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Darren (1599 KP) rated Edge of Darkness (2010) in Movies
Jul 25, 2019
Story: Edge of Darkness starts when Craven (Gibson) get to spend his daughter Emma (Novakovic) only for an unknown gunman killing her on his doorstep, Craven being a homicide detective isn’t allowed to investigate the case for legal reasons, so he decides to go against the law in his search for the murderer.
The early signs make it looks like Craven himself was the target, but it soon comes to light that it might be Emma’s work for a government company run by Jack Bennett (Huston) that might have made her the target and the deeper he digs the more he learns about his daughter.
Thoughts on Edge of Darkness
Characters – Craven is a respect homicide detective, everyone in the force knows just how capable of solving a murder he can be, but when his own daughter is murdered, he starts to go against the law to figure out who and why she was murdered. He will not stop at anything to locate the truth and take out the people that murdered his daughter. Jedburgh is an English man that will help Craven fill in the gaps, while trying to keep him away from the answers, he has been hired to make sure the investment stays safe, without building up a body count. Jack Bennett runs the company that Emma works for, he knows how to answer questions to keep the press happy, while keeping the shady operations under wraps. Emma is the daughter that Craven is delighted to spend time with once again, only she gets murdered and it is her life before this meeting that we get to see her in.
Performances – Mel Gibson might well have had his problems in Hollywood, but when it comes to crime thrillers, he is in his element always shining in these roles without ever looking out of place, and demanding the screen whenever he steps on screen. Ray Winstone is great in his role, which only seems to be around for the calmer or criminal sides of the film. Danny Huston is an actor that can play a villain in his sleep and this is no different, he brings the smug figure to life here. Bojana Novakovic is great in her smaller role which doesn’t need to get much more screen time to add to the story.
Story – The story here follows a homicide detective that starts to investigate the murder of his daughter only to find himself in the middle of a much bigger conspiracy that puts his own life in danger. This story starts off looking like it is going to be a revenge like movie because of how the first murder happens only to become a big conspiracy movie that offers up plenty of miss-direction as we lead to the truth. Any story that can keep you guessing and let try to figure out the ending yourself is an entertaining watch, with the outcome not even needing to be spoon fed to us either. This might well be a remake of a television show, but it plays into the modern ideas and works with how the conspiracy could be relevant for today’s climate.
Crime/Mystery – The crime side of the film starts by just looking like a murder, it soon dives into cover ups, conspiracy and secret groups which shows how the government might go about trying to cover up a secret. The mystery in the film comes from just how the conspiracy keeps managing to unfold to expose more truth about what Emma was involved in.
Settings – The film uses the Boston setting to show how many crimes have been committed in this stricter state which does show us just how big of a conspiracy needs covering up.
Scene of the Movie – Riverside meeting.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It would have been nice to see more of Jedburgh.
Final Thoughts – This is a wonderfully intense crime thriller that does keep you guessing throughout the film, we get strong performance throughout and a story that has been modernized without looking out of place.
Overall: Hugely entertaining crime thriller.
The early signs make it looks like Craven himself was the target, but it soon comes to light that it might be Emma’s work for a government company run by Jack Bennett (Huston) that might have made her the target and the deeper he digs the more he learns about his daughter.
Thoughts on Edge of Darkness
Characters – Craven is a respect homicide detective, everyone in the force knows just how capable of solving a murder he can be, but when his own daughter is murdered, he starts to go against the law to figure out who and why she was murdered. He will not stop at anything to locate the truth and take out the people that murdered his daughter. Jedburgh is an English man that will help Craven fill in the gaps, while trying to keep him away from the answers, he has been hired to make sure the investment stays safe, without building up a body count. Jack Bennett runs the company that Emma works for, he knows how to answer questions to keep the press happy, while keeping the shady operations under wraps. Emma is the daughter that Craven is delighted to spend time with once again, only she gets murdered and it is her life before this meeting that we get to see her in.
Performances – Mel Gibson might well have had his problems in Hollywood, but when it comes to crime thrillers, he is in his element always shining in these roles without ever looking out of place, and demanding the screen whenever he steps on screen. Ray Winstone is great in his role, which only seems to be around for the calmer or criminal sides of the film. Danny Huston is an actor that can play a villain in his sleep and this is no different, he brings the smug figure to life here. Bojana Novakovic is great in her smaller role which doesn’t need to get much more screen time to add to the story.
Story – The story here follows a homicide detective that starts to investigate the murder of his daughter only to find himself in the middle of a much bigger conspiracy that puts his own life in danger. This story starts off looking like it is going to be a revenge like movie because of how the first murder happens only to become a big conspiracy movie that offers up plenty of miss-direction as we lead to the truth. Any story that can keep you guessing and let try to figure out the ending yourself is an entertaining watch, with the outcome not even needing to be spoon fed to us either. This might well be a remake of a television show, but it plays into the modern ideas and works with how the conspiracy could be relevant for today’s climate.
