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Sarah (7800 KP) rated Cats (2019) in Movies

Jan 15, 2020  
Cats (2019)
Cats (2019)
2019 | Musical
Stuff of nightmares
From the moment I saw the trailer, I knew I wasn't going to like this film. Having never seen the stage show, I went into this completely blind and to be honest, after 100 minutes of this nonsense I wish I was blind.

Usually I'll try to find something good to say about a film, but I'm really struggling with this. I feel like giving it a 2 is rather generous. Other than appreciating the amount of effort on the CGI and the song Memory, I really cannot identify any other good points whatsoever.

Now where do I start on the bad? The cats themselves are beyond disturbing. People dressed as cats in the stage show I can understand. Human features on cat bodies is just crazy and looks ridiculous. The fact that they alternate between 2 and 4 legged with human features, it beggars belief. I hoped I might get used to it, but i really didnt especially when they start hissing, preening and acting like real cats - it's terrifying and laughable all at once. The scaling of the cats against the scenery also looks a little misjudged, especially when they stand up.

The story and rest of the film doesn't fare much better. The songs (except for Memory) are surprisingly poor for an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, and no others are particularly memorable. The plot itself is also very thin and has barely any substance, the fact that they've managed to drag this out to 100 minutes is impressive. I also couldn't stand the words "Jellicle" and "Heaviside" - they sound like something from a kids cartoon and they began to grate on me very quickly. And the cast: James Corden, Rebel Wilson and Ray Winstone - just no. They are all so cringingly bad I could barely watch. And even acting royalty like Ian McKellen and Judi Dench don't survive this car crash intact. The final song and scenes with the direct address to camera is possibly the most embarrassingly cringeworthy thing I've seen in a long time.

It may only be January, but I doubt anything else I see in 2020 will be worse than this. I would have happily walked out of this 15 minutes in and never thought twice. The fact that I've sat through the entire thing made me want to claw my eyes out. I cannot unsee this.

If you want to watch a film musical about cats, watch The Aristocats. Do not waste your time on this!
  
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Nick Beaty (70 KP) Jan 15, 2020

"After 100 minutes I wish I was blind" 😂 Brilliant quote

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Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Men Explain Things to Me: And Other Essays in Books

Oct 20, 2017 (Updated Oct 20, 2017)  
Men Explain Things to Me: And Other Essays
Men Explain Things to Me: And Other Essays
Rebecca Solnit | 2016 | Essays
7
5.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Some interesting points but doesn't connect together
Having read many of Rebecca Solnit's works, this is not one of the better ones. While there are some thoughtful ideas, the essays are disjointed from one another, so it seems to be lumped together.

That being said, some of the essays have some important points. This includes marriage equality between same sexes, ensuring inequality from a patriarchal standpoint can be dismantled.

And there is a small amount of intersectionality, discussing the rape of Native American and Indian women as part of a pandemic of violence against women rather than isolated incidents. And while this was written several years before and some of it no longer applies (Dominic Strauss-Kahn) it is still valid as the issues still continue.

The less said about slutwalk, the better.

I would say this is a good introduction to feminism for those who are seeking to understand parts, but I would recommend books with a little more substance than this.
  
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Dean (6927 KP) rated Cloverfield (2008) in Movies

Nov 16, 2017 (Updated Nov 16, 2017)  
Cloverfield (2008)
Cloverfield (2008)
2008 | Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Original (1 more)
Something for everyone
Immersive experience
WOW! This film is brilliant! What can I say believe the hype. This is such an engaging film you won't be able to take your eyes off the screen for a second. This is a mix of action, drama, disaster, and sci-fi all rolled into one and even with a touch of romance too. It was much better than I expected it to be given all the hype around it. The film is viewed through the playback of a camcorder after an event in New York, Kinda Blair Witch like but better. The first person feel of it really brings you into the action, panic and confusion as the events unfold. This is set to be a cult classic! If you haven't seen it yet put it to the top of your to watch/rental list! It feels like a roller-coaster ride you don't want to end!
  
Fighting with My Family (2019)
Fighting with My Family (2019)
2019 | Biography, Comedy, Drama
Characters are full and detailed. (1 more)
Story is heartfelt and relatable.
Though a true story, a lot of details are quickly glossed over. (0 more)
Great wrestling movie.
Been looking forward to this one and I wasn't disappointed. Granted, I have to say I'm a bit biased as a wrestling diehard. But, this movie is great. Paige and her family are full, detailed characters. You can relate from the onset. Sure, the story is a bit corny and many details and events are glossed over, but it's a story about family and the dream of being a professional wrestler. It fits perfectly with the subject matter. Like wrestling, we don't need all the deep details. You just tell a great story and get the audience to feel something. Which is what this movie does. Is it the next Best Picture Oscar winner? No. But it truly is a glorious tale of the importance of family and never giving up on your dreams.
  
