Search
Search results
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016) in Movies
Jul 15, 2019
As a huge fan of supernatural horror films I was really looking forward to screening Ouija: Origins of Evil. I had hoped that this film would make up to it’s unsuccessful predecessor. I think the last big box horror movie that I thoroughly enjoyed was The Conjuring 2. I can’t say that I was surprised with being a little disappointed with this film.
As always, some of the best scenes in any film are usually displayed in the trailer to reel us in and that’s precisely what happened.
The film is based in 1965 with a young widowed mother Alice (Elizabeth Reaser) raising two daughters Paulina and Doris. Alice and the girls use old school seance scams to make ends meet.
The somewhat rebellious teen daughter Paulina sneaks out to a party where a Ouija board is used and suggests that her mother should buy one and add it to the act. Her mother decides that it just might be what they need to liven up the show. Thinking that this would only be one of her many parlor tricks she buys one.
While setting up the board for a practice session she decides to see if it might actually work. She doesn’t realize that she has now opened a can of worms and her youngest daughter Doris is in the throws of a malevolent force.
Is it the board, is it the house, is it their father. With the help of their school priest they are able to understand what is truly happening.
The film in a whole was just okay, not the best but not the worst either. The problem that I had with it specifically was how long you have to get through to get to the scary parts of the film. I was hopeful that it would get better and to my surprise it did.
Yes the lines weren’t great but the cast seemed fitting for their characters. Elizabeth Reaser who I’ve had the pleasure of meeting was perfect as Alice and the young girls as well. I don’t usually go on about editing and lighting but I must say that I really enjoyed the cinematography in the film. The drab colors and filming techniques were very well executed and added to the 60’s style horror films of the past.
In all honesty I would recommend seeing this in theaters. With the energy of the audience and darkness of the theater it makes for a fun and spooky Halloween event.
Just be aware that the build up to the better scenes is long and drawn out. The jump scares are few and far between however it still is worth a watch.
As always, some of the best scenes in any film are usually displayed in the trailer to reel us in and that’s precisely what happened.
The film is based in 1965 with a young widowed mother Alice (Elizabeth Reaser) raising two daughters Paulina and Doris. Alice and the girls use old school seance scams to make ends meet.
The somewhat rebellious teen daughter Paulina sneaks out to a party where a Ouija board is used and suggests that her mother should buy one and add it to the act. Her mother decides that it just might be what they need to liven up the show. Thinking that this would only be one of her many parlor tricks she buys one.
While setting up the board for a practice session she decides to see if it might actually work. She doesn’t realize that she has now opened a can of worms and her youngest daughter Doris is in the throws of a malevolent force.
Is it the board, is it the house, is it their father. With the help of their school priest they are able to understand what is truly happening.
The film in a whole was just okay, not the best but not the worst either. The problem that I had with it specifically was how long you have to get through to get to the scary parts of the film. I was hopeful that it would get better and to my surprise it did.
Yes the lines weren’t great but the cast seemed fitting for their characters. Elizabeth Reaser who I’ve had the pleasure of meeting was perfect as Alice and the young girls as well. I don’t usually go on about editing and lighting but I must say that I really enjoyed the cinematography in the film. The drab colors and filming techniques were very well executed and added to the 60’s style horror films of the past.
In all honesty I would recommend seeing this in theaters. With the energy of the audience and darkness of the theater it makes for a fun and spooky Halloween event.
Just be aware that the build up to the better scenes is long and drawn out. The jump scares are few and far between however it still is worth a watch.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Our Little Secret in Books
Apr 12, 2018
Excellent, well-written suspense novel from debut author
"All love stories are crime stories and all crime stories, love. If you say that's not true, you're not looking properly. Perhaps when two people join, it's inevitable, the things they'll damage in each other." ~Angela to Novak*
Angela is being held for interrogation at the police station. Detective Novak wants only thing from her--to know where Saskia is. But Angela cannot comply; instead, she tells Detective Novak a story, one starting with her senior year, when she fell in love with a boy named HP. As she tells her tale, it becomes clear it is one of love, sadness, betrayal, and anger. Does Angela know where Saskia is? And can we trust her?
This was a really fascinating and different book, and it was so refreshing to read something that felt original and unlike so many of the suspense novels I've read lately. I will say upfront: Nay is an excellent storyteller, and I found this novel to be wonderfully written. Parts of this story actually hurt me to read, because it was so vividly told. I could so clearly picture the events unfolding and visualize this tale of teen love gone wrong.
