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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated The Grinch (2018) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
After watching The Grinch my heart grew three times.
This is the first time that I've ever encountered The Grinch... yes, ever. Apart from calling people a grinch when they moan about Christmas. Never read the book, never seen previous incarnations. I really don't know how.
I'm really pleased that this film was good. After most of Secret Life Of Pets and all of Sing I was starting to lose faith in Illumination. This is a much better offering and genuinely a nice film. It's funny, it's thoughtful and it's Christmassy all rolled into one.
Despite the film being called The Grinch the stars of the show were Max and Fred. Max shows you just how happy a dog can be all of the time even if they're surrounded by negative feelings, and Fred, well... those puppy dog eyes... good boys! I did also love Cindy-Lou Who. That kids has a fantastic eye for gadgets that must come from repeated viewings of other holiday classics like Home Alone.
There really isn't a lot else to say about this other than it's a great film. Cindy-Lou is a great motivational speaker and the whole film in general fills you with the desire to do good things and take a new perspective on things... well it did for me... this film might have brainwashed me.
As a little extra we also take a step back to the good old days where you got a cartoon before the main screening! Yellow Is The New Black. An amusing diversion. Those poor little minions.
(P.S. The reason this is getting four and a half stars and not five is that the alarm clock. If you've seen the trailer you'll understand my slight disappointment... I suppose what they've done is more in keeping though. *grumpy sigh*)
What you should do
Don't be a Grinch. You should go and see this... kids, no kids, it doesn't really matter. It's brilliant animation with a wonderful story to tell.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I'll take a giant portion of Cindy-Lou's ingenuity please!
This is the first time that I've ever encountered The Grinch... yes, ever. Apart from calling people a grinch when they moan about Christmas. Never read the book, never seen previous incarnations. I really don't know how.
I'm really pleased that this film was good. After most of Secret Life Of Pets and all of Sing I was starting to lose faith in Illumination. This is a much better offering and genuinely a nice film. It's funny, it's thoughtful and it's Christmassy all rolled into one.
Despite the film being called The Grinch the stars of the show were Max and Fred. Max shows you just how happy a dog can be all of the time even if they're surrounded by negative feelings, and Fred, well... those puppy dog eyes... good boys! I did also love Cindy-Lou Who. That kids has a fantastic eye for gadgets that must come from repeated viewings of other holiday classics like Home Alone.
There really isn't a lot else to say about this other than it's a great film. Cindy-Lou is a great motivational speaker and the whole film in general fills you with the desire to do good things and take a new perspective on things... well it did for me... this film might have brainwashed me.
As a little extra we also take a step back to the good old days where you got a cartoon before the main screening! Yellow Is The New Black. An amusing diversion. Those poor little minions.
(P.S. The reason this is getting four and a half stars and not five is that the alarm clock. If you've seen the trailer you'll understand my slight disappointment... I suppose what they've done is more in keeping though. *grumpy sigh*)
What you should do
Don't be a Grinch. You should go and see this... kids, no kids, it doesn't really matter. It's brilliant animation with a wonderful story to tell.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I'll take a giant portion of Cindy-Lou's ingenuity please!
Kristin (149 KP) rated Rock & Roll, Sex, and Fools ...The Slow Fade to Black of Mr. Joe Kool Jack in Books
Dec 7, 2018
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
There's a reason why Joe's name is "Joe Kool": He's the coolest cat around. So cool, in fact, that it simply can't be spelled correctly; his nickname has to stand out as much as he does. Therefore, we have Joe Kool, and the world is a much better place for it. Why, without him, we wouldn't have many of the great artists we know and love, not to mention certain recreational activities and popular phrases of yesterday and today. What would our lives have been like if Joe had just stayed at home, never leaving home in search and bigger and better pastures? I'll tell you: they would've been horrible, boring, monotonous, and just not any fun at all!
