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Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Free Fire (2017) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
A movie with more than a whiff of cordite about it
As I write this, I’m really struggling to evaluate whether the latest film of Ben Wheatley (“High Rise”) is a masterpiece or just pulp trash. It’s certainly a brave and highly distinctive venture, with that you can’t argue.
Set in Boston in 1978, an arms deal is going down in a deserted warehouse. Brokered by Justine (Brie Larson, “Room”) an IRA team headed by Frank (Michael Smiley, “The World’s End“) with his business guy Chris (Cillian Murphy, “Inception”, “Batman Begins”) are on the buying side. As ‘roadies’ they’ve brought with them a couple of crack-head friends Stevo (Sam Riley, “Brighton Rock”, “Maleficent“) and Bernie (Enzo Cilenti, “The Martian“) who are far from stable.
On the selling side is South African dealer and “international asshole” Vern (Sharlto Copley, “Elysium“), his suave and wisecracking protector Ord (Armie Hammer, “The Man From Uncle”) and Vern’s right hand man Martin (Babou Ceesay, “Eye in the Sky“). What connects all of these individuals is that no-one likes or trusts anyone else.
Unfortunately, one of Vern’s van drivers is John Denver-lover Harry (the excellent Jack Treynor, “Sing Street”) who has very recent personal history with Stevo. The fuse is lit, and when the two meet chaos ensues: in the words of Anchorman’s Ron Burgundy, “That escalated quickly”!
And, for a 90 minute film, that’s basically it. If you think after viewing the trailer “there must be more to the film than this”…. you’re wrong!
However, what there is of it is enormously entertaining. Played ostensibly for laughs, with very very black humour and an F-word and a gunshot in every other sentence, some of the characters – notably those played by Sharlto Copley, Arnie Hammer and Brie Larson – have some hilarious dialogue. The star turn for me though was Jack Treynor who was just so impressive as the ‘lost at sea’ brother in the delightful “Sing Street” and here delivers a stand-out performance as another brother on a mission… this time a mission of vengeance. You are waiting throughout the film for the inevitable showdown between Harry and Stevo – – and when it comes it is both bloody and memorable.
A cracking 70’ soundtrack, put together by the Portishead duo of Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury, involves 70’s classics by Credence Clearwater Revival, John Denver and The Real Kids and it’s hammered out at top volume over the action. The downside of this effect is that – for my old ears at least – it sometimes make some of the dialogue hard to follow.
As a policing exercise, the film clearly has merit. In the same manner as Schwarzenegger’s “Running Man” put criminals in an arena to cull them, so this must have reduced the crime rates in both Boston and Belfast no end! While some may not approve of the levels of violence on show, it is all done in a highly cartoonish way: like a “Tom and Jerry” cartoon, or “Home Alone”, everyone seems to get shot multiple times and yet (in the main) is still active and mobile. All of this makes criticism of the performances something of a waste of time, but I would comment that some of the acting is of the “over the top” variety: surprisingly, I found some of Oscar winner Brie Larson’s scenes falling into this category and snapping me out of the narrative at times.
But overall, my evaluation is now done and I am rooting on the side of it being a brash and exhilarating minor masterpiece. Yes, it’s one-dimensional. Yes, it is virtually impossible to feel any empathy with any of the characters, as they are all universally loathsome. But it’s a movie whose flaws are forgivable based on the characterisation and the cracking good script by long-term collaborators Ben Wheatley and Amy Jump.
Tight as it is within its 90 minute running time, I very much doubt you will be bored.
Set in Boston in 1978, an arms deal is going down in a deserted warehouse. Brokered by Justine (Brie Larson, “Room”) an IRA team headed by Frank (Michael Smiley, “The World’s End“) with his business guy Chris (Cillian Murphy, “Inception”, “Batman Begins”) are on the buying side. As ‘roadies’ they’ve brought with them a couple of crack-head friends Stevo (Sam Riley, “Brighton Rock”, “Maleficent“) and Bernie (Enzo Cilenti, “The Martian“) who are far from stable.
On the selling side is South African dealer and “international asshole” Vern (Sharlto Copley, “Elysium“), his suave and wisecracking protector Ord (Armie Hammer, “The Man From Uncle”) and Vern’s right hand man Martin (Babou Ceesay, “Eye in the Sky“). What connects all of these individuals is that no-one likes or trusts anyone else.
