I wasnt sure that I would be doing one more Christmas review this year but after recently diving back into the Charles Dickens library I thought I may as well do a quick book review in celebration of the holidays.
A Christmas Carol was written by Charles Dickens in 1843, it is a short story otherwise known as a novella, but regardless of the books length it has been adapted to screen many times and is Christmas classic known by all.
The story is about an angry elderly man who has a cold heart and not a drop of love within himself, he is cruel to his employee Bob Cratchet who he underpays and has little sympathy for, he refuses to donate to charities and says that he would rather the poor die instead of help them and generally is a very unlikable character.
Throughout the story Scrooge is visited by ghosts one is his old partner Jacob Marley and the others represent the past, present and future who take him through time to see his life flash before his eyes and showing him the error of his ways.
If you cut apart all of the film adaptations and stitched parts together you would get a page for page perfect adaptation of the book and there not a is single part of the book that hasn’t included in any of the on screen tellings of the story.
there are few things in the book that are not often shown, one is the spirits in the air after Marley visits, in the books this shows ghosts all sorts of people who have done wrong and now carry the chains of their sins.
The other is Ebenezer’s sister Fanny who is very rarely put to screen and in the book it is told that she dies young and is the mother of Ebenezer’s nephew Fred.
Funnily enough one of the only adaptations to correctly depict the Ghost of Christmas Past was the muppet version as in the story and that version the spirit is said to be a glowing light.
What really surprised me was that in the original Charles Dickens story there is no part where Scrooge goes to Hell, in fact the story seems a lot more straight to the point than any version that came after it and I think it works better that way, so many of the re-tellings added this part and now I see that it really wasn’t needed as Dickens wrote the story so well without it.
It’s not easy to review this because while the book is really well written and very educational the later adaptations are definitely more memorable, in fact there are so many adaptations of the story that it is quite insane, if that doesn’t go to show that this is one of the most important stories every written I don’t know what does.
A wikipedia link which lists all adaptions of the original story
I think I want to end this review by saying that I really enjoyed this book, I didn’t think that I would because I didn’t enjoy Oliver Twist another popular story from Dickens, back then I put it down to his writing style but I have to take that back because this story was wonderful. Perhaps I should check out his other stories in the future but for now I am very happy to say I will be reading this one every single year.
Merry Christmas and God Bless us Everyone !
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I want to start by saying that this is not a review, it is a discussion about what these movies mean to me, my history with them and why they remind of Christmas and are Holiday Classics for myself. I am only discussing the Peter Jackson Lord of Rings movies and not the books nor the animated version by Ralph Bakshi.
I don’t have photographs of my childhood with these films so I am using images from google, if anyone has an issue with an image I use please email me at my contact email address in the contact me section of this website and I will change it for another.
Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Fellowship of the Ring was released in December of 2001 and I was eight years old, my grandmother had come to visit the day after her and my Grandad went to the cinema to watch a film called The Lord of the Rings.
I remember asking her to tell me about it and she told me it was load of rubbish and was so boring and stupid that she fell asleep not long into the movie, this may be surprising but keep in mind that when she was younger she grew up with the books and while I haven’t read them myself yet I am sure they are quite different to the film adaptations.
After hearing about this boring movie eight year old me left the room to play and knowing myself it was probably Crash Bandicoot on the PS1 although I cant be too sure.
One year later on Christmas day 2002 I opened up one of my presents and it was that boring movie my grandmother told me about, I left it alone for a while as I was more interested in my new toys but on Christmas it has always been tradition for my family to watch a movie together and that year my mother wanted us to watch Lord of the Rings.
I quickly became obsessed with this movie and would play the tape almost daily, I’m not sure what really got me into the films but I do know that I had recently became interested in Wizardry thanks to Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone which was released in theatres around a year prior to when I was gifted Fellowship.
Gandalf the wizard became a favourite character of mine and even my friends, we all began quoting the famous “YOU SHALL NOT PASS” line while playing games in the garden and I we used to love re-watching his battle with the Balrog time and time again.
Another Scene I remember watching vigorously as a child was the fight with the Cave Troll, definitely one of the most intense parts of the movie and for an eight year old it was very memorable as a battle, again this may be due to Harry Potter which also had a troll fight, I dont like comparing the two but in my childhood this makes a lot of sense now that I look back almost 20 years later.
The movie ended on a fairly un-conclusive note so while young, I was still aware that there was more of the story to be told but at that age I was fairly distracted with school, video games and other hobbies so I never gave this much thought until the second movie ended up in my hands.
The Two Towers (2002)
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers released in theatres December 2002 I remember seeing posters for the movie but I was too young to be allowed to see the movie in the cinema, instead I would have to wait until the following Christmas before the tape was finally added to my collection.
I don’t remember the Christmas that I received this very well but I do have some very fond memories of this film and this is probably the video tape out of the entire trilogy which I played the most growing up.
