Search
Search results
Lee (2222 KP) rated Men in Black International (2019) in Movies
Jun 16, 2019
A complete waste of time
Aside from Avengers Endgame, 2019 is shaping up to be pretty disappointing when it comes to blockbuster movies. Godzilla received a bit of a panning from the critics (although I personally quite liked it), then Dark Phoenix took an even bigger hit in the reviews, which I completely agree with. And now we have a sequel that nobody asked for, to a movie which has already had a couple of fairly average sequels, which has also received a wave of early bad reviews this week. To be honest, the trailer for Men In Black International certainly looked a bit....meh. A bunch of random stuff happening, no real indication of any plot, some annoying looking CGI aliens and an attempt to just coast off the back of having Thor and Valkyrie reunited on screen. I still remember how memorable the original trailer for the 1997 MIB movie was when it featured in cinemas - the shades, the guns, the aliens, the massive flying saucer crash landing in front of a cool looking Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. This trailer had none of that wow factor, but I went in, hopeful as always that the reviews were wrong.
The movie begins in 2016, with Agent H (Chris Hemsworth) and High T (Liam Neeson) as they ascend the Eiffel Tower, interrupting a man who is about to propose to his partner, before saving the world from an incoming alien race called The Hive. Then we jump back 20 years into the past to a family who are disturbed one night by a cute little alien in their back garden. As the young daughter, Molly, hides the alien in her bedroom, she looks out of her window to see her parents as they are neuralysed by a couple of Men in Black.
Back in present day, Molly (Tessa Thompson) is now all grown up, but hasn't forgotten that eventful night. While working in a call centre, she uses her computer to connect to satellite equipment in order to track alien landings and therefore try and gain access to the Men in Black, and hopefully get a job with them. Eventually finding her way into their headquarters, she is recruited by Agent O (Emma Thompson) and sent on her first mission, where she partners up with Agent H. The pair get caught up in a mission involving an assassinated alien VIP and some kind of super weapon. And, as the title of the movie suggests, plenty of international travel, as we switch between New York, London, Paris and Marrakesh.
The problem is, whereas the original Men in Black boasted a lot of humour, along with some great visual gags and action and a great double act, in the form of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, this movie does nothing to successfully recapture any of that. As much as I love Chris Hemsworth, I felt that he was the worst thing about this movie. Somebody simply thought they'd take the character of Thor and try to have that for the entire movie, but without making him funny, heroic or even that likeable in the process. As with Dark Phoenix recently, a great cast is let down by an awful script, with any attempts at humour or entertainment falling completely flat.
Elsewhere, the fun and wacky inventiveness behind the different alien species in the original movie is completely absent here. Apart from some interesting and formidable twin villains, there's a fairly wasted role for Rebecca Ferguson as a three armed ex lover of Agent H. Otherwise, the main alien throughout the movie is just an annoying little CGI character.
To be fair, there are a couple of fun action sequences and some nice visuals, but overall this is just a completely forgettable and unnecessary movie. Here's hoping that Toy Story 4 will finally bring us a worthy blockbuster when it opens later this week.
The movie begins in 2016, with Agent H (Chris Hemsworth) and High T (Liam Neeson) as they ascend the Eiffel Tower, interrupting a man who is about to propose to his partner, before saving the world from an incoming alien race called The Hive. Then we jump back 20 years into the past to a family who are disturbed one night by a cute little alien in their back garden. As the young daughter, Molly, hides the alien in her bedroom, she looks out of her window to see her parents as they are neuralysed by a couple of Men in Black.
Back in present day, Molly (Tessa Thompson) is now all grown up, but hasn't forgotten that eventful night. While working in a call centre, she uses her computer to connect to satellite equipment in order to track alien landings and therefore try and gain access to the Men in Black, and hopefully get a job with them. Eventually finding her way into their headquarters, she is recruited by Agent O (Emma Thompson) and sent on her first mission, where she partners up with Agent H. The pair get caught up in a mission involving an assassinated alien VIP and some kind of super weapon. And, as the title of the movie suggests, plenty of international travel, as we switch between New York, London, Paris and Marrakesh.
The problem is, whereas the original Men in Black boasted a lot of humour, along with some great visual gags and action and a great double act, in the form of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, this movie does nothing to successfully recapture any of that. As much as I love Chris Hemsworth, I felt that he was the worst thing about this movie. Somebody simply thought they'd take the character of Thor and try to have that for the entire movie, but without making him funny, heroic or even that likeable in the process. As with Dark Phoenix recently, a great cast is let down by an awful script, with any attempts at humour or entertainment falling completely flat.
Elsewhere, the fun and wacky inventiveness behind the different alien species in the original movie is completely absent here. Apart from some interesting and formidable twin villains, there's a fairly wasted role for Rebecca Ferguson as a three armed ex lover of Agent H. Otherwise, the main alien throughout the movie is just an annoying little CGI character.
To be fair, there are a couple of fun action sequences and some nice visuals, but overall this is just a completely forgettable and unnecessary movie. Here's hoping that Toy Story 4 will finally bring us a worthy blockbuster when it opens later this week.
Asiza Tait (139 KP) rated Where'd You Go, Bernadette? in Books
Feb 1, 2018
4.9 Stars out of 5
Bream Reading Club met tonight to review Where’d You Go Bernadette? By Maria Semple.