This story was excellent, and I found myself talking about it with family, friends, and even one poor stranger who will probably never take the Metro alone again. There were times that I laughed myself almost to tears, and those were quite plentiful. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to add some comic relief to their lives, and of course, to anyone who wants to know the REAL story behind rock and roll. You think you know, but you have no idea ;)
5 stars
There's a reason why Joe's name is "Joe Kool": He's the coolest cat around. So cool, in fact, that it simply can't be spelled correctly; his nickname has to stand out as much as he does. Therefore, we have Joe Kool, and the world is a much better place for it. Why, without him, we wouldn't have many of the great artists we know and love, not to mention certain recreational activities and popular phrases of yesterday and today. What would our lives have been like if Joe had just stayed at home, never leaving home in search and bigger and better pastures? I'll tell you: they would've been horrible, boring, monotonous, and just not any fun at all!
This story was excellent, and I found myself talking about it with family, friends, and even one poor stranger who will probably never take the Metro alone again. There were times that I laughed myself almost to tears, and those were quite plentiful. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to add some comic relief to their lives, and of course, to anyone who wants to know the REAL story behind rock and roll. You think you know, but you have no idea ;)
5 stars
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2444 KP) rated Mrs. Claus and the Trouble with Turkeys in Books
Sep 28, 2023 (Updated Sep 28, 2023)
Will Santaland's First Thanksgiving Be a Turkey?
Santaland is getting ready to celebrate their first Thanksgiving. Castle Kringle has imported a live turkey for their holiday meal, but the weekend before the big day, he vanishes. Then, one of Santa's cousins dies at a potluck to kick off Thanksgiving week. Can April Claus figure out what is going on?
I love this series, and this latest entry didn't disappoint in the least. It did take a bit for the entire book to get going since there are several storylines that need to be introduced. But once it got going, it was like a turbo charged sleigh with so much going on you couldn't put the book down. I did have a couple of pieces figured out early, but there was still plenty I didn't know about that surprised me at the end. The characters are charming as always, and I'm curious where some of the growth will lead in future books. The humor just adds to the charm. This is a cozy mystery first and foremost with some light fantasy in it, and the mix works perfectly. If you are looking for a holiday series, you'll be glad you gave this series a chance. If you are already a fan, you'll be thankful for this latest book.
I love this series, and this latest entry didn't disappoint in the least. It did take a bit for the entire book to get going since there are several storylines that need to be introduced. But once it got going, it was like a turbo charged sleigh with so much going on you couldn't put the book down. I did have a couple of pieces figured out early, but there was still plenty I didn't know about that surprised me at the end. The characters are charming as always, and I'm curious where some of the growth will lead in future books. The humor just adds to the charm. This is a cozy mystery first and foremost with some light fantasy in it, and the mix works perfectly. If you are looking for a holiday series, you'll be glad you gave this series a chance. If you are already a fan, you'll be thankful for this latest book.
Juniper: The Girl Who Was Born Too Soon
Kelley French and Thomas French
Book
The inspiring story of Juniper, a baby born too soon, gorgeously told by her parents, both...
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) in Movies
Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)
Five years after Godzilla saved us from the MUTO attack the world (or some of it at least) wants to see an end to the potential threat of the Titans. Monarch are studying them and hiding them away from the world, but there are calls to destroy the monsters before more devastation befalls the planet?
Dr Emma Russell has developed the Orca, a device that communicates with the Titans and can be used to calm them and stop any further destruction. Not everyone has the same idea about how to use the Orca though and it's taken, along with Dr Russell and her daughter Madison, after its successful test run. The race is on to recover the device and avert the impending crisis.
Godzilla is one of my favourite monsters. For years the 1998 film with Matthew Broderick and Jean Reno in it was one of my favourite films. I also love the "proper" Godzilla movies where they destroy Tokyo at every given opportunity. To have new films felt like a wonderful thing... until I saw 2014 Godzilla. I rewatched it before going to see King Of The Monsters and I remembered how underwhelmed I was. The characters didn't grab me and I found the whole thing uninspiring. The prospect of a second wasn't great, but then I saw the trailers, they were spectacular.
I really enjoyed this and went to see it again in 3D, a much more peaceful screening than the first viewing. The girl who was sitting a couple of seats away was animatedly jumping at every opportunity, her reaction was far scarier than anything that happened on the screen.
This was much improved on the last instalment. I loved that it embraced the original films and the fact that it switched its focus more to the monsters than the humans. You go to a monster movie to see monsters, and Godzilla 2014 felt like it had forgotten that fact.
