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Darren (1599 KP) rated Little Monsters (2019) in Movies
Nov 15, 2019
Verdict: Delightful
Story: Little Monsters starts when a washed up musician Dave (England) breaks up with his girlfriend Sara (Townsend) moving in with his sister Tess (Stewart) and her son Felix (Le Torraca), after getting his heart broken, Dave gets left on his last warning with Tess and after he meets Felix’s teacher Miss Caroline (Nyong’o) he ends up agreeing to go on a school trip.
When the trip seems to be going well, the school kids, Miss Caroline and Dave must find safety as zombies have broken free and heading to the petting zoo, joined by celebrity children’s host Teddy McGiggle (Gad) they must stay safe or face death.
Thoughts on Little Monsters
Characters – Miss Caroline is the kindergarten teacher that has the respect from all her students, treating them like nothing is going wrong no matter what is happening, she will always remain calm, with a smile on her face she takes complete control of the zombie outbreak. She has seen the father hit on her in the past which makes it easy for her to ignore them. Dave was once in a metal band, he had a girlfriend he always fought with him leading to him moving in with his sister and nephew. He is a terrible role model for Felix with his swearing, not listening and accepting it ok for a 5-year-old to play zombie games. He wants to get to know Miss Caroline and over this school trip he learns that there is more to life. Teddy McGiggle is a children’s entertainer who is world famous with every kid loving his work, when the zombies arrive, he shows the worst in mankind. The kids are all brilliant without being annoying like most would become in zombie films.
Performances – Lupita Nyong’o is wonderful to watch being a ray of sunshine through the film, bring a character that is completely different to anything we have seen before. Alexander England is excellent too, being someone, you could never see around children, getting so many laughs in the film. Josh Gad is great too, though it does seem like his character is slightly too much over the top at times. The young actors look like they are having a ball which is important for a film like this.
Story – The story here follows a teacher, a washed up musician and a group of school kids that get trapped during a zombie outbreak in a petting zoo. The best way to describe this story would be that we be, that we are focused on the human factors over the zombies, who are just background problem. We get to see how one man must learn about his life and start taking it more serious after years of wasting his time. We see zombies tackled a different way without needing to give us any sort of flashy zombie kill, which most all try to do, this is a character piece that shows positivity can give you hope no matter what is in your way. If you don’t end up smiling by the end of this film, it will be a surprise.
Comedy/Horror – The comedy is the highlight of this film, we get plenty of laughs, being part of the idea of Dave saying things or doing things around children along with how relaxing the survival attempts end up looking.
Settings – The film is mostly set on a petting zoo, which is meant to be a happy place for the children, despite it turning into a nightmare situation for the adults once the zombies come out.
Special Effects – The zombies are done with great practical effects, while any of the violence is withheld away from the camera.
Scene of the Movie – The tractor rescue.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It seems like we didn’t need Teddy’s character if we are being completely honest.
Final Thoughts – This is a truly delightful watch, with loveable characters, adorable kids and a fresh take on the zombie genre, showing it is about the characters, not the zombies.
Overall: Enjoyable from start to finish.
Story: Little Monsters starts when a washed up musician Dave (England) breaks up with his girlfriend Sara (Townsend) moving in with his sister Tess (Stewart) and her son Felix (Le Torraca), after getting his heart broken, Dave gets left on his last warning with Tess and after he meets Felix’s teacher Miss Caroline (Nyong’o) he ends up agreeing to go on a school trip.
When the trip seems to be going well, the school kids, Miss Caroline and Dave must find safety as zombies have broken free and heading to the petting zoo, joined by celebrity children’s host Teddy McGiggle (Gad) they must stay safe or face death.
Thoughts on Little Monsters
Characters – Miss Caroline is the kindergarten teacher that has the respect from all her students, treating them like nothing is going wrong no matter what is happening, she will always remain calm, with a smile on her face she takes complete control of the zombie outbreak. She has seen the father hit on her in the past which makes it easy for her to ignore them. Dave was once in a metal band, he had a girlfriend he always fought with him leading to him moving in with his sister and nephew. He is a terrible role model for Felix with his swearing, not listening and accepting it ok for a 5-year-old to play zombie games. He wants to get to know Miss Caroline and over this school trip he learns that there is more to life. Teddy McGiggle is a children’s entertainer who is world famous with every kid loving his work, when the zombies arrive, he shows the worst in mankind. The kids are all brilliant without being annoying like most would become in zombie films.
Performances – Lupita Nyong’o is wonderful to watch being a ray of sunshine through the film, bring a character that is completely different to anything we have seen before. Alexander England is excellent too, being someone, you could never see around children, getting so many laughs in the film. Josh Gad is great too, though it does seem like his character is slightly too much over the top at times. The young actors look like they are having a ball which is important for a film like this.
