Search
Orange is the New Black: My Time in a Women's Prison
7.4
Rate It
Book
With her career, live-in boyfriend and loving family, Piper Kerman barely resembles the rebellious...
Memoir Narrative non-fiction
He Never Died (2015)
8.0
Rate It
Movie
This quirky oddball of a film stars bull necked ex Black Flag frontman and wordsmith Henry Rollins...
Sex, Sleep or Scrabble?: Seriously Funny Answers to Life's Quirkiest Queries
Book
This is one of the funniest, rudest and most useful books you'll ever read. What questions would you...
Stephen Merchant recommended The Squid and the Whale (2005) in Movies (curated)
Bruce Robinson recommended The Gold Rush (1925) in Movies (curated)
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Avengers - Season 4 in TV
Aug 17, 2020
Difficult not to use words like iconic to describe this; the two seasons with Diana Rigg (this is the first of them) is what defines this series in the public recollection. Gentleman spy John Steed and his leather-clad friend Emma Peel investigate a wide range of threats to British society as we know it, ranging from the relatively mundane (attempts to assassinate visiting dignitaries) to the positively outlandish (man-eating Martian plants with mind-control powers).
Occasionally a bit tonally uneven, but still mostly a joy to watch even after all these years: the two leads are clearly enjoying themselves hugely and so are the characters (most of the time). The best episodes have a sort of intelligent silliness about them which is almost irresistible: they sustain a mixture of spy spoof, black comedy, and science fiction which many have tried to copy but few have achieved. This is the Avengers in its imperial phase.
Occasionally a bit tonally uneven, but still mostly a joy to watch even after all these years: the two leads are clearly enjoying themselves hugely and so are the characters (most of the time). The best episodes have a sort of intelligent silliness about them which is almost irresistible: they sustain a mixture of spy spoof, black comedy, and science fiction which many have tried to copy but few have achieved. This is the Avengers in its imperial phase.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (¡Átame!) (1989) in Movies
Jun 3, 2020
Black romantic-comedy, a rare misfire from Pedro Almodovar. A mentally-unstable young man kidnaps a troubled actress and junkie and keeps her prisoner until she falls in love with him. Yes, I know: I would say it was a Spanish thing but it's fundamentally the same plot as Passengers and a few other movies.
I suppose it's conceivable that you could make quite an interesting and provocative film based on such a premise, provided you approached it the right way (perhaps in this case doing it ironically might be justified). However, Almodovar plays it unexpectedly straight, and quite apart from how dodgy the basis of the plot is, not even actors like Banderas and Abril (who do the best they can with the material) can make the story work. Lots of interesting characters and story material gets crowded out to the edges of the film, and it's oddly graphic for what's supposed to be a romance. Watchable but not satisfying.
I suppose it's conceivable that you could make quite an interesting and provocative film based on such a premise, provided you approached it the right way (perhaps in this case doing it ironically might be justified). However, Almodovar plays it unexpectedly straight, and quite apart from how dodgy the basis of the plot is, not even actors like Banderas and Abril (who do the best they can with the material) can make the story work. Lots of interesting characters and story material gets crowded out to the edges of the film, and it's oddly graphic for what's supposed to be a romance. Watchable but not satisfying.
Shame
Book
The novel that set the stage for his modern classic, The Satanic Verses, Shame is Salman Rushdie’s...
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Men in Black International (2019) in Movies
Jul 7, 2020
Weighed, Measured and Found Wanting
Men In Black International is a 2019 sci-fi action/comedy directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. It is based on the Malibu/Marvel comic book series by Lowell Cunningham. The film was produced by Amblin Entertainment, Columbia Pictures, Image Nation, Tencent Pictures and MacDonald/Parkes Productions and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. The movie stars Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Rebecca Ferguson, Kumail Nanjiani, Emma Thompson, and Liam Neeson.
Molly Wright (Tessa Thompson) witnesses her parents being neuralized by agents of Men in Black in Brooklyn 1996. Avoiding neuralization as her parents assumed that she was asleep, she helps an alien escape. Twenty-three years later, she manages to track Men in Black agents back to MiB headquarters in New York. Molly makes an impression on Agent O (Emma Thompson), despite being caught entering the building. She is assigned to the London branch on a probationary agent status as "Agent M".
