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Tim McGuire (301 KP) rated Brahms: The Boy II (2020) in Movies
Mar 14, 2020
401. Brahms: The Boy II. What little kid doesn't want a creepy doll? Mom, Liza, and son, Jude are hanging out at home one night and they get attacked and robbed in their home in a very PG undramatic scene. Jude suffers from PTSD and doesn't say a word afterwards, and Liza gets the nightmares, so hubby Sean and Liza decide the best thing to do is get away from it all and vacation at a completely secluded guesthouse of a completely empty creepy mansion! Fun! Oh, and there's a creepy groundskeeper walking around with a shotgun and a big ol mean dog! Nice! Out of the many activities that they can do on this vacation like, looking at the woods, admiring the woods, or exploring the woods, they decide to take a walk in the woods. And this is when Jude discovers a hand sticking up out of the dirt, and he uncovers...a dirty old extremely creepy looking doll, and he obvi falls in love, and names it Brahms, well, that is the name Brahms told him to call him. Mom and Dad are like, eww gross, but it makes him happy, let's take it home clean it up! Within a short time, Jude starts turning around, while Liza thinks the doll is alive causing mischief, cause it can't be Jude doing these things. What to do, what to do... Internet investigation montage scene to recap Part I, give a little more backstory of course. It's not a great movie, honestly it felt they were going to go one way with it, felt rushed then went with a different route, it wasn't a terrible way to go, just felt they changed gears all of sudden. I liked it, i do like bad horror movies, add a creepy doll, makes it better. I personally now want a Chucky Vs. Chucky movie! Filmbufftim on FB
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KyleQ (267 KP) rated Halloween II (2009) in Movies
Jul 20, 2020
Honestly, I thought this was best entry in the series since Carpenter's Original.
Halloween II opens up with a hospital sequence referencing the original Halloween II, and honestly, this hospital scene was not only the most intense and frightening sequence from a Halloween movie, but it was also one of the most frightening and intense sequences I've seen period.
After that Halloween II delves into wholly original territory.
Scout Taylor Compton's Laurie Strode is suffering from PTSD, she lives with her bestie Annie Brackett (Danielle Harris) and Annie's dad, Lee Brackett (Brad Douriff). The sight of Annie causes Laurie to remember that which pains her, straining their relationship. Laurie feels like she is losing her sanity, she's even dreamt of her mother (Sheri Moon Zombie) with a white horse, calling for her.
Meanwhile, Dr. Sam Loomis (Malcolm Mcdowell), truly believing Michael (Tyler Mane) to be dead, is getting rich off of his book which tells the story of the first film. Loomis is now wholly enveloped with this world.
But Michael is returning to Haddonfield once more.
I can see why longtime fans would have trouble getting into this. Michael's look has been changed for the first time, in parts he doesn't wear his mask, he dresses like a hobo, he has long hair and a great big bushy beard.
The movie also obviously takes characters into strange and different directions than previous installments.
But I don't think that's reason enough to hate it and bash it.
Halloween II is one the most brutal, intense, and disturbing horror movies I've seen in a while, and frankly, that's what I want in a horror movie. Horror should try to frighten and disturb its viewers.
It's a very original entry, but well worth it if you have an open mind.
I minus one star because I don't understand the white horse, it feels pointless, otherwise, I thought it was great!
After that Halloween II delves into wholly original territory.
Scout Taylor Compton's Laurie Strode is suffering from PTSD, she lives with her bestie Annie Brackett (Danielle Harris) and Annie's dad, Lee Brackett (Brad Douriff). The sight of Annie causes Laurie to remember that which pains her, straining their relationship. Laurie feels like she is losing her sanity, she's even dreamt of her mother (Sheri Moon Zombie) with a white horse, calling for her.
Meanwhile, Dr. Sam Loomis (Malcolm Mcdowell), truly believing Michael (Tyler Mane) to be dead, is getting rich off of his book which tells the story of the first film. Loomis is now wholly enveloped with this world.
But Michael is returning to Haddonfield once more.
I can see why longtime fans would have trouble getting into this. Michael's look has been changed for the first time, in parts he doesn't wear his mask, he dresses like a hobo, he has long hair and a great big bushy beard.
The movie also obviously takes characters into strange and different directions than previous installments.
But I don't think that's reason enough to hate it and bash it.
Halloween II is one the most brutal, intense, and disturbing horror movies I've seen in a while, and frankly, that's what I want in a horror movie. Horror should try to frighten and disturb its viewers.
It's a very original entry, but well worth it if you have an open mind.
I minus one star because I don't understand the white horse, it feels pointless, otherwise, I thought it was great!
