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Awix (3310 KP) rated The Black Hole (1979) in Movies
Feb 13, 2018
Big-budget attempt by Disney to cash in on the success of Star Wars; this sort of thing doesn't happen any more, obviously. Science vessel from Earth discovers fabled lost vessel from a generation before, mysteriously hanging over a black hole; they choose to investigate, eventually there are ray gun battles.
Distinctly odd movie which can't seem to decide whether it's a cheery George Lucas-style family-friendly adventure extravaganza with cute robots and zap guns aplenty, or a post-Stanley Kubrick tale of existential contemplation and all-pervading gloom. In the end the dark tone is mostly triumphant - bemusing final sequence reveals black hole is actually a gateway to hell, which may explain why this has been acclaimed as the most scientifically inaccurate movie in history. Decent cast try hard; very good score from John Barry helps keep things moving along.
Distinctly odd movie which can't seem to decide whether it's a cheery George Lucas-style family-friendly adventure extravaganza with cute robots and zap guns aplenty, or a post-Stanley Kubrick tale of existential contemplation and all-pervading gloom. In the end the dark tone is mostly triumphant - bemusing final sequence reveals black hole is actually a gateway to hell, which may explain why this has been acclaimed as the most scientifically inaccurate movie in history. Decent cast try hard; very good score from John Barry helps keep things moving along.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) in Movies
Feb 10, 2020
Ridin' Solo
Solo: A Star Wars Story- is better than Rogue Story by a lot. Its more fun, entertaining, action, adventure, thrilling, and more.
The plot: Young Han Solo finds adventure when he joins forces with a gang of galactic smugglers and a 190-year-old Wookie named Chewbacca. Indebted to the gangster Dryden Vos, the crew devises a daring plan to travel to the mining planet Kessel to steal a batch of valuable coaxium. In need of a fast ship, Solo meets Lando Calrissian, the suave owner of the perfect vessel for the dangerous mission -- the Millennium Falcon.
I like Aldren Ehrenreich as Han Solo, Woody Harrelson was good, Paul Bettany was excellent as the villian and Donald Glover was good as Lando.
Like i said this is 10x better than rogue one. Its a good movie.
The plot: Young Han Solo finds adventure when he joins forces with a gang of galactic smugglers and a 190-year-old Wookie named Chewbacca. Indebted to the gangster Dryden Vos, the crew devises a daring plan to travel to the mining planet Kessel to steal a batch of valuable coaxium. In need of a fast ship, Solo meets Lando Calrissian, the suave owner of the perfect vessel for the dangerous mission -- the Millennium Falcon.
I like Aldren Ehrenreich as Han Solo, Woody Harrelson was good, Paul Bettany was excellent as the villian and Donald Glover was good as Lando.
Like i said this is 10x better than rogue one. Its a good movie.
David McK (3801 KP) rated Star Wars: Age of Rebellion - Villains in Books
Sep 8, 2019
While the Star Wars Extended Universe has been (unofficially) doing this for years now, Disney has finally come out and given each of the current 3 distinct eras in the films their own 'name's: 'Age of Republic' (The Prequel Trilogy), 'Age of Rebellion' (Original Trilogy) and 'Age of Resistance' (Sequel Trilogy)
This, therefore, is set during the middle - arguably best - of those three, and is really a collection of short stories, each focusing on a given villain from that era: Grand Moff Tarkin, Boba Fett, IG-88, Jabba the Hutt and Darth Vader himself. As such, the stories are a bit hit and miss, with some forgettable while others adding nuance and depth to the characters. I may pick up the 'Age of Rebellion: Heroes' companion when it comes out, but probably won't be rushing out to buy it.
This, therefore, is set during the middle - arguably best - of those three, and is really a collection of short stories, each focusing on a given villain from that era: Grand Moff Tarkin, Boba Fett, IG-88, Jabba the Hutt and Darth Vader himself. As such, the stories are a bit hit and miss, with some forgettable while others adding nuance and depth to the characters. I may pick up the 'Age of Rebellion: Heroes' companion when it comes out, but probably won't be rushing out to buy it.
Adam Savage’s Tested
4.5
Rate It
YouTube Channel
Host of Discovery Channel's long-running series MythBusters, Adam Savage has spent his life making...
Raging Falcon
9.0
Rate It
Book
In the 21st century wars are won in the mind rather than on battlefields. One man will forever...
stephen perkins thriller crime political
Film and stuff (30 KP) rated Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) in Movies
May 15, 2019
Better than prequels. Not so much the originals.
Starring: John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver and Harrison Ford.
With the weight of the entire franchise and fans who have been burnt once before, Abrams had a monumental task to achieve in revitalising the Star Wars saga. Having had a huge amount of success with Star Trek, Abrams was the obvious choice for Disney.
With elements from all three of the original films and completely ignoring the second trilogy in every way it could, it would appear that 'The force Awakens' knew what it was doing, with enough nostalgia to take anyone back to the 70's.
