Top Gun (1986, dir. Tony Scott) - review by Rookie-Critic
Top Gun is unintentional homoeroticism at its peak. I mean, come on, they had to have noticed, right? It's so in your face. Ok, i just had to get that off my (bare) chest. On a more seriously analytical note, the romance between Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis just doesn't work and the volleyball scene, while definitely iconic and very fun (I mean COME ON, they're playing "Playing with the Boys" by Kenny Loggins over this! They had to have known what they were doing! Ok, sorry, sorry, I'll move on for real now), feels like it's from a completely different movie. It's so 80s it almost hurts, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's just so glaring. On the positive side, the acting is good, with Anthony Edwards particularly standing out as Goose. His and Maverick's witty relationship is, to me, the high point of the whole film. That, and anytime there's a flight sequence. That aerial camerawork is just phenomenal. The final dogfight especially was massively entertaining. It's not without some pretty significant flaws, but it is still a very entertaining watch and I can't deny the influence it has had.
Score: 6/10
Currently streaming on Paramount+.
I don't want to discount that this was actually, literally used as a propaganda/recruitment tool by the U.S. military, which is obviously atrocious and the worst kind of horrible. This review is just looking at the film itself.
2 notes
·
View notes
Jennifer Mary Leak (September 28, 1947 – March 18, 2024) Film and television actress
Leak played the role of Olive Springer Gordon Randolph in the soap opera Another World (1976–1979), and Blanche Bouvier in Guiding Light (1981–82). In addition, Leak created the role of Gwen Sherman, who started out as a prostitute who fell in love with Greg Foster and ended up becoming a nun in the mid-1970s on the CBS program The Young and the Restless.
Leak also played guest spots on various television shows, including McMillan and Wife and Hawaii Five-O. In 1973, she played Erica Jordan, Mary's temporary replacement at WJM-TV, in the season four episode "Better Late...That's a Pun...Than Never" in The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Other TV series she appeared in were Wojeck, The Good Guys, The Delphi Bureau, The Rookies, Ironside, Ryan's Hope, Nero Wolfe, One Life to Live and Loving. (Wikipedia)
3 notes
·
View notes
2022 Yearly Roundup
Stats
Total books read: 95
'New' books read: 90
5 star books: 32
My reading goal this year was 72 new-to-me books, 6 per month. I smashed my yearly goal, and hit my monthly goal 11 out of 12 months. The only month I missed, October, was the month I re-read The Raven Cycle instead. I think I did pretty well!
A Gathering of Shadows - V.E. Schwab ★★★★☆
The Cruel Prince - Holly Black ★★★★★
The Wicked King - Holly Black ★★★★★
The Queen of Nothing - Holly Black ★★★★★
How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories - Holly Black ★★★★☆
Lore - Alexandra Bracken ★☆☆☆☆
Pandora - Susan Stokes-Chapman ★★★★★
Skyward - Brandon Sanderson ★★★★★
A Long Fatal Love Chase - Louisa May Alcott ★★☆☆☆
Practical Magic - Alice Hoffman ★★★☆☆
These Violent Delights - Chloe Gong ★☆☆☆☆
Only a Monster - Vanessa Len ★★★★☆
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - V.E. Schwab ★★★★★
The House with Chicken Legs - Sophie Anderson ★★★☆☆
The Atlas Six - Olivie Blake ★☆☆☆☆
Galatea - Madeline Miller ★★★☆☆
