Cross Roads 7

Posted by cat2002116 on October 9, 2023
Posted in: Conventions, Starfury. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

This wasn’t a convention I planned initially to go to. I really wanted to meet Christian Kane and Amber Benson, because I liked both of them in Buffy and Angel respectively…and Amber Benson in Supernatural, too. Even though Lenore only appeared in two episodes, her character left a huge impact on me, as she was the turning point in Sam and Dean realising that not everything supernatural was necessarily evil. So I did ask if someone could pick me up an autograph from Christian Kane and Amber Benson…and a few people did offer…but then I got a back payment from the NHS that allowed me to pay for a ticket, plus a photo with David Boreanaz, who was announced literally two days before my money came in and I was able to get my ticket. Fortunately, despite my worries, the event didn’t sell out before I could buy my ticket, so I was able to get my ticket…and photos with five of the actors in total, so I was really excited about this event.

This event was a pretty big one, with about 1400 attendees (200 gold, 1200 regular). I managed to get to the event, but I got there later than I should have done due to traffic. Then my normal route to the airlink was closed off, meaning that I had to go a different way and into a tiny lift which…yeah, not ideal considering just how many people were moving through the airport. But I got to the hotel where the convention was, I managed to get registered and picked up all of the things I needed…then I had to go into Birmingham town centre for the hotel I was staying at. It was only a six minute walk from the train station, but Google Maps decided it wasn’t going to work. Unfortunately, that caused my first meltdown. Google Maps worked eventually, but it wasn’t a great start to the weekend.

Anyway, I got myself settled into the hotel and then returned to Birmingham Airport for the opening ceremony. And that was really great fun. Misha Collins and David Boreanaz weren’t arriving until the Saturday, but six out of eight of the guests being there was awesome! It really felt like they all wanted to be there…and I was left with a good feeling as I got myself fed and then went back to my hotel. (Five Guys is ridiculously expensive, by the way).

Anyway, I got back to the convention on Saturday morning for 9am…only to find that there were three different photo studios. And my photos with Jodelle and Amber were at different sides of the hotel and both taking place at the same time, which…sent me into a panic attack. Fortunately, the stewards were great and really helpful and I managed to get both of my photos…despite the fact that Jodelle was fifteen minutes late and Amber had already started. I got to both of them!

My next three photos went off without a hitch; they were half an hour apart and thanks to being on access (I could do without the diabetes, but unfortunately, it seems like I’ll be living with that…and let’s not forget finally being diagnosed with autism), I was able to sit down and wait in the photo studio, rather than going backwards and forwards more than three times.

I’d signed up to help steward and wound up helping at the fan meets. Unfortunately, due to reasons, I had a second meltdown while trying to get half of my autographs and return to help steward as quickly as possible. Due to the stress of the weekend, I don’t think it’s in me to help steward events anymore. It’s a shame, but if I’m going to have meltdowns, I need to stop doing that.

Anyway, the staff members were great. I was given the space I needed to calm down and was able to get all but one of the autographs I’d wanted to, as well as return to the fan meets to finish my stewarding shift very quickly. And I don’t think any of the guests realised I’d been crying…or if they did, they didn’t comment on it, thank goodness.

Christian Kane and Amber Benson were the main two I was most excited to meet, so I was really happy that neither of them had cancelled. The Lindsey photo was the last one left for Christian Kane to sign…and I’d been torn about whether to get Supernatural or Buffy the Vampire Slayer for Amber, but I wanted a Lenore photo, so…that’s what it was.

And, of course, it wouldn’t be Starfury without the included autographs, which I got on the Saturday as well.

I unfortunately can’t decipher what Tahmoh wrote in his autographs, although I think the booklet is his character name from Supernatural. Still, the meetings were all great…and I got an extra heart from Amber in my booklet, since the first one she drew didn’t look exactly like a heart.

