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Awix (3310 KP) rated A View to a Kill (1985) in Movies

Mar 2, 2018 (Updated Mar 2, 2018)  
A View to a Kill (1985)
A View to a Kill (1985)
1985 | Action, Mystery
Fourteenth Bond movie, known in Hong Kong as 'Indestructible Iron Man Fights the Electronic Gang'. (Which is pretty accurate, to be honest.) Rogue eugenic superman Zorin (Walken) has slightly Goldfingerish plan to artificially inflate the value of silicon chips; Bond has to stop him (obvs).

Bond gets it on with a record-breaking four different people in the course of the movie, including the villain's chief heavy, which may explain why he looks so exhausted most of the time. Or this may be due to Roger Moore's own advanced age (he was apparently dismayed to discover he was older than the parents of leading lady Tanya Roberts). Very much an example of Bond-movie-as-Bond-movie, i.e. a knockabout light-hearted action spectacular with only occasional pretensions to being a serious thriller or having anything meaningful to say about the world. Some decent chases and set pieces, helped by an occasionally effective soundtrack. Pleasantly distracting to watch but it's hardly going to rock your boat, let alone your world. It's possible that the opening sequence, in which Bond invents (gosh wow!) snowboarding , is the most glaringly dated moment of any major film in history.
  
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
2018 | Action, Sci-Fi
Better than The Last Jedi
Did we really need a Han Solo origin story? Even after watching this I'm not entirely sure.

The cast are fantastic, there are some great performances here and you can't really go wrong when you throw Woody Harrelson into the mix. The film plods along at a fairly decent pace and the plot is engaging, albeit fairly predictable. Some of the dialogue is a bit stilted and the humour seems very misplaced. With l3 it seems like they've tried to add a new version of K2S0 from Rogue One to generate some laughs, but sadly unlike K2S0, L3 just doesn't really work.

 I feel like this film is just trying to tick some boxes and cover the Solo basics (how he meets Chewie, Lando, and wins the Falcon), and it seems to gloss over all of these in a few minutes. Far too quickly. As an origin story it should almost show us how Han changes into the person he is in the later films, but it doesn't. You don't see the jaded untrusting cynic he becomes.

Don't get me wrong this film is fairly fun and enjoyable, it's just a little forgettable.
  
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Moodyhydra (3 KP) rated Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) in Movies

Oct 4, 2018 (Updated Oct 4, 2018)  
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
2018 | Action, Sci-Fi
Good family fun
My oldest daughter is a huge marvel fan. Anything marvel and we have to watch it. Ant Man and The Wasp was no exception. I went into this movie with a feeling of mehhhhh another marvel film. I was pleasantly surprised. Ant Man and The Wasp was good fun. There are many laugh moments in this film and most of it comes from Ant Man himself and his mishaps with his suit. Ant Man is a loveable rogue type character who is can sometimes seem a bit selfish.

He has selfish moments but he is trying to do the right thing and keep his daughter safe and stay out of prison so he can see her. The relationship between them is lovely. I didn't find the love interest relationship between him and wasp that believable and the movie could do without it. I liked the fact the Ghost was a character we start of disliking but by the end of the movie we want it to be ok for her. Overall This was a nice, easy, fun sit and watch movie with all the family
  
Star Wars, Vol. 7: The Ashes of Jedha
Star Wars, Vol. 7: The Ashes of Jedha
Kieron Gillen | 2018 | Comics & Graphic Novels
4
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
The newest (at the time of writing) entry in Marvel's on-going Star Wars series, that sees Luke, Han, Leia et al travel to the planet of Jedha between the events of 'A New Hope' and 'The Empire Strikes Back': the planet, that is, that first appeared in the relatively-recent movie 'Rogue One' and on which the might of the Death Star was first practiced.

As such, Jedha is now a ruined planet under Imperial Occupation, with this collection (of issues number 38-43) also covering the effects of Saw Garrera's partisan group: another relatively recent addition to the whole Star Wars canon!

While Luke tries to learn more about being a Jedi as Leia seeks to form an alliance with the remaining members of that partisan group and as Han grows into a leadership role, the Empire tightens their grip on the planet.

I must admit to being a bit lost at first: although this is vol 7 in the series, the 'read in order' on the inside jacket actually places this after 'The Screaming Citadel': maybe if I'd read that, this might flow better?
  
Star Wars Omnibus: X-Wing Rogue Squadron, Vol. 1
Star Wars Omnibus: X-Wing Rogue Squadron, Vol. 1
Michael A. Stackpole | 2006 | Comics & Graphic Novels
6
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Generally speaking, I'm not really a comic-book guy kinda person.

However, I have read (and actually quite enjoyed) the Star Wars: X-Wing series of books, and was aware that these were also (pre Prequel trilogy) comics. However, I was unaware (until relatively recently) that the comics were not just visualizations of the novels, but were rather stories in their own right.

When I found this out, and when I came across the digital version of this Omnibus - which collects the first 3 stories in the X-Wing series [so Goodreads, should count as 3 towards my yearly challenge!] , I thought I would give it a try.

Of the 3 stories contained - Rogue Leader, the Rebel Opposition and The Phantom Affair - the second and third of these were co-written by Michael Stackpole, who also wrote the first X-Wing novels. Personally, while the story may be better in those two than in the first, I preferred the art of the first story, finding the panes easier to follow.

I haven't yet decided, but I may also pick up the next volume(s) in the series.