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mum and dad

The Sand

1/20/2019

1 Comment

 
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Hmmmm, now I wonder what a horror film called The Sand is about - sounds so dramatic too, right?!  In the style of Hong Kong Phooey, could it be about the song Enter the Sandman, or about the actual Sandman who helps you fall asleep, orrrr, is it just about a surfer style dude who just loves sand, man?  Nahhhh, it's about killer sand, and actually, I had a great time watching it.  "After an all-night party, hung over revelers awaken to a beating sun and a carnivorous beach that devours anything with a heartbeat."

I watched this with dad as mum had gone to sleep, and actually, he chose it.  I have a fair few horror films saved on TiVo and he actually chose this all by himself - and actually rather enjoyed it too.  It's an easy to watch, fun little movie, and you can't really go wrong with one of those.  You can also very easily turn your brain off with this one, and on a Saturday night, that is what I wanted.  
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Know when I also said that Dismissed used a Disney star, The Sand also does, good old Mitchel Musso trying to get his end over, unlike in Hannah Montana where he was with Lily and being a good boy.  They don't really do stereotypes in this film, in the way that each person is a certain one - they are all the same one.  This film is literally about young people who like to party and drink and have sex, or try to, and then start dying.  They even act thick sometimes too...  It makes it so damn easy to watch. 
I also love the little Jamie Kennedy cameo as the beach patrol-er, who, sadly, does not warn them about how to survive a horror film, unlike he did in Scream...  There was no, "Kids, don't do drugs or have sex or else this sand will eat you".  I still enjoyed it though, won't hold it against the film just for that teeny thing. 

The Sand is definitely not high budget or a big film in anyway, but until the end, me and my dad both complimented that the effects were not too shabby.  The ending kind of ruins that though, as they do seem to try and go big, but without the budget, and it just wasn't pulled off unlike the rest. 
The ending I also didn't feel was that good, it does the old cliff hanger trick, which I liked, but it took the easy way out, and I feel like I would have maybe liked some sort of twist to it instead.  See, all that about the ending and no spoilers.  Woo. 
Saying all that though, both me and dad enjoyed this film and it was a laugh and that's the main thing. 

Sorry to my mate who I was meant to watch this with, but he took too long to meet me.  Missed his chance to see this masterpiece... 
1 Comment

Bandersnatch

1/5/2019

0 Comments

 
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I had to get on the bandwagon of this film of course, I am a massive Black Mirror fan after all - and it's interactive, I had to see this!  "In 1984, a young programmer begins to question reality as he works to adapt a fantasy novel into a video game."

I was impressed.  I am a fairly simple human being and little things can impress me - this is one of those things.  Happily watching it with my dad - yes, dad watched it too - and suddenly a black bar rises up at the bottom of the screen, giving you two answers and you having to choose.  Yes, fun at first, such as what cereal shall Stefan eat, but then you start getting stressed...  The questions start getting harder and more able to ruin a life, and I don't know about anyone else, but I was feeling the pressure - especially with the ten seconds counting down. 
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Bandersnatch, I have to admit, is not the best story line, it's pretty simple and doesn't really stand out, but it works so well with the interactive side of it.  It fitted perfectly.  I feel the simple storyline was on purpose due to the fact that you lead it, and it can change at any question, so I shall let it off due to the fact I have never ever watched an interactive film before and I had such a great time. 
It really did take me back to my childhood and the interactive Goosebumps book I used to read...  Good times. 

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I actually don't really know what to say about this film as I really don't want to give anything away, so I shall just say sorry to Stefan for ruining his life when I watched it, but also to mention that I never actually finished it.  Me and dad sat there for almost two hours before having to go to bed, and I found out today that it apparently actually goes around in a loop unless you quit out of it - so that's fun.  Could have been sat there all week, and I probably would have I was that invested in it.
I don't think it's a film I would rewatch unless I wanted to see the other scenarios, but I was still very much impressed and still very much think Charlie Brooker is so damn clever... Especially with the 'Netflix' and 'Fuck Yeah' buttons - very smart indeed.  

