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Tim McGuire (301 KP) rated Jigsaw (2017) in Movies
Oct 7, 2019
275. Jigsaw. Yea, I'm just about a full year late on this one. I wanted to see it, just got put on the back burner and forgotten, sorry Tobin. So somewhere along the way I was lead to believe this was a prequel. Well, it wasn't. Not sure why they changed the name to Jigsaw and not just Saw VIII. Several of the chapters took place after the death of John Kramer. Is it because the previous one was "The Final Chapter"... Friday the 13th did two final chapters, lol. So really there wasn't anything new to this one. I mean the trailers give away the most of the movie, so... We are lead to believe Jigsaw has a new game going, even though he's been a corpse for a decade, cops are baffled, bodies are piling up, who the hell could it be??? And if you are a fan of the series, c'mon you got this, the last one ended with Jigsaw having a cult like following, the audience knows he is very much indeed dead, and its been a common theme, that John is really just a guy there to help you... Help him, help you!!! And he once in awhile takes someone under his wing... duh... Amanda, Hoffman, and of course Dr. Gordon (I was kinda dissappointed he didnt pop up in there) But all in all... Jigsaw was a pretty cool blood fest, and sequel... you may disagree... but this is mainly for me... Filmbufftim on FB
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Lee (2222 KP) rated Cloak & Dagger in TV
Aug 10, 2018
While I'm a massive fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I never really seem to get on so well with the Marvel TV shows. I get bored, frustrated or just run out of patience with the TV format, with Luke Cage being my longest run so far at 8 episodes. I decided to give Cloak and Dagger a shot, knowing absolutely nothing about about it, and with low expectations after reading the synopsis. I was pleasantly surprised.
The show begins with two young children, following very different lives. Tandy is returning from a ballet class in the back of her fathers car, Tyrone hanging out with his older brother and a gang of boys looking to steal a car radio. As Tyrone and his brother flee from the cops and Tandy and her father are crossing a bridge, fate leads them down a similar path. A drilling platform off the coast of New Orleans explodes, sending the car crashing into the ocean, and causing one of the cops chasing the boys to panic, shooting Tyrones brother dead while Tyrone escapes into the ocean. Unfortunately, Tandy's father doesn't make it, and both Tandy and Tyrone are suddenly caught in a mysterious wave of energy which ripples out from the collapsing platform.
8 years later and both kids are alive and still leading very different lives. They begin to discover that they have abilities, although it's not clear for much of the season exactly what those abilities are and how well they can be used. Tandy can generate bright white daggers from her hands and Tyrone can teleport randomly. Also, when Tandy touches somebody, she can see their hopes. When Tyrone touches somebody, he can see their fears. It all seems a bit pointless for a while, so luckily for us the rest of the story, along with the supporting cast, is all pretty strong. Tandy is investigating Roxxon, the company responsible for the exploding platform. Her father also worked for Roxxon, who seem determined to tarnish his good name and do anything possible to cover up whatever it is they're up to. Meanwhile Tyrone is out to see the cop who shot his brother, and was never punished for it, finally brought to justice.
Along the way, their paths cross, and it becomes clear that their powers are more effective when they're together. This all comes to a head in episode 7, where they both enter the mind of a man who has been in a comatose state since working on the drilling platform eight years ago. They must repeatedly relive the few minutes before the explosion until they can figure out what happened and how to stop it in order to free the man. It's the kind of plot I absolutely love, and one which gets used a lot in TV shows, most recently in the last season of Star Trek Discovery. I loved it then, and I loved it now.
While the season finale was a bit of a strange mish-mash, it didn't matter for me as I loved the rest of the season so much. A bit of a slow burn at times, but with a good story and characters to keep things moving nicely. Nice to know that season 2 has been given the go ahead too.
