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The Grudge (2020)
The Grudge (2020)
2020 | Horror
Makeup effects (2 more)
Lyn shayle
Andrea riseborough
Didn't think I was gonna like this movie but I did I almost jumped out of my seat serval times during the movie. Can't believe I'm the first one to review the movie.going In to this movie I always the one the one with Sarah Michelle gellar and how I loved that movie and the sequel not so much. But this one o was quite satisfied the make up effects were good and even Lyn shayle in small role I thought she would be kinda playing a charchater like the one from insidious. Anyway good film
  
Jellyfish (2018)
Jellyfish (2018)
2018 | Drama
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Verdict: Tragic & Heart Breaking

Story: Jellyfish starts as we meet school student Sarah Taylor (Hill) who is in struggling through her drama classes, taking care of her young siblings, while trying to work to give them any sort of extra money, her mother Karen (Matthews) is unemployed suffering from a mental illness.
When Sarah’s teacher Adam Hale (Nri) sees her talent for comedy, he pushes her into trying stand up comedy for a show, just when Sarah’s life starts to fall apart, with her losing her job and the family losing their benefits because of her mother not attending her meetings. Sarah is left needing to turn to darker sides of her life, to make sure her siblings stay with her and don’t get put into the foster system.

Thoughts on Jellyfish

Characters – Sarah is a 15-year-old girl that must look after her younger siblings, while her mother is struggling with her own mental illnesses, Sarah is trying to get through her GCSEs, working part time and being the only adult in her house, she is facing a future that isn’t going to happen unless things change quickly, everything is slowly piling up on her, with life situations she shouldn’t have put on her. Karen in the mother who has been suffering through depression making it difficult for her to even get out of the house to keep the benefits coming in. Adam Hale is the drama teacher that does see some potential in Sarah, he encourages her to find her talent for comedy, being supportive, where nobody else is. Vince is the boss that is trying to be strict, he gives Sarah chances unaware of her problems at home, even if he ends up being like any boss who hasn’t gotten more out of their own life.
Performances – Liv Hill gives us one of the strongest performances you will ever see, from every expression of pain she is going through, to just holding in the explosion of emotion that wants to come out of her. Sinead Matthews does make her character look like she is struggling with life. The rest of the supporting cast are strong, they all let Liv take the centre stage.
Story – The story here shows a 15-year-old that must take care of her younger siblings, manager school life and work life just to keep a roof over their heads. This is a story that will put a startling light on how some children will be living and just what they will need to do to get through each day, it shows the poverty line in England and how people will often not even give you the time of day to see what is wrong with somebody’s life, with only one person trying to offer support to Sarah. We see just how desperate she has become to make sure the family stays together even going against the law in her attempts. You will find yourself being incredibly moved by the struggles of Sarah and watching her slowly see her life unravel makes you want to help her.
Settings – The film is set in Margate a small coast town that doesn’t have the luxury life many people living there would have, it shows that small towns don’t offer big futures for people.

Scene of the Movie – The routine.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Is drama the only class Sarah takes?
Final Thoughts – This is one of the most emotionally charged movies you will see, we have a truly brilliant performance that will leave you feeling heart broken by what Sarah goes through, a must watch.

Overall: Brilliant.
  
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Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Inheritance in Books

Sep 21, 2022  
The Inheritance
The Inheritance
Howard Linskey | 2022 | Crime, Mystery
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
What an enthralling read!

Sarah will inherit a small fortune and a grand house IF she is able to solve the mystery of the disappearance of her late aunt's best friend something neither her aunt or the Police were able to do in over 30 years ... Sarah has 6 months and if she fails, it all goes to the Conservative Party!!!

This book is full of interesting characters; most of which are not particularly likeable but this works really well with the story and brings up all manner of likely suspects. The setting of Craigsmoor Manor is wonderfully described and creates additional atmosphere and a creeping sense of foreboding.

The plot is intriguing and very engaging and although it's a slow burn, the author keeps you gripped by his excellent story telling and I would definitely recommend to those who love a great mystery.

My thanks must go to Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Inheritance.
  
