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Grease (1978)
Grease (1978)
1978 | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Good girl Sandy and greaser Danny fell in love over the summer. When they unexpectedly discover they're now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance?



If anyone asks me then I would always say that I've seen Grease... and I have. I can sing you all the songs, name you all the characters and relive some of the iconic clothing and scenery. But, as it turns out... I actually haven't. Not all the way through at least.

I sat there as the film started rolling and realised that, specifically, I've not seen the first half. I've seen the scenes with the songs in, probably on YouTube or the like, and I've definitely seen the end. I would imagine because I was flicking channels and seen it was on so I've watched it. I've never seen the cartoon opening, Danny and Sandy on the beach, or Sandy's appearance at Rydale High. Not from the original at least. I saw Grease Live, which while not quite the same was still enjoyable.

It would be almost impossible to sit through this one and not sing along, tap your toes, or have a smile creep onto your face. The screen was packed out, mainly with women, but it was nice to see quite a few guys along for the ride, some of their own accord and not dragged along by anyone. I could hear lots of low level singing, and out of the corner of my eye, some Grease Lightning arm dancing. Everyone truly enjoyed themselves.

One gentleman, who I know from Unlimited showings, told me how his mum brought him to see it when he was six and he's loved it ever since. It was such a lovely story. And I'm sure that many other people there had their own tales about seeing it when they were growing up.

I'm just always overjoyed by the dancing. But then you know me and a musical!
  
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Logan Eccles (135 KP) rated Brightburn (2019) in Movies

Oct 1, 2020 (Updated Oct 2, 2020)  
Brightburn (2019)
Brightburn (2019)
2019 | Horror
A reimagination of Super-Man you diddnt know you needed
Contains spoilers, click to show
I am shocked by how many bad reviews this masterpiece has on here! The story, the filming, and the acting is outstanding. I love the idea of what if Super-Man was in the horror/suspenseful thriller instead of superhero/action. The comparison between the two stories is so good but it's still just different enough not to be dismissed as a bad rip off. A married couple on a farm finds a baby in a spaceship. Baby grows up and has superpowers. Now, this is where it gets different, the child develops psychopath type tendencies. Collecting pictures of organs, stalking, obsessing over guns, and excessive knowledge of animals.

This cast guys is so good and so right for this story. Elizabeth Banks and David Denman are a sweet convincing couple and bring the emotion and realities of if this happened. Elizabeths take on how a mother would respond to her child being a psychopathic killer is so raw and realistic. Throughout the movie, she reacts as if she knows but doesn't want to accept it and of course that's how a mother would react, mother knows Best but mother also protects. David Denmans take on a protective husband and suspicious father is so unique in storytelling. I mean of course he's going to let his sterile wife keep the baby from the woods but that's not his baby he don't know where that thing came from, but it makes his wife happy. Last but not least Jackson A. Dunn is bound to rise in stardom after his stellar performance.

Also, I usually don't like spoiling but watch the credits please cause it sets up a possible sequel and universe. Micheal Rooker pops up mid-credits as like a crazy youtube theorist guy. He starts going off about superpower being sightings and how they are out there killing people and terrorizing the world. It even shows a line up of potential super-powered horror villains for possible movies.
  
Truth Seekers - Season 1
Truth Seekers - Season 1
2020 | Comedy
Enjoyably British
Truth Seekers is the latest collaboration from Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, and centres around employees of a network services provider who run a YouTube channel as amateur paranormal investigators.

The series follows Gus Roberts (Nick Frost), the top installation engineer for network provider Smyle. He lives with his dad (Malcolm McDowell) and investigates paranormal activities in his spare time, running his own YouTube channel as ‘The Truth Seeker’. His boss Dave (Simon Pegg) pairs Gus with a new employee Elton John (Samson Kayo), and Truth Seekers follows the pair as they increasingly encounter paranormal and mysterious entities as they go about their daily work, including a haunted young woman called Astrid (Emma D’Arcy).

Truth Seekers starts off as a case by episode series, with a new spooky encounter every time (think Supernatural but very British) and then mid-way works into a bigger overall plot involving Julian Barratt’s Dr Peter Toynbee that seems to tie all the earlier elements together. As a supernatural horror show, this works really well. It doesn’t rely on typical jump scares, and instead uses well known horror situations to be as creepy as possible. Admittedly this is a tad cliched – think of all the known supernatural experiences you’d expect to see (psychiatric hospitals, hotels, demons and satanic books to name a few) and you’ll definitely find them here. However this doesn’t matter as they’re done well and in such a smart, creepy and very British way. Even the special effects are impressive for something that looks like it should be fairly low budget.

