Search
Material Alchemy: Redefining Materiality Within the 21st Century
Book
Material Alchemy has been devised to showcase the most innovative, thought-provoking design...
George Hurrell's Hollywood: Glamour Portraits 1925-1992
Mark A. Vieira and Sharon Stone
Book
George Hurrell (1904-1992) was the creator of the Hollywood glamour portrait, the maverick artist...
Paper Girls: Volume 1
Cliff Chiang, Brian K. Vaughan, Matthew Wilson and Jared K. Fletcher
8.4
Rate It
Book
From Brian K. Vaughan, #1 New York Times bestselling writer of SAGA, and Cliff Chiang, legendary...
Difficult Men: From The Sopranos and The Wire to Mad Men and Breaking Bad
9.0
Rate It
Book
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a wave of TV shows, first on premium cable channels like HBO and...
Joe Goodhart (27 KP) rated Rocket: The Blue River Score in Books
Nov 30, 2020
I have to confess: I went into this one with low expectations, largely due to trying to read the previous Rocket outing, Matthew Rosenberg's ROCKET RACCOON: GROUNDED! That book was just depressing as hell, and every character in it just felt wholly out-of-character, as if Rosenberg no flarking clue as to who the characters actually were and how they were SUPPOSED to behave! Fortunately, my pre-"low expectations" were ill-placed, as Trash Panda's outing was as far from the depressing wreck that Rosenberg churned out!
Yes, first and foremost, it was a Rocket Raccoon story, but it was also so much more. It felt not unlike SMOKIN' ACES or SNATCH...only on another planet, with aliens and an augmented raccoon! Writer Al Ewing is clearly a fan of pulp noir novels, and it shows throughout. Ah, if only Marvel would realize what a great film this mini would make!
If you like the wise-cracking, sometimes edgy wit of RR - basically, the RR of the MCU - then this is a book for you! Rocket has a great scheme in here, as well as some good intentions, all of which amounts to a double-cross and an ending that effectively resolves everything with a somewhat bittersweet ending. Bravo, Mr. Ewing! I truly hope Marvel lets him helm another RR solo mini!
And, if that does happen, allowed for another Ewing-helmed outing with RR, I hope that brings along artist Adam Gorham and colorist Michael Garland. Those two brought this fun li'l space heist to life ever so well! I was a big fan of Sara Pichelli's GOTG art for Rocket, but as good as she was, I feel these two were just as good, if not better! Definitely artists (and colorists) to keep an eye out for!
End of the day, you could do a whole lot worse that reading ROCKET: THE BLUE RIVE SCORE. *cough* CIVIL WAR II *cough* Bendis' ALL-NEW X-MEN run *cough cough*
Yes, first and foremost, it was a Rocket Raccoon story, but it was also so much more. It felt not unlike SMOKIN' ACES or SNATCH...only on another planet, with aliens and an augmented raccoon! Writer Al Ewing is clearly a fan of pulp noir novels, and it shows throughout. Ah, if only Marvel would realize what a great film this mini would make!
If you like the wise-cracking, sometimes edgy wit of RR - basically, the RR of the MCU - then this is a book for you! Rocket has a great scheme in here, as well as some good intentions, all of which amounts to a double-cross and an ending that effectively resolves everything with a somewhat bittersweet ending. Bravo, Mr. Ewing! I truly hope Marvel lets him helm another RR solo mini!
And, if that does happen, allowed for another Ewing-helmed outing with RR, I hope that brings along artist Adam Gorham and colorist Michael Garland. Those two brought this fun li'l space heist to life ever so well! I was a big fan of Sara Pichelli's GOTG art for Rocket, but as good as she was, I feel these two were just as good, if not better! Definitely artists (and colorists) to keep an eye out for!
End of the day, you could do a whole lot worse that reading ROCKET: THE BLUE RIVE SCORE. *cough* CIVIL WAR II *cough* Bendis' ALL-NEW X-MEN run *cough cough*
JT (287 KP) rated Trance (2013) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
"Amnesia is bollocks.” That’s the thought of one of four crooks tasked with trying to discover the whereabouts of a Goya painting worth £25,000,000 from the memory of James McAvoy‘s character Simon.