Anyway, after everything had finished and I had dinner, there was the cosplay competition. I had a lot of trouble seeing the costumes without standing up and blocking other people’s view, but I moved to the side of the hall so I could see…and there were a lot of very cool costumes! Some of my favourites were Vampire Slayer Barbie, the Smile Time crew, the Gentleman…really, though, everyone’s costume was fantastic and I loved seeing all of the work that went into them! And having David B as the announcer was pretty cool, since he made a lot of funny comments.

Anyway, Sunday was a much better day for me, as I didn’t have to be there quite so early. It was much nicer to have a leiusurely breakfast and a bit of a lie-in, then to head over to the airport for the second (and final) day of the convention.

I got to see two of the panels, which were Christian Kane and Amber Benson, then Misha Collins, David Haydn-Jones and Adam Fergus. Despite the strikes making it difficult to ask any questions about struck work, people came up with a few really good questions…and it was also awesome to get to hear Christian play and sing!

The above two pictures were taken by Gina and full credit goes to her for them.

Apart from Christian playing the guitar and singing (thank you, Amber, for bringing it up!), my favourite part of their talk was when they were asked about spirit animals…and Christian shared all of the evidence as to why a wolf was his, which was pretty cool.

The other talk I was able to be part of involved Misha Collins, David Haydn-Jones and Adam Fergus.

The above two photos were taken by @purplenurplespn and full credit for these go to her.

This talk made me laugh a lot…and there were some really cool questions asked, such as, ‘What’s your Mandela Effect moment?’ None of the actors actually knew what that meant, but there was a demonstration of the effect that came from a well-known quote that’s been misremembered.

I got half of my autographs on the Saturday, but the other half were on the Sunday…all of those who were the extra/bonus guests. I was really disappointed not to get a 10×8 of Jodelle signed on the Saturday, due to my meltdown causing me to forget to pick one up. The staff members did very kindly allow me to go in during the end of the autograph session on Sunday, so I was able to get my 10×8. And I was wearing my cat top, which my sister and my two oldest niblings got me for my birthday last year, which Jodelle told me she liked, so that was a lovely experience.

While I’m not attending Cross Roads 8 next year (I really shouldn’t be going to so many conventions, and in fact this one is likely my last one for this year), I am hoping to go to Lux 3 and Ultimates next year…hopefully taking my oldest nibling to the latter.

I cannot recommend Starfury enough. If you don’t go to any other conventions, go to one of theirs. The event doesn’t oversell and it’s not just a signing event. Plus, you get all talks included as well as the parties. Check it out!

It Lives Inside

Posted by cat2002116 on October 1, 2023
Posted in: Horror, Movies, Reviews. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

So this movie wasn’t one I intended to watch. I didn’t even know it was being shown at the cinema until a friend told me it looked good and sent me the link to the Cineworld page, so….

While there was a lot about this movie that was very similar to other horror movies, I did think this movie handled the horror aspects really well. It was more focused on the experiences of one character and how everything affected her, which allowed me, as a viewer, to connect to Samidha on a more emotional level. I have to be honest, I really didn’t like her at all at first. I felt bad for Tamira, even just seeing her through Sam’s eyes, and then worse for her when Sam broke the jar, despite Tamira basically begging her for help.

I can’t really say how accurate the movie is in terms of the Hindu religion, but I did feel that the horror itself came across really well. This movie did a fairly good job with the less is more approach, especially as the demon could only be fully seen when the lights were out. I thought that was shown to particularly good effect when the demon was hunting in the school. The motion sensor lights switching on, showing that something was approaching without being able to see it, was a particularly effective creepy aspect to the movie.

One thing that I felt worked really well was Sam’s relationship with her parents. She was clearly being pulled in two different directions, with her mother wanting her to be more traditional and Sam wanting to live her own life and not be held back by taking part in traditions. It was a really interesting contrast in the character.

There was gore and violence in this movie and also some bad choices made by the main character. However, it was nice to see that Sam’s mother believed and actually acted to help her, despite the conflicts that existed between them throughout the movie.

I also thought there were some really good moments of foreshadowing through this movie. I was a bit confused by the scenes showing Tamira in a small dark place, at least at first. I’d initially believed she was killed. Then I thought she was stuck in a jar like the demon had been. Once I realised that wasn’t the case, it was odd that Sam didn’t figure out where Tamira was until the end of the movie. Then again, she was dealing with a lot of trauma and fear, so perhaps it was understandable.

