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Fred (860 KP) rated Overlord (2018) in Movies

Jun 8, 2019  
Overlord (2018)
Overlord (2018)
2018 | Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Great blend of genres
After some great WWII war drama, this movie shifts to horror & blends the two perfectly. It's kind of like "From Dusk Til Dawn" where it all seems to be going normally, then BAM! we're hit with the shift. The acting is top notch, but the only problem is the film never feels like it's really WWII. You can tell it was made recently. I mean, there's no way the soldiers would be racially mixed. And if it was, the soldiers wouldn't have been civil to each other. It does pull us out of the mood a little, but today's movies have to do this. A strong person of color and/or a strong woman must be thrown in, otherwise people will complain.I have no problem with these & if it sounds like I am complaining about it, it's only to point out that people will complain. I wouldn't be giving the film an 8 out of 10 otherwise.

Anyway, back to the film itself. Plenty of action & drama in this one. It's most enjoyable & sometimes can be real creepy. I don't want to give the story away, so I'll just leave it at that. Simple enough. If you're into war dramas, horror, sci-fi & the likes, then give it a watch.
  
No One Gets Out Alive
No One Gets Out Alive
Adam Nevill | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
6
6.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
It has been a while since I read anything scary, so I decided to give this one a go. Unfortunately, while this wasn't exactly a bad book, for being horror it was pretty light in the scares department. Following a very down-on-her-luck girl who rents a room from a rather shady landlord in what turns out to be a haunted boarding house, it would seem like a good set-up for creepy goings-on, and there are all manner of upsetting things that happen. The problem lies in the way they are presented. Most of the situations that have the strongest potential at building suspense are set-up, and then suddenly told after the fact. In doing so, it removes pretty much all fear from the equation, as we already know more-or-less what transpired before reading about it in grisly detail. Nevermind that the protagonist's actions require some extreme suspension of disbelief, at least try to scare me from time to time. Things do improve in the markedly different (and better) second half, but by then it's a case of too little too late. A decent enough read that I might check out some more of this author's books, but I can't say I recommend this one.
  
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Kevin Wilson (179 KP) rated The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) in Movies

Jul 13, 2018 (Updated Jul 13, 2018)  
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
1993 | Animation, Family, Sci-Fi
Fantastic animation style (3 more)
Great music
Great acting
A unique story
My favourite movie of all time
This is by far my favourite movie of all time.

Created my Tim Burton who is also my favourite director (yes I know he didn't direct this)

The style he uses in incredible. It's all stop motion which basically means he builds real life models, takes a picture of it in a pose and then takes another in a slightly different pose then and another and another until the pictures come together to look like a moving model. It's incredible and if you watch the behind the scenes you can see the effort they put into this movie and it shows.

The character designs are so good as well as the locations.

The plot is pretty much halloweentown finds Christmas for the first time. It's fun, funny, emotional, even creepy and it's just a good time all the way through.

The music is fantastic. Every song is unique and catchy and you will find the soundtrack on my phone. Actors are incredible and at perfect for the roles they play.

People tend to ask if it's a Halloween or Christmas movie but I watch it anytime of the year.
  
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016)
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016)
2016 | Family, Sci-Fi
8
7.4 (48 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Unique characters (2 more)
Great cast
Another great tim burton style
Predicatable (0 more)
Great movie, rather unique
This was a great Tim Burton movie. I do believe it is underrated, I've heard many bad things about this movie mainly being told it's boring but its far from it.

Each character is very unique and sometimes kinda creepy and there were some very interesting parts of the story I found very very interested, more specific the loops.

The cast was great but was surprised not to see Helana Boham Carter playing the lead. I've not heard anything about a sequel but I really hope it happens with the cast returning and maybe add a few new characters (I'm yet to read the books).

It was shot really well, you can see Tim Burton all over it and the CGI was pretty good. I loved the design of the monsters. I would have loved more and it is missing something that I can't quite put my finger on.

However, I could see myself going back and watching this again and that is the sign of a good movie. It was predictable and it's not going on my list of the greatest movies ever but it did not disappoint me.
  
The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018)
The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018)
2018 | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
Could've been so much more
I knew relatively nothing about this film but having been impressed by the recent Goosebumps films (not the new sequel), I had fairly high expectations. Sadly it didn't live up to them.

For me this film seemed to be nothing new. I was bored for the most of this and there were only a few parts that I really enjoyed. A lot of the humour and banter between the characters seemed a little too ott and forced and made me cringe more than it made me smile. The effects were alright and there were some truly creepy scenes, just not enough. Cate Blanchett probably saved this, as even Jack Black couldn't bring back the magic he had with RL Stine. And the evil warlock wasn't particularly scary or threatening, and the whole ending was lacking any sort of menacing terror or suspense.

I also spent the entire film thinking the kid was the one from Room (Jacob Tremblay), and wondering why on earth his acting was so bad. The kid was one of the problems in this, I won't lie and his crying was particularly horrendous. And then when the credits rolled I realised it wasn't him after all...
  
