Search
Search results
Diving Gozo and Comino: The Essential Guide to an Underwater Playground
Book
Gozo, Malta, has a multitude of underwater attractions. Divers can explore breathtaking caves,...
Winning Go: Successful Moves from the Opening to the Endgame
Peter Shotwell and Richard Bozulich
Book
Master the game of Go with this expert guide. Go is a two player board game that first originated in...
Mobike - Smart Bike Sharing
Travel and Health & Fitness
App
Mobike is the world’s first and largest dockless, cash-free bike share platform. With Mobike you...
Masters of Uncertainty: Weather Forecasters and the Quest for Ground Truth
Book
Though we commonly make them the butt of our jokes, weather forecasters are in fact exceptionally...
WC
What Can Aristotle Do For You?
Book
Aristotle was an extraordinary thinker who was preoccupied with an ordinary question: how to live a...
Philosophy
The Most Beautiful Thing I’ve Seen: Opening Your Eyes to Wonder
8.0
Rate It
Book
Lisa Gungor thought she knew her own story: small-town girl meets boy in college and they blissfully...
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Black and Blue (2019) in Movies
Nov 7, 2019
Having seen the film I can confidently say that this has been woefully under screened. Just one screening at my local, luckily at the sensible time of 17.20 every day. Looking at other times it's getting relegated to some late slots which is never good.
Alicia West has come back to her home town and joined the local police department after being deployed. It's not the neighbourhood she remembers, there's distrust and gangs everywhere she looks, even her old friend pretends not to know her.
Taking a double shift as a favour to her partner she goes out on patrol with Officer Brown, he's old school and not going to change his ways... they don't see eye to eye. He takes a private call and says they need to go on a call so he cn meet a CI. He orders her to stay in the car and she waits suspiciously until two shots ring out. She enters the building to investigate, body cam turned on, and comes across a group of police officers who have executed members of a local gang. Thinking on instinct they shoot at her which allows her to escape. She needs to get the footage uploaded to expose the corruption but between her and the station are corrupt police officers and a community that hates cops. Who can she trust?
I found Black And Blue to be a really enjoyable. The action was tense and the story had a consistent pace all the way through and I felt really gripped as I watched it. My only disappointment was that they gave it sickly sweet ending. It brought the story full circle for West but it was so out of place with what we'd already seen. It wasn't necessary and I feel like it detracted from the effort everything else put in.
Naomie Harris is our lead and she handles the role like a seasoned pro. She brings across the optimism of West's character and you can see the intrigue and sadness in her as she realises just how bad things have become in her neighbourhood. Harris adapts well to each scenario and at times you could feel a genuine sense of fear as she's being pursued.
Frank Grillo plays Terry Malone, the leader of our group of corrupt cops. He's a great bit of casting. Towards the end I feel like the character deviates a little from what I might have expected but the performance was so good to watch that I wasn't too bothered by that.
Another face you'll recognise is Mike Colter as Darius, Darius is the head of one of the local gangs and during the course of the story he's also hot on West's heals. He's a very dark character and Colter captures that well, there's a particularly good scene with West where we're preparing for the finale of the film and the way he changes in his split second decisions really elevates the moment.
The last actor I'll mention is Tyrese Gibson as Milo, Milo brings a much softer side to the whole story, he's not about the violence and I think that Gibson had the perfect demeanour for this role. We get some much needed respite from the heavy tension and action with his scenes. I feel like there's some back story we needed to know for him though, he needed some more explaining and that was just missing in everything we saw.
Black And Blue has a strong message about society divided by hate, I'm not the right person to tell ou its accuracy. There are stereotypes knocking around all over the place but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. The film focused on the corruption in the neighbourhood and that's what you see, you wouldn't be getting other walks of life so it fits the idea perfectly.
I genuinely enjoyed watching this and the film kept me on the edge of my seat, this it something I'll look forward to watching again.
What you should do
If you like crime drama then I think you'll enjoy this, there's good action and great characters.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
Some of West's kickass moves and super human will to survive.
Alicia West has come back to her home town and joined the local police department after being deployed. It's not the neighbourhood she remembers, there's distrust and gangs everywhere she looks, even her old friend pretends not to know her.
Taking a double shift as a favour to her partner she goes out on patrol with Officer Brown, he's old school and not going to change his ways... they don't see eye to eye. He takes a private call and says they need to go on a call so he cn meet a CI. He orders her to stay in the car and she waits suspiciously until two shots ring out. She enters the building to investigate, body cam turned on, and comes across a group of police officers who have executed members of a local gang. Thinking on instinct they shoot at her which allows her to escape. She needs to get the footage uploaded to expose the corruption but between her and the station are corrupt police officers and a community that hates cops. Who can she trust?
