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Awix (3310 KP) rated X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019) in Movies

Jun 6, 2019 (Updated Jun 6, 2019)  
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Final main-sequence entry in a film series that made a lot of noise about celebrating difference is likely to be met with indifference (at best). The sense that the X-Men franchise has finally run out of steam is only emphasised by the fact that this is another swing at the Dark Phoenix storyline, which somehow manages to be even less satisfying than the first time they did it.

A thin script and lacklustre direction are mainly to blame; there is the odd decent moment but they are not strung together effectively. Most of the X-Men feel like cardboard cut-outs this time. The usual charisma and acting skill is also largely absent, with only Michael Fassbender making much of an impression. I think it's fair to say that without the X-Men series there would not have been the MCU movies, so this franchise's place in history is assured - but the superhero movie has, ironically, evolved, and this film feels very tired and irrelevant.
  
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

I learned the hard way that cyborg/android stories tend to either be good, or absolutely horrible. There seems to be no in between. Therefore, I am hesitant to read them. However, Mated with the Cyborg seemed interested and held promise. I was not disappointed.

While not a new plot, Mated with the Cyborg has a cast of appealing characters set inside an equally interesting world. Bristol creates a story balanced between action and romance. There is no lack of plot, but there was just as much heat. If you want some steam with your cyborg hero, this is definitely the story for you.

I was pleasantly surprised. This is the first story I have ever read from Bristol but it won’t be the last. It isn’t necessary to read the first in the series to enjoy this novel, I definitely want to pick it up after enjoying Mated so much.
  
The Mothers: A Novel
The Mothers: A Novel
Brit Bennett | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
6
6.8 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Tedious love triangle
After reading great reviews about this book, I was mildly disappointed given that much of this book surrounds two women having a relationship with the same man, and less so about mothers.

The main character, Nadia is fatally flawed; she's seen as slightly erratic and irresponsible having had a relationship with the pastor's son and having had an abortion at the age of 17. However, it also focuses on the fact that she is traumatised after her mother's sudden and horrific death, and the man she had a relationship with was far older and helped pay for her abortion - so she should be seen less at fault than suggested.

At the same time, her church-going best friend Aubrey is the total opposite, and yet she ends up almost in the same situation as Nadia. The three end up in a love triangle, and that's where I lose interest in this book. It begins with a great concept but loses steam.
  
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
1974 | Action, Drama
Ninth James Bond film was rush-released to consolidate Roger Moore in the role, also to cash in on fad for kung fu movies at the time; forms part of the 'British civil servant travels by seaplane to sun-obsessed Christopher Lee's private island in search of missing girl, finds Britt Ekland waiting' movement of 1973-4. Bond must engage in battle of wits with triple-nippled assassin Scaramanga. Then-topical subplot about energy crisis trundles along in the background.

Not bad instance of Bond franchise as pure genre movie; decent fights and chases, but only one moment that really deserves a place on the 'best of Bond' showreel (the corkscrew bridge jump). Christopher Lee barely breaks a sweat as the best actor in the movie. Slightly sleazy atmosphere (in places it resembles a softcore porn movie with the sex edited out); you can kind of see why one of the original producers thought the series had run out of steam and departed before the next one.