Search
Kritika: The White Knights
Games and Stickers
App
※ You will experience optimal game play in iOS 11. FEEL THE RUSH! KRITIKA: The White Knights *...
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated It: Chapter Two (2019) in Movies
Sep 7, 2019
Contains spoilers, click to show
IT, Chapter two
The Losers are all grown up and living their own lives when they each receive a call to return to Derry, the town they all grew up in. The problem is none of them remember their childhoods or why they need to return.
IT Chapter Two picks up 27 years after the first film, the main cast have all moved on with their lives when Pennywise re-appears in Derry and so they all have to return to try to stop the creature once and for all.
There is a lot going on in the film, first off, it is a lot more like the original mini-series as it predominantly follows the losers as adults but also flashes back to them as children. The flashbacks show each of the young losers having separate meetings with Pennywise and none of these are shown in the first film. We also find out more about where Pennywise came from although the film does give us two possibilities’ (Kind of) although only one is real. There is also details of a group of native Americans who encountered and (Supposedly) defeated Pennywise, although he was not in clown form then. We also get more of a glimpse of Pennywise’s shape changing ability’s which include the spider form that is seen in the original mini-series.
IT Chapter two also plays homage to a lot of other films, the most obvious are the thing, the shining and poltergeist. There is also a recurring theme where it is mentioned by a number of different characters (one played by Stephen King) that Bill does not know how to finish a story, this is a complaint that Stephen King has received more than once, some people found a scene at the end of the IT novel wrong and a lot of people didn’t like the ending of the seventh and final (At the time) ‘Dark Tower’ book.
All of this leads to the film being just under three hours long, but honestly you don’t notice it.
The Losers are all grown up and living their own lives when they each receive a call to return to Derry, the town they all grew up in. The problem is none of them remember their childhoods or why they need to return.
IT Chapter Two picks up 27 years after the first film, the main cast have all moved on with their lives when Pennywise re-appears in Derry and so they all have to return to try to stop the creature once and for all.
There is a lot going on in the film, first off, it is a lot more like the original mini-series as it predominantly follows the losers as adults but also flashes back to them as children. The flashbacks show each of the young losers having separate meetings with Pennywise and none of these are shown in the first film. We also find out more about where Pennywise came from although the film does give us two possibilities’ (Kind of) although only one is real. There is also details of a group of native Americans who encountered and (Supposedly) defeated Pennywise, although he was not in clown form then. We also get more of a glimpse of Pennywise’s shape changing ability’s which include the spider form that is seen in the original mini-series.
IT Chapter two also plays homage to a lot of other films, the most obvious are the thing, the shining and poltergeist. There is also a recurring theme where it is mentioned by a number of different characters (one played by Stephen King) that Bill does not know how to finish a story, this is a complaint that Stephen King has received more than once, some people found a scene at the end of the IT novel wrong and a lot of people didn’t like the ending of the seventh and final (At the time) ‘Dark Tower’ book.
All of this leads to the film being just under three hours long, but honestly you don’t notice it.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Music Box (Dark Carousel #4) in Books
Nov 23, 2020
I've loved the Dark Carousel series by Anya Allyn. I couldn't wait to dive into Music Box, the last book in the series, but at the same time, I was saddened that it was coming to an end. Music Box was definitely a thrilling read!
Cassie has given up hope of not being Balthazar's bride. She's about to just give in to it when she finds a way to the tower where the spooky figure she has seen lives. Scared as she is of the figure, she decides to investigate and is shocked to discover who the figure is. Cassie, with the help of her friends, must find some way to defeat the serpent shadows before they take over the Earth all while battling the humans and spirits of the castle. While she and her friends put their lives in great peril, they never give up hope of returning the Earth to its former glory.