I loved the idea that our entire book is Angela, trapped at the police station, telling the story of the last several years of her life to Detective Novak. It seems unconventional, and it is, but it worked well for me. It took the unreliable narrator trope to a different level, and it was so much better than the drunken, rambling, angry unreliable narrator that we see so often. Angela tells her tale of woe and bitterness to the Detective, with only minor interruptions as he provides some pieces of new evidence that occasionally cast doubt upon her viewpoints. As such, we are left to guess how truthful she is being with all of us. Every statement she makes is charged with double meaning. I found the entire thing to be incredibly compelling and oddly fascinating. I was completely hooked, madly flipping the pages to find out what happened next. Even more, I was amazed at how Nay created sympathy toward a character who wasn't all that likeable at times. I was rooting for her, even when I knew I probably shouldn't.
I felt this faltered only a little near the end, where I wasn't quite sure I was on board with everything, but it certainly wasn't enough to diminish my love of the novel. And the actual ending is excellent and basically redeemed it all. Overall, this was an excellent, well-written, suspenseful novel. Angela is a dynamic and complicated character who immediately draws you in with her narration. I was constantly second-guessing her as I read and found the entire novel to be incredibly powerful and satisfying. Apparently this is Nay's first book, which is even more impressive. Can't wait for the next one. Definitely worth a read! 4+ stars.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review (thank you!).
*all quotes from an advanced reader copy and subject to change
Angela is being held for interrogation at the police station. Detective Novak wants only thing from her--to know where Saskia is. But Angela cannot comply; instead, she tells Detective Novak a story, one starting with her senior year, when she fell in love with a boy named HP. As she tells her tale, it becomes clear it is one of love, sadness, betrayal, and anger. Does Angela know where Saskia is? And can we trust her?
This was a really fascinating and different book, and it was so refreshing to read something that felt original and unlike so many of the suspense novels I've read lately. I will say upfront: Nay is an excellent storyteller, and I found this novel to be wonderfully written. Parts of this story actually hurt me to read, because it was so vividly told. I could so clearly picture the events unfolding and visualize this tale of teen love gone wrong.
I loved the idea that our entire book is Angela, trapped at the police station, telling the story of the last several years of her life to Detective Novak. It seems unconventional, and it is, but it worked well for me. It took the unreliable narrator trope to a different level, and it was so much better than the drunken, rambling, angry unreliable narrator that we see so often. Angela tells her tale of woe and bitterness to the Detective, with only minor interruptions as he provides some pieces of new evidence that occasionally cast doubt upon her viewpoints. As such, we are left to guess how truthful she is being with all of us. Every statement she makes is charged with double meaning. I found the entire thing to be incredibly compelling and oddly fascinating. I was completely hooked, madly flipping the pages to find out what happened next. Even more, I was amazed at how Nay created sympathy toward a character who wasn't all that likeable at times. I was rooting for her, even when I knew I probably shouldn't.
I felt this faltered only a little near the end, where I wasn't quite sure I was on board with everything, but it certainly wasn't enough to diminish my love of the novel. And the actual ending is excellent and basically redeemed it all. Overall, this was an excellent, well-written, suspenseful novel. Angela is a dynamic and complicated character who immediately draws you in with her narration. I was constantly second-guessing her as I read and found the entire novel to be incredibly powerful and satisfying. Apparently this is Nay's first book, which is even more impressive. Can't wait for the next one. Definitely worth a read! 4+ stars.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review (thank you!).
*all quotes from an advanced reader copy and subject to change
tonidavis (353 KP) rated The Fault in Our Stars in Books
Jun 30, 2017
Everything (3 more)
Johns writing style
Hazel and Gus
Isaccs friendship
On A Roller Coaster That Only Goes Up My Friend
Although I say books are emotional and heart breaking this is actually the only book ever to make me cry. I cried probably not at the point most people did. I cried at an Issac scene. John is the only person I've come across that can make you want to laugh and cry at the same time he writes the most dramatic scene and then puts in something out of character yet thoughtful and makes you over explode with emotion.
Its hard to explain the book to people without going well the main character has cancer but at the same time its not about cancer its about people. That's what makes John such a great writer is that he always see's people first and what ever problem they have wrong with them second.
This is a beautiful book with love friendship joy and pain its about life and death and everything in between. On Johns youtube channel vlogbrthers he always reminds everyone "Don't forget to be awesome." This book certainly doesn't.
Its hard to explain the book to people without going well the main character has cancer but at the same time its not about cancer its about people. That's what makes John such a great writer is that he always see's people first and what ever problem they have wrong with them second.
