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Andy K (10821 KP) created a video about Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) in Movies
Jun 2, 2019 (Updated Jun 2, 2019)
Jay Z recommended track Toxic by Britney Spears in Singles Collection by Britney Spears in Music (curated)
Jonathan Donahue recommended Chances Are: The Definiitive Early Hits Collection by Johnny Mathis in Music (curated)
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Kiss of the Night (Dark-Hunter, #4) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
Another great book in the Dark-Hunter series! The love story was nicely done, and both Cassandra and Wulf were great characters. My only minor complaint is that some of the dialogue was awkward and stilted, the modern references were unnecessary (Britney Spears, etc. I always hate that in a book, it makes it feel so dated), and the book had a few editing problems (for example, in Elysia, one of the Apollites was called a Daimon). Other than that, the book was terrific. I especially liked how Sherrilyn Kenyon made Apollites and Daimons more, for lack of a better word, human. I really can't believe how many more books Ms. Kenyon can write, and how many directions she can go into, with the world(s) she has created - it could go on forever - or at least we can hope so! :)
4.5 stars
4.5 stars
Erika (17788 KP) rated The Lottery and Other Stories in Books
Jun 19, 2019
I've been wanting to read this collection of stories ever since I finished Jackson's @We Have Always Lived in the Castle . The Lottery was a shocking story (apparently) at the time of it's publishing.
The first section was, by far, my favorite, because I could relate to it the most. It consisted of stories of people in plain site that were often ignored, or felt like they didn't belong anywhere. Because I found I could relate to the stories so well, I was completely unnerved that someone could put those feelings into words.
The other sections of stories were mostly domestic/family oriented, which I have no interest in. Nothing bores me more than a stories about children. So, yawn, and that's why I haven't rated this higher.
Finally, The Lottery; now, I can understand why it may have been shocking at the time... Now, not so much. Obviously, with the release of such books that take inspiration from it, i.e., The Hunger Games, it didn't seem new or disturbing. Even South Park had an episode taking inspiration from it; the Britney Spears ep that came out in 2007.
So, loved the first section, and the other sections were just ok. It was kind of cool to see the genesis of future literature that was inspired by "The Lottery".
The first section was, by far, my favorite, because I could relate to it the most. It consisted of stories of people in plain site that were often ignored, or felt like they didn't belong anywhere. Because I found I could relate to the stories so well, I was completely unnerved that someone could put those feelings into words.
The other sections of stories were mostly domestic/family oriented, which I have no interest in. Nothing bores me more than a stories about children. So, yawn, and that's why I haven't rated this higher.
Finally, The Lottery; now, I can understand why it may have been shocking at the time... Now, not so much. Obviously, with the release of such books that take inspiration from it, i.e., The Hunger Games, it didn't seem new or disturbing. Even South Park had an episode taking inspiration from it; the Britney Spears ep that came out in 2007.
So, loved the first section, and the other sections were just ok. It was kind of cool to see the genesis of future literature that was inspired by "The Lottery".
Kim Pook (101 KP) rated Senior year (2022) in Movies
Jun 3, 2022
At the start of the movie, the main character steph is recording a video talking about her childhood, she was snubbed by the cool kids so decided she wanted to become popular. She achieved this, got a "hot" boyfriend and became a cheerleader. However, after a cheerleading accident steph ends up in a coma for 20 years. When she wakes up she has to learn all the ins and outs of the present day, such as smart phones, words you can't use anymore, the fact her boyfriend was now married and how much her body has aged.
She soon decides that she wants to finish her month she missed of her senior year, including cheerleading and becoming prom Queen.
I really enjoyed this movie despite it being over the top silly in places and unrealistic, I mean a 37 year old still fitting into her clothes from when she was 17 with very different body shapes is about as unrealistic as you can get!
The soundtrack is all kinds of nostalgic and took me back to my late teens as there was everything from Mandy Moore to a like for like redo of the drive me (crazy) video by britney spears. If you love the 90s/00s era of teen movies, you're sure to love this.
She soon decides that she wants to finish her month she missed of her senior year, including cheerleading and becoming prom Queen.
