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Fred (860 KP) rated Happy Death Day (2017) in Movies
Jun 29, 2019
Murder can be fun!
Picture Edge of Tomorrow, but instead of aliens killing someone over & over, it's a slasher. Simple enough. Just like that film, and Groundhog Day, our protagonist learns from their mistakes & becomes a better person. Jessica Rothe was great as the one who's stuck in the time loop. She's very funny. The story is very simple, but it's entertaining. I figured out who was who (trying not to give anything away here), but it didn't matter. There are some creepy parts, but unlike most slasher films, there is practically no gore. Which is fine. In fact, you may not even consider it a slasher film. The one problem I have with the film is it doesn't explain why she is looping. But I hear the sequel explains it. Guess I'll have to watch that soon.
Andy K (10821 KP) rated A Christmas Story (1983) in Movies
Dec 4, 2018
Timeless!
A friend recently reminded me in 1983 when this film was released it only managed to make just over $19 million at the US box office. Movies that beat it in 1983 included High Road to China, Class, My Tutor and Two of a Kind. Ever heard of any of those? Didn't think so.
So how, 35 years later, does this film still endure so much it is played on a 24 hour loop and several US TV stations the few days leading up to Christmas?
Plenty to love. Relateable, enduring characters. Is Santa real? Cute and fun. Not politically correct. Lots of memorable scenes and unforgettable moments.
I would say there is a very short list of holiday films I try and make time for annually, but this is definitely one of them!
So how, 35 years later, does this film still endure so much it is played on a 24 hour loop and several US TV stations the few days leading up to Christmas?
Plenty to love. Relateable, enduring characters. Is Santa real? Cute and fun. Not politically correct. Lots of memorable scenes and unforgettable moments.
I would say there is a very short list of holiday films I try and make time for annually, but this is definitely one of them!
Awix (3310 KP) rated Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) in Movies
Oct 25, 2019 (Updated Oct 25, 2019)
Expectations for this sixth Terminator movie were so low that even with a breathe-on-it-and-it-collapses plot, this is an startlingly effective sequel. A young girl finds herself the target of an assassination machine from the future, but a cyborg soldier has also been sent back to protect her. But this is not the first time round the time loop, and survivors from a previous version of this story find themselves drawn into the conflict...
So, yes, the plot only just manages to hold together, and the film is saddled with a leadenly reductionist message to put across - but it smartly identifies the one reproducible element of Terminator 2 that was really distinctive (Sarah Connor's transformation into an unhinged bad-ass) and plays that for all it's worth, accompanying it with some cracking action and fight sequences. Arnie doesn't show up until quite late on, but is so effective when he does it really unbalances the film (he plays the comedy inherent in his role as a Terminator who's been living undercover in suburbia for decades with great aplomb). Still not exactly brilliant, but streets ahead of the ones with Christian Bale and Jason Clarke.
So, yes, the plot only just manages to hold together, and the film is saddled with a leadenly reductionist message to put across - but it smartly identifies the one reproducible element of Terminator 2 that was really distinctive (Sarah Connor's transformation into an unhinged bad-ass) and plays that for all it's worth, accompanying it with some cracking action and fight sequences. Arnie doesn't show up until quite late on, but is so effective when he does it really unbalances the film (he plays the comedy inherent in his role as a Terminator who's been living undercover in suburbia for decades with great aplomb). Still not exactly brilliant, but streets ahead of the ones with Christian Bale and Jason Clarke.
Lee (2222 KP) rated Happy Death Day 2U (2019) in Movies
Feb 18, 2019 (Updated Feb 21, 2019)
A worthy sequel
Contains spoilers, click to show
The original Happy Death Day was a real pleasant surprise. A cross between Groundhog Day and Scream, with our heroine being killed by a baby face mask wearing killer every day, only to wake up again at the start of the same day. With a long list of potential suspects, and slowly feeling the effects of dying repeatedly, she set about trying to find the killers identity. Much of what made the first movie so enjoyable was largely down to lead character Tree, played by Jessica Rothe and the intensely hilarious way that she approached the whole situation. It wasn't exactly a horror movie, more of a comedy thriller.