Unfortunately that's where things go wrong.
The film shifts tone with such regularity it just seems confused and panicked as to what needs to be done. Instead of moments of humour and clever nods to the previous films, it vomits bucket loads of both which is more distracting than entertaining.
This is possibly the closest you can get to a remake without calling it a remake, where the ethos just seems to be "make it the same but bigger."
Instead of a continuation of the story, we are offered a setting up film. Don't we have six of those?
With the weight of the entire franchise and fans who have been burnt once before, Abrams had a monumental task to achieve in revitalising the Star Wars saga. Having had a huge amount of success with Star Trek, Abrams was the obvious choice for Disney.
With elements from all three of the original films and completely ignoring the second trilogy in every way it could, it would appear that 'The force Awakens' knew what it was doing, with enough nostalgia to take anyone back to the 70's.
Unfortunately that's where things go wrong.
The film shifts tone with such regularity it just seems confused and panicked as to what needs to be done. Instead of moments of humour and clever nods to the previous films, it vomits bucket loads of both which is more distracting than entertaining.
This is possibly the closest you can get to a remake without calling it a remake, where the ethos just seems to be "make it the same but bigger."
Instead of a continuation of the story, we are offered a setting up film. Don't we have six of those?
Absolute Pandemonium: My Louder Than Life Story
Book
There is no one quite like Brian Blessed. He's an actor, film star, trained undertaker, unlikely...
Watership Down
7.0
Rate It
TV Show
Set in the idyllic rural landscape of southern England, this tale of adventure, courage and survival...
fantasy
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated The Mandalorian - Season 1 in TV
May 5, 2020
A live action series set in the Star Wars universe has been a long time coming and thankfully, it hit almost all the right notes.
The Mandalorian is set after the events of Return of the Jedi, where the empire is all but gone, and the titular hero is going about his business, taking bounty jobs for good pay. It's not too long before it's revealed that remnants of the empire remain intact and one unexpected bounty job sets Mando on a different path entirely.
The plot isn't too heavy on dramatics for the most part, and the 8 episode arc concentrates on small stories - mini adventures that are resolved relatively quickly. It's a lot of fun. The final two episodes set up a larger narrative, that has me excited for season 2.
The Mandalorian himself (Pedro Pascal) is a great lead, and considering his face is covered the entire time, that's high praise. He has a cold, precise exterior, and shows off frequently his capabilities as a warrior (every episode has a pretty awesome action set piece at one point). Underneath it all, his humanity is shown when The Child (commonly know as Baby Yoda) is thrown into his care, drawing paraells with his own childhood.
The Child arguably steals the show at intervals, being offensively cute throughout, and showing hints at force powers here and there.
Other cast members include Cara Dune (Gina Carano), a completely badass ex Imperial Shock Trooper. Her character is another highlight, and I sincerely hope to see her return for season 2.
Greef Karga (Carl freaking Weathers), bounty salesman and sometimes ally of Mando. The three of them (plus The Child) make for a damn fine crew.
Some further Star power is provided by IG-11 (Taika Waititi) and Kuiil (Nick Nolte) and these two characters further flesh out a great cast.
The villains of the piece aren't in your face, but are present enough to lay the seeds for bigger things to come. Earlier on we have The Client (Werner Herzog oozing text book evil empire vibes), and a bit later, Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), who is menacing enough to make an impact with his little screentime.
I also enjoyed the fleshing out of the Mandalorian religion.
There is some great directing talent in display as well, with episode from the likes of the aforementioned Taika Waititi, Deborah Chow, Dave Filoni, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Rick Famuyiwa. They've all down a great job of bringing this particular Star Wars narrative to life, and I genuinely enjoyed every episode.
Except for episode 6. And thats mainly due to the throwaway characters we get given. (It reminded me of that infamous shitty episode in season 2 of Stranger Things.)
The devotion to using practical effects pays off tremendously, as The Mandalorian frequently looks superb. The CGI used is actually pretty subtle, and the mix of the two works.
All in all, it's a strong first season that personally tops any of the recent trilogy in terms of Star Wars material. Can't wait to see where it goes!
The Mandalorian is set after the events of Return of the Jedi, where the empire is all but gone, and the titular hero is going about his business, taking bounty jobs for good pay. It's not too long before it's revealed that remnants of the empire remain intact and one unexpected bounty job sets Mando on a different path entirely.
The plot isn't too heavy on dramatics for the most part, and the 8 episode arc concentrates on small stories - mini adventures that are resolved relatively quickly. It's a lot of fun. The final two episodes set up a larger narrative, that has me excited for season 2.
The Mandalorian himself (Pedro Pascal) is a great lead, and considering his face is covered the entire time, that's high praise. He has a cold, precise exterior, and shows off frequently his capabilities as a warrior (every episode has a pretty awesome action set piece at one point). Underneath it all, his humanity is shown when The Child (commonly know as Baby Yoda) is thrown into his care, drawing paraells with his own childhood.
