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Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Split (2016) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
“We are what we believe we are”.
M. Night Shyamalan fizzed into movie consciousness in 1999 with “The Sixth Sense” which – having rewatched it again recently – still has the power to unnerve and impress even after knowing the famous ‘twist’. Since that film and his next, “Unbreakable” in 2000, Shyamalan has ‘done a bit of an Orson Welles’ by never really living up to that early promise. Here with “Split” he returns to better form with a psychological thriller that is heavy on the psycho.
James McAvoy plays Kevin… and Dennis, and Patricia, and Hedwig, and Barry, and Orwell, and Jade, and… if the running time permitted… another 17 characters. But this is no “Kind Hearts and Coronets”: McAvoy plays all these varied personalities in the same body. For Kevin suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder, a rare condition where his different schisms not only affect his speech and attitude but also his whole physique. One personality for example is diabetic and needs insulin: all his others are fine.
Under the care of MPD specialist Dr Karen Fletcher (Betty Buckley, “Carrie”), Kevin seems to be making good progress. But all is not as it seems. Dennis, one of the more evil of Kevin’s personalities, has kidnapped three teens – Claire (Haley Lu Richardson), Marcia (Jessica Sula) and Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy) – and is holding them captive in his home.
It’s all going so well. Kevin (James McAvoy) getting much needed treatment from Dr Fletcher (Betty Buckley).
While Claire and Marcia are good friends, Casey is the wild-card in the pack: a moody and aloof teen that doesn’t fit in with the crowd. We see the abduction unfold largely through her intelligent and analytical eyes, with her experiences causing flashbacks to hunting trips in the woods as a five-year-old child with her father and uncle.
This is McAvoy’s film, with his different personalities being very well observed and the scenes where he switches from one to the other being particularly impressive as piece of acting. Of the youngsters, Anya Taylor-Joy is the most impressive, with the denouement of her particular sub-plot being my favourite part of the film.
Shyamalan, who also wrote the script, is treading a well worn cinematic path here (since often the MPD element is the surprise twist, to list any films here inevitably risks major spoilers – – but there is a decent list here). But this is a film that seems to have generated a lot of interest, particularly with a younger audience (I have seldom been quizzed more with the “Ooh, have you seen this yet” question). As a result this may be a modest sleeper hit.
Girl pray or Girl prey? Casey deep in the psycho’s lair.
Where I think the movie missteps is in its casting of the three cute and scantily dressed teens as the abductees. From the plot of the film that emerges this appears to be unnecessary and exploitative, especially since they are made to progressively dis-robe as the film progresses. The film would actually have been made more interesting if a family unit, or at least a mixed variety of individuals, had been taken.
Marcia (Jessica Sula) doesn’t necessarily appreciate the floral gift.
Unfortunately Shyamalan also over-gilds the lily for the finale by going from medical improbability into outright science fiction: and dilutes what was up to that point a stylish thriller. As a result it’s a decent popcorn film, and worth seeing for McAvoy’s clever performance, but its not going to go down in my book as a classic.
Watch out by the way for a nice final cameo scene: a clever reference to past glories.
James McAvoy plays Kevin… and Dennis, and Patricia, and Hedwig, and Barry, and Orwell, and Jade, and… if the running time permitted… another 17 characters. But this is no “Kind Hearts and Coronets”: McAvoy plays all these varied personalities in the same body. For Kevin suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder, a rare condition where his different schisms not only affect his speech and attitude but also his whole physique. One personality for example is diabetic and needs insulin: all his others are fine.
Under the care of MPD specialist Dr Karen Fletcher (Betty Buckley, “Carrie”), Kevin seems to be making good progress. But all is not as it seems. Dennis, one of the more evil of Kevin’s personalities, has kidnapped three teens – Claire (Haley Lu Richardson), Marcia (Jessica Sula) and Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy) – and is holding them captive in his home.
It’s all going so well. Kevin (James McAvoy) getting much needed treatment from Dr Fletcher (Betty Buckley).
