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The Circle (2017)
The Circle (2017)
2017 | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Totally watchable. Before 2020 this would have played as a cockamamie exercise in "in-what-universe-would-this-actually-happen-?" filmmaking (and believe me this still pushes it), but after the anti-mask protests and general shrugging off of the coronavirus pandemic I'd now believe you stupid mfs would do *anything*. I'm not saying this is all brainless - there are some really sturdy ideas in here that aren't all executed terribly. The way it portrays big ticket corporations sliding their hands into every pocket they can find by way of offering up a "likable mascot" rather than a "founder" (played perfectly by Hanks as a clear riff on [a more likable and somehow less disingenuous] Steve Jobs - but what a waste of a perfectly good Oswalt) and "quotable quips" rather than "talking points" so they don't even have to attempt to hide it is sound. The scene where Hanks straightup manipulates Watson's bland cypher *on* stage to the point of tracking down live human beings to an adoring crowd is horrifying - but this is all still rather diluted, clunky, and bizarre in translation from the book. Looks phenomenal though, and is a notable return to form for Danny Elfman (in general every piece of music here slaps). Fine dumb fun imo, cheesy and laughable but not without some wit. But as a final defense - speaking as someone who has spent months in these cliquey millennial tech circles - the fact that no one acts like a live human being here would be way too on the nose if holy mother of God did they not actually act like this. The extended segment of those two overbearing recruiter types indirectly-but-very-directly pushing that "optional" and "extracurricular" really means "mandatory" is pure nightmare fuel because I have been in those situations - in spades - firsthand irl. Moments like that save this still moment-to-moment entertaining diet pulp when it actively refuses to explore anything else it offers up. Doesn't really have enough oomf but still miles better than your average "Black Mirror" episode.
  
We All Fall Down
We All Fall Down
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
...**THIS IS A GOVERNMENT ALERT**IF YOU EXHIBIT SYMPTOMS, STAY IN YOUR HOMES**PLEASE REMAIN CALM AND DO NOT ATTEMPT THE RESCUE OF OTHERS**THIS IS A GOVERNMENT ALERT**IF YOU EXHIBIT SYMPTOMS, STAY IN YOUR HOMES**PLEASE REMAIN CALM AND DO NOT ATTEMPT THE RESCUE OF OTHERS**THIS IS A GOVERNMENT ALERT**...
IT STARTS WITH ONE PATIENT
A woman is dying in an Italian hospital, coughing up blood, convulsing and barely conscious.
BEFORE IT SPREADS TO THE TOWN
Dr Alana Vaughn, an expert from NATO, confirms everyone’s worst fears: the woman has the highly infectious disease that swept through Europe eight hundred years ago. The Black Death.
AND TAKES THE CITY
The sickness is spreading so quickly that soon the outbreak becomes a global pandemic. Markets crash and governments fall as quickly as the citizens they govern.
THEN THE COUNTRY
As panic takes hold and the death toll climbs, the consequences become horrifically clear – Alana must discover a way to stop the disease or it will be the end of us all.
THEN THE WORLD - AND WE ALL FALL DOWN.

The book is fast paced and had me on the edge of my seat wondering if Alana, Nico, Byron and company were going to be able to get to the bottom of who unleashed the plague and when or if they could get it under control.
The book was well written with believable and interesting characters.
I really liked the medical aspect of the book and how the scientists and doctors react to a dormant disease suddenly becoming active all over again and with them struggling to cope with the lack of vaccines available and also the consideration of the disease used as a bio-weapon was really interesting.
This is scary to think, could biological terrorism really happen, how fast can viruses spread and how safe are we?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author.
Highly Recommend reading!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this e-book ARC to read and review. I enjoyed this so much that I intend to seek out the other books written by this author.
  
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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Home At Last in Books

Mar 9, 2021  
Home At Last
Home At Last
Ruth Pearson | 2020 | Religion
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Ruth Pearson wrote Home at Last during the pandemic for those who have felt discouraged and afraid about the future. Suggesting Covid-19 could be a sign of the Second Coming, Pearson focused on three questions to prepare the reader for such an event. 1. How important is God in your life? 2. Do you have a personal relationship with God? 3. Where are you planning to spend eternity?

Using examples from the Bible, Pearson explores the idea of a journey of faith. Several characters in the Bible went on journeys that brought them closer to God. Pearson uses the Parable of the Prodigal Son to explain the notion of "coming home" to God. Readers may have drifted away from the creator, but He will welcome them back with open arms. The story of Ruth and Naomi explores faith, and the story of Joshua and Rahab features truth, about which Pearson also writes.

Whilst the ideas in the book are worth pursuing, the written narrative is poor. Pearson is either more confident verbalising her thoughts, or the English language is not her strong point. Frequent spelling and grammatical errors make the book difficult to read, and it is hard to follow the author's thought process.

