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David McK (3576 KP) rated Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014) in Movies
Dec 28, 2024
Third instalment in the 'Night at the Museum' series, which ends on a poignant note with Robin Williams last (ever) on-screen film appearance - obviously not known at the time they would be such - when his Teddy Roosevelt says "Smile, my boy. It's Sunrise".
Anyway, this film sees most of the cast/museum exhibits travelling across to the British Museum, when the ancient Egyptian tablet that causes said exhibits to come to life mysteriously starts decaying, resulting in a race against time to first find out why and then to reverse the process.
I could maybe do without the Rebel Wilson character in the film - like Ricky Gervais character, I just find her annoying (and that's a reflection the characters, rather than the actors), whilst some of the jokes were a bit too slapstick for my taste.
Did enjoy the Hugh Jackman cameo, though!
Anyway, this film sees most of the cast/museum exhibits travelling across to the British Museum, when the ancient Egyptian tablet that causes said exhibits to come to life mysteriously starts decaying, resulting in a race against time to first find out why and then to reverse the process.
I could maybe do without the Rebel Wilson character in the film - like Ricky Gervais character, I just find her annoying (and that's a reflection the characters, rather than the actors), whilst some of the jokes were a bit too slapstick for my taste.
Did enjoy the Hugh Jackman cameo, though!
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Furies in Books
Sep 26, 2019
Violet joins Elm Hollow after the death of her little sister and father. It's a private girls school that has a history of magic and witchcraft thanks to an association with the 17th century witch trials. Violet finds herself drawn to three girls--Robin, Grace, and Alex. She becomes close with them, particularly Robin, and finds herself invited to an advanced study group led by their art teacher, Annabel, which goes into more depth about the witchcraft practiced at the school so long ago. The girls seem to think the magic is real, and that they can harness it. Always lurking in the background is Emily Frost--Robin's former best friend--who died before Violet came to Elm Hollow. She and Violet look very similar. As time passes, Violet starts to wonder if the witchcraft is real. And what really happened to Emily?
The girl is found dead on a swing on a playground on Elm Hollow Academy property--no known cause of death. That's how this novel opens, and then we have Violet, who tells us the story looking back, recounting her time at Elm Hollow. So the story opens dramatically and we know something has terrible happened. And that Violet makes it out okay.
"Inconclusive, they said, as though that changed the fact of it, which was this: a sixteen-year-old girl, dead on school property, without a single clue to suggest why or how."
This book should be been really good--I'm a sucker for private school tales (I thought it was a boarding school one, as well, but it wasn't)--but it just didn't work for me. I thought about putting it aside several times, but I just couldn't. I need to work on my DNF skills.
There is a lot here: two dead girls; witchcraft and the occult; mythology; friendship and coming of age--and none of it feels fully explored. A lot of the book focuses on mythology as Annabel teaches some of it to the girls (I felt myself skimming over that, and I like mythology). There's the focus on witchcraft, but it never seems fully embraced. There's a lot of violence (won't go too far for spoilers) but there are never really any consequences. It's very strange, and honestly, not the sort of YA book I'd encourage for teens.
And, then, I just didn't care for these characters. Robin is hateful, and I couldn't form a bond with Violet, our narrator. That would be all well and good if the action was enough to keep my interest, but it wasn't. The book just felt jumbled, and I wasn't interested in picking it up. Even a few late twists didn't really redeem things for me.
Lots of others have found the story powerful, however, so if you like mean girls with a side of possible witchcraft, you may enjoy this more. 2 stars.
The girl is found dead on a swing on a playground on Elm Hollow Academy property--no known cause of death. That's how this novel opens, and then we have Violet, who tells us the story looking back, recounting her time at Elm Hollow. So the story opens dramatically and we know something has terrible happened. And that Violet makes it out okay.
"Inconclusive, they said, as though that changed the fact of it, which was this: a sixteen-year-old girl, dead on school property, without a single clue to suggest why or how."