While Claire and Marcia are good friends, Casey is the wild-card in the pack: a moody and aloof teen that doesn’t fit in with the crowd. We see the abduction unfold largely through her intelligent and analytical eyes, with her experiences causing flashbacks to hunting trips in the woods as a five-year-old child with her father and uncle.
This is McAvoy’s film, with his different personalities being very well observed and the scenes where he switches from one to the other being particularly impressive as piece of acting. Of the youngsters, Anya Taylor-Joy is the most impressive, with the denouement of her particular sub-plot being my favourite part of the film.
Shyamalan, who also wrote the script, is treading a well worn cinematic path here (since often the MPD element is the surprise twist, to list any films here inevitably risks major spoilers – – but there is a decent list here). But this is a film that seems to have generated a lot of interest, particularly with a younger audience (I have seldom been quizzed more with the “Ooh, have you seen this yet” question). As a result this may be a modest sleeper hit.
Girl pray or Girl prey? Casey deep in the psycho’s lair.
Where I think the movie missteps is in its casting of the three cute and scantily dressed teens as the abductees. From the plot of the film that emerges this appears to be unnecessary and exploitative, especially since they are made to progressively dis-robe as the film progresses. The film would actually have been made more interesting if a family unit, or at least a mixed variety of individuals, had been taken.
Marcia (Jessica Sula) doesn’t necessarily appreciate the floral gift.
Unfortunately Shyamalan also over-gilds the lily for the finale by going from medical improbability into outright science fiction: and dilutes what was up to that point a stylish thriller. As a result it’s a decent popcorn film, and worth seeing for McAvoy’s clever performance, but its not going to go down in my book as a classic.
Watch out by the way for a nice final cameo scene: a clever reference to past glories.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated Children of Blood and Bone: Book 1 in Books
Sep 24, 2020
Zelie is a protagonist in this book, but this novel is told from multiple perspectives. I absolutely loved Zelie. I loved her personality, her ambition, and bravery. Her relationship with Amari (princess of Orisha) was very amusing and intriguing to read. I loved their little girly fights. I found Inan (Prince of Orisha) very annoying, but at the same time absolutely absorbing. I really liked reading Inan’s parts in this book, his constant inner fight was a very pleasant way of distraction. Adeyemi chose her characters really well and done an amazing job in developing them. The multiple perspectives allowed the reader to have an insight into different people’s feelings, thoughts and views of the situations, which always gives me more pleasure while reading. All the characters had their individual personalities, which shined through in this book. My least favorite was, of course, the King, he was cruel, idiotic and generally a bastard. 🙂
I adored the narrative of this book. I found it very original, exceptionally written and I think it just sucks you in with all the adventures, journeys, magic and complex relationships. There are so many African cultural nuances, which absolutely mesmerized me, I love learning about different cultures. The setting of this book continuously changes, as the group travels through Orisha, and I really enjoyed the details and the way the author described the places. This novel has so many important topics incorporated, one of them being unnecessary death, and it did leave me upset and sad during those parts. 😦
Tomi Adeyemi is an incredible writer and I loved her writing style in this book. The chapters are a very decent length and the pages just fly by. Every chapter has plenty of action, and my interest was continuously kindled. In this book, the author used different language for the spells, and I would’ve loved the translation for them in the book, I just like to know what things mean. I really loved the way this novel ended, and it still haunts me, I can’t wait for another book!
