My long-time girlfriend and I were on vacation when I talked her into watching the Shaw Brothers' 1982 kung-fu classic Five Elements Ninjas at the bed and breakfast. I loved it, but she had a sour, annoyed expression on her face the entire time. Thus, I told her that she got to pick the next movie we watched. Well, never underestimate the vengefulness of an irritated Hispanic woman. That night, she got her brutal revenge when she decided we would watch 2020's Hillbilly Elegy. Ostensibly based on an autobiography by JD Vance, it's about a Yale law student reflecting on his Appalachian family. And since this is 2020 Hollywood, you'd better believe the white rural family is the ugliest trainwreck imaginable. If it wasn't, it wouldn't have been adopted. The movie is rancid bullshit in every frame. It's painfully stupid, from the plot point that a Yale Law student would struggle to get a summer internship, to a teen cashier at a collectibles shop getting angry at a few cards being knocked over. It's the most pathetic of emotional melisma, with the central conceit that the South is a fucking hellhole, everyone there is a foul-mouthed loser fuck-up, and the only people who aren't get the hell out and weep like bitches with their racially diverse girlfriends.
Hell, yeah, back at the theatre tonight. Nobody It's great. All I knew going in was "action movie starring Bob Odenkirk." I was pleasantly surprised at the bits of comedy, well-shot close action, and overall driving plot. The cast was perfect, I thought. There was a stumble here or there, but overall, just what I wanted. If you like action movies with fights, explosions, shooting, payback intrigue, and all that, then go see it.
Promising Young Woman Carey Mulligan plays a 30-year-old named Cassie who dropped out of medical school after her friend best friend, Nina, was sexually assaulted and justice was not served. It is revealed in the film that Nina is dead, and it's strongly implied that she committed suicide. Cassie now works at a coffee bar and lives at home with her parents, but she is also suffering mental anguish from Nina's ordeal and is seeking revenge against those who wronged Nina in the process. The film works great as a dark comedy and a revenge thriller. There are several scenes that are funny and kept me enthralled. The script works okay as a commentary in support of the Me Too movement, but there are a few problems in that regard. For one I found it hard to believe that Mulligan's character could keep up a ruse of letting would-be sexual predators take her home with them and then reveal herself to be sober without being attacked herself. And as intrigued as I was by how the movie ended I found it kind of hard to believe that that was the resolution that someone in Cassie's position would have truly wanted, especially since there seemed to be a better alternative for her to get justice. But if you can buy that she was really in that bad a place mentally then it does become easier to understand. Ultimately the movie works because of Mulligan. Her character is the only one who is really fleshed out, so it's up to her to carry the film, and she succeeds with an incredible performance. The music that was used in the film was also very good. 8.5/10
Wrong. It's not high art but it is a lot of fun. Lacks in character and plot development a bit but a lot of decent fight scenes and cheezy one liners. I guess everyone saw the preview of the opening scene and thought it was going to be a Christopher Nolan take on the game. It's a 6/10 but I recommend it if you were a fan of the game.
Loved the book... one of my favourites in the series. Which is why I was so looking forward to the movie.
Eh, I thought it was decent. It wasn't a great work of art, but it kept me entertained. The plot at the end was bizarrely contrived, the execution was really clumsy and it defied belief, but it didn't destroy the movie.
That movie had 0 to do with the book, it just used a few of the names. Enjoyable book, and I had some hope because Sheridan was attached, but it just shit on the novel. The worst part? Now that enjoyable book will never find its way to the screen.
Yeah, just watched it tonight... it wasn't bad, for what it was, but it had NOTHING to do with the book. I don't even know how they managed to call it by that name, other than "how does John Clark get in the CIA?" "well, on this timeline..."
Now I feel the need to go back and read the series. I enjoyed the movie but have no point of reference. This series has always intimidated me because there are so many books. Where is a good entry point to hook myself?
Without Remorse is the first one chronologically, but it’s a standalone story about a secondary character. If you really want to get into the Ryanverse, I would start with Patriot Games. You can work in WR any time and I found it more enjoyable when I already knew who John Clark was. Definitely don’t skip it entirely, though. It’s excellent in its own right and is the favorite of a lot of people.
And definitely catch Rainbow Six, the second Clark story. Feel free to stop after Executive Decision, tho. Seriously. As far as I'm concerned that's the end of the Ryanverse.
Agreed. Clancy kind of lost his touch as he got older and a lot of the subsequent "Clancy novels" weren't written by him at all.
There was a whole Jack Ryan Junior series that were done pretty well as audiobooks... listened to them a lot in the shop while I was working on stuff. I quite enjoyed them for some light action that still had John Clark, albeit as a 60+ year old spec-ops manager rather than field agent. https://www.goodreads.com/series/63669-jack-ryan-jr
ZACK SNYDER'S ARMY OF THE DEAD It's up on the Netflix, good little zombie flick, plenty enough gore and zombie action when it's called for. The worldbuilding felt half finished, but that's what the sequel is for I guess. Has a lot in common with Stephen King's "Cell" if you've read it. Amazingly, if you didn't know a certain cast member was a last second insert into a movie already completed, you probably wouldn't notice. This tech is becoming scary good.