Search
Search results
Twister (1989)
4.0
Rate It
Movie
An oddball family on a Kansas farm are trapped in their farmhouse by an impending storm. The...
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Little Monsters (2019) in Movies
Nov 27, 2019
The most wholesome zombie film you will ever see
The biggest takeaway from Little Monsters is just how damn heart warming it is. Seriously.
The plot revolves around a group of young school children and their teacher becoming trapped at a petting farm whilst on a school trip, due to a zombie outbreak at an absurdly close military facility.
The conflicting styles of lighthearted family comedy, and typical zombie violence work pretty well, and offer up a solidly entertaining and genuinely funny movie, in a market that runs the risk of becoming increasingly saturated.
Lupita Nyong'o and Alexander England are two fantastic leads with great chemistry. The character growth attributed to both of their characters isbl great and is a huge part of why I enjoyed Little Monsters so much.
Josh Gad also stars and offers up a lot of humour with his character.
The cast is rounded out by a group of stupidly adorable kids, and combined with a witty and tight script, ensured I was smiling for the whole run time.
There's some decent zombie gore littered throughout, with some respectable practical effect, but please know, that Little Monsters is absolutely intended as a comedy, so don't watch it expecting to be scared!
Overall, if you like zombie comedy, then you could do a lot worse. Little Monsters is genuinely funny and extremely wholesome. Give it a go!
The plot revolves around a group of young school children and their teacher becoming trapped at a petting farm whilst on a school trip, due to a zombie outbreak at an absurdly close military facility.
The conflicting styles of lighthearted family comedy, and typical zombie violence work pretty well, and offer up a solidly entertaining and genuinely funny movie, in a market that runs the risk of becoming increasingly saturated.
Lupita Nyong'o and Alexander England are two fantastic leads with great chemistry. The character growth attributed to both of their characters isbl great and is a huge part of why I enjoyed Little Monsters so much.
Josh Gad also stars and offers up a lot of humour with his character.
The cast is rounded out by a group of stupidly adorable kids, and combined with a witty and tight script, ensured I was smiling for the whole run time.
There's some decent zombie gore littered throughout, with some respectable practical effect, but please know, that Little Monsters is absolutely intended as a comedy, so don't watch it expecting to be scared!
Overall, if you like zombie comedy, then you could do a lot worse. Little Monsters is genuinely funny and extremely wholesome. Give it a go!
Darren (1599 KP) rated Knives Out (2019) in Movies
Nov 26, 2019
Verdict: Pure Fun
Story: Knives Out starts with the apparent suicide of Harlan Thrombey (Plummer) on his 85th birthday, the family Linda (Curtis), Walt (Shannon), Richard (Johnson), Joni (Collette) Meg (Langford), Jacob (Martell) and Ransom (Evans) were all in attendance along with Harlan’s nurse Marta (Armas).
Lieutenant Elliott (Stanfield) lets private investigator Benoit Blanc (Craig) look at the events of the night after he gets an anonymous request to investigate the death believing it was murder, with the whole family have cause to potentially murder.
Thoughts on Knives Out
Characters – Benoit Blanc is a private investigator that has a connection to the family and has been given an anonymous letter to investigate the death, he has his way which unlike the normal police will push the family for the truth, knowing most are lying when they talk to him. Marta Cabrera is the nurse to Harlan, she has the closest relationship to him, knowing most of the family secrets, while just working to make sure her family is secure. Harlan is the self-made millionaire author that has started to get disappointed by the behaviour of his own children. Linda is the eldest daughter who has her own real estate business that she is proud of her work, believing she has done better than the other siblings. Walt is the youngest son who runs the publication of the books, which has always seen him try to push his father into selling the rights to entertainment sources. Richard is the husband to Linda that has been caught by Harlan being forced into telling the truth or being exposed. Joni is the daughter in the law of the deceased son that is an influencer and has been getting an allowance since her husband’s death. Ransom is the black sheep of the family, son of Linda and Richard, he has always lived the life of luxury never having to work on anything himself. Meg is the daughter of Joni that is the closest of any of the younger family members to Marta, she has seen herself be put through school but Harlan. LT Elliott is leading the investigation to the death, he is happy to put it down as suicide, but will let Benoit lead his own investigate.
Performances – The performances here are a pure joy, Daniel Craig gives us a career best, Ana De Armas continues to rise up the Hollywood name list, proving herself with a sweet innocent figure, Chris Evans brings to light a character complete against the type we are used to seeing form him. Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson and Toni Collette are wonderful too showing they can become anybody like we know from them. Everybody in this film is wonderful to watch.
