Search
Search results
Heath Robinson's Great War: The Satirical Cartoons
Book
W. Heath Robinson is best known for his hilarious drawings of zany contraptions, though his work...
ClareR (5996 KP) rated This Party’s Dead in Books
Feb 28, 2021
This Party’s Dead is a book, unsurprisingly, about death, and whilst it sounds like it’ll be depressing, it’s anything but that. The book follows the author, Erica Buist, as she visits seven death festivals around the world. There is a reason: after her father-in-laws death where he was left in his house for a week before he was found, Erica experiences great anxiety, feeling ill-equipped to deal with the whole idea of death. She suffers with her mental health, so decides that she needs to do something to confront her fears surrounding death. She has lived in Mexico, so has some knowledge of the Day of the Dead, and this leads her to research other death celebrations .
It’s absolutely fascinating: we in the West have a very sanitised attitude towards death, and the cultures and countries that Erica visited couldn’t have been more different. It’s quite a sobering read in places, but there is a healthy dose of humour as well. It’s a really accessible, interesting and engrossing read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this, and to Erica Buist for joining in.
It’s absolutely fascinating: we in the West have a very sanitised attitude towards death, and the cultures and countries that Erica visited couldn’t have been more different. It’s quite a sobering read in places, but there is a healthy dose of humour as well. It’s a really accessible, interesting and engrossing read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this, and to Erica Buist for joining in.
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Ready or Not (2019) in Movies
Mar 22, 2021
Ready or not is one of those films that sounds stupid, a woman marries into a wealthy family who made their money from making games (and hunting). To be accepted in the family all she has to do is take part in the family tradition of playing one game, only the game is hide and seek and it's played to the death. Some how the film works, It's set in a large house which helps the keep the atmosphere tense and there is just the right amount of humour that helps the film keep a fast pace.
I wouldn't say that Ready or not is a scary horror, lacking even any real jump scares but it doesn't need them, the film is not about being scared, it's about the chase, survival and dysfunctional family dynamics. Even the sub plot about the pack with the devil is used more for mystery than horror and the film does a good job of keeping the view from knowing the truth until the end.
Ready or Not is an enjoyable romp with a bit of blood, a bit of horror and just enough story to keep it going .
I wouldn't say that Ready or not is a scary horror, lacking even any real jump scares but it doesn't need them, the film is not about being scared, it's about the chase, survival and dysfunctional family dynamics. Even the sub plot about the pack with the devil is used more for mystery than horror and the film does a good job of keeping the view from knowing the truth until the end.
Ready or Not is an enjoyable romp with a bit of blood, a bit of horror and just enough story to keep it going .
Justin Long recommended Way Out West (1937) in Movies (curated)
Rachel Unthank recommended How Sad, How Lovely by Connie Converse in Music (curated)
ClareR (5996 KP) rated Boy Swallows Universe in Books
Jun 1, 2021
Boy Swallows Universe is the second book in a month that:
I nearly gave up on,
I’m glad I didn’t.
It’s the story of Eli Bell, a 12 year old boy who lives in the Brisbane suburbs with his mum, stepdad and older brother. All sounds normal, until we find out that his mum and stepdad are ex-junkies, his stepdad sells heroin, and his brother is an elective mute following a traumatic, unnamed event.
Drug dealing aside, Eli and Gus’ mum, Frances and Stepdad Lyle, seem really nice! And their babysitter is equally lovely, despite the fact that he’s a murderer who has served his time. Despite all the crime and criminals around him, Eli just wants to grow up to be a good person, a crime journalist - after all, he has in depth knowledge!
This is a dark and sad book in parts, yet there were still events that made me laugh - there’s humour in even the darkest moments. Eli’s life is a one of trials and hardships, and reflects his indomitable spirit. He tries to see the good in everything, and I loved that about him.
I nearly gave up on,
I’m glad I didn’t.
It’s the story of Eli Bell, a 12 year old boy who lives in the Brisbane suburbs with his mum, stepdad and older brother. All sounds normal, until we find out that his mum and stepdad are ex-junkies, his stepdad sells heroin, and his brother is an elective mute following a traumatic, unnamed event.
Drug dealing aside, Eli and Gus’ mum, Frances and Stepdad Lyle, seem really nice! And their babysitter is equally lovely, despite the fact that he’s a murderer who has served his time. Despite all the crime and criminals around him, Eli just wants to grow up to be a good person, a crime journalist - after all, he has in depth knowledge!
This is a dark and sad book in parts, yet there were still events that made me laugh - there’s humour in even the darkest moments. Eli’s life is a one of trials and hardships, and reflects his indomitable spirit. He tries to see the good in everything, and I loved that about him.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Status Update (2018) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
Ross Lynch stars as Kyle Moore, a teenager who after being uprooted by his parents' separation and unable to fit into his new hometown, stumbles upon a magical app that causes his social media updates to come true.
