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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
<!DOCTYPE teiCorpus SYSTEM "./tei_corpus.dtd">
<teiCorpus>
<teiHeader>
<!--File description-->
<fileDesc>
<titleStmt>
<!--Title, author and encoding's responsable-->
<title>Corpus of reviews</title>
<author xml:id="auth">
<persName xml:lang="it">
<forename>Alessandro </forename>
<surname>Mazzeo</surname>
</persName>
</author>
<respStmt xml:id="AM">
<resp>Reviews taken by:</resp>
<persName>
<forename>Alessandro</forename>
<surname>Mazzeo</surname>
</persName>
</respStmt>
</titleStmt>
<!--Information about editions-->
<editionStmt>
<p>1' edition <date>2019</date></p>
</editionStmt>
<!--Information about distribution-->
<publicationStmt>
<distributor>Alessandro Mazzeo</distributor>
<publisher>Alessandro Mazzeo</publisher>
<availability status="restricted">
<licence>Creative Commons 4.0 BY SA</licence>
</availability>
</publicationStmt>
<!--Information about the source where the content is taken-->
<sourceDesc>
<p>Born digital</p>
</sourceDesc>
</fileDesc>
<!--Information about encoding-->
<encodingDesc>
<!--Project's purpose-->
<projectDesc>
<p> The project is a electronic corpus of reviews about products or services, taken from
e-commerce and others booking platform. </p>
</projectDesc>
<!--Declaration about common encoding editing-->
<editorialDecl>
<p>Every text element is original.</p>
</editorialDecl>
</encodingDesc>
<!--Not bibliographic description: text language and text typology-->
<profileDesc>
<textClass>
<keywords>
<term>corpus</term>
</keywords>
</textClass>
<langUsage>
<language ident="EN">English</language>
</langUsage>
</profileDesc>
</teiHeader>
<TEI>
<!-- Reviews of a product -->
<teiHeader>
<!-- Product or service information -->
<fileDesc>
<titleStmt>
<title>Dell - Inspiron 15.6" Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD
- Black</title>
<author ref="#auth"/>
</titleStmt>
<publicationStmt>
<distributor>https://www.bestbuy.com/</distributor>
<publisher>bestbuy.com</publisher>
<pubPlace>U.S.A.</pubPlace>
</publicationStmt>
<sourceDesc>
<p>Born digital: no previous source exists.</p>
</sourceDesc>
</fileDesc>
</teiHeader>
<text>
<!-- One review of the product or service inserted in teiHeader for this element TEI-->
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">BobS</name>
<title>Perfect for us as an in home email and web viewing</title>
<num type="rating" value="5">5/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>We were in the market to replace our 12 year old Dell laptop that was getting on in
years especially limited video capabilities. It came with Vista, was upgraded to W7,
then W8, then W10. When this new system was Black Friday priced it was a no brainer for
us. It starts up almost instantly speed tests three times faster the system it replaced.
Very happy with purchase,</p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<!-- Another review of the product or service inserted in teiHeader-->
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">ezek</name>
<title>Amazing performance for the price</title>
<num type="rating" value="5">5/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>I got it on an early black friday sale for $279.99, and paying this price for an i3+8GB
of RAM and the super fast boot up speed of an SSD is the best deal I could've ever
gotten. Better get it this 2k19 black friday if you are in need of a laptop that gives
you more than what you pay.</p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Neuro</name>
<title>Great Dell quality laptop</title>
<num type="rating" value="5">5/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>Great Dell laptop. The Core i3 makes a difference compared to other entry level chips.
