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Alex Kapranos recommended track Golden Apples by Country Teasers in Destroy All Human Life by Country Teasers in Music (curated)

Evie (10 KP) rated South Park: The Fractured But Whole in Video Games
Nov 30, 2017
Gameplay (3 more)
Animation
Controls
Storyline
Want to control a South Park episode? Well here's your second chance.
I've come away from video games in recent years, but there are always exceptions to my hiatus. The first one being South Park: The Stick of Truth. A game hyped for many years, but actually managed to maintain the hype at its release. The Fractured But Whole is no different.
Filled with the wit and wisdom usually found in a South Park episode, Ubisoft has been able to manufacture a near perfect game. That is, only if you enjoy South Park. If you aren't a fan, or don't follow the latest series storylines (which link in with the game (notably Tweak and Craig)), then you're probably not going to appreciate this game as much as a fan would.
Here's a checklist of what to expect and appreciate:
*Superheroes
*Fart jokes
*Tragic backstories
*Turn based attacks
*South Park humour.
Filled with the wit and wisdom usually found in a South Park episode, Ubisoft has been able to manufacture a near perfect game. That is, only if you enjoy South Park. If you aren't a fan, or don't follow the latest series storylines (which link in with the game (notably Tweak and Craig)), then you're probably not going to appreciate this game as much as a fan would.
Here's a checklist of what to expect and appreciate:
*Superheroes
*Fart jokes
*Tragic backstories
*Turn based attacks
*South Park humour.

Sarah (7800 KP) rated Daddy's Home 2 (2017) in Movies
Dec 13, 2017
Generous giving it a 3?
I'll be frankly honest and say this is not my type of film. I have a very particular sense of humour and generic mainstream comedies like this really work for me.
I didn't think much of the first one and I'm afraid this is even worse. Right from the first scene, the "funny" scenes just aren't funny and it doesn't improve as the film goes on. I'm sad to say I barely even tittered at this, let alone laugh out loud. It has a great cast but they are sorely wasted in this. Will Ferrell used to be a comedy genius, what happened? And when you think it cant get worse, they throw in the most cringeworthy singalong possible. This is the kind of film you'd put on tv for background noise and then completely ignore as it's that bad. Didnt even get me into the festive spirit!
I didn't think much of the first one and I'm afraid this is even worse. Right from the first scene, the "funny" scenes just aren't funny and it doesn't improve as the film goes on. I'm sad to say I barely even tittered at this, let alone laugh out loud. It has a great cast but they are sorely wasted in this. Will Ferrell used to be a comedy genius, what happened? And when you think it cant get worse, they throw in the most cringeworthy singalong possible. This is the kind of film you'd put on tv for background noise and then completely ignore as it's that bad. Didnt even get me into the festive spirit!

Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood in Books
Jan 3, 2018
An insider's view of Apartheid
It seems unlikely that comedian Trevor Noah would have ever made it out of the prison of colonialism, apartheid, poverty and violence, yet now he's regarded as one of South Africa's biggest export. His memoir is brutal and harrowing, describing how because of the illegal interracial relationship between his Xhosa mother and his Swiss-German, his birth was actually a crime.
It's hard to imagine that this legal segregation only ended 26 years ago, yet Noah then faced the turbulent legacy of post-apartheid. Being mixed race posed its own problems, as Noah describes never fitting in anywhere, but being accepted to a certain degree because of his 'whiteness' and his chameleon-like ability to adapt to his surroundings.
There are moments which are truly disturbing, as Noah speaks about his violent stepfather and going hungry. In this way, his life can be seen as a story of personal survival, through intelligence and humour, which millions have come to love.
It's hard to imagine that this legal segregation only ended 26 years ago, yet Noah then faced the turbulent legacy of post-apartheid. Being mixed race posed its own problems, as Noah describes never fitting in anywhere, but being accepted to a certain degree because of his 'whiteness' and his chameleon-like ability to adapt to his surroundings.
There are moments which are truly disturbing, as Noah speaks about his violent stepfather and going hungry. In this way, his life can be seen as a story of personal survival, through intelligence and humour, which millions have come to love.