Unfortunately, one of Vern’s van drivers is John Denver-lover Harry (the excellent Jack Treynor, “Sing Street”) who has very recent personal history with Stevo. The fuse is lit, and when the two meet chaos ensues: in the words of Anchorman’s Ron Burgundy, “That escalated quickly”!
And, for a 90 minute film, that’s basically it. If you think after viewing the trailer “there must be more to the film than this”…. you’re wrong!
However, what there is of it is enormously entertaining. Played ostensibly for laughs, with very very black humour and an F-word and a gunshot in every other sentence, some of the characters – notably those played by Sharlto Copley, Arnie Hammer and Brie Larson – have some hilarious dialogue. The star turn for me though was Jack Treynor who was just so impressive as the ‘lost at sea’ brother in the delightful “Sing Street” and here delivers a stand-out performance as another brother on a mission… this time a mission of vengeance. You are waiting throughout the film for the inevitable showdown between Harry and Stevo – – and when it comes it is both bloody and memorable.
A cracking 70’ soundtrack, put together by the Portishead duo of Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury, involves 70’s classics by Credence Clearwater Revival, John Denver and The Real Kids and it’s hammered out at top volume over the action. The downside of this effect is that – for my old ears at least – it sometimes make some of the dialogue hard to follow.
As a policing exercise, the film clearly has merit. In the same manner as Schwarzenegger’s “Running Man” put criminals in an arena to cull them, so this must have reduced the crime rates in both Boston and Belfast no end! While some may not approve of the levels of violence on show, it is all done in a highly cartoonish way: like a “Tom and Jerry” cartoon, or “Home Alone”, everyone seems to get shot multiple times and yet (in the main) is still active and mobile. All of this makes criticism of the performances something of a waste of time, but I would comment that some of the acting is of the “over the top” variety: surprisingly, I found some of Oscar winner Brie Larson’s scenes falling into this category and snapping me out of the narrative at times.
But overall, my evaluation is now done and I am rooting on the side of it being a brash and exhilarating minor masterpiece. Yes, it’s one-dimensional. Yes, it is virtually impossible to feel any empathy with any of the characters, as they are all universally loathsome. But it’s a movie whose flaws are forgivable based on the characterisation and the cracking good script by long-term collaborators Ben Wheatley and Amy Jump.
Tight as it is within its 90 minute running time, I very much doubt you will be bored.
Ross (3284 KP) rated Alien: Covenant (2017) in Movies
Dec 18, 2017
Didn't feel like an Alien film (no suspense) (1 more)
Doesn't repair the bad feelings left by Prometheus
Where Prometheus came kind of close to explaining the origins of the aliens from the original films, it just fell short (see all the well documented plot holes and inconsistencies). Here, Ridley Scott had a chance to remedy that, but instead seems to have decided to keep digging and has promised we'll eventually get there and all will be revealed.
We are led to believe android David has been beavering away, having killed a planet full of Engineers, developing the greatest living being - the xenomorph. So we are led to believe that after killing all the life on the planet he has somehow been implanting these alien embryos into a living host. Erm ... How?
Also, if the classic xenomorph has only now started to develop after being incubated in a human host, how come they were clearly depicted in ancient cave drawings in Alien vs Predator?
Also also, if the facehugger is apparently a more efficient delivery method than air-borne (I don't think it is) how come it takes so much longer in the original films - John Hurt lying with a facehugger on for hours before hatching, where here the whole gestation seems to be minutes, or an hour as the pace of the film requires. The evolution seems to have slowed down between here and Alien. Also the chestburster becomes an instant killing machine rather than being a weak little snake needing to hide out and eat.
The trademark Alien suspense was completely lacking. Nowhere was there the edge of the seat, dark corridors, pipes coming alive or anything. It was more of an action film with little horror aspect in it.
Overall, this film felt like even more of an insult to the original films than Prometheus did. It could well be that this becomes a small part of a masterpiece but it seems very unlikely and feels like a very long way round and poorly delivered.
We are led to believe android David has been beavering away, having killed a planet full of Engineers, developing the greatest living being - the xenomorph. So we are led to believe that after killing all the life on the planet he has somehow been implanting these alien embryos into a living host. Erm ... How?
