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LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword (2017) in Movies
Sep 21, 2020
Pick your poison: ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐๐ช๐ต๐ค๐ฉ ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ meets ๐๐ถ๐ต๐ญ๐ข๐ธ ๐๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, 300: ๐๐ช๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ meets the ๐๐ด๐ด๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฏ'๐ด ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ movie, or ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐จ๐บ๐ฑ๐ต meets ๐๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ (2018) - you decide. Either way they all eventually mesh with ๐๐ฐ๐ค๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ข, too. As stupid and trashy as it needs to be, legit some of the dumbest stuff imaginable lmfao. Pure junky spectacle with jaw-dropping visuals and neurotic editing, felt like somebody laced my drink with crack while I was watching it. God-tier Law performance right here, chews the scenery so much that legend has it his jaw dislocated. Unmistakably Ritchie in areas but unfortunately often sacrifices auteur personality for genre convention (take a shot every time you see a side character you'll remember and you'll end up totally sober - and that stupid joke about the roundtable at the end was puh-thetic). To say this frankly disgraceful excuse of a screenplay is the exact same movie as all of these other edgy historical action-remakes for high school boys would be a severe understatement. Glad it didn't turn too much into jokey blockbuster corn or yet another over-emphasized failed origin story (most of this is wisely cut to montages with like nu-gothic heavy breathing scores lol). In short, the type of movie I'm *shocked* wasn't released in 2003/2004. I feel bad for those who love King Arthur and then saw this movie - but Jude Law cuts off a guy's ear then whispers into it and Charlie Hunnam full-on does the ๐๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต: ๐๐ฆ๐ธ ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฏ angst-run through the woods. So of course I, for one, enjoyed the hell out of it.
The first novel (later broken into 2 parts?) in Raymond e feist's so-called Riftwar saga; this definitely falls under what I term as epic fantasy as it spans more than a decade, and all the political and personal changes that occur during that time of war, complete with ye olde 'person of unknown origin finding their place in the world'.
You know, the way a lot of fatnsy stories do? Think Luke Skywalker, from the back-planet of Tattoine, or Frodo Baggins from Bagend, to name but two.
Rags to riches, basically.
Anyway, perhaps the key protagonist of this is the keep boy Pug, who, over the course of the story - finds himself a native of two worlds - that's where the 'Rift' from Riftwar comes in, as a magical rift in space connects them - during a time of war between those two planes.
He's not the only protagonist; just the main one - there's also his childhood friend Tomas, the princes Arutha and Lyam, the princess Carline, the magician Kulgan - but Pug is, to my mind, the key character, with most of those other characters introduced through their relationship to him.
Others have commented on the writing style employed by Feist - it may seem 'basic', however that in itself is no bad thing (and, remember, this book is now decades old) as Feist gives you just enough information to envisage your own world. A bit more, perhaps, than the thumbnail sketches of Terry Pratchett (incidentally, one of my favourite authors), but nowhere near the level of detail that JRR Tolkien that could make The Lord of The Rings, well, a bit of a slog at times!
You know, the way a lot of fatnsy stories do? Think Luke Skywalker, from the back-planet of Tattoine, or Frodo Baggins from Bagend, to name but two.
Rags to riches, basically.
Anyway, perhaps the key protagonist of this is the keep boy Pug, who, over the course of the story - finds himself a native of two worlds - that's where the 'Rift' from Riftwar comes in, as a magical rift in space connects them - during a time of war between those two planes.
He's not the only protagonist; just the main one - there's also his childhood friend Tomas, the princes Arutha and Lyam, the princess Carline, the magician Kulgan - but Pug is, to my mind, the key character, with most of those other characters introduced through their relationship to him.
Others have commented on the writing style employed by Feist - it may seem 'basic', however that in itself is no bad thing (and, remember, this book is now decades old) as Feist gives you just enough information to envisage your own world. A bit more, perhaps, than the thumbnail sketches of Terry Pratchett (incidentally, one of my favourite authors), but nowhere near the level of detail that JRR Tolkien that could make The Lord of The Rings, well, a bit of a slog at times!
