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A first shot at love and a last chance at living. Ever since the Loveborne virus wiped out half...
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The Dream Collector (Sabrine & Sigmund Freud #1)
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The Dream Collector immerses the reader into the exciting milieu of late 19th Century Paris when art...
Literary Fiction Historical Fiction
Darren (1599 KP) rated 28 Days Later (2002) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
Story: 28 Days Later starts by showing a group of activists breaking into a laboratory where chimps are forced to watch some of the most gruesome sites in human history. This was designed to create pure rage and when the chimps are released an epidemic starts. 28 Days Later (title drop) we meet Jim (Murphy) who wakes up in a hospital, alone he searches looking for help but the hospital, streets and everywhere is empty. Wonder around the empty London Jim finds a church filled with infected that chase him before getting save by Mark (Huntley) and Selena (Harris) who also fill in the blanks of what happened.
Jim finds out the harsh reality of the world now but meeting Frank (Gleeson) and his daughter Hannah (Burns) gives them a chance to go to a radio signal left by the military. The group soon find the military holding up in a mansion lead by Major Henry West (Eccleston) but not everything is as it seems.
28 Days Later brings the modern infected zombie film to life in one of the best story ideas we have seen. It is good to see a story that the infection can only be spread rather than you turn when you die which is big change to all we have seen. The journey itself is been there seen that but what we get is a revenge film with infected around once we meet the military. This shows us that the enemy could come from all direction and our characters are never going to be safe in the world now. This is easily one of the best zombie based films in recent years. (9/10)
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Actor Review
Cillian Murphy: Jim waking up alone in a hospital he wonders the empty city before being found by other survivors, with a group he heads to the military safe zone where he ends up having to fight to save the rest of his group from not only infected but the soldiers. Cillian gives a great performance and this put him on the map for bigger roles. (9/10)
jim
Naomie Harris: Selena the nonsense survivor who takes no prisoners which we see from the moment her fellow survivor gets infected. Naomie gives a good performance showing that she was always going to be in bigger films. (8/10)
Brendan Gleeson: Frank caring father who has waited for support before taking his daughter to a radio signal he has been hearing. This character may only be a supporting character but his final moments are one of the most memorable turns in this genre history. Brendan does a good job in what is just a supporting performance. (8/10)
Christopher Eccleston: Major Henry West who is running the military unit that has been calling for the survivors but his motives are not what they seem. Christopher gives a good performance in the role. (7/10)
Support Cast: 28 Days Later doesn’t have the biggest supporting cast we have a couple of other survivors as well as the soldiers in the military unit. They all help as they show us what the characters are capable off.
Director Review: Danny Boyle – Danny does a great job directing this zombie classic that is easily one of the best in the genre. (9/10)
Horror: 28 Days Later uses plenty of horror elements with survival horror shinning through. (10/10)
Music: 28 Days Later uses brilliant scores to build the tension up through the scenes. (9/10)
Settings: 28 Days Later uses the settings really well to show how empty busy places could be when the world comes to an end. (9/10)
Special Effects: 28 Days Later uses great special effects with the infected creation. (9/10)
Suggestion: 28 Days Later is one to watch for every horror fan out there. (Horror Fans Watch)
Best Part: Suspense building.
Worst Part: Nothing
Action Scene Of The Film: Jim breaks into the mansion
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Kill Of The Film: Frank
Scariest Scene: Jim’s returns home
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: Has one sequel with talks of another always around.
Post Credits Scene: There is the alternative ending
Oscar Chances: No
Box Office: $82 Million
Budget: $8 Million
Runtime: 1 Hour 53 Minutes
Tagline: His fear began when he woke up alone. His terror began when he realised he wasn’t.
Trivia: The scene where Jim and Selena celebrate with Frank and Hannah was shot on September 11, 2001. Danny Boyle said it felt extremely strange to shoot a celebratory scene on that particular day.
Overall: Brilliant Infected Film
https://moviesreview101.com/2015/03/14/28-days-later-2002/
Christine A. (965 KP) rated The Night Olivia Fell in Books
Mar 1, 2019
The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald could have just been a typical "mom seeks the truth about what happened to her daughter" book except it was not. Christina McDonald's writing makes you connect with the characters, root for Abi, a single mom whose entire life revolved around her daughter, Olivia, and makes it a "cannot put down" book.