We all agreed that it is a brilliant book, thought provoking, satirical, profound and very well written. One thing we didn’t like was the cover of the book! It gave the impression that the target audience were those who love ‘chick lit’ or something trivial – something the book very well is not. We all agreed that we would not have picked it up if given the choice. In this case it was me who took a gamble and reserved the book and thankfully I hit upon a gem.
The book touches on many themes, the main one in our view being destruction and reconstitution. The 20 Mile House was the beginning of the destruction, of a house and a life, and it didn’t end until rebuilding truly began at the end of the book.
We saw the dilapidated state of the house at Straight Gate as a mirror for Bernadette herself. The house was barely liveable, certain areas were completely barricaded off because of being so hazardous and Bernadette’s tactics to get by in the house were the same type of skills she was using to get by in life. Ultimately the house would come down, and so does Bernadette, as only in that way can rebuilding begin.
The relationship between Bernadette and her neighbour Audrey is at once comedic and sad and perhaps even stereotypical of the super involved PTA mum not getting on with parents who are not as involved, no matter what their reasons may be. Audrey’s character is obnoxious at best but she does redeem herself and the reading club imagined that Bernadette and Audrey may get along quite well after the change in both their perspectives.
Coming to the relationship between Bernadette and Elgie (her husband) is a show of how a marriage falls apart when partners do not communicate with each other. Bernadette leans on ‘Manjula’ the virtual assistant to get normal life done and keeps it from Elgie as she knows he will only get mad about it. We found her behaviour to be reasonable considering what she had been through and was still going through. She clearly had depression, anxiety and was hiding away from life in general, especially being in trailer a great deal of the time. The only one who really understood her was Bee her daughter.
A moment in the book that irritated us badly was Elgie giving in and sleeping with this assistant. Yes, he was vulnerable and she was hero worshipping him and almost stalking him, but that is still a poor excuse and we labelled him weak willed. We also thought that perhaps in a small way he was getting back at Bernadette over her lying to him about ‘Manjula’ and exposing their identities and finances to a stranger, who in reality was not a virtual assistant but Russian criminals were posing as such.
The most steadfast relationship is between Bernadette and Bee. No matter what happens Bee with her astonishing level of maturity sees things for what they are and she is committed to Bernadette’s cause. She appears to be in denial about her mother’s disappearance but in reality she is the one who knows more than the adults.
The trip to Antarctica is where much of the hurt and miscommunication is finally resolved. Bee asks her father what the difference is between Manjula and Samantha 2 (his huge Microsoft project) which helps him to see that Bernadette’s transgression isn’t as unforgiveable as he thinks. During the trip Bee and her father’s relationships is mended, and Elgie himself finally sees hope in finding Bernadette and gives himself completely to it. Bee’s belief is completely vindicated. The happy ending is especially poignant because in Bee’s searching for her mother, Bernadette has had the time to find herself.
Bream Reading Club met tonight to review Where’d You Go Bernadette? By Maria Semple.
We all agreed that it is a brilliant book, thought provoking, satirical, profound and very well written. One thing we didn’t like was the cover of the book! It gave the impression that the target audience were those who love ‘chick lit’ or something trivial – something the book very well is not. We all agreed that we would not have picked it up if given the choice. In this case it was me who took a gamble and reserved the book and thankfully I hit upon a gem.
The book touches on many themes, the main one in our view being destruction and reconstitution. The 20 Mile House was the beginning of the destruction, of a house and a life, and it didn’t end until rebuilding truly began at the end of the book.
We saw the dilapidated state of the house at Straight Gate as a mirror for Bernadette herself. The house was barely liveable, certain areas were completely barricaded off because of being so hazardous and Bernadette’s tactics to get by in the house were the same type of skills she was using to get by in life. Ultimately the house would come down, and so does Bernadette, as only in that way can rebuilding begin.
The relationship between Bernadette and her neighbour Audrey is at once comedic and sad and perhaps even stereotypical of the super involved PTA mum not getting on with parents who are not as involved, no matter what their reasons may be. Audrey’s character is obnoxious at best but she does redeem herself and the reading club imagined that Bernadette and Audrey may get along quite well after the change in both their perspectives.
Coming to the relationship between Bernadette and Elgie (her husband) is a show of how a marriage falls apart when partners do not communicate with each other. Bernadette leans on ‘Manjula’ the virtual assistant to get normal life done and keeps it from Elgie as she knows he will only get mad about it. We found her behaviour to be reasonable considering what she had been through and was still going through. She clearly had depression, anxiety and was hiding away from life in general, especially being in trailer a great deal of the time. The only one who really understood her was Bee her daughter.
A moment in the book that irritated us badly was Elgie giving in and sleeping with this assistant. Yes, he was vulnerable and she was hero worshipping him and almost stalking him, but that is still a poor excuse and we labelled him weak willed. We also thought that perhaps in a small way he was getting back at Bernadette over her lying to him about ‘Manjula’ and exposing their identities and finances to a stranger, who in reality was not a virtual assistant but Russian criminals were posing as such.
The most steadfast relationship is between Bernadette and Bee. No matter what happens Bee with her astonishing level of maturity sees things for what they are and she is committed to Bernadette’s cause. She appears to be in denial about her mother’s disappearance but in reality she is the one who knows more than the adults.
