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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Macbeth (2015) in Movies

Aug 6, 2019  
Macbeth (2015)
Macbeth (2015)
2015 | International, Drama
7
4.5 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Directed by Justin Kurzel, the 2015 release of Macbeth stars Michael

Fassbender

as Macbeth and Marion Cotillard as Lady Macbeth.

 

There are a ton of blood and guts in this movie. Many of the action

scenes have slow-motion insets, which for me were better than the jerky

camera movement of the close-up fighting scenes, but still felt weird

inside the film.

 

This is the traditional Macbeth story-line, with the typical language of

the original play. The accents of most of the actors were very heavy,

making it quite difficult to follow the actual dialogue.

 

I was able to follow the story because I know the basic premise of

Hamlet (who doesn’t?) but if I hadn’t basically known what the story was

about, and had to rely solely on the spoken words in the film, I would

have been dreadfully lost.

 

Marion Cotillard plays a very good conniving, plotting Lady Macbeth, and

Michael Fassbender does a great job of portraying a manipulated, power

hungry man, being driven mad by his atrocities.

 

The supporting cast gave great performances as well. The three witches

were played by Lynn Kennedy, Seylan Baxter, and Seylan Mhairi Baxter.

They were sufficiently creepy and mysterious to add the right amount of

darkness to their roles, without overpowering the concept that had

Hamlet interpreted their predictions differently, the entire story may

have gone differently.

 

There were parts of the movie that I held my breath at, and felt myself

responding emotionally to, but it would be very hard NOT to feel some

sort of emotion at watching a family being burned at the stake at the

whim of a mad-man.

 

If I were a die-hard Macbeth or Shakespeare fan, I likely would have

enjoyed the film far more. On the other hand, a die-hard Shakespeare fan

probably would have been upset at some of the pieces that were trimmed

from the famous lines of the original (“something wicked this way comes”

was noticeably absent)

 

Overall I would give this movie 2 out of 5 stars, based on the hard time

I had understanding the dialogue. If I had been able to not have had to

concentrate so hard to understand what was being said, I would have

given it 3.5 out of 5 stars.
  
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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Plot in Books

May 13, 2021  
The Plot
The Plot
Jean Hanff Korelitz | 2021 | Mystery, Thriller
8
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
A suspenseful read about the ownership of stories
Jacob Finch Bonner, the once promising author of the debut novel The Invention of Wonder, is now a struggling writer teaching at Ripley College in Vermont. At Ripley, basically anyone can attend to receive a MFA. This includes Evan Parker, a pompous jerk who declares he doesn't need Jake--or anyone's--help to make his novel a success. But when Evan actually deigns to share his plot with Jake, Jake can't help but agree. He waits for Evan's inevitable success, but it never comes. When he learns that Evan has died--without having published his book--Jake feels that his story must be told. So Jake writes it, and he is soon basking in the success he was so sure Evan would have. He's rich, famous, and touring the country on a book tour. But then he receives the first email: "You are a thief." Jake feels everything he has about to slip away. As the threats increase, Jake begins to dig into Evan's past. What he finds is horrifying--he may not be the only one who stole this story--and the consequences could be deadly.

"All Jacob Finch Bonnner had ever wanted to be was a writer."

THE PLOT starts off slowly, but then takes off, becoming a compulsively readable thriller. It's incredibly ominous and creepy and peppered with reading and writer references. If you love to read, or write, there's a whole meta layer to this book. (Not to mention, we get pieces of Jake's "stolen" novel within our novel as well.) Slowly everything untangles: Jacob's plot, Evan's life, and more.

"Evan Parker had been entirely correct: the worst writer on the planet could not mess up a plot like this."

The book builds on, year by year, as Jacob moves from his struggling writer days to a successful and famous novelist. I had an inkling of some of what happened, but enjoyed reading to see if I was right. Jake isn't exactly a sympathetic character, but he's fascinating, and the book certainly makes you think.

