Movie Monday: Before I Wake – magical realism with horror elements #BeforeIWake #MovieMonday #MovieReview

Movie Monday is a feature here on my blog, in which I’m rambling about movies I’ve watched lately.

This week I want to talk about the movie I watched few days ago, that touched my heart.

Before I Wake

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before I wake movie cover

There’s not much one can do when all she has to do is rest, then watch plenty of movies (and tv shows).
I was lucky enough to find some good ones for the past few days, and today I want to tell you all about the one that impressed me the most: Before I Wake.

Before I Wake was recommended to be by my friend recently, because it’s a good story with horror elements, and she knows how much I enjoy horrors.

At first I was sceptic whether it’ll be just another horror that I’ll forget as soon as it’s over, but I trusted her and gave it a shot with some expectations. They weren’t extra high, but they surely weren’t low either.

The story follows a young orphan boy who was adopted by a young couple who lost their son few years ago.
The story is actually magical realism and the boy has the ability to transfer his dreams in the real world.
Everything is fine and magical while the boy sleeps well, but what happens when he has nightmares?

Guys, this movie is one of the best I’ve watched this year.
I have no doubt that the story will stay with me for the longest time, and I will recommend it to everyone I know, who still hasn’t watched it.

At first I thought this was a horror, but as the story was developing, it transformed into a beautiful piece of art that touched my heart, and I still shiver when I think about it.

It talks about child’s perspective on life and hard circumstances when one is still very young, and the love children and adults need.

I highly recommend Before I Wake to everyone. I hope this movie will touch you as it has me.

Movie Monday: The Curse of La Llorona #MovieMonday #MovieReview #TheCurseOfLaLlorona

Movie Monday is a feature here on my blog, in which I’m rambling about movies I’ve watched lately.

This week I decided to talk about yet another movie from The Conjuring universe: The Curse of La Llorona.

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The Curse of La Llorona

The Curse of La Llorona movie cover horror from The Conjuring franchise

If you follow me for  a while, you already know that I always watch movies from The Conjuring universe. I love horrors, and some of those are my favourite (I mean, hello Annabelle!!).

If I’m being honest, The Curse of La Llorona didn’t appeal to me at first, after I’ve seen it’s trailer in the movies.
It was like my guts were telling me I wouldn’t like this one as much as I’d like it to, and the feeling was right.

In my humble opinion, The Curse of La Llorona (or The Curse of a Weeping Woman, as it was released in some countries by that name) was the weakest movie from this franchise.
I wasn’t scared at all, the story wasn’t as captivating either, and overall it was just a solid horror that probably wouldn’t even be popular if it wasn’t the part of this famous universe.

I’m not sure if this is a spoiler, but for one horror, I expected more dead people!

I watched it in the movie theater with my fiance and my father, and neither of them liked it either (but here I have to stress out that they are not horror fans in the first place).
At some point, people (or should I say kids) were even leaving because they didn’t want to continue with the movie, and even though this film was disappointing, it wasn’t that bad! Who knows, maybe they had to be somewhere else or something (even though I doubt that!).

At this point, I think The Conjuring universe is making movies too often, so probably that is the reason why they aren’t strong as the first couple were.
I still can’t wait for Annabelle Comes Home to hit theaters!

Overall, if you are a fan of The Conjuring I would recommend you to watch The Curse of La Llorona, but I would suggest for you to wait until it will be availabele for streaming or out on blu ray.

 

Sunday Post (Weekly Wrap Up April 29th-May 5th) #SundayPost #Blogging #WrapUp #Reading

Sunday post picture meme girl

Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

This meme was created for bloggers to spotlight posts they published in the week, as well as to talk about what they plan to write in the week that’s coming.

Sunday post is also great opportunity to showcase books we got in the week behind us.

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Hi Guys!

Long time no see! If you noticed, I stepped away from blogging for a while, and that is because I was working on  new design for my blog. I wanted to focus only on that to make sure I did it right. I hope you like how it turned out!

Now with the new domain and fresh look, I am happy to announce that new posts will be live regularly, and there will be 3-4 posts per week.

As for my private life, there is not much going on. I was really sick on Friday, my throat hurt so badly I almost didn’t go to work, but I decided to try my best to make through that one day and see if it will develop into something more serious. I think it was just a bad cold, because I couldn’t breathe either, but there is nothing that warm bath can’t cure, so I am much better now, and I will be ready to go to work tomorrow.
My nose is still running, but with warm baths, paracetamol, vitamin C and Septolete, this cold is pretty much under control.

