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Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Spellbound (1945) in Movies
Jun 13, 2022
Not the First Hitchcock You Should Watch
When Dr. Anthony Edwardes arrives at a mental hospital in Vermont to replace existing hospital director, Dr. Constance Peterson quickly recognizes him as an impostor. The impostor not only comes clean but also fears he may have killed the real Edwards. It is up to the impostor and Constance to find out the truth of what really happened.
Acting: 10
Gregory Peck is one of the shining actors of the 1940’s and his performance as the impostor doesn’t disappoint. His ability to draw in emotion always manages to root my attention into a scene. Ingrid Bergman was also sensational as Dr. Peterson. The chemistry between the two actors carried the majority of the scenes.
Beginning: 3
Characters: 10
The characters give you just enough throughout the story to move things along. While I did hold out hope that some of the characters would be fleshed out slightly better, I didn’t mind working with what the story gave me. I can’t give away too much without fear of spoilers, but i will say that some of the backstories took an interesting turn.
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
Another man that doesn’t disappoint when it comes to cinematography: Alfred Hitchcock. Mans is in his bag with some really creative shots that probably surprised a 1945 audience. From dream sequences to flashbacks, Hitchcocks devotion to his craft is on full display. Definitely a strong suit of this film.
Conflict: 4
Entertainment Value: 7
At one point in my notes I wrote, “The premise is great. I think it’s the execution that is a little off.” You can see glimpses of where Spellbound wanted to take off, but it’s usually shortlived. I hung in there for the creativity of the premise, but that can only get you so far. Too many lulls and letdowns spoiled the overall experience.
Memorability: 4
Pace: 2
The talking. All the damn talking all the time. Good…Lord. The film is STUFFED with dialogue, 111 minutes of talka-talka-talka. The lack of action begins in the first twenty minutes and becomes and ongoing theme, unfortunately. “Show don’t tell” did not apply here.
Plot: 9
Resolution: 10
Despite my disappointment with how slowly things moved, the film was wrapped up nicely. It actually made me even more upset with the movie as a whole because the ending was great potential for what ALL of Spellbound should have been. This film could have done a ton of things better. The ending, though? Solid.
Overall: 69
Not my favorite Hitchcock, Spellbound misses the mark in a number of different departments. I don’t know, it left a bad taste in my mouth and left me unfulfilled. If you’re looking to work through Hitchcock’s filmography, maybe save this one for later on down the road.
Acting: 10
Gregory Peck is one of the shining actors of the 1940’s and his performance as the impostor doesn’t disappoint. His ability to draw in emotion always manages to root my attention into a scene. Ingrid Bergman was also sensational as Dr. Peterson. The chemistry between the two actors carried the majority of the scenes.
Beginning: 3
Characters: 10
The characters give you just enough throughout the story to move things along. While I did hold out hope that some of the characters would be fleshed out slightly better, I didn’t mind working with what the story gave me. I can’t give away too much without fear of spoilers, but i will say that some of the backstories took an interesting turn.
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
Another man that doesn’t disappoint when it comes to cinematography: Alfred Hitchcock. Mans is in his bag with some really creative shots that probably surprised a 1945 audience. From dream sequences to flashbacks, Hitchcocks devotion to his craft is on full display. Definitely a strong suit of this film.
Conflict: 4
Entertainment Value: 7
At one point in my notes I wrote, “The premise is great. I think it’s the execution that is a little off.” You can see glimpses of where Spellbound wanted to take off, but it’s usually shortlived. I hung in there for the creativity of the premise, but that can only get you so far. Too many lulls and letdowns spoiled the overall experience.
Memorability: 4
Pace: 2
The talking. All the damn talking all the time. Good…Lord. The film is STUFFED with dialogue, 111 minutes of talka-talka-talka. The lack of action begins in the first twenty minutes and becomes and ongoing theme, unfortunately. “Show don’t tell” did not apply here.
Plot: 9
Resolution: 10
Despite my disappointment with how slowly things moved, the film was wrapped up nicely. It actually made me even more upset with the movie as a whole because the ending was great potential for what ALL of Spellbound should have been. This film could have done a ton of things better. The ending, though? Solid.
Overall: 69
Not my favorite Hitchcock, Spellbound misses the mark in a number of different departments. I don’t know, it left a bad taste in my mouth and left me unfulfilled. If you’re looking to work through Hitchcock’s filmography, maybe save this one for later on down the road.
What an inspirational book!
I had actually never read a biography before, so this was a very different genre to what I'm used to.
As I started reading I wasn't sure if this book was really for me.
In the early days, during Katie's goal of reaching the dizzying heights of fame, she came across as a self-absorbed and not very likable person.
As you progress along the journey with Katie and you suddenly reach the day where her life is flipped upside down you wish you could take back all your negative thoughts for her former-self.
From the second the attack happens, you really feel for the poor girl. You follow along with her during her initial moments in the hospital, how her life is in the doctors hands and all the harrowing and life altering procedures she has to endure on this journey to recovery.
The book is traumatising and inspirational in equal measures. Katie shows us how strong and positive an individual can be, even in the darkest of situations that life can throw at you.
