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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Anna and the Apocalypse (2018) in Movies
Dec 8, 2019
There's genuine festive joy in here, yes it's a little blood-stained, but still... festive joy. There are Christmas trees, an innuendo-filled song and Santa, it's probably more on the non-Christmas side of festive watchlists but I'm here for it anyway.
The songs are fantastic, they're fun and catchy with some great dance montages. It really does peak on the musical side of things. My only quibble would be Paul Kaye's song "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now", it's a little cheesy and doesn't feel quite like the tone of the rest of the film. On repeated viewings though it does grow on you, but not quite enough to jump off the bottom spot.
You do need that comedy villain to hate though and in that respect Paul Kaye certainly does really well. In fact the whole cast were great, and there isn't even a caveat. "They were great... considering it's a monster movie." Every performance fit with their character and they managed to make an apocalyptic film feel really upbeat. Everyone had the right amount of pizzazz in them to make this zombimas spectacular come to life.
Being focused on such a small group and area meant that it was really easy to engage with what was going on. It's filmed really nicely as well with your classic background zombie action for comedy effect. All in all this is an enjoyable (sort of) Christmas film and has something for everyone in the family.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2019/12/anna-and-apocalypse-movie-review.html
The songs are fantastic, they're fun and catchy with some great dance montages. It really does peak on the musical side of things. My only quibble would be Paul Kaye's song "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now", it's a little cheesy and doesn't feel quite like the tone of the rest of the film. On repeated viewings though it does grow on you, but not quite enough to jump off the bottom spot.
You do need that comedy villain to hate though and in that respect Paul Kaye certainly does really well. In fact the whole cast were great, and there isn't even a caveat. "They were great... considering it's a monster movie." Every performance fit with their character and they managed to make an apocalyptic film feel really upbeat. Everyone had the right amount of pizzazz in them to make this zombimas spectacular come to life.
Being focused on such a small group and area meant that it was really easy to engage with what was going on. It's filmed really nicely as well with your classic background zombie action for comedy effect. All in all this is an enjoyable (sort of) Christmas film and has something for everyone in the family.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2019/12/anna-and-apocalypse-movie-review.html

LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Deep Blue Sea (1999) in Movies
Jan 2, 2020
Fun in parts, but showing its age
The premise for Deep Blue Sea is painfully simple - it's Jurassic Park in the ocean.
A deep sea research facility, housing genetically modified great white sharks, is compromised during a tropical storm - everyone panics, people get eaten.
Like I said - Jurassic Park in the ocean. Unfortunately, the execution and quality is nowhere near the same level as it's dinosaur counterpart.
Deep Blue Sea is fun for sure. It's a sure fire way to mindlessly enjoy a couple of hours. At the time of it's release, it was firmly in the so-bad-its-great category, but as the years have gone by, the film has ages terribly in terms of special effects. The sharks look horrible these days. Like, original PlayStation cut scene kind of horrible. When films like JP, and Terminator 2 still look more than passable, it's hard to defend!
The dialogue is cheesy as all hell, and the whole thing is shot in a pretty sub-standard action film style - in summary, it's pretty awful.
That being said, it's a difficult film to hate too much. The cast are pretty fun for the most part - Thomas Jane, Samuel L. Jackson, Stellan Skarsgård and even LL Cool J are all pretty entertaining (apart from that god awful Head is Like a Sharks Fin song) and there are some genuinely gory and tense moments (as tense as people being chased by shiny pixels can be).
Is definitely an ok-crap film but the chances are that I'll watch it when it's on TV...
A deep sea research facility, housing genetically modified great white sharks, is compromised during a tropical storm - everyone panics, people get eaten.
Like I said - Jurassic Park in the ocean. Unfortunately, the execution and quality is nowhere near the same level as it's dinosaur counterpart.
Deep Blue Sea is fun for sure. It's a sure fire way to mindlessly enjoy a couple of hours. At the time of it's release, it was firmly in the so-bad-its-great category, but as the years have gone by, the film has ages terribly in terms of special effects. The sharks look horrible these days. Like, original PlayStation cut scene kind of horrible. When films like JP, and Terminator 2 still look more than passable, it's hard to defend!
The dialogue is cheesy as all hell, and the whole thing is shot in a pretty sub-standard action film style - in summary, it's pretty awful.
That being said, it's a difficult film to hate too much. The cast are pretty fun for the most part - Thomas Jane, Samuel L. Jackson, Stellan Skarsgård and even LL Cool J are all pretty entertaining (apart from that god awful Head is Like a Sharks Fin song) and there are some genuinely gory and tense moments (as tense as people being chased by shiny pixels can be).
Is definitely an ok-crap film but the chances are that I'll watch it when it's on TV...

