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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Cats (2019) in Movies
Dec 27, 2019
[Nostalgia enters the room looking cheery. A cat lurks in the background. Nostalgia starts tapdancing. Suddenly a red dot appears on Nostalgia's back and the cat savagely attacks it, leaving it bloody and beaten on the ground.]
As I've been saying to people... this film isn't good, but it's also not entirely bad, it has its moments.
Let's talk about the CGI first. You know what? It's not all that bad. Take out whatever you think about the concept of the human cats the fur in the second trailer looked much better than its first outing. During the film, Old Deuteronomy looked so fluffy I just wanted to pet her. The ear movements were pretty good, if a little consistent, it felt a little like they'd looked up cat actions in a book and taken the textbook description to animate rather than watching an actual cat. The cats as a whole could probably been a little larger compared to the "life-sized" staging around them because the ratio did feel a little off, but it wasn't really enough to make it off-putting.
Ever since I saw Cats at the cinema I've been singing the songs, but that's off the back of me listening to the stage recordings on Spotify and not the film versions. They don't quite have the same pep of the originals, watching them wasn't the wondrous experience I was hoping for. There are small exceptions. Taylor Swift was excellent and set a perfect tone for her number. Jason Derulo is a showman in this and after his Red Dwarf Cat-like clip in the trailer I was excited for his full numbers, they didn't disappoint.
Memory has to be my favourite song since seeing it on the stage and I was keen to see the talented Jennifer Hudson perform it. When it surfaced briefly I was worried, there was no impact, no heart... potential disaster. Finally the full number happened at the end and I was convinced. I listened to Hudson sing with such emotion that I cried, streams of tears and a quivering lip. It was beautiful.
The rest of the cast, while chockful of talent, didn't have quite the same buzz about it.
Francesca Hayward is a massively talented ballerina but the acting portion of the performance didn't quite hit the spot. This wasn't helped by the advert that has been running with her and Jennifer Hudson before the trailer was running before every film I watched for about two weeks.
I love Dame Judi and Sir Ian, and it was fun seeing them in this, but both had their issues. I wasn't a fan of Dench's moments of singing and the melancholy role of Gus for McKellen was a little unsettling. Who doesn't love seeing an Idris Elba film? He does the bad "guy" well but there was something wrong here too, I think that was partly to do with that fur torso.
It would be entirely possible to go on and on about this and all its ins and outs, but I don't think either of us have the time for that. I do feel that having the previous knowledge of Cats on the stage will help immensely when seeing this. That does also have some drawbacks though, when we saw it at the theatre it was a very interactive experience with the cats in the aisles with the audience and that's something the film can't compete with. I'm tempted to say that they should have forgone CGI aspects for the most part and had costumed cast. Making something more realistic when everything around it is unrealistic (in that it's not quite what we're used to as regular-sized humans) makes everything more confusing, perhaps the low tech angle would have made it a little less scary to some.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2019/12/cats-movie-review.html
As I've been saying to people... this film isn't good, but it's also not entirely bad, it has its moments.
Let's talk about the CGI first. You know what? It's not all that bad. Take out whatever you think about the concept of the human cats the fur in the second trailer looked much better than its first outing. During the film, Old Deuteronomy looked so fluffy I just wanted to pet her. The ear movements were pretty good, if a little consistent, it felt a little like they'd looked up cat actions in a book and taken the textbook description to animate rather than watching an actual cat. The cats as a whole could probably been a little larger compared to the "life-sized" staging around them because the ratio did feel a little off, but it wasn't really enough to make it off-putting.
Ever since I saw Cats at the cinema I've been singing the songs, but that's off the back of me listening to the stage recordings on Spotify and not the film versions. They don't quite have the same pep of the originals, watching them wasn't the wondrous experience I was hoping for. There are small exceptions. Taylor Swift was excellent and set a perfect tone for her number. Jason Derulo is a showman in this and after his Red Dwarf Cat-like clip in the trailer I was excited for his full numbers, they didn't disappoint.
Memory has to be my favourite song since seeing it on the stage and I was keen to see the talented Jennifer Hudson perform it. When it surfaced briefly I was worried, there was no impact, no heart... potential disaster. Finally the full number happened at the end and I was convinced. I listened to Hudson sing with such emotion that I cried, streams of tears and a quivering lip. It was beautiful.
The rest of the cast, while chockful of talent, didn't have quite the same buzz about it.
Francesca Hayward is a massively talented ballerina but the acting portion of the performance didn't quite hit the spot. This wasn't helped by the advert that has been running with her and Jennifer Hudson before the trailer was running before every film I watched for about two weeks.
I love Dame Judi and Sir Ian, and it was fun seeing them in this, but both had their issues. I wasn't a fan of Dench's moments of singing and the melancholy role of Gus for McKellen was a little unsettling. Who doesn't love seeing an Idris Elba film? He does the bad "guy" well but there was something wrong here too, I think that was partly to do with that fur torso.
It would be entirely possible to go on and on about this and all its ins and outs, but I don't think either of us have the time for that. I do feel that having the previous knowledge of Cats on the stage will help immensely when seeing this. That does also have some drawbacks though, when we saw it at the theatre it was a very interactive experience with the cats in the aisles with the audience and that's something the film can't compete with. I'm tempted to say that they should have forgone CGI aspects for the most part and had costumed cast. Making something more realistic when everything around it is unrealistic (in that it's not quite what we're used to as regular-sized humans) makes everything more confusing, perhaps the low tech angle would have made it a little less scary to some.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2019/12/cats-movie-review.html
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Mister Roberts (1955) in Movies
Apr 10, 2020
Well Acted
A staple of Old Hollywood under the Studio System was to adapt to the film Broadway shows that were a big hit. One such hit was the 1948 WWII play MISTER ROBERTS starring Henry Fonda (who would win a Tony Award for his performance).
In 1955, Paramount Studios mounted a film production of MISTER ROBERTS starring Fonda, James Cagney (in his last film role for Paramount - who he had been under contract to for 25 years), William Powell (in his last film role) and a young "up-and-comer" by the name of Jack Lemon.
