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The Guest (2014)
The Guest (2014)
2014 | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Dan Stevens is fantastic (4 more)
Unpredictable right until the end
Great cast, great acting
Good music
Great plot
Final scene was a little disappointing (0 more)
An unpredictable, suspenseful thriller
This was a suprising find for me. I paid £1 for this on blu ray and I have to say I am very very impressed.

The cast are great throughout but it is obviously Dan Stevens that knocks it out of the park as David. He shows sincerity which soons turns into this intense and sinister performance. He is full of suspense and you are constantly asking what his real story is and what his motives are. He plays this character well showing a lot of manipulation when using the families grief for their son to integrate himself into their lives. The performance of every other actor and actress are elevated that much more opposites his character.

The plot is interesting and 1 of those rare movies full of unpredictability. There are many parts I don't see coming and this goes on until the very end. The music is fantastic and the writing is perfect.

I'd love to see Dan Stevens do more action because the action in this was great and intense. There wasnt too much and I'm ok with that. It worked well with the tone of the movie. I loved seeing these little parts because it showed how dangerous this man really is.

I was a little bit disappointed with the ending because of how quickly it suddenly ended. I wanted more, I wanted to know what happened next but I guess that's the point.

Overall a fantastic movie, well worth a watch. Well paced, every scene felt it was building this suspense.
  
Hereditary (2018)
Hereditary (2018)
2018 | Drama, Horror, Mystery
The trailer lies
Pay attention for this one folks. The prize is in the details.

I will try to avoid spoilers but I recommend going in having seen nothing except maybe the trailer.

This film is a mystery horror. It's not in your face, it's suggestive. Every shot is thought out and significant, I'm sure I missed a hundred things. The whole time I was nervously trying to understand all the little clues that seemed out of place. But still my theories were so wrong. It may be that no theory us fans come up with is wrong or right. Not knowing is better.

The mystery and horror is only half of Hereditary in my opinion. I felt empathy for Toni Collette's character more than I felt fear. If you don't think you could handle depictions of grief then you should skip this one. My stomach still feels tense. Toni deserves every award for her performance.

I imagine a few people might call out a couple of moments as goofy or amateurish, but I feel like I need those moments. At one point very near the end the whole cinema laughed and the tension in the whole room released, and we'd been scared for a long time by that point.

By far the most beautifully crafted element of this film was the sound editing. The perfectly timed score builds and releases, playing with your adrenal response.

I will watch this movie a hundred times and enjoy it each time. It will stay with me, and I'm going to spook my mother with it to pay her back for that time we watched the Blair witch when I was a teenager and she shrieked every time I went near a corner.
  
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)
2018 | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Looks great (0 more)
It's Victorian London, Christmas time, and a family mourning the recent loss of their mother is preparing to go to a Christmas party. Their father hands out some gifts left to them by their mother and eldest daughter Clara (Mackenzie Foy) receives an egg shaped box, locked and with the keys whereabouts unknown. Disappointed, they head off to the lavish Christmas party hosted by Claras godfather (Morgan Freeman) and while there, Clara discovers a hidden world consisting of four realms. War is brewing and in the absence of her mother, who discovered this world and became its queen, it's up to Clara to bring everyone together once more.

First things first, this movie is just beautiful to look at. Such attention to detail, with vibrant sets and costumes throughout. Mackenzie Foy is wonderful as Clara, dealing with grief while coming to terms with trying to live up to her mothers legacy. Keira Knightley is good, if a little annoying at times, and Helen Mirren is also reliably interesting. And Morgan Freeman is just.... Morgan Freeman!

It's all very Alice in Wonderland or The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe. Despite their faults though, the Narnia movies always seemed to explore the vast world introduced to us, taking the time to meet many of it's inhabitants. While this movie introduces us briefly to the realms as part of a wonderful ballet sequence, only to not show any of it again for the rest of the movie. Instead, the plot all seems very contained and all over far too quickly. I liked what I saw, it just didn't really leave much of a lasting impression at all. Nor did it leave me feeling very magical or festive.
  
Ki's Redemption (An Alien Exchange Trilogy #3)
Ki's Redemption (An Alien Exchange Trilogy #3)
Keri Kruspe | 2019 | Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Ki's Redemption (An Alien Exchange Trilogy #3) by Keri Kruspe
Ki's Redemption is the third book in the An Alien Exchange Trilogy, BUT it is the first one I have read. Did this impact me in any way? Only by making me want to read the first two immediately!!! For the story itself though, it was all good. The characters are clearly defined and well established. Enough of a back-story is given so you understand all about things that have happened in the past, without it overshadowing the current story.

I love a good science fiction romp, and this book had it all. Sassy and strong females. Alpha males who need taking down a peg or two at times by said females. Artificial Intelligence. Androids. Robots. Bad dudes. Seriously, it's all here. Even better than a good science fiction romp, is a good science fiction romp that has DRAGONS!!!! And boy was I not disappointed by the two shown in this book! The descriptions of them are vivid, making it so very easy to see them in my mind. Can I just say, I thought Cleithe was amazing! Her grief broke my heart!

With no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading, this book was a delight from start to finish. The story is gripping and full of action without being too much. Absolutely recommended by me, with the proviso that you simply must read books one and two too. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to get my grubby mitts on said books!

* 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!