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Darren (1599 KP) rated Aftermath 2017 (2017) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
Story: Aftermath starts as construction worker Roman (Schwarzenegger) is looking forward to the arrival of his wife and pregnant daughter from Kiev for Christmas. Making himself extra smart with flowers at hand he arrives at the airport to find the flight delayed but there is no good news, the plane was involved in a tragic accident killing both his wife and daughter.
On the other side of the story flight controller Jake Bonaos (McNairy) leaves his wife and son to arrive at work that very same day, on a night shift where he finds the himself distracted trying to fix a phoneline as two planes collided mid-air, the same flights that had Roman’s family on.
Both men’s lives are completely shattered, Roman broken, alone and spending days and nights at the cemetery. While Jake is branded a murderer by the public finding it impossible to function or being the husband and father he needs to be.
With the airline company waving money in Roman’s face to stop them being sued and Jake on the verge of suicide brings us to one year later where both are still living in the tragedy but both are attempting to move on.
Thoughts on Aftermath
Characters/Performance – Roman is a hard-working construction worker, he has work long hours to make sure his family can move to live with him in America, when he loses them his life is shattered but all he wants is an apologise not the airlines money. Jake is a flight controller who makes an honest mistake that cost the lives of everyone on the flights, his life is ruined, he loses his family, his job and must change his name and start again, living the rest of his life with regret.
Performance wise, Schwarzenegger is brilliant in this role where is he no action hero, he is an everyday man that loses everything, this is by far one of his best acting performances of his career. Scoot McNairy is also fantastic in this role showing just how capable of an actor he is.
Story – The story is based on a real incident that followed a mid-air collision but turned into an American story for it to unfold in. This story is very powerful because you are now left to wonder just what would happen if you were in either of these men’s shoes. The story also isn’t just a revenge film it follows these two men trying to rebuild their lives after what happened and mostly just wanting a human response from somebody involved.
Thriller – From the moment this film starts you are left to wonder from the edge of your seat to where this film will go.
Settings – The settings used through the film focus on making both our main characters feel like everyday people whose lives have been ruined by the events which is all you need from the film.
Final Thoughts – This is one of the best and most intense slow burning stories you will see this year. The performances are fantastic as well as being one of the most interesting stories out there.
Overall: One of the most powerful stories you will see this year.
https://moviesreview101.com/2017/04/10/aftermath-2017/
On the other side of the story flight controller Jake Bonaos (McNairy) leaves his wife and son to arrive at work that very same day, on a night shift where he finds the himself distracted trying to fix a phoneline as two planes collided mid-air, the same flights that had Roman’s family on.
Both men’s lives are completely shattered, Roman broken, alone and spending days and nights at the cemetery. While Jake is branded a murderer by the public finding it impossible to function or being the husband and father he needs to be.
With the airline company waving money in Roman’s face to stop them being sued and Jake on the verge of suicide brings us to one year later where both are still living in the tragedy but both are attempting to move on.
Thoughts on Aftermath
Characters/Performance – Roman is a hard-working construction worker, he has work long hours to make sure his family can move to live with him in America, when he loses them his life is shattered but all he wants is an apologise not the airlines money. Jake is a flight controller who makes an honest mistake that cost the lives of everyone on the flights, his life is ruined, he loses his family, his job and must change his name and start again, living the rest of his life with regret.
Performance wise, Schwarzenegger is brilliant in this role where is he no action hero, he is an everyday man that loses everything, this is by far one of his best acting performances of his career. Scoot McNairy is also fantastic in this role showing just how capable of an actor he is.
Story – The story is based on a real incident that followed a mid-air collision but turned into an American story for it to unfold in. This story is very powerful because you are now left to wonder just what would happen if you were in either of these men’s shoes. The story also isn’t just a revenge film it follows these two men trying to rebuild their lives after what happened and mostly just wanting a human response from somebody involved.
Thriller – From the moment this film starts you are left to wonder from the edge of your seat to where this film will go.
Settings – The settings used through the film focus on making both our main characters feel like everyday people whose lives have been ruined by the events which is all you need from the film.
Final Thoughts – This is one of the best and most intense slow burning stories you will see this year. The performances are fantastic as well as being one of the most interesting stories out there.