Last week on Book Dust Magic:

Saturday: I launched Book Dust Magic 2.0 and I also reviewed The Evidence Agains You by Gillian McAllister

Next week on Book Dust Magic:

Upcoming reviews:

The Curse of La Llorna movie cover horror thomas wildus and the book of sorrows by j.m. bergen book cover

I will also talk about books I read in April and how I visited Zoo park in Zagreb.

Currently reading:

thomas wildus and the book of sorrows by j.m. bergen book coverThis middle grade novel talks about magic and I am really enjoying it so far!

That is it!
Let me know what’s been going on with you, what you’ve been reading or watching this week and feel free to leave your links so I can visit you.
Have a lovely Sunday!

Movie Monday: Pet Sematary – freaky, scary and improved #MovieMonday #MovieReview #PetSematary

Movie Monday is a feature here on my blog, in which I’m rambling about movies I’ve watched lately.

This week I watch a new version of Pet Sematary, a movie based on the novel by Stephen King.

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Pet Sematary

Pet Sematary 2019 movie cover horror stephen king

If you know me, you know I appreciate good horror.
And because I watch so many movies from that genre, I like to think I can recognize the good one.

This, my friends, was a good horror.

We all know about Pet Sematary, or at least, most of us have heard of it before. It is a well known novel by Stephen King, and there is also a movie from late ’80s (that even got a sequel).
There are also so many references in other books and movies considering this story.

I have watched the original version of the movie few years ago, and I remember that I liked the idea of the story, but the movie itself didn’t win me 100%.
It was a bit silly and, as strange as it sounds, unrealistic (here I talk about 2 year old fighting adults with straight of a professional wrestler), but overall, it was a good story.

When I heard the new version was coming out I was pretty excited.
After watching the trailer and realizing there were more elements to the story, I was bumped, I knew I had to watch it.

Pet Sematary didn’t disappoint. No, I was thrilled! It was so much better then I expected, and it brought to the table so much more then the previous version.

It is also different then the first movie, and because I haven’t read the book, I don’t know which movie follows the actual story (if you do know, please enlighten me).

In this movie we got to see more to the characters, learn their past and really get to know them.

My favourite character was the cat, which in my opinion wasn’t evil at all. Or at least, Church wasn’t THAT evil (he even reminds me of my GiGi). Every time there were scenes featuring him, my mood would just lighten up. I guess that’s because I’m a cat lover.

Overall, I would definitely recommend Pet Sematary because it is the best horror movie I have watched in 2019.

Movie Monday: Dumbo – the one that will bring you back to your childhood #MovieMonday #MovieReview #Dumbo

Movie Monday is a feature here on my blog, in which I’m rambling about movies I’ve watched lately.

This week I watch a Disney movie based on a Disney animated movie I watched numerous times during my childhood.

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Dumbo

Dumbo is the one movie I was looking forward for months before it was finally in theaters.
My sister was also really excited (she was actually even more excited then me) so we decided to watch it together.
We had a lovely time that day, and the fact that the movie was also good was like a cherry on top.

Spectacular. That is the word I’d use to describe Dumbo.

This version is so much different then the animated one we all grew up with, but it contains some scenes from the original version.
They were changed, but they still brought back memories and that feeling you get when you see something you haven’t for years, but with brand new eyes.

When we compare the stories, I can honestly say I liked Dumbo the movie better.
It is is more layered and it contains a complete story.

The cast is great, it is full of A-lists actors who preformed so well in the movie.
What I’d also like to emphasize is the sense of humour. I laughed so many times and it is really a highlight of the picture.

Once Dumbo had it’s premiere, the critics were not so easy on this movie, and I don’t understand why.
I really loved it and would recommend it to everyone, young and old.

Sunday Post (Weekly Wrap Up March 25th-31st) #SundayPost #Blogging #WrapUp #Reading

Sunday post picture meme girl

Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

This meme was created for bloggers to spotlight posts they published in the week, as well as to talk about what they plan to write in the week that’s coming.

Sunday post is also great opportunity to showcase books we got in the week behind us.

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Hi Guys,

We had beautiful, sunny weather Friday and Saturday, and since Sunday is also sunny, when this post will be posted I will probably be in a coffee shop with my friend.

I survived the working week, and yesterday my sister came for a visit, because my birthday will be this Monday.

We were hanging all day, and we also went to cinema together, to watch Dumbo.
Here is the pic of us waiting for the movie to start (we were first one in the hall):

in the movie theater, cinema, me and my sister

Also, when we’re at birthdays, I realized I forgot to mention in my last Sunday post that on March 21st we celebrated GiGi’s first birthday, so here is one picture of him to salute:

GiGi on his 1st birthday, cat, ginger cat, 1 year old

 

Last week on Book Dust Magic:

Monday: I talked about the movie Us

Wednesday: I reviewed a book called A Year of Being Single

Friday: I told you my how I decided to rebrand my blog into lifestyle/book blog

Saturday: I reviewed The Summer of Chasing Dreams by Holly Martin

 

Next week on Book Dust Magic:

Upcoming reviews:

I also plan to talk about books I read in March, and I’ll also include one lifestyle post.