I did enjoy this movie, even though I’m not sure I’d get anything from watching it a second time. I would recommend watching it if you’re on the fence about it. There were some nice moments of Hindu culture and traditions that I would have liked to see a bit more of. I also think it would be interesting to see a sequel to this movie, but perhaps not one that’s horror-themed, as I think there are other genres that could be explored with these same characters.

A Haunting in Venice

Posted by cat2002116 on September 24, 2023
Posted in: Movies, Reviews, Thriller. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

I have watched the other two movies with this version of Poirot in…and I have to say, even though he doesn’t hold a candle to David Suchet (Suchet will always be Poirot, as far as I’m concerned), I did still find this movie entertaining.

I will say that this movie was clearly intended to be marketed as a supernatural thriller, which is pretty far from the original source novel. (Note: I haven’t actually read the book, but my understanding from the blurb is that it’s a different feel and vastly different characters).

I did think the movie was really good, despite it being more horror/creepy themed than I’m used to seeing from Poirot movies. I did feel there were a few too many characters; at various points, I couldn’t remember who was hiding which secret. Yes, everyone has secrets – but it was a little hard to suspend my disbelief that everyone had secrets directly connected to the murder plot.

The legend of the children’s vengeance made for quite a haunting backdrop to the murder mystery itself. However, I did think there was a bit too much exposition; it wasn’t necessary to be constantly reminded of the doctors and nurses part of the legend.

I did think there were some really good elements of foreshadowing in this movie. And the sense of something unnatural going on worked really well, along with the idea that Poirot might be losing something of his edge. Unfortunately, I did feel that forcing elements of horror constantly into the movie made it much more difficult to follow the threads of the mystery going on. Because I was so busy trying to figure out the possible causes of what Poirot was seeing, I wasn’t able to pick up on any of the clues about ‘whodunnit’.

I was pretty ambivalent towards most of the characters…with the exception of Ariadne, who irritated me. She seemed really flighty. Did she believe in the supernatural, or was she a skeptic? Her beliefs seemed to change and fluctuate as the plot demanded it.

On the whole, I think this movie would have been far better as an original story, rather than being a Poirot movie. It just didn’t really resonate in the same way as a good murder mystery does. If you’re looking for a good Poirot movie, I can’t say that this is really going to fill that void. But it’s probably worth watching if you’re on the fence about it.

The Nun II

Posted by cat2002116 on September 24, 2023
Posted in: Horror, Movies, Reviews. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

So…The Conjuring universe (and the Insidious universe) are horror movies I actually enjoy. And to date, I’ve seen all of The Conjuring movies in the cinema, including The Nun…so of course, I was interested in going to see this one.

The threat of the nun wasn’t a new one, since it had been first introduced in The Conjuring and later explored in the first Nun movie. I did like seeing how Irene was coping after her first experience with the demon, and it was pretty interesting to see the rumours about her. I thought it fit with her character to not take any credit for her battle with the demon in the first movie, though it was pretty obvious that at least some of those in the convent knew, or at least had their suspicions. Debra didn’t seem surprised once Irene was revealed as the nun rumoured to have faced the demon, after all.

Speaking of Debra, I would have liked a bit more detail about her history and what drove her. Irene was always very clear in her faith, even from the first film, but I didn’t really get that same vibe from Debra. All she really said was that she needed to see a miracle and I just couldn’t help wondering…why?

Since the first movie ended with Maurice having been possessed, I knew he’d play quite a big role in the second movie. I wasn’t expecting him to be completely unaware of what was going on with the demon, though. It seems strange that he didn’t notice so many people dying around him, even if he didn’t make the connection of him being involved.

I did really like the relationship that Maurice formed with both Kate and Sophie. Sophie’s experiences with being bullied and treated as an outsider really hit close to home for me, as someone who went through constant bullying when I was at school.

