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meg (46 KP) rated Ready Player One in Books

Apr 19, 2019  
Ready Player One
Ready Player One
Ernest Cline | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry
7
8.9 (161 Ratings)
Book Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
This book was a really enjoyable read. There are a lot of references to 80s pop culture and need culture, which I'm not a big fan of, but I still really enjoyed reading. My major complaint is a major spoiler. The premise is that everyone is competing to inherit a virtual reality universe essentially. Like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory but for a video game. There are a few main characters, and the main female is faster and smarter than the male who ends up winning, which I found frustrating. The book could have ended better if the female lead won, in my opinion. The ending was still good though.
  
A Good Day To Die Hard (2013)
A Good Day To Die Hard (2013)
2013 | Action
Yet another cobblers sequel to the 80s action classic, as Bruce Willis goes to Russia after his grown-up son is thrown in the clink for murdering someone. This turns out to be part of a uproariously stupid plot featuring all the usual goons in ski-masks and some sort of plan to carry out a heist on Chernobyl (mmm, tasteful).

Not just a bad movie, but one which is only barely functional as a narrative - the various cartoony action set-pieces are competently slapped together, but the connective tissue of characterisation, plot exposition, and relationships is just not there. No wit, no subtext, no point.
  
Short Circuit (1986)
Short Circuit (1986)
1986 | Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi
No disassemble Number 5!
I remember when I saw this movie at the theatre in 1986 when it was the 2nd half of a double feature. I don't even remember what the first movie was any more.

I love this movie beyond words. The goofy humor of the robot, his interactions with Ally Sheedy and Steve Guttenberg, and even GW Bailey playing the always bad guy.

Some of the robot's one liners were just precious! "You're mamma was a snowblower!"

Probably one of those 80s movies you had to be alive then to appreciate, but still a classic!

  
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Andy K (10821 KP) rated Rampage (2018) in Movies

Sep 16, 2018 (Updated Sep 16, 2018)  
Rampage (2018)
Rampage (2018)
2018 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Corny but fun!
The self proclaimed "franchise Viagra" is at it again in the film adaptation of the classic 80s video game where you get play as a giant monster out to destroy a city.

As long as you accept the corny premise and go along for the ride, the film is pretty harmless. Kind of felt like I was watching The Mummy with Brendan Fraser, but that's not a critique.

Some of the acting and dialogue was almost enough for me to turn down the volume completely and just watch the pretty pictures flashing across the screen, but I was never bored while watching.

Overall, an entertaining romp.
  
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Lee (2222 KP) Sep 17, 2018

I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. Same with Skyscraper really

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Sarah (7798 KP) rated Poltergeist (1982) in Movies

Oct 30, 2018 (Updated Oct 30, 2018)  
Poltergeist (1982)
Poltergeist (1982)
1982 | Horror
Surprisingly scary
I need to be frankly honest, last night was the first time I ever watched this film and I'm a little ashamed to admit it.

As far as classic horrors go, this one is pretty good. Yes it is a typical 80s film and to say it's a little dated would be an understatement. It is surprisingly scary and creepy, and the effects are very impressive for the time. It does go a little bonkers in parts, to the point where it had me wondering if it was a dream sequence as opposed to the actual film (it wasn't), but its still a very enjoyable film.
  
Show all 9 comments.
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Lee (2222 KP) Oct 31, 2018

Modern movie making techniques helped to improve the last third or so of the movie. Overall it's not terrible, just totally unnecessary

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Andy K (10821 KP) Oct 31, 2018

How about 99 out of 100 remakes are crap! I can think of only a handful that are good.

Adventureland (2009)
Adventureland (2009)
2009 | Comedy, Drama
7
6.5 (6 Ratings)
Movie Rating
I saw this not knowing too much about it. I was expecting more of a comedy, it has it's moments. However it's more of a coming of age, teen drama. That said it is a very good character driven film and uniquely interesting in a funny kinda way. It tells the story of one guys summer working a Adventureland, a rundown old theme park. There he encounters a wide range of misfits who he becomes friends with. A good film, well directed and the actors make it an entertaining watch, not to mention a time trip to the '80s. Cool soundtrack as well from that era.
  
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Zoe Bell recommended Labyrinth (1986) in Movies (curated)

 
Labyrinth (1986)
Labyrinth (1986)
1986 | Adventure, Fantasy

"And Labyrinth. Labyrinth was sort of the same… Loved Labyrinth. I watched it again recently and had a total adult crush on David Bowie. I used to just think he was cool, and now I’m like, “Oh my God, he’s so hot in that movie.” So 80s and glam rock. And I think both of those movies are sort of, really so fancy, but there was something… I don’t know. To me, I didn’t feel like I was suspending reality. It just was like, “That’s the world this movie exists in, and I want to be in it,” you know what I mean? I just love both of those movies."

Source
  
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MelanieTheresa (997 KP) rated Rocketman (2019) in Movies

Aug 21, 2019 (Updated Aug 21, 2019)  
Rocketman (2019)
Rocketman (2019)
2019 | Biography, Drama
I absolutely LOVED this movie! A musical biopic during which the characters may break into an Elton John song at any moment? Sign me up.

If I hadn't already been half in love with Taron Egerton, I would be now. Major kudos to him for the performance, the singing, and the flair with which he portrayed Sir Elton.

My only quibble is that the movie only goes up to the late 80s. I would have liked to have seen it go further, into the 90s and beyond, but I understand why it didn't.

Was Bohemian Rhapsody a better movie? Maybe. But Rocketman was so much more fun.
  
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Dana (24 KP) rated Ready Player One in Books

Mar 23, 2018  
Ready Player One
Ready Player One
Ernest Cline | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.9 (161 Ratings)
Book Rating
So I want to start off by saying that I read this for my book club with my friends, not that that changes anything, I just wanted you to know. Also, I did a hybrid reading of this. I would actually read the physical book for about half of it, but the other half, I listened to the audio book. (It's read by Wil Wheaton, y'all!)

Okay, so onto my review. I really enjoyed reading this book. I am not a gamer at all, but I do love 80s references., especially to movies. So even though I didn't understand a lot of the video game references (except Pac Man and a few others), I still understand the overall encompassing love of the 80s culture.

At first, this is a really cool dystopian sci-fi book focusing on a kid who is trying to win an Easter Egg hunt inside of a video game to get out of a crappy situation at home. By the end, there is action, romance, bad guys, and so much more. Kind of like what you would find in a typical 1980s classic film.

I think what I loved most about this is all of the hidden allusions to the 80s. Yes, there are the overt ones like to Ferris Buller's Day Off or Pac Man or Blade Runner. But there are a lot of little moments as well that are subtle that I barely caught. I don't want to give any away, so I won't spoil them on here. This book almost becomes it's own kind of easter egg hunt for the readers.

I loved trying to figure out the clues with Winston. A few of them, I did get, but some I did not. It was still fun trying to write down all of the clues and figure it out like a code cracker.

I loved the relationships in this book, especially since they weren't the main focus of the novel. It was refreshing to see people getting along and working together toward the same goal.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend you see it before you go see the movie next year!