Overall: One of the most powerful stories you will see this year.
https://moviesreview101.com/2017/04/10/aftermath-2017/
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Wolf (2019) in Movies
Sep 19, 2019
Contains spoilers, click to show
A group of Roman legionnaires in Britain are sent on a mission to find a group of missing messengers only to find themselves attacked by something that comes out with the full moon.
So basically it's Roman’s vs werewolves in the woods, a premise with so much potential. However it fails in oh so many ways. I feel a bit bad for this review because I did enjoy the film, admittedly I seemed to be the only one as everyone else left about half way through (ok there were only two other people there but they did leave) but as a film it was quite terrible. First off we have the legionnaires, the group have only been together for a few weeks and don't trust each other, and they consist of:
Shouting guy who has just been sent from Rome who can't seem to decide if he's channelling Nick Frost or Brian Blessed.
Not so shouting guy who is friends with shouting guy and likes to drink
Captain who doesn't seem very effective
Old guy who shouldn't be there, doesn’t get on with the captain
Tall blonde guy who is always on about his wife who about to have a baby
Germanic female scout that no one trusts
Ex slave woman who looks like she should be a witch (she’s not) who is friends with the captain
Black woman who has a brother
And two other guys I can't really remember
So, the film gets points for having a culturally mixed squad which is historically correct but they don’t act as a unit. They are always talking, even when hunting the creatures they never shut up. One of them say “We are Roman we do the hunting.” But they don't seem to know to be quite.
It does strike me that the film is trying to be (Or seem) historically accurate, there are mentions of tactical formations that can be used, everyone uses the names of an appropriate god and there is mention of what certain weapons are made of but all of this just adds to the feeling that the film has been made by a group of Roman reenactor enthusiasts.
I had a friend who said that ‘Cloverfield’ was one of the worst films ever because you never see the monster, we pointed out that you do but acknowledge that 'Cloverfield’ keeps the monster hidden to make it more mysterious and scary. Wolf does this as well, for most of the film all you see of the monsters are pink streaks that seem quite reminiscent of naked people and when you finally see the creatures they look like they could be extras in classic doctor who. The effects in general are a bit rubbish to the point of one the cast walking around with what looks like rice pudding or custard in his beard for ten minutes.
The camera work is sometimes shaky, shots of the sky blind you and there are times when it looks like the actors don't know how to hold a sword.
And the film doesn't end, there's a revelation, the survivors say they will continue the mission then the credits roll. There could be a sequel but if there is it will be because the cast want it and not on reviews (although I think I did enjoy it a bit).
So basically it's Roman’s vs werewolves in the woods, a premise with so much potential. However it fails in oh so many ways. I feel a bit bad for this review because I did enjoy the film, admittedly I seemed to be the only one as everyone else left about half way through (ok there were only two other people there but they did leave) but as a film it was quite terrible. First off we have the legionnaires, the group have only been together for a few weeks and don't trust each other, and they consist of:
Shouting guy who has just been sent from Rome who can't seem to decide if he's channelling Nick Frost or Brian Blessed.
Not so shouting guy who is friends with shouting guy and likes to drink
Captain who doesn't seem very effective
Old guy who shouldn't be there, doesn’t get on with the captain
Tall blonde guy who is always on about his wife who about to have a baby
Germanic female scout that no one trusts
Ex slave woman who looks like she should be a witch (she’s not) who is friends with the captain
Black woman who has a brother
And two other guys I can't really remember
So, the film gets points for having a culturally mixed squad which is historically correct but they don’t act as a unit. They are always talking, even when hunting the creatures they never shut up. One of them say “We are Roman we do the hunting.” But they don't seem to know to be quite.
It does strike me that the film is trying to be (Or seem) historically accurate, there are mentions of tactical formations that can be used, everyone uses the names of an appropriate god and there is mention of what certain weapons are made of but all of this just adds to the feeling that the film has been made by a group of Roman reenactor enthusiasts.
I had a friend who said that ‘Cloverfield’ was one of the worst films ever because you never see the monster, we pointed out that you do but acknowledge that 'Cloverfield’ keeps the monster hidden to make it more mysterious and scary. Wolf does this as well, for most of the film all you see of the monsters are pink streaks that seem quite reminiscent of naked people and when you finally see the creatures they look like they could be extras in classic doctor who. The effects in general are a bit rubbish to the point of one the cast walking around with what looks like rice pudding or custard in his beard for ten minutes.