I liked the investigation side of this movie that involved Irene and Debra. It added another level of tension to the movie to see that running alongisde the inevitable violence and fear the demon caused. Plus, it was really good to see Irene’s visions, as well as learn more about her family history.

On the whole, I did enjoy this movie. There were some cheap jump scares, but those didn’t really detract from my enjoyment of the film. I would be interested in seeing how this movie ultimately ties into the rest of the Conjuring universe, though, considering how the movie ended.

If you’re invested in the Conjuring universe, I would recommend watching this movie, as I personally felt it was a really good entry into the franchise.

Cobweb

Posted by cat2002116 on September 2, 2023
Posted in: Horror, Movies, Reviews. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

I do like horror movies, in spite of what a lot of my reviews might say. The thing is, though, I like horror movies that are done well…and unfortunately, despite the trailer looking really intriguing, this movie fell short of a lot of my expectations.

The concept of this movie was an interesting one, to an extent, with an eight-year-old child believing he was hearing voices in the walls and his parents believing it was just his overactive imagination. But to be honest, I didn’t really like any of the adult characters in the movie. Peter’s dad was clearly emotionally and mentally abusive, even if he wasn’t physically (locking a child in a cellar is not appropriate discipline) and his mother was so completely beaten down that I just saw her as a weak-willed person who refused to protect her son even in a token way. And don’t get me started on the teacher, but I will say this: if you believe that a child is being abused by their parents and you sneak your number to them, they call and ask for help, and then have to hang up…don’t call back on the number they called you on. And if you do that, for goodness’ sake, don’t say to the parent who answers, ‘Oh, I think (child’s name) just called me.’ I’m sorry, but that was something that pulled me right out of the movie, because of how incredibly stupid that action was.

There wasn’t really any reason to care about any of the characters in the movie apart from Peter. His fellow student who was bullying him was just annoying…and quite frankly, I was just waiting for him to get his comeuppance.

I’ve mentioned before (probably so many times that blog readers are sick of it) that what you don’t see is scarier than what you do see…and unfortunately, this movie was yet another one that ignored that concept. Sadako from Ringu was scary. I’ll even give you Samara from the American remake. But it’s honestly tiresome to see so many movies copy something that worked once, instead of using their own ideas.

To be honest, there was a lot of potential in this movie, but it fell so short of the mark. There was no reason to care about most of the characters…and the actions of one of the ‘good’ characters just hindered the safety of an abused child. Also, the ending of the movie was really hard to suspend my disbelief, because why would someone living in the walls be so supernaturally strong as seemed to be the case in this movie?

Unfortunately, I can’t recommend watching this movie. Too many cheap scares and not much of an original idea.

My search for a well-made, interesting, actually good horror movie is going to continue for a long time yet, I believe.

Gran Turismo

Posted by cat2002116 on September 2, 2023
Posted in: Biographical, Movies, Reviews, Sports Drama. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

The first racing car movie I watched (Rush), I was kind of disappointed, since although the trailer had looked good, all of the good parts had been included in the trailer…and the movie itself was pretty boring. So I was a bit hesitant about watching this movie, considering the last one I saw with a similar ‘based on a true racing car story’ tagline.

I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. I actually found myself enjoying it. I don’t really know a lot about racing cars, so I can’t speak to how accurate this movie was to the reality. I did like the fact that there were moments of tension almost from the start of the movie, like when Jann is racing back from his dad’s business in order to take part in the qualifying race to be at the academy. I found myself on the edge of my seat during that scene.

It was also really good to see Jann come into conflict with his father through the movie. It was sad to see that he seemed to get very little support from his parents and his brother, though, even when it was made clear that he had the chance to compete to be a race car driver. It was obvious why his father wasn’t being supportive, but there were no conversations on the phone with his brother, or messages, at all. Considering they were shown to have a fairly good relationship at the start, I found that lack of content to be quite strange.

I really liked Jack’s character in this movie and I thought it was particularly effective that he planned to prove that those at the academy couldn’t make it. It was an interesting teaching style that I thought worked really well, as it meant he wasn’t coddling them at all and they had to work twice as hard to reach a point that they could actually compete in the race.

