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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated The Lighthouse (2019) in Movies
Oct 24, 2019
The Lighthouse features Willem Dafoe as Thomas Wake, a grizzled old lighthouse keeper who begins his four-week duty on a secluded lighthouse with Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson), a man who has never worked a lighthouse in his young life. Thomas a former seaman who longs for his time back on the waves directs Ephraim around in his duties as one would expect from an experienced sea captain, teaching Ephraim the way of a lighthouse keeper. One rule that Ephraim must obey is that no one manages the light except Thomas, and no one may look upon its glory except Thomas. Reluctant to obey but not wishing to lose his pay Ephraim obliges and the two spend four weeks managing their duties as best as they can.
It’s after the four weeks, when their relief fails to arrive, that things begin to go off the rails. It is here where the secrets begin to emerge, and the audience is left to wonder whether these two will ever make it off the island. It’s here where the film begins to intensify as the struggle for survival with dwindling supplies, and the effects of loneliness and solitude begin to rear its ugly head. Where each mans sanity will be tested and the bond, they have built over the past four weeks will be put to the test.
The Lighthouse is a movie that is difficult to put into any one genre. Much of the movie plays out like a drama, where the old man and the newcomer work to overcome their differences as one mentors the other. The movie always has an underlying sense of dread, wondering what will come next. As the film progresses, the genre changes, and the suspense and horror begin to develop. What was a job where each man understood their roles becomes a race for survival. The questions begin to mount as we see the characters relationship morph and change. Why did Ephraim choose a life of solitude so far from civilization?
Why doesn’t Thomas allow anyone to man the light but him? What is each men hiding from one another?
William Dafoe does another outstanding job as the gruff, old lighthouse keeper. His accent, mannerisms and evening toasts all are performed with such authenticity that it’s hard to distinguish the actor from the character.
The real surprise was the performance of Robert Pattinson who is best known for his previous works on the Twilight series. He brings so much character to the screen that I would have had a hard time recognizing him if I didn’t know he was in the movie. He delivers a performance that is likely to garner Oscar buzz, something that wouldn’t surprise fans of William Dafoe, but might shock fans of Robert Pattinson. Robert Pattinson in this role is by far the best performance he’s ever done in his career and all, including his most devoted fans, will be pleasantly surprised by his performance in this film.
As I discussed in the opening paragraph, some films and shows play best to the medium that they are recorded on. Much like the old Alfred Hitchcock movies/shows, The Lighthouse benefits from its use of black and white and its boxy presentation. While there is certainly plenty of dialog throughout, it still takes on a very “silent movie” feel. One that you could almost expect to see placards of dialog appear instead of the actual words coming out on the screen. It is this stunning use of the above that truly brings The Lighthouse alive, and if done in color would have lost much of its personality in the process.
There is a ton of imagery and symbolism which I’m sure will be argued about on numerous Reddit posts for the next few days and weeks to come. I won’t pretend to understand much of it, and I believe that Eggers leaves many of what we see open for interpretation. Everything from the lighthouse itself, to the seagulls, to the mermaids (yes you read that correctly) all are open for discussion. After watching it I couldn’t help but wonder what the discussion of this particular film would have led to in my theater appreciation course back in college. That’s not to say that you can’t simply sit back and enjoy it for what it is, I just think its far more beneficial to think of what was seen and try to understand the meaning of it all.
The Lighthouse isn’t a movie that will appeal to everyone. For those who want a scary and suspenseful movie, it would be difficult to recommend.
While it certainly has suspense, it suspenseful in the way of an old Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock movie, as opposed to something more recent like Paranormal Activity. The black and white video and the odd boxy aspect ratio may turn off a lot of folks as well, although I certainly don’t see it being as fascinating if it was done in any other way. There is a lot to love in this movie, and the character portrayals deserve the Oscar buzz that is certainly right around the corner. It’s a movie that is far easier to experience then to explain in a review, so I encourage those with even a little bit of curiosity to take the plunge and experience it for yourself.
Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated The People at Number 9 in Books
Mar 15, 2018
I didnt like the way this was set out, and maybe thats because it was an ARC copy, but this was really choppy and changey, with no indication that a longish time period (a few hours to a whole afternoon) had passed. The writing was fine, I have no faults with that, but it wasnt anything special.
There are four main characters in this book. Sara and Neil and Lou and Gavin. While each of the characters were well developed and in depth, it didnt stop them from being lacklustre and 2D. I couldnt connect with any of them on a personal level. Even though I would get annoyed at certain things Lou said or did, I wasnt getting annoyed on Saras behalf, because I thought Sara was whiny and she got on my nerves too.
One of my issues with this book, other than it being boring as heck, was the pretentious conversations going on, all the time. I know this book was a satire piece on the middle class, I get it, but dont bore us to death with long conversations that are eye rollingly posh and uninteresting. You can create a satire piece without making your readers fall asleep. There is very little description in this book, youll find that 80% of all the writing is speech, so it really did my head in after a while.
Now, this point is completely down to personal preference, but another reason I couldnt get on with this book was because of all the out-of-marriage flirting. It makes me really uncomfortable and squirmy reading that kind of stuff, so, since it was heavily featured in this, I disliked the book even more.
This is going to be a controversial book in terms of opinions, most definitely, and it would probably be a great book to read for a discussion, because youd have lots of differing opinions on the characters, but, heres my two-cents:
Ultimately, this novel is a story about over indulged middle class suburban families doing things a little bit risky like sex in a tent or smoking weed, and worrying about things only unrealistic well-off people could worry about, like home-schooling and arts and crafts. Not worth the time it takes to read.
