Search
Darren (1599 KP) rated Xenophobia (2019) in Movies
Aug 5, 2019
Story: Xenophobia starts as we head to an alien support group after Eric (Powell) has his own experience of the unexplained. The group has been meeting for years and to make him feel welcome, they let him know about their own experiences, first up is Becky (Renton) who on a camping trip with her husband and dogs get a visit that will change the world forever.
The next story follows a new member Karen (Stevens) who believes her daughter has been abducted by aliens after receiving a worrying video message, we follow the night which led up to the disappearance of the daughter, which is filled with strange occurrences.
The third story comes from Kara (Sterling) who has been running from her abusive husband, to a hide away for women of abuse, with Adrian (Perez) leading the protection for the women, only for them to find themselves stuck in a world they couldn’t have imagined.
Thoughts on Xenophobia
Performances – When we look at the performances in the film we get the type of performances we are expecting in the b-movie style of movies, we have moments that are over the top, while others bring us the grounded performance we need.
Story – The story here is an anthology of alien encounters that are connected by the support group, each member does have their own story, which gives us a chance to break down the different stories. First up was Pinnacles which might be one of the quickest stories, but it does let us see just how a typical alien encounter might come about, it is simple and does what it needs to, to send Eric to the support group. Doomsday is one that starts like you would imagine, only to go down a very different path which will shock along the way. Star Child is the story that embraces the b-movie style the movie gets through, it does feel like the campiest of the anthology. The Sullivan House is the biggest of the stories, it has a bigger message going on, which is all the more interesting despite the clear alien heading their way at some point. For an overall anthology this is on the similar levels as the VHS film only for it to only focus on aliens, each one will have a different look.
Sci-Fi – The sci-fi side of this film focuses on the different aliens that are visiting the humans, each one does have a unique look which is great to see, something different.
Settings – The film does give us the normal locations for alien encounters, be it a remote house, the woods or a cabin in the woods, yeah nothing overly difficult, but they do work.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are a mixed bag, the practical ones all look great, which is nice to see, certain CGI moments do just look out of place though.
Scene of the Movie – The Sullivan House.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The CGI moments are weak.
Final Thoughts – This is an entertaining alien anthology film, it is nice that they are all connected in some way which helps with the meeting, rather than just having random stories.
Overall: Anthology to enjoy.
The next story follows a new member Karen (Stevens) who believes her daughter has been abducted by aliens after receiving a worrying video message, we follow the night which led up to the disappearance of the daughter, which is filled with strange occurrences.
The third story comes from Kara (Sterling) who has been running from her abusive husband, to a hide away for women of abuse, with Adrian (Perez) leading the protection for the women, only for them to find themselves stuck in a world they couldn’t have imagined.
Thoughts on Xenophobia
Performances – When we look at the performances in the film we get the type of performances we are expecting in the b-movie style of movies, we have moments that are over the top, while others bring us the grounded performance we need.
Story – The story here is an anthology of alien encounters that are connected by the support group, each member does have their own story, which gives us a chance to break down the different stories. First up was Pinnacles which might be one of the quickest stories, but it does let us see just how a typical alien encounter might come about, it is simple and does what it needs to, to send Eric to the support group. Doomsday is one that starts like you would imagine, only to go down a very different path which will shock along the way. Star Child is the story that embraces the b-movie style the movie gets through, it does feel like the campiest of the anthology. The Sullivan House is the biggest of the stories, it has a bigger message going on, which is all the more interesting despite the clear alien heading their way at some point. For an overall anthology this is on the similar levels as the VHS film only for it to only focus on aliens, each one will have a different look.
Sci-Fi – The sci-fi side of this film focuses on the different aliens that are visiting the humans, each one does have a unique look which is great to see, something different.
Settings – The film does give us the normal locations for alien encounters, be it a remote house, the woods or a cabin in the woods, yeah nothing overly difficult, but they do work.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are a mixed bag, the practical ones all look great, which is nice to see, certain CGI moments do just look out of place though.
Scene of the Movie – The Sullivan House.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The CGI moments are weak.
Final Thoughts – This is an entertaining alien anthology film, it is nice that they are all connected in some way which helps with the meeting, rather than just having random stories.
Overall: Anthology to enjoy.
Darren (1599 KP) rated A Dark Song (2016) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
Story: A Dark Song starts as Sophia Howard (Walker) rents a remote house in the countryside, she hires occultist Joseph Solomon (Oram) to perform a yearlong ritual so Sophia can communicate with her late son, one more time.
With the rules set, the ritual begins leaving the two to need to be prepared for anything good or evil that they would summon from the other side.
