Split - Movie Review

Star Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰

Storyline - 

"When three girls are kidnapped by a man with 23 different personalities they have to work out which of those personalities will help them escape and which of those personalities will try to stop them." - imdb.com

Review -

Split starts of with the abduction of three young girls, who are waiting in the car whilst the father of one of the girls. They are sprayed with some 'magic' chemical that immediately puts them to sleep, when they awaken, they are locked in a nondescript room with two beds and a bathroom. They are eventually visited by their abductor and one of them is taken from the room to dance for him. She is promptly returned and they are left alone once more.

The second time he visits he is dress in a skirt and acts completely different to the first time he came in. It doesn't take long for the girls to work out that something is not quite right with their abductor. The next time they see him he claims he is a nine year old boy named Headwig, who they slowly ring clues from.

This is the kind of movie that leaves you thinking anything is possible, and instills a bit of paranoia. The character building in this movie is actually quite remarkable, considering that one person (James McAvoy) is playing at least four characters in one film. 

There is not a lot else I can say about this movie but that it's worth the watch.

💜MetalandTeacups

Information -

Release Date: 20 Jan 2017
Time: 1hr 57mins
Cast:

	James McAvoy	...	Dennis / Patricia / Hedwig / The Beast / Kevin Wendell Crumb / Barry / Orwell / Jade
	Anya Taylor-Joy	...	Casey Cooke
	Betty Buckley	...	Dr. Karen Fletcher
	Haley Lu Richardson	...	Claire Benoit
	Jessica Sula	...	Marcia

  

La La Land - Movie Review

Star Rating: ✮✰✰✰✰

Storyline - 

"Mia, an aspiring actress, serves lattes to movie stars in between auditions and Sebastian, a jazz musician, scrapes by playing cocktail party gigs in dingy bars, but as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart." - imdb.com

Review - 

If you are someone who is now upset because I gave this movie a one star rating, do yourself a favour and stop reading this review now.

If, like me, you want to watch this movie out of sheer curiosity, but have no idea what it's about, just save yourself two hours of your life and just don't.

La La Land is an unnecessarily fantastical movie about a couple who both want to make in big in LA. Mia (Emma Stone) an struggling actress who works at Warner Brothers Studios as a barista, trying to find a job. Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) is a washed up musican, who is struggling to deal with finical ruin after losing he's co-owned club.

They first officially meet at a party, where Sebastian plays in a cover band and Mia heckles him. This is followed by one of the many completely random dance scenes, as he walks to her car. Sebastian invites her to the movies, but Mia has forgotten she has dinner with her current boyfriend, who she ditches at the restaurant to see Sebastian. After a long winded song and dance, Sebastian joins a friends band which becomes famous leaving Mia is neglected. Here they have a blow out.

The movie ends with Mia and her husband walking into a jazz club after dinner, where Sebastian walks on stage and plays the song she first heard him play at a restaurant.

Review time, this movie was as painful to watch as writing that synopsis was. Through out the movie I often found myself sitting there saying "What the fuck?" to myself. I can't believe that this clusterfuck movie of cliques and stereotypes actually won an Oscar. Emma Stone looked sick through out the entire movie, her face gaunt and her too thin limbs.

The only redeeming quality this movie had was passion Sebastian had for jazz before he became a sellout. The bars they went to are the kind of place I like to go, and that the only thing I could relate to in this movie. Everything else just repulsed me with its unrealistic and shallow romantic qualities.

Not a movie for those who enjoy story or depth.

💜MetalandTeacups

Information - 

Release Date:  25 Dec 2016
Time: 2hrs 7mins
Cast:

	Ryan Gosling	...	Sebastian
	Emma Stone	...	Mia

    

The Autumn Republic by Brian McClellan - Book Review

Star Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮ 

 Storyline - 

"The capital has fallen...
Field Marshal Tamas returns to his beloved country to find that for the first time in history, the capital city of Adro lies in the hands of a foreign invader. His son is missing, his allies are indistinguishable from his foes, and reinforcements are several weeks away.

An army divided...
With the Kez still bearing down upon them and without clear leadership, the Adran army has turned against itself. Inspector Adamat is drawn into the very heart of this new mutiny with promises of finding his kidnapped son.

All hope rests with one...
And Taniel Two-shot, hunted by men he once thought his friends, must safeguard the only chance Adro has of getting through this war without being destroyed...

THE AUTUMN REPUBLIC is the epic conclusion that began with Promise of Blood and The Crimson Campaign." - Goodreads

Review -

The Autumn Republic immediately follows the events of 'The Crimson Campaign'. It follows the ventures of several characters, mainly Tamas, Taniel, and Adamat, which gives it an intricate story line.

I wish there had been more focus on the development on the history of this world. There were a lot of blank areas when it came to how Privileged and Powder Mage powers worked. You get a small taste of the Privileged powers when Bo explains them to Nila, but outside of that you only know they're the most powerful sorcerers in the world. I feel McClellan missed a big world building opportunity here. He also doesn't explain why Powder Mages consume gun powder in different ways, and the only other mage who is mentioned "snorting" powder outside of Tamas and Taniel, is Andriya. Even though these holes in information don't effect the story, it could have made it so much better.

