Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (3724)

Content

365Flicks (235 KP) rated Cute Little Buggers (2017) in Movies

Nov 20, 2019

What the hell exactly did I just watch? Now where will I start with Cute Little Buggers, apart from fact that its the coolest movie title I have seen in a long time.

Cute Little Buggers… Hmmmmm

Cute Little Buggers…

Right okay. Let me start by saying that there is a movie here, A pretty decent one at that. When this movie knows exactly what it is and can be, it is great (a guilty pleasure if you will) when this movie shoots for the stars and trys to be what it wants to be it falls just short for me, however if there is one thing I love and can get behind, its when a director and his crew do what they can with what they have.

Let’s crack on with the pitch… We open up this very, very, very British horror movie in a small town in the south of England that is full of your typical small town England movie characters. Characters like the put upon farmer whose son left town to make it big and for the purposes of story-line has returned this very day. Then we have said prodigal sons old flame who is with the local village asshole now but the candle still burns bright. Local law enforcement, yes you guessed it, as dumb as a box of rocks. Then of course all your regular locals. One other thing, everyone seems to be a bit of a sexual deviant. We are about to spend a day and night with these crazy madcap zany characters as Aliens (Yes I said Aliens) have come to town and are going to use Rabbits (Yes I said Rabbits) to infiltrate and kidnap the women of earth… Oh shit nearly forgot heres the trailer…

I know right the movie is as mental as this trailer looks. I was completely sold for the first half of this movie, Director Tony Jopia was taking his time to build up these characters and every member of the cast knew what kind of flick they were making (a sort of crossover between Hot Fuzz and Critters) so while you could see they were having a bit of fun it also helped the chemistry flow. My god did the movie need that chemistry so we could up the laugh-ability and like-ability factor because on an estimated budget of 25k, the digital on the scares (Tentacle Bunny Things) were pretty laughable. Now as I said I give credit to any director who goes out and makes his passion so I don’t blame Jopia for one second, it was a budget thing and he absolutely made up for it everywhere else by casting well and having a pretty solid script with some cracking one liners. Just the effects left me feeling MEH. We just wont mention the Alien cut scenes on this review.

For me this is a recommend but its a pretty weak one as you may have guessed. That cast all play there parts and they do play them well on just the other side of bonkers and in some cases crazy beautiful. Tony Jopia as a director definitely has something, I dunno maybe with a bit more of a budget but I will say again there is a movie here.

Kudos

Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Perfect Harmony in Books

Jan 23, 2020

<b><i>I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>
<h2><em><strong>Perfect Harmony</strong></em><strong> speaks of two things: cuteness and music.</strong></h2>
In fact, it is probably the embodiment of a dream my mom once had for me when<strong> </strong>I used to play the violin when I was 10-years-old. Maybe I've mentioned this at one point in my blogging career, who knows. She wanted me to be famous <span style="font-size: 8pt;">(well, actually, she still does)</span> and as a result, I stopped playing after a year because of too much pressure to practice, practice, practice <span style="font-size: 8pt;">(and 10-year-old me probably didn't care about fame more than actually enjoying the instrument itself).</span>

<strong>But I do like the violin when I think about it!</strong> It's such a delicate and tiny instrument making pretty music. But I digress - <em>Perfect Harmony</em> reminded me a lot about my orchestra memories.

<h2 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Soooo What Can We Expect From <em>Perfect Harmony?</em></strong></h2>
Because that's the most important question of them all.

<h3>Lots of music!</h3>
Pippa is super passionate about playing the cello - it's become a part of who she is as a person, and if someone takes it away from her, it's like they're taking away her soul. Music to Pippa allows her to express her emotions much like words allow writers to express their emotions. There is not a page that goes by without some reference to music in <em>Perfect Harmony</em>.

<h3>Cuteness (or rather, a cute and fictional boy)!</h3>
Pippa's life seems perfect until she meets her competition in the form of Declan during her senior year, who is just as good at the cello as she is and seems determined to keep her dreams as dreams. Declan is the cutest and sweetest boy ever - omg he did not deserve the harshness of his life. He's a precious cinnamon roll, and I'll keep him forever if Pippa ruins his soul.

<h3>Sometimes there were too many love crises.</h3>
It was hard to keep track who was attracted to who and who was pissing off who deeper into the story. I'm sorry I get confused so easily.

<h3>Friendship! Family! Siblings!</h3>
All of these play a huge role in addition to the musical competition and passion. Since a lot of the characters grew up together or watched each other grow, it was fun to see them get through all the obstacles life throws at them and find their path to each other, whatever it may be.

<h3>Writing that is meh?</h3>
The writing style is why I rated the book lower than I wanted to since I enjoyed the novel. A lot! But it was so hard to look past and see into the book itself because I just didn't like the writing for some reason - maybe it's just me. It is, however, easy and quick to read. It just didn't ring well with my reading preferences.

<a href="http://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/perfect-harmony-by-emily-albright-musical-and-cute/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>

Kudos

Gareth von Kallenbach (977 KP) rated The Man Who Knew Infinity (2016) in Movies

Aug 6, 2019

The Man Who Knew Infinity (2016)

2016 | International, Drama

7.3

(3 Ratings)

Movie Rating

In 1914, Srinivasa Ramanujan (Dev Patel) traveled from his poverty-stricken existence in Madras, India to Trinity College, Cambridge in the hope that he would have his theories published and be recognized for the mathematical genius he was. While there, despite facing racism, hostility and severe illness, he formed an important relationship with G.H. Hardy (Jeremy Irons) that would lead to breakthroughs in mathematics that are still relevant today.

