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Greg Mottola recommended 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) in Movies (curated)
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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated the Xbox One version of Blair Witch in Video Games
Mar 13, 2021 (Updated Mar 13, 2021)
The Witches Playground
Contains spoilers, click to show
Blair Witch- is a good psychological survival horror game. Its downfall, its only 6 hour or 6 and a half hours long. I wish it was longer. Also i died alot, some it was my purpose, other times come on. Also one to three glitches.
The game is set two years after the events of the 1999 film The Blair Witch Project, which takes place in 1994. The game follows former police officer Ellis Lynch as he joins the search in Black Hills Forest for a missing boy.
The game focuses on survival horror mechanics and stealth and is played from a first person perspective, requiring the player to use items such as a camera, cellphone, flashlight or Ellis' dog, Bullet, to track and follow the trail of missing nine-year old Peter Shannon while fending off shadowy creatures. Along the way, players will find strange wooden dolls, photographs and cassette tapes and will also be tasked with solving puzzles. Like the film, it integrates the found-footage subgenre with the gameplay and story, often through the use of cassette tapes.
It is crucial for the player to keep Bullet close to them at all times, as being separated from him for some time can affect the state of the character. The game's ending is dependent on the relationship between the player and the dog, accounting for the actions the player has done.
The game roughly takes up to six hours to complete, with a possibility of four endings and an additional secret ending.
The ending cutscene varies and depends on players completing certain requirements; the endings can either reveal that Lanning's body was never found or was recovered and buried with top honors, the lumberer Todd Mackinnon was found nearly beyond identification or recovered by his family to be buried, and Peter's fate can be unknown or revealed that he was ultimately murdered at Carver's hands or safely found by the authorities and returned to his family unscathed.
Its good but forgettable.
The game is set two years after the events of the 1999 film The Blair Witch Project, which takes place in 1994. The game follows former police officer Ellis Lynch as he joins the search in Black Hills Forest for a missing boy.
The game focuses on survival horror mechanics and stealth and is played from a first person perspective, requiring the player to use items such as a camera, cellphone, flashlight or Ellis' dog, Bullet, to track and follow the trail of missing nine-year old Peter Shannon while fending off shadowy creatures. Along the way, players will find strange wooden dolls, photographs and cassette tapes and will also be tasked with solving puzzles. Like the film, it integrates the found-footage subgenre with the gameplay and story, often through the use of cassette tapes.
It is crucial for the player to keep Bullet close to them at all times, as being separated from him for some time can affect the state of the character. The game's ending is dependent on the relationship between the player and the dog, accounting for the actions the player has done.
The game roughly takes up to six hours to complete, with a possibility of four endings and an additional secret ending.
The ending cutscene varies and depends on players completing certain requirements; the endings can either reveal that Lanning's body was never found or was recovered and buried with top honors, the lumberer Todd Mackinnon was found nearly beyond identification or recovered by his family to be buried, and Peter's fate can be unknown or revealed that he was ultimately murdered at Carver's hands or safely found by the authorities and returned to his family unscathed.
Its good but forgettable.
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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.
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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Videodrome (1983) in Movies
Sep 8, 2020
First It Controls Your Mind Than It Destorys Your Body
Holy shit this movie is good. The effects, the psychological espect, the sci-fi, the horror, the suspense, the mystery and James Woods.
The Plot: As the president of a trashy TV channel, Max Renn (James Woods) is desperate for new programming to attract viewers. When he happens upon "Videodrome," a TV show dedicated to gratuitous torture and punishment, Max sees a potential hit and broadcasts the show on his channel. However, after his girlfriend (Deborah Harry) auditions for the show and never returns, Max investigates the truth behind Videodrome and discovers that the graphic violence may not be as fake as he thought.
Distributed by Universal Pictures, Videodrome was the first film by Cronenberg to gain backing from any major Hollywood studio. With the highest budget of any of his films to date, the film was a box-office bomb, recouping only $2.1 million from a $5.9 million budget.
Now considered a cult classic, the film has been cited as one of Cronenberg's best, and a key example of the body horror and science fiction horror genres.
The basis for the film came from David Cronenberg's childhood. Cronenberg used to pick up television signals from Buffalo, New York, late at night after Canadian stations had gone off the air, and worry he might see something disturbing not meant for public consumption.
After the box office success of Scanners, Cronenberg turned down the chance of directing Return of the Jedi, having had no desire to direct material produced by other filmmakers.
When it came to casting the character of Max Renn, Cronenberg chose James Woods, who was a fan of Rabid and Scanners and met with the actor in Beverly Hills to offer him the part, and liked the fact that Woods was very articulate in terms of delivery.
Its a excellent movie and a must see, same with david cronenberg's early horror films.
The Plot: As the president of a trashy TV channel, Max Renn (James Woods) is desperate for new programming to attract viewers. When he happens upon "Videodrome," a TV show dedicated to gratuitous torture and punishment, Max sees a potential hit and broadcasts the show on his channel. However, after his girlfriend (Deborah Harry) auditions for the show and never returns, Max investigates the truth behind Videodrome and discovers that the graphic violence may not be as fake as he thought.
Distributed by Universal Pictures, Videodrome was the first film by Cronenberg to gain backing from any major Hollywood studio. With the highest budget of any of his films to date, the film was a box-office bomb, recouping only $2.1 million from a $5.9 million budget.
Now considered a cult classic, the film has been cited as one of Cronenberg's best, and a key example of the body horror and science fiction horror genres.