Story – The story here follows a teacher, a washed up musician and a group of school kids that get trapped during a zombie outbreak in a petting zoo. The best way to describe this story would be that we be, that we are focused on the human factors over the zombies, who are just background problem. We get to see how one man must learn about his life and start taking it more serious after years of wasting his time. We see zombies tackled a different way without needing to give us any sort of flashy zombie kill, which most all try to do, this is a character piece that shows positivity can give you hope no matter what is in your way. If you don’t end up smiling by the end of this film, it will be a surprise.
Comedy/Horror – The comedy is the highlight of this film, we get plenty of laughs, being part of the idea of Dave saying things or doing things around children along with how relaxing the survival attempts end up looking.
Settings – The film is mostly set on a petting zoo, which is meant to be a happy place for the children, despite it turning into a nightmare situation for the adults once the zombies come out.
Special Effects – The zombies are done with great practical effects, while any of the violence is withheld away from the camera.
Scene of the Movie – The tractor rescue.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It seems like we didn’t need Teddy’s character if we are being completely honest.
Final Thoughts – This is a truly delightful watch, with loveable characters, adorable kids and a fresh take on the zombie genre, showing it is about the characters, not the zombies.
Overall: Enjoyable from start to finish.
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Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated The Book of M in Books
Sep 7, 2018
What defines a person? Your experiences? Your personality? The emotional bonds you forge? What happens when you forget? Are you still you if you don't remember who that is? The Book of M tackles these questions and takes an intimate look at what happens when some people forget but others remember.
We enter on Max and Ory in an abandoned hotel, running out of food and supplies. Max has lost her shadow, which means she will soon start forgetting. Everything. (There are rumors that Shadowless have died because they forgot to breathe or eat.) We learn it's been a few years since the phenomenon started happening, and flashbacks tell us the story of those early months. Like any good dystopia, it is a world-altering process. Governments are gone because no one remembered to run them. Food and other supplies are dwindling because farmers, shippers, manufacturers forgot what they were doing and how to do it.
But with the forgetting comes - magic, of a sort. Ory comes across a deer in the forest that instead of antlers, has wings sprouting from its forehead. Because someone forgot that deer shouldn't have wings - and so it happened. Forgetting that something can be destroyed can make it indestructible. Forgetting that you left a place can take you back to that place. Forgetting a place exists can make that place no longer exist. It's not a very controllable kind of magic. And it's dangerous - you can never be quite sure what you'll forget, and you can affect other people with it.
And the forgetting starts with losing your shadow. Ory gives Max a tape recorder, so she can record things she might forget. He posts signs around their hideout to remind her of things, like "Let no one in. Ory has a key." and "Don't touch the guns or the knives." But Max knows she is a danger to Ory, and so while she can still remember enough to function, she runs away.
The book mostly concerns Ory and Max's journeys across the country; Max trying to find something she's forgotten, and Ory trying to find Max. The adventure is gripping, heartbreaking, and at times confusing. (Mostly on Max's end, as magic warps things around her.) There are a few side characters who also have viewpoint chapters. Naz Ahmadi is an Iranian girl training for the Olympics in the US - in archery, which comes in quite handy. We also have The One Who Gathers, a mysterious man in New Orleans who has gathered a flock of shadowless.
If you ever played the roleplaying game Mage: the Ascension, and remember the concept of Paradox, this book reminds me of that a lot. (Is it a surprise that I'm a tabletop RPG geek? It shouldn't be. I own almost all of the old World of Darkness books, and currently play in a D&D game, and hopefully soon a second D&D game!) Anyway. Paradox. Where doing magic too far outside the bounds of acceptable reality punishes you, so you have to weigh the potential consequences against the magic you want to do.
I really enjoyed this debut novel; it is a very original take on a dystopia, and raised a lot of questions about personality, memories, and what makes a person the person you remember.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
We enter on Max and Ory in an abandoned hotel, running out of food and supplies. Max has lost her shadow, which means she will soon start forgetting. Everything. (There are rumors that Shadowless have died because they forgot to breathe or eat.) We learn it's been a few years since the phenomenon started happening, and flashbacks tell us the story of those early months. Like any good dystopia, it is a world-altering process. Governments are gone because no one remembered to run them. Food and other supplies are dwindling because farmers, shippers, manufacturers forgot what they were doing and how to do it.
But with the forgetting comes - magic, of a sort. Ory comes across a deer in the forest that instead of antlers, has wings sprouting from its forehead. Because someone forgot that deer shouldn't have wings - and so it happened. Forgetting that something can be destroyed can make it indestructible. Forgetting that you left a place can take you back to that place. Forgetting a place exists can make that place no longer exist. It's not a very controllable kind of magic. And it's dangerous - you can never be quite sure what you'll forget, and you can affect other people with it.