The 8BG memory and the 128 SSD really helps speed the computer up. Other entry level
computers typically have 4GB. The touch screen is a bonus, however I rarely use the
feature. The Ethernet port is nice to have — I see many newer laptops getting rid of
network ports in favor of being thin or space. Excellent value.</p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Cstar</name>
<title>Great for the price</title>
<num type="rating" value="4">4/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>Nice laptop for a teenager! And good price! Will be a great starter laptop</p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">TechGeek56</name>
<title>Great Computer!! Hate the screen size</title>
<num type="rating" value="4">4/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>I just purchased this computer today and I'm already liking it. Only thing I don't like
is the screen size but with the other things it has (128 SSD and 8GB RAM), it's real
easy to overlook. If you're looking for a good computer under 500.00, this is a really
good buy!!</p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">RiGaines</name>
<title>Good product</title>
<num type="rating" value="4">4/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>Great pc for on base in barracks. It’s light weight for me to carry to/from classes</p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Angelsobe</name>
<title>Dell touch screen</title>
<num type="rating" value="5">5/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>Great computer for great price thanks Best Buy for your service and great price on your
products</p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Spoiling</name>
<title>Good deal</title>
<num type="rating" value="5">5/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>Speed is good easy to use and the touch screen is a bonus</p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Samy</name>
<title>Best</title>
<num type="rating" value="5">5/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>Dell been my favorite for ever and i will be with dell Best computers</p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">jtyler</name>
<title>Highly recommend!</title>
<num type="rating" value="4">4/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>This is a great laptop for the money, especially when it's on sale for under $300! It
does have a cheap feel to it but I think that’s an okay trade-off for the price. I found
the texture of the shell pretty interesting; it’s kind of like a rough plastic which
adds a good grip feeling for when you have to move it. The keyboard is nice to type on
and the track pad seems to be good quality. The in-line power brick is a nice compact
size which, to me, is a big plus. This Inspiron is also very thin considering the price,
and it's surprisingly lightweight. I was also pleased with the SD card slot included on
the side. I found the performance to be really good if you're just watching YouTube or
browsing the web. The 8th gen Intel i3 processor and 8GB of RAM is great for
low-demanding tasks similar to those. Playing 4K video on YouTube runs without a hitch
while only utilizing about 30% of the integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620 GPU. This would
be a great budget laptop for school or even work depending on what you do. I'm sure it
could run Microsoft Word or Excel without any problems. I was surprise at the lack of
bloatware that was preinstalled. Like other reviewers have noted, I did have to go
through the activation troubleshooter to activate the "home" version of Windows 10 to
change out of the Windows 10 S mode. One thing that bugs me about this laptop is the
lack of backlit keys. The screen displays a decent picture but I can still tell it’s a
lower resolution. I think 1920x1080 is the sweet spot for a 15 inch screen. The screen
also has a glossy finish which creates a lot of screen glare, especially in a bright
environment. It also lacks a removable battery which is a con for me; I like to remove
the battery when I know I'm going to leave it in one spot for a while. I would
definitely recommend this over any Chromebook though. Sure, there are better Windows
laptops out there but this one is hard to beat for the price!</p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">HardingN88</name>
<title>Great laptop</title>
<num type="rating" value="5">5/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>Screen is very responsive, doesn't lag during normal operation, battery life is great.
Bought for my daughter for school and couldn't be more pleased.</p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Ironpump89</name>
<title>For the price it costs it is a decent laptop</title>
<num type="rating" value="5">5/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>Pretty capable laptop. Touch screen is a plus and display feels good overall
quality</p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Ariel</name>
<title>Good laptop for the price</title>
<num type="rating" value="5">5/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>So far no issues, fast and it had a very good price tag.</p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Prashi</name>
<title>Excellent configuration for the price</title>
<num type="rating" value="5">5/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>Bought this on early black friday deal. Great configuration for the offer price.</p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Ozmaster</name>
<title>Good value</title>
<num type="rating" value="4">4/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>Surprisingly fast overall. Fast boot-up. Surprisingly not filled with junk. Screen
resolution too low for text to look decent. Still good for the price.</p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">shashi</name>
<title>Always like Dell</title>
<num type="rating" value="4">4/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>Best for casual browsing and beginner and best value.</p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
</TEI>
<TEI>
<teiHeader>
<fileDesc>
<titleStmt>
<title>Ad Astra BD [Blu-ray] [2019]</title>
<author ref="#auth"/>
</titleStmt>
<publicationStmt>
<distributor>https://www.amazon.co.uk</distributor>
<publisher>amazon</publisher>
<pubPlace>U.K.</pubPlace>
</publicationStmt>
<sourceDesc>
<p>Born digital: no previous source exists.</p>
</sourceDesc>
</fileDesc>
</teiHeader>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">The Movie Diorama</name>
<title>Ad Astra galactically depicts sorrow, proving that no one can hear you cry in
space. </title>
<num type="rating" value="4">4/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>Ad Astra galactically depicts sorrow, proving that no one can hear you cry in space.