Crime/Mystery – The crime side of the film starts by just looking like a murder, it soon dives into cover ups, conspiracy and secret groups which shows how the government might go about trying to cover up a secret. The mystery in the film comes from just how the conspiracy keeps managing to unfold to expose more truth about what Emma was involved in.
Settings – The film uses the Boston setting to show how many crimes have been committed in this stricter state which does show us just how big of a conspiracy needs covering up.
Scene of the Movie – Riverside meeting.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It would have been nice to see more of Jedburgh.
Final Thoughts – This is a wonderfully intense crime thriller that does keep you guessing throughout the film, we get strong performance throughout and a story that has been modernized without looking out of place.
Overall: Hugely entertaining crime thriller.
James Koppert (2698 KP) rated The Anomaly in Books
Nov 3, 2019
For fans of Coast to Coast AM
This was really enjoyable. There are a group of people out there who think science has become a religion and anyone who believes anything science hasn't yet discovered gets bashed. They read Fortean Times and listen to Coast to Coast and Astonishing Legends and think there could be something in all this 'woo woo' stuff of conspiracy, UFOs , skinwalker's etc. I am one of those people and so I felt this book was made for me and my people.
A group of filmmakers who look for answers into the paranormal and conspiracy go to the grand canyon to hunt for the legendary Kincaid's Cave first printed about in 1909 (Google it). There have been numerous expeditions in just over a century to try and discover said cave to see if it's real and what it holds, all unsuccessful, but in the novel there has just been a minor earthquake and the team find the cave. What happens next is a proper out there thrilling adventure of life and death, incredible conspiracies, and potentially the apocalypse. This was so much fun and gripping enough to keep you turning the page to see what happens next. It will be too out there for some but for me it was on the side of crazy I enjoy. Can't wait for The Possession, the next in the series
A group of filmmakers who look for answers into the paranormal and conspiracy go to the grand canyon to hunt for the legendary Kincaid's Cave first printed about in 1909 (Google it). There have been numerous expeditions in just over a century to try and discover said cave to see if it's real and what it holds, all unsuccessful, but in the novel there has just been a minor earthquake and the team find the cave. What happens next is a proper out there thrilling adventure of life and death, incredible conspiracies, and potentially the apocalypse. This was so much fun and gripping enough to keep you turning the page to see what happens next. It will be too out there for some but for me it was on the side of crazy I enjoy. Can't wait for The Possession, the next in the series
David McK (3883 KP) rated Fatherland in Books
Dec 20, 2022
Robert Harris's best-selling alt-history novel, basically asking what the world would be like if the Nazis had won WW2, and following the investigation by a police officer in the 1960s when a naked body is found floating in a lake on the outskirts of Berlin just ahead of Hitler's 75th birthday, leading to the uncovering of a vast conspiracy...
A conspiracy covering up events, in the 'real' world, anyone with even the slightest knowledge of WW2 history would know about. And rightfully so.
That, I felt, was my biggest problem with the novel - there was just no sense of mystery or intrigue, no real 'what-will-happen-to-the-characters-next?' that made me really want to read on - indeed, there were times that I had to force myself to continue rather than starting another book.
From a personal POV, I think I would have preferred more emphasis on the the alt-history portions of the story (how did Germany win the war? What happened in the UK? To name but two ...) than on the central mystery: to me, at least, the balance is out of whack, favouring the mystery over the little nuggets of such information carefully doled out throughout the course of the novel.
I'm also not that much a fan of cliff-hanger endings, personally ...
A conspiracy covering up events, in the 'real' world, anyone with even the slightest knowledge of WW2 history would know about. And rightfully so.
That, I felt, was my biggest problem with the novel - there was just no sense of mystery or intrigue, no real 'what-will-happen-to-the-characters-next?' that made me really want to read on - indeed, there were times that I had to force myself to continue rather than starting another book.
From a personal POV, I think I would have preferred more emphasis on the the alt-history portions of the story (how did Germany win the war? What happened in the UK? To name but two ...) than on the central mystery: to me, at least, the balance is out of whack, favouring the mystery over the little nuggets of such information carefully doled out throughout the course of the novel.
I'm also not that much a fan of cliff-hanger endings, personally ...
Sophie Foster discovers that she is not really human but part of another entire world that co-exists within ours. And just like that, she is whisked away to a world she doesn't know and tries to learn about it. But she also finds a danger and a potential conspiracy. Can she fit in and still find out what is really happening? I was pulled into this book and really enjoyed it from start to finish. I can't wait for the next one.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/07/book-review-keeper-of-lost-cities-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/07/book-review-keeper-of-lost-cities-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Dean (6927 KP) rated The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009) in Movies
Nov 27, 2018
A very good second film in the trilogy. It doesn't quite reach the levels of the first, but that was an outstanding film. Where the first was a bit more dramatic in story along the lines of a whodunit? mystery, this is a bit more like an action/thriller with a conspiracy plot. Lisbeth has been set up as the main suspect in 3 murders and is on the run to prove her innocence. We find out a bit more back story to her character in this which is good to see. I can't wait to see the last one in this set of great thrillers!
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