And the forgetting starts with losing your shadow. Ory gives Max a tape recorder, so she can record things she might forget. He posts signs around their hideout to remind her of things, like "Let no one in. Ory has a key." and "Don't touch the guns or the knives." But Max knows she is a danger to Ory, and so while she can still remember enough to function, she runs away.
The book mostly concerns Ory and Max's journeys across the country; Max trying to find something she's forgotten, and Ory trying to find Max. The adventure is gripping, heartbreaking, and at times confusing. (Mostly on Max's end, as magic warps things around her.) There are a few side characters who also have viewpoint chapters. Naz Ahmadi is an Iranian girl training for the Olympics in the US - in archery, which comes in quite handy. We also have The One Who Gathers, a mysterious man in New Orleans who has gathered a flock of shadowless.
If you ever played the roleplaying game Mage: the Ascension, and remember the concept of Paradox, this book reminds me of that a lot. (Is it a surprise that I'm a tabletop RPG geek? It shouldn't be. I own almost all of the old World of Darkness books, and currently play in a D&D game, and hopefully soon a second D&D game!) Anyway. Paradox. Where doing magic too far outside the bounds of acceptable reality punishes you, so you have to weigh the potential consequences against the magic you want to do.
I really enjoyed this debut novel; it is a very original take on a dystopia, and raised a lot of questions about personality, memories, and what makes a person the person you remember.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
Gareth von Kallenbach (974 KP) rated Fifty Shades Darker (2017) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) and Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) have returned in “50 Shades Darker” which looks to continue the massive success of the series.
Picking up shortly after the last film, the newly single Anastasia has begun working her dream job as an assistant in a Seattle publishing company. When she is reunited with Christian at a social event, he pleads with her to take him back and offers to redefine the terms of their relationship agreement.
Although cautions, she takes him back and despite telling him she wants to take it slow, the first of many sex scenes follow.
Although happy to be reunited, the pair are plagued by issues from Christian’s past as well as his own inner demons which constantly pull at them and threaten to undermine their new relationship.
Of course much if it is little more than thinly veiled lip service designed to get them into the bedroom time and time again so the camera can focus on their bodies and Christian resorting to his old ways with all manner of restraints and devices.
One would think that a film that is supposed to be so erotic would be far more exciting and titillating but the film’s sex scenes are so dull and by the numbers you will soon find yourself losing interest. A big part of this goes to the total lack of chemistry between the leads. If you thought it was strained in the first film it is pretty much non-existent this time out. The dialogue is also not much better as it is laughably bad in areas and unintentionally funny. The monotone delivery of the leads does not help much as it seems like there is a competition to see how many shots of the beautiful Seattle area and their bodies can be creamed into the film.
Kim Bassinger does bring the film a bit of intrigue as a woman from Christian’s past, but she is not in the film enough to really make that much of a difference as pretty much all of the supporting characters are paper thin and not given the chance to grow.
I did like the film more than I liked the original film, but I continue to struggle with the appeal of the film series. The leads lack any chemistry and supporters of the BDSM lifestyle have said the series does not portray their lifestyle accurately and that what Christian does is abusive.
I posted the question that how much appeal would the series have if Christian was a struggling musician living in a hovel who could not even afford a Starbucks run. He would be considered a deeply damaged individual who women would run from. But package him up as a young and attractive billionaire, and it seems that common sense goes out the window as far as the ladies in his life go, and he gets a pass on behaviors that would be totally unacceptable to most.
For me the lack of eroticism, chemistry between the leads, and a compelling story could be overlooked as despite the issues, it does entertain. But when the characters are so hard to like, I found myself not having much sympathy for any obstacles they encountered. My advice, wait for the video as there are far more erotic and entertaining films on Netflix.
http://sknr.net/2017/02/09/50-shades-darker/
Picking up shortly after the last film, the newly single Anastasia has begun working her dream job as an assistant in a Seattle publishing company. When she is reunited with Christian at a social event, he pleads with her to take him back and offers to redefine the terms of their relationship agreement.
Although cautions, she takes him back and despite telling him she wants to take it slow, the first of many sex scenes follow.
Although happy to be reunited, the pair are plagued by issues from Christian’s past as well as his own inner demons which constantly pull at them and threaten to undermine their new relationship.
Of course much if it is little more than thinly veiled lip service designed to get them into the bedroom time and time again so the camera can focus on their bodies and Christian resorting to his old ways with all manner of restraints and devices.
One would think that a film that is supposed to be so erotic would be far more exciting and titillating but the film’s sex scenes are so dull and by the numbers you will soon find yourself losing interest. A big part of this goes to the total lack of chemistry between the leads. If you thought it was strained in the first film it is pretty much non-existent this time out. The dialogue is also not much better as it is laughably bad in areas and unintentionally funny. The monotone delivery of the leads does not help much as it seems like there is a competition to see how many shots of the beautiful Seattle area and their bodies can be creamed into the film.
