The Japanese Culinary Academy's Complete Introduction to Japanese Cuisine: Flavor and Seasoning: Dashi, Umami and Fermented Food
Japanese Culinary Academy, Isao Kumakura Toru Fushiki and Others and Masashi Kuma Shuichi Yamagata an
Book
Japanese cuisine is built around flavours and seasonings derived from umami-rich natural ingredients...
Stranger Than Paradise
Book
A low-budget breakout film that wowed critics and audiences on its initial release, Stranger than...
Bella Lacy (90 KP) rated The Perks of Being a Wallflower in Books
Jul 26, 2017
Manos, The Hands of Fate (1966)
Movie
A family ends up in the hands (see what I did there?) of a weird desert cult.
This movie sucks
Entertainment Editor (1988 KP) created a video about The Disaster Artist (2017) in Movies
Oct 15, 2017 (Updated Oct 16, 2017)
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated American Horror Story - Season 7 in TV
Mar 8, 2020
This makes for some of the best and worst aspects of AHS Cult. The plot leans heavily into politics this time around, originally airing not long Donald Trump was sworn in. I personally like that this season takes this real world event, and explores the horror that some people experienced during this time. Others would argue that it's very on-the-nose, which is somewhat true. Some of the political leanings carry all the subtlety of a stampeding cattle herd, andnat times can feel heavy handed.
Underneath all of the IRL shit that's going on, we also have a plot of intrigue and mystery, as the main character Ally (Sarah Paulson) is being apparently being stalked and pursued by clowns - her worst fear. We are given reason to believe that perhaps Ally is losing her mind, off her meds, upset with the election result, but as the season continues, you find yourself questioning whether she is in fact being gaslighted. Manipulation of what you believe to be true or false is a terrible horror all on its own, and a big reason why I rate this season highly.
The star of Cult for me though was of course Evan Peters. Playing a deranged political candidate called Kai Anderson, it's not long before his extreme right views Garner him a following, and the titular cult is created. To say anymore would be considered spoilers, but rest assured that all of these plot strands weave together by the time the story climaxes.
Evan Peters role in Cult is my favourite performance if his to date. His character is simultaneously charming, terrifying, smart, and unhinged, and he does a fantastic job in bringing him to life.
The plot also touches upon other real world figures, such as Charles Manson. Those parts were pretty interesting, but when the show flashes back and focuses on Valerie Solanis (Lena Dunham), it lost me a bit. I like when AHS includes real life characters, and it's always fun to see how they are interpreted in this kind of media, but it goes a bit overboard with it's hammy stuff (again) at times - the whole Andy Warhol plot was a massive eye roll in my book - and the Solanis stuff is just plain unenjoyable to watch.
This whole side plot really drags down the quality of cult to me, but the strong performances by Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters is enough to keep it in a higher placing for me.
Certainly not my favourite, and certainly not my least, Cult sits somewhere in the middle, and I can only praise the writers for trying something new with the horror element. Good stuff.
Clair (5 KP) rated After the Fire in Books
Sep 29, 2017
Laura (40 KP) rated After the Fire in Books
Sep 30, 2017
Quadrophenia
Book
1964: Mods clash with Rockers in Brighton, creating a moral panic. 1973: ex-Mod band The Who release...