The trip to Antarctica is where much of the hurt and miscommunication is finally resolved. Bee asks her father what the difference is between Manjula and Samantha 2 (his huge Microsoft project) which helps him to see that Bernadette’s transgression isn’t as unforgiveable as he thinks. During the trip Bee and her father’s relationships is mended, and Elgie himself finally sees hope in finding Bernadette and gives himself completely to it. Bee’s belief is completely vindicated. The happy ending is especially poignant because in Bee’s searching for her mother, Bernadette has had the time to find herself.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Animators in Books
Feb 13, 2018
Sharon Kisses (yep, that's her real name) and Mel Vaught meet in college in upstate New York. Sharon is a reserved, talented girl from a rural Kentucky town. Mel is a out, tough, lesbian from Florida -- all bravado hiding a softer interior. The two form a fast friendship, bonding quickly over their art and their family histories: both come from dysfunctional families who have formed the girls into what they are today. Mel and Sharon pour this into their art, and they become talented animation partners, with their first movie showing a raw, truthful look at Mel's childhood and her mother, a rough woman who ended up in jail. The two are on the cusp of success -- tours, awards, artistic grants. But success comes with an edge: Mel starts drinking and turning to drugs, while Sharon doubts herself and her role in this brilliant duo. Suddenly, however, none of that matters when tragedy strikes the pair, and everything they've known changes in an instant.
This book is insane and amazing. I honestly had no idea what it was about when I started to read it; I surely had read the ARC blurb when I chose it, but had forgotten by the time I began, and the cover art seems to indicate a light-hearted tale about movies and animation. It is not. This is a powerful, gut-wrenching novel that will drag you into its story and characters and eventually spit you out, exhilarated and exhausted. There was so much about this novel I loved and related to: the fast friendship of two girls in college; an actual lead lesbian character (but whose lesbianism wasn't her only defining aspect - how refreshing); Sharon and her doubts and insecurities - the way she feels as if she's disappearing into herself in her thirties; the way Whitaker so easily captured growing up in a rural town (Sharon's Kentucky hometown)... I immediately identified with both characters, although Sharon is our protagonist, and the one telling us our story.
I won't lie to you: this book will make you feel uncomfortable. It's not a fun read, or really even a pleasant one. It's not a "feel good novel." It hurts--physically hurts--to read this book. Some of the novel is uneven, and it jumps around a bit. This is Whitaker's first novel, and I think she's only going to get more amazing as she goes, because you can look past this, and see so much power and force in this book. It's raw. It's the story of a friendship, and it's told so beautifully that you are completely drawn into Mel and Sharon's world. When you read this book, there is really nothing else going on in your life but this novel. Mel and Sharon are real, you love them, and you can see them in your mind. (I saw Mel as Kate McKinnon, despite the references to Lori Petty.) The storyline, for me, was unexpected, and, as I said, jumped a bit, but it worked. I had one issue with the end (a bit of a cliche about straight/lesbian friendship, but I won't go into it much, for spoiler reasons), but otherwise, found this novel to be energetic and forceful. It's dark, it's an ode to art and friendship and life, it's deep - I really have no words. It will take you to an exposed place inside of yourself, but you'll be glad it did.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley (thank you!) in return for an unbiased review; it is available everywhere as of 1/31/2017.
This book is insane and amazing. I honestly had no idea what it was about when I started to read it; I surely had read the ARC blurb when I chose it, but had forgotten by the time I began, and the cover art seems to indicate a light-hearted tale about movies and animation. It is not. This is a powerful, gut-wrenching novel that will drag you into its story and characters and eventually spit you out, exhilarated and exhausted. There was so much about this novel I loved and related to: the fast friendship of two girls in college; an actual lead lesbian character (but whose lesbianism wasn't her only defining aspect - how refreshing); Sharon and her doubts and insecurities - the way she feels as if she's disappearing into herself in her thirties; the way Whitaker so easily captured growing up in a rural town (Sharon's Kentucky hometown)... I immediately identified with both characters, although Sharon is our protagonist, and the one telling us our story.
I won't lie to you: this book will make you feel uncomfortable. It's not a fun read, or really even a pleasant one. It's not a "feel good novel." It hurts--physically hurts--to read this book. Some of the novel is uneven, and it jumps around a bit. This is Whitaker's first novel, and I think she's only going to get more amazing as she goes, because you can look past this, and see so much power and force in this book. It's raw. It's the story of a friendship, and it's told so beautifully that you are completely drawn into Mel and Sharon's world. When you read this book, there is really nothing else going on in your life but this novel. Mel and Sharon are real, you love them, and you can see them in your mind. (I saw Mel as Kate McKinnon, despite the references to Lori Petty.) The storyline, for me, was unexpected, and, as I said, jumped a bit, but it worked. I had one issue with the end (a bit of a cliche about straight/lesbian friendship, but I won't go into it much, for spoiler reasons), but otherwise, found this novel to be energetic and forceful. It's dark, it's an ode to art and friendship and life, it's deep - I really have no words. It will take you to an exposed place inside of yourself, but you'll be glad it did.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley (thank you!) in return for an unbiased review; it is available everywhere as of 1/31/2017.