This book should be been really good--I'm a sucker for private school tales (I thought it was a boarding school one, as well, but it wasn't)--but it just didn't work for me. I thought about putting it aside several times, but I just couldn't. I need to work on my DNF skills.
There is a lot here: two dead girls; witchcraft and the occult; mythology; friendship and coming of age--and none of it feels fully explored. A lot of the book focuses on mythology as Annabel teaches some of it to the girls (I felt myself skimming over that, and I like mythology). There's the focus on witchcraft, but it never seems fully embraced. There's a lot of violence (won't go too far for spoilers) but there are never really any consequences. It's very strange, and honestly, not the sort of YA book I'd encourage for teens.
And, then, I just didn't care for these characters. Robin is hateful, and I couldn't form a bond with Violet, our narrator. That would be all well and good if the action was enough to keep my interest, but it wasn't. The book just felt jumbled, and I wasn't interested in picking it up. Even a few late twists didn't really redeem things for me.
Lots of others have found the story powerful, however, so if you like mean girls with a side of possible witchcraft, you may enjoy this more. 2 stars.
Ross (3284 KP) rated Christopher Robin (2018) in Movies
Aug 27, 2018
Great coming-of-age story of leaving behind childish things (a la Toy Story 3), weighed up with the perils of growing up (responsibilities and prioritising work over family). Christopher Robin leaves the Hundred Acre Wood to grow up and somehow loses his way as the stresses of adult life take hold.
I really hated the trailer for this film, thinking it looked like they'd taken the plot of The Smurfs or Paddington and just swapped in the different characters. It really didn't do it justice as this is not your average CGI creatures madcap adventures in the real world film. There are real poignant moments in the Hundred Acre Wood before any of the toys have really made it to the real world. Also I did not like the look of Pooh, he seemed just wrong on so many levels. But as with any 2D character, nothing 3D will quite look right and you soon become to like him and appreciate his facial expressions.
Ewan McGregor is OK as Christopher Robin (though interesting that he somehow lost his North English accent as he grew up), though is somehow neither truly believable as the curmudgeon nor as the eventual (spoiler alert) happy, funloving Dad.
The cast of the Hundred Acre wood seem quite familiar to me, as Jim Cummings continues his reign as Pooh and Tigger, but we (briefly) have Peter Capaldi (doing an impression of Gary Oldman) as Rabbit and Toby Jones as Owl.
Enjoyable cameo appearances from Mackenzie Crook and Matt Berry in one scene.
Some real poignant moments at the start of the film, but this wasn't reflected in the finale as that was not as emotive as it could have been.
Not really a film for under-10s, more for the older children, who ironically may think it is more babyish than it really is (my eldest is 10 and was refusing to go and see it but I think she enjoyed it more than her younger siblings).
I really hated the trailer for this film, thinking it looked like they'd taken the plot of The Smurfs or Paddington and just swapped in the different characters. It really didn't do it justice as this is not your average CGI creatures madcap adventures in the real world film. There are real poignant moments in the Hundred Acre Wood before any of the toys have really made it to the real world. Also I did not like the look of Pooh, he seemed just wrong on so many levels. But as with any 2D character, nothing 3D will quite look right and you soon become to like him and appreciate his facial expressions.
Ewan McGregor is OK as Christopher Robin (though interesting that he somehow lost his North English accent as he grew up), though is somehow neither truly believable as the curmudgeon nor as the eventual (spoiler alert) happy, funloving Dad.
The cast of the Hundred Acre wood seem quite familiar to me, as Jim Cummings continues his reign as Pooh and Tigger, but we (briefly) have Peter Capaldi (doing an impression of Gary Oldman) as Rabbit and Toby Jones as Owl.
Enjoyable cameo appearances from Mackenzie Crook and Matt Berry in one scene.
Some real poignant moments at the start of the film, but this wasn't reflected in the finale as that was not as emotive as it could have been.
