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Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Live By Night (2017) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
“Sleep by day…”.
Ben Affleck’s new movie could best be described as “sprawling”. In both directing and writing the screenplay (based on a novel by Dennis Lehane), Affleck has aimed for a “Godfather” style gangster epic and missed: not missed by a country mile, but missed nonetheless.
Morally bankrupted by his experiences in the trenches, Joe Coughlin (Affleck) returns to Boston to pick and choose which social rules he wants to follow. Not sociopathic per se, as he has a strong personal code of conduct, but Coughlin turns to robbery walking a delicate path between the warring mob factions of the Irish community, led by Albert White (the excellent Robert Glenister from TV’s “Hustle”), and the Italian community, led by Maso Pescatore (Remo Girone). Trying to keep him out of jail is his father (“Harry Potter”’s Brendan Gleeson) who – usefully – is the Deputy Police Chief. Life gets complicated when he falls in love with White’s moll, Emma Gould (Sienna Miller). The scene is set for a drama stretching from Boston to the hot and steamy Everglades over a period of the next twenty years.
Although a watchable popcorn film, the choppy episodic nature of the movie is hugely frustrating, with no compelling story arc to glue all of the disparate parts together. The (often very violent) action scenes are very well done and exciting but as a viewer you don’t feel invested in a ‘journey’ from the beginning of the film to the (unsatisfactory) ending. In my experience it’s never a good sign when the writer considers it necessary to add a voiceover to the soundtrack, and here Affleck mutters truisms about his thoughts and motives that irritate more than illuminate.
The sheer volume of players in the piece (there are about three film’s worth in here) and the resulting minimal screen time given to each allows no time for character development. Unfortunately the result is that you really care very little about whether people live or die and big plot developments land as rather an “oh” than an “OH!”.
Affleck puts in a great turn as the autistic central character whose condition results in a cold, calculating demeanor and a complete lack of emotion reflecting on his face. Oh, hang on… no, wait a minute… sorry… I’ve got the wrong film…. I’m thinking about “The Accountant”. I don’t know whether he filmed these films in parallel. I generally enjoy Ben Affleck’s work (he was excellent in “The Town”) but for 95% of this film his part could have been completed by a burly extra with an Affleck mask on. In terms of acting range, his facial muscles barely get to a “2” on the scale. Given the double problem that he is barely credible as the “young man” returning mentally wounded from the trenches, then in my opinion he would have been better to have focused on the writing and directing and found a lead of the likes of an Andrew Garfield to fill Coughlin’s shoes.
That’s not to say there is not some good acting present in the rest of the cast’s all too brief supporting roles. Elle Fanning (“Trumbo”, “Maleficent”) in particular shines as the Southern belle Loretta Figgis: a religious zealot driving her police chief father (Chris Cooper, “The Bourne Identity”) to distraction. Cooper also delivers a star turn as the moral but pragmatic law-man.
Sienna Miller (“Foxcatcher”) delivers a passable Cork accent and does her best to develop some believable chemistry with the rock-like Affleck. Zoe Saldana (“Star Trek”) is equally effective as a Cuban humanitarian.
In summary, it’s sprawlingly watchable… but overall a disappointment, with Affleck over-reaching. One day we surely will get a gangster film the likes of another “Godfather”, “Goodfellas” or “Untouchables”. Although this has its moments, unfortunately it’s more towards the “Public Enemies” end of the genre spectrum.
Morally bankrupted by his experiences in the trenches, Joe Coughlin (Affleck) returns to Boston to pick and choose which social rules he wants to follow. Not sociopathic per se, as he has a strong personal code of conduct, but Coughlin turns to robbery walking a delicate path between the warring mob factions of the Irish community, led by Albert White (the excellent Robert Glenister from TV’s “Hustle”), and the Italian community, led by Maso Pescatore (Remo Girone). Trying to keep him out of jail is his father (“Harry Potter”’s Brendan Gleeson) who – usefully – is the Deputy Police Chief. Life gets complicated when he falls in love with White’s moll, Emma Gould (Sienna Miller). The scene is set for a drama stretching from Boston to the hot and steamy Everglades over a period of the next twenty years.
