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Darren (1599 KP) rated From Dusk Till Dawn: Texas Blood Money (1999) in Movies
Sep 2, 2019
Thoughts on From Dusk till Dawn 2 Blood Money
Characters – Buck is a thieve that has claimed to have gone clean after his recent stint in prison, the cops do still watch him, only now he gets a chance at a new job which will see him put his crew together, he has a way to work with his men, well that is about it, his character doesn’t have much more to him, Sheriff Otis Lawson has been waiting for Buck to make a mistake for years now, using the latest former member of his crew as hope that he could catch him in the act once again. Luther is the one that brings the job to Buck, only on his way back to the crew, he ends up at the Titty Twister grabbing the attention of the vampires, looking for spread the curse to a new selection of victims. C.W. is another member of the crew and just like the rest they don’t get much to make them stand out.
Performances – Robert Patrick does try to make the most of his character only he doesn’t get anything to work with here. This is the big problem for the rest of the cast, nobody gets a chance to make anything from their characters who all end up being painful bland.
Story – The story follows a group of criminals that are looking to head to Mexico for their latest job, only to attract the attention of the vampires using the Titty Twister becoming the latest target, can they survive the night? The story here is very weak, we get five criminals with little to no character development, not making us care about what is happening. We get thrown into another direction with the story which doesn’t help because we know what is happening, while certain members of the crew don’t, this does against what we learnt about the vampires in the first film. this story just feels like a forced sequel nobody really asked for.
Crime/Horror – The crime side of this horror comes from seeing just how the crew is operating, how they plan to get the job done, the horror comes from the vampire side of the film, it does have darker moments, only it still doesn’t feel like a scarier film.
Settings – The film is set between Mexico and Texas, no location involved does make us feel like we are in iconic location the first one did.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are not at the same standard either, with most of the attacks being from bats which seem to be extreme close ups that just feel too difficult to watch.
Scene of the Movie – A helping hand?
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The lack of interest around the characters.
Final Thoughts – This is a disappoint sequel that pulls the quality level right down to just a basic sequel that just so happens to visit the same bar, having no connection to the previous film.
Overall: Bland sequel.
Characters – Buck is a thieve that has claimed to have gone clean after his recent stint in prison, the cops do still watch him, only now he gets a chance at a new job which will see him put his crew together, he has a way to work with his men, well that is about it, his character doesn’t have much more to him, Sheriff Otis Lawson has been waiting for Buck to make a mistake for years now, using the latest former member of his crew as hope that he could catch him in the act once again. Luther is the one that brings the job to Buck, only on his way back to the crew, he ends up at the Titty Twister grabbing the attention of the vampires, looking for spread the curse to a new selection of victims. C.W. is another member of the crew and just like the rest they don’t get much to make them stand out.
Performances – Robert Patrick does try to make the most of his character only he doesn’t get anything to work with here. This is the big problem for the rest of the cast, nobody gets a chance to make anything from their characters who all end up being painful bland.
Story – The story follows a group of criminals that are looking to head to Mexico for their latest job, only to attract the attention of the vampires using the Titty Twister becoming the latest target, can they survive the night? The story here is very weak, we get five criminals with little to no character development, not making us care about what is happening. We get thrown into another direction with the story which doesn’t help because we know what is happening, while certain members of the crew don’t, this does against what we learnt about the vampires in the first film. this story just feels like a forced sequel nobody really asked for.
Crime/Horror – The crime side of this horror comes from seeing just how the crew is operating, how they plan to get the job done, the horror comes from the vampire side of the film, it does have darker moments, only it still doesn’t feel like a scarier film.
Settings – The film is set between Mexico and Texas, no location involved does make us feel like we are in iconic location the first one did.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are not at the same standard either, with most of the attacks being from bats which seem to be extreme close ups that just feel too difficult to watch.
Scene of the Movie – A helping hand?
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The lack of interest around the characters.
Final Thoughts – This is a disappoint sequel that pulls the quality level right down to just a basic sequel that just so happens to visit the same bar, having no connection to the previous film.
Overall: Bland sequel.
RəX Regent (349 KP) rated Deepwater Horizon (2016) in Movies
Feb 18, 2019
Based on the true and tragic events on April 2010, Director Peter Berg takes the helm of this re-enactment of the explosive ‘blow-out’ which destroyed the eponymous exploration rig off the coast of Louisiana. We follow Mike Williams (Mark Walberg) and the rig’s Manager Jimmy Harrell (Kurt Russell) as they butt heads with the profit hungry BP executives who are more concerned with the fact that the operation is 43 days behind schedule than safety and have began to cut corners.
Berg builds and maintains the tension expertly, as this procedural disaster movie takes shape, but this is no Titanic (1997) or Poseidon Adventure (1976). The disaster itself only takes up about 30 minutes of the 107 minute run time as we are taken through the technicalities of America’s worst ever oil disaster, one which claimed 11 lives and spilled 210 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
The tension is palpable, the disaster is terrifying yet exiting and whilst wearing its roughneck Vs. company man heart on its sleeve, you are left feeling that we are given a much greater understanding of the subject as well as the newsworthy disaster.
