Search

Search only in certain items:

Lake Placid: Legacy (2018)
Lake Placid: Legacy (2018)
2018 | Horror
1
1.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Nobody is saying that the sequels that followed the original Lake Placid are good, but to their credit, all of them are tongue-in-cheek and come across as self aware to a certain degree. Lake Placid: Legacy ditches that, and plays it straight. Everything is super serious, and it's a putrid pile of utter shite.
Every character is insufferable to the point I didn't even want them to get eaten. I wanted to crocodile to physically manifest itself in front of me so i could be eaten instead. The very same crocodile that somehow looks the shittest it's ever been in this entire franchise, which is quite impressive to be fair. Furthermore, the piss awful script has the audacity to compare Legacy to not only Frankenstein, but also to the Ancient Greek fable of Theseus and The Minotaur, in a completely unironic way.

Categorically, one of the worst films I've ever sat through. I think I actually hate movies now. Thanks.
  
40x40

Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Fire in Frost (Crystal Frost, #1) in Books

Mar 20, 2020 (Updated Mar 20, 2020)  
Fire in Frost (Crystal Frost, #1)
Fire in Frost (Crystal Frost, #1)
Alicia Rades | 2015 | Paranormal, Young Adult (YA)
8
9.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
"There's a fire growing inside of me. It's not the harmful kind that can kill a girl like Olivia. It's the kind that can save her."

CRYSTAL FROST tells herself she isn't crazy, but sane people don't see ghosts. As her psychic abilities manifest, Crystal discovers she can see into the future, witness the past, and speak with the dead. Add blackmail to the list of things she never thought would happen to her, and you basically have her sophomore year covered. After spotting her first ghost, secrets from her family, friends, and classmates begin to surface. Uncovering secrets can be dangerous, but giving up means someone will get hurt. Again.

What was refreshing with this YA was there was no teenage sexual tension drama!! It was a really well written story about a young girl discovering her special gift. It also raised awareness for domestic violence and that it's not acceptable at any age, Alicia Rades did this without coming across as preachy like some authors can. I was impressed with her style and looking forward to reading more by her.
  
40x40

Anne (0 KP) rated The Good Doctor in TV

Jun 24, 2020  
The Good Doctor
The Good Doctor
2017 | Drama
Freddie's portrayal of autism is convincing and the miscommunication, meltdowns, and sensory overload are true to life. (3 more)
Pretty good representation among the staff and patients of the hospital. The show brings up many important topics through the medical cases and family situations of characters.
Seems to further awareness, acceptance of and interest in autism and autistic individuals.
Writers of show didn't shy away from some uncomfortable topics and behaviors around autism, even showcasing that Shawn's autism isn't always a gift and isn't always well-recieved.
Yet another young genius white boy as the face of autism, media completely underrepresents the female, learning disabled, older, or POC autistics out there. (3 more)
Shawn's friends and colleagues interfere in his life far more than they need to or should. They do not treat him like an adult or give him autonomy he deserves.
Shawn's autism symptoms seldom manifest at inconvenient times, and the few major outbursts that do occur are laughed off and rarely result in consequences.
They did not cast an autistic actor, who could have leant more authenticity to the role and been a real role model for autistic kids.
Good medical drama- lacking some realism
  
The Jacket (2005)
The Jacket (2005)
2005 | Drama, Horror, Mystery
"𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯... 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴? 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥?"
Categorical drivel, nonsense almost solely for the sake of nonsense. Emo time-traveling 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺 + 𝘛𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘺𝘴 that feels like a Marcy Playground music video which basically acts as a one hour forty-three minute essay on why dying kind of blows. Sort of awesome, though if there's any supposed underseen masterpiece here as I was led to believe, I haven't found it. Don't get me wrong, there are brilliant concepts here - the whole idea of the titular womblike jacket system is tantalizing, and in numerous instances this portrays a very clever way in which the people in your past manifest into your future and can either help you or haunt you depending on the choices you've once made towards them. But none of it is developed enough, this feels like one of those movies that was really promising until it got whittled away to scraps by the studios - but that wasn't the case? Idk I still liked it - I'm glad this wasn't condescending and purposefully cold like it probably would have been were it made today - but I just wanted it to be longer, man.
  
