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Awix (3310 KP) rated Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971) in Movies
Feb 9, 2018 (Updated Feb 9, 2018)
Gender on the Agenda
Hammer's second swing at a Jekyll and Hyde movie boasts a good cast, a capable director, and an inventive script that takes what sounds like a risible premise just seriously enough to keep it interesting. Dr Jekyll, intent on finding the universal cure for all diseases, realises he will die long before he completes the project, and so starts searching for an immortality serum - the recipe for which happens to include large quantities of female hormones. When he drinks it the inevitable happens.
Well, what ensues is a struggle between the moral but weak Jekyll and his ruthless, psychotic alter-ego, which somehow develops to include the real-life grave-robbers Burke and Hare and a somewhat unlikely solution to the mystery of Jack the Ripper's true identity. It's not exactly the subtlest or most refined piece of work, but neither is it completely sleazy or ridiculous.
The cast, director, and production values give the movie a touch of class (the punishingly low budget is concealed rather well) and the main weakness is that the script often seems to almost be treating the idea as a black joke, and doesn't explore some of the potential of the premise. Still, far from the travesty or spoof it sounds like.
Well, what ensues is a struggle between the moral but weak Jekyll and his ruthless, psychotic alter-ego, which somehow develops to include the real-life grave-robbers Burke and Hare and a somewhat unlikely solution to the mystery of Jack the Ripper's true identity. It's not exactly the subtlest or most refined piece of work, but neither is it completely sleazy or ridiculous.
The cast, director, and production values give the movie a touch of class (the punishingly low budget is concealed rather well) and the main weakness is that the script often seems to almost be treating the idea as a black joke, and doesn't explore some of the potential of the premise. Still, far from the travesty or spoof it sounds like.
Merissa (11622 KP) rated Forsaken Dream (Forsaken Destiny #1) in Books
Dec 17, 2020 (Updated Aug 8, 2023)
FORSAKEN DREAM is the first book in the Forsaken Destiny series and we start off with Echo. She is a Seelie Princess with a betrothed she has no interest in. Plus, she doesn't want to be puppet her father wants her to be. So she leaves and hides in the human realm. Sixty years later, trouble arrives in the form of three mates...
Echo is exactly the kind of female you expect from a Maya Daniels novel. She is strong and feisty, certainly not the kind of female to just accept and obey. Out of the three males, Tyler is my favourite so far. There is something so endearing about the 'Hulk'. Only trouble is, I couldn't pick him out of the book cover! Still, the three males are working out nicely together but a spanner was thrown in the works right at the end. I can't say it was a surprise but I look forward to seeing how it all works out.
This was a great start to a new series with a small cast of characters that I look forward to reading about. Definitely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Dec 17, 2020
Echo is exactly the kind of female you expect from a Maya Daniels novel. She is strong and feisty, certainly not the kind of female to just accept and obey. Out of the three males, Tyler is my favourite so far. There is something so endearing about the 'Hulk'. Only trouble is, I couldn't pick him out of the book cover! Still, the three males are working out nicely together but a spanner was thrown in the works right at the end. I can't say it was a surprise but I look forward to seeing how it all works out.
This was a great start to a new series with a small cast of characters that I look forward to reading about. Definitely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Dec 17, 2020
Charlotte (209 KP) rated The Green Mile (1999) in Movies
Mar 6, 2018
fantastic and convincing performances from the whole cast (3 more)
intriguing and engaging plot despite the film totalling a 3 hour running time: every single time i watch the film, despite knowing the whole storyline, i never feel that the movie is dragging
range of likeable and incredibly despicable characters along with solid character development
incredibly memorable, heartwarming & heartbreaking in equal measures
my GOODNESS it's so harrowing (the only complaints i've received from those i've recommended it to was the number of tears it made them shed) (1 more)
absence of female characters :(
one of my favourite films of all time
i've only just bought the book & i'm slightly nervous to read it (i do usually tend to read the book first) as i'm worried it'll ruin my opinion of the film as a direct adaptation of the book but this means this review is entirely based upon the film independently!!
Easy Motion Tourist
Book
Guy Collins, a British hack, is hunting for an election story in Lagos. A decision to check out a...
Dean (6921 KP) rated Jolt (2021) in Movies
Sep 4, 2021
Kate Beckinsale (1 more)
Amusing
Low voltage fun
Feeling like a low powered Crank with a female twist. Never quite sure whether to go full out violent or go for comedy value. So it ends up some where in the middle and with a weak revenge story it's not going to jolt your memory long after.
Kate Beckinsale with her sarcastic blunt quips does make it fairly enjoyable and the supporting cast is pretty decent. OK for a watch but not one to go out of your way to catch.
Why try to Americanise the location as well? European cars, English street signs and scenes shot on the Southbank and quite a few using the Tate Modern location for the villians pad. A couple of fire hydrants, yellow taxis and a school bus to make it look set in New York seem pointless.
Kate Beckinsale with her sarcastic blunt quips does make it fairly enjoyable and the supporting cast is pretty decent. OK for a watch but not one to go out of your way to catch.