The show begins with two young children, following very different lives. Tandy is returning from a ballet class in the back of her fathers car, Tyrone hanging out with his older brother and a gang of boys looking to steal a car radio. As Tyrone and his brother flee from the cops and Tandy and her father are crossing a bridge, fate leads them down a similar path. A drilling platform off the coast of New Orleans explodes, sending the car crashing into the ocean, and causing one of the cops chasing the boys to panic, shooting Tyrones brother dead while Tyrone escapes into the ocean. Unfortunately, Tandy's father doesn't make it, and both Tandy and Tyrone are suddenly caught in a mysterious wave of energy which ripples out from the collapsing platform.
8 years later and both kids are alive and still leading very different lives. They begin to discover that they have abilities, although it's not clear for much of the season exactly what those abilities are and how well they can be used. Tandy can generate bright white daggers from her hands and Tyrone can teleport randomly. Also, when Tandy touches somebody, she can see their hopes. When Tyrone touches somebody, he can see their fears. It all seems a bit pointless for a while, so luckily for us the rest of the story, along with the supporting cast, is all pretty strong. Tandy is investigating Roxxon, the company responsible for the exploding platform. Her father also worked for Roxxon, who seem determined to tarnish his good name and do anything possible to cover up whatever it is they're up to. Meanwhile Tyrone is out to see the cop who shot his brother, and was never punished for it, finally brought to justice.
Along the way, their paths cross, and it becomes clear that their powers are more effective when they're together. This all comes to a head in episode 7, where they both enter the mind of a man who has been in a comatose state since working on the drilling platform eight years ago. They must repeatedly relive the few minutes before the explosion until they can figure out what happened and how to stop it in order to free the man. It's the kind of plot I absolutely love, and one which gets used a lot in TV shows, most recently in the last season of Star Trek Discovery. I loved it then, and I loved it now.
While the season finale was a bit of a strange mish-mash, it didn't matter for me as I loved the rest of the season so much. A bit of a slow burn at times, but with a good story and characters to keep things moving nicely. Nice to know that season 2 has been given the go ahead too.
Darren (1599 KP) rated 48 HRS (1982) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
Story: 48 Hrs starts as Ganz (Remar) gets broken out of jail while on work detail by Billy Bear (Landham), he heads off to clean up old debts leaving cops bodies in his path of destruction. It doesn’t take long for Ganz to clash with detective Jack Cates (Nolte), where Ganz forces Jack into a difficult situation.
Jack must go to prisoner Reggie Hammond (Murphy) a wise cracking con man to help track down Ganz using his street knowledge. In what is an unlikely partnership turns into something special as the two find a way to get to the bottom of the crime.
Thoughts on 48 Hrs
Characters – Jack Cates is a grizzled cop, he gets the job done with his experience keeping him in high regard. He must stop the killer using criminal Reggie Hammond as the best chance to catch this killer. Reggie Hammond is a criminal near the end of his stint in jail, he is wise-cracking fast-talking meaning he can bullshit his way out of any situation he finds himself in. He uses this chance of time out of jail to settle a few scores. Elaine is the girlfriend of Jack who is tired of not making things serious between the two. Ganz is the killer on the loose, after his break from prison, he has a short-temper which causes his itchy trigger finger to fire on any enemy he comes across.
Performances – Nick Nolte is a great choice for a seemingly warn down cop, he takes the non-sense style needed for the role and goes with it. Eddie Murphy was one of the most popular stand-up comedians at the time, this was his film debut and he handed it very well, bringing his own energy to the role which could have been something we have seen before. James Remar is good as a villain because it is a character we have seen before, but he really convinces in this role. There is a negative here, that is Annette O’Toole, which to be fair isn’t her fault because the character is written so poorly
Story – The story follows a cop and a criminal work together to stop another criminal, yes this is a buddy cop movie. We have unlikely partnership which must work together to get the common goal. This is a story we have seen plenty of times since and it seems to be a hit or miss through the years, but this does keep things simple enough to enjoy not looking to throw us any surprises along the way.
Action/Crime/Comedy – The action is by the book for cops and criminals, nothing is over the top and mostly comes off like you would expect. The crime world is the cop needing to work with the criminal that is the best chance to catch a cop killer. The comedy comes from the odd pairing that must work together.