It was the first interaction that the hobbits had with the creature Gollum here played by Andy Serkis who voiced the character and did live action work before the animation. Gollum is easily the best part of the film, he is very funny especially when he starts arguing with his other personality Sméagol.
I always wanted a Treebeard action figure when I was younger thanks to his scenes in the Two Towers, as a nine year old I was very jealous of Merry and Pippin getting to ride in his arms, I think he was a really lovable character and to this day he is still one of my favourite parts of the film.
I could never understand the whole Gandalf the Grey turned Gandalf the White when I was a child, It’s not that I didn’t like the character It was just a little bit too complicated for me to grasp back then, re-watching the film recently I must say it is really impressive how the cinematography, clever use of lighting and editing makes it seem like its Saruman before the big reveal.
The battle scene for Helms Deep was replayed so many times on the video tape that this section began to wear out before the rest of the video did, me and friends would often rewind this part and re-watch it, it is generally a very intense and fun battle scene, the fellowship only manages to get a 300 man army to take on 10’000 orcs so your really on the edge of your seat watching this.
There is also the competition between Legolas and Ghimli which adds some comedy to the scene and of course how can you forget Legolas riding the shield down the stairs while shooting orcs.
Again the film ends on a cliff hanger leaving me only desperate to get part three with me not realising that it would be the final chapter of this story.
The Return of the King (2003)
December 2003 saw the Return of the King hitting theatres but as per usual I wouldnt see the movie until a year later.
2004 was a tough year for my family, money was running low, savings were non existent and due to the stress of making enough money to feed the family my father had to take up a job abroad. One of the most difficult losses especially for my parents was the loss of our house, we couldn’t afford the upkeep so we were forced to move to an old flat in the city.
Its fair to say that I wasn’t expecting Lord of the Rings that year so I was very happy when it was gifted to me by my Auntie on Boxing Day when we did our usual Christmas greetings of the extended family.
Return of the King is easily in my opinion the best film in the trilogy, I have a lot of memories of this movie and they start from the very beginning, the movie opens with two brothers Sméagol and Deagol fishing on a boat, Deagol falls into the water and finds the One Ring, he refuses to give it to Sméagol for his birthday so he gets strangled to death and this starts the rings corruption of Sméagol and the creation of the Gollum.
I used to hate the scene with Denethor eating as it is really gross, I had a weak stomach when I was a kid so I used to close my eyes at this part, I suppose that’s why it always stuck with me.
The army of the undead was unbelievably cool for ten year old me, I used to love the big fight in this film, it had orcs, trolls, elephants and yes even the ghosts!, even Legolas and Ghimli’s competition was continued in the film and most prominently in this scene, it was tons of fun and both my favourite part of the movie and the videogame adaptation that was released.
There is a part of the film after Frodo leaves Sam he gets tricked into entering the cave of the Spider Shelob where he gets injected with a numbing liquid and wrapped in web, this part used to scare me and is really disturbing, when Sam removes the web from Frodo’s face he looks pale and dead and it isn’t revealed until later on that he is still alive.
For many fans the scene where Sam carried Frodo up Mount Doom is one of the most beautiful and memorable and if I ever review these films I will likely fully analyse this moment.
For me one of the most memorable parts of Return of the King was when Frodo refuses to drop the ring into Mount Doom, the entire trilogy had been building up to this moment so it is difficult to see Frodo be so corrupted that he doesn’t want to let go, of course Gollum jumps on top of an invisible Frodo and bits his finger off, this moment snaps Frodo out of his control and he pushes Gollum to his death in turn destroying the ring and saving Middle Earth.
The ending where Frodo, Bilbo and Gandalf go off on the boat I didn’t fully understand when I was younger, I assumed they were going on more adventures, and while this is kind of the case I now realise that they were going to the undying lands where they would settle down until the end of time.
And that’s it, that is all of my fondest childhood memories of Lord of the Rings, as I stated this was not a review but more of my experiences with the films growing up and why I watch them every Christmas, of course they are not Christmas movies but for me they do remind of the holiday and were some of the most memorable gifts I ever received, I know I skipped over a lot of moments in the films and if I ever review them I will do them full justice in a proper review but for now it was nice for me to look back at these epics and why they mean so much to me.
Happy Holidays everybody, I know my Christmas offerings have been less than usual this year, I may try to squeeze one more review out if I am feeling up for it but if not.
Have a great holiday season and I will see you all in 2021 !!
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The Santa Clause is a Disney Christmas movie starring Tim Allen as Scott Calvin a fairly unfortunate character who wants nothing more than for his son Charlie to retain the Christmas Spirit and believe in Santa very much to the dislike of his wife.
Later on in the film after a disappointing dinner at Denny’s and Charlie still unsure about the magic of Christmas, Scott accidently spooks Santa on his roof causing to him slip and fall to his death!
Scott begins to gain excessive amounts of weight and has uncontrollable facial hair growth, no matter what he does he cannot escape turning into the new Father Christmas.
