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American Made (2017)
American Made (2017)
2017 | Mystery
Barry Seal is officially a pilot for TWA. Unofficially he also smuggles a few cigars around. Until the CIA catch him in the act. Now he's unofficially smuggling more than cigars, and not just for the CIA.



The adverts for this made it look like quite a good film, and I honestly couldn't believe that this actually happened. Well, I sort of can, but still.

I'm not a massive fan of Tom Cruise, I think possibly because all of his films I've seen don't give him much variation from who he is, but this one was different. It kind of made me feel he was the Del Boy of America. Always looking for a quick buck and a little bit bumbling. Even if it was on a much bigger scale. I don't quite think that Del Boy would have done well with cartels.

As is the way in Hollywood the story has been tweaked to suit the cinematic needs. Since writing the paragraph above I have read a bit more about Barry Seal and it seems the films as made him a bit more shiny for the purposes of marketing. And by that I mean that it sounds as if he wasn't quite as innocent at the beginning as the film makes it appear. But, that just from reading a few articles, I'll let you come to your own conclusions.

An enjoyable films though, that kind of made you root for the "bad guy".
  
Don't Breathe (2016)
Don't Breathe (2016)
2016 | Crime, Horror, Thriller
The petty crime trio of Rocky, Alex, and Money make a living from burglarizing homes throughout Detroit. They feel trapped by the poverty and destitution of the area and hope that one big score will allow them to escape their

circumstances. The opportunity appears in the form of a blind, reclusive war veteran living in an abandoned neighborhood. They quickly realize that they have underestimated this man.

Don’t Breathe is filled with tension and has audiences confused as to whether they want the trio to survive the night as they go from being the aggressors to the prey of this man as he defends himself and his home from these invaders.

The film turns the horror/suspense genre around and allows for the audience to feel the tension without being too predictable. You feel as limited as the thieves as they try to escape from the house that they have entered. You feel as though, at any moment, they will be caught, injured, or even killed in this deadly game that the blind man has started with them.

The strength of the film is not in gore or shocking moments, it is in the reality of the fear and anxiety that builds throughout Don’t Breathe. The film allows for depth of the storyline and ability for audiences to find themselves conflicted as to whether or not they should cheer for anyone in the film.

8No one is innocent. Don’t Breathe is multidimensional and does not insult the intelligence of its audience with contrived plots and clichés. The film allows us to realize that monsters exist everywhere, even in the most unassuming places and people.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Rambo: Last Blood (2019) in Movies

Sep 19, 2019 (Updated Sep 19, 2019)  
Rambo: Last Blood (2019)
Rambo: Last Blood (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Drama
Savagely, sadistically, but (oddly enough) not entirely gratuitously violent exploitation movie. Hulking war veteran John Rambo has retired to a quiet life in Arizona and all is well, until his innocent young niece is kidnapped by Mexican gangsters, hooked on drugs, and installed in a brothel. Suffice to say Rambo does not respond well to this.

Sounds like a recipe for a bone-headed train-wreck of an action movie, and there are a lot of things about it which are deeply problematic: the depiction of Mexico and Mexicans is highly provocative, it's inherently misogynistic, and some of the violence arguably goes too far. But parts of it have a depth and soulfulness to them that is rather surprising - Rambo himself is a highly ambiguous figure, and the story is competently told with a real sincerity to it. The climax is disappointingly mechanical, but the story holds together and it's always a bit cleverer and more surprising than you're anticipating. A horrible movie, yes, but not a wholly bad one.
  
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Emma Watson recommended The Complete Persepolis in Books (curated)

 
The Complete Persepolis
The Complete Persepolis
Marjane Satrapi | 2003 | Biography, Comics & Graphic Novels
8.8 (5 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"Satrapi grew up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution and its aftermath; Persepolis is the story of her childhood. Through Marji’s youthful (though not-always-innocent) eyes and mind, we see a turbulent moment in history unfold, and we witness the tremendous impact that local and global events and politics can have on even the most intimate moments of personal lives. We experience with Marji her day-to-day dreams and struggles, from family strife to wrestling with religious faith and custom. We’re swept up in her parents’ anxieties and her grandmother’s memories of an utterly different era. And we get a very real sense of what it was like to be a woman in Iran during this intense time of cultural and political transition."

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