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The Stranger Behind You
The Stranger Behind You
Carol Goodman | 2021 | Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
An atmospheric and twisty thriller
Reporter Joan Lurie becomes famous when her story in Manhatta exposes Globe owner Caspar Osgood as a sexual harasser. But as she returns home the night of the publication, she's attacked in her apartment. Terrified and feeling ill from a severe blow to the head, she moves to a super secure building in Manhattan, called the Refuge, to write a book that further details what she's discovered about Casper. At the Refuge, she meets her elderly neighbor, Lillian, who has lived there since it was the Magdalen Laundry and Refuge for Fallen Women in the 1940s. She becomes sucked into Lillian's stories, which often remind Joan of her own life. Meanwhile, Caspar's wife Melissa must deal with the aftermath of learning her husband is sexual predator. Soon, these women's lives will intertwine: in potentially dangerous ways.

"I'm here because four weeks ago someone tried to kill me."

This was an often confusing but incredibly intriguing book that combines the #MeToo movement with a story about wayward girls. You're never quite sure what's going on, as Joan can be an unreliable narrator (head injury + fear, anyone?), leaving one feeling very off balance for the entire book. There's a story within a story here, as Joan goes after Caspar and his transgressions, combined with Lillian's story and her past.

"What kind of person is more concerned about their hard drive than their body?"

I loved the 1940s piece, learning about Lily, the Magdalen laundry, and the Refuge when it was a home for girls. It's fascinating even while being quite sad. Joan could be a very frustrating character (just go to the doctor for your head injury and stop drinking already), but you cannot fault her reporting skills. Caspar's wife Melissa adds a certain depth to the tale, as she wrestles with what her husband has done. Telling the story from Joan and Melissa's point of view really expands what we learn. This is also an atmospheric read, with the Refuge becoming its own character, especially as we learn about its history from the 1940s on. Goodman is always excellent at setting the scene.

While I sometimes found this book frustrating, it was also a page-turner, with compelling characters and an interesting story with some great twists. 4 stars.
  
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Sarah (7800 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan in Video Games

May 29, 2020  
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan
2019 | Horror
A thrilling play
Games like this dont appeal to everyone. It's not full of action, beating people up or a massive open world full of free play. It also doesnt drag on for 40+ hours. However for people like me who struggle with those type of games, Man of Medan is a breath of fresh air.

I'd previously played and rather enjoyed Until Dawn, and I'm pleased to say this follows much in the same vein although it's probably a much shorter story. Graphically this is very impressive looking and like Until Dawn, they've thrown in yet another recognisable face (this time it's Shawn Ashmore aka Bobby from X-Men). The characters look amazing and the setting too. The story too is a good and interesting one, although it does feel a little similar to other stories (like Ghost Ship) and may be a tad predictable. We worked out what was going on well before the third act. That said, I still found it to be absolutely terrifying. Playing a game like this is a lot scarier than watching any horror film!

The gameplay works really well. The fact that you can play this with friends, either online or couch co-op, adds another fun dimension to it all. The decision making also means that there are so many different endings and outcomes (I believe there's over 60 possible ways for the characters to die) that the replayability is surprisingly better than you'd expect. Admittedly it would probably get a bit tedious trying to uncover absolutely everything and all possible outcomes, but playing a few times over is still enjoyable.

The only downsides are the lag and load issues. Most likely due to the decision making process and actions, there is a noticeable lag in some of the cut scenes and movements which is bearable but can noticeably affect the smooth running of the game. There's also the characters themselves. They look great, but they're very cliched and have very little personality or interest too them. And the script is a little cheesy at times which only further impacts with a slight dislike of the characters. Part of me actually wanted to kill them all off...

Overall a great story and an interesting game to play, if you're looking for something a little different.
  
Bornless Ones (2016)
Bornless Ones (2016)
2016 |
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Take 4 Outrageously good looking guys and gals, A 5th guy with some sort of life challenging disease… Move them into a new out of the way house with a secret history, not to far from an Institution, Have them desecrate and destroy what look to be supernatural symbols boarding up the windows and you have Bornless Ones… Oh and there is scary possession, Craziness and a fair bit of really well done gore, Seriously well done Gore!!!

Now that’s not to say that this movie lacks originality in any way because it really does not. Ok we may have seen the creepy house in the middle of nowhere that scares the crap out of its occupants before, but can we really ever get too much of that. The difference I found was that Bornless Ones is in many ways a spiritual cousin to movies like Evil Dead and in many ways actually betters what has come before in its Genre. One of those ways is the performance our cast put in.



