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The Nature of Monkey is Irrepressible
Only mildly unhinged Japanese adaptation of the famous Journey to the West stories, which became a cult TV show when exported to the UK, Australia, and South America. Classic 16th century Chinese novel is transformed into something almost indescribable; a mixture of off-the-wall humour, hyperactive martial arts sequences, and cheesy special effects - the English dub may take a few liberties with the original scripts as well.
A representative episode sees our heroes visiting a small village terrorised by a giant catfish monster, which proceeds to eat three of them; they end up going to a disco which is held in the bad guy's stomach, before persuading him to vomit them up so they can fight him and his followers. Frequently silly, and the low budget often shows, but made with relentless energy and cheerfulness; hugely imaginative, often genuinely very funny. A generation of UK viewers grew up able to sing the theme tune 'Monkey Magic' (and misremember the name of the show as a result).
A representative episode sees our heroes visiting a small village terrorised by a giant catfish monster, which proceeds to eat three of them; they end up going to a disco which is held in the bad guy's stomach, before persuading him to vomit them up so they can fight him and his followers. Frequently silly, and the low budget often shows, but made with relentless energy and cheerfulness; hugely imaginative, often genuinely very funny. A generation of UK viewers grew up able to sing the theme tune 'Monkey Magic' (and misremember the name of the show as a result).
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Peter Rabbit (2018) in Movies
Mar 28, 2018
Childhood memories, ruined
I'll be frankly honest, I knew I was going to hate this film. For one, I didn't want to watch it and got dragged against my will for a friends birthday. And I also really don't like James Corden, so this was destined to fail in my eyes.
And it really did fail. James Corden just isn't right as Peter and I really couldn't listen to him and the rest of the voice actors seemed to not quite fit either. Domhnall Gleeson is a great actor but he really hams it up to the point it gets cringeworthy. The CGI was horrific and painful to watch at times too. What happened to good old fashioned animation (which the film does use briefly)? And the script and jokes are cheesy and really miss the mark - I'll admit to having a discerning sense of humour but I didn't laugh once.
This is great puerile fun for the little ones, but all it did for me is ruin all the fond memories I have of Beatrix Potter stories from my childhood.
And it really did fail. James Corden just isn't right as Peter and I really couldn't listen to him and the rest of the voice actors seemed to not quite fit either. Domhnall Gleeson is a great actor but he really hams it up to the point it gets cringeworthy. The CGI was horrific and painful to watch at times too. What happened to good old fashioned animation (which the film does use briefly)? And the script and jokes are cheesy and really miss the mark - I'll admit to having a discerning sense of humour but I didn't laugh once.
This is great puerile fun for the little ones, but all it did for me is ruin all the fond memories I have of Beatrix Potter stories from my childhood.
ClareR (5891 KP) rated Two Steps Forward in Books
Mar 30, 2018
I feel like a walk....
Zoe's husband has died suddenly in LA, Martin has recently gone through an acrimonious divorce in England. They both find themselves on the Camino de Santiago, a 2,000km pilgrimage, in order to find themselves (or in Martins case, to see a walking cart!). They meet a lot of new friends and, of course, each other. I rally didn't think I'd like this, but I was hooked after the first couple of chapters. I think the details about the walking and accommodation at the start rally helped to set the scene. The scenery was beautifully described, and I really liked all of the characters (even the seemingly unlikeable ones).
There's loads of humour, I laughed a lot, and near the end I found myself becoming quite emotional.
The start may have been slow, but it gathered momentum, and I really felt as though the pace drew me in to the story.
A thoroughly enjoyable book!
Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read this!
There's loads of humour, I laughed a lot, and near the end I found myself becoming quite emotional.
The start may have been slow, but it gathered momentum, and I really felt as though the pace drew me in to the story.
A thoroughly enjoyable book!
Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read this!
Awix (3310 KP) rated Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965) in Movies
Feb 24, 2018
Genre-defining British anthology horror film. Five men have their fortunes told on a train; guess what, it doesn't look good for any of them. For instance: Christopher Lee is pursued by a severed hand, Roy Castle unwisely plagiarises voodoo music, Fluff Freeman has to contend with a malevolent vine. Frame story has (in theory) a twist ending; but it's the same one they use in nearly all of these films.
The quality of these anthology horror films is always a bit variable, because the different stories themselves inevitably are; this is a pretty good one because even when the stories are ridiculous and arguably incoherent, they are still told with a sense of humour and don't hang around too long. Extraordinary cast, obviously; the rubber hand chasing Christopher Lee would go on to appear in more films than Fluff Freeman, probably because it was a better actor. When this film is good, it's very good; even when it's not so good, it's still a lot of fun. Much imitated, not least by Amicus themselves, but seldom equalled.