Thoughts on A Dark Song
Characters – Sophia is the lady that wants to communicate with dead child, she has turned to an occultist to help her, she will go through as many different rituals to achieve her desired outcome. Joseph Solomon is the occultist that reluctant agrees to help Sophia with her ritual, he has plenty of experience and even when he knows she is lying he will help her.
Performances – Steve Oram and Catherine Walker are the main two stars of this movie, their performances need to be strong for this movie to work. They both give us captivating performance where you are wondering where the characters will be going next.
Story – The story dives into the idea of how far would you go to communicate with a dead loved one, would you turn to the occult knowing it wouldn’t be the best idea because of what else you could summon, or would you let the police punish the people responsible, these are the main questions being asked in this movie. When we follow the ritual side of the film doesn’t give us a full scale of the time the two are performing them, but then again the story doesn’t focus on the rituals that much, rather focusing on what would be the correct decision made by the Sophia.
Horror – The horror involved in this movie is mostly about what could happen with rituals are performed, we only get a moment of actual horror late in the film.
Settings – The settings keep the two in one house for up to a year which gives the characters the much-needed isolation for the rituals to happen.
Special Effects – The effects used in the film are save the few moments that need them and seem to be great practical use of them too.
Scene of the Movie – Cross the line.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – While you are left waiting for something to happen, not much does happen.
Final Thoughts – This is a horror that focuses more in the drama of what could happen and following to people that need to focus on letting the past lay over trying to scare us.
Overall: A horror that lacks the scares.
https://moviesreview101.com/2018/10/18/a-dark-song-2016/gnree/
With the rules set, the ritual begins leaving the two to need to be prepared for anything good or evil that they would summon from the other side.
Thoughts on A Dark Song
Characters – Sophia is the lady that wants to communicate with dead child, she has turned to an occultist to help her, she will go through as many different rituals to achieve her desired outcome. Joseph Solomon is the occultist that reluctant agrees to help Sophia with her ritual, he has plenty of experience and even when he knows she is lying he will help her.
Performances – Steve Oram and Catherine Walker are the main two stars of this movie, their performances need to be strong for this movie to work. They both give us captivating performance where you are wondering where the characters will be going next.
Story – The story dives into the idea of how far would you go to communicate with a dead loved one, would you turn to the occult knowing it wouldn’t be the best idea because of what else you could summon, or would you let the police punish the people responsible, these are the main questions being asked in this movie. When we follow the ritual side of the film doesn’t give us a full scale of the time the two are performing them, but then again the story doesn’t focus on the rituals that much, rather focusing on what would be the correct decision made by the Sophia.
Horror – The horror involved in this movie is mostly about what could happen with rituals are performed, we only get a moment of actual horror late in the film.
Settings – The settings keep the two in one house for up to a year which gives the characters the much-needed isolation for the rituals to happen.
Special Effects – The effects used in the film are save the few moments that need them and seem to be great practical use of them too.
Scene of the Movie – Cross the line.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – While you are left waiting for something to happen, not much does happen.
Final Thoughts – This is a horror that focuses more in the drama of what could happen and following to people that need to focus on letting the past lay over trying to scare us.
Overall: A horror that lacks the scares.
https://moviesreview101.com/2018/10/18/a-dark-song-2016/gnree/
Dispatches from Pluto: Lost and Found in the Mississippi Delta
Book
Adventure writer Richard Grant takes on "the most American place on Earth" the enigmatic, beautiful,...
7 Summits: 1 Cornishman Climbing the Highest Mountains on Each Continent
Book
Most of us can watch an old episode of the holiday programme Wish You Were Here without it having...
What's Done in Darkness: A Novel
8.0
Rate It
Book
Abducted as a teenager, a woman must now confront her past and untangle the truth of what really...
The Blue Pool
9.0
Rate It
Book
What really happened that weekend? Four friends go to a remote cabin one summer. Only three return....
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Twilight Wife in Books
Feb 13, 2018
Kyra Winthrop and her husband, Jacob, are headed to live on a remote island (in the house where Jacob grew up) to get away from it all. Kyra recently suffered a head injury in a diving accident; she hit her head on a rock and while Jacob saved her, she cannot remember the past four years of her life and is having trouble with her current ability to retain things. Kyra and Jacob hope time away, in a quiet place, will let Kyra--and her memory--heal. But once on the island, Kyra begins to remember more and more. About the accident and about her past. She has no one to rely on but Jacob, who tells her much of what she remembers are only dreams. But Kyra is convinced it's more. And what about the shadowy third figure she continually recalls from their diving accident? Kyra isn't sure who to trust, even herself, as she tries to unfold her past and recall not only her accident, but who she has been for the past four years.