Simon, an art auctioneer has a problem, well he has a few in Danny Boyle’s latest mind bending heist thriller, Trance. He’s addicted to gambling and in return for wiping his debts clear he agrees to help steel the Goya painting from an auction house for Franck (Vincent Cassel) and his criminal entourage.
In an aggressive and highly charged opening sequence, which sees Simon describe various methods in which paintings have been stolen before from the smash and grab of the old school era to the more high tech, the heist is well under way.
Simon is in the thick of the action as Franck and his accomplices take charge, and as Franck is making off with the painting he’s challenged by Simon who receives a knock to the head rendering his memory practically useless.
After staggering about through all the chaos he ends up in hospital having his brain drilled and drained and any short term memory with it.
With methods of torture clearly not working the gang turn their attention to another, hypnotherapy, and seek help from Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson) who attempts to guide Simon through hypnosis in an attempt to find out exactly where he left the painting.
And so begins a journey of discovery, deceit, greed and lust as everything is not what it seems and loyalties will be tested to the fullest.
Simon’s hypnotic journey takes him through the idyllic French countryside, to a church filled with stolen paintings to the slick London underworld as he tries in vein to piece together his broken memory, but what unfolds is not what he or any of us are probably expecting.
Simon, Franck and Elizabeth are all pretty interwoven as characters, it’s almost hard to work out who is playing each other off against the other, whose dream we’re in and at what level. You’ll find that you care about all three of them in a different way when something more is revealed about them.
The remaining trio of Franck’s gang are probably around for far too long than they need to be, but are removed for the final heart pounding third act, which accompanied by a brilliant soundtrack really intensifies the finale.
Trance is written by John Hodge and he’s reunited with Danny Boyle again having previously worked together on such films as Shallow Grave and Trainspotting, where at the crux of it all they too are heist films in a different guise.
Trance is well shot, Danny Boyle is in his element directing a dark, disturbing and at times a head scratching film, I’ve not had this much fun from a Boyle film since Shallow Grave.
Simon, an art auctioneer has a problem, well he has a few in Danny Boyle’s latest mind bending heist thriller, Trance. He’s addicted to gambling and in return for wiping his debts clear he agrees to help steel the Goya painting from an auction house for Franck (Vincent Cassel) and his criminal entourage.
In an aggressive and highly charged opening sequence, which sees Simon describe various methods in which paintings have been stolen before from the smash and grab of the old school era to the more high tech, the heist is well under way.
Simon is in the thick of the action as Franck and his accomplices take charge, and as Franck is making off with the painting he’s challenged by Simon who receives a knock to the head rendering his memory practically useless.
After staggering about through all the chaos he ends up in hospital having his brain drilled and drained and any short term memory with it.
With methods of torture clearly not working the gang turn their attention to another, hypnotherapy, and seek help from Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson) who attempts to guide Simon through hypnosis in an attempt to find out exactly where he left the painting.
And so begins a journey of discovery, deceit, greed and lust as everything is not what it seems and loyalties will be tested to the fullest.
Simon’s hypnotic journey takes him through the idyllic French countryside, to a church filled with stolen paintings to the slick London underworld as he tries in vein to piece together his broken memory, but what unfolds is not what he or any of us are probably expecting.
Simon, Franck and Elizabeth are all pretty interwoven as characters, it’s almost hard to work out who is playing each other off against the other, whose dream we’re in and at what level. You’ll find that you care about all three of them in a different way when something more is revealed about them.
The remaining trio of Franck’s gang are probably around for far too long than they need to be, but are removed for the final heart pounding third act, which accompanied by a brilliant soundtrack really intensifies the finale.
Trance is written by John Hodge and he’s reunited with Danny Boyle again having previously worked together on such films as Shallow Grave and Trainspotting, where at the crux of it all they too are heist films in a different guise.
Trance is well shot, Danny Boyle is in his element directing a dark, disturbing and at times a head scratching film, I’ve not had this much fun from a Boyle film since Shallow Grave.
Subscription for Coach's Eye Premium Users
Sports and Health & Fitness
App
IMPORTANT NOTE: This IS NOT a free consumer app. This special version of Coach's Eye® is intended...
