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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Hellboy (2019) in Movies
Nov 14, 2019
This sort of soft reboot of Hellboy is a truly mixed bag. It's just about watchable, and there are some things I liked, and a whole heap of things I didn't like.
Let's start with the negatives - the absolute biggest problems with Hellboy is the editing and pacing.
The quick cuts and bizzarre transitions that happen often are incredibly jarring, and stops the narrative running smoothly for much of the duration.
It almost feels as if the film has been designed for someone who gets bored easily, and will shoehorn in a new scene before giving you the chance to take in the previous one.
It also plays havoc with a lot of the already mediocre (and sometimes cringe-worthy) script - a good example of this comes right at the beginning, as Hellboy is introduced us, searching for an MIA fellow agent.... Its here that Ian McShane's character explains to Hellboy over the phone, what this agent was doing when he went missing, only for Hellboy to himself repeat it to another character seconds later - it's weird and feels lazy.
Another issue is something I seem to complain about a lot recently - CGI. A lot of the CGI throughout is not great, and it's again, a complete mixed bag. Some of the practical effects look fine. The big demons glimpsed in the trailer look fine. And then everywhere else it just shits the bed, most glaringly when it comes to Ben Daimio, a character from the comics who should be an exciting inclusion, but is dragged down buy just how awful it looks.
Another thing I also disliked was the insistence of having 'cool' rock songs playing every two minutes, especially in fight scenes that would otherwise have been entertaining. At times, it felt like I was watching Suicide Squad all over again, which is never a good thing.
A lot of the acting throughout Hellboy is also stale and unenthused. Milla Jovovich is particularly uninspiring as The Blood Queen (a villain from the comics that never enthralled me in the first place), Daniel Dae Kim (Ben Daimio) and Sasha Lane (Alice Monaghan) just seem embarrassed to be involved at all.
This does bring me on to the things a liked about Hellboy though - David Harbour won me over pretty quickly as the titular half demon, he provides the movies sparse humour, and the make up work is great - he does his absolute best to hold it all together.
Ian McShane is good also, but come on, it's Ian McShane man.
Even if they aren't represented perfectly, I still liked seeing a lot of characters from the comic book, and my love for Lobster Johnson is strong.
The monster designs are pretty great for the most part, Baba Yaga looks skin crawling, and as I said, the big demons seen in the trailers are pretty horrifying.
The violence and gore is unfortunately, mostly CGI, but is pretty effective for the most part, even if it does feel like the movie is sometimes packing in an R rating to disguise the averageness of everything else.
As mentioned above, some of the action pieces are pretty fun, but I must say, the climax of the movie is pretty underwhelming.
I didn't find Hellboy as horrible as some people made it out to be - it's certainly not as good as the original two films (although I find the first one to be quite average as it is!) but it still has some credibility, even if it's a small amount.
Unfortunately, for every step Hellboy takes forward, it's takes two back, resulting in a messy and muddled film that struggles to find an identity, and it's reeks of studio meddling.
Still though, Big Mo Harris shooting an Uzi is always a pleasure 👍
Let's start with the negatives - the absolute biggest problems with Hellboy is the editing and pacing.
The quick cuts and bizzarre transitions that happen often are incredibly jarring, and stops the narrative running smoothly for much of the duration.
It almost feels as if the film has been designed for someone who gets bored easily, and will shoehorn in a new scene before giving you the chance to take in the previous one.
It also plays havoc with a lot of the already mediocre (and sometimes cringe-worthy) script - a good example of this comes right at the beginning, as Hellboy is introduced us, searching for an MIA fellow agent.... Its here that Ian McShane's character explains to Hellboy over the phone, what this agent was doing when he went missing, only for Hellboy to himself repeat it to another character seconds later - it's weird and feels lazy.
Another issue is something I seem to complain about a lot recently - CGI. A lot of the CGI throughout is not great, and it's again, a complete mixed bag. Some of the practical effects look fine. The big demons glimpsed in the trailer look fine. And then everywhere else it just shits the bed, most glaringly when it comes to Ben Daimio, a character from the comics who should be an exciting inclusion, but is dragged down buy just how awful it looks.
Another thing I also disliked was the insistence of having 'cool' rock songs playing every two minutes, especially in fight scenes that would otherwise have been entertaining. At times, it felt like I was watching Suicide Squad all over again, which is never a good thing.
A lot of the acting throughout Hellboy is also stale and unenthused. Milla Jovovich is particularly uninspiring as The Blood Queen (a villain from the comics that never enthralled me in the first place), Daniel Dae Kim (Ben Daimio) and Sasha Lane (Alice Monaghan) just seem embarrassed to be involved at all.
This does bring me on to the things a liked about Hellboy though - David Harbour won me over pretty quickly as the titular half demon, he provides the movies sparse humour, and the make up work is great - he does his absolute best to hold it all together.
Ian McShane is good also, but come on, it's Ian McShane man.
Even if they aren't represented perfectly, I still liked seeing a lot of characters from the comic book, and my love for Lobster Johnson is strong.
The monster designs are pretty great for the most part, Baba Yaga looks skin crawling, and as I said, the big demons seen in the trailers are pretty horrifying.
The violence and gore is unfortunately, mostly CGI, but is pretty effective for the most part, even if it does feel like the movie is sometimes packing in an R rating to disguise the averageness of everything else.
As mentioned above, some of the action pieces are pretty fun, but I must say, the climax of the movie is pretty underwhelming.
I didn't find Hellboy as horrible as some people made it out to be - it's certainly not as good as the original two films (although I find the first one to be quite average as it is!) but it still has some credibility, even if it's a small amount.
Unfortunately, for every step Hellboy takes forward, it's takes two back, resulting in a messy and muddled film that struggles to find an identity, and it's reeks of studio meddling.
Still though, Big Mo Harris shooting an Uzi is always a pleasure 👍
365Flicks (235 KP) rated Pandorica (2016) in Movies
Nov 20, 2019
Now that Chris and I have handed back the reigns of Another Damn Wrestling Show to its original hosts Matt, Joe and the other one. I no longer have to watch 12 hours of Wrestling each week so I decided to tackle my backlog of Movie reviews that some awesome very kind people have been sending. Today was the turn of Pandorica, a movie that to be fair had me at the trailer because its tells you everything without giving anything away. Best type of Trailer really (Yes that was a pop at Terminator Genisys).
I had no real expectations going into Pandorica and I came out of it very pleasantly surprised by Tom Paton’s Genre busting Futuristic Dystopian , Sci-Fi horror, Suspense, Action Filled tale of what happens when Humanity is De-Volved into its most basic instincts. Well I did say Genre Busting. One of the best things about this movie is that you really cant put it in any bracket (no matter how hard you try for the purpose of reviewing).
