Search

Search only in certain items:

Escape From Tomorrow (2013)
Escape From Tomorrow (2013)
2013 | Drama, Horror, Mystery
3
5.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Its imaginative, and surreal (0 more)
Virtually everything else (0 more)
Not a magical movie...
I don't like writing negative reviews, but this confusing story about a family visiting disney world is...well its a mess.

Its a Lynchian dreamscape of a film, which hints at a lot but doesn't really every explain much, other than to suggest there is a dark undercurrent to Disney.

The fact is though that the narrative is untidy and weirdly paced, and can't ever really settle on what it is that it wants viewers to feel.

You can argue thats the point of this sort of film, but there doesn't feel like there is any cleverness to the confusion, just a movie that deliberately tries to unbalance you for no other reason than to have you unbalanced.

I don't really want to say much more other than that there are many better films out there than this, so only watch this if you really fancy a challenge.
  
Joyland
Joyland
Stephen King | 2013 | Fiction & Poetry
6
8.8 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
Wonderful storytelling and character-building, moves at a steady pace and keeps readers interested. (0 more)
Those expecting a horror book just because the author is Stephen King will be disappointed. (0 more)
Enjoyable coming of age book by Stephen King
A mid-range Stephen King book. Not exactly a horror if that is what you are looking for but a good read none the less.

Devin Jones takes a summer job at Joyland but it turns out to be so much more than what he was expecting. He discovers that he enjoys "Wearing The Fur" or in other words the big dog mascot costume that all employees rotate through, and that he is good at it. Like many amusement parks, Joyland has its own resident fortune teller and ghost, both of which Devin is skeptical about, to begin with, but takes an interest in any way.

I highly recommend this to all Stephen King fans, especially those who like his earlier work.

https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.com/
https://smashbomb.com/nightreader
https://facebook.com/nightreaderreviews
  
    Kung Fu

    Kung Fu

    Ryan Gattis

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    Book

    Jen B's been surviving at the nightmarishly brutal MLK High School just like everybody else: by...

40x40

Jake Lacy recommended Ghostbusters (2016) in Movies (curated)

 
Ghostbusters (2016)
Ghostbusters (2016)
2016 | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi

"It’s a movie that I go back to probably once every other month, and I mean, it sounds so dumb, but it’s just something familiar. And I feel like I always discover a new little thing. A new tiny joke. A new little blink or a nod, or something of that nature. It’s a comedy from the era where, as crazy as the story elements are, the actual film feels as grounded and as real as three disgraced Columbia professors fighting supernatural ghosts alongside Ernie Hudson can be. It feels like real professors who are actually kicked out from the school, and the jokes are based on these characters, and are sarcastic. It’s not a big goofy chuckle fest of what crazy thing can happen to this group of people next, you know? It feels authentic. Something in me as a kid really liked that. Something in me now certainly loves that. I have an endless endless love for the original Ghostbusters."

Source
  
40x40

Kate Nash recommended track My Name Is by Eminem in Slim Shady LP by Eminem in Music (curated)

 
Slim Shady LP by Eminem
Slim Shady LP by Eminem
1999 | Hip-hop, Rock
7.7 (7 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I remember my sister bringing The Slim Shady LP home from school and I’d never heard anything like it. The lyrics were so fucking cool, he was so weird and dark and it was so different. He just tells these fucking creative stories and I think that’s what really appeals to me, I’m such a storyteller with my songs. “I love him as an artist because he represented the struggle of being a fucking teenager, being misunderstood and being like ‘Fuck you, fuck everyone.’ There’s so much aggression in it and I felt that in my hormones as a teenager. He gave a voice to all the ways that you’re misunderstood and the hardship of being a fucking adolescent. There’s anger and there’s ‘I’m an outsider’ and ‘fuck everyone.’ “It’s weird because even though there’s so much aggression in there, there’s also the humour and the sarcasm. He said things that no one else was saying and he created characters and stories and I liked that."