Pearson claims she wrote the entire book in 48 hours, and I believe her. Although some editing must have occurred, it needs a lot more work to make it a successful seller. It appears the author tried to conclude the narrative several times but thought of more to say. Chapter Nine ends by informing the reader that the next chapter is the last. Chapter Ten concludes the book, only for the reader to turn the page to find another chapter headed "Conclusion".

It is a great shame the quality of writing lets the book down because the ideas could potentially help many new and old Christians. Although she does not reveal her denomination, Pearson's beliefs suggest she is a Seventh-Day Adventist and emphasises the Second Coming. Some readers may be uncomfortable with this, but Pearson's ideas are suitable for all types of Christians.
  
Minari (2020)
Minari (2020)
2020 | Drama
7
8.7 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Pleasant Enough
With it’s 6 Oscar nominations (including nominations for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor), the drama MINARI has become a touchstone of films with Asian (or Asian-American) roots.

And…it is worthy of these accolades - and this place in history - for MINARI is a warm-hearted, loving look at a Korean-American family trying to make it’s way in the world in 1980’s Arkansas.

Written and Directed in Oscar Nominated fashion (for both categories), Lee Isaac Chung presents a realistic American family looking to forge a new living while still remaining true to their cultural roots.

Steve Yeun (THE WALKING DEAD) is Oscar nominated for his lead role of Jacob, who moves his family to Arkansas in the hopes to start a farm that specializes in Korean food. Yeun’s performance is earnest and sincere and I am happy for him that this performance is nominated. The rest of the family unit is strong - with the stand out being Yuh-Jung Youn as the Grandmother. She brings the most interesting and nuanced character to the screen and I wouldn’t be surprised if she pulls the upset and wins the Oscar for Supporting Actress. Finally, veteran character Actor Will Patton is a spark of energy as a local who helps Jacob on the farm.

And…that, ultimately, is the problem with this film. Writer/Director Chung spends most of his time creating the atmosphere and the characters, He fails to realize that there really is no compelling event to drive the plot forward. It’s a “fine” slice-of-life film and one that is enjoyable to watch with a strong, charismatic cast, but nothing really happens and that, finally, is a problem.

This is most certainly a deserving Oscar nominated film - especially in these pandemic times - with big budget Blockbuster films pushed to the sidelines, this type of quiet film is thrust to the forefront - and good for them and I’m glad that the spotlight is shining on this film. I just wish there was more plot and a more compelling reason to watch this film.

Letter Grade: B

7 stars (out of 10) and you can take this to the Bank(ofMarquis)
  
    Hoax

    Hoax

    Brian Stelter

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    Book

    While other leaders were marshaling resources to combat the greatest pandemic in modern history,...

The Wolves of Winter
The Wolves of Winter
Tyrell Johnson | 2018 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I keep doing this. Reading books about pandemics during a pandemic, and then scaring the living daylights out of myself. Thank goodness I’d read Justin Cronin’s The Passage trilogy pre-Covid, because that would really have had me battening down the hatches!

This is about a different flu-like virus, but the mortality rate is far higher than Covid. And then nuclear bombs are also involved, so it’s a pretty full-on start to this remarkable book.

The sensible people move north. In this case, they move to the Yukon, where the virus is less virulent and people can hunt and trap their food. Lynn McBride lives here with what’s left of her family. They’ve carved out a life for themselves and live in relative safety in the barren, white landscape. But they can’t keep everyone away, and soothe outside world starts to encroach in the form of a loner called Jax, and a frankly scary group of people who are intent on seeing the end of the virus, no matter the human cost.

I loved the descriptions of the landscape - I do tend to love a book set in frozen landscapes (Arctic, Antarctic, just somewhere plain cold!), which is odd really, because I can’t think of a worse place to live. It’s a morbid fascination, I suppose. And the descriptions in this book of the cold, the landscape and the difficulties of living there are so evocative. People surviving against the odds always a winning theme.

It wasn’t until I sat down to write this, that I found out that the book was YA. Honestly, it hadn’t even crossed my mind. Ok, there’s no sex, but in my opinion it just seemed too cold anyway 🤷🏼‍♀️. The main protagonist is in her late teens, and there is a sexual assault and some shooting/ bloodshed. There’s a very cute dog though (also a winning formula for me).

So if you’re feeling brave and like a post-apocalyptic story, you may well fancy reading this. I do wonder if there will be a follow up, because I’d love to know what happens after the final page (it does seem open to that). I’d definitely read it!
  
Kimi (2022)
Kimi (2022)
2022 | Thriller
6
5.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Better-Than-Average, but nothing more
Oscar winning Director Steven Soderbergh (TRAFFIC) could rightfully be called the current “Master of Suspense” as most of his films fall into the “Psychological Drama” category - and his latest HBO MAX film, KIMI, is a perfectly ordinary entry in his catalogue.

Starring Zoe Kravitz (BIG LITTLE LIES) in the titular role, KIMI follows an agoraphobic tech worker, in the middle of global pandemic, who thinks she might have stumbled upon a crime.