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
2010 | Drama, Horror, Mystery
4
5.7 (22 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Completely unnecessary
The original Nightmare on a Elm Street is a classic, so a reboot was always going to be a risky choice. There are parts of this that are actually not too bad, it’s just a shame the rest of the film is a mess.

So story wise, this does have a few nods to the original but yet also expands on the back story behind Freddy, which is definitely a good thing. The amount of gore is still very much present and a lot of the special effects are quite good, although there is a few dodgy patches of CGI. They’ve made Freddy very scary and creepy in this, and gotten rid of the jokes and humour, which really does work. The problem is that Jackie Earle Haley just isn’t Freddy. There was something about him, his look, that really didn’t work for me. And the rest of the casting wasn’t great either - I have no idea what Rooney Mara was doing in this but she was not likeable at all as Nancy. The story faltered too in the second half and dragged on, to the point where it became very boring. And the ending wasn’t a surprise. Yet another unnecessary reboot.
  
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Andy K (10823 KP) Oct 19, 2018

This was crap!

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Roxanne (13 KP) rated Dolly in Books

Nov 9, 2018  
Dolly
Dolly
Susan Hill | 2012 | Fiction & Poetry
6
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
♰♰♰ <b>3 'Gloomy' Stars</b>

I didn't quite know how to feel about this book...

I have read a number of books by [a:Susan Hill|18874|Susan Hill|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1337917448p2/18874.jpg] and I have found them to be very hit and miss. I seem to compare each one to [b:The Woman in Black|37034|The Woman in Black|Susan Hill|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327869942s/37034.jpg|2127172] as this was the one that I enjoyed the most.
There's no denying that Hill's writing is beautiful and she is fantastic at 'setting the scene'. The beginning of 'Dolly' was very well written, very descriptive and creepy, unfortunately this just didn't last throughout the book.
The length of the novel was just too short to fit everything in so it just felt rushed, this meant that so many opportunities were missed where Hill could of shown off the amazing skills that I know she has.

It makes me wonder if she sets a word limit or a page limit on all of her books as all the ones I have read just seem to be 'packed in'.

'Dolly' had the makings of a masterpiece but the execution let it down immensely.
  
AW
Always Watching (Elite Guardians, #1)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Can I just say...Listening to this was creepier than if I had read it...Especially when I was in the car, alone, at night...in the middle of no where....Maybe not one of my smartest ideas.

That being said...this was a great story. Interesting characters, intense story line, and a healthy dose of creepy-stalkerness. Heart pounding scenes, swoon worthy kisses, and the leading woman is totally my hero! Olivia is a member of a team of body guards. And all the women on the team are incredible. I can't wait to read the rest of their stories now. Olivia's past has things that haunt her, that have changed her, shaped her into the protective, intelligent, woman that she is. I loved watching her grapple with her faith, her feelings for Wade, and letting God heal the broken areas of her life.

If you are looking for a different and unique book, this should hit the mark for you! And don't forget to check out the rest of the series.

I borrowed the audio version of this book from my local library. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
  
AB
A Bridge Across the Ocean
6
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Susan Meissner has a beautiful style of storytelling. I simply adore her use of dual timelines. Her books are set in such unique settings that are gripping and engaging. However, this particular book wasn't for me. I will tell you upfront that I was unable to finish this book. I read far enough to know that I still think Susan is an incredible author, but there were aspects to this story that I just couldn't handle. Namely, there are ghosts. I do not consider this a spoiler, because you find out on the first page. However, it is not listed in the description very well. They talk about the ship being haunted, but not that the main character actually sees ghosts and talks with them. I tried picking it up a few times, but every time left me disappointed and quite frankly, creeped out. I don't do creepy. If you do enjoy stories with supernatural aspects like ghosts, I am sure you will enjoy this book immensely. I look forward to reading more books by Susan Meissner in the future.

I received a complimentary copy of A Bridge Across the Ocean from the publishers through NetGalley. This is my honest review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
  
Attack the Block (2011)
Attack the Block (2011)
2011 | Action, International
A silly, fun British horror
When I first saw this at the cinema I absolutely loved it, but I haven’t really seen it since. On watching it again recently, I have to admit it’s not quite as good as I remembered but it’s still a very enjoyable film.

It’s a very B-movie esque horror film, with very low budget, lots of blood and a fairly unknown cast. Of course a lot of the cast have now gone on to bigger things (John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker and Luke Treadaway mainly), but they’re still very good and great to watch in this. The plot is fun and a little bit silly, and the aliens themselves are very well done. They’re creepy and pretty terrifying, without being overly complicated and there’s a lot of good physical effects thrown in here in addition to cgi. The most annoying thing about this film is the language. I completely understand why it has been set on a council estate in London, that’s part of the entertainment, however some of the slang and gang type language grates after a while. It’s difficult to understand and a little bit irritating after a while. Aside from this it’s a very enjoyable low budget horror that’s worth a watch.