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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Cars (2006) in Movies
Aug 14, 2019
The technical wizards at Pixar are back with a new feature film which continues their domination of the animated film genre.
With the huge success of their films The Incredibles as well as Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc. and the Toy Story films, it would be easy to think that the studio might be at a creative crossroads. When recent news around the industry involved the end of their deal with Disney and subsequent new deal with the company after a period of free agency as well as delays on their new project, some began to wonder what audiences would see if their next outing.
Thankfully Cars continues the amazing run of success for the studio and sets the bar even higher for animated films to follow.
The film follows the exploits of rookie racing car Lightning MC Queen (Owen Wilson), who is the hotshot rookie attempting to be the first rookie in history to win the Piston Cup title.
As Lightening dreams of winning the prize and in doing so, a hefty sponsorship with the big oil company, he decides to ignore the advice of his crew which causes him to end up in a three way tie for the title.
In order to resolve the tie a special race is to be held a week later in California between the three winners. En route, Lightning ignores the advice of his driver Mack (John Ratzenberger), and in a series of mishaps ends up alone in the desolate
town of Radiator Springs. As if this was not enough trouble for Lightning, he is forced by the local judge Doc Hudson (Paul Newman), to perform community service to complete the damage he caused to the road upon his arrival.
Faced with the prospect of losing time needed to get to and prepare for the race, the selfish Lightning does his best to alienate the local townsfolk including the local tow truck Tom Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), who like all the locals do their best to befriend him.
Along the way, Lightning learns the values of friendship, teamwork and community as he attempts to find the true meaning of the term “Winner”.
Graphically the film is amazing as the amount of CGI rendering that went into the film is said to be so extensive, it literally taxed the computers at Pixar to their limits. That is clear as the detail level and complexity of the film is staggering. You fully believe that this world populated entirely by machines exists.
There is a lot of humor in the film as well and more than enough nods that will appeal to older viewers yet may be over the heads of younger viewers.
If I had to find fault in the film, it would be that with a running time of slightly over two hours, it does tend to drag in a few places. My nephew and his friend became restless about 50 minutes into the film which made me think that the running time may be to long for some younger children to sit through and that the film might have been better served by trimming about 30 minutes as there were segments that while visually appealing, did not really need to be there.
That being said, Cars is a true delight and proof that once again, Pixar is the undisputed champion of animated films.
With the huge success of their films The Incredibles as well as Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc. and the Toy Story films, it would be easy to think that the studio might be at a creative crossroads. When recent news around the industry involved the end of their deal with Disney and subsequent new deal with the company after a period of free agency as well as delays on their new project, some began to wonder what audiences would see if their next outing.
Thankfully Cars continues the amazing run of success for the studio and sets the bar even higher for animated films to follow.
The film follows the exploits of rookie racing car Lightning MC Queen (Owen Wilson), who is the hotshot rookie attempting to be the first rookie in history to win the Piston Cup title.
As Lightening dreams of winning the prize and in doing so, a hefty sponsorship with the big oil company, he decides to ignore the advice of his crew which causes him to end up in a three way tie for the title.
In order to resolve the tie a special race is to be held a week later in California between the three winners. En route, Lightning ignores the advice of his driver Mack (John Ratzenberger), and in a series of mishaps ends up alone in the desolate
town of Radiator Springs. As if this was not enough trouble for Lightning, he is forced by the local judge Doc Hudson (Paul Newman), to perform community service to complete the damage he caused to the road upon his arrival.
Faced with the prospect of losing time needed to get to and prepare for the race, the selfish Lightning does his best to alienate the local townsfolk including the local tow truck Tom Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), who like all the locals do their best to befriend him.
Along the way, Lightning learns the values of friendship, teamwork and community as he attempts to find the true meaning of the term “Winner”.
Graphically the film is amazing as the amount of CGI rendering that went into the film is said to be so extensive, it literally taxed the computers at Pixar to their limits. That is clear as the detail level and complexity of the film is staggering. You fully believe that this world populated entirely by machines exists.
There is a lot of humor in the film as well and more than enough nods that will appeal to older viewers yet may be over the heads of younger viewers.
If I had to find fault in the film, it would be that with a running time of slightly over two hours, it does tend to drag in a few places. My nephew and his friend became restless about 50 minutes into the film which made me think that the running time may be to long for some younger children to sit through and that the film might have been better served by trimming about 30 minutes as there were segments that while visually appealing, did not really need to be there.
That being said, Cars is a true delight and proof that once again, Pixar is the undisputed champion of animated films.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Transformers Revenge of the Fallen (2009) in Movies
Aug 9, 2019
Following up the success of “Transformers” was not easy task, and thankfully Director Michael Bay and the amazing wizards at Industrial Light and Magic are up to the challenge as “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” is the rare sequel that outdoes the original in almost every way.
