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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated American Horror Story - Season 4 in TV
Nov 18, 2019 (Updated Nov 18, 2019)
Season 4 of AHS, subtitled 'Freak Show' gets a bad wrap in my opinion.
It doesn't reach the lofty heights of the first two seasons, but there's plenty to love and it tries something new.
The bulk of the series revolves around Elsa Mars (Jessica Lange) and her group of travelling sideshow performers, all who have some sort of abnormality. As they arrive in 1951 Florida to set up shop and make a living amongst a world that fears and targets them, they are also being eyed up by Richard Spencer (Denis O'Hare), a shady businessman attempting to profit from their misfortune, and Dandy Mott (Finn Wittrock), who harbours an unhealthy obsession with the Freak Show, and in particular, conjoined twins Bette and Dot Tattler (Sarah Paulson).
All the while, a murderous and sinister clown called Twisty (John Carroll Lynch) is on the loose, causing the finger to be pointed at another Freak Show member, Jimmy Darling (Evan Peters).
All of these plot lines running at once actually run side by side pretty smoothly, making for an engaging narrative, with plenty of plot twists along the way.
The Twisty plot line is proper classic slasher horror, and is unfortunately tied up pretty quickly, but it makes way for a surprisingly touching story about family, and what it means to be different.
I found myself caring about almost everybody during Freak Show. It's very well written.
The cast are as usual, pretty great. As well as the cast members mentioned above, we have returning AHS in the likes of Kathy Bates, Francis Conroy, Emma Roberts, Angela Bassett, and Naomi Grossman, as well as some new blood in the form of Michael Chiklis, Erika Ervin, Mat Fraser, Wes Bentley, and Neil Patrick-Harris.
Sarah Paulson is the undisputed highlight during this season, playing two characters at once, with some fantastic effects work going on.
The only character I really struggled to get on board with here was Elsa, which is a shame as she's front and centre. No fault of the great Jessica Lange of course.
The season drags for a while in the mid section, but with so many likable characters, it's not a huge issue.
Freak Show is also the first season that has a concrete connection to other seasons in the AHS story, confirming finally that all the seasons take place in the same universe, which is incredibly exciting, and opens the door for a lot of possibilities.
The gore effects and horror elements continue to be a big plus for AHS, and as always, the anthology format keeps it feeling fresh. Another win for Ryan Murphy and co.
It doesn't reach the lofty heights of the first two seasons, but there's plenty to love and it tries something new.
The bulk of the series revolves around Elsa Mars (Jessica Lange) and her group of travelling sideshow performers, all who have some sort of abnormality. As they arrive in 1951 Florida to set up shop and make a living amongst a world that fears and targets them, they are also being eyed up by Richard Spencer (Denis O'Hare), a shady businessman attempting to profit from their misfortune, and Dandy Mott (Finn Wittrock), who harbours an unhealthy obsession with the Freak Show, and in particular, conjoined twins Bette and Dot Tattler (Sarah Paulson).
All the while, a murderous and sinister clown called Twisty (John Carroll Lynch) is on the loose, causing the finger to be pointed at another Freak Show member, Jimmy Darling (Evan Peters).
All of these plot lines running at once actually run side by side pretty smoothly, making for an engaging narrative, with plenty of plot twists along the way.
The Twisty plot line is proper classic slasher horror, and is unfortunately tied up pretty quickly, but it makes way for a surprisingly touching story about family, and what it means to be different.
I found myself caring about almost everybody during Freak Show. It's very well written.
The cast are as usual, pretty great. As well as the cast members mentioned above, we have returning AHS in the likes of Kathy Bates, Francis Conroy, Emma Roberts, Angela Bassett, and Naomi Grossman, as well as some new blood in the form of Michael Chiklis, Erika Ervin, Mat Fraser, Wes Bentley, and Neil Patrick-Harris.
Sarah Paulson is the undisputed highlight during this season, playing two characters at once, with some fantastic effects work going on.