The plot of Music Box did a fantastic job of holding my attention throughout. While there are some parts of this novel that are a bit too fast paced like in previous books in the series, for the most part, the pacing is easy to follow along with. There are a few plot twists that I wasn't able to predict. There was so much action going on in Music Box, and I loved it. It wasn't overwhelming, and it was underwhelming. Anya Allyn did a fantastic job with getting the ratio of action to narrative perfect! I did have a feeling that one of the characters in the Dollhouse would make an appearance, and I wasn't wrong. I liked the way all the loose ends from the previous books in the series were all tied up nicely. While I wasn't really a fan of how the book ended, I will say that it didn't have a rushed ending feel. I just wish things would have turned out a bit differently. However, I did love how the author explains more of the ending and what she believes happened to all the other characters in the afterword, so definitely don't skip out on reading the afterword!
As always, Anya Allyn was amazing at making her characters come alive. It was so easy to relate to all of them (bad guys and girls aside). Cassie was even more hardcore in this book! I loved how Cassie was willing to sacrifice everything to protect her friends and others. Ethan was the same as Cassie. He tried to protect innocents from the bad guys. While I liked Molly, I still don't think her character was needed, same with Frances. Don't get me wrong, they are great characters and written really well, but they seemed a bit pointless. I was happy about Aisha in this book. (I won't go into greater detail due to minor spoilers.) I absolutely loved Zack, and I was always secretly hoping that Cassie would end up with him. Zack turned out to be such a gentlemen from the second book. I loved how he was willing to cut ties from his family to help Cassie even though he knew it was an unrequited love. Henry was another character that I really loved. I felt that he wasn't all bad and that there was some good in him. The book he was seeking in the novel was what brought out the bad. He did have a bunch of redeeming qualities though. I was overjoyed that Jessamine was finally featured a bit more in this book! Jessamine has been my favorite character throughout this series. I was thrilled with how her story ended. I always knew she'd turn out to be awesome!
Trigger warnings for Music Box include violence, death, murder, suicide, attempted rape, minor swearing, the occult, and imprisonment.
While I'm devastated that the Dark Carousel series has come to an end, I am so grateful that Music Box was a great read. All of the characters were still so amazing, the story was thrilling, and everything was so nicely explained. I would definitely recommend Music Box (and all of the Dark Carousel series) by Anya Allyn. If you want a book with lots of action and a great cast of characters, this is your book. Do be prepared to suffer from a book hangover when you're done reading it though!
Cassie has given up hope of not being Balthazar's bride. She's about to just give in to it when she finds a way to the tower where the spooky figure she has seen lives. Scared as she is of the figure, she decides to investigate and is shocked to discover who the figure is. Cassie, with the help of her friends, must find some way to defeat the serpent shadows before they take over the Earth all while battling the humans and spirits of the castle. While she and her friends put their lives in great peril, they never give up hope of returning the Earth to its former glory.
The plot of Music Box did a fantastic job of holding my attention throughout. While there are some parts of this novel that are a bit too fast paced like in previous books in the series, for the most part, the pacing is easy to follow along with. There are a few plot twists that I wasn't able to predict. There was so much action going on in Music Box, and I loved it. It wasn't overwhelming, and it was underwhelming. Anya Allyn did a fantastic job with getting the ratio of action to narrative perfect! I did have a feeling that one of the characters in the Dollhouse would make an appearance, and I wasn't wrong. I liked the way all the loose ends from the previous books in the series were all tied up nicely. While I wasn't really a fan of how the book ended, I will say that it didn't have a rushed ending feel. I just wish things would have turned out a bit differently. However, I did love how the author explains more of the ending and what she believes happened to all the other characters in the afterword, so definitely don't skip out on reading the afterword!
As always, Anya Allyn was amazing at making her characters come alive. It was so easy to relate to all of them (bad guys and girls aside). Cassie was even more hardcore in this book! I loved how Cassie was willing to sacrifice everything to protect her friends and others. Ethan was the same as Cassie. He tried to protect innocents from the bad guys. While I liked Molly, I still don't think her character was needed, same with Frances. Don't get me wrong, they are great characters and written really well, but they seemed a bit pointless. I was happy about Aisha in this book. (I won't go into greater detail due to minor spoilers.) I absolutely loved Zack, and I was always secretly hoping that Cassie would end up with him. Zack turned out to be such a gentlemen from the second book. I loved how he was willing to cut ties from his family to help Cassie even though he knew it was an unrequited love. Henry was another character that I really loved. I felt that he wasn't all bad and that there was some good in him. The book he was seeking in the novel was what brought out the bad. He did have a bunch of redeeming qualities though. I was overjoyed that Jessamine was finally featured a bit more in this book! Jessamine has been my favorite character throughout this series. I was thrilled with how her story ended. I always knew she'd turn out to be awesome!
