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Darren (1599 KP) rated Door in the Woods (2019) in Movies
Nov 7, 2019
Characters – Evelyn is the mother that is preparing to start her own internet business, she redecorates the random door they find and starts experiencing the events, she learns the truth and sets out to get help. Redd is the father that has moved here to start a new job hunt, he tries to help with the behavioural problems and joins Evelyn searching for the truth. Uriah is a pastor that has come to bless the house, he is turned to, to help deal with the hauntings knowing how to end the problems they are facing. Kane is the troublesome child that often finds himself getting into trouble at school, becoming the target of the sinister nature of the door.
Performances – When we look at the performances, we don’t have the strongest ones here, Jennifer Pierce Mathus and David Rees Snell do struggle to make us believe the situations and life they have lived with these characters, while CJ Jones is the standout performer in the film.
Story – The story here follows a family that are looking to start a new life in a small town only to find a door in the woods, inviting evil into their own home needing to get rid of it before it is too late. The start of this story is really good, with creepy elements of hauntings in the house, the problems start when the story tries to break out of following this trend and spends way too long with the final act that is more talking than anything thrilling, which is could have been. This is a story that could have become a lot deeper, but gets caught up in the middle of the two ideas and not using enough of the horror involved.
Thriller – The opening half of the film does offer plenty thrilling horror moments, only to spend more of the second half of the film trying to make up and discuss what has been happening.
Settings – The film uses the small town setting for everything to unfold, showing people can try to escape for a new life, but every small town has a secret.
Scene of the Movie – Background walking.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Would you really take that door home.
Final Thoughts – This is a film that has a lot of potential only to fall short in how everything unfolds.
Overall: Doesn’t hit the marks.
Performances – When we look at the performances, we don’t have the strongest ones here, Jennifer Pierce Mathus and David Rees Snell do struggle to make us believe the situations and life they have lived with these characters, while CJ Jones is the standout performer in the film.
Story – The story here follows a family that are looking to start a new life in a small town only to find a door in the woods, inviting evil into their own home needing to get rid of it before it is too late. The start of this story is really good, with creepy elements of hauntings in the house, the problems start when the story tries to break out of following this trend and spends way too long with the final act that is more talking than anything thrilling, which is could have been. This is a story that could have become a lot deeper, but gets caught up in the middle of the two ideas and not using enough of the horror involved.
Thriller – The opening half of the film does offer plenty thrilling horror moments, only to spend more of the second half of the film trying to make up and discuss what has been happening.
Settings – The film uses the small town setting for everything to unfold, showing people can try to escape for a new life, but every small town has a secret.
Scene of the Movie – Background walking.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Would you really take that door home.
Final Thoughts – This is a film that has a lot of potential only to fall short in how everything unfolds.
Overall: Doesn’t hit the marks.
The Long Way Home (Coming Home #1)
7.0
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Marcus The love of my life made me promise to fall in love with someone else. How’s that for an...
Contemporary MM Romance Small Town
Tim McGuire (301 KP) rated Sweet Virginia (2017) in Movies
Jan 21, 2020
377. Sweet Virginia. Pretty great random choice by me, again. Twisted tale of a small town murder plot. Three friends are hanging out at a bar playing cards. I'm assuming they own the place, because when a guy wanders in off the street and asks for a bite to eat and a drink, one gets up and tells him they're closed and be on his way. Instead of leaving the stranger asks him, Are you Mitchell? The response is what you expect, who wants to know, blah, blah. Slightly bothered, the stranger leaves. Mitchell goes back to the card game, until the door opens once again and the stranger comes in guns blazing, and all three end up dead. It was here I thought, Mitchell should have locked that door! So that happened, the news quickly spreads through the small town, and we meet Sam, a former rodeo champ now motel owner operator, and he is having an affair with the wife of one of the dead men, yea. And oh yea, the killer, Elwood, is staying at guess who's motel? Also, guess who recognizes Sam from his rodeo days and start a pretty decent friendship. Elwood is actually a semi normal dude when he's not out killing people for money. So who hired him? Well, I can't tell you everything! It really was a well told tense tale. Well acted, Jon Bernthal as Sam, Christopher Abbott as Elwood, were pretty awesome, with Imogen Poots and Rosemarie DeWitt great as the supporting cast! Cool flick, I say, do.
The Damselfly
Book
An unsolved murder. A community turned against each other. A killer close to home...Katie Taylor is...
The Night Swim: A Novel
7.5
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Book
After the first season of her true crime podcast became an overnight sensation and set an innocent...
Merissa (14013 KP) rated Psychic Whispers (Woodward Hill #1) in Books
Sep 16, 2020
Psychic Whispers is the first book in the Woodward Hill series and I LOVED IT! This was just the right book at the right time and I fell in love with the characters of this small, gossipy, quirky town.
Inara has the ability to talk to the animals, she even calls herself Dr DoLittle. Unfortunately, before she was old enough to fully understand or use her ability, she was attacked by a pitbull. This left scars, both seen and unseen, that she is determined to work past. Nik has been the 'son gone bad' for too long in the town. The son of a man accused (but cleared) of murder, his reputation has always hung over him like a shroud. He thinks Inara is too good for him. She thinks he is put off by her scars.
