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Darren (1599 KP) rated 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) in Movies

Jun 20, 2019 (Updated Jun 20, 2019)  
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
2016 | Sci-Fi, Thriller
Contains spoilers, click to show
Story: 10 Cloverfield Lane starts as we see Michelle (Winstead) walking away from her married life with Ben only to find herself in a car accident. Upon waking up she finds her chained up in a bed as she desperately looks for a way out. Michelle’s capturer is Howard (Goodman) who claims to have saved her from an attack on America. Michelle isn’t the only other person in the bunker with Emmett (Gallagher Jr) also there.

Howard has been preparing this bunker for years and has everything needed to survive in luxury with electricity and plumbing. The three have to learn to live with each other as the paranoia about what has really happened keeps rising.

10 Cloverfield Lane is a very clever thriller that creates the paranoia of what could be going happening through nearly the whole film. We are sat wondering what is happening outside the bunker and what will happen inside the bunker. The downside from where I am sat was knowing it was a sequel, if this was just about the bunker and the final twist was that it was in the Cloverfield universe we would have found ourselves fully on Michelle’s side but as we know it is all real we kind of side with the paranoia filled Howard. This is good and tense throughout but the title alone takes away something truly special about the film.

 

Actor Review

 

John Goodman: Howard is the man who has built the bunker, he has let both Michelle and Emmett stay in his bunker as he believes America would come under attack from something. He is ex-navy and very paranoid, we are left wondering whether h is crazy or not though. John is great in this role where we see him using the talent he has.howard

Mary Elizabeth Winstead: Michelle is a young woman who is wondering about her life before finding herself being in a car crash. She wakes up in the bunker where she has to learn to live with Howard and Emmett. She is never comfortable there always trying to find a way out. Mary is great in this strong female role.michelle

John Gallagher Jr: Emmett was hired to help build the bunker and found himself inside when the attacks happened. He tries to be nice to Michele which only pushes Howard into his paranoia. John is good in this role if only the supporting of the three.

Support Cast: 10 Cloverfield Lane doesn’t have many other characters with most just being in one scene.

Director Review: Dan Trachtenberg – Dan gives us a thriller that really does keep up guessing what is real.

 

Horror: 10 Cloverfield Lane gives us the idea where we just don’t know what is going on showing the paranoia driving the horror.

Mystery: 10 Cloverfield Lane keeps us guessing from start to finish.

Sci-Fi: 10 Cloverfield Lane enters into a world which could have a post-apocalyptic world but never really understand.

Thriller: 10 Cloverfield Lane keeps us on edge for the whole film where we are left to wonder where the film will go.

Settings: 10 Cloverfield Lane has nearly the whole film inside the bunker where we see the tension rise.
Special Effects: 10 Cloverfield Lane has good effects when needed without being in the film being all about special effects.

Suggestion: 10 Cloverfield Lane is one for fans of the original to enjoy but just remember this is only in the same universe rather than a sequel. (Watch)

 

Best Part: Performances.

Worst Part: Title is misleading.

 

Believability: No

Chances of Tears: No

Chances of Sequel: We could have.

Post Credits Scene: No

 

Oscar Chances: No

Budget: $15 Million

Runtime: 1 Hour 43 Minutes

Tagline: Something is coming

Trivia: Howard states that he worked on satellites for the military. Michelle sees an envelope in the bunker from a company called Bold Futura. Bold Futura is the company responsible for the satellite that is seen crashing into the ocean in the ending of Cloverfield (2008) which is what is believed to be responsible for disturbing the creature.

 

Overall: Great concept we don’t see in sequels with this only being in the same universe only.

https://moviesreview101.com/2016/03/31/10-cloverfield-lane-2016/
  
TC
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown
8
8.8 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Actual rating: 3.5. Rounded to 4.

I don’t really tend to read a lot of vampire books anymore, especially when they’ve been labeled young adult. Holly Black’s The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is definitely an exception to that habit. I needed a break from flipping pages and wanted to get in a little bit of time gaming. When I saw The Coldest Girl in Coldtown available for an immediate audio book borrow from OverDrive, I decided to give it a shot. I’d heard of Holly Black, even if I hadn’t read any of her work.
 
Black’s novel takes vampirism and spreads it in the same manner that most post-apocalyptic novels spread the infectious diseases that create zombies. Vampires are romanticized, as they often are, especially in young adult books, and in this case, they no longer live in the shadows; rather, they have taken up residence in government organized areas known as Coldtowns. Those that have been infected with the vampire virus are also holed up within the walls of this cities, and there’s no shortage of food, because people are dying to get in.
 
