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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.
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Office Christmas Party (2016) in Movies
Oct 13, 2018
Fun Holiday Film
A Branch Manager of a struggling tech company looks to throw the mother of all parties to help recruit a major client. He has to do it under the nose of his jerk sister who is the CEO of the company.
Acting: 10
Stellar cast all around, each of them bringing a different type of hilarity to the film. Kate McKinnon is my personal favorite, playing the role of Office Manager Mary Winetoss. Her against-the-grain role makes you cringe and laugh at the same time.
Jennifer Aniston plays Carol Vanstone, the CEO you love to hate. Aniston, typically an innocent good girl, is actually quite good at being bad. One scene in particular has her squaring up with a little girl in a lounge and it’s easily one of the best parts of the film.
Beginning: 7
Pretty plain lift-off as you are introduced to the majority of the players in the film. It’s not the greatest start, but it still has its moments. Ten minutes was enough to make me want to see more.
Characters: 10
Office Christmas Party would fall short without hilarious characters like Vanstone and Winetoss. They keep the narrative interesting and the party entertaining. There’s random cameos, a crazy black DJ, and a nutty pimp. This film has it all!
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
Conflict: 4
Easily one of the film’s weak spots. The film’s goal is to throw a huge party for a potential client and hope the CEO doesn’t find out. When you think about it, there’s not too much room for conflict here, at least not enough to raise concern. If you go into the film with that in mind, you’ll have a much better time.
Genre: 8
Memorability: 6
There are quite a few fun moments that ultimately save the film. They don’t hit you like machine gun fire, rather they are more sporadic hence the lower score. I did walk away with some good quotable lines that cracked me up (“Something’s happening in my diaper"!).
Pace: 5
Plot: 8
Resolution: 6
Overall: 74
As I’m sitting here watching Olivia Munn and Jason Bateman do their dance routine in giant snowman costumes, I can’t help but think that a few tweaks here and there could have really made this film a classic. I enjoyed Office Christmas Party and have no problem adding it to my holiday rotation. If you’re looking to expand out of the feel good, innocent Christmas films of the year, this definitely one to check out.
Acting: 10
Stellar cast all around, each of them bringing a different type of hilarity to the film. Kate McKinnon is my personal favorite, playing the role of Office Manager Mary Winetoss. Her against-the-grain role makes you cringe and laugh at the same time.
Jennifer Aniston plays Carol Vanstone, the CEO you love to hate. Aniston, typically an innocent good girl, is actually quite good at being bad. One scene in particular has her squaring up with a little girl in a lounge and it’s easily one of the best parts of the film.
Beginning: 7
Pretty plain lift-off as you are introduced to the majority of the players in the film. It’s not the greatest start, but it still has its moments. Ten minutes was enough to make me want to see more.
Characters: 10
Office Christmas Party would fall short without hilarious characters like Vanstone and Winetoss. They keep the narrative interesting and the party entertaining. There’s random cameos, a crazy black DJ, and a nutty pimp. This film has it all!
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
Conflict: 4
Easily one of the film’s weak spots. The film’s goal is to throw a huge party for a potential client and hope the CEO doesn’t find out. When you think about it, there’s not too much room for conflict here, at least not enough to raise concern. If you go into the film with that in mind, you’ll have a much better time.
Genre: 8
Memorability: 6
There are quite a few fun moments that ultimately save the film. They don’t hit you like machine gun fire, rather they are more sporadic hence the lower score. I did walk away with some good quotable lines that cracked me up (“Something’s happening in my diaper"!).
Pace: 5
Plot: 8
Resolution: 6
Overall: 74
As I’m sitting here watching Olivia Munn and Jason Bateman do their dance routine in giant snowman costumes, I can’t help but think that a few tweaks here and there could have really made this film a classic. I enjoyed Office Christmas Party and have no problem adding it to my holiday rotation. If you’re looking to expand out of the feel good, innocent Christmas films of the year, this definitely one to check out.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Pitch Perfect 2 (2015) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
For those, like me, who fell in love with the sleeper hit that Pitch Perfect was 3 years ago, Pitch Perfect 2 delivers the “more” we clamored for. In that regard, it’s as good if not better than the first. Sure, it’s missing that surprise factor that charmed even the most jaded critics. But those who wanted more a capella mash-ups from the Bellas and Treblemakers, more audacity from Fat Amy, puzzling confessions from whispering Lilly, off-color commentary from John and Gail and brash riff-offs with other a capella crews – rookie director Elizabeth Banks delivers.
