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David McK (3687 KP) rated V for Vendetta in Books
Jan 28, 2019
This sits alongside "[b:Watchmen|472331|Watchmen|Alan Moore|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442239711s/472331.jpg|4358649]"; as one of [a:Alan Moore|3961|Alan Moore|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1304944713p2/3961.jpg]'s most influential works, with this set in the (then) future of the late 90s: a time when, following a global cataclysm, England has given itself over to fascism.
I'll be honest: I'd seen the Natalie Portman/Hugo Weaving film years ago (mainly out of curiosity to see how the Wachowski's would follow up The Matrix films), but had no idea how closely it stuck to the core material.
Until now.
The answer is actually surprisingly faithful, with most of the core beats of the two versions the same.
While both versions, I feel, do lose their way a bit at just over the half way mark, they both do have some memorable (and thought-worthy) quotes, chief among them these two:
[i]People shouldn't be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people[/i]
[i]Everybody is special. Everybody. Everybody is a hero, a lover, a fool, a villain. Everybody. Everybody has their story to tell[/i]
I'll be honest: I'd seen the Natalie Portman/Hugo Weaving film years ago (mainly out of curiosity to see how the Wachowski's would follow up The Matrix films), but had no idea how closely it stuck to the core material.
Until now.
The answer is actually surprisingly faithful, with most of the core beats of the two versions the same.
While both versions, I feel, do lose their way a bit at just over the half way mark, they both do have some memorable (and thought-worthy) quotes, chief among them these two:
[i]People shouldn't be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people[/i]
[i]Everybody is special. Everybody. Everybody is a hero, a lover, a fool, a villain. Everybody. Everybody has their story to tell[/i]
I first read Dracula as part of a film and fiction course at University: read the book; watch the film. It is, of course, the most famous of all vampire stories.
Unlike the movie version, the story is told from the point of view of the various secondary characters (who are all writing in their diaries or memoirs): Dracula, himself, is never at the forefront. Rather, he is an ominous shadowy presence in the background throughout. This is actually quite effective: by disassociating the reader from the villain, Stoker manages to both convey the deadly mysteriousness of the Count, and side-steps the danger of the reader sympathizing too much with Dracula, while that character is also able to be abroad during the day-time; just not with the powers he has at night.
Finally, and unlike the film version which bears the same name, in the book Dracula is not given the same back-story: Mina, for instance, is never described as being his long-lost love! In this sense, the film is much more of a Gothic love-story than the original source material!
Unlike the movie version, the story is told from the point of view of the various secondary characters (who are all writing in their diaries or memoirs): Dracula, himself, is never at the forefront. Rather, he is an ominous shadowy presence in the background throughout. This is actually quite effective: by disassociating the reader from the villain, Stoker manages to both convey the deadly mysteriousness of the Count, and side-steps the danger of the reader sympathizing too much with Dracula, while that character is also able to be abroad during the day-time; just not with the powers he has at night.
Finally, and unlike the film version which bears the same name, in the book Dracula is not given the same back-story: Mina, for instance, is never described as being his long-lost love! In this sense, the film is much more of a Gothic love-story than the original source material!
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated X2: X-Men United (2003) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019 (Updated Jun 20, 2019)
A strong follow up
X-Men 2 builds upon the first in pretty much every way possible - were introduced to new characters (Brian Cox as William Stryker being a stand out here) and some really thrilling set pieces.
Notable amongst them - the opening scene of Nightcrawler attacking The White House (set to Mozart's Requiem in D Minor) is honestly one of my top scenes in a comic book film ever.
The scene where the mansion is attacked at night - we see Wolverine a lot more feral here than in the first film, and we're introduced to Colossus.
And the almost everything on Alkali Lake - the glimpses into the Weapon X project, the hints at Dark Phoenix - are all comic book ticks (until they were a bit shat on in future sequels)
There are still faults - the biggest one here for me is Lady Deathstroke - second X-Men movie in a row that backbenches a classic Wolverine villain in favour of a fairly useless mute version.
I remember and appreciate X-Men 2 for what it was at the time - a movie for a young franchise brimming with future possibilities. It still stands strong as far as Marvel adaptions go.
Notable amongst them - the opening scene of Nightcrawler attacking The White House (set to Mozart's Requiem in D Minor) is honestly one of my top scenes in a comic book film ever.
The scene where the mansion is attacked at night - we see Wolverine a lot more feral here than in the first film, and we're introduced to Colossus.
And the almost everything on Alkali Lake - the glimpses into the Weapon X project, the hints at Dark Phoenix - are all comic book ticks (until they were a bit shat on in future sequels)
There are still faults - the biggest one here for me is Lady Deathstroke - second X-Men movie in a row that backbenches a classic Wolverine villain in favour of a fairly useless mute version.
I remember and appreciate X-Men 2 for what it was at the time - a movie for a young franchise brimming with future possibilities. It still stands strong as far as Marvel adaptions go.
Rodney Barnes (472 KP) rated Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005) in Movies
Dec 30, 2019 (Updated Dec 30, 2019)
Great Continuation of the Story
Contains spoilers, click to show
Final Fantasy VII is probably the most played and loved FF game of all time. So a follow up story had better live up to the standard the game set. In my opinion, it did. The three antagonist...Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz are remnants and represent the qualities of Sephiroth. Sephiroth was the villain in FF VII that was defeated by Cloud and his friends. But Sephiroth did succeed in destroying the city of Midgar. There is a mysterious illness called Geostigma that has plagued people, mostly children. Cloud has contracted the illness too, and there is no known cure. What is so great about the movie is that it is a continuation of a video game. Most of the characters from the game are back as well as some new ones. The fight scenes and music are some of the best I have seen in any movie. I highly recommend you read the story from the game in some form and then watch the movie. That is the only way you can really appreciate it.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated The Little Mermaid (1989) in Movies
Mar 12, 2020
Under The Sea
The Little Mermaid- is such a excellent movie with classic songs like "Part of Your World", "Under The Sea" and "Kiss The Girl".
