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Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Don't Breathe (2016) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
Here comes Little Kevin, all grown up and blinded.
“Don’t Breathe” had a concept that appealed to me. Three Detroit teens are systematically robbing houses of goods to pawn with the aim of getting Rocky (Jane “Evil Dead” Levy) out of the clutches of her deadbeat family to start a new life in California with her younger sister. Dylan Minnette plays the cautious and intellectual Alex, hiding his crush on Rocky particularly badly. Daniel Zovatto plays the fruit-loopy stoner ‘Money’ – the loose cannon of the trio and Rocky’s boyfriend.
After a successful run, they unwisely pick on the home of a blind war veteran (“Avatar”‘s Stephen Lang). He is not just ‘Home Alone’ but ‘Neighbourhood Alone’ (reflecting, probably accurately, the demise of previously affluent suburbs in some industrially declining US cities). Blind or not, the vet (and friend) are a force to be reckoned with: with startling speed the tables are turned and the kids are fighting for their lives. And there are more surprises in store within the spooky old house.
As an audience member, there are certainly points at which the title becomes uncomfortably literal! On the tensionometer, there is a similarity here with last year’s “No Escape”. A scene where blindness is turned into a positive asset is particularly effective.
As is common with this genre, the film suffers from a plot-line that at times makes no sense and involves indestructible participants (with an incident involving garden shears being particularly incomprehensible).
A particularly unpleasant sexual-threat scene towards the end of the film is also nonsensical involving a level of -ahem – ‘preparation’ that the preceding plot simply doesn’t merit.
Inevitably though, the film lives or dies on whether you feel empathy for the disreputable kids in peril. The start of the film tries to balance the empathy scales by giving Rocky her backstory, throwing in the ‘little sister’ card. It also demonstrates that “The Blind Man” is a ‘bit of a bastard’ – or perhaps that should be a ‘bit of a baste-ard’ (LOL, in-joke)). Unfortunately however I hold the peculiarly unfashionable idea that if things are “mine” they are “mine” – not anyone elses: so, on balance, I wasn’t rooting for them and would be happy to let the thieving little sh*ts all get beaten to death!
Jane Levy (channelling a young Emma Stone) acquits herself admirably as the heroine in peril. Also of particular note is the highly effective atonal score by Roque Baños that ramps up the tension extremely effectively. Directed by “Evil Dead” director, Uruguayan Fede Alverez, the film does have a certain style and is an enjoyable roller-coaster ride, provided you park your brain at the (well locked) door.
After a successful run, they unwisely pick on the home of a blind war veteran (“Avatar”‘s Stephen Lang). He is not just ‘Home Alone’ but ‘Neighbourhood Alone’ (reflecting, probably accurately, the demise of previously affluent suburbs in some industrially declining US cities). Blind or not, the vet (and friend) are a force to be reckoned with: with startling speed the tables are turned and the kids are fighting for their lives. And there are more surprises in store within the spooky old house.
As an audience member, there are certainly points at which the title becomes uncomfortably literal! On the tensionometer, there is a similarity here with last year’s “No Escape”. A scene where blindness is turned into a positive asset is particularly effective.
As is common with this genre, the film suffers from a plot-line that at times makes no sense and involves indestructible participants (with an incident involving garden shears being particularly incomprehensible).
A particularly unpleasant sexual-threat scene towards the end of the film is also nonsensical involving a level of -ahem – ‘preparation’ that the preceding plot simply doesn’t merit.
Inevitably though, the film lives or dies on whether you feel empathy for the disreputable kids in peril. The start of the film tries to balance the empathy scales by giving Rocky her backstory, throwing in the ‘little sister’ card. It also demonstrates that “The Blind Man” is a ‘bit of a bastard’ – or perhaps that should be a ‘bit of a baste-ard’ (LOL, in-joke)). Unfortunately however I hold the peculiarly unfashionable idea that if things are “mine” they are “mine” – not anyone elses: so, on balance, I wasn’t rooting for them and would be happy to let the thieving little sh*ts all get beaten to death!
Jane Levy (channelling a young Emma Stone) acquits herself admirably as the heroine in peril. Also of particular note is the highly effective atonal score by Roque Baños that ramps up the tension extremely effectively. Directed by “Evil Dead” director, Uruguayan Fede Alverez, the film does have a certain style and is an enjoyable roller-coaster ride, provided you park your brain at the (well locked) door.
A Furever Home: A Friends of Gaynor Beach Animal Rescue Romance
8.0
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A Furever Home Arthur When I was squeezing seven rescue dogs and a horde of cats in my small...