If I had to describe this film to someone I'd say it was a combination of Infinity War and Jurassic Park, just with slightly larger monsters... yep, I'm fairly happy with that comparison. I may have been imagining it but I felt like there were a few nods to JP jumbled in there... maybe that's just me.
There's a collection of recognisable faces in the cast and I don't think there's a single person who underperforms. I thought that Millie Bobby Brown gave a great performance as Madison, she managed to give us a child character that wasn't particularly annoying, which may actually be a first in creature features.
Charles Dance makes an excellent bad guy, there's something about his look, a cross between a vampire and the restaurant critic from Ratatouille that works for me. He also gets to have a great moment of silent humour with Brown when they're in a lift together, it was very unexpected for their potential on-screen relationship.
We get to see four of our Titans in this movie as main players. Godzilla, obvs, Mothra, Rodan and Monster Zero, or King Ghidorah to his friends. The sheer scale they've gone to is amazing, and I thought the way they were created with their individual traits was beautiful. The one drawback to the beautiful glowing monster bodies is that the scenes have to be fairly dark to appreciate that aspect. They manage to use those aspects of the creatures to give the extra lighting the scenes need meaning that you get something that's both dark and scary as well as light and hopeful. The colours were something that really stood out to me in the advertising, the lightness of the blue and green against the anger of the orange and yellow, it shows the good and evil relationship really well.
The size of the creatures is mad and sometimes a little impossible to gauge, we get a few moments where we're given some perspective with man-made structures but they do a good job of trying to get it across in basic visual techniques too. You see a lot of them from "human" angles, from the ground running, from buildings and vehicles. It feels like an exercise in shock and awe and takes you back to Dr Serizawa's point at the beginning of the film that we're Godzilla's pets, it's not the other way around.
The effects/animation looked solid, at no point did I see anything on-screen that drew my attention away from the action. One moment in particular stood out and that was a large explosion somewhere in the middle of the movie. It was given an old fashioned kind of a look and it gave me the impression that they'd really looked at things that had come before it for inspiration.
You have to obviously accept the facts that in these sorts of films, parents will willingly put their children in immense danger, bad guys will always have prepared a short video presentation to explain their motivations and just because there's destruction happening all around you does not mean you will die. It's got all the classic monster/disaster movie moments that you love to hate in it. "Movie Reality" is awesome.
If you couldn't already tell, I loved this. Much improvement from the last instalment and an entertaining action-packed addition to the monsterverse. Oscar winner? Probably not. Entertaining escapism? Most definitely. I am a little concerned about how the story will progress from here. They had plenty of scope for lots of movies after some of the things they showed in the film, but the events of KotM mean that there's little room to move with it all, we'll have to see what happens in Godzilla Vs Kong next year.
What you should do
This really deserves to be seen on the big screen. The sound and the effects combine to make some great viewing.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
If they could adapt the Orca for human use I'd be interested.
Dr Emma Russell has developed the Orca, a device that communicates with the Titans and can be used to calm them and stop any further destruction. Not everyone has the same idea about how to use the Orca though and it's taken, along with Dr Russell and her daughter Madison, after its successful test run. The race is on to recover the device and avert the impending crisis.
Godzilla is one of my favourite monsters. For years the 1998 film with Matthew Broderick and Jean Reno in it was one of my favourite films. I also love the "proper" Godzilla movies where they destroy Tokyo at every given opportunity. To have new films felt like a wonderful thing... until I saw 2014 Godzilla. I rewatched it before going to see King Of The Monsters and I remembered how underwhelmed I was. The characters didn't grab me and I found the whole thing uninspiring. The prospect of a second wasn't great, but then I saw the trailers, they were spectacular.
I really enjoyed this and went to see it again in 3D, a much more peaceful screening than the first viewing. The girl who was sitting a couple of seats away was animatedly jumping at every opportunity, her reaction was far scarier than anything that happened on the screen.
This was much improved on the last instalment. I loved that it embraced the original films and the fact that it switched its focus more to the monsters than the humans. You go to a monster movie to see monsters, and Godzilla 2014 felt like it had forgotten that fact.