The film once again stars Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky who is still dating the lovely Mikaela (Megan Fox), as he prepares to head east for college.
Mikaela is unable to head east with Sam as she must stay behind to help her recently paroled father. Sam and his parents head off to his college campus and leave his transforming Camero Bumblebee at home.
At the same time, Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen), and the rest of the heroic Autobots have joined forces with the government in an effort to locate and remove any remaining Decepticon threat. The special unit has worked well for two years as they have not only managed to contain the threat, but have kept their existence on Earth a secret until a mission in Shanghai escalates and has giant robots racing through the streets creating a path of destruction.
The aftermath of the mission causes some in authority to question the need for the Autobots and despite concerns that a major offensive is in the planning, the movements of the team are curtailed.
Sam and Mikaela are soon reunited when a shard from the All Spark is stolen. Sam also starts to have visions of mysterious alien symbols making him the prime target of the recently resurrected Megatron (Hugo Weaving), and his minions.
It is learned that the life essences of the Autobots and Decepticons may have a supply located on Earth and that Megatron will stop at nothing to locate it even if it means destroying the sun and all life on earth in the process.
What follows is a spectacular and extended series of battles which range from the city, to the countryside and deserts and pyramids of Egypt.
The new film has a surprisingly good amount of humor in it, which is needed as the film has a run time of over 2.5 hours and does take its time getting started in the first 40 minutes.
While the plot may be fairly basic and a bit convoluted, the real stars of the film are the action sequences, and Michael Bay ups the ante on explosions, destruction, and robot mayhem. It is clear that a lot of money was spent on the film and it is all up there on the screen. Lavish battles between the robotic forces and the military unfold often and the finale is an extended battle sequences that is amongst the most ambitious and lavish in action film history.
LaBeouf and Fox do the best with their parts even though they are not given much to do except run, jump, and look attractive when they are not interacting with their CGI Co stars.
That being said, the film knows what its audience is as does not try to reinvent what worked so well in the previous film. Instead its focus is on giving you more of what the audience loved and in that we get much more of the robots in combat and more of Megan Fox is skimpy tops and shorts.
The lavish and amazing visuals and action carry the film and establish Transformers as a heavyweight franchise for summers to come.
The film once again stars Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky who is still dating the lovely Mikaela (Megan Fox), as he prepares to head east for college.
Mikaela is unable to head east with Sam as she must stay behind to help her recently paroled father. Sam and his parents head off to his college campus and leave his transforming Camero Bumblebee at home.
At the same time, Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen), and the rest of the heroic Autobots have joined forces with the government in an effort to locate and remove any remaining Decepticon threat. The special unit has worked well for two years as they have not only managed to contain the threat, but have kept their existence on Earth a secret until a mission in Shanghai escalates and has giant robots racing through the streets creating a path of destruction.
The aftermath of the mission causes some in authority to question the need for the Autobots and despite concerns that a major offensive is in the planning, the movements of the team are curtailed.
Sam and Mikaela are soon reunited when a shard from the All Spark is stolen. Sam also starts to have visions of mysterious alien symbols making him the prime target of the recently resurrected Megatron (Hugo Weaving), and his minions.
It is learned that the life essences of the Autobots and Decepticons may have a supply located on Earth and that Megatron will stop at nothing to locate it even if it means destroying the sun and all life on earth in the process.
What follows is a spectacular and extended series of battles which range from the city, to the countryside and deserts and pyramids of Egypt.
The new film has a surprisingly good amount of humor in it, which is needed as the film has a run time of over 2.5 hours and does take its time getting started in the first 40 minutes.
While the plot may be fairly basic and a bit convoluted, the real stars of the film are the action sequences, and Michael Bay ups the ante on explosions, destruction, and robot mayhem. It is clear that a lot of money was spent on the film and it is all up there on the screen. Lavish battles between the robotic forces and the military unfold often and the finale is an extended battle sequences that is amongst the most ambitious and lavish in action film history.
LaBeouf and Fox do the best with their parts even though they are not given much to do except run, jump, and look attractive when they are not interacting with their CGI Co stars.
That being said, the film knows what its audience is as does not try to reinvent what worked so well in the previous film. Instead its focus is on giving you more of what the audience loved and in that we get much more of the robots in combat and more of Megan Fox is skimpy tops and shorts.
The lavish and amazing visuals and action carry the film and establish Transformers as a heavyweight franchise for summers to come.
Darren (1599 KP) rated The Hole in the Ground (2019) in Movies
Dec 1, 2019
Verdict: Suspenseful
Story: The Hole in the Ground starts as Sarah (Kerslake) and her son Chris (Markey) are getting used to their new home in the Irish countryside, they learn they have a disturbed neighbour Noreen Brady (Outinen) and a giant hole in the middle of a woodland area surrounding the house.
