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Andy K (10821 KP) rated Night of the Comet (1984) in Movies
Mar 31, 2019
Not as good as I remember
I was hoping this film held up over the years like Breakfast Club, Fright Night or even Night of the Living Dead, but not really.
Two teenage are among the few who survive an encounter with a comet that leaves most of the world's population dead turned into orange ash or mutated zombies. Instead of being overly concerned about their situation, they decide to go shopping and do makeovers on themselves with all the latest 80s fashions and make up trends. A few scientist types who also survived are harvesting some other normal people to collect their blood to ease in prolonged exposure.
Seeing all the 80s clothing, hairstyles and musical score was fun, but there were not many laughs. I can forgive low budget if the camp factor is entertaining enough; however, last night when I watched it mostly fell flat.
Kind of disappointed.
Two teenage are among the few who survive an encounter with a comet that leaves most of the world's population dead turned into orange ash or mutated zombies. Instead of being overly concerned about their situation, they decide to go shopping and do makeovers on themselves with all the latest 80s fashions and make up trends. A few scientist types who also survived are harvesting some other normal people to collect their blood to ease in prolonged exposure.
Seeing all the 80s clothing, hairstyles and musical score was fun, but there were not many laughs. I can forgive low budget if the camp factor is entertaining enough; however, last night when I watched it mostly fell flat.
Kind of disappointed.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Eighth Grade (2018) in Movies
Apr 30, 2019 (Updated Apr 30, 2019)
There's something a little bit ironic, don'cha think, about someone who got his start as a first-wave YouTuber making a film basically criticising the effects of social media on young people's lives, but hey, so it goes. Bo Burnham's feature debut as director is a forensically well-observed and excruciatingly difficult-to-watch comedy-drama about a teenage girl struggling to cope with the demands of modern life.
Very, very impressive performance from Elsie Fisher, who's in virtually every scene, and a witty and thoughtful script (Burnham again). May be of interest to future anthropologists in its detailing of the way that social media exacerbate generation gaps and generally prevent people from communicating with each other; one of several ironies the film points out. Manages to be bleak to the point of depressing for most of its duration but still turns it around for a credibly warm and quite moving conclusion. Very relatable no matter what year you were born in.
Very, very impressive performance from Elsie Fisher, who's in virtually every scene, and a witty and thoughtful script (Burnham again). May be of interest to future anthropologists in its detailing of the way that social media exacerbate generation gaps and generally prevent people from communicating with each other; one of several ironies the film points out. Manages to be bleak to the point of depressing for most of its duration but still turns it around for a credibly warm and quite moving conclusion. Very relatable no matter what year you were born in.
Awix (3310 KP) rated 3 Faces (2018) in Movies
May 19, 2019 (Updated May 19, 2019)
Low-octane comedy-drama from Iran, as a film director and an actress (both playing themselves) set off to learn the fate of a teenage girl who has sent them a series of troubling messages. And... they drive around a lot, meet various locals, hear a lot of stories not strictly relevant to their investigation, and so on.
I went to see this with a friend of Iranian extraction and at the end I asked him if there was some kind of subtle cultural subtext going on I wasn't picking up on. And he said no, this is just a film with not much going on in it. The pace is ambling, at best, the tone curiously laid-back (the closest thing to a plot twist comes when a prize stud bull hurts its leg); there may be something going on about cultural and generational divides within Iran, but if so it's very obliquely presented. Not unpleasant to watch, but the entertainment value is ambient.
I went to see this with a friend of Iranian extraction and at the end I asked him if there was some kind of subtle cultural subtext going on I wasn't picking up on. And he said no, this is just a film with not much going on in it. The pace is ambling, at best, the tone curiously laid-back (the closest thing to a plot twist comes when a prize stud bull hurts its leg); there may be something going on about cultural and generational divides within Iran, but if so it's very obliquely presented. Not unpleasant to watch, but the entertainment value is ambient.