Story – The story here follows a private investigator who decides to investigate an apparent suicide where he will dig up the family secrets to learn there might have been foul play. This story is a who-dun-it where everybody could be a suspect as nobody wants to tell the truth and everybody is hiding the truth too. There is a unique way of telling the story that will surprise you and turn the usual flow on its head, almost pointing out just how predictable certain TV shows involving a murder are. We do have plenty to unpack through the story, though there is a slight drag through the middle of the film.
Comedy/Crime/Mystery – The comedy comes from the colourful characters we get to meet and their actions, while the crime mystery mix together to keep us guessing to the complete truth of what happened, we get plenty of references to other crime stories too.
Settings – The film is mostly set on the grounds of the death, we have the luxury mansion, when we stay in this location everything does feel like ‘Clue’ but whether we leave it does take a little bit away from the quirky style.
Scene of the Movie – Ambulance arrives.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We never learn where Marta is from, with the on running joke she is South American, each character claims she is from a different country.
Final Thoughts – This is a quirky joyful comedy that leaves you guessing to the truth with performances that shine throughout the film.
Overall: Entertaining Mystery.
Story: Knives Out starts with the apparent suicide of Harlan Thrombey (Plummer) on his 85th birthday, the family Linda (Curtis), Walt (Shannon), Richard (Johnson), Joni (Collette) Meg (Langford), Jacob (Martell) and Ransom (Evans) were all in attendance along with Harlan’s nurse Marta (Armas).
Lieutenant Elliott (Stanfield) lets private investigator Benoit Blanc (Craig) look at the events of the night after he gets an anonymous request to investigate the death believing it was murder, with the whole family have cause to potentially murder.
Thoughts on Knives Out
Characters – Benoit Blanc is a private investigator that has a connection to the family and has been given an anonymous letter to investigate the death, he has his way which unlike the normal police will push the family for the truth, knowing most are lying when they talk to him. Marta Cabrera is the nurse to Harlan, she has the closest relationship to him, knowing most of the family secrets, while just working to make sure her family is secure. Harlan is the self-made millionaire author that has started to get disappointed by the behaviour of his own children. Linda is the eldest daughter who has her own real estate business that she is proud of her work, believing she has done better than the other siblings. Walt is the youngest son who runs the publication of the books, which has always seen him try to push his father into selling the rights to entertainment sources. Richard is the husband to Linda that has been caught by Harlan being forced into telling the truth or being exposed. Joni is the daughter in the law of the deceased son that is an influencer and has been getting an allowance since her husband’s death. Ransom is the black sheep of the family, son of Linda and Richard, he has always lived the life of luxury never having to work on anything himself. Meg is the daughter of Joni that is the closest of any of the younger family members to Marta, she has seen herself be put through school but Harlan. LT Elliott is leading the investigation to the death, he is happy to put it down as suicide, but will let Benoit lead his own investigate.
Performances – The performances here are a pure joy, Daniel Craig gives us a career best, Ana De Armas continues to rise up the Hollywood name list, proving herself with a sweet innocent figure, Chris Evans brings to light a character complete against the type we are used to seeing form him. Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson and Toni Collette are wonderful too showing they can become anybody like we know from them. Everybody in this film is wonderful to watch.
Story – The story here follows a private investigator who decides to investigate an apparent suicide where he will dig up the family secrets to learn there might have been foul play. This story is a who-dun-it where everybody could be a suspect as nobody wants to tell the truth and everybody is hiding the truth too. There is a unique way of telling the story that will surprise you and turn the usual flow on its head, almost pointing out just how predictable certain TV shows involving a murder are. We do have plenty to unpack through the story, though there is a slight drag through the middle of the film.
Comedy/Crime/Mystery – The comedy comes from the colourful characters we get to meet and their actions, while the crime mystery mix together to keep us guessing to the complete truth of what happened, we get plenty of references to other crime stories too.
Settings – The film is mostly set on the grounds of the death, we have the luxury mansion, when we stay in this location everything does feel like ‘Clue’ but whether we leave it does take a little bit away from the quirky style.
Scene of the Movie – Ambulance arrives.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We never learn where Marta is from, with the on running joke she is South American, each character claims she is from a different country.
Final Thoughts – This is a quirky joyful comedy that leaves you guessing to the truth with performances that shine throughout the film.
