Movie and Books Girl

Film: Circle Year: 2015 Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery Directed By: Aaron Hann, Mario Miscione Starring: Allegra Masters, Aimee McKay, Ashley Key About:  Held captive and faced with their imminent executions, fifty strangers are forced to choose the one person among them who deserves to live. Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAlpm2oRzy8 My Review: Having not watched this movie in a while and wanting to watch it all day, I caved and put this on through Netflix. Personally, I like horror movies that have a psychological twist such as this film about right and wrong. I have seen this film before and I wouldn't say that it is amazing but it is a good watch.  I liked how Circle  had a lot of different characters and that the viewer got to see the movie from everyone's perspective not just one or two characters while also leaving the questions "why are they there?" and "what is the purpose of the circle?" which left me hoping for more answers as the film w...

Book: Broken Homes Author: Ben Aaronovitch Genre: Crime, Fantasy, Mystery Published By: Gollancz Published Year: 2013 My Review: With my work colleague letting me borrow the next book in the Peter Grant series, I was hoping that this book would be as good as the previous book which had me wondering what was going to happen next and if they would discover where the dark wizard was hiding. Not only this, but with the characters moving to a building they felt had a magical connection, I was wondering how this would effect not only the people performing good magic but the ones who would want it for darkness. Broken Homes did surprise me with the ending however it did rather bore me throughout which did disappoint me. I liked that Broken Homes showed that it wasn't only people who could be magical but that it could also be buildings which demonstrated how magic was everywhere and could build in certain parts of the city. With this being something that I hadn't thought of...

Book: Whispers Underground Author: Ben Aaronovitch Genre: Crime, Fantasy, Mystery Published By: Gollancz Published Year: 2012 My Review: Continuing with the Peter Grant series I couldn't wait to start the third book. With the ending of the second book being so surprising and showing how there was an evil warlock who was also being in London it really made me hope that they would reveal more about them and wonder how Nightingale didn't know about them prior. Hoping for more answers this book excited me and had me looking forward to what was going to happen next. Ben Aaronovitch seems to have become his own in his writing of this novel, with the character developments and feeling that his writing is becoming a lot easier to read than the previous books in this series. With the writing seeming to get better I found that this book was one in which really hooked me from the beginning and already part of the story and one with the characters. A thing thing in which I enjo...

Book: Moon Over Soho Author: Ben Aaronovitch Genre: Crime, Fantasy, Mystery Published By: Gollancz Published Year: 2011 My Review: Having my colleague let me borrow the second book in the Peter Grant series I was looking forward to see how they would progress from the first book and what supernatural beings that they would have to defeat now. Moon Over Soho  is about jazz musicians who end up dying not long after coming off of the stage and seeming healthy at the time. Feeling that something is wrong they call in Peter Grant to help with the investigation and discover that something supernatural was going on. While this is happening there is a new threat arriving called The Faceless One who is also a wizard but no-one remembers what they look like. Will Peter be able to stop the threats facing London? Personally, I liked this book a lot more than the first book as it was already established also there was more supernatural beings introduced and to worry about in Londo...

Book: Rivers of London Author: Ben Aaronovitch Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, Crime Published By: Gollancz Published Year: 2011 My Review: Having been recommended Rivers of London by a work colleague and them letting me borrow their copy I wasn't sure what to expect about this book but from what they told me I was intrigued. Hearing that this was a paranormal crime book which had wizards, vampires, ghosts and more left me interested in how it would be brought together and I am so glad that I did decide to read this. Rivers of London is about a police officer called Peter Grant who on guarding a crime scene ends up getting a statement from a ghost which leads to him working for the supernatural department in the police. Not only this but with people's faces falling off and crimes seeming like they are out of the Punch and Judy puppet show will he be able to solve the crime and stop more murders taking place? I really liked how the start of the book showed how Peter was j...

Film: Bailiwick Year: 2017 Genre: Fantasy, Mystery Directed By: Tonia L. Carrier Starring: Roni Jonah, Kathleen Lawlor, Tim Krueger About: BAILIWICK is the story of John, a lonely, quiet man who is given a magical gift that changes his life. Do you like magic? Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyVld3kb9wg My Review: Having had Bailiwick requested for me to review on a previous blog post I thought I would give it a watch and see what this was about. Before watching I didn't know anything about this movie and had never heard of it so there is nothing which will influence my review. I thought that this movie was good in that it showed how John started to take control of his life thanks to the people at the carnival who gave him the book of magic. I also liked how it showed John learning the tricks from being able to do no magic at all to being able to being able to get people to do as he said by just whispering in their ears. By having the ending also have John p...

Film: Cam Year: 2018 Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller Directed By: Daniel Goldhaber Starring: Madeline Brewer, Patch Darragh, Melora Walters About:  Alice, an ambitious camgirl, wakes up one day to discover she's been replaced on her show with an exact replica of herself. Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN8xZ5WDonk My Review:  Wanting something different to watch I thought I would go for the movie Cam which is available to watch on Netflix and although it kept my attention this film did rather disappoint me. With the film being about a camgirl I was rather intrigued about how this would end up as a horror and was looking forward to the development of the movie and did keep my interest in that she gets taken over by someone who looks like her even though not herself. I also liked that through this the watcher was able to see how Lola was reacting to someone impersonating her and the trouble in which she was going through by having the tech support no...