Aww, come on, people. You know these two will end up together but it's not a smooth road by any stretch of the imagination. With fears on both sides, a small-town mindset working against them, oh, and plus a murder to solve whilst staying alive, these two have their work cut out for them.
There are a whole host of supporting characters that I loved and, fair warning Ms Burnz and Ms Nuest, I'll be wanting stories for all of them! 😉
The world-building is excellent with just the right attention to detail that I needed. The pacing is smooth and the steamy scenes are hot! Nik is pure alpha but Inara is no pushover.
All in all, this was a brilliant read and a fantastic opening to a new series that I will be following closely and reading ALL of them! Highly recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Inara has the ability to talk to the animals, she even calls herself Dr DoLittle. Unfortunately, before she was old enough to fully understand or use her ability, she was attacked by a pitbull. This left scars, both seen and unseen, that she is determined to work past. Nik has been the 'son gone bad' for too long in the town. The son of a man accused (but cleared) of murder, his reputation has always hung over him like a shroud. He thinks Inara is too good for him. She thinks he is put off by her scars.
Aww, come on, people. You know these two will end up together but it's not a smooth road by any stretch of the imagination. With fears on both sides, a small-town mindset working against them, oh, and plus a murder to solve whilst staying alive, these two have their work cut out for them.
There are a whole host of supporting characters that I loved and, fair warning Ms Burnz and Ms Nuest, I'll be wanting stories for all of them! 😉
The world-building is excellent with just the right attention to detail that I needed. The pacing is smooth and the steamy scenes are hot! Nik is pure alpha but Inara is no pushover.
All in all, this was a brilliant read and a fantastic opening to a new series that I will be following closely and reading ALL of them! Highly recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Necessary Lies
10.0
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Bestselling author Diane Chamberlain delivers a breakout book about a small southern town fifty...
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Boy Who Killed Grant Parker in Books
Feb 13, 2018
Luke Grayson's life turns upside when he's sent to Ashland, Tennessee his senior year of high school to live with his father and stepmother. Luke's mother no longer wants to deal with his trouble-making ways and thinks his father, a Baptist preacher who has never played a role in Luke's life, can help straighten him out. But Luke's reputation comes with him to Ashland, where he stands out as the new kid from the big city. He's too progressive for this rural Tennessee town and rapidly becomes the target of the high school's golden boy, Grant Parker, who singles Luke out and makes his life miserable. But things change quickly after a confrontation between Luke and Grant goes awry and suddenly, overnight, life in Ashland changes dramatically for Luke.
I wanted to like this book, but I just never connected with it, or Luke. Having grown up and lived in small towns, I understand how truly small and exclusive they can be. But this novel just fell flat for me. I was immediately bothered by the fact that Luke's mother shipped him off for his senior year to his extremely rigid (and awful) father, despite the fact that the his greatest transgressions seemed to be a couple of silly (and harmless) pranks at his old school. I never felt any sort of connection to Luke as a character, and truly, at points, I found reading his story a little painful and thought "blah blah blah" at huge sections of text. He's a passive character, without a lot of depth to him. In fact, the only character with any true depth to her was Luke's friend, Delilah and her storyline is the only one that seems to have any heft. But she often gets lost in the shuffle.
Overall this one was just too much eye-rolling (on my part) and a little "too YA" for me. While it should be a nuanced commentary on the perils of high school and small town living, I just wanted it be over.
I wanted to like this book, but I just never connected with it, or Luke. Having grown up and lived in small towns, I understand how truly small and exclusive they can be. But this novel just fell flat for me. I was immediately bothered by the fact that Luke's mother shipped him off for his senior year to his extremely rigid (and awful) father, despite the fact that the his greatest transgressions seemed to be a couple of silly (and harmless) pranks at his old school. I never felt any sort of connection to Luke as a character, and truly, at points, I found reading his story a little painful and thought "blah blah blah" at huge sections of text. He's a passive character, without a lot of depth to him. In fact, the only character with any true depth to her was Luke's friend, Delilah and her storyline is the only one that seems to have any heft. But she often gets lost in the shuffle.
Overall this one was just too much eye-rolling (on my part) and a little "too YA" for me. While it should be a nuanced commentary on the perils of high school and small town living, I just wanted it be over.
Rachel Maria Berney (114 KP) rated Under the Dome in Books
Dec 4, 2018
It wins hands down against The Stand
The title says it all. Once I picked this up, I couldn't put it down. As always, Stephen King creates a world inside your head and 3 dimensional characters you feel like you could reach out and touch.
This book leads you by the hand through a small town cut off from the outside world, straight to a finale that is a satisfying end. King does not disappoint.
Kings telltale show don't tell writing is on display here, whilst critics condemn him, as a reader this is what brings the story to life.
If are on the fence about King, pick this up, stick with it, he will delight and surprise you.
This book leads you by the hand through a small town cut off from the outside world, straight to a finale that is a satisfying end. King does not disappoint.
Kings telltale show don't tell writing is on display here, whilst critics condemn him, as a reader this is what brings the story to life.
If are on the fence about King, pick this up, stick with it, he will delight and surprise you.