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Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
2016 | Action, Sci-Fi
Martha!
The secind entry in what-was-then the burgeoning Extended Universe, following on from 2013's Man of Steel - the finale of which (re. seemingly half of Metropolis getting destroyed) has repercussions in this.

I remember the film was also hotly anticipated, with lots of speculation on who it would adopt the graphic novel 'The Dark Knight Returns', a portion of which features a showdown between the Man of Steel and Batman.

So, this introduces Ben Affleck's (aka 'Batfleck') during the prologue.

It's also - unfortunately - the movie with the infamous 'save Martha!' scene, and with the very ineptly handed expansion of the DCEU via video clips played on a laptop.

This version of Batman also seems to have completely abandoned his famous 'no killing' rule, dispatching goons left, right and centre during several key moments of the film, while Henry Cavill's Superman still needs to, well, 'lighten up' quite a bit to be closer to how the Man of Steel is more commonly viewed.

And don't start me on Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor, or on the completely extraneous final 'Doomsday' act ...

(still, at least the Directors Cut manages to salvage it somewhat)
  
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Blazing Minds (92 KP) rated Wonder Woman (2017) in Movies

Nov 2, 2021 (Updated Nov 3, 2021)  
Wonder Woman (2017)
Wonder Woman (2017)
2017 | Action, Fantasy, War
With Marvel already dominating the superhero movie market, Wonder Woman steps up to the plate and knocks it out the park in DC’s new movie that takes us further towards The Justice League.

So a few years ago we had Man of Steel, which had mixed reviews and was a movie that had an extremely long and all out good vs evil battle with Superman vs General Zod over Metropolis!

Then came Batman V Superman, a movie that I personally was hoping would be a version of my favourite Batman comic book, The Dark Knight Returns, sadly this was not to be and although the extended cut is a better version the film was another in the DCEU (DC Extended Universe) that had mixed reviews and a rather long good vs evil battle, it did introduce us to Wonder Woman.

Following on was the next in the franchise, Suicide Squad, again this was another movie that didn’t really go down well with movie fans, which also had a good vs evil fight at the end (I see a pattern) it certainly looked like DC had hit three strikes! So all hope rested on Wonder Woman.
  
Tenet (2020)
Tenet (2020)
2020 | Action
Massive letdown from Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan has a bit of a name for himself, and a bit of a following.

While I haven't seen all of his films, I have (mostly) quite enjoyed the ones I have seen - The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, The Prestige, Insomnia, Dunkirk and Interstellar - so it's always an event when he releases a new movie.

This particular one had the mis(?)fortune to be released in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, when large gatherings put health at risk and when cinemas were struggling after being closed for months on end.


I never saw it on the big screen as a result.

Having now seen it (on Amazon Prime), I'm quite glad that I didn't pay (and put my health at risk) to see it in the cinema - honestly, I found it mostly dull, incomprehensible (in that I couldn't make out half the dialogue) and interminable in length, despite the occasional 'money-on-the-screen' sequence

If you want to see a good 'backwards' story, watch the Backwards episode of Red Dwarf (season 3, episode 1) instead.
  
Sworn Sword (The Bloody Aftermath of 1066, #1)
Sworn Sword (The Bloody Aftermath of 1066, #1)
James Aitcheson | 2013 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
About a month or so ago, I was in my local Waterstones when I spotted two books both set around the time of the Norman Invasion but telling the tale but different angles: <i>Hereward</i> and this. Humming ang haaing, I eventually decided on <i>Hereward</i> and then, later, came across this novel for sale in Tesco's picking it up there.

Of the two books, I have to say - and despite a title that sounds like a bad b-movie ('"Sworn Sword: 1066: The Aftermath!" coming soon to a theatre near you!') - this is the better. Told in first person prose, this novel is from the point of view of a Norman Knight (whereas <i>Hereward</i> was from that of an Anglo-Saxon), and reminded me very much of one of the better Bernard Cornwell books in that the history covered (albeit slighlty fictionalised to fit the demands of the story) is just as interesting as the actual plot.

The first in a series of books set in the same period, I think I will be picking up more of these!
  
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ClareR (5879 KP) rated Killing Jericho in Books

May 28, 2023  
Killing Jericho
Killing Jericho
William Hussey | 2023 | Contemporary, Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Killing Jericho was a thrilling, suspenseful ride!
Scott Jericho is back living with his traveller fairground family after a prison sentence that saw the end of his career as a CID Police Officer. He had violently attacked a Knight of Saint George - a far right thug he had been interviewing about the death of three Polish children. This also meant that he couldn’t be charged for the crime.

There’s some history of fairground travellers in this - all true, and both interesting and nice to know that we don’t call those more unusual fairground acts “freaks” anymore.

Believe it or not, Jericho has more problems than being an ex-con: he’s using drugs, has boyfriend trouble, and the man he was charged with attacking can’t seem to keep himself away.

Jericho’s life is complicated.
The murders are gruesome and really rather inventive!
And no one is as they seem, either. It’s a dark read.
There are a lot of surprises, and I enjoyed them all!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and to William Hussey for reading along too. This is the first of a new series, and I’ll be interested to know what happens to Scott Jericho next!