Tim Allen actually looks really good as Father Christmas, all movie Santa’s pretty look the same but I think its the curved moustache that I like the most about this version.
The movie is pretty good but I don’t love it, some of the visual effects are outdated and are bad even for the time, the visuals of him going down the chimney were particularly unimpressive.
The elves being children is something I haven’t seen much in Santa movies, it definitely feels odd having these kids playing adult roles but it works well enough.
The thing I really don’t like about this movie is actually intentional, in the films defence this is not a criticism and is just something that I dislike. The mother character (Wendy Crewson) and her psychiatrist husband Neil (Judge Reinhold) really want Charlie to stop believing in Santa even though he is just eight years old. I really feel that eight is still very young and this intention while it was supposed to be for the child’s own good came across as really cruel.
Going back to the elves, the head elf of the North Pole is a character named Bernard, at first I did not like him as I thought he came across a little bit mean but I soon warmed up to him especially near the end of the film when his snappy and commanding attitude was shown more in the light of him really caring that Christmas is able to still happen and is as magical as can be even with a brand new, last minute Santa Claus.
The Santa Clause is a good Christmas movie, It is far from one of my favourites, I think the concept is really interesting, you don’t often see Father Christmas die and have the job passed onto someone else especially in a live action feature. I didn’t like a lot of characters in this film and I also found the visual effects somewhat cringeworthy but saying that this isn’t a Christmas Classic for others is untrue. The movie is often on lists of the best Christmas films of all time and many people have fond memories of watching this, It’s just not for me and at some point perhaps I will look at the sequels to see if I enjoy those more but for now this is one Christmas Movie I will happily sit through again but not as an annual Christmas Tradition.
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Friday the 13th is one of my favourite horror franchises of all time and I have wanted to discuss the films for a while but could never decide how I wanted to go about it, the films are all quite similar in premise and each have different qualities that are better in some than others, I figure that the best way to celebrate such a great franchise is with my official ranking of the 10 main series movies from worst to best.
Of course this is only my opinion and you may rank these film differently, my opinions on these films is likely to be unexpected but I am basing this list on how much I enjoyed them rather than the overall quality.
So without further lets talk about Friday the 13th.
10. Jason goes to Hell: Final Friday
This movie was a train wreck and not only is it the worst in the entire series but it may be the worst slasher movie in any major franchise.
Jason looks really awesome in this movie and is by far my favourite version of him but unfortunately the writers decided to kill him off in the first 15 minutes, leaving his spirit possessing normal characters and committing his murders within their bodies.
This is by far the most controversial decision in the film and honestly I don’t know why they thought it was a good idea, when you watch a Friday the 13th movie you want to see Jason not some stranger you’ve never seen in the franchise before.
To be honest the casting choices in the movie are just awful and I cant think of a single performance that stuck with me, the acting was genuinely stale and uninspired.
The visual effects are very good and are some of the best in the series, like the title at end of the movie Jason does go to Hell and the demons that come and take his soul are generally really cool and scary, this scene also leads to a great final moment which revels Freddy Krueger’s knifes dragging Jason’s mask into the ground hinting at a crossover in the future.
This was a really odd way on ending the original Friday the 13th franchise, at this point the series was getting a little stale and needed a conclusive end. I couldn’t understand some of the writers creative choices in this one and I think the “lack of Jason” really ruined this one for me, Like I said the reveal of the crossover was great but now that you know about it I can honestly say avoid this one because it is really not worth your time.
9. Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood (1988)
Friday the 13th Part 7 is one of the worst in series in my opinion, it definitely delves into new territory having Jason taking on a girl with telekinetic and psychic powers but it really does not hold up as a good entry in the series.
The films lead is a girl named Tina who accidently releases Jason from his prison beneath the lake ultimately putting herself and everyone else at the camp in serious danger.
The casting was nothing special but they at least enjoyable characters, I liked that there was a good mix of likeable and unlikable councillors this time so some of the deaths felt a lot more satisfying than others since those characters were so horrid, the death of councillor Melissa felt especially good since she was the bully character with some serious Egotistical problems and a manipulative personality.
Considering the movie has an interesting premise with Jason taking on a psychic, it is extremely boring for a slasher film and doesn’t have many memorable moments, even the deaths are a bit lame, the only parts I really enjoyed were near the end when Tina was using her powers to get one up on Jason but apart from that this is one movie I will be skipping next Halloween.
8. Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
Part 8 was the first movie to take place outside of the usual setting, in the movie Jason boards a boat of graduating high school students and after a few murders the final chase takes place throughout New York City.
Before arriving in New York the majority of the film takes place on the boat, with such little room to escape the deaths are plentiful and quite memorable, the movie is quite silly with some comedic deaths including one woman who is beaten with her electric guitar and boy who has his head punched off.
The part of the film in New York was my favourite, it was nice to see such a change of scenery in one of these films and the way that the city was portrayed definitely made the film still feel intense and dark, there was one one scene where a female got kidnapped and the alleyway she was taken too was so dark and comic book like that I half expected Batman to come and recue her.
