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Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
2013 | Action, Sci-Fi
Story: Thor: The Dark World starts as Thor (Hemsworth) must restore the power in Asgard after Loki’s (Hiddleston) actions, this has made him in the position he should be, waiting to take over his father Odin’s (Hopkins) role. Meanwhile on Earth Jane (Portman) is trying to move with her life, but in London she discovers an unusual series of events which ends up taking her to Elf world.

When Jane becomes cursed, Thor takes her to Asgard to find a cure, which gives Malekith (Eccleston) a chance to lead his army back into combat so he can return the universe back to darkness. Thor must turn to Loki t help him defeat Malekith and save the universe.

 

Thoughts on Thor: The Dark World

 

Characters – Thor is once again preparing to take his throne in Asgard, he has restored faith in the nine realms, but he still misses Jane. When she becomes cursed, he returns to Earth to save her, which only brings back an ancient enemy to the Asgardians in the Dark Elves, he must disobey his father once again to end the threat and save the woman he loves. Jane is trying to get on with her life now, her research has taken her to London where she is trying to get over Thor, her investigation sees her cursed and taken to Asgard to learn about Thor’s home world. Loki is locked up for his actions, after his mother is murdered, Thor turns to him for help to get vengeance. Malekith is the leader of the Dark Elves, he has waited for his chance to bring the universe into darkness once again, killing Frigga the mother of Thor.

Performances – Chris Hemsworth continues to make Thor one of the most entertaining character in the universe. Natalie Portman was known to not be interested in being in the film, it does show in her performance which does disappoint. Tom Hiddleston brings another dimension to his character here which is only going to make him a more loved character. Christopher Eccleston does give us a basic villain, one that is only after power and is mostly under make up, making his performance harder to judge.

Story – The story here follows Thor on his latest adventure, one where he must face an ancient enemy who wants to put the universe into darkness, while finally returning to Jane who has become cursed by the Dark Elves magic. This is another sequel that does address the previous films in the franchise by showing the hints the Thor and Loki could still rebuild their bond even after what Loki has done, we address forbidden relationships between Thor and Jane, have a villain that is obsessed with power, though isn’t the most three-dimensional and see Thor needing to learn more about his responsibilities as a potential king. This is everything you would expect a sequel to be in this universe.

Action/Fantasy – The action involved in this film is mostly big CGI chases sequences between spacecrafts, we do get Thor doing the hammer routine which works well enough for the film. the fantasy side of the film continues to build on the idea that the worlds above have been fighting longer than people could imagine with fresh enemies waiting in the shadows.

Settings – The film uses Asgard, the home world of the Dark Elves and London as the main settings, each has its own action sequences which also shows what Thor is fighting for.

Special Effects – The effects are not as strong as previous films, but we do get some very impressive scenes none the less, the certain moments of weakness do hold the marks up though,


Scene of the Movie – London battle.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The villain isn’t as interesting as previous ones.

Final Thoughts – This is still an entertaining sequel, it might not be as strong as some of the previous films, but it entertains throughout.

 

Overall: Fantasy Filled Sequel.
  
Kinky Boots (2006)
Kinky Boots (2006)
2006 | Comedy, Drama
Verdict: Enjoyable

Story: Kinky Boots starts as we meet two men Charlie (Edgerton) and Lola (Ejiofor) who have grown up under the shadows of their father’s that wanted them to follow in their footsteps. Charlie is forced to take over his family’s show making business, finding it about to go under unless he can find a new idea, which sees him making a chance meeting with the drag queen Lola, who has a full show in London.
Charlie sees a chance to grab his company into a new niche market, by producing shoes for drag queen, seeing how they are struggling to find heels that could support a man’s weight, Charlie risks his whole company on this, while needing to deal with the homophobia shown towards Lola in Northampton.

Thoughts on Kinky Boots

Characters – Charlie is the son of a show maker, the business has kept the community together for generations and despite his decision to leave the area, he is drawn back after his father’s death. He is facing the hardest decision of his life once he learns that the business will need to close, but risks everything to take a chance on a new niche market, where he has to put his uncertainties behind him. Lola is a drag queen in Soho, they take centre stage on a daily show, even if they deal with the haters in life, a chance meeting gives them a chance to design heels for drag queens, both characters have been struggling with father’s that are disapproving in their life choices. Lola has also been dealing with discrimination for years. Lauren is one of the employees that is being made redundant, but pushes Charlie into finding a niche market. Nicola is the fiancée of Charlie who is set for a move to London, who does try to support him through his decisions, but pushed to the limits when he puts their own home on the line.
Performances – Chiwetel Ejiofor gives us a brilliant performance committing to the character through the whole film. Joel Edgerton is great too, in a role that shows him looking a lot weaker than his normal tougher guy roles. Sarah-Jane Potts and Jemima Rooper complete the main supporting cast where everybody does a great job.
Story – The story here follows a struggling shoe company owner that makes a drastic design to turn his factor into a place where they make heels and shoes for drag queens after meeting with one on a trip in London. This is a story that is based on a true story, which showed an unlikely partnership saved a factory from closure even if Charlie had to risk everything to make sure his employees have a job and put aside his feelings towards drag queens. We do get the deeper story about how people will have their own desires and interests that people shouldn’t judge them on.
Comedy/Musical – The comedy in the film mostly comes from the different reactions to Lola, while some are positive, others are negative, but it is Lola’s respond that gets the laughs, with the musical side of the film coming from Lola’s performance.
Settings – The film uses the two main settings, first London where people are more accepting and Northampton where they aren’t used to seeing drag queens, the settings show the different mindsets.