Kim Bassinger does bring the film a bit of intrigue as a woman from Christian’s past, but she is not in the film enough to really make that much of a difference as pretty much all of the supporting characters are paper thin and not given the chance to grow.
I did like the film more than I liked the original film, but I continue to struggle with the appeal of the film series. The leads lack any chemistry and supporters of the BDSM lifestyle have said the series does not portray their lifestyle accurately and that what Christian does is abusive.
I posted the question that how much appeal would the series have if Christian was a struggling musician living in a hovel who could not even afford a Starbucks run. He would be considered a deeply damaged individual who women would run from. But package him up as a young and attractive billionaire, and it seems that common sense goes out the window as far as the ladies in his life go, and he gets a pass on behaviors that would be totally unacceptable to most.
For me the lack of eroticism, chemistry between the leads, and a compelling story could be overlooked as despite the issues, it does entertain. But when the characters are so hard to like, I found myself not having much sympathy for any obstacles they encountered. My advice, wait for the video as there are far more erotic and entertaining films on Netflix.
http://sknr.net/2017/02/09/50-shades-darker/
Darren (1599 KP) rated Raising Arizona (1987) in Movies
Jul 25, 2019
Story: Raising Arizona starts as we meet H.I. McDunnough (Cage) a petty thieve that has a habit of robbing convenience stores, he falls for police officer Ed (Hunter) and after his third spell in prison he decides to settle down with Ed and hope to start a family.
When the couple learn they can’t have children, their lives take a turn for the worse until rich businessman Nathan Arizona Sr (Wilson) has 5 babies, believing they can help, they steal one of the babies and the events of the film follows them trying to keep the baby and avoid the law.
Thoughts on Raising Arizona
Characters – H.I. McDunnough has been in and out of prison for the last decade each time getting closer to the arresting officer, deciding he wants to go clean he gets married and plans to start a family, only for his past to come back and haunt him forcing him to return to the life of crime. He is a character that has fallen into the life of crime and just can’t get out of it. Ed is a police officer that hasn’t had the best life, she falls for H.I. getting married and wanting to start a family. She learns she can’t have child, turning to a life of crime to get her own child. Nathan Arizona Sr is the father of the five babies willing to pay anything to get his son back legally or not. Gale is one half of criminal buddies pairing of H.I. that after breaking out of prison turns to his friend for help.
Performances – Nicolas Cage is wonderful in the leading role, where we see him show moments of his crazy level while giving a performance you will remember. Holly Hunter is great too where we see her create a performance where you feel for the pain and confliction her character goes through. When we look at the supporting cast we do get good performances from everyone that will give us enough to enjoy what we saw.
Story – The story here follows an unlikely couple that decide to take a child because they couldn’t have one of their own. We follow the build up to their relationship and focus on how the couple’s life had the ups and downs before the incident. By using a very real situation people could go through by not being able to have children and showing the fact the adoption process isn’t the fairest on the people that would offer a good home is important for the film. the hapless events the couple go through adds to the story and as with most of the Coen bothers movies we get lots of arcs that come together to add up to a final act which pts everything together.
Comedy/Crime – The comedy in the film comes from the events that the couple must go through, usually coming from H.I. actions in what is a crime world where he is a petty criminal taking any advantages he can.
Settings – The film takes us to the open America where money would be tight leading to the mistakes being made by the people who are just desperate for anything to come their way.
Scene of the Movie – The diaper chase.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The baby forgetting scenes.
Final Thoughts – This is a classic crime comedy that shows us just how talented the Coen Brothers are, we get to see the best of Cage and a story which can be enjoyed by all.
Overall: Crime Comedy that is a must watch.
When the couple learn they can’t have children, their lives take a turn for the worse until rich businessman Nathan Arizona Sr (Wilson) has 5 babies, believing they can help, they steal one of the babies and the events of the film follows them trying to keep the baby and avoid the law.
Thoughts on Raising Arizona
Characters – H.I. McDunnough has been in and out of prison for the last decade each time getting closer to the arresting officer, deciding he wants to go clean he gets married and plans to start a family, only for his past to come back and haunt him forcing him to return to the life of crime. He is a character that has fallen into the life of crime and just can’t get out of it. Ed is a police officer that hasn’t had the best life, she falls for H.I. getting married and wanting to start a family. She learns she can’t have child, turning to a life of crime to get her own child. Nathan Arizona Sr is the father of the five babies willing to pay anything to get his son back legally or not. Gale is one half of criminal buddies pairing of H.I. that after breaking out of prison turns to his friend for help.
Performances – Nicolas Cage is wonderful in the leading role, where we see him show moments of his crazy level while giving a performance you will remember. Holly Hunter is great too where we see her create a performance where you feel for the pain and confliction her character goes through. When we look at the supporting cast we do get good performances from everyone that will give us enough to enjoy what we saw.