I really enjoyed this movie despite it being over the top silly in places and unrealistic, I mean a 37 year old still fitting into her clothes from when she was 17 with very different body shapes is about as unrealistic as you can get!
The soundtrack is all kinds of nostalgic and took me back to my late teens as there was everything from Mandy Moore to a like for like redo of the drive me (crazy) video by britney spears. If you love the 90s/00s era of teen movies, you're sure to love this.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Seed of Chucky (2004) in Movies
Nov 26, 2019 (Updated Jan 7, 2020)
What even is this film!?
Seed of Chucky is the fifth in the Child's Play series, and definitely is the peak of absurdity in this particular franchise.
After writing the first four, Don Mancini steps behind the camera for the first time to direct this entry, and it's crystal clear he wanted to take it into comedic territory, and honestly, it works for the most part.
A lot of Seed is so ridiculous, you can't help but laugh.
Chucky plans to transfer his soul into Redman of all people, Britney Spears gets blown up, there's a live ventriloquist competition that looks more jumping than a metal concert, there's a member of S Club 7 in it, Jennifer Tilly, John Waters, Redman, and Jason Flemyng (because why the hell not) all play themselves - I could go on.
Jennifer Tilly especially deserves credit, as her willingness to poke fun at herself is a big part of what makes this film fun.
Billy Boyd voices Glen/Glenda, the spawn of Chucky, and that's also just ridiculous as it sounds.
Seed has some genuinely nice gore effects going on but as a horror film, it's rubbish. Nothing scary happens at all. But as an all out, stupid comedy with horror leanings, it hard not to like.
I love the more unsettling Chucky of the first two movies, and would take him over the quippy Chucky of the later movies - a huge reason why I didn't care much for Bride of Chucky - but when it's this over the top, I can get on board without too much fuss.
After writing the first four, Don Mancini steps behind the camera for the first time to direct this entry, and it's crystal clear he wanted to take it into comedic territory, and honestly, it works for the most part.
A lot of Seed is so ridiculous, you can't help but laugh.
Chucky plans to transfer his soul into Redman of all people, Britney Spears gets blown up, there's a live ventriloquist competition that looks more jumping than a metal concert, there's a member of S Club 7 in it, Jennifer Tilly, John Waters, Redman, and Jason Flemyng (because why the hell not) all play themselves - I could go on.
Jennifer Tilly especially deserves credit, as her willingness to poke fun at herself is a big part of what makes this film fun.
Billy Boyd voices Glen/Glenda, the spawn of Chucky, and that's also just ridiculous as it sounds.
Seed has some genuinely nice gore effects going on but as a horror film, it's rubbish. Nothing scary happens at all. But as an all out, stupid comedy with horror leanings, it hard not to like.
I love the more unsettling Chucky of the first two movies, and would take him over the quippy Chucky of the later movies - a huge reason why I didn't care much for Bride of Chucky - but when it's this over the top, I can get on board without too much fuss.
Maddi Zoe (6 KP) rated MANIA by Fall Out Boy in Music
Feb 8, 2018
feet-tapping tunes (1 more)
light and dark
Fresh new sound, still Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy return with their seventh studio album titled 'Mania', which continues to explore their heavy alternative rock sound.
Mania is very similar in sound to Fall Out Boy's previous album from 2015 'American Beauty/American Psycho'. It's a far cry from where they first began with hits such as 'Sugar We're Goin' Down' and 'Dance, Dance'. Although it was classic rock hits such as 'I Don't Care' that brought them out into the spotlight in the first place. But you can clearly see the evolution of their music through each and every album.
They started to turn to heavier rock in their stand out album, 'Save Rock and Roll' in 2013, and continued to explore this style through to their 2015 album. Mania follows again follows this same successful recipe. But it's still fresh, with Pete Wentz describing it as a 'palette cleanse'.
You can tell that Fall Out Boy are passionate about their music. It's taken two years to get this album to a point where they felt happy with the finished product. Patrick Stump and the band started writing the new album during their 2016 tour, and it was originally scheduled for release in September last year. The release was delayed because they felt it was 'too rushed' and they didn't want to give fans something they felt was 'sub-par'.
