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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.
  
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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
  
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