The camera work is sometimes shaky, shots of the sky blind you and there are times when it looks like the actors don't know how to hold a sword.
And the film doesn't end, there's a revelation, the survivors say they will continue the mission then the credits roll. There could be a sequel but if there is it will be because the cast want it and not on reviews (although I think I did enjoy it a bit).
Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) created a post in Dear Smashbomb....
Jan 18, 2019 (Updated Jan 18, 2019)
Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) created a post
Jan 18, 2019
Terry Crews recommended The Pianist (2002) in Movies (curated)
Bethr1986 (305 KP) rated Burn Baby Burn (Fairytales of the Myth #1) in Books
Apr 30, 2021
Wow!
Ella and Cadeyrn have been captured by the enemy, Ella has promised to get her revenge for their capture and her fathers death whatever it takes or how long she will make them pay. This is fairytales of the myth #1 Miranda Grant claims it is a dark steamy retelling of Cinderella it certainly is that!
I was absolutely hooked with this book ,I actually was disappointed when i realised that id finished the book, It felt that id only just started reading it! i find it very interesting some of the things learnt like i genuinely didn't know that a slave master in roman times were actually known as Domina/Dominus.
It certainly is steamy but i must say the sex scene of the threesome did actually bring tears to my eyes bloomin eck! A rather rough session!
I was fascinated with the growth of Ella and the discovery of her true self and the things she had hidden.
I cannot wait for the next book in this series deffinatly one i am going to continue to read, i am also going to look at some of Miranda's other series as they too look fantastic
I was absolutely hooked with this book ,I actually was disappointed when i realised that id finished the book, It felt that id only just started reading it! i find it very interesting some of the things learnt like i genuinely didn't know that a slave master in roman times were actually known as Domina/Dominus.
It certainly is steamy but i must say the sex scene of the threesome did actually bring tears to my eyes bloomin eck! A rather rough session!
I was fascinated with the growth of Ella and the discovery of her true self and the things she had hidden.
I cannot wait for the next book in this series deffinatly one i am going to continue to read, i am also going to look at some of Miranda's other series as they too look fantastic
Mark Halpern (153 KP) rated Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2018) in Movies
Feb 9, 2018
fighting for others but fighting for yourself
Roman (Washington) is a defense attorney who is basically kept behind the scenes more as an advisory position partner who he has worked with for 20 plus years dies of an heart attack and the practice is being dissolved. George (Farrllel) is a head partner at the firm that has acquired Roman'f firms cases and is offered an position because of his knowledge of the law and his caring for his clients. He has abides by the law his whole life but a life changing event happens and he sees an opportunity to do something for him even if it is against his morals and the law. How does he live with himself afterwards and what becomes him only the story can tell you.
Lots of lawyer movies you see these days involve the lawyer to get involved in some type of action sequence. This movie brings us to a great story, a good plot and a great cast. The only problem with it is that it is a little slow and at times and makes you kind of not interested but, then it picks back up again. This is a must for any Denzel Washington fan. Colin Farrell is very good as well
Lots of lawyer movies you see these days involve the lawyer to get involved in some type of action sequence. This movie brings us to a great story, a good plot and a great cast. The only problem with it is that it is a little slow and at times and makes you kind of not interested but, then it picks back up again. This is a must for any Denzel Washington fan. Colin Farrell is very good as well
David McK (3562 KP) rated Catching Fire in Books
Jan 28, 2019
The second book in Suzanne Collins' <i>The Hunger Games</i> trilogy, this is a true sequel to the first in the sense that it shares the same characters and refers to the same events as the original (as opposed to 'only' being set in the same universe).
At the start of the novel, and having survived <i>The Hunger Games</i>, Katniss is back in District 12 in the company of her mother, sister, and Peeta. Things aren't entirely all rosy, however, as her stunt with the berries has enraged President Snow (and the Capitol), who is now looking for ways to further punish her, leading to her heading back into the arena ...
