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Lee (2222 KP) rated American Made (2017) in Movies
Aug 31, 2017
A fun, entertaining movie
Anytime I mention to my family that I'm going to see a Tom Cruise movie, they roll their eyes and take the piss. The words 'man crush' are used, and I just take it on the chin (sometimes). The truth is though, many of my favourite movies are Tom Cruise movies. I'm not a fan of his earlier stuff (my wife is the complete opposite), but I pretty much love anything after his Vanilla Sky/Magnolia days. And he's clearly a hell of a nice guy outside of the movies too, despite what anything thinks about his religious beliefs. But then he went and made The Mummy earlier this year - a serious dip in Cruise quality. Can American Made be the movie to get him back on track?
It certainly is an idea role for Cruise. Based on a true story, Cruise plays Barry Seal. Top pilot for TWA and bored of the same old routine day in, day out. When his co-pilot and passengers are all asleep during a flight, he relieves the monotony by faking some heavy turbulence in order to wake them all up, but it's not enough. So, when he's approached by CIA agent Schafer (Domhnall Gleeson) to work for them, flying exciting reconnaissance missions over South America, he jumps at the chance. And then during a refueling stop in Colombia, Seal is recruited by Pablo Escobar's drug cartel, who offer to pay him $2000 for each kilo of cocaine he can carry from Columbia to Louisiana. Then he begins flying guns from Arkansas to Nicaragua while still continuing the drugs runs. Seal finds himself with more money than he can spend, burying bags of it in his backyard and piling it up in wardrobes. He can't turn around without bumping into money, and all the while the stakes are getting higher, the potential consequences of his actions increasing.
Caught up in among all of this are Seals wife and kids. Finding themselves woken by him at 4am and being told they need to move home before their house is raided at 6am, before gradually adjusting to their new, increasingly expensive lifestyle. We never quite get to spend enough time with that part of Barry's life, taking a backseat instead to the roller coaster thrill seeking that he's got himself wrapped up in outside of home.
Cruise charms and grins his way through all of this perfectly. Obviously he did all of the flying scenes himself and he must have had a real blast making this movie. There's a good deal of humour throughout and the use of film grain, handheld cameras and Kodak style lighting help to give it a real 70s-80s feel to match the era it's set in. A fun, entertaining movie and a return to form for Mr Cruise!
It certainly is an idea role for Cruise. Based on a true story, Cruise plays Barry Seal. Top pilot for TWA and bored of the same old routine day in, day out. When his co-pilot and passengers are all asleep during a flight, he relieves the monotony by faking some heavy turbulence in order to wake them all up, but it's not enough. So, when he's approached by CIA agent Schafer (Domhnall Gleeson) to work for them, flying exciting reconnaissance missions over South America, he jumps at the chance. And then during a refueling stop in Colombia, Seal is recruited by Pablo Escobar's drug cartel, who offer to pay him $2000 for each kilo of cocaine he can carry from Columbia to Louisiana. Then he begins flying guns from Arkansas to Nicaragua while still continuing the drugs runs. Seal finds himself with more money than he can spend, burying bags of it in his backyard and piling it up in wardrobes. He can't turn around without bumping into money, and all the while the stakes are getting higher, the potential consequences of his actions increasing.
Caught up in among all of this are Seals wife and kids. Finding themselves woken by him at 4am and being told they need to move home before their house is raided at 6am, before gradually adjusting to their new, increasingly expensive lifestyle. We never quite get to spend enough time with that part of Barry's life, taking a backseat instead to the roller coaster thrill seeking that he's got himself wrapped up in outside of home.
Cruise charms and grins his way through all of this perfectly. Obviously he did all of the flying scenes himself and he must have had a real blast making this movie. There's a good deal of humour throughout and the use of film grain, handheld cameras and Kodak style lighting help to give it a real 70s-80s feel to match the era it's set in. A fun, entertaining movie and a return to form for Mr Cruise!
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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Way Down Dark (The Australia Trilogy, #1) in Books
Dec 14, 2018
<i>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Way Down Dark</i> is the first in the <i>Australia</i> trilogy by J.P. Smythe, a brand new dystopian series for young adult readers. The world has been destroyed and humans boarded space ships in order to find somewhere to live, however, generations later the passengers aboard <i>Australia</i> have not found anywhere. The years have taken their toll on the ship, which is slowly falling to pieces, it’s inhabitants reduced to scavengers.