There is one moment near the end of the film that I just cant seem to get out of my head, a particularly unlikeable character meets his end in quite an ironic sense after it is revealed that he almost drowned one of the other characters years prior to the events of the film.
A fairly stupid movie but nothing too crazy and it is a lot of fun, the parts in New York are way better than what takes place on the boat, and I only wish that the entire movie had a New York setting, Part 8 can be over the top at times but not as much as some other entries in the franchise, I wouldn’t say you need to watch this one but I wouldn’t say skip it either.
7. Jason X (2001)
What do you do when you run of ideas for a franchise? If you guessed send them into space you would be correct and that is exactly what happened with Jason X.
In the film a group of scientists find a cryogenically frozen Jason Voorhees in the year 2455, the move takes primarily place in a space vessel similar to film Alien which I where I think they got the concept from.
From a story perspective this is probably the weakest one and the cast while funny were not great I couldn’t even remember their names after the film, infact the only person I really enjoyed was the captain of the group but holy cow is this movie a ton of fun.
The deaths were pretty standard but one really stood out and that was the frozen face smash, the rest of the deaths were forgettable but matched with funny lines and silly dialogue, the silliness works in this better than other franchise entries because I think this was meant to be a parody compared to another film that will be mentioned in this list.
Towards the end of the movie is a very funny scene that pokes fun at the cliche nature of the franchise and is my favourite part do the film
So is this slasher in space worth your time? I’m going to say no because while it was fun it’s not that memorable and feels more like a cheesy action comedy than a horror but if you want a good laugh and a stupid movie to watch with friends then this is a good option.
6. Friday the 13th Part 4: The Final Chapter (1984)
The Final Chapter was definitely a stretch as a title bearing in mind that this was only the fourth film and in the original series there was actually ten.
For me this film was a major disappointment for such a beloved entry in the Friday the 13th franchise, the story is fine and is what is to be expected in a slasher movie, Jason escapes from the morgue and is back on a killing spree there isn’t much else to this apart from there is now a child played by Corey Feldman in danger as well as young adults.
The main cast is forgettable and none of the victims really stand out apart from a small handful, of course Corey Feldman as Tommy Jarvis the main protagonist is great and does a good job portraying a very intelligent but also fragile young boy who has managed to get himself wrapped up in the mess of Jason Voorhees.
At the end of the movie Jason is ultimately defeated when Tommy Jarvis recreates Jason’s childhood image and distracts the killer long enough for him to be taken down by his sister before finally being “killed” by Tommy which triggers a later rivalry between the two them.
The biggest issue I have with this film is that compared to what came before it this one really struggled to keep my attention, I found it boring, uninspired and generally forgetful, there was only one death that really stuck with me and that was Crispin Glovers character and I think that because he was only victim I actually liked.
One thing I can say this film does well is it connects the lore of previous movies with this one, the brother of Sandra Dier (Victim in Part 2) is seeking revenge on Jason after his sisters murder but unfortunately he meets the same untimely fate and is unable to beat Jason.
So as I have stated there are things I like about this movie but its just not enough for me to want go back and watch this every Halloween, honestly I think this movie is quite weak for genre of slasher movie, it doesn’t need a great plot but I don’t think I could argue that this is movie is even fun to watch and that’s why I dislike it.
5. Friday the 13th part 2 (1981)
Friday the 13th part 2 is a mixed bag in my opinion, I feel the movies first and last thirds are overall very good but it definitely falls short in comparison to the first film in the franchise.
The movie opens to Alice the lone survivor of the last film trying to cope with PTSD 2 months after her traumatising ordeal with Mrs Voorhees, in a similar manner to the first film she is placed as if she is to be the protagonist but is killed off to try and catch the audience off guard, I would argue that because of her previous work in the franchise her death was a bigger shock than how this was pulled off in the original.
The film moves onto five years later and we are introduced to our new campers who are setting up a summer camp in a new campsite and not Crystal Lake, the characters were really forgettable in my opinion, they all seemed quite cliche and none of them were really that interesting, I feel that this was done so that the film could have more focus on Jason who was the new threat but you still want to remember the people you are supposed to be rooting for.
Ultimately after the big showdown with Jason the film has two survivors, Ginny barely makes it and practically defeats Jason on her own but its a guy called Ted that has the ironic survival that I feel needs mentioning, the reason this character stands out amongst the rest is because the only reason he survives is because after too many drinks he is too drunk to drive back to the campsite leaving him staying at a motel and ultimately avoiding all of the unfortunate ends his campmates met with.
This was officially the first appearance of Jason as the main antagonist of the franchise so he didn’t quite have his signature look and before his deformed reveal near the end his face was covered with a flour sack and to be honest it comes across as very hills have eyes more than its own thing, I can at least say that the various kills are fun in this movie, the double spearing was particularly memorable as well as slitting the throat of a hanging upside down camper.