Also, if the classic xenomorph has only now started to develop after being incubated in a human host, how come they were clearly depicted in ancient cave drawings in Alien vs Predator?
Also also, if the facehugger is apparently a more efficient delivery method than air-borne (I don't think it is) how come it takes so much longer in the original films - John Hurt lying with a facehugger on for hours before hatching, where here the whole gestation seems to be minutes, or an hour as the pace of the film requires. The evolution seems to have slowed down between here and Alien. Also the chestburster becomes an instant killing machine rather than being a weak little snake needing to hide out and eat.
The trademark Alien suspense was completely lacking. Nowhere was there the edge of the seat, dark corridors, pipes coming alive or anything. It was more of an action film with little horror aspect in it.
Overall, this film felt like even more of an insult to the original films than Prometheus did. It could well be that this becomes a small part of a masterpiece but it seems very unlikely and feels like a very long way round and poorly delivered.
Loved It.
I checked this audiobook out from Scottsboro's digital library on a whim. I'm not ashamed to admit that I am signed up for a reading challenge with the Scottsboro library, and part of that challenge requires you to read so many books in a year; however, the only books that count towards the challenge are books and audiobooks that you physically check out from the library OR that you check out from the library's digital library. So... it's pretty much February, and I'm already having a hard time coming up with new books to check out from the library that I either HAVEN'T ALREADY READ or just have NO interest in reading. I saw this one pop up under new releases, however, so I thought, "Eh. What the hey. Might as well give it a try."
I say all that to express my surprise at how much I truly enjoyed listening to this book. When I checked it out, I did not have high hopes for it -- I had really NO hopes for it to be honest. I was very pleasantly surprised. The story of Tommy Wiseau is at times hilarious, at times uplifting, and at times, horribly, horribly lonely and sad. I was somehow in equal measure shocked, appalled, entertained, and overcome with laughter at different points in the book, and to me, all those emotions rolled into one is what really makes a book worth reading.
I have never watched Wiseau's (dare I say it?) "masterpiece" THE ROOM before now, but my plan is to go home and watch it over the weekend now that I have finished the book because I simply HAVE to watch it. It sounds horrible and hilarious all in one, and I am actually quite excited to sit down and give it a watch.
I plan on watching "The Disaster Artist" as well. I can't wait to see how the Franco brothers' portrayal measures up to this pretty wonderful book that I just finished.
I say all that to express my surprise at how much I truly enjoyed listening to this book. When I checked it out, I did not have high hopes for it -- I had really NO hopes for it to be honest. I was very pleasantly surprised. The story of Tommy Wiseau is at times hilarious, at times uplifting, and at times, horribly, horribly lonely and sad. I was somehow in equal measure shocked, appalled, entertained, and overcome with laughter at different points in the book, and to me, all those emotions rolled into one is what really makes a book worth reading.
I have never watched Wiseau's (dare I say it?) "masterpiece" THE ROOM before now, but my plan is to go home and watch it over the weekend now that I have finished the book because I simply HAVE to watch it. It sounds horrible and hilarious all in one, and I am actually quite excited to sit down and give it a watch.
I plan on watching "The Disaster Artist" as well. I can't wait to see how the Franco brothers' portrayal measures up to this pretty wonderful book that I just finished.
Alicia S (193 KP) rated Untamed (Thoughtless, #4) in Books
Sep 28, 2018
Oh, Griffin... (smh). First off, I am a HUGE fan of the Thoughtless series. This is one of my all-time TOP favorite series. SC Stephens has a way of writing that brings you so close to the characters that you feel as if you know them personally. I was completely caught up emotionally in this series from day one and I still carry it with me. It's almost scary his much this series affected me... I was so overly sensitive to their thoughts and feelings, it was as if I was experiencing it firsthand. This most recent addition was no exception. On a personal note, this was a very tough book for me to read as the overall theme hit very close to home for me. Watching the lies and deceit flow so easily from Griffin was very hard to stomach. His snowball of bad decisions was painful to watch, for him, Anna and the girls and for the rest of the band and family. I love the D-Bags but always saw Griffin as that annoying friend that you just can't help but love and hate. I found him incredibly annoying at times and hearing it all from his POV was interesting as you saw that he did truly justify his actions.. in his own Griffin kinda way. As frustrating as it was at times, making me want to smack the $hit out of him, he was easier to understand. In the end, he rectified himself in a way that I never thought Id seem, nor did anyone else!? We all got to finally see out Hulk grown up. He's still there, just in controlled doses.. ;-) His relationship with Anna and the girls was beautiful to witness.. we really got to see a whole other side to him. This book tore me up, left me hanging at moment, scared to death and made me bawl my eyes out... Yet another masterpiece form SC Stephens.. surely not to be missed!