My mum asked me what I'd seen this month and so we went through the list with a brief description of the ones she hadn't heard of. When I got to this one... "It's so much fun, you'd hate it, dad would love it." Mum will watch a lot of things, but daft humour isn't really one of them. Dad and I are all over them though.
I would totally abuse an app that made my status updates come true... of course I'd want to check that it didn't apply things retroactively, and that I could dial my sarcasm back a lot to protect myself from worse self afflicted issues than happen in the film.
It's a fun diversion, a feel good film that has clearly been trying to tick all the boxes on what makes people go to the cinema... bit of wacky mystery, some singing and dancing, a bitchy gay... it's got all the things we love.
My mum asked me what I'd seen this month and so we went through the list with a brief description of the ones she hadn't heard of. When I got to this one... "It's so much fun, you'd hate it, dad would love it." Mum will watch a lot of things, but daft humour isn't really one of them. Dad and I are all over them though.
I would totally abuse an app that made my status updates come true... of course I'd want to check that it didn't apply things retroactively, and that I could dial my sarcasm back a lot to protect myself from worse self afflicted issues than happen in the film.
It's a fun diversion, a feel good film that has clearly been trying to tick all the boxes on what makes people go to the cinema... bit of wacky mystery, some singing and dancing, a bitchy gay... it's got all the things we love.
Vegas (725 KP) rated Slaughterhouse Rulez (2018) in Movies
Jul 10, 2019
The story (2 more)
The horror isn't horrific
The comedy isn't funy
I expected more from this cast
Not sure where to go with this, I don't like starting a a film and not finishing it, so I kept going with it, and by the time that it kicked into gear near the end, I found I had lost all interest and was doing a other things while watching it... Not caring who lived and who died....
I expected good things from a cast that included Michael Sheen, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Margot Robbie... However I was massively disappointed, apart from the very occasional funny bit, the humour didn't work and wasn't funny and the horror until near the end was almost non existent...
I was trying to think of some positive things to say but all I could come up with was that the setting the school was in was beautiful and looked amazing, with doesn't really help with summing up the film...
Die hard Simon Pegg/Nick Frost fans will probably like it, but, I think it's a film that you won't miss anything if you don't bother with it.
I expected good things from a cast that included Michael Sheen, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Margot Robbie... However I was massively disappointed, apart from the very occasional funny bit, the humour didn't work and wasn't funny and the horror until near the end was almost non existent...
I was trying to think of some positive things to say but all I could come up with was that the setting the school was in was beautiful and looked amazing, with doesn't really help with summing up the film...
Die hard Simon Pegg/Nick Frost fans will probably like it, but, I think it's a film that you won't miss anything if you don't bother with it.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Juliet, Naked (2018) in Movies
Jul 13, 2019
Not up to Nick Hornby’s usual standards
Nick Hornby’s books are marvellous, so adapting them into films is an obvious choice for getting a sure fire hit (a la About a Boy). However sadly this doesn’t quite work for Juliet, Naked.
The plot itself is fine, fairly interesting yet doesn’t appears to be very in depth and i feel like there’s probably a lot missing in this that was in the book. It’s a good idea, just not very well executed and a little dull. It tries for humour but isn’t particularly funny and the romance side is a little lacking too sadly. I’ve always liked Ethan Hawke and he’s good in this but perhaps a little underused, and Rose Byrne is good but her accent is definitely a bit dodgy! Not too sure what was going on with Chris O’Dowd though, I’m not his biggest fan anyway but I found him particularly irritating in this but that may have just been his character. It’s a shame really that this film appears to be lacking all of the usual magic you’d see with Nick Hornby. Think I’ll just go read the book.
The plot itself is fine, fairly interesting yet doesn’t appears to be very in depth and i feel like there’s probably a lot missing in this that was in the book. It’s a good idea, just not very well executed and a little dull. It tries for humour but isn’t particularly funny and the romance side is a little lacking too sadly. I’ve always liked Ethan Hawke and he’s good in this but perhaps a little underused, and Rose Byrne is good but her accent is definitely a bit dodgy! Not too sure what was going on with Chris O’Dowd though, I’m not his biggest fan anyway but I found him particularly irritating in this but that may have just been his character. It’s a shame really that this film appears to be lacking all of the usual magic you’d see with Nick Hornby. Think I’ll just go read the book.
Candidate – Dating Game
Dating, Lifestyle and Social Networking
1.0
Rate It
App
<3 Candidate the new, exciting Question-Answer Dating Game, that allows you to meet new people...