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Stephen (210 KP) rated As Above So Below (2014) in Movies
Mar 1, 2019 (Updated Mar 2, 2019)
Worthy Of A Watch
Contains spoilers, click to show
As I watched this tonight, all I could think of was ‘Tomb Raider meets The Descent’ - although much more emphasis is placed on the Tomb Raider element, which, when the film is classed as a horror movie just ends up watering down the horror element. Don’t get me wrong, there are some excellent ‘jump off the sofa’ moments, however a lot of what could have been achieved (e.g. the claustrophobic terror of ‘The Descent’) has been lost and overwhelmed by the Tomb Raider element, and to be honest this lets the film down slightly as some of the storyline is just plain stupid. I mean, OK it’s fine to search for an ancient relic, but finding the Philosopher’s Stone and then using it to heal fellow team members is just a bit too silly in my opinion.
Whilst I felt the film was well crafted, it does suffer from the annoying ‘camera jerking all over the place’ syndrome, meaning it’s sometimes virtually impossible to work out what is going on, and also means that when something scary is happening, it fails as you can’t see what it is you’re supposed to be scared by.
Overall, the film was enjoyable apart from the above mentioned negatives - oh, and the ending just SUCKS - a complete letdown.
Whilst I felt the film was well crafted, it does suffer from the annoying ‘camera jerking all over the place’ syndrome, meaning it’s sometimes virtually impossible to work out what is going on, and also means that when something scary is happening, it fails as you can’t see what it is you’re supposed to be scared by.
Overall, the film was enjoyable apart from the above mentioned negatives - oh, and the ending just SUCKS - a complete letdown.
Sam (228 KP) rated Aladdin (2019) in Movies
Oct 20, 2019 (Updated Oct 20, 2019)
Grows On You
I have very mixed feelings about this film. When I first started watching I hated all of it, the costumes were childlike, the acting mediocre, and the music didnt not transition well throughout the film.
So I watched it a second time with my newborn daughter (she likes musicals and I had nothing else in the house). She fell asleep instantly but that's beside the point. The second time watching I started to enjpy the music a little bit more, the transitions were terrible but the music itself wasn't bad. The acting also didnt seem as bad though I began to notice that Will Smith overshadowed the main characters as his acting alone read to be far superior. He dominated majority of the scenes, which wasn't a bad thing as he seemed to be the only one going above and beyond.
However I'm sad to say that even as the film proves to grow on you little by little I'd still have to say that it read to be more of a Disney Channel Movie rather than an actual Big Picture Film. Certainly didn't hold to the quality or standard that Disney demands of it's Main Features, especially one of the one's meant to be a part of their Princess Film Collection.
So I watched it a second time with my newborn daughter (she likes musicals and I had nothing else in the house). She fell asleep instantly but that's beside the point. The second time watching I started to enjpy the music a little bit more, the transitions were terrible but the music itself wasn't bad. The acting also didnt seem as bad though I began to notice that Will Smith overshadowed the main characters as his acting alone read to be far superior. He dominated majority of the scenes, which wasn't a bad thing as he seemed to be the only one going above and beyond.
However I'm sad to say that even as the film proves to grow on you little by little I'd still have to say that it read to be more of a Disney Channel Movie rather than an actual Big Picture Film. Certainly didn't hold to the quality or standard that Disney demands of it's Main Features, especially one of the one's meant to be a part of their Princess Film Collection.
Barry Newman (204 KP) rated Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019) in Movies
Jan 11, 2020
Contains spoilers, click to show
Well JJ Abrams certainly had a helluva job to do here, wrapping up a 42 year saga whilst addressing the criticisms made of episode 8 and creating an entertaining movie. Whilst this isn't a complete disaster like the 'Game Of Thrones' ending I still couldn't help but come out of this feeling underwhelmed and disappointed. I wanted wow instead it was just ok and completely lacking in the magic and memorable moments we have come to expect from the series. The first half of the film felt very muddled and disjointed, it did get better in the second half but overall the storytelling felt very safe. I think that was particularly reflected in the decision to resurrect Emperor Palpatine which personally I didn't like. Whilst certainly the weakest of the new trilogy it's not boring, it's a fast paced adventure that does answer some unanswered questions and there's still plenty of fun to be had seeing all the spectacular effects millions of Disney dollars can buy. Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley also continue to turn in decent performances as Rey and Kylo Ren (shame the same can't really be said for the rest of the cast). So as the finale to the 9 film Star Wars saga it's sorely lacking but as a bog standard action blockbuster it's reasonably entertaining.