Set somewhere in the future we meet a small group of Natives from the Varosha tribe. Tribe leader Nus (Luke D’Silva) has brought his three bravest and best to take part in a Violent trial to determine who should be leader of the Tribe when Nus expires. As is always the way, the three in question have very differing personalities. Eiren (Jade Hobday) is as deadly as she is determined and somewhat sexy (think Milla Jovovich in Resident Evil, Keira Knightley in King Arthur, Rhona Mitra in Doomsday). She is up against the wreckless headstrong bad ass Ares (Marc Zammit) who believes he is the only man fit enough to lead, rounding off the trio is Thade (Adam Bond) a very loyal confidant to the tribe but its all a bit over his head. Once the trial begins everything really turns to shit as the 3 discover a strange woman being chased by band of Vicious Lunatics in creepy masks. They must band to together to stay alive, all the while trying to prove they are the best candidate for leader, Winner is left standing at daybreak… Hopefully.
It is hard for me to believe that this is Tom Paton’s first full length feature film. He has a very clear idea of what he is doing with getting the best out of his strong leading cast, the Cinematography in this movie is gorgeous at times showing Paton is well aware of his on location surroundings and can direct his movie as such to show us this. Sometimes just the swooping shots over the top of the trees keep make you pause to admire. He has taken a number of Genres mashed them up and made a solid as hell flick that not only stands on its own but also serves as what could potentially be a great intro to a new series of flicks hat breath new life into some of these Genres, especially the Dystopian World End-y ones in the same vein as Neil Marshalls Doomsday.
I don’t want to keep raving on too much because you guys should really see this flick. It is available on all good streaming sites and video on demand services and I guarantee you will get a kick out of it, even if only for the Bitchin as hell soundtrack. I wont lie the music alone sucks you right in. I really enjoyed the movie and can easily see a sequel in fact if you do enjoy the movie, I recommend you stick around till the end of the credits (No Spoilers).
I had no real expectations going into Pandorica and I came out of it very pleasantly surprised by Tom Paton’s Genre busting Futuristic Dystopian , Sci-Fi horror, Suspense, Action Filled tale of what happens when Humanity is De-Volved into its most basic instincts. Well I did say Genre Busting. One of the best things about this movie is that you really cant put it in any bracket (no matter how hard you try for the purpose of reviewing).
Set somewhere in the future we meet a small group of Natives from the Varosha tribe. Tribe leader Nus (Luke D’Silva) has brought his three bravest and best to take part in a Violent trial to determine who should be leader of the Tribe when Nus expires. As is always the way, the three in question have very differing personalities. Eiren (Jade Hobday) is as deadly as she is determined and somewhat sexy (think Milla Jovovich in Resident Evil, Keira Knightley in King Arthur, Rhona Mitra in Doomsday). She is up against the wreckless headstrong bad ass Ares (Marc Zammit) who believes he is the only man fit enough to lead, rounding off the trio is Thade (Adam Bond) a very loyal confidant to the tribe but its all a bit over his head. Once the trial begins everything really turns to shit as the 3 discover a strange woman being chased by band of Vicious Lunatics in creepy masks. They must band to together to stay alive, all the while trying to prove they are the best candidate for leader, Winner is left standing at daybreak… Hopefully.
It is hard for me to believe that this is Tom Paton’s first full length feature film. He has a very clear idea of what he is doing with getting the best out of his strong leading cast, the Cinematography in this movie is gorgeous at times showing Paton is well aware of his on location surroundings and can direct his movie as such to show us this. Sometimes just the swooping shots over the top of the trees keep make you pause to admire. He has taken a number of Genres mashed them up and made a solid as hell flick that not only stands on its own but also serves as what could potentially be a great intro to a new series of flicks hat breath new life into some of these Genres, especially the Dystopian World End-y ones in the same vein as Neil Marshalls Doomsday.
I don’t want to keep raving on too much because you guys should really see this flick. It is available on all good streaming sites and video on demand services and I guarantee you will get a kick out of it, even if only for the Bitchin as hell soundtrack. I wont lie the music alone sucks you right in. I really enjoyed the movie and can easily see a sequel in fact if you do enjoy the movie, I recommend you stick around till the end of the credits (No Spoilers).
365Flicks (235 KP) rated The Darkest Universe (2016) in Movies
Nov 20, 2019
Talk about a movie where you just don’t know where to start with!! Co-Directors (Yes Co) Tom Kingsley and Will Sharpe have crafted what I can only describe as my favorite completely surreal yet right down to earth drama I have watched in 2016… Wait no… In years.
As I have said recently I am on a real Indie hidden gem kick right now and the ever amazing Phil Wheat of Nerdly.co.uk asked me to check this movie out suspecting that it would be right up my street. The Darkest Universe is an absolute gem of a movie for more reasons than I can explain, but I will try.
Co-Director and Co-Writer Will Sharpe plays highly strung and highly stressed Zac Pratt. We join Zac on the verge of a complete breakdown following the disappearance of his sister and Break-up with his girlfriend. We follow him on somewhat of a journey of self realization and discovery. Zac starts up a fledging blog making video diaries of his search for his sister due to his frustration with the police coming up short. During this time we have a wonderfully interwoven series of flashbacks showing us what happened and giving us breadcrumbs of information.
A movie like this can live or die in the intricate plot woven style and this one flourishes because there is not one unnecessary moment on screen, it all matters. We find that Zac’s relationship with his girlfriend Eva (Sophia Di Martino, Channel 4s Flowers and Casualty) is strained and fragile which leads to a wonderfully awkward marriage proposal failure. While Zac would like us to believe from the get go that his sister Alice (Tiani Ghosh Co-Writer and first time acting, You couldn’t tell) is unhinged we slowly find she is probably the sanest person in his life, as she meets mis-fit wanderer Toby (Joe Thomas Inbetweeners and Fresh Meat). The relationship between Toby and Alice is almost as captivating as Sharpe’s all round performance and is just such a delicious watch.
Okay lets just get to it Will Sharpe in this movie is bloody outstanding. Think about Ezra Miller in We Need to Talk about Kevin, that is how intense this role can get, but he can also switch-up and be this charming at times funny sincere chap. There were moments I just didn’t know where it was gonna go and his performance was layered as such. Of course the script helps aswell because its to the point, at 90 minutes long the movie gets in, messes with your head a bit and gets out. Also no spoilers from me but this movie is never what you think it is and the ending is just a thing of beauty.