There may be complaints that she offers just more of the same, but that’s what the fans wanted, right? That message was delivered a bit heavy-handedly, especially when the Barden Bellas, three-time defending champions, appeared to be losing their way with more convoluted productions and choreography that detracted from their singing. When one particular performance goes mortifyingly sideways, or in this case upside down, in front of the President and First Lady no less, the Bellas are stripped of their championship tour and threatened with disbanding. To keep their charter they have to be the first U.S. team to win the world championships. Hanging their hopes on a world title, they have to beat the ridiculous perfection that is the German team, Das Sound Machine. To beat the Germans, they need to find their sound again and deliver more of what got them there in the first place.
Anna Kendrick returns as adorably a ca-awkward Beca, but this time around instead of finding her place in college, she’s preparing to find her place in the music industry, unbeknownst to the rest of the Bellas. She’s ready to move on with life after a capella competition, while Brittany Snow’s Chloe isn’t quite there yet. Skylar Astin is back as boyfriend Jesse who now leads Treblemakers with Benji (Ben Platt) whose magic skills improved more than his ability to speak to women.
As in the first movie, Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins deliver the absurd observations with perfect aplomb. Rebel Wilson, Ester Dean and Hana Mae Lee reprise their respective roles as fat Amy, butch Cynthia, and weird Lilly. Adam Devine also returns as Bumper while Oscar-nominee Hailee Steinfeld is the new kid on the block as a legacy Bella, courtesy of her mom Katey Sagal, a Bella in the 80s.
While the storyline is predictable, Pitch Perfect 2 is still entertaining and comes with some fun surprises. Fans will not be disappointed. And stay through the credits.
There may be complaints that she offers just more of the same, but that’s what the fans wanted, right? That message was delivered a bit heavy-handedly, especially when the Barden Bellas, three-time defending champions, appeared to be losing their way with more convoluted productions and choreography that detracted from their singing. When one particular performance goes mortifyingly sideways, or in this case upside down, in front of the President and First Lady no less, the Bellas are stripped of their championship tour and threatened with disbanding. To keep their charter they have to be the first U.S. team to win the world championships. Hanging their hopes on a world title, they have to beat the ridiculous perfection that is the German team, Das Sound Machine. To beat the Germans, they need to find their sound again and deliver more of what got them there in the first place.
Anna Kendrick returns as adorably a ca-awkward Beca, but this time around instead of finding her place in college, she’s preparing to find her place in the music industry, unbeknownst to the rest of the Bellas. She’s ready to move on with life after a capella competition, while Brittany Snow’s Chloe isn’t quite there yet. Skylar Astin is back as boyfriend Jesse who now leads Treblemakers with Benji (Ben Platt) whose magic skills improved more than his ability to speak to women.
As in the first movie, Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins deliver the absurd observations with perfect aplomb. Rebel Wilson, Ester Dean and Hana Mae Lee reprise their respective roles as fat Amy, butch Cynthia, and weird Lilly. Adam Devine also returns as Bumper while Oscar-nominee Hailee Steinfeld is the new kid on the block as a legacy Bella, courtesy of her mom Katey Sagal, a Bella in the 80s.
While the storyline is predictable, Pitch Perfect 2 is still entertaining and comes with some fun surprises. Fans will not be disappointed. And stay through the credits.
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Darren (1599 KP) rated Scooby Doo: Return to Zombie Island (2019) in Movies
Sep 16, 2019
Characters – Scooby-Doo and Shaggy have both become tired of solving mysteries, they want the team to stop and get their way, they win the holiday for the gang which sees them going to an old location needing to decide whether to let the group solve the mystery on the island. Fred has sold the Mystery Machine, he is having daytime dreams of it returning to him, where he judges most other vehicles for not being on the same level as his beloved. Daphne is here, though we don’t see anything we haven’t seen before from her, while Velma has a blog showing us just how the character has evolved for the time, which does show the frustration here character has when she can’t solve the mysteries anymore. Most of the new characters are left to feel just here with only Alan the hotel manager and Seaver being properly introduced.
Story – The story here follows the mystery inc gang who get invited back to an old location to solve the mystery from their past, only to find themselves needing to fight cat people once again. The story tries to be self-aware of many of the previous films, which has worked before, but for some reason doesn’t quite click this time. The fact we have seen the evolution of Velma and not the rest of the characters disappoints, which also seems to play along the idea of being a film within a film, that just again puts too much wink, wink, nudge, nudge to the audience. If you are a Scooby Doo fan, this story is everything you need, even if it does have a couple of flaws along the way.