The basis for the film came from David Cronenberg's childhood. Cronenberg used to pick up television signals from Buffalo, New York, late at night after Canadian stations had gone off the air, and worry he might see something disturbing not meant for public consumption.
After the box office success of Scanners, Cronenberg turned down the chance of directing Return of the Jedi, having had no desire to direct material produced by other filmmakers.
When it came to casting the character of Max Renn, Cronenberg chose James Woods, who was a fan of Rabid and Scanners and met with the actor in Beverly Hills to offer him the part, and liked the fact that Woods was very articulate in terms of delivery.
Its a excellent movie and a must see, same with david cronenberg's early horror films.
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Kim Pook (101 KP) rated Would You Rather (2012) in Movies
Sep 15, 2020
Contains spoilers, click to show
Iris is a young woman who has returned to town to help her sick brother. She goes to a clinic to seek help for him only to be invited to a dinner party to play a game and whoever wins gets help for their loved one. Obviously she thinks it's a weird idea, says she will think about it and heads home.
After being turned down for a job and struggling to pay her bills, she decides to go to the dinner party. She is the 8th and final guest to arrive and is introduced to the group. Upon her arrival we skip to a scene with the host talking about the dinner party and you know somethings going to go down even though it isn't specifically mentioned,but it does leave you eager to find out.
A mini game starts almost immediately when Iris (a vegetarian) is told to eat meat for £10,000 which she reluctantly does. The host also tells a recovering alcoholic to drink alcohol for money.
The main game starts after dinner in which they take part in a game of 'would you rather' with a twist, the twist being they have to do their choice or face elimination. This is when it gets interesting because it is then known that if you try to leave you are shot!!
The first round is shock therapy and really messes with your head. Everybody has to choose to give an electric shock to themselves or someone else, and the rounds get worse as the game goes on, from stabbing each other to shooting another player.
It's a proper psychological thriller and incredibly disturbing in places but I couldn't stop watching, I needed to know who sees it through to the end. It definitely has a crazy shock ending which made me sick to the stomach. Overall though it was an enjoyable movie with an interesting plot, the acting was spot on and proceeded at a steady pace rather than rushed or being too slow.
After being turned down for a job and struggling to pay her bills, she decides to go to the dinner party. She is the 8th and final guest to arrive and is introduced to the group. Upon her arrival we skip to a scene with the host talking about the dinner party and you know somethings going to go down even though it isn't specifically mentioned,but it does leave you eager to find out.
A mini game starts almost immediately when Iris (a vegetarian) is told to eat meat for £10,000 which she reluctantly does. The host also tells a recovering alcoholic to drink alcohol for money.
The main game starts after dinner in which they take part in a game of 'would you rather' with a twist, the twist being they have to do their choice or face elimination. This is when it gets interesting because it is then known that if you try to leave you are shot!!
The first round is shock therapy and really messes with your head. Everybody has to choose to give an electric shock to themselves or someone else, and the rounds get worse as the game goes on, from stabbing each other to shooting another player.
It's a proper psychological thriller and incredibly disturbing in places but I couldn't stop watching, I needed to know who sees it through to the end. It definitely has a crazy shock ending which made me sick to the stomach. Overall though it was an enjoyable movie with an interesting plot, the acting was spot on and proceeded at a steady pace rather than rushed or being too slow.
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ClareR (5779 KP) rated One Year Later in Books
Aug 18, 2019
One Year Later by Sanjida Kay is a psychological thriller that had my heart in my mouth from the first page. It starts with an emotive subject: the death of a child - 3 year old Ruby. The family becomes fractured, no one deals well with Ruby’s death, and so Nick, her uncle, convinces his sister and her husband that it would be a good idea for the whole family to celebrate or mark the anniversary of Ruby’s death abroad and away from the bad memories. So they all go to a small island off the coast of Italy. But instead of this being the healing holiday that everyone needs and hopes for, secrets are revealed and it looks as though fractures within the family will become even worse.
I really think that Sanjida Kay has the voices of the characters just right: the mother who is barely able to function and hides alcohol around the house, just to get by and to be able to function for her two living children; the father who distances himself from everyone; the uncle who constantly thinks about his dead niece, and blames himself even though he couldn’t possibly be to blame; the sister who seems completely wrapped up in her own world of TV and her looks; and the grandfather who is responsible for the death of his granddaughter, but can’t remember what happened.
It’s such an emotional subject and so well written. I found myself very involved with these characters, and I couldn’t help but empathise with them. I was never quite sure if the person they all thought was responsible for Ruby’s death actually was, but I have to admit that I changed my mind a few times. The twist revealing the actual culprit came as a total shock and surprise.
A really very impressive book, in my opinion, and I’ll be telling everyone to read it!
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy to read and review.
I really think that Sanjida Kay has the voices of the characters just right: the mother who is barely able to function and hides alcohol around the house, just to get by and to be able to function for her two living children; the father who distances himself from everyone; the uncle who constantly thinks about his dead niece, and blames himself even though he couldn’t possibly be to blame; the sister who seems completely wrapped up in her own world of TV and her looks; and the grandfather who is responsible for the death of his granddaughter, but can’t remember what happened.
It’s such an emotional subject and so well written. I found myself very involved with these characters, and I couldn’t help but empathise with them. I was never quite sure if the person they all thought was responsible for Ruby’s death actually was, but I have to admit that I changed my mind a few times. The twist revealing the actual culprit came as a total shock and surprise.
A really very impressive book, in my opinion, and I’ll be telling everyone to read it!
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy to read and review.
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