For the past few years, dramas set in the expansive dangers of space have been my bread
and butter. Devouring them during my annual breakfast as I purposefully starve myself
for the taste of space traversal. Every year, the likes 'Arrival', 'Blade Runner 2049',
'First Man', 'Interstellar' and my all-time favourite film 'Gravity', have secured
scores ranging from outstanding to perfect. Whilst Ad Astra may be tilting towards the
former adjective, it's still irrefutably one of the best films of the year thanks to
Gray's understanding, yet again, of what makes a character study captivating. After
unearthing the possibility that his missing father may still be alive, his astronaut son
travels across the Solar System in search for him and to unravel a mysterious power
surge phenomenon that threatens humanity's survival. Immediately, one thing I need to
brush off my chest is the horrendous marketing. This is not a sci-fi blockbuster. There
is limited "action". And if you're wanting the next 'Star Wars' or 'Avatar', then remove
yourself from the cinema and watch mind-numbing nonsense like 'Angel Has Fallen'
instead. This is a James Gray extravaganza. A meticulously woven character study,
harnessing melancholia to challenge an existential crisis. Thematically, Ad Astra's
premise bolsters a plethora of metaphorical imagery that divulges into the empirical
purpose of humanity. Majestic planets emitting every prismatic shade available, yet
emanating no emotional connectivity. The vacuous expansivity of space, marking
humanity's reflection on life as a mere speck of stardust. Worldly hostility reaching
the depths of our galaxy, hyperbolising the "world-eating" philosophy of our own
self-destruction as a species. The obsession to venture forth. Departing love, hate and
grief. Welcoming nothingness. Gray's space-opera is a sorrowful tale, intently focusing
on the pressures of a son following in the footsteps of his acclaimed father. A
patriarch of inspiration to many. Allowing a tangible tense bond to illuminate the stars
with despair and anguish. Pitt's universally nuanced performance brings forward stoic
mannerisms that allow McBride to feel these emotions. Minor glitches that break
character, such as slamming the wall in frustration, showcase the purity of humanity
within him. Gray encompasses the plot around McBride. The lunar pirate raid, mayday
rescue and crew brawl scenes, whilst inserting mainstream tendencies into a contemporary
drama, were emblems of McBride's emotions. Fear, rage and desperation respectively. A
series of gestures that, again, hark back to humanity's endurance. The mildly engaging
supporting cast, ranging from Jones, Sutherland and Negga, acting as stability for
McBride. Stepping stones allowing him to find his father, as if fate was dictating his
alignment. Narration, shifting between inner thoughts to exposition, was overused and
irked me with its basic functionality. Hoytema's cinematography could've elicited these
unnecessary lines of dialogue from his beautiful imagery. And beautiful just doesn't do
it justice. Immediately, from the iridescent opening shot, Hoytema takes hold. Utilising
colours and shadows to produce the incarnation of life, what it means to see. The blue
of Neptune, the red of Mars. Clashing tonalities resembling McBride's emotions.
Accompanied by Richter's euphoric score and the almost '2001' production design, and Ad
Astra is technically a masterful piece of art. Gray's conclusion is teetering on the
edge of underwhelming, for me atleast, with its rushed journey home that dissipated the
simmering sorrow built exquisitely beforehand. The ending I personally would've desired,
would be the ending no one wanted (but that's life I guess...). Regardless, the small
criticisms here and there are subject to change upon an inevitable rewatch. Gray is fast
becoming one of my favourite directors. He is a man who understands character. He
acknowledges the obsession of man. Amalgamating life's wondrously challenging hurdles
into singular expressive characters. Ad Astra's meditative and resonant pacing, whilst
is sure to put many viewers off, ensures that loss and grief are captured wherever a
soul may be. At home or in deep space. It never vanishes. </p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Rowena Hoseason</name>
<title>Intelligent life in outer space </title>
<num type="rating" value="5">5/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>AD ASTRA isn’t space fantasy or the wild west in orbit. It’s proper science fiction,
more like 2001 than Star Wars. We enjoyed it waaaaay more than First Man, Interstellar
or Gravity – perhaps because Brad Pitt’s brilliant performance is so perfectly
controlled, not muted or subdued, but as if all the emotional intensity is being
condensed within him… until it reaches critical mass. And the action sequences are
simply superb. Many movie car chases / fight scenes / set pieces tend to feel completely
unreal these days, thanks to ubiquitous CGI tweaking. It’s ironic, then, that the
completely unreal scenarios in Ad Astra, which involve space-walks and rockets firing
and lunar buggies, are completely convincing. It takes a lot to raise my pulse during a
film but I was utterly transfixed. And touched, too, by the protagonist’s philosophical
progress; his unresolved relationship with his father underpinning his (failing)
relationships with everyone else. All the supporting stars deserve applause for their
contributions – often oblique, almost out of sight, but massive in impact. I even
forgive the occasionally wobby science (because hey, it’s only a film). 9/10 </p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Ratty</name>
<title>The search for intelligent life? </title>
<num type="rating" value="3">3/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>The search for intelligent life; not in outer space but in the writers of the plot
line. I guest; however the plot line is somewhat simplistic and far fetched in parts.
