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Nightshade (Nightshade #1; Nightshade World #4)
Nightshade (Nightshade #1; Nightshade World #4)
Andrea Cremer | 2010 | Young Adult (YA)
4
6.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
For the first hundred pages are so I was really into this but then it got confusing with all these different terms and roles people played; Searchers, Guardians. And then I just lost track of what was going on and why this or that was happening.

In the end I just scanned the pages looking for interesting bits that I could read. I was expecting more from this, I guess, and it didn't reach them.

The thing I liked most was Ren and she didn't even really end up choosing him, though I suppose that could change in the next book, Wolfsbane, but I aint in any hurry to read it.
  
The Wolf Man (1941)
The Wolf Man (1941)
1941 | Horror
10
8.1 (9 Ratings)
Movie Rating
A classic Universal Monster Movie (2 more)
Lon Chaney Jr
Claude Rains
Even a Man who is pure of heart....
Even a man who is pure of heart, and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfsbane blooms, and the Autumn moon is bright.

Heard that before in other werewolf movies, well this was it's origin. Created purely for the film, this poem even had some people believing it was an original folklore saying. If you have watched a handful of werewolf movies, then you will have noticed a lot of similarities;

- Silver bullets
- Wolfsbane
- Full Moon
- Not being able to retreat their acts from their loved ones
- Pentagrams
- Gypsies
- Gypsy Curses
- A Bite or scratch from the werewolf turns you

Some of these were originally created by the writers working on this film, and have become stereotypes that inspire many other werewolf films, TV Shows, Books, and Games etc.

The portrayal of Lawrence Talbot, by Lon Chaney Jr. is one that makes the classic Universal Monsters so special. Just like Frankenstein's Monster, the audiences of the 40's would have been frightened and horrified by these creatures, enough so that they wouldn't realise that they are in actual fact, suppose to sympathize with them, because when you watch the creatures being chased and hunted,the angry mobs fail to understand that these creatures never wanted this. Frankenstein's Monster never asked to be created, or to have the brain of a criminal mistakenly placed into his head instead of that of a civilized man. Larry Talbot never asked for the Wolf Man's curse, which he encountered whilst trying to save the life of a young female friend of his love interest.

With a great story and, at the time, revolutionary stop motion effects for the wolf man transformation, but of course the most important aspect, the beautifully crafted practical effects, the makeup that brings the creature to life, is incredible. My favourite of the classic Universal Monster Movies and one of my favourite movies of all time.
  
The New Mutants (2020)
The New Mutants (2020)
2020 | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
So yeah, I actually quite liked The New Mutants. It's getting absolutely mauled online, so I was honestly expecting an absolute shit storm that I was going to hate, but that's not the case.

For a film that was delayed over and over again, and suffered apparent reshoots, I was glad to find a pretty coherent narrative, wrapped up in a modest X-Men package. I say modest because TNM for the most part, is a pretty grounded drama surrounding 5 teens in a facility designed to help them control their burgeoning mutant powers. The first two thirds of the film have little in the way of big superhero moments, some glimpses of powers here and there.
The cast are all believable enough - Anya Taylor-Joy is a standout as Illyana Rasputin aka Magik.
It's also refreshing to see and emphasis on some LGBTQ characters in these kind of movies.

I've been a fan of X-Men comics from a young age, so seeing the likes of some more obscure characters such as Magik, Mirage, Wolfsbane, Cannonball and Sunspot (who has appeared once before in Days of Future Past) is pretty cool. Without going into spoilers, the choices in antagonists is inspired as well.
The whole final act is actually a bit of a treat for people who know a bit about the wider X-Men comics.

Although I found a fair bit to like in TNM, it doesn't quite hit the strides that it could. There are horror elements present, but nothing remotely scary - I can't help but feel that once upon a time, there was a version of TNM somewhere that was a lot more full on. Its a film that whilst ok, has a lot of untapped potential that for one reason or another just wasn't realised, and it feels a little frustrating.

However, it's far from being the worst entry in the X-Men franchise, and the fact that it's finally landed and it's watchable is a small miracle in itself. I was so so convinced that it was going to be complete garbage, and it's nice to be wrong.