Contemporary MM Romance
Jennifer Roup (9 KP) rated Little Broken Things in Books
Dec 19, 2017
Very Intriguing Family Drama
There is nothing better than a thriller that really makes you think. You're not just reading it, you feel like you are right there with the characters, trying to figure it along with them.
Nora and Quinn are estranged sisters with secrets that they are both trying everything they can to keep hidden. Across the lake Quinn and her husband are living, their mother is secretly watching them through the telescope of her deceased husband. She's trying to figure out why Quinn is acting so strange, coming and going in the middle of the night
When Nora shows up after a year, asking Quinn to take care of something for her, Quinn is floored when she realized that "Something" is a 6 year old little girl. Without giving any answers, Nora disappears again without any explanation. So not only must Quinn figure out how to take care of this silent, helpless child, she must also come to terms with the fact that she looks unmistakably like her sister or at least someone else in their family. The same eyes... but whose child is she?
This is twisted, with unreliable characters, hidden secrets, shame and still, the undeniable bond that holds families together even when they want nothing but to be apart.
Nora and Quinn are estranged sisters with secrets that they are both trying everything they can to keep hidden. Across the lake Quinn and her husband are living, their mother is secretly watching them through the telescope of her deceased husband. She's trying to figure out why Quinn is acting so strange, coming and going in the middle of the night
When Nora shows up after a year, asking Quinn to take care of something for her, Quinn is floored when she realized that "Something" is a 6 year old little girl. Without giving any answers, Nora disappears again without any explanation. So not only must Quinn figure out how to take care of this silent, helpless child, she must also come to terms with the fact that she looks unmistakably like her sister or at least someone else in their family. The same eyes... but whose child is she?
This is twisted, with unreliable characters, hidden secrets, shame and still, the undeniable bond that holds families together even when they want nothing but to be apart.
Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Better Than I Know Myself in Books
May 10, 2018
Did you ever have a friend who was more like family? For Regina Foster, Jewel Prescott, and Carmen Webb this is exactly true. Better Than I Know Myself starts in the late 70's when the girls are seniors in high school and making the decision on where to go to college. Three different girls from three very different backgrounds. Jewel, a former child star. Regina, the daughter of two college educated parents and little sister to older brothers who had all attended and graduated from college. And Carmen whose parents had left her at a young age.
The story progresses through their meeting in New York at Barnard and continues through their graduation. Regina and Jewel were already roommates when they met Carmen at the university library. They all got stuck in an elevator together and as they say, "The rest is history." They lived together through the early 80's as they grew into women and started to become independent.
The book covers twenty years of friendship and sisterhood and all the trials and tribulations that entails.
This book made me laugh out loud and brought a tear or two to my eyes. It also made me want to get together with my closest girlfriends. This is a book that you have to read until the end.
The story progresses through their meeting in New York at Barnard and continues through their graduation. Regina and Jewel were already roommates when they met Carmen at the university library. They all got stuck in an elevator together and as they say, "The rest is history." They lived together through the early 80's as they grew into women and started to become independent.
The book covers twenty years of friendship and sisterhood and all the trials and tribulations that entails.
This book made me laugh out loud and brought a tear or two to my eyes. It also made me want to get together with my closest girlfriends. This is a book that you have to read until the end.
The Marinated Meeple (1853 KP) rated Survive: Escape from Atlantis! in Tabletop Games
Apr 10, 2018
Sea Monsters (5 more)
Whales that sink boats
Sharks that eat swimmers
Sending monster to do your bidding
getting your people to safety
A newer version was published so everyone has access to it.
The Island is sinking and the ocean is filled with terrors, what a fun time.
I adored this game as a kid, nothing better than sending a shark to eat your sister and making the sounds from the movie JAWS, or sending a whale to sink her boat and maybe yelling "Moby Dick gets his revenge" before you actually know what you are talking about, because you know of the book but haven't read it yet....
This is a great game, the only way to improve it would be to make it 6 players, and add more versions of the creatures, which I've heard the new version does add squids, dolphins and more players. Or as I would call them, Flipper and The Kraken.
I own the old version. which was missing pieces and I got another copy that was missing pieces and created a frankenstein of parts to make the whole. I've seen people playing it online and it hits me in my nostalgic place. I'd love to break this out again and play.
Oh the pictures I would paint in my head as a kid.
The heroic triumph of getting my people to safety.
This is a great game, the only way to improve it would be to make it 6 players, and add more versions of the creatures, which I've heard the new version does add squids, dolphins and more players. Or as I would call them, Flipper and The Kraken.
I own the old version. which was missing pieces and I got another copy that was missing pieces and created a frankenstein of parts to make the whole. I've seen people playing it online and it hits me in my nostalgic place. I'd love to break this out again and play.
