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Interesting and very intriguing
Trigger Warnings: talk of rape, drug abuse, torture
When I first put this on, I was just putting it on as background noise while I worked on art. But I ended up becoming drawn into the thriller and mysteriousness of the story.
Chambers begins with the MC, Sasha Yazzie telling her father, Frank, that she is going out to study. But in reality, she's going out with her boyfriend TJ Locklear - in the hopes that she will lose her virginity. The couple goes into a mattress shop to do the deed when Sasha's head starts pounding. She ends up passing out and rushed to the hospital.
Months later, we see the scar from a heart transplant. Sasha had a heart attack, which was very random and rare. She is miserable from missing a ton of school, having to be on anti-rejection pills for the rest of her life, and for everyone treating her like a porcelain doll.
One day, she walks into Frank's shop and meets Ben Lefevre who was the father of Becky, the teenage girl who gave Sasha her heart. Sasha is deeply creeped out when Ben asks for Frank and her to come to dinner. But when she goes to refuse, Frank agrees since he empathizes with the family.
When they arrive, Sasha is peppered with questions about her ambitions from Nancy, Becky's mother and snarky comments from Becky's brother, Elliot. The Lefevres tell Sasha that they are taking Becky's college fund and establishing a scholarship that they want her to have. Sasha soon sees a picture of Becky and eventually starts having visions, a major one happens during an Arizona dust storm that forces the Yazzies to stay at the Lefevres' house.
Sasha accepts the scholarship where she attends Becky's old school. This new school is very upper class, I mean it has "nap rooms" and "life coaches" and not all of Becky's old friends are reluctant to be friends. Sasha finds out via a few of Becky's old friends how exactly Becky died, but it doesn't make sense at all. The show continues on with a few twists and turns, a few trigger scenes, and was captivating.
Chambers is an odd yet enthralling show that also gives a foreboding tone. The creator doesn't hide some of the messages you see in the first episode, but it's all things we've seen done before. Like the Lefevres having it all while the Yazzies are a working-class family. The main reason why I kept watching until the very end was the mystery surrounding Becky's death and Rose's performance as Sasha. Throughout the episodes, you can see that Sasha doesn't go around "stopping and smelling the roses" all because she was given another chance to live. She resents the heart and just wants to be a normal teen again. Which is totally understandable. Getting an organ transplant is a hard thing to go through, especially at such a young age like under 17 years old.
If you're into thrilling mysteries that have a bit foreshadowing, I highly recommend Chambers. You can stream it on Netflix!
When I first put this on, I was just putting it on as background noise while I worked on art. But I ended up becoming drawn into the thriller and mysteriousness of the story.
Chambers begins with the MC, Sasha Yazzie telling her father, Frank, that she is going out to study. But in reality, she's going out with her boyfriend TJ Locklear - in the hopes that she will lose her virginity. The couple goes into a mattress shop to do the deed when Sasha's head starts pounding. She ends up passing out and rushed to the hospital.
Months later, we see the scar from a heart transplant. Sasha had a heart attack, which was very random and rare. She is miserable from missing a ton of school, having to be on anti-rejection pills for the rest of her life, and for everyone treating her like a porcelain doll.
One day, she walks into Frank's shop and meets Ben Lefevre who was the father of Becky, the teenage girl who gave Sasha her heart. Sasha is deeply creeped out when Ben asks for Frank and her to come to dinner. But when she goes to refuse, Frank agrees since he empathizes with the family.
When they arrive, Sasha is peppered with questions about her ambitions from Nancy, Becky's mother and snarky comments from Becky's brother, Elliot. The Lefevres tell Sasha that they are taking Becky's college fund and establishing a scholarship that they want her to have. Sasha soon sees a picture of Becky and eventually starts having visions, a major one happens during an Arizona dust storm that forces the Yazzies to stay at the Lefevres' house.
Sasha accepts the scholarship where she attends Becky's old school. This new school is very upper class, I mean it has "nap rooms" and "life coaches" and not all of Becky's old friends are reluctant to be friends. Sasha finds out via a few of Becky's old friends how exactly Becky died, but it doesn't make sense at all. The show continues on with a few twists and turns, a few trigger scenes, and was captivating.
Chambers is an odd yet enthralling show that also gives a foreboding tone. The creator doesn't hide some of the messages you see in the first episode, but it's all things we've seen done before. Like the Lefevres having it all while the Yazzies are a working-class family. The main reason why I kept watching until the very end was the mystery surrounding Becky's death and Rose's performance as Sasha. Throughout the episodes, you can see that Sasha doesn't go around "stopping and smelling the roses" all because she was given another chance to live. She resents the heart and just wants to be a normal teen again. Which is totally understandable. Getting an organ transplant is a hard thing to go through, especially at such a young age like under 17 years old.
If you're into thrilling mysteries that have a bit foreshadowing, I highly recommend Chambers. You can stream it on Netflix!