 

Book Haul:

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden photo two copies UK editionI learned that Katherine Arden will soon come to Croatia, so I plan to go to her event. I am so excited to meet her, so I bought two copies of her novel The Bear and the Nightingale which I’ll ask her to sign, one for me, and one for you guys. So expect a giveaway in April!

That is it!
Let me know what’s been going on with you, what you’ve been reading or watching this week and feel free to leave your links so I can visit you.
Have a lovely Sunday!

Movie Monday: Us – the one with creepy music #MovieMonday #MovieReview #UsMovie #Horror

Movie Monday is a feature here on my blog, in which I’m rambling about movies I’ve watched lately.

This week I watched a movie everyone talks about at the moment, and I will give you my two cents.

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Us

Us movie cover lupita horror

I think I was one of the last people to hear about movie Us. I mean, one of the last people of us who try to keep up with movies. I am aware there are thousands who still have no clue about it.

One of my colleagues told me about this picture and she even showed me the trailer.
As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to watch it. The trailer was creepy, and if you know me, I like creepy stuff.

Since I didn’t have anyone to go with, I decided to go and see it all by myself (I wrote about it in my Sunday Post). I picked 5 p.m. show, just to be sure I would come home safely (aka I wouldn’t shit my pants out of fear).

The movie was solid. I am sorry but I can’t say I was fascinated by it, even though I know it is much loved.
I love horrors, and because I watch them often, I can say I’ve seen better.
The story idea is original, I can’t deny that, but the movie as a whole was just mediocre. 
Even with all the explanations some things stayed unrealistic (and the big plot twist was not surprising, but it also didn’t have the ground, when you think about what characters were saying through the movie…).

My favorite part was music. It was really creepy and it gave me chills. It is the best horror music I heard in the last few years.
The opening scene with rabbits was also creepy. I liked it so much I am still fascinated by it, even though it was actually very simple.
Little things like that are what I appreciate in movies.

The humour was also great. The father was so funny, and I even laughed out loud at some scenes.
If there wasn’t the humour, I think Us would be less accepted with the audience.

There are some big names behind this movie, and I honestly think they are the reason why this movie is so hyped. I don’t think it’s that good!
If it was written by not so famous writer and if it didn’t have Lupita as main actress, I don’t think people would talk about it at all.

The ending was unsatisfying. I didn’t stay in theater to see if there was a scene after the credit, but from what I saw, all that “performance” looked kind of stupid.

I’ve heard there are some theories about Us so I plan to google them. Who knows, maybe they will make me see things I missed, maybe I’ll appreciate the movie more, even though I doubt it.

 

Sunday Post (Weekly Wrap Up March 18th-24th) #SundayPost #Bloggers #WrapUp #Reading

Sunday post picture meme girl

Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

This meme was created for bloggers to spotlight posts they published in the week, as well as to talk about what they plan to write in the week that’s coming.

Sunday post is also great opportunity to showcase books we got in the week behind us.

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Hi Guys,

Happy Sunday! I decided that today will be a happy day. The Sun is shining, it’s a wonderful day… it would be a shame if my mood was different, right?
After the stressful week, shiny Sunday is what I need (don’t we all?).

Since most of the day I will spend alone (Fiance has to work today, even if it’s Sunday) I will go to the movies all by myself.
I know it’s a normal thing to do to many people, but to me it is a big kind of deal.
I’ve never did such thing before, but in all honesty, I am tired of missing out on little things in life because I don’t have anyone to go with on certain places…
Some people travel the world alone and here I am, always waiting on someone…
Well, I am done with that, and beside, I think going to theater alone will be good practice for my anxiety.

Other then that, I plan to spend my day doing some boring house work, plus reading, writing, blogging and all that jazz…

Last week on Book Dust Magic:

Monday: I took part in the blog tour for The Island Affair by Helena Halme and reviewed the book

Wednesday: I talked about backlisted books I’ll be reading this Spring

Friday: I reviewed The Day We Met by Roxie Cooper 

Next week on Book Dust Magic:

Upcoming reviews:

Us movie cover lupita a year of being single book cover fiona collins The Summer of Chasing Dreams book cover Holly Martin

I will aso talk why I decided to rebrand Book Dust Magic into lifestyle blog.

