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Mekkin B. (122 KP) rated High-Rise (2016) in Movies
Sep 15, 2017
This movie wants to be a dystopian drama, but fails to really add any dystopia. It wants to be a satire, but it is largely unclear what it is satirizing, other than a generic "all people are really just animals" theme and some under-explored "the rich live at the top and the poor at the bottom" stuff that doesn't really seem to pan out. It has very little in the way of narrative structure, what the characters are doing and why is never explained. I had a difficult time getting behind the idea of this "state of the art" high rise being some gleaming and beautiful example when it was such a ugly, Brutalist concrete mess to begin with. I'm sure there's some sort of "but the High-Rise looks like a prison because it metaphorically is one!" explanation, but it's just not a good one.
This movie was a slog to get through. It's far too long and feels even longer. Very few of the thematic elements amount to much. It's like it wants to say something about *society*, but isn't very clear on what that is.
The acting is pretty great. The visuals are gripping enough in some sections to keep you hooked and hopeful that the movie will amount to something greater than the sum of its parts, but it simply doesn't.
Also Tom Hiddleston is naked for a couple minutes.
This movie was a slog to get through. It's far too long and feels even longer. Very few of the thematic elements amount to much. It's like it wants to say something about *society*, but isn't very clear on what that is.
The acting is pretty great. The visuals are gripping enough in some sections to keep you hooked and hopeful that the movie will amount to something greater than the sum of its parts, but it simply doesn't.
Also Tom Hiddleston is naked for a couple minutes.
ArecRain (8 KP) rated Crimson Sky (Dark Sky, #1) in Books
Jan 18, 2018
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is the first novel I have read from Amy Braun, but it is certainly not the last. While I appreciate other genres beyond romance and erotica, it has to really be something to grab my attention. Crimson Sky had me from page one. Not only did it blow me away, I became obsessed, having to know what happened next and not being satisfied until I finished the novel.
Crimson Sky is an action packed novel that is hard to describe. Braun is such a talented writer, she easily incorporates multiple genres into one. It can be classified as steampunk, horror, action, romance, and dystopian all in one. I appreciate that Braun could easily show so many themes without having to shove it down our throats. She does such a good job of showing, there is no need for telling.
This novel is an intense roller coaster ride that begins from the very first page. Filled with complex realistic characters in a terrifying world, Braun weaves a story filled with twists and personal growth that keeps you hooked until the very end. Its been a long time since I have been this obsessed with a novel that didnt qualify as erotic. Even now, I am stuck in literary limbo because nothing seems to match up to the intense emotions this novel pulled from me. I cant wait to read more.
This is the first novel I have read from Amy Braun, but it is certainly not the last. While I appreciate other genres beyond romance and erotica, it has to really be something to grab my attention. Crimson Sky had me from page one. Not only did it blow me away, I became obsessed, having to know what happened next and not being satisfied until I finished the novel.
Crimson Sky is an action packed novel that is hard to describe. Braun is such a talented writer, she easily incorporates multiple genres into one. It can be classified as steampunk, horror, action, romance, and dystopian all in one. I appreciate that Braun could easily show so many themes without having to shove it down our throats. She does such a good job of showing, there is no need for telling.
This novel is an intense roller coaster ride that begins from the very first page. Filled with complex realistic characters in a terrifying world, Braun weaves a story filled with twists and personal growth that keeps you hooked until the very end. Its been a long time since I have been this obsessed with a novel that didnt qualify as erotic. Even now, I am stuck in literary limbo because nothing seems to match up to the intense emotions this novel pulled from me. I cant wait to read more.
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Fahrenheit 451 (2018) in Movies
Aug 15, 2018
Too much of a slow burner...
It’s been a long time since I read (and hugely enjoyed) the book, however I’m afraid the same can’t be said for this. Although I don’t remember too much about the book, I’m sure I recall it being a fairly dark and gritty dystopian future quite like the one in 1984, but this depiction makes it out to be a little too slick and advanced, and not quite dark enough. I appreciate that the book was written some years ago, but I feel like this version has taken in too much of our idea of future technology instead of sticking closer to the source material. I’m known for not liking films that don’t stick close enough to the books, so maybe that’s affecting my judgement.
Michael B Jordan does okay although I feel he’s a little young for how I imagined Montag to be. Michael Shannon is good as the Captain but i think his character motivations are very well defined and they come across as a bit confused. The plot itself is well explained but the problem is it’s quite slow paced and seems to come across as dull and drags at times. Yet Montag’s motivations seem to too quickly change from devoted Fireman to deviant.