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Read Me Like a Book in Books
Feb 13, 2018
Ashleigh Walker's life is crumbling around her. Her parents are fighting constantly, she's not doing well in school, and her boyfriend, Dylan, doesn't exactly make her heart sing. Suddenly, the one bright spot in Ash's life becomes her new English teacher, Miss Murray. Young and hip, Miss Murray engages Ash in a way she's never felt before. She's even joined the debate club, for pete's sake, and started working hard on her English submissions. But there's more to it than that. Miss Murray makes Ash feel something else. If she really admits it, Miss Murray makes Ash feel what Dylan (and other boys) should. Is something wrong with Ash? And more importantly, Ash starts to think... does Miss Murray feel the same way?
This is a lovely gem of a book. It's the perfect blend of heartbreaking and funny. Kessler, who, as I mentioned, has previously written a series of books for young teens, expertly captures the older teen voice in this novel (which was actually her first book, finally published and updated for the more modern, digital era). She creates a picture as she writes, allowing you to vividly imagine her multi-faceted and complicated characters. Ash is no one-dimensional teen: she's intricate and her own person. As she deals with the agony of her parents' own issues, plus her own inner angst about her love life, your heart goes out to the girl.
Kessler easily paints the angst one feels when in love with a teacher, especially if LGBT - coupled with the delusion that comes with youth, no matter your sexual orientation. Ash's feelings are so real, so strong, and she seems so alone. It's an excellent portrayal of what young teens go through as they wrestle with their sexuality (believe me, I know; it took me back to some tough times in high school).
If anything, some of the resolution is a little too easy, a bit quick and forced at times, but it really doesn't diminish from the force of the book. Watching Ash grow up before our eyes is rather magical. There are some excellent comedic portions from the novel to balance out the heaviness, coupled with a great supporting cast of characters, including Ash's best friend, Cat, and some other youth she meets via school, family, and friends. The novel is perfect for teens struggling with their own sexuality, or needing to see someone "like them" in print, and those looking to support a LGBT best friend, but should also be given to parents of those teens -- as Ash's parents play a role in the story as well.
Overall, I found myself completely wrapped in Ash's coming of age (and coming out) tale. Books with a true to life, multi-dimensional lesbian heroine are still sadly hard to come by, it seems, but Kessler's novel certainly tries to change that.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review - thank you!
<a href="http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/">My Blog</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/justacatandabook/">Facebook</a>; ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/justacatandbook">Twitter</a>;
This is a lovely gem of a book. It's the perfect blend of heartbreaking and funny. Kessler, who, as I mentioned, has previously written a series of books for young teens, expertly captures the older teen voice in this novel (which was actually her first book, finally published and updated for the more modern, digital era). She creates a picture as she writes, allowing you to vividly imagine her multi-faceted and complicated characters. Ash is no one-dimensional teen: she's intricate and her own person. As she deals with the agony of her parents' own issues, plus her own inner angst about her love life, your heart goes out to the girl.
Kessler easily paints the angst one feels when in love with a teacher, especially if LGBT - coupled with the delusion that comes with youth, no matter your sexual orientation. Ash's feelings are so real, so strong, and she seems so alone. It's an excellent portrayal of what young teens go through as they wrestle with their sexuality (believe me, I know; it took me back to some tough times in high school).
If anything, some of the resolution is a little too easy, a bit quick and forced at times, but it really doesn't diminish from the force of the book. Watching Ash grow up before our eyes is rather magical. There are some excellent comedic portions from the novel to balance out the heaviness, coupled with a great supporting cast of characters, including Ash's best friend, Cat, and some other youth she meets via school, family, and friends. The novel is perfect for teens struggling with their own sexuality, or needing to see someone "like them" in print, and those looking to support a LGBT best friend, but should also be given to parents of those teens -- as Ash's parents play a role in the story as well.
Overall, I found myself completely wrapped in Ash's coming of age (and coming out) tale. Books with a true to life, multi-dimensional lesbian heroine are still sadly hard to come by, it seems, but Kessler's novel certainly tries to change that.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review - thank you!
<a href="http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/">My Blog</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/justacatandabook/">Facebook</a>; ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/justacatandbook">Twitter</a>;
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated All the Money in the World (2017) in Movies
Feb 14, 2018
Bland with the exception of Christopher Plummer
By now, almost everyone knows about the last minute switch of Christopher Plummer in place of current-pariah Kevin Spacey as pivotal Billionaire J. Paul Getty in Ridley Scott's ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD, so when I checked out Plummer's Oscar nominated turn, I couldn't but help see if I could tell when Scott put in a new scene and where he just "augmented" his scenes with Plummer. And then, a funny thing happened...
I stopped looking at this for I was captivated by Plummer's performance.
A 3 time Oscar nominee (he is the oldest person to win an Academy Award - at the age of 82 - for his Supporting Role in BEGINNERS in 2010), the 88 year old Plummer shows that he can still command a movie for anytime he is on screen this film crackles and becomes interesting.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the rest of the film.
Telling the story of the kidnapping of Getty's grandson, and the "richest man in the world's" refusal to pay the ransom, ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD stars Charlie Plummer (no relation) as John Paul Getty III (the kidnapped grandson), Mark Wahlberg as "fixer" Fletcher Chase, who was told by Getty to get his grandson back for "the lowest possible cost", Romain Duris as one of the kidnappers and the great Michelle Williams as the mother of the kidnapped boy - and the daughter-in-law of Getty, Gail Harris. Each one of these performances are good, but not great. Doing what needs to be done in what they are given to do but nothing more.