Friday the 13th: Part 2 had a lot to live up too especially when compared to the first film, but unfortunately I just don’t think is that great, it had a good start and the ending was really well done with a very intense battle between Jason and Ginny but the middle of the film is just a little boring especially with such bland characters who I found difficult to really connect with, not a bad film just quite disappointing and no where near the quality of that first film.
4 .Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives (1986)
Friday the 13th Part 6 may as well be a parody because it is so stupid that I cant believe it was actually signed off, with that in mind I will say that this is one of the most fun films in the franchise.
The movie opens with a grown up Tommy Jarvis digging up Jason’s corpse to cremate him with intentions to make sure he can never return, unfortunately thanks to a lightning strike the deceased killer is brought back to life and is now on a killing spree with his new undead and immortal form.
They redesigned Tommy’s character for this movie, in part 5 he was quiet and secluded which worked well for his character but I enjoyed his more confident side in this, Tommy has no fear of Jason and just wants to keep the killer at bay but the issue he has is no one believes him about Jasons return leaving him to mostly trying to defeat the killer himself.
The movie is well casted and is full of memorable moments, the issue I have though is that the movie is a bit too silly for my liking, this is mainly seen in the deaths, one guy gets his head bashed into a tree trunk leaving a bloody imprint of a smiley face, another death has a camp counsellor strangled to death in a RV toilet while her boyfriend thinks she’s jut being thrown around by his crazy driving, its all played for laughs but it doesn’t suit the franchise too well considering that other movies could be a little silly but Part 6 was way too comedic to feel like a Friday the 13th film and at times seemed more like a Scary Movie wannabe.
While this was not the first movie to use children as potential victims it was the first time I felt that Jason may actually be evil enough to kill a child, he comes very close in this but thankfully none of the children at the camp were harmed, children being murdered in films doesn’t often sit well with audiences so I think this was for the best.
I really enjoyed this movie from an easy entertainment standpoint but the comedic one liners and seriously over the top deaths just didn’t sit right with me for a Friday the 13th movie, I like a few cliché characters, cheesy dialogue and silly deaths in a slasher movie but this was just a bit too much.
3. Friday the 13th Part 5: A New Beginning (1985)
Friday the 13th part 5 was never intended to exist, in fact part 4 was originally considered the end of the franchise, this left me some what concerned before watching this, however I was left pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it regardless of how ridiculous it can be.
The movie follows a now older Tommy Jarvis who is living in a halfway house full of misfits after his childhood ordeal with serial killer Jason Voorhees.
In the movie one of the misfits named joey is murdered by another household member triggering Joey’s father to become a Jason copy Cat Killer to get revenge for his sons death.
The movie does not take it self seriously as it often is very over top, this is reflected in the casting choice and the films characters, members of the halfway house are exaggerated versions of stereotypes which may be frowned upon today but I would be lying if I said they were not entertaining.
There is a secondary plot in the movie revolving around a hill billy and her very stupid son, these are way overperformed and it added a lot of laughs to an already silly film but again I think this worked in the movies favor.
The deaths in this film are more creative than what I got previously and I really appreciate that as it helped mix up the violence instead of the usual regular stabbings. Although it must be pointed out that while these deaths are silly they were written as comedic like the deaths in part 6
An unnecessary sequel but a really fun one that is full of memorable moments, great over the top kills and ridiculous but hilarious characters, if you like movies that are so stupid they are good then this is a movie for you.
2. Friday the 13th (1980)
The one that started it all, the first film in the franchise didn’t actually use Jason Voorhees as the villain and went for a more mysterious killer who left few clues for viewers to try and figure out who can be trusted.
The casting was very good here with believable characters and well written dialogue, I like that the film doesn’t take long to get to the first kill but it also doesn’t feel rushed and is overall well paced and uses a good mix of well executed cinematography and good work from director Sean . S. Cunningham which helps the film work so well with a fairly limited budget.
The film is full of memorable moments but for me the most surprising was the death of Annie, Annie was shown at the beginning of the film and viewers would expect her to be protagonist of the movie so when she became the first victim of the 1980 crystal lake murders it really caught viewers off guard and went to show that the film would not be a cliche murder flick but more of homicide mystery.
By the end of the film the mystery killer is revealed to be the mother of Jason Voorhees, Jason drowned in 1957 at Camp Crystal Lake when the councellers were not paying attention, the killer is portrayed by Betsy Palmer and she gives a very creepy and overall pychotic performance of a woman tormented by the loss of her son and now wants to murder all the councellers at Crystal Lake after its grand re-opening in 1980.
Overall a great film which is a lot of fun and full of memorable moments and characters, definitely a great annual tradition for a Halloween watch.
1. Friday the 13th: Part 3 (1982)
Friday the 13th Part 3 is where the franchise first started to stop taking itself so seriously and focused more primarily on memorable characters and great on screen deaths than it did story. I would argue that this worked in the franchises favor for many reasons.
