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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Black Christmas (1974) in Movies
Dec 11, 2019
Answer The Phone
With anethor remake coming out this friday, and that i already reviewed the 2006 remake. In going back to the oringal, were it alll started from. So lets take a little trip back to 1974.
Inspired by the urban legend "The babysitter and the man upstairs" and a series of murders that took place in the Westmount section of Montreal, Quebec, Moore wrote the screenplay under the title Stop Me.
The Plot: As winter break begins, a group of sorority sisters, including Jess (Olivia Hussey) and the often inebriated Barb (Margot Kidder), begin to receive anonymous, lascivious phone calls. Initially, Barb eggs the caller on, but stops when he responds threateningly. Soon, Barb's friend Claire (Lynne Griffin) goes missing from the sorority house, and a local adolescent girl is murdered, leading the girls to suspect a serial killer is on the loose. But no one realizes just how near the culprit is.
Margot Kidder remembered shooting the film as being "fun. I really bonded with Andrea Martin, filming in Toronto and Ontario. Olivia Hussey was a bit of an odd one. She was obsessed with the idea of falling in love with Paul McCartney through her psychic. We were a little hard on her for things like that.
Black Christmas eventually gained a cult following and is notable for being one of the earliest slasher films. It went on to inspire other slasher films, the biggest one of all being John Carpenter's Halloween (which was apparently inspired by Clark suggesting what a Black Christmas sequel would be like).
Black Christmas has been included multiple lists in various media outlets as one of the greatest horror films ever made. The film ranked No. 87 on Bravo's The 100 Scariest Movie Moments.
A overall classic slasher horror movie based around a hoilday.
Inspired by the urban legend "The babysitter and the man upstairs" and a series of murders that took place in the Westmount section of Montreal, Quebec, Moore wrote the screenplay under the title Stop Me.
The Plot: As winter break begins, a group of sorority sisters, including Jess (Olivia Hussey) and the often inebriated Barb (Margot Kidder), begin to receive anonymous, lascivious phone calls. Initially, Barb eggs the caller on, but stops when he responds threateningly. Soon, Barb's friend Claire (Lynne Griffin) goes missing from the sorority house, and a local adolescent girl is murdered, leading the girls to suspect a serial killer is on the loose. But no one realizes just how near the culprit is.
Margot Kidder remembered shooting the film as being "fun. I really bonded with Andrea Martin, filming in Toronto and Ontario. Olivia Hussey was a bit of an odd one. She was obsessed with the idea of falling in love with Paul McCartney through her psychic. We were a little hard on her for things like that.
Black Christmas eventually gained a cult following and is notable for being one of the earliest slasher films. It went on to inspire other slasher films, the biggest one of all being John Carpenter's Halloween (which was apparently inspired by Clark suggesting what a Black Christmas sequel would be like).
Black Christmas has been included multiple lists in various media outlets as one of the greatest horror films ever made. The film ranked No. 87 on Bravo's The 100 Scariest Movie Moments.
A overall classic slasher horror movie based around a hoilday.
Driven Toward Madness: The Fugitive Slave Margaret Garner and Tragedy on the Ohio
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The story of Margaret Garner-the runaway slave who, when confronted with capture, slit the throat of...
Bad Rabbi: And Other Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press
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Stories abound of immigrant Jews on the outside looking in, clambering up the ladder of social...
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How To Start Any Business From Home
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Business Ideas Expert Kathi Calahan and Tough Love Motivational Speaker Kevin Manley show...
Wanderwords: Language Migration in American Literature
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How do (im)migrant writers negotiate their representation of a multilingual world for a monolingual...
Signs and Seasons: An Astrology Cookbook
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Discover how to eat for your sign and nourish your soul in Signs and Seasons, the one-of-a-kind...
