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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Stonehearst Asylum (2015) in Movies

Jun 19, 2019

In the late 19th century in England, medicine was by today’s standards primitive and at times barbaric. The nature of psychiatric care of the times was even more frightening as maladies that today are treated with medication often resulted in a lifetime of confinement in an Asylum where all manner of treatments which today would be considered torture were used.

In the new thriller “Stonehearst Asylum” a young doctor named Edward Newgate (Jim Sturgess), travels to a remote asylum on Christmas Eve to being a practical study following his time at Oxford.

He is greeted upon his arrival by Silas Lamb (Ben Kingsley, who is eager to size up the new assistant upon his arrival.

Newgate is fascinated by the patients especially one named Eliza (Kate Beckinsale), who shows a grace and range of talents not normally associated with those who have been committed. It is explained that all of those assigned to Stonehearts are from the upper class of society and as such, their maladies have made them outcasts from polite society.

Edward begins to have concerns when he is told by Eliza that he must leave immediately and not return and despite her warnings, he remains and soon makes a startling discovery.

It is learned that a patient named Salt (Michael Caine) is actually the man in charge of the facility and that Lamb is a dangerous psychopath who has imprisoned or killed the asylum staff and has replaced them with his fellow inmates.

Trapped in a world gone mad, Edward must strive to do his duty as a physician to care for those in need, while trying to walk the line between the madness of Lamb and his fellow inmates.

The film is a well-cast and exciting thriller that keeps you entertained without resorting to the standard scares and tricks of other suspense films.

The characters have a complexity and compassion to them as you will find yourself engrossed by the various characters and their situations.

Director Brad Anderson is no stranger to suspense and he has crafted a captivating take that is rich with the visuals of the era yet remaining a character based drama it its core.

The film is based on a short story by Edgar Allen Poe and Mel Gibson is one of the Producers attached to the film which helps underscore how they were able to assemble such a strong cast to the film despite the lack of a major studio to finance or distribute the film.

The film does have some moments that at times make you wonder why some characters did not take more obvious courses of action but yet the film works in spite of this.

In the end the haunting setting and subject matter mesh well with the characters to create a thrilling and entertaining drama that is one of the more enjoyable surprises of the year.

http://sknr.net/2014/10/24/stonehearst-asylum/

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BookwormMama14 (18 KP) rated London Tides (MacDonald Family Trilogy, #2) in Books

Jan 2, 2019

London Tides by Carla Laureano
Reviewed by Rachel Dixon
Radiant Lit Blog Tours
Genre: Romance
Publisher: David C. Cook
Date Published: June 1, 2015

Grace Brennan has seen the brutality of war first hand. Will she give up her identity in her career to build a new life with the man she loves?

Ian MacDonald has not seen Grace since she left him ten years ago. Grace has suffered very severe trauma with her job as a conflict photojournalist. As she searches for a place to call home, can she lay to rest the ghosts of her past? When their lives are thrown together again, they are different people than they were ten years ago. Will they be able to forge a new life together? Or will the past push them further apart then ever before?

London Tides had me biting my nails till the last page. There are a lot of ups and downs and I had no idea which direction Carla Laureano would take me next. The romance was a little more heated than in the first book, but it was still clean. Although I have never experienced PTSD, there was a side of Grace that I could completely relate to. That is the desire to know that our lives meant something. I think there is a piece inside all of us that wants to know that our lives made a difference in the world. We may not all be able to find a magic cure for a disease or personally finance an endeavor to put shoes on the feet of an entire village. But every life matters and every life makes a difference in the sphere we are placed in. Our friends, our co-workers, our children and our family. I have to believe that I have been called to where I am for a reason. I may never see the results of the impact my life has been, but God sees it. And He knows and cares about whatever challenges we are facing and if we let Him, He will guide and support us through it all. I have been swept away by the MacDonald family and can not wait for the finale Under Scottish Stars releasing Summer 2016.

Carla Laureano is the author of the RITA® award-winning romance Five Days in Skye as well as London Tides and the Celtic fantasy series The Song of Seare (as C. E. Laureano). A graduate of Pepperdine University, she worked as a sales and marketing executive for nearly a decade before leaving corporate life behind to write fiction full-time. She currently lives in Denver with her husband and two sons.

I received a free copy of London Tides as part of a blog tour with Radiant Lit in exchange for my honest review. Review copy provided by David C Cook.