Whilst I don’t think this is a terrible adaptation, it’s not one I’d recommend unless you’ve read the book. The only thing this has done is prompted me to read the book again!
Michael B Jordan does okay although I feel he’s a little young for how I imagined Montag to be. Michael Shannon is good as the Captain but i think his character motivations are very well defined and they come across as a bit confused. The plot itself is well explained but the problem is it’s quite slow paced and seems to come across as dull and drags at times. Yet Montag’s motivations seem to too quickly change from devoted Fireman to deviant.
Whilst I don’t think this is a terrible adaptation, it’s not one I’d recommend unless you’ve read the book. The only thing this has done is prompted me to read the book again!
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Ignite the Shadows (Ignite the Shadows, #1) in Books
Jan 23, 2020
<b><i>I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>
I always have a thing for books related to hacking (or if the main character is a hacker). But while <i>Ignite the Shadows</i> certainly isn't about hacking (it only plays a minor part to the story), I still enjoyed the book regardless and the world Seymour builds. <i>Ignite the Shadows</i> is almost like a combination of the first and second book in a typical dystopian trilogy, which makes it stand out.
Plus, an <i>infection</i> is involved, and it's just really cool how those infected by sentient parasites can take advantage and develop superpowers - very similar to <i>I Am Number Four</i> in my opinion. Trying to get used to those parasites in a symbiotic relationship is definitely going to be a struggle for Marci continuing through the second book, but I think it'll be an adventure to see what Marci comes up with.
<i>Ignite the Shadows</i> is fast paced and intriguing - I have high hopes for this series despite the power similarities to <i><a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-i-am-number-four-by-pittacus-lore/">I Am Number Four</a>.</i>
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/blog-tour-ignite-shadows-by-ingrid-seymour-review/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
I always have a thing for books related to hacking (or if the main character is a hacker). But while <i>Ignite the Shadows</i> certainly isn't about hacking (it only plays a minor part to the story), I still enjoyed the book regardless and the world Seymour builds. <i>Ignite the Shadows</i> is almost like a combination of the first and second book in a typical dystopian trilogy, which makes it stand out.
Plus, an <i>infection</i> is involved, and it's just really cool how those infected by sentient parasites can take advantage and develop superpowers - very similar to <i>I Am Number Four</i> in my opinion. Trying to get used to those parasites in a symbiotic relationship is definitely going to be a struggle for Marci continuing through the second book, but I think it'll be an adventure to see what Marci comes up with.
<i>Ignite the Shadows</i> is fast paced and intriguing - I have high hopes for this series despite the power similarities to <i><a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-i-am-number-four-by-pittacus-lore/">I Am Number Four</a>.</i>
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/blog-tour-ignite-shadows-by-ingrid-seymour-review/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Partials (Partials Sequence, #1)
7.6
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Book
The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to...
Sci-fi dystopian
Martin Crimp: Plays 3: Fewer Emergencies; Cruel and Tender; the City; in the Republic of Happiness
Book
Cruel and Tender. "A mordantly knowing modernisation of Sophocles's Trachiniae...The approach here...
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated The Maze Runner (2014) in Movies
Sep 21, 2020
There's absolutely no excuse to not have utilized the actual maze more (we get like three action scenes in it?) but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a ball with this otherwise thoroughly fun and often thrilling popcorn entertainment. Dylan O'Brien is tremendous in it, even when it wears the dystopian YA format a little too prominently. For a while I couldn't tell if the simplicity helped or hurt this in the end - I mean on the one hand this has precious nothing to say about the implications of its brutal story/world, but then again on the other it 110% forgoes the usual heavy-handed yet jejune moralizing that normally sugar-coat these films. I'm sure you could have found a decent medium between the two but Wes Ball's direction is sturdy, and I kind of like the idea of all these random 18/20-somethings nonchalantly trapped in this ludicrous scenario who just see this giant, mechanical deathtrap maze as a way of life lol. So I had more than enough fun with it. Try to picture a 2014 blockbuster "Lord of the Flies" without the obvious symbolism meets a market-tested 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 where a bunch of extras get PG-13-ed to death by huge mechanical alien spiders. Plus no one even takes their shirt off I mean that's *gotta* be a first for one of these.
End Game: Tipping Point for Planet Earth
Anthony Barnosky and Elizabeth Hadly
Book
overconsumption / population growth / dwindling resources / climate change / disease / contamination...
Everything Under The Sun
9.0
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Book
Thais Fenwick was eleven-years-old when civilization fell, devastated by a virus that killed off the...
Adult Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic Romance Suspense
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) Sep 15, 2017