Gallant - V.E. Schwab ★★★★★
Cemetery Boys - Aiden Thomas ★★★★★
The Devil Makes Three - Tori Bovalino ★★★☆☆
A River Enchanted - Rebecca Ross ★★☆☆☆
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke ★★★☆☆
Tithe - Holly Black ★★★★★
Valiant - Holly Black ★★★★★
Ironside - Holly Black ★★★★★
Piranesi - Susanna Clarke ★★★☆☆
Half a Soul - Olivia Atwater ★★★★☆
The Ladies of Grace Adieu - Susanna Clarke ★★★☆☆
Ten Thousand Stitches - Olivia Atwater ★★★★★
Longshadow - Olivia Atwater ★★★★½
The Lord Sorcier - Olivia Atwater ★★★★★
The Latch Key - Olivia Atwater ★★★☆☆
Portrait of a Thief - Grace D. Li ★★★★★
The Lost Sisters - Holly Black ★★☆☆☆
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan ★★★☆☆
Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters - Rick Riordan ★★★★☆
Percy Jackson and the Titan’s Curse - Rick Riordan ★★★★☆
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth - Rick Riordan ★★★★★
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian - Rick Riordan ★★★★★
Book of Night - Holly Black ★★★☆☆
The Ravens - Danielle Paige and Kass Morgan ★★★★☆
The Monarchs - Danielle Paige and Kass Morgan ★★★☆☆
Starsight - Brandon Sanderson ★★★★★
Cytonic - Brandon Sanderson ★★★★★
Legion - Brandon Sanderson ★★★☆☆
Skin Deep - Brandon Sanderson ★★★★☆
Lies of the Beholder - Brandon Sanderson ★★★★☆
Skyward Flight - Brandon Sanderson ★★★★★
Firefight - Brandon Sanderson ★★★★★
Calamity - Brandon Sanderson ★★★★½
Mitosis - Brandon Sanderson ★★★☆☆
The King’s Renegal - Emily Wilson and Celia Oliva ★★☆☆☆
The Foxhole Court - Nora Sakavic ★★★★★
The Raven King - Nora Sakavic ★★★★★
The King’s Men - Nora Sakavic ★★★★★
Arcanum Unbounded - Brandon Sanderson ★★★☆☆
Dawnshard - Brandon Sanderson ★★★☆☆
Defending Elysium - Brandon Sanderson ★★★★★
Perfect State - Brandon Sanderson ★★☆☆☆
Firstborn - Brandon Sanderson ★★★★★
Snapshot - Brandon Sanderson ★★★★☆
These Hollow Vows - Lexi Ryan ★★★☆☆
These Twisted Bonds - Lexi Ryan ★★☆☆☆
Gild - Raven Kennedy ★☆☆☆☆
The House in the Cerulean Sea - TJ Klune ★★★★★
Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir ★★★☆☆
Harrow the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir ★★☆☆☆
In Deeper Waters - F.T. Lukens ★★★★☆
Ariadne - Jennifer Saint ★★★★☆
Violet Made of Thorns - Gina Chen ★☆☆☆☆
Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen ★★★★☆
Nettle and Bone - T. Kingfisher ★★★★☆
The Dark Tide - Alicia Jasinska ★★★★★
A Prince of Troy - Lindsay Clarke ★★☆☆☆
Wake the Bones - Elizabeth Kilcoyne ★★★★★
The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater (re-read)
The Dream Thieves - Maggie Stiefvater (re-read)
Blue Lily, Lily Blue - Maggie Stiefvater (re-read)
The Raven King - Maggie Stiefvater (re-read)
Opal - Maggie Stiefvater ★★★★★
Call Down the Hawk - Maggie Stiefvater ★★★★☆
Mister Impossible - Maggie Stiefvater ★★★★☆
Greywaren - Maggie Stiefvater ★★★★★
The School for Good and Evil - Soman Chainani ★★★☆☆
A World Without Princes - Soman Chainani ★★☆☆☆
Vicious - V.E. Schwab ★★★★★
The Last Ever After - Soman Chainani ★★★☆☆
Nothing but Blackened Teeth - Cassandra Khaw ★★★★☆
Firstborn - Brandon Sanderson (re-read)
Upon a Waking Dream - J.S. Bailey ★★☆☆☆
The Secret Gift - Bethany Atazadeh ★★★★☆
A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens ★★★★★
Godkiller - Hannah Kaner ★★★☆☆
Vengeful - V.E. Schwab ★★★★☆
The Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories - various authors ★★★★☆
Wintersong - S. Jae-Jones ★★★☆☆
7 notes
·
View notes