I found Black And Blue to be a really enjoyable. The action was tense and the story had a consistent pace all the way through and I felt really gripped as I watched it. My only disappointment was that they gave it sickly sweet ending. It brought the story full circle for West but it was so out of place with what we'd already seen. It wasn't necessary and I feel like it detracted from the effort everything else put in.
Naomie Harris is our lead and she handles the role like a seasoned pro. She brings across the optimism of West's character and you can see the intrigue and sadness in her as she realises just how bad things have become in her neighbourhood. Harris adapts well to each scenario and at times you could feel a genuine sense of fear as she's being pursued.
Frank Grillo plays Terry Malone, the leader of our group of corrupt cops. He's a great bit of casting. Towards the end I feel like the character deviates a little from what I might have expected but the performance was so good to watch that I wasn't too bothered by that.
Another face you'll recognise is Mike Colter as Darius, Darius is the head of one of the local gangs and during the course of the story he's also hot on West's heals. He's a very dark character and Colter captures that well, there's a particularly good scene with West where we're preparing for the finale of the film and the way he changes in his split second decisions really elevates the moment.
The last actor I'll mention is Tyrese Gibson as Milo, Milo brings a much softer side to the whole story, he's not about the violence and I think that Gibson had the perfect demeanour for this role. We get some much needed respite from the heavy tension and action with his scenes. I feel like there's some back story we needed to know for him though, he needed some more explaining and that was just missing in everything we saw.
Black And Blue has a strong message about society divided by hate, I'm not the right person to tell ou its accuracy. There are stereotypes knocking around all over the place but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. The film focused on the corruption in the neighbourhood and that's what you see, you wouldn't be getting other walks of life so it fits the idea perfectly.
I genuinely enjoyed watching this and the film kept me on the edge of my seat, this it something I'll look forward to watching again.
What you should do
If you like crime drama then I think you'll enjoy this, there's good action and great characters.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
Some of West's kickass moves and super human will to survive.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Doctor Sleep (2019) in Movies
Dec 8, 2019
Thank goodness for retro screenings. I hadn't seen The Shining before but it's one of those things that gets parodied and mentioned so often that you think you might have actually seen it. Cineworld put it on so I made the time to go, there's a review coming soon... you know I'm not logical enough to have done it first!
Dan Torrance has grown up a lot since the events at The Overlook Hotel. The Shining is still with him and his self-destructive coping mechanisms are taking a toll on him. Constantly on the move, he's running from himself as well as a cult that are hunting him around the country.
Dan finds himself in a small town where he meets Billy. Billy recognises the signs of someone trying to find themselves and takes Dan under his wing, finding him a place to stay, a job, and a way to get his life back on track.
The Shining becomes a much more productive part of his life and somehow bring him a message from Abra, a young girl with powers even stronger than his. As the cult gets closer to her he knows he has to help, but that will mean going to a place he swore he'd never go again.
Cinema is going through a very big reboot/franchise phase at the moment, this week at the cinema we were showing 8 things that are follow-ups, spin-offs or reimaginings. I don't think I can commit to saying it's a good or bad thing but it does mean I get to at least see some older films as well. With things like Doctor Sleep, Dark Fate, and Halloween last year, I became very aware that I like the nostalgic homage that these films are for their predecessors. In Doctor Sleep we've got the original locations aged up, the same scenic shots and music, and a sneaky cameo from the original Danny. With The Shining so fresh in my mind it was nice to be able to spot these things.
Ewan McGregor was a top choice for the role of Danny, he's a great actor and every moment he was on screen became very real. Dan starts his journey as a mess, an alcoholic with a severe conscience that tries to set him on the right path. You see his desperation and you get the sense he's almost lost himself. McGregor successfully portrays him from rock bottom to redemption and there's a great balance from him throughout the film.
Pitting off against our good guys is Rebecca Ferguson as Rose The Hat. Rose is the leader of the cult and she has the ability to find people who possess the Shining. She makes a pretty convincing job of the supernatural elements and has got sexy-but-sinister down to a fine art. Most of her role is fairly heavy on the evil side and that was great, but she does get one scene where she's on the other side and, like McGregor, is able to do the polar opposite state so well that it comes across entirely believable.
In support roles we have Cliff Curtis who is consistently good in everything he does (but wronged deeply by this film) and Kyliegh Curran as Abra who I thought did a magnificent job, hopefully we'll be seeing her get more roles in the not too distant future.
