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The Shallows (2016)
The Shallows (2016)
2016 | Drama, Mystery
The Shallows is simple, suspenseful and satisfying. Everything you want it to be.

The story is simple. Nancy (Blake Lively) is a young woman on a journey to find herself after her mother passes away. She has finally found the “perfect secret” beach her mother always told her about. Nancy surfs the day away in paradise with two other local surfers who eventually leave for the evening. When trying to catch one last wave of the day, she unexpectedly is attacked by a great white shark. Trapped 200 yards off shore on a rock island in low tide, the film becomes a battle of wits and wills between Nancy and one of nature’s most vicious predators.

No doubt, the twiterverse will dismiss this movie as nothing more than a pretty girl in a bikini stuck on a rock in the ocean. But I want to praise Blake Lively’s performance in the film as she is both likeable and believable. We feel her joy, pain, confusion and fear throughout the film. She does a fantastic job keeping our interest in her survival, which is a fine line to walk when the focus is mostly on her and a shark.

I would actually recommend seeing this film in the theater. Not only to get the visual duality of beauty and danger of the ocean, but more importantly, to get that same experience through fantastic sound. There is no thematic score warning you of danger like “Jaws,” In fact, as I write this I cannot remember there being any kind of score at all. If there was, it was minimal. But the sound design set in realism makes you feel the intimate and intense nature of this experience. This creates a satisfying payoff during those suspenseful moments where you want to look away, but cannot bring yourself to do so.

The Shallows is thoroughly enjoyable as it delivers everything it suggests from the trailer and more. At 83 minutes it does not feel long or forced but rather it delivers a simple story with the precision of timing in suspenseful moments that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
  
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Ronyell (38 KP) rated James and the Giant Peach (1996) in Movies

Aug 4, 2020 (Updated Aug 4, 2020)  
James and the Giant Peach (1996)
James and the Giant Peach (1996)
1996 | Animation, Family
8
7.3 (21 Ratings)
Movie Rating
A Boy and His Giant Sized Bugs
Now, I was practically introduced to "James and the Giant Peach" through Roald Dahl's original book and I instantly fell in love with this story! So, I was definitely excited to see Roald Dahl's classic novel come to life in animation and I must say that I practically enjoyed this bizarre yet creative version of the classic children's story. I absolutely loved all of the characters, with my favorite characters being Miss Spider and the Centipede. I loved Miss Spider because she was quite an unusual character as she is considered frightening by the other bugs due to her literally eating other bugs, but I loved the fact that she cares so much for James and was willing to help him out no matter how horrifying the situation is. The Centipede was a truly fun character as he might be a little rude and annoying to the other bugs, but I loved his courageous nature and the fact that he is also willing to help James out of his situation. The voice acting was fantastic, especially Susan Sarandon as the quiet and serious Miss Spider and Richard Dreyfuss as the fun loving Centipede, as they fit the characters extremely well and they bring so much life to the characters. The story was truly creative, especially about the idea of a group of friends (giant insects in this case) coming together inside a giant peach and traveling around the world with it! I found that idea to be a bit strange yet creative at the same time and even though I have an intense fear of bugs, I definitely would have loved to be friends with giant bugs!


The major problem I had with this movie was that there seemed to be so many plot holes within this film that there were times that I did not understand what was going on in this film. Like for example, how did Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker drive their car through the ocean and how can a mechanical shark appear out of nowhere in the ocean?

Overall, "James and the Giant Peach" is definitely one treat that fans of Roald Dahl's works and fans of surreal animation should definitely check out!
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Crack in the World (1965) in Movies

May 5, 2019 (Updated May 5, 2019)  
Crack in the World (1965)
Crack in the World (1965)
1965 | Sci-Fi, Thriller
Decent sci-fi / disaster movie hybrid doesn't dwell on its limited special effects budget or somewhat shaky grasp of geology and concentrates on solid characterisation and storytelling basics. Scientists meddle with forces they do not fully understand (again), it all goes pear-shaped, a large chunk of the Indian Ocean winds up being launched into space while Janette Scott's costume disintegrates in a suspiciously rapid and unprovoked manner.

I always get this one mixed up with The Day the Earth Caught Fire and When the Earth Cracked Open, which is some achievement considering the latter film was never even made. The storyline with the crack is kind of predictable and suffers because the movie doesn't have the budget to actually show towns being wiped out or islands crumbling into the sea; characters just hear about it over the phone. The human interest B-story is really a melodrama, but it's written and played just well enough to keep the film credible and engaging. Well-mounted climax even if it really comes out of nowhere.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Ocean’s 8 (2018) in Movies

Jun 26, 2018 (Updated Jun 26, 2018)  
Ocean’s 8 (2018)
Ocean’s 8 (2018)
2018 | Comedy, Crime
We seem to be at the point where Hollywood is all for giving more and better roles for women in big (ish) genre movies, but no-one seems to have much idea about how to do this beyond clumsily retooling films that would usually star men for a female cast. Hence things like this, which is basically a minimal variation on the formula from the Clooney/Pitt Ocean movies - you know it's about women, though, because they're stealing jewellery and there's a scene where they all swish about glamorously in expensive dresses.

Uninspired and unsurprising plot, distinctly mixed bag of performances, and lack of a moral compass (rather than stealing from a proper bad guy, they're basically just nicking stuff from an innocent jewellery house) mean that this was a rather unengaging experience for me (though a friend who is actually in the target demographic said she quite enjoyed it). Seriously, though, if people keep going to see this sort of thing, it's all going to end up with Sylvester Stallone finally making The Expendabelles, and who really wants that to happen?