This was a fascinating book that really took the premise of the "unreliable" narrator to a whole new level. What I enjoyed the most is that we learned the bits and pieces about Kyra's life, and who she was, just as she did. This made the novel very suspenseful and helped make up for any points where it seemed a little unbelievable (e.g., only forgetting exactly these 4 crucial years, no Internet on the island except at their home, etc.), or where the story felt a bit flat. Kyra is our main character, and she's interesting and complicated, with her memory loss and unknown past. She's truly trying to find out who she is. The others in the novel, mainly Jacob and a few island residents, aren't exactly characters you form an attachment to. Still, I found the book captivating and basically read the second half in one sitting: it's a very fast read, and you become easily drawn into Kyra's world.
I found the ending to be a little easy and pat, but I still enjoyed watching all the pieces come together (even if I'd guessed some of them already). The novel really truly does a masterful job at creating intrigue into Kyra's past and the various parts of her life, and how she has arrived on this remote island with Jacob (don't want to give anything away). It's a little eerie, a little creepy, and a little haunting. It was sort of a fun version of a Lifetime movie--one that had me hooked and enjoying the plot, versus rolling my eyes and changing the channel--and because I so enjoyed seeing everything come together and racing through the end of the book, it pushed my rating up to 4 stars. If you're looking for a quick suspense read, it's definitely worth picking this one up.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Edelweiss (thank you!); it is available everywhere as of 12/27/2016.
This was a fascinating book that really took the premise of the "unreliable" narrator to a whole new level. What I enjoyed the most is that we learned the bits and pieces about Kyra's life, and who she was, just as she did. This made the novel very suspenseful and helped make up for any points where it seemed a little unbelievable (e.g., only forgetting exactly these 4 crucial years, no Internet on the island except at their home, etc.), or where the story felt a bit flat. Kyra is our main character, and she's interesting and complicated, with her memory loss and unknown past. She's truly trying to find out who she is. The others in the novel, mainly Jacob and a few island residents, aren't exactly characters you form an attachment to. Still, I found the book captivating and basically read the second half in one sitting: it's a very fast read, and you become easily drawn into Kyra's world.
I found the ending to be a little easy and pat, but I still enjoyed watching all the pieces come together (even if I'd guessed some of them already). The novel really truly does a masterful job at creating intrigue into Kyra's past and the various parts of her life, and how she has arrived on this remote island with Jacob (don't want to give anything away). It's a little eerie, a little creepy, and a little haunting. It was sort of a fun version of a Lifetime movie--one that had me hooked and enjoying the plot, versus rolling my eyes and changing the channel--and because I so enjoyed seeing everything come together and racing through the end of the book, it pushed my rating up to 4 stars. If you're looking for a quick suspense read, it's definitely worth picking this one up.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Edelweiss (thank you!); it is available everywhere as of 12/27/2016.
xComfort Smart Home
Lifestyle
App
Please update your xComfort Smart Home Controller also to use the new features!! xComfort - Make...
Eleanor (1463 KP) rated The Turn of The Key in Books
Dec 16, 2019
An Interesting Twist to a Familiar Tale
This suspense thriller was a close one for me but ultimately it just didn’t totally click. I listened to the audio version narrated by Inogen Church, who seemed to be a talented narrator just unfortunate that the person she was narrating was so irritating to me. The writing was of a high standard and I’ll certainly be looking at more of Ruth Ware’s work.
When Rowan takes a live-in nanny position in a remote Scottish she is soon faced with more than just the usual new nanny woes. The house has been converted into a modern all bells and whistles smart home, but it’s not exactly making life easier for Rowan. The book is told via the correspondence between Rowan and a solicitor from her prison cell following her arrest for the death of one of her charges. The result is a slow build of difficult circumstances from her perspective and a strong denial of any responsibility…. but what did happen?
This is a solid suspense thriller with plenty of creepy atmosphere in it and I can imagine some people will really love this book. For me, though I just kept getting a bit irritated. I’m not a big fan of kids (I know - burn the witch!!) and there are some prime examples of why that is in this book from the brats. Why someone would want to be a nanny is beyond me so Rowan is very hard to relate to. I really couldn’t care less about the routines of children. I’m also not a fan of having a narrator who constantly hints towards things not being as they seem but not clarifying until the “big reveal” troupe. So maybe just not the best book for me, in particular, to pick up.
