TV | Black (2017-)

Cast: Song Seung-heon, Go Ara, Kim Dong-jun, Lee El, Kim Won-hae, Kim Tae-woo, Kim Jae-young

Summary: A woman who has seen the shadow of death all he life, meets a cold hearted grim reaper. Together, they uncover many hidden secrets all reaching down to a darker evil secret.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Fantasy

Season(s): 1

Watched: December 2017

In one of my early Korean lessons my tutor said that watching Korean dramas can help when learning the language, I already had this show in my Netflix watchlist so after that lesson I decided it would be the first Korean show I started with.

Black follows Kang Ha-ram (Go Ara) a woman who is able to see the shadow of death just before a person dies, Han Moo-Gang (Soung Seung-heon) a weak stomached detective and Grim Reaper #444 (Kim Tae-woo) who is searching for his AWOL partner.
It is no secret to say that Moo-gang dies because we find this out very early in the show. Shortly after meeting Ha-Ram, Moo-gang discovers her ability and persuades her to use it to help save those about to die; however an apparent mistake in identifying the culprit of a potential murder soon leaves Moo-gang dead.
Meanwhile Grim Reaper #444 on the hunt for his partner who disappeared after he was sent on a job alone, discovers that he might just be using the body of a recently deceased human in order to remain undetected and decides that the best way to track him down is too do the same.

This show definitely isn't for everybody, it requires a lot of attention and a hell of a lot of patience from the start. As much as I loved the show I definitely had trouble following everything that was happening and remembering who was who. I liked the majority of the story, although I did get a bit lost towards the end and I thought the show was a bit too long, there are 18 episodes all of which are over an hour long, some even stretching to an hour and a half long.

I can't do this review without mentioning those final scenes. I quite liked the scenes showing what happened to Ha-ram but the scene with her and Leo (Kim Jae-young) and the final scene with her and Moo-gang ruined the show for me, because it felt like a poorly written and rushed way to try and explain everything that happened. It actually leaves you with you more questions like did Ha-ram ever find out the truth about Moo-gang?
Plus I really wanted to see more of Kim Dong-jun and he was nowhere to be seen at the end.

All in all I enjoyed this show, I will probably watch it again at some point to see if it makes anymore sense the second time round, but I really could have done without the ending.

Rating: 7/10
One Final Word: Good/Very Good

TV | Shadowhunters (2016)

Cast: Katherine McNamara, Dominic Sherwood, Emeraude Toubia, Alberto Rosende, Matthew Daddario, Harry Shum Jr and Isaiah Mustafa

Summary: After her mother disappears, Clary must venture into the dark world of demon hunting, and embrace her new role among the Shadowhunters.

Genre: Action, Fantasy

Also Known As: Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments
Seasons: 1-2 (Renewed for Season 3)

*Beware there be spoilers*

I've written on here a few times about my love for Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments book series, the first time being in my first What I'm Excited to See post.
I remember being super excited when I found out that they were releasing a film and I read all the books in preparation for its release; however when I finally got round to seeing The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013) I was left feeling a little disappointed (you can read why in my review)!

A few hours after I watched the film I started watching the Freeform TV show Shadowhunters which is also based on the Mortal Instruments books.
The show, now in its second season, is currently on a winter break and is back with episode 11 on June 5th!

I think season two has been pretty good and even better the first season.
There were a few things that were a little bit off about the first season, but for me my biggest issue was with Clary (Katherine McNamara) and Alec (Matthew Daddario). I hadn't read the books for a good couple of years so I could be remembering things wrong but I don't remember Alec being soo hostile.


I know it's common for screen adaptations of books to change, take out or introduce new characters, scenes, events e.c.t. and Shadowhunters likes to do this quite a lot.

In the first season there was the addition of Lydia Branwell (Stephanie Bennett), an envoy from the clave who later became Alec's fiancée and in season two there was the addition of Victor Aldertree, who I'm not a fan of at all and the death of Jocelyn (Maxim Roy)!