Story – The story here follows an unlikely couple that decide to take a child because they couldn’t have one of their own. We follow the build up to their relationship and focus on how the couple’s life had the ups and downs before the incident. By using a very real situation people could go through by not being able to have children and showing the fact the adoption process isn’t the fairest on the people that would offer a good home is important for the film. the hapless events the couple go through adds to the story and as with most of the Coen bothers movies we get lots of arcs that come together to add up to a final act which pts everything together.
Comedy/Crime – The comedy in the film comes from the events that the couple must go through, usually coming from H.I. actions in what is a crime world where he is a petty criminal taking any advantages he can.
Settings – The film takes us to the open America where money would be tight leading to the mistakes being made by the people who are just desperate for anything to come their way.
Scene of the Movie – The diaper chase.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The baby forgetting scenes.
Final Thoughts – This is a classic crime comedy that shows us just how talented the Coen Brothers are, we get to see the best of Cage and a story which can be enjoyed by all.
Overall: Crime Comedy that is a must watch.
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Generation) in Tech
Nov 4, 2019
Wonderfully useful and functional
I’m one of those people who often takes a while to get into and accept new technology. Not because I’m a technophobe, in fact I’m a massive techie and often the go to person for tech related issues within my family and friends. My issue is that I find a lot of technology is encouraging people to become lazier or become out of touch with basic home skills (like smart ovens or washers, I just don’t get it!). I’ve often lumped smart speakers like the Echo Dot in the same category in that I just didn’t see the point in them when most people still have functioning old school speaker systems. However I can honestly say my mind has definitely been changed for the better on the Echo.
Firstly it looks and feels great. I was expecting a rather flimsy feeling speaker but in fact it feels quite weighty and substantial, and the Sandstone version that I’ve bought looks rather sleek. It stands out and looks good but at the same time isn’t at any time the focal point in a room. The speaker aspect is rather good too and has a decent sound quality. I’ve placed this in my kitchen, as I have a fairly open downstairs and the sound easily reaches the entire floor - I can even speak to Alexa from my living room which is a good 7+ metres away with only a standard sized doorway for sound to reach through. Admittedly I had to mute the TV, but I’m still impressed she can hear me from there! The Echo Dot links up seamlessly with my Spotify account and I’m surprised it plays so well and doesn’t encourage you to try and sign up to Amazon Music instead.
The thing about the Echo Dot is that it isn’t just a glorified speaker and it’s only from owning one that I’ve truly appreciated this. As well as music, Alexa also helps out with so much more like reminders, timers and the weather as well as a whole host of fun features. There are so many fun things you can ask Alexa (google it if you haven’t already), too many to name although one of my favourites is “Alexa, find Chuck Norris”. There’s also the rather sad fact that as I live on my own, Alexa provides a rather welcome conversational partner and definitely less one sided than talking to the cat! I’m also a rather forgetful person, so having the ability to ask Alexa to set reminders when I can’t do something at the time (i.e. remembering to take the bins out when I’m in the middle of making dinner) is a god send. I’m surprised at how well the voice recognition works too. I’ve often experienced issues with voice recognition on mobile phones, because it doesn’t appear to like the northern accent, but Alexa so far has not had any issues. Maybe I need to speak “proper” Northern and see how she reacts...
I love this that much that I’m looking at buying a second Echo Dot for my upstairs so I have full coverage in my house, and can then take advantage of using Alexa as my morning wake up call amongst as well as being able to link both together to act as a multi room speaker system. Fingers crossed I’ll be able to get a bargain during Black Friday in a couple of weeks!
Firstly it looks and feels great. I was expecting a rather flimsy feeling speaker but in fact it feels quite weighty and substantial, and the Sandstone version that I’ve bought looks rather sleek. It stands out and looks good but at the same time isn’t at any time the focal point in a room. The speaker aspect is rather good too and has a decent sound quality. I’ve placed this in my kitchen, as I have a fairly open downstairs and the sound easily reaches the entire floor - I can even speak to Alexa from my living room which is a good 7+ metres away with only a standard sized doorway for sound to reach through. Admittedly I had to mute the TV, but I’m still impressed she can hear me from there! The Echo Dot links up seamlessly with my Spotify account and I’m surprised it plays so well and doesn’t encourage you to try and sign up to Amazon Music instead.
The thing about the Echo Dot is that it isn’t just a glorified speaker and it’s only from owning one that I’ve truly appreciated this. As well as music, Alexa also helps out with so much more like reminders, timers and the weather as well as a whole host of fun features. There are so many fun things you can ask Alexa (google it if you haven’t already), too many to name although one of my favourites is “Alexa, find Chuck Norris”. There’s also the rather sad fact that as I live on my own, Alexa provides a rather welcome conversational partner and definitely less one sided than talking to the cat! I’m also a rather forgetful person, so having the ability to ask Alexa to set reminders when I can’t do something at the time (i.e. remembering to take the bins out when I’m in the middle of making dinner) is a god send. I’m surprised at how well the voice recognition works too. I’ve often experienced issues with voice recognition on mobile phones, because it doesn’t appear to like the northern accent, but Alexa so far has not had any issues. Maybe I need to speak “proper” Northern and see how she reacts...
