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Awix (3310 KP) created a poll

Nov 4, 2019  
Poll
It seems topical to ask: what do you think The Shining is really about?

Alcoholism
Annoyed Indian spirits

0 votes

Kubrick 'fessing up to faking the Apollo Moon landings
Kubrick just wanting to tick off Stephen King
The Holocaust

0 votes

The Minotaur

0 votes

None of the above, it's just a scary movie about a hotel with a weird floorplan
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First Man (2018)
First Man (2018)
2018 | Biography, Drama, History
Bored senseless
The film could have been improved by removing the hour in the middle that had absolutely no substance at all or, and if I were you I'd do this, just don't bother wasting a single minute of your life watching any of it. Watch Apollo 13 or the Martian or literally any other space film.
  
Rocky (1976)
Rocky (1976)
1976 | Drama, Romance, Sport
Sylvester Stallone's big break into the movie world, in which he plays the small-time (and none too-smart_ boxer Rocky Balboa, who gets a shot at the big-time when he takes on world heavyweight champion Apollo Creed.

Ok, yes, it has a very famous training montage and that theme-song, but - I'm sorry - this just dragged ...
  
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    Boeing-Boeing

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    Boeing-Boeing is a farce written by the French playwright Marc Camoletti. The English language...

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Desire of the Gods
Desire of the Gods
Marianna Green | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy, Romance
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Taudry Statue Gets Woman Laid in Desire of the Gods
Contains spoilers, click to show
The last thing Paula needed was a blindfolded, glowing god in her bed, but that’s exactly what she got.

Still reeling from her fiance, Nick, breaking up with her, Paula is desperate to try anything to get him back. So when her neighbor, Mrs. Stephanopolos gives her a magic statue that will give Paula her heart’s desire, she’s skeptical but does the required ritual anyway.

A split second later, Apollo, the Greek god of the sun, is standing in her bedroom, ready to help Paula, even though he thinks Paula can do so much better than Nick.


Everything seems to be working out until Eros sneaks in and shoots one of his insta-love arrows at Apollo. Now the sun god needs to stay permanently blindfolded to avoid falling in love with the first woman he sees, especially when Paula is so not his type. Now Paula and Apollo are stuck with each other until Aphrodite can swoop in and reverse the spell. But with the two of them in such close proximity to each other, they might realize they’re each other’s types after all.

I definitely enjoyed this book. A lot of little details were explained, like the history of the statue and why she and Apollo can understand each other, despite them speaking different languages. And even though this book has a lot of my usual pet peeves, like insta-love, arrogance, and even lack of regard for personal boundaries, I still didn’t mind it. I think it’s easier to accept because Apollo is a god and things work differently for him. His love for Paula doesn’t have to be completely realistic because he’s not human.

However, the actual moment Apollo gets shot is incredibly anti-climactic.

Suddenly, the golden god flinched, and he slapped at the side of his neck as if stung by a mosquito.

“No – Oh No! Not again!” He shut his eyes tight.

“What’s the matter?” Paula stared at him.

“Eros,” groaned the god, keeping his eyes tight shut, “He’s fired on me.”

That’s it. It’s a significant event in the book but it’s as dramatic as a mosquito bite. You don’t even meet Eros in this book. But aside from that unsatisfying scene, this was an excellent story.

I really liked Paula as a character. She’s a bit of a smartass and despite being insecure with her looks, she’s not whiny or obsessive about it. Even though she needs to go along with Apollo’s absurdity to get her heart’s desire, she stays snarky instead of being resigned to taking his (unintentionally) hurtful comments about her appearance. The only thing I didn’t really like about her was her attachment to Nick. I get the fact that he was her fiance and she’s in love with him, but it got a little repetitive, even in this novella-length story. It was especially bad when Nick saw her with Apollo, jumped to conclusions, and called her a slut for moving on so quickly, even though he left her for another woman.

However, for the most part, Paula rocked.

Apollo is so absurd, he’s adorable. Normally, arrogance turns me off, but Apollo is so over the top, it’s impossible to take him seriously.

“Turn away from me, and try not to think of my wonderfully developed upper arms or what you moderns call my six pack”

It’s just so silly that it’s funny. And Apollo genuinely does care for Paula. He warned her away from Nick from the start, telling her she could do better. He also offered to strike Nick dead for her and was in general very protective of her (but not in a controlling way).

His lack of personal boundaries bothers me slightly. He has no concept of personal space and has no problem touching Paula randomly and without warning. When sleeping in her bed, he used her breasts for a pillow, and while sleeping he dry-humped her.

While this sort of behavior would usually bother me a lot, I don’t really mind it because it’s pretty clear he’s not doing it to exert power over her or because he thinks he owns her. He’s just pretty oblivious to how the world works. (The second book in this trilogy explains that the gods are all immature and careless like this because they do not have the ability to change and grow like humans do.)

However, I really liked him for the most part. He’s really sweet in general and has a great dynamic with Paula.
  
The Shining (1980)
The Shining (1980)
1980 | Horror
Horror film royalty
Kubrick. Overlook. Vague. The Gold Room. Danny. Twins. Macabre. Bourbon on the rocks. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Burial ground. 1980. Redrum. Room 237. Chilling. Lighting. Composition. Wendy. Snowcat. Hedge maze. 1921. Unnerving. Tony. Masterpiece. Lloyd. Delbert Grady. Axe. Here's Johnny. Carpeting. Apollo 11. Steadicam. Big wheel. Helicopter. Blood. Chilling. Annual October 30th.