After suffering panic attacks earlier this year myself, I decided to buy this book. It definitely put everything into perspective for me and has helped me try and carry on and find an inner strength I previously was unaware of.
I had actually never read a biography before, so this was a very different genre to what I'm used to.
As I started reading I wasn't sure if this book was really for me.
In the early days, during Katie's goal of reaching the dizzying heights of fame, she came across as a self-absorbed and not very likable person.
As you progress along the journey with Katie and you suddenly reach the day where her life is flipped upside down you wish you could take back all your negative thoughts for her former-self.
From the second the attack happens, you really feel for the poor girl. You follow along with her during her initial moments in the hospital, how her life is in the doctors hands and all the harrowing and life altering procedures she has to endure on this journey to recovery.
The book is traumatising and inspirational in equal measures. Katie shows us how strong and positive an individual can be, even in the darkest of situations that life can throw at you.
After suffering panic attacks earlier this year myself, I decided to buy this book. It definitely put everything into perspective for me and has helped me try and carry on and find an inner strength I previously was unaware of.
Christine A. (965 KP) rated Little Darlings in Books
Mar 23, 2019
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.
Little Darlings by Melanie Golding has been described as an "unsettling thriller perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman and Grimms’ Fairy Tales." I would say I enjoyed the novel, its plot, and the writing.
Like almost all mothers with newborns, Lauren Tranter is exhausted from lack of sleep. Lauren has it worse than many mothers because she gave birth to twins. SInce she is so exhausted and sleep deprived no one believes her when, still in the hospital, she claims someone tried to take her children and wants to replace them with her own.
A month later her children are taken but when they are returned Lauren knows they are not really her children. Again, no one believes her.
What do you do when everyone tells you are wrong and does not believe you? Do you start to wonder if they are right? What if you are positive you are right and everyone else is wrong?
Melanie Golding's debut novel is a slow start but it is worth reading. The novel gets creepier and most suspenseful as the story progresses. The writing and character development, and the creepy stories at the beginning on the chapters helped set the mood well.
Review published on Philomathinphila.com on 3/23/19.
Little Darlings by Melanie Golding has been described as an "unsettling thriller perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman and Grimms’ Fairy Tales." I would say I enjoyed the novel, its plot, and the writing.
Like almost all mothers with newborns, Lauren Tranter is exhausted from lack of sleep. Lauren has it worse than many mothers because she gave birth to twins. SInce she is so exhausted and sleep deprived no one believes her when, still in the hospital, she claims someone tried to take her children and wants to replace them with her own.
A month later her children are taken but when they are returned Lauren knows they are not really her children. Again, no one believes her.
What do you do when everyone tells you are wrong and does not believe you? Do you start to wonder if they are right? What if you are positive you are right and everyone else is wrong?
Melanie Golding's debut novel is a slow start but it is worth reading. The novel gets creepier and most suspenseful as the story progresses. The writing and character development, and the creepy stories at the beginning on the chapters helped set the mood well.
Review published on Philomathinphila.com on 3/23/19.
Sam (74 KP) rated A Place Called Here in Books
Mar 27, 2019
I’m a massive fan of Cecelia Ahern and I hadn’t even heard of this one until I saw it at a charity book stall at the hospital. So, for 50p, I definitely couldn’t resist.
This is one of Ahern’s more abstract novels, based on the idea that all lost things that people have stopped looking for end up in the same place – a little village called ‘Here’.
Sandy is a private investigator who has always had to find missing things since a girl from school went missing when she was younger. She was always losing things but always made a task out of trying to find every single one, hardly ever giving up. She finds herself in a strange place, surrounded by missing people and objects, and no knowledge of how to get home.
Jack’s brother is missing, and he enlists on Sandy’s help to find him. Only, Sandy never shows up when they arrange to meet.
Sandy is the person to go after the missing people, so who will look for her when she goes missing?
I loved reading this and loved the question it raised over what really happened to Sandy when she went missing. The book is based on such a unique idea and made an interesting read and one of my favourite books of 2017.
This is one of Ahern’s more abstract novels, based on the idea that all lost things that people have stopped looking for end up in the same place – a little village called ‘Here’.
Sandy is a private investigator who has always had to find missing things since a girl from school went missing when she was younger. She was always losing things but always made a task out of trying to find every single one, hardly ever giving up. She finds herself in a strange place, surrounded by missing people and objects, and no knowledge of how to get home.
Jack’s brother is missing, and he enlists on Sandy’s help to find him. Only, Sandy never shows up when they arrange to meet.
Sandy is the person to go after the missing people, so who will look for her when she goes missing?
I loved reading this and loved the question it raised over what really happened to Sandy when she went missing. The book is based on such a unique idea and made an interesting read and one of my favourite books of 2017.
Andy K (10826 KP) rated Halloween (2007) in Movies
Oct 10, 2018
A successful re-imagining but turned up to 11!
When I first heard director Rob Zombie was going to have a hand at Halloween, I couldn't have been more excited. His films up to that point had been intense, scary, gruesome, gothic, sexual and down-rite awesome!
This reinvention had big shoes to fill since the original Halloween is not only a scary movie classic, but invented or perfected a lot of horror elements still used in films today.