In Happy Death Day 2U, we begin by following Ryan. Ryan was also in the first movie, bursting into his campus room each morning, interrupting roommate Carter and Tree after she'd spent the night there. As he makes his way to the room from the car he'd spent the night in - avoiding a barking dog, dodging a man asking for money and a boy riding a skateboard - it's pretty clear that we're setting up a series of events likely to be repeated time and again in a similar way that Tree experienced a very specific series of events each day in the first movie. During his morning at university, we discover that Ryan has been working on a Quantum mechanics experiment along with a bunch of nerdy students - a machine dubbed 'Sissy'. Turns out Sissy has been causing some very high power fluctuations and generated some very high readings the day before, the day in which Tree experienced her loop. Soon after, Ryan is killed by the baby face killer and wakes up in his car once again, experiencing the same events we've just seen encounter on the way to his room. When he explains what just happened to Tree and Carter, Tree sets about trying to help him figure out how Sissy caused the time-loop in the first place, and how it has now transferred to Ryan.
At this point you'd think you've got the rest of the movie pretty much figured out - with Ryan repeating his day, aided by experienced looper Tree. But surprisingly, the movie largely abandons its slasher story-line. Instead, we get a more sc-fi story with a varied mix of slapstick comedy and emotional drama. An accident involving Sissy opens up a portal to the multiverse and Tree finds herself caught up in her original loop once more. Only this time, it's in a slightly different universe to the one she's used to - her mum is now alive, and her boyfriend is dating her best friend. Not only does she need to work with Ryan and his nerd friends each day in order to determine how to put things right, she needs to once again work out who the killer is in this particular universe and, more importantly, make the difficult decision to either stay in the universe where her mum is still alive, or return to the one she knows and has lived in all her life.
Once again, Jessica Rothe as Tree is what makes this movie so enjoyable. From the emotional scenes with her mum, to the frustration of the loop, to the bad ass fighting back against it all, she pulls it all off wonderfully. We even get time to enjoy some very funny death scenes too - a particularly enjoyable one being a sky-dive out of an aeroplane, wearing only a bikini and then landing horizontally in slow motion while giving the finger to the camera!
It's difficult for me to say whether or not I enjoyed this movie more or less than the first. A lot of what made the original so enjoyable is present in this sequel. But there are also a lot of new elements introduced, some that work and some that don't. Overall I had a great time watching with this though - definitely a worthy sequel.
In Happy Death Day 2U, we begin by following Ryan. Ryan was also in the first movie, bursting into his campus room each morning, interrupting roommate Carter and Tree after she'd spent the night there. As he makes his way to the room from the car he'd spent the night in - avoiding a barking dog, dodging a man asking for money and a boy riding a skateboard - it's pretty clear that we're setting up a series of events likely to be repeated time and again in a similar way that Tree experienced a very specific series of events each day in the first movie. During his morning at university, we discover that Ryan has been working on a Quantum mechanics experiment along with a bunch of nerdy students - a machine dubbed 'Sissy'. Turns out Sissy has been causing some very high power fluctuations and generated some very high readings the day before, the day in which Tree experienced her loop. Soon after, Ryan is killed by the baby face killer and wakes up in his car once again, experiencing the same events we've just seen encounter on the way to his room. When he explains what just happened to Tree and Carter, Tree sets about trying to help him figure out how Sissy caused the time-loop in the first place, and how it has now transferred to Ryan.
At this point you'd think you've got the rest of the movie pretty much figured out - with Ryan repeating his day, aided by experienced looper Tree. But surprisingly, the movie largely abandons its slasher story-line. Instead, we get a more sc-fi story with a varied mix of slapstick comedy and emotional drama. An accident involving Sissy opens up a portal to the multiverse and Tree finds herself caught up in her original loop once more. Only this time, it's in a slightly different universe to the one she's used to - her mum is now alive, and her boyfriend is dating her best friend. Not only does she need to work with Ryan and his nerd friends each day in order to determine how to put things right, she needs to once again work out who the killer is in this particular universe and, more importantly, make the difficult decision to either stay in the universe where her mum is still alive, or return to the one she knows and has lived in all her life.
Once again, Jessica Rothe as Tree is what makes this movie so enjoyable. From the emotional scenes with her mum, to the frustration of the loop, to the bad ass fighting back against it all, she pulls it all off wonderfully. We even get time to enjoy some very funny death scenes too - a particularly enjoyable one being a sky-dive out of an aeroplane, wearing only a bikini and then landing horizontally in slow motion while giving the finger to the camera!
It's difficult for me to say whether or not I enjoyed this movie more or less than the first. A lot of what made the original so enjoyable is present in this sequel. But there are also a lot of new elements introduced, some that work and some that don't. Overall I had a great time watching with this though - definitely a worthy sequel.
