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Relic (2020)
Relic (2020)
2020 | Drama, Horror
8
7.4 (5 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The synopsis for Relic was intriguing and I was confident that I could cope with this sort of horror film... let's see how that went.

When Edna is reported missing her daughter, Kay, and grandaughter, Sam, drive to town to try and find out what has happened to her. Edna's mind is failing, but there's no sign of her until she reappears suddenly with no clue where she's been. Things are almost normal, but Edna's disposition changes, as does the house around her, until they're trapped inside and escaping seems like a distant hope.

The opening of Relic was very atmospheric and it quickly sets the scene for the film, the family dynamic is clear, and the way the house is captured makes a great start at illustrating the toxicity. I had thought that knowing so much about what the film intended on doing was going to take me out of it, but it actually means you can focus on what is happening rather than trying to figure it all out as you go.

The house becomes a bit of an enigma as it evolves, and it's a clever use of the subject matter. I'm hoping that this gets a blu-ray release and we get a "making of" featurette because it feels like the process of crafting the house, and the vision of it, would be an interesting watch in itself.

Each of the three leading ladies has a very individual personality, and the generational divide is well defined. Robyn Nevin jumps backwards and forwards from normal granny to possessed being with amazing skill, and both Emily Mortimer and Bella Heathcote manage to combine the familial care and worry with the horror of the reality in their situation. It's a great team of actresses and the constantly changing dynamics between them are handled so well.

It's an intriguing take on a subject matter that we're all familiar with seeing in a dramatic setting, and it's perfectly suited to this genre. The story in Relic is a perfect way to describe the disease and the way it affects its sufferers and those around them.

My only quibble about the film is the ending. I understood what it all stood for (I think I did at least) but the way it portrayed didn't fit with everything else. That single scene really knocked me out of it, which was a little disappointing, but thankfully it didn't take too much away from what I'd already seen.

Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/10/relic-movie-review.html
  
The Last Thing To Burn
The Last Thing To Burn
Will Dean | 2021 | Crime, Thriller
9
9.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
The protagonist in this novel is Jane (it is not her name, but I will use it to avoid the spoilers), and the story is told from her perspective. Jane lives with her husband in a countryside farm. There is nothing around her but fields, and she is being held captive in that farm for years now. Jane has learned during those 7 years, that her husband always gets what he wants, she learned to adapt to the situation, but she hates every single day of her life. I found Jane very strong, selfless, caring and incredibly absorbing. She has so much to share with the reader, and it is truly heart-breaking to read her story.

The narrative of this book is very well written and entwined with present and past lives, that Jane had. During her daily routine, she shares how she ended up where she is. Her feelings and thoughts are painful to read. She keeps clinging to anything to survive, and it is devastating. This book really made me think, what I would do in Jane’s situation? How would I try to survive… I really wanted to know, how Jane will escape all this, that is what kept me constantly going. I wanted more action and less routine and mentioning of “his mother’s things” next to everything. (I got the point that nothing belonged to her 😉 ) There are some great twists and turns in this book, that enriched the plot immensely. The topics discussed in this book were human trafficking, rape, mental and physical abuse, the strength of motherly love, trauma, hope and many more.

The writing style of this book is absolutely brilliant. It is very hard to believe that this book is written by a male because Jane’s feelings and thoughts were very detailed and very accurate. Well done to Will Dean for this! The author managed to pack so much in a book that is 250 pages long. The chapters of this book are pretty short, and every chapter finishes with kind of a cliff-hanger, so my curiosity was always driving me forward. 🙂 The ending was very satisfying, and I am incredibly proud of Jane. 🙂

So, to conclude, this story is filled with incredibly damaged characters, mentally and physically. The plot carries a lot of pain and horrifying experiences, but it also channels love, hope, strength and determination. This book is full of triggers, but if anyone is looking for an amazing psychological thriller, I would strongly recommend this book. It is needed in society, maybe it would help to save a life one day…
  
Spies in Disguise (2019)
Spies in Disguise (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Animation
Strong chemistry between Smith and Holland
Blue Sky Animation Studios has often been seen as the "poor little sister" in the animation game - behind Disney/Pixar and Dreamworks - and is often listed as the "Ice Age" studio. But, if you look into their filmography, you will see a solid mark of quality throughout.

This studio has delivered solid animated outings with such fare as ROBOTS, HORTON HEARS A WHO, RIO and FERDINAND (along with the myriad of ICE AGE films) and their latest feature - 2019's SPIES IN DISGUISE - is no exception. I was pleasantly surprised by the fun, action, comedy and suspense of this film and was entertained throughout.