After losing her son in the woods one night, Sarah is trying to be more protective, but the disturbed neighbour Noreen, doesn’t believe that is her son anymore, similar to what she experienced herself, years before.
Thoughts on The Hole in the Ground
Characters – Sarah is the single mother who has moved away from her previous life, which does have hints of abuse, she has started a simpler life in a small village with her son and soon starts to learn about something strange that has happened to her son, with her needing to figure out the truth before it is too late. Chris is the son who isn’t happy trying to make new friends, he is terrified of spiders and after he goes missing one night, when he returns something has changed in him. Noreen Brady went through a similar experience to Sarah, which has seen her branded crazy by the locals, she can sense more being wrong, though it has haunted her whole life.
Performances – Seana Kerslake in the leading role adds so much to this film, her performance shows the pain her character has been through, despite showing the strength she is carrying on with. James Quinn Markey is great for a young actor, showing the innocent side to his character and the change he has been through. The supporting cast don’t get many scenes but do a good job when called up.
Story – The story here follows a single mother who starts to see a strange change in her son and must decide what has caused this and what she is going to do about it. The story does dive into one of the most famous horror myths, which is clear to see early on, though never directly uses the name, we won’t say just to stop any spoilers. We have the themes of an abuse victim trying to rebuild their own life, while remaining strong for her child. We only focus on the two characters, with any others only offer hints to what is happening. What the story offers, would be the slowly building moments that Sarah is going through, where she is torn about the truth, we focus on dread feeling over any shock value.
Horror – The horror in this film does give us a clear look at dread and gloom, instead of playing of the jump scares, it so easily could have turned too.
Settings – The film takes us to a small Irish countryside village, the house is outside the village surrounded by woodland, which only adds to the unknown coming from inside the woods.
Special Effects – The effects being used in the film are kept to a minimum, which does help when we need to see them happening.
Scene of the Movie – What is Chris up to.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We only get the hints of the former life they lived.
Final Thoughts – This is a dread filled horror that will keep us wondering what is happening, with strong performances from the lead actors.
Overall: Dread Filled Horror.
Story: The Hole in the Ground starts as Sarah (Kerslake) and her son Chris (Markey) are getting used to their new home in the Irish countryside, they learn they have a disturbed neighbour Noreen Brady (Outinen) and a giant hole in the middle of a woodland area surrounding the house.
After losing her son in the woods one night, Sarah is trying to be more protective, but the disturbed neighbour Noreen, doesn’t believe that is her son anymore, similar to what she experienced herself, years before.
Thoughts on The Hole in the Ground
Characters – Sarah is the single mother who has moved away from her previous life, which does have hints of abuse, she has started a simpler life in a small village with her son and soon starts to learn about something strange that has happened to her son, with her needing to figure out the truth before it is too late. Chris is the son who isn’t happy trying to make new friends, he is terrified of spiders and after he goes missing one night, when he returns something has changed in him. Noreen Brady went through a similar experience to Sarah, which has seen her branded crazy by the locals, she can sense more being wrong, though it has haunted her whole life.
Performances – Seana Kerslake in the leading role adds so much to this film, her performance shows the pain her character has been through, despite showing the strength she is carrying on with. James Quinn Markey is great for a young actor, showing the innocent side to his character and the change he has been through. The supporting cast don’t get many scenes but do a good job when called up.
Story – The story here follows a single mother who starts to see a strange change in her son and must decide what has caused this and what she is going to do about it. The story does dive into one of the most famous horror myths, which is clear to see early on, though never directly uses the name, we won’t say just to stop any spoilers. We have the themes of an abuse victim trying to rebuild their own life, while remaining strong for her child. We only focus on the two characters, with any others only offer hints to what is happening. What the story offers, would be the slowly building moments that Sarah is going through, where she is torn about the truth, we focus on dread feeling over any shock value.
Horror – The horror in this film does give us a clear look at dread and gloom, instead of playing of the jump scares, it so easily could have turned too.
Settings – The film takes us to a small Irish countryside village, the house is outside the village surrounded by woodland, which only adds to the unknown coming from inside the woods.
Special Effects – The effects being used in the film are kept to a minimum, which does help when we need to see them happening.
Scene of the Movie – What is Chris up to.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We only get the hints of the former life they lived.
Final Thoughts – This is a dread filled horror that will keep us wondering what is happening, with strong performances from the lead actors.
Overall: Dread Filled Horror.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Black Christmas (2019) in Movies
Dec 13, 2019
Verdict: All Over the Place
Story: Black Christmas starts as we meet our sorority sisters Riley (Poots), Kris (Shannon), Marty (Donoghue), Jesse (O’Grady), Helena (Adams) and Fran (Morris) who are preparing for the Christmas break, with Riley having history with the alpha sorority, which never got dealt with by the authorities.