Ross (3282 KP) rated Domino Strays in Books
Sep 3, 2020 (Updated Sep 3, 2020)
Great comic novel
I received an advance copy of this book from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
I have to admit to being a little disappointed when I realised this was an actual novel rather than a graphic novel. It had been filed as a graphic novel on netgalley and I was looking forward to my first reading of a Domino comic. However, once I started this disappointment evaporated. This is a wonderfully told and thrilling, charming book.
The story switches from different times through Domino's life so is very much an origin story. We have when Domino was growing up in a variation of Wolverine's Weapon X programme, as Project Armageddon sought to create the perfect soldier. Domino was one output from that programme, as she developed the mutant ability to have luck on her side. Then we have her time in an orphanage, having escaped the programme. Then her mission to track down the person who might have been responsible for her upbringing and finally her present mission, to rescue two adolescents who have been brainwashed by a cult leader. These different time periods are covered throughout the book, layering up her back story as we follow her on her current mission. This is superbly woven together, and we have almost parallel storylines near the end, her infiltrating Project Armageddon and her sneaking into the cult's base. A few times this got a little muddled in my head, but served to wonderfully draw a parallel between her upbringing and that of the non-mutant, more traditional cult.
Domino is accompanied on her later mission by Black Widow amongst others (the characters' real names are generally used, so it was fun to try and track down which Marvel characters they actually were), but she is very much the leader of her merc crew.
The storyline is good, combining plenty of backstory and exciting missions, with excellently narrated action sequences. I don't tend to like first person books as much as third person, but this angle gave Domino a much more likable personality, having a fair chunk of her friend Deadpool's humour, mixed with Rogue's childhood trauma and Wolverine's anger at experimentation.
As noted in Deadpool 2, having luck on your side isn't a superpower, and it isn't very cinematic. Domino's power is not overly laboured in the book, and it isn't used to make her seen completely invulnerable to injury. She uses it sparingly because luck going her way in a fight (bullets being deflected etc) can have adverse consequences for those around her. It was used when absolutely needed, but she has so many capabilities that she barely did.
This is a really great book that gives so much more backstory to a lesser-known Marvel character than could have been achieved in a graphic novel. A very strong female cast of role models.
The only downside was the overuse of footnotes which didn't tend to add much to the story, other than witty asides, and are quite frustrating on a kindle.
I have to admit to being a little disappointed when I realised this was an actual novel rather than a graphic novel. It had been filed as a graphic novel on netgalley and I was looking forward to my first reading of a Domino comic. However, once I started this disappointment evaporated. This is a wonderfully told and thrilling, charming book.
The story switches from different times through Domino's life so is very much an origin story. We have when Domino was growing up in a variation of Wolverine's Weapon X programme, as Project Armageddon sought to create the perfect soldier. Domino was one output from that programme, as she developed the mutant ability to have luck on her side. Then we have her time in an orphanage, having escaped the programme. Then her mission to track down the person who might have been responsible for her upbringing and finally her present mission, to rescue two adolescents who have been brainwashed by a cult leader. These different time periods are covered throughout the book, layering up her back story as we follow her on her current mission. This is superbly woven together, and we have almost parallel storylines near the end, her infiltrating Project Armageddon and her sneaking into the cult's base. A few times this got a little muddled in my head, but served to wonderfully draw a parallel between her upbringing and that of the non-mutant, more traditional cult.
Domino is accompanied on her later mission by Black Widow amongst others (the characters' real names are generally used, so it was fun to try and track down which Marvel characters they actually were), but she is very much the leader of her merc crew.
The storyline is good, combining plenty of backstory and exciting missions, with excellently narrated action sequences. I don't tend to like first person books as much as third person, but this angle gave Domino a much more likable personality, having a fair chunk of her friend Deadpool's humour, mixed with Rogue's childhood trauma and Wolverine's anger at experimentation.
As noted in Deadpool 2, having luck on your side isn't a superpower, and it isn't very cinematic. Domino's power is not overly laboured in the book, and it isn't used to make her seen completely invulnerable to injury. She uses it sparingly because luck going her way in a fight (bullets being deflected etc) can have adverse consequences for those around her. It was used when absolutely needed, but she has so many capabilities that she barely did.