By letting the franchise take a less serious route we were given a cast of characters who were are extremely memorable, funny and a little over the top at times, this may seem like a negative thing as these characters are not realistic and come across more as cartoons than actual people but in my opinion this just made them more likeable.
The film can be silly at times for example there is a secondary plot in the movie where two of the new campers upset a biker gang and a rivalry soon ensues, this is completely un-needed in a movie like this but it is actually one of the best parts of the film because the gang are again really over top versions of what a biker gang is ultimately making them very enjoyable to watch.
The movie doesnt take place in a campsite this time but in a log cabin which was a nice change of scenery, this movie was also much brighter in colour allowing certain elements to stand out more, I found that these previous two movies used very dark colour schemes and night skies to match the darker tone and more serious intention of those movies but since this film is more relaxed in that sense, the more cheerful lighting and colour choices works well with the high energy of the film.
Jason is first wearing the Hockey Mask in part 3 starting the trend of his signature outfit, this movie also had him more in frame and on show much more than the previous two films, again I found this much more fun, I appreciate that having him off camera is more scary but this movie only goes to show that he works much better as a slasher villain taken much less seriously, I would also argue that seeing him looking for his victims is much more creepy and menacing that what we cant see.
The movie was originally made in 3D so there is a lot obvious 3D moments in the film that don’t really look right in 2D as these moments come across as a little forced but that is honestly the only thing I don’t like about this film, I think its one of the best slasher films to watch around the Halloween season and if you have never seen a Friday the 13th film before this probably wouldn’t be bad a place to start, of course the original adds a lot to the lore and the Betsy Palmer moments are outstating but overall I would say that this is a better Friday the 13th movie.
And there you have it the 10 mains seires Friday the 13th movies ranked by yours truly, what were yoour favourite movies in the franchise?
Happy Halloween 2020, I hope this years spooky content, Im going to be taking a short break now until the Christmas Season to give myself some much needed chill out time so I will see you then.
If you would like to help support the website please use the donation button at the top of the page, your donations will help to improve the website by allowing me to afford products to review and to be able to execute any costly updates and changes, any amount in donations are welcome.
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Castlevania: The Adventure was the third Castlevania game released chronologically and was the first title to be exclusive for a handheld system, It was developed and published by the video game developer Konami, it was released in 1989 for the Nintendo Gameboy in Japan and North America prior to a 1991 release in PAL regions.
The game is set 100 years before the events of the first Castlevania game and stars Christopher Belmont who after years of Dracula causing havoc decides he’s had enough and travels to his castle ready to slay him.
The gameplay is fairly standard with it being a very basic 2D action platformer, in traditional Castlevania style you attack with the whip which can only be used in the direction you are facing so quick reaction times are a must in order to survive, it should also be noted that Sub Weapons are not in the game, a very odd choice which really takes away from the experience.
Quick progression is very important in the game since players are given a time limit to finish each of the four stages and their boss, overall the game is very short and I didn’t find the time limits to be anywhere near running out as I completed each level, as usual there are limited lives but there is little reason to worry because continuing from a Game Over only makes you repeat the stage you died on.
The boss fights are very forgettable and its a shame because in the two previous titles the boss fights were at least interesting and had some strategy and weaknesses to sub weapons, here they all feel very much the same and die fairly quickly.
I can at least say that while its not as good as before, the music here is really fun and is impressive for Game Boy standards, I would argue that the music may be the best part of the game due to the rest of it lacking in many ways.
Castlevania: The adventure is extremely disappointing as an entry in the Castlevania series, due to its limited stages, lack of sub weapons and overall boring gameplay nothing about it stands out compared to what we have had before, even the infamous Castlevania 2 is more enjoyable as a gaming experience than what we got here, the controls are clunky and the hit detection is a little off making the whole game even more frustrating than it needs to be, it had a good soundtrack but that’s about it and unfortunately I really cannot give this a higher ranting than a 2.5/10.
I am only grateful that the next Castlevania game I am reviewing is at least another good one so please look forward to that.
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Hocus Pocus is a Disney Channel Original Movie which was directed by Kenny Ortega and was based on a story from David Kirschner and Mick Garris.
The film follows the resurrection of the child devouring witches the Sanderson Sisters and the work of a teenage boy, a love interest and his little sister to stop them.
Upon its release the film was not a commercial success and left Disney at a serious loss, it wasn’t recieved well by critics at the time although it has garnered a cult following in more recent times.
The film opens in Salem 1693 to a young boy named Zachary Binx who fails to rescue his sister from the witches and is cruelly punished to become immortal in the form of a black cat.
The witches are hung for years of crimes, unaware the towns folk do not realise that the sisters cast a curse that will resurrect them if a black flame candle is lit by a virgin on All Hallows Eve.
In the year 1993 Teenager Max Dennison lights the black flame candle and resurrects the witches putting the entire town in serious danger, in the film he is joined with two more heroes his sister Danni and love interest Allison.
