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Benedick Lewis (3001 KP) rated Skyscraper (2018) in Movies

Jul 16, 2018

Skyscraper (2018)

2018 | Action

6.5

(119 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

It’s not really bad (0 more)

Straightforward plot (2 more)

Repetitious action

Poor script

High concept turned searching for a title

Skyscraper believe it or not features a building that is a skyscraper in it. This poor opening to this review reflects the poor standard this film has.
Dwayne Johnson is a family man who, 10 years after a botched mission that results in him losing his leg, works as a security consultant to highlight any dangers in the pearl, the building in Hong Kong considered the tallest in the world. Johnson is set up and the building is set alight, with Johnson’s family in it. He naturally goes to the rescue and the terrorists who have taken control of the building decide to use this to their advantage.
It had potential. Some out of the box thinking could have turned this film within its genre confines on its head but it doesn’t taken the opportunity and the result is a rather standard affair.
It is neither Johnson or the director’s, Rawson Marshall Thurber, finest hour nor can it be seen as a guilty pleasure film. That said, let’s hope the filmmakers learn their lesson from it and make better films in the future.

Kudos

Kelly (279 KP) rated Surviving the Evacuation: London in Books

Jan 11, 2019

Surviving the Evacuation: London

Frank Tayell | 2013 | Science Fiction/Fantasy

8.7

(3 Ratings)

Book Rating

Easy to follow (0 more)

An interesting first person insight into the Zombie Apocalypse

Contains spoilers, click to show

I confess I only downloaded this book originally because it was free on kindle, however, that being said, I was surprised at how good it was.

The story is written in diary form by fictional character Bill Wright. Similar to Rock Grimes (Walking Dead), Bill missed the initial apocalypse due to injury. His government links tried to rescue him during the evacuation, however, at the last stage the chauffeur fails. The story primarily centres around Bills attempts to escape London on his own, with a leg in cast, without falling victim to the Zombie virus.

The use of a diary to move the story forward is a different approach to most Zombie books, and allows us to to have a greater insight into the thoughts and feelings of the main character in hindsight of the events.

If you are looking for an in-depth and complex book, this is not the book for you, however if you are looking for a quick easy read on the go, I highly recommend this. I have already downloaded the sequel to this story (not free) in order to find out what is next in store for Bill.

Kudos

David McK (3425 KP) rated The Martian in Books

Jan 28, 2019

The Martian

Andy Weir | 2014 | Science Fiction/Fantasy

8.9

(50 Ratings)

Book Rating

OK ... I'll admit it: I wasn't sure whether I would like this book or not.

I've been burned in the past with books that have been turned into movies where (IMO) the source material just wasn't really all that great.

I also have to make clear - I haven't actually seen the film yet, so can't compare the two, but I did wonder how interesting a story told almost entirely from one person's perspective - with that person also entirely on his own, kinda like a modern-day/near future Robinson Crusoe could be.

Now that I have read it, I must admit: i did find this a gripping read, even if there are passages that just seem to drag on a bit. The story, for anyone who doesn't know, is about astronaut Mark Watney, who has been left behind on the planet Mars by his crew-mates, who believe he has died, and the efforts he goes to to survive, while NASA do their best to formulate a rescue plan (as do his crew-mates when they discover he is still alive, and now the only man on the planet for an entire 2 years or so).

The ending, though, is also a bit anti-climactic: what happens next??