The lyrics are, as usual, clever and intricate. It is clear that a lot of thought has gone into writing all of these songs. Some songs do again hint towards religion, such as 'Church' and 'Heaven's Gate'. This is becoming a common theme for the band, yet they maintain their heavy ego pop musicality. Fans of the band may also know it is common for the lyrics to sometimes reference other artists or the music industry in general. Anyone with a keen ear will notice the Britney Spears references in 'Young and Menace'.
Stump's voice. It is outstanding. This new album is no different. It is something that makes Fall Out Boy stand out among other bands. It is so crucial, especially in recent years, and Fall Out Boy continue to distance themselves away from bog-standard guitar solos. More often than not they have a bridge that is different to the rest of the song. This gives them more time to show off Stump's incredible and unique voice.
While the album is heavier than the majority of their music, some tracks such as 'Hold Me Tight or Don't', which are a bit lighter, and hint back to their 'old style'. Yet they continue to remain completely fresh. Whilst tracks such as 'Young and Menace' and 'Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea' almost have a dubstep/dance vibe to them.
All ten tracks on the new album are completely different from one another other. There is something for everyone. It is combines the 'old' Fall Out Boy which we first fell in love with and the 'newer, even fresher' Fall Out Boy. It is yet again, another outstanding album from the band.
Mania is very similar in sound to Fall Out Boy's previous album from 2015 'American Beauty/American Psycho'. It's a far cry from where they first began with hits such as 'Sugar We're Goin' Down' and 'Dance, Dance'. Although it was classic rock hits such as 'I Don't Care' that brought them out into the spotlight in the first place. But you can clearly see the evolution of their music through each and every album.
They started to turn to heavier rock in their stand out album, 'Save Rock and Roll' in 2013, and continued to explore this style through to their 2015 album. Mania follows again follows this same successful recipe. But it's still fresh, with Pete Wentz describing it as a 'palette cleanse'.
You can tell that Fall Out Boy are passionate about their music. It's taken two years to get this album to a point where they felt happy with the finished product. Patrick Stump and the band started writing the new album during their 2016 tour, and it was originally scheduled for release in September last year. The release was delayed because they felt it was 'too rushed' and they didn't want to give fans something they felt was 'sub-par'.
The lyrics are, as usual, clever and intricate. It is clear that a lot of thought has gone into writing all of these songs. Some songs do again hint towards religion, such as 'Church' and 'Heaven's Gate'. This is becoming a common theme for the band, yet they maintain their heavy ego pop musicality. Fans of the band may also know it is common for the lyrics to sometimes reference other artists or the music industry in general. Anyone with a keen ear will notice the Britney Spears references in 'Young and Menace'.
Stump's voice. It is outstanding. This new album is no different. It is something that makes Fall Out Boy stand out among other bands. It is so crucial, especially in recent years, and Fall Out Boy continue to distance themselves away from bog-standard guitar solos. More often than not they have a bridge that is different to the rest of the song. This gives them more time to show off Stump's incredible and unique voice.
While the album is heavier than the majority of their music, some tracks such as 'Hold Me Tight or Don't', which are a bit lighter, and hint back to their 'old style'. Yet they continue to remain completely fresh. Whilst tracks such as 'Young and Menace' and 'Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea' almost have a dubstep/dance vibe to them.
All ten tracks on the new album are completely different from one another other. There is something for everyone. It is combines the 'old' Fall Out Boy which we first fell in love with and the 'newer, even fresher' Fall Out Boy. It is yet again, another outstanding album from the band.
Andy K (10821 KP) rated Vox Lux (2018) in Movies
Sep 18, 2019
Black Swan 2: The Return of Durant
In 1999, a middle school teenager Celeste has survived a horrific school shooting which has left multiple students and teacher dead. Through tragedy, the wounded girl triumphs through the singing of a tribute song which goes viral and becomes an anthem for heartbreak throughout the world.
She achieves instant success with her song, so much so, she gets a recording contract and her and her sister are whisked away to Sweden to record it officially and make a music video. Her manager chaperones her time there, but does not have much success. The girls have a good time partying and choosing every excess including the consequences. The video is a success and she becomes a star.