If I had to describe this film to someone I'd say it was a combination of Infinity War and Jurassic Park, just with slightly larger monsters... yep, I'm fairly happy with that comparison. I may have been imagining it but I felt like there were a few nods to JP jumbled in there... maybe that's just me.
There's a collection of recognisable faces in the cast and I don't think there's a single person who underperforms. I thought that Millie Bobby Brown gave a great performance as Madison, she managed to give us a child character that wasn't particularly annoying, which may actually be a first in creature features.
Charles Dance makes an excellent bad guy, there's something about his look, a cross between a vampire and the restaurant critic from Ratatouille that works for me. He also gets to have a great moment of silent humour with Brown when they're in a lift together, it was very unexpected for their potential on-screen relationship.
We get to see four of our Titans in this movie as main players. Godzilla, obvs, Mothra, Rodan and Monster Zero, or King Ghidorah to his friends. The sheer scale they've gone to is amazing, and I thought the way they were created with their individual traits was beautiful. The one drawback to the beautiful glowing monster bodies is that the scenes have to be fairly dark to appreciate that aspect. They manage to use those aspects of the creatures to give the extra lighting the scenes need meaning that you get something that's both dark and scary as well as light and hopeful. The colours were something that really stood out to me in the advertising, the lightness of the blue and green against the anger of the orange and yellow, it shows the good and evil relationship really well.
The size of the creatures is mad and sometimes a little impossible to gauge, we get a few moments where we're given some perspective with man-made structures but they do a good job of trying to get it across in basic visual techniques too. You see a lot of them from "human" angles, from the ground running, from buildings and vehicles. It feels like an exercise in shock and awe and takes you back to Dr Serizawa's point at the beginning of the film that we're Godzilla's pets, it's not the other way around.
The effects/animation looked solid, at no point did I see anything on-screen that drew my attention away from the action. One moment in particular stood out and that was a large explosion somewhere in the middle of the movie. It was given an old fashioned kind of a look and it gave me the impression that they'd really looked at things that had come before it for inspiration.
You have to obviously accept the facts that in these sorts of films, parents will willingly put their children in immense danger, bad guys will always have prepared a short video presentation to explain their motivations and just because there's destruction happening all around you does not mean you will die. It's got all the classic monster/disaster movie moments that you love to hate in it. "Movie Reality" is awesome.
If you couldn't already tell, I loved this. Much improvement from the last instalment and an entertaining action-packed addition to the monsterverse. Oscar winner? Probably not. Entertaining escapism? Most definitely. I am a little concerned about how the story will progress from here. They had plenty of scope for lots of movies after some of the things they showed in the film, but the events of KotM mean that there's little room to move with it all, we'll have to see what happens in Godzilla Vs Kong next year.
What you should do
This really deserves to be seen on the big screen. The sound and the effects combine to make some great viewing.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
If they could adapt the Orca for human use I'd be interested.
It just shouldn’t be this hard!”
Raise your hand if you’ve ever had a day where everything that could go wrong does go wrong—you lock your keys in the car while it’s running, lose control with your kids, make a mistake at the office that results in hours more work. And just when you think not one more thing could possibly happen . . . well, fill in the blank. The struggle is real, friends. It may not be major stuff. Lives are not on the line here. But it makes us feel awful . . . and then we feel guilty for stressing when other people have “real” problems that are so much more serious. Yet the fact remains: We live in a world that often feels harder than we think it should be. And so it can be easy to believe the stories we tell ourselves—that we’re doing it wrong, that we’ll be stuck in this place forever, that God doesn’t love us. We struggle to practice gratitude, to make godly choices, and to live our daily lives with confidence and contentment. So what can we do? Join popular Bible teacher and counselor Nicole Unice to discover why the struggle is real . . . and what to do about it. Nicole offers practical tools to help you navigate the daily ups and downs, and ways to rewrite your struggle into a new, God-centered life story. The Struggle Is Real is an invitation to take the hard, hurtful, and confusing moments and turn them into opportunities to grow in wisdom, strength, and joy.