Did her death shock anyone else?!

For me Aldertree's character feels a little random. Although he's explained why he's there I don't really see the point of his character. He says he was brought in to replace Lydia as her leadership was ineffective and to question the team at the institute about their unsanctioned missions and to look into Jace (Dominic Sherwood).
He doesn't seem to be doing a good job though, because to me it looks like these unsanctioned missions are still happening left, right and center. I originally thought he was a character written for the show (like I said, I haven't read the books in a while) but he is actually a character who appears in the books, although slightly later on (City of Glass).

The Lightwood's mother Marsye (Nicola Correia-Damude) is also written a little differently in the show then she is in the book.

I'm loving the choice of actors for the main characters this time around. Although I liked Magnus from the film (Godfrey Gao) I really do prefer Harry Shum Jr as Magnus and Daddario, I just love him, he's much more believable then Kevin Zegers.
Dominic Sherwood is also a much better choice for Jace, he is able to portray the cocky yet mysterious character a lot better than Jamie Campbell Bower who I found to be a bit creepy.

And Valentin (Alan van Sprang) gets a massive yes from me this time round, Jonathan Rhys Meyers was never going to be good in that role.

What do you guys think of Shadowhunters? Who are your favourite characters? Are you looking forward to the rest of the season!!!?

Rating: 8/10
One Final Word: Very Good

He Never Died (Jason Krawczyk, 2015)

Cast: Henry Rollins, Booboo Stewart, Kate Greenhouse, Jordan Todosey

Summary: Jack, a social outcast, is thrust out of his comfort zone when the outside world bangs on his door and he can't contain his violent past.

Genre: Fantasy, Comedy, Horror

Watched: November 30th, 2016

I really enjoyed this film, it definitely turned out to be much better than I thought it was going to be.

I honestly wasn't expecting much after seeing the poster (never judge a book by its cover I know) because it reminded me of the film Legion (2010), which I liked but I know isn't really that good.

Henry Rollins is brilliant as Jack, the mysterious man no one seems to know anything about.
We soon learn that he has two suspicious scars on his back, goes to church, plays bingo (because it's something to do), goes to the same diner where he always has oatmeal and hot tea and has been alive for a very, very long time.

Just how long he has been alive, no one knows.

To be honest I found that I for the majority of the film I wasn't actually thinking about how long he had been alive or more about who he is. Even when his big secret is revealed Rollins does it in such a casual way that I thought okay I believe him and didn't need any in-depth explanations.

It's definitely a film I would recommend and watch again and again.

Rating: 8/10
One Final Word: Very Good

The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones (Harald Zwart, 2013)

Cast: Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan, Kevin Zegers, Lena Headley, Aidan Turner

Summary: When her mother disappears, Clary Fray learns that she descends from a line of warriors who protect our world from demons. She joins forces with others like her and heads into a dangerous alternate New York called the Shadow World.

Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery

Watched: February 21st, 2016

Way, way back in 2013 I did a What I'm Excited to See post on The Mortal Instruments.
First a little update on that, I have now read every book in the Mortal Instruments series and I'm getting ready to buy the first book in the Dark Artifices sequel series which was released this month; however I still have to read the last two books in the Infernal Devices prequel series.

Clearly as you can tell I'm quite a fan of these books so watching the film was the obvious next step (despite it being a good couple of years after it was released, whoops). I also remember reading somewhere that the film wasn't very good but I was still looking forward to seeing it.

I did enjoy the film; however it missed out a massive chuck of the book (which I suppose is somewhat normal with film adaptations of books), but there was so much of the book that is missing/not even explained that made the whole story a bit confusing.