The quality of these anthology horror films is always a bit variable, because the different stories themselves inevitably are; this is a pretty good one because even when the stories are ridiculous and arguably incoherent, they are still told with a sense of humour and don't hang around too long. Extraordinary cast, obviously; the rubber hand chasing Christopher Lee would go on to appear in more films than Fluff Freeman, probably because it was a better actor. When this film is good, it's very good; even when it's not so good, it's still a lot of fun. Much imitated, not least by Amicus themselves, but seldom equalled.
Sharpie0499 (114 KP) rated Murder on the Orient Express (2017) in Movies
Jul 10, 2018
Surprise ending (2 more)
All-star cast
Heart-wrenching
Poirot's moustache (1 more)
Kenneth Brannagh isn't David Suchet
Intriguing Agatha Christie Adaptation
I was very excited to watch the most recent adaptation of Agatha Christie's Poirot and for very good reason. It was a very well-rounded film filled with humour, intrigue, and devastation. I particularly loved the surprise plot twists so the audience can never really tell (unless extremely clever) who the culprit actually is until revealed by Hercules Poirot himself. The camera angles used were absolutely brilliant and refreshing. The all-star cast was a plus as it was nice to see familiar faces in unexpected roles. The acting, costumes, writing, and set all contributed to making the film have that true Agatha Christie feeling to it. On the downside, I was not a huge fan of Poirot's moustache and found it to be over-the-top and irritating. I also find myself leaning more towards David Suchet's version of Poirot than Kenneth Brannagh's. But, overall, this film was extremely entertaining and had my brain doing somersaults trying to figure out who the culprit was.
Kevin Wilson (179 KP) rated Dracula - Dead and Loving It (1995) in Movies
Jul 14, 2018
A lot of fun, the humour is great (1 more)
A fun cast
Its just a fun movie
This is a fun movie. You should not take this seriously. I have found myself quoting this more and more as the years went on. I saw this again and again as a child and watching it again after so long I can appreciate it a lot more.
Leslie Nielson is great as Dracula. He brings in a fun, charming performance as always. Not his best role but does a good job with it.
Peter MacNicol as Renfield is by far my favourite character right from the start. He is funny, crazy with some amazing lines. He is where my favourite quotes come from mostly.
This is a typical Mel brooks spoof movie. He directs and stars and is quite funny. The rest of the cast I wasn't that interested about to be honest.
Not sure if it's intentional but the acting isn't the greatest but still a lot of fun.
Leslie Nielson is great as Dracula. He brings in a fun, charming performance as always. Not his best role but does a good job with it.
Peter MacNicol as Renfield is by far my favourite character right from the start. He is funny, crazy with some amazing lines. He is where my favourite quotes come from mostly.
This is a typical Mel brooks spoof movie. He directs and stars and is quite funny. The rest of the cast I wasn't that interested about to be honest.
Not sure if it's intentional but the acting isn't the greatest but still a lot of fun.
Micky Barnard (542 KP) rated Obsidio: Illuminae Files Book 3 in Books
Dec 13, 2018 (Updated Dec 13, 2018)
Epic endings
“LATIN IS THE LANGUAGE OF MANY OF HUMANITY’S GREATEST TALES.
TALES THAT HAVE ENDURED” ~ AIDAN
This is not going to be an epic review, I’m emotionally drained and I haven’t got it in me, but know this, I have epic feelings about this book, this series. It is a stand out experience in all my reading over the last few years, made all the better by buddy reading the last two with Hollis.
Obsidio introduces two new characters in Asha and Rhys but even better than this newness is that they are brought alongside Kady, Ezra, Nik, Hanna and AIDAN. The bringing together of their minds, their snark, their humour and their sharp emotions was a ride of hope and despair.
I laughed but boy did I leak from the eye area. Why did I cry? Often over a metal chip (if you’ve read this book you’ll understand). I’m all done in, I’m completely satisfied and I will return to this series to read and devour it again.
TALES THAT HAVE ENDURED” ~ AIDAN
This is not going to be an epic review, I’m emotionally drained and I haven’t got it in me, but know this, I have epic feelings about this book, this series. It is a stand out experience in all my reading over the last few years, made all the better by buddy reading the last two with Hollis.
Obsidio introduces two new characters in Asha and Rhys but even better than this newness is that they are brought alongside Kady, Ezra, Nik, Hanna and AIDAN. The bringing together of their minds, their snark, their humour and their sharp emotions was a ride of hope and despair.
