Search
Search results
Ali A (82 KP) rated They Wish They Were Us in Books
Aug 14, 2020
They Wish They Were Us is about Jill Newman and her senior year at Gold Coast Prep. Though everything looks perfect, it's far from it. Three years ago, Jill's best friend Shaila Arnold was murdered. Her boyfriend Graham confessed, the police arrested him, cased closed. Now, Jill is a senior member of the Players (a Gold Coast Prep exclusive, not-so-secret society) and she's ready to make a change. One night, she gets a text claiming Graham's innocence and her year begins to crumble. She needs to find out what really happened to her best friend, no matter the cost.
I enjoyed this book, but I think I enjoyed it most because of the character of Jill Newman. She's a badass, independent female character who knows what she wants. Her friends though, I absolutely hated them at the beginning - spoiled little rich kids who thinks the world owes them everything. But throughout the book, Jessica Goodman was able to drop hints here and there about why they are the way they are, and it made me hate them less. By the end of the book, I actually started rooting for them.
Towards the end of the book, I had a thought as to what the twist was, but still didn't know who the killer was, not until it was basically revealed. Goodman did an excellent job at keeping the suspense. The twist ended up being good - sometimes with murder mysteries, the killer/killing ends up being a bit out there, but this one added up.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and the mystery within. It kept me turning the pages to see what the end results were.
*Thank you Bookishfirst and Razorbill for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this book, but I think I enjoyed it most because of the character of Jill Newman. She's a badass, independent female character who knows what she wants. Her friends though, I absolutely hated them at the beginning - spoiled little rich kids who thinks the world owes them everything. But throughout the book, Jessica Goodman was able to drop hints here and there about why they are the way they are, and it made me hate them less. By the end of the book, I actually started rooting for them.
Towards the end of the book, I had a thought as to what the twist was, but still didn't know who the killer was, not until it was basically revealed. Goodman did an excellent job at keeping the suspense. The twist ended up being good - sometimes with murder mysteries, the killer/killing ends up being a bit out there, but this one added up.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and the mystery within. It kept me turning the pages to see what the end results were.
*Thank you Bookishfirst and Razorbill for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Re-Animator (1985) in Movies
Aug 29, 2020
Straight up, Re-Animator is one of my favourite horror movies of all time - there is just so much to love about this bonafide classic.
Based on an H.P. Lovecraft story, the plot revolves around trainee doctor Dan Cain, who's world is turned upside down when he crosses paths with Herbert West, a fellow trainee who has developed a serum that has the ability to reverse brain death. With some serious trial and error, it's not long before all hell breaks loose, and Dan is roped into Herbert's crazy schemes.
This film is a shining example of schlocky 80s horror done right and ticks all the right boxes. The dialogue may come across a bit B-Movie-ish at times, but that's hardly a problem with the strong cast involved.
Jeffrey Combs dominates every second he's on screen as Herbert West, giving us a truly iconic Mad Scientist of cinema. Same goes for David Gale as primary antagonist Dr. Carl Hill. God, I hate that character - a trait that makes him an excellent horror villain.
Bruce Abbot plays Dan, and his performance has you on his side for the whole runtime, even when he's reluctantly helping West in his unethical experiments. This was also a break out film for horror icon Barbara Crampton. I can't help but love her in anything she's in.
Another fantastic aspect about Re-Animator is the practical effects, which are truly incredible. It's such a visceral experience, so over the top, and just plain gross, everything you want from a gory horror flick. This all culminates in one of the most absurd final sequences in 80s horror, and that's saying something!
Re-Animator is both charming and disgusting, and manages to be funny as well. A true horror gem that should be seen by any fan of the genre.
Based on an H.P. Lovecraft story, the plot revolves around trainee doctor Dan Cain, who's world is turned upside down when he crosses paths with Herbert West, a fellow trainee who has developed a serum that has the ability to reverse brain death. With some serious trial and error, it's not long before all hell breaks loose, and Dan is roped into Herbert's crazy schemes.
This film is a shining example of schlocky 80s horror done right and ticks all the right boxes. The dialogue may come across a bit B-Movie-ish at times, but that's hardly a problem with the strong cast involved.
Jeffrey Combs dominates every second he's on screen as Herbert West, giving us a truly iconic Mad Scientist of cinema. Same goes for David Gale as primary antagonist Dr. Carl Hill. God, I hate that character - a trait that makes him an excellent horror villain.
Bruce Abbot plays Dan, and his performance has you on his side for the whole runtime, even when he's reluctantly helping West in his unethical experiments. This was also a break out film for horror icon Barbara Crampton. I can't help but love her in anything she's in.
Another fantastic aspect about Re-Animator is the practical effects, which are truly incredible. It's such a visceral experience, so over the top, and just plain gross, everything you want from a gory horror flick. This all culminates in one of the most absurd final sequences in 80s horror, and that's saying something!
Re-Animator is both charming and disgusting, and manages to be funny as well. A true horror gem that should be seen by any fan of the genre.
Debbiereadsbook (1551 KP) rated Dark (Blood Moon, Texas Shifters #1) in Books
May 25, 2020
something not quite right, but not sure what!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
I finished this book, so that's a good thing!
I can't say what didn't quite work for me, I hate that I can't, you all know it annoys me so!
The world building is good, with werewolves and vampires exposed to the world a short time ago, in a thoroughly modern way!