Trigger warnings for Music Box include violence, death, murder, suicide, attempted rape, minor swearing, the occult, and imprisonment.
While I'm devastated that the Dark Carousel series has come to an end, I am so grateful that Music Box was a great read. All of the characters were still so amazing, the story was thrilling, and everything was so nicely explained. I would definitely recommend Music Box (and all of the Dark Carousel series) by Anya Allyn. If you want a book with lots of action and a great cast of characters, this is your book. Do be prepared to suffer from a book hangover when you're done reading it though!
The Platinum Raven and Other Novellas
Book
"The Platinum Raven and other novellas" by Rohan Quine is a paperback comprising a collection of...
Lee (2222 KP) rated Men in Black International (2019) in Movies
Jun 16, 2019
A complete waste of time
Aside from Avengers Endgame, 2019 is shaping up to be pretty disappointing when it comes to blockbuster movies. Godzilla received a bit of a panning from the critics (although I personally quite liked it), then Dark Phoenix took an even bigger hit in the reviews, which I completely agree with. And now we have a sequel that nobody asked for, to a movie which has already had a couple of fairly average sequels, which has also received a wave of early bad reviews this week. To be honest, the trailer for Men In Black International certainly looked a bit....meh. A bunch of random stuff happening, no real indication of any plot, some annoying looking CGI aliens and an attempt to just coast off the back of having Thor and Valkyrie reunited on screen. I still remember how memorable the original trailer for the 1997 MIB movie was when it featured in cinemas - the shades, the guns, the aliens, the massive flying saucer crash landing in front of a cool looking Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. This trailer had none of that wow factor, but I went in, hopeful as always that the reviews were wrong.
The movie begins in 2016, with Agent H (Chris Hemsworth) and High T (Liam Neeson) as they ascend the Eiffel Tower, interrupting a man who is about to propose to his partner, before saving the world from an incoming alien race called The Hive. Then we jump back 20 years into the past to a family who are disturbed one night by a cute little alien in their back garden. As the young daughter, Molly, hides the alien in her bedroom, she looks out of her window to see her parents as they are neuralysed by a couple of Men in Black.
Back in present day, Molly (Tessa Thompson) is now all grown up, but hasn't forgotten that eventful night. While working in a call centre, she uses her computer to connect to satellite equipment in order to track alien landings and therefore try and gain access to the Men in Black, and hopefully get a job with them. Eventually finding her way into their headquarters, she is recruited by Agent O (Emma Thompson) and sent on her first mission, where she partners up with Agent H. The pair get caught up in a mission involving an assassinated alien VIP and some kind of super weapon. And, as the title of the movie suggests, plenty of international travel, as we switch between New York, London, Paris and Marrakesh.
The problem is, whereas the original Men in Black boasted a lot of humour, along with some great visual gags and action and a great double act, in the form of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, this movie does nothing to successfully recapture any of that. As much as I love Chris Hemsworth, I felt that he was the worst thing about this movie. Somebody simply thought they'd take the character of Thor and try to have that for the entire movie, but without making him funny, heroic or even that likeable in the process. As with Dark Phoenix recently, a great cast is let down by an awful script, with any attempts at humour or entertainment falling completely flat.
Elsewhere, the fun and wacky inventiveness behind the different alien species in the original movie is completely absent here. Apart from some interesting and formidable twin villains, there's a fairly wasted role for Rebecca Ferguson as a three armed ex lover of Agent H. Otherwise, the main alien throughout the movie is just an annoying little CGI character.
To be fair, there are a couple of fun action sequences and some nice visuals, but overall this is just a completely forgettable and unnecessary movie. Here's hoping that Toy Story 4 will finally bring us a worthy blockbuster when it opens later this week.
