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Before the Fall
Before the Fall
Noah Hawley | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
6
8.4 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
For more reviews please visit https://bbookinspector.wordpress.com

This book was on my Kindle for quite a while, and after reading another book about a plane crash, I thought to finally finish this one as well. Unfortunately, it did not impress me.

The book starts with seven passengers and three crew members boarding the plane. After eighteen minutes, the plane crashes into the water, where only Scott Burroughs and Millionaire’s four-year-old son, JJ, survives. The base of this book is the life stories of all the people who boarded the plane, entangled with the present story of Scott. I really liked the stories of the passenger’s lives, I think they were intriguing and it gave a great understanding of the characters and the reasons why they were on that plane. However, I found Scott’s present story quite boring, and I couldn’t wait for it to be over.

The narrative of this book was flowing pretty smoothly, I didn’t find any strong turns or twists in this story and it kind of just plodded along. I really liked the insight into flight crew people’s lives, and what challenges they are facing. It was really intriguing to me. The narrative was told from different perspectives and I think that was really necessary for this novel, it gave better insight into different characters, and made it a little bit less of a yawner for me, as a reader.

The writing style of this novel is easy to read, and the language used was not difficult. The chapters quite long, but they were divided into smaller subchapters, so it did not drag. The ending of this book concluded the whole story nicely, and it was quite unexpected. However there are some unanswered questions left and I would like to know, what happened to the security personnel. So, to conclude, there were some parts which I really liked, but overall I wasn’t very impressed with this book. But it is just my humble opinion, so please, do give it a try, and I hope you will enjoy it.
Was given this book by publisher and NetGalley for an honest review.
  
Plane (2023)
Plane (2023)
2023 | Action
8
7.3 (8 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Brodie Torrance (Gerard Butler), is a recently widowed dad who looks
forward to completing his nearly empty run from Singapore to Tokyo so he
can take advantage of the time difference and meet up with his daughter in
Hawaii in time to celebrate the new year.

In the new film “Plane” things do not go as planned as the nearly empty
the flight also hosts a prisoner transfer as a dangerous fugitive named Louis
(Mike Colter), is brought onto the flight late.

Forced by a corporate officer to fly through a storm they were told would
be clear by the time they reached it to save time and fuel, the flight
encounters severe issues and soon find themselves without avionics and
forced to make an emergency landing on an island.

Unable to send for help and unsure of their exact location, Brodie learns
that they are on an outer island of the Philippines and that there is only
insurrectionists and militia on the island and that the military or police
are not options.

While attempting to find a way to contact help, Brodie enlists Louis to
help and soon finds that the passengers and crew have been taking hostage
by a brutal local militia. Forced to improvise rescue and wait for
help, the tense and violent situation quickly becomes a living nightmare
as they fight to survive.

The tension level of the film is great as the early segments in the plane
did a great job of showing the routine of a pilot and also ramped up the
tension. I can be a nervous passenger when a plane gets into bad weather
and I found my palms getting sweaty and anxiety creeping in during the
detailed sequences of the flight in peril.

The action of the film was engaging as were the characters as they were
easy to pull for despite not having much in the way of backstory or
character development. The film has plenty of action as was engaging from
start to finish which makes “Plane” a pleasant diversion and one fan of
Butler will not want to miss.

4 stars out of 5
  
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BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) in Movies

Jan 10, 2019 (Updated Jan 10, 2019)  
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
2018 | Comedy, Drama, Western
A winning anthology
I am NOT a Coen Brothers apologist. For every good/great film that they have made (like FARGO, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN or underrated THE HUDSUCKER PROXY) there are duds/movies that didn't work for me (like O' BROTHER WHER ART THOU, INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS and the movie I ranked as the worst film of 2016, HAIL, CAESAR). So when I heard that the latest Coen Brothers flick was going straight to Netflix AND (like HAIL, CAESAR), it was a film anthology of 6 short stories, I dragged my feet in checking this out.

But...I am glad I finally got around to it...for THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS is a strong film, taking on a heavy subject (death) in a variety of ways - light-hearted, poignant and deadly (pun intended) serious. The tone of this film - or, more accurately, these 6 short films - worked for me and I felt they wove together very well to tell an overarching story of man's relationship with death - as seen through the eyes of Wild, Wild West characters.

And what characters they are! From Tim Blake Nelson's titular character, Buster Scruggs, to James Franco's hapless (but lucky) Outlaw to Liam Neeson's traveling theatrical show to Tom Waite's grizzled prospector to Zoe Kazan's lonesome Prairie Widow to the group of passengers on the Stagecoach in the last vignette, all are interesting to watch, and listen to.

Credit, of course, needs to go to Joel and Ethan Cohen. These characters are interesting to watch, because these two put wonderful scenes and scenery up on the screen with dialogue (or lack of dialogue) that perfectly reflects what is going on and what the characters are feeling. In my opinion, the Coen Brothers are at their best when they focus on gritty subjects with poignancy (BARTON FINK) but fail when they try to get "wacky" or "over-serious" (BURN AFTER READING, A SERIOUS MAN), this film is full of the former and has very little of the latter.

I'm sure, like all Coen Brothers films, that this anthology of short films is not for everyone - and not every film will work for everyone - but they did for me. I thought each short film was the better than the one before it. I caught the vibe of what the Coen's were after and I fell under their spell.

Letter Grade: A-

8 stars out of 10 and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)