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Kristina (502 KP) rated If I Break (If I Break, #1) in Books
Dec 7, 2020
Contains spoilers, click to show
**Possible spoiler alert**
Can I just say: OMFG! I read some of the other reviews and can't believe so many people only gave this 1 or 2 stars. I absolutely loved Lauren's story. I usually immediately hope for the couple to split if there are problems in the beginning, but something made me want Lauren and Cal to work things out. I was enraptured and confused with Cal's moods, which made me desperate to know why he acts the way he does. When he left, I felt Lauren's pain. Few books have made me hurt and cry over a goodbye, but I felt as if Cal had left me, too. I was emotionally invested in each of the characters. By the time I finished, I was amazed, shocked, and determined to immediately find the rest of the series. I'm intrigued by the thought of how Lauren and "Chris" will work things out. He seems like a good guy, but I want Cal back! It will be interesting to see what happens in the future - I have so many guesses!
Can I just say: OMFG! I read some of the other reviews and can't believe so many people only gave this 1 or 2 stars. I absolutely loved Lauren's story. I usually immediately hope for the couple to split if there are problems in the beginning, but something made me want Lauren and Cal to work things out. I was enraptured and confused with Cal's moods, which made me desperate to know why he acts the way he does. When he left, I felt Lauren's pain. Few books have made me hurt and cry over a goodbye, but I felt as if Cal had left me, too. I was emotionally invested in each of the characters. By the time I finished, I was amazed, shocked, and determined to immediately find the rest of the series. I'm intrigued by the thought of how Lauren and "Chris" will work things out. He seems like a good guy, but I want Cal back! It will be interesting to see what happens in the future - I have so many guesses!
Awix (3310 KP) rated Threads (1984) in Movies
Sep 7, 2019 (Updated Sep 7, 2019)
Landmark BBC docu-drama depicting the effects on the UK of a nuclear war (implied to take place in 1988, not that it matters). A young couple plan to get married, not really paying much attention to the deteriorating international situation and rising tensions between the US and Soviet Union. And then events pass the point of no return and the world changes forever.
Not really something you watch to be entertained, Threads has lost very little of its power to appal and terrify. The first half, before the nuclear attack, has an almost kitchen-sink realism; the sense of foreboding is almost unbearable. Even the resources of the BBC can't quite bring the nightmarish aftermath to the screen in the same kind of the detail - or perhaps even the writer's imagination recoils from the sheer grimness of it all. Instead, Threads takes an almost impressionistic approach, providing snapshots of horror from the years following the collapse of civilisation. Distressingly convincing and powerful, and it still feels relevant; one would wish it were otherwise.
Not really something you watch to be entertained, Threads has lost very little of its power to appal and terrify. The first half, before the nuclear attack, has an almost kitchen-sink realism; the sense of foreboding is almost unbearable. Even the resources of the BBC can't quite bring the nightmarish aftermath to the screen in the same kind of the detail - or perhaps even the writer's imagination recoils from the sheer grimness of it all. Instead, Threads takes an almost impressionistic approach, providing snapshots of horror from the years following the collapse of civilisation. Distressingly convincing and powerful, and it still feels relevant; one would wish it were otherwise.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Ad Astra (2019) in Movies
Sep 20, 2019
Portentous sci-fi film takes some of the less interesting bits from Interstellar, welds them on to the basic idea of Gravity, and adds Brad Pitt and a couple of killer baboons in the hope that no-one will notice (this strategy seems to be somewhat successful). Cosmic rays from Neptune are threatening civilisation as we know it, and so Pitt is rocketed off to the Moon and then Mars in order to try and make contact with his long-lost father, who is in the frame for masterminding this. (This honestly is the plot.)
Visually stunning to look at, and I suppose the central metaphor of the film is well-executed (Pitt's journey into outer space reflects the way he is addressing some of his own internal psychological issues), but it is just a tiny bit dull - they keep having to insert arbitrary moon buggy chases and killer baboons just to pep the movie up a bit. The future world envisioned by the film is neither particularly original nor terribly convincing. Pitt's performance is better than the movie deserves.
Visually stunning to look at, and I suppose the central metaphor of the film is well-executed (Pitt's journey into outer space reflects the way he is addressing some of his own internal psychological issues), but it is just a tiny bit dull - they keep having to insert arbitrary moon buggy chases and killer baboons just to pep the movie up a bit. The future world envisioned by the film is neither particularly original nor terribly convincing. Pitt's performance is better than the movie deserves.
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Sarah (7800 KP) rated Countdown (2019) in Movies
Aug 6, 2020
Poorly executed
I remember seeing the trailer for this and being intrigued, yet didn't get chance to watch it at the cinema. Which is a shame as it might have been better on the big screen.
The plot and idea behind this is a good one. An app that tells you when you die thats actually true? With today's technology reliant society, this is a wonderful idea for a film as it can resonate with most people. The problem is that it has been very poorly executed. I didn't find it particularly scary or horrifying, and the number of deaths in this are surprisingly lacking. They've also tried to give this a proper back story and explanation when really it wasn't necessary. If they had made it a lot creepier and a lot less explainable, this could've actually been a decent film as the acting of a couple of leads was quite good. And i loved the IT guy who definitely brought a few laughs.
Overall not terrible, but not particularly scary for a horror which was a shame.
The plot and idea behind this is a good one. An app that tells you when you die thats actually true? With today's technology reliant society, this is a wonderful idea for a film as it can resonate with most people. The problem is that it has been very poorly executed. I didn't find it particularly scary or horrifying, and the number of deaths in this are surprisingly lacking. They've also tried to give this a proper back story and explanation when really it wasn't necessary. If they had made it a lot creepier and a lot less explainable, this could've actually been a decent film as the acting of a couple of leads was quite good. And i loved the IT guy who definitely brought a few laughs.
