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The Angel of Vine
The Angel of Vine
Society & Culture
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Podcast Rating
Brilliant storyline (4 more)
True Crime inspired
Amazing cast
Glorious suspense
Truly Wonderful writing
Fantastic Fiction
As a fan of true crime podcasts, I have very few fiction podcasts in my favourites (mostly things like King Falls AM, for the wackiness) and I tend to avoid crime fiction, primarily because the real thing is better, crazier, and so much more twisted.
The Angel of Vine is a sublime fictional podcast, written to sound like true crime in the Noir tradition being retold in the modern podcast format. The podcast begins with the discovery of some old cassette tapes by the family of a deceased ex-cop turned private detective, and their choice to involve a podcaster/reporter to help them investigate the story enshrined in those cassettes.
Following the investigation into the murder of a young actress in Hollywood, the podcaster makes use of the recordings to tell Harry's story.
Voiced by some amazing talent (including the gorgeous growl of Joe Manganiello, the incomparable Alan Tudzyk, and the delightful Mischa Collins) the story is gripping, compelling, and extremely difficult to not binge.
For fans of true crime, crime drama, and any sort of Noir (Sam Spade eat your heart out), this is a podcast to listen to, save, and listen to again later.
  
Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer
Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer
2019 | Crime, Documentary
Fascinating
This is a story that I have to admit I know nothing about. Most likely because I couldn't handle the tales of animal cruelty. However I watched this because I was whole heartedly assured that you don't actually see any animal cruelty.

For anyone out there worried about watching this, i can confirm you don't see the whole of the animal cruelty videos. It's still not pleasant hearing about them, and this is one of my bigger issues with this documentary as it gets a little too uncomfortable at times. That said, this is still a fascinating series to watch and almost incredible that these internet sleuths have manage to uncover the killers identity. This has obviously been Hollywood-ised and very overdramatised, but this doesn't make it any less enjoyable. There are some irritations with the internet sleuths, especially when they start sticking their noses into the police investigation after the suspect is identified, and the monologuing at the end is hilariously cheesy.

The story behind this though and the killer's motives are almost like something out of a film, and makes for an almost unbelievable story. There are some holes in the story too which make for interesting pondering afterwards.
  
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure
Plenty of banter (0 more)
Ridiculously over the top (0 more)
Fast and furious presents: Tango & cash
Ok so I was one of those people excited for this movie as I'm a big Statham/Johnson fan and wanted to see these characters work together after previously seeing their onscreen chemistry, although remained at ease as I've been duped by Hollywood before.

The movie starts by showing how different and alike the 2 characters are before throwing in some very welcome surprises.
During the movie, Statham shows how very comical he can be which is great to see but Johnson's attempt at being comical came across a little dry but was still entertaining.

This movie needs to stay far away from F&F as both are way too over the top and can only drag each Other down.

Aside from being what seems to be an odd attempt at combining F&F with the MCU, this was a great action movie none the less.

The back and forth Alpha male macho- testosterone filled competition between the two, with is worth the coin even if the story isn't you thing.

Quick note: this movie is very similar to the classic frenemy cop movie Tango and cash.
  
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Erika (17788 KP) rated Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) in Movies

Jul 27, 2019 (Updated Jul 27, 2019)  
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
2019 | Crime, Drama, Thriller
This has been the only film I've seen in theaters this July (too many kids movies), and it was completely worth it.

The only gripe I have, to start out with, was the length. QT definitely took his time to develop the characters, and to enjoy the overall nostalgia of Hollywood in 1969. I'm not really a Brad Pitt (Cliff) fan, but his chemistry with Leo was a joy to watch, and highly amusing. I really loved Leo in this, aside from his persistent Calvin Candie accent.
I really enjoyed Moh's Bruce Lee, and the scene with Cliff was one of my favorites. Another of my favorites was the ultra-creepiness of the Spahn Ranch with the Manson family.
The entire movie, I was waiting for the signature violence, and while there was a little at Spahn Ranch, the end was amazing. The last scenes had me laughing so hard, I was crying, I loved it. QT really let us know how he feels about the Manson family.

Of course, this is a fairy-tale, so the end result was different than what happened in real life. I'm for sure going to try to catch this flick again tomorrow.

Also- RIP Luke Perry, he got very little screen time, but it was great screen time.
  
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Andy K (10821 KP) Jul 27, 2019

Can't wait to watch this!

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Awix (3310 KP) rated The Uncanny (1977) in Movies

Mar 7, 2020 (Updated Mar 7, 2020)  
The Uncanny (1977)
The Uncanny (1977)
1977 | Horror
6
5.8 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
So-so horror anthology would almost certainly be totally unwatchable without the presence of fine actors like Peter Cushing, Ray Milland and Donald Pleasence doing their damnedest to lift some rather dubious material. The frame story concerns a conspiracy by cats to secretly run the world, but the different segments are all about vengeance-by-cat: various people get their comeuppances at the paws of our whiskered friends.

First story (maid murders her employer over an amended will) is okay but nothing special; second one (orphan with witchy tendencies finds her cat is not welcome in her new home) is let down by iffy special effects and iffier child acting; third (rum goings-on in 30s Hollywood) is the best, being a rather tongue-in-cheek look at the horror film industry (the suspiciously-named company 'Hemorrhage Films' is involved). None of them are honestly what you'd call great, though, and there is perhaps too much reliance on actors standing around while stage-hands throw stuffed cats at them. A bit more graphic and nasty than you tend to find in films from this genre, but only relatively speaking. Passes the time decently enough if low-budget horror portmanteaus from the 70s are your thing.