I'd read critics are comparing it to '2001 A Space Odyssey '. Well I was sorely
disappointed in that. It's about as close to 2001 as The Lion King is to Hamlet. No with
2001 you're asking your self, all the way through what's all this means and afterwards
fans can discuss what each element signifide. Where as this is what you see. The story
is laid unambiguously out for you to easily follow. Brad Pitt's character (Roy McBride)
has lived his life as a astronaut who's, otherwise, glittering carrier as been
constantly eclipsed by the shadow of his fathers legendary carrier. His father
disappeared on the first and only deep space mission to the out reaches of the solar
system in the hope of finding evidence of extra terrestrial intelligent life some
sixteen years earlier. At the time of the movie Earth is hit by power surges that cause
power blackouts over the entire globe. On an analysis it is determined that these power
surges are bursts of antimatter and that if they continue they will eventually destroy
all life in the solar-system. They trace their origins to Neptune and realise that's
where McBride's dad was last known to have been before he disappeared and not only that
his spacecraft was powered by the only antimatter generator ever built. Two plus Two
equals McBride's dad is coursing the power surges. Roy McBride is sumound to travel to
Mars and there broadcast a signal to his dad in the hope of stopping the surges. McBride
broadcasts the message but goes off script and sends his own message, this gets him
taken off the mission so he goes rouge and hi jacks the spacecraft now being sent to
destroy his dad's craft. All very simplistic and comic book and a lot of the action
relies to much on exceptional convenience rather than timing and skill. You know the
thing just when all is lost, there is the one thing he needs to save the situation, once
is good fortune, twice stretching it but every time he trusts to luck it comes through
for him; at that rate he'd win the lottery every week. And successfully braking into a
rocket, on the launch pad, while the rockets are igniting and then accidently killing
the crew of three with three different accidents in the space of thirty seconds is hard
to take. Kill one in the struggle, hurt another, maybe or even kill all three with one
action but to set of a chain of events that takes out all three in different ways; a
somewhat convenient way for the writers to dispose of them. Not to mention all the other
amassing things he pulls off in space, jumping twice the length of a football pitch and
hitting his target, a six inch hand hold, every time, surfing Neptune's rings on a metal
plate he unscrewed from one spacecraft to get to another spacecraft miles away the other
side of Neptune's rings. All captain fantastic comic book for what is supposed to be an
intelligent narrative. As a bit of escapes entertainment it passes the time. Actings a
bit ham dram, direction a bit obvious. Special effects not that good. Moon Rover car
chase, they forgot, or hoped we'd forgotten, there's only one sixth gravity on the moon.
The rovers manoeuvre and behaved just as they would on earth and not as they would on
the moon. Other things also didn't behave as they would in space. Also I was getting
tired of seeing American Flags everywhere. They mention other nations on the moon and in
space but showed no flags other than American ones and they are on everything, space
craft, buildings, uniforms, equipement, vehicles, memorial plaques you name it and it's
got an American Flag on it. In all entertaining but very little else to commend it. </p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Massey</name>
<title>Worst Film Of 2019 </title>
<num type="rating" value="1">1/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>SWatched this at the cinema and I couldn't stop comparing it to another crappy film
called gravity An astronaut gets sent to space to uncover a mission that happened years
ago to trace the commanding officer of another spaceship doing a top secret mission for
the government Along the way discoveries are made that it was a cover up and the
conspiracy theory is that something or someone is still alive on the other spaceship and
whatever is happening threatens all life on earth That is not a spolier at all it goes
deeper than that if you can get though watching the piece of crap It was so draining to
watch my friend actually fell asleep that's a first Save your money do not buy or see
this film </p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">TJ Ramsbottom</name>
<title>Half a masterpiece </title>
<num type="rating" value="4">4/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>A tale of two halves, this one. The first 60 minutes or so have some of the best sci-fi
moments in recent years, right up there with First Man or Interstellar. The tone is very
much Terence Mallick in space; thoughtful narration over deceptively day-to-day
activities for astronaut Brad Pitt. The cinematography and sound design and effects are
all top notch. Pitt has done the stoic manly man role before and it would have been easy
to repeat himself but his character is far more buttoned up here than usual and Pitt
never takes the obvious route. Outstanding sequences include a pirate attack on the moon
(genuinely something you haven't seen before) and a traumatic (but rather unnecessary)
detour to visit an animal research vessel. But around the halfway point is where things
start to slip a little. Pitt goes looking for his crazy dad on Neptune and the film
increasingly resorts to cliche or is simply illogical. There was a five minute period
where I literally had no idea what was going or why. The answers are not as profound as
the filmmakers seem to think and I walked out the cinema frustrated at how blandly the
story concluded (the less said about Liv Tyler's wafer thin role, the better). So a
mixed bag, but the first half is near perfect which only makes the second half all the
more disappointing. It doesn't ruin it outright but it stops it becoming the masterpiece
it could have been. </p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Mr. R. W. Graham</name>
<title>Signs Of Life </title>
<num type="rating" value="5">5/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>In the near future, astronaut Roy McBride goes in search of his father, a famous
astronaut missing and until recently presumed dead. Slow but intelligent and compelling
scifi drama with Brad Pitt giving one of his best performances and with good support
from Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland and Ruth Negga. It's an intelligent look at what
space travel in the future will likely be like, dealing with isolation and loneliness
plus huge distances. </p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Mr. M. A. Crown</name>
<title>Promises Much But Does Not Deliver </title>
<num type="rating" value="1">1/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>I saw this at the cinema. Firstly, the cinematography is amazing - visually it is
stunning to look at. However, other than that it rapidly goes down hill. This film
borrows from other better, films. The journey Pitt's character takes to rendezvous with
his father is rather like that of 2001 A Space Odyssey and Heart of Darkness combined
(Apocalypse Now). The incessant psycho testing Pitt's character endures is rather like
that seen in Bladerunner 2045 performed on the principal character. The tension builds
with what looks like a father and son reunion and reckoning and then...………….nothing.