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Halloween (2007) in Movies
Jun 3, 2021
The original Halloween is such a goddam incredible movie, that anytime the franchise has tried to stray too far from its roots, the wheels just come off. The psychic stuff in Halloween 5 just didn't work. The cult stuff in Halloween 6 just didn't work. The found footage stuff in Resurrection just didn't work. This time around, it's a remake of the original, directed by Rob Zombie. His particular brand of hateful characters and nasty dialogue can be effective in other corners of horror, but when applied to the Halloween template, you guessed it, it just doesn't work.
It has its moments - Malcolm McDowell is great as Dr Loomis, and the towering behemoth of a Michael Myers we get her is genuinely fucking terrifying. There's also a fine selection of genre icons here and there - Dee Wallace, Brad Dourif, Clint Howard, Ken Foree, Sybil Danning, Bill Moseley, Sid Haig, Danny Trejo, Danielle Harris - it's an impressive roster for sure.
All of this isn't enough to lift this remake above all of its problems however.
None of the characters are particularly likable, and it's off pacing make for a bloated experience, an issue that's further exacerbated by the more widely available Directors Cut, which further pans out its runtime with an horrifically unnecessary rape scene.
I can appreciate the decision to explore the origins of Michael, but the end results are very mixed. When the familiar stuff kicks off halfway through, it's actually kind of boring. It manages to ape the original at every turn, whilst simultaneously feeling disrespectful with it's token RZ tropes.
All in all, Halloween is a remake that I wouldn't take issue with, but the decision to put Zombie in the driver's seat results in a movie that doesn't feel like it belongs anywhere. An inferior re-tread in every aspect, that leaves a bitter after taste.
It has its moments - Malcolm McDowell is great as Dr Loomis, and the towering behemoth of a Michael Myers we get her is genuinely fucking terrifying. There's also a fine selection of genre icons here and there - Dee Wallace, Brad Dourif, Clint Howard, Ken Foree, Sybil Danning, Bill Moseley, Sid Haig, Danny Trejo, Danielle Harris - it's an impressive roster for sure.
All of this isn't enough to lift this remake above all of its problems however.
None of the characters are particularly likable, and it's off pacing make for a bloated experience, an issue that's further exacerbated by the more widely available Directors Cut, which further pans out its runtime with an horrifically unnecessary rape scene.
I can appreciate the decision to explore the origins of Michael, but the end results are very mixed. When the familiar stuff kicks off halfway through, it's actually kind of boring. It manages to ape the original at every turn, whilst simultaneously feeling disrespectful with it's token RZ tropes.
All in all, Halloween is a remake that I wouldn't take issue with, but the decision to put Zombie in the driver's seat results in a movie that doesn't feel like it belongs anywhere. An inferior re-tread in every aspect, that leaves a bitter after taste.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Spells of Iron and Bone in Books
Oct 15, 2020
176 of 200
Kindle
Spells of Iron and bone ( Tarot Academy book1)
By Sarah Piper
Magick is real. It’s also highly illegal—not that I’m worried about that.
Sure, I heal faster than most, and I’ve got a sixth sense for brewing tea that can fix just about any problem, but my café isn’t exactly a hotbed of paranormal activity.
At least it wasn’t… until some psycho attacked me and woke up the freaky, forbidden magick inside, earning me a one-way ticket to jail.
Now, a covert magickal university is offering me a deal: my freedom in exchange for help with the Tarot prophecies—cryptic predictions they believe hold the key to stopping a deadly apocalyptic plot.
Predictions only I can decipher.
Because the witch who divined them? She died years ago.
I should know. She was my mother.
Grab your grimoires, girls. Magick school’s officially in session.
All I have to do now is master my crazy powers, decode the doomsday prophecies, outwit a mean-girl coven that puts the psycho in psychic, and survive the temptations of one very naughty professor and three scorching-hot, overprotective mages shadowing my every move.
There's only one problem.
If I’m right about the prophecies?
Survival isn’t in the cards for any of us.
I’m really glad I picked this up it was an unknown author for me and I was a bit standoffish with the sound of it! The whole don’t judge a book by it cover smacks me in the face! I loved it! I’m fascinated with the Aracna world they make such interesting reads!