Blue Sky, of course, IS the "poor little sister" to the "Big 2" and it shows in some of their casting choices. Where I thought vocal work was being done by Tina Fey and Holly Hunter, I soon discovered that it is Rachel Brosnahan and Reba Mcintyre - not shabby at all, but not quite the "A" team either (it's like you are listening to the Broadway replacement actors for the Original Cast).
 
That is probably because they spent all of their casting money on the 2 leads - Will Smith and Tom Holland - and they are TERRIFIC together. Unlike Holland's lackluster (and lack of chemistry) turn with Chris Pratt in the PIXAR film ONWARD, Holland and Smith work well together in this film and I enjoyed their interactions with each other. Of course, Will Smith is in a league of his own when it comes to charming, cocky adventure hero with raw emotions and a soul - and that is EXACTLY what his character is and it works very, very well. Add to that Holland's riff on his Spiderman Peter Parker character - a scientific genius who is socially awkward and we have a fun duo to root for throughout this film.

Other outstanding voice talents in this cast include Masi Oka (who's voice would be terrific in just about ANY animation film), Rashida Jones, Karen Gillen and the always good Ben Mendelsohn as the villain.

Directors Nick Bruno (in his Directorial debut) and Troy Quane (in only his 2nd Animated outing) do a professional job keeping the plot moving, the fun brewing and the plot and action scenes simple and easy to follow (an easy thing to screw up) and this makes SPIES IN DISGUISE a very fun escape for an hour and 42 minutes.

Letter Grade: B+

7 1/2 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
  
A Simple Favor (2018)
A Simple Favor (2018)
2018 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Fair warning, if you see this film you will want Blake Lively to be your lover by the end of the it.

There's no denying that this is an entertaining film. There's also no denying that it's predictable. Even without knowing the plot you can basically guess the way it's going to progress.

Blake Lively is amazing though. I honestly thought I'd never seen her in anything, but of course she's been in Green Lantern and Accepted. The latter being a favourite and the former... well, I thought Deadpool had taken care of that one for us... oh well. She does a great job of her role in this one. You can see her devious nature in the way she interacts with everyone and she really does improve the scenes she's in.

I love Anna Kendrick, she's funny and very talented but I wasn't overly keen on her character in this. While I understand that Stephanie takes a major character shift when she realises what has happened, I didn't enjoy the way they did that on the screen. There were some baby steps followed by some huge leaps. At one point I was convinced that they'd gone... "Anna Kendrick always sings... we should get some of that in there." I don't feel like it added anything to the film at all. I'd be interested to see how her character unfolds in the book.

The humour in it is entertaining but the side story of the other "mums" and particularly their inclusion in the summing up of the story feels out of place and more comedy than was right for this film.

Rating this one is tricky. Apart from those odd bits I didn't hate the film and none of it was badly dont... but I don't think I enjoyed it either. I took the evening to think it over and honestly I'm still not sure so therefore it's sitting at the three and a half mark. There's an outside possibility that I'll watch it again to see if I can figure it out, but I don't think it'll be any time soon unless I'm really at a loose end.

Based on the book A Simple Favour by Darcey Bell.

What should you do?

I personally wouldn't recommend watching this until it's streaming. But plenty of other people would disagree with me on that.

Movie thing you wish you could take home

Emily and Sean's house. Although I'm baffled as to why the kitchen is so small so I'd probably expand into the living room space.
  
Assassination Nation (2018)
Assassination Nation (2018)
2018 | Thriller
Well... this film really had its ups and downs. I can't say I was entirely a fan of this cinematic offspring of Mean Girls and The First Purge though.

Almost everything in this felt like is was just being brash and outrageous for the sake of it. As part of the opening sequence we're treated to a handy list of all the upcoming offenseive things we'll get to see in the movie. What was the point? Is it daring us to be offended in advance? Or is it just playing offensive bingo with us? "Oh yeah, homophobia! Bingo!"

The beginning of Assassination Nation introduces us to our quartet of girls in a horrible awkward teen drama kind of a way. Even taking into account the type of film this was it wasn't a believeable exchange and I was glad when everything finally moved along.

Luckily the middle of this film is quite good. Not all of the characters get as much of a story as they might deserve, in fact Lily and Bex are the only ones of the four that I could really tell you about after coming out of the screening, but it all flows well and you can see how the events are filtering through the community.

Then there's the bit after the middle (but not including the ending). As we get into the action side of Assassination Nation... honestly I think I just like typing out the title, it's a bit like when you're spelling Mississippi, lots of places you could muck it up... it's like we're on a rollercoaster, it goes downhill pretty fast.