My Thoughts: We all have days that seem to go wrong; sometimes life just seems to be a struggle. Where do we turn? Nicole Unice teaches us to turn to God and to understand why these days happen to us and how to deal with them. She shows us how to make "Godly" choices that will help us, rather than make us feel joyless.
This is a wonderful book, that I encourage all to read. I know we all have had a period of time in our lives when every day is difficult, a day when we say "Why Me?". This book will help us understand why life seems like a struggle, why we respond the way we do in some situations. This book will prepare you and help you. We need to remember that God is greatest, and He knows best. In other words, trials form us, shape our character, make us stronger and God is in control!
This is an exellent read and highly recommended.
Cli
Raise your hand if you’ve ever had a day where everything that could go wrong does go wrong—you lock your keys in the car while it’s running, lose control with your kids, make a mistake at the office that results in hours more work. And just when you think not one more thing could possibly happen . . . well, fill in the blank. The struggle is real, friends. It may not be major stuff. Lives are not on the line here. But it makes us feel awful . . . and then we feel guilty for stressing when other people have “real” problems that are so much more serious. Yet the fact remains: We live in a world that often feels harder than we think it should be. And so it can be easy to believe the stories we tell ourselves—that we’re doing it wrong, that we’ll be stuck in this place forever, that God doesn’t love us. We struggle to practice gratitude, to make godly choices, and to live our daily lives with confidence and contentment. So what can we do? Join popular Bible teacher and counselor Nicole Unice to discover why the struggle is real . . . and what to do about it. Nicole offers practical tools to help you navigate the daily ups and downs, and ways to rewrite your struggle into a new, God-centered life story. The Struggle Is Real is an invitation to take the hard, hurtful, and confusing moments and turn them into opportunities to grow in wisdom, strength, and joy.
My Thoughts: We all have days that seem to go wrong; sometimes life just seems to be a struggle. Where do we turn? Nicole Unice teaches us to turn to God and to understand why these days happen to us and how to deal with them. She shows us how to make "Godly" choices that will help us, rather than make us feel joyless.
This is a wonderful book, that I encourage all to read. I know we all have had a period of time in our lives when every day is difficult, a day when we say "Why Me?". This book will help us understand why life seems like a struggle, why we respond the way we do in some situations. This book will prepare you and help you. We need to remember that God is greatest, and He knows best. In other words, trials form us, shape our character, make us stronger and God is in control!
This is an exellent read and highly recommended.
Cli
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Mom and Dad (2018) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
A teenage girl and her little brother must survive a wild 24 hours during which a mass hysteria of unknown origins causes parents to turn violently on their own kids.
This. Was. Hilarious. It's a zombie movie without being a zombie movie.
Surprisingly not listed as a comedy though, horror/action/thriller all the way... did these guys watch their own film? Luckily I was the only one in the screen because I was pissing myself laughing.
As much as I love Nicolas Cage, seeing him rage always makes me laugh. I feel like he would make a good Batman villain... for the TV show. The redeeming bit for me though was hearing him say "anal beads" in a moment where he flips out at his daughter's boyfriend.
I had some sympathy for Selma Blair's mum character, I wanted to kill her kid for most of the film too. Mum was a much more subtle murderous switch, whereas dad looked like he'd been having a meltdown for months. Mum seemed to struggle more with the idea of killing her kids, but when she went, boy was she a force to be reckoned with. Being a woman I can quite happily say that the look on her face, and the slow but meaningful grab of the tenderiser really does sum up how we feel for at least a minute portion of the month. Usually though in real life it would be us getting that look, taking a deep breath, and then smiling politely and going about our day... but in our heads... yep.
If you're not going to see this on your own then I'd advise you to go with friends. Not parents. As much as I love mine I was left wondering if the hysteria would make them want to drive across the country to try and kill me. I'm putting together a battle plan just in case. It is very much like my zombie apocalypse plan but less armour against biting.
The real question is whether the hysteria that was affecting the parents was entirely working on genetics or emotional connection... I'd have been interested to see the odd husband standing there with his kids, not affected while his wife goes full axe murderer and seeing him realise that his kids look more like the milkman/best friend than him. Conversely it would have been an awkward moment to admit that your kids were adopted... or would you attempt to kill them to hide the fact from them longer? Hmm... you know I say these things in jest though... it is only a film, don't get on my case about it.