Recently orphaned Chan is living alone and trying to fend for herself as the Lows, an ever-increasing band of murderous thugs, wage war on everyone else. Nowhere is safe and quite often Chan finds herself in a situation where it is either kill or be killed. When Chan’s mother died her last instructions were to stay out of trouble, be selfish and don’t die. Chan on the other hand finds it extremely difficult to be selfish when she sees other people in life threatening situations. Thankfully she has Angela, a fifty something woman, looking out for her. But then Angela introduces Chan to a part of the ship no one has ever been to before, a part that challenges the truth behind the stories believed by everyone about the destruction of Earth. This new knowledge fuels Chan’s determination to save the lives of as many she can, thus finding herself in perilous situations.
Despite being set in the distant future, the characters at the beginning are living lives similar to those of the past – making clothes, shoes and weapons from scratch, picking fruit in the arboretum in order to eat. So although many dystopian novels involve some kind of enhanced technology, <i>Way Down Dark</i> does not, which separates it from other books of the same genre.
As well as Chan’s narrative, the novel also contains Angela’s stories of the past when Chan’s mother was young. These help to explain some of the situations the characters find themselves in now. It is also through Angela that Chan begins to discover the truth about the ship <i>Australia</i> and the lies they have been led to believe.
The main characters are very likable and display a range of personalities, each adding something different to the story. Chan is quick thinking, strong-willed and unselfish whereas, although Angela cares and protects, she keeps more to herself rather than jump into the fight in order to be a hero. Finally, Jonah, a young man who teams up with Chan and Angela, is a mix of Chan’s personalities with a religious streak, or what passes as religious on the <i>Australia</i>.
Although it is less futuristic than other popular young adult novels such as <i>Divergent</i> or <i>The Hunger Games</i>, readers are bound to enjoy <i>Way Down Dark</i> and its sequels. It is full of action, violence and survival told from the point of view of a teenage girl. <i>Way Down Dark</i> is a highly recommended, gripping novel, which promises to satisfy the needs of dystopian lovers.
Way Down Dark</i> is the first in the <i>Australia</i> trilogy by J.P. Smythe, a brand new dystopian series for young adult readers. The world has been destroyed and humans boarded space ships in order to find somewhere to live, however, generations later the passengers aboard <i>Australia</i> have not found anywhere. The years have taken their toll on the ship, which is slowly falling to pieces, it’s inhabitants reduced to scavengers.
Recently orphaned Chan is living alone and trying to fend for herself as the Lows, an ever-increasing band of murderous thugs, wage war on everyone else. Nowhere is safe and quite often Chan finds herself in a situation where it is either kill or be killed. When Chan’s mother died her last instructions were to stay out of trouble, be selfish and don’t die. Chan on the other hand finds it extremely difficult to be selfish when she sees other people in life threatening situations. Thankfully she has Angela, a fifty something woman, looking out for her. But then Angela introduces Chan to a part of the ship no one has ever been to before, a part that challenges the truth behind the stories believed by everyone about the destruction of Earth. This new knowledge fuels Chan’s determination to save the lives of as many she can, thus finding herself in perilous situations.
Despite being set in the distant future, the characters at the beginning are living lives similar to those of the past – making clothes, shoes and weapons from scratch, picking fruit in the arboretum in order to eat. So although many dystopian novels involve some kind of enhanced technology, <i>Way Down Dark</i> does not, which separates it from other books of the same genre.
As well as Chan’s narrative, the novel also contains Angela’s stories of the past when Chan’s mother was young. These help to explain some of the situations the characters find themselves in now. It is also through Angela that Chan begins to discover the truth about the ship <i>Australia</i> and the lies they have been led to believe.
The main characters are very likable and display a range of personalities, each adding something different to the story. Chan is quick thinking, strong-willed and unselfish whereas, although Angela cares and protects, she keeps more to herself rather than jump into the fight in order to be a hero. Finally, Jonah, a young man who teams up with Chan and Angela, is a mix of Chan’s personalities with a religious streak, or what passes as religious on the <i>Australia</i>.
Although it is less futuristic than other popular young adult novels such as <i>Divergent</i> or <i>The Hunger Games</i>, readers are bound to enjoy <i>Way Down Dark</i> and its sequels. It is full of action, violence and survival told from the point of view of a teenage girl. <i>Way Down Dark</i> is a highly recommended, gripping novel, which promises to satisfy the needs of dystopian lovers.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Airplane! in Apps
Mar 27, 2020
Holds Up Well
Doctor: Can you fly this plane, and land it?
Striker: Surely you can't be serious.
Doctor: I am serious... and don't call me Shirley.
And that, in a nutshell, is the humor to be found in the 1980 laugh-a-minute comedy AIRPLANE brought to us by the demented minds of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker. If you haven't seen this flick in awhile - or if you have NEVER seen it - check it out, you'll be glad you did.
