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The Greatest Showman (2017)
The Greatest Showman (2017)
2017 | Drama, Musical
Hugh jackman (0 more)
songs quite forgetful (0 more)
I was undecided whether to watch this film. musicals generally don't appeal to me (there are exceptions). however my wife wanted to watch it so I bought her the blu-ray and we sat down on a Saturday night and watched it. I was really very pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I'm a big fan of Hugh Jackman anyway I don't remember a bad film he's been in and I think he's a fantastic all round entertainer. I felt some of the songs seemed a bit samey and forgettable but the story and acting were good. Zac Efron I think redeemed himself from the drivel he's been in recently. It was a shame about some dodgy cgi in places but overall I thoroughly enjoyed it.
  
    Mythic Mischief

    Mythic Mischief

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    Tabletop Game

    In Mythic Mischief, you play as a faction of Mythic Manor students competing to get as many of the...

Voyagers (2021)
Voyagers (2021)
2021 | Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller
8
5.7 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The classic novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding is not only a beloved classic but has been assigned reading for generations of students since it was first published in 1954. The book has been adapted into plays and films over the years and remains a chilling and poignant cautionary tale.

In the new movie “Voyagers” audiences are introduced to an Earth that has been ravaged by climate change and disease. In an effort to save the species; a grand experiment to genetically create a group of children who are the origins of a colonization effort is undertaken.

The planet is 86 years away so the decision is made that the children will be raised and trained indoors without any exposure to nature, open skies, fresh air, and other aspects they will be deprived of on the ship.

Richard (Colin Farrell) decides to accompany the children on the mission as he wants to protect them and ensure things go as planned so their progeny will be well suited to continue on the mission to the next generation who will ultimately be the ones who colonize the planet.

Ten years into the mission things are going well until a discovery is made that a drink the children take daily known as “The Blue” is a drug used to suppress their emotions and keep them docile and easy to control.

When friends Christopher (Tye Sheridan) and Zac (Fionn Whitehead); who learned the secret of the drug decide to stop taking it; they soon reveal the truth of their discovery to the rest of the children who in turn stop using the drug.

In no time rampant emotions, aggressions, desires, paranoia, and mistrust start to run wild and Zac becomes obsessed with Sela (Lilly-Rose Depp). His unwelcome advances soon become more and more aggressive which causes Christopher and Richard to intervene and tragedy soon follows.

Christopher and Zac soon find themselves at odds with one another and fear and paranoia lead the crew to form into factions and turn on one other which not only threatens the mission but their very survival.

The film was very engaging and while I saw the influence of Lord of the Flies early on; the engaging cast and setting make the film entertaining and enjoyable despite any really unexpected twists.

The young leads work well with one another and it will be very interesting to watch how their careers unfold in the years to come. “Voyagers” is a refreshing new take on a classic tale and provides an entertaining and engaging adventure for viewers to enjoy.
  
The Christmas Escape
The Christmas Escape
Sarah Morgan | 2021 | Humor & Comedy, Romance
5
5.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Christy Sullivan and her best friend Alix have spent Christmas together since they were children. This year they are planning to go to Lapland, a snowy wonderland. The trip will include Christy's husband and their young daughter, Holly. But when Christy faces trouble with her marriage, she asks Alix to take Holly to Lapland without her. She'll be joined by their family friend, Zac--whom Alix has been avoiding ever since Christy's wedding. But as Alix, Zac, and Holly enjoy their time in Lapland, Alix realizes she may have made a mistake in avoiding him. Meanwhile, Christy starts to wonder if her friendship with Alix and marriage will survive the holidays.

I hate rating books low, but this just did not work for me. It was a sweet enough story and I liked the fun, snowy Arctic setting, but, oh, this book could have been so much shorter and enjoyable. The repetition is intense, to the point I found myself skimming sections. We are constantly bombarded by everyone's thoughts and issues. Did you know Alix has commitment issues? Oh you will. Christy struggles with perfection? The overwhelming focus on the characters' tropes and the rehashing and pontificating on thoughts and feelings was incredibly frustrating. It was very slow moving with far more telling than showing. I was not that invested in Alix and Zac's relationship.

There's a sweet storyline involving Christy's aunt, who lives at Lapland, which I enjoyed, and others have enjoyed the overall story more, so take my review with a grain of salt, but most of this book was just too repetitive and trite for me. 2.5 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Harlequin and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.
  
