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Darren (1599 KP) rated Air Force One (1997) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
Story: Air Force One starts as we see President James Marshall (Ford) having a proud moment after capturing a terrorist leader and coming out with how he wants to take on Congress. Returning home on Air Force One President Marshall finds his plane hijacked by Ivan Korshunov (Oldman) who wants the recently captured terrorist released.
Once in control of Air Force One Ivan uses the President’s wife Grace (Crewson) and daughter Alice (Matthews) as leverage to push the President into breaking his no negotiations with terrorist’s stance, as he uses his combat skills to take out the terrorists himself from on board. The Vice President Kathryn Bennett (Close) has to control things from the ground potentially having to make the biggest decisions.
Air Force One gave us an action film unlike anything we had seen before because this time the action hero was none other than the President himself and yes I know we did get a strong leader in Independence Day but this time he was the star of the show. We get to see how the President will handle the action pressure as well as the big decisions. Another great part of this film is that we get to see the traitor from the start and always wonder what their next move will be. When we see action films we like to cheer for the guy who is against the odds and this gives us that and plenty more as we watch a nation wait for the news of his safety.
Actor Review
Harrison Ford: President James Marshall is a medal of honour winning soldier who has bought in a new no negotiation with terrorist stance. He finds his Air Force One under hijack where instead of escaping like procedure he takes a stand as he tries to take out the men taking over the plane. James is one of the best action Presidents in film history instead of being just a by the book nice guy. Harrison is brilliant in this role where he gets to show a new line of stunt work to go with a strong leader and action star.president
Gary Oldman: Ivan Korshunov is the extremist terrorist who has taken over Air Force One, he will kill any hostages to get what he wants which is one extremist leader to be released from prison. Ivan is one of the most memorable villains of the 90s because he is ruthless to the core. Gary is brilliant in this role showing he can play any character.ivan
Glenn Close: Vice President Kathryn Bennett has to make the decisions back in America as she is left helpless with the hijack of Air Force One. She must deal with all the diplomatic decisions as well as helping her President and innocent people on board the plane. Glenn is great in this role showing how difficult the side of this story is away from the action.vice
Wendy Crewson: Grace Marshall is the wife of the President who is on Air Force One, she becomes the leverage for Ivan to get what he wants. Wendy is good even if the character isn’t given the true screen time needed.
Support Cast: Air Force One has a big supporting cast that is filled with known names in the business who all help the story unfold with their different acts of bravery and betray.
Director Review: Wolfgang Petersen – Wolfgang gives us one of the best action films from the 90s that also gives us glimpses of political decision being made.
Action: Air Force One has plenty of action being most of the President taking on the terrorists.
Adventure: Air Force One works for the adventure side of story trying to save the day.
Thriller: Air Force One keeps us on the edge from the moment that Air Force One is hijack until the end credits.
Settings: Air Force One keeps the settings on both Air Force One and White House as the decisions get made for the good of the country.
Special Effects: Air Force One has good effects for the time but have started to date now.
Suggestion: Air Force One is one for all the action junkies to enjoy. (Action Fans Watch)
Best Part: Parachute escape.
Worst Part: Political side gets slightly annoying.
Believability: No
Chances of Tears: No
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Similar Too: Con Air, The Rock
Oscar Chances: Nominated for Best Sound and Film Editing
Box Office: $172 Million
Budget: $85 Million
Runtime: 2 Hours 4 Minutes
Tagline: Harrison Ford is the President of the United States.
Overall: Brilliant action film that keeps us on edge from start to finish.
https://moviesreview101.com/2016/05/11/air-force-one-1997/
Once in control of Air Force One Ivan uses the President’s wife Grace (Crewson) and daughter Alice (Matthews) as leverage to push the President into breaking his no negotiations with terrorist’s stance, as he uses his combat skills to take out the terrorists himself from on board. The Vice President Kathryn Bennett (Close) has to control things from the ground potentially having to make the biggest decisions.
