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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Black Christmas (1974) in Movies
Dec 11, 2019
Answer The Phone
With anethor remake coming out this friday, and that i already reviewed the 2006 remake. In going back to the oringal, were it alll started from. So lets take a little trip back to 1974.
Inspired by the urban legend "The babysitter and the man upstairs" and a series of murders that took place in the Westmount section of Montreal, Quebec, Moore wrote the screenplay under the title Stop Me.
The Plot: As winter break begins, a group of sorority sisters, including Jess (Olivia Hussey) and the often inebriated Barb (Margot Kidder), begin to receive anonymous, lascivious phone calls. Initially, Barb eggs the caller on, but stops when he responds threateningly. Soon, Barb's friend Claire (Lynne Griffin) goes missing from the sorority house, and a local adolescent girl is murdered, leading the girls to suspect a serial killer is on the loose. But no one realizes just how near the culprit is.
Margot Kidder remembered shooting the film as being "fun. I really bonded with Andrea Martin, filming in Toronto and Ontario. Olivia Hussey was a bit of an odd one. She was obsessed with the idea of falling in love with Paul McCartney through her psychic. We were a little hard on her for things like that.
Black Christmas eventually gained a cult following and is notable for being one of the earliest slasher films. It went on to inspire other slasher films, the biggest one of all being John Carpenter's Halloween (which was apparently inspired by Clark suggesting what a Black Christmas sequel would be like).
Black Christmas has been included multiple lists in various media outlets as one of the greatest horror films ever made. The film ranked No. 87 on Bravo's The 100 Scariest Movie Moments.
A overall classic slasher horror movie based around a hoilday.
Inspired by the urban legend "The babysitter and the man upstairs" and a series of murders that took place in the Westmount section of Montreal, Quebec, Moore wrote the screenplay under the title Stop Me.
The Plot: As winter break begins, a group of sorority sisters, including Jess (Olivia Hussey) and the often inebriated Barb (Margot Kidder), begin to receive anonymous, lascivious phone calls. Initially, Barb eggs the caller on, but stops when he responds threateningly. Soon, Barb's friend Claire (Lynne Griffin) goes missing from the sorority house, and a local adolescent girl is murdered, leading the girls to suspect a serial killer is on the loose. But no one realizes just how near the culprit is.
Margot Kidder remembered shooting the film as being "fun. I really bonded with Andrea Martin, filming in Toronto and Ontario. Olivia Hussey was a bit of an odd one. She was obsessed with the idea of falling in love with Paul McCartney through her psychic. We were a little hard on her for things like that.
Black Christmas eventually gained a cult following and is notable for being one of the earliest slasher films. It went on to inspire other slasher films, the biggest one of all being John Carpenter's Halloween (which was apparently inspired by Clark suggesting what a Black Christmas sequel would be like).
Black Christmas has been included multiple lists in various media outlets as one of the greatest horror films ever made. The film ranked No. 87 on Bravo's The 100 Scariest Movie Moments.
A overall classic slasher horror movie based around a hoilday.
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Prophecy (Antigone: The True Story, #1) in Books
Jan 23, 2020
<b><i>I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>Like many classics, I'm not a huge fan of <i>Oedipus Rex </i>(let's just say it was a little boring here and there and maybe I needed Shmoop to help me understand what was going on).
Anyways, despite the fact I struggled with writing an essay over Oedipus, <i>Prophecy </i>seemed interesting enough simply because of the fact Oedipus isn't the main character. Prophecy tells the story of Antigone, one of Oedipus daughters, and a princess of Thebes who is believed to be both blessed and cursed (the former being the most popular with the latter being an internal admission) by the gods at the same time - at least in McBurnies version.
There does, however, seem to be a bit of a repetition that irked me after it occurred a few times - everyone keeps telling Antigone she's blessed by the gods and she has a gift, yada yada, and it really just made the story feel much slower than it was actually going. (I mean, I totally get why but still .)