I wasn't keen on most of the actors chosen for the characters especially Clary, Jace and Valentine, Jonathan Rhys Meyers was 100% not the right person for the role and Jace for me just felt a little too creepy rather the mysterious, but I loved Godfrey Gao as Magnus Bane and Robert Sheenan as Simon.
Despite having read all the Mortal Instrument books I've always had my own idea of what the characters looked like and for me Jace has always had black hair and the Lightwoods have all had white blonde hair.

I felt even more disappointed in the film as I started watching the TV series Shadowhunters straight after the film and I absolutely love it! I prefer most of the actors chosen to portray the characters and it seems to be a lot closer to the book then the film which makes the story easier to follow.

Rating: 7/10

The Last Witch Hunter (Breck Eisner, 2015)

Cast: Vin Diesel, Rose Leslie, Elijah Wood, Michael Caine and Julie Engelbrecht

Summary: The last witch hunter is all that stands between humanity and the combined forces of the most horrifying witches in history.

Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure

Watched: February 14th, 2016

I had heard a little about this film but I wasn’t really interested in seeing it until Jonathan Joly (I'm a massive Sacconejoly fan!) posted this video on How To Become a Witch Hunter ft. Vin Diesel.
Yes, that's right people he made a video with Vin Diesel, and it was only after hearing about this that I thought I definitely had to watch the film.

Now I'll start off by saying that the film wasn’t awful, I did enjoy quite a bit of it but overall I just found it a little disappointing. I think it could have been much, much better.

I wasn’t super keen on Vin Diesel in this film, I found some of his acting a little dodgy at times. I also wasn't sure about Rose Leslie or Elijah Wood, I’m not too sure what it was but something about their performance just seemed a little off.
I just found the whole story a little confusing; I felt as though I had missed part of the story.
Like I said the film wasn’t terrible, I did enjoy it, but it felt as though it was lacking something. I remember looking over at my Dad when the film had finished and saying that there wasn’t anything super exciting about it.

I think one of the reasons I was disappointed is because I really, really like Vin Diesel and I had just seen Pitch Black which was so, so good.

Rating: 5/10

Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (Bill Condon, 2012)

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Robert Pattinson, Peter Facinelli, Nikki Reed, Ashley Greene and many, many more…

Summary: After the birth of Renesmee, the Cullens gather other vampire clans in order to protect the child from a false allegation that puts the family in front of the Volturi.

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Drama

So I took a trip to the cinema for the first time in months on Saturday (I'm poor wahhh), my lovely aunt paid for me and we went to see Breaking Dawn Part 2.
Now I know there's this massive love/hate relationship with the films and books, but personally I love Twilight. It's by no means perfect and I didn't like all the films, in fact I only watched the first film on DVD a year after it came out.

I remember when I found out the final book was being split I was excited because it meant one extra film, but when the first part came out I wasn't really impressed. I knew I would like the second half more because I knew there would be way more action to keep me entertained, and I was right!

I loved it, loved it, loved it, I thought it was a great end to a crazy ride. The cinema we went to was absolutely rubbish though, I missed a little bit of the film because the people working at the cinema were complete failures at their job, and they also left the lights on during the trailers and the first 10 minutes of the film. Never going there again.

There were a couple of things that I really didn't like one of which being Renesmee. The effects used on her in the first half of the film are terrifying and make her look a bit evil. I remember constantly thinking that her face doesn’t look right, her eyes were either slightly too far apart or too close together and they were too low down on her face. She just looks extremely fake.

But enough of my rambling, what did you guys think of Twilight and do you love it or hate it?


My Rating: 7/10

Sucker Punch (Zack Snyder, 2011)

Cast: Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Carla Gugino, Oscar Isaac

Summary: A young girl is institutionalized by her abusive stepfather. Retreating to an alternative reality as a coping strategy, she envisions a plan which will help her escape from the mental facility.

Genre: Action, Fantasy, Adventure

Wooooo! Firstly Happy 18th Birthday to me!

Now, I’ve been excited about seeing this film since I found out about it some time last year and it’s been on my must see list ever since.