Scene of the Movie – Milan.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The factory workers mentality.
Final Thoughts – This is a fun musical that does put out the important messages about how to treat people in life because you never know how important they could be to your own future.

Overall: Important Comedy.
  
The Neighbor
The Neighbor
London Clarke | 2021 | Horror, Paranormal
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I can not get enough of London Clarke's books. I have not read a bad one yet, so when I saw that she had released a new book entitled The Neighbor, I knew I had to read it. To say I was blown away is an understatement. The Neighbor has now become my favorite London Clarke book so far.

The plot of The Neighbor was definitely frightening. However, I could not put this book down. I kept trying to find opportunities when I had free time to read it. I was terrified for Claire and her four girls. I found myself wanting to protect them from whatever evil had invaded their house. I loved how the supernatural element of the story did not feel forced or cheesy. It was very believable so much so that I kept having to check for shadows as I read this book! The pacing was done perfectly. Although there are some parts of the story that are a bit predictable with how they will play out, I felt that it didn't take away from the narrative at all. I will say all the demon encounters were the spookiest though! However, London Clarke writes them in a way that won't leave you too scared to continue reading. She writes them in a way that will leave you wanting to know more. By the end of the book, all loose ends had been tied up, and there were no cliff hangers.

All of the characters in The Neighbor were fleshed out perfectly even the supporting characters. I really connected with Claire the most, not because she was the main character, but because we are both mothers. While I have two boys instead of four girls, my youngest, funnily enough named Levi (if you read The Neighbor, you'll find out why I find it funny), is the same age as Claire's youngest daughter named Paris. My oldest isn't much older than Claire's oldest daughter Annalen. Plus, Claire and myself are very close in age. I was behind Claire 100 percent, and it annoyed me when her ex-husband, Gunnar, thought she was just losing her mind instead of trying to help her out. I found Clair to be a very strong female character, and I felt so much admiration for her for what she chose to go through for her girls. (I know that most parents would have done the same though.) I also felt bad for Claire that one decision is what caused this whole supernatural mess. Steel was a definitely an interesting character that I did not trust from the very beginning. He is written perfectly, and even though I didn't trust him very much, he was still fun to read about. I found myself trying to figure him out all the time! Whitney was another character that I liked but didn't trust. It was so weird how her life seemed to mimic Claire's.

Trigger warnings for The Neighbor include profanity, violence, murder, death, suicide, alcohol, pedophilia (though not graphic), sex scenes (not very graphic), demons, and the occult.

Overall, The Neighbor is one heck of a rollercoaster ride, so be sure to strap yourself in tight. With it's terrifying plot and interesting characters, this book sucks you in from the very first page and won't spit you back out until it's had its wicked way with you. This is one book that needs to be made into a movie now. I would definitely recommend The Neighbor by London Clarke to those aged 18+ who love their spooky novels with a big helping of terrifying on the side. You will not be disappointed, that's for sure!
  
The Foreigner (2017)
The Foreigner (2017)
2017 | Action, Thriller
Disappointing
Jackie Chan films used to be fun, entertaining and action filled, but sadly that looks to be a thing of the past.

Although this was watchable and it wasn't boring enough to turn it off, it was just so predictable and by the numbers. You knew exactly what was going to happen before it did, and some of it is a little but farfetched. It's nice to see Jackie Chan back again and the fight scenes were alright, but there was a large part of the film where he wasn't even present. The majority of the film was just talking too, where was all the action?


I'm also not entirely sure if a film about terrorists, the IRA and bombings in London (on a bus too?!) is what we want to be watching at the moment considering there's enough of it in real life on the news.
  
Show all 3 comments.
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Sarah (7798 KP) Jan 2, 2018

No way! That's awesome. A little bit jealous I have to admit :)

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Suswatibasu (1701 KP) Jan 2, 2018

It was very strange! Like living in the Twilight zone.