I think the problem with this film is one of focus. It spends about 50% of the time with William's character - and this is fine, but then it jumps to the kidnapped son, to "the fixer", to "the kidnapper", to the grandson and back to the mother, so no real through-line, continuity or strong character development can occur, with the exception of Christopher Plummer's J. Paul Getty. To be fair to Williams, C. Plummer has the showier role and she is just asked to be the center of this tale, the world in which all else revolves and that, ultimately, makes her character somewhat bland.
I place the blame for this on Screenwriter David Scarpa (based on the book by John Pearson) and Director Scott. I think their reach exceeded their grasp on this one. If they could have focused more on one of the characters - instead of spreading things out - perhaps this film would have become more interesting and less bland. It stays on one note - despite jumping to different people in vastly different situations - throughout it's 2 hour and 15 minute time frame.
All in all, a missed opportunity. It is a decent film that had the potential to be VERY good. The only one who was VERY good was Christopher Plummer - and certainly his performance is worth the price of admission.
Letter Grade: B
7 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (OfMarquis)
I stopped looking at this for I was captivated by Plummer's performance.
A 3 time Oscar nominee (he is the oldest person to win an Academy Award - at the age of 82 - for his Supporting Role in BEGINNERS in 2010), the 88 year old Plummer shows that he can still command a movie for anytime he is on screen this film crackles and becomes interesting.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the rest of the film.
Telling the story of the kidnapping of Getty's grandson, and the "richest man in the world's" refusal to pay the ransom, ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD stars Charlie Plummer (no relation) as John Paul Getty III (the kidnapped grandson), Mark Wahlberg as "fixer" Fletcher Chase, who was told by Getty to get his grandson back for "the lowest possible cost", Romain Duris as one of the kidnappers and the great Michelle Williams as the mother of the kidnapped boy - and the daughter-in-law of Getty, Gail Harris. Each one of these performances are good, but not great. Doing what needs to be done in what they are given to do but nothing more.
I think the problem with this film is one of focus. It spends about 50% of the time with William's character - and this is fine, but then it jumps to the kidnapped son, to "the fixer", to "the kidnapper", to the grandson and back to the mother, so no real through-line, continuity or strong character development can occur, with the exception of Christopher Plummer's J. Paul Getty. To be fair to Williams, C. Plummer has the showier role and she is just asked to be the center of this tale, the world in which all else revolves and that, ultimately, makes her character somewhat bland.
I place the blame for this on Screenwriter David Scarpa (based on the book by John Pearson) and Director Scott. I think their reach exceeded their grasp on this one. If they could have focused more on one of the characters - instead of spreading things out - perhaps this film would have become more interesting and less bland. It stays on one note - despite jumping to different people in vastly different situations - throughout it's 2 hour and 15 minute time frame.
All in all, a missed opportunity. It is a decent film that had the potential to be VERY good. The only one who was VERY good was Christopher Plummer - and certainly his performance is worth the price of admission.
Letter Grade: B
7 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (OfMarquis)
Hazel (1853 KP) rated Broken Realms (The Chronicles of Mara Lantern, #1) in Books
Dec 7, 2018
<i>This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review</i>
<i>Broken Realms</i> is a brilliant science fiction novel and first installment of <i>The Chronicles of Mara Lantern</i> by D. W. Moneypenny. Set in present day Oregon it deals with metaphysical ideas and bizarre creatures – a very intriguing read.
Mara Lantern is a young adult who has left school to work in a gadget repair shop where her amazing natural talent for restoring machinery is put to good use. At the commencement of the book she is being driven to the airport by her New Age obsessed mother in order to fly out to San Francisco to visit her father. Once the plane is airborne it is clear there is something terribly wrong. Bright blue light flashes throughout the aircraft and the passengers around Mara appear to be distorting: growing fangs and snouts, and changing eye colour. What is even stranger is a redheaded boy is running down the aisle closely pursued by a clone of Mara.
In an attempt at an emergency landing, the plane crashes into the Columbia River – a crash impossible to survive – however everyone does. All the passengers and crew are pulled out of the river unharmed; all except Mara who is strangely found unconscious on the pavement with a head wound.
Detective Daniel Bohannon is assigned to the case investigating the cause of the crash, but when some of the survivors start displaying super-human or animalistic traits it becomes clear this was no ordinary situation.
Whilst the investigation continues, Mara begins to deal with what she saw on the plane. With the help of a fellow survivor, Ping, and the redheaded boy, Sam (who claims he is her brother) she begins to learn that her world, her life and human existence in general is not all she believed it to be.
Although <i>Broken Realms</i> is accurately described as a science fiction and fantasy novel there were times, particularly during the police investigations, that it also felt a little like a crime thriller. There is nothing particularly bad about that but to begin with it was as though there were two different genres competing with each other depending on which character point of view was being read.
What helped to make this book so great were the excellent writing skills of D. W. Moneypenny. It was written so clearly that vivid images came to mind whilst reading. The pace of the narrative was fairly quick and at no point did it ever stop being exciting.