This is a really great book that gives so much more backstory to a lesser-known Marvel character than could have been achieved in a graphic novel. A very strong female cast of role models.
The only downside was the overuse of footnotes which didn't tend to add much to the story, other than witty asides, and are quite frustrating on a kindle.
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated The Book of Eli (2010) in Movies
Aug 8, 2019
In a post apocalyptic future, a loan man travels the desolate roads on a solitary quest. The man known only as Eli (Denzel Washington), has been travelling west for decades on a mission of faith after receiving what he believes to be a mission of divine origin.
The solitary life of Eli is interrupted now and then by bandits that roam the lands causing death and mayhem to all those unfortunate enough to cross their path.
This often ends very badly for the bandits as Eli is highly skilled at defending himself with all manner of weapons, especially a very large knife.
It is his deadly skills that lands Eli on the radar of as local dictator named Carnegie (Gary Oldman), who desires to add Eli to his army as he plans to restore society under his rule. The town Eli finds himself in is the first in a planned series of towns that Carnegie plans to rule, and a man with the knowledge and skill of Eli is simply too good to let get away.
In an attempt to entice Eli into his service, Carnegie provides Eli with food, water, shelter, and women. When Eli is presented with the lovely Solara (Mila Kunis), he refuses to take advantage of her and instead leads her in a prayer before sharing his food with her.
This kind act touches Solara who recites the mysterious words of the prayer to her mother in an attempt to learn the meaning of what Eli was saying. Carnegie discovers what Eli has said, and learns of a book in Eliโs possession that he has been guarding for many years.
Carnegie is obsessed with obtaining the book as he sees this as the missing piece to his planned empire and will stop at nothing to obtain it.
What follows is a deadly game of cat and mouse as Carnegie and his minions are in hot pursuit of Eli and Solara as the future of humanity rests in the balance.
โThe Book of Eliโ is a winning mix of action and story that cleverly balances the two so that one side never overshadows the other.
The film is driven by the strong performances of Oldman and Washington as well as the simple yet strong message of faith and determination.
Both lead characters have a mystery to them that is never fully explored as the audience is given only what we need to know about each character for the purpose of the story.
The most surprising thing about the film was the strong and inspirational message it contained that may be too strong for some, but to me was not only inspiring but unexpected in a Hollywood film.
In the end, the strong cast, good action, and story makes this a film worth seeing and a pleasant surprise.
The solitary life of Eli is interrupted now and then by bandits that roam the lands causing death and mayhem to all those unfortunate enough to cross their path.
This often ends very badly for the bandits as Eli is highly skilled at defending himself with all manner of weapons, especially a very large knife.
It is his deadly skills that lands Eli on the radar of as local dictator named Carnegie (Gary Oldman), who desires to add Eli to his army as he plans to restore society under his rule. The town Eli finds himself in is the first in a planned series of towns that Carnegie plans to rule, and a man with the knowledge and skill of Eli is simply too good to let get away.
In an attempt to entice Eli into his service, Carnegie provides Eli with food, water, shelter, and women. When Eli is presented with the lovely Solara (Mila Kunis), he refuses to take advantage of her and instead leads her in a prayer before sharing his food with her.
This kind act touches Solara who recites the mysterious words of the prayer to her mother in an attempt to learn the meaning of what Eli was saying. Carnegie discovers what Eli has said, and learns of a book in Eliโs possession that he has been guarding for many years.
Carnegie is obsessed with obtaining the book as he sees this as the missing piece to his planned empire and will stop at nothing to obtain it.
What follows is a deadly game of cat and mouse as Carnegie and his minions are in hot pursuit of Eli and Solara as the future of humanity rests in the balance.
โThe Book of Eliโ is a winning mix of action and story that cleverly balances the two so that one side never overshadows the other.
The film is driven by the strong performances of Oldman and Washington as well as the simple yet strong message of faith and determination.
Both lead characters have a mystery to them that is never fully explored as the audience is given only what we need to know about each character for the purpose of the story.
