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Hazel (2934 KP) rated The List in Books

Jun 20, 2020  
The List
The List
Carys Jones | 2020 | Crime, Thriller
7
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is a dark, psychological thriller about paranoia and disturbing secrets all told within an original plot and from 3 perspectives; Beth, the writer of The List and Ruby.

Beth is a loner with no friends or family to speak of apart from a seemingly ideal boyfriend. She seems to have the perfect life, aside from recurring horrific nightmares, but it soon becomes clear that she has a dark and disturbing past that she is keen to forget and put behind her.

The writer of The List is just that ... but why and what does she have to do with Beth and what are her intentions given that the first two people on The List are dead?

Ruby is a teenager in an institution placed there following her part in a totally heinous and horrific attack on a vulnerable child ... what does she have to do with Beth and the writer of the list?

This is a story that although is a work of fiction, is not beyond the realms of reality unfortunately which makes it a hard and emotional read in places. It's also a slow burner which builds in tension as the whole story emerges and Beth's life unravels and this is the only complaint I have, it wasn't as fast paced as I would have liked with a bit too much description which affected the flow for me but, having said that, I would still recommend to dark, thriller lovers who enjoy reading something a bit different for the norm.

Many thanks to Orion Publishing Group via NetGalley for my advance copy in return for an honest review.
  
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Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Split (2016) in Movies

Oct 19, 2017 (Updated Oct 19, 2017)  
Split (2016)
Split (2016)
2016 | Horror, Thriller
A little better from M Night Shyamalan, but still not spectacular
By far, James McAvoy steals the show in this psychological thriller, in which he plays 23 different personalities. Suffering from the condition Dissociative Identity Disorder, McAvoy reveals a dark side, where he kidnaps three girls and holds them hostage to his whims, while attempting to seek help from a psychiatrist. In between, we see one girl in particular engage with him, the trauma also bringing out her own demons. And of course a mandatory cameo from the director himself.

While the story has potential, and his acting is flawless - it lacks substance somewhat. Apart from his 'transformation', the film seems to have been created mainly on the premise that there will be a sequel, so you're left in limbo at the end with a small clue of what's next.

It's not particularly scary, so I wouldn't deem it a horror movie as such. The girls' kidnapping also seems slightly pointless, like tools in the movie so that they can showcase Kevin's (the main personality) different sides and what a 'monster' he is. Disappointing, but better than Shyamalan's recent terrible films.
  
Selfless (2015)
Selfless (2015)
2015 | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
4
5.1 (7 Ratings)
Movie Rating
I’ll keep this short.

What if the extremely brilliant minds, could live another 50 years on this earth after their body is about to expire by transporting their mind into a new, younger body…could those minds continue to create amazing legacy? This is the premise for the film Self/less. Ben Kingsley plays Damian, a wealthy business tycoon type who is dying of cancer decides to “shed” his body for a younger healthy body. That body is played by Ryan Reynolds. But when things do not exactly turn out as they appear to be, Damian has a crisis of conscience and has to decide what is right.

That being said, somewhere in this film there is a good story…they just forgot to show us the right chapters. And thus a movie about identity, doesn’t know what it is. Instead of a great nuanced psychological thriller, we get a ho-hummed derivate small action film that is not something terrible to watch, but not something encouraging you to seek it out. In the end, this is really a redbox movie. And that’s a shame

http://sknr.net/2015/07/10/selfless/
  
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Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated The Fury (1978) in Movies

Mar 3, 2020 (Updated Mar 5, 2020)  
The Fury (1978)
The Fury (1978)
1978 | Drama, Horror, Mystery
6
6.3 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
In the last of this list we skip forward 16 years and some 25 film credits. Not that there wasn’t any work of quality in that period, but because the edge that existed in the younger man had undoubtedly waned, with Douglas often miscast or out of his depth. Aged 62 he stumbles upon a role in a psychological horror movie that is quintessentially 70s. The reason I believe this is the last movie of real note he made is that it was a committed performance that returned him to the idea of being an angry underdog. Essentially a thriller, Douglas revels in the fear and anguish of a father pushed to the edge of his abilities to save his son. Even though he would go on to make many more films, you feel the last of his real fire was given to this role. It also proves to me that despite a lifetime of activity the real grist of his career lasted only 16 years: 1946 – 1962. The rest was a man who knew cinema better than anyone, but couldn’t always outrun his own type-casting.