Smart home things like speakers, voice-activated lights, fridges curtains, etc don’t do anything for me and the fact they added to the creepiness of Rowan’s situation was an interesting approach. Ultimately a book that many will love but just not my kinda story, so can’t get too pumped for it.
When Rowan takes a live-in nanny position in a remote Scottish she is soon faced with more than just the usual new nanny woes. The house has been converted into a modern all bells and whistles smart home, but it’s not exactly making life easier for Rowan. The book is told via the correspondence between Rowan and a solicitor from her prison cell following her arrest for the death of one of her charges. The result is a slow build of difficult circumstances from her perspective and a strong denial of any responsibility…. but what did happen?
This is a solid suspense thriller with plenty of creepy atmosphere in it and I can imagine some people will really love this book. For me, though I just kept getting a bit irritated. I’m not a big fan of kids (I know - burn the witch!!) and there are some prime examples of why that is in this book from the brats. Why someone would want to be a nanny is beyond me so Rowan is very hard to relate to. I really couldn’t care less about the routines of children. I’m also not a fan of having a narrator who constantly hints towards things not being as they seem but not clarifying until the “big reveal” troupe. So maybe just not the best book for me, in particular, to pick up.
Smart home things like speakers, voice-activated lights, fridges curtains, etc don’t do anything for me and the fact they added to the creepiness of Rowan’s situation was an interesting approach. Ultimately a book that many will love but just not my kinda story, so can’t get too pumped for it.
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Hiding in Books
Nov 14, 2019
Keller Baye is the son of a murderer, a man he is about to watch die for his crime. A man who only wants one thing from his son: revenge.
Rebecca Brown is an orphan who has been brought up by relatives in a remote Scottish house and who's thirst for knowledge about her parents and the car crash in which they died only grows keener the less those around her are prepared to talk about it.
Despite the miles between these two people they are connected by a single thread, and that thread is set to bring them together and reveal the truth.
Roughly the first part of the book tells the backgrounds of the two main characters, gradually revealing one event at a time exactly who Baye and Brown are, what drives them and how the loss of their parents has had an indelible effect on both their lives. The second half relates the events that unfold once fate has driven them together.
Both characters feel very real, especially because of the care that has clearly gone into each of their back stories. Baye in particular could have just been a mere cipher of a child who went off the rails after his father went to prison. But that one event alone conspires with many others to shape Baye into the urgent tool of his father's revenge that he decides to be.
The stories of the character's very different childhoods is engrossing, effectively told a series of anecdotes. Baye delivering justice for his cat. Brown burning the playing cards. All these seem very real because they could really happen.
When the tension starts to build in the second half of the book it's not like a spring winding up; it is more like a boiler that is getting hotter and hotter and the pressure is rising all the time. It's not clear when something is going to break but it's clear that something will go very wrong at some point.
This is a superb thriller with an excellent plot, some very good twists and written at a perfect pace, fast enough to keep the momentum up but slow enough to ratchet the tension up at the end of each chapter. An easy 5 stars and a new J Morton Potts fan.
Rating: Scenes of sadistic violence and some others of a sexual nature
Rebecca Brown is an orphan who has been brought up by relatives in a remote Scottish house and who's thirst for knowledge about her parents and the car crash in which they died only grows keener the less those around her are prepared to talk about it.
Despite the miles between these two people they are connected by a single thread, and that thread is set to bring them together and reveal the truth.
Roughly the first part of the book tells the backgrounds of the two main characters, gradually revealing one event at a time exactly who Baye and Brown are, what drives them and how the loss of their parents has had an indelible effect on both their lives. The second half relates the events that unfold once fate has driven them together.
Both characters feel very real, especially because of the care that has clearly gone into each of their back stories. Baye in particular could have just been a mere cipher of a child who went off the rails after his father went to prison. But that one event alone conspires with many others to shape Baye into the urgent tool of his father's revenge that he decides to be.
The stories of the character's very different childhoods is engrossing, effectively told a series of anecdotes. Baye delivering justice for his cat. Brown burning the playing cards. All these seem very real because they could really happen.
When the tension starts to build in the second half of the book it's not like a spring winding up; it is more like a boiler that is getting hotter and hotter and the pressure is rising all the time. It's not clear when something is going to break but it's clear that something will go very wrong at some point.
This is a superb thriller with an excellent plot, some very good twists and written at a perfect pace, fast enough to keep the momentum up but slow enough to ratchet the tension up at the end of each chapter. An easy 5 stars and a new J Morton Potts fan.
Rating: Scenes of sadistic violence and some others of a sexual nature