I have to say, the parallels between the Capitol and ancient Rome are even more pronounced this time round than previously, especially in an early(ish) scene where Katniss and Peeta attend a banquet in the Capitol: a banquet that provides it's guests with the means to be sick so they can eat more more, while those in the districts starve (the myth of the Roman Vomitorium, anyone?). Once again, this is told in the immediate first-person sense, with the novel also ending in a definite cliff-hanger for the final part of the trilogy.
At the start of the novel, and having survived <i>The Hunger Games</i>, Katniss is back in District 12 in the company of her mother, sister, and Peeta. Things aren't entirely all rosy, however, as her stunt with the berries has enraged President Snow (and the Capitol), who is now looking for ways to further punish her, leading to her heading back into the arena ...
I have to say, the parallels between the Capitol and ancient Rome are even more pronounced this time round than previously, especially in an early(ish) scene where Katniss and Peeta attend a banquet in the Capitol: a banquet that provides it's guests with the means to be sick so they can eat more more, while those in the districts starve (the myth of the Roman Vomitorium, anyone?). Once again, this is told in the immediate first-person sense, with the novel also ending in a definite cliff-hanger for the final part of the trilogy.
David McK (3562 KP) rated The Blood Crows (Eagle, #12) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
Book number 12 in Simon Scarrow's (what was originally called) Eagle series (before the 'Eagle' moniker was dropped with the publication of [b:Centurion|2993197|Centurion|L.D. Alford|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347251292s/2993197.jpg|3023669]), with this one seeing the return of Roman soldiers Macro and Cato back to the scene of the first novels: back to the still-untamed Britain.
The newly promoted Prefect Cato (who has thus overtaken his old mentor and friend Macro - now a Centurion - in rank), as well as Centurion Macro, are given the task of taking command of a military outpost on the borders of the empire: a military outpost in which the previous Prefect has been killed in mysterious circumstances, and in which (it proves) the current Commander and his Blood Wolves are carrying out a policy of total war against the inhabitants of the valley in which the fort is situated.
It's not long before Cato has to assert his own authority, as well as finding ways to deal with hordes of vengeful natives on his doorstep ...
As before in the series, I found this to be an enjoyable read: it will also be interesting to see where the series goes next! :)
The newly promoted Prefect Cato (who has thus overtaken his old mentor and friend Macro - now a Centurion - in rank), as well as Centurion Macro, are given the task of taking command of a military outpost on the borders of the empire: a military outpost in which the previous Prefect has been killed in mysterious circumstances, and in which (it proves) the current Commander and his Blood Wolves are carrying out a policy of total war against the inhabitants of the valley in which the fort is situated.
It's not long before Cato has to assert his own authority, as well as finding ways to deal with hordes of vengeful natives on his doorstep ...
As before in the series, I found this to be an enjoyable read: it will also be interesting to see where the series goes next! :)
Merissa (12894 KP) rated The Huntress (Tales of Pern Coen: Bloodlines #2) in Books
Mar 14, 2023
THE HUNTRESS is the second book in the Tales of Pern Coen (Bloodlines) series and continues on from The Hunter.
A blast from Conor's past makes herself known but the war has changed both of them. Rhian is just coming into her own strength so will she fight for Conor if needed?
I thoroughly enjoyed book one and commented on the mix of Celtic names and fantasy places. This one is even better, with more details given about the Spirits of the land and what they represent.
This series definitely gives me a Roman Empire vs. the Druids of Mona feeling, with a better outcome for the druids, hopefully!
The ending was absolutely wonderful. The only thing I wanted was a bit more into the ending of a certain sorceress. It just felt as though it was over a bit too quickly, as in, blink and you miss it. Not enough for me to knock a star off though.
A fantastic partner to The Hunter and HIGHLY recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
A blast from Conor's past makes herself known but the war has changed both of them. Rhian is just coming into her own strength so will she fight for Conor if needed?
I thoroughly enjoyed book one and commented on the mix of Celtic names and fantasy places. This one is even better, with more details given about the Spirits of the land and what they represent.
This series definitely gives me a Roman Empire vs. the Druids of Mona feeling, with a better outcome for the druids, hopefully!
The ending was absolutely wonderful. The only thing I wanted was a bit more into the ending of a certain sorceress. It just felt as though it was over a bit too quickly, as in, blink and you miss it. Not enough for me to knock a star off though.
A fantastic partner to The Hunter and HIGHLY recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!