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Luke Paternoster (5 KP) rated The Hunting Party in Books

Apr 18, 2020

The Hunting Party

Lucy Foley | 2019 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller

7.3

(16 Ratings)

Book Rating

Who dunnit, mystery .

Even though the whole murder mystery taking place at a lodge in the middle of nowhere has been done countless times before, I honestly never get sick of it. The combination of that feeling of isolation, the freezing cold weather, and a cast of characters in which everyone is a suspect, just works for me. I really enjoyed this one and I was left guessing until the very end.

A group of old college friends have gathered at a snow lodge in the Scottish Highlands to ring in the new year. And of course soon after they arrive a terrible storm hits making it impossible for anyone to leave the area or on the flip side come to the lodge. Someone winds up dead and the author puts a fresh twist to the classic whodunit by having the reader try to figure out the identities of the killer AND the victim.

In my opinion what made this story work was the cast of unlikable characters although that might be the exact reason why many readers didn't like this book. Each character had a skeleton or two in their closet which made them a good suspect as well as potential victim. The big reveal will probably not catch most people off guard as it's something most readers will have considered as a possibility. But the reason the story was entertaining is there were more than a few directions the author could have gone in and you can't really eliminate anything until you get pretty far into the book. I didn't need a shocking ending to consider this an enjoyable read.

If you enjoy whodunit mysteries and don't mind a story with unlikable characters, consider giving this one a try.

Kudos

Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in Books

Feb 15, 2020

Harry Potter's third year at Hogwarts is full of new dangers. A convicted murderer, Sirius Black, has broken out of Azkaban prison, and it seems he's after Harry. Now Hogwarts is being patrolled by the dementors, the Azkaban guards who are hunting Sirius. But Harry can't imagine that Sirius or, for that matter, the evil Lord Voldemort could be more frightening than the dementors themselves, who have the terrible power to fill anyone they come across with aching loneliness and despair. Meanwhile, life continues as usual at Hogwarts. A top-of-the-line broom takes Harry's success at Quidditch, the sport of the Wizarding world, to new heights. A cute fourth-year student catches his eye. And he becomes close with the new Defense of the Dark Arts teacher, who was a childhood friend of his father. Yet despite the relative safety of life at Hogwarts and the best efforts of the dementors, the threat of Sirius Black grows ever closer. But if Harry has learned anything from his education in wizardry, it is that things are often not what they seem. Tragic revelations, heartwarming surprises, and high-stakes magical adventures await the boy wizard in this funny and poignant third installment of the beloved series.
--scholastic.com

You're never to old for Harry Potter! This is one of my favourite books in the series I think I've read it at least 10 times. I have one of the original copies that came out and never allow anyone but me to read them 🤣. This is the book that turns it all for me and it all becomes a little bit darker. Sirius is a character I always wished had more time with Harry! These books are just Amazing no matter what age you are!

Kudos

LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Crawl (2019) in Movies

Feb 16, 2020

Crawl (2019)

2019 | Horror, Thriller

6.5

(38 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Crawl is silly. Like a lot of these types of horrors, it's really silly.

In short, hurricane season hits Florida, and when Haley sets of to find her father, they both end up stuck in the crawlspace under his house, trapped in by large alligators, and rapidly rising flood water.
It's straightforward, no messing around, and gets right to the characters being in peril. For the most part, it's a neat little thriller, that actually has the odd moment in tension, paired with decent performances from Kaya Scodelario and Barry Pepper.
The relationship between their two characters carry the film pretty well, and the actors resolve to stay muddy and soaked throughout is admirable.

The CGI effects are pretty terrible. Nowhere near Sharknado levels of embarrassing, but the small budget of Crawl really shows it's ugly head when it comes to the alligators. When they're in water, it doesn't look so awful, but out of water, they look ripped from a PlayStation 3 cutscenes. This includes the first time we see one, which significantly reduces the impact it could have had, especially after it comes immediately after a pretty good jump scare.

In terms of horror, Crawl isn't scary. As mentioned above, it's more a jump scare type of deal, but they're actually quite effective, and just about reigned in enough to not overdo it. The scariest thing about the movie is mother nature, with all too real stormy conditions on display.

Crawl is mostly enjoyable, buts it's not as fun as The Meg for example (5/10) and not quite as good as The Shallows (6/10) so it sits nicely somewhere in between. Worth a watch if you enjoy a silly monster horror now and again.