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LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Phoenix Forgotten (2017) in Movies
Sep 19, 2020
For what it's worth this is incredibly, incredibly convincing for what it is. The problem is that it's actually *too* convincing - this is so caught up in crafting a dead-ringer documentary (albeit admirably so) that it forgets to actually put horror movie stuff in too until the last act when this type of movie is required to spiral out of control. Essentially a beat-for-beat ripoff of all three Blair Witch movies but with aliens instead of the witch, honestly not a terrible concept and this still ends up being way better than at least one of those films anyway. Decently immersive, brisk, and engaging for the dirt cheap prices you can find this for even if it never fully sells itself on its premise. On the one hand I appreciate that this never (bar one sole time) jumps the gun by throwing in cheap jump scares before the buildup has set in (a rarity with these things) but that buildup just lasts too damn long, no excuses. Super well put together but it needed a lot less (or at least more fleshed-out) docu-stuff with that crushingly blandass lead (who conveniently is the only less-than-perfect performance in a film chock full of expert ones [particularly Chelsea Lopez, who gives a tour de force one]) and more eerie found footage stuff with the teens. Eventually turns into exactly what you'd expect. Far from that bad, but still a shame.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Devil May Care (The Veil, #2) in Books
Jan 11, 2021
Charlie is now working for the Institute, a group who defend against demons who cross the veil, but only doing it in an effort to regain her demon so she can go and hunt Stefan in the demon world. Unfortunately, though, it seems that her old master, Damien, didn't die years ago like she thought and is torturing enforcers of the Institute in a bid to get her attention.
Charlie/Muse suffered terribly at his hands as we see in flashbacks and even her demon is afraid of the sick demon so it's a terrible struggle for Muse to know he's back and hunting for her. Eventually, though, they come face to face and she's transported back to the Netherworld. Bad news in the fact she's in Damien's clutches but good news in the fact she can now find Stefan.
Things don't always go to plan, though, and we have a lot of struggles in the demon realm as they try to figure out how to get themselves back across the Veil and stop Damien
It was action packed but I missed Stefan for a lot of the book. Gone was the protective, fun guy we met in the first one. His demon has taken over and he's not as carefree as he used to be. It's definitely a bit of a rollercoaster this one.
Off to start book three to see if Stefan can control his demon half once more.
Charlie/Muse suffered terribly at his hands as we see in flashbacks and even her demon is afraid of the sick demon so it's a terrible struggle for Muse to know he's back and hunting for her. Eventually, though, they come face to face and she's transported back to the Netherworld. Bad news in the fact she's in Damien's clutches but good news in the fact she can now find Stefan.
Things don't always go to plan, though, and we have a lot of struggles in the demon realm as they try to figure out how to get themselves back across the Veil and stop Damien
It was action packed but I missed Stefan for a lot of the book. Gone was the protective, fun guy we met in the first one. His demon has taken over and he's not as carefree as he used to be. It's definitely a bit of a rollercoaster this one.
Off to start book three to see if Stefan can control his demon half once more.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated All the Money in the World (2017) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
The story of the kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother to convince his billionaire grandfather Jean Paul Getty to pay the ransom.
This is a difficult one to sum up. I managed to see this by the skin of my teeth, it flew out of the listings almost as quickly as it arrived. The trailer did the film a lot of good, there was enough intrigue and star quality to make it appeal. But I'm not sure it delivered what I was hoping for.
Plummer worked well as the formidable Getty. I'm not sure I could have seen Kevin Spacey playing the part, the initial casting seems truly bizarre. I can't help but wonder how much the reshooting affected the final product. For a week and a half of reshoots though you have to give them credit for the efficiency of it.
Even now I'm struggling to find things to say about this one. I was left bored and surprisingly unengaged. A terrible habit that I haven't actually done in about a year resurfaced during this film... when I'm bored and without anything to do I will sit and bite my nails, and about half way into this film I was fully aware that I was rapidly losing length on my nails.
The story is an interesting one but it never felt like it really made its way from being a two dimensional story.
This is a difficult one to sum up. I managed to see this by the skin of my teeth, it flew out of the listings almost as quickly as it arrived. The trailer did the film a lot of good, there was enough intrigue and star quality to make it appeal. But I'm not sure it delivered what I was hoping for.
Plummer worked well as the formidable Getty. I'm not sure I could have seen Kevin Spacey playing the part, the initial casting seems truly bizarre. I can't help but wonder how much the reshooting affected the final product. For a week and a half of reshoots though you have to give them credit for the efficiency of it.
Even now I'm struggling to find things to say about this one. I was left bored and surprisingly unengaged. A terrible habit that I haven't actually done in about a year resurfaced during this film... when I'm bored and without anything to do I will sit and bite my nails, and about half way into this film I was fully aware that I was rapidly losing length on my nails.
The story is an interesting one but it never felt like it really made its way from being a two dimensional story.