They decide to get revenge through song and soon find themselves getting picked of by a masked killer, where they need to find themselves fighting to survive.
Thoughts on Black Christmas
Characters – Riley is previously a victim of sexual assault by one of the rich college students, 3-years-later she is still dealing with the effects, being the big sister to the rest of the sisters and is one of the few that worries about the locations of the other girls. Kris has been on a crusade to get equality, she spends most of the time preaching about how men have it easy and mostly gets annoying. Marty is another member of the sorority and like Jesse, we don’t learn much more about any of the other girls.
Performances – Imogen Poots is a talent actress when she is given something to work with, she is the strongest of a weak story, where nobody comes off like they are giving a good acting performance.
Story – The story is meant to be following a group of sorority sisters that get picked off and attacked by a masked killer over the Christmas break. Well, where do we start to break this story down, first thing, this isn’t any sort of remake or sequel to either movie seen before, it uses the location of the house and one look at a death, don’t think this is a remake. Secondly, we spend more time trying to get the message over about men thinking they can walk all over women and the only good men in life are nervous wrecks around the women. Thirdly, this is meant to be a horror and doesn’t even know what tone to stick to. Finally, the trailer gives away everything. This is a social message that uses an existing horror franchise to try and get a point over, without using any sort of subtitle approach.
Horror/Mystery – The horror in this film is almost non-excitant, it tries to use the slow slasher traits early on, which show glimpses, only to go, ‘you know what, we want to do an action horror now’ by the end. The mystery is also poor, because we get zero potential suspects and the only person it could be is revealed in the trailer.
Settings – The college location is fine, though it is the weird college I have ever seen.
Special Effects – When it comes to the effects, we get basic horror ones, sadly, the film decides to hide away from showing any actual gore, even though the injuries are designed to show it.
Scene of the Movie – Nate grabs an axe.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The girls leave a party at what they say is midnight, we cut to one that left early and it is suddenly 10.45, seriously can people not tell the time?
Final Thoughts – This is a very bad social message horror that spends more time banging you over the head with the message, than actually giving us a coherent story or any scare.
Overall: Social Message, without a scare.
Story: Black Christmas starts as we meet our sorority sisters Riley (Poots), Kris (Shannon), Marty (Donoghue), Jesse (O’Grady), Helena (Adams) and Fran (Morris) who are preparing for the Christmas break, with Riley having history with the alpha sorority, which never got dealt with by the authorities.
They decide to get revenge through song and soon find themselves getting picked of by a masked killer, where they need to find themselves fighting to survive.
Thoughts on Black Christmas
Characters – Riley is previously a victim of sexual assault by one of the rich college students, 3-years-later she is still dealing with the effects, being the big sister to the rest of the sisters and is one of the few that worries about the locations of the other girls. Kris has been on a crusade to get equality, she spends most of the time preaching about how men have it easy and mostly gets annoying. Marty is another member of the sorority and like Jesse, we don’t learn much more about any of the other girls.
Performances – Imogen Poots is a talent actress when she is given something to work with, she is the strongest of a weak story, where nobody comes off like they are giving a good acting performance.
Story – The story is meant to be following a group of sorority sisters that get picked off and attacked by a masked killer over the Christmas break. Well, where do we start to break this story down, first thing, this isn’t any sort of remake or sequel to either movie seen before, it uses the location of the house and one look at a death, don’t think this is a remake. Secondly, we spend more time trying to get the message over about men thinking they can walk all over women and the only good men in life are nervous wrecks around the women. Thirdly, this is meant to be a horror and doesn’t even know what tone to stick to. Finally, the trailer gives away everything. This is a social message that uses an existing horror franchise to try and get a point over, without using any sort of subtitle approach.
Horror/Mystery – The horror in this film is almost non-excitant, it tries to use the slow slasher traits early on, which show glimpses, only to go, ‘you know what, we want to do an action horror now’ by the end. The mystery is also poor, because we get zero potential suspects and the only person it could be is revealed in the trailer.
Settings – The college location is fine, though it is the weird college I have ever seen.
Special Effects – When it comes to the effects, we get basic horror ones, sadly, the film decides to hide away from showing any actual gore, even though the injuries are designed to show it.
Scene of the Movie – Nate grabs an axe.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The girls leave a party at what they say is midnight, we cut to one that left early and it is suddenly 10.45, seriously can people not tell the time?
Final Thoughts – This is a very bad social message horror that spends more time banging you over the head with the message, than actually giving us a coherent story or any scare.
Overall: Social Message, without a scare.
