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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Fury (2014) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
To start, let me say that I’m a sucker for a good war movie. Growing up as a military brat, I have a profound respect for our nation’s veterans and history, especially those from the “greatest generation.” With that said, I approached David Ayer’s Fury with a bit of hesitation, after all, how will Fury be able to differentiate itself from so many other films in the genre? I am happy to say that, while Fury doesn’t show us anything we have not really seen before, strong performances by its ensemble cast help carry this story of a tank crew into a solid film.
Brad Pitt delivers a stellar performance as Don “Wardaddy” Collier. He is a war hardened Sergeant who struggles to keep the few shreds of his humanity while preparing his new “green” typist who was assigned to his tank after one of their battle brothers has fallen. Pitt takes the young Pvt. Norman Ellision (Logan Lerman) under his command and works to make him into war hardened soldier. Pitt knows that by doing so he will not only to save the young man’s life, but probably the lives of the other men in his care. This ensemble cast shines with solid performances from Michael Pena, Jon Bernthal and Shia LaBeouf. I want to take a moment to highlight LaBeouf especially. He has gained tons of negative press in recent months for several reasons and the promotion of this film has shown little of LaBeouf thus far. No doubt to protect itself from the backlash in his public life. But if you decide to not go and see this film because of him, you will miss out on a strong more dramatic performance we really haven’t seen from him often and one that will remind audiences that he is a good actor.
This action in this film is methodical and someone slow and somewhat cartoonish thanks to tracers on the gun and cannon fire that makes it look like “Star Wars” at times, however the intensity is constantly building from the opening sequence through the climax of the movie. Even in the middle of the film where we are seemingly in a safe place, the intensity is continues to build as we are unsure just how humane these characters are. This intensity leads us to care about these characters and search for relief in the climatic conclusion.
Brad Pitt delivers a stellar performance as Don “Wardaddy” Collier. He is a war hardened Sergeant who struggles to keep the few shreds of his humanity while preparing his new “green” typist who was assigned to his tank after one of their battle brothers has fallen. Pitt takes the young Pvt. Norman Ellision (Logan Lerman) under his command and works to make him into war hardened soldier. Pitt knows that by doing so he will not only to save the young man’s life, but probably the lives of the other men in his care. This ensemble cast shines with solid performances from Michael Pena, Jon Bernthal and Shia LaBeouf. I want to take a moment to highlight LaBeouf especially. He has gained tons of negative press in recent months for several reasons and the promotion of this film has shown little of LaBeouf thus far. No doubt to protect itself from the backlash in his public life. But if you decide to not go and see this film because of him, you will miss out on a strong more dramatic performance we really haven’t seen from him often and one that will remind audiences that he is a good actor.
This action in this film is methodical and someone slow and somewhat cartoonish thanks to tracers on the gun and cannon fire that makes it look like “Star Wars” at times, however the intensity is constantly building from the opening sequence through the climax of the movie. Even in the middle of the film where we are seemingly in a safe place, the intensity is continues to build as we are unsure just how humane these characters are. This intensity leads us to care about these characters and search for relief in the climatic conclusion.
Database for Skyrim™
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This app was developed for players of popular RPG The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim®. It's a global...
Laura Doe (1350 KP) rated The Favour in Books
Mar 12, 2021
When I first started reading The Favour, I couldn’t bring myself to like the main character Ada at all. I found her to be quite whiny and wanting to be someone she wasn’t, and as the book continued I started to find myself pitying her as she tried to fit in with the group of (mostly awful) art history students while they were travelling Italy. I then grew to dislike her again as she tagged along with the group well into their adult life and being somewhat oblivious to Lorcan and Annabelle’s “generosity” being because they felt indebted to her. My mind changed again in part three, to genuinely beginning to like Ada as she finally seemed to have figured things out for herself.
The scenes that Laura Vaughn paints of Italy are beautiful, and made me want to visit the various different places that the students did to take in the sights of Italy for myself. The art that was described were so descriptive that I could almost envision them and upon looking them up I found that the pieces that were described more in depth weren’t that far off what I had imagined.
While the first two parts of the book were very descriptive (although I wished that the tour of Italy they went on was described more!) I found them to be quite slow. But when it got to the third part of the book, and the group going back to Italy, that’s when things really started to pick up in pace and get exciting. I couldn’t put the book down at all for part three! In the last 100 pages or so, so much was revealed of that fateful night that I had to go back and reread paragraphs as I was so shocked! It wasn’t until 15 pages before the end I realised what Mallory had actually seen, and the revelation of what had been happening all those years before was something I hadn’t seen coming at all! The last two pages were even more of a shock and completely turned some of the events on their head. Some amazing twists at the end of the book, which made the slow but descriptive start completely worth it. I will definitely be recommending this to anyone who asks and anyone who enjoys a good book with some unpredictable twists!