I also really liked the fact that, despite him being the best at the academy, Jann wasn’t as good when it came to being put in front of the camera. Even though that conflict didn’t play a big part in the movie, it was there enough to add some more tension to what was going on. I also really liked the relationship that formed between Jann and Jack, especially as it gave me the opportunity to learn more about Jack’s past and why he wasn’t a racing car driver anymore.

On the whole, I did enjoy this movie. It was entertaining to watch, even though it didn’t make me any more interested in watching racing cars. The movie is definitely worth watching if you’re on the fence about it.

Blue Beetle

Posted by cat2002116 on August 27, 2023
Posted in: Movies, Reviews, Superhero. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

This movie came out the same weekend I was at Starfury: Witchbomb, so I decided to go and see it the day after I came back from London…and, to be honest, I really enjoyed this movie.

When I saw the trailer, this movie looked like it was more of a comedy than…well, like most of the movies in the DCEU. I still wanted to see it, as the superhero genre is one of my favourites; right up there with the horror genre. And don’t get me wrong…there is humour in this movie, but it’s also more serious than the trailer portrays it as. I think it’s a shame that wasn’t included in the trailer, as I think some of the serious elements made the movie much stronger.

Jaime was an easy character to like in this movie. The casual racism he and his family had to deal with was a strong element of this movie. For instance, there’s a scene where a receptionist deliberately mispronounces his name…and it’s one of the very few times I wanted to reach through the screen and punch a fictional character. Interestingly enough, that feeling was also triggered with the main villain of this movie: Victoria Kord. For different reasons, but I think the root cause of deciding someone who looked different was somehow beneath them lay underneath her actions at one point.

I thought it was interesting to see how Khaji-Da had its own personality, even though the trailer seemed to make it come across as merely a robot or an AI. One of the most important parts of this movie was Jaime and Khaji-Da finally completing their bond, which I thought came across really well…especially when Jaime’s mother did treat Khaji-Da as a separate entity from her son.

I did, unfortunately, find Milagro to be quite an irritating character at first, when she snatches the scarab from Jaime and refuses to give it back. I understand the whole sibling relationship, but there’s something I absolutely hate about one person snatching something from another and refusing to give it back. However, I liked Milagro later on in the movie, along with the rest of her family. I liked how they all came together…and I truly loved how Nana reacted to things after it all went so badly initially.

On the whole, I really enjoyed this movie. It was a great superhero one which also tackled some really heavy issues. There were some quite powerful scenes in this movie that really spoke to me. I really hope that this reboot of the DCEU won’t result in Jaime and his family getting written out of the universe, because I’d really like to see more of them in future movies…especially as a mid-credits scene indicated there was more of this story to be told.

Starfury: Witchbomb

Posted by cat2002116 on August 27, 2023
Posted in: Conventions, Motherland: Fort Salem, Starfury, Warrior Nun, Witchbomb. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

I have to be honest…I haven’t seen Warrior Nun and I’ve only seen two episodes of Motherland: Fort Salem. But Taylor Hickson was lovely to meet last year, at the final Survival event, and one of my friends was going to Witchbomb, so I went to meet her as well.

In any case, I booked my ticket quite late…although I wasn’t the last attendee number, at least to the best of my knowledge. I know the event was really close to selling out…and I was surprised it didn’t end up doing so, given that there were eight really good guests who all seemed really excited and happy about being there. At the opening ceremony, they all seemed to have this really great energy, which was awesome! And the cheering when Amalia Holm and then Taylor Hickson came up on the stage was deafening.

I hadn’t planned to get any photos with any of the guests, having only budgeted for autographs. However, I mentioned to my friend that it would have been nice to get a photo with Amalia, who plays Raelle’s (Taylor Hickson) love interest in Motherland: Fort Salem. And she kindly paid for most of the photo, so I ended up getting one…although not in my normal photo outfit, since I didn’t bring that with me.

