Search

Search only in certain items:

40x40

Dean (6927 KP) rated The Last of us in TV

Mar 19, 2023  
The Last of us
The Last of us
2023 | Drama, Horror
9
9.0 (5 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
Big budget production (1 more)
Great lead actors
Great Show
I haven't played but have heard of the games and how popular they are. So I can't comment on how accurate it is. As a stand alone Thriller TV series it's really well done. HBO don't spare expense on their shows and it is the same here. Huge sets really immerse you into the Post apocalyptic world of the future. Felt a lot like the Walking Dead sets in scale.
The cast is good especially the two lead characters. The story is interesting and will grip you. Although some episodes take place at different times occasionally with different characters but they really bring the story to life. Check it out whether you have played the games or not.
  
My Husband’s Murder
My Husband’s Murder
Katie Lowe | 2023 | Contemporary, Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This thriller had so many twists and turns that I didn’t know who to believe: the podcast or the victims wife. The way the podcast picks apart both the case and Hannah’s life was truly frustrating - at least during the parts of the book where I was on her side. Because I vacillated between agreeing and disagreeing with what was happening to her. Hannah seems to be so completely in control of her life and her relationship to her journalist partner, that when things start to go wrong, I felt sorry for her. Until, that is, I didn’t!

Everyone is hiding something in this novel. And the unravelling of what really happened is quite the trip.

This was a really enjoyable, captivating read.

Recommended.
  
A Simple Favor (2018)
A Simple Favor (2018)
2018 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
A Dangerous Liaison.
Wow, this one starts spectacularly well! Who’s not to love some “Thomas Crown” style titles over a French language version of “Music to watch girls by”? Brilliant!

We are then introduced to the hyper-annoying single mum Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick): someone so perky and goodie-two-shoes as a school helper that every other parent loathes her. What she does seem to have a talent for is filming cheesy “mom’s hints and tips” videos in her kitchen that she posts to her video blog.

Enter the polar opposite of Stephanie: the stylish, sophisticated, amoral and highly intimidating she-wolf called Emily (Blake Lively). On the excuse of play-dates between their sons, she seduces Stephanie with her swanky 5* lifestyle that she lives with her husband Sean (Henry Golding), a struggling writer. Given the oddness of the couple, there are more than a few hints – in line with the title of my review – that this is some kind of subtle grooming. But to what end?

How can someone so beautiful be so camera-shy? Anna Kendrick going for a cheeky snap of Blake Lively (and failing). (Source: GEM Entertainment).
When Emily suddenly goes missing without explanation, Sergeant Malloy (Andrew Moodie) has no shortage of suspects to investigate as Stephanie finds that she actually knew very little about the ghost-like Emily.

There is a surfeit of glossy style in Paul Feig‘s film. I’ve already enthused about the opening titles. But the stylish french-language music – coordinated by Theodore Shapiro – continues throughout, reaching a peak with Serge Gainsbourg’s sublime “Laisse Tomber Les Filles” over the equally entertaining end-titles.

Sharing confessions. A “BF” moment (and no… not “Best Friends”!). (Source: GEM Entertainment
But as a comedy thriller ther….

“HANG ON A MINUTE DR BOB! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY? COMEDY THRILLER? I watched the trailer for this one, and it’s “Gone Girl” remade isn’t it? It wasn’t comedy! Even IMDB describe it as “Crime, Drama, Mystery”!”

Yes, quite, and therein lies the problem with this film. I found the trailers (the full trailer as well as the teaser trailer attached below) to be highly misleading about the “feel” of the film. The comedy is distributed throughout with some great comic put-downs (“Prudes are people too” coos Emily to Stephanie) and generally laugh-out-loud dialogue. So yes, it IS a “Gone Girl” or “The Girl on the Train” wannabe… but it’s with added ‘laffs’. Now this revelation might make the film appeal to you much more than the trailer did. But in my book, ‘thriller’ and ‘comedy’ are not genres to comfortably share a bed and for me the film became increasingly inconsistent. This inconsistency built to a finale where all semblance of plot and reality seemed to go right out of the window… it could have been an improv episode or “Who’s Line Is It Anyway?”.

The writer is Jessica Sharzer (who did the screenplay for “Nerve” which I very much liked). But I suspect the issue lies more with Paul Feig‘s background in comedies (“Bridesmaids”, “The Heat”, “Spy”) and he couldn’t resist spicing up the thriller with some out-of-place comedy. Which was a shame, since I really liked the overall thriller plot, and the dynamic built up between Kendrick and Lively.

Coming clean…ing. Anna Kendrick as an undercover mopper. (Source: GEM Entertainment).
Blake Lively (Mrs Deadpool of course) is actually staggeringly good as the unfathomable and slightly deranged Emily, and even Kendrick – who seems to have had a run of very so-so movies recently – is entertainingly quirky in this one.

I also enjoyed the performance of Rupert Friend (probably best known as Peter Quinn in “Homeland”) playing a vain and ego-centric fashion designer Dennis Nylon. Great fun.

Never trust a redhead. Emily being a-muse-ing. (Source: GEM Entertainment).
Was I entertained? Yes I was, so I am tempted to recommend you seeing this rather than not. But I was also irritated in equal measure…. I really felt from the opening scenes that this one had legs to make my Top 10 for the year. But no.

Please comment and let me know which side of the fence you sit on!