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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2585 KP) rated Deadly Director’s Cut in Books
Oct 3, 2022 (Updated Oct 3, 2022)
The Director Is Cut Out of the Picture
Hollywood has come to Haggerman’s Catskills Resort as famed director Elias Theropodous has decided to use it for some of the outdoor scenes for his new movie. Elizabeth Grady, the resort’s manager, is thrilled with the money, but not the disruptions to life at the resort, especially with Elias’s demands. However, when he dies after a night of eating and drinking at the resort, Elizabeth quickly realizes she has to find the killer in order to save the resort’s reputation. Can she do it?
Hollywood coming to town is a familiar trope, especially in cozies, but authors continue to use it because it works. That’s certainly the case here. The plot kept me engaged, sometimes reading a little later than I had planned, and I loved how the climax played out, although there is a minor continuity error with the climax. It doesn’t impact who the killer is. I also appreciated how the sub-plots some of the regulars had tie in with this main story yet also felt like natural continuations of their arcs from the first book. Naturally, the new characters are strong as well. I enjoyed the setting; I was ready to book a vacation at the resort myself. I also appreciated the way the 1950’s setting came to life, with little bits of everyday life infusing every page. If you are looking for a fun historical cozy, look no further than this book.
Hollywood coming to town is a familiar trope, especially in cozies, but authors continue to use it because it works. That’s certainly the case here. The plot kept me engaged, sometimes reading a little later than I had planned, and I loved how the climax played out, although there is a minor continuity error with the climax. It doesn’t impact who the killer is. I also appreciated how the sub-plots some of the regulars had tie in with this main story yet also felt like natural continuations of their arcs from the first book. Naturally, the new characters are strong as well. I enjoyed the setting; I was ready to book a vacation at the resort myself. I also appreciated the way the 1950’s setting came to life, with little bits of everyday life infusing every page. If you are looking for a fun historical cozy, look no further than this book.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Shaun the Sheep is a spin-off from the popular British stop-motion animation show Wallace and Gromit. This one of a kind, smart, and loveable sheep burst on to the small screen nearly twenty years ago in the short “A Close Shave.” Winning the hearts of millions, it’s no surprise a movie was in the works.
This film starts off with a silent monologue of how Shaun, the rest of flock of sheep, and Bitzer, the loyal and always “by the book” sheepdog, came to live with the Farmer. Fast forward a few years, sick and tired of the redundant life of waking up early, being herded throughout the farm, shaved, and fed the same food every day, Shaun brilliantly devises a plan to give him and the flock the day off. Unfortunately, the plan of tricking the Farmer to fall asleep in an RV trailer goes awry when the trailer wriggles loose from its tire wedges sending the Farmer off on an out of control trip and ending up in the Big City with amnesia. Stuck on the Farm with no one to tend to their needs, the Sheep and Bitzer panic and set off to the Big City to bring the Farmer back home. And, so begins the adventure into unchartered territory.
It’s remarkable that a movie with no dialogue manages to convey so many messages and emotions-from anger, comic relief, sadness to gratitude and joy. My hats go off to writer-director duo, Mark Burton and Richard Starzak, and the rest of the animation team for paying such wonderful attention to detail with the characters, the vibrant scenery, and also being on point with the comedic timing.
Every generation will love this movie and it definitely proves that silence is golden.
This film starts off with a silent monologue of how Shaun, the rest of flock of sheep, and Bitzer, the loyal and always “by the book” sheepdog, came to live with the Farmer. Fast forward a few years, sick and tired of the redundant life of waking up early, being herded throughout the farm, shaved, and fed the same food every day, Shaun brilliantly devises a plan to give him and the flock the day off. Unfortunately, the plan of tricking the Farmer to fall asleep in an RV trailer goes awry when the trailer wriggles loose from its tire wedges sending the Farmer off on an out of control trip and ending up in the Big City with amnesia. Stuck on the Farm with no one to tend to their needs, the Sheep and Bitzer panic and set off to the Big City to bring the Farmer back home. And, so begins the adventure into unchartered territory.
It’s remarkable that a movie with no dialogue manages to convey so many messages and emotions-from anger, comic relief, sadness to gratitude and joy. My hats go off to writer-director duo, Mark Burton and Richard Starzak, and the rest of the animation team for paying such wonderful attention to detail with the characters, the vibrant scenery, and also being on point with the comedic timing.
Every generation will love this movie and it definitely proves that silence is golden.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) in Movies
Jun 6, 2018 (Updated Jun 7, 2018)
Star Trek: the Motion Picture - more gruelling to make, or to watch? We may never know the answer. Actually, viewed these days, it's not quite that bad - Enterprise crew reconvene after big cloud is sighted on a course for Earth. Many conversations ensue, intercut with stately special effects sequences which feel like they go on forever. Mainly because they do.
To be honest, if you stop thinking about TMP as a movie and view it instead as the most lavish TV pilot in history, many of its problems are a bit more understandable. It explains why the crew take ages getting back together, and why they don't really seem like their old selves until near the end. It explains why much time is devoted to introducing new characters (even if they don't, in the end, make it out of the movie alive - although Will and Ilia were sort of reincarnated as Will and Deanna some years later). It doesn't really explain why the plot is so derivative of TV Trek, but you can't have everything I suppose.
It is true you can get a very good sense of the history of Star Trek without ever watching this movie, and also that the first three minutes may actually be the most engaging bit of it. But if you're watching it at all, you'll most likely have enough affection for the original characters to overlook the numerous flaws in the film.