Overall not terrible, but not particularly scary for a horror which was a shame.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Ad Astra (2019) in Movies
Aug 17, 2020
Brad Pitt (1 more)
The Visuals
Wasted supporting cast (1 more)
Very Slow
Where No Man Has Gone Before
Ad Astra- is a intresting sci-fi drama that does take place in the future. It is a slow pace movie, it does get intresting overtime but when it does get intresting its only intresting for couple of parts in the film. Other than that its slow, non intresting and a wasted supporting cast. The visuals are good, the plot is okay, the sci-fi is good, the drama is their.
The plot: Thirty years ago, Clifford McBride led a voyage into deep space, but the ship and crew were never heard from again. Now his son -- a fearless astronaut -- must embark on a daring mission to Neptune to uncover the truth about his missing father and a mysterious power surge that threatens the stability of the universe.
Brad Pitt does a good job in this film. If you want to watch a sci-fi space movie go watch interstellar, 2001, moon, etc. Ad Astra is decent.
The plot: Thirty years ago, Clifford McBride led a voyage into deep space, but the ship and crew were never heard from again. Now his son -- a fearless astronaut -- must embark on a daring mission to Neptune to uncover the truth about his missing father and a mysterious power surge that threatens the stability of the universe.
Brad Pitt does a good job in this film. If you want to watch a sci-fi space movie go watch interstellar, 2001, moon, etc. Ad Astra is decent.
Bostonian916 (449 KP) rated Project Power (2020) in Movies
Aug 18, 2020
Full disclosure: I'm a fan of both Jamie Foxx and JGL. I was very happy to hear that he was ending his hiatus to return for this film.
Netflix has released a couple of good things in recent memory, but they have also churned out some turds. I had great fears when I heard the synopsis to Project Power because I felt that if they didn't do it right that they would stop investing in the genre, or at least limit their investment.
I had read some pretty lackluster reviews before having a chance to see this for myself, and I'm thrilled that I didn't take those as a reason not to watch it myself. There are definitely some flaws in several different elements of the film, but overall I feel that they did a good job with the premise. Besides, nobody else was beating the door down to make something similar (a la White House Down/Olympus Has Fallen).
Definitely worth having a look for yourself. Interesting concept with some scathing undertones.
Netflix has released a couple of good things in recent memory, but they have also churned out some turds. I had great fears when I heard the synopsis to Project Power because I felt that if they didn't do it right that they would stop investing in the genre, or at least limit their investment.
I had read some pretty lackluster reviews before having a chance to see this for myself, and I'm thrilled that I didn't take those as a reason not to watch it myself. There are definitely some flaws in several different elements of the film, but overall I feel that they did a good job with the premise. Besides, nobody else was beating the door down to make something similar (a la White House Down/Olympus Has Fallen).
Definitely worth having a look for yourself. Interesting concept with some scathing undertones.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The New Mutants (2020) in Movies
Aug 31, 2020
Absolutely the last gasp of the original X Men movie franchise essentially gets a dump release, which to be honest it deserves. Five young people with burgeoning mutant powers are confined in a spooky old hospital; they variously squabble and bond while creepy things happen around them.
Interesting idea to do a horror movie using Marvel characters: the problem is that this one isn't very frightening (flat characters and too much bland CGI); the script and performances aren't strong enough to support the introspective tone and inert feel of the movie. Plus, the story is built around a conceit which is very, very easy to guess if you're familiar with these characters. A couple of half-decent performances and the climax (when it most resembles a conventional superhero movie) acquires a certain momentum, but it feels very drab and pointless. Maybe the corporate politics that have kept the film stuck on a shelf for years haven't helped, but I doubt this could ever have been much more impressive.
Interesting idea to do a horror movie using Marvel characters: the problem is that this one isn't very frightening (flat characters and too much bland CGI); the script and performances aren't strong enough to support the introspective tone and inert feel of the movie. Plus, the story is built around a conceit which is very, very easy to guess if you're familiar with these characters. A couple of half-decent performances and the climax (when it most resembles a conventional superhero movie) acquires a certain momentum, but it feels very drab and pointless. Maybe the corporate politics that have kept the film stuck on a shelf for years haven't helped, but I doubt this could ever have been much more impressive.
Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Devil You Know in Books
May 23, 2020
I have read a couple of books by Emma Kavanagh - Hidden and The Missing Hours - that I have enjoyed but, unfortunately, not this one quite as much.
Having said that, I found the plot was different and interesting, the twists and turns were great and kept me guessing, wrongly most of the time, and the sense of tension was good. The characters were ok but no one really stood out for me and I felt they were a little unforgettable and I found the descriptive writing style became a tad tedious and I admit to skim-reading some parts. This is what let it down for me in the end - I got a little bored but persevered and so pleased I did because the ending was great.
I may not have enjoyed this book quite as much as I would have liked but it certainly will not put me off reading Emma's books in the future.
Thank you Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.
Having said that, I found the plot was different and interesting, the twists and turns were great and kept me guessing, wrongly most of the time, and the sense of tension was good. The characters were ok but no one really stood out for me and I felt they were a little unforgettable and I found the descriptive writing style became a tad tedious and I admit to skim-reading some parts. This is what let it down for me in the end - I got a little bored but persevered and so pleased I did because the ending was great.
I may not have enjoyed this book quite as much as I would have liked but it certainly will not put me off reading Emma's books in the future.
Thank you Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.