MinEden10 (1 KP) rated Spyro Trilogy Reignited in Video Games
Feb 9, 2020
The visuals are beautiful (2 more)
The soundtrack is great
Truly faithful to the originals
Nostalgia at its Finest
I love spyro. I have loved spyro since I was old enough to be able to play the first game. When I heard it was getting a remaster, I probably made actual sounds of joy. And I'm really pleased that the remake does remain faithful to the original in a way that is fun to play and plucks all the good nostalgia heart strings. The short version of the review is to go and get the game, especially if you've played the originals.
However, there's a few niggles I have. Hunter's new voice is irritating and not how i think of the character at all. Sometimes the camera has an absolute mind if it's own and refuses to remain to behave in a way that makes any sense and...
The glitches.
They're especially prevalent in Spyro 3 and within that, the skateboard races. The final race against the yetis took me upwards of an hour to beat simply because of how glitchy and broken so many of the mechanics that it needed to function were incredibly broken. Several of the trophies were also so persistently not triggering that at one point I had to put the controller down and walk away.
And I hate that they've tainted the game enough that i don't want to replay the third one again.
But yes, all in all, I love spyro, I love the games and I enjoyed my time with the remake.
However, there's a few niggles I have. Hunter's new voice is irritating and not how i think of the character at all. Sometimes the camera has an absolute mind if it's own and refuses to remain to behave in a way that makes any sense and...
The glitches.
They're especially prevalent in Spyro 3 and within that, the skateboard races. The final race against the yetis took me upwards of an hour to beat simply because of how glitchy and broken so many of the mechanics that it needed to function were incredibly broken. Several of the trophies were also so persistently not triggering that at one point I had to put the controller down and walk away.
And I hate that they've tainted the game enough that i don't want to replay the third one again.
But yes, all in all, I love spyro, I love the games and I enjoyed my time with the remake.

Veronica Pena (690 KP) rated Groundhog Day (1993) in Movies
Mar 15, 2020
the legend that holds up
Contains spoilers, click to show
I feel like this movie is one of those legends in a lot of ways. So many people love it, I've heard so many great things over the years and I've just never watched it. Not because I haven't been interested, but because I've never actively looked. Who knew it took a worldwide pandemic for me to watch.
I really enjoyed this film. I love Bill Murray - I think he is a phenomenal actor and so funny. I love his character in the movie. At first, he is so easy to hate, it's so clear he's just a bad guy. He's the guy that everyone knows in real life and you're just like, "really? you again?" and you end up feeling exhausted after talking to them because they're just the worst. But as you go through the film, you go through all the emotions and events and frustrations that he's feeling. You see the pain and the devastation, the breaking points, the good things, the bad things, the really crazy things (running into that huge groundhog after that car chase), and you feel it all with him. I don't think there are movies that often that make you feel that and I always love when they do.
I think, overall, the cast is great. I don't have any particular complaints about anyone, but nobody stands out to me as much as Bill because he just nailed it. I definitely think this is a film I'll come back to over and over again.
I really enjoyed this film. I love Bill Murray - I think he is a phenomenal actor and so funny. I love his character in the movie. At first, he is so easy to hate, it's so clear he's just a bad guy. He's the guy that everyone knows in real life and you're just like, "really? you again?" and you end up feeling exhausted after talking to them because they're just the worst. But as you go through the film, you go through all the emotions and events and frustrations that he's feeling. You see the pain and the devastation, the breaking points, the good things, the bad things, the really crazy things (running into that huge groundhog after that car chase), and you feel it all with him. I don't think there are movies that often that make you feel that and I always love when they do.
I think, overall, the cast is great. I don't have any particular complaints about anyone, but nobody stands out to me as much as Bill because he just nailed it. I definitely think this is a film I'll come back to over and over again.

