Tag Archives: Rebecca Ferguson

The Kid Who Would Be King (2019) Review

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THE ONCE AND FUTURE KID

 

The names of Camelot, Excalibur, Lancelot, Morgana, Merlin, and Arthur Pendragon are some of the main staples to the many different iterations of the Arthurian legends of King Arthur. Taking inspiration from many the tales of British folklore, the legend of King Arthur has been told and retold through a multitude of accounts, finding its origins within 12th century medieval England. With the passing of the tale, the story of Arthur has passed through the ages, reimagined and refined the British figure into a legend in both folklore and in literary. While many novels and books have written on the legend of King Arthur, none is more famous than version written by English novelist T.H. White titled “The Once and Future King”, which consist of the widely and well-known part of the Arthurian tale (i.e. The Sword in the Stone). Much like the literary world, Hollywood as a plethora of cinematic tales (made for the big and small screen) that represent the legend of King Arthur. This includes Disney’s 1963 animated feature The Sword in the Stone and 1998’s Quest for Camelot, the films 1995’s First Knight and 2004’s King Arthur, 2017’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, and 1998’s television movie Merlin amongst many others. Now, 20th Century Fox and director Joe Cornish present the latest variation of the King Arthur legend with the YA film The Kid Who Would Be King. Is this new cinematic take on the old legend worth seeing or is it just another “run-of-the-mill” endeavor from the illustrious Arthurian lore? Read more

Mission Impossible: Fallout (2018) Review

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THIS IS ONE MISSION YOU’ll

WANT TO ACCEPT

 

The Mission Impossible franchise has had a lengthy road, stretching from the small screen (all the way back from 1966 to 1973) to the big screen in 1996, with the release of the first film (i.e. Mission Impossible) and introducing the spy riddled world of character Ethan Hunt (played by actor Tom Cruise) to moviegoers everywhere. While the first movie, which grossed over $450 million and receive praise from critics, its’ two follow-up sequels Mission Impossible II in 2000 and Mission Impossible III in 2006, were faced with mixed reviews, but were still deemed commercial success at the box office. Perhaps the world wasn’t ready for another spy installment with Cruise’s Hunt and his fellow operatives. That was until 2011 when Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, the fourth entry in the franchise, exploded into theaters. In a nutshell, director Brad Bird seem to breathing new life into the series with Ghost Protocol and rejuvenated the Mission Impossible brand name with more high-flying action stunts, visual vigor, and (possibly) a better narrative than the two previous sequels. The film went on to gross close to $649 million at the box office (the highest grossing Mission Impossible movie in the franchise) as well as the fifth highest grossing movie in 2011. With Mission’s mojo back (and positive praise from critics and the public), a fifth entry in the series materialized in 2015 with Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. The movie, which was directed by Christopher McQuarrie, continued the on-going trend from Ghost Protocol in being more a high-action spy adventure with visuals and stunts and with (of course) Cruise once again returning as Ethan Hunt. Rogue Nation, much like its predecessor film, gained positive reviews and garnished roughly $680 million at the box office, becoming the second-highest grossing in the film series and the eighth highest grossing feature film in 2015. Now, nearly three years later, Paramount Pictures and returning director Christopher McQuarrie gear up for the sixth installment in the franchise with the movie Mission Impossible: Fallout. Does this latest entry in Ethan Hunt’s cinematic saga continue the positive remarks from the recent previous installments or is it time to retire the infamous IMF agent and the film series along with it? Read more

The Snowman (2017) Review

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YOU CAN’T FORCE THE PIECES TO FIT

 

Norwegian native-born Jo Nesbø is a sort of jack-of-all trades. While he’s most known for his writing, Nesbø has also dabbled as a musician (the main vocalist and songwriter for the for the Norwegian rock band Di Derre) as well as a former economist (a stockbroker) and a freelance journalist. While talented those respective areas, Nesbø eventually settle down in writing, crafting out his own corner in the literary world with his mystery crime novels. While Nesbø has created several standalone novels as well as several novel series (The Olav Johansen series and The Doctor Proctor series), his most famous series has to be The Harry Hole series. In a brief summary, the series follows Harry Hole, a detective whose investigation take him to various locations (i.e. Oslo, Australia, and the Congo Republic) and usually takes cases that involves serial killers, bank robbers, gangster, and corrupt politicians, while Hole also battles against alcoholism and his own personal demons. As a whole, Nesbø’s Harry Hole novels, which as of 2017 consist of 11 books, have been well-received from critics and readers, finding the books to be similar to the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson (author of the Millennium trilogy) and Nesbø becoming an international bestselling author. Now, Universal Pictures and director Tomas Alfredson present Nesbø’s seventh Harry Hole novel to life with the film The Snowman. Does this movie translate well within its “page to screen adaptation of Nesbø’s work or does flounder beneath its icy backdrop setting and serial killer nuances? Read more

The Girl on the Train Review

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THE TIES THAT BEHIND US

 

Back on February 2015, the literary world was introduced to The Girl on the Train. This debut novel by author Paula Hawkins, was presented as a psychological thriller of which many called it the next Gone Girl (a similar novel written by  Gillian Flynn). The success of The Girl on the Train was well-met, receiving praise for Hawkins’s work, securing a #1 position on The New York Fiction Best Sellers list for 13 consecutive weeks. With the book selling millions of copies, it was basically inevitable that a film adaptation was soon to be developed, lockdown by Universal Pictures and DreamWorks. Now, the film is read to debut as director Tate Taylor presents the cinematic version of The Girl on the Train. Does the movie make the jump from page to screen or does its shrouded psychological mystery get bogged down in superfluous theatrics? Read more

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation Review

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YOUR MISSION

(IF YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT)

Based off of the old television show, Mission Impossible movie franchise began its cinematic journey back in 1996 with its first entry and introducing the spy riddled world of character Ethan Hunt (played by actor Tom Cruise) to moviegoers everywhere. While its first entry was deemed a success, its two sequels 2000’s Mission Impossible II and Mission Impossible III were faced with mixed reviews. Perhaps the world wasn’t ready for spy bout with Cruise’s Hunt and his team that was until 2011. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, the fourth feature in the series, breathed new life into the franchise and rejuvenating the brand and with more action packed vigor and (maybe) a better narrative to tell. With Mission’s mojo back Paramount Pictures gears up for Ethan Hunt’s next assignment with Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. Can this movie emulate the success of Ghost Protocol or has the franchise ran out of gas with this latest entry? Read more