I love this that much that I’m looking at buying a second Echo Dot for my upstairs so I have full coverage in my house, and can then take advantage of using Alexa as my morning wake up call amongst as well as being able to link both together to act as a multi room speaker system. Fingers crossed I’ll be able to get a bargain during Black Friday in a couple of weeks!
Darren (1599 KP) rated Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019) in Movies
Dec 19, 2019
Verdict: Visual Spectacular
Story: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker starts as the resistance led by General Leia (Fisher) has been regrouping with Finn (Boyega), Poe (Isaac) and C-3PO on their own mission, Rey continuing her training and Kylo Ren (Driver) is continuing his desire for power by going in search for Emperor Palpatine who has been waiting for his chance to return to power.
As the truth about Rey’s past comes to light, the destiny of the characters will come through in the epic battle that will be all or nothing for the galaxy’s future.
Thoughts on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Characters – Rey is continuing her training in the art of a Jedi, she is still learning her place in the force, she starts to suffer visions which will fill in moments from her past, including glimpse of what happened to her parents. She is still communicating with Kylo, she will finally get to learn the truth and take her place in the history of the galaxy. Kylo Ren is searching for complete power, a force which will see him take to victory, he makes the deal and now he will look to gain all the control of the galaxy once and for all. Finn continues to learn more about the other victims in the galaxy, learning how he could lead them in the future, while Poe is still learning his place in the war, with his past being used to unlock clues along the way.
Performances – We have had the four newer members of the Star Wars universe taking the centre stage this time, nobody does anything wrong, they give the safe performances without doing anything overly outstanding like we saw in the final chapter of a long awaited saga.
Story – The story here follows the latest attempts for the resistance looking to put an end to the first order, only to learn of a bigger threat to the whole galaxy. The story here is the third part of the latest saga, after many people didn’t like the Last Jedi’s choices, the seem to spend most of the film trying to erase most of what wasn’t liked, we have twists that just seem completely out of nowhere in a bad way, rather than ones that are placed together well. While there are weaknesses here, we could well have some nice developments between Rey and Kylo, which is the highlight of the story, otherwise it just ends up being the same as most Star Wars, feeling very safe, with the ideas that we get plenty of bait related moments, which seem like they want to have a big impact, only they didn’t let the impact last long enough.
Action/Sci-Fi – The action in the film is big, it will entertain even if it does feel like more of what we have seen before. We know this franchise is the backbone of the sci-fi genre and like nothing before and this never lets us down.
Settings – The film uses the different planets to give us difference environments which is all nice, we have seen it a lot before, but it works for the film.
Special Effects – The effects in the film do come off looking almost flawless, like always.
Scene of the Movie – Rey vs Kylo on water.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The Spy
Final Thoughts – This is an entertaining movie that might have flaws in the story, it will complete the saga well.
Overall: Safe conclusion.
Story: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker starts as the resistance led by General Leia (Fisher) has been regrouping with Finn (Boyega), Poe (Isaac) and C-3PO on their own mission, Rey continuing her training and Kylo Ren (Driver) is continuing his desire for power by going in search for Emperor Palpatine who has been waiting for his chance to return to power.
As the truth about Rey’s past comes to light, the destiny of the characters will come through in the epic battle that will be all or nothing for the galaxy’s future.
Thoughts on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Characters – Rey is continuing her training in the art of a Jedi, she is still learning her place in the force, she starts to suffer visions which will fill in moments from her past, including glimpse of what happened to her parents. She is still communicating with Kylo, she will finally get to learn the truth and take her place in the history of the galaxy. Kylo Ren is searching for complete power, a force which will see him take to victory, he makes the deal and now he will look to gain all the control of the galaxy once and for all. Finn continues to learn more about the other victims in the galaxy, learning how he could lead them in the future, while Poe is still learning his place in the war, with his past being used to unlock clues along the way.
Performances – We have had the four newer members of the Star Wars universe taking the centre stage this time, nobody does anything wrong, they give the safe performances without doing anything overly outstanding like we saw in the final chapter of a long awaited saga.
Story – The story here follows the latest attempts for the resistance looking to put an end to the first order, only to learn of a bigger threat to the whole galaxy. The story here is the third part of the latest saga, after many people didn’t like the Last Jedi’s choices, the seem to spend most of the film trying to erase most of what wasn’t liked, we have twists that just seem completely out of nowhere in a bad way, rather than ones that are placed together well. While there are weaknesses here, we could well have some nice developments between Rey and Kylo, which is the highlight of the story, otherwise it just ends up being the same as most Star Wars, feeling very safe, with the ideas that we get plenty of bait related moments, which seem like they want to have a big impact, only they didn’t let the impact last long enough.
