Search
156Reviews (7 KP) rated True History of the Kelly Gang (2019) in Movies
May 1, 2020
One of the main things that divides opinion on Ned Kelly is was he on the side of good or bad? Some see him as a kind of freedom fighter, standing up to the British, who at the time that looked to suppress and demean the Australian people. Some see him as a criminal, who murdered innocent people for reasons known only to him. Both of these opinions may be true, neither of them might be, but it's one hell of a gamble to base a film on someone that divides opinion that much.
It's a gamble that doesn't pay off, the team behind the film try to sell it as a punk-esque, spit in the face of authority tale of a guy standing up against the establishment. The soundtrack is on-point, but that's about it. George Mackay (as Ned Kelly) does his best to sell it, but the film-makers never truly drive home the idea that this was a man of the people, someone speaking up for the downtrodden, instead Ned spends most of the films run-time with his family in their home, seemingly away from civilisation entirely, taking away from the Robin Hood-like mythology of the man. Without any other characters, Robin Hood is just a man who steals from people. A story about a thief, who becomes a murderer, who becomes a gang leader who incites others to kill, doesn't exactly evoke much sympathy, especially as these are based on real life events. Even if the film denies this by stating “Nothing you are about to see is true” at the start, despite “True History” being in the title of the film.
Some of the cast do their best to with what they are given, but some fall short, and some are just wilfully underused, Thomasin McKenzie, who has been great in recent films such as JoJo Rabbit and Leave No Trace is barely given anything to do other than play “The Woman” despite many important events revolving around her, opposite to this is Charlie Hunnam, who is given ample things to do, but seems to still be playing the same character from his recent The Gentleman performance. George Mackay is a force to be reckoned with, but its a performance that would be better placed in a sex pistols biopic than in 1800's Australia. The shining performance in this is Nicolas Hoult, shaking off his nice guy image to play the corrupt Constable Fitzpatrick, who seems to delight in the power he has and when events stop going Fitzpatrick's way, Hoult commits to playing a man on the edge of completely losing control with surprising conviction and menace, his interrogation scenes being and uncomfortable highlight in an otherwise unconvincing film.
With no mention of the two years Kelly spent on the run, being hidden from the police by a network of sympathisers, and by showing his plight as a very personal experience instead of showing it as an example of the culture at the time, the film misses an opportunity to make a legend of the man, and instead falls short of greatness.
It's a gamble that doesn't pay off, the team behind the film try to sell it as a punk-esque, spit in the face of authority tale of a guy standing up against the establishment. The soundtrack is on-point, but that's about it. George Mackay (as Ned Kelly) does his best to sell it, but the film-makers never truly drive home the idea that this was a man of the people, someone speaking up for the downtrodden, instead Ned spends most of the films run-time with his family in their home, seemingly away from civilisation entirely, taking away from the Robin Hood-like mythology of the man. Without any other characters, Robin Hood is just a man who steals from people. A story about a thief, who becomes a murderer, who becomes a gang leader who incites others to kill, doesn't exactly evoke much sympathy, especially as these are based on real life events. Even if the film denies this by stating “Nothing you are about to see is true” at the start, despite “True History” being in the title of the film.
Some of the cast do their best to with what they are given, but some fall short, and some are just wilfully underused, Thomasin McKenzie, who has been great in recent films such as JoJo Rabbit and Leave No Trace is barely given anything to do other than play “The Woman” despite many important events revolving around her, opposite to this is Charlie Hunnam, who is given ample things to do, but seems to still be playing the same character from his recent The Gentleman performance. George Mackay is a force to be reckoned with, but its a performance that would be better placed in a sex pistols biopic than in 1800's Australia. The shining performance in this is Nicolas Hoult, shaking off his nice guy image to play the corrupt Constable Fitzpatrick, who seems to delight in the power he has and when events stop going Fitzpatrick's way, Hoult commits to playing a man on the edge of completely losing control with surprising conviction and menace, his interrogation scenes being and uncomfortable highlight in an otherwise unconvincing film.
