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Posts Tagged ‘amazon authors’

Bill and Ted Face the Music Review

Posted in Fantasy literature, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 1, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Warning Spoilers Below:

Bill and Ted Face the Music, directed by Dean Parisot and starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, picks up over twenty years after the events that took place during the Battle of Bands. Bill and Ted, married with adult children, still find themselves struggling to make their musical dreams come true while still hanging on to their unfilled destiny to save the world with a song that is intended to realign the Universe. As they try to fulfill their destiny and attempt to save their marriages, Bill and Ted are recruited by Rufus’ Daughter, played by Kristen Schaal, to come up with the Universe saving song in just a few hours.  Bill and Ted accept the mission and quickly head off in their iconic Phone Booth time machine to travel into the future to get the song they wrote. Meanwhile, Bill and Ted’s daughters set off on their own adventure to help gather important historical figures to create a brand-new band for their fathers.

Overall, Bill and Ted Face the Music is a great movie. The flow and tone of the film had a sweet familiarity that fans will appreciate and love. The reprisal of the original cast was refreshing to see; characters such as Missy, Deacon, Death, and Sargent Logan. The addition of Bill and Ted’s daughters added a refreshing take to the franchise while giving them their own special moments to share. (I got the feeling that Bill and Ted were passing the torch.)  Most of all, it was amazing to see the Holographic Image of Rufus played by the late and talented George Carlin. The emotions flowed when he came across the screen, and Bill and Ted acknowledged him tenderly.

The story was presented fluidly, while it answered some questions and tied some storyline loose ends. Some new characters were introduced, and the addition of Robot, played by Anthony Carrigan, brought the concept of “feel-good comedy” into the film. The scenes and visual effects brought the movie franchise into the 21st century, and Alex and Keanu’s performances were classic and magical. My only disappointment was the music within the film. I felt like there weren’t any staple musical performances within the soundtrack that added to the elegance that the first two Bill and Ted movies brought. I know that music plays a significant role in films, especially with Bill and Ted, but it is not a total loss. Just seeing Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter on screen together is worth it. Their on-screen chemistry displayed a connection as if the adventures of Bill and Ted never stopped. This movie will add to their legendary status.

I really liked this film and gave it four stars for good theatrical fun.

Check out the trailer below.

L.L

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Joker 2019 (Movie Review)

Posted in Comic Book Movies, Fantasy literature, New Movie reviews, Reviews, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 26, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Joker starring  Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro and directed by Todd Phillips, tells the story of a Gotham City man Arthur Fleck as he attempts to achieve his dreams of becoming a standup comic while battling mental illness and struggling to find his place within a society that does not treat or accept him fairly.

I saw this movie opening weekend in October 2019, and then 5 more times after that. With so many things going on with work and grad school, I just did not have the time to review this film. This by far, I think is the best Joaquin Phoenix movie I have seen, in addition to one of the best movies of all time. There is something extremely deep about this film and the story behind it. There is such an odd connection that moviegoers have with the lead character Arthur. We see that he does his best to live a life that mainstream society may call, “normal”. Arthur works as an entertainer, trying to make ends meet, he takes care of his sick mother, and he is even receiving treatment and attempting to live with his inner struggles, by dealing with his mental illness, to the best of his ability. The character tries to deal with his issues as he displays independence and even attempts to have a relationship with a neighbor that appears to understand him, but overall the movie is not quite what it seems to be, at least through the main character’s eyes.

Arthur, as portrayed by Joaquin, is completely transformed into this the dark and complex character that we all thought we knew just through our background knowledge of the Batman comic book and film franchise but as we all know now, this film is a standalone movie but still artistically connects the historical relationship between the Wayne family and Arthur aka the Joker in a way that makes the two storylines blend together very well.

All the elements of this film are massive ingredients for a film success on so many levels. The visual representations were creative and authentic.  We were brought into the character’s world and underwent a journey of emotional experiences that enveloped a multitude of highs and lows, as well as revels shocking moments and moments of happiness and potential hope. This film has won several awards including a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama and an Academy Award for Best Actor as well as an Academy Award for Best Original Score. The Score took me to that place where emotions dwell deep within, where questions about the structure of how our society appropriately and inappropriately deals with mental illness, bullying, and the differences among people. Joaquin Phoenix in conjunction with  Robert De Niro and the supporting cast all created a world where the moviegoer sees the world of mental illness, poverty and the other complexities of life including the horrors of child abuse and enabling as ongoing issues that need to be exposed and changed for the better to improve the quality of human life.

Overall, I gave this movie 5 stars

Joker is a great film.

L.L

Check out the trailer below…

Check out the Amazing Bathroom Dance song that received an award for Best Score.

