Before the Fall
8.4
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From the creator of the award winning FARGO and LEGION TV series. Winner of the 2017 Edgar Award for...
David McK (3236 KP) rated Star Trek (2009) in Movies
Aug 23, 2020 (Updated Jan 22, 2023)
2009 big screen reimagining of the iconic 60s TV series, and I use that as the touchpoint deliberately: we're back to a (recast) Kirk and co instead of the Next Generation crew, or even those from Voyager/Enterprise/Discovery.
In retrospect, it also somewhat comes across as director JJ Abrams pitch for making a Star Wars movie: this is also lens flare and slow motion, with the action ramped up considerably from the TV series or even most of the previous movies. it's also the first of the three Kelvin-verse Star Trek movies: I'm unsure whether we'll get any more in that timeline, what with the tragic death of some of the (young) key actors - I'm looking at you, Anton Yelchin (Chekov) - and with others of the cast moving on to other bigger (?) sci-fi things - yep, that's you Zoe Saldana (Uhura).
The plot, as alluded to above, involves time travel, with the events thus kicking off an entire new timeline, that here sees Chris Pine taking on the role of James T Kirk - initially introduced as a kid, driving his step fathers classic car off a cliff (talk about setting out your stall early!) - and Zachary Quinto (then more famous as the villain Sylar from TVs 'Heroes') talking on the role of a younger Spock.
Most of the cast, I felt, was pretty much spot on - the only one that really rubbed me up the wrong way was Simon Pegg as Scotty, although even he grew on me a bit (I'm also not entirely sold on the aesthetics of the USS Enterprise here - more like USS Chibiprise!). We also have the 'passing of the torch' (as it were) from one character to another, with the inclusion of a certain key half-human actor who will forever be associated with that role ...
David McK (3236 KP) rated Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) in Movies
Feb 17, 2019 (Updated Mar 29, 2020)
The first Post-Disney acquisition film in the Star Wars saga, this one had a lot of expectation on its shoulders: it had to appease those who felt 'sold out' by the prequels (i.e. largely those who grew up with the originals) while also had to appeal to a whole new generation. In other words, it had quite a tightrope to walk.
A tightrope which, by and large, it does so successfully.
It's not perfect: JJ Abrams sets up a lot of questions which Rian Johnson would later deem irrelevant (in The Last Jedi), while elements of the plot are, shall we say, more than a little familiar, but by and large...
Lenard (726 KP) rated Shaft (2019) in Movies
Jun 23, 2019
Holistic Plastic Surgery Show With Anthony Youn, MD - Audio Edition
Podcast
You don't need to go under the knife to look and feel younger! In The Holistic Plastic Surgery...
Bearded Tit: A Love Story with Feathers
Book
"Bearded Tit" is Rory McGrath's story of life among birds. From a Cornish boyhood wandering...
David McK (3236 KP) rated Mission: Impossible III (2006) in Movies
Apr 4, 2021
Three films in to the Tom Cruise starring 'Mission: Impossible' series, and we're on to our third director: Here, JJ Abrams taking over from John Woo who himself took over from Brian de Palma.
And, so far, each of those directors has stamped their own identity on their respective films.
This is the one where Ethan Hunt is, as the movie starts, retired from active duty and spends his time training new recruits to the IMF while also just about to settle down with his fiancee.
When one of those recruits goes missing on an routine operation, however, Hunt soon finds himself drawn back into active service ...
This is also the one where the late Philip Seymour Hoffin is the main villain of the piece; the one that first introduces Simon Pegg's character of Benji (who, like Ving Rhames, so far appears in all the later instalments) and that has the whole 'bomb-in-your-head' shtick.
The Tell Tail Heart
9.0
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Maddie is hoping to have some downtime during Daybreak Island’s off-season to tackle her to-do...
The Creator (Alex Hope #3)
9.5
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He saw himself as an artist; a sculpture of the flesh. His macabre design was coming together...
Lesbian Crime Suspense