Sign up
Search
Advanced search settings

Search only in certain items:

Search results
All (257)
Content
People
Apps
Books
Orbs
Movies
Music
Podcasts
Shows
Tabletop Games
Tech
TV
Video Games
YouTube Channels
Videos
40x40

Awix (3310 KP) rated The Hopkins Manuscript in Books

Mar 21, 2019  
The Hopkins Manuscript
The Hopkins Manuscript
R. C. Sherriff | 1939 | Fiction & Poetry
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Powerfully moving, surprisingly obscure British SF novel. Eerily prescient in some ways: written in 1939 but set from 1945 onward, the story is told by Edgar Hopkins, a retired schoolteacher and champion poultry-breeder who is one of the first men in the country to learn of an impending cataclysm - the moon has been knocked from its orbit and will collide with the Earth in a matter of months. Hopkins' ability to tell the story is impaired by his own pompousness, powerful sense of self-regard and unerring ability to miss the significance of anything going on around him.

Initially it reads like a very black, absurdist comedy, but as the book progresses it becomes genuinely poignant and moving - almost a eulogy for an idea of England soon to be wiped away forever. I have no idea how much the author was motivated by fears of the coming Second World War, but its presence hangs inescapably over the book. The actual science in the book is rather risible, and (like much other mid-20th century British SF) the film also contains race-related elements that some modern readers could find problematic, but the core of the book remains as significant and thought-provoking as ever.
  
    La Jetee

    La Jetee

    Chris Darke

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    Book

    Chris Marker's La Jetee is 28 minutes long and almost entirely made up of black-and-white still...

40x40

Sean Farrell (9 KP) rated Artifice in Books

Mar 15, 2018  
A
Artifice
Alex Woolfson | 2013
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I had been meaning to read this graphic novel for a while, having heard good things about how it used a sci-fi / action story to talk about homophobia, racism, free will, first love, and self-acceptance; and in light of recent current events, it seemed like the perfect time. The artwork is absolutely wonderful, and perfectly captures all the nuances of the story, which is pretty great in itself. While it can occasionally feel a little predictable, the tale of Deacon and Jeff was sweetly romantic and contained many moments that I found very relatable, in spite of the science fiction setting and sporadic bursts of violence. In a way, this story is similar to recent British hit anthology show "Black Mirror", in that it uses its sci-fi setting to tell a deeply human story to great effect. While it may fall a little short of being a masterpiece, it is a great comic, and one I would love to see continued.
  
40x40

Awix (3310 KP) rated Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) in Movies

Mar 4, 2018 (Updated Mar 4, 2018)  
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
1949 | Classics, Comedy, Drama
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Justly acclaimed black comedy is a somewhat atypical film from Ealing Studios, better known for their affectionate depictions of post-war British life. Calculating man-on-the-make Dennis Price sets out to get on in the world by murdering the eight members of the D'Ascoyne family who stand between him and inheriting the dukedom of Chalfont.

Best known for the fact that Alec Guinness plays all the D'Ascoynes, but Dennis Price is just as good as the homicidal would-be aristocrat. The broad comedy of some of Guinness' performances, plus the staging of several of the murders, is underpinned by some much subtler and more understated humour about class and morality. One of those films you can watch several times and still find new layers to enjoy; very funny, too, though that should go without saying.