With no mention of the two years Kelly spent on the run, being hidden from the police by a network of sympathisers, and by showing his plight as a very personal experience instead of showing it as an example of the culture at the time, the film misses an opportunity to make a legend of the man, and instead falls short of greatness.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated You Will Be Safe Here in Books
Jul 10, 2019
Moving and thought provoking
I can’t lie, history isn’t a strong subject of mine so I knew very little about the South African concentration camps and these New Dawn Type camps when i first started this book. So for me, the events detailed and unfolding in this book are a disturbing revelation. It might be fiction, but it’s based on historical true events so I know it’s not far from the truth. It’s shocking and immensely moving, reading about the plight of a number of characters from 1901 to the present date. At first I didn’t understand why this started off in 1901 and worked it’s way through different characters to the almost present day, but it all makes sense and intertwines in a way as the book goes on and it’s a great way to tell a story. This is wonderfully written, bringing out a number of reactions and the emotions in the reader as it goes on and I felt a mixture of sheer anger and frustration and sadness reading this. The characters are all well developed, with their own flaws and traits that make them both intriguing and sometimes frustrating (but in a good way) to read. My only criticism would be that the ending seemed a little rushed in comparison to the rest of the book, and I wouldn’t have minded a slightly longer book at the benefit of a less rushed ending.
This isn’t a book I would have ordinarily thought of reading, but I’m glad I did and would highly recommend reading it!
This isn’t a book I would have ordinarily thought of reading, but I’m glad I did and would highly recommend reading it!
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Detroit (2017) in Movies
Sep 11, 2017
Fantastic Performances (1 more)
Extremely Well Crafted
A Dark Stain On American History
Detroit is a movie that is hard to watch, but should be seen by everyone. It tells the heart breaking story of a violent raid on a hotel by an overly aggressive and racist group of police officers. The movie pulls no punches in telling this unfortunately true story of how a group of evil bigots got away with murder.
The cast are brilliant at bringing this harrowing tale to life and the technical aspects of the movie are spot on as well. The direction is great, the lighting and sound are phenomenal and the believability of the whole thing, makes it feel all too real.
This movie is shocking and difficult to stomach, but it does what it is designed to do - to show us how much outright discrimination the police force and other officials could get away with during this time in history.
This movie deserves to be seen by all and it will leave you thinking about the events that it portrays for days afterwards.
The cast are brilliant at bringing this harrowing tale to life and the technical aspects of the movie are spot on as well. The direction is great, the lighting and sound are phenomenal and the believability of the whole thing, makes it feel all too real.
This movie is shocking and difficult to stomach, but it does what it is designed to do - to show us how much outright discrimination the police force and other officials could get away with during this time in history.
This movie deserves to be seen by all and it will leave you thinking about the events that it portrays for days afterwards.
ArecRain (8 KP) rated Scottish Werebear: Books 1-3 (Scottish Werebear, #1-3) in Books
Jan 18, 2018
Overall, this was an enjoyable series. There are a few story devices that I am over such as the cheating boyfriend and one true mate but the author has an easy style that, once you get into the story, the story seems to fly by. I didnt even realize how far into the story I was until I had to set it down.
Derek and Claire are not my favorite couple. Claire comes off as a bit childish despite being 30 something years old, and, honestly, I felt her little pity party early on in the story that brought about the accident was poor storytelling. That being said, I thought Derek was precious in in subtle courtship of her. He wanted to make her happy but thought he couldnt be with her so he left her little presents. I mean how adorable?
But I digress. The author is skilled with painting a clear portrait of the scenery events. While I wasnt overly fond of her leads, I was still invested in their HEA.
Derek and Claire are not my favorite couple. Claire comes off as a bit childish despite being 30 something years old, and, honestly, I felt her little pity party early on in the story that brought about the accident was poor storytelling. That being said, I thought Derek was precious in in subtle courtship of her. He wanted to make her happy but thought he couldnt be with her so he left her little presents. I mean how adorable?
But I digress. The author is skilled with painting a clear portrait of the scenery events. While I wasnt overly fond of her leads, I was still invested in their HEA.
Dakota Morrill (17 KP) rated The Shawshank Redemption (1994) in Movies
Mar 2, 2018
Great movie with one annoying flaw
Contains spoilers, click to show
I saw this movie for the first time only recently after hearing my friends preach about it for years. I knew it was a short story by Steven King that was adapted into an extremely long movie, but I had no idea what the movie was about until I hit that play button.
The question of whether or not Andy actually killed his wife and her lover is never answered. I’d held my breath hoping we’d get some form of true closure, but with the events that transpire, any chances of finding out what truly happened is shut down.
The biggest reason that I would prefer to give this film an 8.5 however is the boring stereotypical ending involving Andy escaping, the evil Warden dying, the mean enforcer being enforced, and Red simply joining Andy in dream land working together forever more to live happily ever after. It feels like they just got bored after writing such a long script that they wrote a placeholder then walked away, forgetting to come back later and finish. Disappointing.
The question of whether or not Andy actually killed his wife and her lover is never answered. I’d held my breath hoping we’d get some form of true closure, but with the events that transpire, any chances of finding out what truly happened is shut down.
