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Black Christmas (1974) | 100 Movies Bucket List

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  I was really looking forward to seeing this movie. There have been two reboots and I've seen both, but for whatever reason I never saw the original, so it's been on my list for a while. I liked this movie a lot. This film is credited as one of a few that popularised the slasher genre. It's so interesting to see how the genre has changed from then to now. Some of the dialogue feels really shocking for a 70s movie, which just adds to how horrifying the movie was considered at the time. It also explores ideas that feel very current in today's society. The movie was really ahead of it's time, particularly for exploring these issues with a horror backdrop. The group of characters is great. It would have been good to get to know them all better, but they're all distinct and well written. You feel invested in their stories even if you don't know them that well. The pacing is great. We get time to sit with each kill before seeing the next one. This allows the impa...

Brotherhood of the Wolf | 100 Movies Bucket List

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  This is another one that I was wary about. Not only does the title feel like a werewolf movie (which I was very glad to find out it wasn't) but it's also one of the longest bucket list movies, so I went in apprehensive.  I didn't love this movie. It does a good job of creating the beast with words before we get to see it. It feels more like a legend than a real creature, and the audience is on edge waiting to see it. Which makes sense when you know that the movie is partly based on a French legend, and partly based on a true story. The reason why the film is so long is because there are many plotlines outside of the main 'beast' one. Unfortunately none are as interesting as the beast plot, so I found myself just wanting to go back to that. In all honesty, I didn't find the plot particularly interesting. Hearing about the beast and seeing the results of the attacks worked for a while, but this becomes a bit repetitive as most of the time is spent trying to catc...

One Night Only | Film Review

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  On the one night of the year when singles can legally have sex, Owen (Callum Turner) and Allie (Monica Barbaro) seem to be the only people in the city looking for something that lasts longer than just one night. There was a lot said about the premise of this movie before it came out, most of which pointing out how ridiculous it sounded and how many logistical problems it would cause. So I don't think anyone was really looking at this with any element of seriousness. And as someone who was also sceptical, I was surprised that I actually liked it! For a start, even though the concept does feel a bit stupid, it's also original and interesting, so you have to give it props for that! It has a really fun soundtrack and makes music an integral part of the story. You instantly like the characters - though the cast feels odd. The film is full of people that you wouldn't expect or choose for the roles they play. Much of the movie tries to go in a more comedic direction, but it'...

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night | 100 Movies Bucket List

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  I've mentioned before that I'm wary of vampire horror movies, as it's not a sub-genre I love. All I knew about this film before watching it was that it was a vampire movie, so I wasn't particularly excited for it. I thought the film was fine. I didn't love it but didn't hate it either. It starts in a really grounded way. We really get to know the main character from his first moments on screen, and we're immediately invested in his story. It's set in a world that feels really authentic and real. So much so that you almost forget you're watching a vampire movie, or even a horror at points. What makes this film original is the categorisation of the vampire. She's so many things wrapped up into one. At times she's the villain, and then she becomes a saviour. We don't know whether we should be scared or her, intrigued by her, enamoured with her or all three. I didn't find the story as engaging the whole way through as it was at the begi...

Suspiria (2018) | 100 Movies Bucket List

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  I'd heard of this film and seen the poster before it was on the bucket list, but I had no idea what it was about and had no desire to watch it. When I saw it on the list I assumed it was referring to the 1977 version, so I was really surprised that the modern one was considered a classic. I have mixed feelings about this film - there was more bad than good. The dance studio setting is really interesting. We get the chance to see the characters at different levels of intensity; it's an intimate, almost claustrophobic setting, and we feel like we're in the studio with the characters. It gives us the opportunity to really get to know them. Tension is created really well in the film. From the very beginning the audience is immediately on edge, and the tension doesn't let up for almost the whole runtime. The actors are really great in these roles. They all bring a different but complementary performance that hugely impacts the overall tone of the movie. Speaking of the ton...

The Love Hypothesis | Film Review

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  When Olive (Lili Reinhart) accidentally kisses Professor Adam Carlsen (Tom Bateman) in an attempt to make her best friend believe that she's dating someone, the pair begin a fake romance that begins to unearth real feelings. I was really looking forward to this movie. I read the book a few years ago and loved it, so I was hoping that I'd love the movie as much. And while the movie wasn't as good as the book, I did really enjoy it. I loved the premise of the book, and was really happy to see that it works in movie form. The cast was great. I tend to really like Lili Reinhart's performances, and I'm a fan of Jaboukie Young-White and was so excited when he was announced as Malcolm. I loved the introduction to Olive and the fact that the audience could get to know her and some of the other supporting characters before the story even really begins. In terms of Olive and Adam, it was great to see the way their chemistry developed as the film went on, and for the most p...

Book Review: Remain by Nicholas Sparks with M. Night Shyamalan

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  When architect Tate Donovan moves to Cape Cod to design a home, he meets Wren, a beautiful woman with a mysterious past. As they begin to build a connection, Tate discovers that in order to free Wren, he has to discover the truth about her past, and the dark secrets of the town, before it's too late. I was actually quite sceptical about this book. Despite liking works by Sparks and Shyamalan, the idea of a 'supernatural love story' could either be great or terrible, and I hadn't seen many great reviews. So I was really surprised by how much I loved it! For a start, I got into the story right away. From the moment I opened the book I felt like I really knew the characters and their world and was so invested in their story. I really loved the characters, including the surrounding ones that didn't have as much time on the page. There is a little twist to the story that comes out maybe a quarter of the way through. This was spoiled for me as I was reading the book whe...