Whatever is settled when the two men meet is never really explored or made clear. The
internal emotional life of Pitt's character is never really revealed or contrasted with
that of his father. Motivations are not clear. I left the theatre feeling rather short
changed. There was some sort of resolution in the story but it was muffled and
incoherent to me. There have been a lot of excellent sci-fi films of late (Interstellar,
Bladerunner 2045, Arrival, even Oblivion and the Alien franchise). But I'm afraid that
Ad Astra is not one of them by a long margin. Pitt and Tommy Lee Jones are better than
this. Besides the sumptuous technical appearance, this film is just a thematic void when
compared to the deep space it depicts. Avoid. </p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Jack Ransom</name>
<title>Ad Astra </title>
<num type="rating" value="5">5/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>This film really scratched an itch I’d had for a while with sci-fi films probably since
‘Blade Runner 2049’ a couple of years ago and is far more interesting and different then
its trailers would have you believe. ‘Ad Astra’ follows astronaut Roy McBride (Brad
Pitt) undertakes a mission across space to uncover the truth about his missing father
(Tommy Lee Jones) and his doomed expedition which now, 30 years later threatens the
universe. This is probably the most visually impressive film I have seen this year when
it comes it’s locations and cinematography. From the moment the thrilling and incredibly
realistic opening sequence of Pitt’s character falling through the sky from space
happened I knew that I was in for a treat with the technical aspects. The space scenes
and planets are epic to see (I would definitely recommend this for an IMAX viewing), the
interiors of the ships gave me a very ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ feel, especially with some
excellent use of a red colour palette later in the film. However my favourite shots have
to be the sections where the light bounces off the astronaut suit helmets and when we
see distorted and/or curved reflections of the character’s surroundings, a really unique
technique. I also liked the world building, with it being in the near future humans have
now migrated to the Moon, Jupiter etc. and we see various franchise outlets, living
situations etc. which I appreciated. The score of the film is also haunting and epic
throughout when it occurs, as a lot of the film is very quiet or with Pitt’s narration,
which makes the score even more impactful when you hear it. ‘Ad Astra’ nails being epic
in scope with its story themes as well as being a very personal and focused character
study of a man dealing with father issues and how we will come to face and overcome
them. Pitt has had a great year this year, this role of Roy McBride is a complete
contrast from the cool and upbeat attitude of ‘Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood’s’ Cliff
Booth. McBride is somber, quiet and only focuses on his job. Pitt has a lot of time by
himself in this film and a lot of his emotion is conveyed through facial expressions
rather than dialogue, combining the two aspects make for some really great and emotional
dramatic scenes (especially where he is trying to contact his father and the finale
sequence which I won’t spoil). It’s also good to see Tommy Lee Jones on the big screen
again in a good role here as the distant and obsessive father McBride, his screentime is
fairly limited but Jones steals the screen when he’s in any scene. ‘Ad Astra’ is a slow
burn film and some people will be expecting a different film to what the trailers have
led them to believe, with the marketing pushing a more action heavy film. There are some
impressive action sequences, the Moon driving shootout sequence is thrilling and there’s
a couple of intense and bloody fights (one of which I was completely unexpecting with a
very sci-fi horror tone to it). But aside from those it is very dialogue heavy and with
long camera takes. The more I think about it and whilst writing this review the more I
really appreciated and loved ‘Ad Astra’. It’s a blend of ‘Apocalypse Now’ (yes that’s
right) with its ‘quest for important person’ character study plot but set within ‘2001:
A Space Odyssey’s’ world. It’s a bold and original sci-fi adventure with brilliant
performances and excellent cinematography and writing, that will give you a lot to think
about and demands repeat viewing. One of my favourites of this year, highly
recommend.</p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Diggy</name>
<title>Rubbish, really total rubbish </title>
<num type="rating" value="1">1/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>Possibly the worst science fiction film of all time. There's no understanding of
science and the fiction is a sucession of half plots with little rhyme, reason or
conclusion. It lost me at (spoiler alert) the attack of the Norwegian cannibal space
monkeys - I kid you not. Do anything with your precious 2 hours than watch this tosh.