Air Force One gave us an action film unlike anything we had seen before because this time the action hero was none other than the President himself and yes I know we did get a strong leader in Independence Day but this time he was the star of the show. We get to see how the President will handle the action pressure as well as the big decisions. Another great part of this film is that we get to see the traitor from the start and always wonder what their next move will be. When we see action films we like to cheer for the guy who is against the odds and this gives us that and plenty more as we watch a nation wait for the news of his safety.
Actor Review
Harrison Ford: President James Marshall is a medal of honour winning soldier who has bought in a new no negotiation with terrorist stance. He finds his Air Force One under hijack where instead of escaping like procedure he takes a stand as he tries to take out the men taking over the plane. James is one of the best action Presidents in film history instead of being just a by the book nice guy. Harrison is brilliant in this role where he gets to show a new line of stunt work to go with a strong leader and action star.president
Gary Oldman: Ivan Korshunov is the extremist terrorist who has taken over Air Force One, he will kill any hostages to get what he wants which is one extremist leader to be released from prison. Ivan is one of the most memorable villains of the 90s because he is ruthless to the core. Gary is brilliant in this role showing he can play any character.ivan
Glenn Close: Vice President Kathryn Bennett has to make the decisions back in America as she is left helpless with the hijack of Air Force One. She must deal with all the diplomatic decisions as well as helping her President and innocent people on board the plane. Glenn is great in this role showing how difficult the side of this story is away from the action.vice
Wendy Crewson: Grace Marshall is the wife of the President who is on Air Force One, she becomes the leverage for Ivan to get what he wants. Wendy is good even if the character isn’t given the true screen time needed.
Support Cast: Air Force One has a big supporting cast that is filled with known names in the business who all help the story unfold with their different acts of bravery and betray.
Director Review: Wolfgang Petersen – Wolfgang gives us one of the best action films from the 90s that also gives us glimpses of political decision being made.
Action: Air Force One has plenty of action being most of the President taking on the terrorists.
Adventure: Air Force One works for the adventure side of story trying to save the day.
Thriller: Air Force One keeps us on the edge from the moment that Air Force One is hijack until the end credits.
Settings: Air Force One keeps the settings on both Air Force One and White House as the decisions get made for the good of the country.
Special Effects: Air Force One has good effects for the time but have started to date now.
Suggestion: Air Force One is one for all the action junkies to enjoy. (Action Fans Watch)
Best Part: Parachute escape.
Worst Part: Political side gets slightly annoying.
Believability: No
Chances of Tears: No
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Similar Too: Con Air, The Rock
Oscar Chances: Nominated for Best Sound and Film Editing
Box Office: $172 Million
Budget: $85 Million
Runtime: 2 Hours 4 Minutes
Tagline: Harrison Ford is the President of the United States.
Overall: Brilliant action film that keeps us on edge from start to finish.
https://moviesreview101.com/2016/05/11/air-force-one-1997/
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated The Rembrandt Secret in Books
Nov 25, 2019
The Rembrandt Secret is a thriller set in the closed and secretive art world. Set during a recession when many dealers and galleries are struggling, the gruesome murder of respected gallery owner Owen Ziegler threatens to reveal a secret that could rock the art world to its foundations.
As a thriller this book works really well; the secret itself (unsurprisingly involving the Dutch Old Master Rembrandt) is revealed fairly early on which means the book can concentrate on what it does best - instilling a sense of paranoia in both the hero (Owen's son Marshall) and the reader trying to work out who the murderer is.
The world of art is also a good choice for this kind of taut thriller; since everyone is trying to find that one previously unacknowledged masterpiece worth millions before their neighbour does nobody trusts anyone else. Marshill did not follow his father into the world of art and so is viewed with even more distrust.
A whole cast of eccentric characters appear, some of which could have a motive, most of them hiding some sort of underhand connection to the victim. As Marshal tries to make sense not only of his father's death but of the strange circles he moved in the secrets come to light one by one - and the body count rises. Someone is eliminating everyone who knows the Rembrandt Secret, including Marshall.