Andy K (10821 KP) rated Hanna (2011) in Movies
Feb 2, 2018
Did you know that "Lady Bird" star Saoirse Ronan and "Darkest Hour" director, Joe Wright, teamed up for this fantastic action/thriller in 2011?
Within the wilderness of Finland, A teenage girl is raised by her CIA father to be the perfect assassin. She is then sent on a killing spree across Europe while pursued by other agents and Cate Blanchett.
The intensity of the action scenes and the cat-and-mouse aspects of the chases are really top notch. As I get to know the work of Saoirse Ronan, I love her more and more. Especially her ability with foreign accents (she is really very Irish)
I have to also mention the camera work and structure of much of the film is unique. You do not feel like you have seen this type of film before.
Give it a chance. You will not be disappointed!
Within the wilderness of Finland, A teenage girl is raised by her CIA father to be the perfect assassin. She is then sent on a killing spree across Europe while pursued by other agents and Cate Blanchett.
The intensity of the action scenes and the cat-and-mouse aspects of the chases are really top notch. As I get to know the work of Saoirse Ronan, I love her more and more. Especially her ability with foreign accents (she is really very Irish)
I have to also mention the camera work and structure of much of the film is unique. You do not feel like you have seen this type of film before.
Give it a chance. You will not be disappointed!
Lindsay (1717 KP) rated House Broken in Books
Feb 15, 2018
House Broken There a family mystery that Geneva does not understand. Thing go from bad to worse once her mother has an accident and need to recuperate. Geneva is relaxant to do so. Her husband convenience her to bring her mother in to stay.
Geneva start to investigate about the relationship between her older sister Paris and their mother. Geneva mother Helen has dealt with since her eldest daughter turned sixteen. There mother had to do something about it to stop what was going on. That thing see had to do is something Paris and her mother could not forgive her for it.
Ella and Charlies get themselves in trouble as well. Things gets worse after their grandmother comes to stay for a little while. Things start to startle Geneva while her mother starts to put some things together. It a fun read but not for children. It deals with teenage things and adult things. My rating is a 5/5 stars.
Geneva start to investigate about the relationship between her older sister Paris and their mother. Geneva mother Helen has dealt with since her eldest daughter turned sixteen. There mother had to do something about it to stop what was going on. That thing see had to do is something Paris and her mother could not forgive her for it.
Ella and Charlies get themselves in trouble as well. Things gets worse after their grandmother comes to stay for a little while. Things start to startle Geneva while her mother starts to put some things together. It a fun read but not for children. It deals with teenage things and adult things. My rating is a 5/5 stars.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The 5th wave (2016) in Movies
Jun 13, 2018
Thick-headed attempt to secure a slice of that lucrative post-Hunger Games YA demographic pie wastes the talents of Chloe Grace Moretz, Liev Schrieber, and various CGI technicians. Aliens show up and start conquering the world really slowly, starting by shutting down Instagram and moving on to floods, bird flu, etc etc. Plucky teenage girl sets out to save her young sibling while juggling the attentions of a couple of carefully-differentiated young hunks.
Painfully obvious and derivative, leadenly assembled; mostly just plain bad. What moves it beyond the inept and into the realms of the regrettable is a plotline about child soldiers - if this is trying to make a real-world point it does so with incredible crassness, though it may well be the film simply doesn't operate on that level of awareness. So-so box office returns means it appears we may be spared the threatened sequels; who know, maybe there is a God.
Painfully obvious and derivative, leadenly assembled; mostly just plain bad. What moves it beyond the inept and into the realms of the regrettable is a plotline about child soldiers - if this is trying to make a real-world point it does so with incredible crassness, though it may well be the film simply doesn't operate on that level of awareness. So-so box office returns means it appears we may be spared the threatened sequels; who know, maybe there is a God.