Overall, I would give this 4/5 stars!
The scenes that Laura Vaughn paints of Italy are beautiful, and made me want to visit the various different places that the students did to take in the sights of Italy for myself. The art that was described were so descriptive that I could almost envision them and upon looking them up I found that the pieces that were described more in depth weren’t that far off what I had imagined.
While the first two parts of the book were very descriptive (although I wished that the tour of Italy they went on was described more!) I found them to be quite slow. But when it got to the third part of the book, and the group going back to Italy, that’s when things really started to pick up in pace and get exciting. I couldn’t put the book down at all for part three! In the last 100 pages or so, so much was revealed of that fateful night that I had to go back and reread paragraphs as I was so shocked! It wasn’t until 15 pages before the end I realised what Mallory had actually seen, and the revelation of what had been happening all those years before was something I hadn’t seen coming at all! The last two pages were even more of a shock and completely turned some of the events on their head. Some amazing twists at the end of the book, which made the slow but descriptive start completely worth it. I will definitely be recommending this to anyone who asks and anyone who enjoys a good book with some unpredictable twists!
Overall, I would give this 4/5 stars!
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Twisted Metal: Black in Video Games
Mar 19, 2021
Let The Cars Hit The Floor PS2
Twisted Metal: Black- is a excellent vehicle combat game. I grew up on the twisted metal franchise. I think i only played this one or twice, so i dont remember this one to much.
Overview: In concept, Twisted Metal: Black is a demolition derby that permits the usage of ballistic projectiles. Players choose a vehicle and an arena—or a series of arenas in the story mode—to engage in battle with opposing drivers. A variety of weapons and upgrades are obtainable by pick-ups scattered throughout the stage. The objective of the game is to be the last one standing.
The basis of the plot follows the same structure as in all the previous games: Calypso runs a car-based contest called Twisted Metal (though in the game the contest is never called that), in which the various characters compete risking their lives to claim the tournament's prize - any single wish they desire, no matter the difficulty, rarity or even reality of such wish. Although Calypso is indeed malevolent, characters who have malevolent wishes (which make most of the cast) have their wishes granted without him tricking them on the wishes, while those seeking more noble ends (such as Outlaw's driver Agent Stone) find that Calypso usually has the last laugh.
In a somewhat different take from previous games, each character has their own story, which they narrate from their own point of view. Each of them starts with them being visited by Calypso, who knows what they desire and offers them in his contest. More of the characters' background is revealed in their midpoint cutscene, presented as a dream experienced when they briefly pass out after the sub-boss Minion is defeated. The characters' ending movie showing their wish being granted is presented after defeating the final boss Warhawk.
The game instead takes place within a single city known as "Midtown", with most competitors coming from the city's mental asylum, "Blackfield".
Twisted Metal: Black has a diverse cast made up from both new and returning characters, some of which have changed drastically from their previous appearances. There are a total of fifteen selectable characters, in which ten of them are selectable from the very beginning and the other five must be found and unlocked.
It got excellent reception from critics, and its getting a excellent reception from me.
Overview: In concept, Twisted Metal: Black is a demolition derby that permits the usage of ballistic projectiles. Players choose a vehicle and an arena—or a series of arenas in the story mode—to engage in battle with opposing drivers. A variety of weapons and upgrades are obtainable by pick-ups scattered throughout the stage. The objective of the game is to be the last one standing.
The basis of the plot follows the same structure as in all the previous games: Calypso runs a car-based contest called Twisted Metal (though in the game the contest is never called that), in which the various characters compete risking their lives to claim the tournament's prize - any single wish they desire, no matter the difficulty, rarity or even reality of such wish. Although Calypso is indeed malevolent, characters who have malevolent wishes (which make most of the cast) have their wishes granted without him tricking them on the wishes, while those seeking more noble ends (such as Outlaw's driver Agent Stone) find that Calypso usually has the last laugh.
In a somewhat different take from previous games, each character has their own story, which they narrate from their own point of view. Each of them starts with them being visited by Calypso, who knows what they desire and offers them in his contest. More of the characters' background is revealed in their midpoint cutscene, presented as a dream experienced when they briefly pass out after the sub-boss Minion is defeated. The characters' ending movie showing their wish being granted is presented after defeating the final boss Warhawk.
The game instead takes place within a single city known as "Midtown", with most competitors coming from the city's mental asylum, "Blackfield".
Twisted Metal: Black has a diverse cast made up from both new and returning characters, some of which have changed drastically from their previous appearances. There are a total of fifteen selectable characters, in which ten of them are selectable from the very beginning and the other five must be found and unlocked.
It got excellent reception from critics, and its getting a excellent reception from me.
