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Ad Astra (2019)
Ad Astra (2019)
2019 | Adventure, Drama, Mystery
Brad Pitt's hair (3 more)
The moon buggy chase.
The space station accident.
Space Monkeys!
The story. (4 more)
The science.
The voiceover.
The "shielding" sequence.
What happens at the end (surprising no one.)
The Emperor's New Clothes - in Space!!
Contains spoilers, click to show
Ad Astra (Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones) was just awful. More Vauxhall Astra than Interstellar. Fails the Bechdel test and the male equivalent, no one says anything interesting to another human. Not even saved by a surprise monkey attack and some spritely Moon pirates. Looked good in places but was severely lacking in the intelligent sci-fi department, which is a major flaw given the billing. It seems this is getting highly rated because everyone likes its star (and producer) Brad Pitt, and they presume him staring into deep space looking morose and quizzical makes this a profound movie - it doesn't.
A huge let-down, considering the talent involved.
  
    Madame Récré FR

    Madame Récré FR

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    YouTube Channel

    Bienvenue sur ma chaîne Madame Récré FR. C'est une chaîne pour les enfants (et les grands aussi...

The Black Pirate (1926)
The Black Pirate (1926)
1926 | Action, Classics
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Two-tone Techncolor milestone
Two Tone Technicolor in all its glory! This is it. The first widely distributed Technicolor movie back before we even had sound. This was hardly the first foray into colour, in fact colour almost goes as far back as film itself, as does sound, but it was not until the mid-1920’s that breakthroughs in both mediums would bring them into mainstream.

Sound would take first, with Technicolor taking just a little longer, mainly due to the technical issues of using it both in front and behind the camera. But as time went on, these issues were gradually dealt with with the rest is cinema history.

So, having gotten the technical bit out of the way, on to the Douglas Fairbanks Jr. blockbuster. And that is precisely want this was. A by-the-numbers acrobatic action movie by the undisputed star of the day, Fairbanks.

The plot follows a Duke (Fairbanks) whose ship is attacked and destroyed by a Pirates. He is the soul survivor and vows revenge. He soon finds himself in the company of the very pirates he is looking for and infiltrates their crew by being the best god-damn pirate there ever was!

He meets a princess (Billie Dove) and saves the day, gets the girl and the evil pirates are dispatched. All, amidst lots of colourful blood, to emphasise the Technicolor I suppose and slides down a few sails with his dagger along the way.

The performances are typical for a Hollywoodland movie of the day, but besides the outstanding physicality of Douglas, I would not say that there was anything particularly noteworthy about the acting, let alone the production on the whole. Having said that, the tone and cliche’s which this film has brought to the genre as whole are legendary and there is that foray into colour of course.

This were it all began folks…

The DVD

Unfortunately my copy was just the cheap R-0 version, whcih was clearly (ironically) taken from a old VHS recording. The colour is vivid but wrong. Greens have replaced blacks and the overall print quality was poor but watchable. I have seen bit s of the KINO HD Blu-ray edition and this looks great.

It also has the original score by Mortimer Wilson, something whcih this bargain basement DVD does not. The music supplied is okay; a mix of classical pieces on a loop but none this is cued and rarely suits the scenes let alone the action on screen. Further proof that there never was such a thing as silent cinema, just no synchronised sound.

For the real experience, get the Blu-ray, though it is very expensive at the moment, but if you just want to see what all the fuss is about, this DVD is quite watchable, at least as an entry version.

Me, I am after the upgrade!
  
Lost Boy
Lost Boy
Christina Henry | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
9
8.9 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
LOST BOY by CHRISTINA HENRY
Contains spoilers, click to show
The second star to the right and straight on till morning. That's how Peter Pan always starts. But what if there was more too it. Than just going to Neverland to never grow up?

I never really knew how I felt about Peter Pan and Captain Hook. Of course, I never wanted to grow up (I still don't) but as I got older, I soon realized that Peter Pan wasn't always such a sweet boy and Christina Henry's version of Neverland confirmed my suspicions.

Even in the book Peter Pan is still a boy who lives in Neverland with his Lost Boys. One of the Lost Boys is called Jamie, who's soon to become the infamous Captain Hook.

Peter Pan collects things like a Magpie, he collects boys. He first collected a boy called Jamie and for a long time, it was just the two of them. Before they found the twins and brought them to Neverland, they used to play games and fight pirates. They were brothers till the end. That was until Peter brought Charlie to Neverland.

That was when Jamie soon started to see that Peter wasn't a hero, wasn't a friend - he was just a Lost Boy.

Peter Pan always made you feel special, important and apart from Neverland. A place where you could be young forever and never have to worry again.

The word 'grownups’ made Peter sick and this is why I always thought that Peter Pan hated pirates, and why he always hated Hook. In fact, he hated Hook for another reason and that reason is, Captain Hook was Peter’s first Lost Boy. His first best friend. But that was until Hook grew up.

Christina Henry turns a classic story into the truth. She delves into the dark past of Peter Pan, retelling the truth behind the fairytale, the truth behind the Hook. The truth behind Neverland and what it means to be a Lost Boy.

TICK TOCK GOES THE CROC

Love, Christina ?
  
Hustle of the Gunman [Galaxia Pirates 4] (Galaxia Pirates #4)
Hustle of the Gunman [Galaxia Pirates 4] (Galaxia Pirates #4)
A.M. Halford | 2017 | LGBTQ+, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Hustle of the Gunman (Galaxia Pirates #4) by A.M. Halford
Hustle of the Gunman is the fourth book in the Galaxia Pirates series. In this instalment, we have the exact opposite of insta-love. Instead, Darrel has been in love with Toby for over eight years, but Toby wants nothing to do with him. Toby finally succeeds in pushing him away, only to have a change of heart and realise Darrel is who he wants after all. There are reasons for him pushing Darrel away, but nothing that is explained in too much detail. In fact, it is just skimmed over, which is a shame when it has impacted his life to such an extent. It is during a job that goes wrong that Toby realises exactly how much Darrel means to him, and is determined to show him, just so long as Darrel survives.

There were parts of this book that I loved - the longing from afar between both Toby and Darrel, and Toby's mastery of knives, for example. Unfortunately for me, it was never explained why he mastered them. What drew his interest to knives and swords, in this space age of laser guns etc? And although his upbringing was rough, why did it impact his life for so long?

This was well written, don't get me wrong. The pacing was smooth, and it was action-packed. There are moments of steam, as well as tenderness. The characters are familiar but I'm still learning new things about them with each book. I would recommend this book as I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. However, it just didn't 'push my buttons' like some of the other stories have.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!