Emily (Margaret Judson – The Newsroom) has decided that she cant look after her Cerebal Palsy suffering brother Zach (Micheal Johnston – MTV’s Teen Wolf) anymore, she is going to move him to an institution. However fearing he is going to be too far away from her, Emily and her boyfriend Jesse (Devin Goodsell) buy a house nearby, the house has a past. Emily and Jesse are accompanied by there friends Woodrow (Mark Furze – Home and Away, Underbelly) and Michelle (Bobby T) to help them move in. That’s when the movie cranks it up to 11 and everything goes nuts as our core characters are taken hold of by a paranormal force one by one and must fight for survival.

My horror kick has absolutely continued into 2017 and Bornless Ones was a fantastic place to start. Its a hell of a lot more Evil Dead than the Evil Dead Remake which sucked and this movie really had me in from the start. It does help that it wastes no time at all, no sooner had they all moved in and the shenanigans began.

Alexander Babaev has done a great job on Directing and Writing with this movie and while it falls into the Indie bracket of movies it deserves to be seen by a wider audience. The acting from our core cast is better than you might expect, infact they all smash it out of the park. The acting once possession has taken hold is creepy as shit and utterly compelling.

Bornless Ones is definitely worth a watch if you are a fan of this genre, it is a lot better than most of the possession movies coming out these days. Give it a try…
  
Morning Glory (2010)
Morning Glory (2010)
2010 | Comedy
7
7.6 (5 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Story: Morning Glory starts as we follow Becky (McAdams) a new producer dreaming of one day going to the next level, when she believes she is about to get the senior producer role she finds herself losing her job instead. Not one to give up on her dreams to searches endlessly for a new job in the business and it is Jerry Barnes (Goldblum) that gives her a chance to work on saving the fourth best morning news station Daybreak.

Wanting to make an impact Becky fires the demoralising anchor, Becky must find a new anchor and her choice is going after News Icon Mike Pomperoy (Ford) who is under contract but doesn’t want to work. Becky must find a way for Mike to work with her current anchor Colleen Peck (Keaton) while making new friends with fellow producer Adam Bennett (Wilson) offering up a potential love interest.

 

Thoughts on Morning Glory

 

Characters/Performance – Becky is an ambitious young woman desperate to make a career in producing the news. She gets her chance working on the lowest rated show and must use all of her good spirit and ideas to make the show climb the ratings, all while dealing with her own personal life that she has given up making her career important. This is a brilliant character because it shows how people can put their career before their own lives which is why this is something we have seen before but always good to go back too.

Mike is the difficult anchor to work with, he used to be a draw in the news reporting world but isn’t interested in working on anything he doesn’t think is news worth, he makes the job as difficult as possible for Becky by doing the bare minimum. Colleen is the seasoned anchor that is happy to take a chance on the wild stories that can bring in the ratings. Adam is the love interest for Becky as well as being involved with Mike before so he can give Becky advice when it comes to handling him.

Performance wise, McAdams is great in the leading role, not playing it overly funny which is how you can judge the whole cast, Ford does enjoy this role because it is different to the rest of his normal action material.

Story – The story following a career driven woman following her dream putting everything she has into making it happen against all the odds if something that is fantastic to watch because we all like to enjoy watching someone reach that goal. Sure, most of this film does go around in the cycle you would expect but if it isn’t broken don’t fix it.

Romantic/Comedy – The romantic side is on the main story which I think works because it isn’t the most important part of the film, the comedy comes when needed without being a constant attempt at laughter.

Settings – The settings for this film are mostly inside the news studio which shows how close everyone must be to work together. This helps us see how the tension looks between the characters.

Final Thoughts – I wasn’t expecting too much from this film going in, mostly because of the genres but in the end, I found myself enjoying everything as it was unfolding.

 

Overall: This is a good comedy drama that is worth watching.
  
Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
2013 | Action
I've been a fan of this franchise since the very first film, and while Tokyo Drift might have been a little blip, or bump in the road, there is no denying that the films have delivered box office success. Fast and Furious 6 is the second film to be left on a cliffhanger (we’ll get to that later) and delves deep into the story of the mystery surrounding Letty’s (Michelle Rodriguez) death a few films ago. I don’t regard that as a plot spoiler as it’s in the trailer. Having demolished most of Rio and now living peacefully in a country with no extradition Dom and new dad Brian think that they have put all their troubles behind them.


After the opening credits montage, agent Hobbs (Johnson) comes knocking. His offer requires all the team converge once again, this time they have to track down and capture a ruthless mercenary called Owen Shaw (Luke Evans). Hobbs and Toretto have to stand side by side working together to take down the villain. Letty of course has returned and is working for the bad guys but has no memory of her past life. If you’re a true fan then the plot will reveal more back story and as it turns out part six is practically a sequel to part four with past villains announcing a few home truths.