I take nothing away from anyone else in this movie because for her first time acting Tiani Ghosh is well above par and her chemistry with Joe Thomas is undeniable. On that note Joe Thomas of Inbetweeners fame was a surprising delight for me in this. A cheeky little cameo from fellow Inbetweener Simon Bird was received well and rounding off our cream of Brit comedy crop Chris Langham (The Thick of It) does not disappoint as Toby’s dad.
I really don’t think you will disappointed if you give this movie a shot, it has all the ingredients of what I would call an indie classic, people will find this movie and talk about it for years to come. Sharpe and Kingsley are a directing duo you have got to keep an eye on. I myself am pissed I never saw there first effort (did I mention this is just there second directorial outing) Black Pond but I will rectify that. They are miles ahead of there Ages and show a level of film-making maturity that most directors will struggle to get to. Effortless and beautiful I am so glad I will be ending 2016 with this movie.
As I have said recently I am on a real Indie hidden gem kick right now and the ever amazing Phil Wheat of Nerdly.co.uk asked me to check this movie out suspecting that it would be right up my street. The Darkest Universe is an absolute gem of a movie for more reasons than I can explain, but I will try.
Co-Director and Co-Writer Will Sharpe plays highly strung and highly stressed Zac Pratt. We join Zac on the verge of a complete breakdown following the disappearance of his sister and Break-up with his girlfriend. We follow him on somewhat of a journey of self realization and discovery. Zac starts up a fledging blog making video diaries of his search for his sister due to his frustration with the police coming up short. During this time we have a wonderfully interwoven series of flashbacks showing us what happened and giving us breadcrumbs of information.
A movie like this can live or die in the intricate plot woven style and this one flourishes because there is not one unnecessary moment on screen, it all matters. We find that Zac’s relationship with his girlfriend Eva (Sophia Di Martino, Channel 4s Flowers and Casualty) is strained and fragile which leads to a wonderfully awkward marriage proposal failure. While Zac would like us to believe from the get go that his sister Alice (Tiani Ghosh Co-Writer and first time acting, You couldn’t tell) is unhinged we slowly find she is probably the sanest person in his life, as she meets mis-fit wanderer Toby (Joe Thomas Inbetweeners and Fresh Meat). The relationship between Toby and Alice is almost as captivating as Sharpe’s all round performance and is just such a delicious watch.
Okay lets just get to it Will Sharpe in this movie is bloody outstanding. Think about Ezra Miller in We Need to Talk about Kevin, that is how intense this role can get, but he can also switch-up and be this charming at times funny sincere chap. There were moments I just didn’t know where it was gonna go and his performance was layered as such. Of course the script helps aswell because its to the point, at 90 minutes long the movie gets in, messes with your head a bit and gets out. Also no spoilers from me but this movie is never what you think it is and the ending is just a thing of beauty.
I take nothing away from anyone else in this movie because for her first time acting Tiani Ghosh is well above par and her chemistry with Joe Thomas is undeniable. On that note Joe Thomas of Inbetweeners fame was a surprising delight for me in this. A cheeky little cameo from fellow Inbetweener Simon Bird was received well and rounding off our cream of Brit comedy crop Chris Langham (The Thick of It) does not disappoint as Toby’s dad.
I really don’t think you will disappointed if you give this movie a shot, it has all the ingredients of what I would call an indie classic, people will find this movie and talk about it for years to come. Sharpe and Kingsley are a directing duo you have got to keep an eye on. I myself am pissed I never saw there first effort (did I mention this is just there second directorial outing) Black Pond but I will rectify that. They are miles ahead of there Ages and show a level of film-making maturity that most directors will struggle to get to. Effortless and beautiful I am so glad I will be ending 2016 with this movie.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Whickering Place (Legacy of Darkness #2) in Books
Nov 22, 2019
I've been a fan of London Clarke since I read her debut novel Wildfell. I was thrilled when Whickering Place, the second novel in the Legacy of Darkness series, came out. I really enjoyed the first book in the series The Meadows. I must say that Whickering Place really blew me away!
If you're a fan of vampires, ghosts, and a touch of romance, you will love Whickering Place. I'm not going to rehash the synopsis since you will have probably read it yourself, and the synopsis does such a great job at describing this book. Even though I'm not a fan of the whole vampire movement in media, I really did enjoy Whickering Place. The plot was done brilliantly. I very much enjoyed the world building. In fact, I couldn't find one fault with the world building. Clarke does a fantastic job at making sure you're left feeling like you are a bystander amidst all the action. While there is a cliffhanger at the end of Whickering Place, this was done intentionally and will hopefully all will be revealed in the next book in the series.
The pacing was slow for about the first quarter or so of the book as the backstory and plot were being set up. I will admit that I did think about just giving up on Whickering Place, but I'm glad I kept reading because wow, the pacing definitely picked up after that! Once it picked up, there was no going back. I devoured each page. The suspense kept me on my toes! I was heavily invested in the story and all of the characters in Whickering Place.
Each and every character no matter how minor or major was written fantastically! Each character had their own personality, and it felt as if I was reading about a real flesh and blood person instead of just a character in a book. Avery was a great character. I could sort of relate to her agoraphobia. I used to be almost as bad as her. I felt bad for her, and I was always hoping she would get better so she could have more of a life. I kept thinking that Avery and myself could become great friends if she was real. It was almost as if every decision she made was one that I would have made. Pearse was definitely an interesting character. I did feel bad for him when it came to The Colony. I was always hoping he'd be able to get away from them. He seemed like he had a good heart. I also felt bad for Colin when it came to Avery. It was very obvious that he cared deeply for her. Colin definitely came across as a stand up sort of guy! I didn't really care for Maris, not because she was written poorly. She was actually written quite well! She just reminded me of those pretty mean girls I knew back when I was in school. I didn't know what to think of Cassie. I liked Cassie, and I loved her personality and how willing she was to help out, but I was never sure if I could trust her 100 percent.
Trigger warnings for Whickering Place include profanity (there's not a lot though), sexual situations (although these aren't graphic, and there aren't many sexual scenes), murder, attempted murder, alcohol, dealings with the occult, demons, and violence.
Overall, Whickering Place is a thrilling read which such a fantastic set of characters and an intense plot! This is one of those books that even though it starts out slow, it does a fantastic job at pulling you right into its pages and doesn't let you go! I would definitely recommend Whickering Place by London Clarke to everyone aged 17+ who loves getting lost in a good thriller.