Baby Doll (Emily Browning) is the first character you meet and her story is the first story you learn, but because of the film’s fast pace it’s not completely obvious what happens in the first few minutes. The fast pace continues throughout the film barely giving you the chance to learn the story of sisters Rocket (Jena Malone) and Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), and it completely ignores the rest of the main characters Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), Amber (Jamie Chung), Blue (Oscar Issac) and Madam Gorski (Carla Gugino).
Although having seen the film a couple of times I think I may understand why they only tell the story of the three girls, but then again having seen the film a couple of times it makes even less sense then what I thought it did. Does that even make sense?

It’s definitely the action packed fight sequences that make the film especially the scene of where the train heads to the futuristic city, alongside the brilliant soundtrack featuring songs that have been re-recorded by some of the actors including Browning.

I really liked this film but it does have its problems, characters are overlooked, but all in all the plots really confusing, it’s fast pace and characters are overlooked and the plot’s confusing but it’s definitely worth a watch for the effects and the soundtrack.

My Rating: 6/10
One Final Word: Good

Coraline (Henry Selick, 2009)

"Be careful what you wish for"
Cast: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, John Hodgman and Robert Bailey Jr

Summary: An adventurous girl finds another world that is a strangely idealized version of her frustrating home, but it has sinister secrets.

Genre: Fantasy, Animation

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I think I should start off by letting you know (in case you haven't seen it) that this is a kids film, rated PG and it scared the bejeebers out of me.

I definitely think I would have needed more then parental guidance if I had watched this when I was younger. The film is really strange and pretty creepy at times, so much so that I would have said that maybe it's more for teenagers/adults then children, but apparently kids are loving it.

I really liked Coraline, she seems like such a cool kid (although she can be incredibly grumpy) by the end of the film I was thinking yep she's pretty bad ass. Often ignored by her parents and left to her own devices Coraline finds a mysterious door which lead her to an alternate world, where she discovers her 'other mother and father' (who are super creepy).

I think there's some kind of message in this film for children or maybe I'm thinking too much in to it.
I feel like its telling kids to never go with strangers (especially when they look like your parents and have buttons for eyes) even if they tempt you with new clothes, family time and your favourite foods.

If you do you'll have to sew buttons on your eyes. Yep I'm probably thinking into it too much.

My Rating: 10/10
One Final Word: Excellent

Being John Malkovich (Spike Jonze, 1999)

Cast: John Cusack, John Malkovich, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener

Summary: A puppeteer discovers a portal that leads literally into the mind of the movie star, John Malkovich

Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Drama

Beware there be spoilers!!

This is the second film that I have watched as part of my surrealism course in my A-Level Film Studies class, where we used another of Freud’s theories to analyse a particular scene from the film.
We analysed the scene where Maxine and Lotte enter Malkovich’s subconscious discussing Freud’s theory of what happens in your childhood effecting you adulthood.

The scene begins with Maxine entering Malkovich’s subconscious before being followed by Lotte. They end up in Malkovich’s childhood where we see a young Malkovich watching his parents have sex, this could possibly affect him in his later life as he may become sexually obsessed.

The next room we enter shows us a teen Malkovich being bullied in the locker room by his fellow students. In this scene you can see that the teacher is condoning the behaviour of his students by taking part, and the fact that Malkovich is naked during this ordeal could definitely have an effect on his confidence in adulthood.

Upon the entering the basement Maxine discovers a young Malkovich who has been locked in and is repeating the words “I am bad” over and over. Maxine then sees Malkovich as an adult smelling ladies underwear through a grate in the wall. His behaviour seen here can clearly shows that he has some unresolved sexual issues most likely partially caused by the experience of watching his parents have sex.

The next room we enter shows an older teen Malkovich with his girlfriend, at first nothing appears to be wrong but as Lotte continues to chase Maxine we hear the girl say, “You’re creepy”. The final place we are taken to within Malkovich’s subconscious is a school bus from his childhood, where he has wet himself and all the children are singing “Little Johnny Malko-pee, wet his pants so all can see”.