The Secrets of the Forest
The Secrets of the Forest
Helena Brady | 2019 | Horror, Mystery
4
6.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
It was well thought out as to what the requirements were for someone to become a spirit or not (0 more)
I did not find this book to be very original at all. (0 more)
Honest Review for Free Copy of Book
The Secrets of the Forest by Helena Brady is a creepy-pasta in a slightly longer book. It takes on elements of the 2016 movie “The Forest” and Slenderman who showed up sometime around 2009. It also talks of depression and suicide a lot, along with murder, death, and abuse. If these topics bother you please be advised.

 Sarah-Rose has entered the hardest time of her life. Her father has recently died and her mother blames Sarah-Rose for his death. Not only is Sarah-Rose’s mother blaming her but she has turned to alcohol and beating her daughter as a way to cope. Understandably enough Sarah-Rose can not handle all this, even more so because it is her sixteenth birthday.

 To escape all of this Sarah-Rose heads into The Forest that is on the edge of town, the one no one goes into for fear of death. She is hoping that the stories are true and like everyone else who has entered The Forest that she either won’t come out or will come out as a corpse floating in the river. What Sarah-Rose didn’t expect was that The Forest had its own plans for her. Upon entering The Forest, Sarah-Rose starts discovering secret after secret about her town’s past and herself. The only question that remains is if and when The Forest plans on claiming her as well.

 It was well thought out as to what the requirements were for someone to become a spirit or not. The same goes for if said person’s spirit becomes bound to The Forest or if they can leave it of their own free will. I did not find this book to be very original at all. It seemed to be a combination of a few different popular stories of recent years. The name and cover even immediately made me think of other things.

 This is a young adult book, but it is largely about depression and suicide. With these extremely tough subjects being at the front of the story I encourage anyone extremely sensitive about these topics to put the book down. All others, please enjoy it. I rate this book 2 out of 4. Overall the story was good. It was just too unoriginal for my taste. I do believe this book will be enjoyed by those who choose to read it. There are a few small surprises that the unsuspecting reader will find interesting.

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ClareR (5716 KP) rated The Fallout in Books

Dec 19, 2019  
The Fallout
The Fallout
Rebecca Thornton | 2019 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Thriller
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Fallout is a thriller that looks at whether it is ever acceptable to keep secrets from, and lie to, your friends. I think you can probably guess the answer to that one before you even open the front page, but there are those who would do just that.

Sarah and Liza are best friends. Their eldest children are the same age, at the same London school, and they met at NCT classes before they had the babies. They both go to a local gym together, and their children go to classes and play there whilst their mothers chat and socialise. Liza has a small baby as well, and is very tired. So she asks Sarah if she’ll check on her older son, Jack, as he’s playing outside and out of sight. However, Sarah is distracted by the appearance of one of the NCT mums that they haven’t seen in a while. And she forgets. Jack has an accident. He falls from a high post and is seriously injured. Sarah then starts the lie that she can’t seem to get herself out of: that she saw Jack playing, and that he was nowhere near the post.

I have to admit that this was a supremely frustrating book. The other school mums and their WhatsApp group would have had me reaching for the ‘Leave Group’ button. Social media isn’t put in a very good light, and accurately portrays the ‘keyboard warriors’ that always come out of the woodwork when something bad happens.

I enjoyed this, whilst at the same time wanting to throw my iPad at the wall. I wanted to tell these women to find something better to do with their time! Gossip and rumour are rife. It’s a great look at human nature and it held my attention throughout - I was desperate to know what was going to happen each day in my Pigeonhole instalment.

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, HarperCollins and the author, Rebecca Thornton for reading along. It was a great experience!
  
Super (2011)
Super (2011)
2011 | Action, Comedy, Drama
9
6.5 (11 Ratings)
Movie Rating
When I first heard about Super, written and directed by James Gunn, my first thought was “Dwight (from The Office) will be a superhero?” However what I saw on the screen was anything but Dwight, it was 75% awesome and 25% “I can’t believe they did that!”