Eighteen years later, the aging pop star is trying to make a comeback and show she can still keep up. Her relationships with her sister, teenage daughter and sister as she has lived the ego-driven life of a celebrity now for too long. One the eve of a concert performance, another massive multi-person shooting happens at a beachfront, the perpetrators donning masks used in one of her videos making her the target of paparazzi and media scrutiny at a pivotal time in her life.
She tries to salvage her relationship with her daughter who is going through her own teenage angst with mixed success. It seems she is her own worst enemy questioning her choices and continuing leading the lifestyle of a demanding celebrity.
The movie seems like a tale of two halves with the teenage Celeste and the "grown up" version even having screen captures saying so. For me the first half was way more interesting than the second. The teenage Celeste was more believable, maybe because you didn't know her, but the screenplay was more interesting for her as well.
One can only imagine the emotions of having to live through such a tragedy and having to rebuild your life afterwards. Then adding on top of it, her instantaneous global stardom could not have done well to heal her physical, but emotional scars as well.
I felt Natalie Portman seemed out of place and her acting felt very wooden and dry to me unlike most of her portfolio. She even was an executive producer on the film along with her costar Jude Law, so she may have been focused on that instead of her acting performance. She doesn't appear in the film until close to an hour in and filmed her scenes over 10 days. It is unfortunate, but I really didn't believe her and took me out of several scenes as a result.
It is hard to empathize with the celebrity lifestyle of excess and demands having never lived it myself. It has certainly been portrayed onscreen much better than it is here and it really felt like the two halves of the film were disconnected and not resolved.
I certainly don't mind, or even encourage, the vague open-ended type of film generally speaking if it is left you to think about the plight of the characters their decisions, and ultimate destinations; however, this film accomplishes this only through bad writing.
The concert footage was well done and Portman certainly delivered on transforming into a Madonna/Britney Spears type icon. I was just hoping for more of a payoff and felt disappointed in the end.
She achieves instant success with her song, so much so, she gets a recording contract and her and her sister are whisked away to Sweden to record it officially and make a music video. Her manager chaperones her time there, but does not have much success. The girls have a good time partying and choosing every excess including the consequences. The video is a success and she becomes a star.
Eighteen years later, the aging pop star is trying to make a comeback and show she can still keep up. Her relationships with her sister, teenage daughter and sister as she has lived the ego-driven life of a celebrity now for too long. One the eve of a concert performance, another massive multi-person shooting happens at a beachfront, the perpetrators donning masks used in one of her videos making her the target of paparazzi and media scrutiny at a pivotal time in her life.
She tries to salvage her relationship with her daughter who is going through her own teenage angst with mixed success. It seems she is her own worst enemy questioning her choices and continuing leading the lifestyle of a demanding celebrity.
The movie seems like a tale of two halves with the teenage Celeste and the "grown up" version even having screen captures saying so. For me the first half was way more interesting than the second. The teenage Celeste was more believable, maybe because you didn't know her, but the screenplay was more interesting for her as well.
One can only imagine the emotions of having to live through such a tragedy and having to rebuild your life afterwards. Then adding on top of it, her instantaneous global stardom could not have done well to heal her physical, but emotional scars as well.
I felt Natalie Portman seemed out of place and her acting felt very wooden and dry to me unlike most of her portfolio. She even was an executive producer on the film along with her costar Jude Law, so she may have been focused on that instead of her acting performance. She doesn't appear in the film until close to an hour in and filmed her scenes over 10 days. It is unfortunate, but I really didn't believe her and took me out of several scenes as a result.
It is hard to empathize with the celebrity lifestyle of excess and demands having never lived it myself. It has certainly been portrayed onscreen much better than it is here and it really felt like the two halves of the film were disconnected and not resolved.
I certainly don't mind, or even encourage, the vague open-ended type of film generally speaking if it is left you to think about the plight of the characters their decisions, and ultimate destinations; however, this film accomplishes this only through bad writing.
The concert footage was well done and Portman certainly delivered on transforming into a Madonna/Britney Spears type icon. I was just hoping for more of a payoff and felt disappointed in the end.