Sarah (7799 KP) rated Notes from a Small Island: Journey Through Britain in Books
Sep 26, 2019
Rambling, in all ways
A friend recommended this as a good read, although just quite why escapes me, but I thought I’d give it a read. Whilst there are some great bits in this book, it’s let down by its rather rambling and long winded nature.
This is rather like a informal guide book, and actually, I’d love to see real guide books like this - giving a rather honest and frank opinion on a city or area. I do think Bryson might have held back a little on his opinions, but there are still quite scathing in parts and that’s what I liked about this book. He’s really captured the essence of Britain and British life, even considering the fact that this book was written over 20 years ago! From terrible lift maintenance, the nightmare of driving in Britain and the mick-taking way of life, he really has got us spot on and there are a lot of times I laughed out loud reading this.
The problem is that Bryson goes on a rambling trip across Britain, and his writing style is rather rambling and long winded too. I struggled to get through some of this book as it doesn’t half ramble on, especially as it’s a country I know a fair bit about already.
Still I’d recommend this to anyone wanting to find out more about Britain, just bear in mind it’s a few years out of date!
This is rather like a informal guide book, and actually, I’d love to see real guide books like this - giving a rather honest and frank opinion on a city or area. I do think Bryson might have held back a little on his opinions, but there are still quite scathing in parts and that’s what I liked about this book. He’s really captured the essence of Britain and British life, even considering the fact that this book was written over 20 years ago! From terrible lift maintenance, the nightmare of driving in Britain and the mick-taking way of life, he really has got us spot on and there are a lot of times I laughed out loud reading this.
The problem is that Bryson goes on a rambling trip across Britain, and his writing style is rather rambling and long winded too. I struggled to get through some of this book as it doesn’t half ramble on, especially as it’s a country I know a fair bit about already.
Still I’d recommend this to anyone wanting to find out more about Britain, just bear in mind it’s a few years out of date!
Sarah (7799 KP) rated Peaky Blinders - Season 5 in TV
Sep 30, 2019
Shame about the loose ends
All in all, this is a rather good series and aside from the slightly dodgy Russian series (3), I’m impressed at how good a run Peaky Blinders has had. It’s not often anymore that you get such a consistently excellent series, and yes I am still ignoring series 3.
Unsurprisingly there are stellar performances in this yet again. Cillian Murphy is fantastic as we see Tommy spiralling into a terrible state, and I absolutely adore the rabid dog with a heart of gold that is Arthur. And Sam Claflin is truly slimy and despicable as Oswald Mosley, I didn’t realise I could hate him so much, he really embodies such an awful character. There are also some surprise deaths and reappearances in this too, some of which that were unexpected and very welcome.
The plot itself is good, but my main issue with this series is the amount of loose ends that haven’t been tied up by the end of the final episode. One of the things I’ve loved about the earlier series, is that everything is wrapped up rather nicely so the next series can start ‘afresh’ set a few years later. The same can’t be said about this fifth series, there’s a lot of plot points that aren’t cleared up and it’s rather frustrating that we have to wait another couple of years to find out!
Unsurprisingly there are stellar performances in this yet again. Cillian Murphy is fantastic as we see Tommy spiralling into a terrible state, and I absolutely adore the rabid dog with a heart of gold that is Arthur. And Sam Claflin is truly slimy and despicable as Oswald Mosley, I didn’t realise I could hate him so much, he really embodies such an awful character. There are also some surprise deaths and reappearances in this too, some of which that were unexpected and very welcome.
The plot itself is good, but my main issue with this series is the amount of loose ends that haven’t been tied up by the end of the final episode. One of the things I’ve loved about the earlier series, is that everything is wrapped up rather nicely so the next series can start ‘afresh’ set a few years later. The same can’t be said about this fifth series, there’s a lot of plot points that aren’t cleared up and it’s rather frustrating that we have to wait another couple of years to find out!
Rickey A. Mossow Jr. (689 KP) rated Dumbo (2019) in Movies
Aug 27, 2019
Another unnecessary remake of a childhood classic.
When I originally saw the trailer for this pop up on YouTube, my heart swelled with happiness and the child in me grinned from ear to ear. So many memories came back and flooded my heart and mind. Then, I actually watched this movie. It struggled for me from the beginning as it was instantly clear the star wasn't the elephant with big ears, but rather a typecast Danny Devito, Collin Farrell with a terrible southern accent, his women empowerment staple daughter, and his son that is just kinda there. The anthropomorphism of the animated film is gone, and without it, the key scenes lifted from the original don't carry the emotional weight they did. Much of the story makes little to no sense, including the climax and tie everything up in a neat bow ending. All the PC nonsense and making a statement about current social and political issues isn't needed. It's a kids movie. Once it was clear that this was Disney making a movie about evil corporations buying up small entities to make a monopoly, I checked out mentally from the obvious irony. As the credits rolled, I was just left with an empty feeling, my swollen heart shrunk and my grin gone. Memories from my childhood had been stamped out by Disney Inc. in search of the almighty dollar with yet another unnecessary and bad remake.
