Burning the Candle
Book
Seldom does one get the chance to get as close as this to the writing process. The poet asks "Where...
Unmasking Superfoods
Book
It can be overwhelming and frustrating to try to understand the claims about "superfoods." Do...
The Other Mrs Walker
Book
The Other Mrs Walker is the beguiling debut from Mary Paulson-Ellis, for fans of Kate Atkinson and...
Norte: A Novel
Edmundo Paz-Soldan and Valerie Miles
Book
Three unconnected people travel north, each passing in isolation over one of the most troubled and...
Panic
Book
An utterly gripping thriller from bestselling author Lauren Oliver. Panic began as so many things do...
Glint of Light on Broken Glass
Book
Jason Monaghan's historical novel Glint of Light on Broken Glass begins when sixteen year-old George...
Reshaping Communications: Technology, Information and Social Change
Book
'It is a clich [ac]e but this book is timely, welcome and indeed a breath of fresh air...It is of...
Black Science: How to Fall Forever: Volume 1
Rick Remender, Matteo Scalera and Dean White
Book
"A must-read for Remender's fans or anyone thrilled by bizarre and compelling sci-fi." Starred...
Awix (3310 KP) rated Mars Attacks! (1996) in Movies
Jun 14, 2020
One of those bizarre mutants that should never really have got past the script stage, let alone received a $70m budget: the release schedule inevitably resulted in it being hailed as a spoof of Independence Day (hard to spoof something that wasn't meant to be taken seriously in the first place), but this is much more a send-up of classic 50s sci-fi B-movies (various spot-on parodies), as well as being a startlingly subversive black comedy. You can also sense Burton trying to do his version of Dr Strangelove, with Nicholson in a multiple role, but it doesn't have anything like the same sharpness or impact. A bit patchy overall - some laugh-out-loud moments and game performances, but also a lot of dead wood and characters and jokes that just don't work. On the whole, though, the fact that films like this still get made suggests hope is not yet lost for the world.
Bostonian916 (449 KP) rated Zero Dark Thirty (2013) in Movies
Jul 19, 2020
I was under the false impression that Joel Edgerton and Chris Pratt would be primary characters in the story line. They played their roles, but the true ownership of the script has to go to Jessica Chastain (whom I have a newfound respect for) with a side of Jason Clarke. To be honest, I hadn't read much about the movie either. Mainly just had an idea of it being about the assault on Bin Laden.
There is a level of mental anguish during the movie that I didn't expect. You come to terms with the reality that these people are living trying to fulfill their duty while being able to sleep at night and having a need to protect their families and loved ones.
Zero Dark Thirty isn't an outright action movie as expected. There are some action sequences and those are done well, but the real strength of the movie is the mental gymnastics endured by all involved.