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Sarah (7800 KP) rated Triangle (2009) in Movies

Jun 21, 2018  
Triangle (2009)
Triangle (2009)
2009 | Mystery
8
7.6 (15 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Intriguing, disturbing & original
I watched this entirely based on the review from @Lee and I'm pretty glad I did.

I probably wouldn't class this as a horror as it's not nearly gory or scary enough, but its a very thought provoking and disturbing thriller. It's one of those films that has you wondering "WTF" right from the start - may not appeal to everyone but I love films like this. I love the confusion and the intrigue, but there is a lot of pressure on films like this to get the ending and explanation just right otherwise you wind up unsatisfied and confused. Triangle does very well as the twist ending wraps up a lot of the earlier queries, but it does still leave a slightly ambiguous ending.

If I'm being honest, maybe slightly too ambiguous an ending as I had to look up fan theories online afterwards. And my only disappointment is that halfway through the film i said "this is going to turn out like Lost isn't it?" and on reading the online theories, I wasn't far off!

Slightly dodgy cgi aside, this is a pretty good film and definitely worth the watch. Thanks for the recommendation @Lee
  
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Dean (6927 KP) Jun 22, 2018

I think the biggest clue, if I remember right, is the picture of a boat named after a character in Greek mythology. Love the film.

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Connor Sheffield (293 KP) created a post in Fantasy Friends

Aug 16, 2018  
So this is a new place to talk all things Fantasy. I noticed there was an orb for books specifically but I think a place to explore all mediums regarding fantasy is much better as it will open up so many new world's to those who have not yet explored other mediums or at least not as much as some have. For instance I play a lot of videogames and watch a lot of films but I don't read as many books because it takes me a while to read one book due to a learning disability (quite odd for someone who wants to be a writer I know) but I've been making my way through some books such as The Never Ending Story, and H.P. Lovecraft best weird tales in the Necronomicon and I would love to hear and discuss what others read and find.

Just a few simple rules:

- Be Kind (naturally)
- Debate, don't argue! These will be people's opinions. If you don't agree, either say so in a kind way that puts your point across or don't comment at all. Simple as that.
- Have fun :)
  
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Sarah (7800 KP) rated Hot Fuzz (2007) in Movies

Aug 24, 2018  
Hot Fuzz (2007)
Hot Fuzz (2007)
2007 | Action, Comedy
9
8.2 (54 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Hilarious
I've re-watched this again recently and it's just as funny now as it was when I first saw it in the cinema.

It's hilarious, full of wit and British humour. Not only is it a brilliant comedy, it's a great action and mystery flick too. The pairing of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost works as well here as it did in Shaun of the Dead, and there's a great supporting cast in Jim Broadbent, Paddy Considine and the rest, including those blink and you'll miss it cameos.

Whilst I work for a large urban police force, there are a lot of areas of policing I recognise in this film, which for me makes it even funnier watching it back. From having to bring cake (bribes) in for colleagues, to the old school Vauxhall cars, office banter and the more onerous side of policing, they really have done their research. Although I can safely say I've never met an officer quite as dedicated as Angel! But I do reckon a lot of our new recruits have the same view of policing as Danny does...

Such an entertaining film that doesn't get old.
  
The Wife Between Us
The Wife Between Us
Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen | 2018 | Mystery, Thriller
3
8.1 (37 Ratings)
Book Rating
So disappointing
THE WIFE BETWEEN US is crafted to be clear that whatever you are thinking, expect the opposite. When you think you know who is who, you don’t. This is a suspense about marriage, first wives, fiancées, ex-wives, controlling husbands and a smattering of friends and family.

I’m honestly kind of disappointed having heard a lot of hype for this book. I heard it was twisty and it is, but in a predictable way. There was only one twist I didn’t see coming and that honestly was underwhelming. It’s defintely a book of two halves with a much stronger first half and a fizzled-out second half.

Not one of the characters, including the three main characters were likeable. However, Richard was vile, a sneaky and manipulative kind of vile. He was incredibly well-written but I didn’t feel the female characters were as strongly written.

Clearly there is a lot of love for this book, but it just didn’t work for me. I want less predictable suspense when I chose to read in the genre.

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.
  
Robin Hood (2018)
Robin Hood (2018)
2018 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A Lacklustre take on the legend
I’d expected this to be very similar to the recent King Arthur adaptation, and sadly I wasn’t too far off. Never before have I seen such a dull and lacklustre adaptation of the story of Robin Hood - even the Kevin Costner version was better than this!

The action was dull, the script cheesy and even some decent actors couldn’t make this likeable. I like Taron Egerton, but even he doesn’t come off well in this. His Robin comes across as a love sick puppy and i cringed every time him and Marian are on screen together. A lot of the slow motion was unnecessary (slow mo shots of the Sheriff getting dressed?) and I didn’t understand the costume design and makeup on this. Some of the costumes seemed in keeping with the time this is meant to be set, but a lot, especially Marian’s, just seemed quite inappropriate. Even the script wasn’t quite “of the times” and some of the language didn’t fit in.

If you want to watch a decent film about Robin Hood, choose the Disney version. Or even Men in Tights, they’re far superior to this mess.
  
Show all 3 comments.
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Erika (17789 KP) Dec 5, 2018

The costumes were really annoying to me because they were strangely inaccurate. I felt like it was a big, dumb action film with a smidge of the Robin Hood story.

