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PhoebeLV (147 KP) rated 1408 (2007) in Movies
Jul 28, 2020
Great Acting (2 more)
Great Characters
Enjoyable Storyline
One of the best supernatural movies
Contains spoilers, click to show
1408 follows the story of Mike Enslin (John Cusack), a man who writes ‘true-horror’ books for a living; he stays in ‘haunted’ hotels and locations for his inspiration. One day, he receives a postcard of the Dolphin Hotel telling him not to stay in room 1408. Despite the warnings of the hotel manager (Samuel L. Jackson), he proceeds to stay in there anyway.
Before watching this, I considered it being The Shining all over again. However, it was not. Apart from the hotel and the book writing, it was quite different.
Enslin starts by seeing a few ghosts and then strange things start happening.
In the middle, it starts messing with your head and you think ‘was this before the hotel? is this real? is he imagining everything?’. I know I did.
I couldn’t really find any bad things with this and I would 100% recommend this to any horror fan and Stephen King book lover.
Before watching this, I considered it being The Shining all over again. However, it was not. Apart from the hotel and the book writing, it was quite different.
Enslin starts by seeing a few ghosts and then strange things start happening.
In the middle, it starts messing with your head and you think ‘was this before the hotel? is this real? is he imagining everything?’. I know I did.
I couldn’t really find any bad things with this and I would 100% recommend this to any horror fan and Stephen King book lover.
Sonofdel (6238 KP) rated The Elephant to Hollywood in Books
Aug 1, 2020
A great insight (2 more)
wonderful recollections
humorous anecdotes and stories
This is Michael Caine laid bare
I have always been a fan of Michael Caine and I have seen most of his movies from Zulu to Harry Brown and a lot more. Its fascinating to read about his life and the way he spent the first ten or so years of his adult life looking for that big break in acting. Its hard to think that he was actually over 30 when he got that big break. From his upbringing right upto the present day (2010) he gives a frank and revealing insight into the life of an actor, both in front of the camera and away from it. What i also like is there is none of the 'oh look at me and see how much i earn' about this book. In parts it even contains guidance and information if you are trying to make it in the film and TV world. A great read and i did find it hard to put down.
I think I might have first read this in the mid to late 90s. Anyway, there or thereabouts. Definitely before the resurgence of 'classic' fantasy brought about by the Lord of the Rings (and The Hobbit) movies of the early 21st century.
I recently decided to give it a re-read (in 2020). What is now clear(er) to me than to the just-becoming-a-teenager I was on my first read is just how heavily indebted this is to JRR Tolkien, and just how much it reads like someone-decided-to-play-a-game-of-D&D-and-write-down-what-their-characters-did.
That latter probably shouldn't come as a surprise, given that one of the authors of this actually helped design that game.
Here, in the first of the 'core' Dragonlance novels, we have your standard archetypes: Halfling (Kender), Warrior, Knight, Elf, Half-Elf, Wizard, Barbarian all going off on what becomes various quests that (surprise surprise!) involve delving in dungeons and various sundry other enclosed spaces ...
I'll probably re-read the sequels, just because.
I recently decided to give it a re-read (in 2020). What is now clear(er) to me than to the just-becoming-a-teenager I was on my first read is just how heavily indebted this is to JRR Tolkien, and just how much it reads like someone-decided-to-play-a-game-of-D&D-and-write-down-what-their-characters-did.
That latter probably shouldn't come as a surprise, given that one of the authors of this actually helped design that game.
Here, in the first of the 'core' Dragonlance novels, we have your standard archetypes: Halfling (Kender), Warrior, Knight, Elf, Half-Elf, Wizard, Barbarian all going off on what becomes various quests that (surprise surprise!) involve delving in dungeons and various sundry other enclosed spaces ...
I'll probably re-read the sequels, just because.
Kim Pook (101 KP) rated Frozen II (2019) in Movies
Aug 25, 2020
Contains spoilers, click to show
Just like the first movie, it starts with Anna and Elsa as children. Their father tells them a story about when he was a young boy and how he became king after an attack on an enchanted forest where he lived. Fast forward to the present day and Elsa keeps hearing the same singing voice her dad heard when he was saved as a boy, this leads her to awakening the enchanted forest spirits and arandale has to be evacuated. In order to save arandale Elsa, Anna, Olaf, kristoff and Sven must go to the forest and find the voice.
Once again Disney have done it again and created a movie with an excellent storyline, lots of humour, plenty of emotion (tissues most definitely needed), amazing visuals and memorable songs such as 'into the unknown' with Idina Menzels powerful voice.
The ending I wasn't expecting, but when you think of the circumstances and listen to the lyrics of Elsas songs, it finally gave Elsa her happy ending that she so craved throughout both movies.
Once again Disney have done it again and created a movie with an excellent storyline, lots of humour, plenty of emotion (tissues most definitely needed), amazing visuals and memorable songs such as 'into the unknown' with Idina Menzels powerful voice.
The ending I wasn't expecting, but when you think of the circumstances and listen to the lyrics of Elsas songs, it finally gave Elsa her happy ending that she so craved throughout both movies.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) in Movies
Sep 3, 2021
Approximately sixty-seventh Marvel Studios project to date starts off as a pretty good king fu movie, as parking attendant Simu Liu is forced to come clean to his best friend that he is in fact the renegade son of an immortal warlord, before turning into a not quite so good fantasy movie (immortal warlord wants to invade a magic kingdom, which may inadvertently cause the end of the universe).