It's best to go into THE PLOT blind, so I don't want to reveal too much. But I stayed up late to finish it, because it's quite captivating--and different. I certainly recommend it. 4 stars.
(3)   
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Damien Echols recommended Halloween (1978) in Movies (curated)

 
Halloween (1978)
Halloween (1978)
1978 | Horror
8.4 (83 Ratings)
Movie Favorite Watch

"Now I just said I don’t like slasher movies, but this is the exception to that rule — because it’s the exception to horror movies. The Rob Zombie remake of Halloween — that thing is f**king genius. It’s like he violates every rule of horror movie making and makes it work. Most horror movies are atmospheric, they’re really dark or they’re at night and they’re creepy; his is taking place in bright noon sunshine daylight, out in the yard. And the way he goes into the story of the Michael Myers character, you know, the reason why he’s making all these masks. That is a great movie. I guess I also like it because of the outside scenes. You know, when they show people walking down the sidewalk or something — it feels like Autumn. You see leaves skitter across the sidewalk as the wind blows ’em, and you feel Halloween when you’re watching ’em. I remember the first time I saw that was when we were in prison. They’ll show movies on holidays just to take the tension out of the air a little bit — and that was the movie we got to see on Christmas. On Christmas they showed us Halloween. And when it was over — it was Christmas night, about 9 o’clock — as soon as it went off I went into such a deep state of mourning, because it was like my favorite time of year was gone. From the Equinox to Christmas morning, that is like the richest, most velvety, delicious time of year. People always ask me, you know, they would say, “How would you describe heaven — in this perfect atmosphere where everything is exactly how you wanted it, how would it be?” And I say, “It would always be December.” So I realized that time of year was over, it was gone, and I was going to have to wait all the way around the will of the year to get back to Autumn and Halloween again. And seeing it in that movie, I just sat down and started crying when it was over, because I realized I was gonna have to make it through another long, hot, brutal summer, you know — prison guards torturing you, there’s nothing to look forward to. It was a horrible feeling. It feels like there’s a hole in you or something. But I can watch that movie now, and automatically feel that time of year again."

Source
  
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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Out of Death (2021) in Movies

Jul 30, 2021  
Out of Death (2021)
Out of Death (2021)
2021 | Crime, Thriller
3
4.3 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
I got my hands on a preview of this one. Modern Bruce Willis is always a slight concern, but I like to give them the benefit of the doubt.

In this peaceful mountain town, a quiet hike turns to terror as a photographer witnesses a brutal crime by the very people who are supposed to protect against them.

On the scale of messed up plots, Out of Death isn't actually that bad. Corrupt law enforcement caught in the act is a strong idea to use in a crime thriller. The setting also gave them a lot of opportunities even though it's a fairly simple forest/wooded setting. Though that setting suffers a little from TARDIS-esque qualities, is it big, is it small, how does time work in and around it? I found myself wondering about those random things, which may have been down to not feeling massively engaged with anything happening.

From the small collection of characters, Billie and Tom probably came out the best. Though no one quite got out unscathed. They did at least have a bond that played out well in a few scenes.

Beyond them, the rest of the cast don't do so well with the script. There are points where it tries to give characters something a little extra, but it ultimately came out a little on the creepy side. I'm thinking in particular about one scene where two characters try to have a human conversation and build a little backstory... it was bad, and made me cringe. I haven't felt that way about a film interaction in a very long time.

As much as I love Bruce Willis, he basically wanders through this one without much effort. The whole affair felt rather lethargic, and as with his other recent films, it's a phoned-in effort. Without him, I doubt anyone would have come across Out of Death, there's nothing that's a particular hook, and with such a generic air to it, I can't see anyone picking it out of a line-up of similar films.

Out of Death might not be the worst film I've ever seen, but there's lots of room for improvement. As it is, it doesn't hold your attention enough to make it massively enjoyable. At the very least you can enjoy the scenery.

Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/07/out-of-death-movie-review.html
(1)   
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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Willy's Wonderland (2021) in Movies

Jul 18, 2021  
Willy's Wonderland (2021)
Willy's Wonderland (2021)
2021 | Horror, Thriller
10
6.7 (13 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Everything, it's a masterpiece. (0 more)
Oh come on... you know I'm watching Nic Cage go full rage at some killer robots!

A stranger runs into bad luck as he nears a small town in the middle of nowhere. Luckily a local mechanic comes across him stranded and offers him assistance. But the bad luck isn't over. With no way to pay for his new tyres, he has to agree to some light cleaning work in the abandoned town attraction. What could possibly go wrong when you're locked in a family restaurant overnight with some large, menacing looking, animatronics?

What's not to love about this particular breed of film? Horror that is so over the top with daftness and unintentional/intentional humour really does hit the spot.

Is this storyline sensible? Absolutely not. If you pick at any thread this will very quickly fall apart... but we're here for the nonsense. You don't come to a Nic Cage film these days for anything else. And much like shark films, I have an independent scoring system to deem the quality of his offerings.

The dynamics between all of the characters is hilarious. Cage with... everyone... is stranger (as expected), and the others all have stereotypical elements to them that bounce back and forth well. Though none of them are quite as obvious as you'd see in spoof horrors though. Beth Grant is always fun to have in things, and she's got the sinister thing down quite well, definitely a great pick for this role.

Our animatronic actors have the perfect creepy movements, combine this with the oversized costumes and the somewhat magical elements to their activities, and you get some fantastic nightmare fuel.

Though I have to query who designed such a terrible layout for a family restaurant, I can't help but marvel at all the different rooms scattered around the building. A fantastic maze of terror waiting for anyone who enters, and each one with its retro-ramshackle look is a delight to see. Throw in the oversized entertainment and the look is great.

At just 88 minutes in length it's a nice easy watch, and you'll definitely have enough to keep you... intrigued? I found myself shouting at the screen with "why", "how" and "what" type questions, and that just added to my enjoyment. A masterpiece.

Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/07/willys-wonderland-movie-review.html
(2)   
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Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Deep Red (Profondo rosso) (1975) in Movies

Jul 19, 2021  
Deep Red (Profondo rosso) (1975)
Deep Red (Profondo rosso) (1975)
1975 | International, Horror, Mystery
9
7.7 (7 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
Deep Red (aka Profondo rosso) is a thriller/slasher from Italian writer/director Dario Argento.
When Marcus Daly (David Hemmings) witnesses the murder of the women living in the flat below him he finds himself in a race to find the murderer before he becomes their next victim. The films killer follows a lot of what would become familiar tropes in slasher films, the killer is rarely seen and when they are seen they are covered u, they use a number of different ways to kill their victims and they have a habit of sneaking around. There isn't necessarily a a lot of blood from the kills, that is to say blood is sprayed around but when there is blood it is filmed in such a way that you can't miss it, in fact they eye is drawn to it.
Speaking of eyes there are a lot of them, Dario Argento has his own style of filming, he uses filters and strange camera angles and, in Deep Red a lot of closeups on eyes, sometimes just for scene transitions.
As well as being a Slasher, Deep Red is a mystery, as the film progresses Marcus the protagonist find clues as to the identity of the killer giving the viewer the chance to work out who it is as well. But there are red herrings and a lot of things that don't necessarily make sense. There is a clockwork boy, used only one by the killer, there is a creepy girl with a possibly mad farther, two facts that really don't affect the story.
As I said, Deep Red contains a lot of the Slasher tropes but it predates most of them, even beating Halloween by three years and so you can see that it has a big influence on the modern (well 80's so not so modern now) slashers.
The down side is that Deep Red is slow, there is a lot of talking, although contained in this are some clues as to the killers identity and the level of violence isn't quite as much as some of the more modern films, it does however beat some of it's slasher predecessors such as Psycho.
Over all Deep Red is a good film, slightly more mystery than slasher but with enough kills to keep a slasher fan happy. The story does plod along at is own pace but over all an enjoyable film.
(1)   
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BookInspector (124 KP) rated My Sister Is Missing in Books