Set in the waning days of World War II aboard a "cargo vessel", MISTER ROBERTS tells the tale of...well...Mister Roberts, the cargo officer who is keeping the ship afloat - serving as a buffer between the crew and the tyrannical Captain. Roberts longs for one thing - to join the war on a battleship, but the Captain knows his success is dependent on Roberts.
Paramount considered Fonda too old for the role, so they sought out younger stars like Marlon Brando and William Holden, but Director John Ford insisted on Fonda - and a wise choice it was. Fonda's easy-going natural personality - tinged with anger and regret - is perfectly suited for this role. He is just as at home joking around with the sailors as he is going mano-a-mano with the Captain. Also perfectly cast is the great James Cagney as the Captain who is only concerned about 1 thing - how he is perceived by the higher ups in the Navy. The conflict between Cagney and Fonda is dynamite and it is worth the price of admission just to watch these 2 Hollywood heavyweights go at it.
Jack Lemon won his first Oscar (as Best Supporting Actor) for portraying Mr. Roberts bunkmate, Ensign Pulver. It is a perfect match of character and actor and you can see where the greatness that is Jack Lemon (an under-rated actor) stems from. The surprise to me at this viewing was the strong work of William Powell (THE THIN MAN movie series) as Doc, the best friend of Mr. Roberts aboard the ship. He has an ease and rapport with Fonda and when Fonda, Powell and Lemon share the screen together the film sparkles.
And that's the best part - and the worst part - of this great film. It looks like a filmed stage play. Veteran Director John Ford looks like he was "mailing it in" on this one, in that he would just put his camera in one stationary position and let his actors play the scenes like they were in a play. This is either laziness - or genius - at the hands of Ford (I would argue probably a little of each). He was wise enough to know he had some incredible talent (Fonda, Cagney, Powell and Lemon) - and a strong script by Frank S. Nugent and Joshua Logan (based on the stage play by Logan and Thomas Hagen...based on Hagen's book), so he stayed out of the way as much as possible.
Consequently, the first part of this film is a bit talky and stagey looking and drags just a bit, but once the film catches it's steam - and these 4 stars light up the screen - this film is well worth watching.
Letter Grade: A
9 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
P.S.: I caught Mister Roberts on the great cable channel TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES - but (as far as I can tell) it's not scheduled to be re-run there anytime soon (and is not streamable on the Watch TCM app), so you'll need to rent it at all the "normal" places (YouTube, GoogePLay, iTunes and Vudu)
In 1955, Paramount Studios mounted a film production of MISTER ROBERTS starring Fonda, James Cagney (in his last film role for Paramount - who he had been under contract to for 25 years), William Powell (in his last film role) and a young "up-and-comer" by the name of Jack Lemon.
Set in the waning days of World War II aboard a "cargo vessel", MISTER ROBERTS tells the tale of...well...Mister Roberts, the cargo officer who is keeping the ship afloat - serving as a buffer between the crew and the tyrannical Captain. Roberts longs for one thing - to join the war on a battleship, but the Captain knows his success is dependent on Roberts.
Paramount considered Fonda too old for the role, so they sought out younger stars like Marlon Brando and William Holden, but Director John Ford insisted on Fonda - and a wise choice it was. Fonda's easy-going natural personality - tinged with anger and regret - is perfectly suited for this role. He is just as at home joking around with the sailors as he is going mano-a-mano with the Captain. Also perfectly cast is the great James Cagney as the Captain who is only concerned about 1 thing - how he is perceived by the higher ups in the Navy. The conflict between Cagney and Fonda is dynamite and it is worth the price of admission just to watch these 2 Hollywood heavyweights go at it.
Jack Lemon won his first Oscar (as Best Supporting Actor) for portraying Mr. Roberts bunkmate, Ensign Pulver. It is a perfect match of character and actor and you can see where the greatness that is Jack Lemon (an under-rated actor) stems from. The surprise to me at this viewing was the strong work of William Powell (THE THIN MAN movie series) as Doc, the best friend of Mr. Roberts aboard the ship. He has an ease and rapport with Fonda and when Fonda, Powell and Lemon share the screen together the film sparkles.
And that's the best part - and the worst part - of this great film. It looks like a filmed stage play. Veteran Director John Ford looks like he was "mailing it in" on this one, in that he would just put his camera in one stationary position and let his actors play the scenes like they were in a play. This is either laziness - or genius - at the hands of Ford (I would argue probably a little of each). He was wise enough to know he had some incredible talent (Fonda, Cagney, Powell and Lemon) - and a strong script by Frank S. Nugent and Joshua Logan (based on the stage play by Logan and Thomas Hagen...based on Hagen's book), so he stayed out of the way as much as possible.
Consequently, the first part of this film is a bit talky and stagey looking and drags just a bit, but once the film catches it's steam - and these 4 stars light up the screen - this film is well worth watching.
Letter Grade: A
9 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
P.S.: I caught Mister Roberts on the great cable channel TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES - but (as far as I can tell) it's not scheduled to be re-run there anytime soon (and is not streamable on the Watch TCM app), so you'll need to rent it at all the "normal" places (YouTube, GoogePLay, iTunes and Vudu)
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated The Green Knight (2020) in Movies
Aug 6, 2021
Interesting...Intriguing...and Weird
You have 2 choices when choosing to view the Arthurian tale THE GREEN KNIGHT.
1). Brush up on the 14th Century tale (writer unknown) about Sir Gawain (of Knights of the Round Table fame) and The Green Knight
2). Go in “blind” and let the film wash over you.
I did #2 and while I got the “gist” of what was going on, I missed some of the subtleties (or the attempted subtleties) that I now know since I went on-line and brushed up on the story/poem (no, I did not read the 14th century poem - a google search synopsis of plot of the poem was sufficient).