This is helped along by the great visuals and sound design, as well as art direction and visual effects, which along with the great performances, not least BP man, Vidrine (John Malkovich), makes this a must see.
Berg builds and maintains the tension expertly, as this procedural disaster movie takes shape, but this is no Titanic (1997) or Poseidon Adventure (1976). The disaster itself only takes up about 30 minutes of the 107 minute run time as we are taken through the technicalities of America’s worst ever oil disaster, one which claimed 11 lives and spilled 210 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
The tension is palpable, the disaster is terrifying yet exiting and whilst wearing its roughneck Vs. company man heart on its sleeve, you are left feeling that we are given a much greater understanding of the subject as well as the newsworthy disaster.
This is helped along by the great visuals and sound design, as well as art direction and visual effects, which along with the great performances, not least BP man, Vidrine (John Malkovich), makes this a must see.
Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated Journey on a Runaway Train (The Boxcar Children Great Adventure #1) in Books
Jun 18, 2018
Journey on a Runaway Train by Gertrude Chandler Warner is the start of a five book series with the kids known as The Boxcar Children! The four Aldens are now living with their grandfather with the boxcar in the backyard when finding a painted turtle, they are soon recruited into the Reddimus Society. The Reddimus Society is a secret guild who's mission is returning lost or stolen artifacts in which the turtle is one of them. As they learn what the society dos, a trip on a train to return the turtle to New Mexico will test the children in ways they never expected that will ultimately, lead them to their next adventure!
This version of the Boxcar Children is fresh and modern. We're in a world of laptops, WiFi and GPS. The boys and girls are equal players, and since the books are new you don't encounter those awkward bits of old-fashioned nonsense that you sometimes have to overlook when revisiting other older adventure series. The writing is crisp and direct and clearly aimed at younger readers. A nice touch is that the older kids often explain more advanced words, references, and historical bits to the youngest Alden, Benny, and these explanations, of course, are also intended to help younger readers follow what's happening.
I thank NetGalley and Albert Whitman & Company for a free advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This version of the Boxcar Children is fresh and modern. We're in a world of laptops, WiFi and GPS. The boys and girls are equal players, and since the books are new you don't encounter those awkward bits of old-fashioned nonsense that you sometimes have to overlook when revisiting other older adventure series. The writing is crisp and direct and clearly aimed at younger readers. A nice touch is that the older kids often explain more advanced words, references, and historical bits to the youngest Alden, Benny, and these explanations, of course, are also intended to help younger readers follow what's happening.
I thank NetGalley and Albert Whitman & Company for a free advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated The Book of Life (2014) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
The Book of Life is an animated film with some big names lending their voices to the characters.
Channing Tatum, Zoe Saldana, Diego Luna, Christina Applegate, Ice Cube, Cheech Marin, Kate del Castillo, and Ron Perlman are all part of the voice cast.
The movie had lots of movement, tons of bright colours, and great music.
The story was good, but I think maybe a bit ‘too much’ for children my sons age (6). He seemed to like it, despite some of the moments that made him uncomfortable or scared.
The tale is of good vs bad and bravado vs true courage and life long friendships.
This movie takes place in long-ago Mexico and revolves around The Day of the Dead. Two boys, one an aspiring bull fighter and guitar player named Manolo (Diego Luna) and one a would-be champion and defender of the town named Joaquin (Channing Tatum), are in love with the same girl, a feisty girl named Maria (Zoe Saldana).
We follow their life paths as the gods above, La Muerta and Xibalba, place wagers on the outcome of the love triangle.
Xibalba cheats in order to win the bet, and the remainder if the film is spent watching Manolo trying to reunite with his true love, Maria.
The movie is fast paced and the music really helps bring it together and help tell the tale.
I would give this movie 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Channing Tatum, Zoe Saldana, Diego Luna, Christina Applegate, Ice Cube, Cheech Marin, Kate del Castillo, and Ron Perlman are all part of the voice cast.
The movie had lots of movement, tons of bright colours, and great music.
The story was good, but I think maybe a bit ‘too much’ for children my sons age (6). He seemed to like it, despite some of the moments that made him uncomfortable or scared.
The tale is of good vs bad and bravado vs true courage and life long friendships.
This movie takes place in long-ago Mexico and revolves around The Day of the Dead. Two boys, one an aspiring bull fighter and guitar player named Manolo (Diego Luna) and one a would-be champion and defender of the town named Joaquin (Channing Tatum), are in love with the same girl, a feisty girl named Maria (Zoe Saldana).
We follow their life paths as the gods above, La Muerta and Xibalba, place wagers on the outcome of the love triangle.
Xibalba cheats in order to win the bet, and the remainder if the film is spent watching Manolo trying to reunite with his true love, Maria.
The movie is fast paced and the music really helps bring it together and help tell the tale.
I would give this movie 3.5 out of 5 stars.
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