Smashbomb

Hey Partners (be prepared for a long post!)

Since we got so much positive feedback on the End of Year Polls idea - we’ve decided to do it again!

But obviously, we want to check with you, our Partners, before we make anything final. So below are the Nominations we have for each category - and we want your opinions!

The way each nomination is chosen for each category, to begin with, is easy - we simply have the most positively rated items that came out in the year 2020 (excluding Apps, Shows & YouTube Channels)! But, if you think something should be swapped or changed let us know!

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App:
- Hearthstone (8.8)
- Netflix (8.7)
- Amazon (8.9)
- Amazon Kindle (9.1)
- Spotify (8.6)

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Book:
- Matt Haig - The Midnight Library (8.6)
- Sharon J. Bolton - The Split (9.0)
- Kate Elizabeth Russell - My Dark Vanessa (9.5)
- Danny Tobey - The God Game (9.0)
- Maggie O’Farrell - Hamnet (9.3)

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Movie:
- 1917 (8.8)
- The Invisible Man (7.8)
- Onward (8.3)
- The Gentlemen (8.3)
- Bad Boys For Life (7.7)

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Music:
- Eminem - Music To Be Murdered By (10)
- Blossoms - Foolish Loving Spaces (7.5)
- Idles - Ultra Mono (9.0)
- Tame Impala - Slow Rush (8.0)
- Starflyer 59 - Miami EP (9.0)

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Podcast:
- Sword and Scale (7.1)
- Loot Tine Postcast (7.9)
- No Such Thing as Fish (8.9)
- And That’s Why We Drink (8.8)
- True Crime Garage (8.6)

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Show:
- Wicked (8.7)
- We Will Rock You (8.0)
- The Lion King (9.5)
- The Exorcist (8.7)
- Les Miserables (8.0)

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Tabletop:
- Calico (9.0)
- Faza (9.0)
- Chronicles of Crime: 1400 (9.0)
- Macaron (9.0)
- Tales of Evil (9.0)

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Tech:
- iPad Pro (7.4)
- MacBook (7.2)
- Dell XPS 13 (7.2)
- Nest Learning Thermostat (8.4)
- Amazon Echo Plus (8.4)

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TV:
- Locke and Key (7.8)
- Tiger King (7.7)
- Umbrella Academy - Season 2 (9.0)
- The Haunting of Bly Manor (8.1)
- Lovecraft Country (8.7)

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Videogames:
- Final Fantasy VII Remake (8.7)
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons (8.5)
- The Last of Us Part II (7.4)
- Ghost of Tsushima (8.8)
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (8.0)

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YouTube Channels:
- Ted-Ed (8.3)
- The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (7.6)
- Walt Disney Studios (8.7)
- BBC News (8.2)
- 20th Century Fox (9.3)

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There will be one poll for each category, narrowing each of the 5 nominations down to one winner over the course of 2 weeks!

Would love to hear what everyone thinks below!

Kudos

Show all 3 comments.

Hadley (567 KP) Dec 4, 2020

I think this is a great way to pick for the polls.

Kudos

Kirk Bage (1775 KP) Dec 7, 2020

The Queen's Gambit is a glaring omission from TV :)

Kudos

LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated A Christmas Horror Story (2015) in Movies

Dec 24, 2020

As far as anthology horrors go, A Christmas Horror Story is so-so. It tells four seperate tales, all connected to each other in someway, not to dissimilar to Trick R' Treat in terms of structure.

They vary in quality of course. One of them is a ghost story, as three students go about exploring the abandoned crime scene of two people murdered in ritual sacrifice on Christmas the year before. This one was plain boring. It was creepy in places, and is presented occasionally in a found footage style. The characters here are pretty unlikable, and doesn't really offer much to the overall film bar a couple of predictable jump scares.
Another revolves around a couple who's child goes missing whilst chopping down a Christmas tree for their home. They find the child, but eventually find out that he is in fact a shapeshifting troll. Chaos ensues. This one was ok, some good performances by Adrian Holmes and Olunike Adeliyi certainly help it carry more gravitas.
A third story revolves around Krampus preying on a family trying to make amends with some long lost relatives. Again, this one was ok. It's quite visually pleasing in its setting, but it's a pretty standard short revolving around a story we've already heard a hundred times. Krampus looks good enough considering it's a dude in make up.
And the the fourth story is easily the best of the bunch. It revolves around Santa fending off his elves in Christmas Eve when they succumb to a zombie style virus. Santa stomping around decapitating zombie elves by the bucket load is exactly what I signed up for. It also has the films best twist, which is pretty damn bleak, and features a Santa vs Krampus showdown. The film's worth watching for this segment alone!

Overall, A Christmas Horror Story is entertaining enough to justify a Yuletide watch. It has half decent production values (if you ignore the occasional piss poor CGI), some passable gore, and all the stories are inter cut by mother fucking William Shatner of all people, who actually seems to be having a good time here. Don't go in expecting a masterpiece and I'm sure you'll find something to enjoy.