Settings – The film is set in San Francisco which always seems to be a great location for any crime comedy world to unfold.
Scene of the Movie – Settle this with fists.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Ganz seems a lot easier to catch.
Final Thoughts – This is a good buddy comedy that bought us Eddie Murphy to the big screen. We get the action and comedy without being buried with one too often and most importantly we are entertained.
Overall: Great fun action comedy.
https://moviesreview101.com/2018/05/26/franchise-weekend-48-hrs-1982/
Jack must go to prisoner Reggie Hammond (Murphy) a wise cracking con man to help track down Ganz using his street knowledge. In what is an unlikely partnership turns into something special as the two find a way to get to the bottom of the crime.
Thoughts on 48 Hrs
Characters – Jack Cates is a grizzled cop, he gets the job done with his experience keeping him in high regard. He must stop the killer using criminal Reggie Hammond as the best chance to catch this killer. Reggie Hammond is a criminal near the end of his stint in jail, he is wise-cracking fast-talking meaning he can bullshit his way out of any situation he finds himself in. He uses this chance of time out of jail to settle a few scores. Elaine is the girlfriend of Jack who is tired of not making things serious between the two. Ganz is the killer on the loose, after his break from prison, he has a short-temper which causes his itchy trigger finger to fire on any enemy he comes across.
Performances – Nick Nolte is a great choice for a seemingly warn down cop, he takes the non-sense style needed for the role and goes with it. Eddie Murphy was one of the most popular stand-up comedians at the time, this was his film debut and he handed it very well, bringing his own energy to the role which could have been something we have seen before. James Remar is good as a villain because it is a character we have seen before, but he really convinces in this role. There is a negative here, that is Annette O’Toole, which to be fair isn’t her fault because the character is written so poorly
Story – The story follows a cop and a criminal work together to stop another criminal, yes this is a buddy cop movie. We have unlikely partnership which must work together to get the common goal. This is a story we have seen plenty of times since and it seems to be a hit or miss through the years, but this does keep things simple enough to enjoy not looking to throw us any surprises along the way.
Action/Crime/Comedy – The action is by the book for cops and criminals, nothing is over the top and mostly comes off like you would expect. The crime world is the cop needing to work with the criminal that is the best chance to catch a cop killer. The comedy comes from the odd pairing that must work together.
Settings – The film is set in San Francisco which always seems to be a great location for any crime comedy world to unfold.
Scene of the Movie – Settle this with fists.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Ganz seems a lot easier to catch.
Final Thoughts – This is a good buddy comedy that bought us Eddie Murphy to the big screen. We get the action and comedy without being buried with one too often and most importantly we are entertained.
Overall: Great fun action comedy.
https://moviesreview101.com/2018/05/26/franchise-weekend-48-hrs-1982/
Darren (1599 KP) rated Zulu (2013) in Movies
Aug 5, 2019
Story: Zulu starts when a young woman is murdered, police officer Ali Sokhela (Forest) and his team that includes the washed up Brian Epkeen (Bloom) and rookie Dan Fletcher (Kemp) must start to investigate the case.
As the investigation deepens Brian must hold himself together while Ali must face his demons from his past which becomes deadly as they fall into an illegal drug dealing ring with a new devasting drug on the market.
Thoughts on Zulu
Characters – Brian Epkeen is a washed-up police officer, he is great at solving crimes, he tends to have a different woman every night, which has made him distant from his son. He never looks professional but will always do the right thing for his team. Ali Sokhela is scared by his childhood in the racial torn country, now he is a captain in the police force which sees him needing to forgive the men his father fought against to work in the same team, he does have connections which helps him through the city, with his own demons he must locate the killer. Dan is a rookie officer that is part of the team, his innocence isn’t ready to be in the field with the seasoned vets. Ruby is Brian’s ex-wife that hates him and that Brian hassle when he feels like it.
Performances – Orlando Bloom does show us that he can still be a leading man, an edgy side to his character is a big plus too, we could happily watch more of his work here. Forest Whitaker is great too, he has the darker backstory which pushes him into his decisions and hits the accent. The rest of the cast don’t get as much screen time as he does, but you do feel like they hired a lot of local talent which helps make the film feel authentic.
