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The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
2004 | Action, Drama, Mystery
The Day After Tomorrow is probably one of the better big-disaster-blockbusters out there. Roland Emmerich manages to show a sliver of artisctic restraint for once, by which I mean that this one doesn't have a scene where a small dog Crash Bandicoots its way to safety. There's still a fair chunk of unnecessary silliness here and there, the scene with the wolves for example, but for the most part TDAT is well paced and engaging. The big disaster moments are well crafted. Los Angeles getting torn apart by massive tornadoes is suitably horrifying to watch unfold, and the massive flash flooding of Manhattan Island is well built up. They forgo the more cooky elements of other Emmerich projects and are all the better for it.
As per usual, it's hard to give two shits about any of the human characters in these things, but Jake Gyllenhaal at least provides a sniff of acting chops.

The Day After Tomorrow isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it's entertaining enough, and provides the weird catharsis that comes with watching Earth get destroyed to a satisfying degree.
  
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Lakesedge
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I love the cover of Lakesedge by Lyndall Clipstone it's very pretty. I love how she's running up the stairs.

So to start off the mom burning Airen was messed up. There's never an excuse to hurt a child it's disgusting.

Quote: "I want his shadows." The monster said is why it wants Arien. He gives off bad vibes.

It also must have been weird for Airen's sister Violeta to have to ride with the monster as well. It also must have been scary when they were running from the monster in the woods.

Quote: "Tendrils of darkness unfold from the ground and snare the wolf, wrapping it's legs like vines." Very descriptive and scared me to be completely honest.

Quote: "This monster, who claims there's darkness in my brother who wanted to take Arien away and leave me behind, he came back for me." Does the monster have a little crush on Violeta?

This book was very interesting and loved it. The plot was so amazing. Love the relationship between Rowan and Violetta. I also love how she sacrificed everything. I would definitely reccomend reading this just be warned it's a very emotional story.
  
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Boogeyman Booty call
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
90 of 235
Kindle
Boogeyman Booty Call
By Harpie Alexa
⭐️⭐️

Creatures of the night deserve a little romance too!

She was just a human, but she was everything to him.

When an ad for Monster Match pops up on his phone, Gary the Boogeyman is intrigued, that is until the wretched programming takes over his device completely. So he fills out a profile.

All signed up and receiving DMs, Gary has no choice but to go on at least one date, but he's not looking for love or anything special. He's looking for a Bootycall and for his phone to stop acting up.

But what happens when the mystery woman is someone he knows? Someone he admires? Do humans even have big enough hearts to love creatures of the night? Demonic beings called... Boogeymen?

I’m not really sure what the hell I just read but omg did I laugh!! I just can’t get my head round it! I mean the Boogeyman and his weird ass relationship with this mother and child not forgetting his crazy housemate!! I can’t wash out my eyes 😂😂😂
  
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There’s Something Wrong with Aunt Beth
Mark Towse | 2024
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
32 of 220
Kindle
Book sirens review
There’s Something Wrong With Aunt Beth
By Mark Towse
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

There's Something Wrong with Aunty Beth' is a collection of my favourite horror journeys, the best of the best I've taken to date. Twenty terrifying tales with something to suit all horror fans, from straight-up dread to signature Towsey weird. You'll never be the same again, and that's a Towsey guarantee. Within these haunted pages, you'll also find my new novella, 'Mother Dearest.'
Mother: A word that should summon trust, loyalty, love, and protection. But what if something begins eating away at such security, slowly transforming said Mother into something else entirely?

This is a compilation of short stories and everyone of them is dark, haunting, frightening and fun to read if you love horror. I always manage to find stories in these kind of books that I don’t like and end up skipping through but NOT this one! I recently discovered this author and I’m so glad I did his work is just brilliant. Do as Aunt Beth tells you!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
  
Annihilation (2018)
Annihilation (2018)
2018 | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Just didn't work for me
I like "Intelligent Science Fiction". You know, like Alex Garland's other Directorial effort 2014's EX MACHINA or Jeff Nichols’ involving 2016 film MIDNIGHT SPECIAL. These are the types of films that uses the backdrop of Science Fiction to delve deeper into character, concepts or ideas, leaving time for the audience to take it all in and to really think about what is being shown on the screen and to wrestle with the concepts brought forth. So, I was really excited when I found out the Garland would be helming a film of the first book in Jeff VanderMeer's SOUTHERN REACH trilogy, ANNIHILATION - a trippy sci-fi book series about an alien presence that starts tearing away at the very fabric of human existence. I was convinced that this marriage of source material and filmmaker would create another cinematic gem.

Boy, was I wrong.

ANNIHILATION fails in all the ways that these types of films could fail. It is self-indulgent, favors style over substance, mood over momentum and has long, long, loooong scenes of dialogue (or non-dialogue) that is supposed to convey a sense of dread and, for me, just made me want to yell at the screen "get on with it!"

ANNIHILATION tells the story of a group of women who comprise the 12th group of explorers entering "the shimmer" - an unknown phenomenon in a remote part of the US that is growing and will soon start engulfing populated areas. None of the other groups have returned (save for 1 soldier). This 12th group, led by the mysterious Dr. Ventres, tries to get at the heart of what the shimmer is and succeed where others failed. Once inside "the shimmer" the group must fight with their own nightmares and what makes them human.

Sounds like a really good premise for an intelligent Sci-Fi film doesn't it? Unfortunately, Director and Writer Garland is more interested in the sights, sounds and moods of "the shimmer" and fails to create any interesting characters - or circumstances - for the audience to follow.

Natalie Portman stars as Lena - a biologist (and former military) who's husband (the great Oscar Isaac) is the lone returning solider (though not all of him, mentally, has returned). The pairing of these two strong, interesting actors should have been enough to propel this film forward, but all they do is stare at each other and "not say" anything. They look at each other like something is wrong, but the never say or do anything. Compounding things is the weird portrayal of the weird Dr. Ventres by Jennifer Jason Leigh - an actress not known from shying away from weird. Her portrayal would have worked, I think, if she had some "normal" folks to play against - or if her character had some sort of climax, but she doesn't, she just sort of peters out. Joining these two are Tessa Thompson (losing the goodwill she earned in THOR:RAGNAROK) as a physicist that "has secrets" and Gina Rodriguez (channelling her inner Michelle Rodriguez) as a gung-ho "kick-ass" paramedic (you can guess how that is going to turn out). Only Tuva Novotny as scientist Cass Sheppard has anything approaching an interesting character, but she is on all too briefly.

Also wasted in this film is Benedict Wong (DOCTOR STRANGE) as the "Basil Exposition" of this film (explaining things to the audience) and David Gyasi (INTERSTELLAR) as a pseudo-love interest for Lena.

Maybe I'm just not "artsy" enough to enjoy this. If you are and you enjoy this, let me know what I missed. As it is, I have an early, leading contender for "Worst Film of 2018".

In the meantime, I'm going to rewatch EX MACHINA or MIDNIGHT SPECIAL, two intelligent Science Fiction films that work.

Letter Grade: C

4 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)