Starring Dev Patel (more on him later) THE GREEN KNIGHT tells the story of a would-be Knight of the Round Table, Gawain, who accepts a challenge of THE GREEN KNIGHT and now must stand up to the consequence of his deeds while heading off on a quest.
Dev Patel (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE) has really grown into a fine actor and he is perfectly cast as the courage-challenged Gawain. He walks through this film with a slight look of fear in his eyes and I was finding myself yelling at him (in my head) to “stand up and do what’s right” (which is the point of the film/story) when he would make the wrong decision.
Alicia Vikander (who I have not seen on screen since 2018’s TOMB RAIDER) and Joel Edgerton (LOVING) are 2 of the people that Gawain meets along the way and they bring strength and star power to the middle part of this film - they came along at an opportune time, for this film was beginning to sag under it’s own weight at that point, but these 2 help propel Gawain (and the film) to the climax.
Director David Lowery (A GHOST STORY) has crafted a fantastical film that reminded me very much of the work of Terry Gilliam - and I mean that as a compliment. He heightens every scene with imagery that’s just “off” (again, I mean that as a compliment) that symbolizes the “quest” that Gawain is on.
He also does something that will either encourage or discourage a viewer (and that is the strength and weakness of this film) - he explains nothing.
For example…at the beginning, Gawain is sitting at a round table with a King and Queen and a bunch of other Knights (or would be Knights). One would assume that this is King Arthur, Guinevere and the Knights of the Round Table, but Lowery never calls them by name. “The King” pulls out his sword and hands it to Gawain for his contest with the Green Knight. The crowd reacts with gasps - one would assume that this is the fable sword Excaliber, but it is never stated.
So…knowing these things (and some of the other aspects of the Gawain) story, might further enrich this experience, but Lowery chooses to not spoon feed the audience and since I did not really know the Gawain story, I just sat back and enjoyed the quest, the imagery, the weirdness (and there is some VERY weird moments - I still don’t know what to make of the scene with the Giants) and was rewarded with a film experience that is rare nowadays, one that just unfurls without telescoping what is happening or what is to come.
This film is not for everyone - it does have a rather languid pace to it - but for those of you that can sit in the stillness, marvel at the imagery and revel in the weirdness/unknown, then THE GREEN KNIGHT is, ultimately, a rewarding film experience - one that (now that I know the story) am eager to revisit.
Letter Grade: B
7 Stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
1). Brush up on the 14th Century tale (writer unknown) about Sir Gawain (of Knights of the Round Table fame) and The Green Knight
2). Go in “blind” and let the film wash over you.
I did #2 and while I got the “gist” of what was going on, I missed some of the subtleties (or the attempted subtleties) that I now know since I went on-line and brushed up on the story/poem (no, I did not read the 14th century poem - a google search synopsis of plot of the poem was sufficient).
Starring Dev Patel (more on him later) THE GREEN KNIGHT tells the story of a would-be Knight of the Round Table, Gawain, who accepts a challenge of THE GREEN KNIGHT and now must stand up to the consequence of his deeds while heading off on a quest.
Dev Patel (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE) has really grown into a fine actor and he is perfectly cast as the courage-challenged Gawain. He walks through this film with a slight look of fear in his eyes and I was finding myself yelling at him (in my head) to “stand up and do what’s right” (which is the point of the film/story) when he would make the wrong decision.
Alicia Vikander (who I have not seen on screen since 2018’s TOMB RAIDER) and Joel Edgerton (LOVING) are 2 of the people that Gawain meets along the way and they bring strength and star power to the middle part of this film - they came along at an opportune time, for this film was beginning to sag under it’s own weight at that point, but these 2 help propel Gawain (and the film) to the climax.
Director David Lowery (A GHOST STORY) has crafted a fantastical film that reminded me very much of the work of Terry Gilliam - and I mean that as a compliment. He heightens every scene with imagery that’s just “off” (again, I mean that as a compliment) that symbolizes the “quest” that Gawain is on.
He also does something that will either encourage or discourage a viewer (and that is the strength and weakness of this film) - he explains nothing.
For example…at the beginning, Gawain is sitting at a round table with a King and Queen and a bunch of other Knights (or would be Knights). One would assume that this is King Arthur, Guinevere and the Knights of the Round Table, but Lowery never calls them by name. “The King” pulls out his sword and hands it to Gawain for his contest with the Green Knight. The crowd reacts with gasps - one would assume that this is the fable sword Excaliber, but it is never stated.
So…knowing these things (and some of the other aspects of the Gawain) story, might further enrich this experience, but Lowery chooses to not spoon feed the audience and since I did not really know the Gawain story, I just sat back and enjoyed the quest, the imagery, the weirdness (and there is some VERY weird moments - I still don’t know what to make of the scene with the Giants) and was rewarded with a film experience that is rare nowadays, one that just unfurls without telescoping what is happening or what is to come.
This film is not for everyone - it does have a rather languid pace to it - but for those of you that can sit in the stillness, marvel at the imagery and revel in the weirdness/unknown, then THE GREEN KNIGHT is, ultimately, a rewarding film experience - one that (now that I know the story) am eager to revisit.
Letter Grade: B
7 Stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Terror by Night: the true story of the brutal texas murder that destroyed a family, restored one man’s faith, and shocked a nation.
by Terry Caffey with James H. Pence
Genre: True Crime, Christian, memoir
Rating: 5
My summary: Terry woke up one night and saw his daughter’s ex-boyfriend standing in front of him with a gun. Charlie shot him several times, killed his wife, then him and his friend brutally killed his two sons. They set the house on fire, thinking everyone was dead. Terry managed to escape by God’s life-preservation alone, and made the long trek through the woods to the neighbor’s house. All Terry wanted was to die and live in Heaven with his family. But he stayed alive through sheer will-power and God’s grace. He made it to the neighbor’s house, identified the killer, then colapsed, hoping never to wake up again.
He woke up.
and He has to live with what happened for the rest of his long life.
Terry suffers from suicidal thoughts and depression, overdoses on his drugs, and can’t sleep at night because of his fear.