Whilst this is made out to be a horror comedy, it’s the comedy side that appears to be a little lacking. Don’t get me wrong, this has its’s funny and witty moments and seems to relish all of the pop culture references it throws in at every opportunity, however it doesn’t seem quite as edgy and quick witted as Frost and Pegg’s previous collaborations. Frost delivers his usual deadpan style well and is ably supported by Samson Kayo’s Elton as his rather adorable and unwitting partner. The standout though is unsurprisingly Malcolm McDowell as Gus’ dad Richard. Right from the first episode McDowell shines and is an absolute riot. Every scene he’s in gives rise to so many laughs and in particular there’s one scene featuring him going upstairs on a stair lift so slowly that nearly had me crying with laughter. But despite this the humour is maybe a little lacking from what we’d expect. I also felt like some of the pop culture references were a little forced and unnatural, which is a shame as there were also a lot that worked quite well – nods to Aliens and The Shawshank Redemption were particularly appreciated.

Truth Seekers may be lacking a little in humour, but what is there is adeptly delivered by a rather stellar cast. Pegg takes a backseat as boss Dave with an atrocious hairpiece and there are some small roles for Kelly MacDonald, Susie Wokoma and Julian Barratt, but everyone puts in a great performance no matter the screen time. McDowell undoubtedly steals the show, but the main trio of Frost, Kayo and D’Arcy carry the show well between them.

What surprised me the most about Truth Seekers is how short it was. A mere eight episodes running at 30 minutes each doesn’t seem like enough – by the end of the eighth episode I was shocked to see there wasn’t any more, although the final scenes do at least set this up for a second series that will hopefully come to fruition. I was a little concerned about the main plot involving Toynbee as it did get a little convoluted towards the end, and the final scenes do nothing but add to this and hint at a much bigger story going on. This could end up being rather good, but it could also turn what is by and large a very enjoyable British supernatural series into something rather crazy and confused. Only series two will tell.
  
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
Charles Dickens, Robert Ingpen | 1843 | Children
10
8.6 (84 Ratings)
Book Rating
We all, at one point or another, have heard the story of A Christmas Carol, whether we read the book in school, watched a movie with the family, or saw the Muppets version on youtube (which, by the way, is my favorite. I heartily recommend it.). But there is so much more to the story that we don’t grasp because of how our culture has changed. This is the way it is with every classic book. But A Christmas Carol is a story that needs to be understood in it’s full impact because of the story it tells and the lessons it teaches. Stephen Skelton has made it possible.

The Special Edition of A Christmas Carol is a small book, perfect to fit in a small handbag (or a stocking!) with a beautiful cover. The book itself is printed with Dickens’ story in the main section of the pages, and the notes, subtext, and annotations printed in the outer margins. After every “Chapter” (called a Stave in the text) there is a discussion section, perfect for any age group, either young children or mature Christians. The discussion features Bible verses and questions, and relates events, topics, and themes from A Christmas Carol to our everyday Christian walk with God. Extra verses and topics follow the end of every discussion section for those older individuals who wish to go further into studying the themes targeted in the book: Selfishness, Regret, Repentance, Salvation, and Rebirth. At the end of the book is a list of resources for further study.
The story of A Christmas Carol remains, to this day, a classic in literature because it is a wonderful story of sin and greed turned around to Christianity and charity through allegory and parable. It has proved itself a wonderful story to every reader, and will continue to do so forever. Hopefully, this will be the edition that becomes the standard.

Recommendation: All ages. Wonderful for family discussions or group Bible studies. Perfect Christmas gift or stocking stuffer!
 
**Thank you to FSB Associates for providing my review copy!**
  
Searching (2018)
Searching (2018)
2018 | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Look deeper
#searching #searchingmovie is an extremely intense, clever & emotionally draining film that for a directorial debut is actually quite a remarkable achievement. I like #Johncho I feel he's one of those actors that really doesnt get enough time to truly shine, so with him being the star of searching its great to see him finally get to seriously act. He's just so extremely likable & within the first 10 minutes we are introduced to him & his #family so well that an instant #emotional connection to them is formed. Told entirely through a screen searching does a great job of creating suspense & tension by using the flaws/interface of things we have all become a custom to as neat little visual cues (eg just missing a call by a few seconds, waiting for a video to buffer, seeing someone go offline while talking to them or even typing what you want to say only to delete it & type something different). This works perfectly & is never boring keeping you on edge & invested throughout while also being eerily #beautiful at times. Themes of neglect, distrust, loss & #depression are present throughout & theres also a sad look at how although we are all so connected to one another nowadays the sad fact is we have never also been more alone & afraid to show who we really are or what we are really thinking. Different sides of #Socialmedia are also explored well here too & we are shown how it can not only be used to help but also to hinder & manipulate even in a serious case like this (as well as people using the case to gain thier own fame too). Story wise its good with all the plot twists constantly shocking & unexpected with great build up too. Characters all have great back story & are all played well by the cast. My only gripe was the pacing after the final twist as it not only felt rushed but a little exposition heavy too. If your looking for a #film thats going to give your #emotions a run you'll #love Searching, while its no #nocturnalanimals its still smart, well constructed, gripping & an extremely entertaining little #drama. #instagram #apple #catfish #weekend #odeon #odeonlimitless #filmbuff #filmreview #filmcritic #internet #trending #youtube #facebook #followers #like
  
