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Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Pontypool (2009) in Movies

Jun 7, 2020

Pontypool (2009)

2009 | International, Horror

7.3

(8 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Shock Jock Grant Mazzy starts a new job as the morning DJ for the small-town radio station of Pontypool in Ontario, Canada. Struggling with the change of pace Grant and the rest of the stations staff are unprepared for the reports of rioting that start to flood into the show.
Pontypool takes ‘Outbreak’ and ‘Zombie’ movies and adds a nice little twist. The majority of the movie is set in the confines of a small radio station and the three leads are fed information via phone calls and police broadcasts which means that they and therefore the viewer doesn’t see what is happening in the town. The film handles this restricted setting well, slowly building up the atmosphere and tension felt by the three main cast members and playing on Grant’s lack of ‘Small town experience’.
Unlike a lot of zombie movies, Pontypool doesn’t have a lot of visible blood and gore, having most of the violence described instead of shown. This makes the one or two violent scenes even more meaningful as they aren’t just there for the sake of the gore but do actually add something to the atmosphere and story, this is also helped by the fact that we don’t knowingly see a zombie until past the half way point.
Pontypool is an interesting, atmospheric film that relies on story over the need for effect, not only due to any budget restrictions but also because that is what the type of story it is trying to tell.

Kudos

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2387 KP) rated The Murder of Twelve in Books

May 28, 2020

Weddings are Murder

With a record setting blizzard on the way to Cabot Cove, Maine, Jessica Fletcher is planning to hunker down in her temporary home – the Hill House hotel. Before she can do that, she joins Sheriff Metzger when he gets a call about a man found in his car on the edge of town. What at first looks like a tragic accident is indeed murder. On arriving at the hotel, Jessica learns she will be joined for the weekend by a wedding party. But with the bride and groom missing, tempers begin to flair. Then a dead body appears. Are they trapped with a killer? Is it connected to the man outside of town?

This is another fast-moving mystery that obviously pays homage to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. I felt it was a bit more of a thriller (minus the language and violence) than a true cozy, but I’m not complaining since I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to find out what was going to happen next. Much of the book features Jessica and those trapped in the hotel with her, and they are all strong enough characters to carry the story. Unfortunately, the little bit we did see of the recurring characters fell into predictable patterns, although I still enjoyed spending time with them. The writing was so vivid, I felt the cold as I was reading. Any complaints are minor, and I’m happy I picked up this fast-paced book.

Kudos

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2387 KP) rated With a Vengeance in Books

May 9, 2020

Target: First Responders

Paramedic Zoe Chambers is shocked to hear that two of her co-workers were ambushed when out on a call. One of them is dead, and the other is in critical condition. The sniper got away without a trace, leaving Zoe and police chief Pete Adams scrambling to understand what is going on. Was it a random attack? Or was someone out to settle a score with these two paramedics? Will the shooter be caught before Zoe goes back on duty?

If you aren’t familiar with this series, you should probably back up to the earlier books first. This one contains some spoilers to earlier books as Zoe deals with the aftermath of events from them. Once you get here, you’ll b hooked on this entry. The story is fast moving and, because of the personal nature of the plot, it becomes a thriller the further we go into the book. That personal nature also makes it a bit more somber. In fact, I classify this series as a traditional mystery because of that, as well as the smattering of foul language and violence we don’t see in the cozies I typically read. The characters are sharp, both the main characters and supporting characters. Zoe and Pete spend almost equal time as our point of view characters, and the transitions are always easy to follow. This technique is used perfectly to ramp up the suspense as we neared the climax. This is another excellent book in a fantastic series.

Kudos

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2387 KP) rated Cozy Up to Death in Books

May 12, 2020

Cozy Up to Death

Colin Conway | 2020 | Mystery

7.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Debut that Grew on Me

Today is Brody Steele’s first day running The Red Herring, a mystery bookstore in Pleasant Valley, Maine. However, he’s not a reader. So what is he doing here? It’s a cover since Brody has just entered the Witness Protection Program after turning on his former motorcycle gang. Brody is sure he will find his new life too quiet. However, as he tries to settle into town, he begins to find questions. Is there danger lurking just below the surface?

I’m always looking for something different, so I was intrigued by the premise of this book when I first heard about it. It took a while for the story to get going, but once Brody started to realize something was wrong, I was hooked all the way until the climax. I enjoyed the character growth we saw in Brody, and I liked several other characters as well. I did think the writing could be a bit more polished. I also found a few things about the Witness Protection Program, as described here, a little hard to swallow. Then again, I haven’t done any research on it and instead learned everything I know about it from the TV show In Plain Sight, so I decided to sit back and enjoy the story, which I most certainly did. Despite the series name and book title, we do get more violence than in a typical cozy. Overall, I’m glad I gave the book a chance, and I’m curious to see where the series will go from here.