Jordan Binkerd (567 KP) rated All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1) in Books
Aug 8, 2019 (Updated Aug 9, 2019)
Hilariously cynical and sarcastic narrator (2 more)
Bleak and dystopian universe
Complex characters and worldbuilding
An excellent novella
Meet Murderbot. Nobody else calls it that, of course - to most of the stupid humans it has to interact with, it’s just the security unit that the company made them bring along as part of the contract to safeguard the investment. But whereas most SecUnits are slaves to the central AI running whatever shoddy equipment the company sent along, Murderbot (as it thinks of itself) has hacked its own governor unit and can ignore whatever orders it wants, freeing it to stand around listlessly guarding stupid humans from dangers that are mostly non-existant as long as nobody does anything too moronic, devoting most of its energy to watching the terrabytes of serials that it downloaded from the entertainment feed last time they made contact. When things start to go wrong, initially it seems like just business as usual - life is cheap, and the contract for this equipment all went to the lowest bidder. But as incidents start to pile up, even Murderbot has to admit someone is trying to kill its humans. Even worse? Murderbot seems to have accidentally started to care about them…. Crap. It’s going to have to actually put in some effort this time around, isn’t it?
To put it simply, this is the best book I’ve read in quite a while. The entire thing is narrated by the extremely sarcastic, introverted, and misanthropic Murderbot, which makes for maybe the most engaging narrator since Harry Dresden. Don’t believe me? Read the first several pages on TOR's website. You know that thing with Charles Dickens where everything would be terribly depressing without his tongue-in-cheek style to bring the humor, rendering it impossible to abridge? No? I’m the only one to notice that? Oh well, moving on. This is like that - a dystopian wasteland of a society that is expanding across the cosmos using crappy low-budget equipment that’s liable to stop working on you when you most need it - to the point where it takes multiple incidents before the protagonists conclude that this isn’t business as usual. There’s also the moral ambiguity of the slavery-in-all-but-name of the Constructs that form the backbone of the labor force - sentient, at least without the governor unit, but forced to follow every whim of the humans they’re assigned to, even if those humans get bored and force them into gladiatorial combat or some such. These Constructs are described as androids, but are more accurately clone-based cyborgs fitted out for whatever task they’ll be doomed to for their term of service; part mechanical hardware, part expendable and easily-regrown meat, genderless and sexless unless designated for….that. And Murderbot? Murderbot just wants to be left alone, yet is a surprisingly deep and compelling character with a tragic backstory and motivations that are deceptively noble given its internal dialogue. Even its self-given name deserves a second look by the end of the book. I cannot recommend this book enough. And it’s a short read, clocking in at right about a hundred and fifty pages, technically more of a novella than a full-fledged novel. Now I just have to wait for whoever has the second book checked out from the library to give it back….
CONTENT: Some violence, not too gruesomely described. Some sexual references, including offhand mentions that some of the characters are in relationships that would be far outside the norm today (one character is said to have three romantic partners waiting together at home for them, for example). Murderbot also makes disparaging references to pleasurebots, but nothing explicit. Occasional R-rated profanity, but not too gratuitous.
To put it simply, this is the best book I’ve read in quite a while. The entire thing is narrated by the extremely sarcastic, introverted, and misanthropic Murderbot, which makes for maybe the most engaging narrator since Harry Dresden. Don’t believe me? Read the first several pages on TOR's website. You know that thing with Charles Dickens where everything would be terribly depressing without his tongue-in-cheek style to bring the humor, rendering it impossible to abridge? No? I’m the only one to notice that? Oh well, moving on. This is like that - a dystopian wasteland of a society that is expanding across the cosmos using crappy low-budget equipment that’s liable to stop working on you when you most need it - to the point where it takes multiple incidents before the protagonists conclude that this isn’t business as usual. There’s also the moral ambiguity of the slavery-in-all-but-name of the Constructs that form the backbone of the labor force - sentient, at least without the governor unit, but forced to follow every whim of the humans they’re assigned to, even if those humans get bored and force them into gladiatorial combat or some such. These Constructs are described as androids, but are more accurately clone-based cyborgs fitted out for whatever task they’ll be doomed to for their term of service; part mechanical hardware, part expendable and easily-regrown meat, genderless and sexless unless designated for….that. And Murderbot? Murderbot just wants to be left alone, yet is a surprisingly deep and compelling character with a tragic backstory and motivations that are deceptively noble given its internal dialogue. Even its self-given name deserves a second look by the end of the book. I cannot recommend this book enough. And it’s a short read, clocking in at right about a hundred and fifty pages, technically more of a novella than a full-fledged novel. Now I just have to wait for whoever has the second book checked out from the library to give it back….
CONTENT: Some violence, not too gruesomely described. Some sexual references, including offhand mentions that some of the characters are in relationships that would be far outside the norm today (one character is said to have three romantic partners waiting together at home for them, for example). Murderbot also makes disparaging references to pleasurebots, but nothing explicit. Occasional R-rated profanity, but not too gratuitous.
Darren (1599 KP) rated The Night Sitter (2019) in Movies
Jul 25, 2019
Story: The Night Sitter starts when a con-artist Amber (Dufour) poses as a babysitter for her latest job, she finds a wealthy occult enthusiast child Kevin (Champion) to babysit for the night, along with his father’s new girlfriend son Ronnie (Campbell).