Written by veteran Screenwriter David Koepp (the OG SPIDERMAN, starring Tobey Maguire), KIMI is a better-than-average thriller with a better-than-average lead performance by Kravitz and Directed in better-than-average style by Soderbergh.

Which makes this film entertaining, somewhat interesting but nothing special.

The plot twists and turns enough that keeps you guessing, but never falls into over-the-top “you got to be kidding me” territory or something of true suspense while the performance of Kravitz is good (enough) to hold your attention without falling prey to gimmickry/tricks/twitches. It is a solid “B” performance but not better (or worse).

A highlight for me was the appearance of Robin Givens (the former Mrs. Mike Tyson) as Kravitz’/Kimi’s mother. It was good to see her get some work. On the other hand, this is counter-balanced by the horrible performance of Rita Wilson (the current Mrs. Tom Hanks) as a shady Corporate-type who does everything by twirl her mustache in her single appearance on screen.

Add on top of this some fairly pedestrian Direction by Soderbergh and you have a serviceable, passable, “good enough” film that is, mercifully, only an hour and a 1/2 long. It is one of those rare films that I wondered when it ended that if they added another 1/2 hour to this film - and added some depth to the characters (especially the villians) perhaps this would have been a better film.

But, instead, we get a pleasant (enough) diversion.

Letter Grade: B-

6 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
  
Contagion (2011)
Contagion (2011)
2011 | Drama
A couple of years ago, news and health agencies the world over were concerned about a possible pandemic stemming from bird flu and swine flu. Thankfully like SARS a few years earlier, the outbreaks were rather small thanks to a wealth of precautionary information and measures. In the new film “Contagion” director Steven Soderbergh paints a frighteningly realistic look at a worldwide pandemic that spread without warning, and its devastating aftermath.

When businesswoman Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow), returns from a business trip to Hong Kong with what appears to be a simple case of the flu, her husband Mitch (Matt Damon), figures it’s nothing to be overly concerned about. When Beth all of a sudden begins to convulse and later dies unexpectedly, doctors are at a loss to explain what happened.

Over the next few days, more and more people become sick and die including Mitch’s young stepson, which gets the national and international disease control organizations working overtime to try to trace, identify and treat this mysterious ailment that sweeping the globe. Dr. Ellis Cheever (Laurence Fishburne) leads the investigation in the United States and calls in Dr. Erin Mears (Kate Winslet), to track who may have come into contact with Beth upon her return to the Minneapolis. The World Health Organization sends Dr. Leonora Orantes (Marion Cotillard) to Hong Kong trace possible origins.

As the first week passes more and more people become sick worldwide, cities start fighting a losing battle against frenzy and panic. In time the virus is identified but due to its unique nature, finding a vaccine and producing it can take several months with thousands of lives lost with each passing day. With chaos breaking loose and the bodies piling up, the authorities find themselves unable to deal with the threat they are facing and go to extreme measures such as closing the state borders to try to contain the spread of the virus.

Adding to the confusion is a freelance blogger named Alan (Jude Law), who has amassed a large audience with his conspiracy claims that there are indeed cures available for the mysterious virus. He contends the government elite and the pharmaceutical companies are exploiting the situation in order to milk maximum profit from the inevitable release of a vaccine.

The film deftly moves around the world showing the victims, scientists and investigators and how the crisis is affecting them. It also shows how quickly society can break down as scene after shocking scene of chaos and devastation are introduced juxtaposed with the number of days since the outbreak of the virus.

Soderbergh keeps you on the edge of your seat and doesn’t give you a moment’s rest. Characters are introduced and given just enough of a back story so that you understand their place in the film. Most heartbreaking is Matt Damon’s role as a father who’s left watching over his only remaining child, going to great measures to keep her safe while also dealing with the death of his wife and the unfolding secret of the last days of her life.

There is truly an impressive array of stars in the film, some of whom play brief but significant parts in the overall story. However, the movie’s strength is also its weakness in that with so many primary characters,there were some diverging storylines that did not get fully fleshed out.

While “Contagion” is not the first film to deal with viral outbreak, it is perhaps the most realistic as it doesn’t resort to any Hollywood standards such as car chases, explosions, starcrossed lovers and so on to tell its story. Instead it focuses on stark, somber scenarios and the struggles of each character is very easy to relate to.

Kudos has to be given to many of the stars of the film for their understated but pitch perfect work in very unglamorous roles. Their subtle & poignant acting underscore the dire situations that their characters find themselves in. It was refreshing to see leading men and women looking quite ordinary and letting the story carry the picture rather than focusing on one individual to save the day.

All throughout the film I found myself captivated and never once did I lose interest in the scenarios or characters nor did I find anything in the film impossible to believe. The film doesn’t go overboard on pointing fingers instead it gives an honest and unflinching look at a scenario that we can only hope will never happen. But as the film points out, viral outbreaks have occurred all throughout history. Hardly an encouraging message, but thanks to the stellar cast and gripping subject matter “Contagion” is a film you will not want to miss.