Book Haul:

Nevermoor photo book cover UK edition Jessica TownsendYesterday I bought myself this beautiful copy of Nevermoor.

I was also invited to review several books via Netgalley:

How to Make Friends with the Dark by Kathleen Glasgow book cover Killing November by Adriana Mather book cover the line tender by kate allen book cover middle grade the dream peddler by Mertine Fournier Watson book cover

Currently reading:

Rainy Day Kisses by Debbie Macomber book cover photoToday I am in a mood for some romance, so I decided to pick up Rainy Day Kisses by Debbie Macomber.

 

Giveaway:

There’s still a giveaway going on here on Book Dust Magic right now, and you can win yourself a book of choice. It is international, and you can enter here.

That is it!
Let me know what’s been going on with you, what you’ve been reading or watching this week and feel free to leave your links so I can visit you.
Have a lovely Sunday!

Sunday Post (Weekly Wrap Up March 11th-17th) #SundayPost #Bloggers #WrapUp #Reading

Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

This meme was created for bloggers to spotlight posts they published in the week, as well as to talk about what they plan to write in the week that’s coming.

Sunday post is also great opportunity to showcase books we got in the week behind us.

Hi Guys!

I feel like it’s been ages since the last time I did my Sunday Post.
There aren’t many good excuses to use in this case, except that I write my Sunday posts always on Sundays, and lately I had busy Sundays.

Anyway, this week was pretty… messed up I guess?

I was pretty depressive at the beginning of the week (to be honest, I was depressed last week too), but with each day I felt better and better.
I feel hopeful and motivated now, so don’t worry!
I think my depressive phases come from my hormonal disbalance.

In other news, I am slowly but surely making steps to rebranding Book Dust Magic, so this will no longer be book blog only, but also lifestyle blog, and I will cover different topics I feel passionate about.

If you wonder why I decided to do it, I will probably write a post about it pretty soon.

Last week on Book Dust Magic:

Monday: I took a part in the She Lies in Wait blog tour, and posted my review for this crime novel

Wednesday: I reviewed Written from the Heart by Trisha Ashley

Thursday: I took part in the Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop

Friday: I reviewed An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

Next week on Book Dust Magic:

Upcoming reviews:

The day we met by roxie cooper cover The Island Affair by Helena Halme book cover

I will also talk about books that I plan to read this Spring.

Book Haul:

This week I was approved for the two books I requested via Netgalley:

The Country Rivalry by Sasha Morgan book cover A country escape by katie fforde book cover Book Dust Magic

Currently reading:

The Island Affair by Helena Halme book coverI am opening the blog tour for The Island Affair by Helena Halme next week (aka tomorrow) so I’ll be finishing this novel soon. If you wonder, it is really relaxing and beautiful prose.

Giveaway:

There’s a giveaway going on here on Book Dust Magic right now, and you can win yourself a book of choice. It is international, and you can enter here.

That is it!
Let me know what’s been going on with you, what you’ve been reading or watching this week and feel free to leave your links so I can visit you.
Have a lovely Sunday!

Movie Monday: Searching – unique and intense #MovieMonday #Searching #MovieTwit #MovieReview

Movie Monday is a feature here on my blog, in which I’m rambling about movies I’ve watched lately.

This week I want to talk about the movie I watched a while ago that has left a huge impact on me.

Searching

A while back I watched one of my favorite youtubers, Nikki Blackketer, mentioned in her vlog a movie called Searching. She went to the screening of it and ended up really enjoying it.
Once I heard her opinions about it, I knew I had to watch it myself.

Since it was never in theaters or any kind of screening here in Croatia, I had to wait until it was available to stream, and guess what? The waiting was worth it!

Searching is crime drama with unique way of story telling. I have never watched anything similar before, and I was positively surprised.
You see, the whole movie is filmed as screenshots (and screens in general) of computer, mobile phones, television inserts, with interesting and gripping plot.

The story follows David Kim who’s daughter went missing after she was studying with a group of friends.
One of the things she left behind was her laptop. Now, with an aim to find her, her father breaks into her computer and searches for any kind of clues.
While finding signs and hints, he comes to conclusion he didn’t know his daughter as good as he thought.

This movie was so good, I would highly recommend it to everyone who likes mysteries. It took a while for me to get used to the way it was filmed, but once I got into the story, I was really invested.
In a matter of fact, I was so thrilled I didn’t want to be bothered by anyone! I just wanted to have my own piece while watching, so I wouldn’t miss anything.

I really appreciate the way Searching was filmed, I’ve never seen a movie delivered in such an original way, but I hope there won’t be dozens of movies now imitating this piece.

Overall, if you have an opportunity, I highly recommend you to watch Searching. I hope you will like it as much as I did.