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Mini: An Intimate Biography
Book
From its birth in 1959, the Mini grew to become a national treasure and huge success: Princess...
Loose Women on Men
Book
Men are from Mars eh? Well yes, you won't get any argument from us on that front. Sometimes it...
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) in Movies
May 10, 2020
Romantic thriller remake. A daring robbery from a New York museum leads the police and an insurance investigator to suspect insanely wealthy and clever tycoon Thomas Crown, but can the investigator keep her mind on the job when the sparks start a-fizzing between her and the suspect?
The world is made up of people who prefer the Steve McQueen version and those who like this one (and I suppose there are conceivably a few folk who've seen neither): I am in the Brosnan camp, although this film does kind of miss the point that Crown only steals for the fun of it in the original (Brosnan's character clearly appreciates art). Much more of a romantic drama than an actual thriller, but well played and engaging, and the set pieces, when they eventually come, are clever and well-staged. As a chance for Brosnan (then at the apogee of his Bond success) to show his range, it's a qualified success (Crown is another suave, high-living thrill seeker with possible commitment issues), but as a piece of entertainment it does the job.
The world is made up of people who prefer the Steve McQueen version and those who like this one (and I suppose there are conceivably a few folk who've seen neither): I am in the Brosnan camp, although this film does kind of miss the point that Crown only steals for the fun of it in the original (Brosnan's character clearly appreciates art). Much more of a romantic drama than an actual thriller, but well played and engaging, and the set pieces, when they eventually come, are clever and well-staged. As a chance for Brosnan (then at the apogee of his Bond success) to show his range, it's a qualified success (Crown is another suave, high-living thrill seeker with possible commitment issues), but as a piece of entertainment it does the job.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Widows (2018) in Movies
Nov 18, 2018 (Updated Nov 18, 2018)
Based on a TV show that most people will probably have either forgotten or never heard of in the first place, the new film from Steve McQueen (not that one) exchanges the existential historical misery of his last one for existential present-day corruption and despair. When a crew of robbers are killed on a job-gone-wrong and the leader's widow is menaced by the target, demanding his money back, she decides to recruit the widows of the other men to execute her former husband's planned next heist in order to meet her obligations.
Smartly written and well played, there is a lot going on here apart from the obvious genre stuff - various subplots explore the lives of women in modern America, police violence, institutional racism, and so on. However, the problem is that the film seems to get lost in exploring all of this and the meat-and-potatoes stuff about the heist kind of gets a bit lost as a result - the robbery, when it finally arrives, feels a bit rushed and underdeveloped. Still, this is a quality movie with lots to commend it.
Smartly written and well played, there is a lot going on here apart from the obvious genre stuff - various subplots explore the lives of women in modern America, police violence, institutional racism, and so on. However, the problem is that the film seems to get lost in exploring all of this and the meat-and-potatoes stuff about the heist kind of gets a bit lost as a result - the robbery, when it finally arrives, feels a bit rushed and underdeveloped. Still, this is a quality movie with lots to commend it.
Funniest Thing You Never Said 2
Book
The bestselling, blockbusting, bumper book of humorous quotations rides back into town with 6,000...
Appropriation
Book
Many influential artists today draw on a legacy of 'stealing' images and forms from other makers....
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated The Magnificent Seven (2016) in Movies
Jun 26, 2020
The Deadly Seven
The Magnificent Seven- i haven't seen both Seven Samurai and the 1960 verison. I would like to see the 1960 verison cause it has Steve McQueen and Charlies Bronson in it. Its good to see a good western movie these days, cause we either dont see them to often or their not good. So to see a remake of The Magnificent Seven in 2016 was both a surpise and good. With a great cast, Antonie Fuqua directing, good action and Denzel Riding a horse. It was a good movie.
The plot: Looking to mine for gold, greedy industrialist Bartholomew Bogue seizes control of the Old West town of Rose Creek. With their lives in jeopardy, Emma Cullen and other desperate residents turn to bounty hunter Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington) for help. Chisolm recruits an eclectic group of gunslingers to take on Bogue and his ruthless henchmen. With a deadly showdown on the horizon, the seven mercenaries soon find themselves fighting for more than just money once the bullets start to fly.
Good action, good cast, horses and more, The Magnificent Seven lives up to both Seven Samurai and the 1960 verison.
The plot: Looking to mine for gold, greedy industrialist Bartholomew Bogue seizes control of the Old West town of Rose Creek. With their lives in jeopardy, Emma Cullen and other desperate residents turn to bounty hunter Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington) for help. Chisolm recruits an eclectic group of gunslingers to take on Bogue and his ruthless henchmen. With a deadly showdown on the horizon, the seven mercenaries soon find themselves fighting for more than just money once the bullets start to fly.
Good action, good cast, horses and more, The Magnificent Seven lives up to both Seven Samurai and the 1960 verison.
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated 12 Years a Slave (2013) in Movies
Sep 6, 2017
Cast and acting is spectacular (1 more)
Fantastic direction by Steve McQueen
Harrowing, disturbing beyond belief
It's taken me four years to watch this film out of fear I'd be seriously disturbed by the end of it. And no doubt it is disturbing.
The story of Solomon Northrup entails a free black man in America being kidnapped and then sold into slavery. He is gifted and educated, on top of having led a free life with his wife and children, hence in many ways it can be seen as even more traumatic knowing what is already out there.
What's interesting is the complicity of others involved, including other African Americans who have had to turn the other cheek in order to survive. The white men are despicable in this film, the brutality is truly horrifying.
It goes without saying Chiwetel Ejiofor is fantastic as Solomon, he's understated which makes his acting all the more moving. Michael Fassbender is particularly gratuitous in his role as a slave owner. Lupita Nyong'o is absolutely outstanding, playing a woman brutalized by the master for his own disgusting needs. The women go through a particular hell in this horrid period of history. You'll need a strong countenance to watch this.
The story of Solomon Northrup entails a free black man in America being kidnapped and then sold into slavery. He is gifted and educated, on top of having led a free life with his wife and children, hence in many ways it can be seen as even more traumatic knowing what is already out there.
What's interesting is the complicity of others involved, including other African Americans who have had to turn the other cheek in order to survive. The white men are despicable in this film, the brutality is truly horrifying.
It goes without saying Chiwetel Ejiofor is fantastic as Solomon, he's understated which makes his acting all the more moving. Michael Fassbender is particularly gratuitous in his role as a slave owner. Lupita Nyong'o is absolutely outstanding, playing a woman brutalized by the master for his own disgusting needs. The women go through a particular hell in this horrid period of history. You'll need a strong countenance to watch this.
Stars and Cars
Book
Steve McQueen. A Ford Mustang. And San Francisco. The ten-minute pursuit in Bullitt has remained the...
Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies and Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films
Book
This classic iconic study of black images in American motion pictures has been updated and revised,...