Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (1603)

Content

Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Jason Bourne (2016) in Movies

Jun 19, 2019

Jason Bourne (2016)

2016 | Action, Drama

7.0

(19 Ratings)

Movie Rating

It is hard to believe that 2007 was the last time Matt Damon portrayed Jason Bourne. The series continued with Jeremy Renner playing a character set in the same universe in the 2012 release “The Bourne Legacy”, but fans have longed for more from the series originator.

Thankfully Writer/Director Paul Greengrass has returned with Damon to in the new film “Jason Bourne” The film opens with Bourne in hiding and living off the grid in Greece. He sustains himself by taking part in full contact matches and has regained more of the memories he has forgotten since the events prior to the first film.
His former associate Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) has managed to hack into the government and has obtained numerous files about covert operations including a new and greater program as well as information about Bourne and his father.

The leak catches the attention of Director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones) and he tasks ambitious Agent Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander) to find and stop Bourne and Parsons.

At the same time, Dewey is working with a software developer to ensure that the government has unlimited access to all the users of his software in order to maintain surveillance upon them. Uncomfortable with this arrangement the developer (Aaron Kalloor) threatens to expose what the government has been up to at a big software expo in Las Vegas before a worldwide audience.
With this new threat and Bourne resurfaced, a cold and deadly assassin is dispatched and in locales ranging from Greece, Berlin, London, and Las Vegas as Bourne attempts to get the answers he wants and to settle some old scores with danger all around him.

The film takes a bit to get up to speed but once it does it delivers the action and political intrigue that fans of the series have come to expect. Naturally it does at times require a few leaps of faith but in the end, Bourne is back better than ever and Damon reminds us of how much he owns this character with her performance. Here is hoping we do not have as long a wait for him to return in a new Bourne adventure.

http://sknr.net/2016/07/29/84102/

Kudos

Hazel (1853 KP) rated Waterfall in Books

Dec 17, 2018

Waterfall

Lauren Kate | 2014 | Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult (YA)

7.6

(5 Ratings)

Book Rating

This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

The end of Lauren Kate’s fantasy novel Teardrop saw the beginning of the destruction of the earth after teenage Eureka Boudreaux shed a tear sparking off a devastating flood. Waterfall continues on from this point as Eureka goes on a journey to try and save the world. Readers are reunited with the lovable characters of the previous novel such as the twins and Cat as well as the mysterious Ander.

Three quarters of the novel is full of excitement with Eureka and family swimming to Turkey to locate a lost relative of Ander’s who they hope will be able to advise them on what to do next. Solon is a great character – comes across as mean but really has everyone’s best interests at heart. Solon instructs Eureka in the tasks ahead of her all the while the threat of Atlantis rising rests heavily upon her. Meanwhile Atlas, the evil one, who is determined to make Eureka produce one final tear, has possessed Eureka’s best friend Brooks.

Up until this point the novel was even better than the first. The lack of everyday life that Teardrop was composed of meant that the fantasy story line could quickly develop. However the remaining quarter of Waterfall was largely disappointing.

The setting for the finale of the book was a complete contrast to what the characters had been exposed to previously. Whilst there was nothing wrong with this, the story became confusing and difficult to grasp. It was hard to picture the scene and it felt like the personalities of some of the characters, Eureka in particular, had suddenly changed.

Initially Waterfall was working towards a four star review however after the frustrating changes in writing style the novel no longer feels like the fantastic story it promised to be.

As mentioned, this is a sequel to Teardrop and readers would greatly benefit from reading that first, but the beginning chapters of Waterfall contain enough information for new readers to catch up to speed.