The biggest reason that I would prefer to give this film an 8.5 however is the boring stereotypical ending involving Andy escaping, the evil Warden dying, the mean enforcer being enforced, and Red simply joining Andy in dream land working together forever more to live happily ever after. It feels like they just got bored after writing such a long script that they wrote a placeholder then walked away, forgetting to come back later and finish. Disappointing.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2648 KP) rated A High-End Finish (A Fixer-Upper Mystery, #1) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Shannon Hammer loves her life and her job of working on the many Victorians in Lighthouse Cove. She’s agreed to go on a blind date with Jerry Saxton, but he turns out to be a complete jerk. To Shannon’s horror, she finds his dead body in one of her houses a couple of days later. With the police looking at her as the prime suspect, she has to build a case against someone else. There are no shortage of suspects, but who did it?
More than a mystery with clues and red herrings, this book is a series of mysterious events, with Shannon reacting to the latest. There are some interesting twists, but the lack of true investigation bothered me. Still, the book does come to a logical climax. I loved these characters. Shannon has a strong group of friends and family, and I really liked them.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/02/book-review-high-end-finish-by-kate.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
More than a mystery with clues and red herrings, this book is a series of mysterious events, with Shannon reacting to the latest. There are some interesting twists, but the lack of true investigation bothered me. Still, the book does come to a logical climax. I loved these characters. Shannon has a strong group of friends and family, and I really liked them.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/02/book-review-high-end-finish-by-kate.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Hidden Figures (2016) in Movies
Mar 15, 2018
Possibly the most sedentary movie ever to be the subject of a proposed Lego set is one of those which you feel obliged to enjoy on moral grounds. Three African American women do sterling service in the early days of NASA, overcoming racial divisions to do so (well, they're brilliant mathematicians, so division should be easy for them).
Well made and all, but not exactly full of surprises, and if the whole point of the film is that this is a historical true story, why have the facts been stretched and edited and generally tweaked? Does the fact that this is a Serious Issue Movie mean that it gets a pass on what would usually be called historical inaccuracy? One gets the sense this movie is more interested in putting a message across than in telling the story of the real-life events it supposedly depicts. Capably done, with some good performances (a nice turn from Costner as, guess what, a wholly fictitious character), but just a little bit on-the-nose.
Well made and all, but not exactly full of surprises, and if the whole point of the film is that this is a historical true story, why have the facts been stretched and edited and generally tweaked? Does the fact that this is a Serious Issue Movie mean that it gets a pass on what would usually be called historical inaccuracy? One gets the sense this movie is more interested in putting a message across than in telling the story of the real-life events it supposedly depicts. Capably done, with some good performances (a nice turn from Costner as, guess what, a wholly fictitious character), but just a little bit on-the-nose.
Nick Beaty (70 KP) rated The Vanishing (2018) in Movies
Jan 8, 2020 (Updated Jan 8, 2020)
Peter Mullan is brilliant again...
Based on the true story of three lighthouse keepers who mysteriously disappeared in 1900. This is the writers interpretation of the events that occurred, as nobody knows the truth to what actually happened to the three men on the Flannan Isles.
The movie is really slow paced and quiet, so some people may find it a bit boring. For me though the acting is top notch, which is enough to keep you interested in the story.
The ever reliable Peter Mullan is brilliant again and Gerard Butler is actually really good in this one and proves he does have range as an actor.
One negative for me was that some of the more violent scenes in the movie didn't really match the tempo of the film and felt a little bit out of place. I understand that these things had to happen but I just felt they could have been done a little better.
To sum up The Vanishing is a decent enough movie but I can't help but feel it could have been much much more.
The movie is really slow paced and quiet, so some people may find it a bit boring. For me though the acting is top notch, which is enough to keep you interested in the story.
The ever reliable Peter Mullan is brilliant again and Gerard Butler is actually really good in this one and proves he does have range as an actor.
One negative for me was that some of the more violent scenes in the movie didn't really match the tempo of the film and felt a little bit out of place. I understand that these things had to happen but I just felt they could have been done a little better.
To sum up The Vanishing is a decent enough movie but I can't help but feel it could have been much much more.
Careless Love: Unmaking of Elvis Presley
8.0
Rate It
Book
Last Train to Memphis, the first part of Guralnick's two-volume life of Elvis Presley, received...
Is That Bike Diesel, Mate?: One Man, One Bike and the First Lap Around Australia on Used Cooking Oil
Book
Oi, mate, is that monstrosity diesel? From the author of the bestsellers Don't Tell Mum I Work on...