I like mindless violence in movies, it generally has that over the top amusement factor as you see the characters devolve and have a little overacted rampage. This however is pure mob mentality at its worst with no real voice of reason apart from our main "heroine", Lily. Even far fetched things I can sort of see as "realistic", but no real resistence against what was happening? Yet another reason to think they were just going for shock factor.

I could almost have forgiven this film it's faux pas had it not been for the predictable and are-you-kidding-me ending.

What you should do

It's an amusing watch if you can dissect it and shout at the TV at te same time. I personally think it would be better for watching with a group of friends at home rather than the cinema.

Movie thing you wish you could take home

I would like Lily's excellent skills with a shovel.
  
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Lee (2222 KP) Sep 25, 2019

This has the honour of being the worst film I saw in 2018 😊

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Becs (244 KP) rated The Book Thief in Books

Oct 2, 2019  
The Book Thief
The Book Thief
Markus Zusak | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.8 (129 Ratings)
Book Rating
I have no idea why I didn’t pick The Book Thief up sooner. It was honestly one of the best novels I’ve read so far this year. Scratch that, probably even one of the best novels I’ve read in my entire lifetime. Well, it might actually be a very close second to Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo haha.

One thing that I enjoyed while reading was the narrator of the story (death himself) and all the little bits that are thrown throughout the text like this:

***THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN A BOY WHO HATES YOU***
A boy who loves you.

The author takes such a serious and sad topic and throws in love, sarcasm, and happiness. This was such a well rounded, beautiful and classic novel that I just couldn’t put it down. I loved every second of it, even though at first I was a little skeptical. But that’s only because I was in such a sour mood and reading slump when I started The Book Thief.

If you’re looking for a fast read, don’t read this. This took time to read and to understand. To process all that was going on. Markus Zusak doesn’t write The Book Thief in a morbid way that most books about the Holocaust are written, but instead with humor and love and happiness. The good and the bad all intermingled together to create an amazing book that I will be recommending to everybody from now on.

I cried. I laughed. I got pissed. I was stricken with grief, with pain, and with love. I felt that I went through almost every emotion that my body has while reading The Book Thief. And I honestly wanted more.

I wanted more of Liesel’s story after being the only one to survive on Himmel Street. I wanted spin-offs of Rudy and Liesel developing a relationship as they became teenagers and giving me that love story with a tragic back story. I wanted so much more but at the same time, I was content and happy with how the novel ended. I wouldn’t have changed anything about The Book Thief and I will most definitely be rereading it very soon. This is a book that will be cherished for an eternity.

If you haven’t picked up The Book Thief yet, please drop what you’re doing and read it. It will most defiantly change your life.

“And it would show me, once again, that one opportunity leads directly to another, just as risk leads to more risk, life to more life, and death to more death.”
  
Abominable (2019)
Abominable (2019)
2019 | Adventure, Animation, Comedy
Abominable is a new animated film that is co-produced between Dreamworks Studio and Pearl studio (out of China).

The main character is called Yi, voiced by Chloe Bennett.

Yi is a bit lost, and sad due to the death of her father. We are introduced to her in the film working working working and barely slowing down enough to eat, and never spending and family time with her mother (voiced by Michelle Wong) and grandmother (Tsai Chin).

I could tell there was more to Yi’s reluctance to spend time with her family than just ‘work’, and the movie, from an adult perspective, showed that Yi didn’t feel like she really HAD a family anymore, because of the loss of her dad.

We find out that she is working so hard to earn money to travel to all the spots she was supposed to travel with her father to.

Discovering a Yeti on the roof of her apartment building puts a monkey wrench in her plans, however.

Yi discovers that the Yeti needs to find his way home to HIS family, and that his home is Mount Everest. She promptly tags the Yeti with the name ‘Everest’.

Her best friend Peng (voiced by Albert Tsai) and Pengs cousin Jin (voiced by Tenzing Norgay Trainor – who is actually the grandson of Tenzing Norgay, one of the first men to reach the summit of Everest), get roped into the adventure.

The group must avoid being captured by a man intent on collecting novel and new animals, named Burnish (Eddie Izzard) and his assistant Dr. Zara (Sarah Paulson) who is not what she seems, who Everest had escaped from.

The movie moves along quickly and kept even my 3 year old who never-stops-moving pretty engaged for at least the first hour.

My 11 year old son was entranced the whole way through.

I thought that the animation was great, the visuals (scenery) that the movie existed in were phenomenally done and the music was perfectly arranged to go with the story line.

The story itself was sweet, and a bit sad, but did evolve well and showed the possibilities of moving beyond deep sadness and the healing power of music and friends and helping others as well.

It’s a great family film, and I would go see it again for sure.

I would actually give this movie 5 out of 5 stars as a kids / family movie.

It’s a must see!
  
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