Another good thing (admittedly others may not see it as such) was that there were no romantic attachments between any of the characters to detract from the main storyline. This meant the novel was completely focused on the plot without any unnecessary interruptions.
<i>Broken Realms</i> is a highly recommended book for science fiction and fantasy lovers. It does, however, leave the reader wanting to know what is going to happen next. So now the wait for the next book in <i>The Chronicles of Mara Lantern</i> begins.
<i>Broken Realms</i> is a brilliant science fiction novel and first installment of <i>The Chronicles of Mara Lantern</i> by D. W. Moneypenny. Set in present day Oregon it deals with metaphysical ideas and bizarre creatures – a very intriguing read.
Mara Lantern is a young adult who has left school to work in a gadget repair shop where her amazing natural talent for restoring machinery is put to good use. At the commencement of the book she is being driven to the airport by her New Age obsessed mother in order to fly out to San Francisco to visit her father. Once the plane is airborne it is clear there is something terribly wrong. Bright blue light flashes throughout the aircraft and the passengers around Mara appear to be distorting: growing fangs and snouts, and changing eye colour. What is even stranger is a redheaded boy is running down the aisle closely pursued by a clone of Mara.
In an attempt at an emergency landing, the plane crashes into the Columbia River – a crash impossible to survive – however everyone does. All the passengers and crew are pulled out of the river unharmed; all except Mara who is strangely found unconscious on the pavement with a head wound.
Detective Daniel Bohannon is assigned to the case investigating the cause of the crash, but when some of the survivors start displaying super-human or animalistic traits it becomes clear this was no ordinary situation.
Whilst the investigation continues, Mara begins to deal with what she saw on the plane. With the help of a fellow survivor, Ping, and the redheaded boy, Sam (who claims he is her brother) she begins to learn that her world, her life and human existence in general is not all she believed it to be.
Although <i>Broken Realms</i> is accurately described as a science fiction and fantasy novel there were times, particularly during the police investigations, that it also felt a little like a crime thriller. There is nothing particularly bad about that but to begin with it was as though there were two different genres competing with each other depending on which character point of view was being read.
What helped to make this book so great were the excellent writing skills of D. W. Moneypenny. It was written so clearly that vivid images came to mind whilst reading. The pace of the narrative was fairly quick and at no point did it ever stop being exciting.
Another good thing (admittedly others may not see it as such) was that there were no romantic attachments between any of the characters to detract from the main storyline. This meant the novel was completely focused on the plot without any unnecessary interruptions.
<i>Broken Realms</i> is a highly recommended book for science fiction and fantasy lovers. It does, however, leave the reader wanting to know what is going to happen next. So now the wait for the next book in <i>The Chronicles of Mara Lantern</i> begins.
BookblogbyCari (345 KP) rated This Idea Must Die in Books
Aug 14, 2018
Book Review by Cari Mayhew.
There’s nothing like reading a popular science book to make you feel more worldly wise! The Idea Must Die is a compilation of over 150 separate articles, by different contributors, arguing that certain scientific concepts are blocking progress and should be put to rest.
Its scope is very broad - at first I felt the book was concentrating on physics, but it later went on to include psychology, linguistics, genetics, criminology, economics and computer science. The title of each article comes from the concept that it is argued should be put to rest.
There were plenty of articles I found interesting and learnt from, including: - “Long-term memory is immutable”, "One genome per individual", “Economic growth”, "Intelligence as property", "Continuity of time", Knowing is half the battle" and "Information overload", “Essentialism”, "Malthuanism" (which is the idea that population will outstrip food supply).
For the majority of the articles I agreed that the theory should be put to rest, and plenty that I thought it was good to see included. These included topics such as: race, nurture vs nature, reductionism. Cancer research theories were also addressed.
There were several topics I was surprised to see argued against, such as evidence-based medicine, scientific method, evolution, carbon footprint, string theory, culture, science being self-correcting.
It was refreshing to see "We are stone age thinkers" but I was disappointed to see the title "Languages condition worldviews". It was also a shame to see AI there, along with robot companions. Ideas in some chapters were disconcerting, claiming there's no self, no cognitive agency, and no free will.
There was a potentially useful article entitled "Scientific knowledge structured as literature" suggesting how publication could move to a new updated method.
With each article ranging in length from a mere 1 to 7 pages, it is an incredibly easy book to dip in and out of, or to fit around a busy week. At times there is a flow between one chapter and the next, but not always. Several of the articles proffer conflicting viewpoints, prompting the reader to reflect and wonder.
Some articles are more-well written than others, and similarly some arguments are more strongly put forward. Usually only one argument is made per article, but at times there were several. I believe some of the articles were chosen for their brevity, which is a shame because some of the articles could use a stronger argument. Some articles are hard to get your head around. The language is not always accessible and often presumes reader already has some knowledge of the subject. Although intriguing to begin with, with so many articles it began to feel dry and laborious at about 60% through. Some articles I deliberately skipped, others I attempted but found impenetrable.
