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Joe Goodhart (27 KP) rated Rocket: The Blue River Score in Books
Nov 30, 2020
I have to confess: I went into this one with low expectations, largely due to trying to read the previous Rocket outing, Matthew Rosenberg's ROCKET RACCOON: GROUNDED! That book was just depressing as hell, and every character in it just felt wholly out-of-character, as if Rosenberg no flarking clue as to who the characters actually were and how they were SUPPOSED to behave! Fortunately, my pre-"low expectations" were ill-placed, as Trash Panda's outing was as far from the depressing wreck that Rosenberg churned out!
Yes, first and foremost, it was a Rocket Raccoon story, but it was also so much more. It felt not unlike SMOKIN' ACES or SNATCH...only on another planet, with aliens and an augmented raccoon! Writer Al Ewing is clearly a fan of pulp noir novels, and it shows throughout. Ah, if only Marvel would realize what a great film this mini would make!
If you like the wise-cracking, sometimes edgy wit of RR - basically, the RR of the MCU - then this is a book for you! Rocket has a great scheme in here, as well as some good intentions, all of which amounts to a double-cross and an ending that effectively resolves everything with a somewhat bittersweet ending. Bravo, Mr. Ewing! I truly hope Marvel lets him helm another RR solo mini!
And, if that does happen, allowed for another Ewing-helmed outing with RR, I hope that brings along artist Adam Gorham and colorist Michael Garland. Those two brought this fun li'l space heist to life ever so well! I was a big fan of Sara Pichelli's GOTG art for Rocket, but as good as she was, I feel these two were just as good, if not better! Definitely artists (and colorists) to keep an eye out for!
End of the day, you could do a whole lot worse that reading ROCKET: THE BLUE RIVE SCORE. *cough* CIVIL WAR II *cough* Bendis' ALL-NEW X-MEN run *cough cough*
Yes, first and foremost, it was a Rocket Raccoon story, but it was also so much more. It felt not unlike SMOKIN' ACES or SNATCH...only on another planet, with aliens and an augmented raccoon! Writer Al Ewing is clearly a fan of pulp noir novels, and it shows throughout. Ah, if only Marvel would realize what a great film this mini would make!
If you like the wise-cracking, sometimes edgy wit of RR - basically, the RR of the MCU - then this is a book for you! Rocket has a great scheme in here, as well as some good intentions, all of which amounts to a double-cross and an ending that effectively resolves everything with a somewhat bittersweet ending. Bravo, Mr. Ewing! I truly hope Marvel lets him helm another RR solo mini!
And, if that does happen, allowed for another Ewing-helmed outing with RR, I hope that brings along artist Adam Gorham and colorist Michael Garland. Those two brought this fun li'l space heist to life ever so well! I was a big fan of Sara Pichelli's GOTG art for Rocket, but as good as she was, I feel these two were just as good, if not better! Definitely artists (and colorists) to keep an eye out for!
End of the day, you could do a whole lot worse that reading ROCKET: THE BLUE RIVE SCORE. *cough* CIVIL WAR II *cough* Bendis' ALL-NEW X-MEN run *cough cough*
A refreshing take on superheroes
I’ve never read the comics, so took a punt on this as it’s been recommended by a few of my friends, and i absolutely loved it.
It’s the perfect antidote to the homely, suitable for kids superhero films like Marvel that bombard our screens every year. Instead The Boys is rude, crude, dark and downright hilarious at times. It’s full of blood and gore too that you’d never find anywhere near any Marvel films. There’s something beyond refreshing watching a show with superheroes behaving badly like villains, and the take on superheroes being owned and represented by a massive corporation is rather brilliant. You can almost imagine that this is how superheroes would turn out if they lived in today’s society.
This has a great cast too, and there are some wonderful performances in this. I adore Karl Urban and he’s good in this, although I feel like he’s let down a little by the fact that they’ve made him a cliched cockney. Antony Starr is seriously creepy and yet charming as Homelander, and he was great to watch. Although my favourite had to be Chace Crawford as The Deep. I feel like he was a little under-utilised in the main plot, but he provided some of the funniest scenes in the entire series and I really wanted to see more of him.
The ending was good and a nice reveal, although I wanted more and felt like it ended maybe a little too abruptly. Aside from Karl Urban’s English accent, the superhero names grate a little after a while because they are super cheesy and cringey (which I’m assuming they’re meant to be). And I felt like the character of Black Noir was a complete mystery and whilst this may be intentional, I do there has been a little bit more of him.
Aside from these little niggles though, this is a refreshingly entertaining series. So much so I’d love to watch a second series, like now.
It’s the perfect antidote to the homely, suitable for kids superhero films like Marvel that bombard our screens every year. Instead The Boys is rude, crude, dark and downright hilarious at times. It’s full of blood and gore too that you’d never find anywhere near any Marvel films. There’s something beyond refreshing watching a show with superheroes behaving badly like villains, and the take on superheroes being owned and represented by a massive corporation is rather brilliant. You can almost imagine that this is how superheroes would turn out if they lived in today’s society.