Sarah (7800 KP) rated Lucifer - Season 1 in TV
Jul 30, 2019
Wickedly good
My manager loves this show and lent me this first series to watch. After it being sat on my shelf for the past couple of months while I moved house, I finally had the time to sit and watch it this weekend... and I’m annoyed at myself for not watching it sooner!
Lucifer for me is very similar to other male protagonist led tv shows, like House, The Mentalist, Elementary etc but in some ways it’s better as the humour and the entire itself is a little darker and naughtier than these others, and it’s all the better for it. It’s basically a supernatural crime show, with some wonderful laugh out loud humour thrown in. You can really tell Neil Gaiman has had a hand in creating this! The stars of this show are the very clever writing and Tom Ellis as Lucifer. He plays Lucifer so well, so charming, wicked and yet lovable at the same time and the things he says are often downright hilarious. This show wouldn’t be half as good if he wasn’t in it. I liked the rest of the cast and characters too though, except for Chloe. I found her quite irritating, way too pouty and you can tell even from this first series that her and Lucifer will end up falling for each other and I hate series that do this. Just because they’re working together doesn’t mean they have to sleep together too! So annoying. But Chloe aside, this is worth watching for Tom Ellis alone. Wonderfully fun.
Lucifer for me is very similar to other male protagonist led tv shows, like House, The Mentalist, Elementary etc but in some ways it’s better as the humour and the entire itself is a little darker and naughtier than these others, and it’s all the better for it. It’s basically a supernatural crime show, with some wonderful laugh out loud humour thrown in. You can really tell Neil Gaiman has had a hand in creating this! The stars of this show are the very clever writing and Tom Ellis as Lucifer. He plays Lucifer so well, so charming, wicked and yet lovable at the same time and the things he says are often downright hilarious. This show wouldn’t be half as good if he wasn’t in it. I liked the rest of the cast and characters too though, except for Chloe. I found her quite irritating, way too pouty and you can tell even from this first series that her and Lucifer will end up falling for each other and I hate series that do this. Just because they’re working together doesn’t mean they have to sleep together too! So annoying. But Chloe aside, this is worth watching for Tom Ellis alone. Wonderfully fun.

Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Bound (The Nevermore Series #2) in Books
Apr 22, 2020
Contains spoilers, click to show
"My name is Mara, and I want desperately to become a mother."
All of my dreams were dashed when the world was promised hope but instead became a place of danger, death . . . and monsters.
Nevermores - a human, but feral and lethal creature with a thirst for flesh, have arisen from the ashes of human hope. Now co-inhabitants in this new world, I am gaining ground in my understanding of them just as I am forced to face a new threat from the local militia.
Led by a man with a taste for torture and a love of suffering, Sebastian and I are confronted with the seemingly impossible obstacle of escape. Caged and kept from our allies, our opportunities for freedom dwindle.
There is only one way to save us both. I am forced to unearth and embrace the dark side of my heart. I must decide who is the more dangerous enemy; the Nevermores or what remains of mankind.
I am bound to fight as though I am one of the monsters I hoped I’d never become.
This is one of those books you don't put down till it's finished and hate all interruptions. I love it so different to any of the other books I read. They have such a unique love amongst the chaos around them. I sobbed at the loss of the little one it was heartbreaking to read. Finished on a bit of a cliff hanger but who doesn't love a good cliff hanger. Untill book 3....
All of my dreams were dashed when the world was promised hope but instead became a place of danger, death . . . and monsters.
Nevermores - a human, but feral and lethal creature with a thirst for flesh, have arisen from the ashes of human hope. Now co-inhabitants in this new world, I am gaining ground in my understanding of them just as I am forced to face a new threat from the local militia.
Led by a man with a taste for torture and a love of suffering, Sebastian and I are confronted with the seemingly impossible obstacle of escape. Caged and kept from our allies, our opportunities for freedom dwindle.
There is only one way to save us both. I am forced to unearth and embrace the dark side of my heart. I must decide who is the more dangerous enemy; the Nevermores or what remains of mankind.
I am bound to fight as though I am one of the monsters I hoped I’d never become.
This is one of those books you don't put down till it's finished and hate all interruptions. I love it so different to any of the other books I read. They have such a unique love amongst the chaos around them. I sobbed at the loss of the little one it was heartbreaking to read. Finished on a bit of a cliff hanger but who doesn't love a good cliff hanger. Untill book 3....
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AJaneClark (3975 KP) Dec 9, 2019