The additions to the story proved successful seeing a lot more scenes of Michael as a child, his dysfunctional family roots (which could have been part of his inner demons) and more details around his escape from the psychiatric hospital. Then the original story plays out as you are familiar; although, more intense and evil.
The third act does seem to drag out just a bit as the movie is around 2 hours in length.
Great to see a lot of "B" movie actors appear in the film including Malcolm McDowell, Clint Howard, Brad Dourif, Dee Wallace and Richard Lynch. Also Danielle Harris who was the little girl in parts 4 & 5 is also there as another homage.
Overall, a successful reboot with enough mixture of old and new to keep me very well entertained.
This reinvention had big shoes to fill since the original Halloween is not only a scary movie classic, but invented or perfected a lot of horror elements still used in films today.
The additions to the story proved successful seeing a lot more scenes of Michael as a child, his dysfunctional family roots (which could have been part of his inner demons) and more details around his escape from the psychiatric hospital. Then the original story plays out as you are familiar; although, more intense and evil.
The third act does seem to drag out just a bit as the movie is around 2 hours in length.
Great to see a lot of "B" movie actors appear in the film including Malcolm McDowell, Clint Howard, Brad Dourif, Dee Wallace and Richard Lynch. Also Danielle Harris who was the little girl in parts 4 & 5 is also there as another homage.
Overall, a successful reboot with enough mixture of old and new to keep me very well entertained.
Mini (45 KP) rated Jonathan (2018) in Movies
Jun 17, 2019 (Updated Jun 17, 2019)
Contains spoilers, click to show
Hey friends, this is a review of "Jonathan" also entitled "Duplicate" in other countries. It is a movie about D.I.D though it is referred to as 'multi-consciousness' in the movie. The movie is about the lives of two alters, Jonathan and John, brothers who share the same body. It follows their struggle to live the lives they want whilst sharing a body. As someone who has a friend with DID I thought I'd check out this film that I found on Netflix. While there are some very relatable moments in the film, it has a bittersweet ending that doesn't represent the reality of DID at all! For example, in the film, Jonathan discusses the 'removal'/death of alters. This can't happen with DID. Sure, alters can go 'dormant' which means they just don't front, but alters cannot 'die'.
For those with DID the triggers in this film are as follows: medical/hospital scenes, manipulation by a bad doctor/psychiatrist, brief mentions of sexual situations. There are also a few scenes involving self-harm, suicide attempts and urges, graphic self-removal of a brain implant/chip, gaps in memory, rapid switching, and the threat of suicide from an alter.
This film has a few good indications of DID but is sensationalised and gives the wrong impression. But hey, at least they aren't depicted as serial killers!!!
For those with DID the triggers in this film are as follows: medical/hospital scenes, manipulation by a bad doctor/psychiatrist, brief mentions of sexual situations. There are also a few scenes involving self-harm, suicide attempts and urges, graphic self-removal of a brain implant/chip, gaps in memory, rapid switching, and the threat of suicide from an alter.
This film has a few good indications of DID but is sensationalised and gives the wrong impression. But hey, at least they aren't depicted as serial killers!!!
Christine A. (965 KP) rated Behind Every Lie in Books
Feb 28, 2020
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.
After reading Christina McDonald's The Night Olivia Fell, I was eager to read her latest, Behind Every Lie.
Behind Every Lie has an interesting premise - how can you prove you did not do something if you cannot remember it. Eva Hansen wakes up in a hospital after being struck by lightning. She discovers her mother was murdered and Eva was found just down the street from the murder. She cannot remember what happened but the police doubt her and her convenient memory loss. What follows is a two continent race to solve the mystery before the police arrest her. Did Eva kill her mother? If not, who did?
Both of Christina McDonald's books grabbed me right at the beginning and kept me there throughout the whole story. I was worried because I rarely believe a book is 5 stars. It has to blow me away. I gave The Night Olivia Fell 5 stars. I was hoping Christina McDonald was not a "one and done" author. Behind Every Lie proves she is not. While I did not give Behind Every Lie 5 stars, it did earn a well-deserved 4 and ensured Christina McDonald is an author I will continue to read.
This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 2/27/20.
After reading Christina McDonald's The Night Olivia Fell, I was eager to read her latest, Behind Every Lie.
Behind Every Lie has an interesting premise - how can you prove you did not do something if you cannot remember it. Eva Hansen wakes up in a hospital after being struck by lightning. She discovers her mother was murdered and Eva was found just down the street from the murder. She cannot remember what happened but the police doubt her and her convenient memory loss. What follows is a two continent race to solve the mystery before the police arrest her. Did Eva kill her mother? If not, who did?
Both of Christina McDonald's books grabbed me right at the beginning and kept me there throughout the whole story. I was worried because I rarely believe a book is 5 stars. It has to blow me away. I gave The Night Olivia Fell 5 stars. I was hoping Christina McDonald was not a "one and done" author. Behind Every Lie proves she is not. While I did not give Behind Every Lie 5 stars, it did earn a well-deserved 4 and ensured Christina McDonald is an author I will continue to read.
This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 2/27/20.
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