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Lake Nowhere (2014)
5.0
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Movie
From the vaults of the golden age of slasher films comes LAKE NOWHERE, a raucous, bloody romp which...
David McK (3425 KP) rated Horrible Histories: The Movie (2019) in Movies
Jan 14, 2020 (Updated Apr 7, 2024)
Effectively a (roughly) 1.5 hour extended edition of one of the skits from the TV show, this - I feel - suffers a bit from the absence of the core cast from that series, although it does try to make up for it with a virtual plethora of famous faces from British TV: off the top of my head including Alexander Armstrong (from Pointless), Warwick Davis, Derek Jacob, Nick Frost and Lee Mack.
This is set in and around the time of Boudiccea's rebellion against Rome, and is clearly aimed (not surprisingly!) at the younger audience, leaving aside the more gory aspects of the time and introducing (just like the TV show) several song and dance numbers throughout its running - a running time that could have been cut, somewhat, if it wasn't so enamoured of toilet humour!
This is set in and around the time of Boudiccea's rebellion against Rome, and is clearly aimed (not surprisingly!) at the younger audience, leaving aside the more gory aspects of the time and introducing (just like the TV show) several song and dance numbers throughout its running - a running time that could have been cut, somewhat, if it wasn't so enamoured of toilet humour!
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Hacksaw Ridge (2016) in Movies
Dec 6, 2017
Good but too Hollywood-ised
This is yet another true life story I've never heard about until watching the film, but its a fascinating and harrowing story.
Andrew Garfield gives a great performance as Desmond, and his story is truly an intriguing one. The second half of the film during the actual war was very well done, it seemed very realistic and graphic without being too ott gory. And the documentary footage at the end of the real Desmond Does nearly had me in tears.
The main problem is this film has been Hollywood-ised, with over the top and out of place acting from some actors (my other half pointed this out early on and it was something I couldn't then unsee!) to irritating slow motion and patchy CGI. If they could just tell the real story without embellishing, it'd be so much better.
Andrew Garfield gives a great performance as Desmond, and his story is truly an intriguing one. The second half of the film during the actual war was very well done, it seemed very realistic and graphic without being too ott gory. And the documentary footage at the end of the real Desmond Does nearly had me in tears.
The main problem is this film has been Hollywood-ised, with over the top and out of place acting from some actors (my other half pointed this out early on and it was something I couldn't then unsee!) to irritating slow motion and patchy CGI. If they could just tell the real story without embellishing, it'd be so much better.
Madbatdan82 (341 KP) rated The Haunting of Hill House- Season 1 in TV
Mar 7, 2019
A simply excellent and unnerving series and one hell of a scary house!
I had heard good things about this show and loved the trailer but I was not disappointed at all - simply amazing. The way they intertwined so many different storylines together so well is stunning. Character development is great and you truly care about every character and some scenes and monologues drew me in so much I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. The real star is the house though. It is shot so beautifully but also there's just something unnerving about it. That is the real genius of this show. It's not gory, it's not jump scares. It is simply scary, psychologically scary and I loved it. Now season 2 has been announced & I'm a very happy camper!!!
Loz Hughes (80 KP) rated Hannibal - Season 1 in TV
Jul 14, 2018
The plot lines (4 more)
Hannibal's portrayal
Wills character acting
The depth of the story
The length of some of the deception
A fantastic tv series
This is a fantastic series for anyone interested in crime, psychopaths, sociopaths and the Hannibal book series.
Im generally a self proclaimed wuss and cant watch horror or psychological thrillers and while this series wouldnt be classed as those sometimes the murders really turned my stomach but the acting is superb and the character builds are great. It really adds to the book series and although im quite squeamish with some of it, I will keep watching the following series because I am fascinated with the relationship between Hannibal and Will. Its like a big game of cat and mouse but the mouse is really a wolf in sheeps clothing ?
Im generally a self proclaimed wuss and cant watch horror or psychological thrillers and while this series wouldnt be classed as those sometimes the murders really turned my stomach but the acting is superb and the character builds are great. It really adds to the book series and although im quite squeamish with some of it, I will keep watching the following series because I am fascinated with the relationship between Hannibal and Will. Its like a big game of cat and mouse but the mouse is really a wolf in sheeps clothing ?
Sarah (7798 KP) rated House on Haunted Hill (1999) in Movies
Oct 25, 2018
Spoilt by the ending
I absolutely loved this film when it first came out, probably because I was far too young to be watching it. But watching it back now, it’s a bit of a disappointment.