This. Was. Hilarious. It's a zombie movie without being a zombie movie.
Surprisingly not listed as a comedy though, horror/action/thriller all the way... did these guys watch their own film? Luckily I was the only one in the screen because I was pissing myself laughing.
As much as I love Nicolas Cage, seeing him rage always makes me laugh. I feel like he would make a good Batman villain... for the TV show. The redeeming bit for me though was hearing him say "anal beads" in a moment where he flips out at his daughter's boyfriend.
I had some sympathy for Selma Blair's mum character, I wanted to kill her kid for most of the film too. Mum was a much more subtle murderous switch, whereas dad looked like he'd been having a meltdown for months. Mum seemed to struggle more with the idea of killing her kids, but when she went, boy was she a force to be reckoned with. Being a woman I can quite happily say that the look on her face, and the slow but meaningful grab of the tenderiser really does sum up how we feel for at least a minute portion of the month. Usually though in real life it would be us getting that look, taking a deep breath, and then smiling politely and going about our day... but in our heads... yep.
If you're not going to see this on your own then I'd advise you to go with friends. Not parents. As much as I love mine I was left wondering if the hysteria would make them want to drive across the country to try and kill me. I'm putting together a battle plan just in case. It is very much like my zombie apocalypse plan but less armour against biting.
The real question is whether the hysteria that was affecting the parents was entirely working on genetics or emotional connection... I'd have been interested to see the odd husband standing there with his kids, not affected while his wife goes full axe murderer and seeing him realise that his kids look more like the milkman/best friend than him. Conversely it would have been an awkward moment to admit that your kids were adopted... or would you attempt to kill them to hide the fact from them longer? Hmm... you know I say these things in jest though... it is only a film, don't get on my case about it.
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated The Frightened Little Flower Bud in Books
Jul 10, 2018
I don’t usually read Children’s Books. I used to love them when I was a kid, and of course, those were the books on which I learned how to read. Those are the stories that I will always remember with happiness in my heart and they will always have a special place in my heart.
I was lucky enough to win The Frightened Little Flower Bud on a giveaway from Booklikes, and I couldn’t be happier! This is a short, cute story about one flower, and the process of how it blooms.
Before it blooms, it has many fears as to what is going to happen, it fears that the sun will dry it, and the rain will drown it, and that it won’t be as beautiful as the other flowers out there.
It reminds me of the fears that us people have every day before we go out of the door. We fear this and that, without realising to enjoy our lives, and live them like they are our last. A perfect description of how fear and doubt can let us down, but also a perfect example of what happens when you actually get the courage and go out there, and realise that yes - you can be the prettiest flower out there.
I liked how there are questions at the end of the books, to engage the little readers after reading it. However, in all honesty, I believe that the images inside the books won’t keep a kid there for very long, and they might not be the most exiting this in the world.
I was lucky enough to win The Frightened Little Flower Bud on a giveaway from Booklikes, and I couldn’t be happier! This is a short, cute story about one flower, and the process of how it blooms.
Before it blooms, it has many fears as to what is going to happen, it fears that the sun will dry it, and the rain will drown it, and that it won’t be as beautiful as the other flowers out there.
It reminds me of the fears that us people have every day before we go out of the door. We fear this and that, without realising to enjoy our lives, and live them like they are our last. A perfect description of how fear and doubt can let us down, but also a perfect example of what happens when you actually get the courage and go out there, and realise that yes - you can be the prettiest flower out there.
I liked how there are questions at the end of the books, to engage the little readers after reading it. However, in all honesty, I believe that the images inside the books won’t keep a kid there for very long, and they might not be the most exiting this in the world.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Slaughterhouse Rulez (2018) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
I can sum this film up in one easy way: it's Shaun Of The Dead meets Attack The Block meets St Trinians, but nowhere near as good as that film combo should be.
To say I'm a little bit heartbroken about this would be an understatement. This was one of my top picks from the autumn cinema offerings and now I'm just sad that it made the cut.