<i>Thanks to Netgalley and HQ for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.</i>
Hazel (1853 KP) rated The Face in the Mountain in Books
Dec 17, 2018
The Face in the Mountain </i>is a children’s picture book written by Tolulope Okudolo as part of the publishing company <i>Magnifying Children’s Horizons</i> vision of developing a world in which children learn about and appreciate nature.
The story is set in the fictional world of Vomper Creek where there is always an abundance of natural activity – that is if tree elves, giants and fairies count as “natural”. Papa and Boma are the only giants living in this area and are responsible for making sure nature does everything it is supposed to do. In fact it was Papa who built the mountains in this region to begin with. However Papa is old, frail and tired after working for over two hundred years. He needs to sleep for a century to regain his energy, thus leaving Boma, at a mere seven years of age, to take on all the important tasks.
So begins the main part of the story: Boma is scared and convinced he is unable to remember Papa’s instructions and tries to hide from all his duties. Without his help nature will not be able to function properly. Inspired by an artist he spies in the woods, Boma carves his father’s face into the side of one of the mountains so that he can always see it. This makes him feel less alone and he is able to complete all his jobs to perfection.
The purpose of this book is to help children discover the inner workings of nature and recognize that many things are connected together. For example the wind is needed to blow the seeds into places where they can sprout, then the rain, sun and soil provide the nutrients the plant needs to grow.
At the end of the story is <i>A Children’s Guide to Natural Beings</i>. This is essentially a glossary of the mythical beings featured in the book. The only issue with this is that calling them “natural beings” implies that they are real whereas there is no concrete evidence of their existence. This could give children the wrong impression about the way nature works.
The final pages of the book include a list of learning activities and discussion questions. These could be attempted in schools, in book clubs or at home with parents as a way for children to experience nature for themselves and examine the meaning of the story and the ways in which they can relate it to their own lives.
Eric Scott Fisher beautifully illustrates the book with realistic drawings that are appropriate for children of all ages. Yet there is a slight publishing issue in that the illustrations and body text do not work together. In some instances the text is overlaid on a picture, which makes it difficult to read.
The reading age of this book is approximately seven to ten year olds however younger children will be able to understand it if it is read to them by an adult. The storyline is not that strong but hopefully its purpose – to educate children about nature – will shine through the narrative.
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated The Stranger Game in Books
Feb 3, 2020
<img src="https://diaryofdifference.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Book-Review-Banner-14.png"/>
When Rebecca's boyfriend Ezra goes missing, she knows something is not quite right. But when she reports it to the police, they don't seem to really care. They suspect he's been playing ''The Stranger Game'', a game that went viral, where people take social media behaviour on the streets and start following each other in real life.
<b><i>The rules of the game are simple:</i></b>
<i>* You must choose a random person.
* You cannot make contact with other people (or tell them you're playing the game)
* You mustn't follow the same person twice.</i>
But as the game spreads, the rules start to change, and people start disappearing without a trace.
In hope that she she can find her man, Rebecca starts playing the game herself. But the more she gets involved, the bigger the risk is.
<b>When I read the synopsis about ''The Stranger Game'' by Peter Gadol, I knew I had to read the book. It is a plot that intrigues me and I am always up for reading more psychological thrillers.
But this book's delivery was weak. I found the story very slow and unintriguing, with no exceptional plot twists and with a disappointing and rather predictable ending. </b>
Rebecca was a difficult character to begin with. The writing in the chapters felt different, even though it was the same character's point of view. I was left very confused. I just wanted to get a better glance at ''The Stranger Game''. And I did, but the game scenario was so much different compared to the synopsis - which was only slightly annoying. But to top up the annoyance, there was a huge lack of mystery and suspense throughout the book. I just stopped caring whether Rebecca was going to find Ezra or not. I did not care whether her life was in danger. I was that unbothered.
<b><i>On a positive note,</i></b>
I did enjoy the psychological theme and people's behaviour. I always want to know more about how and why people behave in a certain way and this book definitely opened some interesting discussion points.
<b><i>Do I recommend it? Yes.
If you like human psychology and behaviour, this is a good book to have on your stack. But will this be the next mystery and suspense hit? Probably not...</i></b>
Thank you to team at HQ (Harper Collins Publishers), for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
<i>''The Stranger Game'' comes out on 5th September 2019.</i>
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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Snowpiercer (2013) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
This is the film that Chris Evans chose to do in-between filming The Avengers and Captain America: Winter Soldier. In my opinion, he made a great choice. To me, Evans has always been just blah and one-dimensional. While he does not stray too far from how we have seen him act in the past, this film gives him a chance to show some depth and grit of character that we have not truly seen from him. Everyone looks at him as being the leader and you can see why. He embodies that character. I was impressed by his performance.
Along with Evans, Tilda Swinton helps carry this film from basic Sci-Fi ride to better than average film. She is fantastic in this film. She plays Mason, the governance of the train that helps keep things in order. She is the one that comes down from the front of the train and explains how and why the people in the back should keep their place. She steals the show with her presence every time she is on screen and gives a fantastic performance that causes us to both spite her, but also understand she is doing what is best for the train.
Without revealing too much about the story, the pacing of the film is great. It is not in a rush to get you from point A to point B, but rather takes the time to intertwine character development into story. The first half of the film is the revolt film where we see the dregs of life and the fight for freedom. The second half of the film is the reveal of wonderment where we see how the other side lives. In true Sci-Fi fashion, the story is a social commentary on our current place in society with regards to the richest 1% in the world. The revolt changes to a question of control which in turn changes to a question of true freedom, but at what cost?
I would recommend this film to any Sci-Fi fans or anyone looking for a thoughtful film and change of pace from the big summer blockbuster.
For a more in-depth discussion about the film, be sure to check out our podcast review.
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