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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated The Blake Mistake in Books

Nov 8, 2019

The Blake Mistake

I. C. Camilleri | 2013 | Crime, Thriller

7.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Ben Blake has a talent that can occasionaly help in his job as an intelligence operative. When he forsees a terrorist attack he asks his friend, brother in law and former bad boy Jake Snell to help him prevent it. However Jake is starting to behave oddly, including having periods where he is not aware of what he has done. Could the suppressed memories of his traumatic upbringing be the cause? Meanwhile his wife (and Ben's sister) Emma is delving into Jake's family history. Maybe the secrets of the past are best left alone.

Camilleri aims high with this book - and delivers. It is a complex mix of whodunnit, psychological thriller, paranormal thriller and romance. The plot moves forward dragging the reader with it, the threads and lives of the characters spiralling around the central theme of Jake's past and how it is impacting on the present. There are a number of twists and turns, some as surprising to the reader as to the characters.

The characters themselves are well drawn, benefitting from having developed over previous books (which don't need to have been read to enjoy this). The way the relationships between them change and develop as suspicions arise and certain events occur is excellent, although sometimes frustrating as the reader sees the story from all their viewpoints so can see that sometimes there has just been a misunderstanding or that if something was said everything would be different.

The first third of the book is a little slow as the characters are described and the situation is set up but this allows the rest to move under it's own terrible momentum towards the climax.

Overall a book worth reading and it certainly holds the attention once it gets going.

Caution: Some sex scenes

Kudos

JT (287 KP) rated The Invisible Man (2020) in Movies

Mar 1, 2020

The Invisible Man (2020)

2020 | Horror, Sci-Fi

7.5

(45 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Excellent tension (1 more)

Brilliant score

Suprise Thriller a Real Hit

What I love about cinema is that you can go in expecting one thing and come out experiencing another - which was exactly how I felt coming out of The Invisible Man.

The film stars Elisabeth Moss as Cecilia who is desperate to escape the grasp of her abusive partner Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) and does so by way of a tense opening that is devoid of any dialogue. Instead, as an audience we are holding our breath as she tiptoes around the house.

When news comes that Adrian is dead and has left her a small fortune she straight away becomes suspicious and is convinced he has orchestrated the whole thing. As time passes Cecilia is stalked by an invisible force that those close to her believe is simply PTSD and all in her head.

It's written and directed by Leigh Whannell who is probably one of my favourite cinematic writers. Fans of Saw will recognise him as Adam, the poor bastard who gets locked in the bathroom at the films climactic ending [apologies if you haven't seen that yet, but it has been 16-years].

At it's core The Invisible Man echos a clear message. Cecilia's experiences of being gaslighted by Adrian is a serious topic that many women from abusive relationships will have experienced first hand. The psychological trauma that Cecilia goes through makes her doubt her own sanity.

The best part about the film is the way that Whannell is able to create a sense of unease. In a number of scenes we are left looking at an empty corner of a room, or a chair. When the camera pans it is because it is going to focus on something that is there - but of course there never is.

Kudos

Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated The Neon Demon (2016) in Movies

Aug 6, 2019

A combination that looks like it may be a vapid display of glitz and garbage, the trailers for “Neon Demon” don’t dare give away just how far this film will take audiences.

Completely unique, the psychological thriller goes to dark places – necrophilia, cannibalism, and the solitary confines of the human mind.

The film stars Elle Fanning as Jesse, a sixteen year old girl from a small town who decided to go to LA to become a model. Without any parents, Jesse is completely on her own in a seedy wonderland.

She stays by herself in a dingy motel. Keanu Reeves plays the grubby motel manager, Hank. His role in the film is more of a supportive one, but he still plays a major part in the overall story and feel of the film.

Of course, Jesse meets all kinds of odd people as she dives into a world that is so shallow it could break her. Makeup artist Ruby (Jena Malone), and supermodels Gigi (Bella Heathcote) and Sarah (Abbey Lee) are characters the audience will love to hate. Malone, Heathcote, and Lee have done a great job becoming their characters. They incite visceral disdain, perhaps laced with admiration.

There may be a few moments where it feels like the plot is going nowhere fast, but I highly recommend resisting the urge to lose hope. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts in this case.

It’s not a stretch to say that Director Nicolas Winding Refn has created a piece of cinematic art.

The combination of finely selected camera technique, psychedelic lighting, and a cerebral soundtrack is like watching a beautiful nightmare.

Best described as “Clockwork Orange” meets “Top Model,”