But God can take any situation and turn it around… Terry went back to where his house was to have a heart-to-heart with God. Terry found something there that was preserved through weeks of rain and wind, and yet was still readable. It was a page from James Pence’s novel Blind Sight (though he didn’t know it at the time) and the first lines he read were these: “I couldn't understand why You would take my family and leave me to struggle along without them. And I guess I still don’t totally understand that part of it. But I do believe that You’re sovereign; You’re in control.” Terry eventually found out through some hard hunting that the character in the book who was speaking had lost his wife and children. It was as if that book was written about him.
Terry’s life changed drastically. He went into ministry, he got re-married… and he learned what unconditional love, forgiveness, and trusting God really meant.
Review: Terror by Night was an absolutely stunning book in every sense of the word. The awful things that happened to Terry, and how God restored him, are amazing. Terror by Night is like Job all over again. God took everything away from Terry—his family were dead and his house was charcoal. Terry suffered tremendously, but God restored him. God used him to restore other people. And God blessed him and gave back what he had taken away.
This book is a testimony of how God can take anything and turn it around for good, how everything that happens is His will, and how He is the one and only thing we can always trust.
A powerful message, an amazing testimony, a picture of forgiveness, uplifting, encouraging, and brutally beautiful, Terror by Night will stay with you for the rest of your life.
Content: 100% clean
Recommendation: I whole-heartedly recommend Terror by Night to everyone over the age of 14. Terror by Night is extremely emotional, several times I had to stop and put it down. There were also some disturbing images of how the children were killed. It would probably make you cry if you read it in one sitting. However, I still think everyone should read it.
by Terry Caffey with James H. Pence
Genre: True Crime, Christian, memoir
Rating: 5
My summary: Terry woke up one night and saw his daughter’s ex-boyfriend standing in front of him with a gun. Charlie shot him several times, killed his wife, then him and his friend brutally killed his two sons. They set the house on fire, thinking everyone was dead. Terry managed to escape by God’s life-preservation alone, and made the long trek through the woods to the neighbor’s house. All Terry wanted was to die and live in Heaven with his family. But he stayed alive through sheer will-power and God’s grace. He made it to the neighbor’s house, identified the killer, then colapsed, hoping never to wake up again.
He woke up.
and He has to live with what happened for the rest of his long life.
Terry suffers from suicidal thoughts and depression, overdoses on his drugs, and can’t sleep at night because of his fear.
But God can take any situation and turn it around… Terry went back to where his house was to have a heart-to-heart with God. Terry found something there that was preserved through weeks of rain and wind, and yet was still readable. It was a page from James Pence’s novel Blind Sight (though he didn’t know it at the time) and the first lines he read were these: “I couldn't understand why You would take my family and leave me to struggle along without them. And I guess I still don’t totally understand that part of it. But I do believe that You’re sovereign; You’re in control.” Terry eventually found out through some hard hunting that the character in the book who was speaking had lost his wife and children. It was as if that book was written about him.
Terry’s life changed drastically. He went into ministry, he got re-married… and he learned what unconditional love, forgiveness, and trusting God really meant.
Review: Terror by Night was an absolutely stunning book in every sense of the word. The awful things that happened to Terry, and how God restored him, are amazing. Terror by Night is like Job all over again. God took everything away from Terry—his family were dead and his house was charcoal. Terry suffered tremendously, but God restored him. God used him to restore other people. And God blessed him and gave back what he had taken away.
This book is a testimony of how God can take anything and turn it around for good, how everything that happens is His will, and how He is the one and only thing we can always trust.
A powerful message, an amazing testimony, a picture of forgiveness, uplifting, encouraging, and brutally beautiful, Terror by Night will stay with you for the rest of your life.
Content: 100% clean
Recommendation: I whole-heartedly recommend Terror by Night to everyone over the age of 14. Terror by Night is extremely emotional, several times I had to stop and put it down. There were also some disturbing images of how the children were killed. It would probably make you cry if you read it in one sitting. However, I still think everyone should read it.
Connor Sheffield (293 KP) rated Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) in Movies
Apr 18, 2017
New, yet Nostalgic
So whenever I hear that there's going to be a new Star Wars Movie, I get so excited EVERY TIME! However, that's not to say that I don't always feel nervous about this next one could be "The Bad Star Wars Film" because whilst I can find some good aspects of the prequel trilogy (SOME! Not a lot but there is some) I don't enjoy them and prefer to ignore them when having a Star Wars Movie marathon.
So when I heard that there's this film being made that's not and 'episode' but will have some connections to the original trilogy, I was nervous that it might blow some of the lore out the window and try and make their own lore that doesn't fit in with the prequels or the sequels. On the other hand I was so excited to feel that I was getting to see new characters and more of the lore on film such as Kyber Crystals and Jedha itself.
The characters were incredible in my opinion! Felicity Jones portrayed Jyn Erso, and really brought the strong female lead to a new generation of Star Wars fans and film fans in general. Jyn Erso is the Princess Leia of this new generation and honestly she had quite a lot to live up to following Daisy Ridley's portrayal as the strong female lead character, Rey, in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Long story short, Felicity Jones nailed it! She's strong, independent but also has a lot of history and emotion that we don't get to see a lot of.
Then there's characters like K-2SO who is hilarious in my opinion and Alan Tudyk really brought a droid to life and made him feel more human, but also 'too good to be a human character', because there are certain aspects of the film where I was sat thinking "This character is hilarious to me, but I think the fact that he's a droid and doesn't fully understand a living, breathing, being's train of thought. So if this character was written as a human he wouldn't be as funny to me."
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
My issue with the film, whilst I did enjoy it and understand WHY they ended it with Jyn's and Cassian's death, but I would love to have seen MORE of these characters. If they wanted to do a film with those characters in the future, it would have to be a more coming of age movie for Jyn and whilst I wouldn't mind seeing more of her growing up to understand her character more, I'd have preferred to see an aftermath film, because I think they could totally write the character to be someone who still fights for the rebellion but has some reason not to be in the events that take place in the original trilogy. Maybe she's taking care of some surviving death troopers, or trying to find out what the Empire's plans are on another planet or in another system because to think that the Empire had all of their subjects in one place concentrating on one project is ridiculous. Perhaps the First Order was being formed secretly in another system, or the Empire was enslaving some planets to prepare them for the Empires master plan of ruling the galaxy.
