Kasper's Ramblings from Kasper Beaumont

Review: Wonder Woman. The best super hero movie for a long time #WonderWoman #movie #review

6/18/2017

So much has been said about a female super hero lead and a female director, girl power yada yada. Seriously folks, who cares? I sure don't. A good movie is a good movie and I reckon this one is mighty fine. Sure it has some world-building plot and character development which may seem a little slow in places to the adrenaline junkies, but I found it well done.
There is plenty of eye candy for all with gorgeous Gal Gadot and hunky Chris Pine wearing nothing but a few drops of water. The scenery and cinematography are visually splendid.
I went with my 15 year-old comic reading son and he said it was regrettable how much they differed from the comics, especially with the Gods and Chris Pine's character. He thought her powers weren't quite true to the comics, such as her forcefield or telekinetic powers. He also said that the action scenes were awesome, so I'm pleased he came along with me and enjoyed it. I also saw it with hubby who said much the same thing.

For me, it was a great all-rounder with lots of heart, relatable characters and really cool action. I found the backstory of Diana (Gadot) growing up with the Amazons on the hidden isle of Themyscira (I hope I spelled that correctly) all quite wonderful and it brought a cool fantasy edge to the movie for me. I guess she's a bit like a female version of Thor. I'll just step back and let the DC and Marvels fans argue that one out LOL.
I've been a Gadot fan for years from the Fast & Furious movies. I was pleasantly surprised at her emotional depth in the role and such a lovely chemistry with Chris Pine.
Also the battle scenes and horsing riding action were fantastic. The lasso work was well done. 5 stars from me.

Gee..I hope you all get this meme. It's a good one

Until next time, happy days, from Kasper :)

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This movie is worth a look: Gods of Egypt #GodsofEgypt #movie

3/26/2016

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After an enjoyable afternoon at the cinema, I was quite surprised to read that 'Gods of Egypt' is a lemon. Well, let me contradict the trend by saying how much I enjoyed it. There were several points working in its favour in my mind. 1. The mythology of the golden age of Egypt, when the Gods lived among mortals; 2. Some pretty cool special effects; 3. Darn good looking eye candy and 4. Fond memories of the Stargate movie and TV series.
We go to the movies for entertainment and escapism and in my mind, Gods of Egypt met these criteria perfectly.

Have you ever read ancient Egyptian texts and wondered what their Gods would look like and how they would behave towards the commoners? I have always had a fascination for this. Whereas in Stargate, the powers that appeared magical were mostly due to technological superiority, here it is interpreted in a more traditional sense.

Gods of Egypt was directed by Alex Proyas and stars Gerard Butler as Set, Geoffrey Rush as Ra, Nickolaj Coster-Waldau (the ripped fighter from Game of Thrones) as Horus, Chadwick Boseman as Thoth, Brenton Thwaites as Bek, Elodie Yung as Hathor, Rufus Sewell as Urshu and Courtney Eaton as Zaya. - all in all a gorgeous cast with some pretty impressive CVs.
So, I recommend going in with an open mind and you might find that you really enjoy it like I did.

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Review: Deadpool - Marvel super hero plays it for laughs and wild abandon #Deadpool #Marvel

2/15/2016

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The term 'super hero' is kind of inappropriate here, with this chemically enhanced jokester with a devil-may-care attitude not being focussed on saving people, but on revenge. But don't be deterred, there is a hell of a lot to like in the adults only movie. My partner and I laughed most of the way through, apart from the times I cringed from the violence. Warning: it's not one for the faint-hearted.

What's to like?

Pretty much everything really. The cast are really good. Ryan Reynolds (and his butt) as Deadpool; the beautiful Morena Baccarin as Vanessa; and the deliciously loathsome Ed Skrein as Ajax.
The plot is actually pretty cool (shock horror) for a comic book movie. It opens with a visually spectacular action sequence which is intercut with the obligatory backstory of how Deadpool gained his super-healing powers. Basically he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and this mutant experiment was his only hope of survival. Of course, things didn't go quite to plan and there is a dastardly villain in need of terminating.
The black humour is wickedly dark and the timing is so totally inappropriate as to be hilarious.
Extra-special effects in the action scenes are totally incredible.
There were a couple of X-men. I love the joke that the producers could only afford two.
The opening credits are seriously funny and original.
There is a beautiful love story at the heart of the movie.