Sarah (126 KP) rated Google Maps - GPS Navigation in Apps
Aug 25, 2018
I don't know where I'd be without my Google Maps app - literally, I'd probably still be driving round Wigan trying to get home from soft play 3 days ago haha! It's invaluable, when trying to find a specific address, or an ATM in an unfamiliar place.
Recommendations for places to go when you're in a new place can be so helpful. Similarly, the time estimates for arrival at the destination are excellent; far more accurate than previous GPS/Sat Nav type apps and devices I've used, as are the information on incidents and accidents on the route.
I only wish it could be easier to try to get a detour; sometimes you can end up stuck in a loop trying to get around a temporary road closure, meaning you need to pull over and amend the route manually. Of course, there will always be limits to what technology can do, and this really is an outstanding app.
Recommendations for places to go when you're in a new place can be so helpful. Similarly, the time estimates for arrival at the destination are excellent; far more accurate than previous GPS/Sat Nav type apps and devices I've used, as are the information on incidents and accidents on the route.
I only wish it could be easier to try to get a detour; sometimes you can end up stuck in a loop trying to get around a temporary road closure, meaning you need to pull over and amend the route manually. Of course, there will always be limits to what technology can do, and this really is an outstanding app.
AJaneClark (3962 KP) rated Crawl (2019) in Movies
Jan 2, 2020
Florida, hurricane season! When dad wasn’t answering his phone, Hayley’s sister pleaded for her to go and check on him.
Hayley drove to her old family home to find dad unconscious in the crawl space underneath the building. But he was not alone! Alligators from the local alligator farm (as an English person, I don’t understand this concept) has managed to access this sub level and were causing some trouble!
Water levels were beginning to rise, and their time was running out! What follows is a loop of escape and then more gator run ins.
I expected a little more from this film, but as a fan of shoddy animal related, creature feature horrors, whilst it didn’t wow me, it was not boring! I had issues with how unrealistic they were acting dispute their injuries. The gators were mostly realistic. And the acting wasn’t awful. It was just a very middle of the range film.
Hayley drove to her old family home to find dad unconscious in the crawl space underneath the building. But he was not alone! Alligators from the local alligator farm (as an English person, I don’t understand this concept) has managed to access this sub level and were causing some trouble!
Water levels were beginning to rise, and their time was running out! What follows is a loop of escape and then more gator run ins.
I expected a little more from this film, but as a fan of shoddy animal related, creature feature horrors, whilst it didn’t wow me, it was not boring! I had issues with how unrealistic they were acting dispute their injuries. The gators were mostly realistic. And the acting wasn’t awful. It was just a very middle of the range film.
Joe Goodhart (27 KP) rated Doctor Who: The Death of Art in Books
Nov 30, 2020
Time for some troof! I tried reading this back when it first came out. I found it $2.95 at a used book store in the U.S. (Philadelphia, to be exact). The premise seemed neat and I saw a mention of Ace in the first few pages, so I felt I was on board. Yeah, no.
Jump ahead to now, I have been re-visiting key 7th Doctor NAs (sorry, but anyone who thinks NuWHO is groundbreaking or mentally stimulating, needs to read some of these and re-evaluate that statement. Just steer clear of this one!). This one was next on my list, as I wanted to give it a second chance, as my mind is so much more freer these days.
Unfortunately, my original opinion still stands for me: this book is rubbish! The beginning is interesting, but then goes so far out of the loop with that Chapter about alien race the Quoth. When Simon Bucher-Jones is on his game, he is A-MAZ-ING, not unlike Brian Michael Bendis when he writes his own creations, but when he sucks like this? <b>PEEEEE-YOOOO!</b>
By all means, do not waste any time, energy, etc. trying to endure this! Your mind will hate for years to come!
Jump ahead to now, I have been re-visiting key 7th Doctor NAs (sorry, but anyone who thinks NuWHO is groundbreaking or mentally stimulating, needs to read some of these and re-evaluate that statement. Just steer clear of this one!). This one was next on my list, as I wanted to give it a second chance, as my mind is so much more freer these days.
Unfortunately, my original opinion still stands for me: this book is rubbish! The beginning is interesting, but then goes so far out of the loop with that Chapter about alien race the Quoth. When Simon Bucher-Jones is on his game, he is A-MAZ-ING, not unlike Brian Michael Bendis when he writes his own creations, but when he sucks like this? <b>PEEEEE-YOOOO!</b>
By all means, do not waste any time, energy, etc. trying to endure this! Your mind will hate for years to come!