Not really a film for under-10s, more for the older children, who ironically may think it is more babyish than it really is (my eldest is 10 and was refusing to go and see it but I think she enjoyed it more than her younger siblings).
The House at Pooh Corner
9.6
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'One day when Pooh Bear had nothing else to do, he thought he would do something, so he went round...
Winnie-the-Pooh and the Wrong Bees
7.5
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Isn't it funny How a bear likes honey? Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! I wonder why he does? The perfect...
Winnie-the-Pooh Deluxe Complete Collection
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'Once upon a time, a very long time ago now, about last Friday, Winnie-the-Pooh lived in a forest...
The Book of Swords
8.0
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New epic fantasy in the grand tradition—including a never-before-published Song of Ice and Fire...
Fantasy
Ashley Valencia (5 KP) rated Christopher Robin (2018) in Movies
Mar 31, 2019
Surprisingly Good
I was very pleasantly surprised by this film. Disney's live action remakes have been pretty disappointing to me, in general. But this one was very well made. I think they did a great job incorporating the fantasy characters into the real life world of post war England.
Ewan McGregor plays a grown up Christopher Robin who most people will be able to relate to. He's trying to find balance between his work and home life and finds himself coming up short on both sides. He's stressed and has put aside childish things to focus on trying to be a competent adult.
Then he gets a visit from a few almost forgotten childhood friends and learns to loosen up a little and see things differently. It's a wonderfully told story and I was so glad that the original voice actor was brought back. It just wouldn't have been Winnie the Pooh without Jim Cummings.
Ewan McGregor plays a grown up Christopher Robin who most people will be able to relate to. He's trying to find balance between his work and home life and finds himself coming up short on both sides. He's stressed and has put aside childish things to focus on trying to be a competent adult.
Then he gets a visit from a few almost forgotten childhood friends and learns to loosen up a little and see things differently. It's a wonderfully told story and I was so glad that the original voice actor was brought back. It just wouldn't have been Winnie the Pooh without Jim Cummings.
Elli H Burton (1288 KP) rated Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) in Movies
Dec 10, 2019
The rock, yes he is pretty badass in this, but he captured the person playing him (no idea how to explain that part lol) well. (1 more)
It was actually quite funny.
Exceeding expectations
All the 4 avatar characters are awesome and well played. You get the sense of the person behind the avatar. I loved Jack Black, whom I usually cannot stand. Kevin Hart was his usual brilliantly funny self, the rock i mentioned in my good bits and Karen Gillan was fabulous!!!
I was sceptical, being a HUGE fan of Jumanji. After they get to the tree house with a little shout out to Alan Parish (which i absolutely loved, melted my heart, felt like something so natural, to give a nod to the comedy legend Robin Williams.) It definitely didn't feel like an insult to the orginal, more like a tribute in a way. I glimspe into where Alan spent all those years.
I was sceptical, being a HUGE fan of Jumanji. After they get to the tree house with a little shout out to Alan Parish (which i absolutely loved, melted my heart, felt like something so natural, to give a nod to the comedy legend Robin Williams.) It definitely didn't feel like an insult to the orginal, more like a tribute in a way. I glimspe into where Alan spent all those years.
Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Good Will Hunting (1997) in Movies
Mar 3, 2020
Oh, look… 4 years later and a different Robin Williams. What is the difference? Well, Matt Damon for one thing. This is perhaps the most serious of the feel good films, riding that boundary boldly and without apology. I was obsessed with this film when it hit its Oscar vibe. I wanted it to win everything, such was its impact on me, and still is. No moment in cinema is more likely to break me than “It’s not your fault“. I am not sure I have ever seen it outside of the cinema without taking a pause there… Minnie Driver made two good films, this and Grosse Point Blank. And in this she is perfectly cast. The feel good factor comes from enduring the pain and seeing it to its conclusion, as Damon rides into the gloom to chase his girl. Perhaps the most satisfying end credits of all time! Just watch him drive towards happiness…