If you're a fan of vampires, ghosts, and a touch of romance, you will love Whickering Place. I'm not going to rehash the synopsis since you will have probably read it yourself, and the synopsis does such a great job at describing this book. Even though I'm not a fan of the whole vampire movement in media, I really did enjoy Whickering Place. The plot was done brilliantly. I very much enjoyed the world building. In fact, I couldn't find one fault with the world building. Clarke does a fantastic job at making sure you're left feeling like you are a bystander amidst all the action. While there is a cliffhanger at the end of Whickering Place, this was done intentionally and will hopefully all will be revealed in the next book in the series.
The pacing was slow for about the first quarter or so of the book as the backstory and plot were being set up. I will admit that I did think about just giving up on Whickering Place, but I'm glad I kept reading because wow, the pacing definitely picked up after that! Once it picked up, there was no going back. I devoured each page. The suspense kept me on my toes! I was heavily invested in the story and all of the characters in Whickering Place.
Each and every character no matter how minor or major was written fantastically! Each character had their own personality, and it felt as if I was reading about a real flesh and blood person instead of just a character in a book. Avery was a great character. I could sort of relate to her agoraphobia. I used to be almost as bad as her. I felt bad for her, and I was always hoping she would get better so she could have more of a life. I kept thinking that Avery and myself could become great friends if she was real. It was almost as if every decision she made was one that I would have made. Pearse was definitely an interesting character. I did feel bad for him when it came to The Colony. I was always hoping he'd be able to get away from them. He seemed like he had a good heart. I also felt bad for Colin when it came to Avery. It was very obvious that he cared deeply for her. Colin definitely came across as a stand up sort of guy! I didn't really care for Maris, not because she was written poorly. She was actually written quite well! She just reminded me of those pretty mean girls I knew back when I was in school. I didn't know what to think of Cassie. I liked Cassie, and I loved her personality and how willing she was to help out, but I was never sure if I could trust her 100 percent.
Trigger warnings for Whickering Place include profanity (there's not a lot though), sexual situations (although these aren't graphic, and there aren't many sexual scenes), murder, attempted murder, alcohol, dealings with the occult, demons, and violence.
Overall, Whickering Place is a thrilling read which such a fantastic set of characters and an intense plot! This is one of those books that even though it starts out slow, it does a fantastic job at pulling you right into its pages and doesn't let you go! I would definitely recommend Whickering Place by London Clarke to everyone aged 17+ who loves getting lost in a good thriller.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004) in Movies
Nov 26, 2019
Verdict: Noticeable Small Sequel
Story: Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation starts straight after the first film, the humans know have the upper hand in the war against the bugs with more soldiers on the ground ready for battle. We follow a small unit that find themselves surrounded in a night assault, who seek refuge in an abandoned outpost, deep in the bug territory.
The unit finds Captain Dax (Burgi) locked away inside, while the unit gets surrounded Lei Sahara (Porch) does what she can to save her unit against her LT Dill (Monoson) who wants to get involved in paperwork and ranks, when the real enemy is a new threat they have never seen before.
Thoughts on Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation
Characters – Captain VJ Dax is the officer found trapped in the outpost, once a hero of the war now a disgraced man, he is the only one that seems to know how to fight back on a more aggressive way than other soldiers are. He will demand the best from the soldiers no matter how it might see him clash with the others. Pvt Lei Sahara is one of the strongest members of the unit, she is a weak psychic that gets visions that don’t always get taken seriously, she makes the rash decision to release Dax. LT Pavlov Dill is the inexperienced soldier put in a position of power that is more interested in dealing with the ranks and orders than saving the soldier’s lives. Pvt Soda is one of the soldiers saved that needs medical attention, though she isn’t everything she looks like.
Performances – Richard Burgi is the best of the performers here, he does continue the tone of a strong military man, while most of the rest of the cast don’t reach this level. Colleen Porch does handle the serious side of the film well too.
Story – The story continues the war between humans and bugs, only this time we see the soldiers cornered in battle which will see them finding an enemy coming from within. The story here does scale back big time what we are dealing with, giving us a small unit that must battle from within one location instead of different warzones. We do move the story on from the original as we see just how humans once again understatement an enemy, as well as providing more to the bug intelligence that we are seeing. One of the problems with the story though does come from the fact we are making the story more contained, this doesn’t help on the idea of the large scale war going on, this conflicts the audience into seeing almost like a small chapter of the war over the next battle for victory.
Action/Sci-Fi – The action does continue to be large scale shooting between the humans aiming for the bugs that don’t stop, while the sci-fi is more horror based with the idea of the new bug that no human has seen before.
Settings – The film does use the outpost as the main setting, it would be a safehouse for the soldiers during the attack, though just how safe is a different question.
Special Effects – The effects while given a much small budget, don’t look bad at all, they continue to make the bugs look terrifying for anybody that comes across them.
Scene of the Movie – Stand off on the roof.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We try to swap genres doing an alien to aliens reverse tone for the film, that just doesn’t work.
Final Thoughts – This is a sequel that doesn’t live up to the original, it does try to do something different, though it just fails to make everything hit the heights of the original.
Overall: Simple Sequel.
Story: Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation starts straight after the first film, the humans know have the upper hand in the war against the bugs with more soldiers on the ground ready for battle. We follow a small unit that find themselves surrounded in a night assault, who seek refuge in an abandoned outpost, deep in the bug territory.
The unit finds Captain Dax (Burgi) locked away inside, while the unit gets surrounded Lei Sahara (Porch) does what she can to save her unit against her LT Dill (Monoson) who wants to get involved in paperwork and ranks, when the real enemy is a new threat they have never seen before.
Thoughts on Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation
Characters – Captain VJ Dax is the officer found trapped in the outpost, once a hero of the war now a disgraced man, he is the only one that seems to know how to fight back on a more aggressive way than other soldiers are. He will demand the best from the soldiers no matter how it might see him clash with the others. Pvt Lei Sahara is one of the strongest members of the unit, she is a weak psychic that gets visions that don’t always get taken seriously, she makes the rash decision to release Dax. LT Pavlov Dill is the inexperienced soldier put in a position of power that is more interested in dealing with the ranks and orders than saving the soldier’s lives. Pvt Soda is one of the soldiers saved that needs medical attention, though she isn’t everything she looks like.
Performances – Richard Burgi is the best of the performers here, he does continue the tone of a strong military man, while most of the rest of the cast don’t reach this level. Colleen Porch does handle the serious side of the film well too.
Story – The story continues the war between humans and bugs, only this time we see the soldiers cornered in battle which will see them finding an enemy coming from within. The story here does scale back big time what we are dealing with, giving us a small unit that must battle from within one location instead of different warzones. We do move the story on from the original as we see just how humans once again understatement an enemy, as well as providing more to the bug intelligence that we are seeing. One of the problems with the story though does come from the fact we are making the story more contained, this doesn’t help on the idea of the large scale war going on, this conflicts the audience into seeing almost like a small chapter of the war over the next battle for victory.