With Amber setting up her plan with her partners in crime Rod (Rivers), Lindsey (Neukum) and her over-protective stalker who thinks he is her boyfriend Martin (Larmore), the boys enter the relic room and unwittingly release three witches upon the household.
Thoughts on The Night Sitter
Characters – Amber is a con-artist that poses as a babysitter for her latest job, she has the experience to trick the adult into believing she is qualified for the job and keeps the kids occupied enough to prepare for her robbery. She remains calm however many obstacles get thrown in her way including her partner bring his girlfriend, her stalker boyfriend and obsessed man from across the road. Kevin is the son from the house, he isn’t willing to get overly involved in searching around the house, he doesn’t want to be friends with Ronnie and spends time trying to prove the witches are real. Rod is the criminal partner, he brings his girlfriend on the latest job which shows him being a slacker when it comes to the jobs. Lindsey is the girlfriend of Rod’s she comes dressed like a cat burglar getting into the role of criminal thief, willing to get involved in everything going on.
Performances – Elyse Dufour in the leading role is the strongest of the cast, she shows the calm required while keeping her character in control through the night. Jack Champion is the young actor playing one of the children, he brings the nervous innocence needed for this film. Jermain Rivers does get a lot of the comedy to do with his character being the dumb one in the criminal act. Each actor does give their character enough to be a standout.
Story – The story here follows a con-artist working on her latest job which turns into a nightmare when three witches are released into the house searching for their latest victims. This is a story with plenty going on, in other films this hasn’t worked, for this one it does, the kids are troublesome like you would imagine, the criminal characters bring the laughs, which has moments that feel like we are watching the Home Alone thieves and once we add the witches into the mix, everything ties together effortlessly. If you have seen Annabelle Comes Home, you can see certain similarities, though this movie was made first before anyone thinks I am calling it a copy, having the household needing to deal with hauntings from a secret room, shows that this could be compared.
Comedy/Horror – The comedy in the film comes from criminals for the most part, with them not having everything going to plan, the horror comes from witches that have started to haunt the members of the household for the night.
Settings – The film is set in the one location of the house that has the occult material inside, they become trapped which plays into the idea of what the horror is coming for them.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are great, we get to see the blood covered moments that the witches put on their victims.
Scene of the Movie – Heading down to the basement.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Martin the character, mostly because he changes through the whole film, starting nervous, turning into the ass by the end.
Final Thoughts – This is a fun horror comedy that will get a couple of laughs, while giving us the blood needing for the witches getting the blood needed.
Overall: Three Witches, One Solution, Enjoy.
With Amber setting up her plan with her partners in crime Rod (Rivers), Lindsey (Neukum) and her over-protective stalker who thinks he is her boyfriend Martin (Larmore), the boys enter the relic room and unwittingly release three witches upon the household.
Thoughts on The Night Sitter
Characters – Amber is a con-artist that poses as a babysitter for her latest job, she has the experience to trick the adult into believing she is qualified for the job and keeps the kids occupied enough to prepare for her robbery. She remains calm however many obstacles get thrown in her way including her partner bring his girlfriend, her stalker boyfriend and obsessed man from across the road. Kevin is the son from the house, he isn’t willing to get overly involved in searching around the house, he doesn’t want to be friends with Ronnie and spends time trying to prove the witches are real. Rod is the criminal partner, he brings his girlfriend on the latest job which shows him being a slacker when it comes to the jobs. Lindsey is the girlfriend of Rod’s she comes dressed like a cat burglar getting into the role of criminal thief, willing to get involved in everything going on.
Performances – Elyse Dufour in the leading role is the strongest of the cast, she shows the calm required while keeping her character in control through the night. Jack Champion is the young actor playing one of the children, he brings the nervous innocence needed for this film. Jermain Rivers does get a lot of the comedy to do with his character being the dumb one in the criminal act. Each actor does give their character enough to be a standout.
Story – The story here follows a con-artist working on her latest job which turns into a nightmare when three witches are released into the house searching for their latest victims. This is a story with plenty going on, in other films this hasn’t worked, for this one it does, the kids are troublesome like you would imagine, the criminal characters bring the laughs, which has moments that feel like we are watching the Home Alone thieves and once we add the witches into the mix, everything ties together effortlessly. If you have seen Annabelle Comes Home, you can see certain similarities, though this movie was made first before anyone thinks I am calling it a copy, having the household needing to deal with hauntings from a secret room, shows that this could be compared.
Comedy/Horror – The comedy in the film comes from criminals for the most part, with them not having everything going to plan, the horror comes from witches that have started to haunt the members of the household for the night.
Settings – The film is set in the one location of the house that has the occult material inside, they become trapped which plays into the idea of what the horror is coming for them.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are great, we get to see the blood covered moments that the witches put on their victims.
Scene of the Movie – Heading down to the basement.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Martin the character, mostly because he changes through the whole film, starting nervous, turning into the ass by the end.
Final Thoughts – This is a fun horror comedy that will get a couple of laughs, while giving us the blood needing for the witches getting the blood needed.
Overall: Three Witches, One Solution, Enjoy.