LilyLovesIndie (123 KP) rated Watersheds of World History in Books
Nov 5, 2018
This book was provided as a complimentary signed copy from the author, and I am very grateful to be finally fulfilling my promise to review the book.
Firstly, I have to be honest, world history from start to finish in 200 pages? I know, I asked myself that question so many times before I sat down to finally read this and I was highly sceptical whether it could be achieved. How very wrong I was.
Taylor has a unique take on history, succinct and incredibly to the point. I read a lot of history books and most historians get a little 'flowery' with their language in an attempt to make the reader love the history but Taylor takes a completely contrasting methodology in being almost blunt with the delivery of the historical facts. Usually, I would prefer more description but in this book it is much more apt to have this short, sharp burst approach as it keeps the reader hooked to the very end, even if they already know the history being told. That being said, I'm a self professed history enthusiast who reads history like fiction, and Taylor, in this masterpiece, managed to teach me a thing or two about periods of history I thought I knew inside out.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough for anyone interested in getting a beginners knowledge of world history, whether to help decide options for school, find a new hobby or even brush up on quiz knowledge. Taylor has written an immensely useful and informative text that I would, if I were a teacher of history, make a compulsory text for all my children. As it is, I'm in primary teaching and I can see myself recommending this to colleagues who are less confident in general historical knowledge to make sure they meet the grade! A fantastic talent has emerged in the literary world of non-fiction history, and I look forward to reading more from this incredibly talented and unique author.
Firstly, I have to be honest, world history from start to finish in 200 pages? I know, I asked myself that question so many times before I sat down to finally read this and I was highly sceptical whether it could be achieved. How very wrong I was.
Taylor has a unique take on history, succinct and incredibly to the point. I read a lot of history books and most historians get a little 'flowery' with their language in an attempt to make the reader love the history but Taylor takes a completely contrasting methodology in being almost blunt with the delivery of the historical facts. Usually, I would prefer more description but in this book it is much more apt to have this short, sharp burst approach as it keeps the reader hooked to the very end, even if they already know the history being told. That being said, I'm a self professed history enthusiast who reads history like fiction, and Taylor, in this masterpiece, managed to teach me a thing or two about periods of history I thought I knew inside out.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough for anyone interested in getting a beginners knowledge of world history, whether to help decide options for school, find a new hobby or even brush up on quiz knowledge. Taylor has written an immensely useful and informative text that I would, if I were a teacher of history, make a compulsory text for all my children. As it is, I'm in primary teaching and I can see myself recommending this to colleagues who are less confident in general historical knowledge to make sure they meet the grade! A fantastic talent has emerged in the literary world of non-fiction history, and I look forward to reading more from this incredibly talented and unique author.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Alien (1979) in Movies
Nov 16, 2019
A masterpiece through and through
Alien is simply put is on of the most perfect horror movies ever committed to film. Decades worth of sequels, prequels, and spin offs don't match it (although Aliens comes pretty damn close) and that is a true testament to the quality of Alien.
The plot is straightforward, and immediately gripping, as a merchant space vessel called The Nostromo, and it's crew, pick up an unidentified distress signal from a nearby moon.
Upon arrival, one of the Crue is attacked by an alien lifeform, and accidentally smuggles something back onto the ship with him, resulting in the infamous chest bursting scene, and a crew trapped floating through space, whilst being hunted one by one.
Said chest bursting scene is one of the single most disturbing scenes in horror, with genuine reactions of surprise by the cast, and horrific practical effects.
Once the plot kicks in, we're presented with a master class of tension. The shadowy setting hides the Xenomorph alien for most of the runtime, offering fleeting glimpses, and occasional bursts of violence.
H. R. Gigers design of the creature is of course iconic, abrasive, and terrifying.
Sigourney Weaver offers a strong female lead in Ellen Ripley, a character that remains a highlight, even throughout the later underwhelming sequels.
