Search
Search results
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Escape From L.A. (1996) in Movies
Feb 20, 2021
Snake Why
Escape From L.A.- is just not good. The CGI is awful, like really bad. Their should of never been a sequel to "Escape From New York", and why wait for 15 years to make a sequel. The only good thing is Kurt Russell as Snake.
The plot: In 2013, the United States president (Cliff Robertson) is exiling all citizens who don't conform to his hyper-conservative views to Los Angeles, which became an island after a huge earthquake. But, when the president's daughter nabs the detonator to her dad's apocalyptic weapon and sneaks into L.A. to be with the rebel leader she loves, the government taps commando-turned-crook Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) to retrieve the young woman. And, if he doesn't succeed quickly, he'll be executed.
Its not worth watching.
The plot: In 2013, the United States president (Cliff Robertson) is exiling all citizens who don't conform to his hyper-conservative views to Los Angeles, which became an island after a huge earthquake. But, when the president's daughter nabs the detonator to her dad's apocalyptic weapon and sneaks into L.A. to be with the rebel leader she loves, the government taps commando-turned-crook Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) to retrieve the young woman. And, if he doesn't succeed quickly, he'll be executed.
Its not worth watching.
Billy Bob Thornton recommended Giant (1956) in Movies (curated)
BookInspector (124 KP) rated The Majesties in Books
Sep 24, 2020
The protagonist of this novel is Gwendolyn, and this novel is told from her perspective. Gwendolyn and her sister Estella are very close,most of the time they share everything, and they are truly best friends. Gwendolyn is a little bit of a rebel in the family, who wants to be independent and stand on her own feet. Estella, on the other hand, followed the traditional path of getting married and allowing her family to manipulate her life. These two sisters are so similar but so different at the same time, and their life stories are truly mesmerising to me. There are a lot of characters in this novel,and I did get a little lost with who was who because I am not very used to the terms such as Oma or Opa.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Cats (2019) in Movies
Nov 20, 2020
Cut what worked in the musical and left in what didn't
I had heard that the movie version of the mega-Broadway hit musical CATS was a "total trainwreck" with bizarre performances and CGI that was incomplete and/or incompetently done making these CATS look more like FREAKS, so I was looking forward to a "so bad it's good" experience at the film. But, instead of being horrified or bemused, I felt another emotion while watching this...
BOREDOM.
I've never been a real fan of the Broadway production - I witnessed the original cast back in the early 1980's and had a follow-up viewing of the show on Broadway in the mid-to-late '90's when 2 people I know were in the cast and both times I enjoyed the music (for the most part) and the dancing was SUPERB, but I was left disappointed by the characters and the plot (or lack thereof) of this show.
And...that's the biggest problem with the film version of CATS, Director Tom Hooper (LES MISERABLES) decided to focus this film ON the characters and the performances - headlined by such stalwarts as Dame Judy Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Idris, Elba, Ray Winstone, Jennifer Hudson, James Cordon and Rebel Wilson - and ignore the spectacle of the musical numbers and, most heinously, ignoring the dancing aspect of this musical. This approach, quite frankly, just did not work.
Now...add onto this questionable CGI (I'm being kind), a languid pace (I'm being kind) and performers who were miscast (I'm looking at you Idris Elba, Rebel Wilson, Ray Winstone and...if I'm being honest...Ian McKellan and Judy Dench), and don't get me started on Jason Derullo's RumTum Tugger and Taylor Swift's Bumbalurna (really?) - they were just plain awful. Derullo, especially, turned a fun, energizing driving character into a boring embodiment of all that is wrong with this film (okay...Rebel Wilson was worse, but still....) the only players in this film that kept my attention were stage performers like Robbie Fairchild (Munkustrap) and Francesca Hayward (Victoria) and they were sidelined for the most part by the bigger names and had their dance numbers eliminated and/or truncated.
I wish they would have gone for the campy "so bad, it's good" style of filmmaking - it, at least, would have kept my interest, but the movie as it is, did not. I was happy when the "Jellicle Cat" was selected at the end - I knew this experience would be over soon.