Action/Sci-Fi – The action does continue to be large scale shooting between the humans aiming for the bugs that don’t stop, while the sci-fi is more horror based with the idea of the new bug that no human has seen before.
Settings – The film does use the outpost as the main setting, it would be a safehouse for the soldiers during the attack, though just how safe is a different question.
Special Effects – The effects while given a much small budget, don’t look bad at all, they continue to make the bugs look terrifying for anybody that comes across them.
Scene of the Movie – Stand off on the roof.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We try to swap genres doing an alien to aliens reverse tone for the film, that just doesn’t work.
Final Thoughts – This is a sequel that doesn’t live up to the original, it does try to do something different, though it just fails to make everything hit the heights of the original.
Overall: Simple Sequel.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Dumbo (2019) in Movies
Nov 30, 2019
Verdict: Charming
Story: Dumbo starts when Holt Farrier (Farrell) returns from war, to re-join the circus run by Max Medici (DeVito) where his kids Milly (Parker) and Joe (Hobbins) have been living and working for years, Holt has come back injured, with the only job offered to him, being cleaning up after the elephants, one of which is pregnant giving birth to an elephant with giant ears, which only causes chaos on his debut in the circus.
After Dumbo’s mother is taken away, he is left alone, while the children learn about his flying skills, which turns Max’s circus into the talk of the country, attracting V. A. Vandevere (Keaton) who wants to offer Max the world for Dumbo.
Thoughts on Dumbo
Characters – Holt Farrier is a war veteran widow that has returned to his children in a circus. He has been suffering with his time away, this has seen him not show as much affection as his wife would have, he takes the only job he can get which sees him training and cleaning up the elephants, his time back in the circus does bring him back to his kids, where he learns how important life still can be. V. A. Vandevere is the operator of Dreamland, he sales the idea of a better life for the whole troop, even if he has his own ideas to just make himself rich. Max Medici runs the small circus that discovers Dumbo’s talent, he has always been in the game for the money and can’t resist the idea of money when Vandevere arrives but must learn there is more to his life than money. Colette Marchant is the star performer in Vandevere show, she has been for years though she is just the hottest thing he has going for a while, she doe solve to perform. Dumbo is the baby elephant with giant eyes, who loses his mother, but has the incredible ability to fly, drawing crowds from miles.
Performances – Colin Farrell gives us a wonderful performance as the caring veteran who has been struggling with his own problems once returning from war. Michael Keaton enjoy the villainous role, while Danny DeVito is shows the desperation while still bringing the heart needing for the role, Eva Green shines to as the beautiful performer too.
Story – The story here shows how a small circus that finds themselves with a star attraction in Dumbo, which sees them become a success that the whole country wants to see. The story might focus on Dumbo being forced into performing after having his mother taken away, while deeper down we get to see a family that has been broken from death and war, needing to come back together. We see themes of greed with the circus masters at times, but all together the ideas behind everything all shine through to show that people who do good will get what they deserve in life.
Adventure/Fantasy – The adventure shows the how Dumbo comes into the world and put through traumas at a young age before finding his feet and learn that some people are good in life, with the fantasy of an elephant that can fly being the highlight of what makes Dumbo so special.
Settings – The film uses the settings to show the different sizes of circus that we see Dumbo being part of.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are brilliant bringing Dumbo to life like nothing we could have imagined.
Scene of the Movie – The Dumbo flight.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It does spend too much time telling Milly she can’t follow her scientist dreams.
Final Thoughts – This is the best live action Disney film of 2019, it brings the scale of the idea to life, which looks wonderful and has great performances too.
Overall: Beautiful Fantasy Film.
Story: Dumbo starts when Holt Farrier (Farrell) returns from war, to re-join the circus run by Max Medici (DeVito) where his kids Milly (Parker) and Joe (Hobbins) have been living and working for years, Holt has come back injured, with the only job offered to him, being cleaning up after the elephants, one of which is pregnant giving birth to an elephant with giant ears, which only causes chaos on his debut in the circus.
After Dumbo’s mother is taken away, he is left alone, while the children learn about his flying skills, which turns Max’s circus into the talk of the country, attracting V. A. Vandevere (Keaton) who wants to offer Max the world for Dumbo.
Thoughts on Dumbo
Characters – Holt Farrier is a war veteran widow that has returned to his children in a circus. He has been suffering with his time away, this has seen him not show as much affection as his wife would have, he takes the only job he can get which sees him training and cleaning up the elephants, his time back in the circus does bring him back to his kids, where he learns how important life still can be. V. A. Vandevere is the operator of Dreamland, he sales the idea of a better life for the whole troop, even if he has his own ideas to just make himself rich. Max Medici runs the small circus that discovers Dumbo’s talent, he has always been in the game for the money and can’t resist the idea of money when Vandevere arrives but must learn there is more to his life than money. Colette Marchant is the star performer in Vandevere show, she has been for years though she is just the hottest thing he has going for a while, she doe solve to perform. Dumbo is the baby elephant with giant eyes, who loses his mother, but has the incredible ability to fly, drawing crowds from miles.
Performances – Colin Farrell gives us a wonderful performance as the caring veteran who has been struggling with his own problems once returning from war. Michael Keaton enjoy the villainous role, while Danny DeVito is shows the desperation while still bringing the heart needing for the role, Eva Green shines to as the beautiful performer too.
Story – The story here shows how a small circus that finds themselves with a star attraction in Dumbo, which sees them become a success that the whole country wants to see. The story might focus on Dumbo being forced into performing after having his mother taken away, while deeper down we get to see a family that has been broken from death and war, needing to come back together. We see themes of greed with the circus masters at times, but all together the ideas behind everything all shine through to show that people who do good will get what they deserve in life.
Adventure/Fantasy – The adventure shows the how Dumbo comes into the world and put through traumas at a young age before finding his feet and learn that some people are good in life, with the fantasy of an elephant that can fly being the highlight of what makes Dumbo so special.
Settings – The film uses the settings to show the different sizes of circus that we see Dumbo being part of.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are brilliant bringing Dumbo to life like nothing we could have imagined.
Scene of the Movie – The Dumbo flight.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It does spend too much time telling Milly she can’t follow her scientist dreams.
Final Thoughts – This is the best live action Disney film of 2019, it brings the scale of the idea to life, which looks wonderful and has great performances too.
