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JT (287 KP) rated Brightburn (2019) in Movies

Mar 10, 2020

Brightburn (2019)

2019 | Horror

7.0

(63 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

What if superheroes didn’t arrive on earth with the soul purpose of saving humanity? What if their main intention was to cause pain and suffering? This is the unique premise used in Brightburn to great effect and turns the superhero genre on its head.

Kansas couple Tori (Elizabeth Banks) and Kyle Breyer (David Denman) have been desperately trying to have a child, without success. When a mysterious object lands on their property they discover that all of their prayers have been answered – sound familiar? What begins as the perfect family life starts to unravel in sheer terror as their little bundle of joy turns out to be something far sinister, despite their denial that he might just might be a little misunderstood.

“It’s a boy”
I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well it unfolded. There was a solid amount of tension packed with good levels of gore. The jump scare is a staple part of the horror genre but it can become tiresome if not delivered in the right way. Thankfully in this instance it works and works well.

Post credits deliver more to the story which has the potential to spawn a sequel, although I prefer the idea that this is a one off.

Kudos

JT (287 KP) rated Knowing (2009) in Movies

Mar 10, 2020

Knowing (2009)

2009 | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

6.9

(13 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Contains spoilers, click to show

Nicholas Cage is one of those hit and miss actors. One minute he’s acting out of his skin and the other he’s bumbling his way through another disappointment with a quietly spoken drawl.

Knowing is a film of two halves. The first half is a well thought out disaster thriller, the second is quite simply a shambles and totally ruined it. Why you ask? SPOILER ALERT: Aliens, the ending was all linked back to beings from another planet. Why they felt the need to go down this route is beyond me? But I lost any respect for director Alex Proyas .

It’s a real shame as there were some spectacular disaster sequences that ramped up the tension. Cage was accomplished in his role and was edgy enough to win the audience over. However, that all fell away in the later stages as his acting became desperate, as he tried to clutch at emotional straws.

The film’s ending has a very ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’ feel about it. I felt like snapping the DVD in half and mailing in personally to screen writers Ryne Douglas Pearson and Juliet Snowden. I would only recommend this for the special effects and not at all for the weak script or storyline.

Kudos

Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) Mar 11, 2020

A good movie, but that ending through.

Kudos

Hazel (2934 KP) rated Keep Him Close in Books

Mar 15, 2020

Keep Him Close

Emily Koch | 2020 | Crime, Mystery

7.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

A slow-burner

From the author of a who-dunnit story with a difference, If I Die Before I Wake, comes a dark, family drama about the search for the truth behind the death of a young teenager.

Lou is dead ... did he fall, did he jump or was he pushed? His mother, Alice, wants to know why. The police think he was pushed and have arrested Kane. Kane's mother, Indigo, is convinced her son is innocent and so it begins.

This is a slow burner that delves into the psyche of a mother's love for her child. There is tension and heart-rending emotion as you would expect with the subject matter being as it is. The writing is easy to read, the language used is natural and the characters well developed and flawed making them believable.

As I said, this is a slow burner and I do admit to becoming a little impatient at times but I was pretty satisfied with how everything came together at the end.

Another successful book from this author and one which I look forward to reading more from and I want to thank, once again, Random House UK, Vintage Publishing and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.