Waking up after passing out at a party, the main character, a young woman named Tana, finds herself amidst a massacre: people she knows have been slaughtered by vampires. The only survivors are her, an ex-boyfriend, and a strange boy. Her ex is infected, and the boy is a vampire. Deciding to turn him in for a bounty, and worried that her ex will become a vampire himself, the trio travel to Coldtown. It isn’t long before Tana finds herself caught up in what could loosely be described as vampire politics. Amongst betrayal, she must persevere in order to guarantee her own survival.
 
The majority of the story is told from Tana’s perspective, with a few chapters written in Gavriel, the vampire’s, and another one, maybe two, from her younger sister’s, Pearl’s, point-of-view. These changes exist solely to expound on certain events that have led the characters to where they are, such as Gavriel’s past — which is, undoubtedly, one of my favorite parts of the book. Each chapter also begins with an excerpt, usually from a poem that deals with death, the undead, or vampires.
 
Voices make a huge impact on listening to audio books, especially for me. If I can’t stand the voice, I will not finish the book more than likely. In the case of The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, the narrator, Christine Lakin, is absolutely amazing. Her voice is pleasant to listen to, and there is a clear difference between the way each of the characters speak.
 
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown isn’t among my favorite reads, perhaps because I prefer the more traditional approaches to vampires, but it is, undoubtedly, an fun journey. If you like your vampires a bit on the softer side of the spectrum, this one is definitely worth picking up.
  
Oryx and Crake (Madd Addam #1)
Oryx and Crake (Madd Addam #1)
Margaret Atwood | 2004 | Fiction & Poetry
10
7.9 (11 Ratings)
Book Rating
Oryx and Crake is a dystopian style post-apocalyptic novel which for the majority focuses on one character, Jimmy, otherwise known as Snowman. The book centres on his life before the fall of a modern civilisation as well as how he move through life afterwards. This world (before the fall) is a perverted but in my opinion not too farfetched realisation of our future. The rich live in compounds with access to all sorts of medications and rejuvenating procedures to lengthen youth and help them remain beautiful. The poor live in the pleeblands, which appears to be not to different from the world we live in now. Food production has been streamlined with scientists creating ‘chicken’ style life forms that have no head/legs as these are not necessary, they just exist in a basic form with no brain function other than to grow. Also in this would entertainment has taken a leap and reality style TV has been twisted so much that it is almost incomprehensible that anyone would watch these shows. It is on one of these shows that Jimmy and his friend Crake first come across Oryx as a young girl. Jimmy and Crake grow up, go to different Universities and begin very different careers. Crake is an enigma, never really part of the human race, although he really does seem to be Jimmy’s friend. He is a genius and begins to develop science in leaps and bounds that could be the end of everything.

This book really got my mind asking questions of myself and science. Often at times it also made me feel anxious and tense in a way not many books have. I don’t see this as a negative, on the contrary I believe it was a positive element to the book. I personally am not a fan of reality shows, and the way entertainment is shown in the book doesn’t seem like a far stretch from what we are currently doing anyway. How many people only watch these shows to see people come to blows? When something horrendous happens on the news, how many people go and try and watch the act online? I am not say in the next few years I expect to see live executions on the TV, but it doesn’t seem like it could never happen. Which is more than worrying. The animal/food production element also doesn’t seem too far off, we can already grow meat in a lab, so how long till we can produce a chicken style organism like in this book. How long till science tries to combine different genes from animals to create new ones.

This is one of the best books I have come across this year and I fully intend to carry on the series. Fully entertaining, fully engrossing, horrific in an addictive way. There is no way to read it without questioning it. I would highly recommend.
  
    Icycle: On Thin Ice

    Icycle: On Thin Ice

    Games and Entertainment

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

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    Ever kissed a fish? Cult of Mac's Best Damn iOS Games of 2013! Games and art become one in the...

The Mitchells vs The Machines (2021)
The Mitchells vs The Machines (2021)
2021 | Adventure, Animation, Comedy
10
8.9 (15 Ratings)
Movie Rating
I was originally going to post a round up of films I'd seen a just give a quick overview of my thoughts. But as I started writing, this review got longer and longer as I realised that it was okay for me to bore you with me frothing at the mouth with excitement.