Story – The story follows two cops, one with a dark past because of his skin colour as a child, the other lives in darkness because of his addiction that must use their skills to solve a crime which starts simple enough until things get out of hand to a much bigger problem running through the city. This does feel gritty with how we investigate things, it doesn’t hold back with what happens to the characters and shows us just how far the criminal underworld will go to keep a secret. While this doesn’t rely on twists to get the final outcome, it does show us just how far these two would go to solve a crime and bring the criminals to justice.
Crime – The crime world we enter here shows us just how both sides in a drug war are waging against each other, we get bodies piling up that will only increase the battle with a racial tension that just increases the tension between the twos.
Settings – The film is set in South Africa, we get to see how difficult the drug war is with the racial tension still between the people in the city.
Scene of the Movie – Brian’s escape plan.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The scene where the head turns up, there is such a pointless line here.
Final Thoughts – This is a gritty crime drama that shows us the harsh reality of the drug world, the two cops must overcome demons that will put them through a major test to get to the bottom of a crime.
Overall: Crime fans surprise.
As the investigation deepens Brian must hold himself together while Ali must face his demons from his past which becomes deadly as they fall into an illegal drug dealing ring with a new devasting drug on the market.
Thoughts on Zulu
Characters – Brian Epkeen is a washed-up police officer, he is great at solving crimes, he tends to have a different woman every night, which has made him distant from his son. He never looks professional but will always do the right thing for his team. Ali Sokhela is scared by his childhood in the racial torn country, now he is a captain in the police force which sees him needing to forgive the men his father fought against to work in the same team, he does have connections which helps him through the city, with his own demons he must locate the killer. Dan is a rookie officer that is part of the team, his innocence isn’t ready to be in the field with the seasoned vets. Ruby is Brian’s ex-wife that hates him and that Brian hassle when he feels like it.
Performances – Orlando Bloom does show us that he can still be a leading man, an edgy side to his character is a big plus too, we could happily watch more of his work here. Forest Whitaker is great too, he has the darker backstory which pushes him into his decisions and hits the accent. The rest of the cast don’t get as much screen time as he does, but you do feel like they hired a lot of local talent which helps make the film feel authentic.
Story – The story follows two cops, one with a dark past because of his skin colour as a child, the other lives in darkness because of his addiction that must use their skills to solve a crime which starts simple enough until things get out of hand to a much bigger problem running through the city. This does feel gritty with how we investigate things, it doesn’t hold back with what happens to the characters and shows us just how far the criminal underworld will go to keep a secret. While this doesn’t rely on twists to get the final outcome, it does show us just how far these two would go to solve a crime and bring the criminals to justice.
Crime – The crime world we enter here shows us just how both sides in a drug war are waging against each other, we get bodies piling up that will only increase the battle with a racial tension that just increases the tension between the twos.
Settings – The film is set in South Africa, we get to see how difficult the drug war is with the racial tension still between the people in the city.
Scene of the Movie – Brian’s escape plan.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The scene where the head turns up, there is such a pointless line here.
Final Thoughts – This is a gritty crime drama that shows us the harsh reality of the drug world, the two cops must overcome demons that will put them through a major test to get to the bottom of a crime.
Overall: Crime fans surprise.
Ross (3282 KP) rated Bright (2017) in Movies
Dec 23, 2017
Dialogue (1 more)
The premise
Weird grown up sci-fi Zootropolis
I think Will Smith is having the time of his life. It might be a bit of a mid life crisis, going back into action films but he pulls it off so well and has proven he can do more serious acting. He seems to now be free to pick odd roles that he can have fun with.
The film is set in an alternative reality 2000 years after an epic battle of good and evil. This isn’t explored in too much detail but enough to get the gyst. Good won, orca sided with evil. Now in present day LA the city is run by elves, orcs are the downtrodden members of society and humans pretty much everything in between.
