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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2430 KP) rated The Case of the Ghost of Christmas Morning in Books
Jul 26, 2024
A Little Murder for Christmas
This year, Anty Boisjoly is planning to spend Christmas with his aunt Azalea, who is a bit of a recluse. He hasn’t visited her in years, in fact. When Anty arrives, Azalea informs him that she’s just discovered the body of her next-door neighbor, a man she’d begun to be friendly with. The victim is a local war hero, and everyone in the village is upset by the news. Unfortunately, the footprints in the snow make it look like Azalea is the only person who could have realistically killed the man. Oh, and there’s also the fact that he was seen by many people in the pub hours after Azalea claims she found the body. Can Anty figure out what really happened and prove his aunt innocent?
The book doesn’t hesitate, jumping into the murder in the first chapter. I found the pacing to be a little uneven, especially early on. The further I got into the book, the more impossibility we saw, and the more I was engaged. By the end, everything made sense. I also found the suspects a little shallow. I loved the first in the series, so maybe my expectations were too high here. The one thing that was definitely the same as the first book was the dry wit. I laughed so much reading this book. We get some nice Christmas cheer over the course of the book as well. Overall, I enjoyed it and recommend it for anyone looking for a humorous impossible crime mystery.
The book doesn’t hesitate, jumping into the murder in the first chapter. I found the pacing to be a little uneven, especially early on. The further I got into the book, the more impossibility we saw, and the more I was engaged. By the end, everything made sense. I also found the suspects a little shallow. I loved the first in the series, so maybe my expectations were too high here. The one thing that was definitely the same as the first book was the dry wit. I laughed so much reading this book. We get some nice Christmas cheer over the course of the book as well. Overall, I enjoyed it and recommend it for anyone looking for a humorous impossible crime mystery.
Lee (2222 KP) rated Black Christmas (2019) in Movies
Dec 13, 2019
Back in 1974, a low-budget Canadian horror movie by the name of Black Christmas was released and was one of the first to define the slasher movie template that we've now become so heavily accustomed to. Black Christmas already got a remake back in 2006 and now we have another, coming this time from powerhouse movie studio Blumhouse and directed/co-written by Sophia Takal.
Black Christmas retains its campus setting as a group of sorority sisters, all seniors at Hawthorne University, prepare for the end of term and the Christmas holidays. While a group of girls are celebrating one night, one of their friends is being terrorised by a robed killer as she walks home alone down a quiet snowy street, adorned with Christmas decorations. It's all pretty generic stuff so far, and in terms of horror and suspense, that's all we get for about the next 30 minutes or so while the movie shifts down a few gears and tries to introduce us to some characters and some kind of plot.
Riley (Imogen Poots) is one of only a couple of characters who you'll remember come the end of the movie. After passing out at a frat party a few years earlier, Riley was sexually assaulted, and she and her friends are now preparing to sing at another frat party which her accused rapist will also be attending. While looking around the house for a friend who seems to have gone missing, Riley opens the door on a hidden room where she observes a strange ceremony - pledges, wearing medieval robes and masks, are being daubed with some kind of black goo that's oozing from the eyes of a bust depicting the University's founder. She leaves them to it, and heads back to the party, not before rescuing her lost friend from the unwanted advances of another frat boy in his room.
Riley goes on to perform with her friends, a routine which turns out to be a carefully choreographed prank song - worded as a call out to the toxic masculinity and frat rape culture that Riley and so many other girls have experienced first hand. Needless to say, this doesn't go down too well with the boys, even more so when a video of the routine goes viral the next day.
Meanwhile, another one of the sisters is currently in the process of gathering signatures for a petition, in an attempt to get their English professor (Cary Elwes) sacked for not including enough diversity in his curriculum. So, when some of the lesser known female characters begin disappearing, and our main cast begin receiving mysterious and threatening messages on their phones, there are certainly plenty of potential suspects to choose from. Eventually, the killer makes it into the sorority house where Riley and her friends are, and it's up to them all to work together in order to outwit and defeat the killer.
I'm a big fan of the 'final girl' movie, where the seemingly indestructible female lead goes from downtrodden victim to badass warrior (see 'You're Next', or this years hugely enjoyable 'Ready Or Not'), remaining as sole survivor once the dust has settled and the movie comes to its satisfying conclusion. I was really hoping for Black Christmas to follow in that vein, and it's clearly what the filmmakers were aiming for too. But, despite its well-intentioned premise, Black Christmas completely fails to deliver. Death scenes are rushed, not even particularly inventive, and because it is so drearily written and poorly directed, you barely know or even care who most of the victims are anyway. Following a slow and messy first half, the movie then takes a turn towards the supernatural, culminating in a frankly ridiculous final act and cementing this movie firmly in my worst 5 movies of 2019!
Black Christmas retains its campus setting as a group of sorority sisters, all seniors at Hawthorne University, prepare for the end of term and the Christmas holidays. While a group of girls are celebrating one night, one of their friends is being terrorised by a robed killer as she walks home alone down a quiet snowy street, adorned with Christmas decorations. It's all pretty generic stuff so far, and in terms of horror and suspense, that's all we get for about the next 30 minutes or so while the movie shifts down a few gears and tries to introduce us to some characters and some kind of plot.
