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Black as night (2021)
Black as night (2021)
2021 | Drama, Horror, Thriller
6
5.5 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Good cinematography (1 more)
Endearing characters
Narration is a bit odd (0 more)
Fun, but not amazing
Black as night is an Amazon movie, about vampires causing havoc in the predominantly poor black community in New Orleans.

It follows a young girl, who after suffering a family tragedy for to vampiric influence, decides to get her Buffy on and take vengeance.

It's a fun Blumhouse film, but it's made almost for quite a young audience (like, too young to actually watch it). Some of the characters are good, but the narration from the protagonist throws the feeling of the film off for me, and I don't know why.

All in all, it's not bad, and worth a watch, but it's by no means a good vampire film.
  
French Quarter Fright Night
French Quarter Fright Night
Ellen Byron | 2024 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Frightful Time with the New Neighbor
Ricki James-Diaz is leading the efforts of the Bon Vee staff to put on the best haunted house New Orleans has seen this Halloween. Those efforts are being hampered by their new next-door neighbor, who is constantly making complaints about them. Ricki is shocked when she learns who has bought the house – mega movie star Blaine Taggart, the best friend of her late husband. Ricki had hoped to never see Blaine again, but things get complicated when another dead body turns up on Bon Vee property. Can Ricki once again figure out what happened?

I’m so glad that a new publisher picked up this series. It was wonderful to visit Ricki and her friends again. I enjoyed getting to see some of the relationships grow in this book, even if Ricki’s relationship with the detective isn’t really realistic. I also enjoyed seeing Hollywood pop up here. The mystery itself is strong with some nice surprises before we reach the logical ending. It was fun to visit the city during Halloween. As always, I laughed several times while reading. We also get some recipes inspired by vintage cookbooks at the end of the book, including several appropriate for the season. Fans will be just as happy as I was that Ricki and her friends are back.
  
The Tin Roof Blowdown
The Tin Roof Blowdown
James Lee Burke | 2008 | Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The sheer scale of the work (0 more)
A novel one lives rather than reads
Each of the fifteen Dave Robicheaux novels which preceded this one are masterpieces and this is the Grand Finale. The plot and characters move within the devasted landscape of New Orleans following the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina. The scenes of environmental destruction are described with heartbreakingly beautiful poetic prose which serves as a counterpoint to a seering indictment of the socio-economic political landscape of the time. The extreme conditions under which the plot develops drive the characters to their limits of good and evil. The plot is as relentless as the driving force of the hurricane. Often difficult to read due to the sheer emotional weight of the work but too compelling to put down.
  
Black and Blue (2019)
Black and Blue (2019)
2019 | Action, Crime, Drama
Good cast (0 more)
The plot has been done better before (0 more)
Decent crime thriller
One of the films I missed as it didn't get a long release at the cinema in the UK. Naomie Harris plays a rookie cop in a rundown area of New Orleans. With corrupt cops and gangs working together in the supply of drugs. Soon she is hunted by both through the neighborhood after capturing a murder by the corrupt cops on her bodycam.
Overall it was an enjoyable watch, a little slow at the start and middle section. It had quite a low budget feel to it despite some big cast names. Worth a watch but far from the better films with a similar plotline. @21 Bridges (2019) is one example that had more action.