Why try to Americanise the location as well? European cars, English street signs and scenes shot on the Southbank and quite a few using the Tate Modern location for the villians pad. A couple of fire hydrants, yellow taxis and a school bus to make it look set in New York seem pointless.
Merissa (11622 KP) rated Shadow of the Swan in Books
Sep 28, 2020
Shadow of the Swan is a standalone novel set in Victorian England. I say standalone but I am seriously hoping it turns into more! Louisa is a strong and resilient female lead and Henry is superb, a rightful male balance to this pairing.
This story takes you from Egypt to England with all of the differences between the two brilliantly described. Louisa and Henry are supported by an amazing cast that I loved getting to know and I really want to see more of them! The pacing is spot-on with the whole book moving along nicely without a wasted word or unnecessary flourish.
This was a fantastic read that I thoroughly enjoyed. So good to read a Nicola Cameron classic again. Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
This story takes you from Egypt to England with all of the differences between the two brilliantly described. Louisa and Henry are supported by an amazing cast that I loved getting to know and I really want to see more of them! The pacing is spot-on with the whole book moving along nicely without a wasted word or unnecessary flourish.
This was a fantastic read that I thoroughly enjoyed. So good to read a Nicola Cameron classic again. Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Dean (6921 KP) rated Last Night in Soho (2021) in Movies
Nov 4, 2021
The 2 female leads (1 more)
60's soundtrack
Slow to get going (1 more)
Not quite as expected
All style but lacking substance
After seeing a trailer for this I was interested to see it. Looking very stylish with the 60's flash backs to the Soho night life. Along with a mystery to be solved about past events.
The style is great the soundtrack is cool along with 60's fashion that features prominently. The look is good as well with the lighting and and editing.
Unfortunately it was a bit slow going for the first third of the film. Some of the young supporting cast weren't great in their roles. Some of the plot developments were on the predictable side. The direction of the film meant it wasn't quite the type of thriller I was hoping for. Anna Taylor-Joy and Thomasin McKenzie are the real highlights of the film though. Could have been better but worth checking out.
The style is great the soundtrack is cool along with 60's fashion that features prominently. The look is good as well with the lighting and and editing.
Unfortunately it was a bit slow going for the first third of the film. Some of the young supporting cast weren't great in their roles. Some of the plot developments were on the predictable side. The direction of the film meant it wasn't quite the type of thriller I was hoping for. Anna Taylor-Joy and Thomasin McKenzie are the real highlights of the film though. Could have been better but worth checking out.
Merissa (11622 KP) created a post
Mar 24, 2021
Awix (3310 KP) rated Oceanโs 8 (2018) in Movies
Jun 26, 2018 (Updated Jun 26, 2018)
We seem to be at the point where Hollywood is all for giving more and better roles for women in big (ish) genre movies, but no-one seems to have much idea about how to do this beyond clumsily retooling films that would usually star men for a female cast. Hence things like this, which is basically a minimal variation on the formula from the Clooney/Pitt Ocean movies - you know it's about women, though, because they're stealing jewellery and there's a scene where they all swish about glamorously in expensive dresses.
Uninspired and unsurprising plot, distinctly mixed bag of performances, and lack of a moral compass (rather than stealing from a proper bad guy, they're basically just nicking stuff from an innocent jewellery house) mean that this was a rather unengaging experience for me (though a friend who is actually in the target demographic said she quite enjoyed it). Seriously, though, if people keep going to see this sort of thing, it's all going to end up with Sylvester Stallone finally making The Expendabelles, and who really wants that to happen?
Uninspired and unsurprising plot, distinctly mixed bag of performances, and lack of a moral compass (rather than stealing from a proper bad guy, they're basically just nicking stuff from an innocent jewellery house) mean that this was a rather unengaging experience for me (though a friend who is actually in the target demographic said she quite enjoyed it). Seriously, though, if people keep going to see this sort of thing, it's all going to end up with Sylvester Stallone finally making The Expendabelles, and who really wants that to happen?
Dark and Gritty
I am a fan of Paul Finch and love Lucy as a strong, female character who takes no prisoners. Here she finds herself in the midst of a pretty grim series of what initially appear to be a series of unconnected events but they quickly turn into a nightmare investigation. This is where I need to warn you that this book does contain scenes of animal cruelty and abuse ... it also contains scenes of human cruelty! Both are hard to read.
Dark, gritty, exciting, full of tension and suspense, well written with a cast of brilliant characters, this is a great addition to the series and one I would happily recommend.
This is the third book in the series and although can be read as a standalone, to get the best out of it, I would recommend you read them in order so that you get the back story to the characters ... you won't be disappointed.
My thanks go to Avon Books UK via NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.
Dark, gritty, exciting, full of tension and suspense, well written with a cast of brilliant characters, this is a great addition to the series and one I would happily recommend.
This is the third book in the series and although can be read as a standalone, to get the best out of it, I would recommend you read them in order so that you get the back story to the characters ... you won't be disappointed.
My thanks go to Avon Books UK via NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.