</p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Gordon C. Tait</name>
<title>Symbolism and poetry - sadly missed by most. </title>
<num type="rating" value="5">5/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>For all those who are critiquing the movie's flawed science, and focus purely on that,
then you have missed a very poignant effort from Brad Pitt and Co. The film focuses on
astronaut Roy McBride who has been "volunteered" to embark on a mission to contact his
father who commandeered a failed mission to Neptune in the hope of finding alien life.
After a series of surges that have plagued Earth, the Government fears that McBride's
father may be responsible and deploy his son in the hope of terminating his command.
That's the premise but not the real story. Within the grandiose interplanetary
photography and stunning production design, McBride's journey takes him on a journey of
self-relisation and alienation - the central theme of the movie. With almost every shot,
we are subtly given insight into Brad Pitt's troubled character and journey which he
plays to perfection. Yes, you may have found parallels with Apocalypse Now and that is
true, but this is not a cheap imitation. The poetry of the movie if represented by the
celestial bodies, planets, and the distance between them which serves as a mirror for
McBride's lonliness and alienation from the people in his life. For a pleasant change, a
film is asking more of the viewer than the average theme-park-ride movies of late. If
you are looking for a science adventure epic, then this is not for you. That said, one
cannot ignore the mind-blowing visuals, in particular, the moon chase and the final
scene orbiting Neptune. If however, you are looking for a slow burner that appeals to
the more discerning viewer that can interpret the director's subtle realisation and
visual cues instead of mocking the physics, you are in for a treat. </p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Barry Wom</name>
<title>Not as smart as it thinks it is. </title>
<num type="rating" value="2">2/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>Love me a bit of slow burning philosophical sci-fi. We’ve had some interesting films in
the last decade. Also like me a good character drama set against the back drop of space
exploration. Sometimes you get a bit of both and Ad Astra, on the surface and having
already been warned that the trailers were somewhat misleading, appeared to be offering
something thoughtful. To me it fell short by some distance and came across as long
winded, for its average running time, a bit pretentious and clunky. The oedipal come
existential message isn’t as subtle as it thinks yet at the same time manages to find
itself truncated by a silly ending and some odd creative choices. The studio mandated
action scenes just seemed out of place and non consequential adding nothing to the
narrative and little to the theme. The moon segment looks like it was stolen directly
from Episode 2 of ‘Futurama’ and much of the rest of the film from the disjointed ‘Event
Horizon’, from way back, although it’s obviously trying to ape ‘Apocalypse Now’. Can’t
fault the lovely photography and good effects. Brad gives a good turn. Tommy is in it
briefly and is underwhelming. Other stars come and disappear abruptly and one, in
particular, has absolutely nothing to do. It’s not awful but given some obvious love
that’s gone into it is very disappointing and certainly no masterpiece. </p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Moira</name>
<title>O Father, Where Art Thou? </title>
<num type="rating" value="4">4/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>Generally more psychological than action driven, the plot of Ad Astra has a measured
pace which allows the main character, Roy, to reflect on the personal and environmental
downside of space exploration. In adolescence, he lost his astronaut father, H.
Clifford, to an expedition, searching for extra terrestrial life. This has closed Roy
down emotionally while focussing his energies on becoming an astronaut too. He readily
accepts an assignment to try to track down his father, who it is believed, may still be
out there and responsible for power surges emanating from Neptune which threaten Earth.
