Winter Views
Ah, Winter. The crisp, cold season that many folks completely despise. Not all, though. I for one quite enjoy winter, but I also live in a temperate climate so there's that. But the best part of winter is, of course, the more excuses to settle in and enjoy a good story. Whether that be from a good book, a show you follow, or something new at the multiplex or home video, winter allows more people to enjoy that entertainment they crave.
Here's what I experienced through this winter:
Books
Along Came A Spider by James Patterson
Goodreads review: http://bit.ly/2FEzvcP
H.P. Lovecraft: The Complete Omnibus Collection: Vol I 1917-1926
(Audiobook) Goodreads review: http://bit.ly/2DV5hWs
The Dark Half by Stephen King
Goodreads review: http://bit.ly/2GEiyQP
Movies
Thor: Ragnarok
A blast of energetic storytelling mixed with something of a 'coming of age' arc for Thor himself. It was a fun adventure to go on, and I loved the stylistic choices with production design and soundtrack etc. However, 3 issues are apparent; 1: The humour. Jokes are fine, and often funny. But use too many and it loses its importance. This happened fairly quickly in this film, and I rolled my eyes at a few of the attempted humorous moments. 2: Sort of a continuation of #1, but the Hulk was incredibly misused. For a character with such a rich history of tragedy, it's kind of lame to see him becoming more and more of a cartoon character. Show us more of the raw, tragic, character-driven Bruce Banner vs Hulk that's just begging to be told. And 3: Hela was underused here. Cate Blanchette dows a swell job in the role, but it never really amounts to anything. Hela could arguably be one of the harshest foes for the Marvel heroes to face, but she needs to be utilized more.
Rating: A-
Murder On The Orient Express
A great character-work film, most of the cast really shines. But Kenneth Branagh is of course the real star here, and he does an awesome job in the title role. The movie, although great looking, does get bogged down in some overly 'cooky' parts, but overall it's a fun who-dunnit.
Rating: B
Justice League
Warner Bros has had a bad track record with it's DC Comics movies. Other than Wonder Woman, they have all seemed to sink. Justice League, at least, doesn't quite sink like some of the others, but i'd say it just barely treads the water. Structurally, it's weak. The world mourns the loss of a Superman that, according to Batman v Superman, actually despised. Makes no sense. Perhaps if Batman v Superman had been better, it would have trickled into a better Justice League too? I dunno. Aquaman and Flash are kind of ridiculous in each of their own ways. Surprisingly, Cyborg had the most character development, though he's an eyesore to watch with all that jarring cgi. The completely forgettable villain doesn't help either. Batman and Wonder Woman are cool though.
Rating: B-
The Disaster Artist
Hilarious and heart warming. If you've never seen Tommy Wiseau in the Room you can still get lots of enjoyment from this 'making-of-The-Room' retelling comedy, but having known of The Room beforehand I'd say I enjoyed it that much more. You can tell they didn't set out to make fun of the guy and his failed attempt, but to show that, despite his oddness and unorthodox way of doing things, he was creative and took a chance. Really great.
Rating: A-
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
So much has been said online already. I'll try and keep my opinion brief, but know that it is a negative one. Yes, I fall into the category of lifelong Star Wars fan who felt let down, and here's why; I can forgive the lamer new characters like Deejay or Haldo. I can forgive the completely pointless side mission to Canto Bight that served zero purpose. (personally I'd just have had Rose BE the hacker and make it more snappy that way). I can even forgive the Leia Poppins moment for being exactly what it was, a poorly-executed moment. Star Wars isn't perfect, remember the Ewoks? But I can't get past two very damning things. 1: the entire reason Kylo Ren became the antagonist he is was stupid. It betrayed everything Luke stood for as a character, especially when you take into account what he was willing to sacrifice to redeem his father Darth Vader, a KNOWN genocidal space Hitler. Choosing what he did regarding Kylo Ren, even for enough of a moment to stand there and ignite his lightsaber, is wrong. Plus not mentioning anything to Leia and Han? Nope. And 2: Star Wars has always been about heroism. Good vs Evil and the struggle to overcome darkness for the brighter light. But now, unless they are Rey, characters are outright punished for being heroic. Luke, Finn, Poe and more, all had moments of literal 'punishment' for trying to be the heroes. If you think heroism is outdated or unnecessary, then Star Wars isn't for you. Or at least that was the case when it stood for something. Okay, rant over. If you really enjoyed this movie then awesome, all the power to ya. It's just that, for me, as a die-hard fan, nothing of it rang true to the spirit of Star Wars. Except the new Tie Silencers. Those look great.
