The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
7.5
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During the World War II bombings of London, four English siblings are sent to a country house where...
Into the Woods (2014)
7.9
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Movie Watch
As the result of the curse of a once-beautiful witch (Meryl Streep), a baker (James Corden) and his...
The Woman Outside the Walls
7.0
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Book
I always knew it would come out one day. They are finding everyone who has stayed hidden. They would...
The West Wing - Season 2
TV Season
The West Wing is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that...
Upstairs at the Roosevelts': Growing Up with Franklin and Eleanor
Book
Curtis Roosevelt knew what it was like to live with a president. His grandfather was Franklin Delano...
Greenleaf - Season 1
8.0
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TV Season
The Greenleaf family, which runs sprawling Memphis megachurch Calvary Fellowship World Ministries,...
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated White Noise (2005) in Movies
Aug 14, 2019
The latest foray into the Supernatural is the new Michael Keaton film White Noise, which is based on the actual study of E.V.P. or Electronic Voice Phenomena which is reputed some paranormal investigators to be the voices of dead people speaking to the living via static in electronic devices.
Although the factuality of this is still a topic of hot debate, as after decades of study, no conclusive finding either way as to the legitimacy of E.V.P. have been found as many people attribute the supposed voices as simply the mind hearing what it wants to hear. Despite this, there are a growing number of groups and organizations worldwide who are dedicated to the study of E.V.P.
The film centers on Jonathan Rivers’s (Michael Keaton), a successful architect who is married to a best selling author Anna (Chandra West). The couple is anxiously awaiting the arrival of their first child as Jonathan has a son from a previous marriage and is thrilled to see his family grow
Tragedy sets in when Anna goes missing and eventually is found dead after an apparent accident. Jonathan has his world collapse around him yet and is living in a state of despair. Shortly, a man named Raymond Price (Ian McNeice) comes to Jonathan claiming that he has been receiving messages from Anna from the afterlife. Jonathan is at first dismissive but when he gets calls on his cell that are originating from Anna’s cell number; he visits Raymond and learns about E.V.P.
Jonathan becomes drawn into the study of E.V.P. and soon becomes obsessed with recording voices and images from the afterlife as he is desperate to stay in contact with Anna. All is not well though as Raymond failed to tell Jonathan that there are evil and dangerous entities in the afterlife and they can also use E.V.P. as a way to access and influence the living.
Jonathan also meets a fellow E.V.P user named Sara (Deborah Kara Unger), who like Jonathan becomes involved in a deeper and darker mystery as Jonathan begins to decipher a pattern behind the messages as well as the intentions behind them.
White Noise starts well as a solid mystery and had a few moments where what you imagine is often more intense than what the reality really is. Early in the film there are some good chills and creepy moments as the story unfolds. Roughly ¾ of the way into the film, the tone of the film changes from supernatural thriller to that of a mystery and I suspect that the film will lose many people at this point. The film was working well as a thrill, yet the last ¼ of the film and the conclusion become confused and sporadic as the momentum and flow of the film is lost.
The conclusion was unsatisfying as I was able to see where it was going and based on the very promising first hour of the film, it was sad to see that the film took the easy way out and relied on tired premises instead of continuing to forge ahead with the new premise and take it to what should have been a much better and more logical conclusion.
Keaton does solid work and carries the film very well. It is great to see him back on the big screen as he is a gifted and versatile actor who is capable of handling a wide range of roles.
While not a bad film, White Noise is sunk by the issues with the finale that I mentioned above. That being said, it is an entertaining film that aside from the ending, does generally work and holds the attention of the viewer.
Caitlin Ann Cherniak (85 KP) rated The Dragon Queen in Books
Oct 20, 2018
Pushing Daisies - Season 1
9.4
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TV Season
The story follows Ned, a man who can bring the dead back to life for a minute. If the person/thing...
The earliest written record of kantha appears in the book Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita which was written over 500 years ago. It is a traditional quilting/embroidery from the Indian peninsula and surrounding areas. It was a traditional thrifty method of binding together worn saris and dhoti into layers to use as coverlets. In white, red and blue stitches over the fabric helps to stabilize and decorate the fabric.
The author did extensive research to learn about kantha. The book begins with detailed information in the introductory chapters. The beginning chapters tells how the traditional quilting patterns and materials used depends on the different area.
Supplies and stitches follow the historical introduction, which are well photographed and described. Motifs are followed by specific projects more or less in order of difficulty. Beautifully photographed and with clear finishing instructions, there are many lovely things including a bucket bag (bag with round bottom), notebook cover and a drawstring bag.
At the end is a useful, well arranged appendix with line drawn motifs and stitch tutorials. There is also a useful, well referenced glossary and further reading list.
I receive this ARC from Schiffer Publishing Ltd. via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.