Letter Grade D
2 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(OfMarquis)
BOREDOM.
I've never been a real fan of the Broadway production - I witnessed the original cast back in the early 1980's and had a follow-up viewing of the show on Broadway in the mid-to-late '90's when 2 people I know were in the cast and both times I enjoyed the music (for the most part) and the dancing was SUPERB, but I was left disappointed by the characters and the plot (or lack thereof) of this show.
And...that's the biggest problem with the film version of CATS, Director Tom Hooper (LES MISERABLES) decided to focus this film ON the characters and the performances - headlined by such stalwarts as Dame Judy Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Idris, Elba, Ray Winstone, Jennifer Hudson, James Cordon and Rebel Wilson - and ignore the spectacle of the musical numbers and, most heinously, ignoring the dancing aspect of this musical. This approach, quite frankly, just did not work.
Now...add onto this questionable CGI (I'm being kind), a languid pace (I'm being kind) and performers who were miscast (I'm looking at you Idris Elba, Rebel Wilson, Ray Winstone and...if I'm being honest...Ian McKellan and Judy Dench), and don't get me started on Jason Derullo's RumTum Tugger and Taylor Swift's Bumbalurna (really?) - they were just plain awful. Derullo, especially, turned a fun, energizing driving character into a boring embodiment of all that is wrong with this film (okay...Rebel Wilson was worse, but still....) the only players in this film that kept my attention were stage performers like Robbie Fairchild (Munkustrap) and Francesca Hayward (Victoria) and they were sidelined for the most part by the bigger names and had their dance numbers eliminated and/or truncated.
I wish they would have gone for the campy "so bad, it's good" style of filmmaking - it, at least, would have kept my interest, but the movie as it is, did not. I was happy when the "Jellicle Cat" was selected at the end - I knew this experience would be over soon.
Letter Grade D
2 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(OfMarquis)
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
Night At The Museum: Secret of the Tomb, is a new movie (rated PG) starring Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Dan Stevens, and Rebel Wilson.
It is the third installment in the ‘Night At The Museum’ series.
The movie begins in time before any of the movies take place in time, throwing us back to the discovery of the magical tablet that brings the museum to life after sunset.
We then flash forward to current day,
and Ben Stillers character, Larry Daley, is the ‘special effects’ manager, in charge of all the magic of the museum.
Things go awry, and the rest of the movie is spent wrapped up in an attempt to first find out how to stop the erosion of the tablet, and then how to implement the information that is discovered.
The movie is fast paced, and it did draw me in. It is likely I was more emotionally invested in this film because it is the last film I will see Robin Williams in, and that was definitely at the forefront of my mind while watching the movie.
Some of the scenes between Rebel Wilson and Ben Stiller were less than funny to me, and some of the jokes were definitely groan worthy.
It was fairly predictable, but Dan
Stevens as Sir Lancelot did throw a few curve balls that mixed it up a bit.
It seems, based on some of the scenes, that Night at The Museum might be better in 3D than it was in 2D.
Over all, I liked the movie, but wouldn’t bother to take my son, who is 6 to see it ‘at the theatre’. It is one of those movies where the best parts seem to be in the previews.
http://sknr.net/2014/12/19/night-museum-3/
It is the third installment in the ‘Night At The Museum’ series.
The movie begins in time before any of the movies take place in time, throwing us back to the discovery of the magical tablet that brings the museum to life after sunset.
We then flash forward to current day,
and Ben Stillers character, Larry Daley, is the ‘special effects’ manager, in charge of all the magic of the museum.
Things go awry, and the rest of the movie is spent wrapped up in an attempt to first find out how to stop the erosion of the tablet, and then how to implement the information that is discovered.
The movie is fast paced, and it did draw me in. It is likely I was more emotionally invested in this film because it is the last film I will see Robin Williams in, and that was definitely at the forefront of my mind while watching the movie.
