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ClareR (5789 KP) rated Creation Lake in Books

Jan 20, 2025  
Creation Lake
Creation Lake
Rachel Kushner | 2024 | Contemporary, Thriller
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Creation Lake was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and I can see why. I really enjoyed this story of a spy called Sadie, who infiltrates an eco-terrorist cult in France. They are led from afar by a man called Bruno, who lives in a cave, and believes that the only way to save humanity is to give up technology and return to out non-mechanised, non- fossil-fuelled past. They are extremists, but even the eco-cult reach a point where they can see that Bruno’s vision goes a bit too far.

I really enjoyed reading Bruno’s emails with Sadie (she has hacked into the email account of the eco-terrorists), got really involved with his theories, googled some and discovered that what he was saying may not have been 100% true or sane.

Sadie is an observer. She’s not your typical all action spy, but she certainly drinks quite a lot of alcohol and has to fend off a lot of unwanted male advances. But she does also use her sexuality to get what she wants.

There are some observations on the state of modern life: greedy landowners who will do anything to make money, the effects of modern life on the young (there’s a young boys story that I found particularly disturbing, and the fact that I wasn’t surprised by it, made it all the more disturbing!).

There were several laugh out loud moments in this too, and the laughs tended to come most needed.

I liked this thought-provoking, tongue-in-cheek novel, and I thought that the way that Bruno’s emails were dotted throughout the novel really worked well alongside Sadie’s investigations.
  
Trick 'r Treat (2007)
Trick 'r Treat (2007)
2007 | Horror
Great anthology stories that overlap (3 more)
Great characters
Good make-up effects
Good cast
A new Halloween classic
A great collection of Halloween tales that overlap each other on one Halloween night in a small town. It has some great moments in the 4 main stories, mixing up an urban ghost story, scary creatures, slasher and just the plain weird. It has a good cast including Brian Cox looking a little John Carpenter like and Anna Paquin of True Blood. The film also reminds the viewers of the reasons behind some of the traditions. A bit short at 80mins but very enjoyable, one of the best horror anthologies around! This could become a cult film taking into account it didn't get a cinema release....who knows why!? Plenty of extras on the DVD as well.
  
The Elis James And John Robins On Radio X Podcast
The Elis James And John Robins On Radio X Podcast
Comedy, Music, Society & Culture
10
7.7 (3 Ratings)
Podcast Rating
Banter (3 more)
Humblebrags
Made Up Games
The championing of "e-mail"
Nothing (0 more)
I am a PCD
Two friends chatting about music, life, love, veganism and social media on Radio X. Excellent features such as "Humblebrag of the Week", "Made Up Game", "Abbatoir" (where some of the biggest bands in the world are debated and listener votes either put them safely in the paddock or consign them to the abbatoir) and "Winner Plays On".
Both comedians in their own right, Elis James is a football-mad Welsh mod and John Robins is a Queen-obsessed stickler for the rules. Both have enough in common and enough different opinions to make the show hilarious and something of a cult. Listen to all shows from the start to become a "retro-oner" and a "Podcast Devotee" (PCD).
  
TS
The Summoned (Angel: Season 1, #9)
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is probably more of a 3.5 star book, mainly due to the slow start that didn't build up until close to the halfway point. I almost stopped reading because it hardly featured the main cast, Angel (duh), Doyle and Cordelia, in that first half. Luckily that was rectified later and it ended up being an enjoyable read. The characterizations were fine; they didn't seem off, but they weren't particularly on either. Even though I'm not big on cult storylines, what twists there were made up for that fact so I didn't mind it so much. The end was somewhat abrupt, but it did end on a high note so that's a mark on the pro list. All in all, a good and entertaining entry in the Angel book series.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Q: The Winged Serpent (1982) in Movies

Mar 31, 2019 (Updated Mar 31, 2019)  
Q: The Winged Serpent (1982)
Q: The Winged Serpent (1982)
1982 | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
Hugely likeable, tongue-in-cheek mash-up of monster movie and crime drama. An ancient Aztec dragon-bird-god begins terrorising window-cleaners, construction workers and other people on top of high buildings in New York. Small-time crook (Moriarty) comes across the lair but will only tell heroic detective (Carradine) if the price is right.

The stuff with the monster is grisly good fun, while the more down to earth scenes are lifted hugely by the terrific performance of Moriarty, who seems to think he's appearing in a John Cassavetes film. The special effects are heroically over-ambitious and a subplot about an Aztec cult committing human sacrifices feels like an awkward afterthought, but that just adds to the entertainment value of an unashamed exploitation movie, and a mighty fine one too.
  
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Andy K (10823 KP) Mar 31, 2019

This looks amazing!

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Awix (3310 KP) Mar 31, 2019

It's a lot of fun.

The Silence (2019)
The Silence (2019)
2019 | Horror
Ok
This movie was another "be quiet or die" horror film. It wasn't too bad for what I'd label a "made for tv" movie. The acting was just ok. If you can't read sign language, you might not understand some of their conversations but you get the gist. The cinematography was decent with some cool creatures(may little things!) and effects, without getting too gory. While it played out to an open ended "anti"-climax it did show that people can sometimes turn out to be worse than the liberal monsters with the "cult" they run into. Overall this movie was good enough to finish but, in my opinion, "A Quiet Place" did it a bit better. Still, it's worth a watch if you're bored and looking for a little "creature feature".
  
Clerks (1994)
Clerks (1994)
1994 | Comedy
CLERKS
Clerks is an indie comedy shot in black and white about dante hicks (Brian O'Halloran) a man reluctantly left in charge of the Quick Stop. His place of work...on his day off! Working with his best friend Randall (Jeff Anderson) at the adjoined video store (when it suits him) who's hate for his job and its customers become problematic for dantes attempt at a customer service a nice guy,
Problems continue as dantes continuous fight with girlfriend veronica and feeble attempts at getting back with his ex caitlyn, not to mention local dealers Jay (jason mewes) and silent Bob (kevin smith).

Released in 1994, and spawning a sequel and multiple spin offs, written and directed by Kevin Smith, CLERKS is a magic cult hit with characters we can all identify ourselves with.