Even though Ripley is thrown front and centre in the aftermath of Alien, during this film, she is part of a crew that don't boast any heroes. Everyone aboard feels like real people, way out of their depth in what they're dealing with, and it just adds to the already unsettled surroundings.
Ridley Scott's directing and camera work in Alien manages to be claustrophobic, atmospheric and isolating all at, combining uneasy sound cues with amazing visuals to create a sci-fi horror like no other.
Alien is a film I never tire of watching. As far as this genre goes, it's near perfect.
The plot is straightforward, and immediately gripping, as a merchant space vessel called The Nostromo, and it's crew, pick up an unidentified distress signal from a nearby moon.
Upon arrival, one of the Crue is attacked by an alien lifeform, and accidentally smuggles something back onto the ship with him, resulting in the infamous chest bursting scene, and a crew trapped floating through space, whilst being hunted one by one.
Said chest bursting scene is one of the single most disturbing scenes in horror, with genuine reactions of surprise by the cast, and horrific practical effects.
Once the plot kicks in, we're presented with a master class of tension. The shadowy setting hides the Xenomorph alien for most of the runtime, offering fleeting glimpses, and occasional bursts of violence.
H. R. Gigers design of the creature is of course iconic, abrasive, and terrifying.
Sigourney Weaver offers a strong female lead in Ellen Ripley, a character that remains a highlight, even throughout the later underwhelming sequels.
Even though Ripley is thrown front and centre in the aftermath of Alien, during this film, she is part of a crew that don't boast any heroes. Everyone aboard feels like real people, way out of their depth in what they're dealing with, and it just adds to the already unsettled surroundings.
Ridley Scott's directing and camera work in Alien manages to be claustrophobic, atmospheric and isolating all at, combining uneasy sound cues with amazing visuals to create a sci-fi horror like no other.
Alien is a film I never tire of watching. As far as this genre goes, it's near perfect.
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Contains spoilers, click to show
I would like to start by saying that I have, at the time of writing this, never seen any of the previous ‘The Fast and The Furious’ films and my knowledge of the franchise is; Film 1 - some people steel some cars, Film 2 – more cars get stolen, Film 3 racing in Japan, then apparently they get weird so I wasn’t total sure what I was getting into but hay any film that has an evil cyborg going up against two action hero’s has to be good. Doesn’t it?
Of course it does. I’m not going to pretend that ‘Hobbs & Shaw’ is a massive cinematic masterpiece but you it knows what it is, a ‘no brainier’ action film that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The plot is, of course simple and ridiculous, to stop the technological enhanced Brixton from getting a virus that can wipe out most of the people on earth Hattie injects it into herself. Hobbs & Shaw are hired to get Hattie and the virus back. Hobbs and Shaw don’t like each other having met before in one of the previous films and Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham play this brilliantly, bouncing insults off each other though out most of the film.
The film does have a slight serious theme as the subject of family is tackled but this only helps the flow of the film.
The only side effect of not seeing any of the other films was that I was unsure if Brixton had been in any of them before, there was a backstory between him and Shaw but I couldn’t tell if it did refer to something seen before or if it was just for this film. There was also a second bad guy who mentioned that Hobbs didn’t remember him but it was never reviled who this was and as neither of these points impact on the film they do not take away any of the enjoyment.
So If you like easy going action films with car chases and explosions this film is for you.
Of course it does. I’m not going to pretend that ‘Hobbs & Shaw’ is a massive cinematic masterpiece but you it knows what it is, a ‘no brainier’ action film that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The plot is, of course simple and ridiculous, to stop the technological enhanced Brixton from getting a virus that can wipe out most of the people on earth Hattie injects it into herself. Hobbs & Shaw are hired to get Hattie and the virus back. Hobbs and Shaw don’t like each other having met before in one of the previous films and Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham play this brilliantly, bouncing insults off each other though out most of the film.
The film does have a slight serious theme as the subject of family is tackled but this only helps the flow of the film.
The only side effect of not seeing any of the other films was that I was unsure if Brixton had been in any of them before, there was a backstory between him and Shaw but I couldn’t tell if it did refer to something seen before or if it was just for this film. There was also a second bad guy who mentioned that Hobbs didn’t remember him but it was never reviled who this was and as neither of these points impact on the film they do not take away any of the enjoyment.
So If you like easy going action films with car chases and explosions this film is for you.
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