40x40

Graham Lewis recommended ETT by Klara Lewis in Music (curated)

 
ETT by Klara Lewis
ETT by Klara Lewis
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"She's going to represent all the new. This is what we like, new electronic music. Rock music is boring, absolutely boring. How many times have we been bored with it, that's the question. It's really odd, that feeling that you step out of the room. What's interesting about it? Rock music doesn't captivate me. It's faintly ridiculous isn't it? Men with guitars. When we started Wire we thought about how the group would be on stage and how we'd behave. We thought: 'This is a good area to exploit, we can take the piss.' There's got to be a sense of pushing it to almost folly or failure, try again. Now you get things like Inga Copeland, people who are really fucking wilful about what they're doing. It's like: 'Fuck you'. Klara's not like that, but she's very much, 'This is what I am doing, that's it'. She has this manifest confidence, that always helps when you're listening to something. I think because she's processing field recordings and found sound it's got what seems to me to be a very organic feel, in the way she composes things. She deeply understands the importance that things sound right tonally. I've seen her playing in a few different spaces, and her music has translated for all of them."

Source
  
40x40

Awix (3310 KP) rated Pixie (2020) in Movies

Oct 25, 2020  
Pixie (2020)
Pixie (2020)
2020 | Comedy, Thriller
6
7.3 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Knockabout comedy-thriller set in Northern Ireland. 'What do men see in irritating free spirits?' wondered Julia Roberts in a Tom Hanks movie a few years ago, and the question is still a live one: Olivia Cooke plays Pixie, who is not quite Holly Golightly recast as a feminist criminal mastermind, but getting there. Nearly everyone is entranced by her, including apparently the director, cameraman, and cinematographer, despite the fact she seems to be almost completely amoral: ripping off drug dealers, swindling her friends, and cold-blooded murder all seem to be part of her repertoire. Nevertheless she and her latest enamoured stooges zip about Ireland to a jangly western-style soundtrack while Alec Baldwin phones in a cameo as a gun-toting gangster-priest.

Surely people have got to get over this obsession with making Tarantino pastiches sooner or later? This one has the odd funny moment, but a lot of the jokes don't land and the plot constantly seems to be on the verge of unravelling. Olivia Cooke carries the film with predictable grace, but I felt almost commanded to like her without good enough reason: the film also suggests there's a thin line between idealising a character and objectifying them, as a rather lubricious tone occasionally threatens to manifest. Passably watchable in the end, but has no connection to reality: feels like a script somebody wrote in 1995 and then spent twenty-odd years finding the funding for. Cooke in particular deserves better.
  
Invincible, Vol 1: Family Matters
Invincible, Vol 1: Family Matters
Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker (Art) | 2006 | Comics & Graphic Novels, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.3 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
This was a reread for me, but it had been awhile since I'd read this and the mood struck me. I enjoyed this just as much this time as I had the first time around. I've tried Kirkman's other works, The Walking Dead, Outcast, and Haunt and they all fell flat for me, and to be honest, I'd forgotten that Kirkman had written this too, so I guess it's just his horror titles that I don't like. I thoroughly enjoy the family dynamic in Invincible, with Markus Grayson and his mom, Deborah, fully embracing knowing his dad, Nolan, is the superhero Omni-Man. When Markus' powers manifest, he decides to join his dad in crime fighting as Invincible. I think I like Deborah most of all, as her matter of fact acceptance of the danger her husband and son face on a daily basis hides the concern she actual feels for her family.

This is a quick introduction to the core and supporting cast, and the actual superhero aspect of the story is really just the backdrop to Markus' family and him discovering his powers and how he is learning to balance them with high school. I really liked the minimal line art and color palette used; it's marks a stark contrast from other superhero books and their hyper detail and layered color effects, which I think is the point. This book is a superhero book, but it's different from the rest. I'll definitely be continuing with this series.
  
