Tag Archives: James Cromwell

Rebel Ridge – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A fascinating exploration of how easy it is to twist and abuse power when no one is willing to stand up to it.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

Terry is thrown onto the road.

Rebel Ridge Review –

My professional background is in International Relations, and at the core of much of that is the idea of power. How do you keep power? How do you use power? How can you counter those with power? This can often be found in the exploration of the Melian Dialogue, where “the strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must”. A touchstone for our setting today. However, what happens if someone comes in to mess with that power?    

So, to set the scene, Terry Richmond (Aaron Pierre) was riding his bike one day with his music blaring when, unbeknownst to him, the police were tailing him. One sideswipe later, and being pushed to the ground while injured, Terry is arrested, and the money he was bringing to bail out his cousin was ‘confiscated’ by the police. Civil forfeiture: All the police need to do is have a suspicion that the money is an illegal gain, and they can take it, and the Shelby Springs Police Department did just that. Now Terry is on a ticking clock because if his cousin gets sent to state prison, he will be killed.    

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Article – Why I Love Star Trek: First Contact

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TL;DR – From the action to the story and the music. First Contact captures a real moment in Science Fiction history and is still probably my favourite Star Trek film.

Star Trek: First Contact. Image Credit: Paramount.

Article –

As the march of time continues forth, I was reminded that it has been twenty-three years since Star Trek: First Contact came out in cinemas. Goodness, 1996, such a long time ago, a time when I was not even in high school. However, in all the time since and before I don’t think any Star Trek film has had the same impact on me (though Wrath of Khan and Beyond come pretty close). As the time is right, and we all know how important time is, let’s dive into the joy that is Star Trek: First Contact.

So to set the scene, in Generations the USS Enterprise-D was destroyed by assailants and so a new ship the Sovereign-class USS Enterprise-E was commissioned with all our familiar faces making the transition. However, just with the Enterprise is in the middle of its shakedown cruise the worst possible news happens. The Borg are back. A large cube ship is on a trajectory with Earth but the Enterprise cannot help as Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) was once assimilated by the Borg and Starfleet wants it away from the battle. But to hell with orders, which is good because this time the Borg is messing with the timeline and only the Enterprise can fix the damage before it is too late.

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Movie Review – Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

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TL;DR – It really pains me to say that this film was a real disappointment with its story.

Score – 2.5 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is a post-credit scene but you do not have to stay for it

Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom. Image Credit: Universal/Legendary

Review –

So well hmmm. Look when it comes to dinosaurs I am the easiest person to convince. I have loved them since I was a kid, the favourite book in my library is my first edition Dinotopia novel, and I have loved every one of the previous Jurassic Park films, yes even Jurassic Park III. However, as I walked out of the cinemas here I can’t help but think I just watched something that had an opportunity to do something different but decided to go the safest predictable route imaginable and just re-tread things from the last film, and overall just became a bit of a disappointment.

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