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Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
2018 | Action, Sci-Fi
Great cast (2 more)
Great action
Great story
Star Wars is good again!
I'm one of those people who hated The Last Jedi. I came out of it feeling frustrated and disappointed. After the film of two distinct halves that was Rogue One (first half awful, second half not so awful), The Last Jedi to me was just further proof that they'd managed to break Star Wars. And then, in among all of that, they go and announce another prequel to the original trilogy we all love. A story featuring the early life of our favourite rogue/smuggler, Han Solo. Played by some guy who didn't even look, or seemingly act, like the Han that Harrison Ford had introduced us to. A pretty mediocre teaser trailer, followed by drastic changes to the directing team so late in the day, seemed to seal it's fate. It looked like Star Wars was going to stay broken...

But surprisingly, and thankfully, in the past few weeks the tide appears to have turned. A fun, exciting new trailer, the seemingly perfect casting of Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, followed by a lot of positive early reactions... could we finally be in for a real Star Wars treat? Could Star Wars ever be fixed?

We join young Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) on his home planet of Correllia, getting by as a thief in the dark streets and tunnels and already making enemies. He has dreams of something better than this though - making enough money to buy him and his true love Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke) a big spaceship so that they can escape Correllia and find a better life together.

It's a simple enough plot, and we know that along the way he needs to meet Chewie, cross paths with Lando Calrissian, and bag himself the coolest ship in the shape of the Millennium Falcon. We just need to have some of the finer details filled in for us...

Luckily for us, filling in the blanks is one hell of a blast! From evading a crime boss on Correllia, hooking up with the empire before joining forces with a gang of bandits led by Beckett (Woody Harrelson), we find ourselves being treated to a pretty steady stream of thrills and action. Solo and the bandits end up on a mission to steal a big consignment of fuel called coaxium, hired by another crime boss called Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany). Along the way they hook up with Lando, captain of the Millennium Falcon, who offers to take them on their mission. In exchange for 25% of the money they're going to make on the coaxium deal of course...

I initially had my doubts over Ehrenreich and his ability to step into the shoes of one of cinemas most iconic characters but he actually does a very good job of it. In fact, it's a pretty impressive cast all round, with everyone managing to get their own memorable moments. There's a likeable chemistry between them all which carries the movie extremely well, even throughout its less frantic moments.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, so much more than I thought I would. And all those tickbox moments are handled perfectly - meeting and befriending Chewie, meeting Lando, finding out just how Solo managed to pull off that 12 parsec Kessel run, finally getting his hands on the Falcon! loved it all. Yes, they managed to fix Star Wars!
  
Aftermath 2017 (2017)
Aftermath 2017 (2017)
2017 | Drama, History, Thriller
Story: Aftermath starts as construction worker Roman (Schwarzenegger) is looking forward to the arrival of his wife and pregnant daughter from Kiev for Christmas. Making himself extra smart with flowers at hand he arrives at the airport to find the flight delayed but there is no good news, the plane was involved in a tragic accident killing both his wife and daughter.

On the other side of the story flight controller Jake Bonaos (McNairy) leaves his wife and son to arrive at work that very same day, on a night shift where he finds the himself distracted trying to fix a phoneline as two planes collided mid-air, the same flights that had Roman’s family on.

Both men’s lives are completely shattered, Roman broken, alone and spending days and nights at the cemetery. While Jake is branded a murderer by the public finding it impossible to function or being the husband and father he needs to be.

With the airline company waving money in Roman’s face to stop them being sued and Jake on the verge of suicide brings us to one year later where both are still living in the tragedy but both are attempting to move on.

 

Thoughts on Aftermath

 

Characters/Performance – Roman is a hard-working construction worker, he has work long hours to make sure his family can move to live with him in America, when he loses them his life is shattered but all he wants is an apologise not the airlines money. Jake is a flight controller who makes an honest mistake that cost the lives of everyone on the flights, his life is ruined, he loses his family, his job and must change his name and start again, living the rest of his life with regret.

Performance wise, Schwarzenegger is brilliant in this role where is he no action hero, he is an everyday man that loses everything, this is by far one of his best acting performances of his career. Scoot McNairy is also fantastic in this role showing just how capable of an actor he is.

Story – The story is based on a real incident that followed a mid-air collision but turned into an American story for it to unfold in. This story is very powerful because you are now left to wonder just what would happen if you were in either of these men’s shoes. The story also isn’t just a revenge film it follows these two men trying to rebuild their lives after what happened and mostly just wanting a human response from somebody involved.

Thriller – From the moment this film starts you are left to wonder from the edge of your seat to where this film will go.

Settings – The settings used through the film focus on making both our main characters feel like everyday people whose lives have been ruined by the events which is all you need from the film.

Final Thoughts – This is one of the best and most intense slow burning stories you will see this year. The performances are fantastic as well as being one of the most interesting stories out there.