James Dean Bradfield recommended ...For the Whole World to See by Death in Music (curated)
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Miss Me Not in Books
Sep 3, 2019
Note: This has been on my Kindle for years--literally! I've decided every so often when there's not a book I've bought that I'm just dying to read that I'll start reading my backlog of books from the earliest bought. This was #1 - from 2013. I'm not doing bad, I only have one more book from 2013 before I start the ones from 2014. Yay!
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This covers some rather dark topics like suicide and physical abuse. On the first page we learn of a student's suicide and Madison's feelings about it. And then the fact that she has a sort of suicide pact with her only friend. It's quite a punch to the gut that these 17 year olds feel so low due to family situations that they want to end things.
Madison had a very unconventional childhood with parents who took no notice of her at all and in an effort to gain any sort of attention from them she acted out in the past until the unthinkable happened when she was just 13. I understand how stuff like that can warp you when it happens at such a young age.
Then a ray of light appears in the form of Dean--all round good guy. He's been asked to tutor her so she doesn't flunk a class. He's determined to be her friend after watching her for years and seeing her "fade into the background" behaviour. Things progress from friendship into romance over time and we get a rather sweet romance between Dean and Madison. He's very protective of her.
Of course, things don't always go the way you want and someone close to Madison commits suicide throwing her back into the darkness of grief. Luckily, she now has a strong support system in place with Dean and his family and they manage to keep her grounded.
I thought it ended a little abruptly but it was a sweet young adult romance that covered some hard hitting topics.
Another note: Suicide does seem to be a big issue in teenagers around the world and this book does a good job of highlighting it. It doesn't seem fair to me for teens to be that low that they take their own lives. They've barely started living and they ready to die already? That's not right. I've had a few good cries while reading this.
*-*-*-*-*
This covers some rather dark topics like suicide and physical abuse. On the first page we learn of a student's suicide and Madison's feelings about it. And then the fact that she has a sort of suicide pact with her only friend. It's quite a punch to the gut that these 17 year olds feel so low due to family situations that they want to end things.
Madison had a very unconventional childhood with parents who took no notice of her at all and in an effort to gain any sort of attention from them she acted out in the past until the unthinkable happened when she was just 13. I understand how stuff like that can warp you when it happens at such a young age.
Then a ray of light appears in the form of Dean--all round good guy. He's been asked to tutor her so she doesn't flunk a class. He's determined to be her friend after watching her for years and seeing her "fade into the background" behaviour. Things progress from friendship into romance over time and we get a rather sweet romance between Dean and Madison. He's very protective of her.
Of course, things don't always go the way you want and someone close to Madison commits suicide throwing her back into the darkness of grief. Luckily, she now has a strong support system in place with Dean and his family and they manage to keep her grounded.
I thought it ended a little abruptly but it was a sweet young adult romance that covered some hard hitting topics.
Another note: Suicide does seem to be a big issue in teenagers around the world and this book does a good job of highlighting it. It doesn't seem fair to me for teens to be that low that they take their own lives. They've barely started living and they ready to die already? That's not right. I've had a few good cries while reading this.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Rise of the Guardians (2012) in Movies
Oct 14, 2019
Characters – Jack Frost is the spiritual figure that nobody believes in, he keeps children happy everyday, but no one will remember him for his work, now he gets given a chance to become a guardian giving him the chance to be the hero the world needs. North is the leader of the guardians the first selected to help to replace Pitch giving the children of the world hope, even if he does feel like colossus from Deadpool. Pitch was once the one that struck fear into children, he wants his crown back and will look to take the belief out of any children in the world. Tooth, Bunny and Sandy make up the rest of the guardians that have mixed feelings towards Jack being chosen as their newest member. Using the iconic fantasy characters does make us understand what they thieve for, but is often used for a pun throughout the film.
Story – The story here follows a reckless potential new guardian that must prove his place in the guardians with the much more experienced and famous icons of fantasy. While this does follow a generic idea, it is fun throughout and does play into the idea of childhood innocence keeping legends alive. The idea of Jack Frost needing to find his place in the battle is the strongest part of the film and is easily the one part of the film you want to see most of.
Adventure/Fantasy – The adventure that Jack Frost must go on brings him to the next moment of his stage of immortality, being on a level with a Santa or Tooth Fairy, this is him finding himself in this world that is full of fantasy icons that children will always be believing in.
Settings – The film takes us to different lands which would be the ones you would imagine finding the fantasy icons, the north pole being the most iconic.
Animation – The animation standard is top notch just like we are expecting from a major study involvement in a film.
Scene of the Movie – The final battle.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – A lot of the jokes are aimed at how people would imagine talking to each of the guardians.
Final Thoughts – This is a fantasy family animation that can be enjoyed by all, it doesn’t over test the audience and comes off fun throughout.
Overall: Fun family animation that will give you a smile.