Abi wakes in the middle of the night to hear every mother worst fear - her studious, sensible daughter had an accident. At the hospital she learns Olivia fell off a bridge, is braindead, and, oh yeah, she is pregnant. Abi's word turns upside down and she will not stop at anything to find out what happened that night on the bridge.
Using flashbacks McDonald flips back and forth between the present and the months leading up to Olivia's fall. This technique lets us see how in just a few months a person can change by keeping secrets and not letting others in.
I was not sure until the end of the story what really happened to Olivia. This is a suspenseful mystery that sucks you in from the very beginning.
I have added Christina McDonald to my "authors to read" list.
Review published on Philomathinphila.com, Smashbomb, Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble on 3/1/19.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2204 KP) rated The First Rule (Elvis Cole, #13; Joe Pike, #2) in Books
Dec 13, 2018
I tend to think of Joe Pike as the strong, silent type, probably because he famously doesn't like to talk. The plot of this book shows us a different side of the character. He's still not a talker, but he is much more active and driven in his quest to avenge his friend. Unfortunately, the result didn't quite work for me. Part of it is me since I'm not a fan of revenge stories in general. The book is dark and violent, even for this series, and the twists weren't as good, some of them feeling forced into the story. Since it was the next in the series for me to read, I'm not sorry I read it, but it isn't author Robert Crais at this best. I suspect the fans who love the character of Joe Pike will enjoy this book more than I did.
Saul Sailing Snapper (211 KP) rated This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor in Books
Nov 13, 2019
The premise of the book is simple. It is a trainee Doctors diary with various entries of the course of their many years of long hours having to deal with anything that came through the doors during their hospital postings. The chapters are split with each progression through the training ladder and even explaining the process quite well for those who are not aware how crazy the system appears.
I found myself laughing out loud for some of the entries, especially those concerning the removing of alien objects from the body. Aghast at others over what Doctors have to go through on a daily basis and with a lump in my throat over moments of heartbreak mere lines later.
I enjoyed the book immensely and found myself re-reading paragraphs and even the odd few pages to let it all sink in. The plaudits from various celebrities in the cover do not really do it justice but are well deserved. It is a very easy to read book and you would be hard pressed not to come away with a greater admiration for the NHS and its staff have to go through.
JT (287 KP) rated The Possession of Hannah Grace (2018) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
When an exorcism goes horribly wrong the body ends up within the confines of a Boston hospital morgue three months later. There, ex-cop Megan (Shay Mitchell) who is recovering from her own personal trauma, takes a job working the graveyard shift. The setting had so much potential it’s annoying that the film just saunters along, relying on cheap jump scares to capture audience attention.
As Megan walks about with not much to do until the eventual arrival of Hannah Grace’s disfigured corpse, she spends the time familiarising herself with the creepy surroundings. Megan’s backstory is far more interesting. Suffering from PTSD after watching her partner get gunned down, she battles an addiction to pills and now has the thankless task of having to battle a demon – hardly job satisfaction.
The setting had so much potential it’s annoying that the film just saunters along, relying on cheap jump scares to capture audience attention.
In fairness to director Diederik Van Rooijen, he has chosen a tried and tested subgenre. And he isn’t helped by Brian Sieve‘s poor script. There is the odd positive moment, mainly when Hannah’s twisted body offers a glimpse at something more sinister lurking inside her. But that’s about it.
“When you die, you die. End of story,” says Megan – and after 85 minutes we’re pleased it did.
Merissa (12066 KP) rated Midnight Redemption (Bonded By Blood Vampire Chronicles #6) in Books
Apr 21, 2020
Although you could read this as a standalone, I do believe you would get the most out of it if you do read it as a series. After all, characters and previous lives are mentioned (some in great detail) so I think it would help to know just what is going on and who is who!
Anyway, things have changed a lot since the last book. Broderick buried himself in a crypt, thinking he was doing the right thing. Anthony has been carrying on with the business. Davina thought her mum was insane and said mum ended up in a mental hospital. Phew! And into that numerous characters from other books including the Norse Wolves (yey!!!!) and there really is so much going on.
This is one helluva finale! One I have waited for and am NOT disappointed in the result. The only thing I would say is that because of the previous lives mentioned I sometimes got confused. All that means though is that I will be re-reading this as a complete series now it is complete - to get the full enjoyment, you understand!
Midnight Eclipse is still my favourite in the series but this one comes a close second. Absolutely recommended by me!
* 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!
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