Book: Flood and Fang Author: Marcus Sedgwick Genre: Children's, Fantasy, Gothic Published By: Orion Children's Books Published Year: 2009 Having read others in the series for The Raven Mysteries by Marcus Sedgwick I thought I would read the first book in the series for the first time and I am glad that I did. This book is perfect for children and one that I enjoyed reading. This book coming from the ravens perspective instead of from a human is a great way of changing the way this book is written compared to others of it's kind. Having it also more of a gothic read is great and appeals to children who are looking for something a little darker than other stories. I do find the mystery is great and not having the answer till the end of the book keeps the attention of the reader and makes them want to carry on reading to see what happens next also by adding suspense it created a need to continue the novel. Also by having short chapters it is easy to only have smal...

Film: Game Night Year: 2018 Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime Directed By: John Francis Daley, Johnathan Goldstein Starring: Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler About:  A group of friends who meet regularly for game nights find themselves entangled in a real-life mystery when the shady brother of one of them is seemingly kidnapped by dangerous gangsters. Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmxMAdV6s4U My Review: Having wanted to see this movie in the cinema however never getting around to it I managed to see it through the online website Rakuten TV. I thought that this film was funny throughout and was a great mystery film which is all made into a game for the group of friends, with this film also bringing in a creepy neighbour in which the audience doesn't trust was a good addition. I thought that this film had a couple of really good twists within it and made me want to see more of what was going to happen next as well as shocked with some of the thin...

Film: Jigsaw Year: 2017 Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller Directed By: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig Starring: Matt Passmore, Tobin Bell, Callum Keith Rennie About:  Bodies are turning up around the city, each having met a uniquely gruesome demise. As the investigation proceeds, evidence points to one suspect: John Kramer, the man known as Jigsaw, who has been dead for over 10 years Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcb68kAOvt4 My Review: Having not seen the newest Saw movie I was surprised to see that it was on Netflix, however this just made me have to see it especially on the lead up to Halloween. I am so glad that I was not disappointed with this movie as I was worried with the amount of Saw movies that this one would be the same and get boring rather quickly. I thought that this film was rather clever and kept Jigsaw to the same formula in which the audience is used to with the Saw franchise. However, when the murders and bodies start happening ten y...

Film: The Sixth Sense Year: 1999 Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller Directed By: M. Night Shyamalan Starring: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette About:  A boy who communicates with spirits seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG9AGf66tXM My Review: Having grown up with The Sixth Sense and it being one of the first ghost movies I had seen which scared me it did become a favourite of mine, however after not having seen it in a couple of years I gave it a watch to see if it still had the same effect on me. The Sixth Sense is about a little boy named Cole who can communicate with the dead and starts to get help off of a child psychologist who is going through a rough time at home. With Cole wanting help on no longer being afraid of the ghosts in which he is seeing will the psychologist Malcolm be able to help Cole and get everything back on track with his wife? I find that this film has incredible ac...

Film: Otherlife Year: 2017 Genre: Crime, Mystery, Sci-fi Directed By: Ben C. Lucas Starring: Jessica De Gouw, Thomas Cocquerel, T.J. Power About:  After inventing a drug that induces time-compressed virtual realities, young Ren grapples with partner Sam over how to use their powerful creation. Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qav2Z0TgYMA My Review: Seeing a film on Netflix that didn't sound familiar but was also sci-fi I had to give Otherlife a watch and this did surprise me however didn't leave me as satisfied as I hoped that it would. Otherlife is about a drug which creates a virtual reality however seems to be like real memories and a days worth of memories can be done very quickly. While trying to get funding Ren by accident ends up killing someone due to a glitch in the programme. As a result of this she gets put in an isolation in her own mind for a year due to the government wanting to use it on prisoners which is only an hour in the real world. ...

Film: Mulholland Drive Year: 2001 Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller Directed By: David Lynch Starring: Naomi Watts, Laura Harring , Justin Theroux About:  After a car wreck on the winding Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a perky Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality. Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbZJ487oJlY My Review: Having been asked to watch Mulholland Drive I decided to go into this movie completely blind and not know anything about this film before giving it a watch. I do wish however that I did check it out before I watched it and found out that this film personally just wasn't for me. Mulholland Drive is about a girl who ends up coming to Los Angeles and finds another woman in her aunt's apartment who has no memory of who she is. As a result both woman try to find out who the woman is coming across loads of clues but not all is as it seems. Personally...

