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Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated The New Legends of Monkey in TV
Jun 13, 2021
The New Legends of Monkey is the Netflix reboot of the 70's 'Monkey' (aka Monkey Magic) and follows a similar storyline, Demons are over running the world and a monk named Tripitaka must free the Monkey King and track down the sacred scrolls.
Most people will remember the original Monkey as seeming a bit low budget and silly so when you first see the 'The New Legends of Monkey' you may be forgiven for thinking that it's going to be different, Monkey is good looking (& doesn't have his cloud), the fights and action scenes are well choreographed and there is some tension. It is different, it's been updated but, as you watch you realise that the humour is still there, Monkey is now a himbo, vain and self centred but in a likeable way, none of the gods know what it's like to be human but all still have their own problems with make them likable. Tripitaka is the straight monk to all the gods foolishness as she tries to keep them on mission.
The series is silly without being stupid and does allow for character growth as having some emotional scenes and, overall dose a good job of re booting the original.
Most people will remember the original Monkey as seeming a bit low budget and silly so when you first see the 'The New Legends of Monkey' you may be forgiven for thinking that it's going to be different, Monkey is good looking (& doesn't have his cloud), the fights and action scenes are well choreographed and there is some tension. It is different, it's been updated but, as you watch you realise that the humour is still there, Monkey is now a himbo, vain and self centred but in a likeable way, none of the gods know what it's like to be human but all still have their own problems with make them likable. Tripitaka is the straight monk to all the gods foolishness as she tries to keep them on mission.
The series is silly without being stupid and does allow for character growth as having some emotional scenes and, overall dose a good job of re booting the original.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Thir13en Ghosts (2001) in Movies
Jun 30, 2021
I absolutely get why this has become a bit of a cult classic, but for everything I like about Thir13en Ghosts, there's something I dislike.
I enjoy the setting. The "modern day" haunted house is an inspired design, and the fact that the set was practically built to film on is quite something. I also enjoy the titular ghosts. Each one has a unique look, and the make up work is superb. I also love that the legendary F. Murray Abraham is in this, as well as Matthew Lillard, doing what Matthew Lillard does best, hamming things up to the max.
Other than that, it's all a bit flaccid. There's a whole lot of characters-walking-around-and-getting-lost going on, and it's honestly a drag. It doesn't help that precisely none of these characters are easy to care about. There are multiple instances of laughably huge exposition dumps, in a narrative that's needlessly overstuffed with unnecessary plot elements.
Personally, it just about coasts by due to the nostalgia of being 13 years old and just getting into horror when it originally released, and I always have a good enough time with it. Also a dude gets vertically bisected which is pretty rad.
I enjoy the setting. The "modern day" haunted house is an inspired design, and the fact that the set was practically built to film on is quite something. I also enjoy the titular ghosts. Each one has a unique look, and the make up work is superb. I also love that the legendary F. Murray Abraham is in this, as well as Matthew Lillard, doing what Matthew Lillard does best, hamming things up to the max.
Other than that, it's all a bit flaccid. There's a whole lot of characters-walking-around-and-getting-lost going on, and it's honestly a drag. It doesn't help that precisely none of these characters are easy to care about. There are multiple instances of laughably huge exposition dumps, in a narrative that's needlessly overstuffed with unnecessary plot elements.
Personally, it just about coasts by due to the nostalgia of being 13 years old and just getting into horror when it originally released, and I always have a good enough time with it. Also a dude gets vertically bisected which is pretty rad.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Who Killed Captain Alex? (2010) in Movies
Sep 21, 2020
"𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦."