The most surprising thing about the film was the strong and inspirational message it contained that may be too strong for some, but to me was not only inspiring but unexpected in a Hollywood film.
In the end, the strong cast, good action, and story makes this a film worth seeing and a pleasant surprise.
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Conan the Barbarian (2011) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
Conan.
The name either evokes pictures of half naked body builders, and topless wenches, or a very tall man with red, quaffed hair. Well, hopefully the former is what you are all thinking about, because that is what you are going to get. Nobody goes to a Conan movie for the tall, red haired guy. Right?
Jason Momoa, who is not awful to look at for a couple of hours, plays Conan. Physically, he is much truer to the character in the original source material, than the former governor of California. He also has this interesting gravity that makes you sit up and pay attention. Or maybe that was because he was shirtless for most of the movie.
Conanโs story begins as a baby, who is โbattle bornโ and whose first taste, a familiar narrator states, โis not his motherโs milk, but her blood.โ He is better then many of his villageโs best warrior candidates and joins in a test that ends up being a battle against savages. While the other candidates run back to camp; Conan stay and fights. Not only does he return to the camp having passed the test, but he carries three of the savageโs heads with him. His father (Ron Pearlman) decides it is time to forge a sword and begin to train, with the father imparting sage words like, โYou cannot yield the sword until you understand it.โ
Conanโs training is interrupted by the arrival of Khalar Zym (Stephen Lang), a ruthless warlord who brings death and destruction to Conanโs village. Zymโs on a a quest to to claim the final piece of a mask that will give him control of the magic of Asheron. Conan is left the sole survivor of his Cimmarian people, growing up to become a fierce warrior intent on avenging his fatherโs death. All the while, Zym and his daughter Marique continue on Zymโs quest to become a powerful god, in search of a โpurebloodโ โ the one person whose blood will make the mask work. Inevitably, Zym and Conanโs paths cross again and swordfights ensue.
The best thing about this movie, for me, were the female leads. Rose McGowan as Marique and Rachel Nichols as Tamara (the pureblood) are both warriors. It was also excellent to have Conan acknowledge this in Tamara; even saying, โCimmarian women are warriors, give her the leather and armor.โ We would have never heard 1982โs Conan say anything like this.
Listening to people while leaving the movie I heard grumblings about how the Conan character never really had an origin story. This movie provides that, and because of this it also provides something that the original movies lacked: plot. Not that the plot is very rich, but again, nobody goes to a Conan movie for the story or the plot. Right?
The name either evokes pictures of half naked body builders, and topless wenches, or a very tall man with red, quaffed hair. Well, hopefully the former is what you are all thinking about, because that is what you are going to get. Nobody goes to a Conan movie for the tall, red haired guy. Right?
Jason Momoa, who is not awful to look at for a couple of hours, plays Conan. Physically, he is much truer to the character in the original source material, than the former governor of California. He also has this interesting gravity that makes you sit up and pay attention. Or maybe that was because he was shirtless for most of the movie.
Conanโs story begins as a baby, who is โbattle bornโ and whose first taste, a familiar narrator states, โis not his motherโs milk, but her blood.โ He is better then many of his villageโs best warrior candidates and joins in a test that ends up being a battle against savages. While the other candidates run back to camp; Conan stay and fights. Not only does he return to the camp having passed the test, but he carries three of the savageโs heads with him. His father (Ron Pearlman) decides it is time to forge a sword and begin to train, with the father imparting sage words like, โYou cannot yield the sword until you understand it.โ
Conanโs training is interrupted by the arrival of Khalar Zym (Stephen Lang), a ruthless warlord who brings death and destruction to Conanโs village. Zymโs on a a quest to to claim the final piece of a mask that will give him control of the magic of Asheron. Conan is left the sole survivor of his Cimmarian people, growing up to become a fierce warrior intent on avenging his fatherโs death. All the while, Zym and his daughter Marique continue on Zymโs quest to become a powerful god, in search of a โpurebloodโ โ the one person whose blood will make the mask work. Inevitably, Zym and Conanโs paths cross again and swordfights ensue.