There weren't any characters or actors that didn't fit in, the cast overall worked really well together in that respect. There are just two choices that I had slight personal quibbles with... Snakebite Andi gets recruited to the cult after Rose finds out about her special talent, that all worked perfectly well but once she's in the character pretty much vanishes until she's needed for a plot point. That seems like a massive waste of a great thread to me. The second is the bartender, I see what they were trying to do but I honestly hated it, it felt creepily wrong.
The sets and general feel of the film are good, but there's one moment in the effects that made my eyes roll. It's a nice way to convey the power that Rose uses but it is visually terrible, had that been better this could have been a 4.5. I feel that at this point though it's traditional for a Stephen King adaptation to have something that makes me go "WTF?!"
I enjoyed the journey Doctor Sleep took the characters on, I won't be the judge of how it compares to the source material or The Shining, but if you're a new fan like me then this will hopefully come across as a great watch. There are some amazing performances on show and Curran is definitely one to watch in the future.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2019/11/doctor-sleep-movie-review.html
Dan Torrance has grown up a lot since the events at The Overlook Hotel. The Shining is still with him and his self-destructive coping mechanisms are taking a toll on him. Constantly on the move, he's running from himself as well as a cult that are hunting him around the country.
Dan finds himself in a small town where he meets Billy. Billy recognises the signs of someone trying to find themselves and takes Dan under his wing, finding him a place to stay, a job, and a way to get his life back on track.
The Shining becomes a much more productive part of his life and somehow bring him a message from Abra, a young girl with powers even stronger than his. As the cult gets closer to her he knows he has to help, but that will mean going to a place he swore he'd never go again.
Cinema is going through a very big reboot/franchise phase at the moment, this week at the cinema we were showing 8 things that are follow-ups, spin-offs or reimaginings. I don't think I can commit to saying it's a good or bad thing but it does mean I get to at least see some older films as well. With things like Doctor Sleep, Dark Fate, and Halloween last year, I became very aware that I like the nostalgic homage that these films are for their predecessors. In Doctor Sleep we've got the original locations aged up, the same scenic shots and music, and a sneaky cameo from the original Danny. With The Shining so fresh in my mind it was nice to be able to spot these things.
Ewan McGregor was a top choice for the role of Danny, he's a great actor and every moment he was on screen became very real. Dan starts his journey as a mess, an alcoholic with a severe conscience that tries to set him on the right path. You see his desperation and you get the sense he's almost lost himself. McGregor successfully portrays him from rock bottom to redemption and there's a great balance from him throughout the film.
Pitting off against our good guys is Rebecca Ferguson as Rose The Hat. Rose is the leader of the cult and she has the ability to find people who possess the Shining. She makes a pretty convincing job of the supernatural elements and has got sexy-but-sinister down to a fine art. Most of her role is fairly heavy on the evil side and that was great, but she does get one scene where she's on the other side and, like McGregor, is able to do the polar opposite state so well that it comes across entirely believable.
In support roles we have Cliff Curtis who is consistently good in everything he does (but wronged deeply by this film) and Kyliegh Curran as Abra who I thought did a magnificent job, hopefully we'll be seeing her get more roles in the not too distant future.
There weren't any characters or actors that didn't fit in, the cast overall worked really well together in that respect. There are just two choices that I had slight personal quibbles with... Snakebite Andi gets recruited to the cult after Rose finds out about her special talent, that all worked perfectly well but once she's in the character pretty much vanishes until she's needed for a plot point. That seems like a massive waste of a great thread to me. The second is the bartender, I see what they were trying to do but I honestly hated it, it felt creepily wrong.
The sets and general feel of the film are good, but there's one moment in the effects that made my eyes roll. It's a nice way to convey the power that Rose uses but it is visually terrible, had that been better this could have been a 4.5. I feel that at this point though it's traditional for a Stephen King adaptation to have something that makes me go "WTF?!"
I enjoyed the journey Doctor Sleep took the characters on, I won't be the judge of how it compares to the source material or The Shining, but if you're a new fan like me then this will hopefully come across as a great watch. There are some amazing performances on show and Curran is definitely one to watch in the future.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2019/11/doctor-sleep-movie-review.html
Louise (64 KP) rated None of the Above in Books
Jul 2, 2018
*I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review*
This book has been out for sometime and I have always been intrigued about it but never actually took the plunge until I saw it being offeredon Netgalley to read due to it being reprinted in paperback edition. This book was really good, I love contemporaries where something dramatic has happened in our protagonists life that is very different and only happens to a minority of people.