Will Smith is a cop partnered with the force’s first Orc cop. Yes a bit like Zootropolis if you must draw a comparison. He snd his partner become embroiled in a fight to stop evil elves from resurrecting the dark lord, rrying to protect a young Bright (being with magical powers) and a wand from falling into the hands of corrupt cops, orc and human gangbangers and those evil elves.
The action is non-stop and well done, with some real edge of seat moments.
The main Gripe for me was that despite it being 2 hours long there wasn’t time to follow up with how safe Will Smith’s wife and child were during this.
Otherwise really enjoyable film in a very interesting world that I’d love to see more of (I believe there is a sequel planned but a tv series would be great).
The film is set in an alternative reality 2000 years after an epic battle of good and evil. This isn’t explored in too much detail but enough to get the gyst. Good won, orca sided with evil. Now in present day LA the city is run by elves, orcs are the downtrodden members of society and humans pretty much everything in between.
Will Smith is a cop partnered with the force’s first Orc cop. Yes a bit like Zootropolis if you must draw a comparison. He snd his partner become embroiled in a fight to stop evil elves from resurrecting the dark lord, rrying to protect a young Bright (being with magical powers) and a wand from falling into the hands of corrupt cops, orc and human gangbangers and those evil elves.
The action is non-stop and well done, with some real edge of seat moments.
The main Gripe for me was that despite it being 2 hours long there wasn’t time to follow up with how safe Will Smith’s wife and child were during this.
Otherwise really enjoyable film in a very interesting world that I’d love to see more of (I believe there is a sequel planned but a tv series would be great).
Kristin (149 KP) rated Learn To Love Me in Books
Dec 7, 2018
Disclaimer: I was given an e-copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
This is an exciting mystery/crime thriller/suspense/sort-of-romance all wrapped together with a tight little bow. Emily is a journalist trying to break into the exciting world of news instead of just writing a column. She gets her wish, but only after a girl she interviewed for her column goes missing. While trying to cope with the tragedy, her marriage is starting to falter, she's not so sure her husband is still the man she fell in love with, and to beat it all, she's getting harassing phone calls at work and home. When the detective assigned to her case turns out to be an old flame, things get really interesting, and Emily's whole life seems to spiral out of control.
This story has everything: journalists, cops, quarreling spouses, old boyfriends, haunted pasts, kidnapping, etc. etc. Once I started reading, I only put it down because my husband yelled at me to go to bed. I kept trying to guess who the bad guy was throughout the story, and I just couldn't settle on one person for too long. The author definitely keeps you guessing until the reveal at the end, and then the explanation is just as crazy as those we hear on the news. I can say, I totally didn't see the Epilogue coming, but it's just fantastic!!
I would definitely recommend this to fans of mysteries, suspense thrillers, crime thrillers, and anybody who just wants to read an awesome story that'll keep you guessing. =)
5 stars (wish I could give more)
This is an exciting mystery/crime thriller/suspense/sort-of-romance all wrapped together with a tight little bow. Emily is a journalist trying to break into the exciting world of news instead of just writing a column. She gets her wish, but only after a girl she interviewed for her column goes missing. While trying to cope with the tragedy, her marriage is starting to falter, she's not so sure her husband is still the man she fell in love with, and to beat it all, she's getting harassing phone calls at work and home. When the detective assigned to her case turns out to be an old flame, things get really interesting, and Emily's whole life seems to spiral out of control.
This story has everything: journalists, cops, quarreling spouses, old boyfriends, haunted pasts, kidnapping, etc. etc. Once I started reading, I only put it down because my husband yelled at me to go to bed. I kept trying to guess who the bad guy was throughout the story, and I just couldn't settle on one person for too long. The author definitely keeps you guessing until the reveal at the end, and then the explanation is just as crazy as those we hear on the news. I can say, I totally didn't see the Epilogue coming, but it's just fantastic!!
I would definitely recommend this to fans of mysteries, suspense thrillers, crime thrillers, and anybody who just wants to read an awesome story that'll keep you guessing. =)
5 stars (wish I could give more)