Book: Lunatics and Luck Author: Marcus Sedgwick Genre: Children's, fantasy, mystery Published By: Orion Children's Books Published Year: 2010 My Review: Having previously read the second book of the Raven Mysteries "Ghosts and Gadgets" I couldn't help myself but read the third book named Lunatics and Luck . This book is about the castle Otherhand and how things start going a little strange within the castle. Not only this but the children are made to start school with a teacher they feel could have more to him than meets the eye! I found this book really fun to read and couldn't put it down once I had started reading it. Loving that this is such a relaxing read as well as kept me guessing about why the strange things were going on within the castle. I did enjoy that the children were trying to get rid of a teacher in which they didn't like as I feel that a lot of children can relate to wanting to try anything to get rid of bad teachers who the...

Film: Self/less Year: 2015 Genre: Action, Mystery, Sci-fi Directed By: Tarsem Singh Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Ben Kingsley, Natalie Martinez, Matthew Goode About:  A dying real estate mogul transfers his consciousness into a healthy young body, but soon finds that neither the procedure nor the company that performed it are quite what they seem. Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3agaVwt0tb8 My Review: Wanting a movie I have seen before and always enjoy I decided to go for the Ryan Reynolds movie Self/less  which I always really enjoy no matter how many times I have seen it. The movie is about a man who is dying and decides to put his mind into another body which is younger and a lot healthier however he is no longer able to talk or see anyone from his previous life and they are not to know he is still alive. When he by accident misses a dose of his medication he starts to see memories which he discovers do not belong to him but to the person who's body ...

Film: The Vvitch Year: 2015 Genre: Horror, Mystery Directed By: Robert Eggers Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie About:  A family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession. Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQXmlf3Sefg My Review: Having heard a lot of good things about this movie I saw that it was on Netflix and thought I would give it a watch, however I ended up disappointed by this movie. The Vvitch is about a family who moves out of England and has their baby stolen by the woods, as tensions grow the family starts to think that maybe it is the daughter who is a witch and the family is slowly being torn apart by black magic. I found that this film was not enjoyable to watch and it made me rather bored from near the beginning. Hoping that it was just a slow movie to get into I continued watching but only the last ten minutes was really all that enjoyable to me. The film had no characters...

Film: The Skeleton Key Year: 2005 Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery Directed By: Iain Softley Starring: Kate Hudson, Peter Sarsgaard, Joy Bryant About:  A hospice nurse working at a spooky New Orleans plantation home finds herself entangled in a mystery involving the house's dark past. Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=654uzrc6Lsk My Review: Having not seen The Skeleton Key in years I decided to give it another watch especially as it has been a film stuck in my head that I want to see for a couple of weeks. The film is about a woman who goes to a house in New Orleans and is helping to look after an old man, however when she goes to the attic she starts to notice that maybe something darker is happening within the house. Starting to believe hoodoo she starts to believe that maybe she is in danger but will she be able to escape the house? I like this film and it reminds me of when I first started to really enjoy horror movies. I think this is a good film that ...

Book: Gideon's Sword Author: Preston & Child Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction Published By: Orion Books Published Year: 2011 My Review: Having been recommended to read Gideon's Sword previously from an anonymous source on the Movieandbooksgirl tumblr I managed to finally pick up the book Gideon's Sword and read it for the very first time. The book is about a man called Gideon Crew who after having seen his father get killed when he was only twelve years old and on his mother's death bed when he was twenty-four his mother asks him to get revenge goes after the man responsible. Not long after however he is contacted by a company called EES who is looking for a man called Wu and wanting to know what he is carrying as it is part of a high-technology weapon. This leading to Gideon trying to find out what Wu has and trying to find out everything he can about the weapon before an assassin called Nodding Crane gets to him! This book is put into two sections th...

Film: The Maze Runner Year: 2014 Genre: Action, Mystery, Sci-fi Directed By: Wes Ball Starring: Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Will Poulter About:  Thomas is deposited in a community of boys after his memory is erased, soon learning they're all trapped in a maze that will require him to join forces with fellow "runners" for a shot at escape. Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwwbhhjQ9Xk My Review: With the Death Cure coming out to DVD I couldn't resist but to watch the full trilogy from the beginning, starting with the first movie in the trilogy The Maze Runner . The film is about a boy called Thomas who after brought into the glade is trying to help the boys escape and get out of the maze he has realised that they are in. Not only this but it shows the friendships as well as difficulties that the boys have had while in the glade and the monsters in the maze who are trying to stop them from escaping. The Maze Runner is a film in which I per...

Book: Death In The Stars Author: Frances Brody Genre: Mystery, Crime, fiction Published By:  Piatkus Published Year: 2017 My Review:  This book is the ninth book in the Kate Shackleton series and also the first book of this series and this author in which I have read. The book is about a famous singer who comes to Kate to help arrange the transport to a lunar eclipse sighting to which she has agreed to go to. However when someone at the party and a good friend of the singer ends up dead and there is two former deaths in the company within the last two years Kate starts to think that more is going on than just coincidence.  I found that this book was too slow for my particular taste and that not much particularly happened in the book which made me zone out at times and rather bored throughout the book. This did however pick up near the ending of the book which did have me reading it a lot faster. It does however have a lot of different characters who end up be...