Sarah (7800 KP) rated Molly's Game (2017) in Movies
Jan 6, 2018 (Updated Jan 6, 2018)
A bit of a disappointment
Considering all of the other things Aaron Sorkin has been involved in, I was expecting big things from this and sadly it was a bit of a disappointment.
Jessica Chastain is great as expected, and Idris Elba and Kevin Costner do well too despite limited screentime. Costner even gets some of the funniest lines. The story itself is interesting, it just isn't well executed. It's far too long and gets very boring at times. I was expecting something very smart, stylish and witty but it isn't really any of those things. It tries hard with the wit and humour but really falls flat and doesn't live up to Sorkin's usual standard.
Also I have to say it, but was all the cleavage really necessary? That is the only reason my other half came to watch it with me, and he's openly admitted he'd have found it very dull otherwise...
Jessica Chastain is great as expected, and Idris Elba and Kevin Costner do well too despite limited screentime. Costner even gets some of the funniest lines. The story itself is interesting, it just isn't well executed. It's far too long and gets very boring at times. I was expecting something very smart, stylish and witty but it isn't really any of those things. It tries hard with the wit and humour but really falls flat and doesn't live up to Sorkin's usual standard.
Also I have to say it, but was all the cleavage really necessary? That is the only reason my other half came to watch it with me, and he's openly admitted he'd have found it very dull otherwise...

Rachel (48 KP) rated Small Gods in Books
May 24, 2017
Funny (4 more)
Philosophy
Fantasy
Terry Pratchett
Excellent fiction
The 13th Discworld book
Small God's is the 13th book in the Discworld series. You do not have to have read any of the other books to understand this one as it features characters that (mostly) only appear in this book.
As with all of Pratchett's work it is a subtle blend of humour and humanity. It uses amazing characters and situations to highlight the hypocrisy and insanity of real life.
This book focuses on Brutha; a 'slow', ordinary monk for the God Om. It is the biggest, and most ruthless, religion in this part of the Discworld.
Brutha is gardening, as he always is (not much use for anything else) when a tortoise literally drops into his life and changes his world......
This book questions the hierarchy of religion, the wisdom of power, philosophy, the righteousness of war and whether a tortoise really does make good eating.
As with all of Pratchett's work it is a subtle blend of humour and humanity. It uses amazing characters and situations to highlight the hypocrisy and insanity of real life.
This book focuses on Brutha; a 'slow', ordinary monk for the God Om. It is the biggest, and most ruthless, religion in this part of the Discworld.
Brutha is gardening, as he always is (not much use for anything else) when a tortoise literally drops into his life and changes his world......
This book questions the hierarchy of religion, the wisdom of power, philosophy, the righteousness of war and whether a tortoise really does make good eating.

Lee (2222 KP) rated The Big Sick (2017) in Movies
Jul 25, 2017
Pretty Average
It's probably best not to take this review too seriously as I actually managed to fall asleep during this movie at two or three separate points so I'm not sure how much of it I missed!! Note to self: Do not go on a brewery tour, followed by a tasting session, just a few short hours before heading into the cinema...
That being said, I did see a fairly large chunk of the start of the movie, and towards the end, and what I saw was pretty average. The characters were average and the interaction between them all was so-so. The humour was pretty light but the story itself, particularly due to the fact that it's based on true events, was actually very good. To be honest though, I'm not sure I understand all the buzz surrounding this movie and it obviously didn't grab me enough to keep me awake either.
That being said, I did see a fairly large chunk of the start of the movie, and towards the end, and what I saw was pretty average. The characters were average and the interaction between them all was so-so. The humour was pretty light but the story itself, particularly due to the fact that it's based on true events, was actually very good. To be honest though, I'm not sure I understand all the buzz surrounding this movie and it obviously didn't grab me enough to keep me awake either.

