Thrown Under the Omnibus: A Reader
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'Whether you agree with him or not, P.J. writes a helluva piece.' Richard Nixon P.J. O'Rourke has...
Hipgnosis Portraits: 10cc AC/DC Black Sabbath Foreigner Genesis Led Zeppelin Pink Floyd Queen the Rolling Stones the Who Wings
Aubrey Powell, Storm Thorgerson and Robert Plant
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In just fifteen years, Hipgnosis (Storm Thorgerson, Aubrey Po Powell and Peter Christopherson)...
A Fine Romance
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A Fine Romance begins with Bergen's charming first husband, French director Louis Malle, whose huge...
Rake
Book
Throughout Rake, Matthew Caley's fifth collection, it can appear as if we are glimpsing into the...
Fandemonium: A Comic Novel
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Ray Sirico used to have it all. Once, he was the brilliant and outrageous Clown Prince of Comics,...
One of Us
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In this acclaimed political biography, Hugo Young traces Thatcher's journey from her apprenticeship...
Andy Bell recommended Amnesia by Mr. Fingers in Music (curated)
Colin Newman recommended Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich in Music (curated)
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Suspiria (1977) in Movies
Dec 29, 2020
The lighting, colours, and camerawork are all phenomenal. Throw them together, and you get one of the most visually striking horrors ever made.
It has excellent pacing - the opening ten minutes are incredibly intense, and culminate in a truly iconic horror cinema kill. The vast majority of what follows is a slower build up of plot, but in true Giallo fashion, keeps a sturdy mystery going for the whole time. The climax of the film ramps everything up again, as things take a supernatural turn, providing the audience with a solid reveal, disturbing imagery, and a decent helping of blood, all the while being backed by an absurd soundtrack courtesy of Italian prog band Goblin. The music goes from being enchanting, to downright jarring at the click of a finger, and just adds to Suspria's otherworldliness in spades.
Some memorable performances from the likes of Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Alida Valli and Joan Bennett also help in elevating this movie to horror greatness.
Suspiria is one of those films that you must see before you die. Horror at its weird, sense-assaulting best!
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Beauty and the Beast (1991) in Movies
Nov 22, 2020
The aesthetic is quintessential Disney fairytale material, alternating between the bright and colourful un-named village that Belle lives in, to the dark and gothic castle where The Beast resides. The animation is wonderful, especially when it comes to characters. Characters such as Cogsworth, Lumiere, and Mrs. Potts are bought to life in such a vibrant manner, it's another argument for why the live action adaptions will never quite capture the same magic, and the likes of Belle, The Beast, and Gaston are memorable and visually iconic Disney inhabitants.
The story is straight down the middle for this kind of thing, but it's crowd pleasing, heart warming, with a perfect helping of melancholy, a formula that has always been Disney's bread and butter along with catchy songs. I struggle to get on board with musicals for the most part but some of the music demonstrated here is superbly written and occasionally beautiful.
Beauty & The Beast is classic Disney through and through. It's truly timeless and will be enjoyed for generations to come.