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A Plague Tale: Requiem (2022)
Good , but slow at times
Intriguing story right from the start which pulls you into the world . Amazing graphics.! Perhaps the best I've seen yet on my series x. I was a bit surprised that so much stealth is required throughout the game as I was expecting a bit more action and adventure . As you play thru it you with undoubtedly get to lulls where it feels like you are simply going from one building to the next while avoiding rats and it takes another 10 minutes to get to another event in the game . I should also point out that this is one of those "solve one problem then another " games where you are presented issues and the characters say " oh yea ! We can do this to fix it "! Then you go do that , then fix something else , cut scene , repeat . Overall an interesting game but not one id replay again .
Babylon (2022)
Cinema of the highest order
Couldn't take my eyes off the screen . Dazzling cinematography , great acting and story. For movie buffs, this is a towering film that will be admired for years to come . Ignore the mixed reviews and go enjoy it . No doubt this will be nominated for several academy awards. A film doesn't need to make $4 billion dollars to be a success. Robbie is deserving of an Oscar . Her performance commands the screen. Be warned , this film does not pull any punches similar to "the wolf of Wall st" or "eyes wide shut" . A hard R. A true love letter to hollywood and how nasty it can be along with all the glitz and glamour.
In the Loop (2009)
No Fighting in the War Room
Many British comedies became classics in the U.S. because of their well-paced dialogue and sophisticated sense of irony. In the Loop will be no exception. A satire on U.S. / U.K. policymaking, writer/director Armando Iannucci's ambitious take on marching to war amuses like a political version of The Office, but it's a feature-length spin-off of the under-rated BBC sitcom The Thick Of It. Iannucci and his team of writers (Simon Blackwell and Jesse Armstrong) have assembled an uproarious parody that packs an irreverent punch on a more controversial topic than any other ensemble comedy before it. Take the most serious issue in America today (the Iraq war) and make a spoof of it. How's that for irony? These sleazy Beltway Boys and sharp tongued British Bureaucrats keep us laughing at the gag-a-minute tempo so desired in modern comedy. The cast features some of the kingpins of British sitcoms; Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander and Chris Addison, and its nice to see Anna Chlumsky (My Girl) back on the silver screen, as well as David Rasche. Oh, and James Gandolfini as an overly-soft U.S. General leaves us thinking: he should do more comedy.
Everything goes downhill when British International Minister Simon Foster (Pirates of the Caribbean's Tom Hollander) slips up on national television and says that war is "unforeseeable". This gets perceived as a threat to back a U.S.-led invasion of the Middle East, and when offered a chance for redemption he only bumbles into another gaffe, "climbing the mountain of conflict". Communications Director Malcom Tucker (Peter Capaldi) then calls Simon a "Nazi Julie Andrews" and departs on an obscenity-laden rampage through his department. Malcom, a cleverly repulsive media manipulator, wants Simon to walk the party line that even he doesn't quite get. Simon's new assistant, Toby (Chris Addison) adds more fuel to the fire by leaking press releases and news conferences. All this leads to a power struggle with Washington diplomats Linton Barwick (David Rasche), who believes war is the only option, and Karen Clark (Mimi Kennedy), who tries to avoid it. Anna Chlumsky's role as Karen Clark's sexy aide Liza is both charming and hysterical. Meanwhile, Pentagon General Miller (Gandolfini) keeps the anti-war sentiment alive through his medal-pinned chest and teddy bear demeanor.
One thing goes without saying: Most of the witty one-liners come from Peter Capaldi's Malcom Tucker, one of the most hilarious and overtly profane characters in recent memory. This is a performance that could land him in awards contention. Razor-sharp scriptwriting that oozes Monty Python and Dr. Strangelove catapults In the Loop onto a short list of other classics in its subgenre. One of the reasons these scripts work so well is because of how disturbingly close to reality they are. Just like Thank You for Smoking and W., this is a farce that makes its audience ponder how far these dimwits are from the real power elites of Washington. It reinforces our cynicism of politicians.
Leave it to Iannucci's directorial style of quick-cuts and handycam sequencing reminiscent of the The Office to tell the tale of guile political backstabbing that happens all too often on Virginia Avenue and Downing Street. In the Loop hits its mark as a political comedy that's loaded to the brim with quotable one-liners and jokes. But it's more than that. It's the hellspawn of a Brit TV show turned into a rip-roaring feature film with an undiagnosed pathological disorder. It's the sleeper comedy of the year on both sides of the Atlantic. (3.5/4)