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Adam Gopnik, David Remnick and Robert Mankoff
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The book that Janet Maslin of The New York Times has called 'indispensable' and 'a transfixing study...

Red Dwarf - Season 1
TV Season Watch
It was a script rejected by everyone at the BBC for three years. It starred a poet, an...

Teaching Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet Teacher's Book
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Teaching Shakespeare presents over 50 photocopiable worksheets. Different sections of the book cover...

Teaching Shakespeare: The Tempest Teacher's Book
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Teaching Shakespeare presents over 50 photocopiable worksheets. Different sections of the book cover...

The Rosie Project: No. 1: Don Tillman
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The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion is a story about love, life and lobster every...

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4
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Re-issued with the charming original artwork from 1982, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4...

Say Ja to Hygge!: A Parody: How to Find Your Special Cosy Place
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'Dr Magnus Olsensen has done the decent thing. He has punctured the smug hygge bubble. He has...

LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated The Suicide Squad (2021) in Movies
Jul 31, 2021
It's fun, frantic, sweary, gory, and is, above all, unmistakably a James Gunn film.
The remants of the 2016 version that remain are improved, namely Rick Flag and Harley Quinn. Both characters are well fleshed out and likable. Stand them side by side with all the newcomers and you have a wonderfully weird line up of D-list DC villains. Amongst the massive ensemble, the meatier roles are given to Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena), Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), Thinker (Peter Capaldi) and of course, the show stealer King Shark (Sylvester Stallone). I would happily kill for him, and Sebastian the rat....
All of these characters are simply a pleasure to watch. Their interactions with eachother are frequently hilarious and the combined team give this movie a huge fricking heart that was so lacking back in 2016.
My main criticism is the pacing. After an amusingly brutal opening gambit, the whole thing takes a bit of a dive. The humour isn't quite enough to hold the slow-paced first hour together, and I found myself drifting on more than one occasion. I also wasn't a fan of the arty title cards that crop up throughout (with the exception of one during the films final act, which is quite possibly one of my favourite moments in the history of comic book movies...)
Sure, this whole part drags the experience down as a whole, but the last hour is an absolute riot. A fantastic scene involving Harley Quinn, a long hallway, and a javelin, marks a triumphant turn in proceedings, and the build up and resulting climax is batshit insane, with a villain I genuinely thought I'd never get to see in the big screen. It's horrifically entertaining and doesn't let up until the credits roll.
Ultimately, The Suicide Squad is heaps of gory fun, and a welcome addition to the mixed bag that is the DCEU. Personally, I would love to see Gunn return to the franchise in some form. Hell, give him the keys to the whole kingdom and see what happens.

Illeana Douglas recommended Rosemary's Baby (1968) in Movies (curated)