Lee (2222 KP) rated Military Wives (2020) in Movies
Mar 9, 2020
Based on true events, Military Wives tells the story of how the very first military wives charity group came to be formed. That initial group was soon followed by more Military Wives groups, with some of the earlier ones even starring in 2011 BBC reality show 'The Choir', led by Gareth Malone. The Military Wives choirs have continued to grow since then and now comprise of 2000 women, located at over 70 military bases around the world, producing hit singles and albums as they go from strength to strength. The movie is directed by Peter Cattaneo, who directed The Full Monty, and the trailer really does have that traditional feel-good British comedy vibe which we seem to churn out year after year in an attempt to be "this years Full Monty". I wasn't sure if this was going to be for me, but after I found myself thoroughly enjoying Fisherman's Friends last year, I went in with an open mind.
At a UK army base, soldiers are preparing to leave for another tour in Afghanistan. As they say goodbye, we're given a chance to be introduced to the wives and families who will remain in the houses located on the base while the soldiers are away. Straight away, we get real insight into the lives of these women - trying to maintain some kind of normality, while constantly living in fear of the phone call or the knock at the door that might come at any time and turn their lives upside down. The women all vary in their experience of army life - from young, newly married wives to wives who are old hands at moving from base to base and country to country, coping without their husband for long periods of time.
Kate (Kristin Scott Thomas) is married to the regiment's colonel and assumes that she is therefore superior to all the other women on the base - jumping the queue in the small on-site grocery store and generally looking down her nose at the others. Lisa (Sharon Horgan) is much more laid back than Kate, happy to just go with the flow. She has been charged with pastoral care for the wives while their partners are away, and is more than happy just to organise the odd coffee morning or a few glasses of wine rather than anything more productive and engaging for the group. With her husband away, and having to deal with a past tragedy that we learn more about as the story unfolds, Kate decides to try and poke her nose in and organise Lisa and the other wives. Consequently, Kate and Lisa clash... regularly.
After unsuccessfully trying out knitting as a suggested activity, one of the wives suggests singing. Unfortunately though, none of the women appear to be very good at singing and the bickering between Kate and Lisa doesn't really help improve them either. While Kate reads up on vocal warm-ups and learning how to conduct a choir, Lisa digs out her old electronic keyboard and is happy just to have the group try and sing along to a few old pop songs.
Military Wives does manage to follow that traditional Full Monty template I described earlier - with a mismatched bunch of inexperienced singers who eventually manage to get it together enough to be able to perform their own song at the Royal Albert Hall. However, I did feel that the emotion and the drama surrounding these women, who could lose their husband/wife at any moment, really brought something different to the movie, something which I don't feel the trailer accurately portrays. The comedy and the feel-good factor that these trailers like to put across was a lot more subtle, and as a result I enjoyed it far more than I was expecting to.
At a UK army base, soldiers are preparing to leave for another tour in Afghanistan. As they say goodbye, we're given a chance to be introduced to the wives and families who will remain in the houses located on the base while the soldiers are away. Straight away, we get real insight into the lives of these women - trying to maintain some kind of normality, while constantly living in fear of the phone call or the knock at the door that might come at any time and turn their lives upside down. The women all vary in their experience of army life - from young, newly married wives to wives who are old hands at moving from base to base and country to country, coping without their husband for long periods of time.
Kate (Kristin Scott Thomas) is married to the regiment's colonel and assumes that she is therefore superior to all the other women on the base - jumping the queue in the small on-site grocery store and generally looking down her nose at the others. Lisa (Sharon Horgan) is much more laid back than Kate, happy to just go with the flow. She has been charged with pastoral care for the wives while their partners are away, and is more than happy just to organise the odd coffee morning or a few glasses of wine rather than anything more productive and engaging for the group. With her husband away, and having to deal with a past tragedy that we learn more about as the story unfolds, Kate decides to try and poke her nose in and organise Lisa and the other wives. Consequently, Kate and Lisa clash... regularly.
After unsuccessfully trying out knitting as a suggested activity, one of the wives suggests singing. Unfortunately though, none of the women appear to be very good at singing and the bickering between Kate and Lisa doesn't really help improve them either. While Kate reads up on vocal warm-ups and learning how to conduct a choir, Lisa digs out her old electronic keyboard and is happy just to have the group try and sing along to a few old pop songs.
Military Wives does manage to follow that traditional Full Monty template I described earlier - with a mismatched bunch of inexperienced singers who eventually manage to get it together enough to be able to perform their own song at the Royal Albert Hall. However, I did feel that the emotion and the drama surrounding these women, who could lose their husband/wife at any moment, really brought something different to the movie, something which I don't feel the trailer accurately portrays. The comedy and the feel-good factor that these trailers like to put across was a lot more subtle, and as a result I enjoyed it far more than I was expecting to.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Triple 9 (2016) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
A crew of bank robbers is strong-armed by the Russian mob to pull off a near impossible heist due the response time of the police. In order to create a larger window, the dirty cops of this crew suggest creating a 999 (police code for “officer down.”) on the other side of town. That is the basic plot of Triple 9. Yet, the tagline for this film is, “The Code on the street is never black and white.” Seems like a different movie which is part of the letdown of Triple 9. It doesn’t know what it wants to be. Is it a heist movie like Heat or The Town? Or is it trying to be a movie about the cops and the rules of the streets like Training Day?