Overall: Beautiful Fantasy Film.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Judy (2019) in Movies
Dec 8, 2019
There's a definite fatigue now with films based on music stars and their works, I was already feeling it earlier in the year with Yesterday and Blinded By The Light. While I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about seeing Judy the trailer had me as soon as I heard "Somewhere over the rainbow".
Judy, once a household name, is short on money and her reputation is making it hard to get the work she needs. As her welcome at hotels is no longer guaranteed and her ex-husband's concern for what sort of life she's giving their children grows she realises she needs to find a way to make enough money to get them a proper home.
Her answer lies in England with nightly sellout performances to the crowds. But as the loneliness and isolation set in it might be that her not so glamorous lifestyle has caught up with her.
As with many real life depictions I came out wanting to know what was true to Garland's actual life and what was added with artistic license. Perhaps the worst thing about this film is just how accurate it is, the bullying, the abuse, the drugs, it shows a shocking side of Hollywood as it brought up its young stars. It was a little sad to find out that my two favourite bits of the film were probably the only bits in the whole thing that weren't based on actual events, but when you think about it that's not a bad statistic.
Renée Zellweger is outstanding. A year of vocal training before even getting to the set and being able to deliver such a stellar singing performance while simultaneously having to act like you're high on pills, exhaustion and drink... I'm genuinely amazed when I think back to some moments in the film.
I didn't get that same rush from listening to her singing in the film as I did in the trailer. She's wonderful performing the songs but I just felt that everything around the songs was too much of a distraction from it.
Yes, there are other people in Judy beyond Renée Zellweger but I'm not sure that there was anything to them that could shine as much as she did. Jessie Buckley felt underused, and after seeing Wild Rose earlier this year it was sad to see her so close to a stage without her getting to sing. I thought Andy Nyman made a good show as Dan, one half of the gay couple Judy befriends, the emotion that ran through his scenes with her had me wrecked.
I felt a little thrown by the flashbacks initially, but the drip feeding of scenes from her life as we progressed through the modern part of the story worked well. Each reveal would make you a little more heartbroken and concerned for adult Judy, the balance was perfect.
From the glamorous hotels to the dark night streets of London I thought all the settings were chosen well. The design overall with the costumes and sets felt spot on too. Seeing images of the cast against their real life counterparts really gives you pause to think about how hard everyone on that film worked to make the perfect shot.
There aren't all that many drawbacks here, apart from the fatigue for this sort of film that I mentioned earlier it felt very much like I've seen this film before. The recent biopic Stan & Ollie has so many similar features and scenarios that Judy ended up feeling like it wasn't such a new release. Despite that I did enjoy it, I just wish there had been more songs in it, I'm a sucker for a good tune.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2019/11/judy-movie-review.html
Judy, once a household name, is short on money and her reputation is making it hard to get the work she needs. As her welcome at hotels is no longer guaranteed and her ex-husband's concern for what sort of life she's giving their children grows she realises she needs to find a way to make enough money to get them a proper home.
Her answer lies in England with nightly sellout performances to the crowds. But as the loneliness and isolation set in it might be that her not so glamorous lifestyle has caught up with her.
As with many real life depictions I came out wanting to know what was true to Garland's actual life and what was added with artistic license. Perhaps the worst thing about this film is just how accurate it is, the bullying, the abuse, the drugs, it shows a shocking side of Hollywood as it brought up its young stars. It was a little sad to find out that my two favourite bits of the film were probably the only bits in the whole thing that weren't based on actual events, but when you think about it that's not a bad statistic.
Renée Zellweger is outstanding. A year of vocal training before even getting to the set and being able to deliver such a stellar singing performance while simultaneously having to act like you're high on pills, exhaustion and drink... I'm genuinely amazed when I think back to some moments in the film.
I didn't get that same rush from listening to her singing in the film as I did in the trailer. She's wonderful performing the songs but I just felt that everything around the songs was too much of a distraction from it.
Yes, there are other people in Judy beyond Renée Zellweger but I'm not sure that there was anything to them that could shine as much as she did. Jessie Buckley felt underused, and after seeing Wild Rose earlier this year it was sad to see her so close to a stage without her getting to sing. I thought Andy Nyman made a good show as Dan, one half of the gay couple Judy befriends, the emotion that ran through his scenes with her had me wrecked.
I felt a little thrown by the flashbacks initially, but the drip feeding of scenes from her life as we progressed through the modern part of the story worked well. Each reveal would make you a little more heartbroken and concerned for adult Judy, the balance was perfect.
From the glamorous hotels to the dark night streets of London I thought all the settings were chosen well. The design overall with the costumes and sets felt spot on too. Seeing images of the cast against their real life counterparts really gives you pause to think about how hard everyone on that film worked to make the perfect shot.
There aren't all that many drawbacks here, apart from the fatigue for this sort of film that I mentioned earlier it felt very much like I've seen this film before. The recent biopic Stan & Ollie has so many similar features and scenarios that Judy ended up feeling like it wasn't such a new release. Despite that I did enjoy it, I just wish there had been more songs in it, I'm a sucker for a good tune.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2019/11/judy-movie-review.html
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Parasite (2019) in Movies
Jan 23, 2020
All I'd been hearing about Parasite was that it was a masterpiece and amazing, so many people were getting to see previews but of course they were all in London. Then Odeon came to the rescue with their Screen Unseen program so I defected from Cineworld for an evening.
The Kim family are desperately trying to make ends meet, their cramped home is uncomfortable and located in one of the shabbiest districts of Seoul. Things take a turn when the son's friend suggests that he takes over his tutoring job for the daughter of a well off family. Ki-woo doesn't have the qualifications but all he needs is to show confidence, he decides to take the job.
Once he gets to the upscale house opportunities start to present themselves and he sees a chance to set his family up with jobs too. Bringing their mother onboard sets in motion something that no one could have seen coming.
I seriously considered not writing a review for this, please excuse me if it seems a little disjointed but I'm still not entirely convinced that I have a proper conclusion.
Coming out of the film I was a little confused, mainly because apart from hearing about it being a masterpiece I had seen people saying it was a horror... IMDb lists it as "comedy, crime, drama", at least I agree with one of those.
The contrast between rich and poor is shown perfectly throughout, from their homes to the human senses expressed, the way it's all represented on screen solidifies the differences between the two families.
In each home environment we also see it, the sleek versus the chaotic, the clean versus the dirty. The Park's designer home is white, open and ordered, the Kim's is claustrophobic, cluttered and busy. The two are illustrated perfectly on each end of the spectrum and the two overlap briefly when the Kim's briefly take over the Park's home.
