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Under Siege (1992)
Under Siege (1992)
1992 | Action
Cheesy But Leaves An Impact
A short order cook on a navy ship has to fight off terrorists that have taken control.

Acting: 6
When I think acting chops, please believe I’m not referring to Steven Seagal. It’s rough watching him spit out lines. The majority of the other actors aren’t really any better save for an underrated performance by Tommy Lee Jones. If you’re looking for quality thespians, look elsewhere.

Beginning: 6

Characters: 7

Cinematography/Visuals: 6
There are some quality shots here, although things are a bit jumbled at times. I do have to give credit to Andrew Davis as I’m sure it was a challenge doing a movie solely below deck of a ship. I definitely wouldn’t want that challenge. Not much to be desired, I appreciated he did the best he could with the little he was given.

Conflict: 10

Entertainment Value: 7

Memorability: 7
Cheesy, but definitely leaves enough of an impact where I would watch it again. It’s a great movie to check out while folding clothes or doing any other mindless task. Steven Seagal definitely leaves behind some fun action moments that make the movie worthwhile.

Pace: 7

Plot: 7
Cheesy? Sure. Original? Absolutely. It sounds ridiculous but I have to give the story credit for trying to branch out and try something new, especially during the early 90’s when martial arts movies were all the rage. It’s not winning any Oscars, but I’ve seen worse stories from movies that have tried harder.

Resolution: 10
Great ending that brings the movie to a nice close. I like that it fits perfectly in line with the rest of the cheesiness of the movie. Great way to wrap things up.

Overall: 73
For what it’s worth, Under Siege doesn’t do anything exceptionally well, but it doesn’t do anything terribly bad either. It’s a fun movie if you have time to kill. Definitely one of my favorite Tommy Lee Jones roles.
  
Ready Player One
Ready Player One
Ernest Cline | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.9 (161 Ratings)
Book Rating
Writing (2 more)
Character development
80's references
This is one of the most fun reads I've ever had.
I kinda love this book, and the Audio Book is read by Wil Wheaton which is kinda perfect. I even love the dystopian future aspect, where everyone spends all the time online, plugged in to the Oasis. And here within it in a big mystery, with shades of willy wonka. Here is this everyday geek, who through hard work, determination and cunning deciphering of the codes and clues makes a run at the greatest prize of his time. Once agai on fo the most fun books I've ever read, and I really hope the movie coming out soon lives up to the feel, I already know it won't have everything as no movie is ever a complete version, but I feel that steven spielberg at least has the chops to take it on and do it justice. I hope I'm not wrong.
  
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Lumos (380 KP) Mar 23, 2018

I love, love this book! I wish there were slightly fewer inappropriate moments because I know my students would enjoy it.

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Connie (244 KP) Jun 10, 2018

Agreed Lumos! My 4th graders would love to hear this. Maybe I can find a way to skip some of it without taking away from the story...?

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Awix (3310 KP) rated Haywire (2012) in Movies

Feb 20, 2018 (Updated Feb 20, 2018)  
Haywire (2012)
Haywire (2012)
2012 | Action, Drama, Mystery
8
5.4 (7 Ratings)
Movie Rating
'You should not think of her as a woman. That would be a mistake.'
Rousing action thriller looks on paper like another Besson movie, is actually typically classy Steven Soderbergh genre pastiche. Basically a vehicle for delicate flower of women's MMA Gina Carano to batter the living daylights out of an array of A-list leading men, which she does with aplomb and charisma.

The script is sympathetically structured so Carano doesn't have to do more than the minimal amount of actual acting, but the plot is competently twisty-turny and Soderbergh puts an impressive cast around his star. Some first-class fight sequences and chases, as you would expect. At the time I had my fingers crossed for a new subgenre of pro-celebrity martial arts movies with Carano proceeding to kick in Jude Law, Orlando Bloom, Ryan Reynolds, etc, in subsequent outings, but it never happened. Shame; notable careers have been built on considerably less potential than Carano showed in this film.