The only character I really struggled to get on board with here was Elsa, which is a shame as she's front and centre. No fault of the great Jessica Lange of course.
The season drags for a while in the mid section, but with so many likable characters, it's not a huge issue.
Freak Show is also the first season that has a concrete connection to other seasons in the AHS story, confirming finally that all the seasons take place in the same universe, which is incredibly exciting, and opens the door for a lot of possibilities.
The gore effects and horror elements continue to be a big plus for AHS, and as always, the anthology format keeps it feeling fresh. Another win for Ryan Murphy and co.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Friend Zone in Books
Mar 19, 2020
Kristen Petersen is a no-nonsense kind of girl. She's loyal to her best friend, Sloan, and worried about finally living with her boyfriend, who has been deployed for most of their relationship. She's also struggled for years with medical issues and is about to have a procedure that will leave her unable to have children. Then she meets Josh, the best friend and best man of Sloan's fiance, Brandon. Thrown together as they plan Sloan and Brandon's wedding, Kristen realizes she has feelings for Josh that she's never felt for anyone else. He's funny, kind, and puts up with all her quirks. But Josh wants a big family in the future. So Kristen distances herself from him. But the more time they spend together, the harder and harder it becomes to keep up the boundaries she's trying so hard to enforce.
The Friend Zone is one of those books that has been everywhere, but I clearly wasn't paying total attention to the plot. This is not your standard rom-com. The last note in my bookly app for this book reads, "fun sad enjoyed," and that really sums it all up. I found this one to be wonderfully written, much sadder than I expected, richly witty, rather dirty, and quite an enjoyable read. It wasn't at all what I went in expecting, but it was really more. Apparently there's a second book coming out soon, delving more into Sloan's story, and I'll certainly be reading that too.
Kristen is a tough character. She drove me crazy at first. I'm not a fan of books where so much could be resolved if someone just told someone else their secret. Sure, they may have their reasons for not wanting to spill, but good grief. Enough already! Luckily, Kristen was also a self-made businesswoman, really funny, a fully-fleshed out character, and easy to get hangry, which I could identify with (perhaps too much). She's a trip.
The friendship between Sloan and Kristen is a great part of the story--it's nice to see two women have a relationship that isn't marred by in-fighting or one that isn't based just on boys. It's real and flawed and, like much of the book, has its funny and sad moments. Josh is also a wonderful character, and, truly, he was a patient guy. The book's coverage of infertility is, mostly, quite well-done.
Overall, this was a strong read: funny and heartbreaking while featuring two characters with strong voices. It covers several serious topics without losing its way, and it's nearly impossible not to root for the main couple, even you want to shake Kristen once in a while. 4 stars.
The Friend Zone is one of those books that has been everywhere, but I clearly wasn't paying total attention to the plot. This is not your standard rom-com. The last note in my bookly app for this book reads, "fun sad enjoyed," and that really sums it all up. I found this one to be wonderfully written, much sadder than I expected, richly witty, rather dirty, and quite an enjoyable read. It wasn't at all what I went in expecting, but it was really more. Apparently there's a second book coming out soon, delving more into Sloan's story, and I'll certainly be reading that too.
Kristen is a tough character. She drove me crazy at first. I'm not a fan of books where so much could be resolved if someone just told someone else their secret. Sure, they may have their reasons for not wanting to spill, but good grief. Enough already! Luckily, Kristen was also a self-made businesswoman, really funny, a fully-fleshed out character, and easy to get hangry, which I could identify with (perhaps too much). She's a trip.
The friendship between Sloan and Kristen is a great part of the story--it's nice to see two women have a relationship that isn't marred by in-fighting or one that isn't based just on boys. It's real and flawed and, like much of the book, has its funny and sad moments. Josh is also a wonderful character, and, truly, he was a patient guy. The book's coverage of infertility is, mostly, quite well-done.
