Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (5000)

Content

Erika Kehlet (21 KP) rated The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum (Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum #1) in Books

Feb 21, 2018

This was a fun read with a unique setting, and was a great start to a new series. When Maddie and her pal Adele find a body in the Paranormal Museum, I expected ghosts galore. There is a paranormal element to the story, but it has more to do with an historical crime rather than the modern one. One mystery keeps Maddie and her friends busy during the day, and the other helps her decide whether to stay in town and run the Paranormal Museum or keep looking for work elsewhere. I enjoyed both stories, and the cast of characters, from Maddie's friends and family, to the two police officers handling the murder case, and then the attractive neighbor next door. I'm looking forward to reading more about the museum, Maddie, and her friends.

Note: I received a free copy from the author and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated All the Money in the World (2017) in Movies

Feb 12, 2018 (Updated Feb 12, 2018)

All the Money in the World (2017)

2017 | Crime, Drama, Thriller

6.9

(15 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Ear today, gone tomorrow

Classy true-crime drama formerly starring Kevin Spacey. Grandchild of insanely wealthy oil tycoon is kidnapped and held to ransom; tycoon refuses to pay up on principle (said principle being 'I never give money away if I don't have to'); everything gets a bit stressful between tycoon and his ex-daughter-in-law. Body parts end up being put in the post.

Ridley Scott does a very good job of bringing an outlandishly grotesque true story to the screen, although the usual liberties are taken with the chronology of what actually happened. Fine performances from Christopher Plummer and Michelle Williams, amusingly unflattering depiction of Italy in the 70s; laudable general message of how having money can really screw you up and you're better off without it (Scott has an estimated net worth of $140 million, in case you were wondering). A solidly entertaining movie.

Kudos

ClareR (5950 KP) rated Watching You in Books

Jul 21, 2018

Watching You

Lisa Jewell | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller

8.7

(6 Ratings)

Book Rating

Well, this had me guessing right up to the end!

This has all the ingredients for a good thriller or mystery: a teenaged voyeur, a potentially unreliable witness with mental health issues, teenaged girls with a crush, career driven men, unfaithful spouses. Quite a lot for a book that's under 500 pages long!
An unspecified dead body appears in the first chapter, and the book then goes on to tell us the sequence of events that lead up to that moment. There are some interesting police interviews tucked in now and again too, that help to clarify (or sometimes obfuscate!) what is actually going on.
This was really good. There was no way that I was going to guess who was murdered and by whom, until the end - I liked that touch. The end was a proper bombshell moment. Great writing from Lisa Jewell!

Kudos

Vegas (725 KP) rated The Hunting Party in Books

Jan 24, 2020

The Hunting Party

Lucy Foley | 2019 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller

7.3

(16 Ratings)

Book Rating

The setting (2 more)

The plot

Great whodunit

The characters aren't very likeable (0 more)

Great thriller which keeps you guessing

A group of friends set out for a reunion New Year's Eve holiday in a remote Scottish lodge, where they uncover secrets, lies, and more than they would have liked about each other.

A body is found, is it one of the guests, a stranger, staff member or even a local. Was it an accident or murder? We find out fragment at a time, with the author releasing just the right amount of info at any given time through flashbacks to push the story along...

The group of friends do come across as arrogant city types, and you wonder how hey managed to be friends but that is probably part of the deliberate way they are written so you do feel detached from them...

An enjoyable novel and recommend if you are into thrillers.

Kudos

Ducklady (1174 KP) rated The Gentlemen (2020) in Movies

Feb 3, 2020

The Gentlemen (2020)

2020 | Action, Crime

8.1

(34 Ratings)

Movie Rating

If your a fan of snatch or lockstock then this is the movie for you.
Full of great actors and fantastic witty dialogue.
I was entirely confused by the football stadium scene where I was convinced Jack Whitehall was sitting in front of Dry eyes and Matthew. There was also a goof where the frozen dead body repeatedly blinked and went from staring wide eyed to having his eyes closed.
"The pig scene" has officially been overused in the film/TV industry but this movie had me in a pleasant mix of horror and hysterics regardless.
Rosalind is such a badass character I was disappointed by her lack of screen time though.
I really recommend going to see this movie, preferably in the cinema. Great movie, great script, great cast. Dam, my brain is too fried this evening to think of a better word than "great" haha