Eden Lake

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Eden Lake attracted me because it is British. Blutv is not user friendly and I didn't even realise that Michael Fassbender was starring in it until I actually saw him. Anyway this one affected me.


Spoilers!



The film opens up with a nice couple. The guy wants to propose and wants to do it at a special place so he takes her (a kindergarten teacher) to a place called Eden Lake where they flooded a quarry I guess and he went there before to dive with some friends of his.

The trip does not start well, a B&B with noisy children and couples arguing but despite the negatives these two seem happy. She is kind and understanding. Finally they arrive to their destination but we get an ominous feel right away (when we see the back of a billboard where the locals voiced their opinions on city folk) yeah it is a sort of a Deliverence story. Only the villain(s) is a teenager who somehow manages to influence a whole gang. I think only three of them have violent tendencies and the other three want out but he puts peers pressure on them and makes them to horrible things to the male part of the couple. She outmanuvers them and manages to escape only to fall in the hands of their parents and die horribly (we are spared watching her die but she is put into the bathroom by three men) And the little psycho got away with it. The final shot is him staring into the mirror not even slightly perturbed.

This one came as a shock since I didn't see it coming. I thought that she'd get away and I was evidently rooting for her. I was kind of crushed in the end. 

Apple Tree Yard

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Spoilers


Apple Tree Yard didn't really interest me at first but I didn't have any other particular must sees so I gave it a try. And I'm glad I did since this ended up being the rare occasions where I didn't see the twist coming. And I liked the fact that the female lead is middle aged. The abundance of intimate scenes who were not really very good annoyed me but this one is worth viewing.

I wished I read the novel. 

Kristy

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Kristy was leaving Blutv and I was in the mood for horror (as usual) so I gave it a try and I ended up being pleasantly surprised. The story is about a hard working college student who has to stay at the campus during Thanksgiving (since the ticket prices rise and she can't afford it) the plan is to stay with her obviously wealthy dorm room mate but she leaves on an impromtu trip to Aspen (her father suddenly decides to take the whole family there) she invites her but she prefers to stay. There is a security guard at the entrance of her building and one at the main gate (but he will leave at 22:00) Unfortunately she is targeted by pyschos who like to kill female college students naming them all Kristy and treating the whole thing as a game. Well this final girl showed them all. I really liked how intelligent, strong and resourceful this lady was. In the end, despite her boyfriend's horrible death, I felt good since she killed all the assholes and informed their online link to the police (apparently this game is being played in all cities). It was unexpectedly good. 

Kimi No Na Wa

Kimi No Na Wa yes I have watched it in theater (hence the crumpled ticket) and it had been a real internal struggle not to watch it pirated on line. I actually started and not even a minute in I stopped (thank God). Anyway this was a very pleasant theater and they served popcorn and soda for two liras together with the ticket. The other 5 viewers were Japanese and I was so happy since I know they would not speak and just as I thought they stayed there until the credits end (well I didn't actually see them wait but they do it in Japan and usually I'll the be the only person getting up before they end and it happened here).

The film itself turned out to be not bad but it is not Miyazaki Hayao caliber. I loved the old school animation and I cried a bit towards the end and generally enjoyed it. The problem as far as I'm concerned was time travel. It is my second least favorite trope in any type of fiction (the least favorite is war) and I probably would have loved this a lot more if it was a different plot.

Of course there are exceptions to the rule and I love Korean film Il Mare that has a time travel plot but it is probably the only one (I didn't even like the remake). 

Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix (the film)

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Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix is my least watched Harry Potter film. Now that I think of it, this is probably because Sirius is murdered in this one. I liked him so much that I remember being really down after finishing this novel (probably what the author has intented). And the film I only watched once and now the second time. It was as upsetting an experience as the first one, and not only because Sirius dies (and I know that he'll die) but I despise Dolores Umbridge. She is horrible and it is not pleasant to watch her torment everyone. Anyway it was not as bad as I remembered but still upsetting. And yes I felt more upset when Sirius died then when Dumbledore died. 

Ouija: Origin of Evil

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Ouija: Origin of Evil was there on Dvdigi and I kind of like Ouija themed horror. I was expecting found footage and pleasantly surprised that it is not found footage. Although I don't like the lead actress Elizabeth Reaser for no particular reason. Anyway it didn't put me to sleep but it was not scary either. 

Moana

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Moana was actually an animated film I was eager to watch (since I love Hawaii) and it turned out to be good film with positive messages and nice visuals and I'll confess to crying my heart out but only because I love Hawaii.