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Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Ravenous (2017) in Movies

Jul 7, 2020 (Updated Oct 29, 2020)  
Ravenous  (2017)
Ravenous (2017)
2017 | Horror, Sci-Fi
6
5.7 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Some Brief Moments of Uniqueness From This Above Average Zombie Film
Contains spoilers, click to show
This movie was pretty good for a foreign zombie film. The zombies were well done and the blood and special effects were good too. For me the real thing that kept me interested was how they tried to change up the zombies by giving them this new and unique behavior where they started taking objects and stacking them up high in some kind of weird ritual. To me though this never fully pays off as it is never explained why or what they were doing. The movie did do well in its scenes where it built the tension and actually kept things scary, which some zombie films fail to do. I also liked the way they kept the theme on survival and they were constantly running for their lives or looking for a place to hunker down and stay safe. The zombie kills were pretty gruesome and they didn't shy away from the blood and gore when it came to blowing a zombie's head clean off with a shotgun or showing someone's bite wound continue to bleed as they slowly die. Still this movie suffered from their not being a more solid plot or story tying the people together and although some know each other, they never really say how. To me this movie was better than the average zombie movie but just barely. I give it 6/10.


  
Blood Red Sky (2021)
Blood Red Sky (2021)
2021 | Action, Horror, Thriller
6
6.6 (7 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Blood Red Sky is a movie that has some decent ideas, and some great performances, but is sadly bogged down by a whole lot of waff.
Honestly, it's a shame that the marketing for this gave away the whole vampire aspect. Had it been advertised as a airborne hijack thriller with hints of a supernatural element, then the twist could have hit the same way that it did back in the 90s, when I was but a young boy innocently watching From Dusk Till Dawn, blissfully unaware of what was about to happen.
The pacing is so so. The narrative premise is a good and straightforward one, but it's dragged down by constant flashbacks that feel unnecessary and like padding. Whenever things get interesting, another flashback is thrown in. It's frustrating, mainly because everything surrounding these negatives are solid! The vampires themselves are brutal, and reminiscent of the creatures seen in 30 Days of Night. Lead actor Peri Baumeister puts in a fantastic performance, as does her onscreen son, Carl Anton Koch. The two of them make proceedings relatively impactful, especially during the closing moments. The whole climactic scene is pretty entertaining to be fair, and goes some way to making up for all of the faffing about.

Blood Red Sky isn't half bad overall, but it's could have done with dropping all of the unnecessary exposition and ultimately achieving a shorter runtime.
  
Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero (2018)
Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero (2018)
2018 | Adventure, Animation, Family
I'm getting really fed up of having to say "I didn't see this one advertised anywhere". I had got it on my films to watch from the August listing as it was a new release, but the first I saw of it was scrolling through weekend cinema times and spotted it down as a Movies For Juniors. I don't remember even seeing it as a general release with more than one showing a day. I did the horrendous thing of judging the film by it's posters, shrugged my shoulders and moved on.

Please don't make my mistake. You need to see this film.

It is so beautifully done and it's sensitive towards it's viewers too. I didn't notice until right near the end (and even then it was actually just mild confusion) that there's no blood. Plenty of war action that you'd expect and injuries all over, but no blood. That alone makes it easier viewing for children, and I can honestly see it being used in schools as a teaching aid.

The animation is much more like a graphic novel style than most animated films that get released. I don't think the poster does it justice at all, it presents a very different image of the film.

I found it a very emotional watch. There were tears of sadness and joy, but then it was fairly even money I'd be crying along to this one.
  
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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Precious Blood (The Blessed, #1) in Books

Jun 7, 2018 (Updated May 18, 2019)  
Precious Blood (The Blessed, #1)
Precious Blood (The Blessed, #1)
Tonya Hurley | 2013 | Paranormal, Young Adult (YA)
Precious Blood was a book I'd been dying to read since it first became available to buy. Everything about it sounded super interesting. Whilst a lot of other reviewers didn't really care for the book, I absolutely loved it! This book had so many feels for me, and it's definitely one of my favorites so far this year.