Hayden and Ethan have history, I was expecting that history to be a bit more than it appeared to be. Ethan's personal history is bad, as is Hayden's, both of them having difficult childhoods. There is much angst about their childhoods.
Or there SHOULD have been. While Ethan regularly comments on what his childhood did to him, how he closed off from everyone, Hayden does not. I wanted MORE from Hayden about her childhood!
Ethan brothers held more interest to me, than Etahn himself, I'm afraid and I would like to have had a bit more about them. I can see a pairing between one of his brothers and Hayden's sister, Ellie. Who, in my humble opinion, needed a slap a time or two!
There is a back story that kinda got lost on me, and I wasn't sure what the whole point of the kidnappings was, to be honest. It tells you, in the book, but the penny did not drop for me, I'm afraid.
Some sexy bits, although much of those are glanced over, off screen as it were. Some violent bits too.
Still, as the first by this author AND a first in series, not a bad read, just not one that really pushed any of my buttons, I'm sorry to say!
3 good stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
I finished this book, so that's a good thing!
I can't say what didn't quite work for me, I hate that I can't, you all know it annoys me so!
The world building is good, with werewolves and vampires exposed to the world a short time ago, in a thoroughly modern way!
Hayden and Ethan have history, I was expecting that history to be a bit more than it appeared to be. Ethan's personal history is bad, as is Hayden's, both of them having difficult childhoods. There is much angst about their childhoods.
Or there SHOULD have been. While Ethan regularly comments on what his childhood did to him, how he closed off from everyone, Hayden does not. I wanted MORE from Hayden about her childhood!
Ethan brothers held more interest to me, than Etahn himself, I'm afraid and I would like to have had a bit more about them. I can see a pairing between one of his brothers and Hayden's sister, Ellie. Who, in my humble opinion, needed a slap a time or two!
There is a back story that kinda got lost on me, and I wasn't sure what the whole point of the kidnappings was, to be honest. It tells you, in the book, but the penny did not drop for me, I'm afraid.
Some sexy bits, although much of those are glanced over, off screen as it were. Some violent bits too.
Still, as the first by this author AND a first in series, not a bad read, just not one that really pushed any of my buttons, I'm sorry to say!
3 good stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
The Language of Kindness: A Nurse's Story
7.0
Rate It
Book
A moving, lyrical, beautifully-written portrait of a nurse and the lives she has touched Christie...
Biography
Caption Ideas for Instagram, Facebook & bio ideas
Social Networking and Utilities
App
This app is here to make your life easy! Ideas for all kinds of social media captions! Can't think...
Ministry of Illusion: Nazi Cinema and Its Afterlife
Book
German cinema of the Third Reich, even a half-century after Hitler's demise, still provokes extreme...
Black Lions Bride (Warrior Trilogy #2)
8.0
Rate It
Book
A beautiful assassin is sent to kill the king, but her secret mission is thwarted when she crosses...
VivaJava: The Coffee Game: The Dice Game
7.0
Rate It
Tabletop Game
VivaJava: The Coffee Game: The Dice Game – or, more simply, VivaJava Dice – is the successor to...
BoardGames Dicegame RollnWriteGames CoffeeGames
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Shadow in the Cloud (2020) in Movies
Sep 7, 2021
Contains spoilers, click to show
In short, Shadow in the Cloud is a whole load of silly, but entertaining nonsense. In all honesty, the opening 30 or so minutes completely grabbed me - it has a foreboding synth heavy soundtrack that's completely at odds with its WWII time period but still works, it has a sort of gothic aesthetic in it's cloudy night sky setting that boasts some wonderful shots, it has a well built up sense of dread, and then, when the penny drops that there's something not quite right, there's a shot that is legitimately chilling. I was hooked and found myself thinking "this is going to be one of my new favourite films", but alas, it wasn't to last.
From the moment the gremlin creature is fully revealed, proceedings get sillier and sillier - there is one bit in particular that is so mind numbingly dumb, I felt some brain cells die off (but it still made me audibly laugh so, every cloud). The silliness isn't even the main problem, it's actually a plus, but it does highlight how shoddy most of the writing is. Chloë Grace Moretz does the best with what she's given, but honestly, Max Landis' claims that 95% of the finished product is still his work despite re-writes isn't something to be proud of. There's just a lot of iffy dialogue, and some narrative twists later down the line that feel forced and unnecessary.
However, all the silliness that I mentioned makes up for it, if that's your kind of thing. I really can't hate on a film too much when it has its lead beating the shit out of a CGI monkey-bat thing that's trying to eat her baby after all.
From the moment the gremlin creature is fully revealed, proceedings get sillier and sillier - there is one bit in particular that is so mind numbingly dumb, I felt some brain cells die off (but it still made me audibly laugh so, every cloud). The silliness isn't even the main problem, it's actually a plus, but it does highlight how shoddy most of the writing is. Chloë Grace Moretz does the best with what she's given, but honestly, Max Landis' claims that 95% of the finished product is still his work despite re-writes isn't something to be proud of. There's just a lot of iffy dialogue, and some narrative twists later down the line that feel forced and unnecessary.
However, all the silliness that I mentioned makes up for it, if that's your kind of thing. I really can't hate on a film too much when it has its lead beating the shit out of a CGI monkey-bat thing that's trying to eat her baby after all.