Source
  
The Ultimate Sacrifice (The Gifted Teens #1)
The Ultimate Sacrifice (The Gifted Teens #1)
Talia Jager | 2011 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE tells a fast-paced story about what it is like to be born special, even amongst the different. Kassia had problems keeping her emotions under control. This is a bad thing because she is able to cause pain, and even death, just by thinking about it. She has her own little support group in her BFF Mira, Noe, Auralee, Zane, and her love, Daxton.

The title of the book sort of gives away the main part of the story, but like most good books, the fun is getting to that part. This IS fast-paced so you need to read it carefully and not skim, otherwise a month has passed and you missed the reference that told you so.

I found this to be a gripping story that engaged my emotions. It was incredibly well-written and I loved every word. This book is concluded nicely with a small teaser that will definitely leave you wanting more. Absolutely recommended by me.
  
40x40

Adele recommended Sound & Color by Alabama Shakes in Music (curated)

 
Sound & Color by Alabama Shakes
Sound & Color by Alabama Shakes
2015 | Alternative
7.3 (4 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"As a band I love their vibe, the way they look and interact – all with their own little character going on. But I’m obsessed with [lead singer] Brittany Howard. There’s something about Brittany that puts fire in my soul. She reminds me of Etta James, Ann Peebles – she’s so fucking full of soul, overflowing, dripping, that I almost can’t handle it. On their most recent album [Sound & Color], there’s a song called Don’t Wanna Fight. Brittany comes in with a scream: “YOOOOOOOOOOOW!” I’d love to experiment more with my own voice like that. She’s exceptional, she blows my mind. I almost want to start playing the electric guitar, just to be more like her. Back in 2013, she was in the next-door dressing room at the Grammys. We were both getting ready – I think I was putting on my Spanx – and we met. It turned out she’d brought her grandmother to the Grammys. My love went even deeper for her at that point."

Source
  
Ready Player One
Ready Player One
Ernest Cline | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.9 (161 Ratings)
Book Rating
<2021 update>

Have also seen the movie mentioned below. It was just OK; not great.

<original 2016 review>

Prior to reading this, I'd heard good things about it, and was aware that - like seemingly nearly all of the current Young Adult Dystopian novels - there was a movie for it in the pipeline, by none other than Spielberg himself.

Set in the near-future, I found this to be like a cross between the Bruce Willis movie Surrogates (in that nearly everybody seems to live their life vicariously through other means), The Matrix (cyber reality) and maybe even a bit of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the MacGuffin that gets the plot rolling). it probably helps that - unlike the characters - I actually *was* a kid in the 80s, and so get plenty of the various pop-culture references made.

Plenty, but not all - this, remember, is set in America, so leans more towards the American or Japanese spectrum of popular culture than European.
  
How It Ends (2018)
How It Ends (2018)
2018 | Action, Sci-Fi
Acting (0 more)
Felt like the writers gave up (0 more)
How it ends. I don't know, you don't tell me!
Contains spoilers, click to show
How it ends.
I watched this after having it in my netflix list for a couple of weeks. The trailer looked good and who doesn't like a good disaster movie right? But this was not a good disaster movie.
They put emphasis on seemingly important plot points only never to come back to them or explain them. What actually caused this "end of the world" scenario? Who are the people in the burning town? What derailed the military train? Why would you only take two cans of gas from a butt load of supplies? Who are the people guarding the bridge? What happened to the girl who was travelling with them? And finally, how does it bloody end?
I was left so frustrated and just thinking 'was that it". It genuinely felt like the writers had either given up or run out of time and just gone, yeah kill the creepy guy, take your girl and drive away from the giant smoke cloud.
Not a satisfying watch, just dont bother.
  
    Movie Looks

    Movie Looks

    Photo & Video and Entertainment

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Instant Hollywood on your videos. 40 Movie inspired Looks. Movie Looks adds emotional impact and...