The best thing about this movie, for me, were the female leads. Rose McGowan as Marique and Rachel Nichols as Tamara (the pureblood) are both warriors. It was also excellent to have Conan acknowledge this in Tamara; even saying, โCimmarian women are warriors, give her the leather and armor.โ We would have never heard 1982โs Conan say anything like this.
Listening to people while leaving the movie I heard grumblings about how the Conan character never really had an origin story. This movie provides that, and because of this it also provides something that the original movies lacked: plot. Not that the plot is very rich, but again, nobody goes to a Conan movie for the story or the plot. Right?
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Lightyear (2022) in Movies
Jun 13, 2022
The digital magicians at Pixar have returned with an origin story of one of their most famous characters. โLightyearโ opens with an explanation that Andy from โA Toy Storyโ was given a toy based on his favorite movie in 1995 and that this is the movie upon which the toy was based.
With that explanation out of the way, the film centers on a giant ship deep in space that encounters a planet and awakens Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear (Chris Evans) to investigate. Along with a fellow ranger and a recruit, Buzz scopes out the planet only to discover it is hostile and makes a hasty exit from the planet. Unfortunately, in doing so their ship is damaged and they are left stranded on the planet and forced to establish a colony.
Years later Buzz is about to undergo a test flight based on a new fuel that the colony hopes will replicate their previous source and will allow them to travel at the insane velocities needed to cover millions of light-years.
Things seem to go as planned until a critical failure and Buzz learns that his four-minute flight actually covered several years on the planet. Undaunted Buzz tries again and again and returns to find his friends aging, having children, and passing away with only his robotic cat Sox (Peter Sohn) to keep him connected to his past and assist him.
While this would make for an interesting enough film it is actually just the setup to the larger story which involves a hostile Robot army and an evil menace named Zurg who threatens Buzz and his hastily assembled team of volunteers to save the day.
The film has amazing animation and all the humor and charm that one associates with the best Pixar films and is not above giving the audience an emotional tug here and there along the way as I can remember more than a few Pixar films that caused audiences to tear up.
Since this is the first of the last three Pixar films to make a cinematic release it would be easy to say that it is a return to form for Disney/Pixar but I would say that is an understatement as the film mixes humor, action, and interesting characters to form a very enjoyable and engaging adventure which is one of the most satisfying Pixar films in recent memory and one every bit worthy of their name.
It will be interesting to see what the future holds for this crew as I would very much like to see Buzz and his crew return for new adventures soon as โLightyearโ is a new Pixar classic that the entire family will love.
4.5 stars out of 5
With that explanation out of the way, the film centers on a giant ship deep in space that encounters a planet and awakens Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear (Chris Evans) to investigate. Along with a fellow ranger and a recruit, Buzz scopes out the planet only to discover it is hostile and makes a hasty exit from the planet. Unfortunately, in doing so their ship is damaged and they are left stranded on the planet and forced to establish a colony.
Years later Buzz is about to undergo a test flight based on a new fuel that the colony hopes will replicate their previous source and will allow them to travel at the insane velocities needed to cover millions of light-years.
Things seem to go as planned until a critical failure and Buzz learns that his four-minute flight actually covered several years on the planet. Undaunted Buzz tries again and again and returns to find his friends aging, having children, and passing away with only his robotic cat Sox (Peter Sohn) to keep him connected to his past and assist him.
While this would make for an interesting enough film it is actually just the setup to the larger story which involves a hostile Robot army and an evil menace named Zurg who threatens Buzz and his hastily assembled team of volunteers to save the day.
The film has amazing animation and all the humor and charm that one associates with the best Pixar films and is not above giving the audience an emotional tug here and there along the way as I can remember more than a few Pixar films that caused audiences to tear up.
Since this is the first of the last three Pixar films to make a cinematic release it would be easy to say that it is a return to form for Disney/Pixar but I would say that is an understatement as the film mixes humor, action, and interesting characters to form a very enjoyable and engaging adventure which is one of the most satisfying Pixar films in recent memory and one every bit worthy of their name.
It will be interesting to see what the future holds for this crew as I would very much like to see Buzz and his crew return for new adventures soon as โLightyearโ is a new Pixar classic that the entire family will love.
