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Rise of the Superheroes (2018)
Rise of the Superheroes (2018)
2018 | Documentary, Fantasy
6
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Rise of the Superheroes is a "good enough" look into the history of comic book movies if you have a couple of hours to kill.

It covers a lot of ground from the 40s Batman serial series, all the way up to 2018s Black Panther, and has some notable comic book alumni amongst the interviewers, including the likes of Chris Claremont, Chuck Dixon, Scott Beauty, and Neal Adams.

The problem is however, a genre as big as comic book movies needs a big budget documentary to go with it. It would be nice to see some of the actors involved in the interviews, it would benefit from flashier graphics, it would benefit from a longer run time or even a series to properly explore the ever growing number of properties making the jump from page to screen.
The boom of comic movies from X-Men (2000) onwards is all crammed into the last 30 minutes as the feature rushes to wrap up, and as a result, Rise of the Superheroes doesn't feel that comprehensive, and offers nothing new to an audience who will likely already know what is talked about here.

It's an easy and casual watch if you have an interest in the subject, but nothing more.
  
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
2017 | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Contains spoilers, click to show
Story: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri starts as Mildred Hayes (McDormand) puts up three billboards in a quiet road questioning how Willoughby (Harrelson) hasn’t solved the case of her daughter’s rape and murder. Fellow officer Dixon (Rockwell) who has a chequered past is enraged by the signs, while officer Willoughby tries to clean up the situation and prove there isn’t enough to solve the case, but with his dying he does want to solve the case before he goes.

As the billboards stay up longer, the town starts to become divided on the support in catching the killer and Mildred does to extremes in her battle with Dixon to get the case solved.

 

Thoughts on Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

 

Characters – Mildred Hayes is a mother that has run out of patience when it comes to the police finding the killer off her daughter, she did have the full support of the town, but this stunt pushes the people away even if it could get her the killer to identify themselves. Willoughby is the lead investigator in the case, he has done everything he could to solve the case, but he is now facing his own battle with cancer, while keeping the peace in the town. Dixon is the hot-headed police officer that clashes with Mildred and anyone who supports her in finding out the truth.

Performances – Frances McDormand shows us that she can reach the Fargo levels whenever the material is given to her, as she shines through as the best part of this movie. Woody Harrelson is great again this year, showing us he can step into any role and be great. Sam Rockwell is wonderful too as we see that this cast is filled with talent character performers.

Story – The story shows the extremes of losing a child, the stress of noting being able to solve one of the worst cases in the town. This does turn into a character studio on the people involved and how their lives need to move on without a chance of every being able to. It is hard to describe this story in much more depth because it is interesting, it does have a lot going on that keeps us wanting to see where the film will go.

Comedy/Crime – This does use dark humour throughout as we are seeing the effects of the crime on people’s lives, don’t expect to see an investigation though, we are focusing on the relationship between the mother of the victim and the police.

Settings – The film takes place in this small town where everyone seems to know everyone, so they have all felt the effects of the crime, this helps when things start to get exposed.


Scene of the Movie – Window smashing, it is a well shot single looking take.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The answer is frustrating.

Final Thoughts – This is a dark humour that can be enjoyed by the fans of that genre, it does have a good subject matter but doesn’t get to a level in the story that I enjoyed watching.

 

Overall: Dark comedy through a serious subject matter.

https://moviesreview101.com/2018/01/12/three-billboards-outside-ebbing-missouri-2017/
  
    Up Front

    Up Front

    Kerry Dixon

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    Book

    Kerry's life in recent years has been bedevilled by problems with gambling, drugs and, worst of all,...

4.5/5

She’s the One is the 1st book in a 5 part Counting on Love series by Erin Nicholas. It is apparently a continuation of sorts to Nicholas’ Bradford series with some characters bridging the gap. I haven’t read the Bradford series as of yet but with some characters I’ve met I definitely will start asap.

Amanda Dixon is the oldest of her 3 sisters. Her brother Connor is their oldest sibling and has been a father figure in their lives since their Dad died unexpectedly years ago. She is the leader, the mother hen, the one she wants her sister to come to for advice, help or anything really. She doesn’t want to let her brother or sisters down, even as she has a secret in her past only Connor knows about. She knows she needs to have more of a life for herself but she can’t seem to stop. Can she find a way to work and have fun too?

Ryan Kaye is an all around manly man. He is a top-notch paramedic, football player and party guy. He knows the Dixon sisters as well as their brother Connor, his quarterback, and can honestly say he is interested. Emma has flirted with him in the past but they’ve never hooked up, not that he corrects the assumptions on that rumor.

Amanda assumes Ryan and her sister Emma have hooked up in the past, she envys Emma and how she handles herself. During a birthday party for her youngest sister, Olivia makes a birthday wish that Amanda and Emma trade places for one weekend. Each living life the way the other one would. That leads Amanda to make some wild choices for her weekend and she wants Ryan along for the ride. A motto of WWED (What Would Emma Do) makes her realize she had the wild child inside already.

Ryan can’t believe Amanda wants him to be a part of her wild weekend. He is definitely the man for the job. What he doesn’t count on is being the tame one during their night out. He realizes Amanda needs to get something out of her system and he doesn’t like the way she thinks about him and his past. He does the hardest thing by walking away. Can he make her realize she needs him for more than just one wild night?

They have quite a few obstacles to overcome, Connor, a car accident and missed signals but Amanda and Ryan are both strong characters who know what they want.

I read this book 2nd after reading book #2 first. I can honestly say that usually bugs the heck out of me. Not so with this author and this series. Each book is individual even though part of a series. You can easily read each on its own and know pretty much all there is to know to enjoy the story. I love that about books in a series. It doesn’t always help my OCD with reading order but it wasn’t unbearable.

I will most certainly read more from Erin Nicholas (and have already).