Agnes, Cecilia, and Lucy are all admitted to the emergency room on the same night. Agnes has slit her wrists, Cecilia had drowned (and has been resuscitated), and Lucy has overdosed on some pills. On that fateful night, they are all given bracelets by the mysterious Sebastian. They seek him out and find him at a church. Sebastian tells the girls they are saints, but Sebastian has escaped from a mental institution and is listed as being very dangerous. Is Sebastian telling the truth or are the girls' lives in danger?

The world building, like the cover, was creepy and beautiful all at the same time. For the most part, it was easy to picture everything that was happening to Sebastian, the girls, and everyone else in my head. I love how Hurley makes it seem like something such as what happened in Precious Blood could actually happen at any time. The one thing that sort of bothered me was the insta-love between Sebastian and the girls. Perhaps it was more of hero worship, but it still happened quite quickly.

The pacing is what lets Precious Blood down a bit, but not by much. The pacing is not slow at all, yet it's the opposite. There are a few times where the pacing just totally takes off which left me feeling very confused and wondering what had just happened. In fact, I counted this happening as three times during the story. Maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention, but the story did seem to be missing some leeway those few times. Other then those times, the pacing really worked and definitely held my attention especially during the first two-thirds of the story.

I loved the plot! It was super interesting reading about these three girls' lives. They each brought their own baggage to the table. I was constantly wondering if Sebastian was delusional when he told the girls that they were reincarnated as martyred saints and were in danger or if he was actually being serious. I really enjoyed the way the story played out.

I thought the characters were very well written. I loved the innocence that Agnes seemed to have. The only thing I didn't like about Agnes was how she treated her mother. She was very rude to her. I don't know if there's more of a back story between Agnes and her mother, but if there was, it wasn't mentioned much in the book. My favorite character was Cecelia. She came across as being very hardcore and like she didn't care about many things, but she was actually quite a loving and caring person. Even when she had no money, she'd still buy some food and a drink for the homeless guy who lived on the top of her building. Cecelia had a very big heart. Lucy started off being selfish, but even she has a change of heart. Sebastian was very charismatic. I like how dedicated he was to his cause and how he was willing to risk everything for it.

Trigger warnings include profanity, death, and some graphic violence.

Overall, Precious Blood is a very creepy but beautifully written book. Yes, there were some pacing problems but nothing too serious. I would definitely recommend Precious Blood by Tonya Hurley to those aged 17+. The plot is interesting and the characters are likable. I loved this book so much that I bought the next in the series after finishing this one.
  
Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer
Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer
Rick Riordan | 2016 | Children
10
9.4 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Talking Sword (3 more)
Sassiness
Strange Gods
Elf and Drawf BFF
Norse Gods and a new sassy half-blood? Why yes I would like to sign my life over for this.

Magnus Chase has had it tough enough living on the streets after wolves killed his mother, but then it all goes down the toilet when he dies attempting to do something for his estrange uncle. Next thing you know he is in the afterlife for other great heroes, Valhalla, trying to grasp being the living dead and who is actually is. On top of having to save the world, prove he is worth being part of Odin's army, and overcoming what happened to him.
  
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Rachel (2 KP) rated Supernatural in TV

Nov 6, 2017 (Updated Nov 6, 2017)  
Supernatural
Supernatural
2005 | Drama
The best of the fantasy horror shows on TV!
Contains spoilers, click to show
Better special effects than True Blood, this show is the new and better Buffy, that uses actual folklore in adding to the creativity of the Supernatural created universe, unlike its predecessor who relied on created folklore to fill in plot holes. The later seasons have their ups and downs in terms of new humor and repetitiveness, but it is well worth the journey!

An episode to highlight would be when Sam and Dean face off against Famine, one of the four horses of the apocalypse.


Grab a canister of Morton Salt, a piece of pie and a blanket to snuggle in and enjoy the inside jokes!
  
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
1992 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Cast,director,story (0 more)
Diamond heist goes bust
With one of the best assembled casts this story is amazing. The story of a group of guys who get different color code names and don't know each other are put together because of the set of skills to rob a diamond exchange. Through out the movie we learn of the individual stories of who they are and why they are picked. It would be impossible to ever remake this film because you can't get blood from a stone. The cast was just that great. I don't want to give away too too much because if you haven't seen it one slip ruins the movie