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
2002: AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – Nominated
2003: AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains:
Ursula – Nominated Villain
2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs:
"Under the Sea" – Nominated
2006: AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals – Nominated
2008: AFI's 10 Top 10:
Nominated Animation Film
Urusla- is a excellent villian and Ariel is a excellent mermaid.
The plot: In Disney's beguiling animated romp, rebellious 16-year-old mermaid Ariel (Jodi Benson) is fascinated with life on land. On one of her visits to the surface, which are forbidden by her controlling father, King Triton, she falls for a human prince. Determined to be with her new love, Ariel makes a dangerous deal with the sea witch Ursula (Pat Carroll) to become human for three days. But when plans go awry for the star-crossed lovers, the king must make the ultimate sacrifice for his daughter.
If you havent seen this film, than go watch it on Disney+.
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
2002: AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – Nominated
2003: AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains:
Ursula – Nominated Villain
2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs:
"Under the Sea" – Nominated
2006: AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals – Nominated
2008: AFI's 10 Top 10:
Nominated Animation Film
Urusla- is a excellent villian and Ariel is a excellent mermaid.
The plot: In Disney's beguiling animated romp, rebellious 16-year-old mermaid Ariel (Jodi Benson) is fascinated with life on land. On one of her visits to the surface, which are forbidden by her controlling father, King Triton, she falls for a human prince. Determined to be with her new love, Ariel makes a dangerous deal with the sea witch Ursula (Pat Carroll) to become human for three days. But when plans go awry for the star-crossed lovers, the king must make the ultimate sacrifice for his daughter.
If you havent seen this film, than go watch it on Disney+.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Castlevania - Season 1 in TV
Mar 20, 2020
The first season of Castlevania could be more accurately described as a 'teaser-season'. It's four episodes acts as a set up for what is to come, introducing us to the key players in the war between man and vampire.
The episodes run for around 25 minutes, meaning that the season has a limited time to establish what it needs to, and it does this pretty effectively. A decent script ensures that the three main protagonists Trevor Belmont (Richard Armitage), Sypha (Alejandra Reynoso) and Alucard (James Callis) are all immediately likable, and even gives an incredibly sympathetic villain in Dracula. There's also a nice sense of humour running underneath all of the dramatics.
The animation style shows signs of budget restriction on occasion, but for the most part is easy to take in. A lot of close ups on characters show off some nice detail, long shots of locations look great, as do the combat scenes. To darker colour choices work well with the gothic setting, and the frequent strong violence.
Above all, this short but sweet season leaves the viewer wanting more, which was surely the aim in the first place!
The episodes run for around 25 minutes, meaning that the season has a limited time to establish what it needs to, and it does this pretty effectively. A decent script ensures that the three main protagonists Trevor Belmont (Richard Armitage), Sypha (Alejandra Reynoso) and Alucard (James Callis) are all immediately likable, and even gives an incredibly sympathetic villain in Dracula. There's also a nice sense of humour running underneath all of the dramatics.
The animation style shows signs of budget restriction on occasion, but for the most part is easy to take in. A lot of close ups on characters show off some nice detail, long shots of locations look great, as do the combat scenes. To darker colour choices work well with the gothic setting, and the frequent strong violence.
Above all, this short but sweet season leaves the viewer wanting more, which was surely the aim in the first place!
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Shazam! (2019) in Movies
Mar 22, 2020
Could've been better
Shazam has been on my box to watch for quite some time, and after finally being persuaded to watch it I have to say I'l was a little unimpressed.
This is a very child orientated and almost childish film, which for me was a surprise considering it's set in the DC universe. Understandable to a point as the main character is a 14 year old child, but some of the silly childish jokes and the very super cheesy family friendly final act made me cringe. There were some decent laughs and these mainly came from Zachary Levi acting like a teenager. Levi shines in this film and if it wasn't for him this film would've been pretty dire. Even the usually reliable Mark Strong was wasted in this, and his villain wasn't particularly evil - although the effects used for the seven deadly sins were quite impressive.
Overall this was a rather underwhelming film that dragged on for a little too long. Whilst I didnt hate it as it did at least raise a few laughs, it's not a film I'd rush to watch again.
This is a very child orientated and almost childish film, which for me was a surprise considering it's set in the DC universe. Understandable to a point as the main character is a 14 year old child, but some of the silly childish jokes and the very super cheesy family friendly final act made me cringe. There were some decent laughs and these mainly came from Zachary Levi acting like a teenager. Levi shines in this film and if it wasn't for him this film would've been pretty dire. Even the usually reliable Mark Strong was wasted in this, and his villain wasn't particularly evil - although the effects used for the seven deadly sins were quite impressive.
Overall this was a rather underwhelming film that dragged on for a little too long. Whilst I didnt hate it as it did at least raise a few laughs, it's not a film I'd rush to watch again.
The Hourglass Factory
7.0
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Book
1912 and London is in turmoil... The suffragette movement is reaching fever pitch but for broke...
The Sherlock Homes
Arthur Conan Doyle and Sidney Paget
Book
"Am dining at Goldini's Restaurant, Gloucester Road, Kensington. Please come at once and join me...
Despicable Me 3 (2017)
7.1
Rate It
Movie Watch
Illumination, who brought audiences Despicable Me and the biggest animated hits of 2013 and 2015,...