Although a watchable popcorn film, the choppy episodic nature of the movie is hugely frustrating, with no compelling story arc to glue all of the disparate parts together. The (often very violent) action scenes are very well done and exciting but as a viewer you don’t feel invested in a ‘journey’ from the beginning of the film to the (unsatisfactory) ending. In my experience it’s never a good sign when the writer considers it necessary to add a voiceover to the soundtrack, and here Affleck mutters truisms about his thoughts and motives that irritate more than illuminate.
The sheer volume of players in the piece (there are about three film’s worth in here) and the resulting minimal screen time given to each allows no time for character development. Unfortunately the result is that you really care very little about whether people live or die and big plot developments land as rather an “oh” than an “OH!”.
Affleck puts in a great turn as the autistic central character whose condition results in a cold, calculating demeanor and a complete lack of emotion reflecting on his face. Oh, hang on… no, wait a minute… sorry… I’ve got the wrong film…. I’m thinking about “The Accountant”. I don’t know whether he filmed these films in parallel. I generally enjoy Ben Affleck’s work (he was excellent in “The Town”) but for 95% of this film his part could have been completed by a burly extra with an Affleck mask on. In terms of acting range, his facial muscles barely get to a “2” on the scale. Given the double problem that he is barely credible as the “young man” returning mentally wounded from the trenches, then in my opinion he would have been better to have focused on the writing and directing and found a lead of the likes of an Andrew Garfield to fill Coughlin’s shoes.
That’s not to say there is not some good acting present in the rest of the cast’s all too brief supporting roles. Elle Fanning (“Trumbo”, “Maleficent”) in particular shines as the Southern belle Loretta Figgis: a religious zealot driving her police chief father (Chris Cooper, “The Bourne Identity”) to distraction. Cooper also delivers a star turn as the moral but pragmatic law-man.
Sienna Miller (“Foxcatcher”) delivers a passable Cork accent and does her best to develop some believable chemistry with the rock-like Affleck. Zoe Saldana (“Star Trek”) is equally effective as a Cuban humanitarian.
In summary, it’s sprawlingly watchable… but overall a disappointment, with Affleck over-reaching. One day we surely will get a gangster film the likes of another “Godfather”, “Goodfellas” or “Untouchables”. Although this has its moments, unfortunately it’s more towards the “Public Enemies” end of the genre spectrum.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) in Movies
Jul 8, 2022
Good Character Arcs for Thor and Jane
Under the Writing and Direction of Taika Waititi, the THOR franchise portion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has gone in a more comedic, rather than Shakespearean, direction and THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER proves that this direction is a smart one both for THOR and for the overall health and diversity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well.
Starring Chris Hemsworth, of course, as the titular THOR, Love and Thunder shows our demi-god hero at a crossroads in his life and career. Into this world walks his ex-girlfriend, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and chaos ensues as both are chasing the god-killer, Gorr (Christian Bale).
This sort of premise set-up (and the fact that Hemsworth is playing THOR for the 8th time), could have fallen victim to banality and dullness, but under the watchful eye of Waititi (Writer/Director of the severely under-rated JOJO RABBIT), this THOR soars with the best of them and develops the overall arc and (eventual) pay-off of both Thor’s and Jane’s arcs precisely and (upon retrospection) in the only satisfying way that they could have ended. So, kudos needs to be given to Waititi for walking this tightrope and sticking the landing.
Hemsworth, of course, is charming and buff as Thor and balances the action, romantic drama and comedic portions of this story well. Waititi brings more than just comic relief (though he has plenty of that as well) as the voice of Thor’s buddy KORG, while Christian Bale is more than just one-dimensional (how can this actor be anything but interesting) as the main villain of this piece..
What surprised me the most in this film is the portrayal of Jane Foster by Portman and how her character becomes the “female Thor” (that’s not a spoiler, it’s in the trailers) and does NOT become just “Thor’s girlfriend”. Portman has made no secret of her distaste of how her character became the femme fatale in THOR: THE DARK WORLD and refused to return to this character previously. Obviously, Waititi has been able to come up with a storyline - and an arc - that would interest an actress like Portman to return and Natalie nails it. She looked bright-eyed and energized by this part and by where her character goes in this film.
And then there is Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie. This character is a strong part of Thor’s story - and the story of the survivors of Asgaard (their destroyed homeworld). Thompson owns this part and is engaging and interesting to watch on-screen. Out of necessity, her character and story play a supporting role to the main Thor/Jane story, so her character didn’t get quite enough to do for my tastes. But it did whet my appetite for a stand-alone Valkyrie film (make that happen Marvel).