Although I know next to nothing about how the art world works (and I am assuming the portrayal is broadly accurate) it didn't lessen my enjoyment of the book. The plot is not filled with action by any means but instead is driven by the characters, every conversation feeling like the participants are carefully navigating their way thought it trying to gain advantage from the other. I did guess the 'who' in the whodunnit around half way through but it was more of an educated guess than anything concrete so was still fairly suprised when I was proved correct.
There is a lot of conversation about art which didn't interest me much but did add flavour and texture to the book, but it did get a little frustrating sometimes when it didn't have any bearing on moving the plot forward.
Overall I enjoyed this a lot and if I see another of Connor's books I will pick it up and no doubt enjoy reading that too.
As a thriller this book works really well; the secret itself (unsurprisingly involving the Dutch Old Master Rembrandt) is revealed fairly early on which means the book can concentrate on what it does best - instilling a sense of paranoia in both the hero (Owen's son Marshall) and the reader trying to work out who the murderer is.
The world of art is also a good choice for this kind of taut thriller; since everyone is trying to find that one previously unacknowledged masterpiece worth millions before their neighbour does nobody trusts anyone else. Marshill did not follow his father into the world of art and so is viewed with even more distrust.
A whole cast of eccentric characters appear, some of which could have a motive, most of them hiding some sort of underhand connection to the victim. As Marshal tries to make sense not only of his father's death but of the strange circles he moved in the secrets come to light one by one - and the body count rises. Someone is eliminating everyone who knows the Rembrandt Secret, including Marshall.
Although I know next to nothing about how the art world works (and I am assuming the portrayal is broadly accurate) it didn't lessen my enjoyment of the book. The plot is not filled with action by any means but instead is driven by the characters, every conversation feeling like the participants are carefully navigating their way thought it trying to gain advantage from the other. I did guess the 'who' in the whodunnit around half way through but it was more of an educated guess than anything concrete so was still fairly suprised when I was proved correct.
There is a lot of conversation about art which didn't interest me much but did add flavour and texture to the book, but it did get a little frustrating sometimes when it didn't have any bearing on moving the plot forward.
Overall I enjoyed this a lot and if I see another of Connor's books I will pick it up and no doubt enjoy reading that too.
Group the Loop
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Group the Loop brings intelligent audio looping to the iPad. Record, loop, overdub, add effects and...
Kristin (149 KP) rated Catch Me If You Dare (Jake Mathews, #2) in Books
Dec 7, 2018
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
Jake Matthews is a US Marshall, and a damn good one, at that. However, a notorious killer by the name of Max Baxter has chosen Jake, by name, to play a part in his little games. Max turned himself in to Jake after the FBI failed to catch him on their own, and now, four years later, he's broken himself out of prison and is on the run again. And guess who's invited to catch him this time?
This story is a real attention-grabber within the first couple chapters. It's also a rather exciting cat-and-mouse game, as we bounce back and forth between Jake and Max, learning about each one from his own eyes as well as from the other's. Max is back at his usual tricks, but he's directly involving Jake for this one, and it will take all the Marshal's training, intelligence, and cunning to not only outsmart the killer but save his victims, as well. Will he succeed, or will Jake be yet another notch on Max's belt? You'll have to find that out for yourself.
4 stars
Jake Matthews is a US Marshall, and a damn good one, at that. However, a notorious killer by the name of Max Baxter has chosen Jake, by name, to play a part in his little games. Max turned himself in to Jake after the FBI failed to catch him on their own, and now, four years later, he's broken himself out of prison and is on the run again. And guess who's invited to catch him this time?
This story is a real attention-grabber within the first couple chapters. It's also a rather exciting cat-and-mouse game, as we bounce back and forth between Jake and Max, learning about each one from his own eyes as well as from the other's. Max is back at his usual tricks, but he's directly involving Jake for this one, and it will take all the Marshal's training, intelligence, and cunning to not only outsmart the killer but save his victims, as well. Will he succeed, or will Jake be yet another notch on Max's belt? You'll have to find that out for yourself.
4 stars
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