Rating: C
The Greatest Showman
The biggest issue going for this film is it's stretching of a budget it clearly didn't have for a movie of this size. That aside though, it's a fun musical with fantastic production design. It has a great message, and superb showmanship through Hugh Jackman. I enjoyed the soundtrack quite a bit. I'm not the biggest musical fan, but I am definitely tired of musicals that come off as really pretentious and all-important. This one steers clear of that to present a clear, uplifting message that anyone can enjoy.
Rating: B
The Shape Of Water
Guillermo Del Toro is one of my favourite filmmakers out there. He's such a compelling visual storyteller and I find myself really enjoying most of his work. This is no different. Very enjoyable, while also sad at times. Also some surprisingly graphic moments. All in all though one of Del Toro's best and one of my favourite films of the year.
Rating: A
TV
American Horror Story S7
When I heard the new season of AHS involved the crazy creepy clown epidemic from last year, I was stoked. It didn't really pan out the way I'd though though, but that's more to do with my own expectations. This season was unnerving, but also often resorted to easy shock factor that didn't actually serve the plot. Not a huge fan of the end either. Great concept though.
Rating: B
The Punisher S1
A great setup for future Frank Castle stories. But that's what it mostly was, a set up. The action scenes were intense and great, but then they would be broken up by some meandering plots that, while meaningful, don't really fit with Punisher as a character. His camaraderie with Micro was fantastic though. And although there were certainly intense moments befitting of Punisher, I couldn't help notice nothing holding quite up to his appearance in S2 of Daredevil against Wilson Fisk or the Hand. Still, a great commentary on war, its veterans, and their place in the world once the fighting is supposed to be done.
Rating: A
And that, dear readers, was my winter in a nutshell. I also got the audiobook for Eye Of The Storm released, and continue to plug away on my next book. 'Til then!
RK King
Here's what I experienced through this winter:
Books
Along Came A Spider by James Patterson
Goodreads review: http://bit.ly/2FEzvcP
H.P. Lovecraft: The Complete Omnibus Collection: Vol I 1917-1926
(Audiobook) Goodreads review: http://bit.ly/2DV5hWs
The Dark Half by Stephen King
Goodreads review: http://bit.ly/2GEiyQP
Movies
Thor: Ragnarok
A blast of energetic storytelling mixed with something of a 'coming of age' arc for Thor himself. It was a fun adventure to go on, and I loved the stylistic choices with production design and soundtrack etc. However, 3 issues are apparent; 1: The humour. Jokes are fine, and often funny. But use too many and it loses its importance. This happened fairly quickly in this film, and I rolled my eyes at a few of the attempted humorous moments. 2: Sort of a continuation of #1, but the Hulk was incredibly misused. For a character with such a rich history of tragedy, it's kind of lame to see him becoming more and more of a cartoon character. Show us more of the raw, tragic, character-driven Bruce Banner vs Hulk that's just begging to be told. And 3: Hela was underused here. Cate Blanchette dows a swell job in the role, but it never really amounts to anything. Hela could arguably be one of the harshest foes for the Marvel heroes to face, but she needs to be utilized more.
Rating: A-
Murder On The Orient Express
A great character-work film, most of the cast really shines. But Kenneth Branagh is of course the real star here, and he does an awesome job in the title role. The movie, although great looking, does get bogged down in some overly 'cooky' parts, but overall it's a fun who-dunnit.