Overall, this was a strong read: funny and heartbreaking while featuring two characters with strong voices. It covers several serious topics without losing its way, and it's nearly impossible not to root for the main couple, even you want to shake Kristen once in a while. 4 stars.
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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Girl from Widow Hills in Books
Jun 18, 2020
Arden Mayor was just a child when she was swept away while sleepwalking during a terrifying rainstorm and went missing for days. Then she became the miracle of her small town of Widow Hills, Kentucky when she was found clinging for life to a storm drain. Her mother, Laurel, wrote a book. The family received money, fan letters, and, yes, stalkers. Soon it became too much and when she was old enough, Arden changed her name. She became Olivia. Now, as the twentieth anniversary of the incident nears, she has her own life. No one in her new world knows about her past. But when she receives word via phone call about her mother's death, something jolts loose in Olivia. She starts sleepwalking again, waking outside her house. And then one night she awakens, outside yet again, the body of a corpse at her feet. Even worse, the man is someone she knew from her previous life as Arden. Suddenly, Olivia's right back where she started: under scrutiny and media attention. And this time, she isn't the media darling, but a murder suspect.
"I was the girl who survived. The girl who held on. The girl you prayed for, or at least pretended to pray for--thankful most of all that it wasn't your own child down there, in the dark. And after: I was the miracle. The sensation. The story."
I don't have a lot of notes from reading this, but I think it's because I was too caught up in the story. This was a twisty thriller, and I simply wanted to know what happens. You can't ask for much more in a good mystery, can you? I've read a few books lately that cast a strong shadow of doubt on the protagonist (Heather Gudenkauf's This Is How I Lied being a great example)--and Miranda does great work of it here. Olivia sleepwalks, and we have a hard time fully trusting her throughout the novel. Heck, she has a hard time trusting herself.
Of course, there are plenty of other suspects and lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing. I enjoyed the story of a girl escaping her past, only to find it catching up with her, no matter how hard she tried. We see how the media and attention can unravel even the happiest of tales, how Olivia's mother couldn't handle the pressure, how Olivia had to become a different person to survive. Why, we wonder, does society have to take a happy thing and ruin it.
"The case made all of us, and then it unmade us."
Overall, this was a fast-paced and intriguing read. Olivia is an interesting character, oddly sympathetic despite her possibility of being a murderess. 3.75 stars, rounded to 4 here.
"I was the girl who survived. The girl who held on. The girl you prayed for, or at least pretended to pray for--thankful most of all that it wasn't your own child down there, in the dark. And after: I was the miracle. The sensation. The story."
I don't have a lot of notes from reading this, but I think it's because I was too caught up in the story. This was a twisty thriller, and I simply wanted to know what happens. You can't ask for much more in a good mystery, can you? I've read a few books lately that cast a strong shadow of doubt on the protagonist (Heather Gudenkauf's This Is How I Lied being a great example)--and Miranda does great work of it here. Olivia sleepwalks, and we have a hard time fully trusting her throughout the novel. Heck, she has a hard time trusting herself.
Of course, there are plenty of other suspects and lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing. I enjoyed the story of a girl escaping her past, only to find it catching up with her, no matter how hard she tried. We see how the media and attention can unravel even the happiest of tales, how Olivia's mother couldn't handle the pressure, how Olivia had to become a different person to survive. Why, we wonder, does society have to take a happy thing and ruin it.
"The case made all of us, and then it unmade us."
Overall, this was a fast-paced and intriguing read. Olivia is an interesting character, oddly sympathetic despite her possibility of being a murderess. 3.75 stars, rounded to 4 here.
Ross (3284 KP) rated We Ride The Storm in Books
May 18, 2021
Great Asian-inspired twisting, back-stabbing fantasy
'We Ride the Storm' is an epic fantasy book set in an Asian-inspired world, with savage tribes, in-bred empires and age-old family rivalries.