What I didn't like:

The violence was a bit graphic for my tastes, but I'm sure there are many hot-blooded young men who will find it right up their alley

The verdict:

I loved it . Five stars and a round of applause from me.

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I'm loving all these Star War theories and chatter, but can I just have a Rey t-shirt please? #StarWars

1/10/2016

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Is Snoke really Darth Plagueis? He certainly isn't Darth Vader come back from the dead as some misguided theories have suggested. Yes, I agree the musical score is very similar, but perhaps that is because this is the Star Wars genre and they are both Sith Lords.
Is Rey Han's daughter, or Luke's? Was Anikin conceived by Darth Plagueis' willpower? So many weird and wonderful theories to be explored.
They are hours of fun to be had from Googling all the latest in Star Wars chatter. Just today I was checking out a verbal duel between Emo Kylo Ren and Very Lonely Luke on Twitter. I must say that Emo Kylo Ren is hilarious.

I'm still staking out the local fandom shop and waiting for t-shirts of Rey and BB8 to come in. Sure there have been a lot of Darth Vader, Han and Chewie merchandise, but hey folks ... the series has moved on. I'd like a Rey shirt please. Girl power is the new Jedi flavour of the month.
Ah well, in the meantime I'll watch The Force Awakens again and patiently wait for the merchandise to catch up with the fans.

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Movie review: Star Wars: the Force Awakens. A must see for fans young and old. #StarWars

12/20/2015

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Our 3 children were too young to see any of the previous movies in their original cinema releases, so it was with child-like wonder that we attended Star Wars: the Force Awakens. There is something magical about watching it with youngsters and enjoying their gasps of surprise, giggles and cheers of elation. It is not a movie I would recommend for the pre-schooler age, but our children of 14, 12 and almost 8 were delighted with it. There are a couple of scary bits in there, the usual kind of Star Wars violence and lots of awesome loud music and special effects.

As you will read in I daresay many other reviews, it is best not to talk about the plot due to spoilers. I can say that I appreciated the emotional connection to the new characters, although it did take me just a little while to get used to Luke, Han and Leia not being the lead stars. Yes, they are all there to some degree, but the story has moved on, which I think was necessary, but a little hard for the original fans to process right away.
Finn and Rey are two great new lead characters and there is a mysterious Darth Vader-like baddie (of course it wouldn't be Star Wars without the bad imperial storm troopers.) I think I'll leave it there plot-wise. Just go and see it and judge for yourself. The galaxy is kinda familiar, but so many things are new and different that we can feel that this is a new movie and the start of a new adventure. Will there be 3 or 6 movies from Disney? I don't know, but if they are of this quality, then the more the merrier for me.
Excuse me while I go and play with my lightsabre. Buzz buzz

By the way, check out the cool clip below. Such fun!

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Movie review: The Martian, starring Matt Damon. Excitement, science and a lot of heart. 5 stars

10/5/2015

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We went in with no expectations, because so many space and sci-fis these days are disappointing. Luckily, this is A-grade all the way.
Poor Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is accidentally left behind when his fellow astronauts are evacuated during a powerful storm on Mars. Injured and with air leaking from his spacesuit, things look bleak for the likeable character. Luckily, Watney is an intelligent and mentally tough bloke who manages to escape his immediate predicament.

Matt Damon brings warmth and humour to the role of Watney and he really is enjoyable to watch. Although he is alone, you feel the support radiating out to him from Earth and feel your hands clench during tense moments.

Ridley Scott does a great job of making the special effects look natural in the movie and keeping the plot true to the novel. I was pleasantly relieved that there wasn't a Martian in sight, although a visit from Warner Bros Marvin the Martian would have been quite acceptable. Well done to the team for this exciting movie. I recommend everyone takes a look. 5 stars from Kasper.