The film begins with Frank (excellently played by Rainn Wilson) happily married to Sarah (Liv Tyler) who is a recovering drug addict. The happiness is shattered when Sarah begins using again, thanks to Jacques the drug dealer (Kevin Bacon) and then one day she disappears. Frank searches for Sarah and eventually finds her under the control of Jacques. Unable to get her away from Jacques, Frank goes to the police for help. Unfortunately because Sarah left on her own accord, no law has been broken (except for the drug stuff) so they are unable to help him.

Frank tries to move on, but without Sarah life seems meaningless. Then in his darkest hour he has a vision of The Holy Avenger (Nathan Fillion). Heeding the vision, Frank becomes The Crimson Bolt, pledges to fight crime and to save Sarah. There is just one small problem – Frank has no idea how to be a superhero. Research is needed, so off to the comic book store he goes, of course, and there he meets Libby (Ellen Page). Libby advises him which comics to read that have superheroes who do not have powers. Armed with this knowledge, The Crimson Bolt officially begins fighting crime in the most unusual of ways and not too long after, Libby becomes Boltie, his trusted, sexy sidekick.

This very entertaining, action-filled, dark comedy has more twists and turns than a game of Chutes and Ladders, and it will keep you glued to the screen until the end. Will they save the city from villainy? Will they save Sarah’s bacon? (Sorry, with Kevin Bacon playing the bad guy I couldn’t resist.)

Super has a different take on the superhero genre than what I’ve seen in past movies. Only Rainn Wilson could have properly portrayed the uniqueness that is Frank/Crimson Bolt and the same goes for Ellen Page in regards to Libby/Boltie (possibly the best sidekick ever). To make a long review short, let me sum up this way, everyone in the movie no matter the length of their part did an amazing job in their role. With that said, my only wish was that the story would have allowed for more screen time for Gregg Henry (Detective John Felkner) and a musical number for Fillion’s Holy Avenger. if you liked Fillion as Captain Hammer in Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog, then you’ll love him in this role. But those things would have most likely thrown off the perfect balance of action, humor and character interaction that made this movie so enjoyable.
  
It Comes At Night (2017)
It Comes At Night (2017)
2017 | Horror
Paranoia
385. It Comes At Night. Paranoid much? Something out in the world is killing everybody, so its a good thing Paul, Sarah and Travis live in the middle of nowhere and their very strict lifestyle has kept them alive. And then someone had to go ahead and break into the house and ruin everything. Paul catches the trespasser and after some intense interrogation we learn his name is Will, and further out in the woods is his wife and small child waiting for his return. After things are calmed down, they come to agreement to combine resources and live together. Sounds like a great idea right? Until the end of the world comes knocking! I really liked it. Had a great creepy atmosphere, good acting. Check it out! Filmbufftim on FB
  
The Hole in the Ground (2019)
The Hole in the Ground (2019)
2019 | Horror
Verdict: Suspenseful

Story: The Hole in the Ground starts as Sarah (Kerslake) and her son Chris (Markey) are getting used to their new home in the Irish countryside, they learn they have a disturbed neighbour Noreen Brady (Outinen) and a giant hole in the middle of a woodland area surrounding the house.
After losing her son in the woods one night, Sarah is trying to be more protective, but the disturbed neighbour Noreen, doesn’t believe that is her son anymore, similar to what she experienced herself, years before.

Thoughts on The Hole in the Ground

Characters – Sarah is the single mother who has moved away from her previous life, which does have hints of abuse, she has started a simpler life in a small village with her son and soon starts to learn about something strange that has happened to her son, with her needing to figure out the truth before it is too late. Chris is the son who isn’t happy trying to make new friends, he is terrified of spiders and after he goes missing one night, when he returns something has changed in him. Noreen Brady went through a similar experience to Sarah, which has seen her branded crazy by the locals, she can sense more being wrong, though it has haunted her whole life.
Performances – Seana Kerslake in the leading role adds so much to this film, her performance shows the pain her character has been through, despite showing the strength she is carrying on with. James Quinn Markey is great for a young actor, showing the innocent side to his character and the change he has been through. The supporting cast don’t get many scenes but do a good job when called up.
Story – The story here follows a single mother who starts to see a strange change in her son and must decide what has caused this and what she is going to do about it. The story does dive into one of the most famous horror myths, which is clear to see early on, though never directly uses the name, we won’t say just to stop any spoilers. We have the themes of an abuse victim trying to rebuild their own life, while remaining strong for her child. We only focus on the two characters, with any others only offer hints to what is happening. What the story offers, would be the slowly building moments that Sarah is going through, where she is torn about the truth, we focus on dread feeling over any shock value.
Horror – The horror in this film does give us a clear look at dread and gloom, instead of playing of the jump scares, it so easily could have turned too.
Settings – The film takes us to a small Irish countryside village, the house is outside the village surrounded by woodland, which only adds to the unknown coming from inside the woods.
Special Effects – The effects being used in the film are kept to a minimum, which does help when we need to see them happening.

