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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated The Snowman (2017) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
When Harry Hole, an elite crime squad’s lead detective, investigates the disappearance of a victim on the first snow of winter, he fears an elusive serial killer nicknamed "The Snowman" may be active again. With the help of a brilliant recruit, the detective must connect decades-old cold cases to the brutal new one if he hopes to outwit this unthinkable evil before the next snowfall.
Another adaptation of a popular book. this one by Jo Nesbø in the Harry Hole series. As is becoming tradition (as I can only read so many books in a year) I haven't read it, but I was aware of it being very popular when it came out. So it wasn't really surprising that this one was made.
I can't work out if it would have been better if it hadn't been a book first. Serial killers are right up my alley so at some point I would have watched this one, but while I enjoyed it, it was somewhat predictable. I will definitely go and read the book, as consensus seems to be that it was much better. I was just left feeling a bit... meh... at the end of it.
Another adaptation of a popular book. this one by Jo Nesbø in the Harry Hole series. As is becoming tradition (as I can only read so many books in a year) I haven't read it, but I was aware of it being very popular when it came out. So it wasn't really surprising that this one was made.
I can't work out if it would have been better if it hadn't been a book first. Serial killers are right up my alley so at some point I would have watched this one, but while I enjoyed it, it was somewhat predictable. I will definitely go and read the book, as consensus seems to be that it was much better. I was just left feeling a bit... meh... at the end of it.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Edge of Darkness in TV
May 5, 2020
Age shall not dim its brilliance, nor dodgy big-screen remakes with Mel Gibson: Edge of Darkness remains a landmark piece of TV drama, of enormous scope and ambition. The pitch - grieving detective hunts his daughter's murderer - sounds straightforward enough, even if the plot rapidly becomes ferociously convoluted. The key thing is that the conspiracy-detective storyline is in many ways the least important thing about the series.
Lengthy theses could and probably have been written about all the things that Edge of Darkness touches upon in the course of its six episodes: Anglo-American relations, the military-industrial complex, nuclear power, secret societies, ecology, the future of the human race, and much more (the original script ended with the main character mystically transforming into a tree). Strong performances and great direction keep it engrossing even when it's not entirely clear what's going on (you can generally get a sense of the direction of travel, though, and episode five works as a terrific mini-action movie even in isolation). Martin Campbell went on to successfully relaunch the Bond franchise twice, but this remains his magnum opus.
Lengthy theses could and probably have been written about all the things that Edge of Darkness touches upon in the course of its six episodes: Anglo-American relations, the military-industrial complex, nuclear power, secret societies, ecology, the future of the human race, and much more (the original script ended with the main character mystically transforming into a tree). Strong performances and great direction keep it engrossing even when it's not entirely clear what's going on (you can generally get a sense of the direction of travel, though, and episode five works as a terrific mini-action movie even in isolation). Martin Campbell went on to successfully relaunch the Bond franchise twice, but this remains his magnum opus.
Mark Halpern (153 KP) rated Shutter Island (2010) in Movies
Jan 14, 2018
Is he there or isn't he
A great thriller about a man sent to investigate the death of woman. He head problems and is kind of OCD in the way he does things. This is a close look into the eye of a detective who is obsessed with solving a murder
It is hard to write a good review cause I would be afraid that anything would give it away. This is a movie you need to see all the way through and learn the ending just to go back and spot the reasons why.
It is hard to write a good review cause I would be afraid that anything would give it away. This is a movie you need to see all the way through and learn the ending just to go back and spot the reasons why.
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated Sisters and Lies in Books
Jul 31, 2017
Hard hitting read with lots of home truths
It's great to hear some real topics being discussed for a change - feminism, domestic violence, mental health and the justice system. The story is extremely dark but realistic sadly, and it's great that the writer did not hold back in showing all the different tenets of a personality. Some of the story was predictable in terms of who was sending the graphic emails, but rather than seeing it as a detective story, it's like a psychological analysis into people's characters.
Intriguing and interesting.
Intriguing and interesting.
Nigel Holmes (16 KP) rated Automan: The Complete Series in TV
May 13, 2019
Sci fi
This show ran for 1 season between 1983 - 1984.
Made by the same people that brought us Tron.
Based around a police detective who isn't allowed out to patrol the streets on orders from his captain as he's a wizard with computers.
So he decides to make a computer generated superhero to help him fight crime, who he calls automan the world's first automatic man aided by his friend cursor who can create anything in the blink off an eye he sets off to fight crime.
Made by the same people that brought us Tron.
Based around a police detective who isn't allowed out to patrol the streets on orders from his captain as he's a wizard with computers.
So he decides to make a computer generated superhero to help him fight crime, who he calls automan the world's first automatic man aided by his friend cursor who can create anything in the blink off an eye he sets off to fight crime.
Mark Halpern (153 KP) rated The Snowman (2017) in Movies
Jan 17, 2018
Want to build a snowman It doesn't have to be in one piece
The story of a serial killer in Norway who leaves a snowman outside the house of it's victims. The detective who gets in charge and becomes obsessed with this new case as it refers to other cold cases. The other officer who is on the case has her own reasoning on who is committing this crime but, has a obsession for wrong reason.
Not a bad movie but, figured out who it was pretty fast from certain clues. No a rewatchable movie
Not a bad movie but, figured out who it was pretty fast from certain clues. No a rewatchable movie
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Exit Stage Left (Kempston Hardwick, #1) in Books
Jun 7, 2018
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
I loved this book!! It is heavily influenced by Sherlock Holmes (whom I love). Fans of Sherlock and classic detective books will love this book.