Action/Sci-Fi – The action in the film is big, it will entertain even if it does feel like more of what we have seen before. We know this franchise is the backbone of the sci-fi genre and like nothing before and this never lets us down.
Settings – The film uses the different planets to give us difference environments which is all nice, we have seen it a lot before, but it works for the film.
Special Effects – The effects in the film do come off looking almost flawless, like always.
Scene of the Movie – Rey vs Kylo on water.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The Spy
Final Thoughts – This is an entertaining movie that might have flaws in the story, it will complete the saga well.
Overall: Safe conclusion.
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BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated The Little Things (2021) in Movies
Feb 1, 2021
3 Strong Actors Elevate This Above Mediocrity
Generally, when a movie is “dumped” in January, it is a sure sign of a bad film, filled with Liam Neeson kicking butt or CGI monsters attacking a small group of survivors in an isolated location, but these being times that they are, Warner Brothers release of THE LITTLE THINGS simultaneously in Movie Theaters and on HBO MAX gave me reason to change my thinking.
And…I’m glad I did for THE LITTLE THINGS is an intriguing mystery with 3 very strong actors going toe-to-toe with each other.
Written and Directed by John Lee Hancock (THE BLIND SIDE), THE LITTLE THINGS stars the great Denzel Washington as a former L.A. Detective (now a Sherriff in some small town) who returns to L.A. and teams up with his hot shot replacement (Rami Malek) to track down a serial killer (the main suspect being Jared Leto).
It is a moody, atmospheric piece with Hancock taking his time telling the story he wants to tell in the way he wants to tell it, letting this trio of Oscar winning actors take over the story while he creates interesting, moody pictures/scenarios/scenes.
And…this approach mostly works. 2 time Oscar winner Denzel Washington, as you can imagine, is terrific as Joe “Deke” Deacon a cracker-jack Detective that is living with some demons from his last case in L.A.. He is in 90% of the scenes in this film and he is more than capable of carrying this film through some pretty slow and sloggy scenes.
I would love to say that Oscar winner Rami Malek is equal to the task of playing against Washington and keeping the middle part of this film interesting - but he just isn’t. Not to say that Malek is bad - he is very good. He just isn’t as good as Washington and the chemistry between these two characters was just not all that strong.
That said…without spoiling anything…Malek has a scene at the end of this film where he is TERRIFIC and shows that he is a VERY, VERY good actor.
The wild card in this film is Oscar winner Jared Leto as the prime suspect in this case - and he is more than up to the task. As is often the case in these sorts of film (think David Fincher’s SEVEN), Leto does not show up in full force until about 2/3 of the way through the film and that is too bad for he creates sparks on the screen the moment he enters the proceedings and the 3 way interrogation scene between these 3 Oscar winners is, I’m sure, what drew all 3 of these performers to this project and is the best thing in the film.
The praise and the criticism of this film must fall on Writer/Director Hancock, for he was smart enough to cast these 3 actors and direct them well while also falling prey to falling in love too much with the script and atmosphere he created to the detriment of the film. He could have used someone telling him to speed things up.
Letter Grade: B
7 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)
And…I’m glad I did for THE LITTLE THINGS is an intriguing mystery with 3 very strong actors going toe-to-toe with each other.
Written and Directed by John Lee Hancock (THE BLIND SIDE), THE LITTLE THINGS stars the great Denzel Washington as a former L.A. Detective (now a Sherriff in some small town) who returns to L.A. and teams up with his hot shot replacement (Rami Malek) to track down a serial killer (the main suspect being Jared Leto).
It is a moody, atmospheric piece with Hancock taking his time telling the story he wants to tell in the way he wants to tell it, letting this trio of Oscar winning actors take over the story while he creates interesting, moody pictures/scenarios/scenes.
And…this approach mostly works. 2 time Oscar winner Denzel Washington, as you can imagine, is terrific as Joe “Deke” Deacon a cracker-jack Detective that is living with some demons from his last case in L.A.. He is in 90% of the scenes in this film and he is more than capable of carrying this film through some pretty slow and sloggy scenes.
I would love to say that Oscar winner Rami Malek is equal to the task of playing against Washington and keeping the middle part of this film interesting - but he just isn’t. Not to say that Malek is bad - he is very good. He just isn’t as good as Washington and the chemistry between these two characters was just not all that strong.
That said…without spoiling anything…Malek has a scene at the end of this film where he is TERRIFIC and shows that he is a VERY, VERY good actor.
The wild card in this film is Oscar winner Jared Leto as the prime suspect in this case - and he is more than up to the task. As is often the case in these sorts of film (think David Fincher’s SEVEN), Leto does not show up in full force until about 2/3 of the way through the film and that is too bad for he creates sparks on the screen the moment he enters the proceedings and the 3 way interrogation scene between these 3 Oscar winners is, I’m sure, what drew all 3 of these performers to this project and is the best thing in the film.