When I have photos with actors, I always try and see how they are with other attendees. If they seem to be open to hugs, I’ll ask if I can hug them…and Amalia was incredibly sweet, as you can probably tell from the photo above. I’ve seen some of the double photos with Amalia and Taylor and they clearly had a lot of fun with doing the shoots.

Unfortunately, Kristina Tonteri-Young (Sister Beatrice in Warrior Nun) had to leave immediately after photos on the Sunday, so she very kindly signed for everyone on the Saturday night. I’m not sure how late she ended up staying for, but the cosplay competition ended up having a delayed start, so I think it must have been quite late! Anyway, despite having to get through about 500 attendees (and perhaps double that in autographs, since there was a maximum of three for each attendee and she was included for free), she still took the time to talk to attendees and it didn’t feel like she was rushing through the autographs…even though I wouldn’t have blamed her if she did!

I really enjoyed the cosplay competition, although it was very much Motherland: Fort Salem and Warrior Nun themed. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but there are normally a few other themes sprinkled in when I’ve seen the competitions in the past! All of the outfits were super awesome and it was also really good to see the reactions from the guests. Unfortunately, I missed some of the announcements about who had won due to reporting to a staff/steward about someone breaking the rules. It’s very disappointing to see peple persist in filming, even after all of the warnings given about it.

Lyne Renee (General Alder in Motherland: Fort Salem) also had to leave early, specifically after the autograph session on the Sunday. When me and my friend got into the room, I was shocked to see that her line was so short, since I was expecting it to be long. And just like Kristina, she wasn’t rushing through people. There was no sense of ‘she needs to leave soon,’ even though I knew that she actually did.

Diana Pavlovská and Emilie Leclerc (Willa Collar and Izadora in Motherland: Fort Salem respectively) were the two whose autographs I got next. As you can see from her autograph, Diana outlined the i in her name in a blue heart balloon…and she did that for every single autograph. It was such an awesome touch, but I couldn’t help feeling bad about how many autographs she probably ended up doing that to. And Emilie was awesome! She did stars on my autograph (as you can see) and while she was doing them, she told me she didn’t know why. I was just like, ‘I’m good with whatever you want to do!’

Amalia Holm (Scylla Ramshorn in Motherland: Fort Salem) and Olivia Delcán (Sister Camila on Warrior Nun) were the next two autographs I got. They were both lovely to meet, though I moved on quite quickly due to the long line building behind me.

Kandyse McClure (Nicte Batan in Motherland: Fort Salem, though I got a picture of her as Anastasia Dualla from Battlestar Galactica) was the final autograph I got. Her line was really long…and she was very chatty and easy to talk to. I had a good couple of minutes with her before I moved on!

Now, Starfury wouldn’t be Starfury without a few autographs included in the price…and I had six out of eight of the guests included in my ticket. I was very happy about this – I’ve always said and belive that Starfury is excellent value for money!

Another important aspect of Starfury for me is the access for disabled attendees, since I now have type 1 diabetes. The team has taken to having stewards who can be a stand-in for the attendee in an autograph queue…and for me, that turned out to be a good thing. Because I had two overloads, one on Saturday when we were waiting for an hour for Amalia photos, and one on Sunday, during the autographs. I actually didn’t realise that was coming on, but my friend with me realised and got one of the stewards to take my place. (I thought I was fine, right up until everyone around me started yelling and cheering at one of the guests when she was leaving). Another really good thing that the stewards were doing was going around offering attendees water. I didn’t feel too hot in the rooms, but I know quite a few other people did. Kandyse told me she thought her deodrant had stopped working!

I love Starfury. It’s 100% the best convention company out there, and the organiser does his best to keep the costs for attendees down. And the addition of helping with queues and offering water has really made a difference.

If you’re a fan of Motherland: Fort Salem, or Warrior Nun, or both, check out next year’s event. Heck, even if you’ve never heard of the shows but would like to be at an event that doesn’t oversell and is less stressful for both guests and attendees than signing events, Starfury definitely fits that bill!

Scrapper

Posted by cat2002116 on August 16, 2023
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

To be honest, this wasn’t a movie I would have chosen to go and watch. I’d seen it advertised once and it didn’t really grab me…but I went to a secret showing at Cineworld and it happened to this movie, so I ended up watching it.