Sarah (7800 KP) rated Ghostbusters (2016) in Movies
Aug 13, 2017
Effects (3 more)
Chris Hemsworth
Cameos
Plot
Melissa McCarthy & Kristen Wiig (1 more)
Character stereotypes
Better than expected
I'm really not a fan of Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig, and I was completely against any sort of remake or sequel to the fantastic original, but with this I was pleasantly surprised.
I still didn't like McCarthy and Wiig although I'll admit they weren't as grating as usual. The character of Patty was so stereotypical too which just became very irritating. A lot of the humour too wasn't really my cup of tea but I can't say I'm surprised.
That said, I loved Chris Hemsworth's character and Holtzmann too, and they raised some of the few laughs I got from this film. The effects were brilliant and the plot itself was fairly well thought out. And I loved the cameos from the old Ghostbusters. Not great or a patch on the original, but nowhere near as bad as I'd anticipated.
I still didn't like McCarthy and Wiig although I'll admit they weren't as grating as usual. The character of Patty was so stereotypical too which just became very irritating. A lot of the humour too wasn't really my cup of tea but I can't say I'm surprised.
That said, I loved Chris Hemsworth's character and Holtzmann too, and they raised some of the few laughs I got from this film. The effects were brilliant and the plot itself was fairly well thought out. And I loved the cameos from the old Ghostbusters. Not great or a patch on the original, but nowhere near as bad as I'd anticipated.

Sarah (7800 KP) rated Isn't It Romantic (2019) in Movies
Mar 4, 2019
Great idea but could've been better
This film really is a great idea - who doesn't want to see a rom-com that makes fun of rom-coms? The problem is that despite some decent attempts at highlighting some of the major flaws in rom-coms, it is in fact a rom-com itself, and a fairly average one at that.
Whilst there are some vaguely funny moments, most of the humour in this falls flat. This probably isn't helped by the fact that I really dislike Rebel Wilson and although she isn't massively irritating in this, I still don't particularly like her. The best person in this is probably Liam Hemsworth and purely for his fun over the top Aussie performance. In all the film is just a little bit predictable and way too cheesy, not in the slightest what I was expecting from something that's meant to be making fun of rom-coms.
Whilst there are some vaguely funny moments, most of the humour in this falls flat. This probably isn't helped by the fact that I really dislike Rebel Wilson and although she isn't massively irritating in this, I still don't particularly like her. The best person in this is probably Liam Hemsworth and purely for his fun over the top Aussie performance. In all the film is just a little bit predictable and way too cheesy, not in the slightest what I was expecting from something that's meant to be making fun of rom-coms.

RəX Regent (349 KP) rated Dumbo (1941) in Movies
Mar 7, 2019
The cartoon returns...
Contains spoilers, click to show
I was never the biggest fan of this one, having seen it to death as a child. "Dumbo" was in many ways regarded as a lesser Disney classic, never really treated with the same regard as "Pinocchio", "Snow White" or "Bambi". But as I continue to work my way through this studio's classics, I am more than pleasantly surprised to rediscover this gem.
With a short running time of 64 minutes, which must barely qualify as film, this was the most cartoonish Disney feature of this era that I had seen, definitely not to the same higher brow animation standards of the afore-mentioned, but funnier and more enjoyable, without a doubt.
The little engine that could humour and the overall concept, being more zany that its counterparts help this stand out and being a much more entertaining piece of cinema than I had originally given it credit for. Not the greatest animation in history, but fun none the less.
With a short running time of 64 minutes, which must barely qualify as film, this was the most cartoonish Disney feature of this era that I had seen, definitely not to the same higher brow animation standards of the afore-mentioned, but funnier and more enjoyable, without a doubt.
The little engine that could humour and the overall concept, being more zany that its counterparts help this stand out and being a much more entertaining piece of cinema than I had originally given it credit for. Not the greatest animation in history, but fun none the less.