Having seen the Connected trailer, as it was previously called, I knew I wanted to see it, and I was fairly certain I was going to enjoy it. It looked funny with some great characters and a nice bit of family drama thrown in. I don't think I was really prepared for how much I was going to enjoy it though.

In a last ditch attempt to spend time with his daughter before she heads off to college, Rick cancels her travel plans in favour of a family road trip. The tensions run high in the car, but that's nothing compared with the robopocalypse that's about to erupt around them... and if the pressure of family bonding wasn't enough, just wait until you're humanities last hope.

The idea behind The Mitchells vs the Machines is really quite nice. Being constantly connected to their devices has meant the divide between tech-phobic dad and digital creative daughter is growing by the day, and all she wants to do is get away. It does make you think about the way you interact with devices, and how reliant on them we've become... but we're not quite at the robot uprising so far... just keep an eye on Alexa.

The Mitchell family voice cast worked great together. I adore Maya Rudolph, and combined with just the right amount of dad from Danny McBride, they made a well balanced parental unit. And Katie (voiced by Abbi Jacobson, who also voices Bean in Disenchantment) was the perfect balance of stubborn teen and living sister.

Of course the obvious MVP of the film is Monchi the dog, voiced by Doug the pug. I will hear no arguments on this point... admittedly, mum does make a last minute surge for the top spot, but Monchi was consistent throughout.

Sony have managed to create a very amusing apocalyptic world. The robot army is great, and the personalities they display are so amusing, but even the other machines within the film have wonderful quirky little characters. The design in the world is magnificent, and well thought out, particularly when we get to the climax of the film.

I genuinely don't have a bad word to say about this film, it was action packed with something for everyone. There's speculation about a second film I believe, but I hope that doesn't develop into anything. Mitchells vs the Machines was a great standalone film, and there's no real follow up potential as it is. Take the win, pick up another idea and run with it.

Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-mitchells-vs-machines-movie-review.html
  
    The Survivor: Rusty Forest

    The Survivor: Rusty Forest

    Games and Entertainment

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    Welcome to the world of "The Survivor", hit by unknown virus which has wiped out most of the world's...

Reminiscence (2021)
Reminiscence (2021)
2021 | Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi
4
5.7 (7 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Soggy special effects. (1 more)
Ramin Djawadi's music score
Script (with voiceovers is dire) (0 more)
I’ll only remember how disappointing it was.
It's the near future and global warming and a recent war have drastically changed life in Miami. The days are too hot to do anything other than sleep, and the oceans have risen deluging the city. Ex-military colleagues Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman) and 'Watts' Sanders (Thandiwe Newton) run a 'reminiscence' business, allowing customers to re-experience memories from their past as if they were there. But when nightclub singer Mae (Rebecca Ferguson) begs for their help in finding her lost keys Nick's heart, life and livelihood are thrown into turmoil.

Positives:
- The special effects showing a submerged Miami are impressive enough.
- I enjoyed the soundtrack by "Westworld" and "Game of Thrones" composer Ramin Djawadi.

Negatives:
- The script is dreadful. Hugh Jackman's does a voiceover.... and regular readers of mine will know my feelings about those!!! Here he drones on incessantly about things like "memories being beads on time's necklace". Outside of the voiceover, the dialogue generally doesn't sound remotely like things that people would say to each other. There are some cringe-inducing segments of speechifying. That's when you can actually understand what's being said: I found the sound mix makes that really difficult with some of the lines.
- This seemed to me to be reflected in the performances of Jackman, Ferguson and Newton. Star-power indeed, but it appeared to me that they didn't have confidence in the words. Fans of the trio will, I think, be disappointed. (And I am a big fan of Rebecca Ferguson. She is again gorgeous here and - unlike in "The Greatest Showman" - actually gets to sing).

Summary Thoughts on "Reminiscence": This film is a big disappointment to me. When I first saw the trailer, I went "YES, YES, YES!!". It looked like an interesting post-apocalyptic sci-fi with perhaps elements of "Inception", "Waterworld" and "Flatliners" thrown in. Jackman even gets to tussle with sheets on a rooftop again! (Was anyone else playing "A Million Dreams" in their head?). But then came the film itself. The result was that about two-thirds in I was really willing it to end. (On principle, I don't walk out of movies). To be fair, the story did pick up slightly towards the conclusion, so I could quietly put my 1* rating away.

