![Connemara: A Little Gaelic Kingdom](/uploads/profile_image/7f9/c087bfb9-3327-4b7a-88ba-6804a43997f9.jpg?m=1522332441)
Connemara: A Little Gaelic Kingdom
Book
The triumphant conclusion to Tim Robinson's extraordinary Connemara trilogy, which Robert Macfarlane...
![The League of Regrettable Superheroes: Half-Baked Heroes from Comic Book History](/uploads/profile_image/a87/ad9e9b8f-0e6a-41b7-9868-18413e964a87.jpg?m=1550233861)
The League of Regrettable Superheroes: Half-Baked Heroes from Comic Book History
Book
A fun, funny, and affectionate look at the strangest superheroes to ever appear in comics, some so...
![Burn After Reading (2008)](/uploads/profile_image/aeb/c14b078c-2d05-4de4-b945-fc8003498aeb.jpg?m=1522360782)
Burn After Reading (2008)
Movie Watch
Burn After Reading, a comedy thriller from Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men, Fargo,...
![40x40](/uploads/profile_image/bc8/b9768a12-e4b1-4d44-baef-2b4ef2be4bc8.jpg?m=1557634001)
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated The Avengers (2012) in Movies
Sep 17, 2020
The main bulk of the cast, comprised of Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo (in his first appearance as Bruce Banner/Hulk), Samuel L. Jackson, and Jeremy Renner all bounce off of each other so naturally. The balance of dramatic moments and back and forth humour on display laid the blueprint for many MCU films to come, most notably Guardians of the Galaxy.
Tom Hiddleston steps up his game from the first Thor film and gives us an instantly iconic villain in Loki, one that has only been rivalled since by Thanos in terms of character development and story.
The set pieces are fantastic as well, most memorably, the Hulk and Thor battle on the Helicarrier, and of course the huge and ridiculous final show down in Manhattan, and the CGI still looks great 8 years down the line. A big event movie such as this was only made possible by introducing the individual characters slowly over a number of years, and it's proof that patience pays off. A formula that Marvel Studios have since mastered.
I know that none of these films are The Shawshank Redemption or Citizen Kane, but fuck me, films like Avengers Assemble (it's UK title) are so stupidly entertaining, and everything a kid who grew up reading comics could possibly want.
![40x40](/uploads/profile_image/4ec/f66f1597-59de-4bdc-8e83-634dfdedf4ec.jpg?m=1606583828)
Joe Goodhart (27 KP) rated Hawkeye, Volume 4: Rio Bravo in Books
Nov 30, 2020
All four volumes of the Matt Fraction HAWKEYE run were a re-read for me. This volume, and the previous volume, Vol. 3: "L.A. Woman", were compiled slightly out of order. The issues in the Vol. 3 were all part of Kate Bishop's story, as she and Lucky went out to L.A. The issues in this final volume, while out of order, help continue the story, concluding with Kate's return for the series finale (not a spoiler, if you read Volume 3, which if you didn't, I am very disappointed in you. Tch!).
The volume, as a whole, flows like a well-crafted indie action-adventure flick. There is plenty of white-knuckle tense scenes, as well as some genuine "kick ya in the feels" moments. Heck, there's even a small amount of chuckles, too! All in all, a perfect ending to a perfect series!
In addition to Katie-Kate's return, it also brings back David Aja, whose art on the series' run, was nothing short of brilliant! Aja brought a pulp feel to the art, a style that suited Fraction's portrayal of Clint Barton.
All in all, the entire run is worth your time, not just this fourth, and final, volume of the series! In an era where Marvel thinks constantly rebooting series, as well as offering way too many meaningless crossover events, is how you put out quality material, it warms my nerdy comic lovin' heart to still return to good stuff like Matt Fraction's HAWKEYE run! Thank you, Matt, and thank you to all the excellent art choices you assembled for this run!
![40x40](/uploads/profile_image/2a2/12a9482d-403f-46fb-adfe-cad7a70c02a2.jpg?m=1575571265)
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Onward (2020) in Movies
Oct 5, 2020 (Updated Oct 5, 2020)
A Pixar film with a fantasy setting, what's not to like? It's a great take on elves, wizards and mythical creatures and also relevant to today's society with it's cultural references and technological advancements. And unicorns acting like stray cats? Genius. The plot itself is exactly the type of quest you'd expect in a fantasy, with your typical Disney/Pixar tropes (dead parent). However this story doesn't necessarily turn out the way you'd expect and I have to commend Pixar for not being predictable. Like Frozen before it, this plays out in a rather emotional and heartwarming yet fairly unexpected way. I'd be lying if I said I didn't get any "feels" watching this!
There's no real need to say that this film looks amazing. I think it'd be more surprising if a Pixar film didn't. It also has a great voice cast although my only real negative of this film is that I felt like the cast could've been given more to work with. It may have just been me not paying attention, but I struggled to even notice John Ratzenberger (which is like missing the late Stan Lee in a Marvel film).
Onward is an unusual Pixar film. For me it falls between the aforementioned categories. It's not "bad" enough to just be very good but it's not quite brilliant, although I did enjoy it very much and laughed a lot more than I was expecting.
![Birds and People](/uploads/profile_image/449/8ad0e3e6-6346-4cb1-9a7b-c95aed180449.jpg?m=1522323837)
Birds and People
Book
There are 10,500 species of bird worldwide and wherever they occur people marvel at their glorious...
![Dead Island](/uploads/profile_image/499/76edf8d8-adac-4df1-9d49-91f494c14499.jpg?m=1522340826)
Dead Island
Video Game
Get into character by choosing one of four different personalities to enjoy your stay on Dead Island...
Survival horror
![40x40](/uploads/profile_image/66e/e47af90c-6998-4643-88e0-c7c125e1766e.jpg?m=1610396926)
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020) in Movies
Sep 30, 2020 (Updated Sep 30, 2020)
![The Long Song](/uploads/profile_image/c30/7aa9a4fa-0f7f-4153-9489-3ac7c38e4c30.jpg?m=1619780223)
The Long Song
Book
Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, The Long Song by multi-million-copy bestselling author Andrea...