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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay (2018) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
The deadly, demented, and dangerous, and dysfunctional Task Force X has returned in “Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay”. The new animated film from Warner Bros Home Entertainment features the voice talents of Christian Slater, Vanessa Williams, Greg Grunberg, Tara Strong, and many others in an adult themed story which should delight fans of the series who thought the PG-13 approach of the live action film did not do the series the proper treatment they believed was due.
The worst of the worst have been recruited to recover a mysterious artifact and thanks to the explosives implanted in their heads; their control and compliance is expected.
Deadshoot, Harley Quinn, Copperhead, Captain Boomerang, Killer Frost, and others set out to complete their mission despite their usual issues with authority, the world, and each other. Naturally they are not unopposed as Captain Zoom, Banshee, and others stand in their way.
As the team fights others and amongst themselves, the body count piles up as this is not a kid’s movie and the blood and bullets fly frequently.
The animation and voice acting is first rate as you would expect from Warner Bros and the large cast works very well bringing their characters to life and infusing them with a complexity which is deeply engaging.
In another triumph for the studio, the movie delivers all that fans expect and more and let us hopes we will be seeing Task Force X again in the very near future.
http://sknr.net/2018/04/10/suicide-squad-hell-to-pay/
The worst of the worst have been recruited to recover a mysterious artifact and thanks to the explosives implanted in their heads; their control and compliance is expected.
Deadshoot, Harley Quinn, Copperhead, Captain Boomerang, Killer Frost, and others set out to complete their mission despite their usual issues with authority, the world, and each other. Naturally they are not unopposed as Captain Zoom, Banshee, and others stand in their way.
As the team fights others and amongst themselves, the body count piles up as this is not a kid’s movie and the blood and bullets fly frequently.
The animation and voice acting is first rate as you would expect from Warner Bros and the large cast works very well bringing their characters to life and infusing them with a complexity which is deeply engaging.
In another triumph for the studio, the movie delivers all that fans expect and more and let us hopes we will be seeing Task Force X again in the very near future.
http://sknr.net/2018/04/10/suicide-squad-hell-to-pay/
An interesting new take on a dystopian future
What worried me the most about this book is that the dystopian future is one you can quite realistically see happening, even in our lifetime. And that’s one of the things I liked about this book, it really makes you think about the current political climate and how easily things could descend into this sort of dystopia. And it really brings out some powerful emotions - it’s amazing how angry and frustrated you can get about a fictional future.
The book itself is well written, and Jean McClellan is a fairly engaging and well developed protagonist. It’s interesting to read about the history from Jean’s point of view and share her frustration with the system and how it affects her family. There are a lot of similarities to other books about dystopian futures, like 1984 and The Handmaid’s Tale, and even references some of these at times. However there are a few issues, firstly that the book plods along at a fairly decent pace but yet the ending is wrapped up so quickly in just a few paces, it’s feels very rushed and not as satisfying as I’d like. The other issue is that I’m concerned about how events unfold for Jean and how it compares to the rest of the women still suffering in silence. I feel like the book could’ve concentrated more on women who hadn’t had their counters removed, to really impact and show more about the regime.
The book itself is well written, and Jean McClellan is a fairly engaging and well developed protagonist. It’s interesting to read about the history from Jean’s point of view and share her frustration with the system and how it affects her family. There are a lot of similarities to other books about dystopian futures, like 1984 and The Handmaid’s Tale, and even references some of these at times. However there are a few issues, firstly that the book plods along at a fairly decent pace but yet the ending is wrapped up so quickly in just a few paces, it’s feels very rushed and not as satisfying as I’d like. The other issue is that I’m concerned about how events unfold for Jean and how it compares to the rest of the women still suffering in silence. I feel like the book could’ve concentrated more on women who hadn’t had their counters removed, to really impact and show more about the regime.
Deborah (162 KP) rated Northanger Abbey (The Austen Project, #2) in Books
Dec 21, 2018
The idea of The Austen Project is for six modern day authors to have a go do writing a modern day re-imagining of each of Jane Austen's major works. The first was Joanna Trollope's version of Sense & Sensibility, where the reviews seem to have been fairly lukewarm. This is the second offering, Northanger Abbey as re-imagined by Val McDermid.
