Search

Search only in certain items:

The Last Witch Hunter (2015)
The Last Witch Hunter (2015)
2015 | Action, Fantasy
Over 800 years ago, a group of warriors and Clergy set off on a journey to destroy a witch and her minions in her lair. The witch had unleashed a plague upon the human race and she was determined to wipe them from the face of the planet.

During the battle, the witch is defeated but with her dying breath, she curses the one who vanquished her to a life of eternity, destined to be alone and never know peace.

Flash forward to modern day New York, and we find that man is now an elite Witch Hunter named Kaulder (Vin Diesel), who toils his trade working for a group who along with Witches maintain the peace. The Witches promise not to practice their craft against humans and in turn they are left alone. But when one does not follow the rules or is a threat to humanity, Kaulder and his ability to heal from injury via his immortality is dispatched to dispense justice.

When his Dolan (Michael Caine) is found dead the day after he retires, Koulder and his new Dolan (Elijah Wood), set out to find the Witch who is responsible which in turn leads to a discovery that his former Dolan is not dead but deeply cursed. In a race against time, Koulder must find the Witch who issues the curse and make an uneasy alliance with a witch named Chloe (Rose Leslie) to get to the bottom of a mystery darker and more deadly than they could have ever imagined.

One would think with the presence of Diesel and the interesting premise of the film, “The Last Witch Hunter”, would be more than it is. The film sadly plods along and has no real tension or surprises and at times, plays out more like a direct to DVD release or something one would find on cable late at night. I think the presence of Diesel is what got the film a theatrical release but one would hope with such a fine supporting cast it would have been better.

That is not to say the film is bad, as it was better than I thought it would be, but sadly as it went along, it simply failed to deliver on the potential of the premise.

In many ways I see this like “Hansel and Gretel” in that it will likely play better to the foreign market but after the total box office, DVD, and Pay Per View are factored in, do not be shocked if a second outing for the characters arrives someday as Diesel has shown a fondness for franchise characters.

For now the film is a decent distraction and offers entertainment as long as you set your expectations accordingly.

http://sknr.net/2015/10/23/the-last-witch-hunter/
  
    My Town : Hotel

    My Town : Hotel

    Entertainment and Games

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    How fun to pack your suitcase and go on a hotel adventure! With many rooms to explore, there are new...

A Court of Thorns and Roses
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Sarah J. Maas | 2015 | Young Adult (YA)
8
8.7 (108 Ratings)
Book Rating
I put of reading this book for a while, but for multiple reasons. The first was my concern that it wouldn’t live up to the expectations I had because of Throne of Glass. The second was because I didn’t want to read the first two books months before the last (at least for this half of the series) came out so I wasn’t waiting and obsessing.

I’m glad I waited because now I only have to wait about three weeks for the third book to come out after I finish the second one (if I finish it on the schedule I have planned).

I didn’t hate this book, but neither would I say that I loved it. It was good yes, but I think there is something missing and there are a few other problems that I want to talk about as well.

First, I want to talk about Feyre (pronounced Fay-ruh if you were wondering) and the sort of indifference I started feeling towards her just a little past halfway through the book. At first I liked her, doing what she can to survive while also getting very hateful feelings from her family, but determined to keep the promise she made to her unloving mother. She did what she could, but wasn’t as perfect to have all these amazing skills she was somehow able to teach herself. It was realistic in a way. Then, in the middle, I still liked her but didn’t understand some of the actions that she took. It wasn’t explained well enough in the book to be reasonable. And in the end, well, there wasn’t really much too really like or hate. It was as if Feyre started to disappear, and I had no feelings one way or the other.

The passing of time in this book was strange, but it does come right out and say, ‘three months after this event happened’ and it makes it clear. But sometimes it felt like it jumped weeks ahead without much explanation.

I do like some things of course, such as Tamlin and Lucien and many of the other fae. It was fun learning about them, their culture, the things that they went through, and eventually learning what the curse was all about (though it might be easy to guess).

But what exactly did I like about it? I can’t find any particular examples, mostly just the overall feeling of the book, the plot, and the characters, at least for the most part.

I know I’ve probably said more bad than good things but I willing give this book four stars. The reasons I’m not giving more is because the mild indifference I felt towards pieces of the book, and others I won’t mention in fear of spoiling it for everyone.
  
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
2022 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
When audiences last saw Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) he had accidentally opened a portal into

other universe or as they are known, Multiverses in an attempt to help Spider-man.

In the new Marvel film “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” the Sorcerer finds himself disturbed by dreams of himself and a mysterious girl battling an evil presence but something about it does not seem right and he puts it down to conflicted feelings over attending the wedding of his ex-Christine (Rachel McAdams).

Before he can fully process his feelings, Strange is soon battling a giant creature that appears to be trying to capture the very girl from his dreams. With the help of Wong (Benedict Wong), they are able to save the day and learn that the girl whose name is America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) has an uncontrolled ability to travel across the Multiverse and that a demon is after her as he wants her powers for himself.

Facing a threat to their very existence, the group seeks the help of Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olson) and attempts to convince the former Avenger to aid them. Things take a very dark turn soon after as the true nature of the threat facing them comes to light and Strange and America flees into the Multiverse in an attempt to save the universe as they know it.

The film hits the ground running with a great action sequence which is followed a bit later by another before it becomes a bit bogged down in metaphysical and multi-dimensional conversations. Thankfully the strong characters help hold your interest during the slower parts of the film and the finale plays out well giving fans the action and character development that they would want.

Much has been made about the cameos in the film and while I will confirm that they are there I will not spoil them and I will say that several of the wilder theories are not true.

Director Sam Raimi has made a triumphant return to Super Hero movies as this outing combines what fans expect from a comic book-based film and blends it with supernatural horror to create a darker and more intense Marvel film than many have been used to.

The effects in the film are top-notch but it is the strong performances that drive the film not the effects and the movie opens up so many possibilities for the future. There are two bonus scenes in the credits and a promise that Doctor Strange will return. It has been reported that Marvel Producer Kevin Feige and his team have already plotted out the next ten years of Marvel films beyond what has already been announced and I cannot wait to see where they go next as Marvel has once again shown that by giving fans inter-connected stories that are well-planned and part of a living-universe, or in this case Multiverse, that they have plenty of material to come.

4 stars out of 5