Overall, I just wanted more of these characters because they were just well written and the film was shot beautifully. To my knowledge, from the top of my head there weren't any jumpy editing cuts, or any moments where, due to camera movement, I would think "what's going on I can't follow the action" etc. It was brilliantly made and it very quickly became not just one of my favourite movies of all time, but one of my favourite Star Wars movies! But I have to give it a 9/10 because of the reasons I stated above...I need more of these characters in future aftermath films, but it cant happen now because of the ending and that makes me sad.
Brilliant Movie, Brilliant Cast, and of course....
THE DARTH VADER CORRIDOR SCENE!
So when I heard that there's this film being made that's not and 'episode' but will have some connections to the original trilogy, I was nervous that it might blow some of the lore out the window and try and make their own lore that doesn't fit in with the prequels or the sequels. On the other hand I was so excited to feel that I was getting to see new characters and more of the lore on film such as Kyber Crystals and Jedha itself.
The characters were incredible in my opinion! Felicity Jones portrayed Jyn Erso, and really brought the strong female lead to a new generation of Star Wars fans and film fans in general. Jyn Erso is the Princess Leia of this new generation and honestly she had quite a lot to live up to following Daisy Ridley's portrayal as the strong female lead character, Rey, in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Long story short, Felicity Jones nailed it! She's strong, independent but also has a lot of history and emotion that we don't get to see a lot of.
Then there's characters like K-2SO who is hilarious in my opinion and Alan Tudyk really brought a droid to life and made him feel more human, but also 'too good to be a human character', because there are certain aspects of the film where I was sat thinking "This character is hilarious to me, but I think the fact that he's a droid and doesn't fully understand a living, breathing, being's train of thought. So if this character was written as a human he wouldn't be as funny to me."
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
My issue with the film, whilst I did enjoy it and understand WHY they ended it with Jyn's and Cassian's death, but I would love to have seen MORE of these characters. If they wanted to do a film with those characters in the future, it would have to be a more coming of age movie for Jyn and whilst I wouldn't mind seeing more of her growing up to understand her character more, I'd have preferred to see an aftermath film, because I think they could totally write the character to be someone who still fights for the rebellion but has some reason not to be in the events that take place in the original trilogy. Maybe she's taking care of some surviving death troopers, or trying to find out what the Empire's plans are on another planet or in another system because to think that the Empire had all of their subjects in one place concentrating on one project is ridiculous. Perhaps the First Order was being formed secretly in another system, or the Empire was enslaving some planets to prepare them for the Empires master plan of ruling the galaxy.
Overall, I just wanted more of these characters because they were just well written and the film was shot beautifully. To my knowledge, from the top of my head there weren't any jumpy editing cuts, or any moments where, due to camera movement, I would think "what's going on I can't follow the action" etc. It was brilliantly made and it very quickly became not just one of my favourite movies of all time, but one of my favourite Star Wars movies! But I have to give it a 9/10 because of the reasons I stated above...I need more of these characters in future aftermath films, but it cant happen now because of the ending and that makes me sad.
Brilliant Movie, Brilliant Cast, and of course....
THE DARTH VADER CORRIDOR SCENE!
Lee (2222 KP) rated It Comes At Night (2017) in Movies
Jul 14, 2017
Tension packed, slow burner
I headed into ‘It Comes At Night’ in a similar way to when I saw ‘Get Out‘ a few months back – having seen a lot of positive four or five star buzz about it on my news feeds, but without actually seeing the trailer. I skimmed a couple of reviews this time, just to get a rough idea of what I was in for, and one of the words which seemed to crop up on a number of them was ‘unsettling’. Well, that sold it for me! Get Out is my favourite movie of the year so far, and I felt that my enjoyment of seeing that had been greatly improved having not seen the trailer, and with no expectations. So, I went into ‘It Comes At Night’ hoping for a similar experience.
The opening scene sets the tone for what’s to come. A sick old man listens to his daughter Sarah tell him she loves him. She’s wearing a protective gas mask, as are her husband and son. Husband Paul and son Travis then take grandpa out of the cabin they’re in, into the woods where they proceed to wrap him up in a sheet, shoot him in the head, roll him into a ditch and set fire to him. It becomes apparent that we’re in a post apocalyptic world where some kind of plague has taken hold, and Grandpa had unfortunately become infected. We’re not shown any TV news footage, we don’t hear any radio broadcast of any kind and there aren’t any zombies or infected people wandering around. There’s just this small family, out in the middle of nowhere and with no idea what state the rest of the world is currently in or how bad things are. They keep their cabin boarded up, with only one locked door for entry. They lead a lonely, basic existence, taking no chances with whatever is going on out in the rest of the world.
And then one night they’re awoken by somebody breaking in downstairs. A man who claims he thought the place was empty. He claims to be only out scavenging for water for his family. His name is Will and he says that he’s left his wife and young son behind some 50 miles away and is only interested in providing for them. Paul and his family don’t know whether to believe him and this feeling of uncertainty, paranoia and tension is something which takes hold and continues throughout the entire movie. Not knowing if Will is infected or not, they tie him to a tree overnight to see if infection sets in. When it doesn’t, they come to an understanding and agree to go and get Wills family and bring them back to the safety of the cabin. The family seem to integrate well, falling in line with Pauls strict routine of eating, washing and going to the toilet, and all seems to be going well for a while.