Not so much a so-bad-it's-good flick - since at its core, taking consideration into what it had to work with - this is actually a pretty (unironically) great adventure. Seldom has a poster so accurately captured the essence of a film before I mean just *look* at that beast lol. Of course it's got abundant clenched, cocked fistfuls of kitsch, sure - but the base script is sound, and I find it tantamount to insult that much lesser works like 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘥 get lauded for their (nevertheless still lovely) performances from non-actors while the straight-up spectacular work the entirety of the cast gives here is written off as being undeserving of such an appropriate distinction. The action is, as you've heard, mesmerizingly batshit (and surprisingly well shot + edited + performed) and I'm impressed with how endlessly quotable this is - I cannot understate how much this is some God-tier dialogue (peppered with a comically bizarre Emcee track for the ages). One of the top-dog Z-movie exploitation flicks you'll find - very great work, let alone for a first timer given the conditions. It's graciously free on YouTube so there's no excuse not to give this and the director's other (also dope) works the attention they deserve.
Not so much a so-bad-it's-good flick - since at its core, taking consideration into what it had to work with - this is actually a pretty (unironically) great adventure. Seldom has a poster so accurately captured the essence of a film before I mean just *look* at that beast lol. Of course it's got abundant clenched, cocked fistfuls of kitsch, sure - but the base script is sound, and I find it tantamount to insult that much lesser works like 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘥 get lauded for their (nevertheless still lovely) performances from non-actors while the straight-up spectacular work the entirety of the cast gives here is written off as being undeserving of such an appropriate distinction. The action is, as you've heard, mesmerizingly batshit (and surprisingly well shot + edited + performed) and I'm impressed with how endlessly quotable this is - I cannot understate how much this is some God-tier dialogue (peppered with a comically bizarre Emcee track for the ages). One of the top-dog Z-movie exploitation flicks you'll find - very great work, let alone for a first timer given the conditions. It's graciously free on YouTube so there's no excuse not to give this and the director's other (also dope) works the attention they deserve.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Shocker (1989) in Movies
Sep 15, 2020
Mitch Pileggi (1 more)
Peter Berg
Shock Till You Drop
Shocker- is a underrated wes craven film. Its a really good movie. It mixes sci-fi, horror, comedy, shock and terror all into one. I mean its really shocking, so shocking i might get shocked. Okay enough with the pawns.
The Plot: After being captured for a series of gruesome murders, Horace Pinker (Mitch Pileggi), a television repairman, faces execution by the electric chair -- but a deal with the devil allows him to come back as electricity. Once he changes into his new form, Pinker goes after the detective that brought him down, Lt. Don Parker (Michael Murphy), as well as Parker's adopted son, Jonathan (Peter Berg). However, Jonathan's mysterious connection to Pinker through
dreams might help track the killer's moves.
According to Craven, the film was severely cut for an "R" rating. It took around thirteen submissions to the Motion Picture Association of America to receive an "R" instead of an "X". Some scenes that were cut included Pinker spitting out fingers that he bit off of a prison guard, a longer and more graphic electrocution of Pinker, and a longer scene of a possessed coach stabbing his own hand. Despite fan interest, an uncut version has never been released.
Its a shocking entertaining movie.
The Plot: After being captured for a series of gruesome murders, Horace Pinker (Mitch Pileggi), a television repairman, faces execution by the electric chair -- but a deal with the devil allows him to come back as electricity. Once he changes into his new form, Pinker goes after the detective that brought him down, Lt. Don Parker (Michael Murphy), as well as Parker's adopted son, Jonathan (Peter Berg). However, Jonathan's mysterious connection to Pinker through
dreams might help track the killer's moves.
According to Craven, the film was severely cut for an "R" rating. It took around thirteen submissions to the Motion Picture Association of America to receive an "R" instead of an "X". Some scenes that were cut included Pinker spitting out fingers that he bit off of a prison guard, a longer and more graphic electrocution of Pinker, and a longer scene of a possessed coach stabbing his own hand. Despite fan interest, an uncut version has never been released.
Its a shocking entertaining movie.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Ghost Moon (The Bone Island Trilogy #3) in Books
Oct 24, 2020
178 of 200
Kindle
Ghost moon (BONE island book 4)
By Heather Graham
Reclusive collector Cutter Merlin is seldom seen in Key West - lately, not at all. Officer Liam Beckett visits Merlin's curious house and discovers the gentleman in his study. In his death grip: a volume of occult lore and a reliquary. His eyes are wide with fright, his mouth a horrified rictus where spiders now dwell.