The Child arguably steals the show at intervals, being offensively cute throughout, and showing hints at force powers here and there.
Other cast members include Cara Dune (Gina Carano), a completely badass ex Imperial Shock Trooper. Her character is another highlight, and I sincerely hope to see her return for season 2.
Greef Karga (Carl freaking Weathers), bounty salesman and sometimes ally of Mando. The three of them (plus The Child) make for a damn fine crew.
Some further Star power is provided by IG-11 (Taika Waititi) and Kuiil (Nick Nolte) and these two characters further flesh out a great cast.
The villains of the piece aren't in your face, but are present enough to lay the seeds for bigger things to come. Earlier on we have The Client (Werner Herzog oozing text book evil empire vibes), and a bit later, Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), who is menacing enough to make an impact with his little screentime.
I also enjoyed the fleshing out of the Mandalorian religion.
There is some great directing talent in display as well, with episode from the likes of the aforementioned Taika Waititi, Deborah Chow, Dave Filoni, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Rick Famuyiwa. They've all down a great job of bringing this particular Star Wars narrative to life, and I genuinely enjoyed every episode.
Except for episode 6. And thats mainly due to the throwaway characters we get given. (It reminded me of that infamous shitty episode in season 2 of Stranger Things.)
The devotion to using practical effects pays off tremendously, as The Mandalorian frequently looks superb. The CGI used is actually pretty subtle, and the mix of the two works.
All in all, it's a strong first season that personally tops any of the recent trilogy in terms of Star Wars material. Can't wait to see where it goes!
theVman (16 KP) rated Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) in Movies
Jun 1, 2018 (Updated Jun 1, 2018)
Supporting Actors (1 more)
Director manged to pull together a watchable film
The two leads actors (1 more)
Clunky Script
A Good Lead Casting is Far Far Away
Its not The Last Jedi bad, but it nowhere close to being The Force Awakens good. Its main problem being that its leading actors struggle to bring a shred of charisma to the screen. Luckily the supporting cast did their job brilliantly and its the support that the film so desperately needed. Much like Rouge One did, Solo director Ron Howard delivers a very different looking Star Wars story and that is made very clear from the first shot. Visually, Solo invokes it inner Ridley Scott, and uses a very mixed bag in the use of it colour and lighting palettes that in any other movie might feel as if its been jigsawed together by three different directors. Somehow Solo has made this work to its advantage and by offering us answers to the key questions we might have about Hans Solo past “How did he meet Chewy?” and “How did he get the Millennium Falcon?” we can get through a very clunky and disjointed script with the end result being something watchable – just.
I cant shake the fact that i thought Alden Ehrenreich, facially, looks alot more like a young Jack Back than Harrison Ford. In fairness every now and again Alden captures a small something that made Star Wars fans fall in love with Hans Solo in the first place, but he mainly offers an uneven performance that made me forget that i was supposed to be watching a younger version of the charming rouge. Emilia Clarkes portrayal as the love interest, was as emotional barren as the plot offered through out the entire first act of the film, and combined, almost destroys the audiences ability to invest in the rest of the film at all.
However, the second act brings the arrival of Donald Glover pretty much nailing his role as a younger Lando Carlrissian, unfortunately the script makes this Lando feel like a bit of a character of obligation as oppose to a character of substance and necessity. The action scenes pick up, the usual special effects and musical score make things a little more “Star Wars-y” and the film becomes way more enjoyable. Knowing that these are its strengths, the film over indulges in them way to much, leading to lengthy action scenes over staying their welcome and forgetting to develop the subplots.
After an action heavy middle, the script tries do too much in the final act to reclaim its grasp on a story leading to a very laborious and tedious climax.
I cant shake the fact that i thought Alden Ehrenreich, facially, looks alot more like a young Jack Back than Harrison Ford. In fairness every now and again Alden captures a small something that made Star Wars fans fall in love with Hans Solo in the first place, but he mainly offers an uneven performance that made me forget that i was supposed to be watching a younger version of the charming rouge. Emilia Clarkes portrayal as the love interest, was as emotional barren as the plot offered through out the entire first act of the film, and combined, almost destroys the audiences ability to invest in the rest of the film at all.
However, the second act brings the arrival of Donald Glover pretty much nailing his role as a younger Lando Carlrissian, unfortunately the script makes this Lando feel like a bit of a character of obligation as oppose to a character of substance and necessity. The action scenes pick up, the usual special effects and musical score make things a little more “Star Wars-y” and the film becomes way more enjoyable. Knowing that these are its strengths, the film over indulges in them way to much, leading to lengthy action scenes over staying their welcome and forgetting to develop the subplots.
After an action heavy middle, the script tries do too much in the final act to reclaim its grasp on a story leading to a very laborious and tedious climax.