We follow Kristin, she is 17, in with the popular crowd at school and has been named prom queen…her life is fantastic and everything a teenage girl could want. She even has this boyfriend that’s really understanding and takes it slow and seems to be really into her. Kristin wants to take their relationship up another level and prom is the night! Except when that time arrives,it’s a lot more painful than expected…..so excruciating that she consults her gynecologist.
What Kristin learns at her appointment changes her life forever…. she was born intersex. Intersex is where you are born with both genitalia at birth.With this discovery we see how people react to her once her secret has been leaked and how she overcomes the negatives and start to look at the positives.
This story evoked so many emotions from me, I was shocked and angry at how people treated Kristin, the problem is people are scared of what they don’t know and they become ignorant to that persons feelings. There was sadness when it seemed like Kristin’s life was crumbling away and how her diagnosis had such an effect on her everyday life.
All the characters in this were great and I thought were all necessary for the plot – you had two best friends that were totally different from one another and she could confide with them for different things. There were the bullies which showed their utter stupidity and how harmful their remarks can be. We had the characters that treated Kristin exactly the same before her diagnosis and also other intersex characters which helped her through the process of coming to terms of her diagnosis.
I suspect a lot of people are questioning how she could not know that she was intersex, she had a female body and everything about her was feminine yet it was mostly her insides that were different and if you don’t know if anything is wrong how would you know to look for it.
Overall I thought this story sent out a great message and portrayal of intersex characters – if definitely made me want to find out more about the different types of intersex there are and how common/uncommon it is. I have never met an intersex person so I can’t say if this is an accurate portrayal but with all the emotions flowing it certainly felt like it.
I couldn’t find a fault with this book it had great characters, LGTBQ, great parents, Romance(but not too much) and was an informative, eye-opening read and definitely recommend if you are looking to read more diversely or want to read about intersex main characters.
I rated this 5 out of 5 stars
This book has been out for sometime and I have always been intrigued about it but never actually took the plunge until I saw it being offeredon Netgalley to read due to it being reprinted in paperback edition. This book was really good, I love contemporaries where something dramatic has happened in our protagonists life that is very different and only happens to a minority of people.
We follow Kristin, she is 17, in with the popular crowd at school and has been named prom queen…her life is fantastic and everything a teenage girl could want. She even has this boyfriend that’s really understanding and takes it slow and seems to be really into her. Kristin wants to take their relationship up another level and prom is the night! Except when that time arrives,it’s a lot more painful than expected…..so excruciating that she consults her gynecologist.
What Kristin learns at her appointment changes her life forever…. she was born intersex. Intersex is where you are born with both genitalia at birth.With this discovery we see how people react to her once her secret has been leaked and how she overcomes the negatives and start to look at the positives.
This story evoked so many emotions from me, I was shocked and angry at how people treated Kristin, the problem is people are scared of what they don’t know and they become ignorant to that persons feelings. There was sadness when it seemed like Kristin’s life was crumbling away and how her diagnosis had such an effect on her everyday life.
All the characters in this were great and I thought were all necessary for the plot – you had two best friends that were totally different from one another and she could confide with them for different things. There were the bullies which showed their utter stupidity and how harmful their remarks can be. We had the characters that treated Kristin exactly the same before her diagnosis and also other intersex characters which helped her through the process of coming to terms of her diagnosis.
I suspect a lot of people are questioning how she could not know that she was intersex, she had a female body and everything about her was feminine yet it was mostly her insides that were different and if you don’t know if anything is wrong how would you know to look for it.
Overall I thought this story sent out a great message and portrayal of intersex characters – if definitely made me want to find out more about the different types of intersex there are and how common/uncommon it is. I have never met an intersex person so I can’t say if this is an accurate portrayal but with all the emotions flowing it certainly felt like it.
I couldn’t find a fault with this book it had great characters, LGTBQ, great parents, Romance(but not too much) and was an informative, eye-opening read and definitely recommend if you are looking to read more diversely or want to read about intersex main characters.
I rated this 5 out of 5 stars
Darren (1599 KP) rated Maximum Risk (1996) in Movies
Jul 25, 2019
Story: Maximum Risk starts when a French police detective Alain Moreau (Van Damme) sees a man killed, the man looks identical to him and Alain learns that he did in fact have a twin brother. Alain must now look to investigate the murder of his twin brother with his partner Sebastien (Anglade).