This has a great cast too, and there are some wonderful performances in this. I adore Karl Urban and he’s good in this, although I feel like he’s let down a little by the fact that they’ve made him a cliched cockney. Antony Starr is seriously creepy and yet charming as Homelander, and he was great to watch. Although my favourite had to be Chace Crawford as The Deep. I feel like he was a little under-utilised in the main plot, but he provided some of the funniest scenes in the entire series and I really wanted to see more of him.
The ending was good and a nice reveal, although I wanted more and felt like it ended maybe a little too abruptly. Aside from Karl Urban’s English accent, the superhero names grate a little after a while because they are super cheesy and cringey (which I’m assuming they’re meant to be). And I felt like the character of Black Noir was a complete mystery and whilst this may be intentional, I do there has been a little bit more of him.
Aside from these little niggles though, this is a refreshingly entertaining series. So much so I’d love to watch a second series, like now.
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life in Books
Sep 21, 2017
Fascinating, important look into microbes
This is complex, I'm not going to lie. At times some of the science went over my head as I wasn't concentrating. However, the idea that microbes live on all surfaces and beings like a planet and have such an important role in creating and even treating diseases is fascinating.
Ed Yong opens our eyes and invites us to marvel at ourselves and other animals in a new light, less as individuals and more as thriving ecosystems. We learn the invisible and wondrous science behind the corals that construct mighty reefs and the squid that create their own light shows. We see how bacteria can alter our response to cancer-fighting drugs, tune our immune system, influence our evolution, and even modify our genetic make-up. And we meet the scientists who are manipulating these microscopic partners to our advantage. Great book for science nerds like me.
Ed Yong opens our eyes and invites us to marvel at ourselves and other animals in a new light, less as individuals and more as thriving ecosystems. We learn the invisible and wondrous science behind the corals that construct mighty reefs and the squid that create their own light shows. We see how bacteria can alter our response to cancer-fighting drugs, tune our immune system, influence our evolution, and even modify our genetic make-up. And we meet the scientists who are manipulating these microscopic partners to our advantage. Great book for science nerds like me.
Nick Friesen (96 KP) rated Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) in Movies
Jul 14, 2017
Baby Groot (3 more)
Mary Poppins
Drax & Mantis
Awesome Mix Vol. 2
Not Everyone is a Dancer
The best thing Marvel has done yet is hire James Gunn to direct the Guardians of the Galaxy series. He has such a spectacular vision for the Guardians and their far-flung place in the MCU. He keeps the action and laughs rolling throughout this second volume of the series, and I honestly can't decide which of the two I like more. These movies have made instant pop-culture icons out of lesser known comic book heroes, and for good reason. The characters are all well written, with completely disparate personalities that lead them to interact with each other in often hilarious ways. Not only that, but they are all completely badass. It's going to be a real treat to see this ragtag group of the galaxy's biggest assholes go toe-to-toe with Thanos alongside the rest of the MCU heroes in Infinity War.
Jason (7 KP) rated Wonder Woman (2017) in Movies
Jul 9, 2017
Formulaic and predictable
Maybe it's just me but every superhero film seems to follow a very similar plot - the discovery of the power, the learning how to use it, the token love interest, the token bad guy, the token big fight scene and the predictable ending.
This film did not disappoint in the predictability sense. It was a bit overblown and looked as though it wanted to yell 'girls can fight too you know'.
Unless I missed it, the was no explanation about how the love interest came into the picture in the first place but from there on in, it stuck to the rigid predictability well! Fight scenes were as you'd expect given the budget but nothing to really write home about and I was left feeling like I hadn't seen anything new.
It's a a bit of fun and it'll please those into the DC and Marvel universes but not really for me thanks.
This film did not disappoint in the predictability sense. It was a bit overblown and looked as though it wanted to yell 'girls can fight too you know'.
Unless I missed it, the was no explanation about how the love interest came into the picture in the first place but from there on in, it stuck to the rigid predictability well! Fight scenes were as you'd expect given the budget but nothing to really write home about and I was left feeling like I hadn't seen anything new.
It's a a bit of fun and it'll please those into the DC and Marvel universes but not really for me thanks.
Jarom Solar Norris (177 KP) rated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) in Movies
Feb 13, 2019 (Updated Feb 13, 2019)
You may have heard that Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse is a cinematic marvel, a first-of-its-kind blockbuster that innovates on animated styles in incredible fashion. Not only does it do a bunch of crazy things that all work and look amazing, but a lot of it has been documented on Twitter. Just look at this: https://twitter.com/NickTyson/status/1076942124921151488
You can find a lot of cool stuff on the twitter of animator Nick Kondo, and even the composer Daniel Pemberton has written threads on how the movie was made, and that’s awesome. While watching the movie I had a thought strike me that “This kind of story could literally only be told in animation.” And everything it does is finely-crafted work, it makes you care about the characters just as much as the people making the movie did. We can all cross our fingers that it means we’ll be seeing more animated movies in the years to come.