We see the story unfold through the eyes of three characters: a princess of the Kisian empire (who is the step-daughter of the empire, so a princess in name only); an intriguing assassin and a tribal warrior forced into nomadic life. The plot revolves around a building conflict between the empire and its subjects and neighbours, largely driven by the accidental actions of the aforementioned assassin.
The princess is a well-formed character who quickly moves from plotting with her brother to take their family's rightful place at the head of the empire to siding with the crippled cruel emperor, seeking her own place. Her story is straight out of a Disney film, refused her chance to use her martial skills and forced to marry into power as her only contribution to the family's strength.
The nomadic warrior should have been intriguing, given his initial scene where he is cutting the heads off his fallen comrades and enemies, driven by a religious zeal that a person's head must be removed and properly laid to rest to release their soul. However, he quickly became flat and irritating, his zealous nature making him whiny. His story is the most exciting, though, as his tribe is forced into serving the empire (I think) and put aside their traditionally passive nature in order to secure new lands for themselves.
The final PoV character, the assassin, is by far the most original - she has an extra voice in her head (the background still a mystery), a presence who can inhabit corpses, allowing for some interesting escapes and plans. Her role is slightly comedic, dashing from one job to another across the country, often conflicting jobs, in order to try and release herself from the voice in her head.
The story involves a great amount of plotting and double-crossing, some excellent action scenes and a complex, weaving plot. The only downside for me was remembering who was who, who the empire was, their enemies etc, as different names were sometimes given and I found it hard to remember. Also, some major plot points were initially exposed in fairly throw-away style and later passages made no sense without picking up on them (specifically the voice in the assassin's head, but also aspects of the possession and other events which were easy to miss).
A great read and with a sequel already out, a series I will stick with.
I received a free copy from the publishers and netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
We see the story unfold through the eyes of three characters: a princess of the Kisian empire (who is the step-daughter of the empire, so a princess in name only); an intriguing assassin and a tribal warrior forced into nomadic life. The plot revolves around a building conflict between the empire and its subjects and neighbours, largely driven by the accidental actions of the aforementioned assassin.
The princess is a well-formed character who quickly moves from plotting with her brother to take their family's rightful place at the head of the empire to siding with the crippled cruel emperor, seeking her own place. Her story is straight out of a Disney film, refused her chance to use her martial skills and forced to marry into power as her only contribution to the family's strength.
The nomadic warrior should have been intriguing, given his initial scene where he is cutting the heads off his fallen comrades and enemies, driven by a religious zeal that a person's head must be removed and properly laid to rest to release their soul. However, he quickly became flat and irritating, his zealous nature making him whiny. His story is the most exciting, though, as his tribe is forced into serving the empire (I think) and put aside their traditionally passive nature in order to secure new lands for themselves.
The final PoV character, the assassin, is by far the most original - she has an extra voice in her head (the background still a mystery), a presence who can inhabit corpses, allowing for some interesting escapes and plans. Her role is slightly comedic, dashing from one job to another across the country, often conflicting jobs, in order to try and release herself from the voice in her head.
The story involves a great amount of plotting and double-crossing, some excellent action scenes and a complex, weaving plot. The only downside for me was remembering who was who, who the empire was, their enemies etc, as different names were sometimes given and I found it hard to remember. Also, some major plot points were initially exposed in fairly throw-away style and later passages made no sense without picking up on them (specifically the voice in the assassin's head, but also aspects of the possession and other events which were easy to miss).
A great read and with a sequel already out, a series I will stick with.
I received a free copy from the publishers and netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Kane Hodder recommended Monster (2003) in Movies (curated)
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Stillwater (2021) in Movies
Aug 10, 2021
Matt Damon - solid central performance (1 more)
Intelligent script
Life is Brutal
Positives:
- Matt Damon needs to be the rock at the centre of the movie to hold it all together. The movie lives or dies on believing that he could be a God-fearing oil roughneck and all-round fuck-up. And he does a really good job here in doing that.