It would be easy to prattle on about the tremendous talent onscreen in The Man Who Knew Infinity and with a supporting cast that features some of Britain’s best; we get exactly what we’d expect from the likes of Jeremy Irons, Toby Jones and Kevin McNally. All at the top of their game, they serve the story well with nuanced and well-rounded performances, and I’m certainly not going to take anything away from the exceptional jobs they’ve all done here. All the praise this film deserves however, needs to be directed at Dev Patel. In his role as Ramanujan, he’s completely stepped out of the shadow of his big-screen debut in Slumdog Millionaire and has proved his worth as a leading man capable of carrying the weight of an entire feature. Distancing himself also from the lovable, bumbling hotel owner in The Best Exotic Marigold movies, with Ramanujan he is allowed the room to display an incredible range, from quiet intensity to outspoken, unbridled passion and determination. Kudos also to the writers for not going The Big Short route (e.g. talking down to the uninitiated with ridiculous cutaways), but by using simple logic and examples to help convey complex information relevant to the plot.

For the performances alone, this is a solid entry in the biopic genre, but structurally speaking, it’s the editing that lets the film down. This very easily could have emerged as the next A Beautiful Mind, but between a bloated first act, a middling and wandering second act and a truncated final third, The Man Who Knew Infinity falls just short of greatness. Not only is no attention paid to Ramanujan’s achievements as a child, but too much time is given to details and subplots that are arguably inconsequential to the main narrative. This is especially evident in the inclusion of Bertrand Russell (who lived such a rich and fascinating life himself, it would take several films to do that story justice) and his being here feels like just a hollow excuse to include a cameo from another figure of historical importance. The biggest disservice though comes with the ending where we are denied a much needed catharsis and are left to suffer through a slap-dash, halfhearted montage. A restructuring from a more seasoned hand would have undoubtedly led to stronger word-of-mouth and perhaps a wider release. I also wouldn’t be surprised to learn that this is a case of “too many cooks” as the film has a staggering 43 credited producers. I get that independent features can be forced to source their funding from many places, but you can’t tell me that with all those opinions flying about that some of the original intent didn’t get lost in the noise.

As an aside, what Stephen Fry is doing here is beyond me. He’s given two scenes with perhaps a half a dozen lines, leaving his incomparable persona entirely wasted on a completely throwaway character. It’s a pity he wasn’t given a meatier role as one of Ramanujan’s antagonists.

Kudos

Gareth von Kallenbach (977 KP) rated Selma (2015) in Movies

Aug 6, 2019

Selma (2015)

2015 | Biography, Drama, History

8.4

(10 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Set in 1965, the film follows the voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery. During the time Black citizens had the legal right to vote, but there were countless strategies put into place to stop them from actually being able to use those voting rights.

The film does a good job of providing back story of what was happening that brought on the marches. It portrays the horrific brutality of a time when blatant hatred ripped through the soul of the nation.

During the Selma march, peaceful protestors dressed in their Sunday’s best were beaten (even killed) by local police. However, even the most hard to watch moments of violence were toned down in comparison to actual footage from the Selma march.

The visceral moments of raw emotion and terrible violence will give the audience chills

Martin Luther King, Jr. (David Oyelowo) would of course be a hard pair of shoes to fill as an actor. But somehow Oyelowo pulls it off with a passion that shows in his eyes. Even the ways in which Oyelowo delivers his speeches were powerful and moving, much in the way of the real MLK, Jr.

An intriguing part of the film is the attention given to MLK, Jr.’s wife, Coretta Scott King (Carmen Ejogo). She is a less talked about figure in history, but perhaps this will now change. She is shown to be a very strong and intelligent woman, who serves as the backbone to the King family. Her role as wife, mother, and political supporter are highlighted.

The cast selection is top notch, making the film very realistic.

Tom Wilkinson, who plays Lyndon B. Johnson, practically resurrects the late President. His physical appearance and vocals make the actor almost indistinguishable from the real LBJ. .

However, there is some controversy over the historical accuracy of certain aspects of the film. This especially is true in regards to the portrayal of LBJ.

He is portrayed as under pressure to pass legislation in favor of Black voters, but he himself comes off as a racist whose heart is not in the cause. This portrayal paints a picture of a dishonest man, wielding political power to save face. It is contradicting to the more well-known image of the LBJ who actually cared very much about civil rights and poverty.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is thought to be his most important piece of legislative work. It was certainly not just a mere political reaction to protestors, though they surely had a strong impact on making it happen.

No one can deny the power of MLK, Jr.’s work. It is a profound historical example of the possibility for political transformation through the will of the people.

Another point of question is whether or not it was JFK or LBJ who originally ordered the FBI surveillance of MLK, Jr. and those associated with him.

A slightly troubling aspect of the film is that it lacks showing any tinge of gender inequality, which was a pervasive part of that era. Also, it was hinted at that MLK, Jr. had infidelity issues. Personally, I had some question as to whether or not this was true, or if it was even a useful piece of information to include. Perhaps it was included to show a more human side to MLK, Jr.

All of these questions aside, “Selma” is an amazing and moving piece of work.

A finely crafted cinematic reflection of a deep and painful scar on American history, I give “Selma” 4.5 out of 5 stars.