I really feel sorry for writer/director Lisa Joy for writing such a negative review. The executive producer of "Westworld" (who's also written and directed some episodes) had secured Jackman and brought some of her "Westworld" talent with her. I'm sure she put her heart and soul into this as her directorial feature debut. But I'm afraid it just did nothing for me and - given the talent available - came across as a wasted opportunity.

(For the full graphical review, please check out onemannsmovies on the web, Facebook and Tiktok. Thanks.)
  
Resurrection: A Zombie Novel
Resurrection: A Zombie Novel
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Resurrection: A Zombie Novel by Michael J. Totten is a marvelous book about a post-apocalyptic world in which a virus leaves millions of humans in a crazed state that makes them only wish to eat the flesh of their fellow mankind. With so many twists and turns, you are able to develop ideas on how the characters were before the virus spread, how they have changed, and different things that could easily affect how you would view another human. It was delightful to be able to read about some of the history leading up to the outbreak on each character, while being able to learn what made them tick. The way the characters interact had me laughing from time to time as they are so different and stubborn in their own ways that it makes it hard for them to agree on things. I loved how it brought up a lot of different ideas and thoughts one might have before an outbreak like this happens as well as how it could change the way one might feel or think once they realize they may be the last alive to help set up a new society. Not to mention, how some things we know can go out the window when your life is depending on you being super careful and cautious out the window.

Watching the characters deal with issues with their first major problem, other survivors definitely gave me the impression that in a world with no rules, people no longer try to make friends or even help each other out. I had felt completely anxious and sad that other healthy humans couldn’t be bothered to be kind to our main group of characters. I understand they had their reason, but it did remind me how in real life, without a zombie outbreak, the majority of the human race will only look out for themselves and what they believe belongs to them. It was refreshing to see how even though sometimes you don’t get along with your team, how a common enemy can pull you together, even if the enemy is survivors who could be potential assets to your group. I also found that the idea of us, humans, and thinking we know a ton, to be quite lacking.

Totten had brought a valuable point up in the book, whether he meant to or not. If something should happen, where we needed to live off the earth and a huge portion of our population is dead, or heavily diseased and dangerous to be near, how would be survive? A lot of people take for granted the fact they have heat, running water, electricity, and food, so without out being able to just purchase it and having to resort to growing it and such, our survivors would need to learn a lot of information. I enjoyed the idea of the characters going to look for books on farming, building, and anything else they would need to learn how to do, but it got me thinking about how everything today is slowly becoming that of a digital world. Yes there are still libraries out there with millions of books, but most libraries are in areas that could easily be surrounded by the infected. Even in Resurrection, that could be an issue and yet when Kyle brings up they could just obtain the books to teach them how to do things, the other characters didn’t seem as concerned about the idea, as I was upon reading that. After all, reading how they have to be careful just going to a sporting goods store and all the concerns they have when doing things, makes the idea of going into a library very worrisome.

However, it wasn’t just the knowledge most people don’t have that brought this story to my mind in some serious thought, it was seeing how something as simple as knowing your blood type and how blood transfusion work, seems to leave you in times of panic. We all know that certain blood types just can’t be mixed with others and often this knowledge isn’t needed. Most of us don’t even know our blood types, myself included, because we just don’t always see the need to know such information, or we just simply forget it. So I wasn’t surprised that the characters didn’t know their blood types off the back of their hand, but I found how simple things we have learned since grade school about other people’s blood containing diseases and even allergic reactions if placed in your own body without proper care could just disappear until after doing just that. I can’t say I would have thought of it either, but at the same time I would like to think that it’s something I wouldn’t feel right about. Though, how could any of us be sure we would do something different?

Totten seemed to be able to use the characters to remind us of how important some of the things we take for granted are. I enjoyed seeing how friendships can be broken or made easily, how teamwork is important in the matter of survival, and how people would truly act in a post-apocalyptic world. To see common sense that we have go out the window in some situations and in other situations seem create stealthy humans with common sense and the ability to have sound judgement. Not everyone would have been able to write about such a world, and have characters make mistakes that leave you shaking your head. To be able to see the characters as imperfect humans doing their best to get by in the world, definitely makes this novel a delightful read. I would rate Resurrection: A Zombie Novel 5 stars out of 5 stars. Definitely a must read for the zombie lover. I would say if you love zombie movies and shows, you would find this book right up your alley. With characters you could relate to, and situations that aren’t impossible to imagine, you will fall in love with the writing style and story that Michael Totten gave to us in this short, page turner.