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Total Recall (2012) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
Remaking classic films is always risky business. Mainly because there is a specific reason those movies are so well received – because they are the best of their time. Remakes are inherently risky because the filmmakers have a bar they have to at least reach, and they absolutely cannot tread the exact same ground as the original. They have to do something new, modern, or innovate. Or, at least they are expected to. When remakes work, they soar. When they don’t… Well, that’s another story. Paul Verhoeven’s “Total Recall” (1990) was an excellent science fiction monolith of its time. It stood out as a heartfelt science fiction story, one that was exceptionally aware of its own identity, design, and overall setting. It reflected the vary soul of its time – intentionally representational of culture at the time (late 80s and early 90s). If Len Wiseman’s remake, “Total Recall” (2012) is supposed to be a representation of contemporary culture in the same way as the original, then I fear our popular culture is too shallow for high minded science fiction. While not a bad movie – in fact, it is actually quite entertaining overall – it just does not feature the same soul and passion of the original film.
The premise follows the original in only a rough sense. Sometime in the future, the world has been left mostly uninhabitable due to a deadly chemical war across the globe. Humanity has been left to residing in the only remaining habitable landmasses – Western Europe and “The Colony”, the latter being modern-day Australia. Because air travel is now impossible, the only travel between the landmasses is through a massive elevator called “The Fall” that cuts through the center of the Earth. Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) is a factory worker who works in Europe but lives in “The Colony” with his wife, Lori (Kate Beckinstale). His chronic nightmares lead him to become interested in the “Rekall” service – a machine that can implant memories into customers. His interest will lead him on a wild journey with Melina (Jessica Biel) to learn about his true self as well as secrets of Cohaagen’s (Bryan Cranston) tyrannical administration.
The problems of the film really start with the premise. While I enjoy the creativity of something like “The Fall”, it is simply too ridiculous to take seriously. They deserve credit for coming up with a relatively unknown science fiction concept, but an elevator that travels through the center of the Earth? Peoples’ suspension of disbelief can only be pushed so far. It serves a practical purpose in the plot – to create the conflict between “The Colony” and the mainland and between the government and the Resistance. Yet, too much time is spent trying to introduce this concept and make it seem plausible than the film should. It honestly seems easier to just use the original film’s conflict between settings – Mars and Earth. I have to ask, what makes an elevator between two lands more contemporary of an idea than a conflict between colonial Mars and Earth. This is especially true considering recent news that a Mars colony might be seen in our lifetimes.
The other problems are more literary. Colin Farrell’s Douglas Quaid is portrayed very well throughout the film, and he manages to make the character satisfactory in the emotional portrayal of a man with a confused past and an insane situation. But even then, I have to say Arnold’s original portrayal seemed overall more human. The problem with Colin Farrell’s character is a mixture of performance and writing in his introduction. It is hard to believe him as someone so distraught over his nightmares that he absolutely feels compelled to go to Rekall. If they spent more time exploring his inner demons and how they are bringing his life down, then he would have been a much more compelling character. As it stands, he just goes through the motions of a protagonist. All of the other characters are the same way. Kate Beckinstale’s villainous Lori and Jessica Biel’s Melina are fairly shallow characters. They are not bad at their roles but that is all they, unfortunately, are: roles. Like Quaid, they just go through the motions, playing their part as clichéd character archetypes. Bryan Cranston is always awesome in any role, but in this he is not given much to work with. All he ends up being is just an evil tyrant with a megalomaniacal plot – with very little reason or background.
Those issues said, there are many things that do work. The pacing is good throughout, with no moments feeling awkward. The art design is exceptional, and there are no moments in the film that are boring to look at. To its credit, almost every scene is full of beautiful science-fiction design. The only complaint in this area is that some of the action scenes feel very cluttered due to the overall noise of The Colony’s design. The plot moves forward steadily, and it is overall simple to understand. That said, it is not without its own faults. The plot starts out great but becomes full of usual secret agent thriller clichés. Also, the plot becomes very campy, not to mention unbelievable, in its third act. The third act is also where there are the most plot holes – notable plot holes at that.