Sep 24, 2020  
My Sister Is Missing
My Sister Is Missing
Julia Barrett | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences, Thriller
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book is told from multiple perspectives, but Jess was the one trying to investigate and find her sister. I really liked this approach to the book, it allowed to see different events happening and how they interconnect between the characters in this story. There were a lot of characters in this novel, but they lacked some spirit in them. I could not understand Jess’s relationship with her boyfriend, and some of her thoughts sound quite feeble. I liked this ghostly vibe which the author used in this novel, it felt quite creepy sometimes. 🙂

The narrative of this book was quite interesting. I liked the way the author was throwing in false information, she actually tricked me a couple of times. 🙂 I did enjoy Jess’s investigation process, but I was quite disappointed with her findings. I was expecting something sinister and mind blowing but I didn’t get that. 😦 The topics discussed in this novel were postnatal psychosis, difficult mother-child relationships, child abuse, mental health, etc. The narrative does have several threads going on, with different issues discussed, but the second part of the book looks less than a thriller and more like a book about treatment and life in general, and I do like my thrillers to grip me till the last page of the book. I can see that the author utilised her knowledge of hospitals and Sheffield in this novel, and it is always interesting to see how authors are connected to their books. 🙂

The writing style of this book was pleasant to read and the language used easy to understand. I liked the different settings and places used in this novel, it gave more edge to the book. The chapters had a decent length and didn’t drag to me. The ending of this book rounded the story nicely but started way too early in my opinion.

So, to conclude, this book has to offer an interesting story and how sometimes our mind can play tricks on us at the worst possible time. I enjoyed this book and the mental health issues it supports. If you are looking for a light thriller, this book is for you. I hope you will give this book a go, and I hope you will enjoy it.
  
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Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated Gretel & Hansel (2020) in Movies

Sep 10, 2020  
Gretel & Hansel (2020)
Gretel & Hansel (2020)
2020 | Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
9
6.9 (11 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Something Wicked
Gretel and hansel is everything I hoped it would be & more, a devilsh dive into witchcraft & an utterly nightmarish visual feast for both the eyes & senses. Gretel & Hansel is a new take on the well known Grimm fairytale & for a simple comparison it's much like one of my favourite horror films of all time 2015's The witch. Now I'm guessing that's put some people off already but those who are still with me are in for a delightful treat. Think Suspira if it were boiled in a pot with the witch, hagazussa & it comes at night & you have painted a picture of what to expect here. Extremely slow pacing, constantly lingering ominous dread & a soundtrack that's likely to cause the hairs on your neck to stand up every time it drones. To say this film is absolutely gorgeous is an insult, every single frame is awash with beautifully striking & highly interesting to explore imagery & colour. It's so visually striking & breathtaking I could happily of sat & watched it with no sound & still be as entranced by its wicked ways. However the way these visuals mash with the synth & droning soundtrack honestly kept me glued to the screen seemingly bewitched & fixated in a trance like state. As you can tell these types of films are my passion when it comes to horror, I much prefer the slow lingering constant sense of dread & creepy imagery that lead up to a shocking pay off while also intertwining the kind of depth & philosophy you have to unravel yourself instead of being spoon fed the plot by the characters themselves. This film is no different & as we delve deep into such themes as female empowerment, innocence, sacrifice, responsibility, naivety, addiction & greed as a viewer the web spun for you begins to unravel about what the film is truly trying to say at its core. Sophia Lillis who you may know from IT does wonders here as Gretel & it's her character, acting & attachment that really hooks you & makes every scene with her in feel calming amongst all the oddities going on. I honestly can not praise this film enough & say if your into art house cinema do not hesitate at grabbing this on glorious 4k. A stunning, breathless wonder of a movie to that will leave you feeling body unnerved & your mind shaken.
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