En route, this allows Roy to show and describe, how the commercial side of space travel
has already led to the Disneyfication of the Moon and is spreading wherever colonisation
goes. Action scenes along the way vary the pace of the film. At their best they are well
executed visually with curved reflections that create a sense of claustrophobia while
wider shots are scarily vertiginous. At their worst, however, they stray from the film's
own logic, sucking the plot into little black holes of implausibility, including some
gory 'monkey business' and an unlikely stowaway caper. Thoughtful, but probably not as
profound as it imagines. </p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Mr. R. Stanton</name>
<title>Brad Pitt vs the space monkeys </title>
<num type="rating" value="3">3/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>Roy McBride is a well respected astronaut who is sent on a top secret mission to the
outer edges of the Solar System to retrieve his father who he believed had died many
years earlier when they lost contact with his crew. He is also asked to investigate the
strange pulse signals known as the surge that have caused devastation upon Earth and
many believe they have originated from the same place as the last known location of
McBride's father. Technically, Ad Astra is a superb film and it looks stunning. It's a
difficult one to describe or to even say whether I enjoyed or not. I think it is one of
those films that needs to be seen more than once. If Terence Malick made a film set in
space this would be it. He is a big fan of the internal existential monologues and they
are here in abundance. There are also influences from Apocalypse Now / Heart of Darkness
and some of the more visceral thrills from the likes of Gravity. Lite on the action, big
on the thinking, it's worth watching if you have the patience, not so much if you're a
fan of aliens and shoot-outs. </p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Mark Dyer</name>
<title>2001 : Apollo-colypse Now </title>
<num type="rating" value="3">3/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>As a simple piece of entertainment it's not bad or quite good, possibly about 20
minutes too long but that is very debateable. Good cinematography, sound, images and I
liked much of Brad's work in extreme close-up. However, in much the same way that going
fishing is not about going fishing this is a space film that's not about space. There is
too much that seems to have been lifted from Apocalypse Now, including the intrusive
voice-over and the music was overbearing. I enjoyed the spectacle of the set-piece
scenes and they were put together well but they seem to have been dropped into the story
just to spice up the film; I suppose without them the 'journey' would have been almost
pure 2001 rather than just similar to that. The final scenes were quite weak in my
opinion and the final piece to camera so unsubtle that it's as if the previous hour or
so of voiceovers hadn't happened. A reasonable way of spending a couple of hours but
nothing exceptional, which was a bit of a disappointment because I wanted it to be good.
</p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
</TEI>
<TEI>
<teiHeader>
<fileDesc>
<titleStmt>
<title>Places in the Darkness byChris Brookmyre</title>
<author ref="#auth"/>
</titleStmt>
<publicationStmt>
<distributor>https://www.amazon.co.uk</distributor>
<publisher>amazon</publisher>
<pubPlace>U.K.</pubPlace>
</publicationStmt>
<sourceDesc>
<p>Born digital: no previous source exists.</p>
</sourceDesc>
</fileDesc>
</teiHeader>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">P. G. Harris</name>
<title>Do Androids Dine on Electric Neeps? </title>
<num type="rating" value="4">4/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>Or Philip K Dick writes an Angelique de Xavier novel Or Glasgow in space Places in the
Darkness opens in a very dark place, with two workers on a space station discovering a
spectacularly dismembered corpse. The story then switches to an Arthur C Clarke style
space elevator, bringing a new head of security, Dr Alice Blake, to the space station
Ciudad de Cielo. On the way she is having trouble with her memory. The City in the Sky,
overseen by the Federation of National Governments, and by a consortium of
multinationals is humankind's hope for a gateway to the universe. The scientific and
psychological research is underway to enable interstellar missions to be launched. The
picture transmitted back to earth is of a utopian, crimeless society. The reality on the
floors of the rotating space station is very different. "Detective" Nicole Freeman aka
Nikki Fixx is a corrupt cop, working in the vice dens on one of the city's two wheels.
When Alice is warned about Nikki by a self righteous campaigner, she sets out to find
out about the places of darkness hidden behind the facade. This leads to a classic chalk
and cheese relationship between rookie and gumshoe, between idealistically pure, and
pragmatically dirty, between posh and streetwise. As the killings start to mount, Alice
and Nikki are drawn deeper into the greater and more dangerous secrets which lie at the
heart of their world. While this is very much a piece of hard science fiction, well
rooted in the classics of the genre, with the halfway station on the space elevator
being called Heinlein, it is also recognisably a Christopher Brookmyre crime novel. The
gruesome killings, the gangsters, the very slightly over the top plot could have come
straight out of a Jack Parlabane book. Places in the Darkness also fits neatly into the
tradition of Philip K Dick. It uses science fiction, and specifically robotics and
artificial intelligence to explore the question of what it is to be human. It also
challenges the concept of utopia, setting out its manifesto that not only will any
utopia be brought down by human nature, but that the places of darkness within our souls
are a necessary part of being human. Another aspect of the book which is characteristic
of Brookmyre is that it is a cracking good read, pacy, intricately plotted, and
massively entertaining. All the way through, Brookmyre works hard to telegraph the
approaching twist in the tale, but of course, when it comes it goes in a different
direction from the false trail he has laid. I would make two specific negative comments.