BookInspector (124 KP) rated Trust Me in Books
Jul 1, 2021
The protagonist in this book is Ellen, but this book is told from multiple perspectives. Even though she is a civilian, she has seen a lot in her life, which made her brave, compassionate and very determined to solve this case. I really liked all the characters chosen for this novel, some of them were very mysterious and scary, others sweet but misleading. They all created a very thrilling, fast-paced atmosphere, that I enjoyed.
The narrative of this book was a true spiders web. There were so many questions from the first chapter, and the suspense was unbearable. ๐ I really liked Ellenโs and other characterโs journeys, investigation and all the twists and turns that this book had to offer. The mystery was very well kept throughout the pages, and the authorโs mind manipulations were brilliant. I was soooo confused about what agenda all the characters had, and could not wait to find out all of it. The topics discussed in this book were infertility, PTSD, shady police work, kidnapping, the social media footprint we leave, and many more. This book has a lot of violence and murder, so might not be suitable for sensitive readers.
I absolutely loved the writing style of this book. The author really knows how to keep amazing suspense and deliver great characters. The atmosphere is constantly changing, and because of that all this book is kind of โon the goโ. The chapters are pretty short and the multiple perspectives kept me glued and did not allow me to put this book down. I really liked the culmination and the ending of this novel as well, it rounded up this story perfectly.
So, to conclude, I thoroughly enjoyed this fast-paced thriller, filled with mysterious and absorbing characters as well as the plot that is filled with mystery, questions and the wish to find out what is actually going on there.
The narrative of this book was a true spiders web. There were so many questions from the first chapter, and the suspense was unbearable. ๐ I really liked Ellenโs and other characterโs journeys, investigation and all the twists and turns that this book had to offer. The mystery was very well kept throughout the pages, and the authorโs mind manipulations were brilliant. I was soooo confused about what agenda all the characters had, and could not wait to find out all of it. The topics discussed in this book were infertility, PTSD, shady police work, kidnapping, the social media footprint we leave, and many more. This book has a lot of violence and murder, so might not be suitable for sensitive readers.
I absolutely loved the writing style of this book. The author really knows how to keep amazing suspense and deliver great characters. The atmosphere is constantly changing, and because of that all this book is kind of โon the goโ. The chapters are pretty short and the multiple perspectives kept me glued and did not allow me to put this book down. I really liked the culmination and the ending of this novel as well, it rounded up this story perfectly.
So, to conclude, I thoroughly enjoyed this fast-paced thriller, filled with mysterious and absorbing characters as well as the plot that is filled with mystery, questions and the wish to find out what is actually going on there.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Disorder (Maryland) (2015) in Movies
Dec 7, 2020
"๐'๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ข๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข ๐จ๐ถ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ
๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ?
๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด, ๐ด๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ถ๐ญ๐ต๐ด, ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ
๐'๐ท๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต, ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ
๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐บ"
- "Disorder", Joy Division 1979
Sort of like if ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต existed in the same universe as ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ. Not too much you haven't seen before but a total technical marvel - very few times before has a camera been *this* intrinsically linked to a character's psyche: constantly shifting focus, shifting in and out of reality, overanalyzing every little minutia to the point of near blinding anxiety - if it isn't a threat yet it'll be hyperfocused on until it becomes one, real or not. The sort of moviemaking that makes you second guess everything you just saw right through to its bone-chilling ending. That being said it does strain in the home stretch but not only is this sort of stylish, synthy slow burn thriller inherently fun to me - but it says something interesting when the only time this settles down is during the kind of dangerous situation this character is scrambling to find, only in moments of repose do things become truly jangled - where "the calm before the storm" *is* the storm, and vice-versa. Schoenaerts is incredible in it, the type of towering, volatile performance that makes you break a sweat. Every time this guy moves suddenly it about makes my heart stop and when he finally cracks a genuine smile an hour+ in it's a momentous occasion. At first you may think (not so unjustifiably given Hollywood's history with PTSD) that the title is a reductive swipe at his affliction, but as the movie progresses you realize it signifies his commanding search for some semblance of order in his life. Far from flawless but for the most part precisely what I was hoping for out of it.
๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ?
๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด, ๐ด๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ถ๐ญ๐ต๐ด, ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ
๐'๐ท๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต, ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ
๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐บ"
- "Disorder", Joy Division 1979
Sort of like if ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต existed in the same universe as ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ. Not too much you haven't seen before but a total technical marvel - very few times before has a camera been *this* intrinsically linked to a character's psyche: constantly shifting focus, shifting in and out of reality, overanalyzing every little minutia to the point of near blinding anxiety - if it isn't a threat yet it'll be hyperfocused on until it becomes one, real or not. The sort of moviemaking that makes you second guess everything you just saw right through to its bone-chilling ending. That being said it does strain in the home stretch but not only is this sort of stylish, synthy slow burn thriller inherently fun to me - but it says something interesting when the only time this settles down is during the kind of dangerous situation this character is scrambling to find, only in moments of repose do things become truly jangled - where "the calm before the storm" *is* the storm, and vice-versa. Schoenaerts is incredible in it, the type of towering, volatile performance that makes you break a sweat. Every time this guy moves suddenly it about makes my heart stop and when he finally cracks a genuine smile an hour+ in it's a momentous occasion. At first you may think (not so unjustifiably given Hollywood's history with PTSD) that the title is a reductive swipe at his affliction, but as the movie progresses you realize it signifies his commanding search for some semblance of order in his life. Far from flawless but for the most part precisely what I was hoping for out of it.