The heroes are very well casted and its difficult to find any faults with their acting, my favourite out of the three was Thora Birch who played younger sister Danni Dennison, I often dislike child actors but she was very good and in my opinion the best character in the film. I liked her tough attitude and quick thinking in many areas of the movie.
The Sanderson Sisters (From Left to Right) KATHY NAJIMY, BETTE MIDLER, SARAH JESSICA PARKER
For most people the best part of the film may be Sanderson Sisters themselves but I’m going to be honest and admit that I really dislike them and It’s not because of their villainous nature. I found them extremely annoying the performances were very over the top which I think was the idea but as an adult with no nostalgia for the film all of the screaming and high energy performances were a little too much for me to find enjoyable.
The special effects are very impressive for a TV movie and are phenomenal for such a small budget, the best work is the life like effects of the Black Cat also known as Zachary Binx, there is a particularly memorable scene where he is run over and resurrected due to his immortality.
There are many memorable musical numbers in the film and I really liked all of them, “I put a spell on you” is the most well known but “Sarah’s Song” a melody used to lure unsuspecting children towards the witches was my favourite as I enjoyed It’s more calming ritualistic melody compared to the high energy of the other music.
I would be lying if I said that Hocus Pocus was one of my favourite child friendly Halloween Flicks but I can appreciate it for what it is, a simplistic tale of resurrected witches who are stopped by teenage virgins and a talking cat, it has a easy to understand premise, great music and excellent visual effects, I just found it a little bit annoying which is far less of a crime compared to some other films I have had to review for this website.
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The Season of Spooks and fear is among us and even though this year due to unforeseen circumstances parties and trick or treating has been cancelled, we can still enjoy some spooky media so please join me for Halloween 2020 !
Revenge of the Creature is the sequel to the much beloved sci fi-horror classic the Creature from the Black Lagoon
The opening of the film really caught me off guard because it used a mixture of the previous films footage as well as new scenes briefly explaining the events of the last film and this ultimately leads up to the creature being captured and put on display in a sea park.
The majority of the film takes place in this sea park and I have mixed feelings about this because while the film is scripted well enough that the simple environment of the aquarium do work well from a story telling narrative it is difficult to not miss the amazing shots from the North Florida Wakulla Springs.
Compared to its predecessor I would argue that this film is more light hearted and sillier but I think it works more in its favour because of this, a great example of this is the scene in the laboratory, it opens to a monkey painting and then eventually the films shows us a goofy moment regarding a missing lab rat from a scientist played by Clint Eastwood, this film was actually his debut role although he isn’t credited as being in the picture.
In this movie we get see the creature on Land much more than we do in water, he’s also more brutal and more animalistic with his mannerisms and the way he kills his victims, It’s hard not feel sorry for him in this movie because all he wants is to get back to the Black Lagoon and apart from trying to take the female lead with him to the water he doesn’t do anything that doesn’t have just cause, he only really kills people when he feels threatened and doesn’t do much harm to others.
There is a great scene film in this film where the creature escapes its captivity and all of a sudden the humans that imprisoned it panic and do not know what to do, in this scene the creature is only trying to leave the sea park but everyone is so terrified of him that he has to fight through their terror to try and get back to the sea so that he can breathe.
The casting is great in this movie and all of the characters are very likable, the three main cast members give the best the performances and give the most screen time, of course the creature is yet again played by Ricou Browning for the underwater scenes and for the land segments Tom Hennesey takes over the role. The two main love interests and scientists in the film are Clete Ferguson and Helen Dobson played John Agar and Lori Nelson.
I really enjoyed this movie and I like it better than the first, the original film is great but its a little slow in places, I like this version because it has silly moments that mix well with the horror, and with creature now having more screen time and some more on land segments his character is more entertaining and overall more memorable, at least this was the case for me and from what I understand a lot of people would disagree with my opinion as the original is often regarded as a much better film, either way there is still one more movie in this trilogy and I’m going to be taking a look at it later on in October so look forward to that.
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Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire is the fourth book in the Harry Potter series, it was released in 2000 and is the first larger book in the series with a page count of 636.
The book follows Harry Potter in his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, this year Harry’s names is slipped into the Goblet of Fire which forces him to compete in the Triwizard tournament, a deadly competition with students competing from various magical schools.
Every year the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher is replaced, in the Goblet of Fire it is Alastor Moody who is nicknamed Mad Eye Moody. Mad Eye Moody a rather scary looking fellow and a famous Auror has a threatening and serious demeanor about him, by the end of the story you realise that he has a connection with another character from the book and is maybe more menacing than he already seems.
Madma Maxine a temporary love interest for Hagrid is worth mentioning as well as the meddling Reeta Skeeta a writer for the Daily prophet.
There are three tasks to the Tri Wizard tournament and these were best parts of the book for me as they really helped to add more intense moments and changes in the environment from the usual Hogwarts castle. My favourite task was the second task where the Champions had dive into Hogwarts Lake and rescue the person they cared about the most, for Harry it was Ron however Hermione was to be rescued by Durmstrang student Viktor Krum.