Oh the pictures I would paint in my head as a kid.
The heroic triumph of getting my people to safety.
Merissa (14046 KP) rated Absolution (The Protectors #1) in Books
Apr 12, 2018
Absolution (The Protectors #1) by Sloane Kennedy
Absolution is the first book in The Protectors series by Sloane Kennedy. We meet Jonas, who appears to be a young artist without a care in the world. But then we find out that Mace is looking to kill him, and for reasons that don't appear to match the artist we see. And then along comes Cole, an ex-navy man desperate to find out what happened to his sister, and the only one who can tell him is Jonas. These three are intrinsically bound together as the story takes on more twists and turns than a bowl of spaghetti.
This was a fast-paced story with never a dull moment. Jonas, Cole, and Mace, all round each other out and soften those rough edges that life has given them. I have to say that I loved the cameos of Ronan, and can't wait for his story. I may or may not have shed a few tears towards the end of this book, but I'll never tell for sure ;)
A dark story that is enthralling reading. Fiction really doesn't get much better than this. Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
This was a fast-paced story with never a dull moment. Jonas, Cole, and Mace, all round each other out and soften those rough edges that life has given them. I have to say that I loved the cameos of Ronan, and can't wait for his story. I may or may not have shed a few tears towards the end of this book, but I'll never tell for sure ;)
A dark story that is enthralling reading. Fiction really doesn't get much better than this. Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Lenard (726 KP) rated Booksmart (2019) in Movies
May 8, 2019 (Updated May 8, 2019)
My favorite movie of the year so far
Booksmart is the kind of movie I always enjoy immensely. In a way, I was reminded of Sex Drive even though the two films have nothing in common. I just yelled "Rumspringa" as I left, I felt so free. Beanie Feldman who plays her character like brother Jonah Hill's younger sister and Kathlyn Dever play two high achieving high school seniors who spent all their time studying instead of having fun. They are bullied and made fun of due to their academic commitment. In a pivotal bathroom scene, Beanie overhears a conversation where she is the butt of the joke. Exiting falsely confident, she is shocked to learn that the three dopes all are on prestigious paths (Google, Stanford, Yale). She decides that she and her BFF have to crash a trending party. In a series of vignettes of misadventures, the two girls discover there is more to life than getting good grades. Extracurricular activities look good on the CV too.
My main complaint is the actors play the supposed seniors a little too confidently for adolescents. In this "Say Anything"esque world, there are no mean girls/alpha males. Everyone has a secret moral to their character. Except maybe Ryan who steals the boy crush, but she has a nice chin.
My main complaint is the actors play the supposed seniors a little too confidently for adolescents. In this "Say Anything"esque world, there are no mean girls/alpha males. Everyone has a secret moral to their character. Except maybe Ryan who steals the boy crush, but she has a nice chin.
Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) created a post
May 26, 2019
RavenclawPrincess913 (253 KP) rated Teardrop (Teardrop Trilogy, #1) in Books
May 26, 2019
Forgot to post this last month
I chose to read this book because it's by my favorite author. I ended up loving it and it's now one of my favorite series. If you loved her book Fallen you will love this one as well. The book begins slowly as Fallen does but if you keep reading you will not regret it.
Spoilers below
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Growing up Eureka's mother told her to never cry and she ended up dying in a freak accident at the start of the book. This left Eureka puzzled and alone in the world until the boy who saved her in the accident came along who is named Ander. Her mother left her three inheritance a locket, thunderstone and book which end up making better sense later in the story. When Eureka, her best friend Brooks, her sister and brother go to the beach one day something weird happens to Brooks after the strange wave which leads to him acting weird which later on in the book Eureka discovers her best friend has been processed by someone from the sunken island of Atlantis. The person who processed him Eureka will end up having to go head to head with in the next book. She also discovered there's something special in her bloodline about tears. If you'd like to know more read the book.
Spoilers below
.
.
.
Growing up Eureka's mother told her to never cry and she ended up dying in a freak accident at the start of the book. This left Eureka puzzled and alone in the world until the boy who saved her in the accident came along who is named Ander. Her mother left her three inheritance a locket, thunderstone and book which end up making better sense later in the story. When Eureka, her best friend Brooks, her sister and brother go to the beach one day something weird happens to Brooks after the strange wave which leads to him acting weird which later on in the book Eureka discovers her best friend has been processed by someone from the sunken island of Atlantis. The person who processed him Eureka will end up having to go head to head with in the next book. She also discovered there's something special in her bloodline about tears. If you'd like to know more read the book.