There are cameos and extended-cameos galore in this film - as well as TWO end credits scenes - so to mention them would be to spoil them, except to say that the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY play a pivotal role, but for those who came to see a GUARDIANS film, you’ll have to wait for GUARDIANS 3 to come out next year - this is a THOR film.
A very satisfying entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and while not a perfect film (it does try too hard, at times, to mine the same, surprise comic gold of THOR: RAGNAROK), THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER delivers a stand-alone Thor story that drives both the characters of Thor and Jane forward in a smart, intelligent way…and when is the last time the words “smart and intelligent” were used with a comic book film)?
Letter Grade: A-
8 stars (out of 10) and can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Starring Chris Hemsworth, of course, as the titular THOR, Love and Thunder shows our demi-god hero at a crossroads in his life and career. Into this world walks his ex-girlfriend, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and chaos ensues as both are chasing the god-killer, Gorr (Christian Bale).
This sort of premise set-up (and the fact that Hemsworth is playing THOR for the 8th time), could have fallen victim to banality and dullness, but under the watchful eye of Waititi (Writer/Director of the severely under-rated JOJO RABBIT), this THOR soars with the best of them and develops the overall arc and (eventual) pay-off of both Thor’s and Jane’s arcs precisely and (upon retrospection) in the only satisfying way that they could have ended. So, kudos needs to be given to Waititi for walking this tightrope and sticking the landing.
Hemsworth, of course, is charming and buff as Thor and balances the action, romantic drama and comedic portions of this story well. Waititi brings more than just comic relief (though he has plenty of that as well) as the voice of Thor’s buddy KORG, while Christian Bale is more than just one-dimensional (how can this actor be anything but interesting) as the main villain of this piece..
What surprised me the most in this film is the portrayal of Jane Foster by Portman and how her character becomes the “female Thor” (that’s not a spoiler, it’s in the trailers) and does NOT become just “Thor’s girlfriend”. Portman has made no secret of her distaste of how her character became the femme fatale in THOR: THE DARK WORLD and refused to return to this character previously. Obviously, Waititi has been able to come up with a storyline - and an arc - that would interest an actress like Portman to return and Natalie nails it. She looked bright-eyed and energized by this part and by where her character goes in this film.
And then there is Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie. This character is a strong part of Thor’s story - and the story of the survivors of Asgaard (their destroyed homeworld). Thompson owns this part and is engaging and interesting to watch on-screen. Out of necessity, her character and story play a supporting role to the main Thor/Jane story, so her character didn’t get quite enough to do for my tastes. But it did whet my appetite for a stand-alone Valkyrie film (make that happen Marvel).
There are cameos and extended-cameos galore in this film - as well as TWO end credits scenes - so to mention them would be to spoil them, except to say that the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY play a pivotal role, but for those who came to see a GUARDIANS film, you’ll have to wait for GUARDIANS 3 to come out next year - this is a THOR film.
A very satisfying entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and while not a perfect film (it does try too hard, at times, to mine the same, surprise comic gold of THOR: RAGNAROK), THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER delivers a stand-alone Thor story that drives both the characters of Thor and Jane forward in a smart, intelligent way…and when is the last time the words “smart and intelligent” were used with a comic book film)?
Letter Grade: A-
8 stars (out of 10) and can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Gareth von Kallenbach (977 KP) rated the PC version of Tiny Tina's Wonderlands in Video Games
Apr 10, 2022
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands Is A Hysterical Mayhem Filled Adventure Not To Be Missed
The quirky and more than slightly unstable Tiny Tina from the Borderlands series is back and the new Borderlands Spin-Off Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a hysterical and engaging adventure that is one of the finest outings in the series to date.
Fans may remember the Borderlands 2 DLC Assault on Dragons Keep where Tina and friends played an RPG called Bunkers and Badasses which cast players to take on mythical quests from her neurotic mind and the stand-alone version of the DLC was released prior to the game to bring players up to speed although it is not required to have played it.
Players create a character known as the “Fatemaker” and pick various classes, skills, and attributes which they can update and modify along the way as their characters gain experience and all sorts of timed abilities come into play which will greatly help the players along the way as a well-timed spell can mean the difference between failure and victory.