Good martial arts choreography, but the non-stop CGI of the climax isn't nearly as interesting or fun to watch, and the movie seems to lose its edge and sense of humour as it goes on. Feels very much like an attempt to do something akin to Black Panther, but with Chinese culture; may well do very good business in Asian markets. The usual links and references to other Marvel movies are a mixed bag; some of them feel very contrived and gratuitous. Still, they're integral to the Marvel project and I doubt this movie will disappoint the faithful.
Good martial arts choreography, but the non-stop CGI of the climax isn't nearly as interesting or fun to watch, and the movie seems to lose its edge and sense of humour as it goes on. Feels very much like an attempt to do something akin to Black Panther, but with Chinese culture; may well do very good business in Asian markets. The usual links and references to other Marvel movies are a mixed bag; some of them feel very contrived and gratuitous. Still, they're integral to the Marvel project and I doubt this movie will disappoint the faithful.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Weathering with You (2019) in Movies
Sep 22, 2021
Well, it's official - Makoto Shinkai is now my comfort director. Only he could make something so conventional and arguably problematic so rich and compelling that those previous two things don't really even matter that much at the end of the day. Impossible (unfairly so, I realize) not to compare this to 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦. as this never really reaches those same emotional peaks, story/character complexities, the music's cornier and it doesn't look *as* good imo. But it reminds me of something like Miike's 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 where even his lesser, more commercial works are still better than most other stuff available - I mean this is still one of the best looking and sounding movies on the planet which features a heap of continuous tear-draining emotional moments that are impossible to forget. Unlike many recent Disney outings - for example - which are guilty of comparable sins, this really, truly believes in itself and it's reverberated while viewing with a staggering force. Not ashamed to admit I loved nearly every second of it.
Blazing Minds (92 KP) rated Beast (2017) in Movies
Nov 1, 2021 (Updated Nov 3, 2021)
Beast is the story of a troubled woman (played by Jessie Buckley) living in an isolated community who finds herself pulled between the control of her oppressive family and the allure of a secretive outsider (played by Johnny Flynn) who is suspected of a series of brutal murders. As the relationship grows between them, the movie takes us on an uneasy journey as she breaks away from her family and movies in with Pascal, after he is suspected of the murders, Moll stands by him against her families wishes and the suspicions of the town-folk where she lives.
Directed and written by Michael Pearce, Beast, which is his first full-length feature is a stunning movie, he takes his time to build up the points in the film that have your jaw dropping and treats the production as something that you don’t just watch, you get sucked into and feel as if you have become part of the community watching from afar an still being shocked by the outcomes.
Directed and written by Michael Pearce, Beast, which is his first full-length feature is a stunning movie, he takes his time to build up the points in the film that have your jaw dropping and treats the production as something that you don’t just watch, you get sucked into and feel as if you have become part of the community watching from afar an still being shocked by the outcomes.
Kim Pook (101 KP) rated Brahms: The Boy II (2020) in Movies
Jun 2, 2022
From the start, the movie does have a different feel to the first movie. It's brightly lit and doesn't have that eerie look that the first movie did, but do prepare for the first jump scare literally minutes into the movie.
Anyway after a traumatic event at their home, a family decide to rent a house in a new location. During a walk in the woods, their now mute son Jude finds a doll buried in the woods and decides to keep it. The family clean it up and go to bed, it is soon obvious that something is inhabiting the doll as we see it's eyes and head move, and Jude appears to be communicating with the doll, which if you've seen the first movie literally makes no sense. The mum eventually realises there's something odd about the doll, but is it too late?
Despite the I continuity from the first movie and the so many plot holes, I did enjoy it but I hope there's a 3rd movie to explain the connection between both movies.
Anyway after a traumatic event at their home, a family decide to rent a house in a new location. During a walk in the woods, their now mute son Jude finds a doll buried in the woods and decides to keep it. The family clean it up and go to bed, it is soon obvious that something is inhabiting the doll as we see it's eyes and head move, and Jude appears to be communicating with the doll, which if you've seen the first movie literally makes no sense. The mum eventually realises there's something odd about the doll, but is it too late?
Despite the I continuity from the first movie and the so many plot holes, I did enjoy it but I hope there's a 3rd movie to explain the connection between both movies.
David McK (3180 KP) rated The Incredible Hulk (2008) in Movies
Jan 30, 2021 (Updated Sep 18, 2022)
Don't make me hungry. You wouldn't like me when I'm... hungry.
One of the earliest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies (2nd? 3rd? Google says 2nd), it's easy to forget that this is actually considered part of the MCU, what with the lead actor (Ed Norton) being replaced in the dual role of Bruce Banner/The Hulk in later MCU entries by Mark Ruffalo, the complete disappearance of Liv Tyler's love interest Betty Ross from any subsequent film - at least, so far - and little to no mention made of the Harlem final showdown outside the confines of the more niche TV shows (such as Daredevil) when they were still being shown on Netflix. Indeed, about the only through line onto the larger MCU is General Ross, who does appear in later MCU films...
Anyway, all that said, this is solidly mid-tier stuff: better than the Ang Lee version from circa 2003, sure, but not up there with the likes of The Winter Soldier or Avengers Assemble.
Anyway, all that said, this is solidly mid-tier stuff: better than the Ang Lee version from circa 2003, sure, but not up there with the likes of The Winter Soldier or Avengers Assemble.