There are plenty of fabulous things about this novel, that I could write and write, but I will leave it for you to figure out, all I can say, this book is absolutely magical! It has so much to offer! The characters are impeccably crafted and the plot takes you to amazing places and unforgettable adventures, where you can experience courage, love, romance, loss, and deceit. It is an absolute must read and it is a summer read for Jimmy Fallon, so it has to be good, right? 😉 I hope you will get the chance to read it and to enjoy as much as I did 🙂
I adored the narrative of this book. I found it very original, exceptionally written and I think it just sucks you in with all the adventures, journeys, magic and complex relationships. There are so many African cultural nuances, which absolutely mesmerized me, I love learning about different cultures. The setting of this book continuously changes, as the group travels through Orisha, and I really enjoyed the details and the way the author described the places. This novel has so many important topics incorporated, one of them being unnecessary death, and it did leave me upset and sad during those parts. 😦
Tomi Adeyemi is an incredible writer and I loved her writing style in this book. The chapters are a very decent length and the pages just fly by. Every chapter has plenty of action, and my interest was continuously kindled. In this book, the author used different language for the spells, and I would’ve loved the translation for them in the book, I just like to know what things mean. I really loved the way this novel ended, and it still haunts me, I can’t wait for another book!
There are plenty of fabulous things about this novel, that I could write and write, but I will leave it for you to figure out, all I can say, this book is absolutely magical! It has so much to offer! The characters are impeccably crafted and the plot takes you to amazing places and unforgettable adventures, where you can experience courage, love, romance, loss, and deceit. It is an absolute must read and it is a summer read for Jimmy Fallon, so it has to be good, right? 😉 I hope you will get the chance to read it and to enjoy as much as I did 🙂
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Revenge of the Nerds (1984) in Movies
Mar 20, 2018
Solid Fun
A fraternity of nerds decide to exact revenge on the jocks that are constantly tormenting them. It's nerds getting revenge. Revenge of the Nerds. A title that says, "Don't think about it. Just enjoy it."
It's tiring watching these nerds get abused constantly. After a constant barrage of douchery by the jocks, you feel empowered when the nerds FINALLY decide to rise up. Everything that happens leading up to that is somewhat frustrating. It throws off the tone a bit for me. You're supposed to be laughing, but you can't help but feel bad for these guys.
Before I venture any further, this has to be said: Lamar (Larry B. Scott) is the absolute best. He was, by far, the scene stealer of the movie. I love characters that can make you crack up with just a few words and mannerisms. He won me over well before the classic limp javelin scene.
That scene is one of quite a few hilarious moments throughout Revenge. When the nerds are together, you never know what will transpire as they all have different personalities and come from different walks of life. Booger (Curtis Armstrong) is a disgusting pig of an outcast who got his name honestly. Takashi (Brian Tochi) speaks bad English and knows little about American culture. Their interaction during a game of cards produced a scene to remember. "What the fuck is a frush?"
It doesn't take long for you to get behind all of these characters and root for their success. And while I can't quite label it as a classic, Revenge of the Nerds is definitely one I can watch multiple times. The plot is implausible and it reaches in parts, but what it lacks in certain areas it makes up for with a solid message that hits on how we should treat people that aren't the same as us.
Liked it, didn't love it. I give it a solid 72.
It's tiring watching these nerds get abused constantly. After a constant barrage of douchery by the jocks, you feel empowered when the nerds FINALLY decide to rise up. Everything that happens leading up to that is somewhat frustrating. It throws off the tone a bit for me. You're supposed to be laughing, but you can't help but feel bad for these guys.
Before I venture any further, this has to be said: Lamar (Larry B. Scott) is the absolute best. He was, by far, the scene stealer of the movie. I love characters that can make you crack up with just a few words and mannerisms. He won me over well before the classic limp javelin scene.
That scene is one of quite a few hilarious moments throughout Revenge. When the nerds are together, you never know what will transpire as they all have different personalities and come from different walks of life. Booger (Curtis Armstrong) is a disgusting pig of an outcast who got his name honestly. Takashi (Brian Tochi) speaks bad English and knows little about American culture. Their interaction during a game of cards produced a scene to remember. "What the fuck is a frush?"
It doesn't take long for you to get behind all of these characters and root for their success. And while I can't quite label it as a classic, Revenge of the Nerds is definitely one I can watch multiple times. The plot is implausible and it reaches in parts, but what it lacks in certain areas it makes up for with a solid message that hits on how we should treat people that aren't the same as us.