It’s a refreshing read if you haven’t picked a science book in some time and it’s definitely a thought-provoking read if you feel confident that you can get to grips with the material.
For more of my reviews, check out www.bookblogbycari.com
There’s nothing like reading a popular science book to make you feel more worldly wise! The Idea Must Die is a compilation of over 150 separate articles, by different contributors, arguing that certain scientific concepts are blocking progress and should be put to rest.
Its scope is very broad - at first I felt the book was concentrating on physics, but it later went on to include psychology, linguistics, genetics, criminology, economics and computer science. The title of each article comes from the concept that it is argued should be put to rest.
There were plenty of articles I found interesting and learnt from, including: - “Long-term memory is immutable”, "One genome per individual", “Economic growth”, "Intelligence as property", "Continuity of time", Knowing is half the battle" and "Information overload", “Essentialism”, "Malthuanism" (which is the idea that population will outstrip food supply).
For the majority of the articles I agreed that the theory should be put to rest, and plenty that I thought it was good to see included. These included topics such as: race, nurture vs nature, reductionism. Cancer research theories were also addressed.
There were several topics I was surprised to see argued against, such as evidence-based medicine, scientific method, evolution, carbon footprint, string theory, culture, science being self-correcting.
It was refreshing to see "We are stone age thinkers" but I was disappointed to see the title "Languages condition worldviews". It was also a shame to see AI there, along with robot companions. Ideas in some chapters were disconcerting, claiming there's no self, no cognitive agency, and no free will.
There was a potentially useful article entitled "Scientific knowledge structured as literature" suggesting how publication could move to a new updated method.
With each article ranging in length from a mere 1 to 7 pages, it is an incredibly easy book to dip in and out of, or to fit around a busy week. At times there is a flow between one chapter and the next, but not always. Several of the articles proffer conflicting viewpoints, prompting the reader to reflect and wonder.
Some articles are more-well written than others, and similarly some arguments are more strongly put forward. Usually only one argument is made per article, but at times there were several. I believe some of the articles were chosen for their brevity, which is a shame because some of the articles could use a stronger argument. Some articles are hard to get your head around. The language is not always accessible and often presumes reader already has some knowledge of the subject. Although intriguing to begin with, with so many articles it began to feel dry and laborious at about 60% through. Some articles I deliberately skipped, others I attempted but found impenetrable.
It’s a refreshing read if you haven’t picked a science book in some time and it’s definitely a thought-provoking read if you feel confident that you can get to grips with the material.
For more of my reviews, check out www.bookblogbycari.com
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) in Movies
Oct 24, 2018 (Updated Oct 24, 2018)
Good ensemble cast (2 more)
Cool set design and use of space
Nice cinematography
Enjoy Your Stay
In this day and age, it is becoming increasingly difficult to go into a movie without already knowing a bunch of information about it. Somehow Bad Times At The El Royale managed that. Even though I was a week late to seeing this movie, I was still able to go into it with very little knowledge about what was going to unfold. That in and of itself is an impressive feat in 2018.
I had a great time with this movie. I loved the cast here, Jeff Bridges and Jon Hamm are among my favourite actors working in Hollywood and I though that Chris Hemsworth did a fantastic job playing the villain for a change. The rest of the cast were fantastic too, other than Dakota Johnson, who was pretty wooden, (as we have come to expect from her.) As an aside, Cynthia Erivo's voice completely blew me away, I know that she has done some Broadway shows in the past, but she sounded incredible in this and I liked the way that her singing was tied in with the plot.
Bad Times is written and directed by Drew Goddard, who was also behind Cabin In The Woods and there are some similarities here, if you swap the horror elements out for mystery. I have also seen multiple reviews compare this to a Tarantino movie. There are obviously similarities in the structure that this film uses and the out-of-chronological-order structure that a Tarantino movie tends to follow, but I'd argue that Bad Times has it's own distinct and unique style.
I also thought that the cinematography was very effective throughout the film. The opening scene was very well shot, as was the scene when Hemsworth's character was introduced. The score also worked well with the plot and the dialogue and script were well written too.
The main negative that affected my enjoyment of the movie, were the decisions made regarding the pacing. The movie is split up so that we see things happen out of sequence or they are seen more than once from a different perspective. We are introduced to each new character and then we are given their backstory via a flashback. The main issue with this structure is that the flashbacks break the momentum of the events happening in the current story. Without spoiling too much, towards the end of the movie, everything comes to a head and an intense fight/shootout breaks out. Then, for some unknown reason, the filmmakers decide to slam on the brakes and give us another arbitrary flashback. It totally broke the immersion and intensity of the shootout sequence for me.
Overall, I had a good time watching Bad Times. I had no expectations going in as I didn't know much about the movie other than what had been shown in the trailers and I enjoyed witnessing what the movie had to offer. If you are looking for an exciting, suspenseful thriller, then you could definitely do worse than spending a stay at The El Royale.
I had a great time with this movie. I loved the cast here, Jeff Bridges and Jon Hamm are among my favourite actors working in Hollywood and I though that Chris Hemsworth did a fantastic job playing the villain for a change. The rest of the cast were fantastic too, other than Dakota Johnson, who was pretty wooden, (as we have come to expect from her.) As an aside, Cynthia Erivo's voice completely blew me away, I know that she has done some Broadway shows in the past, but she sounded incredible in this and I liked the way that her singing was tied in with the plot.
