The Pliley Review

  Genre: Action, Romance Rating:   PG-13 Synopsis: Two highly-trained operatives become close after being sent to protect opposite sides of a mysterious gorge. When an evil emerges, they must work together to survive what lies within. *** From watching the trailer I was super intrigued about this story as it reminded me of The Great Wall in many ways. And it started with a bang which gave me high hopes.  I will say props to the main actors, both Anya Taylor-Joy as Drasa and Miles Teller as Levi. No matter what the writers threw at them they handled it with grace, though sadly I do not think it helped in the end.  As I suspected from the trailer this movie is about 80% ‘talking’ and 20% action so keep that in mind before viewing it. I was happy once some action started as it did add a new layer to the story and introduced some cool looking creatures.  Sadly, before the action started I was a little eye rolling as I could not help but wonder what kind of mercena...

  Genre: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Musical Rating:   PG  Synopsis: Mufasa, a cub lost and alone, meets a sympathetic lion named Taka, the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of a group of misfits searching for their destiny. *** I was intrigued about this new addition to the Lion King since there is very little information given about the origins of Mufasa and Scar during the original movie.  Major props to the main character voice actors, Aaron Pierre playing Mufasa and Kelvin Harrison Jr. playing Taka. Both brought deep emotion and life to their respective roles, as well as nailing the banter between the two.  Also props to Kiros played by Mads Mikkelsen, even in lion form he brings the same deep level of acting with both malice and his soft villain way of speaking. Personally, I love Mads when he plays a villain.  Songs were a little weird, but really catchy. I will never get over seeing...

  Genre: Horror Rating:   R Synopsis:   A family at a remote farmhouse is attacked by an unseen animal, but as the night stretches on, the father begins to transform into something unrecognizable. *** The trailer for this movie reminded me of dog soldiers so I had to give it a try. I’m glad that I did.  This movie starts out like a typical creature movie. Creepy encounter but they live to tell the tail. Years later the characters are drawn to the same location and shenanigans ensue.  Honestly, this movie was pretty much what I expected. A little intense, a few jumpscares and some pretty unexpected body horror that I actually appreciated. Recent werewolf movies have shied away from the body horror aspect so it was nice to see it included for once.  All the actors did an amazing job in their respective roles, yet major props have to go to the main adult character Blake played by Christopher Abbott. Without spoilers you could still see the emotional turmoil un...

  Published:    November 7th, 2023. Genre: Fantasy, Romantic fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Romance novel, High fantasy Rating:   R - violence, torture, sexual content Synopsis:   Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College―Violet included. Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders’ capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves. *** I’m so happy I was able to jump right into book 2 as it continues pretty much right where it left off from the first.  That being said I was a little nervous that early on (no spoilers) they decided to head back to the school and I got huge Harry Potter ‘let’s get going back to the school at the start of the ...

  Genre: Action, Sci-Fi Rating:   PG-13 Synopsis:   Eddie and Venom are hunted by both of their worlds and forced into a decision to end their last dance. *** Just by the title of this movie I had a sinking feeling. Without spoilers, it was really cool to see the origins of venom, though it was a little disappointing to hear things from outside sources who, up until this point we had not once heard of.  I could watch a million venom movies but this one felt like it wasn’t really about him or Eddie at all. They were just a means to an end so the story felt very much like someone else’s. I came to the movie to connect more to them and I had hoped it was going in a certain direction but then it went nowhere. There is the military vs scientist trope that I both like and hate at the same time. I was glad to see in this movie that it was not completely what I expected.  Tom Hardy as both Eddie and Venom are always a pleasure to watch. I will say that Juno Temple as Dr...

  Published:    May 2nd, 2023 Genre: Fantasy, Romantic fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Romance novel, High fantasy Rating:   R - violence, sexual content Synopsis:  A young scribe is thrust into an elite war college for dragon riders where the only rule is graduate or perish. *** I went into reading this book with very little knowledge about it, except it was a huge hit. As Stephen King once said, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot” And I’m a sucker for a story about dragons.  Slight heads up I rated this as R for my review simply for the action scenes towards the end, grab something to catch your tears, and the sexual content as I think most will consider this a young adult book by mistake. Unless you are comfortable with it, I would avoid giving this book to anyone under the age of 16 at the earliest.  Honestly, I was pulled into the story very quickly and wanted to root for the main character, ...

  Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Musical Rating:   PG Synopsis: After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she's ever faced. *** After the huge success of the first Moana movie I had high hopes for this one.  Right off the bat this was just as visually stunning and the water effects are just breathtaking. The biggest highlights for me were the introduction of the little sister and the same amazing dynamic between Moana and Maui, Auliʻi Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson. The vibe between them is just amazing to watch and each character feels genuine in their struggles.  I was slightly confused with the fact that the village is shown as still living on the same island as the last movie even though they made a big show of leaving at the end. I believed this indicated that the entire village were wayfinders but this ...