Now, I've not read of of McDermid's works before, although I did think she was pretty smart when she won on Celebrity Mastermind. After reading this, I remain impressed. The novel tracks the original very closely and it's quite clever in how it does this. It is hard to imagine someone quite as naive as Catherine Morland in this day and age, but McDermind's 'Cat' Morland does pretty well. It's a very slangy novel ("amazeballs!"), sprinkled with 'txt spk', but then the original is quite slangy - especially the parts with Isabella Thorpe! I do think that to appreciate it you have to know the original quite well and have a passing knowledge of current popular culture. Catherine believing the General Tilney has murdered his wife or has locked her up somewhere is slightly fantastic, but rather more grounded than Cat's idea that the family may be Vampires.....! Still, if you can suspend your disbelief this is a fun and engaging read - in fact, a very 'nice' book... and with a very 'nice' hero. And I'm pretty sure this Henry Tilney would spell out all his texts properly - no want of grammar and total inattention to stops here!
Now, I've not read of of McDermid's works before, although I did think she was pretty smart when she won on Celebrity Mastermind. After reading this, I remain impressed. The novel tracks the original very closely and it's quite clever in how it does this. It is hard to imagine someone quite as naive as Catherine Morland in this day and age, but McDermind's 'Cat' Morland does pretty well. It's a very slangy novel ("amazeballs!"), sprinkled with 'txt spk', but then the original is quite slangy - especially the parts with Isabella Thorpe! I do think that to appreciate it you have to know the original quite well and have a passing knowledge of current popular culture. Catherine believing the General Tilney has murdered his wife or has locked her up somewhere is slightly fantastic, but rather more grounded than Cat's idea that the family may be Vampires.....! Still, if you can suspend your disbelief this is a fun and engaging read - in fact, a very 'nice' book... and with a very 'nice' hero. And I'm pretty sure this Henry Tilney would spell out all his texts properly - no want of grammar and total inattention to stops here!
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated A Kill for the Poet (Chaser on the Rocks #2) in Books
Nov 18, 2019
Burdening your detective characters with personal problems has a long tradition. Alcoholism, messy relationships and lack of respect for authority are common. But Maltman delivers a cut about all of these with Brian Caskey, a fiction author with mental health issues which mean he really shouldn't be getting out of his depth.
Yet that is what happens when a mysterious surveillance job turns into something far more sinister and despite himself Caskey can't help but try to unravel the mystery. Like picking at a scab this is something he feels compelled to do but it's really only going to make things worse. The main story is woven through with Caskey composing his latest novel featuring his 1940s detective Billy Chapman investigating a murder.
Despite the complexities Maltman creates for himself in both his main character and the book within a book, both plots work well together. The Billy Chapman sections serve to break up the main story, like sorbet between a twelve course meal. Caskey, despite his problems, is an engaging character and very believable even when the plot he gets caught up in veers towards being wilfully obscure. There is an obvious comparison to Bateman's Mystery Man, another Nothern Irish detective with mental issues. But where Mystery Man is often a tragic and self-defeating character, Caskey is nothing like that and embraces his flaws.
Above all this stands up as a good solid detective story (indeed two of them). Maltman has a flair for producing interesting and very readable books and this is no exception
Yet that is what happens when a mysterious surveillance job turns into something far more sinister and despite himself Caskey can't help but try to unravel the mystery. Like picking at a scab this is something he feels compelled to do but it's really only going to make things worse. The main story is woven through with Caskey composing his latest novel featuring his 1940s detective Billy Chapman investigating a murder.
Despite the complexities Maltman creates for himself in both his main character and the book within a book, both plots work well together. The Billy Chapman sections serve to break up the main story, like sorbet between a twelve course meal. Caskey, despite his problems, is an engaging character and very believable even when the plot he gets caught up in veers towards being wilfully obscure. There is an obvious comparison to Bateman's Mystery Man, another Nothern Irish detective with mental issues. But where Mystery Man is often a tragic and self-defeating character, Caskey is nothing like that and embraces his flaws.
Above all this stands up as a good solid detective story (indeed two of them). Maltman has a flair for producing interesting and very readable books and this is no exception
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Unknown Reality in Books
Nov 28, 2019
Chloe lives with her family in what seems to be a fairly normal life. But after meeting a stranger during a trip to the theatre, she starts to realise that all might not be as it seems and her world - and her entire life- might be nothing more than a simulation. Abruptly thrown out of the only existance she has known she has to face up to a different reality. She must adapt to her new circumstances and new reality when all she wants is to return 'home'.