4.5 stars out of 5
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated The Wolverine (2013) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
In 2009, we were treated to the origin story for one of Marvelโs most beloved characters: The Wolverine. Enthusiasm for the story turned to discord and malcontent for most, but if you had the ability to look past the inadequacies found in most Marvel silver-screen adaptations (as I did), then at least you would have enjoyed seeing the comic come to life.
Here in 2013, Hugh Jackman reprises his role for the 6th time, making his way to Japan to bring about one of the communityโs favorite portions of the mythos: the way of the samurai, Muriko, and the Silver Samurai.
The story opens with the bombing of Nagasaki, and Loganโs survival of the atrocity. He saves a Japanese soldier from suicide, and then from the Atomic Bomb.
Fast forward to the present and we have a broken mountain man that was once Logan (Jackman). He lives in the hills, away from people, because he no longer wants to be a soldier. His immortality has become a curse.
After a rousing row with some local hunters, a representative for Yashida (the aforementioned Japanese soldier) talks Logan into going back to Japan to pay his respects to a dying man.
The story spins away from there on a turbulent ride that is equal parts drama and action.
Letโs get to my thoughts.
โโโโโThe good โโโโโโโ-
The cinematography, script, acting, and editing was top-notch. The sets, costumes, effects, stunts and fight scenes were all pleasurably executed. This was a very well-made movie.
โโโโโ-The bad โโโโโโโโ
The plot holes were too numerous to be anything but amazingly distracting. Without giving too much away, here are just a few:
During a ceremony, in broad day light, on a huge roof, one of the main secondary characters is lurking. With as many people and security, this was HIGHLY implausible. Laughable, at best.
Ninjas are not a real thing, and they never were. They were a fable; a story told without any factual, historical basis, and their presence cheapened the film.
When the A-bomb was dropped, those who survived the actual explosion still died to the radiation within a certain range. There is no way Yashida would have survived Nagasaki the way the event was portrayed in the film.
At some point, Wolverine loses his ability to heal. Itโs never clear if his regenerative powers are fully gone or just suppressed, but he canโt heal well enough to stop bleeding. With this in mind, his survival of so many shots to the body is extremely questionable.
On that same note: if he canโt heal, how did the holes made by the blades extruding from his hands heal up? After every scene in which the blades come out, his hands remain free of blood or marks.
Wolverine was clearly killing people with his claws, which I liked, but there should have been far more limb and torso severing, given how sharp his adamantium blades are and how overwhelmingly strong he is supposed to be.
The Wolverine character has an unmatched sense of smell, but it was never used in the movie, not even once. The opportunity presented itself multiple times.
These are just a few examples, and there were many more jarring discrepancies. There were so many that it detracted from the movie in an unforgivable way. Even this was totally separate from the comic-to-silver-screen transition, for which those remarks are better left to someone more learned in the comic realm.
The part I enjoyed the most came during the last 30 seconds of the film, as part of the credits. It sets up a future film. Enjoy.
All in all, The Wolverine was great. That said, if you have a critical eye, like myself, you will find many faults.
Here in 2013, Hugh Jackman reprises his role for the 6th time, making his way to Japan to bring about one of the communityโs favorite portions of the mythos: the way of the samurai, Muriko, and the Silver Samurai.
The story opens with the bombing of Nagasaki, and Loganโs survival of the atrocity. He saves a Japanese soldier from suicide, and then from the Atomic Bomb.
Fast forward to the present and we have a broken mountain man that was once Logan (Jackman). He lives in the hills, away from people, because he no longer wants to be a soldier. His immortality has become a curse.
After a rousing row with some local hunters, a representative for Yashida (the aforementioned Japanese soldier) talks Logan into going back to Japan to pay his respects to a dying man.
The story spins away from there on a turbulent ride that is equal parts drama and action.
Letโs get to my thoughts.
โโโโโThe good โโโโโโโ-
The cinematography, script, acting, and editing was top-notch. The sets, costumes, effects, stunts and fight scenes were all pleasurably executed. This was a very well-made movie.
