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Trick 'r Treat (2007)
Trick 'r Treat (2007)
2007 | Horror
Quite possibly the epitome of fun Halloween based horrors, Trick 'r Treat has a lot to offer.

There isn't one solid narrative, but rather several different stories with different characters, all taking place in the same town, on Halloween night. This format means we get treated to a multitude of genre staples - werewolves, zombies, serial killers, vampires - they're all tidyly woven together to give us a decent semi-anthology adventure. Well eventually anyway... It does feel a little messy to start with, erratically jumping from story to story, but a little perseverance is rewarded around the half way point where everything is put together in a satisfying manner.

The aesthetic of Trick 'r Treat is great. It has a distinct Halloween-y look, whilst managing to feel otherworldly in places. The swamp zombies look pretty creepy, and the werewolf transformations are visceral and inspired. The true star is the glue that holds this all together though - Sam. This little sack headed creepy fucker somehow manages to be adorable, and horrifying. I mean, he uses a bitten on candy-lolly to slash people up! Only people who don't respect the more traditional aspects of Halloween however. He's become something of an beloved character in the horror world - it would be great to see Sam return in a follow up some day.

Trick 'r Treat is a little cheesy at times, and takes a while to reveal it's clever side, but it's a perfectly enjoyable slice of Halloween horror, with a good cast (featuring Anna Paquin, Dylan Baker, and Brian Cox), a memorable anti-hero (the adorable little shit), some great effects and make up work, and a great music score by Douglas Pipes.
Certianly worth a watch, even if it's a seasonal thing.
  
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LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Annabelle Comes Home (2019) in Movies

Oct 26, 2020 (Updated Oct 26, 2020)  
Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
2019 | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Incompetent, one of the worst horror movies I've ever seen. No film with a 70s soundtrack this cool should suck this hard, just as a bylaw from now on. Gives you false hope by starting off with Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga's charming Warren couple (after rehashing that first π˜›π˜©π˜¦ 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘫𝘢𝘳π˜ͺ𝘯𝘨 scene for the third goddamned time in three different movies) then violating your trust by immediately veering into pure shit. Not even remotely scary, just really loud and irritating - somehow even less frightening than 𝘈𝘯𝘯𝘒𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦: 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘒𝘡π˜ͺ𝘰𝘯 and that useless spinoff wasn't scary either. The same tropes with increasingly less charm, wit, originality, and purpose with each subsequent entry - this one having the added facet of looking like total ass now too! You'd think a beloved multi-million dollar franchise would be able to produce a film that doesn't look like a cheap Halloween section at a Party City with only like one and a half cool shots lmfao. At first you may think that maybe its lack of polish is supposed to add into a nostalgic, old-school Hollywood horror vibe but no - they just didn't care. For a now defaced series so adamant on overstuffing itself with intertwining lore (like so many films feel the need to nowadays during this unholy "just wait for the good stuff... it's building for now..." franchise kick) to the point of losing all sense of singularity they really put nothing into this writing to justify any of that. They really just turned this into some disgraceful, borderline unwatchable, generic drek that'd feel right at home in 2011/2012's rotten horror catalogue. A sequel to a prequel of a prequel to a main entry which has its own sequel that has *its* own spinoff. The pits.
  
White Boy Rick (2018)
White Boy Rick (2018)
2018 | Crime, Drama
I'm in that bizarre situation again where I've just seen a film that I couldn't actually find a flaw in but it's getting a low rating because it really wasn't my sort of thing.

The cast did a great job, I couldn't fault any of them, even Eddie Marsan who I've become increasingly wary about since he's started popping up all over the place. Richie Merritt as Ricky gave such a great performance. Just the right amount of teenage attitude. His interactions with the police and agents really hit the right spot.

The film has such amazing accuracy on all the "period" items, and the general feel over the whole film really nails that era. Nothing felt out of place at all, every camera angle worked, every bit of scenery. It isn't often I think that about a film.

It baffles my mind a little to think that this isn't a made up story. It really is a shame that this isn't my sort of film. While it definitely had some interesting moments and a fairly strong, if rocky, family theme running through it, if you aren't engaging with it then it does feel a little drawn out. As I said, it's a well made film and brought to the screen incredibly well but it's definitely not made for me.

What you should do

If you're into true stories then this one might appeal to you. My score says don't watch it, but my brain is saying do. It is a good film, and if the subject matter appeals then I think you'll appreciate it a lot more than I was able to.

Movie thing you wish you could take home

I've got a shoe box under my bed, if it could be full of money the next time I check that would be great.
  
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Sarah (7800 KP) rated Joker (2019) in Movies

Oct 10, 2019  
Joker (2019)
Joker (2019)
2019 | Crime, Drama
Why so serious?
This is the first film in a long time that I've come out of feeling very divided, and it's taken a rather lengthy internal debate on the way home to figure out how I really feel about it.