Life is not going to be smooth sailing on the harsh red planet and we feel as though we are on the planet with Botanist Watney as he has to nut out a way to communicate his survival to Earth and figure out how to feed himself for the years it may take for assistance to arrive.
In true NASA style, things aren't going so well at their end either. They may have the most brilliant minds on Earth to work with, but unforseen complications crop up and Watney has only himself and meagre provisions for them to work with.

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Movie review of Jupiter Ascending. Spectacular visual effects and beautiful eye candy, but ...

2/22/2015

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This sci-fi block buster falls short of what it could have been and should have been.
Gorgeous Mila Kunis graces the stage with her beautiful expressive eyes and curvaceous figure in an action fighter suit. She is joined by an alien genetical mash-up between a wolf and a human with the only visible sign being pointy elf ears (oh yeah, I was right into the elf ears), played by Channing Tatum. He is unfortunately on a par with our mate, Keau Reeves on the acting scale.

There is also a great supporting cast, including the versatile Eddie Redmayne (recently seen as Stephen Hawking); a fantasy fave - Sean Bean (Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings); and the extremely pretty Douglas Booth (he's a model, no surprise).
The story begins where 3 extremely long-lived lords and lady of the galaxy are fighting over Earth (apparently we're quite a desirable planet, nice to know). These three siblings: Titus, Balex and Kalique Abrasax, all covet our world, which used to be owned by their mother. She died in mysterious circumstances, so I wouldn't be trusting them with any trustworthy matters anytime soon.
An Earth girl (Kunis) is born to Russian star-loving parents and migrates to Chicago, America to a hard life of cleaning up after wealthy folks and spends a considerable part of the movie cleaning toilets. Enter the obligatory naked, bigheaded aliens who want to probe / destroy the poor girl, named Jupiter. Luckily Channing Tatum's Mister Caine (mister?) flys in on hover skates to save the day.
Where can I get me some of those hover skates? I need them. It gave me a Star War-like buzz of exhilaration. Cue lots of exciting action scenes that made me sit their grinning with a huge smile on my face (and of course the ever-awesome Sean Bean as the interesting, but under-utilised, Stinger).
A short time later when they launched into space to meet the fiendish Abrasax siblings, something disappointing happened to this movie that I was enjoying immensely. It became a yawn. Perhaps it was the lack of plot depth or perhaps the lucklustre acting from leading man, Caine. Maybe it was the boring and predictable save-the-wedding scene. A combination of things made the movie go downhill rapidly.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I went, and there were some brilliant things to love about Jupiter Ascending. The design of the space ships and the hover shoes and plasma shield technology made it worthwhile for me. The scene with the bees was most incredible too.
And who could resist the horde of gorgeous actors who might have just walked off the set of the latest vampire movie. Perhaps if you go in expecting a Rotten-Tomatoes rating of 1 star / tomato, you will find it exceeds expectations.
Suspend your disbelief and go ahead, give Jupiter Ascending a go. 4 stars from me.

NB: It has just aired here in Australia, but I notice there is a release date of the 25th of July 2014 on the poster to the right here. When did it open in your town? and did you like it?

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#movie #review Big Hero 6 is a surprise fave for the holiday season. 5 stars

12/28/2014

Ah..kids movies on the school holidays are a lucky dip, aren't they? Sometimes you can find an original gem like a Shrek or Toy Story movie, others can leave you struggling to keep your eyelids open, such as Rio or a bunch of other movies whose names escape me (that's probably a good thing too!).

OK, so Big Hero 6 was kind of an accidental choice for us when the queue was so long that we missed half of Paddington Bear and Big Hero 6 happened to be on at the right time. We entered a large cinema and gave a sigh when there were only 20 people in there - usually a sign of a lemon.
Luckily for us, we were right on the money with this movie. It has something for all ages. There is a big cuddly robot with plenty of sight gags for the littlies; a teenager doing robotics which appealed to my science buff; an unlikely group of heroes including a pink one for the middle school kiddies; and a fairly good plot for the big kids (me).
The story is set in a mashed up land called San Fransokyo (a blend of the best parts of the East and West), where a young boy named Hiro embarks on a career of robotic programming and illegal betting competitions. Luckily he has a pretty good little robot because it's a cut-throat career choice. Hiro's future is looking pretty bleak when he is extended a lifeline by the University with a robotics research position. There he meets a varied bunch of scientists who study varied fields such as lasers, magnetic levitation. chemistry and physics.
The big balloon-looking robot is named Baymax and he is a paramedic robot designed and programmed by Hiro's brother, Tadashi. Baymax is a fun character, providing laughs, warmth and an odd kind of robotic empathy. We seriously came out of the cinema and hugged the blow up Baymax in the foyer.
I digress....OK back to the story......Unfortunately there is a huge explosion at the uni where Hiro's brother is killed and this group of friends band together to investigate. I could go on, but don't want to spoil the surprises for you. Just do yourself a favour and grab a small child and some popcorn and go see it.

