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BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Harriet (2019) in Movies

Nov 4, 2019  
Harriet (2019)
Harriet (2019)
2019 | Biography, Drama, History
6
6.9 (10 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Collapses under the weight of it's own earnestness
The filmmakers behind the true story of HARRIET, the film based on the remarkable actions of Harriet Tubman (the former slave who helped free others slaves via the Underground Railroad) were surprised to find that there had been no accurate film portrayal of this remarkable woman, so they set out to make one.

And the result, was a film that is very deep in accuracy and very slight everywhere else.

Starring Cynthia Erivo (WIDOWS), HARRIET tells the tale of Harriet Tubman from her time as a slave, through her escape to freedom and her return (many, many times) via the "Underground Railroad" to free many other slaves. Her story is astonishing, filled with heroes, villains, visions, successes and failures and should have lent itself to a film befitting of the great heights this woman achieved.

Unfortunately, Writer Director Kasi Lemmons (EVE'S BAYOU) spends a great deal of the film showing the actual, accurate events of Tubman's tale, so much so that it suffers one of the most deadly of sins in filmdom - it drags into boredom under the weight of it's own earnestness. Lemmons, obviously, has great respect for Tubman and shows her in a reverential light throughout this film, showing few (if any) warts and giving us a one-note character that is laser-focused on her purpose, and not much else. While this might have been true-to-life, it does not lend itself to an interesting film.

The same goes for the lead performance from Erivo. I have liked her previous work in films like WIDOWS and BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE, so was excited to see her take the lead in an important film like this. But...her portrayal is one-note and slight and does not plumb the depths of a character that I am sure has many, many more layers than is portrayed on this screen.

The supporting cast (including Leslie Odom, Jr, Vondie Curtis-Hall and Clarke Peters) are also earnest and slight and don't really add anything to the proceedings. Only Janelle Monae, as a fictional free black woman who becomes a mentor of sorts to Tubman, seems to rise above this weak script.

Usually, in films about slavery, the evil (or conflicted) slave owners have a tendency to shine out because of their wickedness (or their confliction) - but in this film, and with this script, Joe Alwyn as Gideon Brodess (the fictional owner of Tubman who is obsessed with bringing her back to slavery) and Jennifer Nettles (as his mother) are...you guessed it...slight and underwritten and don't really bring anything to the proceedings.

What this film did do - and did do well - was make me want to find out more about this hero...and that is a good thing. So, if that is all this film does, then I applaud the attempt, I just wished it would have landed as a film in a much stronger way.

Letter Grade B-

6 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
  
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Dee R (8 KP) rated the Xbox One version of Fallout 4 in Video Games

Sep 11, 2018  
Fallout 4
Fallout 4
2017 | Role-Playing
10
8.5 (99 Ratings)
Video Game Rating Watch
Gameplay (6 more)
Graphics
Character options
NPC's
Quests
Followers
Creation Club
Male characters can't wear makeup (1 more)
Few bugs that break some quests
Teleport into the post-appocolypse!
Contains spoilers, click to show
You start the game as a male/female who has a devoted partner and newborn son Sean. You also have a robot butler Codsworth. Things are normal until there's an emergency announcement on the TV about attomic bombs falling. It's then you have to rush with your partner and baby to vault 111 and here your new journey begins.
It's not what you think as a gamer though. You go into the vault and expect to live there? wrong you get frozen!
You are frozen for years until this man comes into the vault and thaws you, your partner and baby out. But they only want your baby and when your partner doesn't give him up, they sadly get shot and killed. That's the last fresh memory you have as you again get frozen.
Only to thaw out a few years later to venture out into what is left of your home, and to find your son.
The whole game is revolved around finding Sean, however you get the options to help different factions; The Minutemen, Brotherhood of Steel, The Railroad or The Institute. Each quest you do for one of those factions alters how the others see you. And eventually you have to choose a main faction to follow. The rest become enemies.
When this time comes you find what happened to your son, you struggle to grasp the situation and can do 1 of 2 things. You can carry on his legacy or you can destroy it.
It's all down to you.
  
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TravelersWife4Life (31 KP) rated Summer Flash Burn (Worthington Investigations, #2) in Books

Feb 23, 2021  
Summer Flash Burn (Worthington Investigations, #2)
Summer Flash Burn (Worthington Investigations, #2)
Erin Unger | 2019
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This was an interesting story!

I love the cover of this book. It becomes more intriguing the longer I look at it. Summer Flash Burn is the second book in Erin Unger’s Worthington Agency series. The stories (so far) follow a group of friends in a detective agency, kind of reminds me of Charles Angels . I had not read the first book in the series before this one. I would definitely say this book can be read as a stand-alone, it does make reference to the first book but not in a way that makes you feel lost.

Based on the description I thought I knew what I was getting in to with this book. However, it took me on some unique twists and turns leading to an ending that was a good surprise. The main characters Christopher and Shauna deal with issues of self-worth, body image, grief, decision making, reliance on God… So many different emotions in this book. They all flow together quite seamlessly to make a good storyline. I loved Shauna’s military backround and her struggles with civilian life, they made her really come to life. I also liked how Christopher worked for the railroad! I have never met anyone who does that. The only thing I didn’t particularly care for was that the characters seemed to be overdramatized in their reactions to the things that happen. Otherwise, it was a fun read and I will definitely be going back to read the first book in the series. Thank you, Erin Unger, for being another new to me author .