Monster Hunter (2020)
Monster Hunter (2020)
2020 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Everything (0 more)
Absolutely Disastrous
Monster Hunter is the 15th feature film directed by Paul WS Anderson and is based on a popular gaming franchise of the same name. This is not Anderson’s first attempt at a video game movie, as he is arguably best known for giving us the Resident Evil movie series and the 1995 version of Mortal Kombat.

As is the case with the examples above, this film is in no way faithful to the source material. I am not a huge fan of the Monster Hunter games but I have played enough of them to know that they are nothing like what we get in this generic action movie filled to the brim with clichés. Frankly, this movie runs the gamut of mid 2000’s mediocre action film clichés like it is following a formula from a textbook.

When reviewing any movie, – even one as trashy as this, – I always try to find some positives before tearing through the poor elements, but I am genuinely struggling to find anything here that didn’t annoy me or make me cringe. Even the one thing that you would think would be a positive, – the fact that the movie’s runtime is only 103 minutes long, – still isn’t a positive because the film still manages to feel so long and dragged out.

Anderson is a decent director, I know this from Event Horizon and the first Resident Evil film, but at this point in his career it genuinely seems like he isn’t even trying anymore. I’m honestly convinced at this point that the guy just looks at the box art for whatever video game series he is adapting and decides that is all of the research that he has to do.

The technical aspects of this movie are garbage. The editing is abrupt and extremely cheesy with no flow or cohesion, just a ton of hard crash zooms and awkward transitions. The score sounds like royalty free suspense stock music that a freelancer might download for background music for a low budget Youtube video.

Read the rest of my review at: https://www.bigglasgowcomicpage.com/2021/02/18/review-monster-hunter-movie/
  
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TacoDave (3601 KP) rated Funhouse (2019) in Movies

Feb 15, 2022 (Updated Feb 15, 2022)  
Funhouse (2019)
Funhouse (2019)
2019 | Crime, Drama, Horror
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Editing (2 more)
Writing
Acting (mostly)
It is better than most bad horror movies, but it is still cheesy and bad (0 more)
This movie is better than it has any right to be...
Contains spoilers, click to show
I like to watch bad horror movies. I'm not sure why. I'm not a big fan of many modern horror movies (often referred to as "torture porn") like Hostel and Saw, but rather I like small, independent horror movies that focus on a single central conceit.

I go into these movies with rock-bottom expectations, hoping against hope that they will be slightly better than expected. "Funhouse" was suprisingly entertaining, when compared to similar genre films.

The premise is simple: eight wannabe famous people (think: influencers, normal people who married celebrities, low-level MMA fighters, etc.) sign up for a reality TV show in the vein of Big Brother where they will be locked in a house together and voted out by the public.

There's one catch, of course: the guy running the show - who uses a digital avatar of a panda to speak to the "contestants" - is a nutjob and the loser of the public vote gets killed in a gruesome way.

Is it real? Is it fake entertainment for the online era? Will reacters on Youtube believe it is real? How does society treat the death of someone who really, really wants to be famous, but is only barely-known?

These questions are good ones and the movie doesn't shy away from them. In fact, after each "kill" there is a cut to people in the real world reacting to it that gives the movie a lot more nuance than a typical horror film.

The kills are very graphic and gruesome and I actually looked away for a couple of them because (as I said before) I'm not a fan of torture porn. And there is some female nudity in the movie, specifically when one character decides to strip to earn viewer votes to stay alive.

Still, all in all I was entertained. And that's all I wanted for those 90 minutes - to shut off my logical brain and just watch something different. This movie fit the bill.
  