Rating: B
Justice League
Warner Bros has had a bad track record with it's DC Comics movies. Other than Wonder Woman, they have all seemed to sink. Justice League, at least, doesn't quite sink like some of the others, but i'd say it just barely treads the water. Structurally, it's weak. The world mourns the loss of a Superman that, according to Batman v Superman, actually despised. Makes no sense. Perhaps if Batman v Superman had been better, it would have trickled into a better Justice League too? I dunno. Aquaman and Flash are kind of ridiculous in each of their own ways. Surprisingly, Cyborg had the most character development, though he's an eyesore to watch with all that jarring cgi. The completely forgettable villain doesn't help either. Batman and Wonder Woman are cool though.
Rating: B-
The Disaster Artist
Hilarious and heart warming. If you've never seen Tommy Wiseau in the Room you can still get lots of enjoyment from this 'making-of-The-Room' retelling comedy, but having known of The Room beforehand I'd say I enjoyed it that much more. You can tell they didn't set out to make fun of the guy and his failed attempt, but to show that, despite his oddness and unorthodox way of doing things, he was creative and took a chance. Really great.
Rating: A-
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
So much has been said online already. I'll try and keep my opinion brief, but know that it is a negative one. Yes, I fall into the category of lifelong Star Wars fan who felt let down, and here's why; I can forgive the lamer new characters like Deejay or Haldo. I can forgive the completely pointless side mission to Canto Bight that served zero purpose. (personally I'd just have had Rose BE the hacker and make it more snappy that way). I can even forgive the Leia Poppins moment for being exactly what it was, a poorly-executed moment. Star Wars isn't perfect, remember the Ewoks? But I can't get past two very damning things. 1: the entire reason Kylo Ren became the antagonist he is was stupid. It betrayed everything Luke stood for as a character, especially when you take into account what he was willing to sacrifice to redeem his father Darth Vader, a KNOWN genocidal space Hitler. Choosing what he did regarding Kylo Ren, even for enough of a moment to stand there and ignite his lightsaber, is wrong. Plus not mentioning anything to Leia and Han? Nope. And 2: Star Wars has always been about heroism. Good vs Evil and the struggle to overcome darkness for the brighter light. But now, unless they are Rey, characters are outright punished for being heroic. Luke, Finn, Poe and more, all had moments of literal 'punishment' for trying to be the heroes. If you think heroism is outdated or unnecessary, then Star Wars isn't for you. Or at least that was the case when it stood for something. Okay, rant over. If you really enjoyed this movie then awesome, all the power to ya. It's just that, for me, as a die-hard fan, nothing of it rang true to the spirit of Star Wars. Except the new Tie Silencers. Those look great.
Rating: C
The Greatest Showman
The biggest issue going for this film is it's stretching of a budget it clearly didn't have for a movie of this size. That aside though, it's a fun musical with fantastic production design. It has a great message, and superb showmanship through Hugh Jackman. I enjoyed the soundtrack quite a bit. I'm not the biggest musical fan, but I am definitely tired of musicals that come off as really pretentious and all-important. This one steers clear of that to present a clear, uplifting message that anyone can enjoy.
Rating: B
The Shape Of Water
Guillermo Del Toro is one of my favourite filmmakers out there. He's such a compelling visual storyteller and I find myself really enjoying most of his work. This is no different. Very enjoyable, while also sad at times. Also some surprisingly graphic moments. All in all though one of Del Toro's best and one of my favourite films of the year.
Rating: A
TV
American Horror Story S7
When I heard the new season of AHS involved the crazy creepy clown epidemic from last year, I was stoked. It didn't really pan out the way I'd though though, but that's more to do with my own expectations. This season was unnerving, but also often resorted to easy shock factor that didn't actually serve the plot. Not a huge fan of the end either. Great concept though.
Rating: B
The Punisher S1
A great setup for future Frank Castle stories. But that's what it mostly was, a set up. The action scenes were intense and great, but then they would be broken up by some meandering plots that, while meaningful, don't really fit with Punisher as a character. His camaraderie with Micro was fantastic though. And although there were certainly intense moments befitting of Punisher, I couldn't help notice nothing holding quite up to his appearance in S2 of Daredevil against Wilson Fisk or the Hand. Still, a great commentary on war, its veterans, and their place in the world once the fighting is supposed to be done.
Rating: A
And that, dear readers, was my winter in a nutshell. I also got the audiobook for Eye Of The Storm released, and continue to plug away on my next book. 'Til then!
RK King
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