I thought the acting was good but I wasn't blown away by anything, potentially more of an issue with the script for me as I wasn't keen on some of the character traits that came out. The divide between the two families is obviously something that carries through to their members, but whereas we might expect the rich to be the villains in a story (and yes, they aren't necessarily the best people in the world) it is in fact the poor that are verging on the bad side of things. It does appear that in this instance money is the corrupting influence on the Kims and they get the taste for the high life. All the actors involved are very strong in helping this come across to the audience.
Beyond this set up I wasn't left with the gushing feeling that many, MANY others were. Maybe this just went over my head, I'm the first to admit that when I go to a movie I turn my brain down. Maybe it was more thinking than I'm willing to put into a film. When films touch a lot of different genres I feel like I have some trouble with then so this could also contribute to my underwhelmed feeling. My instinct coming out was that I wanted it to be a little darker and closer to a thriller than just drama.
After one viewing I would say I wouldn't have chosen to see it again but there's an Unlimited Screening coming I feel like it's worth giving it a second viewing in case I see something I didn't see before, but I'm not sure how much it will change things.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/01/parasite-movie-review.html
The Kim family are desperately trying to make ends meet, their cramped home is uncomfortable and located in one of the shabbiest districts of Seoul. Things take a turn when the son's friend suggests that he takes over his tutoring job for the daughter of a well off family. Ki-woo doesn't have the qualifications but all he needs is to show confidence, he decides to take the job.
Once he gets to the upscale house opportunities start to present themselves and he sees a chance to set his family up with jobs too. Bringing their mother onboard sets in motion something that no one could have seen coming.
I seriously considered not writing a review for this, please excuse me if it seems a little disjointed but I'm still not entirely convinced that I have a proper conclusion.
Coming out of the film I was a little confused, mainly because apart from hearing about it being a masterpiece I had seen people saying it was a horror... IMDb lists it as "comedy, crime, drama", at least I agree with one of those.
The contrast between rich and poor is shown perfectly throughout, from their homes to the human senses expressed, the way it's all represented on screen solidifies the differences between the two families.
In each home environment we also see it, the sleek versus the chaotic, the clean versus the dirty. The Park's designer home is white, open and ordered, the Kim's is claustrophobic, cluttered and busy. The two are illustrated perfectly on each end of the spectrum and the two overlap briefly when the Kim's briefly take over the Park's home.
I thought the acting was good but I wasn't blown away by anything, potentially more of an issue with the script for me as I wasn't keen on some of the character traits that came out. The divide between the two families is obviously something that carries through to their members, but whereas we might expect the rich to be the villains in a story (and yes, they aren't necessarily the best people in the world) it is in fact the poor that are verging on the bad side of things. It does appear that in this instance money is the corrupting influence on the Kims and they get the taste for the high life. All the actors involved are very strong in helping this come across to the audience.
Beyond this set up I wasn't left with the gushing feeling that many, MANY others were. Maybe this just went over my head, I'm the first to admit that when I go to a movie I turn my brain down. Maybe it was more thinking than I'm willing to put into a film. When films touch a lot of different genres I feel like I have some trouble with then so this could also contribute to my underwhelmed feeling. My instinct coming out was that I wanted it to be a little darker and closer to a thriller than just drama.
After one viewing I would say I wouldn't have chosen to see it again but there's an Unlimited Screening coming I feel like it's worth giving it a second viewing in case I see something I didn't see before, but I'm not sure how much it will change things.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/01/parasite-movie-review.html
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated The Undercover Princess in Books
Feb 3, 2020
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<b>Rosewood Chronicles</b>
#1 <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2598018490">Undercover Princess</a> - ★★★★★
#2 <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2761943995">Princess in Practice</a> - ★★★★
<img src="https://diaryofdifference.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/New-blog-banner-12.png"/>;
<i>I am lucky to have the best sister ever, who keeps giving me books I love! She gave me Undercover Princess for my birthday back in November last year, and I finally managed to get to it. Thank you, sis!</i>
Even though Undercover Princess has great resemblance to The Princess Diaries and The Princess Protection Program, this book is unique in its own way, and the story is very different and positively surprising. I was in love with the characters and loved this book a lot. I will definitely be reading the second book of the series!
The story focuses on two main characters:
<b><i>* Lottie Pumpkin - the ordinary girl
* Ellie Wolf - the princess</i></b>
And I wish it was all so easy. But you see, Lottie is an ordinary girl, she grew up in England and her mother passed away when she was little. Before she passes away, she gives Lottie a tiara for her birthday and makes her promise that she will always be brave. Lottie’s only goal in life is to attend Rosewood Hall, no matter what. And she makes it, with a scholarship.
On the other side, we have Ellie, the princess of Maradova. All she ever wants to be is ordinary, but she is surrounded by servants and shiny items. She wants to go to Rosewood Hall, only to avoid all her royal duties. And the only way of her parents letting this happen is if she attends the college undercover.
Then we have these two girls being roommates. A rumour spreads around the school and everyone thinks that Lottie is the princess. And in this whole mystery, the real princess is in danger, but no one must know that the real princess is Ellie. <b>And this is only the beginning.</b>
The story is full of adventures and hilarious scenes, where we see Lottie and Ellie building their friendship, and trying to figure out the mystery behind all the threats they are receiving, all while they attend classes and go to parties like ordinary college girls.
While they play this game of swapping identities, they realise that this is more than a game, it is a lifestyle. And if Lottie is the undercover princess, she has to do everything to protect the real princess and her identity. Is this what she really wants? Is their friendship worth it?
There was a LGBT reference with a couple in this book, and maybe it was me, but I could also see a few sparks between Lottie and Ellie. I honestly expected something to happen between Lottie and Ellie's bodyguard. There were sparks though, so perhaps in the next book?
I loved how the partially-romantic scenes were building up to the real moment and made me want to read more. The writing skills this author has is truly amazing, and I praise her for it. It was a pleasure to read each chapter.
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<b>Rosewood Chronicles</b>
#1 <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2598018490">Undercover Princess</a> - ★★★★★
#2 <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2761943995">Princess in Practice</a> - ★★★★
<img src="https://diaryofdifference.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/New-blog-banner-12.png"/>;
<i>I am lucky to have the best sister ever, who keeps giving me books I love! She gave me Undercover Princess for my birthday back in November last year, and I finally managed to get to it. Thank you, sis!</i>
Even though Undercover Princess has great resemblance to The Princess Diaries and The Princess Protection Program, this book is unique in its own way, and the story is very different and positively surprising. I was in love with the characters and loved this book a lot. I will definitely be reading the second book of the series!