Bad Times is written and directed by Drew Goddard, who was also behind Cabin In The Woods and there are some similarities here, if you swap the horror elements out for mystery. I have also seen multiple reviews compare this to a Tarantino movie. There are obviously similarities in the structure that this film uses and the out-of-chronological-order structure that a Tarantino movie tends to follow, but I'd argue that Bad Times has it's own distinct and unique style.
I also thought that the cinematography was very effective throughout the film. The opening scene was very well shot, as was the scene when Hemsworth's character was introduced. The score also worked well with the plot and the dialogue and script were well written too.
The main negative that affected my enjoyment of the movie, were the decisions made regarding the pacing. The movie is split up so that we see things happen out of sequence or they are seen more than once from a different perspective. We are introduced to each new character and then we are given their backstory via a flashback. The main issue with this structure is that the flashbacks break the momentum of the events happening in the current story. Without spoiling too much, towards the end of the movie, everything comes to a head and an intense fight/shootout breaks out. Then, for some unknown reason, the filmmakers decide to slam on the brakes and give us another arbitrary flashback. It totally broke the immersion and intensity of the shootout sequence for me.
Overall, I had a good time watching Bad Times. I had no expectations going in as I didn't know much about the movie other than what had been shown in the trailers and I enjoyed witnessing what the movie had to offer. If you are looking for an exciting, suspenseful thriller, then you could definitely do worse than spending a stay at The El Royale.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Seoul Station (2016) in Movies
Jun 21, 2019
Story: Seoul Station starts as we see a homeless man injured and ignored around the station, we move off to see Hye-Sun who along with her boyfriend Ki-woong have been struggling for rent, forcing him into attempting to pimp her out, when her father Suk-gyu discovers this, he heads to Seoul to save his daughter.
Soon the homeless dies, but he doesn’t stay dead, turning into a zombie, it isn’t long before the zombie plague hits Seoul and Suk-gyu must work with Ki-woong to locate his missing daughter and escape the city before it is too late.
Thoughts on Seoul Station
Characters – Suk-gyu is the father searching for his lost daughter, he knew she ran away and now he gets the chance to come and save her from the seedy underworld her boyfriend wants to put her in, only to become the real saviour against the zombies. Hye-Sun is the runaway daughter, she struggles to keep the rent coming and after her argument with her boyfriend wanders the streets alone just as the zombie outbreak starts. Ki-woong is the boyfriend who seems to be a slacker spending more time in the internet cafes over supporting his girlfriend, he is forced to work with Suk-gyu to find Hye-Sun.
Story – The story here follows three main characters who are trying to survive a zombie outbreak in the big city of Seoul, this is a prequel to Train to Busan and shows us how the outbreak started to spread. The story keeps the attempts of a father trying to save his daughter the focal point in this film, this gives us two main characters to support and hope see get reconnected after she had run away from home at a young age. We also get to see a father and new boyfriend interact with the tension you would expect from this. This isn’t anything ground breaking for the zombie genre and by being animated we get to increase the scale of everything which does help show how a big city would cope with the panic of a sudden outbreak.
Horror – The horror in the film comes from the zombie outbreak, the zombie behaviour will always work for horror and the idea that nowhere is as safe as it should be only adds to the horror in the film.
Settings – The film is set in Seoul which is one of the locations the train goes through in Train to Busan, the scale of the city shows us just how a big population would react to an outbreak.
Animation – The animation used in the film is great to see, we get to see each bloody wound suffered through the outbreak.
Scene of the Movie – Third act twist is shocking.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Shut the bloody doors.
Final Thoughts – This is a great prequel to put us in the world of Train to Busan, we get to see just how conflicted people can become and just follow one small story in the bigger picture makes us interested to learn more.
Overall: Great fun animation.
https://moviesreview101.com/2019/06/19/abc-film-challenge-world-cinema-s-seoul-station-2016/
Soon the homeless dies, but he doesn’t stay dead, turning into a zombie, it isn’t long before the zombie plague hits Seoul and Suk-gyu must work with Ki-woong to locate his missing daughter and escape the city before it is too late.
Thoughts on Seoul Station
Characters – Suk-gyu is the father searching for his lost daughter, he knew she ran away and now he gets the chance to come and save her from the seedy underworld her boyfriend wants to put her in, only to become the real saviour against the zombies. Hye-Sun is the runaway daughter, she struggles to keep the rent coming and after her argument with her boyfriend wanders the streets alone just as the zombie outbreak starts. Ki-woong is the boyfriend who seems to be a slacker spending more time in the internet cafes over supporting his girlfriend, he is forced to work with Suk-gyu to find Hye-Sun.
Story – The story here follows three main characters who are trying to survive a zombie outbreak in the big city of Seoul, this is a prequel to Train to Busan and shows us how the outbreak started to spread. The story keeps the attempts of a father trying to save his daughter the focal point in this film, this gives us two main characters to support and hope see get reconnected after she had run away from home at a young age. We also get to see a father and new boyfriend interact with the tension you would expect from this. This isn’t anything ground breaking for the zombie genre and by being animated we get to increase the scale of everything which does help show how a big city would cope with the panic of a sudden outbreak.