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Pretty in Punxsutawney in Books
Jan 25, 2019
Pretty in Punxsutawney
What happens when you get stuck in time, re-living the first day in your new school?
Andie is a teenage girl, who loves movies. She is the type of person that knows exactly what to say… after it’s too late to say it. She is quirky, cutishly nerdy, and adorable in a silly way. And when she moves to Punxsutawney (I don’t think I’ll ever pronounce this town correctly), on the first day in her new school, she gets caught up in an endless loop of having to re-live those 24 hours again and again.
As in the movies, she is convinced that the curse can be broken with a true love’s kiss, she goes on a mission to get the boy. But is he the right one? And is true love what breaks the curse?
Not knowing how to end the loop, Andie tries to get first kiss with a guy she thinks is her true love, and when that doesn’t work, she suddenly tries to make the different types of people hang out together and realise that it doesn’t matter how you look like, to be a good person.
I really loved the idea of the loop in a high-school theme, and that was the main reason that I wanted to read this book really badly. I also loved that the main idea of this book was that looks don’t matter, and don’t judge a book by its cover, but I think that the author took this meaning way too far into the book, and it became too unrealistic, that it was laughable.
I enjoyed the layout of the different types of kids in the school, the jocks, the cheerleaders, the goths, the school-paper girls, the nerds. They were all described very realistically, and I enjoyed the times when we would realise that prejudice doesn’t matter. I can relate to a lot of this, because I was hanging out with both nerds and jocks in my high-school times, being a sports person and being a ‘’weirdo’’ that wants to read at the same time.
I also somehow managed to like the movie references, even though at moments, they are too overwhelming, and sometimes completely unrelated to the plot in place.
What I didn’t like, is how Andie kept changing in order to fit, how her behaviour changed, and her mindset during different days. I did not like this at all. I think that a person should always keep being themselves, no matter who they talk to. Doing the thinks she kept doing, only to be liked by one guy was miserable. Ladies – you are beautiful, no matter what you wear or how you do your hair. If that guy really likes you, he wouldn’t care about all these things and he would see within.
In retrospective, this was an enjoyable read. I am glad I read it, but somehow I think I might’ve been too old to read it now. But for you guys that are still in high-school, or love reading about high-school, this one is definitely worth your time.
Thank you to Netgalley and Blink, for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Andie is a teenage girl, who loves movies. She is the type of person that knows exactly what to say… after it’s too late to say it. She is quirky, cutishly nerdy, and adorable in a silly way. And when she moves to Punxsutawney (I don’t think I’ll ever pronounce this town correctly), on the first day in her new school, she gets caught up in an endless loop of having to re-live those 24 hours again and again.
As in the movies, she is convinced that the curse can be broken with a true love’s kiss, she goes on a mission to get the boy. But is he the right one? And is true love what breaks the curse?
Not knowing how to end the loop, Andie tries to get first kiss with a guy she thinks is her true love, and when that doesn’t work, she suddenly tries to make the different types of people hang out together and realise that it doesn’t matter how you look like, to be a good person.
I really loved the idea of the loop in a high-school theme, and that was the main reason that I wanted to read this book really badly. I also loved that the main idea of this book was that looks don’t matter, and don’t judge a book by its cover, but I think that the author took this meaning way too far into the book, and it became too unrealistic, that it was laughable.
I enjoyed the layout of the different types of kids in the school, the jocks, the cheerleaders, the goths, the school-paper girls, the nerds. They were all described very realistically, and I enjoyed the times when we would realise that prejudice doesn’t matter. I can relate to a lot of this, because I was hanging out with both nerds and jocks in my high-school times, being a sports person and being a ‘’weirdo’’ that wants to read at the same time.
I also somehow managed to like the movie references, even though at moments, they are too overwhelming, and sometimes completely unrelated to the plot in place.
What I didn’t like, is how Andie kept changing in order to fit, how her behaviour changed, and her mindset during different days. I did not like this at all. I think that a person should always keep being themselves, no matter who they talk to. Doing the thinks she kept doing, only to be liked by one guy was miserable. Ladies – you are beautiful, no matter what you wear or how you do your hair. If that guy really likes you, he wouldn’t care about all these things and he would see within.
In retrospective, this was an enjoyable read. I am glad I read it, but somehow I think I might’ve been too old to read it now. But for you guys that are still in high-school, or love reading about high-school, this one is definitely worth your time.
Thank you to Netgalley and Blink, for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.