In the beginning, the film sets its self-up to be a smart and stylistic heist film. However shortly after it begins to feel disjointed as it attempts to develop everyone in its ensemble cast to the point where it hurts the story and some excellent performances become forgettable. It’s a shame because somewhere in this film is potentially two excellent separate films. One film about a crew having to complete a heist for the mob to save their lives and loved ones, and another about dirty cops, their partners and the moral ambiguity of the code on the streets. In Triple 9, these two premises never really get developed on one side or the other and thus everything is just left there.
On the heist side, Chiwetel Ejiofor plays ex-mercenary Michael Atwood. Michael is the careful and calculating leader of the crew, but is tied to the Russian mafia through the mother of his son. Michael is constantly being coerced by the Russian Mob Boss, played by Kate Winslet. The two give stellar performances, most notably Winslet who is cold and ruthless in wielding her power, speaking her mind and not caring how the job gets done as long as it gets done.
On the cop side, Anthony Mackie plays dirty police detective Marcus Belmont who becomes partnered with the ex-marine turned rookie detective Chris Allen (Casey Affleck). Belmont feels that the rookie doesn’t respect the streets and his “Do-gooder” “make a difference” attitude is going to get him killed. When Belmont’s heist crewmate Jorge Rodriguez (Clifton Collins Jr.) learns Chris is also the nephew of the Sergeant Detective (Woody Harrelson) investigating the heist crew, Chris becomes the clear candidate to be set up for the Triple 9. (Convenient huh)
Ultimately, as the story plays out it feels we are always arriving at the end of the meeting to plan the coming events. From the planning of the heist, to the set up murder, and to the exit plan, we are just carried through the motions without much motivation of how or why things have to play out the way they do. As a result, I didn’t really care for any of the characters good or bad, unlike other films of this nature. Even Ejiofor’s character Michael, who has his child involved, doesn’t get the opportunity to really show why the rest of the crew respects him and follows him, or why he needs to stay alive for his son, who basically seems better off being taken care of by the Russian mob.
In the end Triple 9 is not a bad movie, it just isn’t really a great one either. It has strong performances by the entire cast and has the makings of something great, but fails to deliver on that opportunity with a disjointed story trying to focus on too many characters. This makes it ultimately forgettable compared to other heist films of similar nature.
In the beginning, the film sets its self-up to be a smart and stylistic heist film. However shortly after it begins to feel disjointed as it attempts to develop everyone in its ensemble cast to the point where it hurts the story and some excellent performances become forgettable. It’s a shame because somewhere in this film is potentially two excellent separate films. One film about a crew having to complete a heist for the mob to save their lives and loved ones, and another about dirty cops, their partners and the moral ambiguity of the code on the streets. In Triple 9, these two premises never really get developed on one side or the other and thus everything is just left there.
On the heist side, Chiwetel Ejiofor plays ex-mercenary Michael Atwood. Michael is the careful and calculating leader of the crew, but is tied to the Russian mafia through the mother of his son. Michael is constantly being coerced by the Russian Mob Boss, played by Kate Winslet. The two give stellar performances, most notably Winslet who is cold and ruthless in wielding her power, speaking her mind and not caring how the job gets done as long as it gets done.
On the cop side, Anthony Mackie plays dirty police detective Marcus Belmont who becomes partnered with the ex-marine turned rookie detective Chris Allen (Casey Affleck). Belmont feels that the rookie doesn’t respect the streets and his “Do-gooder” “make a difference” attitude is going to get him killed. When Belmont’s heist crewmate Jorge Rodriguez (Clifton Collins Jr.) learns Chris is also the nephew of the Sergeant Detective (Woody Harrelson) investigating the heist crew, Chris becomes the clear candidate to be set up for the Triple 9. (Convenient huh)
Ultimately, as the story plays out it feels we are always arriving at the end of the meeting to plan the coming events. From the planning of the heist, to the set up murder, and to the exit plan, we are just carried through the motions without much motivation of how or why things have to play out the way they do. As a result, I didn’t really care for any of the characters good or bad, unlike other films of this nature. Even Ejiofor’s character Michael, who has his child involved, doesn’t get the opportunity to really show why the rest of the crew respects him and follows him, or why he needs to stay alive for his son, who basically seems better off being taken care of by the Russian mob.
In the end Triple 9 is not a bad movie, it just isn’t really a great one either. It has strong performances by the entire cast and has the makings of something great, but fails to deliver on that opportunity with a disjointed story trying to focus on too many characters. This makes it ultimately forgettable compared to other heist films of similar nature.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Parker (2013) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
So I, being the girl that I am, wasn’t exactly keyed up to go and see a “shoot-em up” style action flick — you know, the kind that Jason Statham excels at? My boyfriend, however, is like most red-blooded men and found this movie right up his alley. Perhaps it was due to the fact I “owed” him from cashing in my chick-flick points and making him watch “the Painted Veil” with me the other day; perhaps it was because my choice of Redbox rentals had been rather lackluster in comparison. Either way, he was looking forward the the prospect of this movie review far more than I.