This starts off slow, very slow and I was worried that I was going to get very bored very quickly. However Joaquin Phoenix's performance is phenomenal and although he is disturbingly thin for this, he's brilliant to watch, even considering the subject matter. If it wasn't for the Gotham setting and mention of the Wayne's, this wouldn't feel like a DC superhero/villain film and this is my main criticism. I love how dark and gritty Joker is and that this is mainly a study about mental health, but I do wish it had a little more in it to tie it to it's source material. Even just a nod to his most well known origin story as seen in some of the other films would've made this even better. I've heard a lot of people say this is uncomfortable viewing, but I didnt see that myself. It's just a stark portrayal of mental health and it does very well in this respect. The violence is sparse yet fits well - I didn't think it was overdone or excessive. And the final act with the talk show and ending was sheer brilliance and really brought Joker towards the character we know and love. It's this final part that sold this film for me, and I'm interested to see how they fit this into the rest of the DC universe, and if we start seeing more superhero films that are much darker and realistic. This is definitely a good example to follow!
  
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)
2018 | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
What did I just watch?
I love Terry Gilliam but I'm really not too sure what to make of this film and whether it was really worth the 25 year wait it's taken to get this to the big screen.

This has a great cast, notably Jonathan Pryce who is absolutely wonderful as Don Quixote. And surprisingly Adam Driver. I really don't like him as Kylo Ren but it appears it may be that particular character letting him down as I've loved him in everything else I've seen him in and especially this. He's a hoot. Sadly though I think the rest of the cast may be let down by the sheer wackiness and confusion of it all. And that's the main issue I had with this film, it's absolutely crazy and I didn't have a clue what on earth was going on for the most part. There are the odd funny quips and scenes (one with Oscar Jaenada dressed in a cupid outfit whilst brief gave me the biggest laugh of all), but for me these are few and far between and not enough. The ending is rather silly and fitting and the film overall looks good (even if some of it is in a cheap Monty Python-esque way), but I spent the rest of the film nearly pulling my hair out in frustration as to what the heck was going on and some of the dodgy weird camera angles didn't help. And that's not really something you want to feel while watching a film.

There's a scene towards the end of this film where someone says "try to keep up with the plot" and Adam Driver's character replies with "There's a plot?" - this exchange literally sums up the way I feel about this entire film.
  
Dark Phoenix (Phoenix #2)
Dark Phoenix (Phoenix #2)
Elise Faber | 2019 | Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
OMG, I never expected this story to go this way! I will say now that I think I spent far too long actually wanting to whop a character upside his head!

Dark Phoenix pretty much starts where Phoenix Rising left off. Cody and Daughtry are still trying to learn what it's like to be bonded mates, but things aren't going too well given outside circumstances. For example, there is a big shocker that happens about who it was that actually kidnapped Daughtry. This results in Cody being a complete donk and pushing Daughtry away. She is feeling overwhelmed and her feelings of inadequacy are rampant. She also feels very lonely as her friendships with John and Suz take a beating too. Daughtry is so strong in some ways, as Morgan very eloquently said. She has faced so much, been betrayed by so many, and yet still carries on with a pure heart.

Just like with book one, this book has it all - an action-packed climax, enough feels to leave you feeling wrung out, and a big enough dollop of humour that you feel like you just have to carry on. The secrets and mysteries that are revealed in this book are stunning and I personally hope for some more from this series, as I don't feel that I am ready to leave Daughtry and Cody yet. I am hopeful from the way it ended that there will be more to come. Highly recommended.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Dec 17, 2015
  
The Chase (Dangerous Games #3)
The Chase (Dangerous Games #3)
Rina Saint | 2026 | Contemporary, Erotica, LGBTQ+, Romance
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
THE CHASE is the third book in the Dangerous Games series, and although it said it could be read as a standalone, I do feel that reading the other books would have helped it just a little.

Elias works at a bodega and volunteers at an animal shelter. He is invisible to a lot of people. He has saved up his money and sent in a request to ForbiddenX to make his dark fantasy come real. It's one that will make him feel seen, which is something he lacks in his life. Andre is the one who makes his fantasy come true, in more ways than one. Andre reacts in certain ways because of his history, which I learnt about by reading the story. However, I still don't know the full brunt of what went on and how the men were affected.

There is a connection between Elias and Andre, but it is oh so fragile and easy to break. Both of them have reasons for who they are and what they do, but their personalities don't always allow for cool, calm explanations.

While I understand the connections with Elias and his father, I enjoyed the story more before that part. After Ernesto gets involved, I didn't enjoy it quite as much. This is where the prior knowledge would have come in handy.

All in all, a dark, obsessive story that I enjoyed, but I now want to read the rest in the series.

** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 15, 2026