The story focuses on two main characters:
<b><i>* Lottie Pumpkin - the ordinary girl
* Ellie Wolf - the princess</i></b>
And I wish it was all so easy. But you see, Lottie is an ordinary girl, she grew up in England and her mother passed away when she was little. Before she passes away, she gives Lottie a tiara for her birthday and makes her promise that she will always be brave. Lottie’s only goal in life is to attend Rosewood Hall, no matter what. And she makes it, with a scholarship.
On the other side, we have Ellie, the princess of Maradova. All she ever wants to be is ordinary, but she is surrounded by servants and shiny items. She wants to go to Rosewood Hall, only to avoid all her royal duties. And the only way of her parents letting this happen is if she attends the college undercover.
Then we have these two girls being roommates. A rumour spreads around the school and everyone thinks that Lottie is the princess. And in this whole mystery, the real princess is in danger, but no one must know that the real princess is Ellie. <b>And this is only the beginning.</b>
The story is full of adventures and hilarious scenes, where we see Lottie and Ellie building their friendship, and trying to figure out the mystery behind all the threats they are receiving, all while they attend classes and go to parties like ordinary college girls.
While they play this game of swapping identities, they realise that this is more than a game, it is a lifestyle. And if Lottie is the undercover princess, she has to do everything to protect the real princess and her identity. Is this what she really wants? Is their friendship worth it?
There was a LGBT reference with a couple in this book, and maybe it was me, but I could also see a few sparks between Lottie and Ellie. I honestly expected something to happen between Lottie and Ellie's bodyguard. There were sparks though, so perhaps in the next book?
I loved how the partially-romantic scenes were building up to the real moment and made me want to read more. The writing skills this author has is truly amazing, and I praise her for it. It was a pleasure to read each chapter.
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Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated Incinerate in Books
Feb 4, 2020
Honest Review for Free Copy of Book
Motives and trust are put to question in the short book Incinerate by R. L. Green. However, it is not just the trust of others that is questioned but trust in oneself when emotions are involved.
Ted was raised by his Uncle Will who is, unfortunately, laying in the ICU on life support. While he is not bad off, Ted is very money conscious and is fairly sure he is his Uncle’s heir but has yet to see a copy of the will. He fears that this situation is going to bring distant relatives, especially those on his dad’s side who ran off when he was a baby, out of the woodwork looking for money. He is not completely wrong. His half-sister, Tamsyn, decides to take this opportunity to connect with family. Much to Ted’s surprise and suspicion Tam shows up in a wheelchair with a traveling companion tagging along by the name of Jazz.
Although Jazz comes off as harsh and cold towards Ted to begin with it appears this is only because she is trying to look out for Tam. After a little bit, Ted and Jazz begin to build a relationship or so Ted thinks, while Tam and Ben, Ted’s best friend seem to hit it off as well. Unfortunately, there is more to Jazz than meets the eye as Ted soon finds out. Ted and Ben make it their goal to help Tam get out of Tazz’s manipulative clutches, but it proves difficult. Ted must keep his feelings for Jazz from interfering with the plan yet keep Jazz from knowing he is aware of the truth. Jazz, however, doesn't want to give up her grip on Tam that easily and is willing to go to extreme lengths to keep ahold of her.
I enjoyed Ted’s personality quite a bit. He is questioning and careful of new people and situations until he understands what is going on. Once he understands, Ted seems to have very little trouble deciding to take sides, even if it means he has to fight himself in the process. I was unhappy with the ending of this book. It was a cliffhanger (which I have no problem with) but it just left way too much hanging. The situation with Uncle Will is never resolved, though it's not hard to guess what happened to him, but the will in another unanswered factor. Mor importantly even though there are plans to go ahead and start the business nothing is said about how it works out. I am also extremely interested to know if Jazz ever comes back and if the accident she had was an accident. Then there is also the fact that Ted said “hey” way too much and at times when it felt wrong.
This book deals with tough subjects best suited for adult and high school students. Subjects include rape, manipulation, sex, and death. Other than that the writing style itself is not that difficult. I would also classify this book as a drama from those that are interested. I rate this book 2 out of 4. It is a quick read for those that do not have a lot of free time. While the book itself lacks depth the characters seem to have quite a bit to them. For everything that I find fault for in this book, it is balanced with a positive aspect as well. This might not be a book that I would highly recommend, yet I would not discourage anyone from giving it a shot.
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Ted was raised by his Uncle Will who is, unfortunately, laying in the ICU on life support. While he is not bad off, Ted is very money conscious and is fairly sure he is his Uncle’s heir but has yet to see a copy of the will. He fears that this situation is going to bring distant relatives, especially those on his dad’s side who ran off when he was a baby, out of the woodwork looking for money. He is not completely wrong. His half-sister, Tamsyn, decides to take this opportunity to connect with family. Much to Ted’s surprise and suspicion Tam shows up in a wheelchair with a traveling companion tagging along by the name of Jazz.
Although Jazz comes off as harsh and cold towards Ted to begin with it appears this is only because she is trying to look out for Tam. After a little bit, Ted and Jazz begin to build a relationship or so Ted thinks, while Tam and Ben, Ted’s best friend seem to hit it off as well. Unfortunately, there is more to Jazz than meets the eye as Ted soon finds out. Ted and Ben make it their goal to help Tam get out of Tazz’s manipulative clutches, but it proves difficult. Ted must keep his feelings for Jazz from interfering with the plan yet keep Jazz from knowing he is aware of the truth. Jazz, however, doesn't want to give up her grip on Tam that easily and is willing to go to extreme lengths to keep ahold of her.
I enjoyed Ted’s personality quite a bit. He is questioning and careful of new people and situations until he understands what is going on. Once he understands, Ted seems to have very little trouble deciding to take sides, even if it means he has to fight himself in the process. I was unhappy with the ending of this book. It was a cliffhanger (which I have no problem with) but it just left way too much hanging. The situation with Uncle Will is never resolved, though it's not hard to guess what happened to him, but the will in another unanswered factor. Mor importantly even though there are plans to go ahead and start the business nothing is said about how it works out. I am also extremely interested to know if Jazz ever comes back and if the accident she had was an accident. Then there is also the fact that Ted said “hey” way too much and at times when it felt wrong.
This book deals with tough subjects best suited for adult and high school students. Subjects include rape, manipulation, sex, and death. Other than that the writing style itself is not that difficult. I would also classify this book as a drama from those that are interested. I rate this book 2 out of 4. It is a quick read for those that do not have a lot of free time. While the book itself lacks depth the characters seem to have quite a bit to them. For everything that I find fault for in this book, it is balanced with a positive aspect as well. This might not be a book that I would highly recommend, yet I would not discourage anyone from giving it a shot.
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