Firstly, the ending is a little too neat, a little too redemptive, although Brookmyre
writes with his heart so obviously in the right place he almost gets away with it.
Secondly, if you have an inner geek, you are likely to be upset by the occasional
technical howlers, for example, a massive structure, rotating in zero gravity cant just
stop. All in all, this will probably work for regular readers of both SF and crime
fiction, and so if you enjoyed Alastair Reynolds' "The Prefect", this is likely to be to
your taste. </p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">pjh</name>
<title>Not the usual Brookmyre standard </title>
<num type="rating" value="3">3/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>I am a huge Chris Brookmyre fan. I don’t think this is one of his best. Unlike his
non-sci-fi novels, which usually have pacy plots and witty dialogue, this book seemed to
spend too long focussing on describing what the author was predicting could happen in
the future, detracting from the plot. I usually have a “give up after the first 50
pages” approach if I don’t get on with a book, and I wanted to do this here but
persevered because it was Brookmyre, and it did get better, but never reached the old
standard for me. Maybe I’m just not a sci-fi fan. Can we go back to 21st century Earth
for the next one Chris? </p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Mrs Lou M Bell</name>
<title>It's Brookmyre, Jim, but not as we know him... </title>
<num type="rating" value="5">5/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>If you're expecting the near-the-knuckle wisecracks and biting satire of the Parlabane
years, this is probably not for you. If you liked Bedlam, or even Pandaemonium (which
could be described as his crossover to SF if you like pigeonholing things), then you're
nearer the mark. I'm a glutton for anything the man writes, and am also a bit of a
Sci-Fi fan (okay, a lot. Okay, I'm a total geek), so I loved it. The space station idea
is a good one - it gives a nice sense of claustrophobia, and also means it's not too
broad a canvas so that Mr B can do what he does best - strong plot and characterisation.
I'm not a scientist so am unable to pick holes in his physics (though I'm aware holes
are there to be picked if that's what floats your boat). It's basically a detective
novel in space with a nice SF twist (which I kind of saw coming but as I said, I'm a fan
of the genre - as is Chris Brookmyre, clearly). Guessing the twist didn't make the
experience any less enjoyable IMO. You just switch from 'where's he going with this?' to
'how's he going to get us there?'. He rarely disappoints. His main characters here are
initially not easy to like, but what Brookmyre is expert at is tilting the narrative so
that we end up sympathising with them both, for different reasons (see also
Pandaemonium, which does this a few times). There's clear potential for more along these
lines, and I for one definitely be reading it. </p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Dunfermline woman</name>
<title>Fast paced believable sci fi. Hard to put down. </title>
<num type="rating" value="5">5/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>I was delighted to see Chris Brookmyre had published another book whilst I wasn't
looking and having struggled through an overlong book with lots of discussion and not
much action enjoyed having a fast paced book I struggled to put down again. It's sci fi
but believable sci fi. The plot twists and turns but is never far fetched. It makes you
think about the potential ramifications of a lot of the tech we're currently developing.
Some of the discussion around the brain deciding what it's going to do before we think
up reasons why we're doing it, and many of these reasons being just tales we tell
ourselves to try and create a logical narrative are current not future science, as I
presume the author knows to make his future seem more plausible It all ties up nicely
too, too many authors just seem to stop writing and struggle to end their stories. Good
to see flawed women as central characters. If you want to immerse yourself in another
reality for a few hours read this. </p>
</div>
</body>
</text>
<text>
<front>
<head>
<name type="author">Cubeist</name>
<title>Too superficial and needy </title>
<num type="rating" value="3">3/5</num>
</head>
</front>
<body>
<div>
<p>The good points; it's well written from an action point of view, the pace is good. As a
general thriller it works well. If you let it wash over you it works, as long as you
don't think too much about sciency stuff and the social commentary (which the author
probably does want you to). The bad points; the sci-fi is superficial, there's nothing
new or groundbreaking. The whole idea of what it is to be human has been done better in
other sci-fi books. If you're crossing over into the genre because of the author's past
work then ok, but anyone coming to as a sci-fi lover won't find much to think about.
Then there's the needy bit, the identity-politics stuff was clunky. Nearly all the major
characters are female, and you're repeatedly told how much tougher they are than the men
around them. There were several relationships, sexual or otherwise, all of them were
homosexual. </p>
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