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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated The Front Runner (2018) in Movies
Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)
The Front Runner is a tricky one to sum up. We've got some excellent acting talent giving solid performances but *shrugs shoulders* it's just another average story. Perhaps it holds more weight with an American audience.
Much like Colette this one felt very long, but that feeling hit much earlier into the screening. I wasn't bored, but there was a lot of this film. I'm not even sure that taking anything out would improve my feelings about it.
I could honestly finish my review there, I made no notes at all. There was nothing that made this film stand out above anything else in this genre. It's a well made film about an average story, and that's its problem.
What you should do
It's a good film but it can definitely wait until it's streaming.
Much like Colette this one felt very long, but that feeling hit much earlier into the screening. I wasn't bored, but there was a lot of this film. I'm not even sure that taking anything out would improve my feelings about it.
I could honestly finish my review there, I made no notes at all. There was nothing that made this film stand out above anything else in this genre. It's a well made film about an average story, and that's its problem.
What you should do
It's a good film but it can definitely wait until it's streaming.
David McK (3236 KP) rated Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, #1) in Books
Jun 9, 2020
Hearing recently that, due to the Covid-19 situation that has swept the world and (as of 2020) has caused the majority of affected countries to go into full-on Lockdown mode, the planned cinema release of Kenneth Branagh's film of the same name would instead be released on their streaming platform Disney+, I thought I would go back and re-read the novel for the first time in about a decade or so.
And, I have to say, while it's enjoyable enough, it's also pretty forgettable, which might explain why I never read any of the sequels. I'd be interested, however, in how this translates to a different medium and - if, as planned - there are any other films based on those sequels, I may hunt them out.
And, I have to say, while it's enjoyable enough, it's also pretty forgettable, which might explain why I never read any of the sequels. I'd be interested, however, in how this translates to a different medium and - if, as planned - there are any other films based on those sequels, I may hunt them out.
David McK (3236 KP) rated Star trek strange new worlds in TV
May 27, 2023
This, I feel, is a strong contender to be the best of the recent Star Trek shows.
It's just a pity that so few have seen it, locked away behind yet another streaming subscription paywall.
This goes back to the original, story-of-the-week, style of Star Trek storytelling (although there is a plot arc running throughout in that Captain Pike knows of his fate), with Ethan Peck reprising his role as Spock from whaterver-season-it-was (3?) of Star Trek: Discovery, as does Anson Mount as Captain Pike and Rebecca Romijin as Number One.
As it is so heavily serialised, some of the episodes are better than others: the standout one, for me, being the penultimate episode which borrows heavily from Alien(s) and Predator!
It's just a pity that so few have seen it, locked away behind yet another streaming subscription paywall.
This goes back to the original, story-of-the-week, style of Star Trek storytelling (although there is a plot arc running throughout in that Captain Pike knows of his fate), with Ethan Peck reprising his role as Spock from whaterver-season-it-was (3?) of Star Trek: Discovery, as does Anson Mount as Captain Pike and Rebecca Romijin as Number One.
As it is so heavily serialised, some of the episodes are better than others: the standout one, for me, being the penultimate episode which borrows heavily from Alien(s) and Predator!
Paul (106 KP) rated Swamp Thing in TV
Jun 2, 2019
With some involvement with the man behind The Conjuring The Swamp Thing offers an interesting spin on this Horror DC character. Not to give much away but from the opening scene with the people on the Swamp and what happens to them you are being eased into a more adult DC experience, which to me really does fit the source material. It's also nice that they introduce the story before cramming in the Swamp Thing which works better as it builds up the tension.
Its got excellent special effects which was reminiscent of John Carpenters the thing at one point and a great soundtrack. That paired with the quality of the acting and if the rest of the show lives upto the pilot it should be a brilliant addition to the DC universe streaming service.
Its got excellent special effects which was reminiscent of John Carpenters the thing at one point and a great soundtrack. That paired with the quality of the acting and if the rest of the show lives upto the pilot it should be a brilliant addition to the DC universe streaming service.
Alison Pink (7 KP) rated Cleaning Nabokov's House in Books
Jan 15, 2018
I won this book on First Reads. The write up caught my attention so I entered, with very few expectations on winning a copy or for the book itself. I am happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised!
This book was an easy read, but not one of those reads that is so easy you breeze through without paying attention to the plot. The book tells the story of newly divorced Barbara. In the divorce she lost custody of her 2 children & soon found herself living in a dive motel in the small town her "experson" had moved to her to. It goes through the story of Barb regaining her confidence, her children, & in the process herself.
The writing was poetically simple & often laugh out loud funny or tears streaming touching. I found myself rooting for Barb all the way through this book. I look forward to reading more from Leslie Daniels in the future!
