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A Mother's Love: How My Beautiful Daughter Fought to Live - and Die - on Her Own Terms
Book
On 6 October 2014, a video of Brittany Maynard was posted to YouTube. The first words she utters,...
Merissa (12330 KP) rated Black Hand (Infernal Regions for the Unprepared #1) in Books
Sep 30, 2020
Black Hand is the first book in the Infernal Regions for the Unprepared series and we meet up with Brooklyn, Dominic, and Alice. Brooklyn and Dominic are (apparently) natural enemies and Alice is just a mere human but she is more than capable of holding her own against these two!
Wow! Okay, where do I start? Okay, first of all, you might think there is less action in this one but, trust me, it works. I absolutely loved the fact that although the pacing is still fast, there is time to stop and breathe and appreciate the connection between Brooklyn and Dominic. Also, that gave me time to feel the full impact of Veronica!!
The world- and scene-building are exceptional, giving the reader a nicely rounded view of Brooklyn's world and how different she feels. The emotions are vivid and I was caught up on every word.
This is an amazing start to a new series. I am a fan of Maya Daniels and have enjoyed everything she has written but, this one? Off the freakin' charts!!!! Loved every word. Absolutely and utterly recommended!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Wow! Okay, where do I start? Okay, first of all, you might think there is less action in this one but, trust me, it works. I absolutely loved the fact that although the pacing is still fast, there is time to stop and breathe and appreciate the connection between Brooklyn and Dominic. Also, that gave me time to feel the full impact of Veronica!!
The world- and scene-building are exceptional, giving the reader a nicely rounded view of Brooklyn's world and how different she feels. The emotions are vivid and I was caught up on every word.
This is an amazing start to a new series. I am a fan of Maya Daniels and have enjoyed everything she has written but, this one? Off the freakin' charts!!!! Loved every word. Absolutely and utterly recommended!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
DH
Don Heck: A Work of Art: A Work of Art
Don Heck, John Coates and Eric Nolen-Weathington
Book
* Don Heck remains one of the legendary names in comics, considered an "artist's artist," respected...
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Fright Night (1985) in Movies
Oct 30, 2020
You Can't Murder a Vampire
Fright Night- is a excellent vampire movie. Directed by Tom Holland. It has comedy, horror, lots of gory and Peter Vincent.
The plot: Teenage Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) is a horror-film junkie, so it's no surprise that, when a reclusive new neighbor named Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon) moves next-door, Brewster becomes convinced he is a vampire. It's also no surprise when nobody believes him. However, after strange events begin to occur, Charlie has no choice but to turn to the only person who could possibly help: washed-up television vampire killer Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall).
While writing the script for Cloak & Dagger, Tom Holland amused himself when he conceived the idea of a horror-movie fan becoming convinced that his next-door neighbor was a vampire, but he did not initially think this premise was enough to sustain a story. "What's he gonna do", Holland asked, "because everybody's gonna think he's mad!"
The Peter Vincent character was named after horror icons Peter Cushing and Vincent Price, and Holland specifically wrote the part for Price, but at this point in his career, Price had been so badly typecast that he had stopped accepting roles in horror movies.
Holland and McDowall built a lasting friendship, and McDowall eventually invited Holland to a dinner party where he introduced him to Vincent Price, who was flattered that the part was an homage to him and commented that the film "was wonderful and he thought Roddy did a wonderful job."
Once his cast was in place, Holland got input from each of the actors and made numerous revisions to the script. Some were slight and others were major – such as the ending, which originally featured Peter Vincent transforming into a vampire as he returned to host Fright Night.
The cast could only wear them for a maximum of 20 minutes because they were virtually blind in them, and they were thick and painful, and dried out their eyes. A set was made for Stark to wear when he was in his final pursuit of Peter and Charley, but he kept tripping on the stairs. Holland told him to take one out, and he was then able to perform the scene.
Three sets were made for Amanda Bearse, but one of them caused her agonizing pain, which she initially tried to endure. When it finally became too much to bear, she took the contacts out and the crew realized they had forgotten to buff them. For the scene in Mrs. Brewster's bedroom, Geoffreys kept his contacts in for nearly 40 minutes, resulting in scratches on his eyeballs for months afterward.
For the transformation sequences, up to 8 hours were needed to prepare Sarandon's makeup.
The makeup for Evil Ed's wolf transformation took 18 hours.
On Christmas Eve, during the shooting of a scene where he is running down a staircase, Ragsdale accidentally tripped and broke his ankle, resulting in the film being temporarily put on a hold until he could recover. "
Many scenes were shot with his foot in a cast, including the scene in which Jerry comes to Charley's room to attack him. For shots in which Charley's feet were visible, the costumers slit Ragsdale's shoes in several places, slipped them on and then covered the portions of white cast that peeked through the slits with black cloth. For the scene in which Jerry is carrying Charley by the throat with one hand, Sarandon was simultaneously pushing Ragsdale along on a furniture dolly.
The shot of Jerry pulling the pencil out of his hand was achieved by having a spring-loaded, collapsible pencil glued to his palm and an eraser-tip loosely attached to the back of his hand. When he turns his hand and pulls the spring-loaded piece from his palm, out of shot a |monofilament wire jerked away the tip, so when he turns it back, it appears as though he hss pulled it straight through his hand.
Filming of the sequence with the bat was difficult for effects veteran Randall Cook, who kept winding up on film while puppeteering the creature.
Its a excellent movie.
The plot: Teenage Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) is a horror-film junkie, so it's no surprise that, when a reclusive new neighbor named Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon) moves next-door, Brewster becomes convinced he is a vampire. It's also no surprise when nobody believes him. However, after strange events begin to occur, Charlie has no choice but to turn to the only person who could possibly help: washed-up television vampire killer Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall).