Sadly, I think the expectation of an experience similar to ‘Get Out’ affected my overall enjoyment of the movie. Sure I was tense and on edge for pretty much the whole movie, but I guess I was expecting it all to build up to something much more. It did reach a pretty intense finale of sorts, but then it just seemed to fizzle out until the credits rolled and a sense of overall disappointment set in. I don’t think I was the only one either. As I stood to leave the cinema, the guy across the aisle from me, along with a couple of others seated nearby, all kind of looked at each other in disbelief and with a ‘WTF?!’ expression. It was definitely a good movie, which deserves to be seen, but it just didn’t leave that much of a lasting impression on me.
The opening scene sets the tone for what’s to come. A sick old man listens to his daughter Sarah tell him she loves him. She’s wearing a protective gas mask, as are her husband and son. Husband Paul and son Travis then take grandpa out of the cabin they’re in, into the woods where they proceed to wrap him up in a sheet, shoot him in the head, roll him into a ditch and set fire to him. It becomes apparent that we’re in a post apocalyptic world where some kind of plague has taken hold, and Grandpa had unfortunately become infected. We’re not shown any TV news footage, we don’t hear any radio broadcast of any kind and there aren’t any zombies or infected people wandering around. There’s just this small family, out in the middle of nowhere and with no idea what state the rest of the world is currently in or how bad things are. They keep their cabin boarded up, with only one locked door for entry. They lead a lonely, basic existence, taking no chances with whatever is going on out in the rest of the world.
And then one night they’re awoken by somebody breaking in downstairs. A man who claims he thought the place was empty. He claims to be only out scavenging for water for his family. His name is Will and he says that he’s left his wife and young son behind some 50 miles away and is only interested in providing for them. Paul and his family don’t know whether to believe him and this feeling of uncertainty, paranoia and tension is something which takes hold and continues throughout the entire movie. Not knowing if Will is infected or not, they tie him to a tree overnight to see if infection sets in. When it doesn’t, they come to an understanding and agree to go and get Wills family and bring them back to the safety of the cabin. The family seem to integrate well, falling in line with Pauls strict routine of eating, washing and going to the toilet, and all seems to be going well for a while.
Sadly, I think the expectation of an experience similar to ‘Get Out’ affected my overall enjoyment of the movie. Sure I was tense and on edge for pretty much the whole movie, but I guess I was expecting it all to build up to something much more. It did reach a pretty intense finale of sorts, but then it just seemed to fizzle out until the credits rolled and a sense of overall disappointment set in. I don’t think I was the only one either. As I stood to leave the cinema, the guy across the aisle from me, along with a couple of others seated nearby, all kind of looked at each other in disbelief and with a ‘WTF?!’ expression. It was definitely a good movie, which deserves to be seen, but it just didn’t leave that much of a lasting impression on me.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Elysium in Tabletop Games
Aug 3, 2021
Greek Mythology has ALWAYS been a fascination of mine. I remember rewinding and replaying the original “Clash of the Titans” movie over and over on VHS. It’s super warped today but I still enjoy it now digitally. When I saw Elysium was coming out several years ago I knew I had to take a look at it, and I’m glad I did because it shot up my Top 100 Games of All Time and even spent a while in my Top 10. Not so much anymore, but I still love it. Why, you ask?
Elysium is a set collection card drafting game for two to four players. Each player will be attempting to complete the greatest collection of Legends written and subsequently transferred to their Elysium (Ancient Grecian version of heaven) for Victory Points. Whomever weaves the greatest Legendary tapestry will emerge victorious and really have a story to tell.
To setup, follow the instructions in the rulebook, but a three player game should look similar to what is pictured above. Players will receive their own player board, starting VP tokens and gold, and a set of columns. Cards from five different Grecian families will be shuffled and displayed in The Agora (middle of the board and the place to draft the cards). Once setup the game may begin.
Elysium is played over five Epochs (rounds) and each Epoch is divided into four phases. Phase I is Awakening, which is simply setting up The Agora for the new Epoch by removing all existing cards there and revealing more. Phase II is Actions, where players will be using their columns to draft cards from The Agora (as long as the color of column matches one of the icons on the card) and taking at least one Quest tile (also denotes player order for the next Epoch). Phase III is Writing the Legends, where players will redistribute the player order discs, receive gold and VP per their Quest tile, and transfer any cards from their Domain – active holding area – to their Elysium for VP at game end. Phase IV is End of Epoch, where players will perform basic cleanup tasks to prepare for the next Epoch of play. Play will continue in this fashion until the end of the fifth Epoch and players tally their final VP to determine the greatest Legend-crafter in all the land!
I know this is a VERY brief summary of what is done during the game, but Elysium has many card effects and combos to consider that I just cannot detail here for fear of readers falling asleep or my fingers falling off.
Components. Elysium has simply an incredible aesthetic. The non-card components certainly radiate ancient times and the art on the cards is breathtaking. Every piece is very high quality, which is something I have grown to expect from Space Cowboys games. The columns are fun to hold and move, and as a whole is just visually stunning. I love playing this game and seeing it all out on the table.
Obviously we place our ratings on the very first graphic you see so it is no surprise by the time you read down here, but I love Elysium. Like I mentioned in my open it was in my Top 10 for quite a while, and for very good reasons. First, I love games that simply LOOK good. Is that shallow? Maybe, but it’s what I like. Second, I love the card interplay and combo potential in Elysium. Chaining together cards to build small engines is always fun and provides so much replayability by never really being able to experience every card combo in the box. Finally, it has great components and a theme that speaks to me and my personal interests. It feels like a game that was meant to be played by me specifically. When you find a game like that you have to give it high ratings.
So if you are at all like me and enjoy games with a great theme, excellent art and components, and intriguing replayability, then certainly grab a copy of Elysium. Purple Phoenix Games gives it an Olympus-sized 11 / 12. So many Ancient Greece themed games exist and Elysium is simply one of the best.
Elysium is a set collection card drafting game for two to four players. Each player will be attempting to complete the greatest collection of Legends written and subsequently transferred to their Elysium (Ancient Grecian version of heaven) for Victory Points. Whomever weaves the greatest Legendary tapestry will emerge victorious and really have a story to tell.