Liked it, didn't love it. I give it a solid 72.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated The Distant Dead in Books
Jul 1, 2021
The protagonist in this novel is Stella, but there are multiple storylines going on in this book. Stella is a quite complicated character, she has a lot of things going on in her life. It does not help that while running from her past life she stumbles onto a murdered true-crime podcaster. And once again she gets involved with another investigation. The characters of this book are very interesting personalities, and I was very curious to know more about them. And there is a very wide variety of characters, so sometimes it can be a little difficult to remember who is who.
The beginning of the book was quite slow and confusing for me. This book carries two separate investigations, the one going on in 1940 during WWII, and another investigation happening at the present day. I would have liked more suspense in this book, the culprits were quite easy to guess, but I enjoyed the interactions between the characters while solving both of the crimes. I especially liked the investigation that happened in the 1940ies, I loved reading about that era and the description of West London was very intriguing and educational to me. Also, I really liked to see how different police work was compared to the present day, and I did feel annoyed with the police ignoring the obvious. 😀
The writing style of this book was very enjoyable and well researched. I liked the different settings and atmospheres as well. The chapters have medium length, but it did not leave me bored. As I mentioned before, the ending of the book was quite predictable, but I liked how this book was rounded up. Even though this book was part of the series, I was able to read it as a stand-alone.
So, to conclude, it was a cleverly written crime story, filled with a very wide variety of different and intriguing characters as well as the murder stories that were different but very entwined.
The beginning of the book was quite slow and confusing for me. This book carries two separate investigations, the one going on in 1940 during WWII, and another investigation happening at the present day. I would have liked more suspense in this book, the culprits were quite easy to guess, but I enjoyed the interactions between the characters while solving both of the crimes. I especially liked the investigation that happened in the 1940ies, I loved reading about that era and the description of West London was very intriguing and educational to me. Also, I really liked to see how different police work was compared to the present day, and I did feel annoyed with the police ignoring the obvious. 😀
The writing style of this book was very enjoyable and well researched. I liked the different settings and atmospheres as well. The chapters have medium length, but it did not leave me bored. As I mentioned before, the ending of the book was quite predictable, but I liked how this book was rounded up. Even though this book was part of the series, I was able to read it as a stand-alone.
So, to conclude, it was a cleverly written crime story, filled with a very wide variety of different and intriguing characters as well as the murder stories that were different but very entwined.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated One of us is Lying in Books
Sep 24, 2020
I read so many great reviews about this book, so it was a no-brainer for me, whether to read it or not, and I was really enjoying this book all the way through.
This book follows lives of four seventeen-year-old students, who are accused of murdering their schoolmate during detention. McManus chose the characters for this book very cleverly, covering the main groups of students, which you find in most of the US schools. (using my experience of watching movies) Because of this great selection of characters, it is easy to relate to them and it makes them all very believable. My personal favourite was Bronwyn, I liked her story in this book and the way she was fighting all odds in her school and personal life. I really enjoyed that author was bringing up really serious topics through these characters and their stories, that created more depth and meaning in this book. Another thing which was a real pleasure was multiple perspectives, through which characters could open up to the reader and let their personalities shine.
The plot of this book was very well thought through and creatively designed, drop feeding the important information and creating impatience with every character’s story. There are plenty of turns and twists, so this book was a real page-turner for me. I was reading most of this book while I was travelling, so sometimes it was hard to follow who was who, as the characters change and mix in every chapter, but I got a hold of it later in the book.