The themes in this series often reminded me of the American Civil War, where guns are a relatively new development and can only be loaded with one bullet, making swords a vital weapon in combat. Making Powder Mages rare and dangerous.

I definitely recommend this to those who enjoyed The Left Hand of God, but want something more fast paced. 

💜 MetalandTeacups

Information -

Format: Paperback 

Dimensions: 131 x 198 x 40mm | 374g 
Publication: 07 Jan 2016 by Orbit  
Pages: 577

The Crimson Campaign br Brian McMclellan - Book Review

Star Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮

I can't believe I waited so long to read this series, but, in a way, I'm glad I did. That way I don't have to wait a year for the next book.

Absolutely gorgeous world with some if the most riveting characters.

Can not wait to dig in to the next book. 

Format: Paperback 

Dimensions: 131 x 198 x 41mm | 425g 
Publication: 22 Jan 2015 by Orbit  
Pages: 593

Netflix's Iron Fist - Review

Star Rating: ✮✮✮✰✰

I've been avoiding writing my review about Iron Fist, as I'm still not quite sure how I feel about the series, even though I finished watching it over a week ago.

Storytime, Danny Rand (Finn Jones) has returned from the dead to reclaim his inheritance, his father's company. However, he has no proof of his identity and the current heads and childhood companions, Joy (Jessica Stroup) and Ward (Tom Pelphrey) Meachum, are skeptical of the intentions of this stranger.

With no where to go he convinces Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick) to let him stay with her in her dojo, at least until he has reclaimed his company. Eventually evidence is found to prove Danny's identity and he claims a controlling interest in the company. With his lack of knowledge in how business is run, Danny attempts to change the company's morale direction through force. The board does not take this well.

There are also mysterious forces, known as The Hand, influencing Ward through his thought to be dead father, Harold Meachum (David  Wenham).

To be honest, it was hard to understand Danny's motivation to get his company back, as he constantly insists it is not for money. They were also a little vague as to how The Iron Fist works, as sometimes it worked when Danny was injured or when he cleared his ci.

It was the same kind of mess that caused me to have some many issues with Jessica Jones, the only thing that kept it interesting were the various Kung-Fu fight scenes through each episode. The story seemed to be scattered, they knew where they had to go but weren't quite sure how to get there, so they just threw a bunch of shit together and hoped it worked.

I think Daredevil was such a success, is because it focused on Matthew's origin as The Daredevil, rather than as a piece of The Defenders, which is where they lost me with Iron Fist. As I am not familiar with the character or their origins, it was a little hard to chew.

There is a promise of another season, as Danny and Colleen travel to K'un-Lun and it has disappeared, but that probably won't happen until after The Defenders and they have confused watchers further. The only reason I'm actually going to watch The Defenders is because I've already put in 5 season worth of viewing time into the Netflix's MCU. Got to commit to things, right?

💜 MetalandTeacups

Power Rangers - Movie Review

Star Rating : ✮✮✮✮✰

I was really apprehensive about seeing this movie, as I hated Power Rangers as a kid, the over-exaggerated fighting style just was not my thing, however, Theo was a die hard fan. This movie has definitely changed my mind, I actually left the cinema insanely excited for the next movie.

The story starts in a locker room, where Jason Scott (Darce Montgomery) and friend are attempting to lock a bull inside. Shortly followed by a small police chase and a crash that destroys Jason's future of becoming a pro-quarterback and giving a criminal record. He now has to attend detention every Saturday until he finishes school if he wishes to graduate. Here he meets Kimberly (Naomi Scott), an outcast cheerleader, and Billy (RJ Cyler), who suffers from Autism, causing him to be endlessly bullied, Jason defends Billy from his attacker.

Later Billy convinces Jason to drive him to an undisclosed location in exchange for "tricking out" Jason's ankle bracelet. When they arrive, events so unfold allowing the introduction of Zack (Ludi Lin) and Trini (Becky G.). They eventually discover these glowing "coins" they eventually give them the enhanced abilities of the Power Rangers. They are told they have 11 days before the prior Green Ranger, Rita (Elizabeth Banks), who still posses her coin and has gone rouge, will destroy the earth.

Jason, who has been bestowed with the power of the Red Ranger must lead the group into the fight of their lives.

I'm going to be totally honest, Darce Montgomery bares a startling resemblance to a young Zac Efron, which caused me to get a little distracted during the film, as I find myself ogling him. Sorry Theo...

Outside if that, the did really well at portraying the Power Rangers origin and how their powers work, something I never really got from the TV show, as I would never see the start of the season. Condensed into a 2 hour movie rather than a 60 episode season.

There was a scene where the teens are in water about to discover their "headquarters" for the first time, and they've had to swim down to an air pocket, and the air bubbles from their mouths are going down and not up. It just really annoyed me... Another issue I had was trying to identify the  Yellow, Black and Pink Zords as dinosaurs. They've lost the definition they had in the show.

