Smashbomb

Hey Partners (be prepared for a long post!)

Since we got so much positive feedback on the End of Year Polls idea - we’ve decided to do it again!

But obviously, we want to check with you, our Partners, before we make anything final. So below are the Nominations we have for each category - and we want your opinions!

The way each nomination is chosen for each category, to begin with, is easy - we simply have the most positively rated items that came out in the year 2020 (excluding Apps, Shows & YouTube Channels)! But, if you think something should be swapped or changed let us know!

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App:
- Hearthstone (8.8)
- Netflix (8.7)
- Amazon (8.9)
- Amazon Kindle (9.1)
- Spotify (8.6)

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Book:
- Matt Haig - The Midnight Library (8.6)
- Sharon J. Bolton - The Split (9.0)
- Kate Elizabeth Russell - My Dark Vanessa (9.5)
- Danny Tobey - The God Game (9.0)
- Maggie O’Farrell - Hamnet (9.3)

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Movie:
- 1917 (8.8)
- The Invisible Man (7.8)
- Onward (8.3)
- The Gentlemen (8.3)
- Bad Boys For Life (7.7)

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Music:
- Eminem - Music To Be Murdered By (10)
- Blossoms - Foolish Loving Spaces (7.5)
- Idles - Ultra Mono (9.0)
- Tame Impala - Slow Rush (8.0)
- Starflyer 59 - Miami EP (9.0)

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Podcast:
- Sword and Scale (7.1)
- Loot Tine Postcast (7.9)
- No Such Thing as Fish (8.9)
- And That’s Why We Drink (8.8)
- True Crime Garage (8.6)

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Show:
- Wicked (8.7)
- We Will Rock You (8.0)
- The Lion King (9.5)
- The Exorcist (8.7)
- Les Miserables (8.0)

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Tabletop:
- Calico (9.0)
- Faza (9.0)
- Chronicles of Crime: 1400 (9.0)
- Macaron (9.0)
- Tales of Evil (9.0)

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Tech:
- iPad Pro (7.4)
- MacBook (7.2)
- Dell XPS 13 (7.2)
- Nest Learning Thermostat (8.4)
- Amazon Echo Plus (8.4)

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TV:
- Locke and Key (7.8)
- Tiger King (7.7)
- Umbrella Academy - Season 2 (9.0)
- The Haunting of Bly Manor (8.1)
- Lovecraft Country (8.7)

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Videogames:
- Final Fantasy VII Remake (8.7)
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons (8.5)
- The Last of Us Part II (7.4)
- Ghost of Tsushima (8.8)
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (8.0)

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YouTube Channels:
- Ted-Ed (8.3)
- The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (7.6)
- Walt Disney Studios (8.7)
- BBC News (8.2)
- 20th Century Fox (9.3)

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There will be one poll for each category, narrowing each of the 5 nominations down to one winner over the course of 2 weeks!

Would love to hear what everyone thinks below!

Kudos

Show all 3 comments.

Hadley (567 KP) Dec 4, 2020

I think this is a great way to pick for the polls.

Kudos

Kirk Bage (1775 KP) Dec 7, 2020

The Queen's Gambit is a glaring omission from TV :)

Kudos

Darren (1599 KP) rated Pod (2015) in Movies

Oct 14, 2019

Pod (2015)

2015 |

5.0

(1 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Characters – Lyla is the loose cannon sibling, she enjoys a drink and a party and is tired of her big brother trying to protect her, once we hit the cabin though she is generic woman in trouble screaming a lot. Ed is the doctor and big brother of the siblings. He wants the family together to help on edge sibling and stays calm through the film through each decision going on. Martin is the former soldier that has returned a different man, he has been in and out of hospitals and now living alone his paranoia can only grow.

Performances – The performances in this film are focused on the three main actors, if we are being honest none of them set the world alight here, with Lauren Ashley Carter being completely over the top with her reactions, Dean Cates being very bland with his actions and Brian Morvant never hitting the marks of a true crazy person.

Story – The story here feels like it should be focusing on the relationship between the siblings, as we have the two left to decide whether their brother is insane or there is something happening in the cabin, the balance is shown early on but then soon just becomes a creature feature which fails to deliver because of the abrupt style of anything happening. There was a large part of potential here, but the bickering doesn’t make you care and the conspiracy theory all becomes something we have seen.

Horror/Mystery – The horror in the film comes in the final 15 minutes and never draws us into being scared and like the mystery side of the film just doesn’t become the important side of things like it should do.

Settings – Most of the film is set in the cabin which does plan into the isolation and paranoid idea.

Special Effects – The effects are used well and only when needed with most being practical dealing with creating the pod.

Scene of the Movie – What is in the basement.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – We didn’t explore the different life styles of the two siblings.

Final Thoughts – This is a lacklustre horror mystery movie that doesn’t use its strengths well enough through the film.

Overall: Lacklustre Horror Movie.