This book was an easy read, but not one of those reads that is so easy you breeze through without paying attention to the plot. The book tells the story of newly divorced Barbara. In the divorce she lost custody of her 2 children & soon found herself living in a dive motel in the small town her "experson" had moved to her to. It goes through the story of Barb regaining her confidence, her children, & in the process herself.
The writing was poetically simple & often laugh out loud funny or tears streaming touching. I found myself rooting for Barb all the way through this book. I look forward to reading more from Leslie Daniels in the future!
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated See how they run (2022) in Movies
Dec 8, 2022
Despite a miscast Sam Rockwell - it works well...enough
The British Comedy/Murder Mystery SEE HOW THEY RUN came and went in movie theaters (at least in the U.S.) pretty quickly last fall and, consequently, most folks missed that this was even a thing.
The good news is that it is now streaming on multiple streaming services so as people gather for the Holidays there is a fun, family friendly (but good for adults) film that young and old alike could gather around the TV to watch together.
Written by Mark Chappell and Directed by Tom George (both of whom who have quite a few BBC TV Series under their belts, but it looks like this is the Major Motion Picture debut for them both), SEE HOW THEY RUN is a comedic look at the British Murder Mystery with a frumpy detective, a victim who “deserved it” and a plethora of potential suspects who are all brought into a room by the Detective on a “dark and stormy” night to reveal “whodunnit”.
Normally, with these types of films, it comes down to the casting and while there are some very good - and fun - actors in many of the roles, one of the roles is terribly miscast and that brings down the quality of this film quite a bit.
So, let’s start with what works - the central murder mystery is clever…enough…(for this sort of thing) and is wonderfully constructed around the London Stage debut of the long-running Agatha Christie murder mystery play THE MOUSETRAP in the 1950’s and, thus, this film is a period piece and that atmosphere adds - in a positive way - to the look and feel of this movie.
Saoirse Ronan, as always, is very good as the young Policewoman who is brought in to aide the main detective and proves out to be quite the Detective herself. She really holds this film together tightly in the middle. Adrien Brody, Ruth Wilson, David Oyelowo and Harris Dickinson all bring something to the film in their characters (and suspects) that add color and life to the central mystery.
Unfortunately, the usually good Sam Rockwell is miscast as the lead sleuth on this case. His frumpy, disheveled Detective was reminiscent of Columbo and just didn’t fit in this British Murder Mystery. While this performance is not a distraction to this film, it doesn’t elevate or lift this movie either, and - in a murder mystery - the detective solving the mystery is a major cog in the movie machine and this cog just isn’t that interesting.
Rockwell is not helped by a green Director and Writer who are looking to make the leap from television to film and this film feels more like a made for TV film, than a major motion picture.
Which is why this film is a good one to catch on one of the streaming services it is currently on. It is a fun enough film that will entertain young and old alike over the Holidays.
Letter Grade: B-
6 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
The good news is that it is now streaming on multiple streaming services so as people gather for the Holidays there is a fun, family friendly (but good for adults) film that young and old alike could gather around the TV to watch together.
Written by Mark Chappell and Directed by Tom George (both of whom who have quite a few BBC TV Series under their belts, but it looks like this is the Major Motion Picture debut for them both), SEE HOW THEY RUN is a comedic look at the British Murder Mystery with a frumpy detective, a victim who “deserved it” and a plethora of potential suspects who are all brought into a room by the Detective on a “dark and stormy” night to reveal “whodunnit”.
Normally, with these types of films, it comes down to the casting and while there are some very good - and fun - actors in many of the roles, one of the roles is terribly miscast and that brings down the quality of this film quite a bit.
So, let’s start with what works - the central murder mystery is clever…enough…(for this sort of thing) and is wonderfully constructed around the London Stage debut of the long-running Agatha Christie murder mystery play THE MOUSETRAP in the 1950’s and, thus, this film is a period piece and that atmosphere adds - in a positive way - to the look and feel of this movie.
Saoirse Ronan, as always, is very good as the young Policewoman who is brought in to aide the main detective and proves out to be quite the Detective herself. She really holds this film together tightly in the middle. Adrien Brody, Ruth Wilson, David Oyelowo and Harris Dickinson all bring something to the film in their characters (and suspects) that add color and life to the central mystery.
Unfortunately, the usually good Sam Rockwell is miscast as the lead sleuth on this case. His frumpy, disheveled Detective was reminiscent of Columbo and just didn’t fit in this British Murder Mystery. While this performance is not a distraction to this film, it doesn’t elevate or lift this movie either, and - in a murder mystery - the detective solving the mystery is a major cog in the movie machine and this cog just isn’t that interesting.
