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Mad Men

7.8 (19 Ratings) Rate It

TV Show Watch

In 1960s New York, alpha male Don Draper struggles to stay on top of the heap in the high-pressure...

Half-Time: The Glorious Summer of 1934

Robert Winder

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Set against the backdrop of depression-era politics, 1934 was an annus mirabilis for English sport....

Awix (3310 KP) rated Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) in Movies

Jul 30, 2020

Slightly discombobulating horror sequel. Following the events of the first movie Kirsty Cotton unsurprisingly ends up in a loony bin run by brain surgeon and keen puzzle-box fan Dr Channard (Kenneth Cranham tries mightily to bring a touch of Peter Cushing-style class to an underwritten part). As Channard is a lunatic, he resurrects Kirsty's evil stepmother, and because he is clearly either very forgetful or slow off the mark, together they give a puzzle box (which he already had) to a traumatised patient who's good at puzzles (who he likewise already had about the place) and together they begin to explore the realm of the box.

Meanwhile... oh, does it really matter? As you can perhaps begin to discern, the plot of Hellraiser II Makes No Sense Whatsoever (the Cotton house appears to have teleported from London to New York City in the gap between films, and this is only a minor issue), and there is something baffling and miraculous about the fact the film is as coherent and watchable as it is. Then again, it's not actually about logic, plot, or the motivation of the characters, just a succession of grisly, visceral, nightmarish, surreal images. In this respect at least the film is an astonishing success. Doesn't stop the story from being nonsense, though. Manages to be a very bad movie but also a terrific one, frequently at exactly the same time. Like I say, discombobulating.

Kudos

How to Hang a Witch (How to Hang a Witch, #1)

Adriana Mather

8.3 (4 Ratings) Rate It

Book

It’s the Salem Witch Trials meets Mean Girls in this New York Times bestselling novel from one...

Alison Pink (7 KP) rated The Columbus Affair in Books

Jan 15, 2018

Okay. I hesitate to say too much in this review as the book hasn't been released yet & I know quite a few people anxious to get their hands on it. I don't want to spoil it for anyone. So I will say that it did not disappoint in the least.
I think the biggest issue I had with it is that it isn't Cotton Malone. I love that character! This is a stand alone book. It did take me a little reading to really get sucked in to the story. But with that being said, it is still a Berry book with all the trappings that make him such a wonderful author to read.

Kudos

David McK (3369 KP) rated The Lost Outlaw (Jack Lark #8) in Books

Apr 12, 2020

8th entry in Paul Fraser Collard's 'Jack Lark' series - originally dubbed as The Talented Mr Ripley meets Sharpe - and, this time, we're in Wild West territory with Jack joining a cotton convoy down from the Southern US States into Mexico.

Jack remains as compelling an protagonist as ever, having now fought on both sides of the American Civil War and throughout the British colonies (the series started in Alma), although now his past is beginning to tell - he is no longer as cocksure, as certain of himself as before and is suffering from nightmares over all he has witnessed.

And, yes, the finale does very much resemble Rorke's Drift - even the author states as much!