No Limits (No Shame #2)
10.0
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Josh is convinced heโll never find someone whoโll love him the way he is. Heโs not exactly a...
M_M Contemporary Romance
The Ostin Rebel (Isle of Ostin #4)
8.0
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Everest Ostin thought being a royal vampire was amazing when he was younger. As he aged, he...
MM Paranormal Romance
Merissa (12684 KP) rated One Step Sideways (Enhanced World Security #1) in Books
Mar 18, 2025
ONE STEP SIDEWAYS is the first book in the Enhanced World Security series, which itself is a spinoff of the Enhanced World H.E.R.O. series. I haven't read any of those, but I now want to! I don't feel as though my enjoyment was negatively impacted by not having read them, as enough details were given here that I understood what was going on.
Kane has had a terrible life. No two ways about it. My heart broke for him on so many occasions and when he first met Danny, I went full-on Mama Bear. Danny was a soldier who also had something terrible happen to him and his friends, which has left him with severe PTSD. He has a gorgeous service dog but immediately thought the worst of Kane in every possible situation when he thought Kane had hurt a dog in his past. He really was a judgemental pr!ck.
But then the story picked up, I became invested, and Danny and Kane worked things out and became the most important thing to each other, and I was okay with that.
This does have an overreaching arc so don't expect everything to be tied up in this edition, but it made for a fantastic read. Well-paced, with plenty of action, twists and turns, plus hooks dangling which left me wanting the next book immediately, it was already a 5-star read for me. But then Danny went above and beyond and had my eyes leaking for the last part of the book. That 5-star was never in doubt!!! An amazing story and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by me.
** 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; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Mar 18, 2025
Kane has had a terrible life. No two ways about it. My heart broke for him on so many occasions and when he first met Danny, I went full-on Mama Bear. Danny was a soldier who also had something terrible happen to him and his friends, which has left him with severe PTSD. He has a gorgeous service dog but immediately thought the worst of Kane in every possible situation when he thought Kane had hurt a dog in his past. He really was a judgemental pr!ck.
But then the story picked up, I became invested, and Danny and Kane worked things out and became the most important thing to each other, and I was okay with that.
This does have an overreaching arc so don't expect everything to be tied up in this edition, but it made for a fantastic read. Well-paced, with plenty of action, twists and turns, plus hooks dangling which left me wanting the next book immediately, it was already a 5-star read for me. But then Danny went above and beyond and had my eyes leaking for the last part of the book. That 5-star was never in doubt!!! An amazing story and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by me.
** 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; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Mar 18, 2025
Jenny Houle (24 KP) rated The Weight of This World in Books
Jan 13, 2018
I received an ARC from FirstToRead for an unbiased review of THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD.
It's particularly hard to explain the details of this book without spoilers, beyond the blurb already posted about it: "A combat veteran returned from war, Thad Broom canโt leave the hardened world of Afghanistan behind, nor can he forgive himself for what he saw there. His mother, April, is haunted by her own demons, a secret trauma she has carried for years. Between them is Aiden McCall, loyal to both but unable to hold them together. Connected by bonds of circumstance and duty, friendship and love, these three lives are blown apart when Aiden and Thad witness the accidental death of their drug dealer and a riot of dope and cash drops in their laps. On a meth-fueled journey to nowhere, they will either find the grit to overcome the darkness or be consumed by it."
I don't entirely think I knew what I was getting myself into reading the book, which was well written but a little too graphic for me. I think in referring others to it, I will consider those who handle certain scenarios well, versus those who do not (for example, I'm not exactly rushing out to recommend this to any of my friends who've returned home from war and are dealing with PTSD).
The development of the three main characters and the intensity of their bonds and loyalty, despite all the ways they continued to fail one another, were a true depiction of human spirit. How we can love someone so much that we never mean to fail them, yet we can never do fully right by them.
I loved the epilogue but not the ending...if that makes sense (I'm afraid to say much for fear of spoilers). Part of me wanted so desperately for Aiden, Thad and April to all find their way away from Little Canada, alone or together, having beaten all their demons. Part of me, though, is realistic enough to know that is not how life works.