Rockwell is not helped by a green Director and Writer who are looking to make the leap from television to film and this film feels more like a made for TV film, than a major motion picture.
Which is why this film is a good one to catch on one of the streaming services it is currently on. It is a fun enough film that will entertain young and old alike over the Holidays.
Letter Grade: B-
6 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Villainous Vee (53 KP) rated Instant Family (2019) in Movies
Feb 27, 2019
Great casting (2 more)
Great script
Great message
This film was amazing!
Totally heartwarming to the point where I cried several times, however there were brilliantly timed comedic lines, that you could have tears streaming down your face but still be laughing.
Although crammed in to a 2 hour film I think they really accentuated the parts that needed to be. That fostering children is going to be hard especially if that childs parents are in the picture and wanting contact, that these children have sometimes been through more in their short lives than most people do in an entire lifetime but really all they want, even if they won't admit it and push against it, is a family, hugs, attention, to feel wanted, be safe and feel loved.
The message behind the film was beautiful and for me the cherry on top was during the credits where they had pictures of real families with their foster or adopted children, beautiful way to honour them.
Please go and see this film if you are on the fence because it was beautiful.
Totally heartwarming to the point where I cried several times, however there were brilliantly timed comedic lines, that you could have tears streaming down your face but still be laughing.
Although crammed in to a 2 hour film I think they really accentuated the parts that needed to be. That fostering children is going to be hard especially if that childs parents are in the picture and wanting contact, that these children have sometimes been through more in their short lives than most people do in an entire lifetime but really all they want, even if they won't admit it and push against it, is a family, hugs, attention, to feel wanted, be safe and feel loved.
The message behind the film was beautiful and for me the cherry on top was during the credits where they had pictures of real families with their foster or adopted children, beautiful way to honour them.
Please go and see this film if you are on the fence because it was beautiful.
Jeremy King (346 KP) rated Netflix in Apps
Jun 3, 2019
Netflix had it's time
I know people are going to disagree with a lot of what I say. I have used Netflix on different devices and different counties.
Where to start.
-it would be nice if it looked and acted the same on all devices. I base this on use on PC, Roku, IPad and Samsungs
-to have the same options in all countries. Some things are dubbed in english in the USA but in Canada the same shows are only subtitled in english.
-not all things that are available in the USA are in other parts of the world, like Canada
-when you go in to a show it would be nice if it did not start right away. I like to read what ot is about before choosing to view it.
-instead of playing a clip from a movie when scrolling over it a trailer would be better.
-to make it easier to delete off of you continue to watch list.
There are a couple of good streaming service i use over Netflix and some of them are free like tubi.
Where to start.
-it would be nice if it looked and acted the same on all devices. I base this on use on PC, Roku, IPad and Samsungs
-to have the same options in all countries. Some things are dubbed in english in the USA but in Canada the same shows are only subtitled in english.
-not all things that are available in the USA are in other parts of the world, like Canada
-when you go in to a show it would be nice if it did not start right away. I like to read what ot is about before choosing to view it.
-instead of playing a clip from a movie when scrolling over it a trailer would be better.
-to make it easier to delete off of you continue to watch list.
There are a couple of good streaming service i use over Netflix and some of them are free like tubi.
Steven Dodd (1449 KP) created a post
Oct 30, 2019
Awix (3310 KP) rated 365 Days (2020) in Movies
Jul 30, 2020 (Updated Jul 30, 2020)
The same old story: boy meets girl, then he kidnaps her and keeps her prisoner for a year because he is a gangster and had a vision of her a few years previously while taking a bullet during his dad's assassination. Naturally she quickly falls in love with him; many games of hide-the-sausage ensue. Needless to say the whole thing looks like a commercial, albeit with much more cunningly-framed fellatio than the typical advert.
Basically attempts to mash up an erotic thriller (a genre noted for almost never generating excitement or arousal) with a coercive romance (the nastiest of all genres), with results that are virtually unwatchable: woodenly acted, leadenly directed, badly written in every way, it's a mixture of the clumsy and the tasteless from start to (baffling) finish. A horrible, unpleasant film: if future historians want evidence of just how badly screwed up this year was, they need only look at the fact that this film somehow became a streaming hit. Ugh, ugh; a thousand times ugh.
Basically attempts to mash up an erotic thriller (a genre noted for almost never generating excitement or arousal) with a coercive romance (the nastiest of all genres), with results that are virtually unwatchable: woodenly acted, leadenly directed, badly written in every way, it's a mixture of the clumsy and the tasteless from start to (baffling) finish. A horrible, unpleasant film: if future historians want evidence of just how badly screwed up this year was, they need only look at the fact that this film somehow became a streaming hit. Ugh, ugh; a thousand times ugh.