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Robert Eggers recommended Mary Poppins (1964) in Movies (curated)

 
Mary Poppins (1964)
Mary Poppins (1964)
1964 | Classics, Comedy, Family

"Another movie that takes place in the Edwardian era, but in the country where Edward was actually reigning. It was an important movie for me as a kid and it continued to be something that I revisited again because it’s just good. Good storytelling, quite beautiful. You’ve got to love the matte paintings of the London rooftops. You’ve got to love a movie where a witch is your nanny. Obviously, no challenge to Dick van Dyke’s Australian Cockney accent, but his performance in that movie is really incredible. He is such a good physical comedian and when they’re in the chalk painting — which is also just lovely, the live action mix and the animation — he often has the same dance choreography as Julie Andrews. And he interprets it incredibly differently. It’s not that he can’t do them, it’s that he’s interpreting them in a different way, for humor, with his body type and so cleverly. It’s a movie where kids have power. They understand some things that their Edwardian dad doesn’t. And we use a Mary Poppins-esque weathervane shot in The Lighthouse. And then also, as much as it is a very, very satisfying narrative, the movie’s not without mystery. What is Mary Poppins’ backstory? What is her relationship with Bert? She creeps me out. Like when her reflection in the mirror keeps singing after her. The way she’s a little bit austere with the children and then the next minute she’s super cuddly, it is a little creepy. And then it just isn’t her, but when the kids get lost in East London, and there’s the dogs barking, and the old beggar woman who’s like, “Come here, children” or whatever. That was incredibly terrifying as a child."

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Midge (525 KP) rated The Next to Die in Books

Feb 17, 2019  
The Next to Die
The Next to Die
Sophie Hannah | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller
10
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Original And Very Unique
Five well deserved stars! This is such a good book for me - the witticisms, the sarcastic put-downs, as well as the hilarious musings and anecdotes, all help this book along for me. It’s nothing like any other novel that I can recall reading before and it is especially refreshing for a crime novel.

I love novels that feature out of the ordinary protagonists, so this one fitted right into that category. The story is actually told from the points of view of two people - stand up comedian, Kim Tribbeck & DC Simon Waterhouse.

Quirky Kim Tribbeck has a dark side, and I really enjoyed the insight into her world as told through her POV. Her contribution is told through an autobiographical book called “Origami.” DC Simon Waterhouse, the other protagonist, is inspired, well respected, and talented as a detective and he doesn’t like public speaking. The story is also told via a number of newspaper articles and random emails.

The chapters vary between different characters, excerpts from “Origami”, the emails, newspaper columns, short stories, and letters. In addition to the burning question, “Who Is Billy Dead Mates?” (the nickname of the killer who appears to be targeting pairs of best friends), there is an obsessed journalist who claims the victims have been murdered by a mad misogynist. Before they die, each of the victims is given a small white book.

I particularly loved the chapters that were told from Kim’s point-of-view. For me, Sophie Hannah’s portrayal of Kim was brilliant. She turned this novel into something much more than a police procedural. In THE NEXT TO DIE, Hannah managed to combine a wonderfully clever and complex plot with some extremely unforgettable characters.

THE NEXT TO DIE by Sophie Hannah is a highly recommended, layered mystery with a surprising and fulfilling ending.

{Thank you to Edelweiss and William Morrow for the free copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.}
  
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Michael Packner (32 KP) rated Halloween (2018) in Movies

Jun 15, 2019 (Updated Jun 15, 2019)  
Halloween (2018)
Halloween (2018)
2018 | Horror
The film starts off really good. The first half of the film is definitely quality. (1 more)
The strongest point of the film is an absolutely beautiful and brutal tracking shot that lasts about two minutes. Really epic stuff.
The second half of the film. At about halfway the film hits a wall and freefalls from there. (3 more)
Vicki's death scene is played for cheap laughs when the scene should've been dead serious. This is the start of the freefall.
The twist with the "New Loomis" is BRUTALLY awful.
The "epic" final act and long awaited showdown between Laurie and Michael is epically meh.
Before I start I want to qualify this by saying other than the first two films which are classics, I really do not like this series. It's overrated and boring and truthfully everything past part 2 is mediocre to crap, so I went into this honestly expecting to hate it and watched it more for my wife than myself. That being said, the first half hour I felt like I was right, but then it did get better. This was a better sequel than the previous ones. Michael is evil again and he is BRUTAL. The use of comedy in this film was overdone to a huge fault, especially one kill scene where they used comedy to absolutely kill the tension and the scene came off absolutely disrespectful and just mean spirited in a bad way. The new Loomis subplot was awful. Why? Just why? A father with his son makes the dumbest decision ever in a horror movie and that's ok, but people forgive it because it's this franchise. I did enjoy the final showdown between Michael and Laurie though so that's a positive. I rank the film as at least 3 or 4 in the franchise so there's that. At least I had fun and enjoyed it for the most part. Never let a comedian write a horror movie ever again.