To setup, follow the instructions in the rulebook, but a three player game should look similar to what is pictured above. Players will receive their own player board, starting VP tokens and gold, and a set of columns. Cards from five different Grecian families will be shuffled and displayed in The Agora (middle of the board and the place to draft the cards). Once setup the game may begin.
Elysium is played over five Epochs (rounds) and each Epoch is divided into four phases. Phase I is Awakening, which is simply setting up The Agora for the new Epoch by removing all existing cards there and revealing more. Phase II is Actions, where players will be using their columns to draft cards from The Agora (as long as the color of column matches one of the icons on the card) and taking at least one Quest tile (also denotes player order for the next Epoch). Phase III is Writing the Legends, where players will redistribute the player order discs, receive gold and VP per their Quest tile, and transfer any cards from their Domain – active holding area – to their Elysium for VP at game end. Phase IV is End of Epoch, where players will perform basic cleanup tasks to prepare for the next Epoch of play. Play will continue in this fashion until the end of the fifth Epoch and players tally their final VP to determine the greatest Legend-crafter in all the land!
I know this is a VERY brief summary of what is done during the game, but Elysium has many card effects and combos to consider that I just cannot detail here for fear of readers falling asleep or my fingers falling off.
Components. Elysium has simply an incredible aesthetic. The non-card components certainly radiate ancient times and the art on the cards is breathtaking. Every piece is very high quality, which is something I have grown to expect from Space Cowboys games. The columns are fun to hold and move, and as a whole is just visually stunning. I love playing this game and seeing it all out on the table.
Obviously we place our ratings on the very first graphic you see so it is no surprise by the time you read down here, but I love Elysium. Like I mentioned in my open it was in my Top 10 for quite a while, and for very good reasons. First, I love games that simply LOOK good. Is that shallow? Maybe, but it’s what I like. Second, I love the card interplay and combo potential in Elysium. Chaining together cards to build small engines is always fun and provides so much replayability by never really being able to experience every card combo in the box. Finally, it has great components and a theme that speaks to me and my personal interests. It feels like a game that was meant to be played by me specifically. When you find a game like that you have to give it high ratings.
So if you are at all like me and enjoy games with a great theme, excellent art and components, and intriguing replayability, then certainly grab a copy of Elysium. Purple Phoenix Games gives it an Olympus-sized 11 / 12. So many Ancient Greece themed games exist and Elysium is simply one of the best.
Mike Wilder (20 KP) rated Rage (2009) in Movies
May 30, 2018
If you get the option to see this film you really should take the chance.
Contains spoilers, click to show
I started out making a blog for movie reviews a short while ago for the purpose of making reviews for fans. However, I didn't expect to be sent films to review so soon. I was put in touch with film maker Chris Witherspoon, he is promoting an independent film that he wrote, produced, directed and starred in called Rage. He sent me a copy and asked if I would review it for him. Happily I accepted. This is what being a film critic and reviewer is all about. Then I started to think, an independent film? There are a lot of them around and a lot of them are made by people that believe they possess the talent and ability to make a film, but in reality they fall far short of the mark. To get a good and unbiased opinion of the film I only watched the trailer for it, I left all the promotional material I received alone. The film arrived and with a fair amount of trepidation I put it on.
The film is about Dennis, a struggling writer with a loving wife Crystal (Audrey Walker) and a mistress Dana (Anna Lodej). Heading out one day he encounters a figure on a motorcycle in a car park. Pushing the encounter to one side he meets up with Dana. During the meeting he tells her that he loves his wife and breaks off the affair. She doesn't take it all that well. Once back in his car he encounters the biker again and this time the biker scratches his car and rides off. This leads to a game of cat and mouse, where at first Dennis hunts the biker down but the confrontations escalate and Dennis is soon in fear for his life. He now believes that the biker is a former boyfriend of his now ex-lover out for revenge. The biker arrives at Dennis's home and things turn deadly.
I went into this with a very open mind. I knew this was an independent film and I didn't expect too much from it. I find this is the best way to view new films. The film started off well with good introductions to the main characters but by the time the second encounter with the biker happened I found myself drawn in to the film. I forgot all about reviewing the film and got engrossed into the story. The film finished and not for a single moment did I feel bored. The pacing of the film is great, the story progresses well and the characters are well written and acted. The biker is menacing and all the more so because you don't really know his motives. The direction is professional and makes good use of lighting and colouring. The effects are very well utilised during the films climax. But the best thing about the movie was the way the story kept you guessing. I thought I had the plot figured out about 5 different times but each time I was wrong. That's what makes a good thriller/horror. There is one particular scene that was emotionally hard to watch but its place in the film drives the story and the terror forward to a new level.
You can see with this film that Chris Witherspoon is a very talented film maker. I wish him luck and hope this film has the desired effect and someone takes a chance on his abilities. I would love to see what he could to with a studio backing him. After all Spielberg started out with a movie called Duel about a truck pursuing and terrorising someone.
If you get the chance to see this film you really should take the chance. If you do you will see the start of hopefully a very successful film maker.
The film is about Dennis, a struggling writer with a loving wife Crystal (Audrey Walker) and a mistress Dana (Anna Lodej). Heading out one day he encounters a figure on a motorcycle in a car park. Pushing the encounter to one side he meets up with Dana. During the meeting he tells her that he loves his wife and breaks off the affair. She doesn't take it all that well. Once back in his car he encounters the biker again and this time the biker scratches his car and rides off. This leads to a game of cat and mouse, where at first Dennis hunts the biker down but the confrontations escalate and Dennis is soon in fear for his life. He now believes that the biker is a former boyfriend of his now ex-lover out for revenge. The biker arrives at Dennis's home and things turn deadly.