This is a beautiful book with love friendship joy and pain its about life and death and everything in between. On Johns youtube channel vlogbrthers he always reminds everyone "Don't forget to be awesome." This book certainly doesn't.
Sawyer (231 KP) rated Love, Death & Robots in TV
May 10, 2019
The animation is just about always amazing in some way (1 more)
I actually prefer these short episodes usually between 5 and 15 minutes
There is a lot of sexuality and nudity including full frontal male nudity that just seems like it's unnecessary most of time (1 more)
It's an aontology show
Which means some episodes are just not going to be as good
A variety sample pack of short sci-fi animated stories
So this is a animated show each episode features a short self-contained story with a distinctive different animation style most of the stories are sci-fi in nature with a few being more on the supernatural side I was actually surprised by the overall quality usually in this type of show there's going to be very highs and very lows
I can say for the most part the show is really enjoyable lots of unique art styles unique stories with different backgrounds a lot of them do feel like it's more style than substance though
And there is a lot of Gore violence and sexuality sprinkled throughout the series that is just off-putting sometimes for me
I can say for the most part the show is really enjoyable lots of unique art styles unique stories with different backgrounds a lot of them do feel like it's more style than substance though
And there is a lot of Gore violence and sexuality sprinkled throughout the series that is just off-putting sometimes for me
Mayhawke (97 KP) rated The Last Templar in Books
Feb 7, 2018
It's an O.K. Read, But...
...but. It's not riveting. I had no problems putting it down and going to do other things. In fact I stopped for a day half-way through and read an entire other book. That said, I had no problems picking it up again.
The writing style is a bit unsophisticated. It seems to swing between slightly out-of-synch passages of 'Historical Travelogue' and 'Something That Was Written With The Movie in Mind' - screaming Hollywood-esq car chases, murderous priests etc.
In it's favour the theory it puts forward is intriguing and over-all the story is well-paced and well presented. Unfortunatly parts of the plot only stand up if you read them with one eye shut, from behind a pillow, and some of the arguments are highly dubious to say the least (e.g: people can only be good, kind and charitable if inspired to be by religion; Christianity was the first religion to preach love not hate)
All in all, it's not a bad read but if you have to budget your 'book allowance' I'd suggest getting it from a library or borrowing it from a friend.
The writing style is a bit unsophisticated. It seems to swing between slightly out-of-synch passages of 'Historical Travelogue' and 'Something That Was Written With The Movie in Mind' - screaming Hollywood-esq car chases, murderous priests etc.
In it's favour the theory it puts forward is intriguing and over-all the story is well-paced and well presented. Unfortunatly parts of the plot only stand up if you read them with one eye shut, from behind a pillow, and some of the arguments are highly dubious to say the least (e.g: people can only be good, kind and charitable if inspired to be by religion; Christianity was the first religion to preach love not hate)
All in all, it's not a bad read but if you have to budget your 'book allowance' I'd suggest getting it from a library or borrowing it from a friend.
Justin Taylor (59 KP) rated Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 (2018) in Movies
Dec 10, 2018
A great story about the internet that is better than the movie from last year that I'll never mention (4 more)
The glorious references and Cameos.....see if you can find them all
The post credits scene had me laughing in stitches
The Disney princesses are amazing
Very heartfelt
This is a great fim
This movie is great and I adore it, the story was well done and the voice actors nail it again,
The characters are expanded upon and animation and absolutely amazing
The new characters are absolutely awesome I'll tell you... you'll fall in love with gal Gadot's character!
The references are spot on and the cameos are awesome including one scene that was in all the trailers!
Stay til the very end of the credits there's a surprise!
In general the movie is awesome the one thing I'll have to say is I find the original movie more interesting than this one but I still love this one more if that makes sense. And of course im gonna watch it again.
Would recommend this to anyone who loves Disney or video games
The characters are expanded upon and animation and absolutely amazing
The new characters are absolutely awesome I'll tell you... you'll fall in love with gal Gadot's character!
The references are spot on and the cameos are awesome including one scene that was in all the trailers!
Stay til the very end of the credits there's a surprise!
In general the movie is awesome the one thing I'll have to say is I find the original movie more interesting than this one but I still love this one more if that makes sense. And of course im gonna watch it again.