The movie begins in 2016, with Agent H (Chris Hemsworth) and High T (Liam Neeson) as they ascend the Eiffel Tower, interrupting a man who is about to propose to his partner, before saving the world from an incoming alien race called The Hive. Then we jump back 20 years into the past to a family who are disturbed one night by a cute little alien in their back garden. As the young daughter, Molly, hides the alien in her bedroom, she looks out of her window to see her parents as they are neuralysed by a couple of Men in Black.
Back in present day, Molly (Tessa Thompson) is now all grown up, but hasn't forgotten that eventful night. While working in a call centre, she uses her computer to connect to satellite equipment in order to track alien landings and therefore try and gain access to the Men in Black, and hopefully get a job with them. Eventually finding her way into their headquarters, she is recruited by Agent O (Emma Thompson) and sent on her first mission, where she partners up with Agent H. The pair get caught up in a mission involving an assassinated alien VIP and some kind of super weapon. And, as the title of the movie suggests, plenty of international travel, as we switch between New York, London, Paris and Marrakesh.
The problem is, whereas the original Men in Black boasted a lot of humour, along with some great visual gags and action and a great double act, in the form of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, this movie does nothing to successfully recapture any of that. As much as I love Chris Hemsworth, I felt that he was the worst thing about this movie. Somebody simply thought they'd take the character of Thor and try to have that for the entire movie, but without making him funny, heroic or even that likeable in the process. As with Dark Phoenix recently, a great cast is let down by an awful script, with any attempts at humour or entertainment falling completely flat.
Elsewhere, the fun and wacky inventiveness behind the different alien species in the original movie is completely absent here. Apart from some interesting and formidable twin villains, there's a fairly wasted role for Rebecca Ferguson as a three armed ex lover of Agent H. Otherwise, the main alien throughout the movie is just an annoying little CGI character.
To be fair, there are a couple of fun action sequences and some nice visuals, but overall this is just a completely forgettable and unnecessary movie. Here's hoping that Toy Story 4 will finally bring us a worthy blockbuster when it opens later this week.
CariCartoon - Funny Cartoon Caricature Maker
Photo & Video and Entertainment
App
From the maker of popular My Sketch App with over ●10 Million Downloads● now bringing you...
Craft The World - Pocket Edition
Games
App
50% off for a limited time! Craft The World is a unique sandbox strategy game, the mix of Dungeon...
Craft The World - Episodes Edition
Games
App
Craft The World is a unique sandbox strategy game, the mix of Dungeon Keeper, Terraria and Dwarf...
Lee (2222 KP) rated The First Purge (2018) in Movies
Jul 9, 2018
Not sure why they bothered
The fourth movie in 'The Purge' series takes us right back to the beginning, introducing us to the days leading up to and including the very first purge. It's the weakest of the series, and while not exactly a bad movie, you're kind of left wondering why they even bothered.
The site of the new 'experiment' is Staten Island, NY, and in the run up to it's commencement we're introduced to quite a few of the locals, most of which aren't that memorable once the end credits have rolled. Some of them are angry, and looking to embrace this new way of being able to legally release their anger. Some are out to protect their illegal business interests, and some just want to keep their heads down and ride out the night with as little trouble as possible. In an effort to keep people on the island during the experiment, the NFFA offers $5,000 to anyone who does stick around for the night. And, if they actually participate in the purge, they'll get a nice bonus! Glowing contact lenses containing tiny cameras are on offer to those that do wish to partake, allowing their movements and actions to be tracked and seen by all, and providing a suitably creepy effect when worn out in the dark.
Unfortunately though, purge night doesn't get off to a great start. While most streets are clear, a number of block parties start up, and the only murder that takes place has been by the local crazy guy on drugs. So, they decide to stir things up a bit by sending in trained teams, disguised as locals, in an attempt to incite violence. When this happens, and innocent lives are lost, local drug boss Dmitri and his team of dealers decide to take things into their own hands. With their arsenal of automatic weapons, they seem surprisingly well trained in the art of taking out the mercenaries, and this is where the movie is at it's most enjoyable. As Dmitri strips down to his white vest and heads into the tower block where a number of bad guys are sweeping each floor, taking out innocents as they go, we get some fantastic action sequences. It's all very reminiscent of The Raid, with a dash of Die Hard thrown in. Close quarters stairwell fighting, gun fights, explosions, all beautifully choreographed and ramping up the tension as the bad guys near the 14th floor, where many of the characters introduced earlier in the movie are all holed up.