Overall: Entertaining Mystery.
The Best Plays of 2014
Book
The Country House, a comedy about a deeply dramatic family, by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright...
60 Seconds! Atomic Adventure
Games
App
60 Seconds! is a dark comedy atomic adventure of scavenge and survival. Collect supplies and rescue...
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated No Escape (2015) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Full disclosure…I am not a fan of Owen Wilson. In fact, I have down right loathed him since I first saw him in Armageddon. In my opinion, he always plays an annoying, somewhat exaggerated and not very funny character. To make things worse, No Escape is a non-comedy, non-quirky, straight man Owen Wilson film. Seems like a terrible idea. Still, the trailer intrigued me because I wanted to see if Wilson had any range to be a “normal action” character for once or would he continue to live up to my low expectations of him.
Surprisingly, I enjoyed him in this performance greatly. Wilson plays a father who uproots his wife Annie (Lake Bell) and their two little girls and moves them to Southeast Asia to work on a project to bring clean drinking water to the country and provide a better life for his family. However shortly after arrival, the family finds themselves in the middle of a violent political uprising they do not understand nor have any idea why it is happening and must somehow find sanctuary and escape this foreign city where Americans are being executed on sight. The film is intense. As soon as the coup begins, we are taken on a ride of constant tension and emotion, broken up with quiet moments where Wilson uses “dad humor” to comfort his family. Wilson shines in these moments because his “lame Dad humor” is not only believable, but his demeanor throughout the film is realistic and loving. His chemistry with his cast mates is stellar as the family all deliver solid performances and you can believe they are an actual family.
As they are moving through the city they come across a familiar face in Pierce Brosnan who plays some kind of mercenary ex-agent type. Brosnan’s screen time is short but he steals every scene he is in. He also gives an explanation, though simple, of what is going on and how the family can find safety. Critics of this film may fault it for glossing over a real world issue of western colonialism and no attempt to humanize the plight of the locals, however for me at least, this film isn’t trying to tell a giant story, but rather a far simpler one which is about family. Additionally, the trailers for this film present it as more of an action film, which it is not.
In the end we are left with a frightening atmosphere where we constantly might ask ourselves what we would do in that situation. The strength of this film is the family dynamic and the strong performances that give them life. Though the film mostly ignores a real world issue, it delivers a thrilling fast paced ride from almost start to finish.
Surprisingly, I enjoyed him in this performance greatly. Wilson plays a father who uproots his wife Annie (Lake Bell) and their two little girls and moves them to Southeast Asia to work on a project to bring clean drinking water to the country and provide a better life for his family. However shortly after arrival, the family finds themselves in the middle of a violent political uprising they do not understand nor have any idea why it is happening and must somehow find sanctuary and escape this foreign city where Americans are being executed on sight. The film is intense. As soon as the coup begins, we are taken on a ride of constant tension and emotion, broken up with quiet moments where Wilson uses “dad humor” to comfort his family. Wilson shines in these moments because his “lame Dad humor” is not only believable, but his demeanor throughout the film is realistic and loving. His chemistry with his cast mates is stellar as the family all deliver solid performances and you can believe they are an actual family.
As they are moving through the city they come across a familiar face in Pierce Brosnan who plays some kind of mercenary ex-agent type. Brosnan’s screen time is short but he steals every scene he is in. He also gives an explanation, though simple, of what is going on and how the family can find safety. Critics of this film may fault it for glossing over a real world issue of western colonialism and no attempt to humanize the plight of the locals, however for me at least, this film isn’t trying to tell a giant story, but rather a far simpler one which is about family. Additionally, the trailers for this film present it as more of an action film, which it is not.
In the end we are left with a frightening atmosphere where we constantly might ask ourselves what we would do in that situation. The strength of this film is the family dynamic and the strong performances that give them life. Though the film mostly ignores a real world issue, it delivers a thrilling fast paced ride from almost start to finish.
Imogen SB (4507 KP) created a post in Smashbomb Council
Dec 9, 2019
Cocoon: The Return (1988)
6.7
Rate It
Movie Watch
Five years after the first "Cocoon," the friendly aliens from the planet Anterea return to Earth to...
A League of Their Own (1992)
7.7
Rate It
Movie Watch
As America's stock of athletic young men is depleted during World War II, a professional all-female...
Discovering Scarfolk
Book
"Scarfolk is a town in north-west England that did not progress beyond 1979. The entire decade of...