ClareR (5686 KP) rated She Was The Quiet One in Books
Jun 13, 2018
Boarding School drama
This is my second boarding school drama in under a month, and whilst I thought this was better than Tradition, I still found it hard going in parts. There's a lot of teenage angst which frankly, I am well past the need to experience (other than having to live the dream of being the mother to a hormonal teenaged boy). There were just so many FEELINGS and it all got a bit hard going towards the mid-way point. It was a great mystery though. I didn't guess the perpetrator until about 70% in to the story, so that's not a bad thing. Others might get to it earlier. I could have well done without the epilogue at the end though. It seemed really out of place, and not like the rest of the novel at all. I don't think it added anything to the story.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.
Chrissie-ann (78 KP) rated Terrifier (2017) in Movies
Jul 21, 2018
Cast (1 more)
Art the clown
I'm not sleeping tonight
IMDB is a bit confusing about the release of this movie, it says 2017 but also March 2018.
Art the clown goes on a killing spree on Halloween, targeting 3 teenage girls and anyone else who gets in the way.
I didn't hold much hope for it at the beginning, but being scared of clowns anyway I thought it might provoke a reaction out of me. Well it certainly did, the acting for Art the clown was, to me, amazing. I felt uneasy, nervous and on edge from the beginning to the end of the film. It's also very gory, but looks fake.
For a slasher movie I found this different and enticing, even though that clown made me want to run away and hide I had to keep watching. Also a little humour from the clown too. This guy's needs so recognition for his acting in THIS!
Art the clown goes on a killing spree on Halloween, targeting 3 teenage girls and anyone else who gets in the way.
I didn't hold much hope for it at the beginning, but being scared of clowns anyway I thought it might provoke a reaction out of me. Well it certainly did, the acting for Art the clown was, to me, amazing. I felt uneasy, nervous and on edge from the beginning to the end of the film. It's also very gory, but looks fake.
For a slasher movie I found this different and enticing, even though that clown made me want to run away and hide I had to keep watching. Also a little humour from the clown too. This guy's needs so recognition for his acting in THIS!
Kristie (106 KP) rated Darius the Great is Not Okay in Books
Sep 18, 2018
YA contemporary
For the most part I really enjoyed Darius the Great is Not Ok by Adib Khorram. This young adult contemporary novel was heart wrenching and at times heart breaking to read. At times I felt like the main character Darius was a little over the top with how sensitive he was but for the most part I was rooting for him to rise up. This was a great story showing the struggles of living with depression while trying to find yourself and dealing with the teenage awkwardness of growing up. I completely felt for Darius and could relate to a lot of his struggles throughout the book, especially with trying to see where he fit in with his culture and being the only one standing awkwardly to the side not understanding the language of his heritage. I really loved all of the characters and learning about this culture and I would definitely recommend.
Sarah (7798 KP) rated I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) in Movies
Oct 11, 2018
One of the best slasher films
Like Scream, this is by far one of the best slasher films and is one of my all time favourites. I grew up watching films like this - I may have only been 10 when it first came out in 1997, but my parents weren’t too fussy about renting me these sorts of films - and it was almost mandatory to watch this at every teenage sleepover at high school.
It has a great young and popular cast (back when Jennifer Love Hewitt was good) with a fantastic soundtrack. And not only that, the plot is actually pretty intriguing and even now some of the scenes are pretty scary and creepy - the one in the deserted department store still creeps me out. I’ve always loved the fact that this film plays on the classic urban legend of the man with a hook for a hand, as that was always one of my favourites. They really don’t make slasher films like this anymore.
It has a great young and popular cast (back when Jennifer Love Hewitt was good) with a fantastic soundtrack. And not only that, the plot is actually pretty intriguing and even now some of the scenes are pretty scary and creepy - the one in the deserted department store still creeps me out. I’ve always loved the fact that this film plays on the classic urban legend of the man with a hook for a hand, as that was always one of my favourites. They really don’t make slasher films like this anymore.
MelanieTheresa (997 KP) Apr 1, 2019