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Lee (2222 KP) rated Skyscraper (2018) in Movies
Jul 13, 2018
Surprising Enjoyable Action Movie
As I headed into Skyscraper at my local cinema, I tweeted something about disengaging my brain for a couple of hours, fully open to the prospect of some completely ridiculous action, courtesy of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. That's exactly what I ended up with, and I actually really enjoyed it all too.
The movie opens 10 years ago, with FBI agent Will Sawyer (Johnson) and his team attending a domestic hostage situation which goes badly wrong. Back in the present, Will is now an amputee and married to the military nurse that cared for him during that incident (Neve Campbell). They've got 2 young kids and the whole family is in Hong Kong where Will has been hired as security consultant for The Pearl, a new state-of-the-art skyscraper and the tallest building in the world. A news reel montage fires off lots of impressive facts and figures about the building, hardly giving you time to digest or even question them. Let's just say, it cost billions of dollars, looks incredibly futuristic (and a bit silly) and is a scientific wonder of the world. Before The Pearl opens up its doors for people to live and work in though, Will needs to sign off on fire safety and security.
We're shown Will putting on his false leg, letting us know how that all works in preparation for later scenes in the movie. Will then fixes his wife's phone before he rushes out of the door and ushers a line so obviously important to the movie it's actually annoyingly distracting. So important is this piece of information, he actually uses two variations of it within minutes of each other too - "Remember, you can fix 90% of problems by just turning it off and on again...". Like I say, just disengage your brain, don't worry about it, and you'll be fine.
If you've seen the trailer, you'll have gathered that Wills family are the only residents in The Pearl, with the buildings owner and his team way up top in the penthouse. You'll have gathered that this is attempting to be a Die Hard / Towering Inferno crossover, and that there are bad guys involved. You'll no doubt have also seen the famous leap from a crane by Dwayne Johnsons character into the burning skyscraper. This is where the movie really kicks into action.
Now, I was watching this in 3D, so I'm not sure if it will have quite the same effect on a TV screen at home, but I was literally on the edge of my seat whenever Will was either dangling or jumping 96 floors in the air (which is a lot), while a Hong Kong crowd gasps and cheers on the streets below. The action and peril is relentless, repeatedly moving Will and his family from one dangerous set piece to another. While not quite as funny or charming as he is in his other movies, Skyscraper is still all about Dwayne Johnson though, and all other characters come out of this pretty short changed. Neve Campbell gets a couple of chances to kick some ass, but otherwise she's pretty underused. The bad guys aren't particularly effective, or memorable, neither are the police team down on the ground.
It's predictable and it's ridiculous. But I absolutely loved it.
The movie opens 10 years ago, with FBI agent Will Sawyer (Johnson) and his team attending a domestic hostage situation which goes badly wrong. Back in the present, Will is now an amputee and married to the military nurse that cared for him during that incident (Neve Campbell). They've got 2 young kids and the whole family is in Hong Kong where Will has been hired as security consultant for The Pearl, a new state-of-the-art skyscraper and the tallest building in the world. A news reel montage fires off lots of impressive facts and figures about the building, hardly giving you time to digest or even question them. Let's just say, it cost billions of dollars, looks incredibly futuristic (and a bit silly) and is a scientific wonder of the world. Before The Pearl opens up its doors for people to live and work in though, Will needs to sign off on fire safety and security.
We're shown Will putting on his false leg, letting us know how that all works in preparation for later scenes in the movie. Will then fixes his wife's phone before he rushes out of the door and ushers a line so obviously important to the movie it's actually annoyingly distracting. So important is this piece of information, he actually uses two variations of it within minutes of each other too - "Remember, you can fix 90% of problems by just turning it off and on again...". Like I say, just disengage your brain, don't worry about it, and you'll be fine.
If you've seen the trailer, you'll have gathered that Wills family are the only residents in The Pearl, with the buildings owner and his team way up top in the penthouse. You'll have gathered that this is attempting to be a Die Hard / Towering Inferno crossover, and that there are bad guys involved. You'll no doubt have also seen the famous leap from a crane by Dwayne Johnsons character into the burning skyscraper. This is where the movie really kicks into action.
Now, I was watching this in 3D, so I'm not sure if it will have quite the same effect on a TV screen at home, but I was literally on the edge of my seat whenever Will was either dangling or jumping 96 floors in the air (which is a lot), while a Hong Kong crowd gasps and cheers on the streets below. The action and peril is relentless, repeatedly moving Will and his family from one dangerous set piece to another. While not quite as funny or charming as he is in his other movies, Skyscraper is still all about Dwayne Johnson though, and all other characters come out of this pretty short changed. Neve Campbell gets a couple of chances to kick some ass, but otherwise she's pretty underused. The bad guys aren't particularly effective, or memorable, neither are the police team down on the ground.