I love how short & sweet this book is, yet it is able to fit the full story in. Also, I am a big fan of books with short chapters. For some reason, it makes me read them faster, haha.
The plot and two main characters felt real.
I'll definitely be reading more of this author and this series. =)
I loved this book!! It is heavily influenced by Sherlock Holmes (whom I love). Fans of Sherlock and classic detective books will love this book.
I love how short & sweet this book is, yet it is able to fit the full story in. Also, I am a big fan of books with short chapters. For some reason, it makes me read them faster, haha.
The plot and two main characters felt real.
I'll definitely be reading more of this author and this series. =)
Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Girls on Chalk Hill (Detective Lexi Bennett #1) [Audiobook] in Books
Jun 4, 2023
![The Girls on Chalk Hill (Detective Lexi Bennett #1) [Audiobook]](/uploads/profile_image/741/d09ec1cd-9c4a-4cea-9388-9df13c5e0741.jpg?m=1685882567)
Absolutely gripping and a great start to what I imagine is going to be an excellent new detective series and with a narrator that absolutely nailed it!
Excellent story, gripping plot, brilliant characters, perfect setting, a pace that is spot on with oodles of tension and a narrator that only adds to the suspense.
Definitely recommended and I very much look forward to following this series and thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of The Girls on Chalk Hill.
Excellent story, gripping plot, brilliant characters, perfect setting, a pace that is spot on with oodles of tension and a narrator that only adds to the suspense.
Definitely recommended and I very much look forward to following this series and thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of The Girls on Chalk Hill.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated A Haunting in Venice (2023) in Movies
Sep 30, 2023
Well Crafted
Famed Agatha Christie Belgian Sleuth Hercule Poirot is a familiar figure on the screen - both large and small. He has been played numerous times by numerous performers, each one riffing on the famed mustached Detective and his “little grey cells” and and any performer who takes on this character must bear the weight of those who played the role before him.
In A HAUNTING IN VENICE, Kenneth Branagh’s 3rd go around as Poirot, Branagh has finally shaken off the Ghosts of Poirot’s Past and has made the part his own.
Based on the 1969 novel by Agatha Christie, HALLOWE’EN PARTY, Branagh (who also directed the film) imbues horror elements and the macabre to the whoddunit detective genre - largely to positive results.
As stated above, Branagh has finally made this version of Hercule Poirot his own, giving the detective (who, at the beginning of this film/novel, is in self-imposed retirement) some self-doubt and self-retrospection which helps drive the story, plot and intrigue of the story.
Branagh has populated this murder-mystery with strong performers from recent Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh (EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE, ALL AT ONCE) to Jamie Dornan (Branagh’s BELFAST) to YELLOWSTONE’s Kelly Reilly. Each brings mystery and star power to their roles.
Special notice needs to be made of Comedienne Tina Fey who is tackling her first non-comedic role and largely sticks the landing. As a friend of the Detective from NYC, Fey more than holds her own in the many, many scenes she shares with Branagh. As is often the case with comediennes, there is more to be mined in Fey’s acting chops and here’s hoping she dives deeper into more serious roles.
Director Branagh smartly uses the setting and mood of this piece to craft a film experience that is eerie, spooky and claustrophobic. While it is being billed as a HORROR film, it is not. It is a tense, taught, macabre film, filled with fish-eye lens and blurred-focus shots, which makes the set design and cinematography complimentary to the story.
Which is important for this is, in the end, a drawing room murder-mystery and the audience’s enjoyment of this film will be in direct alignment with how the mystery plays out…and this mystery plays out well (enough). What it lacks in surprises, it more than makes up for in mood, atmosphere and character
And that makes for a very entertaining time at the Cinema.
Letter Grade: B+
7 1/2 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis).
In A HAUNTING IN VENICE, Kenneth Branagh’s 3rd go around as Poirot, Branagh has finally shaken off the Ghosts of Poirot’s Past and has made the part his own.
Based on the 1969 novel by Agatha Christie, HALLOWE’EN PARTY, Branagh (who also directed the film) imbues horror elements and the macabre to the whoddunit detective genre - largely to positive results.
As stated above, Branagh has finally made this version of Hercule Poirot his own, giving the detective (who, at the beginning of this film/novel, is in self-imposed retirement) some self-doubt and self-retrospection which helps drive the story, plot and intrigue of the story.
Branagh has populated this murder-mystery with strong performers from recent Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh (EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE, ALL AT ONCE) to Jamie Dornan (Branagh’s BELFAST) to YELLOWSTONE’s Kelly Reilly. Each brings mystery and star power to their roles.
Special notice needs to be made of Comedienne Tina Fey who is tackling her first non-comedic role and largely sticks the landing. As a friend of the Detective from NYC, Fey more than holds her own in the many, many scenes she shares with Branagh. As is often the case with comediennes, there is more to be mined in Fey’s acting chops and here’s hoping she dives deeper into more serious roles.
Director Branagh smartly uses the setting and mood of this piece to craft a film experience that is eerie, spooky and claustrophobic. While it is being billed as a HORROR film, it is not. It is a tense, taught, macabre film, filled with fish-eye lens and blurred-focus shots, which makes the set design and cinematography complimentary to the story.
Which is important for this is, in the end, a drawing room murder-mystery and the audience’s enjoyment of this film will be in direct alignment with how the mystery plays out…and this mystery plays out well (enough). What it lacks in surprises, it more than makes up for in mood, atmosphere and character
And that makes for a very entertaining time at the Cinema.
Letter Grade: B+
7 1/2 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis).