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Book Review #149: The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

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  Bel has always lived in the shadow of her mother Rachel's disappearance. When her family agrees to take part in a true crime documentary about the incident, it brings up feelings that Bel has been avoiding for years - she just wants it to end. But when the impossible happens, and Rachel reappears, Bel finds that the mystery is even more complicated than ever. Why doesn't Rachel's story make sense? Where has she been for 16 years? Why did she really come back? Can Bel uncover the truth behind Rachel's disappearance before it's too late? I tend to really like Holly Jackson's books, so this was one that I was looking forward to, especially because the premise was quite interesting. I liked this book, but I definitely had a few problems with it too. From the beginning, the thing that drew me in was the characters. They were described really well, you could clearly see them, and it didn't take long to get to know them. I don't have a problem with reading bo...

Your Monster | Film Review

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  Laura, a timid actress (Melissa Barrera) finds her voice after making a connection with the monster who lives in her closet (Tommy Dewey). I didn't know what this film was really about before watching it, but I'm a big fan of Melissa Barrera so watching it was a no-brainer. I really loved this film. I thought I would probably like it, but I didn't expect to love it as much as I did. At first I couldn't really work out what the tone was. It was funnier than I expected, but also played completely realistically, up to a point. It was a strange mix of things, you really have to be along for the ride when you put it on. It was also more fun and a lot sweeter than I thought it would be. The characters had great chemistry, particularly Barrera and Dewey who worked so well together. Dewey in particular completely stole the movie for me, I loved seeing this character and became really invested in him. This definitely starts to become a general rom-com. And while I can understa...

Bohemian Rhapsody | 100 Movies Bucket List

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  I saw this film around the time it first came out and loved it... and then I saw the similarly themed Rocketman and adored that so much that I didn't have any love left over for BoRhap, so I haven't watched it since I first saw it. That being said, it being on the bucket list is the perfect excuse to watch it again (though Rocketman also deserves to be on a bucket list). That being said, I did love this again on re-watch. I think I loved it so much because I was familiar enough with the music to really enjoy that side of things, but not familiar enough with the band that I already knew their story. So I could be really interested in both things at once and really become engrossed in the story. All of the actors are great, particularly the other band members (played by Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy and Joe Mazzello), but Rami Malek is especially amazing in the role of Freddie. Not only do you love him, but you feel like you really know him. The creation of the song Bohemian Rhapsody, ...

Heart Eyes | Film Review

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  When the Valentine's Day killer appears again to slaughter unsuspecting couples, new colleagues Ally (Olivia Holt) and Jay (Mason Gooding) are mistaken for a couple, and must work together to escape the killer's crosshairs. I loved the idea of this film. It seemed like it would be a lot of fun and that it would have a fresh take on the usual slasher movie, so I was really looking forward to seeing it. Unfortunately it wasn't as good as I wanted it to be, but there were some things that I really liked about it. The opening scene set the tone of the movie really well. This is a horror comedy, and that scene does a great job of being both funny and thrilling (though I wouldn't say the film is ever actually scary). I think my fundamental problem with the film, and what ultimately clouded both my positive and negative thoughts about it was that, because the characters are described as colleagues who are mistaken as a couple, I thought that's what they would be. I didn...

Limitless | 100 Movies Bucket List

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  I saw this film for the first time years ago and, although I remember liking it, I never really had the urge to see it again. Nevertheless, because I don't really remember much about it, I was happy (albeit very surprised) to see it on the bucket list. The idea behind this film is really interesting because the plot could play out in a thousand different ways. Just taking the idea that someone takes a pill to open up 100% of their brain is unique and yet so open-ended that I'm surprised more movies haven't tried similar versions of films like this. The film does a great job of showing the effects of the drug. It makes good use of colour and it's written really well. The use of voiceover is particularly effective. My main issue with the movie is the character of Eddie. I think to really connect with a movie like this, you have to be able to connect with the character you're following. But not only was I not able to really connect with Eddie, I just felt absolutely ...

Fear Street: Prom Queen | Film Review

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  Shadyside High's 1988 prom night becomes bloody when a mysterious figure starts to kill the candidates for Prom Queen. The Fear Street trilogy was almost perfect. I loved all the movies and the world that was created; it was such an inventive, unique and complete trilogy. So when I heard a new film was coming out, I was definitely apprehensive about it. And I was right to be apprehensive because this was not good at all. For a start, the writing was the first thing that told me this wouldn't be as good as the first three films. It wasn't as tight as it was in the trilogy, and it was written in a way that felt like we were already supposed to know the characters we were introduced to. And because of that, they weren't developed particularly well. We were never given a chance to either know or care about the characters, which just made the entire film feel pointless. This film is completely disconnected from the 'Fear Street' universe. I tend to feel neutral abo...

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | 100 Movies Bucket List

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  I had heard of this movie before watching it, and knew that it was a classic, but never knew what it was about. And even after reading the premise, it still feels like I went in blind. I liked it a lot. The first thing I took in about the film was how good the acting was. Jack Nicholson is great as always, but he's really bolstered by the amazing supporting cast, which includes Will Sampson, Louise Fletcher, Danny DeVito, William Redfield, Sydney Lassick, Brad Dourif and Christopher Lloyd. They're all amazing in their respective roles and completely integral to telling this story. The story itself is a really interesting one. Even if you go in blind you're completely invested from the second it starts. But what makes everything about it so compelling, the story and the characters, is the writing. Everything about the film is written so well. The dialogue between and about the characters is powerful and allows the audience to truly feel a part of the story, and to get to k...