Following on from the young adult fantasy stories of Truth Teller and The Wrath of Siren, Chambers once again sets out to encourage an interest in fiction in young adults, in this case science fiction. Once again he produces an interesting and engaging work, choc full of characters and ideas. Just the first few chapters contain enough material for the average science fiction work but Chambers goes further, layering further nuanced plots and subplots together and managing to spin them together into a terrific ending.
Chloe is a strong protagonist, intelligent and thoughtful while always remaining an 11 year old in outlook and the reader will really root for her and want her to succeed. The world Chambers creates is very well described and imagined, relying on science fiction standards for some parts but carefully avoiding cliche and doing what science fiction does best - highlight some of the folly of the real world.
Yet another terrific book from Chambers, one of those authors who is a 'must read' for my teenage sons.
Following on from the young adult fantasy stories of Truth Teller and The Wrath of Siren, Chambers once again sets out to encourage an interest in fiction in young adults, in this case science fiction. Once again he produces an interesting and engaging work, choc full of characters and ideas. Just the first few chapters contain enough material for the average science fiction work but Chambers goes further, layering further nuanced plots and subplots together and managing to spin them together into a terrific ending.
Chloe is a strong protagonist, intelligent and thoughtful while always remaining an 11 year old in outlook and the reader will really root for her and want her to succeed. The world Chambers creates is very well described and imagined, relying on science fiction standards for some parts but carefully avoiding cliche and doing what science fiction does best - highlight some of the folly of the real world.
Yet another terrific book from Chambers, one of those authors who is a 'must read' for my teenage sons.
JT (287 KP) rated The Drop (2014) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
A brooding English debut feature from Michaël R. Roskam who cooks up a simmering pot of dramatic intrigue.
Tom Hardy plays Bob Saginowski a quiet unimposing figure who helps to tend the bar of his cousin Marv (James Gandolfini‘s last film before he sadly passed away). The bar is the main dropping off point for all money collected from mob owned businesses. The location of the bar changes each night.
When the bar is held up the money stolen belongs to the Chechen mob who want it back putting Bob and Marv in a tight spot. The setting is the streets of Brooklyn where age old mafioso have been replaced by a more brutal foe. In this instance in the form of the Chechen mob.
One night Bob finds a puppy in a bin and upon rescuing it meets Nadia (Noomi Rapace) who has a hidden past of her own, one that Bob refuses to question. The puppy will certainly tug at your heart strings but it’s Hardy’s spot on Brooklyn accent and good natured personality that wins through. Even when he’s harassed by Matthias Schoenaerts’s Eric Deeds he remains calm.
Deep down however we known that something inside him is going to snap, it’s just trying to predict the moment when it will happen. This makes for an engaging thriller with a twist ending that is more than satisfying.
The Drop is a slow burn that builds from the outset. It’s great to see Gandolfini on screen one last time and such a disappointment that he is no longer with us.
Tom Hardy plays Bob Saginowski a quiet unimposing figure who helps to tend the bar of his cousin Marv (James Gandolfini‘s last film before he sadly passed away). The bar is the main dropping off point for all money collected from mob owned businesses. The location of the bar changes each night.
When the bar is held up the money stolen belongs to the Chechen mob who want it back putting Bob and Marv in a tight spot. The setting is the streets of Brooklyn where age old mafioso have been replaced by a more brutal foe. In this instance in the form of the Chechen mob.
One night Bob finds a puppy in a bin and upon rescuing it meets Nadia (Noomi Rapace) who has a hidden past of her own, one that Bob refuses to question. The puppy will certainly tug at your heart strings but it’s Hardy’s spot on Brooklyn accent and good natured personality that wins through. Even when he’s harassed by Matthias Schoenaerts’s Eric Deeds he remains calm.
Deep down however we known that something inside him is going to snap, it’s just trying to predict the moment when it will happen. This makes for an engaging thriller with a twist ending that is more than satisfying.
The Drop is a slow burn that builds from the outset. It’s great to see Gandolfini on screen one last time and such a disappointment that he is no longer with us.
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