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Beautiful Broken Things
Beautiful Broken Things
Sara Barnard | 2017 | Children
7
7.7 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
The fragility of teen friendships
This was a contemporary YA about friendships, there was no romance and it didn't need it. This friendship triangle was a subtle but delicate dance of power imbalance and loyalty. The pacing was steady as the story ebbed and flowed through drama (real not unnecessary) and steadier times.

Caddy was the protagonist and Rosie was her best friend but the story very much revolved around Suzanne, a 16 year old teen, abused and with significant psychological effects. I never understood the lack of police involvement in her past, but I was able to read past that issue. It was a powerful story, wings were spread, influences bad and good happened and the apple cart was well and truly knocked over.

This story built to a crescendo and for the last 10%, I felt like I'd been hit with a mallet. It was powerful reading and my heart had a few fissures that needed mending. I am so glad I am reading this at a time when there's a book two out, even though it has stood alone for a few years.

Sara Barnard writes from the young person's perspective so well. Her characters' feelings towards their parents and their parents' reactions are very real. I remain impressed.
  
Wish Upon (2017)
Wish Upon (2017)
2017 | Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
We often wonder what wishes we would cast if given the opportunity. We think of the riches, second chances, and various selfish or generous choices we would make. In Wish Upon, we bear witness to how this plays out for one teenage girl.

Wish Upon stars Ryan Phillippe as a widowed father to a teen daughter, Clare, played by Joey King (Ramona and Beezus). Working as a salvager, he comes across an antique Chinese Box that he gives to her for her birthday. Clare quickly understands that the box has the ability to grant wishes, but her limited understanding of Chinese prevents her from being able to decipher all of the characters on it which reveal an all important disclaimer: each wish will result in the death of someone you know.

The film is ambitious with its premise yet falls flat in its execution. What seemed to be a promising mix of The Box and Final Destination, resulted in an uninspiring teen thriller that, at times, seemed more slapstick than a film that would grab your attention and fill its viewers with anxiety and tension. Wish Upon checks off many of the cliché boxes with respect to their storytelling and interactions between characters and provides little originality.

Wish Upon misses the mark in not finding an identity. It jumps from being a slasher, to being a teen comedy, to being a romance. This would not be problematic if it incorporated all of these facets into creating a film that takes advantage of these aspects, but it does little to allow for the story to seem as one that would be memorable. Wish Upon will leave audiences wishing they had made a different choice at the box office.
  
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Kaz (232 KP) rated I Am Mother (2019) in Movies

Jun 14, 2019  
I Am Mother (2019)
I Am Mother (2019)
2019 | Sci-Fi, Thriller
The tension and drama, the twists and turns (0 more)
Slightly predictable ending (0 more)
A Great Sci-Fi Thriller
I watched this yesterday afternoon and I thought is was a very enjoyable sci-fi thriller.

I'm a fan of films which explore interesting ideas and have twists and turns and so 'I am Mother' ,was just my kind of film.

The acting was very good, particularly by the young actress who plays 'daughter'. At first, because the actress is younger, I thought this was going to be a stereotypical teen dystopian movie with some cheesy teen romance through in for good measure, but I was pleasantly surprised how it was more mature than that.

 The interesting relationship 'daughter' has with 'Mother' was really interesting. Even though 'Mother' is a machine, the two main characters have some real emotion in their relationship. I think that might have something to do with 'Mother' voice not being metallic, but more 'human'.

This film explores thought provoking ideas, as well has having great tension and action. I also liked the twist towards the end of the film.

The only slight complaint that I had with this film, was that the ending was a tad predictable. However, I still feel that this is satisfactory.

This film is really thought provoking sci-fi film and I would definitely recommend watching it.