It's predictable and it's ridiculous. But I absolutely loved it.
Louise (64 KP) rated Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in Books
Jul 2, 2018
***Contains minor spoiler***
Harry Potter is young orphan living with his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Cousin Dudley. The Dursley’s are not a nice family and Harry is near non-existent to them. Strange things start happening, things that Harry cannot explain but he can’t tell the Dursley’s as they already look at him like he is something they have trodden in. One day Harry gets a letter, Harry never gets letters, he doesn’t know anyone. Only Mrs Figg down the road but she wouldn’t send a letter and surely she doesn’t know he sleeps in the cupboard under the stairs. Unfortunately the letter is snapped away before Harry can open it, whoever wants to get hold of Harry is persistent, the next day 2 letters arrive the day after that 3 and so on and till Uncle Vernon is at breaking point and takes the family to a deserted shack on a little island. Vernon thinks he has outsmarted the sender until a huge monstrous man charges through the shack and introduces himself as Hagrid from Hogwarts, the school of magic and wizardry. Harry is shocked to find that this Hagrid knows his name and is now telling him that he is a wizard and a famous one at that. Harry finds himself being whisked off into a magical world where people play a sport called Quidditch and have potion lessons. He makes friends with Ron and Hermione but also he makes enemies of Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle from the Slytherin House. With him trying to pass his first year at Hogwarts and bypassing Filch in the corridors, it seems that Harry is to be at the centre of attention and adventures as Voldermort tries to kill Harry for the second time.
I loved this book, I liked all the characters. My daughter asked me who my favourite character was and I couldn’t answer it, they were all equally good and when I asked my partner who has been listening to it on Audio he couldn’t pick a favourite either. (Harry Potter on audio narrated by Stephen Fry is supposed to be amazing) All the characters were equally fleshed out they were complex and three-dimensional, there are a lot of characters to this book but it’s not overwhelming. The world building was brilliant even without the pictures from this book you would have a clear understanding of what Hogwarts was like. The different characters names, spells, potions and various animals/mythical creatures were just phenomenal, Rowling has one pretty amazing imagination and she grips you from the start and holds on to the finish. The ending to this book was great, it gave me a fuzzy feeling inside and also happy goosebumps. The writing style was easy to read as it’s aimed at children as our main character is only eleven in this book, however this shouldn’t put you off reading it. It doesn’t matter how old you are, this book is for everyone who just wants a bit of magic and adventure in their life. I have to say that JK Rowling has changed a lot for children, reading has become joyous and somewhat an inspiration and pivotal role in the educational system, my daughter is at primary school and is set into houses just like Hogwarts and gain points and urges them to do better.
Harry Potter is young orphan living with his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Cousin Dudley. The Dursley’s are not a nice family and Harry is near non-existent to them. Strange things start happening, things that Harry cannot explain but he can’t tell the Dursley’s as they already look at him like he is something they have trodden in. One day Harry gets a letter, Harry never gets letters, he doesn’t know anyone. Only Mrs Figg down the road but she wouldn’t send a letter and surely she doesn’t know he sleeps in the cupboard under the stairs. Unfortunately the letter is snapped away before Harry can open it, whoever wants to get hold of Harry is persistent, the next day 2 letters arrive the day after that 3 and so on and till Uncle Vernon is at breaking point and takes the family to a deserted shack on a little island. Vernon thinks he has outsmarted the sender until a huge monstrous man charges through the shack and introduces himself as Hagrid from Hogwarts, the school of magic and wizardry. Harry is shocked to find that this Hagrid knows his name and is now telling him that he is a wizard and a famous one at that. Harry finds himself being whisked off into a magical world where people play a sport called Quidditch and have potion lessons. He makes friends with Ron and Hermione but also he makes enemies of Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle from the Slytherin House. With him trying to pass his first year at Hogwarts and bypassing Filch in the corridors, it seems that Harry is to be at the centre of attention and adventures as Voldermort tries to kill Harry for the second time.
I loved this book, I liked all the characters. My daughter asked me who my favourite character was and I couldn’t answer it, they were all equally good and when I asked my partner who has been listening to it on Audio he couldn’t pick a favourite either. (Harry Potter on audio narrated by Stephen Fry is supposed to be amazing) All the characters were equally fleshed out they were complex and three-dimensional, there are a lot of characters to this book but it’s not overwhelming. The world building was brilliant even without the pictures from this book you would have a clear understanding of what Hogwarts was like. The different characters names, spells, potions and various animals/mythical creatures were just phenomenal, Rowling has one pretty amazing imagination and she grips you from the start and holds on to the finish. The ending to this book was great, it gave me a fuzzy feeling inside and also happy goosebumps. The writing style was easy to read as it’s aimed at children as our main character is only eleven in this book, however this shouldn’t put you off reading it. It doesn’t matter how old you are, this book is for everyone who just wants a bit of magic and adventure in their life. I have to say that JK Rowling has changed a lot for children, reading has become joyous and somewhat an inspiration and pivotal role in the educational system, my daughter is at primary school and is set into houses just like Hogwarts and gain points and urges them to do better.
