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Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Wish Upon (2017) in Movies
Jul 11, 2019
We often wonder what wishes we would cast if given the opportunity. We think of the riches, second chances, and various selfish or generous choices we would make. In Wish Upon, we bear witness to how this plays out for one teenage girl.
Wish Upon stars Ryan Phillippe as a widowed father to a teen daughter, Clare, played by Joey King (Ramona and Beezus). Working as a salvager, he comes across an antique Chinese Box that he gives to her for her birthday. Clare quickly understands that the box has the ability to grant wishes, but her limited understanding of Chinese prevents her from being able to decipher all of the characters on it which reveal an all important disclaimer: each wish will result in the death of someone you know.
The film is ambitious with its premise yet falls flat in its execution. What seemed to be a promising mix of The Box and Final Destination, resulted in an uninspiring teen thriller that, at times, seemed more slapstick than a film that would grab your attention and fill its viewers with anxiety and tension. Wish Upon checks off many of the cliché boxes with respect to their storytelling and interactions between characters and provides little originality.
Wish Upon misses the mark in not finding an identity. It jumps from being a slasher, to being a teen comedy, to being a romance. This would not be problematic if it incorporated all of these facets into creating a film that takes advantage of these aspects, but it does little to allow for the story to seem as one that would be memorable. Wish Upon will leave audiences wishing they had made a different choice at the box office.
Wish Upon stars Ryan Phillippe as a widowed father to a teen daughter, Clare, played by Joey King (Ramona and Beezus). Working as a salvager, he comes across an antique Chinese Box that he gives to her for her birthday. Clare quickly understands that the box has the ability to grant wishes, but her limited understanding of Chinese prevents her from being able to decipher all of the characters on it which reveal an all important disclaimer: each wish will result in the death of someone you know.
The film is ambitious with its premise yet falls flat in its execution. What seemed to be a promising mix of The Box and Final Destination, resulted in an uninspiring teen thriller that, at times, seemed more slapstick than a film that would grab your attention and fill its viewers with anxiety and tension. Wish Upon checks off many of the cliché boxes with respect to their storytelling and interactions between characters and provides little originality.
Wish Upon misses the mark in not finding an identity. It jumps from being a slasher, to being a teen comedy, to being a romance. This would not be problematic if it incorporated all of these facets into creating a film that takes advantage of these aspects, but it does little to allow for the story to seem as one that would be memorable. Wish Upon will leave audiences wishing they had made a different choice at the box office.
The Ultimate Survival Guide to Being a Girl: On Love, Body Image, School, and Making It Through Life
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Addressing the struggles of young girls everywhere, this hilariously relatable comic guide to life...
Charlotte (184 KP) rated The Search For Synergy (The Talisman Series #1) in Books
Aug 23, 2021
A teen fantasy that brings danger, myths and dragons to life.
I'm always excited to start a new series and I wasn't disappointed with this one.
Brett Salter has created two different but connected characters in Rome and Julien. Their personalities spark off of each other well and it's fun to see how they interact with each other.
The boys both grow in confidence and experience throughout the book, whilst still keeping their individuality and sense of humour.
The Search for Synergy puts a bit of a different light on the myths of dragons and Camelot which makes me happy. It also makes me glad that it's not real, I would be so creeped out!
Not only is this the start of what looks to be a fun and interesting series but it can also be read by a broad audience. As well as being something to read alone, The Search for Synergy, could (and should) be something that is read to a group. I know I said it's a teen fantasy but I also think it would be good for kick-starting the imagination of a slightly younger reader.
@Merissa
I'm always excited to start a new series and I wasn't disappointed with this one.
Brett Salter has created two different but connected characters in Rome and Julien. Their personalities spark off of each other well and it's fun to see how they interact with each other.
The boys both grow in confidence and experience throughout the book, whilst still keeping their individuality and sense of humour.
The Search for Synergy puts a bit of a different light on the myths of dragons and Camelot which makes me happy. It also makes me glad that it's not real, I would be so creeped out!