“Parker” starts off in Ohio where Jason Statham’s character (Parker) is working a job with four other men. The job seems to go off without a hitch until the end when Parker discovers an innocent man died in the process, thus starting “beef” between he and one of his partners. The apparent boss of the crooks then asks Parker to join them in another job, requiring him to give up his share of the loot to contribute to the upcoming job. Parker politely declines and, of course, this doesn’t sit too well with the crooks. As predicted, they then turn on him and Parker is left for dead on the side of the road.
As we know, Jason Statham’s characters are indestructible. I mean, this was covered in both “Crank” movies so the audience should be well-versed in how this goes down, right? Of course, Parker survives and thus starts on a path of revenge. Mob bosses are involved, hits are put out, etc. Regardless, his journey takes him to Palm Springs where the four crooks who betrayed him are preparing for their next big job.
Now, you’re probably wondering where Jennifer Lopez is in all of this (yes, JLo has a part in this movie – I know, I feel your pain too). Given that her last decent flick was “the Cell” and “Selena,” I wasn’t expecting too much from her character. As Parker is making his way down to Palm Springs, the movie then focuses on JLo’s character, a depressed and rather broken divorcee living with her mother and desperate for a commission from her job as a real-estate agent. Cue in Parker, dressed as a wealthy Texan, and looking to buy a home in Palm Springs. Of course we see JLo checking him out and basically throwing herself at him because, well, that’s what all us desperate women do, right? We throw ourselves at rich men when times are hard without taking much else into consideration (like, say the cop – who comes across as a decent guy – who wants nothing else but to date her. But hey, he’s not Jason Statham, right? Pfft!). Regardless, JLo finds a way to weasel herself into helping Parker’s character and thwarting the four thieves who betrayed Parker. Luckily for all of us, JLo advances are shut down and we don’t have to fall witness to another “Gigli”.
Is the movie some amazing cinematic masterpiece? Absolutely not. Are Parker’s flashbacks cheesy and annoying? Of course. But we are talking about an action flick and one that doesn’t disappoint in lots of blood, gun fights, knifing action, and Jason Statham being an overall badass.
Will your girlfriend love this movie? Probably not. Will you, you red-blooded hunk of testosterone, love this movie? Probably. It is, after all, geared towards your sex. And, just in case the blood and fights don’t do it for you, there are more than enough exposed breasts throughout the film keep your interest piqued.
So if you’re looking for a good revenge-style action flick, this one is decent enough. It won’t win any awards, but it won’t leave your poor girlfriend screaming for the hills either. JLo’s performance, however, that’s just inexcusible….
“Parker” starts off in Ohio where Jason Statham’s character (Parker) is working a job with four other men. The job seems to go off without a hitch until the end when Parker discovers an innocent man died in the process, thus starting “beef” between he and one of his partners. The apparent boss of the crooks then asks Parker to join them in another job, requiring him to give up his share of the loot to contribute to the upcoming job. Parker politely declines and, of course, this doesn’t sit too well with the crooks. As predicted, they then turn on him and Parker is left for dead on the side of the road.
As we know, Jason Statham’s characters are indestructible. I mean, this was covered in both “Crank” movies so the audience should be well-versed in how this goes down, right? Of course, Parker survives and thus starts on a path of revenge. Mob bosses are involved, hits are put out, etc. Regardless, his journey takes him to Palm Springs where the four crooks who betrayed him are preparing for their next big job.
Now, you’re probably wondering where Jennifer Lopez is in all of this (yes, JLo has a part in this movie – I know, I feel your pain too). Given that her last decent flick was “the Cell” and “Selena,” I wasn’t expecting too much from her character. As Parker is making his way down to Palm Springs, the movie then focuses on JLo’s character, a depressed and rather broken divorcee living with her mother and desperate for a commission from her job as a real-estate agent. Cue in Parker, dressed as a wealthy Texan, and looking to buy a home in Palm Springs. Of course we see JLo checking him out and basically throwing herself at him because, well, that’s what all us desperate women do, right? We throw ourselves at rich men when times are hard without taking much else into consideration (like, say the cop – who comes across as a decent guy – who wants nothing else but to date her. But hey, he’s not Jason Statham, right? Pfft!). Regardless, JLo finds a way to weasel herself into helping Parker’s character and thwarting the four thieves who betrayed Parker. Luckily for all of us, JLo advances are shut down and we don’t have to fall witness to another “Gigli”.
Is the movie some amazing cinematic masterpiece? Absolutely not. Are Parker’s flashbacks cheesy and annoying? Of course. But we are talking about an action flick and one that doesn’t disappoint in lots of blood, gun fights, knifing action, and Jason Statham being an overall badass.
Will your girlfriend love this movie? Probably not. Will you, you red-blooded hunk of testosterone, love this movie? Probably. It is, after all, geared towards your sex. And, just in case the blood and fights don’t do it for you, there are more than enough exposed breasts throughout the film keep your interest piqued.
So if you’re looking for a good revenge-style action flick, this one is decent enough. It won’t win any awards, but it won’t leave your poor girlfriend screaming for the hills either. JLo’s performance, however, that’s just inexcusible….
HappyFresh
Shopping and Lifestyle
App
HappyFresh is the Number 1 Online Store for Grocery Deliveries in the Southeast Asian Area! Order...
babylon: online doctor
Medical and Health & Fitness
App
HEALTHCARE FROM ANYWHERE babylon is a personalised healthcare service that gives you access to...