Some of the scenes between Rebel Wilson and Ben Stiller were less than funny to me, and some of the jokes were definitely groan worthy.
It was fairly predictable, but Dan
Stevens as Sir Lancelot did throw a few curve balls that mixed it up a bit.
It seems, based on some of the scenes, that Night at The Museum might be better in 3D than it was in 2D.
Over all, I liked the movie, but wouldn’t bother to take my son, who is 6 to see it ‘at the theatre’. It is one of those movies where the best parts seem to be in the previews.
http://sknr.net/2014/12/19/night-museum-3/
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated How To Be Single (2016) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Being a single twenty something in New York City is one of the best and one of the worst things all at the same time. Alice (Dakota Johnson) thinks it is time to see what the single life is all about by take a “break” from her longtime boyfriend Josh (Nicholas Braun). Unfortunately as we all know things don’t always work out the way people want and Alice must figure out who she is. With the help of her friend Robin (Rebel Wilson) and her sister Meg (Leslie Mann), Alice faces the challenges and benefits that come with being single. While Alice is trying to find her way the plot looks into the lives of Tom (Anders Holm) the flirty bartender who would pretty much bang anything that walks, Lucy (Alison Brie) the crazed romantic who believes she can find the one, and Meg, Alice’s doctor sister who find out she wants everything she never wanted. “How to Be Single” shows us that we need to take time to find ourselves and that things do happen in time.
Directed by Christian Ditter and loosely based off of Liz Tuccillo’s novel How to Be Single the film is actually quite relatable. While it is not a necessity to be single, finding yourself is an essential part of life and people should explore new opportunities no matter what others tell them. As far as the acting goes, it was ok but nothing Oscar worthy. Also for a romantic comedy I feel this movie is more relatable then most, it shows that love isn’t perfect and instantaneous. I would recommend this film to people who are going to have a girl’s night, because to its core this movie came down to friendship. Would I see this film again? Sure, Rebel Wilson’s one liners in the film were hilarious and kept me hooked.
Directed by Christian Ditter and loosely based off of Liz Tuccillo’s novel How to Be Single the film is actually quite relatable. While it is not a necessity to be single, finding yourself is an essential part of life and people should explore new opportunities no matter what others tell them. As far as the acting goes, it was ok but nothing Oscar worthy. Also for a romantic comedy I feel this movie is more relatable then most, it shows that love isn’t perfect and instantaneous. I would recommend this film to people who are going to have a girl’s night, because to its core this movie came down to friendship. Would I see this film again? Sure, Rebel Wilson’s one liners in the film were hilarious and kept me hooked.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated P.S. I Still Love You (To All the Boys I've Loved Before, #2) in Books
Jan 6, 2021
The first one was a lot better for me. It had an engaging plotline--whether it took me 100 pages to get into it or not--whereas this...well i didn't quite see the point of the book. It didnt really have much of a plot and rehashed a lot of what happened in the previous book. The only difference really was the appearence of John and Lara's--I'm going to be a rebel and just call her that instead of the double barrel--growing? feelings for him. It was a lot like the first book with Lara being unable to decide what her feelings were for either boy and her jealousy of Genevieve getting in the way.
Kitty was the only highlight. She's wise beyond her years and fun.
I won't be reading the last book.
Kitty was the only highlight. She's wise beyond her years and fun.
I won't be reading the last book.
Vince Clarke recommended Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols by The Sex Pistols in Music (curated)
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated The Hustle (2019) in Movies
Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)
I love Anne Hathaway. I love Rebel Wilson. I love Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. I did not love this.
Penny is a small-time con artist who decides to head to Europe to change things up a bit. Josephine is at the top of the con artist charts and is living very comfortably in Europe making a mint off the wealthy gentlemen who cross her path. When Penny stumbles onto her train she realises that the crass American could bring too much attention so she sets about sabotaging her plans. Penny is more resourceful than she seems though and soon makes her way back into Josephine's life.