To be honest, if you stop thinking about TMP as a movie and view it instead as the most lavish TV pilot in history, many of its problems are a bit more understandable. It explains why the crew take ages getting back together, and why they don't really seem like their old selves until near the end. It explains why much time is devoted to introducing new characters (even if they don't, in the end, make it out of the movie alive - although Will and Ilia were sort of reincarnated as Will and Deanna some years later). It doesn't really explain why the plot is so derivative of TV Trek, but you can't have everything I suppose.
It is true you can get a very good sense of the history of Star Trek without ever watching this movie, and also that the first three minutes may actually be the most engaging bit of it. But if you're watching it at all, you'll most likely have enough affection for the original characters to overlook the numerous flaws in the film.
Awkwafina recommended Saving Face (2005) in Movies (curated)
Rickey A. Mossow Jr. (689 KP) rated Pet Sematary (2019) in Movies
May 19, 2019
Twists on the original keep viewers guessing (1 more)
Visually better
Characters are skeletal with little development (1 more)
Filmmakers add so much it changes the concept of the story
Good if you don't know the source material or the original film.
The keys to a good remake are to not forget the original or the source material, update the story, and hold true to the values of the predecessors. While this remake captures the basic outline of King's novel and the original movie, it also makes several changes. Firstly, it adds several twists to the original plot line, which are excusable to keep viewers guessing and to separate the movie from the original. What frustrates, however, is that the filmmakers added so much. These additions skewed the very deep and visceral meanings and themes of King's book and the original movie. Rather than being a horror-filled contemplation on the complexity of loss and grief, it settled on jump scares, gore, and the creepiness of violent kids and animals. The characters are skeletal at best with no real depth or development in the film. In 2019, when you try to remake things, they have to be great. While this was a decent film if you ignore the book and the previous film, this effort fell far short of anything near great.
David McK (3801 KP) rated Aliens: Nightmare Asylum in Books
Jan 30, 2019
The second entry in the ALiens series of books/comics released in the aftermath of Aliens (the movie) but before Alien3, that continues the story of Newt and Hicks (sorry: Billie and Wilks) from [b:Aliens: Earth Hive|343281|Aliens Earth Hive|Steve Perry|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1366133734s/343281.jpg|333628]: a novel in which (spoiler!) scientists thought it would be a good idea to bring an Alien Queen to planet Earth while a military expedition is en-route to their home-planet, with the Alien on Earth then escaping and over-running the planet.
On reading this, this seems to have a more claustrophibic setting than the expanse, starting with Billie, Wilks and Bueller trapped on a cargo-spaceship heading towards an unknown destination: a ship that also contains three of the Aliens. When they get to their destination, things don't get any better, as they encounter a crazy general with an insane plan to control 'his' Aliens to take back planet Earth - a plan which, of ocurse, does not go by the book.
In short: pure sci-fi junk food.
On reading this, this seems to have a more claustrophibic setting than the expanse, starting with Billie, Wilks and Bueller trapped on a cargo-spaceship heading towards an unknown destination: a ship that also contains three of the Aliens. When they get to their destination, things don't get any better, as they encounter a crazy general with an insane plan to control 'his' Aliens to take back planet Earth - a plan which, of ocurse, does not go by the book.
In short: pure sci-fi junk food.
Tim McGuire (301 KP) rated Good Time (2017) in Movies
Mar 3, 2020
Twilight is long gone!
400. Good Time. This is a good one! We meet Connie, a low life criminal with a smooth talent manipulating people. Today he's an incredible jerk and brings his mentally challenged brother, Nick, with him to a bank heist. The job actually goes over pretty smoothly, until police randomly ask them a few questions when spotted walking on the street. Nick can't handle the pressure and bolts, and promptly gets caught and sent to jail, Connie escapes. Now Connie desperately needs to get his brother bailed out, coming up 10 grand short for bail, he goes through a series of events to raise the money fast, including an ill fated jail break! Robert Pattinson was awesome as Connie, have really liked his stuff since leaving Twilight behind! Fast paced, exciting story, that makes you feel for Connie, also makes you want to punch him in the face!! Has a cool 80's synthesizer soundtrack to it. Panic makes a good movie tone. Filmbufftim on FB
KyleQ (267 KP) rated Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) in Movies
Jul 18, 2020
A nice return for Michael.
Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris) is having nightmares of Michael Myers coming after her. When he returns to Haddonfield, Jamie and her sister Rachel (Ellie Cornell) must fight for survival. Luckily, Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) also returns to stop Michael.
Halloween 4 is more of a blunt movie then its predecessors. It lacks the inventive camera work of Carpenter, and Michael comes across less sneaky, he's much more aggressive.
Loomis feels a bit unneeded, the mask is weird looking, the score isn't as good.
But there is still plenty of good. Harris's performance is pretty good, especially for child actor standards. Jamie's nightmares are surprisingly fairly creepy. The various death scenes are brutal and unsettling.
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers is a pretty simple slasher. But it put the franchise on a new steady path, and it gave us Danielle Harris which is a plus. It's definitely not a film you'll hate, and if you like the Halloween franchise it's a must watch!
Halloween 4 is more of a blunt movie then its predecessors. It lacks the inventive camera work of Carpenter, and Michael comes across less sneaky, he's much more aggressive.
Loomis feels a bit unneeded, the mask is weird looking, the score isn't as good.
But there is still plenty of good. Harris's performance is pretty good, especially for child actor standards. Jamie's nightmares are surprisingly fairly creepy. The various death scenes are brutal and unsettling.
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers is a pretty simple slasher. But it put the franchise on a new steady path, and it gave us Danielle Harris which is a plus. It's definitely not a film you'll hate, and if you like the Halloween franchise it's a must watch!