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Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)
Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)
2020 | Comedy
Nice Try
I have to admit that I never watched the 2006 BORAT film, but when it’s sequel BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM was nominated for 2 Oscars(!) - including Best Supporting Actress - I knew I would have to check this one out.

I have heard the following words and phrases used to describe the BORAT films: daring, ingenious, hilarious, cringe-inducing, smart, dumb, original and important. I would add one other word to this list:

Boring.

Sitting on the screen for and hour and a half like a Saturday Night Live skit that is being stretched too long, BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM held my attention for about the first 15 minutes where I thought that it was kind of funny and clever. And then it went on…and on…and on…running the same “sabotage” joke into the ground, pulling unsuspecting innocents into the outrageous world of Borat (though, I have to admit that most of these “unsuspecting innocents” knew exactly what was going on and were playing along).

Sasha Baron-Cohen is a smart filmmaker, writer and performer and he has earned the right to do whatever he feels like he wants to do. I prefer him in such movie fare as SWEENEY TODD, LES MISERABLES and the recent TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO SEVEN. But, if he feels like he wants to do things like Borat, who am I to argue. He certainly puts his all into the character, the scenarios and the guerilla film-making that is required, so good for him.

Maria Bakalova is nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar as she plays Borat’s daughter who accompanies him on his journey across America. It is a “fine” performance and brings something that this film sorely needs - heart. But Oscar worthy? I don’t think so.

I must also give credit to the filmmakers for pivoting when the pandemic hit. They were in the middle of creating this (obviously) anti-Trump political farce of a film when Covid-19 forced them to pivot - and pivot they did, making this film as much about the virus than it is about politics.

Ultimately, this is a case where I can admire the attempt, the art, the craftmanship and skill and talent needed to pull this movie off. But as a film, it just didn’t go anywhere and I found myself looking at my watch wondering when this film would be over.

And…no…I don’t think I’ll go back a “catch-up” on the first BORAT film.

Letter Grade: C+

5 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
  
AD
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
On the run from her vicious Uncle, Lady Juliana must fight for survival among the peasants.

When Juliana's Uncle, sweeps in and takes over her father's land of Wessex, Juliana is forced to live as a fugitive. Living in disguise, she has become the defender and protector of her people. Stealing from the rich to give to the poor. But when a robbery goes, much different than expected, she is discovered by Sir Collin Goodrich, Lord of the neighboring land. Having renounced her own nobility status, Juliana loathes all nobility. For they display an excess of wealth with no thought to the poor. She is determined to dislike Sir Collin from the start. But will her prejudice blind her to his true heart? Will her methods of providing for the people lead her down the same path of malice her Uncle leads? Or will her eyes be opened to the truth of God's provision and righteousness?

"I'd been consumed with bitterness and had allowed it to lead me astray from what was righteous and pleasing to God."
- A Daring Sacrifice pg.166

I can not get enough of Jody Hedlund! Her books completely draw me and allow me to get utterly lost in another world, in a time long past. The trials that Lady Juliana endure are not easy to cope with. Throughout her journey, she realizes that she has been going about things in the wrong way. How many times do we take situations into our own hands when we don't see God's immediate answer? It is easy to do. A Daring Sacrifice has a Robin Hood feel about it. But there is never a dull moment. My husband would laugh at me while I was reading because I would become very animated. There are some very intense scenes, and I am pretty sure I have never held my breath for so long. I felt that the violence and viciousness of the age was portrayed well. It was not easy to read about, but I commend Jody for not taking it lightly. Overall this was another excellent book! I am so thrilled that she has branched into the Young Adult genre.

I received a free digital copy of A Daring Sacrifice from Zondervan through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
  
Alien: Covenant (2017)
Alien: Covenant (2017)
2017 | Horror, Sci-Fi
Ridley Scott has followed “Prometheus” with the film that eschews the is it or isn’t it a prequel question by firmly establishing its ties to his landmark film “Alien”. The title of the film “Alien Covenant” leaves little doubt as to what franchise this film is connected to and does a very solid job of connecting elements of the franchise without being as nebulous, divisive, and confusing as its predecessor.

The film follows a colony ship named Covenant which is on an extended mission of colonization approximately 7 years away from their destination. A crew of 15 watches over approximately 2000 colonist and frozen embryos as they attempt to build a new life on a distant world. When an unexpected event jeopardizes the ship the crew was revived and forced into action to deal with the unexpected consequences that have arisen. The ship synthetic lifeform named Walter (Michael Fassbender), and crew quickly assess the damage and plot a course to repair the ship and continue on their journey.