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten, #1) in Books
Jan 23, 2020
For those who haven't read the first few books of The Iron Fey Series, I recommend you do it before reading The Lost Prince. If you need the order of the series, here's a list, including the 3 e-books, which can also be found in paperback (maybe hardback?):
<ul>
<li>The Iron King</li>
<li>Winter's Passage*</li>
<li>The Iron Daughter</li>
<li>The Iron Queen</li>
<li>Summer's Crossing*</li>
<li>The Iron Prophecy*</li>
</ul>
*Also in The Iron Legends
For those who have followed Meghan's journey from the beginning, remember that cute little boy who was kidnapped and replaced by a changeling? He was later rescued by Meghan. That little boy was Ethan Chase, and 12 years later, after trying to avoid the fey at all costs, the fey comes for him again. All he wants is a normal life learning Kali and be an ordinary guy, even if he can see the Fey.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AMMqT9VfbJ0/UI81aqQJBbI/AAAAAAAAAkw/0SoygN2dErk/s1600/Snoopy_happy_dance.jpg"><img src="http://bookwyrmingthoughts.bookblog.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/317/2012/11/Snoopy_happy_dance.jpg"; border="0" /></a></div>
I was doing this all day.
*Happy Dance*
Nope. The entrance to the amazing Faery World woven in the awesome works of Julie Kagawa was not randomly picked 2 years ago when I first spot the book at the library. I just made a beeline for it. Maybe not literally a beeline it was actually in Book Battle Club, which I couldn't join (aww)... but the cover and title caught my attention in a nanosecond. And thus, I enter the NeverNever in the likes of daydreaming. (I emphasize Imagination here) ^_^
So, reading the entire series from left to right and hopefully later it'll be right to left... when I saw The Lost Prince in stock at my local bookstore (make that e-book store), I went into immediate squeal-a-thon mode (silently so no one sees me as a crazy girl) and was doing a happy dance the entire time I was reading it. Especially when Puck came in. Puck just somehow always make everything absolutely hilarious with his pranks. The others do too... Puck just has that special Prankster badge hovering around him 24/7. :)
Then there's good old Grimalkin. "I am a cat." Yep, the "obnoxious furball" is back to guide Ethan Chase and Mackenzie (Kenzie) St. James through the NeverNever. I love Grimalkin because he reminds me of Alice in Wonderland's Cheshire Cat, the way he disappears and then appears from place to place. Good thing he doesn't speak in riddles... or does he?
All in all, the book was a page turner. The new cast of characters are just as interesting as the old ones, even if I dislike Ethan in a way. I did grew to like him later though. :) Although I wish the book didn't really end yet, but like all books, even the good ones, eventually come to a stopping point :'(. The good news is that the series isn't over (yay!) so I'm pretty sure I can come and visit my fellow fey friends whenever the next book comes out. But while I'm waiting, I'll go traveling around other worlds. Maybe I'll even re-read the series if I miss the NeverNever too much... or indulge myself in other works of magical realms.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-the-lost-prince-by-julie-kagawa/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
<ul>
<li>The Iron King</li>
<li>Winter's Passage*</li>
<li>The Iron Daughter</li>
<li>The Iron Queen</li>
<li>Summer's Crossing*</li>
<li>The Iron Prophecy*</li>
</ul>
*Also in The Iron Legends
For those who have followed Meghan's journey from the beginning, remember that cute little boy who was kidnapped and replaced by a changeling? He was later rescued by Meghan. That little boy was Ethan Chase, and 12 years later, after trying to avoid the fey at all costs, the fey comes for him again. All he wants is a normal life learning Kali and be an ordinary guy, even if he can see the Fey.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AMMqT9VfbJ0/UI81aqQJBbI/AAAAAAAAAkw/0SoygN2dErk/s1600/Snoopy_happy_dance.jpg"><img src="http://bookwyrmingthoughts.bookblog.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/317/2012/11/Snoopy_happy_dance.jpg"; border="0" /></a></div>
I was doing this all day.
*Happy Dance*
Nope. The entrance to the amazing Faery World woven in the awesome works of Julie Kagawa was not randomly picked 2 years ago when I first spot the book at the library. I just made a beeline for it. Maybe not literally a beeline it was actually in Book Battle Club, which I couldn't join (aww)... but the cover and title caught my attention in a nanosecond. And thus, I enter the NeverNever in the likes of daydreaming. (I emphasize Imagination here) ^_^
So, reading the entire series from left to right and hopefully later it'll be right to left... when I saw The Lost Prince in stock at my local bookstore (make that e-book store), I went into immediate squeal-a-thon mode (silently so no one sees me as a crazy girl) and was doing a happy dance the entire time I was reading it. Especially when Puck came in. Puck just somehow always make everything absolutely hilarious with his pranks. The others do too... Puck just has that special Prankster badge hovering around him 24/7. :)
Then there's good old Grimalkin. "I am a cat." Yep, the "obnoxious furball" is back to guide Ethan Chase and Mackenzie (Kenzie) St. James through the NeverNever. I love Grimalkin because he reminds me of Alice in Wonderland's Cheshire Cat, the way he disappears and then appears from place to place. Good thing he doesn't speak in riddles... or does he?
