badly written

Film Review – Cinderella (2021)

films, reviews

Rating: 1.5 out of 5.

You might be wondering why I’m reviewing this Cinderella remake in April. It’s a good question. I wasn’t meant to be reviewing this film this week. In fact, I wasn’t even planning on watching this film. I was meant to be going to the cinema with a friend of mine this weekend and watching either Sonic or Mobius. In the end, she bought us tickets to the latest film in a magical trilogy written by She Who Must Not Be Named. I wasn’t intending on watching that film or discussing it on this blog. I’ve explained why in a previous post. After watching the film, I had plenty of thoughts but I don’t want to enter into this dialogue in any way. So I quickly watched this film instead.

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TBT Review – Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House (2002)

films, reviews, TBT

Rating: 1 out of 5.

I know that there is a lot of debate at this time of year about what the best Christmas film is. Something that will keep happening until everyone just accepts that it’s The Muppet Christmas Carol. Many people may mistakenly believe that Home Alone is superior. Some may even believe that its sequel is the best. While both films are great in their own right, they’re just not the greatest. A lot of what makes the films good is down to Macaulay Culkin. So, it was very upsetting for me to learn that there is a fourth film in the franchise that sees Kevin McCallister played by some other kid. Yes, I knew about the disappointing 3rd film but another sequel that tried to recapture the magic of the first two? I had to see what this was about.

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Tuesday Review – The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star (2021)

films, reviews

Rating: 2 out of 5.

This weekend I realised that I’d still not watched a Christmas movie in 2021. I just haven’t felt in the festive mood recently. Thankfully, Netflix were on hand with their traditional outpouring of festive crap. Including the third film to see Vanessa Hudgens pretend to be Vanessa Hudgens. Did I really think that the first Christmas film that I watched this year was going to the third film in The Princess Switch trilogy? No. Am I happy about it? No. Is there anything that I can do about it? No. It’s done. If your first festive film of advent is any indication of how the next year is going to go, then I’m not looking forward to 2022.

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Tuesday Review – The Starling (2021)

films, reviews

Rating: 2 out of 5.

After Melissa McCarthy was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar in 2019, I finally thought that Hollywood was ready to offer her some juicier roles. I know that she loves a comedy but, as we’ve seen, they don’t always work out well. Can You Ever Forgive Me? forced people to see just how talented a performer she is beyond slapstick. I get excited every time she appears in a new film but, for the most part, I end up disappointed. That doesn’t stop me hoping and I will give pretty much everything a try if she’s in the cast list. The fact that her latest film also stars Chris O’Dowd was just an added benefit. He’s another great actor who hasn’t been given the kind of meaty role that he deserves. Maybe this time would work out for both of them?

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Book Review – Burn by Patrick Ness

books, reviews

Rating: 2 out of 5.

How long to do you struggle with a book before deciding to give up on it? When I was younger, I used to percevier with books I didn’t enjoy just so I could feel like I’d achieved something. Although, that was back during the days when it would take me around a month to finish a single book. Now, my time is so precious that I can’t waste my time on books I don’t like. Although, there are times when I go back into that mindset. I get so far and just think “I might as well get all the way through.” This was one of those times. It took me around a week to get this finished and it wasn’t even that long a book. It’s one that I’ve had on my TBR for a while and one that I was quite excited about. So, what went wrong?

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Book Review – Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

books, reviews

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Holiday is over and it’s back down to Earth with a bump. Not only am I straight back to work but I’ve got some blogging to catch up on. I’m going to try and review as many books as possible this week, which sounds good in theory. However, it’s been a while since I’ve read some of them. Well, it’s been over a week with this one. Thankfully, we discussed it at book club on Wednesday. That should give me a bit of a chance to remember what I think about it.

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Tuesday Review – Trouble (2019)

films, reviews

Rating: 2 out of 5.

It takes quite a special film to do something exciting in a runtime of less than 90 minutes. Most likely. any film that doesn’t have enough story to pass the 1 hour 30 mark just won’t have a lot to offer. But, as I’m still off with my schedule when it comes to watching films, any film that doesn’t break 90 is always going to appeal. On Sunday, I once again found myself needing to watch something quickly to review today. Since the pandemic hit, I really have lost my desire to watch films. I need to try and get back into it soon. I’m missing out on so much. Until I do, I guess I’ll just be stuck watching short animated films on Netflix. At least I’m watching things that I wouldn’t have normally seen.

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Book Review – You by Austin Grossman

books, reviews

Rating: 2 out of 5.

What’s the longest that you’ve had a book on your shelves for? I’m not sure of the exact number but I’ve had You by Austin Grossman since 2015. I’d also bought his book Soon I Will Be Invincible because it sounded really fun. I did try and read that book but I couldn’t get to the end of it. It just spent too long going round the houses and not getting to the point. I guess it didn’t exactly get me in the mood to keep going with him. It also didn’t help that I’d recently read Ready Player One and not enjoyed myself at all. I really wasn’t ready to get into another video game book. I picked it up in May because I was in need of a book starting with “Y” for my Spell the Month challenge. I’ll be honest, if I hadn’t needed this book for that challenge, I definitely wouldn’t have finished it.

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Book Review – The Incendiaries by R.O. Kwon

books, reviews

Rating: 1.5 out of 5.

A friend of mine started her own virtual book club in the UK’s first lockdown. I didn’t join it straight away because I figured I was already putting enough pressure on myself to read 2 books a week. Then they read Convenience Store Woman and I asked her what she thought. She invited me to join and I said yes. As you’d expect, the book selection has been hit and miss. My friend and her boyfriend come up with a selection of titles that are all around 200 pages in length. Then we all vote on our favourite. I think I’ve only picked the winning book a couple of time since joining but there haven’t been many books that I’ve really disliked. Until this week. It hadn’t been my choice but that’s not really the point. It sounded like an interesting read and I was quite excited to read it. How wrong I was.

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Book Review – Murder Most Festive by Ada Moncrieff

books, reviews

Rating: 2 out of 5.

As you know, I love a bit of cosy crime. I’ve enjoyed reading Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle for as long as I can remember. More than anything, I have an affinity for the novels from the Golden Age of detective fiction. Just give me a whodunnit in a country house, an amateur sleuth and plenty of red herrings. That’s all I really need. Modern crime fiction is getting too pretentious for my liking. It’s trying to be more like television and it’s getting ridiculous. So, when this contemporary version of a Golden Age novel I knew that I had to give it a go. I’m always wary of books that get compared to Agatha Christie because no modern writer has ever been able to match her genius. Still, I’m always hopefully that someone will come close.

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