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Leslye Headland recommended Bombshell (2019) in Movies (curated)

 
Bombshell (2019)
Bombshell (2019)
2019 | Drama

"So here’s the challenge: Tell the story of a disturbing legacy of sexual violence systemically perpetrated by one man, but perpetuated by an industry that delivered potential victims to the door of his office almost daily. Any takers? Yeah… Hollywood moguls aren’t exactly leaping at the chance to examine such behavior off-screen, let alone on-screen. It’s why “Bombshell,” Jay Roach’s electrifyingly empathetic new film, feels so necessary and cathartic. Roach directs brilliant actors (Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie) as brilliant journalists who blew the whistle on Roger Ailes (John Lithgow), that special brand of psychopath who was not only their abuser but also responsible for their careers. With deft documentary-style camera work, Roach expertly unfurls the vipers nest of cult-like psychosis that permeates every floor of Fox News. His perfected technique of blending existing footage with stunning re-creations make a scene like Megyn Kelly (Theron) and Trump at the Republican Primary debate somehow more realistic than when it actually happened. But rather than leaning into satire, Roach weaves in enough humor and humanity that in some moments “Fox News” could be any office. It’s not a political film. It’s a film about women. Roach understands that workplace sexual assault is not about how you vote or what news channel you watch or even about sex. It’s about fear and power. Human emotions wielded in offices around the country every day. “Bombshell” is the result of a compassionate filmmaker who knew the responsibility of telling this tough but important story."

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Taming The Dragon (Sparks of Desire #5)
Taming The Dragon (Sparks of Desire #5)
Valerie Twombly | 2022 | Paranormal, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
TAMING THE DRAGON is the fifth book in the Sparks of Desire series, but you can read it as a standalone as I did.

Kaden has baggage in his past which is currently affecting both his present and his possible future. Fate has spoken and given him the perfect mate except for one small problem - she's human. His dragon doesn't have a problem with that, nor does anyone else in his family but, for Kaden, this is a BIG problem.

Avery is a strong young woman, confident in so many ways apart from her own self, thanks to the majority of her family. Originally, she believes Kaden couldn't possibly be interested in her but Fate won't be denied. They have issues to work out, that's for sure.

This was a great story that kept my interest. I do love it when the characters are not just straight-forward, without any issues. Kaden is the strong, silent type who has to learn how to share with others. And Avery has to believe she is good enough, just as she is. Kelly and Bella are on hand to help with that, and Kaden also has help with his issues.

Another fantastic read by this author, and absolutely recommended by me.

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (AVP 2) (2007)
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (AVP 2) (2007)
2007 | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Story: Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem starts by picking up where the last film ended with the alien causing havoc on the predator ship, forcing it into crashing into small town America. With the alien causing havoc killing everybody or anything that gets in its way, we get to meet the town’s people who we must care about, bad boy just returned to town Dallas (Pasquale), returning solider Kelly (Aylesworth), her family Tim (Trammell) daughter Molly (Gade) sheriff Morales (Ortiz), troubled teenager Ricky (Lewis) and his crush Jesse (Hager).

As the people of the town go about their daily lives, the predators are preparing to clean up the mess left in this small town but will they make it before the aliens cause too much damage or can they face a new threat in a predator-alien hybrid.

 

Thoughts on Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem

 

Characters/Performance – Dallas is the bad boy rebel who just happens to return to town the same day the crash happens. Kelly is the returning solider who is dealing with the idea that her young daughter has lost her connection with her while she was away but now must use her skills to save her daughter. Morales is the sheriff and old running buddy of Dallas who has put his bad boy ways behind him. Ricky gives us the high school dynamics with his crush on the beautiful Jesse who has an arsehole boyfriend.

Performance wise, well this is one of the negatives, Pasquale does struggle in the leading role, while it is partly down to writing and performance because Reiko doesn’t reach the levels of an alien trend setting strong leading ladies. The rest of the performances are largely forgettable with Hager clearly hired for her look.

Story – The pure story is in parts very interesting, we know how deadly the aliens are and after last time we know the predators place in the battle. We know aliens will kill anybody which this film isn’t afraid to play on and we also see the swarm mentality which is caused with the aliens spreading. With these parts all in place this film does still end up coming off messy in places though because the humans are written so badly with the final pay off feeling flat.

Action/Horror/Sci-Fi – The action is mindless and a lot is in too darker location so you can’t see what is happening with the horror side working in places but not in all scenes it needs to, with the sci-fi elements coming from building for the next part of the franchise which never happened.

Settings – Moving the action to a small town ups the stakes in the film, which also gives us a chance to see how deadly the aliens can be spreading through a population. This gives us a chance to get a large body count but also characters we don’t know anything about.

Special Effects – Most of the effects are good it is the lighting which hinders this film in places.

Final Thoughts – This is a great idea for a sequel but it has problems all over it, mostly coming from badly executed action sequences that have large jump cuts, no lighting for those scenes and horribly written human character.

https://moviesreview101.com/2017/11/19/aliens-vs-predator-requiem-2007/