I really enjoyed McBurnies take of <i>Oedipus Rex</i> in <i>Prophecy </i>- the author breaks down the original story and simplifies it, yet she takes her own spin of the tale from a different perspective (Antigone). It's a refreshing take and from the way McBurnie ends the story, I'm extremely curious where and what the sequel will lead to.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-prophecy-by-coreena-mcburnie/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Anyways, despite the fact I struggled with writing an essay over Oedipus, <i>Prophecy </i>seemed interesting enough simply because of the fact Oedipus isn't the main character. Prophecy tells the story of Antigone, one of Oedipus daughters, and a princess of Thebes who is believed to be both blessed and cursed (the former being the most popular with the latter being an internal admission) by the gods at the same time - at least in McBurnies version.
There does, however, seem to be a bit of a repetition that irked me after it occurred a few times - everyone keeps telling Antigone she's blessed by the gods and she has a gift, yada yada, and it really just made the story feel much slower than it was actually going. (I mean, I totally get why but still .)
I really enjoyed McBurnies take of <i>Oedipus Rex</i> in <i>Prophecy </i>- the author breaks down the original story and simplifies it, yet she takes her own spin of the tale from a different perspective (Antigone). It's a refreshing take and from the way McBurnie ends the story, I'm extremely curious where and what the sequel will lead to.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-prophecy-by-coreena-mcburnie/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
JT (287 KP) rated I Am Number Four (2011) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
Bland and flat for the first half then bells and whistles for the final act, it’s not awe inspiring stuff really, a Twilight for the Sci-fi genre. When their home planet is destroyed by Mogadorians, nine infant aliens with extraordinary powers and their guardians are scattered around the Earth hiding from certain death.
With the first three dead the leather trench coat wearing villains, complete with odd looking tattoos and piranha like teeth come after Number 4, John Smith (Pettyfer).
Hiding out in a small town Smith tries to fit in, experiencing everything that a normal everyday teenager would do, while trying to suppress hidden powers that he slowly grasps the responsibility of.
He falls for the shy blonde, Sarah (Agron) who hides behind the lens of her camera, and befriends the local nerd who believes that Aliens have abducted his dad, well help is at hand there.
It really is a film of two halves, with the romantic adolescents looking to find each other and rebelling the elements that threaten to tear them apart.
Caruso then suddenly ramps the action and visual set pieces up as the battle across town heats up with the Mogadorians hot on their heels. There is also the introduction of Number 6 (Teresa Palmer), leather clad and sexy she rides in on a shiny red Ducati to help save the day complete with her own set of unique powers.
There is no denying that the finale certainly lifts the film but by this time the only thing it will achieve will be waking the audience up from what was a boring opening.
A sequel is no doubt a sure thing, but do we really need another franchise of teen lust and super powers? We’ve already had Potter and Cullen!
With the first three dead the leather trench coat wearing villains, complete with odd looking tattoos and piranha like teeth come after Number 4, John Smith (Pettyfer).
Hiding out in a small town Smith tries to fit in, experiencing everything that a normal everyday teenager would do, while trying to suppress hidden powers that he slowly grasps the responsibility of.
He falls for the shy blonde, Sarah (Agron) who hides behind the lens of her camera, and befriends the local nerd who believes that Aliens have abducted his dad, well help is at hand there.
It really is a film of two halves, with the romantic adolescents looking to find each other and rebelling the elements that threaten to tear them apart.
Caruso then suddenly ramps the action and visual set pieces up as the battle across town heats up with the Mogadorians hot on their heels. There is also the introduction of Number 6 (Teresa Palmer), leather clad and sexy she rides in on a shiny red Ducati to help save the day complete with her own set of unique powers.
There is no denying that the finale certainly lifts the film but by this time the only thing it will achieve will be waking the audience up from what was a boring opening.
A sequel is no doubt a sure thing, but do we really need another franchise of teen lust and super powers? We’ve already had Potter and Cullen!
MelanieTheresa (997 KP) rated Paranoid in Books
Jul 30, 2019
When I first started reading thrillers, Lisa Jackson was one of the first authors I was drawn to, and while I haven't read much from her recently due to the ridiculous length of my TBR list, it's nice to see that she's just as good as ever.