Escape From Tomorrow (2013)
Escape From Tomorrow (2013)
2013 | Drama, Horror, Mystery
3
5.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Its imaginative, and surreal (0 more)
Virtually everything else (0 more)
Not a magical movie...
I don't like writing negative reviews, but this confusing story about a family visiting disney world is...well its a mess.

Its a Lynchian dreamscape of a film, which hints at a lot but doesn't really every explain much, other than to suggest there is a dark undercurrent to Disney.

The fact is though that the narrative is untidy and weirdly paced, and can't ever really settle on what it is that it wants viewers to feel.

You can argue thats the point of this sort of film, but there doesn't feel like there is any cleverness to the confusion, just a movie that deliberately tries to unbalance you for no other reason than to have you unbalanced.

I don't really want to say much more other than that there are many better films out there than this, so only watch this if you really fancy a challenge.
  
Because We are Bad: OCD and a Girl Lost in Thought
Because We are Bad: OCD and a Girl Lost in Thought
Lily Bailey | 2016 | Biography
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Lily Bailey (0 more)
A true Journey of the mind
Wow, what a tale of loss, love, and everything in between leading to ultimate redemption and recovery.
This will make you laugh, make you cry, you will feel sadness, empathy, sympathy and laugther all at the same time.
I would say this is majorly helpful to anyone suffering with ocd as it made me feel glad, almost like huh it's not just me, it was so relatable and you can get a very real sense of the author's pain and turmoil dealing with the rigors of daily life with ocd on her back.
From her days at school to uni to working and all the times between this has indeed been a roller-coaster ride of emotion especially considering the author is still in her 20s.
Hopefully she opens up again in future and shares more of her journey.
I am personally thankful lily Bailey shared this with us.
  
Starship Troopers (1997)
Starship Troopers (1997)
1997 | Action, Sci-Fi
Do you know what? Starship Troopers is a 5 star film and there's nothing anyone can say to convince me otherwise.
It's 90s sci-fi at its absolute best.

It has a great cast - Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, Michael Ironside, Clancy Brown, Dina Meyer, Neil Patrick-Harris, Jake Busey - none of them feel replaceable.
It has special effects that genuinely still.homd up over 20 years later, and also a fuck tonne of genuinely horrific practical effects - some of the violence in Starship Troopers is next level, in true Paul Verhoeven style.
It has a corny yet airtight script, it's suitably cheesy when it wants to be, and wonderfully satirical throughout.
It's also got a top tier score courtesy of Basil Poledouris.

I saw this film when I was in my early teens, a few years after it released and it has always stuck with me since. Starship Troopers is perfection, fight me.
  
The Umbrella Academy - Season 2
The Umbrella Academy - Season 2
2020 | Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
What a perfect carry on!
Contains spoilers, click to show
Right, first off let me just say season 1 was brilliant and they couldn't have followed up any better with season 2.

Acting was spot on from every single actor/actress, everyone played their rolls amazingly. This was the perfect carry on with plenty of action, lots of twists and turns and a well thought out ending.

Only one scene bothered me, there is a scene with their dad, he confronted a room full of men by taking off his skin and underneath he was an alien, I mean i get he is curious about the dark side of the moon, but an alien? At what point does this have anything to do with the program. Unless there will be an ending of sorts where you find out he created these beings with gifts in some weird alien way....... We will see, can not wait for season 3!
  
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Sarah (7800 KP) Aug 11, 2020

I'm very intrigued about that too. They showed it then never referred to it again - got to be something weird going on!

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Jackjack (877 KP) Aug 12, 2020

100% it did annoy me that they never mentioned it before then threw it in there for one random short scene 🤦‍♂️😂 we will see......

Morbius (2022)
Morbius (2022)
2022 | Action, Sci-Fi
Morbius, the living vampire.

What can I say, other than it is getting terrible reviews?

Starring Jared Leto and Matt Smith, you think the former would have learned from his abysmal Suicide Squad role, with the latter not seeming to have much luck at all with his Hollywood choices despite starring as one of the biggest names in British TV: that of The Doctor.

Basically? Leto plays a scientist suffering from a rare blood disorder who, in an attempt to cure himself by splicing Vampire Bat DNA to his own (don't think too hard about the science!) manages to turn himself into (more or less) a vampire. Anti-hero, basically.

Set in the same universe as Venom - with those films getting a wink wink nudge nudge moment - if not the main MCU this is relatively short, very murkily shot (I still haven't got a clue what went on during the final scenes) and lacks the draw of Tom Hardy completely over acting.