Playstation 4
Playstation 4
Games Consoles > Games Consoles
Software (2 more)
Design
Easy to use
Controller battery charge is poor (2 more)
Overheat easily
Playstation Plus expensive
Sleek design, great software
The playstation 4 was not cheap when it first appeared on the shelves, but it was a must have for most people, including me. The fashionable sleek design with the black panels against the blue light and touchpad controllers made it look incredibly stylish for a games console. Playstation Plus membership is unfortunately quite expensive, and the memory is poor on the console... having to download the game software to be able to play it.. not many different games can be played, depending on your memory. Simple to navigate and also the choice of installing applications. The touchpad controllers made it much easier to navigate on a keyboard, with quicker typing. The playstation allows you to connect with fellow players all around the world, and make new friends. The fact that there is an option for headphones and microphones is both positive and negative. It's great to communicate with others, however can lead to verbal abuse which is quite unsettling when gaming with trolls. The playstation consoles have always been my favourite and never will I change to an XBox, which is lumpy, ugly etc. The use of other applications such as YouTube and netflix on the playstation is amazing for people who do not have smart TVs or access to streaming sticks. Recently Playstation allowed players to change their username (a long and very much awaited change for users! Breathing a sigh of relief to get rid of cringy usernames, or usernames that included their ex lovers). However again, Playstation want to make money however they can... if you messed up the opportunity with the game tag change, you were only allowed one free opportunity so you had to consider wisely. Otherwise Playstation would charge you to change your game tag once more (slightly unfair I think!) A year ago I bought the PS4 VR headset.. exciting at first but a lumpy headset which is connected via cable (would have been much more effective to have had this wireless! Such as the controllers).. at first there is motion sickness, but you soon get the hang of it. Again a great selection of games, however quite pricey!
  
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
2001 | Drama
Russell Crowe's performance (1 more)
The legendary scene with the cup of tea and the pens
What a masterpiece!

Recently, a photo was circling Facebook, with a room full of movie items, where you had to guess all movies. Me and my boyfriend played it, and found almost all of the movies. On this picture, there was a table with a cup of tea and multiple pens, and we had no idea what movie this was about. I knew it had to mean something, so we searched for "cup of tea and pens movie scene" and came across the legendary scene on YouTube.

Knowing the name of the movie now, we had to watch it. And it was legendary!

The story is about a young mathematician John Nash, who studies at Princeton University. While all his colleagues attend classes and write papers, he is trying to solve an original problem and won't stop until he proves a theory wrong.

During this journey, he is approached by a man and is recruited to work for the government, to break secret codes Russians might leave hanging about for their next steps. He also meets a woman and falls in love.

At one point, it becomes difficult for John to keep up with everything happening in his life, and the pressure is too much to handle. A couple of people start chasing him, and put him into a mental health facility.

And this is where I will stop, as I don't want to reveal any spoilers.
But this is the moment where John will have to face the truth, and finally try and battle what is real in his life and what has been an illusion all along. And we follow him on this revelation and on his journey. I have never felt this was about any movie when I have had a revelation.

The acting is impeccable. When I think of Russell Crowe, I think of Gladiator. But John Nash is the opposite - the socially awkward intelligent guy. And Russell Crowe made me believe this performance and I never doubted it.

Also, Ed Harris is a phenomenal actor as well!

The movie kept you in the dark with what was real and what not for a very long time, and this was the favorite part for me.
  
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Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Mortal Kombat 11 in Video Games

Jul 7, 2020  
Mortal Kombat 11
Mortal Kombat 11
2019 | Action, Fighting
Killing the Kompetition
Mortal Kombat 11 is a fighting video game developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It's a sequel to Mortal Kombat X and is the eleventh game in the franchise. The game is directed by Ed Boon and produced by Graeme Bayless and written by Dominic Cianciolo and Shawn Kittelsen. Designed by John Edwards and programmed by Gavin Freyberg with art by Steve Beran and music composed by Wilbert Roget.

Raiden, now corrupted, plans to destroy all of Earthrealm's enemies to ensure it's protection. A team lead by Sonya Blade, Cassie Cage and Jacqui Briggs assaults Netherrealm, with Raiden providing a diversion. The team is successful and Kronika forms an alliance with Liu Kang and Kitana. However Kronika is forced to rewrite history and stop Raiden, causing temporal anomolies.

This game is super badass. The combat and gameplay are as fluid as ever. The graphics and the look are outstanding. I loved playing the story mode, it felt like being in a Mortal Kombat movie. The tutorial modes it has is full of different ways to help you really get to know the moves of the characters of your choice. The tower modes remind me of the classic arcade structure that you would play back when these games took quarters and is awesome to see the different endings for each character. I really didn't enjoy the Krypt mode, I thought it would be more interesting kind of like an adventure mode or more RPGs like but basically you're just opening loot boxes or chests. And the customization mode is cool but I hear you have to grind for a really long time or spend some major bucks to get what you want. And I'm not doing that, lol. The online play is where it's at but man it's competitive, I'm just an average gamer a d took me about an hour before I got my first win. That being said though, it's really fun and pretty addicting. I really like how the fatalities are pretty easy and learning moves for characters aren't too hard either. Not a lot to complain about with this game. I give it a 8/10. Below is a link to a video I put on YouTube to show gameplay.