Notice for Review Requests

I receive review requests weekly. However, my personal schedule is hectic and I no longer review actively. (I also manage another blog called The Toronto Cafe and Food Blog). I do read every request sent but I apologize in advance that I do not reply to them all.

If I do take on a request, I will forewarn that it may take some time before I can review it. I am now looking to review adult fiction and self-help books instead of young adult fiction because I have grown out of it. If you are to request a review for either adult fiction or self-help, I will more likely to give it a shot.

In the meantime, Stop, Drop, and Read! serves as an archive book review blog. When I have the time, I may post a review. Thank you for understanding.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Watching on Wednesday: Blind Alley

Title: Blind Alley (El callejón)
Type: Movie
Age Group: Teens+
Release Year: 2011
My Rating: 4/5

Beautiful young Rosa (Ana de Armas) is a hotel maid who dreams of being on television one day. She practices and auditions, hoping to get out of her mundane, working-class lifestyle. On one unsuspected night, her life becomes endangered when she gets trapped in a laundromat with a sadistic killer on the loose.

When it comes to foreign films, I usually watch Korean dramas or Japanese anime. I don't tend to venture out to other foreign films. However, while I was flipping through Netflix, I wanted to watch a horror movie so I decided to give Blind Alley a run. Prior to Blind Alley, the only other Spanish movie I saw was Pan's Labyrinth (an exceptional movie I definitely recommend!). Surprisingly, I quite enjoyed Blind Alley!

The plot of the movie was very straight-forward: survival. However, what I thought was really interesting about the movie was the cinematography. It was quite different than what I was used to and it captured interesting shots that really reflected the director's style. The primary setting was at the laundromat for the ladder half of the movie, but the actors made it compelling enough that you don't realize there weren't a lot of variations to where the plot took place.

I think that Ana de Armas is gorgeous and she acts well. Her character, Rosa, was not completely defenseless. She fought hard for her survival throughout the movie. I would love to see another movie she starred in (if anyone knows of a good one, let me know!). I have to admit, I was caught completely off-guard with the ending. Even though the Netflix movie poster gave it away (the one I'm displaying is different), I assumed it was there for visuals since nothing came about until maybe the last 15-20 minutes of the movie.

All in all, Blind Alley is an enjoyable and easy to watch horror flick. It's different than your usual jump-scare because the character knows the danger in front of her and has to somehow get out of it alive.



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