If you can shut your brain off for a couple hours, you can enjoy “Total Recall”. The film is pretty to look at and is absolutely packed with action sequences. All of the action sequences are well shot, well paced, and entertaining. The actors all do great with what they are given; but the problem is that they are not given much. They are all fairly flat characters, but are all satisfactory for the service of the plot – a plot that is well paced and understandable, but one that becomes campy, ridiculous, and peppered with notable plot holes. It is not as tightly written and directed to be a great secret agent thriller, and not as inspired to be a great science fiction story. The original was exceptional in its setting construction – pulling the audience into the amazingly designed Paul Verhoeven world. It was full of comedy and thrills, thought and design. As it stands, the moments that could really go far in establishing a passionate soul-filled, inspired world are instead spent on making quick references to those vary moments from the original. It could have established its own voice, its own heart and soul, but it just settles on being your clichéd average science fiction blockbuster.
The premise follows the original in only a rough sense. Sometime in the future, the world has been left mostly uninhabitable due to a deadly chemical war across the globe. Humanity has been left to residing in the only remaining habitable landmasses – Western Europe and “The Colony”, the latter being modern-day Australia. Because air travel is now impossible, the only travel between the landmasses is through a massive elevator called “The Fall” that cuts through the center of the Earth. Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) is a factory worker who works in Europe but lives in “The Colony” with his wife, Lori (Kate Beckinstale). His chronic nightmares lead him to become interested in the “Rekall” service – a machine that can implant memories into customers. His interest will lead him on a wild journey with Melina (Jessica Biel) to learn about his true self as well as secrets of Cohaagen’s (Bryan Cranston) tyrannical administration.
The problems of the film really start with the premise. While I enjoy the creativity of something like “The Fall”, it is simply too ridiculous to take seriously. They deserve credit for coming up with a relatively unknown science fiction concept, but an elevator that travels through the center of the Earth? Peoples’ suspension of disbelief can only be pushed so far. It serves a practical purpose in the plot – to create the conflict between “The Colony” and the mainland and between the government and the Resistance. Yet, too much time is spent trying to introduce this concept and make it seem plausible than the film should. It honestly seems easier to just use the original film’s conflict between settings – Mars and Earth. I have to ask, what makes an elevator between two lands more contemporary of an idea than a conflict between colonial Mars and Earth. This is especially true considering recent news that a Mars colony might be seen in our lifetimes.
The other problems are more literary. Colin Farrell’s Douglas Quaid is portrayed very well throughout the film, and he manages to make the character satisfactory in the emotional portrayal of a man with a confused past and an insane situation. But even then, I have to say Arnold’s original portrayal seemed overall more human. The problem with Colin Farrell’s character is a mixture of performance and writing in his introduction. It is hard to believe him as someone so distraught over his nightmares that he absolutely feels compelled to go to Rekall. If they spent more time exploring his inner demons and how they are bringing his life down, then he would have been a much more compelling character. As it stands, he just goes through the motions of a protagonist. All of the other characters are the same way. Kate Beckinstale’s villainous Lori and Jessica Biel’s Melina are fairly shallow characters. They are not bad at their roles but that is all they, unfortunately, are: roles. Like Quaid, they just go through the motions, playing their part as clichéd character archetypes. Bryan Cranston is always awesome in any role, but in this he is not given much to work with. All he ends up being is just an evil tyrant with a megalomaniacal plot – with very little reason or background.
Those issues said, there are many things that do work. The pacing is good throughout, with no moments feeling awkward. The art design is exceptional, and there are no moments in the film that are boring to look at. To its credit, almost every scene is full of beautiful science-fiction design. The only complaint in this area is that some of the action scenes feel very cluttered due to the overall noise of The Colony’s design. The plot moves forward steadily, and it is overall simple to understand. That said, it is not without its own faults. The plot starts out great but becomes full of usual secret agent thriller clichés. Also, the plot becomes very campy, not to mention unbelievable, in its third act. The third act is also where there are the most plot holes – notable plot holes at that.