During the course of the repairs a garbled transmission is discovered by the ship’s pilot Tennessee “Danny McBride”. What appears to be a human transmission only a relatively short distance away from the ship is too enticing to pass up for Captain Oram (Billy Crudup), even though ship’s officer Daniels (Katherine Waterston), believes that it is simply too good to be true and questions how a planet that seems to meet all of their needs alluded their initial scans. Undaunted, the ship set up to explore the mysterious planet and find a beautiful world that seems to be an ideal fit for colonization. Things take an unexpected change when a dangerous situation arises and before long the crew finds themselves facing an unexpected series of dangers of horrors and unable to evacuate thanks to a violent storm in the area.

They are eventually taken in by the android David (Michael Fassbender), who relays that he has been stranded on planet 10 years following the events of the Prometheus mission. David bonds with his “brother” Walter will the crew try to make sense of the situation as they believe there is much more to the story than they have been told.

When much larger dangers arise the crew must rally to survive against a nightmare situation that has the potential to threaten not only their ship and crew but perhaps all of humanity.
This time out director Ridley Scott has not shied away from giving fans deadly creatures and action that many felt was sadly missing from “Prometheus”. While the film certainly isn’t in the same caliber as “Alien” and “Aliens”, I did find it more enjoyable than the two subsequent films that followed and significantly more enjoyable than “Prometheus”. Yes there are still some nebulous elements to the story that will hopefully be addressed in the subsequent films and one could argue that a good portion of this film was basically a set up for the next film that his planned follow-up. However very strong performances by Fassbender, McBride, and Waterston, as well as the incredible visual effects and highly detailed sets really make this a fun and exciting adventure. While most of the cast does exist is little more than fodder for the various dangers in the film there is effort given to at least give them a little bit of back story and relate ability so you have some sympathy towards their outcome. The mixing of new and familiar creatures bodes very well for the future the franchise and the film was gripping from start to finish and certainly provided plenty of entertainment.

I really love the look of the ship and was intrigued by the potential that the film established as toward the direction of the series. While it does tread on some of the thematic elements of the previous films such as the whole nature of creation and existence, it is not as heavy handed and cerebral and finds a much better balance between horror, action, science fiction, and metaphysical questions.

From a fans perspective this is much more of the film that I was expecting when “Prometheus” was first announced and hopefully this is a very good omen for the direction that future films will follow since the intention has been established of linking the new films to the events of the original movie. If you are fan of the series you will definitely want to check this out as it has been my favorite film of the summer to date and I look forward to seeing it again soon.

http://sknr.net/2017/05/16/alien-covenant/
  
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Kyera (8 KP) rated Roar in Books

Jan 31, 2018  
Roar
Roar
Cora Carmack | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Roar started off slowly, but before long I was completely enamoured by the story. I personally love stories where elemental powers are part of the lore. Roar had a similar, yet unique take on those special abilities.

There are people in the world, called Stormlings, who are able to use their affinities to battle storms. In this land, those abilities relate to the storms that plague the kingdoms and towns. A Stormling may have an affinity for sky fire and be able to battle lightning - or they may have an affinity for tornados. Many battle storms not only to protect their lands but in the attempt to gain more affinities. If strong enough, a Stormling could take the heart of the storm (which manifests as a rock or gem) and use it to channel their abilities.

Aurora is the future Queen of Pavan, but she has yet to show any hint of the power needed to protect her people. As a result, her mother sets up an arranged marriage with the second born son of a neighboring kingdom. Not all is as it appears and Rora sets out to discover the truth. She soon learns that Stormlings are not the only people with the ability to fight storms and realizes that she must learn from these storm hunters so that she can avoid the path her life is currently on.

Aurora begins the book as a strong female character despite the fact that she is forced into a more meek, agreeable role in order to secure the marriage, so it may not seem that way. Although she has not been able to access the magic her blood should give her, she has not rested on her laurels. Rora occasionally trains with the guards in swordsmanship, reads whatever books she can get her hands on, is quite skilled in a number of languages and can chart her course by the stars. While she is not the typical heroine we might expect to save the day, she does grow over the course of the novel and will continue to do so in the second book.

As the majority of the book does not take place in the palace, we do not see much from the Locke family but I am incredibly intrigued by their familial relationships and the Prince himself. He is a dark, strong and imposing figure who is out to claim the throne - but may be less ruthless than he seems. While we do not such much of him, I expect there will be a lot more character development in the second book and I'm looking forward to that.