I did laugh at a couple of points, but it really wasn't the bright and bubbly comedy I'd been hoping for. There are some definite hangovers that they've kept in that stick out in a modern film. The opening titles and some of the music are very reminiscent of older comedic movies and honestly seemed like a bad choice. You're remaking something, go the whole hog or don't bother.
Hathaway & Wilson do work well together as a comedy duo. The training montage was quite possibly the best bit and I enjoyed the teacher/student dynamic that they had. Beyond this though the film seemed to lack genuine comedy and instead relied on pratfalls. I don't know if it's just that it doesn't feel right that these two were doing this humour or that this humour doesn't have the same standing in films as it used to, but it left me disappointed.
Anne Hathaway is a stunning trickster with the accent of a stereotypical aristocrat. Listening to that in the trailers annoyed me, the film was no better. Admittedly it does change throughout to accommodate the con but it rears it's ugly head enough times to make you remember it.
Rebel Wilson was... Rebel Wilson, I'm not sure she had any other setting, and I don't think that matters for this. It's the perfect part for her and she actually does get some moments of seriousness to deal with. I think this was the perfect bit of casting.
I wish I could remember Dirty Rotten Scoundrels to see how much they kept but it has been a very long time since I watched it. Even without that memory I can tell you it isn't a fitting tribute to it, or to the genre sadly.
What you should do
At some point it'll stream and if there's nothing else to do it might be worth watching. I'm not sure you need to go out of your way to find it.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I'll take some of the poise and agility that Josephine has, please and thank you.
Penny is a small-time con artist who decides to head to Europe to change things up a bit. Josephine is at the top of the con artist charts and is living very comfortably in Europe making a mint off the wealthy gentlemen who cross her path. When Penny stumbles onto her train she realises that the crass American could bring too much attention so she sets about sabotaging her plans. Penny is more resourceful than she seems though and soon makes her way back into Josephine's life.
I did laugh at a couple of points, but it really wasn't the bright and bubbly comedy I'd been hoping for. There are some definite hangovers that they've kept in that stick out in a modern film. The opening titles and some of the music are very reminiscent of older comedic movies and honestly seemed like a bad choice. You're remaking something, go the whole hog or don't bother.
Hathaway & Wilson do work well together as a comedy duo. The training montage was quite possibly the best bit and I enjoyed the teacher/student dynamic that they had. Beyond this though the film seemed to lack genuine comedy and instead relied on pratfalls. I don't know if it's just that it doesn't feel right that these two were doing this humour or that this humour doesn't have the same standing in films as it used to, but it left me disappointed.
Anne Hathaway is a stunning trickster with the accent of a stereotypical aristocrat. Listening to that in the trailers annoyed me, the film was no better. Admittedly it does change throughout to accommodate the con but it rears it's ugly head enough times to make you remember it.
Rebel Wilson was... Rebel Wilson, I'm not sure she had any other setting, and I don't think that matters for this. It's the perfect part for her and she actually does get some moments of seriousness to deal with. I think this was the perfect bit of casting.
I wish I could remember Dirty Rotten Scoundrels to see how much they kept but it has been a very long time since I watched it. Even without that memory I can tell you it isn't a fitting tribute to it, or to the genre sadly.
What you should do
At some point it'll stream and if there's nothing else to do it might be worth watching. I'm not sure you need to go out of your way to find it.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I'll take some of the poise and agility that Josephine has, please and thank you.
Books&Football (34 KP) rated Three Blind Dates in Books
Jan 23, 2018
Extremely Funny with an HEA
Noely Clark is a single, attractive host of Good Morning Malibu. She agrees to be set up with a blind date at a restaurant called "Going in Blind". Noely ends up going on three blind dates and its set up with a suit, a rebel and a jock. The dates are real and her interactions with the men are hilarious. The book has a tie in to the movie "You've Got Mail" which add a nice touch to the story. In the end, she can only choose one of the three men - who will she choose? If you like contemporary romance, this is a book that should not be missed.