Scene of the Movie – What is Chris up to.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We only get the hints of the former life they lived.
Final Thoughts – This is a dread filled horror that will keep us wondering what is happening, with strong performances from the lead actors.

Overall: Dread Filled Horror.
  
The Accused (1988)
The Accused (1988)
1988 | Drama, Mystery
Story: We start The Accused by seeing Sarah (Foster) running from a bar desperately looking for help before she gets asked all the intimate questions after a rape. District prosecutor Kathryn Murphy takes over the case and takes Sarah back to the crime scene to identify the suspects. While Kathryn puts a case together she learns more about Sarah’s character and while the defence makes out Sarah is just telling a story. We see Kathryn and Lieutenant Duncan (Mulligan) try to investigate what happened they find out there are no witnesses and the case is struggling to come together. After the suspects get put in jail for a reduced charge of reckless endangerment Sarah pushes for more and after a confrontation with one of the men who got off cheered on, Kathryn opens a new case against the people who cheered on and watched leading to the ability to charge the rapist.

What The Accused shows us is however a story sounds it doesn’t mean it isn’t true. We have to let the prosecutors create a case before we judge who is guilty. It shows we need to stand up for what is right and not everything is what it seems. We see how difficult it can be for the victim against such a large amount of suspects who unite. We see how the prosecutor risks everything to get the truth about the night after finally seeing the light about what really happened. This case could break her career but as she is doing the right thing it proves to be the right thing. A big plus The Accused uses is not focusing on any of the men involved we a left to only see and hear about their actions. The Accused is a great story about fighting for what is right and how monstrous people can be. (9/10)

 

Actor Review

 

Kelly McGillis: Kathryn Murphy the district prosecutor who will fight for justice but only once she has learned all the facts. She agrees to plea agreement for the rapist but once challenged by Sarah she decides to go after the people who cheered them on. Kelly gives a good performance searching for the truth. (8/10)

 kelly

Jodie Foster: Sarah Tobias the victim who has to go through the rape only to be left questioned by people on her side and the people against her. Sarah refused to back down and wants to see the people pay when she finally gets the chance on front of a courtroom full of people. Jodie gives a great performance that she full deserved the Oscar she won. (10/10)

jodie

Support Cast: Where The Accused chooses not to focus on the rapist we don’t meet too many supporting characters, we only see their actions and hear how other people saw them.

 

Director Review: Jonathan Kaplan – Jonathan does a great job directing The Accused he focuses on the victim and the case being built against the rapist. (9/10)

 

Crime: The crime The Accused focuses on was based on a real case and shows the seriousness of it. (9/10)

Drama: The Accused uses the effects to create the drama of what happened to the people involved. (9/10)

Settings: The Accused uses the settings well, we see The Mill where the crime happens, the office to see how the world is different for our victim, the small beat up house the victims lives in showing that she would be considered lower than the people involved and almost not important and the home of the prosecutor which shows us the difference in working class the two women have. (9/10)

Suggestion: I would suggest watching The Accused as it shows the victims problems after the assault rather than trying to make a monstrous villain for a crime film. (Watch)

 

Best Part: The Courtroom

Worst Part: The Deal

 

Believability: Based on a real case a young woman suffered through. (9/10)

Chances of Tears: No (0/10)

Chances of Sequel: No

Post Credits Scene: No

 

Oscar Chances: Jodie Foster won Best Actress.