Kelsey Donovan returns to the old house to catalog her estranged grandfather's collection of artifacts and antiquities, vowing to see his treasures divested properly. But she cannot ignore the sense that she's being watched, the reports of malevolent black figures, the pervasive smell of death.
Is the Merlin house haunted, even cursed? Liam knows well that some ghost stories are true and he swears to protect Kelsey. But there are forces at work for whom one more life is a pittance to pay for their deepest desire...
I enjoyed this one more than the 2nd it rounded everything off so nicely! The only thing that slightly annoyed me was the jumping straight from one character to another in a different part of the story drove me crazy. Bartholomew finally found peace with his lovely lady!
Nice end to a strange ghost series!
Kindle
Ghost moon (BONE island book 4)
By Heather Graham
Reclusive collector Cutter Merlin is seldom seen in Key West - lately, not at all. Officer Liam Beckett visits Merlin's curious house and discovers the gentleman in his study. In his death grip: a volume of occult lore and a reliquary. His eyes are wide with fright, his mouth a horrified rictus where spiders now dwell.
Kelsey Donovan returns to the old house to catalog her estranged grandfather's collection of artifacts and antiquities, vowing to see his treasures divested properly. But she cannot ignore the sense that she's being watched, the reports of malevolent black figures, the pervasive smell of death.
Is the Merlin house haunted, even cursed? Liam knows well that some ghost stories are true and he swears to protect Kelsey. But there are forces at work for whom one more life is a pittance to pay for their deepest desire...
I enjoyed this one more than the 2nd it rounded everything off so nicely! The only thing that slightly annoyed me was the jumping straight from one character to another in a different part of the story drove me crazy. Bartholomew finally found peace with his lovely lady!
Nice end to a strange ghost series!
AJaneClark (3975 KP) rated Corrupt Bodies: Death and Dirty Dealing in a London Morgue in Books
Oct 28, 2020
Dirty dealings in the industry of the deceased
Where do I start with the review on this one? It took me less than a day to read, I was hooked from the first moment, well written with respectful humour. It gave a fascinating insight into the industry and the impacts on the mental health of people working in this sector. It was detailed without being boring or overly graphic, it was honest and frank.
Everett shines light on the disgraceful activities going on behind the scenes in the funeral industry around the London area in the 1980s, from theft attributed to the mortuary staff, overlooked by the police working there, to scams and cons with funeral directors, and the difficulties Everett had when raising these with the superiors.
Everett also provides an insight into how he entered the industry, his fascination with the deceased leading him to his role, and how his position and dedication to the industry impacted his personal life.
It was an eye opener to the behind the scenes views that generally don't have light shined upon them. For individuals that enjoy reading this real life accounts of different industries, I would certainly recommend a read of this one.
Everett shines light on the disgraceful activities going on behind the scenes in the funeral industry around the London area in the 1980s, from theft attributed to the mortuary staff, overlooked by the police working there, to scams and cons with funeral directors, and the difficulties Everett had when raising these with the superiors.
Everett also provides an insight into how he entered the industry, his fascination with the deceased leading him to his role, and how his position and dedication to the industry impacted his personal life.
It was an eye opener to the behind the scenes views that generally don't have light shined upon them. For individuals that enjoy reading this real life accounts of different industries, I would certainly recommend a read of this one.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Twice Tempted (Holland Springs, #2) in Books
Jan 11, 2021
Since I was undecided on what to read next, I've adopted a fellow BookLikes users method of using a random number generator. It picked #73, which was this one.
Let's hope I can remember enough about book #0.5
DNF @ 56%
Well... Admittedly it's been a year or two since I read the 0.5 book, and I remember liking it. I thought this would run along the same sort of lines but she hadn't mentioned that night they spent together and I was over half way.
I don't remember Zoe being so clumsy either. If something could be bumped into/spilt/dropped then Zoe did. It got a little annoying after a while, though the phone out of sun-roof, squashed by semi-truck did make me laugh.