 

Overall: One of the most powerful stories you will see this year.

https://moviesreview101.com/2017/04/10/aftermath-2017/
  
Imagine (Black Raven #4)
Imagine (Black Raven #4)
Stella Barcelona | 2018 | Crime, Romance, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
too much action but still good.
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

 After THAT kiss on Halloween, Leo and Ace have been avoiding the issue.Or rather, Leo has, and it's all Ace has on his mind. Sent together with a team of Black Raven agents undercover on a gambling cruise liner's maiden voyage, they are thrown into the thick of things, with so much left unsaid.

This is book 4 in the Black Raven series, but you don't need to have read the other three for this to make sense, they can all be read as stand alone novels. Books one and three are five star reads from me, though.

But this one?? Not so much and I've no idea why! And ya'll know how much that pains me so! maybe it will come as I write this up.

Leo is emotionally stunted after the death of her father on 9/11. She doesn't wanna talk to Ace about what happened on Halloween but she has been thinking about it. Ace is her best friend, has been since they started working together. That kiss, though, changes everything for them both. Ace wants to move the relationship on, but they have a job to do first. Feelings for your partner cannot get in the way of a job. But they have a way of worming in, and Leo can see those feelings in Ace's eyes, even if he doesn't want her to see.

Told mostly from Leo and Ace's point of view, we also get some of the bad guy in a couple of places, and in the other two books I've read in this series, I loved that. Those bad guys are deeply twisted, and were difficult to read, but it's more of less why I gave those two books 5 stars: the connection I had to the minds of those bad guys. But something didn't quite work here, for me. While clearly insanely greedy (cos it's all about the money) and a lot screwed in the head (cos a LOT of people will die) I didn't feel any connection to the bad guy at all. That makes ME sound a lot twisted in my head, but I think you know what I mean. There seemed to be no background as to WHY (other than the money) the bad guy was doing this, what made them want to blow up a brand spanking new ship, and kill all those people? I needed some background and I didn't get it.

This book is HEAVY on the agents work. A little bit too much for me, I think. I got lost when they were running around the ship cos I have no idea what half of those ship terms meant!

AND!! It's only the first part of Leo and Ace's story. They are Happy For Now, and I do hope they get their Happy Ever After in the next book. Ain't gonna be plain sailing for them I know that much!

So, because on the lack of connection to the bad guy, and because of the heavy action (which gives me the WHY I didn't enjoy this one quite so much) . . .

4 stars, still a really good read, just not on a par with books one and three.

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
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Sheridan (209 KP) rated the Xbox One version of Fallout 76 in Video Games

Dec 29, 2018  
Fallout 76
Fallout 76
2018 | Action/Adventure, Role-Playing
Challenging Gameplay (3 more)
Huge Open World
Ability to Modify Items
CAMP Set Up
Tragic Graphics (4 more)
Online Only
No Dogmeat :(
STASH box limit
Feels Repetitive
A Game to End an Epic Series?
Let's face it - there's a lot of Fallout fans out there and these fans have a whole heap to say about this game. The big question is - is this a game for the fans? Not really, no. I don't *hate* it, but I'm not totally on board with it either. Now I've been playing the Fallout games for a very long time, I've completed both Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas serveral times and have completed the majority of Fallout 4 too. Fallout 76 is just - not a good game. There are aspects I quite like - the CAMP, the STASH boxes littered around so you don't have to fast travel all the time, the ability to modify weapons and amour, the huge open world to explore - I like all of that. What I hate is that it just doesn't feel like a Fallout game, the storyline just isn't there - I don't just start playing and realise literal hours have passed. There's no NPCs, no companions and worst of all there's no Dogmeat. I mean, sure other companions I understand, it's an online only game, I can see how running around with a crew could become combersome but - I miss my doggo! I can't stand that it's online only - sure give us the option to but I've never been a fan of being forced to play online, I game to relax, not to interact with others - plus no pause is extremely annoying. The graphics are terrible considering what other companies have come out with in 2018, it feels like FO3 graphics. The limit on the STASH box is currently 600lbs but mine is full and I keep having to get rid of stuff that I actually need. The repetitive going back and forth on missions and having to travel from one side of the map to the other while doing a mission is extremely frustrating, especially considering you're pretty much always carrying too much stuff (you literally need a ton of weapons, ammo, food & water to survive).

Overall I don't love it, but I don't hate it.

In short;

Was it worth the $120 preorder price? F**k no.

Is it something I'll play complusively until I've done everything?
No.

Does it ensare you and leave you excited to play again?
No.

Does it exceed Bethesda's big exciting lead up to release?
Certainly not.

Is it the worst game ever?
No, not really.

Is it truly a Fallout game?
Nope.

Does it feel like a dodgy, half-assed turd that the developers crapped out to make money?
Why, yes, yes it does.

Is it a game for Fallout fans?
Maybe, if you're into online play with friends then I guess? If you look past all the bugs, the sub-par graphics and the dull unimaginative storyline sure, this might be a game for you.

Would I recommend it?
No, not unless it's in the $20 bin at EB and you have literally NOTHING else to play.

I'm just saying if this game were a puddle, I could stand in it bare foot and not get my feet wet - that's how much depth it has...

It isn't the *worst* thing I've spent money on (Technomancer takes that spot with Recore as a close second), but it's definitely not something to play if you're a Fallout fan. Just stick to the old stuff, it's waaaay better...
  
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