I laughed but boy did I leak from the eye area. Why did I cry? Often over a metal chip (if you’ve read this book you’ll understand). I’m all done in, I’m completely satisfied and I will return to this series to read and devour it again.
David McK (3562 KP) rated The Book of Ultimate Truths in Books
Jan 30, 2019
When reading books, I go through phases of genres, where I might read 3 or 4 of one type before switching to another. Recently, I'd been reading a lot of historical fiction and felt it was time to switch it up, moving on to comedy instead, hoping this would prove to be a hit.
Unfortunately, it wasn't. :(
Perhaps I should have known: I had read some Robert Rankin before and had found him (generally) to be more miss than hit, with this novel only serving to reinforce that opinion. IMO, I found this rather surreal and just not that funny with it rarely raising a smile, never mind a laugh! Indeed, what humour there is I found to be rather childish, almost infantile. Doubt I'll be looking for any more in this series: the only reasons this doesn't get 1 star is because A) a book has to be really, REALLY bad for me to give it that and B) because it was free (but now I know why!) from Amazon.
Unfortunately, it wasn't. :(
Perhaps I should have known: I had read some Robert Rankin before and had found him (generally) to be more miss than hit, with this novel only serving to reinforce that opinion. IMO, I found this rather surreal and just not that funny with it rarely raising a smile, never mind a laugh! Indeed, what humour there is I found to be rather childish, almost infantile. Doubt I'll be looking for any more in this series: the only reasons this doesn't get 1 star is because A) a book has to be really, REALLY bad for me to give it that and B) because it was free (but now I know why!) from Amazon.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Fortitude - Season 3 in TV
Dec 22, 2018
Good but a little unsatisfying
4 episodes to wrap up the entire events of the first two series of Fortitude is a little ambitious, but for the most part it actually succeeds. I'm glad that they didn't decide to drag this out across another 10 episodes, as that would've been completely unnecessary.
Instead they manage to wrap up quite a few loose ends - including finding out who was behind Khatri's work, and giving some comeuppance to some of the more unlikable characters for the first 2 series. As is standard with Fortitude, there's a fair amount of dark humour and gore. There's also some decent development for some of the characters that have been sidelined in the past (Eric and Ingrid especially).
They've done a fairly decent job in wrapping this series up, but my biggest issue is that the final ending for me was unsatisfying. It wasn't bad, but it just left me feeling a little disappointed. They could easily have added an extra 15 minutes onto this episode just to make it a little neater.
Instead they manage to wrap up quite a few loose ends - including finding out who was behind Khatri's work, and giving some comeuppance to some of the more unlikable characters for the first 2 series. As is standard with Fortitude, there's a fair amount of dark humour and gore. There's also some decent development for some of the characters that have been sidelined in the past (Eric and Ingrid especially).
They've done a fairly decent job in wrapping this series up, but my biggest issue is that the final ending for me was unsatisfying. It wasn't bad, but it just left me feeling a little disappointed. They could easily have added an extra 15 minutes onto this episode just to make it a little neater.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Game Night (2018) in Movies
Dec 29, 2018
Better than expected
I need to start by saying that I’ve never been a fan of mainstream comedies, however this one is actually quite good - mainly because of the excellent cast.
I’ve always liked Rachel McAdams and Jason Bateman, and they have great chemistry together in this. Billy Magnussen is really funny as the dumb blonde, and there’s some great support from Kyle Chandler and Sharon Horgan. However it’s Jesse Plemons that steals the show as the bonkers creepy neighbour. He’s so deadpan that you can’t help but laugh whenever he’s on screen.
The plot itself is simple and straightforward although fairly entertaining. It’s funny in parts although I didn’t find it particularly hilarious (probably my sense of humour). I did think some of the twists at the end were fairly fun. I love games though, so can really relate to the competitiveness and wish I could persuade my friends to have weekly game nights! I do think it gets a bit cringey in parts and a bit ridiculous, but it’s still an enjoyable fun film.
I’ve always liked Rachel McAdams and Jason Bateman, and they have great chemistry together in this. Billy Magnussen is really funny as the dumb blonde, and there’s some great support from Kyle Chandler and Sharon Horgan. However it’s Jesse Plemons that steals the show as the bonkers creepy neighbour. He’s so deadpan that you can’t help but laugh whenever he’s on screen.
The plot itself is simple and straightforward although fairly entertaining. It’s funny in parts although I didn’t find it particularly hilarious (probably my sense of humour). I did think some of the twists at the end were fairly fun. I love games though, so can really relate to the competitiveness and wish I could persuade my friends to have weekly game nights! I do think it gets a bit cringey in parts and a bit ridiculous, but it’s still an enjoyable fun film.