I went into this with a very open mind. I knew this was an independent film and I didn't expect too much from it. I find this is the best way to view new films. The film started off well with good introductions to the main characters but by the time the second encounter with the biker happened I found myself drawn in to the film. I forgot all about reviewing the film and got engrossed into the story. The film finished and not for a single moment did I feel bored. The pacing of the film is great, the story progresses well and the characters are well written and acted. The biker is menacing and all the more so because you don't really know his motives. The direction is professional and makes good use of lighting and colouring. The effects are very well utilised during the films climax. But the best thing about the movie was the way the story kept you guessing. I thought I had the plot figured out about 5 different times but each time I was wrong. That's what makes a good thriller/horror. There is one particular scene that was emotionally hard to watch but its place in the film drives the story and the terror forward to a new level.
You can see with this film that Chris Witherspoon is a very talented film maker. I wish him luck and hope this film has the desired effect and someone takes a chance on his abilities. I would love to see what he could to with a studio backing him. After all Spielberg started out with a movie called Duel about a truck pursuing and terrorising someone.
If you get the chance to see this film you really should take the chance. If you do you will see the start of hopefully a very successful film maker.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Mephisto: The Card Game in Tabletop Games
Jun 18, 2019 (Updated Jun 21, 2019)
Ya done messed up and made a deal with devil. Now he requires you to harvest souls from monsters as payment in return. How will you do this? You have no weapons, no skills, and no plan. Luckily, there is a grid of powerful cards to aid you in your toils. Only one problem: you gotta stay in your lane.
DISCLAIMER: I am not intending to cover every rule in the rulebook (well, rule cards), but to give you an idea of how the game plays. -T
Mephisto is a card drafting, hand management game (with a dash of take-that) played using a grid of cards to be affected and manipulated… LIKE YOUR SOUL!! Setup is easy for a multiplayer game. Deal a hand of cards to each player, setup the main 3 x 3 grid of cards in the middle of the table with the draw deck in the center, and two corners (making a diagonal line) having random placeholder cards face-down to be unavailable for play. The reasoning is simple: where you sit at the table determines in which lane, like in bowling, you can play your cards to (if you have ever played the Adventure Time Card Wars game you will instantly be familiar) and you only have access to two cards in each lane.
You will be using your hand of cards to gain favor from Mephistopheles, to fight and kill monsters to reap their souls, to gain cards from the grid, and to activate items or spell cards for their abilities. Many cards can combo together, and several cards are multipurpose/multi-use cards that can decay every time you use them, so you must take care not to allow your powerful weapons to lose all durability before you can maximize their effectiveness. The first player to amass a total of 12 souls will gain the ultimate wish from Mephistopheles: infinite power!
Components: This game consists of a deck of cards, which are of great quality. I believe this was an earlier-than-originally-expected Kickstarter fulfillment due to switching manufacturers to an American-based company, so we Americans were able to enjoy the game sooner as a result. In any case, the cards are great. What I love about the components is the art. The art on the cards are really really cool. I love the art style employed here, and the explosive neon color scheme used. What I really wished had happened was that the colors would be alluded to on the box cover as well. Honestly, if I had never heard of this game and saw the dark dark colors and occultish logo on the box I probably would have passed it up as “not for me.” But, playing the game is much more enjoyable with a fresh and vibrant set of cards.
I made a comparison to Adventure Time Card Wars in referencing how the lanes worked in play. And honestly, the game kinda feels like ATCW with a different skin. There is some take-that, some moving cards into different lanes, and affecting different cards in the grid. Now, I am an Adventure Time fan, but I just could not get into that game. Mephisto feels familiar in that… lane… but I must like the theme more, because I would rather play Mephisto over ATCW. If you haven’t played a game using lanes like this and don’t mind a darker theme I say give it a shot. It’s small (deck of playing cards size), portable, inexpensive, and a pretty good game. Purple Phoenix Games, with guest Tony, give this one a darkened 15 / 24.
DISCLAIMER: I am not intending to cover every rule in the rulebook (well, rule cards), but to give you an idea of how the game plays. -T
Mephisto is a card drafting, hand management game (with a dash of take-that) played using a grid of cards to be affected and manipulated… LIKE YOUR SOUL!! Setup is easy for a multiplayer game. Deal a hand of cards to each player, setup the main 3 x 3 grid of cards in the middle of the table with the draw deck in the center, and two corners (making a diagonal line) having random placeholder cards face-down to be unavailable for play. The reasoning is simple: where you sit at the table determines in which lane, like in bowling, you can play your cards to (if you have ever played the Adventure Time Card Wars game you will instantly be familiar) and you only have access to two cards in each lane.
You will be using your hand of cards to gain favor from Mephistopheles, to fight and kill monsters to reap their souls, to gain cards from the grid, and to activate items or spell cards for their abilities. Many cards can combo together, and several cards are multipurpose/multi-use cards that can decay every time you use them, so you must take care not to allow your powerful weapons to lose all durability before you can maximize their effectiveness. The first player to amass a total of 12 souls will gain the ultimate wish from Mephistopheles: infinite power!
Components: This game consists of a deck of cards, which are of great quality. I believe this was an earlier-than-originally-expected Kickstarter fulfillment due to switching manufacturers to an American-based company, so we Americans were able to enjoy the game sooner as a result. In any case, the cards are great. What I love about the components is the art. The art on the cards are really really cool. I love the art style employed here, and the explosive neon color scheme used. What I really wished had happened was that the colors would be alluded to on the box cover as well. Honestly, if I had never heard of this game and saw the dark dark colors and occultish logo on the box I probably would have passed it up as “not for me.” But, playing the game is much more enjoyable with a fresh and vibrant set of cards.
I made a comparison to Adventure Time Card Wars in referencing how the lanes worked in play. And honestly, the game kinda feels like ATCW with a different skin. There is some take-that, some moving cards into different lanes, and affecting different cards in the grid. Now, I am an Adventure Time fan, but I just could not get into that game. Mephisto feels familiar in that… lane… but I must like the theme more, because I would rather play Mephisto over ATCW. If you haven’t played a game using lanes like this and don’t mind a darker theme I say give it a shot. It’s small (deck of playing cards size), portable, inexpensive, and a pretty good game. Purple Phoenix Games, with guest Tony, give this one a darkened 15 / 24.
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