Sadly, this intense and thrilling action only features in the last 20 minutes or so and isn't enough to pull this back from being just a so-so movie, only adding to the overall imbalance of it all.
The site of the new 'experiment' is Staten Island, NY, and in the run up to it's commencement we're introduced to quite a few of the locals, most of which aren't that memorable once the end credits have rolled. Some of them are angry, and looking to embrace this new way of being able to legally release their anger. Some are out to protect their illegal business interests, and some just want to keep their heads down and ride out the night with as little trouble as possible. In an effort to keep people on the island during the experiment, the NFFA offers $5,000 to anyone who does stick around for the night. And, if they actually participate in the purge, they'll get a nice bonus! Glowing contact lenses containing tiny cameras are on offer to those that do wish to partake, allowing their movements and actions to be tracked and seen by all, and providing a suitably creepy effect when worn out in the dark.
Unfortunately though, purge night doesn't get off to a great start. While most streets are clear, a number of block parties start up, and the only murder that takes place has been by the local crazy guy on drugs. So, they decide to stir things up a bit by sending in trained teams, disguised as locals, in an attempt to incite violence. When this happens, and innocent lives are lost, local drug boss Dmitri and his team of dealers decide to take things into their own hands. With their arsenal of automatic weapons, they seem surprisingly well trained in the art of taking out the mercenaries, and this is where the movie is at it's most enjoyable. As Dmitri strips down to his white vest and heads into the tower block where a number of bad guys are sweeping each floor, taking out innocents as they go, we get some fantastic action sequences. It's all very reminiscent of The Raid, with a dash of Die Hard thrown in. Close quarters stairwell fighting, gun fights, explosions, all beautifully choreographed and ramping up the tension as the bad guys near the 14th floor, where many of the characters introduced earlier in the movie are all holed up.
Sadly, this intense and thrilling action only features in the last 20 minutes or so and isn't enough to pull this back from being just a so-so movie, only adding to the overall imbalance of it all.
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated It (2017) in Movies
Jun 10, 2019
Make sure you take a pillow
Horror buffs and Stephen King fans everywhere have been waiting for this moment since 2009. It is of course, a modern adaptation of the author’s novel, IT.
Plagued with production problems from the get-go, I see a pattern emerging here, IT has been in the hands of multiple directors with numerous actors in the running to play that iconic clown. I am of course, talking about Pennywise.
Fast forward to 2017, and with Mama Andy Muschietti taking over directorial duties and Bill Skarsgård hopping into that tight-fitting suit we finally have a finished product. But what is it like?Seven young outcasts in Derry, Maine, are about to face their worst nightmare — an ancient, shape-shifting evil that emerges from the sewer every 27 years to prey on the town’s children. Banding together over the course of one horrifying summer, the friends must overcome their own personal fears to battle the murderous, bloodthirsty clown known as Pennywise.
Let’s start off by saying this is much, much better than last month’s The Dark Tower. Stephen King adaptations can go one of two ways and it was feared that IT would follow in the aforementioned film’s footsteps. Thankfully, this isn’t the case.
IT is frankly, an incredible interpretation of King’s iconic novel filled with exceptional performances, stunning cinematography and an emotional heart not normally seen in the genre. It’s unlike anything you will have seen before.
Now, let’s talk about the elephant in the room, Pennywise. Tim Curry played the hell out of that character in the 1990 miniseries and it would be senseless for 27-year-old Bill Skarsgård to follow too closely in his footsteps. At 6ft 3”, Skarsgård is certainly an imposing presence and his Pennywise is much more menacing than Curry’s, but to compare them too much would be unfair to each.
