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Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)
Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)
2018 | Thriller
Promising but fails to deliver
I had really high hopes for this film, but sadly I really struggled to like it.

The major issue with this film is that virtually every scene is far too long and drawn out, which means it gets dull and boring very quickly. They could have cut a lot of dialogue and unnecessary actions out of most scenes without having it impact on the overall plot. The run time of the entire film could've been reduced by well over 30 minutes, making the whole thing a lot more enjoyable and brief.

It's a shame really as if it wasn't so drawn out, the film would've actually been quite good. The plot was interesting, dark and gritty although not as funny as I'd hoped, and there are some great actors in this. Admittedly some of their performances weren't as impressive as I'd hoped - both Jeff Bridges and Chris Hemsworth were okay, but neither put in the stellar performance I'd been expecting. Cynthia Erivo was very good and has a stunning voice, but I do think the singing was very overused. The stand out performance for me was Lewis Pullman, his character Miles was both adorable and slightly disturbing, and he made the end of this film a lot more worthwhile.
  
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Eleanor (1463 KP) rated Coraline in Books

Jul 15, 2019  
Coraline
Coraline
Neil Gaiman, Chris Riddell | 2013 | Children
8
8.4 (41 Ratings)
Book Rating
Spooky Kids Book
I listened to the audio book narrated by Gaiman himself, which I think helped enhance the experience as he does a great job. Despite really being a children's story I was still able to enjoy this and have little doubt if I’d come across it as a child it would of been a favourite, up there the my Dahl books.

It’s a spooky story about the young girl Coraline, she’s a likeable character with plenty of sass. When she discovers a door to a secret world where she has another Mother and Father who seem more loving and attentive then her own, it seems like a good place to spend some time despite their odd black button eyes. Coraline is rapidly pulled into a game of high stakes with her other Mother.

The sinister nature of the button eyed creatures was rather ruined for me because I had previously seen a bit of a Simpsons Halloween episode based on this. I did keep having flashes of Marge with button eyes which spoiled the atmosphere. The spooky rats singing on the audio version did send chills through me and along with Gaiman’s narration I would recommend the audio version.
  
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Longbourn's Unexpected Matchmaker
Emma Hox | 2010
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Longbourn's Unexpected Matchmaker is a P&P variation - it starts at the same point as the original novel but then diverges from the original plot for a number of reasons. Overall I did enjoy it; it's a frothy feel-good sort of book that kept me smiling. Poetic justic was handed out in spades to the villains of the piece - although I'm not quite sure that her brother, even as a belted Earl, would have been able to manage what actually happens to Lady Catherine, but it's a nice thought!

I suppose on the downside you could say that all potential sources of conflict are resolved rather too quickly and easily. I'm still not entirely convinced about Lizzy sitting and singing in trees either!

It also could have done with some better editing. The typesetting was odd as there were sometimes unecessarily large gaps between words. The bookseller at Meryton was named one thing one minute and something else a few pages on which threw me for a minute. There were also errors and inconsistancies in title usage: Sir William Lucas was referred to both as Sir William (correctly) and Sir Lucas (no-no).

I would have thought higher of Darcy's intelligence though - surely he should have figured out who Mr Bennet was?!
  
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
2019 | Sci-Fi, Thriller
This is not cinema?
A hero of mine recently said this is not cinema. Is it the same as a pop puppet singing a song someone else has written with no emotion or soul? Well no actually. Good cinema is good art and art makes you feel things. Endgame will make you ride emotions from start to finish. Ok it is s visual feast but it's full of messages and commentary as well and the overall ethos is, well pretty much "for the many not the few", take that what you will. There is also that incredible moment when all the most powerful ones line up and they are female and you go "wow, go kick ass". They have been brave. They don't care if some spotty fanboy cries into his jerk off sock because captain marvel had a vagina, they wanted a strong female character so they did it. It is brave cinema.

It's almost as though they knew the people would leak spoilers too so they make the sentiment of the film and character start at the beginning almost as if they are mocking themselves. Brave.

Did I enjoy the actual film though I hear you ask? Yeah, it was great.