โโโโโ-The bad โโโโโโโโ
The plot holes were too numerous to be anything but amazingly distracting. Without giving too much away, here are just a few:
During a ceremony, in broad day light, on a huge roof, one of the main secondary characters is lurking. With as many people and security, this was HIGHLY implausible. Laughable, at best.
Ninjas are not a real thing, and they never were. They were a fable; a story told without any factual, historical basis, and their presence cheapened the film.
When the A-bomb was dropped, those who survived the actual explosion still died to the radiation within a certain range. There is no way Yashida would have survived Nagasaki the way the event was portrayed in the film.
At some point, Wolverine loses his ability to heal. Itโs never clear if his regenerative powers are fully gone or just suppressed, but he canโt heal well enough to stop bleeding. With this in mind, his survival of so many shots to the body is extremely questionable.
On that same note: if he canโt heal, how did the holes made by the blades extruding from his hands heal up? After every scene in which the blades come out, his hands remain free of blood or marks.
Wolverine was clearly killing people with his claws, which I liked, but there should have been far more limb and torso severing, given how sharp his adamantium blades are and how overwhelmingly strong he is supposed to be.
The Wolverine character has an unmatched sense of smell, but it was never used in the movie, not even once. The opportunity presented itself multiple times.
These are just a few examples, and there were many more jarring discrepancies. There were so many that it detracted from the movie in an unforgivable way. Even this was totally separate from the comic-to-silver-screen transition, for which those remarks are better left to someone more learned in the comic realm.
The part I enjoyed the most came during the last 30 seconds of the film, as part of the credits. It sets up a future film. Enjoy.
All in all, The Wolverine was great. That said, if you have a critical eye, like myself, you will find many faults.
Caffeinated Fae (464 KP) rated Queen of Hearts in Books
Jul 9, 2019
It's dark, twisty, and sure to keep you entertained.
I have wanted to read Queen of Hearts ever since I knew of its existence. When I saw that Colleen Oakes was going to be at Denver Pop Culture Con, I knew now was the time to finally pick up my dusty book and give it a read. I was already reading a physical book, so I opted to listen to the book instead and spent an audible credit on Queen of Hearts. The narrator was genuinely excellent and brought the book to life.
Something that I loved about this book was that we got to read an origin story for the Queen of Hearts. I liked that I sympathized with her and genuinely cared about her as well. It was a strange experience to care for the villain of Alice in Wonderland. The characters were well done though at times I found Dinah a little too whiney. I would have loved for her to pick up on some of the clues she received as well.
Something else that didn't sit right with me was how dark the book was. I knew that this was going to be dark, but I didn't expect it to be so dark that it would make me shudder at moments. Queen of Hearts is not for the faint of heart, and at times it verged into more of the horror genre.
Even though it was a little too horror-y to me, I enjoyed the book. The twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat. This will be the perfect book for teens and adults who want to get a feel for the horror genre without jumping into the pool. It's dark, twisty, and sure to keep you entertained.
Something that I loved about this book was that we got to read an origin story for the Queen of Hearts. I liked that I sympathized with her and genuinely cared about her as well. It was a strange experience to care for the villain of Alice in Wonderland. The characters were well done though at times I found Dinah a little too whiney. I would have loved for her to pick up on some of the clues she received as well.
Something else that didn't sit right with me was how dark the book was. I knew that this was going to be dark, but I didn't expect it to be so dark that it would make me shudder at moments. Queen of Hearts is not for the faint of heart, and at times it verged into more of the horror genre.
Even though it was a little too horror-y to me, I enjoyed the book. The twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat. This will be the perfect book for teens and adults who want to get a feel for the horror genre without jumping into the pool. It's dark, twisty, and sure to keep you entertained.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Alpha (2018) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
The origin of man's best friend, a heart warming story with some epic visuals.
I was slightly distracted for a while because my brain went "Keda's dad looks like Zod." Sorry if I've just distracted you with that too... you're welcome.
Somehow I managed to see an audio described release of this by accident and I was intrigued. As well as the films own subtitles you have all the sound commentary. I was struck by the fact that more than once they used the word "wince", which is visual, as an audio cue. He "winced in pain". Well yes he did wince, but you could see that, it should surely have said "cries with pain" or something similar?