- The script excels in a number of ways:
-- it's great in building, and in some cases destroying, the relationships between the characters. In particular, the portrayal of the pseudo-family that develops with Bill, Virginie and Maya is very sweet. A lounge scene, without dialogue, with each looking in turn at each other is glorious;
-- the story isn't handed to you on a plate, but your understanding of what's going on evolves as you watch it;
-- a twist in the story (no spoilers) is unexpected and savage, and requires real concentration to understand!
Negatives:
- Although I appreciated the leisurely introduction of the characters and their relationships, the film was a bit flabby in the telling. At nearly 140 minutes, I think its about 20 minutes too long.
- For balance and a different view, the wife was very upset and cross about the treatment of Maya at one point in the movie. (There are clear repercussions though). And she wasn't a fan of Abigail "Little Miss Sunshine" Breslin's performance (although I personally though it was "OK").
Summary Thoughts on "Stillwater": It's billed as a "Thriller" and although it does have it's moments of tension, it's much more a drama reflecting a flawed father trying to make amends for his failures in the past. As such it might plod a bit for those looking for more of an action-oriented thriller. But I found it thoroughly absorbing overall, and a marked improvement on "Spotlight" by the same director (which seemed to garner praise and Oscar nods from everyone other than me!).
A curiosity for me is the rating for this one.... a "15" certificate in the UK for "Strong Language". I'd assumed that the "15" rating was due to the racist dialogue, present in one particular brief scene. But that seems to be a secondary concern to the BBFC (see their web site). I'm sure they have word-tally counts. But, to me, there wasn't enough bad language in this one to merit the rating: I personally think it should have been a "12A".
But overall this is a solid piece of movie storytelling, whether controversial or otherwise. And Recommended.
(For the full graphical review please check out One Mann's Movies on the web, Facebook or Tiktok. Thanks).
- Matt Damon needs to be the rock at the centre of the movie to hold it all together. The movie lives or dies on believing that he could be a God-fearing oil roughneck and all-round fuck-up. And he does a really good job here in doing that.
- The script excels in a number of ways:
-- it's great in building, and in some cases destroying, the relationships between the characters. In particular, the portrayal of the pseudo-family that develops with Bill, Virginie and Maya is very sweet. A lounge scene, without dialogue, with each looking in turn at each other is glorious;
-- the story isn't handed to you on a plate, but your understanding of what's going on evolves as you watch it;
-- a twist in the story (no spoilers) is unexpected and savage, and requires real concentration to understand!
Negatives:
- Although I appreciated the leisurely introduction of the characters and their relationships, the film was a bit flabby in the telling. At nearly 140 minutes, I think its about 20 minutes too long.
- For balance and a different view, the wife was very upset and cross about the treatment of Maya at one point in the movie. (There are clear repercussions though). And she wasn't a fan of Abigail "Little Miss Sunshine" Breslin's performance (although I personally though it was "OK").
Summary Thoughts on "Stillwater": It's billed as a "Thriller" and although it does have it's moments of tension, it's much more a drama reflecting a flawed father trying to make amends for his failures in the past. As such it might plod a bit for those looking for more of an action-oriented thriller. But I found it thoroughly absorbing overall, and a marked improvement on "Spotlight" by the same director (which seemed to garner praise and Oscar nods from everyone other than me!).
A curiosity for me is the rating for this one.... a "15" certificate in the UK for "Strong Language". I'd assumed that the "15" rating was due to the racist dialogue, present in one particular brief scene. But that seems to be a secondary concern to the BBFC (see their web site). I'm sure they have word-tally counts. But, to me, there wasn't enough bad language in this one to merit the rating: I personally think it should have been a "12A".
But overall this is a solid piece of movie storytelling, whether controversial or otherwise. And Recommended.
(For the full graphical review please check out One Mann's Movies on the web, Facebook or Tiktok. Thanks).
