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Notorious (2009)
Notorious (2009)
2009 | Drama, Musical
7
8.0 (5 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Story: Notorious starts with the final moments of Christopher ‘Biggie’ Wallace (Woolard) life, before he flashes back to his childhood, raised by his single mother Voletta (Bassett), getting given a chance to start making money from drug dealing where he becomes addicted to make money, until he gets busted.

At 19 he gets a chance to enter the music industry when Puffy Daddy (Luke) gives him a way to escape the life of drug dealing, however difficult it seems. When Biggie finally get the record deal, he soon becomes an international sensation grabbing the attention from another rapper Tupac Shakur (Mackie) who soon becomes a rival with deadly consequences.

 

Thoughts on Notorious

 

Characters – Christopher ‘Biggie’ Wallace was a rapper from Brooklyn, he started on the streets as a drug dealer, before showing his rapping skills that saw him become one of the biggest rap stars in the world in the 90’s, we get to see how he has to deal with his vices with women chasing his desire to have too much money. The film doesn’t show him to be a nice man, he cheats on his partners, commits crimes and gets violent when he gets upset, it is a shame for somebody with talent to be such a horrible person. Sean Puffy Combs is the man that takes a chance on Biggie even after losing his position in a record company, he had an eye for talent and knew how to make the most out of it. Tupac is a rival rapper that starts with respect, but because of his continuing side business in drugs, the tension grows and Tupac soon starts a war against Biggie which became a bigger story than any of their music. Faith is Biggie’s wife that has the talent he has though she does become the one that stays with him even if they have an abusive relationship toward each other, well that is what the film shows us.

Performances – Jamal Woolard is brilliant in this leading role, he shows the laidback style Biggie presented himself as, while showing just how easily he can snap. Derek Luke and Anthony Mackie are both strong in the supporting roles, while the rest of the cast give us strong performances too.

Story – The story here follows the life of Biggie one of the biggest rappers of the 90s that wanted to prove music could inspire change only to get drawn into a gang war with another rapper Tupac, one that made the two even more famous. We follow Biggie in and out of the music world, seeing how he was trying to escape a life of crime, but is drawn into relationship problems. The story doesn’t always paint him as a nice guy though, the way he handles the women in his life is getting into the abusive area. Otherwise this shows us how Biggie wasn’t interested in getting involved in the gang war, he just want to make honest money.

Biopic/Crime/Music – The biopic side of the film shows how Biggie was being drawn towards a life of crime or leaving it behind to become a big music sensation and how his life changed with the new, making him part of one of the biggest rap battles in history. The crime world is showing how Biggie was always trying to get out of this world and give you hope to others that are facing it. While I personally wasn’t a fan of the music involved, it will please the fans of his music.

Settings – The film is set in the backdrop Brooklyn shows where he has come from and how he wants to stay loyal to the people who supported him.


Scene of the Movie – Making the choice.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The film doesn’t show him able to treat his women with respect.

Final Thoughts – This is a biopic that showed how easily a rivalry can start within the business that could end up becoming deadly between two biggest names in the music industry.

 

Overall: Music biopic that defined a decade.
  
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Dpaint43 (16 KP) rated Keyforge: Call of the Archons in Tabletop Games

May 31, 2019 (Updated May 31, 2019)  
Keyforge: Call of the Archons
Keyforge: Call of the Archons
2018 | Card Game, Fantasy
Every deck is yours. Unique. No one else has it. Cheap entry point. (0 more)
Some decks will be more powerful but that is the fun of the draw. (0 more)
Welcome to their world and become their god
Fantasy Flight and Richard Garfield have fixed the problem with Magic (Richard's other design and maybe the biggest money maker ever) and every copycat collectible card game that came after. Mr. Garfield's original plan for Magic the Gathering was to have a competitive card game that people can enjoy and buy a pack of cards for, say "wow" this is an awesome card and can make a deck more interesting. He did not expect thousands of dollars to be spent to create decks that are full with nothing but "wow" cards, but not fun, that win every time. The talent and fun was replaced by the more money you spend, the better your deck. Keyforge is a two player game that everyone can get into and enjoy. For $10 you can buy a single deck and only play that deck forever against any other deck and have fun. Every deck of 36 cards is made up using an algorithm to make sure no one has the same combination of cards. You get a unique deck name, unique deck sigil and a one of a kind combination of fun you can truly call your own. Of course you won't want to stop at just one deck because they each open up a new world. Your goal as a god (Archon) is to ascend to a higher level of being by opening 3 keys. Each key needs six aember to open. This aember is collected each turn by choosing one of the 3 houses that follow you (there are 7 in the game but only 3 per deck) and using the creatures, spells, items and crazy concoctions of that house of followers to reap and fight your way to victory. The rules are simple but the strategy is deep. There aren't many key words to remember nor rules to memorize. Young kids can play as easily as adults. The flavor text on most cards give a great synergy with each family and cards actions. It won't take long to have a favorite house or creature to play. And play. And play.
  
Ticket to Ride
Ticket to Ride
2004 | Transportation, Travel
Feel good / involves all players at the same time (0 more)
Too many expansions now (0 more)
Excellent game
Wonderful game. Collect rail truck cards of the colours you require, but don't leave it too long, there are only a very limited number of tracks available to link your cities. If someone beats you to a track, you will need to try to find another (usually longer) route to fulfil your quest. This game keeps you on your toes, as you will need to keep a tight eye on your opponents in case they can scupper you. Points make prizes. A great stand alone game with many expansions available. My advice? Stick to the base game and maybe a couple of expansions later. Don't get too carried away. The base game is great as is. Plays nicely 2-4 players. No excess concentration needed, so a good social game to chat and eat snacks over! Once you have played this a couple of times instead of going out, it has paid for itself and you have it forever more! Well worth the price. Good quality, good value for money. Enjoy! Nige
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Battleship (2012) in Movies

Mar 7, 2018 (Updated Mar 7, 2018)  
Battleship (2012)
Battleship (2012)
2012 | Action, Sci-Fi
Zombie reflexes in the Hollywood blockbuster machine sputtered into a grisly half-life and pondered the question 'if movies about the Transformers toys make so much money, what other toy/game based rubbish can we railroad audiences into going to see?' And the answer that came back was 'let's do a movie based on Battleship, featuring the pop-star Rihanna'.

Utterly dimwitted action blockbuster and Michael Bay pastiche; the weird thing is that Michael Bay pastiches are marginally better than actual Michael Bay films, mainly because if your starting point is a Michael Bay film the only way is up. This is still insultingly stupid. The actors deserve some kind of credit for getting through the film with straight faces, given it includes a laboriously contrived sequence where the characters are basically playing real-life Battleships against the aliens. Somehow made even worse by the way it fawns over members of the military (subtext being that it's unpatriotic not to like this movie). The special effects are not too bad but considering this is a movie with a $210 million budget that's like saying they remembered to put film in the camera.