I really enjoyed the writing style of this book with easy language and short chapters. I think that author ended this novel very nicely, giving well-deserved conclusion and hope for all the romantics out there. So, to conclude, it is a great book with very strong and diverse characters, interesting plot, and it discusses very important topics, that’s why I think it is a must read and I strongly recommend it to everyone. Enjoy 🙂
This book follows lives of four seventeen-year-old students, who are accused of murdering their schoolmate during detention. McManus chose the characters for this book very cleverly, covering the main groups of students, which you find in most of the US schools. (using my experience of watching movies) Because of this great selection of characters, it is easy to relate to them and it makes them all very believable. My personal favourite was Bronwyn, I liked her story in this book and the way she was fighting all odds in her school and personal life. I really enjoyed that author was bringing up really serious topics through these characters and their stories, that created more depth and meaning in this book. Another thing which was a real pleasure was multiple perspectives, through which characters could open up to the reader and let their personalities shine.
The plot of this book was very well thought through and creatively designed, drop feeding the important information and creating impatience with every character’s story. There are plenty of turns and twists, so this book was a real page-turner for me. I was reading most of this book while I was travelling, so sometimes it was hard to follow who was who, as the characters change and mix in every chapter, but I got a hold of it later in the book.
I really enjoyed the writing style of this book with easy language and short chapters. I think that author ended this novel very nicely, giving well-deserved conclusion and hope for all the romantics out there. So, to conclude, it is a great book with very strong and diverse characters, interesting plot, and it discusses very important topics, that’s why I think it is a must read and I strongly recommend it to everyone. Enjoy 🙂
BookInspector (124 KP) rated In Her Shadow in Books
Sep 24, 2020
The protagonist in this book is Jessica, mom of two kids, who even after five years, still devastated by her sister’s death. Suddenly, her little girl starts telling that she can talk to her auntie and starts revealing very accurate details from Isabel’s past. Did Isabel really died by accident or was she murdered? How does Jessica’s little girl know so much about the aunt she never met? Read the book to find out!
I really loved this book and its characters. The main characters would be Jessica and Isabel, who were telling the story. I really loved the multiple perspectives in this book, it allowed to see what was actually going on, and Isabel’s story made the whole reading experience more suspenseful and intriguing. I really liked the ghost element to it, the author very cleverly incorporated the experiences from the main characters past, to create more mystery. I liked the diversity and variety of other characters, even though their personalities were not discussed in detail, they played vital parts in the “bigger picture”.
The narrative was very absorbing for me. I really wanted to see what Jessica will find out next, and these little clues kept me on the edge all the way through. This novel has plenty of twists and turns, and the transition between chapters is very smartly written.
One thing for sure, Mark Edwards really knows how to write a good psychological thriller. The chapters have a very decent length and they are divided into smaller parts that did not leave me bored. I absolutely loved the culmination of this novel! It was incredibly twisty, rounds up the story nicely, but at the same time still leaves the reader guessing.
So, to conclude, I really enjoyed this dark and entangled family drama, filled with well-written characters, ghosts, and a very engrossing plot filled with unexpected findings. I strongly recommend to give this book a go, and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.
I really loved this book and its characters. The main characters would be Jessica and Isabel, who were telling the story. I really loved the multiple perspectives in this book, it allowed to see what was actually going on, and Isabel’s story made the whole reading experience more suspenseful and intriguing. I really liked the ghost element to it, the author very cleverly incorporated the experiences from the main characters past, to create more mystery. I liked the diversity and variety of other characters, even though their personalities were not discussed in detail, they played vital parts in the “bigger picture”.
The narrative was very absorbing for me. I really wanted to see what Jessica will find out next, and these little clues kept me on the edge all the way through. This novel has plenty of twists and turns, and the transition between chapters is very smartly written.
One thing for sure, Mark Edwards really knows how to write a good psychological thriller. The chapters have a very decent length and they are divided into smaller parts that did not leave me bored. I absolutely loved the culmination of this novel! It was incredibly twisty, rounds up the story nicely, but at the same time still leaves the reader guessing.
So, to conclude, I really enjoyed this dark and entangled family drama, filled with well-written characters, ghosts, and a very engrossing plot filled with unexpected findings. I strongly recommend to give this book a go, and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.