I will absolutely be hunting for other books by David Joy having read this one. So glad I took the time and stuck out the scenes that were hard to stomach.
It's particularly hard to explain the details of this book without spoilers, beyond the blurb already posted about it: "A combat veteran returned from war, Thad Broom canโt leave the hardened world of Afghanistan behind, nor can he forgive himself for what he saw there. His mother, April, is haunted by her own demons, a secret trauma she has carried for years. Between them is Aiden McCall, loyal to both but unable to hold them together. Connected by bonds of circumstance and duty, friendship and love, these three lives are blown apart when Aiden and Thad witness the accidental death of their drug dealer and a riot of dope and cash drops in their laps. On a meth-fueled journey to nowhere, they will either find the grit to overcome the darkness or be consumed by it."
I don't entirely think I knew what I was getting myself into reading the book, which was well written but a little too graphic for me. I think in referring others to it, I will consider those who handle certain scenarios well, versus those who do not (for example, I'm not exactly rushing out to recommend this to any of my friends who've returned home from war and are dealing with PTSD).
The development of the three main characters and the intensity of their bonds and loyalty, despite all the ways they continued to fail one another, were a true depiction of human spirit. How we can love someone so much that we never mean to fail them, yet we can never do fully right by them.
I loved the epilogue but not the ending...if that makes sense (I'm afraid to say much for fear of spoilers). Part of me wanted so desperately for Aiden, Thad and April to all find their way away from Little Canada, alone or together, having beaten all their demons. Part of me, though, is realistic enough to know that is not how life works.
I will absolutely be hunting for other books by David Joy having read this one. So glad I took the time and stuck out the scenes that were hard to stomach.
Bubblesreview (110 KP) rated All That Remains: A Life in Death in Books
Apr 7, 2019
Pros:
โช Descriptive
โช Very fascinating
โช Surprisingly life-affirming
Cons:
โช Could be a possible military/trauma PTSD trigger
What an incredible book. When I first picked this up I was sceptical about reading it right now, I thought this was going to be a dark, depressing read about death. It certainly is about death but surprisingly not in a dark or depressing way.
I've been suffering with a bereavement since November after my best friend was killed in a road accident, hit by a drunk driver. I have been struggling quite a bit with this and there doesn't seem to be any support for people struggling with bereavement, there is one local charity that provides free counselling but I'm currently on a 16+ week waiting list before they can even assess me to see if they can help me.
So you can see why I was hesitant to read this, however, after reading some reviews on it i took the risk and dived in. I'm glad I did.
I found this actually very refreshing and life-affirming, it's made me see life and death in a different way and I feel like it's helped me cope a little better whilst I wait for counselling.
The chapter about the authors personal experience with bereavements was nice to be reminded that everyone deals with grief in their own ways, even if it may seem odd to others.
I really enjoyed reading the scientific parts of this book aswell, as detailed as some of it was it was actually really interesting. It was also nice to learn about all the different options available now days for what happens to our bodies. Donating your body to a medical school is one option I wasn't even aware of.
The epilogue was a tear jerker, I admit I struggled to read through those last pages. It was very personal to Blacks family and very detailed about her wishes when her time comes.
I highly respect Black for making such a personal memoir published.
This was an emotional, uplifting, scientific memoir that I highly recommend.
โช Descriptive
โช Very fascinating
โช Surprisingly life-affirming
Cons:
โช Could be a possible military/trauma PTSD trigger
What an incredible book. When I first picked this up I was sceptical about reading it right now, I thought this was going to be a dark, depressing read about death. It certainly is about death but surprisingly not in a dark or depressing way.
I've been suffering with a bereavement since November after my best friend was killed in a road accident, hit by a drunk driver. I have been struggling quite a bit with this and there doesn't seem to be any support for people struggling with bereavement, there is one local charity that provides free counselling but I'm currently on a 16+ week waiting list before they can even assess me to see if they can help me.
So you can see why I was hesitant to read this, however, after reading some reviews on it i took the risk and dived in. I'm glad I did.
I found this actually very refreshing and life-affirming, it's made me see life and death in a different way and I feel like it's helped me cope a little better whilst I wait for counselling.
The chapter about the authors personal experience with bereavements was nice to be reminded that everyone deals with grief in their own ways, even if it may seem odd to others.
I really enjoyed reading the scientific parts of this book aswell, as detailed as some of it was it was actually really interesting. It was also nice to learn about all the different options available now days for what happens to our bodies. Donating your body to a medical school is one option I wasn't even aware of.
The epilogue was a tear jerker, I admit I struggled to read through those last pages. It was very personal to Blacks family and very detailed about her wishes when her time comes.
I highly respect Black for making such a personal memoir published.
This was an emotional, uplifting, scientific memoir that I highly recommend.