Manifest
Manifest
2018 | Crime, Mystery
Intriguingly Good
Manifest is a supernatural/drama tv series created by Jeff Rake and executive producer Robert Zemeckis. It is produced by Compari Entertainment, Jeff Rake Productions, Universal Television and Warner Bros. Television and distributed by NBC Universal Television Distributions and Warner Bros. Television Distributions. It stars Melissa Roxburgh, Josh Dallas, Athena Karkanis, J.R. Ramirez and Luna Blaise.


The passengers and crew aboard Montego Air Flight 828 from Jamaica to New York City are shocked to learn that when they experienced a brief period of severe turbulence over five and a half years have passed. The National Security Agency informs them that during the time they were presumed dead. As the passengers realize their lives and loved ones are not the same as they were before, they also begin experiencing strange visions and hearing voices guiding them about events yet to occur.


This show was very intriguing and got me hooked from the first episode. The cast is great and they are all very good actors even the children. It's a decent mix of supernatural mystery with drama, and it kept that way through the first season. It has a very compelling premise and kept me along for the ride but I didn't really like the whole drama part of it too much. Seemed to much like a soap opera to me. Also sometimes it feels like it doesn't do enough to push itself further plot wise and stagnated in certain episodes or through characters actions. Still pretty interesting and worth a watch if it peeked your interest. I give it a 6/10.
  
Hidden Realm (Legends of Lightning #1)
Hidden Realm (Legends of Lightning #1)
T.R. Slauf | 2021 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
HIDDEN REALM is the first book in the Legends of Lightning series, and I was really looking forward to it.

What I got was a fantasy with elements of Brothers Grimm and all their original fairy tales. Now, it DOES say it is dark, so please pay attention to that if you have any triggers.

Esther is content (as far as she seems possible to be) with her life, but it takes a strange turn when she starts to manifest injuries from her dreams. She does a minimum amount of digging and decides to pack up her life and travel to a different realm.

There is a LOT of violence and rape is inferred on what felt like every page. Due to this, the impact of it lessened with each repeat. The emotional connection with the main characters was also lacking for me. I felt more for one of the supporting characters when his family died than I did for Esther or Oisin.

Just a quick heads up - prepare yourself for whiplash as Esther's emotions change course on a dime.

There is a lot of potential to this story with plenty of intrigue and twists to keep your attention. It does need tightening up in places, but on the whole, it was a good read. I am engaged enough to want to know what happens to Esther and Oisin now.

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
Upgrade (2018)
Upgrade (2018)
2018 | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Robocop meets All of Me?
I found this film in a bargain bin at my local video shop for only $1 to purchase and after reading many good reviews I thought I couldn't go wrong and I was right.

Maybe a sci-fi/horror version of "The Six Million Dollar Man" is more appropriate.

In the future, a man and his wife have a car accident. Afterwards the woman is murdered and the man is shot leaving him paralyzed. Rather than living life with a severe handicap, the man decides to undergo an experimental medical procedure which would give him augmented abilities through the implantation of a mysterious computer chip which would control his ability to walk and use his arms.

Once he is back to "normal" he feels compelled to investigate the circumstances of his wife's death and hunt down those responsible. His ability start to manifest themselves once he is interacting with his new friend STEM.

His quest for vengeance and justice leads him through some interesting twists and turns before its unexpected conclusion.

This films pulls no punches (literally) and some of the fight scenes are not only well choreographed, but downright vicious and gory. The inaction between the main character and his mind are cool and unexpected. Even though you feel like you have seen this before in other movies, this one takes a fresh spin and keeps you guessing the majority of the time.

 It appears writer/director Leigh Whannell (who also wrote the original Saw) is headed for great things probably because of this film as IMDb lists remakes of The Invisible Man and Escape From New York as his next projects.

  
40x40

Eleanor (1463 KP) Aug 16, 2019

Keep seeing this on my Sky watch now list might give it a go. Thanks