"Slaughterhouse Rulez looks like St Trinians, mixed with the aliens from Attack The Block meets the hellmouth from Sunnydale... and what's not to love about that?!" - quote from me in pre-release excitement.
Evidently, everything.
The general premise of the story seemed like a good one, and the trio of top acting talent felt like it would carry the film even if the story turned out to be flimsy. Here's my problem, I didn't enjoy any of their characters. I didn't find The Bat or Meredith Houseman likeable, even as comic relief, and while Woody Chapman was probably the best of the three I still found him annoying.
By far the best characters were brought to life by the younger cast members. Don and Willoughby have a great dynamic throughout and along with the interactions as a group when they join up with the girls to investigate they saved this from being a complete flop for me.
I take very rough notes in the screenings while I'm watching. It's generally me vaguely pointing a pen at the page and scribbling key words down. I think that my favourite during this one was "imitation Draco".
What I did notice from my scribblings is that I made more than one note about Shaun Of The Dead. Someone gets tooled up with a cricket bat, there's a very familiar moment with the car, and at one point I'm reminded of Dylan Moran being dragged through the pub window. Oh, and he gets the group together and heads out to the cadet range.
I said at the beginning that it's like Shaun Of The Dead meets Attack The Block meets St Trinians, I'm afraid that my suggestion would be to watch those instead. The sad thing is that I think I probably would have enjoyed it more if the big three hadn't been in it. Anticipation can be a bitch sometimes.
What you should do
I think this one is better viewed at home with some friends, probably with a drinking game.
To say I'm a little bit heartbroken about this would be an understatement. This was one of my top picks from the autumn cinema offerings and now I'm just sad that it made the cut.
"Slaughterhouse Rulez looks like St Trinians, mixed with the aliens from Attack The Block meets the hellmouth from Sunnydale... and what's not to love about that?!" - quote from me in pre-release excitement.
Evidently, everything.
The general premise of the story seemed like a good one, and the trio of top acting talent felt like it would carry the film even if the story turned out to be flimsy. Here's my problem, I didn't enjoy any of their characters. I didn't find The Bat or Meredith Houseman likeable, even as comic relief, and while Woody Chapman was probably the best of the three I still found him annoying.
By far the best characters were brought to life by the younger cast members. Don and Willoughby have a great dynamic throughout and along with the interactions as a group when they join up with the girls to investigate they saved this from being a complete flop for me.
I take very rough notes in the screenings while I'm watching. It's generally me vaguely pointing a pen at the page and scribbling key words down. I think that my favourite during this one was "imitation Draco".
What I did notice from my scribblings is that I made more than one note about Shaun Of The Dead. Someone gets tooled up with a cricket bat, there's a very familiar moment with the car, and at one point I'm reminded of Dylan Moran being dragged through the pub window. Oh, and he gets the group together and heads out to the cadet range.
I said at the beginning that it's like Shaun Of The Dead meets Attack The Block meets St Trinians, I'm afraid that my suggestion would be to watch those instead. The sad thing is that I think I probably would have enjoyed it more if the big three hadn't been in it. Anticipation can be a bitch sometimes.
What you should do
I think this one is better viewed at home with some friends, probably with a drinking game.
Kyera (8 KP) rated For Magnus Chase: Hotel Valhalla, Guide to the Norse Worlds in Books
Feb 1, 2018
This was your typical, hilarious Rick Riordan companion novel. Like Percy Jackson telling us in his witty way about Greek mythology in the two books about Greek Gods and Greek Heroes
Various residents of Hotel Valhalla tell us about Norse mythology. It was filled with interviews, stories and jokes. Part encyclopedia and part comedy sketch. I do wish that it was longer and more in depth. Generally, people know more about Greek mythology than they do about other types, so it would be great to have a more expansive discussion about the gods, goddesses, monsters and origin stories in Norse Mythology. Perhaps this will be rectified in a future expanded novel? That would be my one criticism for this book, otherwise it was a fantastic, quick, funny read. Highly recommended for middle grade and young adult readers who are already fans of Rick Riordan's, love fantasy, mythology, funny books or pretty much anything else. I just recommend that you read the Magnus Chase series before delving into this book to give yourself a little familiarity.