The film and action is set in the heart of London which, includes a car chase that defies belief, a ménage à trois of fist fights on the underground, shoot outs and a drag race that drifts through Piccadilly Circus. The action is pulsating and over the top but you shouldn’t care in the least about that. What were you expecting the film to do? Each vehicular sequence is more mind bending than the next.

Take the opening chase for example. A modified F1 style car pursued by Toretto and his crew as well as local police weaves its way through the streets with the ability to flip oncoming cars. Justin Lin who directed the last four films is well in control and more than happy to up the action.

Fast and Furious 6 is guilty of plot holes, but these will only be deconstructed by people who have nothing better to do. That said, even I was left wondering what distance the longest runway in the world was? There is a good level of humour with Tyrese Gibson’s Roman providing much of the light heartedness that the film needed. Let’s face it The Avengers had the same level of action and humour mixed and that seemed to work.

One of the dangers for this was having a cast that was pretty extensive, regrouping the team meant that there was jostling for position. But on the whole everyone has their time to shine and no one is really cast to the shadows. Evans does a good job as the main antagonist and Gina Carano also proves her worth after the abject Haywire a few years back.

Fast and Furious 7 takes place back in LA after the events of this film and has a teasing post credit sequence that will bait those fans to come back once again. James Wan steps into the directors chair for the seventh film switching from the comfort of the horror genre. I found Fast and Furious 6 to be a highly entertaining film, and you’ll need to check your brain in at the door. To quote a cliché it ‘does what it says on the tin’, and doesn’t take itself too seriously.
  
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Sarah (7800 KP) rated Snatch (2001) in Movies

Dec 20, 2020  
Snatch (2001)
Snatch (2001)
2001 | Comedy, Crime
Hilarious
Film #7 on the 100 Movies Bucket List: Snatch

Snatch (2000) is Guy Ritchie’s second film following on from his hugely successful debut, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998). Critically Snatch wasn’t quite as well received as it’s predecessor but the general movie going public found it a lot more enjoyable, and personally I agree with the public. I’ve always loved Snatch and prefer it over Lock, Stock.

Snatch tells a rather convoluted and twisting tale about gangsters, diamonds and unlicensed boxing. In a number of intersecting storylines, we see unlicensed boxing promoters Turkish (Jason Statham) and Tommy (Stephen Graham) get pulled into the world of match fixing with violent bookmaker Brick Top (Alan Ford), recruiting Brad Pitt’s gypsy Mickey along the way. And then you have inept criminals Sol (Lennie James), Vinny (Robbie Gee) and Tyrone (Ade) as they attempt to steal a valuable diamond from Franky Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro) on behalf of Russian Boris the Blade (Rade Serbedzija), also involving Vinnie Jones’s Bullet-Tooth Tony, Mike Reid’s Doug the Head and Dennis Farina’s Cousin Avi along the way. As you can see, the plot isn’t exactly straight forward but despite it’s complexity, it’s a fun and entertaining watch to see all of these separate storylines come together.

What makes this complex and quite frankly bonkers story so good to watch is the script and absolutely superb dialogue. Considering this isn’t what you’d class as a typical comedy fun, it is downright hilarious. No matter how many times I’ve seen this film, it still makes me laugh every time with it’s smart, witty and funny dialogue. From Turkish’s narration to Cousin Avi’s scathing remarks about London and pretty much every interaction between Sol, Vinny and Tyrone, Snatch is extremely amusing. Admittedly there are some lines and exchanges that feel a little too forced and staged, and I think this may be due to some questionable acting and the sometimes unnatural sounding London accents.

Guy Ritchie has undoubtedly put together a stylish and slick film, and Snatch definitely encompasses the dark and gritty feel of London. Maybe a little too much as it can feel a bit gloomy at times. It has a great soundtrack and this really works with Ritchie’s directing style for the most part. There are some questionable camera angles and not all of these work – the most grating for me was in the opening scenes with Franky Four Finger’s heist where the camera jumped around far too much.

Despite this, his style works well in general and is aided by the fantastic cast that has been assembled. I’ve never been a fan of Jason Statham, but this is by far his best work, although the star of Snatch is certainly Brad Pitt, who is virtually unrecognisable as gypsy Mickey, both in looks and with his purposely indecipherable Irish accent. Snatch came out the year after Fight Club at a time that would likely be classed as the peak of Pitt’s career, so to see him play a character like Mickey was surprising to say the least. But the entire cast shine with the material they’ve got to work with.

Snatch isn’t a film for everyone and definitely not for the easily offended. For me, I could watch this repeatedly and still laugh every time, and it’s absolutely deserving of a place on this list.