All in all, the book was a page turner. The new cast of characters are just as interesting as the old ones, even if I dislike Ethan in a way. I did grew to like him later though. :) Although I wish the book didn't really end yet, but like all books, even the good ones, eventually come to a stopping point :'(. The good news is that the series isn't over (yay!) so I'm pretty sure I can come and visit my fellow fey friends whenever the next book comes out. But while I'm waiting, I'll go traveling around other worlds. Maybe I'll even re-read the series if I miss the NeverNever too much... or indulge myself in other works of magical realms.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-the-lost-prince-by-julie-kagawa/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Ultraviolet (2006) in Movies
Jan 23, 2020
Begins Like it Ends: Terribly
A powerful woman fights to save a kid who was meant to die. I actually went to see Ultraviolet In theaters when it first came out with one of my closest friends. Sixteen minutes into the movie, he walked out to the screen next door to watch Dave Chappelle’s Block Party. Yes, it is that bad and, honestly, I’m surprised he even lasted that long. What’s my excuse? I don’t know, I’m guess I’m a glutton for bad-movie punishment. I paid the dime so I was forcing myself to do the time.
Acting: 0
Beginning: 3
No, it doesn’t take sixteen minutes to decide this movie is horrible. It’s really more like ten. The beginning sets the movie up in no particularly clever way. It explains the laughable Blood Wars and tries to get you to care about the main character. I’m currently watching it right now and the nose plugs alone are killing me. You’ll understand that reference if you decide to take the awful journey that is this movie.
Characters: 5
Cinematography/Visuals: 2
During the making of this, someone actually presented the idea, “So how cool would it be if the main character could change outfits on the spots like three times in every scene?” The worst part is, someone actually agreed with that dunderhead. The outfits are only a smidge of what makes the cinematics so bad. The special effects are a nightmare which bog down the actions scenes. The world itself is so cardboard that you feel like a backdrop will fall down at any moment. I really don’t know what the angle was here.
Conflict: 3
Every single bodyguard in this world should be fired. I really don’t think the main character gets touched the entire movie as she tears through people left and right. My annoyance level was through the roof with the weak action sequences from start to finish. They were focused too much on making things look cool than they were having actual scenes with meat.
Entertainment Value: 3
After you get done cringing at how bad this movie is, you will finally settle in. You might just have a laugh or two at how utterly ridiculous and stupid this movie is. That, to me, is worthy of a 3.
Memorability: 4
Pace: 3
At one point during the movie, when they had a chance to dive full into more action, they decide instead to have a sequence where the main character and the boy she is protecting stop to play at a playground. This should tell you all you need to know about how slow this movie moves. The fact that you really don’t understand what’s happening the entire movie only serves to make things even worse. Nightmare.
Plot: 5
I am being very generous. I will admit I do have a soft spot in my heart for sci-fi as I feel there are a lot of moving parts with character building and world creation. With Ultraviolet, it’s not just bad sci-fi, it’s bad PERIOD.
Resolution: 4
Overall: 32
I will leave you with this: Sitting through this movie will make you a dumber person. That is all.
Acting: 0
Beginning: 3
No, it doesn’t take sixteen minutes to decide this movie is horrible. It’s really more like ten. The beginning sets the movie up in no particularly clever way. It explains the laughable Blood Wars and tries to get you to care about the main character. I’m currently watching it right now and the nose plugs alone are killing me. You’ll understand that reference if you decide to take the awful journey that is this movie.
Characters: 5
Cinematography/Visuals: 2
During the making of this, someone actually presented the idea, “So how cool would it be if the main character could change outfits on the spots like three times in every scene?” The worst part is, someone actually agreed with that dunderhead. The outfits are only a smidge of what makes the cinematics so bad. The special effects are a nightmare which bog down the actions scenes. The world itself is so cardboard that you feel like a backdrop will fall down at any moment. I really don’t know what the angle was here.
Conflict: 3
Every single bodyguard in this world should be fired. I really don’t think the main character gets touched the entire movie as she tears through people left and right. My annoyance level was through the roof with the weak action sequences from start to finish. They were focused too much on making things look cool than they were having actual scenes with meat.
Entertainment Value: 3
After you get done cringing at how bad this movie is, you will finally settle in. You might just have a laugh or two at how utterly ridiculous and stupid this movie is. That, to me, is worthy of a 3.