My Rating: 6/10
One Final Word: Good

Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006)

Cast: Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopez, Maribel Verdu, Doug Jones

Summary: In the fascist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.

Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

I first watched this film way back when I was in sixth form as part my Film Studies course. Having already seen Hellboy and Hellboy II: The Golden Army I was really looking forward to watching Pan’s Labyrinth and I absolutely loved it.

Firstly I love the whole fantastical and supernatural theme that Guillermo Del Toro’s films always seem to be filled with, so much intricate detail is put into what’s on the screen from sets to characters that it’s impossible to see them all in one viewing. Everything looks stunning.

I think that this film is fantastic. The story of Ofelia (Ivana Baguero) and her family is heartbreakingly tragic but in some ways still joyful, especially when you see Ofelia playing obliviously in her little fantasy world. Despite this heartbreakingly tragic story it does have an oddly satisfying effect.

Despite the whole fairytale aspect this is definitely not a children’s film just so you know, there are a few gory moments (some that even shocked me) and quite a few scenes that would probably scare the bejeebers out of little kids.

This is definitely a film to watch, especially if you enjoyed Hellboy, or even Cronos or Mimic. And also for those that have yet to see the film it is in Spanish so you’ll just have to put up with the subtitles.

My Rating- 10/10
One Final Word- BRILLIANT!

Alice in Wonderland (Tim Burton, 2010)

Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover, Matt Lucas

Summary: 19-year-old Alice Returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of he true destiny, to end the Red Queens reign of terror

Genre: Family, Fantasy, Adventure

I went to see this with my family at IMAX as part of my 17th birthday present. This was my first ever trip to IMAX and I have to say it was quite intense, the screening room was huge and the screen was even bigger.

I've heard that quite a few people have been saying that the film is rubbish but I actually really enjoyed it, of course it’s not perfect and it's not as good as Disney's Alice In Wonderland (1951), but I don't think it's as bad as what some people have been saying.

I love the idea of how the film is meant to be like a sequel but where Alice has absolutely no memory of the first visit to Wonderland. The story was very different to how I remembered it and there were a few new characters introduced that confused me a bit, especially when it came to the Red Queen’s lover.

There was definitely one thing I hated more than anything else and that was definitely the CGI that was used on Crispin Glover who played the Knave of Hearts, it was incredibly distracting.

This is the first time I’ve ever seen a film at IMAX and it is a completely immersive experience, with a slightly curved screen and speakers all over the room it feels as though the film completely surrounds you and you're sucked into the story.

My Rating: 6/10
One Final Word: Good

Santa Who? (William Dear, 2000)

Cast: Leslie Nielsen, Steven Eckholdt, Robyn Lively, Max Morrow, Tommy Davidson, Darren Frost

Summary: Santa Claus develops amnesia after accidentally falling out of his sleigh and only the innocence of a small child can save him, while he has to battle the disbelief of a newsman.

Genre: Comedy

This film was a Christmas gift from a family member who had watched it, loved it and thought I might like it too. To be honest I didn’t like it at all, I found some of the acting bad in parts and I didn't find the jokes all that funny. I never really liked films like this, don't get me wrong sometimes I love a good cheesy Christmas movie but I'm not a big fan of cheesy comedy films or in general films like this.

Even though I do like a cheesy Christmas movie (more often than not they're TV movies), I think I much prefer classic Christmas movies like Miracle on 34th Street or maybe the films just need to be a lot better than this.

Saying that I think I should let you in on a little secret, my number 1 Christmas film is The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (2005). Not very christmassy I know but it is a little bit about winter, and anyway I don't care I still continue to watch it every Christmas Eve.

My moaning aside I think this film is perfect for young children, nieces and nephews.

My Rating: 4/10
Perfect for: Children
One Final Word: Not My Cup Of Tea (okay so maybe that's not one word)