Horror – The horror in the film comes from the zombie outbreak, the zombie behaviour will always work for horror and the idea that nowhere is as safe as it should be only adds to the horror in the film.
Settings – The film is set in Seoul which is one of the locations the train goes through in Train to Busan, the scale of the city shows us just how a big population would react to an outbreak.
Animation – The animation used in the film is great to see, we get to see each bloody wound suffered through the outbreak.
Scene of the Movie – Third act twist is shocking.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Shut the bloody doors.
Final Thoughts – This is a great prequel to put us in the world of Train to Busan, we get to see just how conflicted people can become and just follow one small story in the bigger picture makes us interested to learn more.
Overall: Great fun animation.
https://moviesreview101.com/2019/06/19/abc-film-challenge-world-cinema-s-seoul-station-2016/
JT (287 KP) rated Buried (2010) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
Shot with a low budget and entirely in one location (inside Paul’s coffin), Buried is a very intense and gripping movie, which plays on the age-old human fear of being buried alive and takes it to whole new levels.
Paul not only has to deal with thoughts of his almost imminent demise, but he also has to endure the psychological torment that comes with realising that your loved ones are in terrible danger and that the people whom your life depends upon don’t really care about your fate. This is the story of Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds), an American contractor working on an assignment in Iraq, who wakes up in something which looks like a makeshift wooden coffin, alone, and with no recollection of when and how he ended up there. All he remembers is that he and his colleagues were attacked by a group of Iraqi insurgents.
Understandably, he begins to panic, frantically trying to escape before realising that he won’t be able to do it on his own. Whoever buried him left a mobile phone, a lighter, a knife, a torch and some glow sticks in the coffin, and such items quickly become Paul’s connection to the outside world and his only hope of survival.
This situation is so exceptional (thankfully) that the film’s real challenge is to try and represent it as realistically as possible. What would you do? Would you let the nerves get the better of you, or would your will to live step in instead, and make you stay focused in trying to save yourself?
Ryan Reynolds does an excellent job in this, his Paul Conroy is human, desperate, scared, with no superhero pretence. The direction, by Rodrigo Cortes, is vivid, realistic, and makes good use of the limited space that the coffin setting allows to show; anxious people should try watching this anyway because, while it is undoubtedly claustrophobic, Paul’s determination to stay alive and the pull of wanting to know what’s going on outside keeps the mind occupied.
The voice of Hostage Work Group operator Dan Brenner (Robert Paterson) is possibly a little too “staged” and “actorish”, making it sound somewhat fake but also sinister, going to heighten the feeling of dread. Buried manages to be scary, tense, and yet ironic in representing the ignorance, incompetence and cowardice behind the behaviours of people we are supposed to trust in dangerous situations.
The whole film maintains a focused and realistic eye on the suffering of the protagonist – because we are supposed to feel what he feels, to be there with him in his fight for life- except maybe in a few moments when it slips into “mainstream”, cheap stratagems to reiterate that Paul is a good man who doesn’t deserve his fate (for example, when he calls his ill, senile mother who lives in a home and can’t even remember him).
Definitely best watched in a cinema screen rather than on DVD, this is a film which is very well done, and interesting; you will want to see what happens of Paul but also how his story is told from the confines of his coffin buried underground.
Paul not only has to deal with thoughts of his almost imminent demise, but he also has to endure the psychological torment that comes with realising that your loved ones are in terrible danger and that the people whom your life depends upon don’t really care about your fate. This is the story of Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds), an American contractor working on an assignment in Iraq, who wakes up in something which looks like a makeshift wooden coffin, alone, and with no recollection of when and how he ended up there. All he remembers is that he and his colleagues were attacked by a group of Iraqi insurgents.
Understandably, he begins to panic, frantically trying to escape before realising that he won’t be able to do it on his own. Whoever buried him left a mobile phone, a lighter, a knife, a torch and some glow sticks in the coffin, and such items quickly become Paul’s connection to the outside world and his only hope of survival.
This situation is so exceptional (thankfully) that the film’s real challenge is to try and represent it as realistically as possible. What would you do? Would you let the nerves get the better of you, or would your will to live step in instead, and make you stay focused in trying to save yourself?
Ryan Reynolds does an excellent job in this, his Paul Conroy is human, desperate, scared, with no superhero pretence. The direction, by Rodrigo Cortes, is vivid, realistic, and makes good use of the limited space that the coffin setting allows to show; anxious people should try watching this anyway because, while it is undoubtedly claustrophobic, Paul’s determination to stay alive and the pull of wanting to know what’s going on outside keeps the mind occupied.
The voice of Hostage Work Group operator Dan Brenner (Robert Paterson) is possibly a little too “staged” and “actorish”, making it sound somewhat fake but also sinister, going to heighten the feeling of dread. Buried manages to be scary, tense, and yet ironic in representing the ignorance, incompetence and cowardice behind the behaviours of people we are supposed to trust in dangerous situations.