Would recommend this to anyone who loves Disney or video games
Merissa (14100 KP) rated All He Ever Needed in Books
Nov 5, 2018
All He Ever Needed by Cate Ashwood
All He Ever Needed is a gentle friends-to-lovers story. Ethan has known he was gay for over a decade, but didn't say anything. Not only did he want to make it work with his long-term, high school sweetheart, but the man he loves is completely unavailable, so he thinks. However, you can only live a lie for so long, and this book starts when Ethan's life comes crashing down.
This was very sympathetically written - you get to see how it affected ALL of the characters, and none of them were unnecessarily angsty about it either. There is some angst here, as Jase needs to figure out just how to be with Ethan when real life invades, but nothing too much.
This was an excellently written story, with no editing or grammatical errors. With low angst, charming characters, and a tender love story, I have no hesitation in recommending this book. Another winner by Cate Ashwood.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
This was very sympathetically written - you get to see how it affected ALL of the characters, and none of them were unnecessarily angsty about it either. There is some angst here, as Jase needs to figure out just how to be with Ethan when real life invades, but nothing too much.
This was an excellently written story, with no editing or grammatical errors. With low angst, charming characters, and a tender love story, I have no hesitation in recommending this book. Another winner by Cate Ashwood.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Desperation in Books
Aug 16, 2019
Rather creepy
Stephen King is known for his scary and horror filled stories, but it isnt often that I find them to be like this. Desperation however is the first story I've actually found to be rather unsettling and really quite creepy.
This is one of King's good multiple character driven books, told from the point of view of each of the well developed yet flawed characters. You can say what you like about King, but he knows how to write to keep you reading. The plot is bonkers but full of unsettling creepiness and gore that you can't help but imagine. It may be slightly too long and drawn out in parts, and I'm not a big fan of the religious aspects. However it's still a very enjoyable tale. I had worried I wouldn't like this as much having already read The Regulators, but both books have their own merits and whilst related, still stand distinctly separate. The character names might be the same, but fortunately as the personalities and appearances were changed so drastically in The Regulators, it makes it much easier for Desperation to stand apart as the original story.
This is one of King's good multiple character driven books, told from the point of view of each of the well developed yet flawed characters. You can say what you like about King, but he knows how to write to keep you reading. The plot is bonkers but full of unsettling creepiness and gore that you can't help but imagine. It may be slightly too long and drawn out in parts, and I'm not a big fan of the religious aspects. However it's still a very enjoyable tale. I had worried I wouldn't like this as much having already read The Regulators, but both books have their own merits and whilst related, still stand distinctly separate. The character names might be the same, but fortunately as the personalities and appearances were changed so drastically in The Regulators, it makes it much easier for Desperation to stand apart as the original story.
Becs (244 KP) rated The Ultimate Droodles Compendium in Books
Sep 13, 2019
You can also find this review on my blog: bookingwayreads.wordpress.com
Thank you to Smith Publicity for sending me a final copy of The Ultimate Droodles Compendium: The Absurdly Complete Collection of Roger Price’s Classic Zany Creations by Roger Price to read and review for my honest opinion.
I’ve never heard of Droodles until the moment I got this in my hands and I will say this was a humorous read! I enjoyed every moment of it and laughed hysterically. This compendium was a wonderful collection of these witty and clever doodles that allows the reader to leaf through, picking and choosing which Droodles to look at.
If you have ever wondered what was funny in the 50’s and 60’s, then this compendium is a perfect representation! Some of the explanations after certain comics explained a social and/or political situation that was going on back in that era but with a bit of flair. The comedy within the pages of this book are not only mild and amusing, but some also lacked in my opinion. All in all, the comics were entertaining and many contained multiple of different ways to interpret them.
Thank you to Smith Publicity for sending me a final copy of The Ultimate Droodles Compendium: The Absurdly Complete Collection of Roger Price’s Classic Zany Creations by Roger Price to read and review for my honest opinion.
I’ve never heard of Droodles until the moment I got this in my hands and I will say this was a humorous read! I enjoyed every moment of it and laughed hysterically. This compendium was a wonderful collection of these witty and clever doodles that allows the reader to leaf through, picking and choosing which Droodles to look at.
If you have ever wondered what was funny in the 50’s and 60’s, then this compendium is a perfect representation! Some of the explanations after certain comics explained a social and/or political situation that was going on back in that era but with a bit of flair. The comedy within the pages of this book are not only mild and amusing, but some also lacked in my opinion. All in all, the comics were entertaining and many contained multiple of different ways to interpret them.
The Confessions of Frannie Langton
9.0
Rate It
Book
'They say I must be put to death for what happened to Madame, and they want me to confess. But how...
Historical Fiction