If you can shut your brain off for a couple hours, you can enjoy “Total Recall”. The film is pretty to look at and is absolutely packed with action sequences. All of the action sequences are well shot, well paced, and entertaining. The actors all do great with what they are given; but the problem is that they are not given much. They are all fairly flat characters, but are all satisfactory for the service of the plot – a plot that is well paced and understandable, but one that becomes campy, ridiculous, and peppered with notable plot holes. It is not as tightly written and directed to be a great secret agent thriller, and not as inspired to be a great science fiction story. The original was exceptional in its setting construction – pulling the audience into the amazingly designed Paul Verhoeven world. It was full of comedy and thrills, thought and design. As it stands, the moments that could really go far in establishing a passionate soul-filled, inspired world are instead spent on making quick references to those vary moments from the original. It could have established its own voice, its own heart and soul, but it just settles on being your clichéd average science fiction blockbuster.
Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Midsommar (2019) in Movies
Jan 22, 2021
In 2017 the stale market of “horror” thrillers got a royal shake-up when Jordan Peele made Get Out. All of a sudden it seemed possible again to use the tired genre, that had been relying on gore and jump shocks alone for at least two decades, as a palette for intelligent social commentary and some seriously artistic flourishes. The following year, Ari Aster came out of nowhere with a debut feature that impressed everyone for it’s originality and bravado in this new “art-horror” model – the devisive yet always interesting Hereditary, a film that confused me on first watch, but gave me faith that I could be unnerved again, it’s secret being that you couldn’t compare it to anything since the golden days of the 70s.
So, when I saw the trailer for Midsommar in 2019 and realised it was the same director, it went straight to the top of my must see list. Add to the appeal the significant lure of the lead actress and main character, the extremely promising Florence Pugh, who blew me away for her raw ability in Lady Macbeth, and beguiled me even more in every minute of Chan-Wook Park’s superlative espionage mini-series The Little Drummer Girl, and I knew this was something I didn’t want to miss. Sometimes it only takes two projects on a CV to elevate a future star from obscurity to A-list potential. In Pugh I had already seen enough range, charisma and depth to suspect she was one of those special few. By the end of Midsommar I was convinced of it!
Plot wise, all you need to know going in cold is that Dani (Pugh) racked with grief following early scenes is dragged to Sweden to participate in the Midsommar celebrations of a small isolated community, as her relationship with boyfriend Christian is very much on the rocks and she is in need of some catharsis and release. At first the Idyllic setting, bathed in sunlight you can almost feel, seems refreshing and clean. The whites, yellows and blues of the images are so crisp you can imagine every smell and texture, and you find yourself smiling, despite the fact a creeping unease and sinister secret is already infiltrating the calm in wonderfully subtle ways.
Needless to say it goes to some very dark and strange places. So much so I gasped out loud twice and stood up from my seat involuntarily on one particularly disturbing moment. To try and explain how that unfolds and comes to be is both impossible and would need some big time spoilers, so I won’t do that. It’s enough to say that where you are emotionally at the end of this filmic experience is very, very far from where you started. Much in the same way as Hereditary, you feel you have been dragged by the hair on a very uncomfortable journey that is both strangely unsatisfying, confusing and upsetting; you can’t say you “liked” either film as much as admitting you can’t stop thinking about them and need to see them again to absorb the detail, if indeed you can bear that.
As of writing this I haven’t gone back and watched this again – I’m genuinely wary of putting myself through it a second time! But, I have gone back to Hereditary and appreciated it much more knowing the ending already, and seeing the detail that is there from the beginning, that makes it all make sense in a way it doesn’t first time around. Midsommar, I sense, is the same, in that there has been so much attention to the build up and background that you will see and hear relevant clues to the mystery much more the more times you watch it. What they are wearing, images on walls and seemingly insignificant things the camera picks up on create a tapestry of loose threads that can be woven together into deeper meaning if that is what you want to do.
Without doing that it may seem like a bewildering entity, deliberately odd for the sake of it, and as such it could put anyone off. At 2 hours and 28 minutes it is a bit of a stretch, and the last half hour, once it descends into the complete madness suggested earlier, perhaps doesn’t live up to the promises it makes. Also, despite Pugh being a mesmeric presence from start to finish, the supporting cast can’t quite go with her on the same level. Even the talented Will Poulter seems burdened by a less than three dimensional character, underwritten as are many in a script that focuses so much on Dani that everything else suffers.
My overall impression of it as a film is that it falls short of greatness by a narrow margin, but comes very close at times to genuine genius. It is the promise of Aster as a filmmaker that excites me most, even if this is not the film it could have been with a little more experience, maturity and, perhaps, budget. It is his Bottle Rocket, or Hard Eight, when you suspect he will have a Grand Budapest Hotel, or a There Will Be Blood in him at some point down the line.