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)
2019 | Biography, Crime, Thriller
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile (2019) is extremely well acted but shockingly superficial
...Zac Efron as Bundy is superb, radiating the charm, charisma and magnetism which goes some way to explaining Bundy’s horrific, prolific litany of murders. His eyes become the window to Bundy’s black-hearted soul as they flash from smouldering sensuality to steely malevolence and back when the mask occasionally slips. He brings an exquisite, subtle physicality to the role giving Bundy mannerisms and actions which creep around the peripheral edge of your perception – in the way he holds a kitchen knife or the way his hand rests on someone’s neck in a position and for a moment longer than seems comfortable or normal – to remind us of the dark truth of the man and what he’s capable of while he beams that megawatt smile...

FULL REVIEW: http://bit.ly/CraggusExtremelyWicked
  
    Starfall Learn to Read

    Starfall Learn to Read

    Education and Games

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    App

    Learn to Read from the starfall.com website is now a FREE app! The Starfall Learn to Read FREE app...

The Darkest Universe (2016)
The Darkest Universe (2016)
2016 | International, Comedy, Drama
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Talk about a movie where you just don’t know where to start with!! Co-Directors (Yes Co) Tom Kingsley and Will Sharpe have crafted what I can only describe as my favorite completely surreal yet right down to earth drama I have watched in 2016… Wait no… In years.

As I have said recently I am on a real Indie hidden gem kick right now and the ever amazing Phil Wheat of Nerdly.co.uk asked me to check this movie out suspecting that it would be right up my street. The Darkest Universe is an absolute gem of a movie for more reasons than I can explain, but I will try.

Co-Director and Co-Writer Will Sharpe plays highly strung and highly stressed Zac Pratt. We join Zac on the verge of a complete breakdown following the disappearance of his sister and Break-up with his girlfriend. We follow him on somewhat of a journey of self realization and discovery. Zac starts up a fledging blog making video diaries of his search for his sister due to his frustration with the police coming up short. During this time we have a wonderfully interwoven series of flashbacks showing us what happened and giving us breadcrumbs of information.

A movie like this can live or die in the intricate plot woven style and this one flourishes because there is not one unnecessary moment on screen, it all matters. We find that Zac’s relationship with his girlfriend Eva (Sophia Di Martino, Channel 4s Flowers and Casualty) is strained and fragile which leads to a wonderfully awkward marriage proposal failure. While Zac would like us to believe from the get go that his sister Alice (Tiani Ghosh Co-Writer and first time acting, You couldn’t tell) is unhinged we slowly find she is probably the sanest person in his life, as she meets mis-fit wanderer Toby (Joe Thomas Inbetweeners and Fresh Meat). The relationship between Toby and Alice is almost as captivating as Sharpe’s all round performance and is just such a delicious watch.

Okay lets just get to it Will Sharpe in this movie is bloody outstanding. Think about Ezra Miller in We Need to Talk about Kevin, that is how intense this role can get, but he can also switch-up and be this charming at times funny sincere chap. There were moments I just didn’t know where it was gonna go and his performance was layered as such. Of course the script helps aswell because its to the point, at 90 minutes long the movie gets in, messes with your head a bit and gets out. Also no spoilers from me but this movie is never what you think it is and the ending is just a thing of beauty.

I take nothing away from anyone else in this movie because for her first time acting Tiani Ghosh is well above par and her chemistry with Joe Thomas is undeniable. On that note Joe Thomas of Inbetweeners fame was a surprising delight for me in this. A cheeky little cameo from fellow Inbetweener Simon Bird was received well and rounding off our cream of Brit comedy crop Chris Langham (The Thick of It) does not disappoint as Toby’s dad.

I really don’t think you will disappointed if you give this movie a shot, it has all the ingredients of what I would call an indie classic, people will find this movie and talk about it for years to come. Sharpe and Kingsley are a directing duo you have got to keep an eye on. I myself am pissed I never saw there first effort (did I mention this is just there second directorial outing) Black Pond but I will rectify that. They are miles ahead of there Ages and show a level of film-making maturity that most directors will struggle to get to. Effortless and beautiful I am so glad I will be ending 2016 with this movie.