The style of this didn't really work for me, I found it rather hard to get into and gel with. I also didn't understand Zoe's determination to avoid the film star. Was it that she didn't want him to remember that night together or was she not wanting to tempt fate and risk heart-break?
I just think my tastes have changed a bit and some of my older books on my list will end up the same way as this since they're from late 2012.
Let's hope I can remember enough about book #0.5
DNF @ 56%
Well... Admittedly it's been a year or two since I read the 0.5 book, and I remember liking it. I thought this would run along the same sort of lines but she hadn't mentioned that night they spent together and I was over half way.
I don't remember Zoe being so clumsy either. If something could be bumped into/spilt/dropped then Zoe did. It got a little annoying after a while, though the phone out of sun-roof, squashed by semi-truck did make me laugh.
The style of this didn't really work for me, I found it rather hard to get into and gel with. I also didn't understand Zoe's determination to avoid the film star. Was it that she didn't want him to remember that night together or was she not wanting to tempt fate and risk heart-break?
I just think my tastes have changed a bit and some of my older books on my list will end up the same way as this since they're from late 2012.
Scott Tostik (389 KP) rated Haunt (2019) in Movies
Sep 29, 2019
Over the past few years, found footage films about Extreme Halloween Haunts have kind of damaged the product a little. The Houses October Built being the best of the worst in my opinion.
Last year we had HellFest and another one that I forgot...
So I went in to Haunt with no idea what was going to happen... Nor did I really care.
Until the mayhem begun. The absolute carnage that follows these folks around is both refreshing and disturbing all the same.
These people, hidden beneath the masks of the holiday.... Yeah, fuck off. Halloween in my Christmas.... Are equally disturbing masks of self expression and self loathing.
Overall this movie shocked me into a 9 rating. It was nice to see a horror film full of "teens" who's first thought was "How do we get out?". Instead of "Hey that big scary man is pointing towards a dark room with a machete... Lets go fuck in that room,"
Smart characters are so refreshing.
Thanks modern day horror for ending the drought of dumbasses... For now.
While it wasn't a new idea.Haunt is in fact quite Haunting... Oh boy...
And it does leave the viewer... This viewer... Satisfied with 90 minutes well spent.
Last year we had HellFest and another one that I forgot...
So I went in to Haunt with no idea what was going to happen... Nor did I really care.
Until the mayhem begun. The absolute carnage that follows these folks around is both refreshing and disturbing all the same.
These people, hidden beneath the masks of the holiday.... Yeah, fuck off. Halloween in my Christmas.... Are equally disturbing masks of self expression and self loathing.
Overall this movie shocked me into a 9 rating. It was nice to see a horror film full of "teens" who's first thought was "How do we get out?". Instead of "Hey that big scary man is pointing towards a dark room with a machete... Lets go fuck in that room,"
Smart characters are so refreshing.
Thanks modern day horror for ending the drought of dumbasses... For now.
While it wasn't a new idea.Haunt is in fact quite Haunting... Oh boy...
And it does leave the viewer... This viewer... Satisfied with 90 minutes well spent.
natmac (13 KP) rated Joker (2019) in Movies
Oct 14, 2019 (Updated Oct 14, 2019)
Phoenix's performance is what holds the movie up, it feels realistic, desperate and sad. (2 more)
The cinematography is amazing and Gotham has never been seedier.
The third act of the film is really enjoyable and tense because of how low the stakes are and how well defined the characters are.
It straight up rips off both Taxi Driver and King of Comedy. (2 more)
It spells out the story even though I thought it was pretty obvious what was happening anyway.
Subtlety is absent from the film.
Joker is very original if you're a fan of superhero movies, but a rehash if you've seen the essential scorcesse flicks.
Contains spoilers, click to show
It would have been interesting if they took the story in a different direction and steered away from the King of Comedy Route. They should never have told you that some of the stuff that happens are hallucinations. The flashbacks were not needed at all to spell it out, I found them kinda annoying. To be honest, I don't know how I feel about the Joker's first kills being out of self defense. I like that this joker is quite different to previous interpretations, but what I love about the character is how he defies any sort of morals or logic.