This movie was very predictable. There really wasn't one part of the movie that surprised me plot wise. From the twists and turns that they try and throw at you to the big reveal at the end. A lot of critics said this movie was very forgettable with lackluster action and they are not wrong. However, the movie was quite enjoyable for myself and others. The chemistry between Thompson and Hemsworth was awesome and particularly the voice acting for Kumail Nanjiani's character. His character Pawney, stole the show and really made the movie good. He was the comic relief and center of any scene he was in. The special effects were great and they even threw in a couple of new aliens as they often do with the sequels of this series. The movie also didn't have near the emotional impact of the sequels. It was a decent movie but not as funny, surprising, or stupendous as the first film in the franchise. I give it a 7/10,
Molly Wright (Tessa Thompson) witnesses her parents being neuralized by agents of Men in Black in Brooklyn 1996. Avoiding neuralization as her parents assumed that she was asleep, she helps an alien escape. Twenty-three years later, she manages to track Men in Black agents back to MiB headquarters in New York. Molly makes an impression on Agent O (Emma Thompson), despite being caught entering the building. She is assigned to the London branch on a probationary agent status as "Agent M".
This movie was very predictable. There really wasn't one part of the movie that surprised me plot wise. From the twists and turns that they try and throw at you to the big reveal at the end. A lot of critics said this movie was very forgettable with lackluster action and they are not wrong. However, the movie was quite enjoyable for myself and others. The chemistry between Thompson and Hemsworth was awesome and particularly the voice acting for Kumail Nanjiani's character. His character Pawney, stole the show and really made the movie good. He was the comic relief and center of any scene he was in. The special effects were great and they even threw in a couple of new aliens as they often do with the sequels of this series. The movie also didn't have near the emotional impact of the sequels. It was a decent movie but not as funny, surprising, or stupendous as the first film in the franchise. I give it a 7/10,
Leigh J (71 KP) rated Death Becomes Her (1992) in Movies
Nov 20, 2019
An ageless Black Comedy
Helen is a struggling Writer who has gone with her Fiance, successful Plastic Surgeon Ernest Menville, to see an old friend/enemies Theatrical Show. The friend in question is an aging starlet by the name of Madeleine. Backstage, Madeleine and Ernest have an instant chemistry and despite reassuring Helen otherwise, Ernest and Madeleine eventually get Married; which sents Helen into a spiral of severe depression and overeating.
7 years later... Madeleine is middle aged and in an unhappy Marriage with the now Undertaker Ernest. Things are at an all time low when they recieve an Invitation to Helen's Book Party... the title of her book being "Forever Young". Desperate and in need of some rejuvenation, Madeleine goes to her usual clinic for some anti-aging therapy, and explodes in anger when they have no further options for her. This is when the Boss of the Spa approaches Madeleine and gives her the business card of Lisle Von Rhuman and explains that only a select group of people can consult with this woman. Madeleine brushes the whole incident off... until she sees Helen at the party. Helen is vibrant, more skinny and more beautiful and, shockingly, looks much younger than Madeleine. Madeleine is furious and, upon discovering her young bit on the side is sleeping with a younger woman, pays Lisle Von Rhuman a visit. Who is this mysterious woman and what exactly can she offer to Madeleine as a miracle cure to aging? And could this also be Helen's secret to her youth? Also, what are Helen and Ernest plotting behind Madeleine's back? And what will the disasterous condequences be when they finally confront each other?
I saw Death Becomes Her as a kid and was really taken with it; I loved the mysterious, '40s Starlet ways of Lisle Von Rhuman, I loved how elegant the Movie looks whilst also delivering on the Horror and the (very Black, very tongue in cheek) Comedy. It's so stand apart, I've never ever seen another like Death Becomes Her and it's a Movie I hope is enjoyed for generations to come. It's wonderful.
7 years later... Madeleine is middle aged and in an unhappy Marriage with the now Undertaker Ernest. Things are at an all time low when they recieve an Invitation to Helen's Book Party... the title of her book being "Forever Young". Desperate and in need of some rejuvenation, Madeleine goes to her usual clinic for some anti-aging therapy, and explodes in anger when they have no further options for her. This is when the Boss of the Spa approaches Madeleine and gives her the business card of Lisle Von Rhuman and explains that only a select group of people can consult with this woman. Madeleine brushes the whole incident off... until she sees Helen at the party. Helen is vibrant, more skinny and more beautiful and, shockingly, looks much younger than Madeleine. Madeleine is furious and, upon discovering her young bit on the side is sleeping with a younger woman, pays Lisle Von Rhuman a visit. Who is this mysterious woman and what exactly can she offer to Madeleine as a miracle cure to aging? And could this also be Helen's secret to her youth? Also, what are Helen and Ernest plotting behind Madeleine's back? And what will the disasterous condequences be when they finally confront each other?
I saw Death Becomes Her as a kid and was really taken with it; I loved the mysterious, '40s Starlet ways of Lisle Von Rhuman, I loved how elegant the Movie looks whilst also delivering on the Horror and the (very Black, very tongue in cheek) Comedy. It's so stand apart, I've never ever seen another like Death Becomes Her and it's a Movie I hope is enjoyed for generations to come. It's wonderful.