Search

Search only in certain items:

40x40

David McK (3816 KP) rated Carry-On (2024) in Movies

Dec 29, 2024 (Updated Dec 29, 2024)  
Carry-On (2024)
Carry-On (2024)
2024 | Action, Thriller
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
First, and most importantly for us Brits/Irish: this has nothing to do with the Sid James/Kenneth Williams "Carry On" films of 60s/70s/80s.

Instead, it's Carry-on.

As in luggage.

This is Christmas set - although I'm not sure I'd call it a Christmas movie (discuss) - set in an airport, and follows a young security guard after he is blackmailed into letting a suspicious package through security on Christmas Eve.

This steadily ratchets up the tension, as he struggles to stop said package from boarding a plane and to keep his colleagues (including his fiance) in the dark over just what is going on ...
  
40x40

Merissa (14048 KP) created a post

Apr 30, 2026  
"When Sandro allowed Bennett in, finally?? Oh, it was truly epic." – Debbie 🏒❤️

AROUND AND AROUND WE GO (VERMONT TRAILBLAZERS #2) by AMY AISLIN has earned a full and exceptional 5 out of 5 stars, and an excerpt is live on the blog today! This contemporary MM ice hockey romance delivers slow-burn tension, hard-won vulnerability, and the kind of payoff moment that has readers cheering from the stands. ✨🎉

Head over to the blog to read the excerpt and the full review!

@amyaislin @gaybookpromotions @debbiereadsbooks #Contemporary #MM #Sports #Romance #IceHockey
https://archaeolibrarian.wixsite.com/website/post/around-and-around-we-go-vermont-trailblazers-2-by-amy-aislin
     
40x40

Merissa (14048 KP) created a post

May 28, 2026  
"She built her family in the shadows of The Nightingale, and now someone is coming to tear it apart." 🎶🕵️

An excerpt, a guest post, and a giveaway for LAST DANCE BEFORE DAWN (NIGHTINGALE MYSTERIES #4) by KATHARINE SCHELLMAN are live on the blog today! This atmospheric historical mystery puts everything its protagonist holds dear under threat, in a story full of tension, heart, and jazz-age intrigue. ✨

Head over to the blog to read the excerpt and guest post, and enter the giveaway!

@katharineschellman @partnersincrimevbt #Historical #Mystery #Giveaway
https://archaeolibrarian.wixsite.com/website/post/last-dance-before-dawn-nightingale-mysteries-4-by-katharine-schellman
     
Deepwater Horizon (2016)
Deepwater Horizon (2016)
2016 | Action, Drama
Based on the true and tragic events on April 2010, Director Peter Berg takes the helm of this re-enactment of the explosive ‘blow-out’ which destroyed the eponymous exploration rig off the coast of Louisiana. We follow Mike Williams (Mark Walberg) and the rig’s Manager Jimmy Harrell (Kurt Russell) as they butt heads with the profit hungry BP executives who are more concerned with the fact that the operation is 43 days behind schedule than safety and have began to cut corners.

Berg builds and maintains the tension expertly, as this procedural disaster movie takes shape, but this is no Titanic (1997) or Poseidon Adventure (1976). The disaster itself only takes up about 30 minutes of the 107 minute run time as we are taken through the technicalities of America’s worst ever oil disaster, one which claimed 11 lives and spilled 210 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

The tension is palpable, the disaster is terrifying yet exiting and whilst wearing its roughneck Vs. company man heart on its sleeve, you are left feeling that we are given a much greater understanding of the subject as well as the newsworthy disaster.

This is helped along by the great visuals and sound design, as well as art direction and visual effects, which along with the great performances, not least BP man, Vidrine (John Malkovich), makes this a must see.
  
40x40

LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated The Shallows (2016) in Movies

Oct 28, 2019 (Updated Oct 28, 2019)  
The Shallows (2016)
The Shallows (2016)
2016 | Drama, Mystery
I could never make my mind up whilst watching The Shallows if I thought it was good or not... Not usually a good sign but it's pretty straightforward - there are some things about it which are great, and some which are not.

The best thing about The Shallows is easily Blake Lively. It's more a less a one woman show (the rest of the cast are paper thin and take up a tiny amount of screentime.)
She provides us with a lead character who you want to survive, and sells the simple narrative nicely.
The other main character is of course the shark. For the most part, we don't see much of the shark and this is where the horror elements of The Shallows are best realised. The general atmosphere of the first two thirds of the runtime carry a suitable amount of tension.
The final third let's it's slip a bit in this respect, switching out tension for action, which is usually ok, but here we're subjected to some dodgy special effects work, and a whole lot of stupid plot points that don't make a whole lot of sense (silly plot points are actually present throughout, and the main reason why The Shallows isn't better than it is)
One final thought - some of the sweeping shots are really nice - some good camera work going on!

It's not a bad watch by any means, and as far as shark movies go, it's better than most.