Part of me is very glad that I didn't end up seeing this in 3D as I'd originally planned. On more than one occasion during the film I had to look away from the screen as I was getting dizzy or feeling slightly nauseous. So probably not one to see on the big screen if you have issues with motion sickness.
As I said at the beginning the visuals are amazing, and there are no obvious signs of the necessary digital intervention. It's a smooth film all the way through, nothing out of place. There's a snippet in the trailer where you see Keda tossed into the air by a buffalo, the extended version of this in the film is probably the best bit for me. It gave me that tense physical reaction to see larger than life, and thankfully didn't set off the vertigo! That all being said though, it's still just a pleasant film that goes where you expect it to.
I was slightly distracted for a while because my brain went "Keda's dad looks like Zod." Sorry if I've just distracted you with that too... you're welcome.
Somehow I managed to see an audio described release of this by accident and I was intrigued. As well as the films own subtitles you have all the sound commentary. I was struck by the fact that more than once they used the word "wince", which is visual, as an audio cue. He "winced in pain". Well yes he did wince, but you could see that, it should surely have said "cries with pain" or something similar?
Part of me is very glad that I didn't end up seeing this in 3D as I'd originally planned. On more than one occasion during the film I had to look away from the screen as I was getting dizzy or feeling slightly nauseous. So probably not one to see on the big screen if you have issues with motion sickness.
As I said at the beginning the visuals are amazing, and there are no obvious signs of the necessary digital intervention. It's a smooth film all the way through, nothing out of place. There's a snippet in the trailer where you see Keda tossed into the air by a buffalo, the extended version of this in the film is probably the best bit for me. It gave me that tense physical reaction to see larger than life, and thankfully didn't set off the vertigo! That all being said though, it's still just a pleasant film that goes where you expect it to.
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Joker (2019) in Movies
Oct 10, 2019
Why so serious?
This is the first film in a long time that I've come out of feeling very divided, and it's taken a rather lengthy internal debate on the way home to figure out how I really feel about it.
This starts off slow, very slow and I was worried that I was going to get very bored very quickly. However Joaquin Phoenix's performance is phenomenal and although he is disturbingly thin for this, he's brilliant to watch, even considering the subject matter. If it wasn't for the Gotham setting and mention of the Wayne's, this wouldn't feel like a DC superhero/villain film and this is my main criticism. I love how dark and gritty Joker is and that this is mainly a study about mental health, but I do wish it had a little more in it to tie it to it's source material. Even just a nod to his most well known origin story as seen in some of the other films would've made this even better. I've heard a lot of people say this is uncomfortable viewing, but I didnt see that myself. It's just a stark portrayal of mental health and it does very well in this respect. The violence is sparse yet fits well - I didn't think it was overdone or excessive. And the final act with the talk show and ending was sheer brilliance and really brought Joker towards the character we know and love. It's this final part that sold this film for me, and I'm interested to see how they fit this into the rest of the DC universe, and if we start seeing more superhero films that are much darker and realistic. This is definitely a good example to follow!
This starts off slow, very slow and I was worried that I was going to get very bored very quickly. However Joaquin Phoenix's performance is phenomenal and although he is disturbingly thin for this, he's brilliant to watch, even considering the subject matter. If it wasn't for the Gotham setting and mention of the Wayne's, this wouldn't feel like a DC superhero/villain film and this is my main criticism. I love how dark and gritty Joker is and that this is mainly a study about mental health, but I do wish it had a little more in it to tie it to it's source material. Even just a nod to his most well known origin story as seen in some of the other films would've made this even better. I've heard a lot of people say this is uncomfortable viewing, but I didnt see that myself. It's just a stark portrayal of mental health and it does very well in this respect. The violence is sparse yet fits well - I didn't think it was overdone or excessive. And the final act with the talk show and ending was sheer brilliance and really brought Joker towards the character we know and love. It's this final part that sold this film for me, and I'm interested to see how they fit this into the rest of the DC universe, and if we start seeing more superhero films that are much darker and realistic. This is definitely a good example to follow!