Memorability: 4
Pace: 3
At one point during the movie, when they had a chance to dive full into more action, they decide instead to have a sequence where the main character and the boy she is protecting stop to play at a playground. This should tell you all you need to know about how slow this movie moves. The fact that you really don’t understand what’s happening the entire movie only serves to make things even worse. Nightmare.
Plot: 5
I am being very generous. I will admit I do have a soft spot in my heart for sci-fi as I feel there are a lot of moving parts with character building and world creation. With Ultraviolet, it’s not just bad sci-fi, it’s bad PERIOD.
Resolution: 4
Overall: 32
I will leave you with this: Sitting through this movie will make you a dumber person. That is all.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Xenophobia (2019) in Movies
Aug 5, 2019
Story: Xenophobia starts as we head to an alien support group after Eric (Powell) has his own experience of the unexplained. The group has been meeting for years and to make him feel welcome, they let him know about their own experiences, first up is Becky (Renton) who on a camping trip with her husband and dogs get a visit that will change the world forever.
The next story follows a new member Karen (Stevens) who believes her daughter has been abducted by aliens after receiving a worrying video message, we follow the night which led up to the disappearance of the daughter, which is filled with strange occurrences.
The third story comes from Kara (Sterling) who has been running from her abusive husband, to a hide away for women of abuse, with Adrian (Perez) leading the protection for the women, only for them to find themselves stuck in a world they couldn’t have imagined.
Thoughts on Xenophobia
Performances – When we look at the performances in the film we get the type of performances we are expecting in the b-movie style of movies, we have moments that are over the top, while others bring us the grounded performance we need.
Story – The story here is an anthology of alien encounters that are connected by the support group, each member does have their own story, which gives us a chance to break down the different stories. First up was Pinnacles which might be one of the quickest stories, but it does let us see just how a typical alien encounter might come about, it is simple and does what it needs to, to send Eric to the support group. Doomsday is one that starts like you would imagine, only to go down a very different path which will shock along the way. Star Child is the story that embraces the b-movie style the movie gets through, it does feel like the campiest of the anthology. The Sullivan House is the biggest of the stories, it has a bigger message going on, which is all the more interesting despite the clear alien heading their way at some point. For an overall anthology this is on the similar levels as the VHS film only for it to only focus on aliens, each one will have a different look.
Sci-Fi – The sci-fi side of this film focuses on the different aliens that are visiting the humans, each one does have a unique look which is great to see, something different.
Settings – The film does give us the normal locations for alien encounters, be it a remote house, the woods or a cabin in the woods, yeah nothing overly difficult, but they do work.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are a mixed bag, the practical ones all look great, which is nice to see, certain CGI moments do just look out of place though.
Scene of the Movie – The Sullivan House.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The CGI moments are weak.
Final Thoughts – This is an entertaining alien anthology film, it is nice that they are all connected in some way which helps with the meeting, rather than just having random stories.
Overall: Anthology to enjoy.
The next story follows a new member Karen (Stevens) who believes her daughter has been abducted by aliens after receiving a worrying video message, we follow the night which led up to the disappearance of the daughter, which is filled with strange occurrences.
The third story comes from Kara (Sterling) who has been running from her abusive husband, to a hide away for women of abuse, with Adrian (Perez) leading the protection for the women, only for them to find themselves stuck in a world they couldn’t have imagined.
Thoughts on Xenophobia
Performances – When we look at the performances in the film we get the type of performances we are expecting in the b-movie style of movies, we have moments that are over the top, while others bring us the grounded performance we need.
Story – The story here is an anthology of alien encounters that are connected by the support group, each member does have their own story, which gives us a chance to break down the different stories. First up was Pinnacles which might be one of the quickest stories, but it does let us see just how a typical alien encounter might come about, it is simple and does what it needs to, to send Eric to the support group. Doomsday is one that starts like you would imagine, only to go down a very different path which will shock along the way. Star Child is the story that embraces the b-movie style the movie gets through, it does feel like the campiest of the anthology. The Sullivan House is the biggest of the stories, it has a bigger message going on, which is all the more interesting despite the clear alien heading their way at some point. For an overall anthology this is on the similar levels as the VHS film only for it to only focus on aliens, each one will have a different look.
Sci-Fi – The sci-fi side of this film focuses on the different aliens that are visiting the humans, each one does have a unique look which is great to see, something different.
Settings – The film does give us the normal locations for alien encounters, be it a remote house, the woods or a cabin in the woods, yeah nothing overly difficult, but they do work.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are a mixed bag, the practical ones all look great, which is nice to see, certain CGI moments do just look out of place though.
Scene of the Movie – The Sullivan House.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The CGI moments are weak.
Final Thoughts – This is an entertaining alien anthology film, it is nice that they are all connected in some way which helps with the meeting, rather than just having random stories.