While writing the script for Cloak & Dagger, Tom Holland amused himself when he conceived the idea of a horror-movie fan becoming convinced that his next-door neighbor was a vampire, but he did not initially think this premise was enough to sustain a story. "What's he gonna do", Holland asked, "because everybody's gonna think he's mad!"
The Peter Vincent character was named after horror icons Peter Cushing and Vincent Price, and Holland specifically wrote the part for Price, but at this point in his career, Price had been so badly typecast that he had stopped accepting roles in horror movies.
Holland and McDowall built a lasting friendship, and McDowall eventually invited Holland to a dinner party where he introduced him to Vincent Price, who was flattered that the part was an homage to him and commented that the film "was wonderful and he thought Roddy did a wonderful job."
Once his cast was in place, Holland got input from each of the actors and made numerous revisions to the script. Some were slight and others were major – such as the ending, which originally featured Peter Vincent transforming into a vampire as he returned to host Fright Night.
The cast could only wear them for a maximum of 20 minutes because they were virtually blind in them, and they were thick and painful, and dried out their eyes. A set was made for Stark to wear when he was in his final pursuit of Peter and Charley, but he kept tripping on the stairs. Holland told him to take one out, and he was then able to perform the scene.
Three sets were made for Amanda Bearse, but one of them caused her agonizing pain, which she initially tried to endure. When it finally became too much to bear, she took the contacts out and the crew realized they had forgotten to buff them. For the scene in Mrs. Brewster's bedroom, Geoffreys kept his contacts in for nearly 40 minutes, resulting in scratches on his eyeballs for months afterward.
For the transformation sequences, up to 8 hours were needed to prepare Sarandon's makeup.
The makeup for Evil Ed's wolf transformation took 18 hours.
On Christmas Eve, during the shooting of a scene where he is running down a staircase, Ragsdale accidentally tripped and broke his ankle, resulting in the film being temporarily put on a hold until he could recover. "
Many scenes were shot with his foot in a cast, including the scene in which Jerry comes to Charley's room to attack him. For shots in which Charley's feet were visible, the costumers slit Ragsdale's shoes in several places, slipped them on and then covered the portions of white cast that peeked through the slits with black cloth. For the scene in which Jerry is carrying Charley by the throat with one hand, Sarandon was simultaneously pushing Ragsdale along on a furniture dolly.
The shot of Jerry pulling the pencil out of his hand was achieved by having a spring-loaded, collapsible pencil glued to his palm and an eraser-tip loosely attached to the back of his hand. When he turns his hand and pulls the spring-loaded piece from his palm, out of shot a |monofilament wire jerked away the tip, so when he turns it back, it appears as though he hss pulled it straight through his hand.
Filming of the sequence with the bat was difficult for effects veteran Randall Cook, who kept winding up on film while puppeteering the creature.
Its a excellent movie.
The Twelve-Mile Straight
8.0
Rate It
Book
From New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Henderson, an audacious American epic set in rural...
historical fiction social issues
JH
James Hetfield: The Wolf at Metallica's Door
Book
Metallica's seat at the top table of rock is already assured. A huge part of their stunning...
Pinball Arcade
Games
App
Winner of the Best Mobile Game of 2012 on G4TV! Pinball Arcade by FarSight Studios features exact...
Night Camera
Photo & Video and Utilities
App
Now with 4x digital zoom and 27 different aspect ratios! Night Camera uses the accelerometer to...
Lighting candles: A Paramilitary's War with Death, Drugs and Demons
Book
When Manny McDonnell was twelve he awoke to discover British troops surrounding his home in the...
Merissa (12330 KP) rated Everlasting Fire (Infernal Regions for the Unprepared #3) in Books
Jan 30, 2023
EVERLASTING FIRE is the third book in the Infernal Regions for the Unprepared series and it starts where book 2 finished, so you really should read these in order.
Brooklyn allowed herself to be captured in order to save her friends. Unfortunately, this looks as though it wasn't the best idea, seeing as how she is either caged or put in a ring to fight goodness-knows-what. It is during one of these fights that her arm gets slashed which unleashes a whole load of chaos.
Alice is still the main woman for me! I love her attitude, her witticisms, and her bravery. She is just the 'poor human' with a touch of magic (that I really want to know more about because I don't think it's a touch!) holding her own against supernatural beings. Rowen is a new addition and I loved the scenes he was in. I can't wait to continue with the story.
Samir, Dominic, and Brooklyn all play their roles perfectly, definitely leaving you on a cliffhanger and wanting to know what comes next.
A great addition to the series that I definitely recommend. Black Hand is still my favourite of the bunch, but I am thoroughly enjoying the series.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Brooklyn allowed herself to be captured in order to save her friends. Unfortunately, this looks as though it wasn't the best idea, seeing as how she is either caged or put in a ring to fight goodness-knows-what. It is during one of these fights that her arm gets slashed which unleashes a whole load of chaos.
Alice is still the main woman for me! I love her attitude, her witticisms, and her bravery. She is just the 'poor human' with a touch of magic (that I really want to know more about because I don't think it's a touch!) holding her own against supernatural beings. Rowen is a new addition and I loved the scenes he was in. I can't wait to continue with the story.
Samir, Dominic, and Brooklyn all play their roles perfectly, definitely leaving you on a cliffhanger and wanting to know what comes next.
A great addition to the series that I definitely recommend. Black Hand is still my favourite of the bunch, but I am thoroughly enjoying the series.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!