Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (4880)

Content

Sean Farrell (9 KP) rated To Kill a Mockingbird in Books

Mar 15, 2018

To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee | 1989 | Children, Fiction & Poetry

8.6

(96 Ratings)

Book Rating

I think it's safe to assume that most people know this book is about a girl named Scout Finch growing up in the American south of the 1930's as it still deals with racism. Seeing as the book is primarily about the experiences of a young girl, the parts about Atticus Finch defending a black man at trial, while important to the plot, are not nearly as prominent as some might recall from having read the book at school, myself included. Still, it's always an interesting book, full of remembrances of youthful activities that are likely to stir up at least an occasional moment of fond nostalgia among most people. While there is a lot that is very specific to the south in here, the principal themes are pretty universal; growing up, our relationships with & views of our families, learning to deal with society's expectations for us, and of course, just how messed up that society can often be. It may perhaps paint a slightly too rosy picture of the way things were at the time, but the inherent optimism fits in with the perspective from which it's being told. It's very hard not to be moved by this book. Whether it wants you to feel joy, suspense, or sorrow, it does a masterful job of bending you to its will. A true American classic.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated The Mummy (2017) in Movies

Feb 11, 2018 (Updated Feb 11, 2018)

The Mummy (2017)

2017 | Action, Adventure

5.1

(122 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Oh, Mummy.

Laborious attempt by Universal to grab a slice of Marvel's meta-franchise pie by launching a series of fantasy blockbusters based on their stable of famous monster characters. Tom Cruise plays an annoying mercenary who catches the eye of an ancient and evil supernatural creature unearthed in Iraq.

There's a good reason why sensible studios don't try to make horror blockbusters, and especially horror blockbusters starring Tom Cruise - every time the film starts to be effectively creepy or atmospheric, along comes a CGI-enhanced chase sequence, or Tom Cruise doing that smirk, or some other manifestation of corporate blandness. Isn't Tom Cruise too old for this sort of thing? Watching him flirting with a considerably younger actress is by far the creepiest thing in the movie, and he seems quite incapable of the moral ambiguity the part probably requires - Russell Crowe, in the Samuel L Jackson plot-device-character role, acts him off the screen.

You scratch your head wondering how this thing is supposed to work - are all the monsters going to team up together? And do what, exactly? No-one seems to have thought this through. It's much more of a zombie movie than one about an actual mummy, anyway. The depiction of the one-way system in Oxford City Centre is also very misleading; I nearly knocked off a point because of it.

Kudos

Russ Troutt (291 KP) rated The Nun (2018) in Movies

Jul 2, 2019

The Nun (2018)

2018 | Horror

5.9

(56 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

So often now the theater experience gets ruined with people talking or on their phone, but tonight was a great experience, and nights like tonight, are the reason why I keep going. Whether it was slip of tongue or said on purpose I don't know, but the guy who checked my ticket at the theater said, "Good luck" as he directed me to my screen. And before even touching on the movie, which was amazing, I got super excited seeing the new Halloween trailer on the big screen for the first time; perfect mood setter leading into the movie. Couldn't have asked for a better group of people to watch a movie with tonight. No talking, no bright lights of cell phones, just the sound of chuckles during the few funny lines and the occasional jump and slight screech of a few.

Now, to the movie. There have been some great horror movies in recent years and this one is right up there with the best of them. The Nun was so well done! Set in Romania during the early 50's, it just had that classic horror movie feel to it. I'll finish by decribing and praising it like this, it felt like if The Exorcist was made by Universal back in the 30's/40's era then the result would've been The Nun.

Kudos

Tim McGuire (301 KP) rated The Gentlemen (2020) in Movies

Mar 3, 2020

The Gentlemen (2020)

2020 | Action, Crime

8.1

(34 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Loved It!!

395. The Gentlemen. Well alright, alright!! The first 5 or so minutes were kind of jumbled, my universal translator wasn't recognizing the cockney language right away. The McConaissance continues, he's usually the stoner but now, he's the big guy in charge of "Bush" game over in the UK. And now he's getting ready to retire and sell his herb empire, and he seems to be good to go, until some other interested buyers, or takers come into play, but when the cool calm and collected Mickey Pearson is pushed into a corner, well, first of all, you only think you pushed him into a corner and two he's gonna push back! Great movie from Guy Ritchie, more along the lines of Snatch than his recent gems like the Aladdin, King Arthur, Man from Uncle, or remember that time Madonna and him were together so he was forced by God to put her in a movie called Swept Away? Ugh... This is the kind of movie he shines, each character explodes on the screen. My favorite had to be Colin Farrell as Coach, and yes he is a basketball coach, and he does jobs for the organization and for fun beats up unruly teens. Hugh Grant was also great as a sleazeball, bribing journalist/wanna be screen writer.. Great flick, go check it out! Filmbufftim on FB

Kudos

Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Mar 24, 2020 (Updated Mar 24, 2020)

Check out this fascinating interview with Lisa Johnson, author of the emotional and heartfelt biography POSTCARDS FROM LONNIE on my blog, and enter the #GIVEAWAY to #win a signed copy of the book - two winners!

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2020/03/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-postcards.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
It all started on Christmas Day 1993. Lisa and Lonnie were sitting on their mom's rickety yard swing, when Lisa's curiosity took over. She asked Lonnie questions about his life on the street, about being homeless. To her surprise, he answered honestly, humorously, and thoughtfully.

That conversation continued throughout the next four years as Lisa wrote questions on postcards addressed to herself, then mailed them in packets to Lonnie at the flower shop on his corner. He wrote his answers and mailed them back. Lonnie answered a lot of questions and even asked a few, too. His detailed, matter-of-fact responses gave Lisa an unfettered view of a population living on the fringes of society and the issues they face every day.

Postcards from Lonnie is a dialogue between Lonnie, who speaks through the postcards, and his sister, who not only learns a lot about her brother but also about herself. Intimate and revealing, this is a unique family memoir and a universal story of love, respect, family, and ultimately hope.
--
#LSBBT #LoneStarLit