. It is full of action, violence and survival told from the point of view of a teenage girl. <i>Way Down Dark</i> is a highly recommended, gripping novel, which promises to satisfy the needs of dystopian lovers.
  
Spider-Man (2002)
Spider-Man (2002)
2002 | Action, Sci-Fi
Tobey maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-man Willem dafoe as Norman Osborne/Green Goblin Jk simmons as J.Jonah. Jameson The action sequences The upside down kiss Danny Elfman's score (0 more)
Green Goblins power ranger suit (0 more)
" With great power comes great responsibility"
One of the first movies to pave the groundwork for modern superhero flicks, Spider-Man is an incredibly fun & endlessly entertaining action-adventure that brings its web-slinging hero to life on the silver screen in a truly fascinating manner after spending nearly a quarter of a century in development hell and, with its record-breaking box office performance, acts as a precursor to an era when superheroes would dominate the summer box-office.

Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, the story of Spider-Man follows Peter Parker; a high-school kid who after being bitten by a radioactive spider at a genetic laboratory begins to develop spider-like abilities and puts his new powers to good use by turning to crimefighting. Meanwhile, Norman Osborn experiments a power-enhancing drug on himself as a desperate attempt to preserve a military contract critical for his company's survival.

Directed by Sam Raimi, Spider-Man has all the ingredients of a summer blockbuster plus it benefits a lot from Raimi's dynamic filmmaking style that doesn't dwell on a single moment for far too long, keeps the story fresh, light-hearted & action-packed for the most part, plus never loses its initially-gained momentum. David Koepp's screenplay is no slouch either for it packs in a compelling plot & few interesting characters and the whole story is cheesy but well humoured.

The technical aspects are all brilliantly executed. Camerawork is excellent for the most part for the chosen angles, swift movements, slow-mo shots & warm colour palette are correctly employed. Editing provides a frenetic pace to its narrative, each moment has a role to play, and its 121 minutes of runtime simply flies by. Visual effects team makes use of both CGI & practical stuntwork and it's amazing just how well it has aged when compared to other effects-laden movies released back then.

Coming to the performances, Spider-Man packs in a very interesting cast in Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Willem Dafoe, J.K. Simmons & others, and many of them are pretty convincing in their given roles. Maguire does a terrific job under Raimi's supervision, Dafoe plays Norman Osborn with finesse but that Green Goblin suit is extremely off-putting, Simmons is a near-perfect rendition of J. Jonah Jameson from the comics while both Dunst & Franco do a fine job as Mary Jane Watson & Harry Osborn, respectively.

Also worthy of admiration is Danny Elfman's outstanding score that captures just the right tone & feel of your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man's universe and brims with tracks that seamlessly integrate into the story. On an overall scale, Spider-Man may not seem as impressive today as it did back when it made its debut on the silver screen but it still remains one of the best offerings of its category and delivers a roller-coasted ride that's enjoyable, entertaining & highly satisfying. Spider-Man is a summer popcorn extravaganza right on the money.
  
    Bible Reina Valera

    Bible Reina Valera

    Book and Lifestyle

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Bible in Spanish RV (Reina Valera) Version: Reina Valera - Offline do not need an internet...

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
2021 | Action, Adventure
Life for Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is complicated thanks to his dual life as Spider-Man and the challenges of being in High School. Unfortunately for him; his best intentions are about to make things much worse in "Spider-Man: No Way Home".

Taking place where "Spider-Man: Far From Home" ended; Peter must deal with his secret identity being leaked by Tabloid Journalist J. Jonah Jameson (J. K. Simmons); and the throngs of people, helicopters, and protestors who follow his every move and camp outside his home.

As if this was not bad enough; being accused of being a murderer has drawn the attention of the authorities which further complicates his life as does returning to a school where everyone knows his identity.

Desperate to get away from the constant scrutiny and observation; Peter seeks out Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), and asks him to cast a spell that would make the world forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man.

Strange agrees but mid-spell Peter requests that there are some exemptions from the spell which include his Girlfriend MJ (Zendaya); his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei); and his friend Ned (Jacob Batalon).

Strange agrees but in doing so; complications arise which allows entrants from other dimensions to enter their realm. Soon Peter is accosted by villains whom he does not know but seem to know him; that is until he is unmasked and they have no idea who this Peter Parker is before them.

As more villains arrive; Peter learns of their fates in their natural dimension and is determined to save them and give them a second chance which puts him at odds with Doctor Strange who says they must go back to whatever fate they had.

What follows is a descent into humor and darkness as Peter despite his best intentions sees the situation go from bad to worse and he must fight to stay true to himself and save the day.

The film is a difficult one to review in the fact that there are so many surprise guests, twists, and turns that it is challenging to not reveal anything but suffice it to say that fans should absolutely enjoy it.

The film takes its time getting to the action as it has a very slow and deliberate climb and Director Jon Watts is confident enough in the characters and premise that he allows ample time for the characters and setting to build and be established before he gets to the action.

While there is considerable fan service in the film; it never once seems like it is pandering and it all fits very well within the story and the MCU and opens up numerous possibilities for the future.

There is a mid-credit scene and a post-credit scene which is basically a trailer and both are very engaging in terms of the possibilities as Marvel has again shown that their plan of interwoven stories and characters continues to deliver and that Spider-Man still remains as popular and engaging as ever.