You can find a lot of cool stuff on the twitter of animator Nick Kondo, and even the composer Daniel Pemberton has written threads on how the movie was made, and that’s awesome. While watching the movie I had a thought strike me that “This kind of story could literally only be told in animation.” And everything it does is finely-crafted work, it makes you care about the characters just as much as the people making the movie did. We can all cross our fingers that it means we’ll be seeing more animated movies in the years to come.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Captain Marvel (2019) in Movies
Mar 8, 2019
Predictably solid Marvel brand-extension is another of those movies where the main character is never actually referred to by their superhero codename, which is a little odd as the film is unafraid to embrace the silliness of its subject matter elsewhere. Slightly convoluted plot concerns Brie Larson's character, who is a fierce alien warrior or a feisty USAF jet pilot (finding out exactly who she is is central to the plot). Aliens infiltrate Earth in 1995, Larson has to team up with Samuel L Jackson (pre-eyepatch) to stop them.
Generally pretty good fun, especially once you get past the (intentionally?) cryptic first act. Good jokes, good action, and the film's big moments are well staged. Larson, Jackson, and Ben Mendelsohn all contribute thoroughly tongue-in-cheek performances which are exactly what the material demands. Dances lightly around the potential girl-power subtext, although arguably misses a trick by not putting the Spice Girls on the soundtrack. Maybe next time.
Generally pretty good fun, especially once you get past the (intentionally?) cryptic first act. Good jokes, good action, and the film's big moments are well staged. Larson, Jackson, and Ben Mendelsohn all contribute thoroughly tongue-in-cheek performances which are exactly what the material demands. Dances lightly around the potential girl-power subtext, although arguably misses a trick by not putting the Spice Girls on the soundtrack. Maybe next time.
Madbatdan82 (341 KP) rated Captain Marvel (2019) in Movies
Mar 9, 2019
Mar-Vel-ous
At this point Marvel can really do no wrong. When it comes to their movies (esp original ones) they have a formula that's worked well so far so why change it. Really we've not had a bad MCU movie since iron man 3 & thor 2 and even they were watchable and in parts mildly enjoyable. Here we have excellent action with just enough comedy to give people laughs without being silly and considering this is about shape changing aliens, silly was a possibility. But theres a good story at its core and nice character development with a few twists and turns to keep everyone interested. We also get Goose - the greatest space cat since Jonesy from Alien!!...2 good post credits scenes as per normal - 1 serious story one and 1 funny but worth sticking around for. The next month or so needs to fly past.
David McK (3248 KP) rated Avengers: Endgame (2019) in Movies
May 26, 2019
"We're in the Endgame now ..."
The culmination of over a decade of Marvel movies and a direct continuation of Infinity War, this is the film that wraps up what will more than likely become known as The Infinity Stones saga.
It's also quite hard ton discuss without giving anything away: while we all knew that time travel would be a part of the movie (especially given the introduction of the Time Stone in Dr Strange), that did not play out exactly as I thought it would.
Personally, I also thought it spent too long dealing with the effects of Thanos' snap: yes, wiping out half of life would have a profound impact on those left behind, but did we need to go through them all one-by-one? All that served to do, really (IMO) is make an already long film even longer!
A good film, yes, but - for me, at least - it never quite hits the height of the preceding Infinity War.
The culmination of over a decade of Marvel movies and a direct continuation of Infinity War, this is the film that wraps up what will more than likely become known as The Infinity Stones saga.
It's also quite hard ton discuss without giving anything away: while we all knew that time travel would be a part of the movie (especially given the introduction of the Time Stone in Dr Strange), that did not play out exactly as I thought it would.
Personally, I also thought it spent too long dealing with the effects of Thanos' snap: yes, wiping out half of life would have a profound impact on those left behind, but did we need to go through them all one-by-one? All that served to do, really (IMO) is make an already long film even longer!
A good film, yes, but - for me, at least - it never quite hits the height of the preceding Infinity War.
Glen Banyard (13 KP) rated X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019) in Movies
Jun 9, 2019
Action scenes (1 more)
Story
Underwhelming end to the arc
So after X-Men First Class we got Days of Future Past, which led to Apocalypse, and now Dark Phoenix, While the first three were good entertaining movies, and even though Apocalypse wasn't the strongest it still entertained, and the came Darl Phoenix, which is sadly and wholly underwhelming 1 hour 54 minutes.
Sophie Turner should have shined in the film, the performance felt stilted and in place, painful to watch, the knock on effect from this, you feel no empathy for Jean Grey.
One scene is more laughable than tense when Jean/Dark Phoenix with with Erik/Magneto.
As the house of mouse now owns Fox I suspect a reboot may not be as far away with, on general, Disney / Marvel knowing how to do a great superhero movie.
The best bot about this film ? the badges you can get at Frankie and Benny's
Sophie Turner should have shined in the film, the performance felt stilted and in place, painful to watch, the knock on effect from this, you feel no empathy for Jean Grey.
One scene is more laughable than tense when Jean/Dark Phoenix with with Erik/Magneto.
As the house of mouse now owns Fox I suspect a reboot may not be as far away with, on general, Disney / Marvel knowing how to do a great superhero movie.
The best bot about this film ? the badges you can get at Frankie and Benny's