Overall: Anthology to enjoy.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Iceman (2014) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Story: Iceman starts when Ho Ying (Yen) gets awoken from a frozen sleep of 400-years in the modern time, he must look to adapt fast to a world different from his own. Ying isn’t the only one to make it to the modern time, his brothers Sao (Wang) and Niehu (Yu) arrive as they look to hunt him down after all these years after he is meant to of betrayed his emperor.
Ying must use the people willing to help him in May (Huang) to locate the Golden Wheel of Time, to prove that he is innocent to stop his brother’s from hunting him down.
Thoughts on Iceman
Characters – Ying was once one of the emperor’s most trusted imperial guards, he is betrayed and framed for treason before getting frozen in time. He gets defrosted in the modern time, where he must go in search for the Golden Wheel of Time to prove his true innocence and protect the world from his own brothers. Sao and San Ko are the two brothers that have also, they are causing more havoc in their hunt for Ying which has drawn more police presence. May is the young lady that takes Ying in, teaches him about the modern day unaware of the true danger that could come their direction. Cheung is running a military chase for Ying, he has learnt the power of the Golden Wheel of Time and believes that he can use it for his own good.
Performances – Donnie Yen is the main attraction to this film, we know he can handle the action which is does with ease, it is when it needs to work on the comedy side of things when his performance goes downhill. Baoqiang Wang and Kang Yu are both entertaining enough in their roles, while Simon Yam brings much needed seriousness to the film. Shengyi Huang is the strongest part of the comedy in the film.
Story – The story follows three brothers and former imperial guards in ancient China, find themselves waking up in the modern time, still at battle for the action that happened in the ancient times. This story is an ambitious idea and it does work for the idea of having the fish out of water situation created for the imperial guards. We do go through the idea of needing to figure out how survive in the new surrounding, which does work too and seeing the twists along the way with the flashbacks does fill in moments of blanks in the storyline. Parts of the storyline can come off confusing though because we do seem to have a lot going on and it does feel like if you blink you might miss something.
Action/Comedy – The action in this film is easily the highlight of it, we get to see Donnie Yen doing his fighting sequences which are always entertaining to watch. The comedy however falls flat resorting to fart jokes, May is the only one that gets proper laughs.
Settings – The film uses the settings to show how the ancient men must adapt to the modern world with the different type of locations they visit.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are good in places, but weak if others, when it comes to the roaring faces they particular look weak.
Scene of the Movie – Bridge fight.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Fart Jokes.
Final Thoughts – This is an easy watch action sci-fi film, if you want martial arts entertainment this will give you what you need.
Overall: Enjoyable action film.
Ying must use the people willing to help him in May (Huang) to locate the Golden Wheel of Time, to prove that he is innocent to stop his brother’s from hunting him down.
Thoughts on Iceman
Characters – Ying was once one of the emperor’s most trusted imperial guards, he is betrayed and framed for treason before getting frozen in time. He gets defrosted in the modern time, where he must go in search for the Golden Wheel of Time to prove his true innocence and protect the world from his own brothers. Sao and San Ko are the two brothers that have also, they are causing more havoc in their hunt for Ying which has drawn more police presence. May is the young lady that takes Ying in, teaches him about the modern day unaware of the true danger that could come their direction. Cheung is running a military chase for Ying, he has learnt the power of the Golden Wheel of Time and believes that he can use it for his own good.
Performances – Donnie Yen is the main attraction to this film, we know he can handle the action which is does with ease, it is when it needs to work on the comedy side of things when his performance goes downhill. Baoqiang Wang and Kang Yu are both entertaining enough in their roles, while Simon Yam brings much needed seriousness to the film. Shengyi Huang is the strongest part of the comedy in the film.
Story – The story follows three brothers and former imperial guards in ancient China, find themselves waking up in the modern time, still at battle for the action that happened in the ancient times. This story is an ambitious idea and it does work for the idea of having the fish out of water situation created for the imperial guards. We do go through the idea of needing to figure out how survive in the new surrounding, which does work too and seeing the twists along the way with the flashbacks does fill in moments of blanks in the storyline. Parts of the storyline can come off confusing though because we do seem to have a lot going on and it does feel like if you blink you might miss something.
Action/Comedy – The action in this film is easily the highlight of it, we get to see Donnie Yen doing his fighting sequences which are always entertaining to watch. The comedy however falls flat resorting to fart jokes, May is the only one that gets proper laughs.
Settings – The film uses the settings to show how the ancient men must adapt to the modern world with the different type of locations they visit.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are good in places, but weak if others, when it comes to the roaring faces they particular look weak.
Scene of the Movie – Bridge fight.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Fart Jokes.
Final Thoughts – This is an easy watch action sci-fi film, if you want martial arts entertainment this will give you what you need.
Overall: Enjoyable action film.
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