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"It's a film that my parents introduced me to when I was younger that's by a director called Pasolini. It's a black and white film about the life and times of Jesus Christ. The only words on screen are words from the Bible. So it's a quite direct representation of that particular gospel story, according to Matthew, but it's a really inventive film. The director may have taken the story direct from the Bible, but what he does with the music and editing, as well as the use of non-actors in the film, it's just a really original and moving film. It features scenes where at points you're hearing a gospel song by Odetta, and she's singing a song called, 'Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child' which is this amazing gospel tune. She's singing that to accompany scenes of the children being killed by Herod. The music in the film is very raw. It'll use a song that's going to spell something out literally. I don't know how Pasolini chose all these songs for the film or who was in charge of the music selection. You've got Blind Willie Johnson - the old blues artist - accompanying some of the miracle scenes where people are getting their sight back. It's an exercise in juxtaposing very disparate elements that actually really enhance each other. You have to second guess it though, because of the way it's edited, a scene will suddenly just be chopped really harshly, and the film will move on to something else. All of these things are very powerful - and unusual - devices in film-making. In a way, if it's not too pretentious to say it, some of that harsh editing and juxtaposing with disparate elements on screen with music is something that I feel inspired by in terms of making a record. Things don't always have to fit together neatly, or as you'd expect them to. If you think about it in terms of the Alex Chilton record I mentioned earlier, that album is kind of a guide through rock & roll, country and soul music or Americana if you like, and this one is a guide to raw, blues and gospel as well as a classical take on the gospel. It's a very eclectic soundtrack with music that definitely enhances what's going on on the screen. It's very powerful music in its own right."

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Willy's Wonderland (2021)
Willy's Wonderland (2021)
2021 | Horror, Thriller
10
6.7 (13 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Everything, it's a masterpiece. (0 more)
Oh come on... you know I'm watching Nic Cage go full rage at some killer robots!

A stranger runs into bad luck as he nears a small town in the middle of nowhere. Luckily a local mechanic comes across him stranded and offers him assistance. But the bad luck isn't over. With no way to pay for his new tyres, he has to agree to some light cleaning work in the abandoned town attraction. What could possibly go wrong when you're locked in a family restaurant overnight with some large, menacing looking, animatronics?

What's not to love about this particular breed of film? Horror that is so over the top with daftness and unintentional/intentional humour really does hit the spot.

Is this storyline sensible? Absolutely not. If you pick at any thread this will very quickly fall apart... but we're here for the nonsense. You don't come to a Nic Cage film these days for anything else. And much like shark films, I have an independent scoring system to deem the quality of his offerings.

The dynamics between all of the characters is hilarious. Cage with... everyone... is stranger (as expected), and the others all have stereotypical elements to them that bounce back and forth well. Though none of them are quite as obvious as you'd see in spoof horrors though. Beth Grant is always fun to have in things, and she's got the sinister thing down quite well, definitely a great pick for this role.

Our animatronic actors have the perfect creepy movements, combine this with the oversized costumes and the somewhat magical elements to their activities, and you get some fantastic nightmare fuel.

Though I have to query who designed such a terrible layout for a family restaurant, I can't help but marvel at all the different rooms scattered around the building. A fantastic maze of terror waiting for anyone who enters, and each one with its retro-ramshackle look is a delight to see. Throw in the oversized entertainment and the look is great.

At just 88 minutes in length it's a nice easy watch, and you'll definitely have enough to keep you... intrigued? I found myself shouting at the screen with "why", "how" and "what" type questions, and that just added to my enjoyment. A masterpiece.

Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/07/willys-wonderland-movie-review.html
  
    Happy Fish +

    Happy Fish +

    Games and Entertainment

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    Happy Fish: Dream Aquarium is available in the following languages: English Français...

    Dead Age

    Dead Age

    Games

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    Survive the zombie apocalypse with turn-based combat and permanent death! Manage survivors, go on...

The Upside of Unrequited
The Upside of Unrequited
Becky Albertalli | 2017 | Young Adult (YA)
9
8.2 (25 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book was such a quick and easy read. The book is told entirely from Molly’s point of view, she is very relatable and has a distinct and developed voice. I soon felt like I knew her and really related to her as a main character. One of the things that I really loved about The Upside of Unrequited is the importance of the relationship between Molly and her twin sister Cassie, and the strong relationships she has with the rest of her family. There are so many important elements woven in to this story, and I felt like it was really well done. There is a lot of diversity, and it feels totally natural, and none of the characters are reduced to their diverse characteristic, they all read like real people, and I really liked all the different relationship dynamics.

*This book was kindly provided to me for honest review by the Publisher via Netgalley. This has not impacted on the content of this review, which it my own honest opinion.


A full review is available on my blog: https://readingsanctuaryblog.wordpress.com/2017/04/14/review-the-upside-of-unrequited-by-becky-albertalli/
  
Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
2017 | Action, Sci-Fi
Porgs (0 more)
Leia flying back from space (0 more)
Grows on you
Contains spoilers, click to show
I can see why this movie gets such a mixed bag with its reviews. There are certainly elements that could make you dislike the movie and those moments will be different for everyone.
Yes Luke seems out of character, but he is older and has made mistakes. He has demons to deal with, he is human is flawed. We just don't always like to see our hero's that way. Leia can tap into the force to save herself from floating into space (the difficult moment for me). There are weird flying space penguins, and the force can let you talk to people across the galaxy.
As a whole though the Last Jedi captures the essence of a Star Wars film. If The Force Awakens was a homage to the original trilogy then this movie is the one clearing the ground for something new. Stars Wars is set in a huge galaxy, the stories cannot always be about Skywalkers. The Last Jedi creates the opening for Rey, Finn and the other new blood to make their own stories.
  
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Ross (3284 KP) rated Emperor of Thorns in Books

Sep 13, 2017  
Emperor of Thorns
Emperor of Thorns
Mark Lawrence | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
9.4 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
The conclusion of the first of Mark Lawrence's trilogies, the Broken Empire, sees Jorg once again travel across the empire, and is once again split into 2 timelines.
Again, the pace at which events of the past are revealed and their implications for the present timeline emerge is just right, allowing enough to be worked out in advance by the eager reader.
I didn't much like the present timeline story, it really was just a long dragged out roadtrip and didn't add much to the overall plot. Luckily enough focus was given to Jorg's adventures through the radioactive fallout zones and Afrique that this didn't detract from enjoyment too much.
Once more, the introduction of elements of the distant past (our future) was a risk worth taking for the author, as it helps explain so much of the mysterious yet familiar world we are travelling through.
The ending felt slightly rushed for me and the final encounter should really have been given much more attention, but I was happy enough with the conclusion and intend to revisit this world for the Red Queen's War trilogy in due course.
  
Boom Town
Boom Town
Glenn Rolfe | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry, Horror
4
6.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
For whatever reason, I found myself struggling to get into Boom Town, a short novella by Glenn Rolfe. While it bears no shortage of horror elements, I simply didn’t find it as engrossing as Becoming. That could be due to lack of character development.

The only characters we truly get to know this time around are Kim, Brady, and their immediate family. There’s no real attempt to establish their home town outside of the flea market, and aside from the main villain, Alan, the focus on the alien-like creature invading the small town is minimal.

I wanted really badly to like this novella, but the plot progression felt a little too slow; it seemed like things were hung up on a budding romance between Brady and Kim which, at the stories conclusion was for a reason and did have its intended impact, but was something that I, as a reader, could have done with out. Over all, this is not one of my favorites of Rolfe’s work and I would not consider recommending it to other readers unless they specifically ask for something with aliens and earthquakes.