The gameplay will be familiar to Borderlands fans and characters will have countless weapons, shields, upgrade charms, and more available to them deciding which ones come along, get used, get sold, or left behind is always one of the harder parts of the game. Some may find a weapon that does lower damage but has a high rate of fire better than a weapon that does more damage but has a slow reload time and a smaller ammunition clip. The best bet is to find a mix of weapons through trial and error as players can always sell items that do not make the cut.
The game offers a clever overhead perspective at times when players navigate the map versus using the Quick Travel options and this allows players to take on side quests, explore areas and more to gain experience and items should the desired quest area prove too difficult for their current ability level.
The missions are filled with plenty of humor and challenges and the vast number of enemies is amazing. From a dried-up ocean complete with crabs, walking sharks, and Serpent creatures to Pirates, Skeletons, dragons, and more, this game has something for everyone and RPG fans will love the various dice encounters and challenges that arise.
As with Borderlands games, players who fall in battle have a chance to revive by defeating an enemy before a timer runs out or by paying a fee and being revived at various checkpoints.
The game was released a few days before we went on vacation and to cover a convention so I did find myself at times avoiding side quests to complete the main story missions and I look forward to trying them in the future with my enhanced arsenal and abilities.
The voice-cast in-game is very strong as are the graphics and audio which really makes the game a true joy from start to finish. My only real issue with the game was at times when I needed help, matchmaking often set me in an area I had already completed as it looked to match me with a player of a similar skill level vs my spot in the game.
I had to resolve this by going on forums and threads and asking for help but thankfully members of the community were happy to add me and join me in the game when needed. I also had the option to set my preference to wanting help but I did not have much success in this area.
The game will have future DLC and with the limitless potential of the premise, it is safe to say that fans will have plenty of adventures ahead as Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a hysterical and mayhem-filled romp not to be missed.
4.5 stars out of 5
The quirky and more than slightly unstable Tiny Tina from the Borderlands series is back and the new Borderlands Spin-Off Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a hysterical and engaging adventure that is one of the finest outings in the series to date.
Fans may remember the Borderlands 2 DLC Assault on Dragons Keep where Tina and friends played an RPG called Bunkers and Badasses which cast players to take on mythical quests from her neurotic mind and the stand-alone version of the DLC was released prior to the game to bring players up to speed although it is not required to have played it.
Players create a character known as the “Fatemaker” and pick various classes, skills, and attributes which they can update and modify along the way as their characters gain experience and all sorts of timed abilities come into play which will greatly help the players along the way as a well-timed spell can mean the difference between failure and victory.
The gameplay will be familiar to Borderlands fans and characters will have countless weapons, shields, upgrade charms, and more available to them deciding which ones come along, get used, get sold, or left behind is always one of the harder parts of the game. Some may find a weapon that does lower damage but has a high rate of fire better than a weapon that does more damage but has a slow reload time and a smaller ammunition clip. The best bet is to find a mix of weapons through trial and error as players can always sell items that do not make the cut.
The game offers a clever overhead perspective at times when players navigate the map versus using the Quick Travel options and this allows players to take on side quests, explore areas and more to gain experience and items should the desired quest area prove too difficult for their current ability level.
The missions are filled with plenty of humor and challenges and the vast number of enemies is amazing. From a dried-up ocean complete with crabs, walking sharks, and Serpent creatures to Pirates, Skeletons, dragons, and more, this game has something for everyone and RPG fans will love the various dice encounters and challenges that arise.
As with Borderlands games, players who fall in battle have a chance to revive by defeating an enemy before a timer runs out or by paying a fee and being revived at various checkpoints.
The game was released a few days before we went on vacation and to cover a convention so I did find myself at times avoiding side quests to complete the main story missions and I look forward to trying them in the future with my enhanced arsenal and abilities.
The voice-cast in-game is very strong as are the graphics and audio which really makes the game a true joy from start to finish. My only real issue with the game was at times when I needed help, matchmaking often set me in an area I had already completed as it looked to match me with a player of a similar skill level vs my spot in the game.
I had to resolve this by going on forums and threads and asking for help but thankfully members of the community were happy to add me and join me in the game when needed. I also had the option to set my preference to wanting help but I did not have much success in this area.
The game will have future DLC and with the limitless potential of the premise, it is safe to say that fans will have plenty of adventures ahead as Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a hysterical and mayhem-filled romp not to be missed.
4.5 stars out of 5