Box Office: $32 Million

Budget: $6 Million

Runtime: 1 Hour 51 Minutes

Tagline: On April 18th 1987, Sarah Tobias stops for a drink at a bar called The Mill.

Trivia: Upon seeing a pre-screening of the film, Jodie Foster thought her performance as Sarah Tobias was so awful that she immediately began preparing for and taking the GRE’s for graduate school. She was prepared to leave her film career behind and focus on academia…until she won the Academy Award for her performance.

 

Overall: Would you fight for the truth

https://moviesreview101.com/2015/01/28/the-accused-1988/
  
MI
4
5.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
The first few chapters of MItW started off well enough, the author captured the coastal town atmosphere perfectly, however, after that it got a little, okay at times a lot, cheesy and eye-roll-inducing. Romances don't have to be that sticky-sweet. What was different and interesting is that the narration was mainly told through the male lead instead of the female; there's not too much of that in romances. The only downfall to the story being told this way was Damon waxing poetic about Sarah the Mysterious, Sarah the Magical, Sarah the Magnificent, Sarah, She Who Walks on Water - seriously, what a Mary-Sue. I'm surprised people didn't address her as Saint Sarah. Everyone in town follows her "advice" (basically she tells them what to do in a roundabout way and they listen), seeks her out to magically fix all their problems, act like she's a goddess, combined, this all made it ten times worse. They just follow her like brainless zombies and never get upset at her poking her nose in their business (not that they all don't do the same in everybody else's). Even though all of that was nauseating, she wasn't the worst Mary-Sue I've run across (Why o' why are there so many of them? Is there a writer's manual on how to write a paragon so that everything they touch, everywhere they go, everyone they meet, they're held up as a supreme being? I wish I was perfect too. :P) and she had magic, so that makes it all the more unfair. Although, who is Sarah besides the saint of this small coastal town? I have no clue, she was never made real, I actually envisioned a golden aura around her like she's some sort of angelic being or something, which is at total odds with her tough defender super hero side. Some girls have all the luck. She has magic, she's as kind as can be, she's perfect in every way (except she's not conventionally beautiful or something, the description was kind of unclear), so of course everyone loves her, she's peaceful and she gets to kick a** like she's Buffy? No freaking way. Where can I sign up?

Another annoyance was "painfully shy" Hannah, one of Sarah's six sisters. Hannah is apparently a model who travels the world, is on magazines, goes on talk shows, etc., even though she is painfully shy. Hey, I can believe someone famous has trouble like that, my problem comes from her "condition" being described as "painfully shy" all the time. It is mentioned in that exact same way, it's never really shy, very shy, extremely shy, or even just plain old shy, no it has to be "painfully shy." In truth, it was only said three times (that I noticed), but in a story that is only around ninety pages, it really sticks out, especially since it was awkwardly brought into the plot. I have a hard time believing this is only shyness, try social phobia or at the very least, some anxiety disorder. Why hasn't she had psychological care? The only remedies mentioned are magical spells and whatnot. While I'm on the subject of Hannah, of whom I know more about personality-wise than Sarah, I might as well mention the jeering and taunting between Jona, the town sheriff, and herself. These interactions are so over-the-top and obvious; we all know where this is going to lead in a future book. And not one of the sisters or Damon notices what is right in front of them. How can they be so imperceptive? What are they, seven? Although I have to admit I'd hate to be called "Baby" or "Barbie" doll too, but then again, I don't look like a Victoria's Secret model, Hannah does.

As for the plot, it was barely there, more time was spent on introducing the sisters, their legacy, characters that went nowhere, and having Sarah sit on a pedestal. Damon would have been more interesting if this had been made into a full-length book - I like the idea of a scientist being confronted with magic - but there just wasn't enough there for a cohesive story. I usually don't write much about short stories but had a lot to say about this one. Obviously. I'm interested in the sisters' stories, I try not to judge authors solely based on a short story, so I will check them out, especially Hannah's. As someone who's been "painfully shy" (couldn't resist) her whole life, my interest has been piqued to see how the author develops Hannah and her shyness in that installment of the series.

I was thinking of giving this an average rating but after writing my review and thinking back on the story, it's just not that good.
2/5 stars