Alain learns that his brother was adopted by a Russian family and that he has gone onto to raise up the Russian mob, only he is wanted by them, Alain is joined by Alex (Henstridge) his brother’s girlfriend as they look to bring down Ivan (Grenier) the leader of the Russian Mob.
Thoughts on Maximum Risk
Characters – Alain is a French police detective that lives a normal life in Nice, his life if turned upside down when he finds a body that looks identical to himself, learning that he does have a twin brother. Alain go in search for answers which leads him to New York city and the Russian mob, here Alain must learn who he can trust and why his brother is killed, while showing all his fighting skills. Alex is the brother’s girlfriend, she knows he danger Alain has walked into and will help him get out of the life of crime that his brother was part of. Sebastien is the partner of Alain back in France, he has worked with him for years, only he stays in France for the investigation. Ivan Dzasokhov is the Russian that has been hunting down Alain, he wants something that he posses and knows it could give up his freedom is the secret it released.
Performances – Jean-Claude Van Damme is the man we know for action, when he gets to fight we know we get quality scenes, when it comes to becoming serious he isn’t on the same level. Natasha Henstridge was fresh of the back of Species here and easily fit the role for looks, while never getting her chance to do much more. The rest of the cast fill their roles to help make Van Damme look good in the action sequences.
Story – The story follows a man that must unlock the mystery behind why his unknown brother was murdered, which sees him enter the world of the Russian mob. Let’s be honest, the story isn’t always the most important part of any Van Damme movie, we just want to watch him kick people’s asses. This story puts him in a place where he just doesn’t know where each step will take him, we get plenty of people that want Alain dead which shows he doesn’t know who to trust, but we always know that he is going to come out on top, it is an easy relaxing action film for the story side of things.
Action/Crime/Mystery – The action here involves Van Damme doing his thing, kicking ass regardless of the size of the opponent. We follow a police officer entering the world of the Russian mob which brings us into the crime elements of the story, while the mystery comes from just who could be trusted during this time.
Settings – The film takes place in two main cities, Nice in France and New York, we do get the fish out of water idea with Alain in New York here.
Scene of the Movie – The sauna fight.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It is pretty basic.
Final Thoughts – This is a simple easy to follow action movie that we are used to seeing from Van Damme.
Overall: Simple Van Damme Action Film.
Alain learns that his brother was adopted by a Russian family and that he has gone onto to raise up the Russian mob, only he is wanted by them, Alain is joined by Alex (Henstridge) his brother’s girlfriend as they look to bring down Ivan (Grenier) the leader of the Russian Mob.
Thoughts on Maximum Risk
Characters – Alain is a French police detective that lives a normal life in Nice, his life if turned upside down when he finds a body that looks identical to himself, learning that he does have a twin brother. Alain go in search for answers which leads him to New York city and the Russian mob, here Alain must learn who he can trust and why his brother is killed, while showing all his fighting skills. Alex is the brother’s girlfriend, she knows he danger Alain has walked into and will help him get out of the life of crime that his brother was part of. Sebastien is the partner of Alain back in France, he has worked with him for years, only he stays in France for the investigation. Ivan Dzasokhov is the Russian that has been hunting down Alain, he wants something that he posses and knows it could give up his freedom is the secret it released.
Performances – Jean-Claude Van Damme is the man we know for action, when he gets to fight we know we get quality scenes, when it comes to becoming serious he isn’t on the same level. Natasha Henstridge was fresh of the back of Species here and easily fit the role for looks, while never getting her chance to do much more. The rest of the cast fill their roles to help make Van Damme look good in the action sequences.
Story – The story follows a man that must unlock the mystery behind why his unknown brother was murdered, which sees him enter the world of the Russian mob. Let’s be honest, the story isn’t always the most important part of any Van Damme movie, we just want to watch him kick people’s asses. This story puts him in a place where he just doesn’t know where each step will take him, we get plenty of people that want Alain dead which shows he doesn’t know who to trust, but we always know that he is going to come out on top, it is an easy relaxing action film for the story side of things.
Action/Crime/Mystery – The action here involves Van Damme doing his thing, kicking ass regardless of the size of the opponent. We follow a police officer entering the world of the Russian mob which brings us into the crime elements of the story, while the mystery comes from just who could be trusted during this time.
Settings – The film takes place in two main cities, Nice in France and New York, we do get the fish out of water idea with Alain in New York here.
Scene of the Movie – The sauna fight.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It is pretty basic.
Final Thoughts – This is a simple easy to follow action movie that we are used to seeing from Van Damme.
Overall: Simple Van Damme Action Film.
Bostonian916 (449 KP) Aug 4, 2020