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Sarah (7800 KP) Dec 5, 2018

I'm glad it wasn't just me then getting annoyed with the outfits. Definitely a big dumb action film ... without much action in it ?

An Unknown Welshman: A novel of Henry VII
An Unknown Welshman: A novel of Henry VII
Jean Stubbs | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
So good, that it couldn't possibly be history, surely?!
This is the story of how Henry VII came to be king, from his birth in Wales, to his crowning and marriage to Elizabeth of York.
I really liked the descriptions of life during the Wars of the Roses, how fickle the nobility seemed to be, swapping allegiances in order to keep their lands, possessions and lives. There was a good deal of action as well. Sieges, battles, hunts: mostly though, Henry had to wait around a lot, hoping that foreign dignitaries would keep him and feed and clothe him, not to mention the money that was sent over from the Crown in order to keep him away. Whilst eh was held captive in Wales, this was to the advantage of the man keeping him: he got to hold Henry's title and lands.
The Wars of the Roses can be very complicated and longwinded - there was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing between the sides. This is a good way to understand the Lancastrian (Henry's) side of the history. And it was fascinating to read.

Many thanks to Sapere Books for my copy to read and honestly review.
  
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AnnieW (23 KP) rated Google Home Mini Smart Speaker in Tech

Dec 27, 2018 (Updated Dec 27, 2018)  
Google Home Mini Smart Speaker
Google Home Mini Smart Speaker
Home Audio & Theater > Speakers
See review title (2 more)
Always reacts
Easy setup
Much quicker than typing questions into my phone!
I just got my Mini and I love it. Not sure the cat trusts it yet though - she goes on alert every time I ask it to do anything!
I can ask the Mini for radio stations I can only listen to online and it's playing within seconds, which I love. I listen to a lot of music and my app of choice is Deezer. It took a while to get that connected, but it was down to my phone rather than the Mini (resolved as soon as I set the default browser to Samsung Internet).
And, a little thing, but I love it - my clock battery has run down so just saying 'Hey Google, what time is it?' has been very useful. I also found it really useful when cooking to say 'alert me in 25 minutes'.
So far, it seems I can ask pretty much anything and it'll have an answer of some sort, but I'm still learning what it can do. I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun.
  
We Need to Talk About Kevin (2012)
We Need to Talk About Kevin (2012)
2012 | Drama, Mystery
7
8.4 (5 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Lacks the punch of the book
The book about this is one of the most enthralling and haunting books I’ve ever read, and I was really hoping the film would be just as good, but sadly it falls a little short. And I know I shouldn’t compare film to book, but that’s pretty much impossible.

Don’t get me wrong, the film is quite good. It’s has great performances from Tilda Swinton and Ezra Miller, with an unusually creepy soundtrack and in general it’s a very bleak and dark film. It does well to get across the main parts of the book, but the main problem for me is that it doesn’t include anywhere near enough detail from the book. It covers the bare minimum, but i feel like it misses out a lot of the detail. I know a film can never include everything from a book, but for me this was missing a lot, especially about some of Kevin’s crimes and dark deeds. This is probably a case of reading the book ruining the film, I’ll admit I maybe should have watched the film first!
  
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Kelly (279 KP) Jan 15, 2019

I agree, totally. The book was disturbing and stayed with me for a long time, challenging my perspective on nature vs nurture in the case of Kevin. The film seemed to lack same punch, I think this is because a lot of the book is wrote around Eva’s personal thoughts and feelings, sadly books like this rarely translate onto the big screen.

American Crime Story Season 1: The People v. O.J. Simpson
American Crime Story Season 1: The People v. O.J. Simpson
2016 | Biography, Drama, Thriller
A well-polished based on true events mini-series.
Not being American and also being a pre-teen at the time of the actual event the whole O.J. Simpson thing was a small blip on my consciousness at the time, so I probably knew less than most going into watching this. It focuses mainly around the courtroom drama of the trial of O.J. Simpson with a heavy focus on the lawyers (and there are a lot of them) involved.

For someone unfamiliar with all the facts of the case I could have done with more detail especially the prosecutions whole case, much was made of their been a load of evidence but we didn’t get to see how much of it was presented. Instead, we did get a lot of insight into the personalities around the case with some strong performances, in particular, Sarah Paulson as prosecutor Marcia Clark alongside some less convincing showings. I’m not that familiar with Simpson, but Cuba Gooding Jr didn’t really invoke him to me.

All in all interesting and well put together insight into arguably the biggest TV trial in history.
  
The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo
The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo
Amy Schumer | 2016 | Biography
8
6.9 (9 Ratings)
Book Rating
Better than a biography
Until seeing Trainwreck, I didn't really rate Amy Schumer as she's made some other pretty poor films. But Trainwreck was great and I'm pleased to say her book is along the same lines.

This is an autobiography but not. Amy tells us humorous anecdotes and sometimes serious and emotional stories about different aspects of her life. Each chapter has a subject or topic of interest, but it is in no way a linear life story. Instead they're rather jumbled but it all makes sense. Amy has a rather laid back conversation style, which for the most part works as it fits in with the stories she's telling although there are times when it gets too conversational - there are just some things that dont come across as well in writing as they would do on stage. Theres a lot of good heartwarming messages in this book, but of course with a decent amount of humour too. I enjoyed reading this a lot more than I expected and it was nice to find out more about a comedian I knew little about. It womt win any writing awards, but it's definitely entertaining.