The movie starts off with a very familiar quote: ‘It takes a village to raise a child.’ And then those words are scribbled out and a response scrawled: ‘I can raise myself, thanks.’

The biggest problem I had with this movie was that it was really hard to suspend my disbelief. I know, it wasn’t supernatural/paranormal/fantasy/etc., but it was set in the real world…and it came across, to me at least, that many of the adults were aware that Georgie was living on her own, but did nothing about it. For me, that didn’t make a lot of sense. In fact, a lot of the movie felt like it wasn’t all that realistic…such as a twelve-year-old paying the bills for her house. Sorry, but I 100% don’t believe that the tiny amount of cash she got from fencing stolen bikes was enough to pay for the TV, mobile phone, landline, etc.

I really didn’t like Jason. To be honest, from his first appearance, the way he handled everything was just wrong…and I didn’t really trust that he was there for Georgie at all. There were a couple of bonding scenes later on in the movie, but I could understand why Georgie was so hostile towards him to begin with, after he just came back into her life and started blackmailing her instead of explaining the truth to her.

There were a couple of amusing scenes in the movie, such as the one where Ali is naming the spiders…and when he and Georgie are making up stories about what Jason could really be doing. However, those moments of humour were few and far between. I found the clips of other characters talking on video interesting, but although it gave the movie a little bit of a documentary feel, those scenes were really confusing. Who was interviewing these people about Georgie and why? And there were three random triplets and…a teacher?…who seemed to have no interaction with Georgie, yet talked about her like they knew things about her. And yet not one person cared that she’d lost her mother, so…yeah. Most of the other characters in this movie were really unsympathetic. There was an interesting scene between Layla and Georgie, though, which I would have liked to see explored further, as Layla seemed to have a bit more depth to her than her other appearances had suggested.

On the whole, this movie just didn’t really resonate with me. The actions of the characters didn’t make sense, and while I really liked and was able to empathise with Georgie, I didn’t like the way Jason handled things at all. Personally, I wouldn’t watch this movie again.

Meg 2: The Trench

Posted by cat2002116 on August 15, 2023
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

I did watch the first film when it was in the cinema, and it was actually quite a fun movie…one that didn’t require much thought and was actually pretty engaging. So when I saw the second movie advertised, I was immediately interested in going to see it.

Firstly, I have to say that the trailer wasn’t fully accurate to the movie. From the trailer, the movie seemed like a very different one to what I actually went to see. That’s not to say that the movie was bad, because it was actually pretty good…but it wasn’t all about the megs escaping the trench and going after humans, even if that was part of the plot.

The movie opens with a prehistoric scene, showing a fairly typical ‘there’s always a bigger predator’ scene involving dinosaurs. The rating of this movie was actually surprisingly low…and I think it could perhaps it could have done with showing a bit more of the reality. Since the movie didn’t really shy away from showing animals eating each other (and humans), there was a very small amount of blood and gore, which didn’t really fit with what was showing.

There was actually quite a lot of tension in this movie, at least at the point when Jonas and the others took an expedition down into the trench. I was fascinated by the idea that there was this whole other world that no one had seen before…and while the events surrounding the characters needing to walk across the ocean floor were pretty far from ideal, I really liked the fact that I got to see more of the underwater world, even though it was fraught with tension and there were very dangerous animals down there.

I did think that the strongest part of this movie was the relationship between Jonas and Meiying. I liked that he’d taken on more of a father role with her and that she was his priority…although I did think it was all a bit predictable with the rebellious teenage girl sneaking on board the submarine she’d been told not to go on. I also found Jiuming an interesting character, even though I thought he made some incredibly stupid choices when it came to the megs…and I definitely wouldn’t have trusted a meg enough to swim with it, even if it had been raised by humans.

On the whole, the movie was entertaining and there was a lot of tension throughout. I also enjoyed the relationship between the core main characters. I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch the movie a second time, but I wouldn’t mind seeing it again.