In conclusion, I can’t emphasise enough how much I was drawn to every moment of what Florence Pugh was doing. Be wary of the film if a casual viewing experience is what you want, because it may infuriate you, and compel you even to switch it off, if you are not totally ready to meet it where it wants to take you. But, watch it for Pugh and see what a rare talent she is bringing to cinema into the 2020s. A very exciting prospect indeed.
So, when I saw the trailer for Midsommar in 2019 and realised it was the same director, it went straight to the top of my must see list. Add to the appeal the significant lure of the lead actress and main character, the extremely promising Florence Pugh, who blew me away for her raw ability in Lady Macbeth, and beguiled me even more in every minute of Chan-Wook Park’s superlative espionage mini-series The Little Drummer Girl, and I knew this was something I didn’t want to miss. Sometimes it only takes two projects on a CV to elevate a future star from obscurity to A-list potential. In Pugh I had already seen enough range, charisma and depth to suspect she was one of those special few. By the end of Midsommar I was convinced of it!
Plot wise, all you need to know going in cold is that Dani (Pugh) racked with grief following early scenes is dragged to Sweden to participate in the Midsommar celebrations of a small isolated community, as her relationship with boyfriend Christian is very much on the rocks and she is in need of some catharsis and release. At first the Idyllic setting, bathed in sunlight you can almost feel, seems refreshing and clean. The whites, yellows and blues of the images are so crisp you can imagine every smell and texture, and you find yourself smiling, despite the fact a creeping unease and sinister secret is already infiltrating the calm in wonderfully subtle ways.
Needless to say it goes to some very dark and strange places. So much so I gasped out loud twice and stood up from my seat involuntarily on one particularly disturbing moment. To try and explain how that unfolds and comes to be is both impossible and would need some big time spoilers, so I won’t do that. It’s enough to say that where you are emotionally at the end of this filmic experience is very, very far from where you started. Much in the same way as Hereditary, you feel you have been dragged by the hair on a very uncomfortable journey that is both strangely unsatisfying, confusing and upsetting; you can’t say you “liked” either film as much as admitting you can’t stop thinking about them and need to see them again to absorb the detail, if indeed you can bear that.
As of writing this I haven’t gone back and watched this again – I’m genuinely wary of putting myself through it a second time! But, I have gone back to Hereditary and appreciated it much more knowing the ending already, and seeing the detail that is there from the beginning, that makes it all make sense in a way it doesn’t first time around. Midsommar, I sense, is the same, in that there has been so much attention to the build up and background that you will see and hear relevant clues to the mystery much more the more times you watch it. What they are wearing, images on walls and seemingly insignificant things the camera picks up on create a tapestry of loose threads that can be woven together into deeper meaning if that is what you want to do.
Without doing that it may seem like a bewildering entity, deliberately odd for the sake of it, and as such it could put anyone off. At 2 hours and 28 minutes it is a bit of a stretch, and the last half hour, once it descends into the complete madness suggested earlier, perhaps doesn’t live up to the promises it makes. Also, despite Pugh being a mesmeric presence from start to finish, the supporting cast can’t quite go with her on the same level. Even the talented Will Poulter seems burdened by a less than three dimensional character, underwritten as are many in a script that focuses so much on Dani that everything else suffers.
My overall impression of it as a film is that it falls short of greatness by a narrow margin, but comes very close at times to genuine genius. It is the promise of Aster as a filmmaker that excites me most, even if this is not the film it could have been with a little more experience, maturity and, perhaps, budget. It is his Bottle Rocket, or Hard Eight, when you suspect he will have a Grand Budapest Hotel, or a There Will Be Blood in him at some point down the line.
In conclusion, I can’t emphasise enough how much I was drawn to every moment of what Florence Pugh was doing. Be wary of the film if a casual viewing experience is what you want, because it may infuriate you, and compel you even to switch it off, if you are not totally ready to meet it where it wants to take you. But, watch it for Pugh and see what a rare talent she is bringing to cinema into the 2020s. A very exciting prospect indeed.