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    Good Kids (2016)

    Good Kids (2016)

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

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    I watched this movie on Netflix awhile back. It's a good movie if you are looking for something...

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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Cousins in Books

Mar 4, 2021  
The Cousins
The Cousins
Karen M. McManus | 2020 | Mystery, Romance, Thriller, Young Adult (YA)
7
7.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Easy-to-read twisty teen thriller
Cousins Milly, Aubrey and Jonah Story barely know each other, and they don't know their grandmother, Mildred, at all. Wealthy Mildred disinherited their parents before the cousins were even born. But now Mildred has requested the cousins' presence at her seaside resort. All the parents want their children to go, hopeful that being inherited again is back on the table. But when the three arrive on the island, it's pretty apparent that Mildred isn't keen on meeting her grandchildren. It's also clear that there are a lot of secrets and lies swirling around the Story family and history.

This is a quick read and an easy thriller, if that makes sense. It's a fun story with some good twists and several crazy surprises. There's not a lot of character development or in-depth plotting, but the tale kept me guessing and engaged. I'm always a sucker for inheritance stories and giant houses filled with secrets perched on islands.

Overall, this is fast read and a twisty thriller. It would be a great starter mystery for teens. 3.75 stars.
  
Dazed and Confused (1993)
Dazed and Confused (1993)
1993 | Comedy

"Quick! What film do you think of every time you hear the beginning of Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion”? I think anyone who grew up even close to the era depicted in Dazed and Confused knows how pitch-perfect it is. That younger viewers can appreciate it as a hilarious stoner film, and that older viewers, with the presumed wisdom and perspective that comes with age, can appreciate the often poignant depiction of both the carefree joy and daily traumas of our teen years, is a testament to Richard Linklater’s ability to craft naturalistic dialogue and create well-rounded characters, even within an ensemble cast. The film includes perhaps my favorite use of a song in a film: Bob Dylan’s “Hurricane” over the slow-motion entrance of Pink, Wooderson, and Mitch into the pool hall. The moment really sums up the film for me. It’s a moment that seems to capture the fleeting promise of youth (Mitch) and the weighty permanence of unfulfilled potential (Wooderson). There is an array of great extras on the Criterion release, so there is no reason not to own this one!"

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Saved! (2004)
Saved! (2004)
2004 | Comedy, Drama
Absolutely delightful, not only seismically subversive for its day - but not even a percentile less so even today. A black-as-night religious comedy/satire that's able to present the flaws of Christianity to light without making the claim to outright judge it nor be obnoxiously Ricky Gervais about its criticisms. Beyond that its just fucking hilarious, and insanely clever (even down to the briefest of sidegags ["I'm a rollerskate"]) - not to mention it has a huge heart and deeply impassioned, authentic care for its characters wants (*all* of whom are excellent, and are juggled together perfectly with an economy of which is sadly not seen frequently enough in teen comedies) with an uncommon narrative sensitivity. Never overstays its welcome and has a note-perfect tonal balance, as well as a roundhouse kick of memorably consummate performances (between this, those "DRYVRS" videos, and the similarly outstanding 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 I'm convinced Macaulay Culkin should *only* act in sardonic depravity). Mainly just have to applaud this for its application of more than just the easy targets which many films of the genre today fall victim to again and again. Love it.
  
Species (1995)
Species (1995)
1995 | Sci-Fi
Ahh Species. A film I loved to watch when I was a young teen for...research purposes...
It's a bit rubbish really though isn't it? Watching it again now, it's pretty much a bunch of characters talking their way through a manhunt, strung together by regular moments of nudity.
It's suitably corny, boasts some terrible CGI (effects that may have been good back in the 90s, I honestly don't really remember) but in spite of all this, it's still pretty entertaining.

It's cast boasts the likes of Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina, Marg Helgenberger, Forest Whitaker, Michael Madsen, even a young Michelle Williams...it's pretty stacked. Natasha Henstridge of course plays the creature, and gives the role a sense of empowerment rather than exploitation.
The rubber suit aesthetic of the alien is pretty awesome (in the parts where it's not haunting CGI) and it has a pretty decent music score.

I fully see why a lot of people consider Species to be trashy, but honestly, it's a fun slice of 90s (as fuck) sci-fi horror. Enjoy it for what it is and just pretend the sequels don't exist.
  
Leprechaun: Origins (2014)
Leprechaun: Origins (2014)
2014 | Horror
Let's not beat around the bush, Leprechaun: Origins is absolute piss, and let me tell you why.

- It's kind of a reboot, so gone is the wise cracking, annoying but kind of lovable Lep of old, and is replaced by a snarling feral beast who looks like what I can only describe as one of Gollum's testicles. This decision automatically saps any fun out of proceedings.
- The turn away from horror-comedy results in a by the numbers, boring teen slasher. None of the characters are remotely likable.
- The Leprechaun looks so shit, that most of its scenes are presented in a rip-off Predator POV manner that is just fucking terrible. The shots of the creature itself are mostly blurred to disguise it's shitness.
- The camerawork is all over the place. Having the camera on a constant slight tilt does not make a movie artistic, and there is shaky cam spaffing out from all directions.

If it was called anything else, it would still be shit, but the fact that it's a Leprechaun film makes it so much worse. Kill it with fire.
  
We Can Be Heroes (2020)
We Can Be Heroes (2020)
2020 | Action, Comedy, Drama
6
6.4 (7 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The idea (2 more)
Past heroes returning
Taylor Dooley
Cast (1 more)
Younger actors ability to act
Superheroes in Training
Seeing and enjoying the peculiar adventure of sharkboy and Lavagirl as a young teen a sequel was always wanted, when first advertised I had another Sonic The Hedgehog movie moment like "OH NO"

As a father with two monsters of my own who love sharkboy & Lavagirl they watched this before me and edged me to watch it with them...

Anyway, graphics continued from SB&LG was an appreciated touch as million dollar graphics don't always make the movie (although they help) a random casting with cute but weak acting and a plot unworthy of it's predecessor, we can be heroes is a nostalgic walk down memory lane that is both family friendly, fun (at least were the adult heroes are involved) and is more like a preschool edition of Disney's Sky High movie.

Best thing about the movie was the return of original Lavagirl actress Taylor dooley.

Appreciate the effort by Netflix, but maybe something more for the original fans next time around.

Plot: children of heroes attempt to rescue captured parents from an "evil" alien invasion ......or something like that.