Bertram Fiddle: Episode 1: A Dreadly Business
Games
App
A hilarious tongue-in-cheek point and click adventure game that mixes the classic formula up with...
Sarah (7799 KP) rated Hustlers (2019) in Movies
Sep 5, 2020
Tries too hard... and fails
I've had this on my Amazon to watch list for quite some time and finally decided to give it a go last night, and to be honest I wish I hadn't bothered.
This makes out like it's going to be a stylish crime caper similar to films like Ocean's Eleven etc, but it really is as far from it as you can get. It's very dull and considering it has a less than 2 hour run time, it drags on for a very long time. The plot sounds interesting but in reality it's completely lacklustre. It tries to pull off this heartwarming friendship tale but it fails miserably - none of the characters in this are particularly likeable and endearing and aren't helped by some rather terrible acting from the likes of Constance Wu and Julia Stiles. I am very glad though that Cardi B and Lizzo were only cameos as they were bad enough in those, I couldn't have dealt with Cardi B especially for the entire duration. Also the stripping scenes have been handled very badly. Yes it's a film about strippers, but rather than showing this aspect in a powerful and respectable way, it actually feels really seedy and is a bit cringey to watch.
Overall there wasn't really much to like about this film, although Jennifer Lopez was bareable. Could've been done so much better.
This makes out like it's going to be a stylish crime caper similar to films like Ocean's Eleven etc, but it really is as far from it as you can get. It's very dull and considering it has a less than 2 hour run time, it drags on for a very long time. The plot sounds interesting but in reality it's completely lacklustre. It tries to pull off this heartwarming friendship tale but it fails miserably - none of the characters in this are particularly likeable and endearing and aren't helped by some rather terrible acting from the likes of Constance Wu and Julia Stiles. I am very glad though that Cardi B and Lizzo were only cameos as they were bad enough in those, I couldn't have dealt with Cardi B especially for the entire duration. Also the stripping scenes have been handled very badly. Yes it's a film about strippers, but rather than showing this aspect in a powerful and respectable way, it actually feels really seedy and is a bit cringey to watch.
Overall there wasn't really much to like about this film, although Jennifer Lopez was bareable. Could've been done so much better.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated 47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019) in Movies
May 7, 2020
47 Meters Down: Uncaged is pretty much what you would expect from a low budget shark-horror-sequel. It has ok moments, insufferable characters, dodgy CGI, buckets of nonsense - the whole package.
In all honesty, the first 25 minutes or so are actually half decent. The plot revolves around four friends getting stuck in an underwater Mayan ruin whilst cave diving. This setting is effective, providing a claustrophobic backdrop for the characters to be stalked by a great white shark. There are countless shots of sheer blackness, and it's relatively unsettling now and again.
Of course there's a hastily introduced plot kicker not long after - the shark is in fact blind, and hunts using sound, and here is where the movies big gaping issues lie....
The ladies figure this detail out immediately, but then proceed to constantly scream and shout for the test of the runtime. Not only can they hear each other talking clear as day UNDERWATER, but their incessant warbling had me rooting for the shark before long. What starts as a fairly tense underwater thriller, devolves into Hollywood silliness in a matter of minutes, complete with a set of characters that lack any relatability or likable qualities.
The sharks themselves look ok when shrouded in darkness (there are a few creepy shots, and a few fairly good jump scares), but up close, the poor CGI is easily exposed.
It's not a terrible, but you're not missing out if you give this one a pass.
In all honesty, the first 25 minutes or so are actually half decent. The plot revolves around four friends getting stuck in an underwater Mayan ruin whilst cave diving. This setting is effective, providing a claustrophobic backdrop for the characters to be stalked by a great white shark. There are countless shots of sheer blackness, and it's relatively unsettling now and again.
Of course there's a hastily introduced plot kicker not long after - the shark is in fact blind, and hunts using sound, and here is where the movies big gaping issues lie....
The ladies figure this detail out immediately, but then proceed to constantly scream and shout for the test of the runtime. Not only can they hear each other talking clear as day UNDERWATER, but their incessant warbling had me rooting for the shark before long. What starts as a fairly tense underwater thriller, devolves into Hollywood silliness in a matter of minutes, complete with a set of characters that lack any relatability or likable qualities.
The sharks themselves look ok when shrouded in darkness (there are a few creepy shots, and a few fairly good jump scares), but up close, the poor CGI is easily exposed.
It's not a terrible, but you're not missing out if you give this one a pass.
Oathbringer: Book Three of the Stormlight Archive
8.3
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The eagerly awaited sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling Words of Radiance, from epic fantasy...
fantasy cosmere stormlight archive