What is your favourite movie these holidays?

Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Seriously funny stuff

8/7/2014

Are you looking for a laugh-out-loud sci-fi comedy that doesn't take itself too seriously? Of course you are and here it is in all its weird and wonderful wackiness - Guardians of the Galaxy.
Abducted by aliens as a boy by a blue alien with questionable morals, Peter Quinn is a lovable criminal who finds himself on the wrong side of the law and hunted by just about every bad guy in the universe. He joins forces with a zany bunch of adventurers who alternate between wanting to help him and kill him.
The Guardians are: Gamora - a very fiesty green warrior, played by the recently blue Avatar, Zoe Saldana; Rocket, a genetically enhanced talking

raccoon with a penchant for tinkering and blowing things up; Drax the man-muscle - straightforward and seeking vengeance; and a walking talking, Treebeard-like creature named Groot with amazing abilities.
Sure, I could analyse this to bits, but all you need to know is that is is fun, funny and has cool spaceship battles. It's entertaining! What more could anyone want? I'll be back next week to see it again with the halflings.
5 stars from me. Showing at cinemas now.

Review: Maleficent. Is it really as bad as the critics made out?

6/17/2014

Being a fantasy buff, I'm inclined to go with a more favourable review than most of the critics. It didn't totally bomb, but then again neither did it reach its promised potential.
In case you've been hiding under a toadstool somewhere, Maleficent is the story of that bad witch from the Sleeping Beauty fairytale. The movie has shades of 'Wicked' and also reminded me of Darth Vader and how he did wrong things because he believed they were right.
The story begins with the fairy as a young girl with wings who lives in a magical realm called The Moors and falls in love with a young human man from the non-magical kingdom. The humans believes the fair folk are a threat to them and the two kingdoms go to war.
Maleficent is growing in power and the young man betrays her terribly and leaves her crippled. When the man becomes the King, marries and has a child named Aurora, Maleficent sees the innocent child as her means of revenge against her former beau. Along the way she discovers that her heart is not made of stone and she questions her motives.
For me, there was something that didn't sit right with this movie. I'm not sure if it was because of Maleficent's lack of emotional depth, or because it was hard to figure out just who the baddie was. There certainly was a lot of darkness surrounding all the characters. The only likeable one for me was the raven, oddly enough. Aurora is lovely and inanely happy, but ultimately a bit unsatisfying. Maleficent is just too uncertain with her motives and I didn't really root for her.
Overall, I'd say it's worth a look for the wonderful magical and special effect, but for heart, I preferred 'Wicked' or 'Snow White and the Huntsman.'

<<Previous

Review: Wonder Woman. The best super hero movie for a long time #WonderWoman #movie #review

This movie is worth a look: Gods of Egypt #GodsofEgypt #movie

Review: Deadpool - Marvel super hero plays it for laughs and wild abandon #Deadpool #Marvel

I'm loving all these Star War theories and chatter, but can I just have a Rey t-shirt please? #StarWars

Movie review: Star Wars: the Force Awakens. A must see for fans young and old. #StarWars

Movie review: The Martian, starring Matt Damon. Excitement, science and a lot of heart. 5 stars

Movie review of Jupiter Ascending. Spectacular visual effects and beautiful eye candy, but ...

#movie #review Big Hero 6 is a surprise fave for the holiday season. 5 stars

Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Seriously funny stuff

Review: Maleficent. Is it really as bad as the critics made out?

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