Search

Search only in certain items:

40x40

Ari Augustine (10 KP) rated The Deep in Books

May 4, 2020  
The Deep
The Deep
Alma Katsu | 2020 | History & Politics, Horror, Thriller
10
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Historical Fiction with a supernatural twist, I was drawn to The Deep like a moth to a flame. It's been awhile since I've read anything compelling enough to read in a single sitting, but Katsu deliveries such a horrific, heartpounding, and mind-spinning twist to a tale we're already so familiar with, that the story grips us from page one.

Annie Hebley is a nurse who survived the sinking of Titanic and has since confined herself to an mental institution. However, at the start of The Deep, she is hired to work on the Britannica to help the wounded WW1 soldiers. What I love about this story is how well it blends actual history in between these moments of atmospheric supernatural events. We meet characters who were once very much alive on a ship that actually existed. There's something eerie about tethering such a story in a historical way that connects to the reader, and this element of the story certainly spoke to me. But what I loved MOST was how unreliable Annie was as a character. Her point of view jumped between 1912 and 1916, blurring the lines of reality even further. Although the pacing wasn't always consistent, I love, love, LOVED Katsu's writing.

Overall, I'd recommend The Deep to anyone with a dash of patience, a dangerous curiosity for the supernatural, and, well, anyone who lives creepy stories rooted in history.
  
Acts Of Vengeance (2017)
Acts Of Vengeance (2017)
2017 | Action, Thriller
6
7.0 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Story: Acts of Vengeance starts as fast-talking defence lawyer Frank (Banderas) misses his daughter’s talent show, that same night his wife Sue (Serafini) and daughter Olivia (Blankenship) are killed, with the police struggling to come up with the answers to who was behind it.

Frank teaches himself how to fight and defend himself as he continues to investigate the murders, being joined by a nurse Alma (Vega), he learns about the corruption coming from the streets, setting out to end the problem once and for all, while under a vow of silence.

 

Thoughts on Acts of Vengeance

 

Characters – Frank was a fast-talking defence lawyer, he made a career out of getting criminals off, this only put his personal life on the back burner though, leaving him to not be around when his wife and daughter are murdered. Taking a vow of silence, Frank decides to train and investigate the crime to seek the vengeance he requires to move on with his life. Strode is the one cop that offers Frank any advice while he searches for the truth. Alma is a nurse that has found herself under the fingers of a ruthless gang that want her to do work, she choses to help Frank when he becomes injured. While the end of the film does give the motivation for the killer, that does offer the question of who is in the right for the most part.

Performances – Antonio Banderas in the leading role is the strongest part of the film, we know he can handle himself in a fight, making this easy for him to deliver on. The supporting cast do struggle to make the impact which would be required, which only disappoints with the talent we have on show.

Story – The film follows a man that loses his wife and child, forcing him to go on a one man mission to learn the truth and taking on crime after making his career from defending criminals. When it comes to stories, this is the simplest kind, which is needed for action, when we get the reveal to who the killer was, it does make perfect sense, it is just the building up to this moment that is a waste, with endless amounts of time spend talking about the number of words a person say in a day.

Action – The action is mostly the training before Frank gets into his fights, each fight is in a different location which the fighting seemingly being easy to shoot style never too difficult to pull off.

Settings – The film is set in one city which sees just how different parts of the city can be the corrupt.


Scene of the Movie – Killer’s motivation.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The talking about using too many words.

Final Thoughts – This is just another basic action movie, it offers little new material for the genre and if we are honest is nothing more than a late night movie.

 

Overall: Late Night action film.

https://moviesreview101.com/2019/04/01/abc-film-challenge-action-a-acts-of-vengeance-2017/
  
40x40

ClareR (5726 KP) rated The Lost Ones in Books

Dec 3, 2019  
The Lost Ones
The Lost Ones
Anita Frank | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Horror, Paranormal
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Lost Ones is a gothic horror set during the First World War. It's 1917and Stella Marcham has already experienced a traumatic war. She has lost her fiancé, and seen more than most women as a nurse on the front line. She is grief stricken and it's highly possible that she has PTSD. Her brother-in-law asks Stella to go and keep her pregnant sister company at his country home, as she is experiencing strange occurrences, and he feels that she needs some support. He doesn't believe Stella's sister when she says that she can hear a child crying: there are no children at Greyswick.

I loved this book! it made me jump, gasp out loud and burst out in nervous laughter. It's worth bearing in mind that I was on a long train journey as I was reading this, so there are probably a number of people between Skegness and Chester who either think I'm a little unhinged, or are dying to know what I was reading (I'm considering wearing some sort of badge on long train journeys, that says 'currently reading (insert book name here)'. I'm sure it'll explain to people my frankly erratic behaviour in cases like this.).

Anyway, this book deserves any hype it gets, and I strongly suggest that if you're a fan of historical fiction with a gothic bent, you go out, buy and read this immediately. And read it in public. I can't always be the one to show herself up like this.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ for my copy of this book.