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A Sinner in Mecca: A Gay Muslim's Hajj of Defiance

Parvez Sharma

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This is the Islam you've never been allowed to see. Daringly reported from its frontlines and...

Statistics for Data Science

James D. Miller

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Get your statistics basics right before diving in to the world of data science About This Book * No...

Child Exploitation and Trafficking: Examining Global Enforcement and Supply Chain Challenges and U.S. Responses

Virginia M. Kendall, T. Markus Funk and Richard A. Posner

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Each year, more than two million children around the world fall victim to commercial sexual and...

Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Come Play (2020) in Movies

Oct 29, 2020

Come Play (2020)

2020 | Drama, Horror, Mystery

7.0

(5 Ratings)

Movie Rating

One of the more interesting and fresh horror films since “It Follows” has arrived and “Come Play” is a creepy film that captures childhood fears and captivates.

The film follows Oliver (Azhy Robertson); a non-verbal autistic boy living with his mother Sarah (Gillian Jacobs), and his father Marty (John Gallagher Jr.). Oliver communicates via an app on his phone and he awakens one evening to find a story called “Larry the Misunderstood Monster” on his phone. While he attempts to read it, unusual things start to happen such as lights going out on their own and the belief that there is something in the room.

When morning arrives we see that Oliver is picked on at school due to his disability and a past incident where he struck another student. The fact that his parents are strained does not help but Oliver continues to experience unusual events especially in the evening.

Oliver starts to believe that Larry from his story is indeed real and is attempting to enter his world and take him. Unable to communicate this clearly, Oliver soon has his concerns confirmed when students come to his home and he sees Larry via a camera on a found tablet.

As the situation unfolds, the tension mounts Larry begins to manifest himself more and more in our world forcing Oliver and his parents to confront Larry who has become more and bolder in his manifestations.

While the film is shot in darkness for several parts of the movie which makes some things harder to see; it does add to the tension and the story is a nice deviation from the usual killer monster on the loose and provides a more restrained but suspenseful take on the monster on the loose film. The smaller cast works well as it is at the core a story about family and the extent parents will go for their children as well as a look at the problems of loneliness amongst children; especially those with disabilities.

In the end “Come Play” is a creepy, memorable, and refreshing horror /suspense film that stays with you long after the movie ends.

3.5 stars out of 5

Kudos

Kelly Knows (95 KP) rated Big Top Pee-wee (1988) in Movies

Jun 30, 2019

Will make you laugh out loud. (0 more)

Will make you cringe out loud. (0 more)

The People VS Pee-wee

Big Top Pee-wee is that rare movie that some will find irresistible and charming, while others will see it as utterly irritating. I revel in the glory that is the truth. It is both. Pee-wee started from the bottom of the playhouse, had a big adventure and wound up facing the real world in this movie. Pee-wee's world has always been goofy, surreal, and over the top. That is the draw of it, in my humble opinion. Unfortunately, this doesn't translate well when you slap our bow-tie bedecked hero in the midst of regular folk. Even the cast seems to be in a perpetual state of almost breaking character either due to intentional awkwardness in the writing, or some mix of inability to handle Pee-wee outside of his playhouse. I lean toward the latter. Looking back on the memory of this movie with a warm nostalgic lens, I was a bit taken aback on more recent viewing. Paul Reubens is in fine form as always, and all the jokes landed with a familiarity that had me cracking up at the same time I was wincing. It is a very humorous movie if you watch it with the kids, and turn your brain off. Even watching it on a "so bad it's good" mindset can be a good decision here. Nothing too crazy for the parents to watch out for. There is a love triangle storyline that felt like a betrayal of the innocence of the original themes but this movie does feel like an attempt to have Pee-wee grow up a bit, so agree to disagree on that one. The historical fact is that Pee-wee will always be an outstanding character brought to life by a talented actor. Big Top Pee-wee might not be one of the finest movies ever made, but if you have it locked in your memory banks under a soft sepia tone light. Keep it there.