Someone Like Adele
Book
Read the full, enthralling story of the 20-something London girl who took the music world by storm....
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated The Matrix (1999) in Movies
Sep 3, 2021
Put simply, The Matrix is almost the perfect action/science-fiction/mind fuck movie. It has a deliciously dystopian concept that leans into the state of the real world today (well, 1999 to be exact but it still works now). It has an aesthetic style that still looks incredible, and was unarguably ahead of its time. This includes some truly inspired set pieces. It has a fantastic cast of actors playing well realised characters, from the tranquil nature of the good guys, to the uncomfortably sinister Terminator-esque agents. It has an instantly recognisable music score. Everything about it just flows, and two+ hours fly by in no time.
Sure, The Matrix was the catalyst for countless copycats and IRL edgelords (I remember seeing this back in 2000 as a humble 12 year old, thinking it was the coolest fucking thing ever, before having my perceptions unceremoniously shattered by the influx of middle aged men walking around my tiny countryside hometown in leather dusters) but it did it first, and looked good doing it. I can even get past the blaring breakbeat music, because it's The Matrix dammit.
All these years later, a fair chunk of the dialogue is cheesy as all hell, and occasionally a little cringey, but other than that, it still stands the test of time.
Also, Rage Against the Machine.
Sure, The Matrix was the catalyst for countless copycats and IRL edgelords (I remember seeing this back in 2000 as a humble 12 year old, thinking it was the coolest fucking thing ever, before having my perceptions unceremoniously shattered by the influx of middle aged men walking around my tiny countryside hometown in leather dusters) but it did it first, and looked good doing it. I can even get past the blaring breakbeat music, because it's The Matrix dammit.
All these years later, a fair chunk of the dialogue is cheesy as all hell, and occasionally a little cringey, but other than that, it still stands the test of time.
Also, Rage Against the Machine.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2355 KP) rated Killers of a Certain Age in Books
Feb 6, 2023 (Updated Feb 6, 2023)
If You Plan to Take Out Killers, Don't Miss
Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have spent their lives working as assassins for a super-secret organization that calls itself the Museum. They have had a successful career individually and as a team, but they are ready to retire now. However, the cruise that the Museum sends them on turns out to be a trap. Now they have to wonder who is out to kill them. And why.
I’ve been hearing good things about this book, so I went in looking forward to it. And I did enjoy it. It reads like an action movie, and there were plenty of scenes that had me turning pages. However, it could have been stronger, with another few twists and turns and slightly stronger characters. The book fits in the action genre in that regard, right? It does have more language and violence than I typically read. It also has plenty that made me smile and laugh as I was reading. Most of the book is written in first person past tense, but we a few chapters flash back to the past and they are written in third person present tense. While I didn’t think this book was quite as good as many others seemed to, I definitely enjoyed it and I’m glad I read it.
I’ve been hearing good things about this book, so I went in looking forward to it. And I did enjoy it. It reads like an action movie, and there were plenty of scenes that had me turning pages. However, it could have been stronger, with another few twists and turns and slightly stronger characters. The book fits in the action genre in that regard, right? It does have more language and violence than I typically read. It also has plenty that made me smile and laugh as I was reading. Most of the book is written in first person past tense, but we a few chapters flash back to the past and they are written in third person present tense. While I didn’t think this book was quite as good as many others seemed to, I definitely enjoyed it and I’m glad I read it.
David McK (3562 KP) rated Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) in Movies
Nov 28, 2021 (Updated Mar 30, 2024)
Who ya gonna call?