Rachel, you poor, nervous thing....are you truly paranoid, or is someone actually out to get you? There are people in Edgewater, Oregon (an incestuous little town if ever there was one), who think that twenty years ago, Rachel Gaston got away with the murder of her own brother. But did she? Figuring this out is half the fun, so you won't find any spoilers here. There's alot going on in this story, and the author thoughtfully provides a ton of characters on which to cast your suspicions, keeping the reader off balance.
I do have a bone to pick: Rachel's kids. THEY ARE SUCH LITTLE ASSHOLES. They are the worst teenage cliches on two legs. I can't even tell you how many times I thought to myself "OMG I'd have slapped you by now." At one point, I thought that maybe Harper (the eldest and most bitchy child) would start to understand her mom's paranoia, and mellow the hell out.....not so. I also feel like the author spends far too much time on Dylan's little "side business" before actually telling us what it is.
The reveals definitely got me! I hadn't been able to guess up to that point, and that's a good thing. It also seems as though it may have been left open for a sequel? Not necessary, in my opinion, as it stands on its own.
Thank you to the folks at SheSpeaks.com for the advanced copy!
Rachel, you poor, nervous thing....are you truly paranoid, or is someone actually out to get you? There are people in Edgewater, Oregon (an incestuous little town if ever there was one), who think that twenty years ago, Rachel Gaston got away with the murder of her own brother. But did she? Figuring this out is half the fun, so you won't find any spoilers here. There's alot going on in this story, and the author thoughtfully provides a ton of characters on which to cast your suspicions, keeping the reader off balance.
I do have a bone to pick: Rachel's kids. THEY ARE SUCH LITTLE ASSHOLES. They are the worst teenage cliches on two legs. I can't even tell you how many times I thought to myself "OMG I'd have slapped you by now." At one point, I thought that maybe Harper (the eldest and most bitchy child) would start to understand her mom's paranoia, and mellow the hell out.....not so. I also feel like the author spends far too much time on Dylan's little "side business" before actually telling us what it is.
The reveals definitely got me! I hadn't been able to guess up to that point, and that's a good thing. It also seems as though it may have been left open for a sequel? Not necessary, in my opinion, as it stands on its own.
Thank you to the folks at SheSpeaks.com for the advanced copy!
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2165 KP) rated Here Comes the Body in Books
Feb 26, 2020
Debut You Won’t Want to Refuse
Mia Carina has returned home after her adulterous husband’s mysterious disappearance to work in the family business. Or, I should say, the family’s new business. Her father, reputed mobster Ravello, has recently acquired the Belle View catering hall in the Queens borough of New York City, and Mia is going to help him run it as a 100% real business. Her first week on the job, Mia is in charge of a bachelor party when disaster strikes. Not only does the stripper not jump out of the cake, she’s dead in the cake. With the police showing interest in the new business and especially her father, Mia begins poking around, hoping to figure out what happened. Can she do it?
The mob? New York City? Yes, this is indeed still a cozy. While those are the elements that help make up this different take on the genre, they only help provide the background. The heart of the book is still a great puzzle and charming characters. Mia already knows some of the supporting players in the book, and we can tell right away how much they love each other. The rest of the characters are entertaining, and the suspects are strong. The plot weaves in some interesting directions before we reach the logical and satisfying conclusion. We get some great humor as Mia deals with a return home that isn’t as smooth as she thought it would be. Being a culinary cozy, we get some delicious sounding recipes at the end and a fun party idea. I took advantage of a lazy Sunday afternoon to finish this book, and I enjoyed every page of it. I’m already anxious for the sequel. It would be a mistake to refuse this excellent debut.
The mob? New York City? Yes, this is indeed still a cozy. While those are the elements that help make up this different take on the genre, they only help provide the background. The heart of the book is still a great puzzle and charming characters. Mia already knows some of the supporting players in the book, and we can tell right away how much they love each other. The rest of the characters are entertaining, and the suspects are strong. The plot weaves in some interesting directions before we reach the logical and satisfying conclusion. We get some great humor as Mia deals with a return home that isn’t as smooth as she thought it would be. Being a culinary cozy, we get some delicious sounding recipes at the end and a fun party idea. I took advantage of a lazy Sunday afternoon to finish this book, and I enjoyed every page of it. I’m already anxious for the sequel. It would be a mistake to refuse this excellent debut.
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