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated The Written (Emaneska #1) in Books
Nov 29, 2019
Ben Galley is a fantasy author and staunch defender of independent publishing. The Written is his first book, and the first in The Emaneska trilogy.
I have to say I was expecting some fairly standard sword and sorcery tale here, a bit of magic, a few fabulous beasts slain, the usual wise grey beards and prophecies. As a first book that would have definitely been the safe option, and would still have been a good read.
Needless to say this isn't what you get. You get a slew of mythical creatures - dragons (I suspect only the Pern novels exceed the sheer number in this book), werewolves and more besides. You get heroes and villains. You get magic. You get sword fights. But all of these are put together in a way that's different from the norm. Rather than trying to subvert all the fantasy tropes it is as if Galley dropped them and they smashed and in putting them back together they aren't quite the same as they were before.
The basic story concerns the theft of a spell book which, in the wrong hands, can be used to summon a mighty and powerful evil. Farden, one of the Written (a sort of magic user that has spells tattooed onto his back) has to try to prevent this happening. I won't give any more details as there are many twists and turns as the story unfolds.
Farden is a powerful mage and a tough fighter and although he is heoric he also has personal demons that could cause his mission to fail. He is a loner with little patience for others. He doubts his own abilities and judgement. As the reader you feel you want to give him a good shaking sometimes to get him to act. This makes him a very complex character, realistic and interesting to follow. The other main characters are also fully realised with their own mannerisms and momentum.
Galley takes his time describing the world and there is a feeling of real depth and history, perhaps not on the same scale as Tolkien but the comparison is apt. Clearly Galley has spent considerable time putting this world together and is rightly proud of the results.
He takes his time with descriptions, each of the many locations vividly worded and memorable. The action scenes (of which there are a fair number) crack along at a breathless pace although possibly a little overwritten at times (allowable when there is so much to try to convey to the reader I think).
As the first of a trilogy of books this obviously leaves the story open for the sequel at the end, but it is a satisfying conclusion and there is no doubt that the first part of Farden's journey is complete but that there is much more - and probably harder - to come.
Really the only criticism I have is that occasionally - at the start and then a small part about half way through - the writing perhaps isn't up to the standard of the rest, which I think is because this is a first novel. And the standard of the rest of the writing to so high this really is a niggle.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes their fantasy fast and interesting. It's a long book and a good book. And even better, it's free to download so what is stopping you?
I have to say I was expecting some fairly standard sword and sorcery tale here, a bit of magic, a few fabulous beasts slain, the usual wise grey beards and prophecies. As a first book that would have definitely been the safe option, and would still have been a good read.
Needless to say this isn't what you get. You get a slew of mythical creatures - dragons (I suspect only the Pern novels exceed the sheer number in this book), werewolves and more besides. You get heroes and villains. You get magic. You get sword fights. But all of these are put together in a way that's different from the norm. Rather than trying to subvert all the fantasy tropes it is as if Galley dropped them and they smashed and in putting them back together they aren't quite the same as they were before.
The basic story concerns the theft of a spell book which, in the wrong hands, can be used to summon a mighty and powerful evil. Farden, one of the Written (a sort of magic user that has spells tattooed onto his back) has to try to prevent this happening. I won't give any more details as there are many twists and turns as the story unfolds.
Farden is a powerful mage and a tough fighter and although he is heoric he also has personal demons that could cause his mission to fail. He is a loner with little patience for others. He doubts his own abilities and judgement. As the reader you feel you want to give him a good shaking sometimes to get him to act. This makes him a very complex character, realistic and interesting to follow. The other main characters are also fully realised with their own mannerisms and momentum.
Galley takes his time describing the world and there is a feeling of real depth and history, perhaps not on the same scale as Tolkien but the comparison is apt. Clearly Galley has spent considerable time putting this world together and is rightly proud of the results.
He takes his time with descriptions, each of the many locations vividly worded and memorable. The action scenes (of which there are a fair number) crack along at a breathless pace although possibly a little overwritten at times (allowable when there is so much to try to convey to the reader I think).
As the first of a trilogy of books this obviously leaves the story open for the sequel at the end, but it is a satisfying conclusion and there is no doubt that the first part of Farden's journey is complete but that there is much more - and probably harder - to come.
Really the only criticism I have is that occasionally - at the start and then a small part about half way through - the writing perhaps isn't up to the standard of the rest, which I think is because this is a first novel. And the standard of the rest of the writing to so high this really is a niggle.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes their fantasy fast and interesting. It's a long book and a good book. And even better, it's free to download so what is stopping you?
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