Riley (Imogen Poots) is one of only a couple of characters who you'll remember come the end of the movie. After passing out at a frat party a few years earlier, Riley was sexually assaulted, and she and her friends are now preparing to sing at another frat party which her accused rapist will also be attending. While looking around the house for a friend who seems to have gone missing, Riley opens the door on a hidden room where she observes a strange ceremony - pledges, wearing medieval robes and masks, are being daubed with some kind of black goo that's oozing from the eyes of a bust depicting the University's founder. She leaves them to it, and heads back to the party, not before rescuing her lost friend from the unwanted advances of another frat boy in his room.
Riley goes on to perform with her friends, a routine which turns out to be a carefully choreographed prank song - worded as a call out to the toxic masculinity and frat rape culture that Riley and so many other girls have experienced first hand. Needless to say, this doesn't go down too well with the boys, even more so when a video of the routine goes viral the next day.
Meanwhile, another one of the sisters is currently in the process of gathering signatures for a petition, in an attempt to get their English professor (Cary Elwes) sacked for not including enough diversity in his curriculum. So, when some of the lesser known female characters begin disappearing, and our main cast begin receiving mysterious and threatening messages on their phones, there are certainly plenty of potential suspects to choose from. Eventually, the killer makes it into the sorority house where Riley and her friends are, and it's up to them all to work together in order to outwit and defeat the killer.
I'm a big fan of the 'final girl' movie, where the seemingly indestructible female lead goes from downtrodden victim to badass warrior (see 'You're Next', or this years hugely enjoyable 'Ready Or Not'), remaining as sole survivor once the dust has settled and the movie comes to its satisfying conclusion. I was really hoping for Black Christmas to follow in that vein, and it's clearly what the filmmakers were aiming for too. But, despite its well-intentioned premise, Black Christmas completely fails to deliver. Death scenes are rushed, not even particularly inventive, and because it is so drearily written and poorly directed, you barely know or even care who most of the victims are anyway. Following a slow and messy first half, the movie then takes a turn towards the supernatural, culminating in a frankly ridiculous final act and cementing this movie firmly in my worst 5 movies of 2019!
CL
Cardlists Label Printing
Utilities and Productivity
App
Easily print address labels for Christmas cards or other mailing lists. Easy list management. This...
Entertainment Editor (1988 KP) shared own list
Nov 25, 2017
Christmas films on Netflix, NowTV and Amazon Prime include Love Actually, Home Alone 2, Polar Express and more:
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
7.8
Rate It
Movie
One year after Kevin was left home alone and had to defeat a pair of bumbling burglars, he...
Almost Christmas (2016)
7.3
Rate It
Movie Watch
Walter Meyer (Danny Glover) is a retired mechanic who lost the love of his life one year earlier....
Love Actually (2003)
8.2
Rate It
Movie Watch
"Get ready for fun!" (Leah Rozen, People) with the "feel good movie of the year!" (Clay Smith,...
and 3 other items
Dean (6927 KP) rated A Christmas Horror Story (2015) in Movies
Dec 17, 2017 (Updated Dec 17, 2017)
Great Christmas Horror anthology
I came across this last year and didn't expect much as a straight to DVD film. It turned out to be a little gem of a film. Mixing up various horror types from Slasher, Ghost story, mythical and the plain weird. All linked together by William Shatner as the small town local radio DJ. Reminded me of @Trick 'r Treat (2007) something for everyone, check it out.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2430 KP) rated The Thin Man in Books
Mar 9, 2018
After seeing all the movies, I finally read the book. Nick and Nora Charles are trying to enjoy a Christmas in New York City, but a case involving one of Nick's former clients keeps interrupting the holiday. I found this book lacked some of the spark of the movie version, but it was still enjoyable.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/05/book-review-thin-man-by-dashiell-hammett.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/05/book-review-thin-man-by-dashiell-hammett.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Aasiyah Sidat (34 KP) rated Yes Please in Books
Jul 5, 2018
Yes Please!!
So it's the end of a bleak and depressing January, you're broke, put on 5 pounds since Christmas and the new year's resolutions have gone out of the window. Basically, life is back to being as shit as it used to be.
What you need is some motivation mixed in with some funny stories for good measure!
Enter the amazing, hilarious and wonderful Amy Poehler!!!!
Continue reading my review at: https://www.readsandrecipes.co.uk/2018/01/yes-please.html
What you need is some motivation mixed in with some funny stories for good measure!
Enter the amazing, hilarious and wonderful Amy Poehler!!!!
Continue reading my review at: https://www.readsandrecipes.co.uk/2018/01/yes-please.html
Andy K (10823 KP) rated Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977) in Movies
Nov 30, 2018
Heartwarming and fun
I have watched this so many times. It one of my favorite Christmas stories directed by Jim Henson.
When a poor otter family sees the opportunity of a town talent show to make some much needed cash, they seize on the opportunity.
The songs and morals in this short TV movie make this great fun for the whole family.
The songs from Paul Williams will keep you humming.
When a poor otter family sees the opportunity of a town talent show to make some much needed cash, they seize on the opportunity.
The songs and morals in this short TV movie make this great fun for the whole family.
The songs from Paul Williams will keep you humming.
Andy K (10823 KP) created a post in Dear Smashbomb....
Dec 3, 2018
James Koppert (2698 KP) rated Klaus (2019) in Movies
Dec 25, 2019
Worth the hype
A lot of people said this was great but I get dubious of hype but this lives up to it. With animation like the illustrations from a children's book, Klaus is a touching, heartwarming and even sometimes magically sad story. This is quickly going to become a firm Christmas favorite.