Story – The story here follows a reckless potential new guardian that must prove his place in the guardians with the much more experienced and famous icons of fantasy. While this does follow a generic idea, it is fun throughout and does play into the idea of childhood innocence keeping legends alive. The idea of Jack Frost needing to find his place in the battle is the strongest part of the film and is easily the one part of the film you want to see most of.
Adventure/Fantasy – The adventure that Jack Frost must go on brings him to the next moment of his stage of immortality, being on a level with a Santa or Tooth Fairy, this is him finding himself in this world that is full of fantasy icons that children will always be believing in.
Settings – The film takes us to different lands which would be the ones you would imagine finding the fantasy icons, the north pole being the most iconic.
Animation – The animation standard is top notch just like we are expecting from a major study involvement in a film.
Scene of the Movie – The final battle.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – A lot of the jokes are aimed at how people would imagine talking to each of the guardians.
Final Thoughts – This is a fantasy family animation that can be enjoyed by all, it doesn’t over test the audience and comes off fun throughout.
Overall: Fun family animation that will give you a smile.
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Jump, spin and smash your way into the sky as you battle Dr. Eggman with Sonic and his friends! ...
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Klaus (2019) in Movies
Jul 28, 2020 (Updated Dec 24, 2020)
Visually Interesting - with strong voice performances
We have seen the Origin story of Santa Claus many times and in many ways over the years, so it was with some trepidation that the BankoMarquis ventured forth to check out the Netflix original film KLAUS which covers some very similar territory.
And I need not worry, for KLAUS is a visually interesting film with some very good voice performances that elevates a (relatively) by-the-book story into quite a delightful film experience.
Directed and Written by Sergio Pablos - a veteran animator with credits like Disney’s Tarzan, Despicable Me, Rio and Smallfoot - KLAUS tells the tale of…Jesper, a mailman who is also a privileged youth who’s lackluster ways runs him afoul of his father and he is banished to a remote, Northern country where her runs afoul of…KLAUS.
And…you can probably figure out where the story goes from there, but it is not the story - or the destination - that matters, it is the journey. And…what a wonderful journey it is.
Let’s start with the best part - this film is GORGEOUS to look at. Pablos uses hand drawn animation with lighting techniques taken from digital animation and the result is crisp, clean and stunning to look at. I will watch this film again, just to look at the visuals.
As for the voice casting - it is stellar - with one, small quibble. The great J.K. Simmon is…well…GREAT as Klaus. His deep baritone voice is perfect for the enigmatic hermit that is hiding secrets - and a heart of gold. Rashida Jones, Will Sasso, Norm MacDonald and the always brilliant Joan Cusack add their tremendous voices to the proceedings very well. My only quibble is with the work of Jason Schwartzman as Jesper, the character we follow throughout the film. I found his voice and character grating at times (I know this is on purpose, so Schwartzman did a good job in his work) but, I would have liked to have Pablos “tone down” the lead character just a bit.
But that is a “quibble” in a very entertaining movie that is a wonderful family film that can be enjoyed on different levels - and for different reasons - by children and adults alike.
Letter Grade: A-
8 Stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
And I need not worry, for KLAUS is a visually interesting film with some very good voice performances that elevates a (relatively) by-the-book story into quite a delightful film experience.
Directed and Written by Sergio Pablos - a veteran animator with credits like Disney’s Tarzan, Despicable Me, Rio and Smallfoot - KLAUS tells the tale of…Jesper, a mailman who is also a privileged youth who’s lackluster ways runs him afoul of his father and he is banished to a remote, Northern country where her runs afoul of…KLAUS.
And…you can probably figure out where the story goes from there, but it is not the story - or the destination - that matters, it is the journey. And…what a wonderful journey it is.
Let’s start with the best part - this film is GORGEOUS to look at. Pablos uses hand drawn animation with lighting techniques taken from digital animation and the result is crisp, clean and stunning to look at. I will watch this film again, just to look at the visuals.
As for the voice casting - it is stellar - with one, small quibble. The great J.K. Simmon is…well…GREAT as Klaus. His deep baritone voice is perfect for the enigmatic hermit that is hiding secrets - and a heart of gold. Rashida Jones, Will Sasso, Norm MacDonald and the always brilliant Joan Cusack add their tremendous voices to the proceedings very well. My only quibble is with the work of Jason Schwartzman as Jesper, the character we follow throughout the film. I found his voice and character grating at times (I know this is on purpose, so Schwartzman did a good job in his work) but, I would have liked to have Pablos “tone down” the lead character just a bit.
But that is a “quibble” in a very entertaining movie that is a wonderful family film that can be enjoyed on different levels - and for different reasons - by children and adults alike.
Letter Grade: A-
8 Stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
The Ride of a Lifetime
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The CEO of Disney, one of Time’s most influential people of 2019, shares the ideas and values he...