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SpiderMan Far From Home Movie Review

Posted in Fantasy literature, New Movie reviews, Reviews, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 11, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Marvel’s Spiderman Far From Home, starring Tom Holland and Jake Gyllenhaal tells the story of how a young Peter Parker and the world learns how to pick up the pieces of life without Ironman aka Tony Stark. Eager to go on a class trip to Europe, Peter plans to start living a normal life and finally decides to tell Mary Jane how he feels in hopes of inviting her to a romantic evening at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. His plans are quickly interrupted when he learns an evil villain has manifested halfway across the world to get Spiderman’s attention. Despite Peter’s efforts to ignore his calling from the legendary Nick Fury, Peter believes there is no chance to resurrect the once and thriving Avengers. A message sent by Tony put’s Peter’s life back in perspective, only for him to once again realize that it is still in his destiny to carry on Tony’s Heroic Legacy.

Spiderman Far From Home is an adventure thrill ride that brings forth the dawn of a new age of the Marvel comic films, while respectively giving fans closure for the loss of Ironman. It honors his heroism while still giving Spiderman the recognition he deserves to step in to be one of the sincerest heroes ever brought to life. The cast was great, and this movie returned the cinematic form of Spiderman into the beloved character we have loved in the comics for decades. Tom is a great Spiderman; this role was meant for him. Spiderman Far From Home is a great Midsummer Blockbuster film that fans will love. The humor, action, and the introduction of Mysterio was a breath of fresh air to the franchise.

I give this movie 5 stars, a rating that is deserving of a 21st century Marvel film.

L.L.

Check out the Trailer Below:

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Pet Sematary 2019 Movie Review

Posted in Fantasy literature, New Movie reviews, Reviews, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 7, 2019| Leave a Comment »

 

Pet Sematary, directed by Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer and starring Jason Clarke tells the story about a family that moves into a house and discovers an Ancient burial ground on their property. After ER doctor Louis has a paranormal experience working in the Emergency Room, Louis and his wife Rachel are haunted by two different ghostly creatures. Believing in the afterlife is the main theme of this film. Compared to the original film there were elements of it throughout the remake. The overall cinematic structure of the film was a dark homage to 80’s classic horror. The mood of the film mirrored that old-school feeling that scary movies gave off years ago. The actors onscreen chemistry were fitting and the writing was true to its originality. The effects did not overshadow the tone of the film. Overall the film was very entertaining and storyline convincing. However, I did feel that the movie was a bit short; like there is more story to tell, but something is missing. I would go for a prequel to this film and tell the story of how and who created that burial ground in the first place.  There is definitely more that can be created as a franchise feature. I highly recommend this film.

I gave this movie 4 stars.

L.L

Check out the trailer below:

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Jurassic World: The Fallen Kingdom Review by LaTaeya Lane

Posted in Fantasy literature, New Movie reviews, Reviews, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 26, 2018| 1 Comment »

Jurassic-World-Fallen-Kingdom-2018-movie-poster

Jurassic World: The Fallen Kingdom directed by J.A Bayona, produced by Legendary Entertainment and starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard is the sequel to the 2015 franchise rebirth film. This film takes place three years after the events of Isla Nublar. This time around the thriving dinosaurs are once again threatened toward extinction with the sudden eruption of a large volcano on the island.

Society has now tried to incorporate the fight of animals’ rights to include the once extinct dinosaurs. Claire, now an advocate for dinosaur rights is made an offer she can’t refuse as she is recruited to help rescue the dinosaurs from the deserted island. She then reaches out for her ex-love interest and raptor trainer, Owen to help with the rescue mission.

Before you know it, the two find themselves intertwined in a vicious plot that includes genetics specialists and other scientists that are out to weaponize the dinosaurs and potentially make billions of dollars in profit off the animals.

If you’re looking for a good action adventure to kick off the official summer season, then Jurassic World: The Fallen Kingdom is the film for you. This movie is a lot of fun to watch even though you are already going to expect certain elements when it comes to the franchise film.

I adore Chris Pratt in this role, but I also like Bryce Dallas Howard. I do feel like there was a little bit of disconnect between the two characters this time around but maybe that was intentional since the two did not end up together after the first film. There are some interesting new twists in this movie and some cool new dinosaurs.

When you really think about what science has become, it really is scary and not much entertaining. But I must say that the film was entertaining and exciting. The effects were better than ever, and you can definitely see how much CGI and digital film technology has improved the franchise and industry as a whole. I was very impressed by the visual representation throughout the movie.

Jeff Goldblum did make a cameo appearance, but like many moviegoers, I was disappointed in his lack of screen time. I wanted him to have a more prominent role in the film, but I understand the concept of infusing some of the past without losing the purpose of bringing the franchise into the future.

This movie should be on your summer watch list. I gave this film 4 stars.

L.L.

Check out the trailer below!

 

 

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Amazon and Goodreads merger

Posted in Fantasy literature, tagged , , , , , , , on April 4, 2013| 1 Comment »

Last week Amazon announced that the company would buy the reading social network Goodreads. Many authors and readers have mixed feelings about the whole idea of two different iconic companies coming together.
Many people hope that this does not mean there will be any drastic, negative changes involving both companies, but I believe that some type of changes will be underway.
As a Goodreads and Amazon author I think that the merger will be positive and help writers build a stronger platform in the world of publishing.
No one knows what the future holds concerning this merger, but we as readers and authors must always be open to new aspects in the realm of literature.
Happy Reading and Writing
L.L.

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