The book differs an awful from the film and a lot of changes in the movie completely mess with the lore of the Harry Potter universe, an example of this is the choice that while Beauxbatons school takes in the majority of European Withches and Wizards, in the film it is female only making no sense what so ever. Dumbledores reaction to Harrys name being entered into the Goblet of Fire is completely different in the book as he comes across as more calm and doesn’t get as angry as he does in the film, the final task is a lot more interesting in the book as the film took out many of the creatures, riddles and traps due to time constraints. The film cut out Dobby the house elf and a house elf called Winky who played major roles in the book. Hermione’s sub plot fighting for house elf rights was also cut from the film.
The final major change I feel I should mention is that the Dance lesson in the film was not in the book at all and was a new addition.
What a fantastic read this one was this is easily my favourite Potter book yet but I do wish they adapted it better to film, this is where the series starts to get really serious and is the first book to not end on a happy note, it leaves the reader nervous about whats to come and unsure of if they should be worried or not and I love it because of this, If I had any complaint Ron Weasley is fairly unlikable in this book due to his fallout with Harry, I can understand why hes upset but it comes as childish and slightly annoying.
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Mega Man 11 is an action platformer developed by Capcom as the eleventh installment of the original Mega Man franchise, it was released in 2018 for PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Playstation 4.
If before reading this review you would like to see my reviews on the previous 10 Mega Man titles please use the following links to read my reviews of Mega Man Legacy Collection and Mega Man Legacy Collection 2
The game opens with a flashback to Dr Wily and Dr Light at Robot University and shows the player the time when they had the famous argument which caused them to become rivals. Due to Wilys Gear System causing strain on robots Lights research was chosen over Wily’s.
At this point Wily wakes up remembering the power of his Gear System he sets to work on taking over the world once again stealing Lights latest robots with the power of the gear system making Wily almost unstoppable. Thankfully Light kept a prototype of Wily’s original gear system allowing him to install it into Mega Man powering him up ready for battle.
The game follows the usual Mega Man pattern of eight challenging platforming levels each with a Robot Master and most with a mini boss. I was surprised that the game did not hold back on its difficulty. There are four different levels of difficulties to pick from but I personally would recommend either casual or normal.
For every Robot Master you successfully defeat you will gain a new weapon that can be used at any time however with limited energy, each robot master is weak to another masters weapon so you need test out different abilities to ensure that you can survive the many challenges of the game.
The Gear System is a new element of gameplay that can temporarily aid Mega Man, players are able to slow down time or increase the Mega Busters Power, I hardly ever used the power gear but the speed was extremely useful for avoiding large oncoming hazards and to make some precise shots on enemies.
Visually I think this is one of the best looking Mega Man games of the classic series, It doesn’t hold a candle to Mega Man 8 but I really enjoyed the small fun details that Capcom put in this one. I love blast mans stage as they designed the background as TV set giving it a lot of charm.
The soundtrack is ok but really isnt anything special, not that its bad or anything its just very forgetful which is shame considering that some of the previous games have given us some of the most influential video music of all time. I love Mega Man music that gets the player pumped for a battle but is still really fun to listen too and Mega Man 11 did not deliver any of this for myself.
Along side the music the game is fully voice acted and the voice work is much better here than it was in Mega Man 8.
Mega Man 11 is a great game I will admit that its not one of my favourites but is a lot of fun none the less. It has some bonus challenges but the only one worth playing in my opinion is the Dr Lights challenge which puts the player through 30 very difficult short levels. The main game is challenging enough but is made a little easy by its very cheap shop which can be visited between levels even on the stages between Wily’s fortress which is a series first, because of this you can keep stocking up on cheaper weapon and energy tanks making the final battle a breeze. A great blast from the past but one that I wish had a more interesting soundtrack and was perhaps not so generous with its item prices and bolt drops.
7.7/10
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Sometimes you can only afford a cheaper option when it comes to rum, buying the cheaper rums is sometimes a gamble on it’s quality but was I left surprised by Lidl’s own rum Captain Cooks Original Smooth and Spiced.
The back of the bottle has a small message which is very basic, its reads ” This amber – coloured Captain Cooks Spiced Rum Based Spirit Drink captivates with its mild spices and its incomparable flavour. It provides an excellent base for mixed drinks.”
The Rum is 35 percent alcohol and it comes in a fully recyclable bottle.
The spirit gives of a very strong artificial vanilla smell, it has a slight chemical taste to it but is pleasant enough to be enjoyed as a cheaper alternative to the more expensive premium rums.
Mixed this rum is very good, the artificial chemical flavour is gone and you have a lovely sweet vanilla flavour which works extremely well with a cola but should be just as good with a beverage of your choice. This is far from some of the best rum I have ever had but if I ever am in need of a cheap rum to bring to a party this may be the one that I choose and if you would like to try this rum you can find it in the alcohol isle of your local Lidl.
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