Parodying Disaster Movies that were all the rage in the 1970's, AIRPLANE tells the tale of an airliner who's flight crew is incapacitated by food poisoning and it is up to a Stewardess and her on again/off again former fighter pilot (fighting PTSD) boyfriend to land the plane and save the passengers.
And...along the way we have a hodgepodge of quirky, weird characters that are not afraid to sling a joke in a deadpan style. It is an unusual film to watch.
And...make sure you put your phone down and actually WATCH this film, for there is quite a bit of visual humor that you need to be paying attention to to catch it...humor such as...
Kramer: Steve, I want every light you can get poured onto that field.
Steve: Bein' done right now.
[On the runway, a truck dumps a full load of lamps onto the ground]
Also...the verbal humor needs to be paid attention to...
Doctor: What was it we had for dinner tonight?
Elaine: Well, we had a choice of steak or fish.
Doctor: Yes, yes, I remember, I had lasagna.
All of this delivered with a deadpan wink in the eye by such dramatic 1960's and '70's TV stalwarts as Leslie Nielsen, Lloyd Bridges and Robert Stack. Add to that the wholesome cuteness of leads Robert Hayes and Julie Hagerty with fun cameos by the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Mrs. Cleaver herself, Barbara Billingsly ("Excuse me stewardess, I speak jive) and a fun time was had by all.
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't single out the craziness of the character Johnny (Stephen Stucker). He flits in and out of this film (in some cases quite literally) throwing non-sequiturs at the screen that had me laughing out loud on my umpteenth viewing of this film. Non-sequiturs like...
Steve: Johnny, what can you make out of this?
[Hands him the weather briefing]
Johnny: This? Why, I can make a hat or a brooch or a pterodactyl...
This film gave myself and my family some much need yuks - even my "eye rolling" 19 year old College Freshman was heard guffawing out loud from time to time.
So...check out AIRPLANE - you'll be glad you did.
Letter Grade:: A
9 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Oh...and one other thing...
Kramer: Do you know what it's like to fall in the mud and get kicked... in the head... with an iron boot? Of course you don't, no one does. It never happens. Sorry, Ted, that's a dumb question... skip that...
Striker: Surely you can't be serious.
Doctor: I am serious... and don't call me Shirley.
And that, in a nutshell, is the humor to be found in the 1980 laugh-a-minute comedy AIRPLANE brought to us by the demented minds of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker. If you haven't seen this flick in awhile - or if you have NEVER seen it - check it out, you'll be glad you did.
Parodying Disaster Movies that were all the rage in the 1970's, AIRPLANE tells the tale of an airliner who's flight crew is incapacitated by food poisoning and it is up to a Stewardess and her on again/off again former fighter pilot (fighting PTSD) boyfriend to land the plane and save the passengers.
And...along the way we have a hodgepodge of quirky, weird characters that are not afraid to sling a joke in a deadpan style. It is an unusual film to watch.
And...make sure you put your phone down and actually WATCH this film, for there is quite a bit of visual humor that you need to be paying attention to to catch it...humor such as...
Kramer: Steve, I want every light you can get poured onto that field.
Steve: Bein' done right now.
[On the runway, a truck dumps a full load of lamps onto the ground]
Also...the verbal humor needs to be paid attention to...
Doctor: What was it we had for dinner tonight?
Elaine: Well, we had a choice of steak or fish.
Doctor: Yes, yes, I remember, I had lasagna.
All of this delivered with a deadpan wink in the eye by such dramatic 1960's and '70's TV stalwarts as Leslie Nielsen, Lloyd Bridges and Robert Stack. Add to that the wholesome cuteness of leads Robert Hayes and Julie Hagerty with fun cameos by the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Mrs. Cleaver herself, Barbara Billingsly ("Excuse me stewardess, I speak jive) and a fun time was had by all.
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't single out the craziness of the character Johnny (Stephen Stucker). He flits in and out of this film (in some cases quite literally) throwing non-sequiturs at the screen that had me laughing out loud on my umpteenth viewing of this film. Non-sequiturs like...
Steve: Johnny, what can you make out of this?
[Hands him the weather briefing]
Johnny: This? Why, I can make a hat or a brooch or a pterodactyl...
This film gave myself and my family some much need yuks - even my "eye rolling" 19 year old College Freshman was heard guffawing out loud from time to time.
So...check out AIRPLANE - you'll be glad you did.
Letter Grade:: A
9 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Oh...and one other thing...
Kramer: Do you know what it's like to fall in the mud and get kicked... in the head... with an iron boot? Of course you don't, no one does. It never happens. Sorry, Ted, that's a dumb question... skip that...