On a side note, dad liked it, and found it quite enjoyable, but did say the same as me about the storyline.  Not the strongest storyline, (he said he probably wouldn't even be able to tell you what the full story was), but you didn't need a strong one as you mainly watched it for the interactive side of it - a side he, like me, very much enjoyed.  Again, sorry Stefan... 

Oh, and small little TED TALK, be nice to actors, they are human and are not the characters they portray in films.  I am looking at the people being horrible to Will Poulter...  BE NICE. Thank you for listening to my TED TALK. 
0 Comments

Birdbox

1/5/2019

1 Comment

 
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DON'T TAKE YOUR BLINDFOLD OFF, NOOOOOOO! 

Look at me go, I am watching new horror films, only a week after it came out, (this review took a few days to write, but I did watch Birdbox a week after it came out.), I have seen Birdbox.  And bonus - I managed to get both parents to join me, well, both joined me, then mum went to bed, so watched it with dad, and then watched it with mum the next day...  "Five years after an ominous unseen presence drives most of society to suicide, a mother and her two children make a desperate bid to reach safety."

I had very high hopes for this film, very very high hopes actually, so high that you could almost get vertigo from it.  Before it was even released, there were articles everywhere stating how good and scary it was.  Not only that, but it had Sandra Bullock in it - good old Sandra Bullock, and who doesn't love her?!  
TED TALK THOUGH.  Before getting into the actual review, I have seen a few articles on how Millenials are only just learning who Sandra Bullock is, and are referring to her as 'Birdbox lady' or are comparing her to Michael Jackson after he's had his nose surgery.  This is the biggest load of Bullock, I have ever heard!  I am a Millenial and we are born between 1981 and 1996 and so definitely, 100% know who Sandra Bullock is and love her.  Some might be more Miss Congeniality fans, I on the other hand, as much as I love Miss Congeniality, am 100% a Speed lover - that film is so damn great.  What a classic.  The generation that might not know Sandra Bullock, shockingly, would more feasibly be Post-Millenials, born between 1997 and now, but even they should know her.  My nan probably doesn't know her by name though, so it might even be the old people...  Definitely not Millenials... Stop trying to make us look bad.  THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MY TED TALK.  Resuming the review...now.  
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I was very pleasantly and impressed by Birdbox.  I hands down agree with all the reviews saying how it's one of the best films of the year and it definitely deserved being watched over 45 million times in its opening week.  I completely get why, I mean, I did watch it twice in two days due to the parents but I do not regret either. 
Birdbox just kept me watching the whole way through, there is just a feeling of impending doom with it too, as you know how hard it would be to not look, and if you did look, you would commit suicide.  Not good.  I liked all the characters in this film, even the ones that were nasty as they added to the story - some were a bit stupid though, I can't lie, thanks to them, people died.  And died in glorious ways they did - oh so many glorious ways.  I obviously don't like it when good people in films die, but if they have to, I want them to go in a highly original and bloody way, and in Birdbox, they did not disappoint.  Not the goriest but there was still blood and there was still originality - kind of like a more tense and better version of The Happening - even though I actually don't mind that film...  It is very much like if The Happening, Don't Breath and A Quiet Place had an orgy and made some form of a love child.  I have to say though, out of all of those films, Birdbox is my favourite, I really did enjoy it. 

Birdbox was a lovely like surprise that actually stood up to the hype.  It wasn't perfect, and I feel it could have been scarier, but I still enjoyed it thoroughly and would happily watch it again.  Part of me kind of wishes they had left in the alternative ending, as it was definitely less happy...  What I won't be doing though, is the #birdboxchallenge...  Do I want to blindfold myself and do everyday things that suddenly turn dangerous when you can't see?  Nope! 
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Now onto my parents thoughts. 

Mum is easier to get to watch horror films with, as she can be persuaded fairly easily, dad on the other hand, is harder work but he will still watch some but he doesn't tend to be a fan and can't remember most of the horror films he has watched. 
In this instance, he actually liked this film, and mum did not think much of it at all - mum wasn't even that stressed during it, and she normally is during horrors.  

On a side note though, dad has always had a little thing for Sandra Bullock so that may have swayed him ever so slightly...  At least one of them liked it though... 

1 Comment

    Parents:

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  • Home
  • The face behind the mask
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