Locke, the storm hunter, was probably my favourite main character - although I loved the storm hunter crew as a whole. They had such unique personalities, tales and roles in the group and who wouldn't join a group of storm hunters? That would be amazing. Anyway, Locke started to remind me after a while of that over-protective Fae male personality that we see so often in Sarah J Maas' books (which can become tiresome) but his storm hunting prowess won me over. The author wrote each storm, its feeling and the hunters fighting it so brilliantly that those were definitely my favourite scenes in the novel.

This book seemed to set up the world, the magic system and the main characters well but leave plenty of room for development. We don't even see the character who is likely to be the villain until about 75% of the book is over. I'm intrigued by the villain's story and abilities, and can't wait to see where it goes in the second book.

The world is what drew me in and kept me wanting more, despite the cliches, tropes, and mid-level character development. The romance itself was probably the most off-putting because it was so unbelievable to me. It's not necessarily the chemistry and interactions between the two, but rather the way the author writes the male's point of view. To me, it just didn't sound like a guy was thinking those thoughts. Both of her main male characters became almost immediately obsessed with Aurora, wanted to protect her at any cost, thought about her all of the time, etc. As I mentioned before, that overprotective Fae male mentality. While it may seem sweet that they want to be protective, it borders on being too much (and sometimes crosses the line), which is not a healthy relationship dynamic to romanticize. I don't want to give more specific examples and spoil anything. This is not to say that men cannot be emotional and effusive because they can, but for me, just the way that it was done didn't read authentically. Those were the times I felt most drawn out of the narrative.

This book ends with the type of cliffhanger that most books should end on. You are not utterly destroyed and heartbroken that the author has ended this book with such big questions and yet the next is not due out for another year - you are completely in love with the story and the final scenes just make you excited to continue reading.

For me, the book was a little slow to start but once Rora goes on the journey with the storm hunters I think the book picks up a lot. I've seen a few people put the book down because they couldn't get into it and I would just recommend trying to push through a little longer and see if that changes for you. This is an upper-YA novel that I would recommend to ya/teen readers who enjoy fantasy and character growth in their novels.
  
Ferdinand (2017)
Ferdinand (2017)
2017 | Adventure, Animation, Comedy
The movie follows the main character Ferdinand on his journey to find a way to “just be himself”, even though what he “wants” to be (and how he feels) is not what he is “supposed” to be.

The voice cast includes John Cena (Ferdinand), Kate McKinnon (Lupe), Gina Rodriguez (Una), Anthony Anderson (Bones), Daveed Diggs (Dos), Gabriel Iglesias (Cuatro), Bobby Cannavale (Valiente), and Peyton Manning (Guapo).

The movie opens to Ferdinand already bucking the system, tending a flower sprouting in the calves play yard. Born on a ranch and destined for either the bull fighting ring or “the chop shop” if he can’t make the cut, while the others play fight and trash talk, Ferdinand is trying to secretly water and nurture the pretty red flower. The other calves bully and intimidate each other, while Ferdinand is “softer”. Shortly after the opening, Ferdinand asks his father why he can’t be “the Champion of not fighting”. Ferdinand’s father responds that he wishes the world could work that way.

 

When Ferdinand realizes that there is no “winning” when it comes to being chosen by the matador, and his father never comes back from his contest with the matador, Ferdinand realizes he must escape. He runs away and eventually finds himself taken in by a family that has a flower farm. Ferdinand grows up surrounded by the love of a little girl and her family.

 

As a bulky adult bull, Ferdinands adopted family tells him he must stay home from the marketplace because he is too big, but Ferdinand defies their instructions and follows them to the market, where he is stung by a bee, and goes on a pain induced flight through the town, scaring people and breaking carts. The townspeople call for him to be removed, and lo and behold he is caught and returned to his origins at the ranch.

 

His original pen-mates are all still there, and practicing for their bouts with the matador. Ferdinand tries to tell them that nothing ever good comes of the meeting with the matador, that there is no winning, and that once gone, there is no glory and they will never return. Eventually they believe him and they make their hilarious escape.

 

The movie moves along at a good pace, and has a good message. It is full of bright colors and the music works well within the movie. The final scenes are wonderful and (to me) shed light on the absolute absurdity of the “sport” of bull-fighting, while at the same time wrapping up the movie with a well-deserved “happy ending”.

 

My 9-year-old son liked the movie a lot, my husband and I laughed out loud at many parts, and the 15-month-old was kept entertained by the music and characters dancing.
  
    Talking ABC...

    Talking ABC...

    Education and Games

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    *** App Store Best Kids App 2013 *** Talking ABC is an interactive alphabet created with love and...

    Fractal Space

    Fractal Space

    Games and Entertainment

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    Live the memorable experience of Fractal Space, a unique first-person adventure & puzzle game by the...