Elsewhere, all the members of the Losers’ Club are brilliant. I have never seen this calibre of acting from such a young group. Jaeden Lieberher as Bill in particular is astonishing. The scenes in which they all work together without the threat of Pennywise are a treat and give the film an uncharacteristically poignant style.
Moreover, the shot choices that Muschietti uses are striking. He rightly stays away from confining the horror to dimly lit corridors and alleyways and whilst this does feature more towards the finale, Derry makes a fine location bathed for the most part in gorgeous sunlight.
Whilst not being completely faithful to King’s novel, Muschietti’s film features all of the iconic scenes that you would expect. The opening sequence from the book in which little Georgie is confronted by Pennywise in the storm drain is shockingly brutal and sets up the tone for the rest of the picture.
This is a truly frightening film, speckled with just enough gore to keep it realistic and whilst it’s true there are one-too-many jump scares, the brilliant source material stops them from feeling too cheap. In the back of your mind, you’re well aware that this is very similar to the book indeed.
Overall, IT is better than anyone could have hoped. It’s scary, deeply emotional, funny and beautifully filmed with an exquisite score by Benjamin Wallfisch. If you’re a horror fan you must watch. If you’re a film fan, you must watch – just take a pillow with you, for protection purposes of course.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2017/09/09/it-review-make-sure-you-take-a-pillow/
Plagued with production problems from the get-go, I see a pattern emerging here, IT has been in the hands of multiple directors with numerous actors in the running to play that iconic clown. I am of course, talking about Pennywise.
Fast forward to 2017, and with Mama Andy Muschietti taking over directorial duties and Bill Skarsgård hopping into that tight-fitting suit we finally have a finished product. But what is it like?Seven young outcasts in Derry, Maine, are about to face their worst nightmare — an ancient, shape-shifting evil that emerges from the sewer every 27 years to prey on the town’s children. Banding together over the course of one horrifying summer, the friends must overcome their own personal fears to battle the murderous, bloodthirsty clown known as Pennywise.
Let’s start off by saying this is much, much better than last month’s The Dark Tower. Stephen King adaptations can go one of two ways and it was feared that IT would follow in the aforementioned film’s footsteps. Thankfully, this isn’t the case.
IT is frankly, an incredible interpretation of King’s iconic novel filled with exceptional performances, stunning cinematography and an emotional heart not normally seen in the genre. It’s unlike anything you will have seen before.
Now, let’s talk about the elephant in the room, Pennywise. Tim Curry played the hell out of that character in the 1990 miniseries and it would be senseless for 27-year-old Bill Skarsgård to follow too closely in his footsteps. At 6ft 3”, Skarsgård is certainly an imposing presence and his Pennywise is much more menacing than Curry’s, but to compare them too much would be unfair to each.
Elsewhere, all the members of the Losers’ Club are brilliant. I have never seen this calibre of acting from such a young group. Jaeden Lieberher as Bill in particular is astonishing. The scenes in which they all work together without the threat of Pennywise are a treat and give the film an uncharacteristically poignant style.
Moreover, the shot choices that Muschietti uses are striking. He rightly stays away from confining the horror to dimly lit corridors and alleyways and whilst this does feature more towards the finale, Derry makes a fine location bathed for the most part in gorgeous sunlight.
Whilst not being completely faithful to King’s novel, Muschietti’s film features all of the iconic scenes that you would expect. The opening sequence from the book in which little Georgie is confronted by Pennywise in the storm drain is shockingly brutal and sets up the tone for the rest of the picture.
This is a truly frightening film, speckled with just enough gore to keep it realistic and whilst it’s true there are one-too-many jump scares, the brilliant source material stops them from feeling too cheap. In the back of your mind, you’re well aware that this is very similar to the book indeed.
Overall, IT is better than anyone could have hoped. It’s scary, deeply emotional, funny and beautifully filmed with an exquisite score by Benjamin Wallfisch. If you’re a horror fan you must watch. If you’re a film fan, you must watch – just take a pillow with you, for protection purposes of course.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2017/09/09/it-review-make-sure-you-take-a-pillow/