Plot wise it’s fairly straight forward and probably not entirely original, but you can’t really go wrong setting a horror film in an old asylum. That alone gives you the creeps. It’s quite funny and also very bloody and gory, and Geoffrey Rush does fairly well channeling his inner Vincent Price. Sadly Jeffrey Combs is a very underused though. My main issue with this film is that the ending really lets it down. It goes a bit bonkers and strays a little too far away from the asylum/mad doctor premise, and whilst I understand the ending and what they were trying to get at, for me they should’ve gone down a different route.
Plot wise it’s fairly straight forward and probably not entirely original, but you can’t really go wrong setting a horror film in an old asylum. That alone gives you the creeps. It’s quite funny and also very bloody and gory, and Geoffrey Rush does fairly well channeling his inner Vincent Price. Sadly Jeffrey Combs is a very underused though. My main issue with this film is that the ending really lets it down. It goes a bit bonkers and strays a little too far away from the asylum/mad doctor premise, and whilst I understand the ending and what they were trying to get at, for me they should’ve gone down a different route.
Vegas (725 KP) rated Friday the 13th (1980) in Movies
Oct 25, 2018
The suspense (2 more)
Violent deaths
Not too much splatter
Classic Slasher
It has been a very long time since I watched this, back in the day I always preferred The Nightmare on Elm Street series. So I went into it almost with fresh eyes, not really remembering too much.
I now wonder why I didn’t like it more at the time, the gory deaths were not over done as in some modern films (eg. Saw series) there was the right amount of suspense and anticipation was cleverly filmed... some of the later scenes once the killer is shown especially the close ups and later struggles remind me for some reason of the style of Hitchcock in psycho.
This is how horror should be done. Maybe some of today’s excessive gore fest films (which I don’t actually dislike) should learn from it - sometimes less is more.
I now wonder why I didn’t like it more at the time, the gory deaths were not over done as in some modern films (eg. Saw series) there was the right amount of suspense and anticipation was cleverly filmed... some of the later scenes once the killer is shown especially the close ups and later struggles remind me for some reason of the style of Hitchcock in psycho.
This is how horror should be done. Maybe some of today’s excessive gore fest films (which I don’t actually dislike) should learn from it - sometimes less is more.
Awix (3310 KP) rated American Ultra (2015) in Movies
Sep 3, 2020 (Updated Sep 3, 2020)
Competent but slightly underwhelming action comedy feels like one of those films which invites an 'it's .... meets ....' kind of description. My attempt would be that it's Clerks colliding with the Bourne Identity, as useless stoner Jesse Eisenberg discovers he is actually a brainwashed CIA assassin in line for termination by his employers. What will his girlfriend Kristen Stewart (yes, he's probably punching above his weight a bit) say?
The basic idea is sort of funny, but for this to work as a comedy it would need considerably better jokes, and while the action is competently staged (gory, though) it's not done with the style or scope to make the film distinctive. Not actually bad - reasonable performances and the script has a solid structure - but not accomplished or entertaining enough to really stand out. As it is, feels like an Edgar Wright pastiche, if there's such a thing, but very pedestrian.
The basic idea is sort of funny, but for this to work as a comedy it would need considerably better jokes, and while the action is competently staged (gory, though) it's not done with the style or scope to make the film distinctive. Not actually bad - reasonable performances and the script has a solid structure - but not accomplished or entertaining enough to really stand out. As it is, feels like an Edgar Wright pastiche, if there's such a thing, but very pedestrian.
How Pleasure Works
Book
Pleasure is one of the most fascinating aspects of being human. But what is it? Exploring child...
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (2021) in Movies
Mar 4, 2022
This movie opens with a "previously on" montage, kind of like a CW show, so that's what we're dealing with here.
The first Escape Room is a relatively tight thriller, with multiple entertaining-as-hell set pieces, all wrapped up in a load of half-baked plot weirdness. This sequel doubles down on both of those things. The puzzle rooms themselves are more extravagant and ambitious, and sometimes, there's some tension on display. I just wish they would lean into the horror more and get gory!
However, the small semblance of plot is needlessly convoluted, and executed so poorly, that it doesn't make much sense, and it just doesn't matter. I wasn't annoyed that it was bullshit, because I just didn't care, as my brain cells slowly fizzled away.
Tournament of Champions is dumb and fun. Pretty forgettable, but a good enough time whilst it's happening.
The first Escape Room is a relatively tight thriller, with multiple entertaining-as-hell set pieces, all wrapped up in a load of half-baked plot weirdness. This sequel doubles down on both of those things. The puzzle rooms themselves are more extravagant and ambitious, and sometimes, there's some tension on display. I just wish they would lean into the horror more and get gory!
However, the small semblance of plot is needlessly convoluted, and executed so poorly, that it doesn't make much sense, and it just doesn't matter. I wasn't annoyed that it was bullshit, because I just didn't care, as my brain cells slowly fizzled away.
Tournament of Champions is dumb and fun. Pretty forgettable, but a good enough time whilst it's happening.