The praise and the criticism of this film must fall on Writer/Director Hancock, for he was smart enough to cast these 3 actors and direct them well while also falling prey to falling in love too much with the script and atmosphere he created to the detriment of the film. He could have used someone telling him to speed things up.
Letter Grade: B
7 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)
Darren (1599 KP) rated Pan (2015) in Movies
Oct 14, 2019
Characters – Peter is an orphan during World War II, stuck in a boys home, he believes something is happening and wants to be reunited with his mother, taken to Neverland, he learns that he has an ability unlike anyone else, he just needs to learn to believe in himself. Blackbeard has been taking orphans to help him mine for fairy dust in Neverland, he runs a strict ship which Peter upsets, however this will put Blackbeard closer than ever to getting what he wants. Hook is one of the miners that helps Peter escape, he wants to be free with his own tragic backstory. Tiger Lily has been leading the war against Blackbeard for years now, she knows the secrets to the fairies and now must protect them at all costs.
Performances – Levi Miller as the young Peter is good because he shows us the innocence needed for this film while dealing with the emotional impact his life is having. Hugh Jackman does seem to be having a lot of fun in this role even if he is overacting at times. Garrett Hedlund just can’t catch a break, his performance is solid enough, though it does feel like he just wanted to be the next Han Solo. Rooney Mara again is solid, it looks like a role which meant something to her and will help her take on the bigger roles.
Story – The story is an origin story for Peter Pan and Hook, well it seems to be, Peter is in the human world where he is an orphan taken to Neverland to help fight in a war between the two sides who want control of the fairy dust, he works with Hook which is strange because he is a good guy. The film shows us why Peter never wanted to leave Neverland and just what is meant to him once he learns about his parent’s identity. When we look deeper at the story it does feel like a pretty safe story and by having Peter needing to learn his own identity before going on to be the character we know now. The problem comes from any moment of peril he is in or Hook we know they will make it out of there because we know their story is only just beginning. The additional problem comes from just how Hook is a good guy and doesn’t get given any moments to tease his villainous ways.
Adventure/Fantasy – The adventure side of the film is good because it shows a new life Peter could have away from the war his own reality is involved in, this does take us to the fantasy world of Neverland which only seems to have one unique animal in, but it has magic.
Settings – The film uses the colour tones well, we see the darkness which shows us how bleak Peter’s real-life is, while giving us the bright open world of Neverland to show the hope of a future.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are solid enough without looking as flawless as they should, though the overly ambitious nature to it all doesn’t help.
Scene of the Movie – Hook’s escape plan.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not filling enough of the blanks between the time period.
Final Thoughts – This is another cash-in on a franchise which feels overly done, it doesn’t capture the rue magic and only ends up confusing the time between the movies.
Overall: Magicless fantasy film.
Performances – Levi Miller as the young Peter is good because he shows us the innocence needed for this film while dealing with the emotional impact his life is having. Hugh Jackman does seem to be having a lot of fun in this role even if he is overacting at times. Garrett Hedlund just can’t catch a break, his performance is solid enough, though it does feel like he just wanted to be the next Han Solo. Rooney Mara again is solid, it looks like a role which meant something to her and will help her take on the bigger roles.
Story – The story is an origin story for Peter Pan and Hook, well it seems to be, Peter is in the human world where he is an orphan taken to Neverland to help fight in a war between the two sides who want control of the fairy dust, he works with Hook which is strange because he is a good guy. The film shows us why Peter never wanted to leave Neverland and just what is meant to him once he learns about his parent’s identity. When we look deeper at the story it does feel like a pretty safe story and by having Peter needing to learn his own identity before going on to be the character we know now. The problem comes from any moment of peril he is in or Hook we know they will make it out of there because we know their story is only just beginning. The additional problem comes from just how Hook is a good guy and doesn’t get given any moments to tease his villainous ways.
Adventure/Fantasy – The adventure side of the film is good because it shows a new life Peter could have away from the war his own reality is involved in, this does take us to the fantasy world of Neverland which only seems to have one unique animal in, but it has magic.
Settings – The film uses the colour tones well, we see the darkness which shows us how bleak Peter’s real-life is, while giving us the bright open world of Neverland to show the hope of a future.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are solid enough without looking as flawless as they should, though the overly ambitious nature to it all doesn’t help.
Scene of the Movie – Hook’s escape plan.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not filling enough of the blanks between the time period.
Final Thoughts – This is another cash-in on a franchise which feels overly done, it doesn’t capture the rue magic and only ends up confusing the time between the movies.
Overall: Magicless fantasy film.
Versusyours (757 KP) Nov 15, 2019
Darren (1599 KP) Nov 15, 2019