Neverwhere
Neverwhere
Neil Gaiman | 2003 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.8 (25 Ratings)
Book Rating
Characters (3 more)
Plot
Writing style
World building
The book ended. (0 more)
A must read!
It took me longer than usual to read this book purely because I didn't want it to end, so I had to keep putting it down just to savour it!
Neil Gaiman's writing style is on point in this book, it draws you right into the story. Gaiman makes you fall in love with the protagonists, and passionately hate the antagonists. He makes you question the loyalty of certain characters, and trust the ones you should have been questioning all along. Gaiman makes you feel like you are right there in London below with them.

This whole book is fantastic, the concept, the characters, the writing, the beginning; the middle; and the end. It's one of those books you never want to end, never want to put down, and could read over and over again.
  
The Limehouse Golem (2016)
The Limehouse Golem (2016)
2016 | Horror, International, Mystery
Fantastic Victorian thriller
If you go in wanting to be blindsided about who did it then you're going to be disappointed, it's pretty obvious straight away who the Limehouse Golem is. Other than that this is a gripping film exploring the dregs of society in Victorian London as two cases come together for Scotland Yard's John Kildare (Bill Nighy) and George Flood (Daniel Mays). The story is constantly bubbling beneath the surface and as it rushes towards its conclusion the violence and gore gets more and more graphic, a lot of it doesn't add anything to the story but the dramatics of it does put the state of mind of the murderer into context.

Olivia Cooke, who plays Lizzie Cree a woman on trial for the murder of her husband, is fantastic in the role and has really put on display how good an actress she is.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated The Medusa Touch (1978) in Movies

Feb 10, 2019 (Updated Feb 10, 2019)  
The Medusa Touch (1978)
The Medusa Touch (1978)
1978 | Drama, Horror, Mystery
5
6.0 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Rather ropey Omen rip-off with Richard Burton, Lino Ventura and Lee Remick (told you so). A French detective seconded to the London police (zis is ze co-production, bien sur) investigates the life of a writer and noted grump who has just had his head bashed in (Burton); the victim believed he had the power to cause disasters and gradually le inspecteur comes to agree with him.

Some genuinely interesting ideas, but a peculiar narrative structure and obviously low budget are definite limiting factors. Film makes good use of its biggest asset, Richard Burton, who gives his various misanthropic rants 110% and seems to be genuinely off his head (one wonders if he spent most of the shoot wrecked). Playing spot the cameo is also somewhat entertaining. Climax is a bit disappointing though; the whole film is never quite as chilling, powerful, or convincing as it thinks it is.
  
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Villainous Vee (53 KP) rated Honor 8X in Tech

Feb 17, 2019  
Honor 8X
Honor 8X
Phones & Accessories > Phones
1
1.0 (1 Ratings)
Tech Rating
Battery Life (3 more)
Camera
Memory
Finger Print Scanner
I have been using this phone since December as I got it as a Christmas present and had my previous phone (Sony Xperia Z3) for 3 years and was really on its last legs.
I ADORE this phone and I am so glad that I decided (after a lot of research) to go with this phone.
The camera is amazing with so many different effects and the sharpness of images is amazing.
The battery life is great and even with listening to music, taking pictures, using maps, googling different things and gameplay (whole day out in London) I was still left with 60% battery at the end of the day.
If anyone is thinking of getti g this phone but isn't sure I would urge you to go for this phone. I am so happy and amazed by it!
  
I know I shouldn’t really say this sort of thin out loud, but this was actually a lot more interesting than I thought it might be. It consists of 39 short stories about the author’s travels around different parts of the world to places that are often uncharted, forgotten, or lost. Actually, there are quite bizarre and spooky stories, too. It’s made me want to visit these places to see if I can feel myself surrounded by ghosts (The Phantom Tunnel of Shinjuku Station, British Graveyard- Shimla, and Magical ‘ley-lines’ of London for starters!)

As you can tell I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s interesting to not only discover these new tales of old, but to realise how some micro-nations are struggling to survive, as new islands emerge, and borders and boundaries come and go changing our world faster than ever before.

A fascinating book that’s also quite alarming!
  
Down London Road (On Dublin Street, #2)
Down London Road (On Dublin Street, #2)
Samantha Young | 2013 | Romance
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Oh how I loved this novel. "Down London Road" was a dark read. It dealt with emotional abuse, physical abuse, self doubts and other dark topics that many authors can't seem to write about (at least not in a realistic manner). I found myself in love with the characters. Cam was an Alpha-dog Asshole, who was a teddy bear when needed. Jo was a strong woman who once she realized she had worth I loved.

I loved seeing the struggle between the characters. I loved that this novel was realistic on the emotional front. We all have the insecurities that Jo felt or that Cam felt. I think that Samantha Young did an amazing job at making us care about the characters in her book.

I didn't think that she could write another novel as spectacular as "On Dublin Street" but I was wrong.