Adventure/Comedy – The adventure does see the gang return to one of their most famous locations, which is different to much of what we have seen before, while the comedy does land in a couple of places very well.
Settings – The film does take the gang back to Moonscar island to face a new host of enemies in one of the most famous locations.
Animation – This does have the typical animation you are used to seeing for the Scooby Doo movies, it never lets down and works for the slapstick side of things.
Scene of the Movie – The big jump.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Daphne is almost just painted background character.
Final Thoughts – This isn’t the best Scooby Doo animated movie, it disappoints in a lot of places with how it handles certain decisions in the story and too many wink wink nudge nudge moments.
Overall: Basic Scooby Doo.
Story – The story here follows the mystery inc gang who get invited back to an old location to solve the mystery from their past, only to find themselves needing to fight cat people once again. The story tries to be self-aware of many of the previous films, which has worked before, but for some reason doesn’t quite click this time. The fact we have seen the evolution of Velma and not the rest of the characters disappoints, which also seems to play along the idea of being a film within a film, that just again puts too much wink, wink, nudge, nudge to the audience. If you are a Scooby Doo fan, this story is everything you need, even if it does have a couple of flaws along the way.
Adventure/Comedy – The adventure does see the gang return to one of their most famous locations, which is different to much of what we have seen before, while the comedy does land in a couple of places very well.
Settings – The film does take the gang back to Moonscar island to face a new host of enemies in one of the most famous locations.
Animation – This does have the typical animation you are used to seeing for the Scooby Doo movies, it never lets down and works for the slapstick side of things.
Scene of the Movie – The big jump.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Daphne is almost just painted background character.
Final Thoughts – This isn’t the best Scooby Doo animated movie, it disappoints in a lot of places with how it handles certain decisions in the story and too many wink wink nudge nudge moments.
Overall: Basic Scooby Doo.
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Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated The Cockatoo from Timbuktu in Books
Mar 19, 2020
Honest Review for Free Copy of Book
The Cockatoo from Timbuktu is from the same author who wrote Timothy Mean and the Time Machine (a 4/4 book I reviewed about a year ago) by William AE Ford. Just like the first book I reviewed by him, it is an amazingly cute book with fun rhymes.
Kian is a baby Cockatoo that lives at a zoo but wants to go home to Timbuktu and his parents. The little Cockatoo plans his escape and goes on a trip around the world to go home. He visits places like India and China, along with Egypt and Rio. He directly visits eight places during his journey and if readers pay attention he flys over even more amazing places such as the Stonehenge.
I absolutely love the cute little Cockatoo that is the focus of the story. “Cockatoo” and “Timbuktu” are both fun words to say, drawing interest from children. The artwork is also extremely cute as are all the other animals. Other than the few areas where the rhyme falls apart, I could find nothing to complain about. I absolutely love the cute little Cockatoo that is the focus of the story. I do understand losing the rhyme at spots for the sake of the story.
This is designed for children. It could easily be read to newborns and older. A great book fro the beginning reader. It may also spark interest in different animals in older children as they track Kian’s path home. I rate this book 4 out of 4. Just like the book before it, this book is wonderful. I love the bright artwork and repetition and rhymes. Everything about this book is great for young children.
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Kian is a baby Cockatoo that lives at a zoo but wants to go home to Timbuktu and his parents. The little Cockatoo plans his escape and goes on a trip around the world to go home. He visits places like India and China, along with Egypt and Rio. He directly visits eight places during his journey and if readers pay attention he flys over even more amazing places such as the Stonehenge.
I absolutely love the cute little Cockatoo that is the focus of the story. “Cockatoo” and “Timbuktu” are both fun words to say, drawing interest from children. The artwork is also extremely cute as are all the other animals. Other than the few areas where the rhyme falls apart, I could find nothing to complain about. I absolutely love the cute little Cockatoo that is the focus of the story. I do understand losing the rhyme at spots for the sake of the story.
This is designed for children. It could easily be read to newborns and older. A great book fro the beginning reader. It may also spark interest in different animals in older children as they track Kian’s path home. I rate this book 4 out of 4. Just like the book before it, this book is wonderful. I love the bright artwork and repetition and rhymes. Everything about this book is great for young children.
https://www.facebook.com/nightreaderreviews/
https://smashbomb.com/nightreader
https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.com/
Dean (6927 KP) Feb 21, 2019
Lee (2222 KP) Feb 21, 2019