Not only is this the start of what looks to be a fun and interesting series but it can also be read by a broad audience. As well as being something to read alone, The Search for Synergy, could (and should) be something that is read to a group. I know I said it's a teen fantasy but I also think it would be good for kick-starting the imagination of a slightly younger reader.
@Merissa
Rickstrong23 (216 KP) rated Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) in Movies
Dec 6, 2017
Starwars prequel
I really loved this movie as far as starwars goes .it s beautiful futureistic settings.strong characters who arnt made for just verry young kids .its verry teen to adult storyline.lots of action beliveable and even the smartmouth empire robot is funny yet not too over powering.ive watched this movie 3 times and could watch again.id have ranked it ahead of the first two made starwars movies but they were the first two and still hold a huge place in my heart...well worth the watch.
Book Divas (227 KP) rated Phoenix Awakens (The Phoenix, #1) in Books
Dec 12, 2017
I received an ARC when I signed up and was selected to host the book tour. I made no guarantee of a favorable review and the opinions expressed here are my own.
This teen/young adult read is well written with ever developing characters and I enjoyed reading it. You'll find secret socieities, rituals, magic and a developing romance between my two favorite characters, Julia and Graham. I found it hard to put the book down. There are definitely some lose ends so I look forward to reading the next book.
This teen/young adult read is well written with ever developing characters and I enjoyed reading it. You'll find secret socieities, rituals, magic and a developing romance between my two favorite characters, Julia and Graham. I found it hard to put the book down. There are definitely some lose ends so I look forward to reading the next book.
Mark Halpern (153 KP) rated Sixteen Candles (1984) in Movies
Jan 6, 2018
John Hughes
Ahhh part of the Rat pack in this great teen love story. Ringwald and Hall are funny and dramatic in this love story of a girl who wants nothing more than the hottest guy in school and Hall as the extreme king of the nerds who really wants to to be popular and be noticed. It kind of has a Cinderella kind of feel to it with out the glass slipper. This directors movies is a lot of what I grew up on. Sixteen candles id full love laughs and crazy family fun.
LucyB (47 KP) rated Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in Books
Jul 23, 2017
Rowling does it best!
Ah... I do love the Harry Potter books! I read this one when I was a teen, then recently re-read it to my own children - and it was every bit as great to read it now (as a thirty-something year old adult) as it was originally. That in itself is testament to Rowling's ability to spin a compelling yarn, and her characterisation is wonderful. No wonder we all love it so much...
Bubblesreview (110 KP) rated Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in Books
Feb 5, 2019
Imaginative (2 more)
Magical
Short chapters
Captivating
This book is a very easy read, obviously aimed at pre teen and younger. That being said, at the age of 25 I can't even count the amount of times I have reread this, it never gets old. I'm very glad that they kept the film very close to the book and really brang it too life. I love how the book holds a lot more parts that the film missed out aswell, the whole first chapter is almost completely ignored in the film. Makes it more exciting!
TacoDave (3571 KP) rated Eighth Grade (2018) in Movies
May 17, 2019
acting (1 more)
awkwardness of being a teen
plot (1 more)
kind of boring
Not as good as the critics said
"Eighth Grade" was hailed as a funny, uncomfortable look at what it is "really like" to be in eighth grade. Instead, I found it to just be an uncomfortable look at what a particular person might go through, but it didn't feel related - at all - to what I experienced in eighth grade.
It is basically a series of scenes, with no real engaging storyline or character growth, and I was kind of bored during most of it.
It is basically a series of scenes, with no real engaging storyline or character growth, and I was kind of bored during most of it.
Dean (6925 KP) rated the Xbox version of Obscure in Video Games
Jun 9, 2019
Good Graphics (1 more)
The design of the school
Great Survival Horror
This was a very good survival horror game back in the day. It had the feel of a teen, slasher film and reminded me of The Faculty quite a bit. Apart from the Resident Evil games and The Suffering there weren't many Survival Horror games about for the Xbox. The gameplay was very atmospheric, you often needed a torch to search around the school at night. It had a co-op mode for a second player. A great game for the time.