Ghostbusters 2 was released in 1989.
Ghostbusters: The video game in 2009.
At that stage, it was - unofficially - touted as Ghostbusters 3.
The (atrocious) remake was in 2006.
This was released in 2021 - so over 30 years since Ghostbusters 2 - and is now the 'official' third entry in the franchise.
Having said that, there is absolutely no mention of Ghostbusters 2 during it, so you could easily skip that if you wanted a rewatch before going to see this.
This follows a new family, who find they have ties to a Ghostbuster of yore, when they are evicted from their tenement and inherit a farmhouse out in the rural countryside: a farmhouse that has secrets of its own, as does the surrounding neighbourhood.
It's also no secret that this relies heavily on nostalgia for the original and that family is at the core of the movie, written - as it is - by the son of the late Ivan Reitman (Jason Reitman) - and paying an elegiac tribute to the late Harold Ramis (1 of the original 4 Ghostbusters - Egon Spengler - , who passed in 2014.
Oh, and the post (not mid) -credits scene? Goes some way to making up for how Ernie Hudson was treated in the original, when he saw his scenes drastically cut from what was intended.
Ghostbusters: The video game in 2009.
At that stage, it was - unofficially - touted as Ghostbusters 3.
The (atrocious) remake was in 2006.
This was released in 2021 - so over 30 years since Ghostbusters 2 - and is now the 'official' third entry in the franchise.
Having said that, there is absolutely no mention of Ghostbusters 2 during it, so you could easily skip that if you wanted a rewatch before going to see this.
This follows a new family, who find they have ties to a Ghostbuster of yore, when they are evicted from their tenement and inherit a farmhouse out in the rural countryside: a farmhouse that has secrets of its own, as does the surrounding neighbourhood.
It's also no secret that this relies heavily on nostalgia for the original and that family is at the core of the movie, written - as it is - by the son of the late Ivan Reitman (Jason Reitman) - and paying an elegiac tribute to the late Harold Ramis (1 of the original 4 Ghostbusters - Egon Spengler - , who passed in 2014.
Oh, and the post (not mid) -credits scene? Goes some way to making up for how Ernie Hudson was treated in the original, when he saw his scenes drastically cut from what was intended.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated X-Men (2000) in Movies
Jun 7, 2019 (Updated Jun 8, 2019)
The first X-Men has not aged particularly well, but it's important to recognise it's impact on the movie landscape, especially for comic book films.
Although there has been comic book movies before, X-Men paved the way for everything that has come since, the good and the awful!
At the time it was almost magical, seeing characters I had grown up with flying about the screen (I was 12 when it was released), and the casting was inspired for the most part - Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman and Anna Paquin in particular.
It also started the trend of lacing the theatrics and seriousness with subtle humour thought, and the balance here is pretty good.
Even now, the CGI isn't terrible (certainly better than the later released Origins)
By the same merit, the costumes look goofy these days, some of the scripting is very 2000s, and why on Earth did they cast Tyler Mane as a weirdly mute Sabretooth will always be beyond me.
All in all, there are much better X-Men films out there, and there are a lot worse, and I'll always have a soft spot for it!
Although there has been comic book movies before, X-Men paved the way for everything that has come since, the good and the awful!
At the time it was almost magical, seeing characters I had grown up with flying about the screen (I was 12 when it was released), and the casting was inspired for the most part - Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman and Anna Paquin in particular.
It also started the trend of lacing the theatrics and seriousness with subtle humour thought, and the balance here is pretty good.
Even now, the CGI isn't terrible (certainly better than the later released Origins)
By the same merit, the costumes look goofy these days, some of the scripting is very 2000s, and why on Earth did they cast Tyler Mane as a weirdly mute Sabretooth will always be beyond me.
All in all, there are much better X-Men films out there, and there are a lot worse, and I'll always have a soft spot for it!
Classic Era of American Comics
Book
The world has never seen the like of the American comic book. In their heyday, the top 500 comics...
Saint Mazie
Book
From the bestselling author of The Middlesteins comes comes this unique novel about a forgotten...