Yet small annoyances can't really bring this film down, with it's not so subtle Transformers reference. There is a promise of a sequel including the Green Ranger, Tommy Oliver. I think that Power Rangers has a potential to rival the Marvel Cinematic Universe, if done right.

Promise of Blood by Brian McClellen - Book Review

Star Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮

This was a bit of a slow read for me, as I could only squeeze in a couple of pages every night.

It certainly didn't start the way I expected, which threw me off a little. I was anticipating some kinda of build up to the coup at the start. Nope, totally wrong, McClellan dove straight into the fray.

The fair large amount of political intrigue is went constructed, making the interactions of the variety characters complex yet easy to follow. The world building in the novel is lax, as there are several maps at the start of each book. We tend to lose the sense of vastness and grandeur through the middle, but is redeemed in the last 100 pages. Over all the story was well thought out.

Definitely keen to see what is in store for the rest of the trilogy.

Format: Paperback
Dimensions: 129 x 197 x 40mm | 400g 
Publication: 07 Jan 2014 by Orbit  
Pages: 545

The Lego Batman Movie - Review

Star Rating: ✮✮✰✰✰

Anyone who knows me, knows I am a die-hard Batman fan, especially where Lego is involved. I have all the games and even a bunch of Lego figurines. So, I braved the cinema filled with sweaty, screaming children, who were incapable of chewing with their mouths closed to see an "advanced" screening for this movie. I say "advanced" because it was released two months prior in the US. So, if I am to be honest, before I even saw the movie I had a bad feel for it.

The first five minutes were probably the most enjoyable, where ripping off everything from The Lego Movie hadn't gotten old yet. Then follows a cluster-fuck of incorrectly represented characters. Let's start with Barbara, I have read the entire New 52 Batgirl series, along with other bits and piece, and there is absolutely NO sexual tension, feelings or relations between Bruce Wayne and Barbara Gordan nor Batman and Batgirl. Why DC keeps trying to perpetuate this, I have no idea.

Next is Dick Grayson, who actually looks Carrie Kelly, one of the few females that actually take up the mantle of robin, pictured below:

Whilst the character is charmingly needy, he does not display any of Dick Grayson charm nor wit that define Dick as Robin, actually everything about Robin screamed Carrie, the neediness, the overwhelming desire to prove themselves as Robin, being generally annoying . And I am not going to even start on The Joker.

The best part of this movie is the first song Batman actually sings. Bravo. 

I feel like this would have been better if I were drunk... Oh well. Maybe next time Lego.

💜MetalandTeacups

Logan - Movie Review

Star Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰

Set 12 years from now, in 2029, we open to Logan passed out drunk in the back of a limo, that he now drives for a living. He is then approached by an unknown woman, preaching for him to help her and her daughter to reach North Dakota. Not wanting to expose his identity he refuses. But, eventually, after being warn down, by this woman, he is eventually persuaded by Charles to take them.

For Hugh Jackman's finally movie as Wolverine, it definitely did justice to the countless years he put into developing this character. Logan can been seen as the final testament to his career. The same goes for Sir Patrick Stewart, and his role as Professor X, with has been undermined a lot in recent news.

Lauren, the young girl, was an almost heart-warming character. As she has quite a dark past, making her distant but also desperate for affection.

The number one thing that annoyed me with this movie, was how often Charles whined "Logan", which, I guess, is the idea. So, in part they did that quite well.

I believe that if they don't make other X-Men movie, the franchise will finish on a the best note possible, As Logan had a deep sense of finality.

A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab - Book Review

Star Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭

Starting off immediately after the events of the previous book, Kell finds himself trapped in "The Shadow King's" grasp, whilst Rhy battles for his life.

That's all I'm going to say in regards to the story.

As always Schwab weaves a fantastic story. The world is a wonderful reflection of a vibrant imagination. I am disappointed that this is the end, as it didn't feel long enough. Whilst everything was wrapped up neatly, I can't help but feel, with all the twist and turns, that something was missing at the end.

The conclusion missed that feeling of satisfaction you get after finishing such an epic series. The events that make up the last two parts, panned out exactly as I expected them, which could account for the lack of satisfaction, I want that unexpected twist. That heart wrenching moment of loss, or unexpected survival.

This series is absolutely magical series. And is, hands down, a must-read for any fan of fantasy.

Format: Paperback
Dimensions: 130 x 198 x 48mm | 483g
Publication: 28 Feb 2017 by Titan Books Ltd.
Pages: 666

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - Movie Review

Star Rating: ✮✮✰✰✰

So, last night I embarked on a mission to finally watch this. As I am not deeply invested in the Harry Potter universe, I expected to at least be able to follow the plot. Unfortunately, the plot to this movie is completely befuddled, so much so, that I am complete in capable of telling you want this movie is actually about.

There is little character development , so little that it is literally just flashing news titles at the start of the movie. The same goes for the world development; whilst Fantastic Beasts piggybacks heavily off the seven Harry Potter movies, I still feel that they could have put some effort into making this more in depth.

As Fantastically as it was, it was lack-luster in story.

Sorry HP Fans, but this was not worth the 2 hours of my life.