Charlotte's Web
7.9
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A Puffin Book - stories that last a lifetime. Puffin Modern Classics are relaunched under a new...
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Book of Monsters (2018) in Movies
Jan 21, 2020
At its worst, it feels like a tiny step up from a run of the mill student film, cringey acting and all.
It's not fair to shit on BoM too much. It's important to remember that it started life as a Kickstarter project, from Stewart Sparke, the director of the similarly low rent The Creature Below.
It was made on a micro-budget, and as such has a cheap look to it. But the movies tongue-in-cheek approach and semi-inspired creature designs make it more enjoyable than expected! Everyone involved seems to be having a great time, the (intentionally?) awful script still managed to make me laugh here and there, and there's enough silly gore to satisfy fans of the genre.
That being said, the acting isn't great from anybody, even if it is a bit of fun. The pacing is questionable, and there are several awkward silences littered throughout which are quite cringey. There's nothing wrong with going for silly campy horror-schlock, but its been done before and much better (although admittedly, on higher budgets!)
I won't be watching it again anytime soon, but I'd say it's worth checking out the once just to experience the sheer silliness of it all. It would be nice to see what this team could do with proper funding.
The Cut: Lose Up to 10 Pounds in 10 Days and Sculpt Your Best Body
Morris Chestnut and Obi Obadike
Book
When Morris Chestnut hit the media circuit to promote his latest blockbuster movie The Best Man...
Music/Video: Histories, Aesthetics, Media
Gina Arnold, Daniel Cookney, Kirsty Fairclough-Isaacs and Michael Goddard
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This book is a lively, comprehensive and timely reader on the music video, capitalising on...
William Eggleston: Before Color
William Eggleston, Chris Burnside and John Cheim
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A few years ago in the archives of the William Eggleston Artistic Trust in Memphis, a box was found...
Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles (Babs Norman Hollywood Mystery #1)
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Asta, the dog from the popular Thin Man series, has vanished, and production for his next film is...
Humour Mystery Historical
West of Eden
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West of Eden is the definitive story of Hollywood, told, in their own words, by the people on the...
Erika (17788 KP) rated Annihilation (2018) in Movies
Feb 25, 2018 (Updated Feb 25, 2018)
So, Alex Garland's Ex Machina was my favorite movie of 2014, so I was expecting a lot from the director. Again, I'm not familiar with the source material, so I'm not sure how well it was, or wasn't translated. The story was interesting, but there was a lot of tense silence. Yeah, it worked in the movie, Drive, but I don't think it worked here. The visuals were stunning, so it was interesting to watch from that aspect.
Now, the cast... I'm not sure how/why Jennifer Jason Leigh gets roles, because she is not a great actress (sorry, not sorry). Oscar Isaac was completely wasted. Tessa Thompson's character... she had glasses, so she must be smart??
The only interesting part of the movie, where any sort of tension was present, was the end in the lighthouse. Whatever that was... It gave me Pale Man vibes (see Pan's Labyrinth) vibes, which completely and totally freaked me out. I have serious heebie-jeebies after that, and even right at this moment...
Overall, it was an alright scifi movie, but, I'm glad I have moviepass so I legit didn't pay for it.
Breaking in: Tales from the Screenwriting Trenches
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Breaking In: Tales from the Screenwriting Trenches is a no-nonsense, boots-on-the-ground exploration...
Ryan Hill (152 KP) rated Avengers: Endgame (2019) in Movies
May 11, 2019
It’s legitimately shocking how much the Russo Bros have improved as filmmakers. Not only do they perfectly nail tonal consistency here, but most, if not all, of the drama scenes are well handled, the direction of actors is great, and even in terms of just visual composition (especially cinematography) and editing, they show major improvement here compared to their previous MCU works. There’s also some neat production design and Alan Silvestri provides a fantastic score.
Co-writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely’s screenplay is easily one of the strongest aspects of Avengers: Endgame. While some characters won’t get as much focus as others, the characters who are primarily focused on (Nebula, Tony, Steve and Hawkeye) each have legitimately really great, character arcs, and the way it ties them into the film’s theme of loss only makes them even better.
But despite the shockingly strong writing and direction, Avengers: Endgame mostly works so well due to its mostly committed ensemble. The acting is mostly pretty solid-strong across the board, with the standouts being Robert Downey Jr, Karen Gillan and Chris Evans who are excellent. That said, Chris Hemsworth, Brie Larson (in very minimal screen time), Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo,Paul Rudd, Bradley Cooper, Josh Brolin and Don Cheadle all have their moments as well.
If Avengers: Endgame really is a farewell to many characters people have grown to love, then it is almost certainly a rewarding and satisfying one, and the third act features one of the best battle sequences in any comic book film. It might not be absolutely perfect, but it’s well performed, strongly written & directed, thoroughly entertaining and incredibly satisfying, and you’ll laugh, cheer and most definitely even cry. Without a doubt one of the absolute best MCU installments to date.
AJaneClark (3975 KP) Jan 22, 2020