The whole film maintains a focused and realistic eye on the suffering of the protagonist – because we are supposed to feel what he feels, to be there with him in his fight for life- except maybe in a few moments when it slips into “mainstream”, cheap stratagems to reiterate that Paul is a good man who doesn’t deserve his fate (for example, when he calls his ill, senile mother who lives in a home and can’t even remember him).
Definitely best watched in a cinema screen rather than on DVD, this is a film which is very well done, and interesting; you will want to see what happens of Paul but also how his story is told from the confines of his coffin buried underground.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated The LEGO Movie (2014) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Could The LEGO Movie just be considered one hour and a half long commercial for a children’s toy product? Absolutely. Does that make the movie any less entertaining? Nope! I grew up in the eighties. A time when toy manufacturers would make TV shows, mixing up entertainment with advertising in the tender minds of their youth demographic, and doing it well. We seem to be in a new age of that very same ethos of ultra-marketing, only now we have the internet to exacerbate the matter. That all said, The LEGO Movie is perhaps one of the cleverest, funniest, and perhaps most creative films I’ve seen in a long while. It’s enjoyable, fresh, and seems to celebrate with reckless abandon the joyous chaos of childhood play over the blind consumption of product.
The comforting, self-aware, almost self-deprecating tone that has found its way into the LEGO videogames that have been hitting the markets lately that defines The LEGO Movie. The film takes place in a world made of LEGOs, and the characters all have snap-on/snap-off hair and can merrily disassemble the world around them and build again from the ruins. And while it’s not filmed in stop-motion (which was more disappointing than I thought it would be), the characters have the pleasantly stiff and jerky movement that is the trademark to the style. It’s essentially a film with the rules of a young boy at play, just making it up as things progress.
Even the story felt like it was straight from a children’s book. An average, run-of-the-mill, Joe… well, Emmet (Chris Pratt) falls unsuspectingly into an adventure involving freedom fighters, superheroes, and villains in a very Matrix-esque plot. When he stumbles upon the legendary Piece of Resistance, the only force that can undo the Kragle, a mysterious weapon being used by Lord Business/President Business (Will Ferrell), Emmet begins his journey to fulfill the prophecy and become the best “master builder” in all the world. Along the way he is helped by a plethora of recognizable, and not so recognizable, characters including Batman (Will Arnett), Shaquille O’Neil (Himself), Vitruvious (Morgan Freeman) and Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks).
Most children’s films these days, especially in the CGI genre, tend to be lighting fast paced, basically overloading you with unfunny material hoping to distract your from how lame the movie really is. While The LEGO Movie is frantic, it feels like controlled chaos. It has a point. There is a direction where all this weird wild silliness is headed. And while The LEGO Movie would be fine were it just a frantic and clever child’s comedy, it additionally bothers to reach beyond its bounds and address its own artificiality in a plot twist that was way more clever, daring and meaningful than anything seen in most modern adult thrillers. But I don’t want to spoil that for you.
So here it is again, my “Would I buy it” test. Absolutely. The LEGO Movie is great fun and a joyous celebration of the chaos I recall as childhood.
The comforting, self-aware, almost self-deprecating tone that has found its way into the LEGO videogames that have been hitting the markets lately that defines The LEGO Movie. The film takes place in a world made of LEGOs, and the characters all have snap-on/snap-off hair and can merrily disassemble the world around them and build again from the ruins. And while it’s not filmed in stop-motion (which was more disappointing than I thought it would be), the characters have the pleasantly stiff and jerky movement that is the trademark to the style. It’s essentially a film with the rules of a young boy at play, just making it up as things progress.
Even the story felt like it was straight from a children’s book. An average, run-of-the-mill, Joe… well, Emmet (Chris Pratt) falls unsuspectingly into an adventure involving freedom fighters, superheroes, and villains in a very Matrix-esque plot. When he stumbles upon the legendary Piece of Resistance, the only force that can undo the Kragle, a mysterious weapon being used by Lord Business/President Business (Will Ferrell), Emmet begins his journey to fulfill the prophecy and become the best “master builder” in all the world. Along the way he is helped by a plethora of recognizable, and not so recognizable, characters including Batman (Will Arnett), Shaquille O’Neil (Himself), Vitruvious (Morgan Freeman) and Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks).
Most children’s films these days, especially in the CGI genre, tend to be lighting fast paced, basically overloading you with unfunny material hoping to distract your from how lame the movie really is. While The LEGO Movie is frantic, it feels like controlled chaos. It has a point. There is a direction where all this weird wild silliness is headed. And while The LEGO Movie would be fine were it just a frantic and clever child’s comedy, it additionally bothers to reach beyond its bounds and address its own artificiality in a plot twist that was way more clever, daring and meaningful than anything seen in most modern adult thrillers. But I don’t want to spoil that for you.
So here it is again, my “Would I buy it” test. Absolutely. The LEGO Movie is great fun and a joyous celebration of the chaos I recall as childhood.
Booksy: Learn to Read Platform for K-2
Education and Book
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Featured in the New York Times article "Learning to read with tablets"! Booksy is a...