I really like Stevie and the 4 delicious men at her side! I also enjoyed the story it intriguing can’t wait to read more!
Kindle
Spells of Iron and bone ( Tarot Academy book1)
By Sarah Piper
Magick is real. It’s also highly illegal—not that I’m worried about that.
Sure, I heal faster than most, and I’ve got a sixth sense for brewing tea that can fix just about any problem, but my café isn’t exactly a hotbed of paranormal activity.
At least it wasn’t… until some psycho attacked me and woke up the freaky, forbidden magick inside, earning me a one-way ticket to jail.
Now, a covert magickal university is offering me a deal: my freedom in exchange for help with the Tarot prophecies—cryptic predictions they believe hold the key to stopping a deadly apocalyptic plot.
Predictions only I can decipher.
Because the witch who divined them? She died years ago.
I should know. She was my mother.
Grab your grimoires, girls. Magick school’s officially in session.
All I have to do now is master my crazy powers, decode the doomsday prophecies, outwit a mean-girl coven that puts the psycho in psychic, and survive the temptations of one very naughty professor and three scorching-hot, overprotective mages shadowing my every move.
There's only one problem.
If I’m right about the prophecies?
Survival isn’t in the cards for any of us.
I’m really glad I picked this up it was an unknown author for me and I was a bit standoffish with the sound of it! The whole don’t judge a book by it cover smacks me in the face! I loved it! I’m fascinated with the Aracna world they make such interesting reads!
I really like Stevie and the 4 delicious men at her side! I also enjoyed the story it intriguing can’t wait to read more!
Natacha (374 KP) rated The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles #1) in Books
Jun 29, 2019
A nice easy read
This was another book that I wanted to pick up when I got back into reading but I ended up reading The Name of the Wind instead. I should have picked this one up...
This was an easy and interesting read. We have a strong female main character and we see that through her actions and not just because the author tells us so.
Things that I liked:
-Lia. She is strong, stubborn and she cares a lot about her friends.
-The mystery of who is the assassin and who is the prince. I thought that was a nice idea, it kept me guessing for a little but if you pay attention to a couple of details you'll guess who is who.
-Love triangle. Yes, that's an unpopular opinion but well-done love triangles are my guilty pleasure.
-Lia's actions have consequences that she needs to deal with.
Things I didn't like:
-This is the first of a trilogy so this was mostly to get to know the characters. The majority of the book is Lia getting on with her new life in Terravin and getting to know Kaden and Rafe, and falling in love. So not too much action.
Worth mentioning:
-If you like complex magic systems in your fantasy book this is not it. There is not magic as see in epic fantasy. The gift that some people have in the book, is another way to say that they are some kind of psychic. They can see into the past and future, sometimes with the help of the dead. And that's all we get magic wise., so don't go in expecting complex magic systems.
This was an easy and interesting read. We have a strong female main character and we see that through her actions and not just because the author tells us so.
Things that I liked:
-Lia. She is strong, stubborn and she cares a lot about her friends.
-The mystery of who is the assassin and who is the prince. I thought that was a nice idea, it kept me guessing for a little but if you pay attention to a couple of details you'll guess who is who.
-Love triangle. Yes, that's an unpopular opinion but well-done love triangles are my guilty pleasure.
-Lia's actions have consequences that she needs to deal with.
Things I didn't like:
-This is the first of a trilogy so this was mostly to get to know the characters. The majority of the book is Lia getting on with her new life in Terravin and getting to know Kaden and Rafe, and falling in love. So not too much action.
Worth mentioning:
-If you like complex magic systems in your fantasy book this is not it. There is not magic as see in epic fantasy. The gift that some people have in the book, is another way to say that they are some kind of psychic. They can see into the past and future, sometimes with the help of the dead. And that's all we get magic wise., so don't go in expecting complex magic systems.
Spoonbenders
Book
Teddy Telemachus is a charming con man with a gift for sleight of hand and some shady underground...
Fantasy