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Andy K (10821 KP) rated Lords of Chaos (2018) in Movies
Dec 14, 2019
ANARCHY!
Every once and a while a film comes along that truly surprises you (I love it when that happens) and Lords of Chaos did that for me tonight. I was thinking going in was going to be a metal version of This is Spinal Tap maybe or an anti version of Bohemian Rhapsody, or definitely a film I would have to keep the volume turned down as not to annoy my wife with the extremely booming soundtrack, but none of those were true.
Instead we get a supposedly true, or mostly true, story of the 90s Norwegian Black Metal band, Mayhem, its members, its music, its tragedy. I knew there would be horror and it delivered on that for sure. There are some truly graphic scenes which are not for the squeamish or for those who get offended easily. Having said that, it is also about friendship, mental illness, bullying, fitting in, being different than the rest, anarchy, paganism, relationships and how true (or fake) are your convictions.
For those that enjoy the out of the ordinary, I would highly recommend.
Instead we get a supposedly true, or mostly true, story of the 90s Norwegian Black Metal band, Mayhem, its members, its music, its tragedy. I knew there would be horror and it delivered on that for sure. There are some truly graphic scenes which are not for the squeamish or for those who get offended easily. Having said that, it is also about friendship, mental illness, bullying, fitting in, being different than the rest, anarchy, paganism, relationships and how true (or fake) are your convictions.
For those that enjoy the out of the ordinary, I would highly recommend.
Erika (17788 KP) rated Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel in TV
Mar 1, 2021
The only reason I'm rating this a two, is because it made me actually laugh out loud. The fact that the documentary makers thought it was a good idea to prominently feature these 'internet sleuths', instead of real journalists (sorry not sorry), is BAFFLING.
The internet sleuths were all CUCKOO for COCO Puffs. It was certainly amusing, but it was a major misstep. Where were the real journalists? It was just a car wreck. All of those people might as well have been wearing tinfoil hats on camera.
Towards the end, I was actually offended by the fact these sleuths kept insisting that her cause of death wasn't partially due to her mental illness. Apparently, they're sleuths, but they don't know anyone with bipolar disorder, and decided not to google it? It was disgusting to me. Had they presented the facts re the victims medication, etc, I could have solved it immediately.
This could have easily been an hour and a half. All of the conjecture was annoying, and, quite frankly, insulting to the victim. If I was her family, I'd hit Netflix with a lawsuit for this twaddle.
The internet sleuths were all CUCKOO for COCO Puffs. It was certainly amusing, but it was a major misstep. Where were the real journalists? It was just a car wreck. All of those people might as well have been wearing tinfoil hats on camera.
Towards the end, I was actually offended by the fact these sleuths kept insisting that her cause of death wasn't partially due to her mental illness. Apparently, they're sleuths, but they don't know anyone with bipolar disorder, and decided not to google it? It was disgusting to me. Had they presented the facts re the victims medication, etc, I could have solved it immediately.
This could have easily been an hour and a half. All of the conjecture was annoying, and, quite frankly, insulting to the victim. If I was her family, I'd hit Netflix with a lawsuit for this twaddle.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Friend Request (2016) in Movies
Oct 6, 2020 (Updated Oct 6, 2020)
*decline*. Jesus, I usually have a wicked high tolerance for these Gen-Z-catered idiotic mainstream horror flicks but this was abysmal. I'm offended that this could even be uttered within the same sentence as the rip-roaring, unnerving, and highly idiosyncratic 𝘜𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 films which - at least for a time - were required to shit on because at the time Facebook was still this relatively new and trendy thing that kids liked... but now that it's dying can we finally admit those were actually both genius *and* truly scary? Especially after this absolutely formless drivel. Flimsily acted even by these movies' low standards, and its depiction of mental illness can be generously described as execrable - it initially begins as a sort of interesting dissection of social media etiquette and the very narrow view of what we consider to be 'weird' by its standards... but then it reveals its true colors by demonizing these very real conditions/behaviors by way of shoddy technophobic bullshit. The thing is, this actually has some good horror movie imagery in it too - a fair amount - but it's made in such a repellent way that I also don't really care. Plus it's overcut to hell.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated The Leisure Seeker (2017) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
A runaway couple go on an unforgettable journey in the faithful old RV they call The Leisure Seeker.
Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland in a movie together... I wanted to love this one. I'm sad to say that I really didn't.
Having not seen a trailer I was completely blindsided by the actual subject matter. From the things I've seen, and the IMDb description above along with "Adventure, Comedy, Drama" under it's entry I was expecting something entirely different. Something funny, and more like a teen road movie, but with older people. But the tale of last chance before ill health wins, is bleak to say the least.
It's a strong and important message about life with, and after, illness. The two are essentially on the run from their ill health, Ella is terminal and John is nearly completely lost to his memories. You get the fleeting highs and lows that the couple do throughout, but they don't make up for the slow and "every day" nature of the movie.
This one was another on the "I'd have left but then I wouldn't have been able to bitch about it" list.
Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland in a movie together... I wanted to love this one. I'm sad to say that I really didn't.
Having not seen a trailer I was completely blindsided by the actual subject matter. From the things I've seen, and the IMDb description above along with "Adventure, Comedy, Drama" under it's entry I was expecting something entirely different. Something funny, and more like a teen road movie, but with older people. But the tale of last chance before ill health wins, is bleak to say the least.
It's a strong and important message about life with, and after, illness. The two are essentially on the run from their ill health, Ella is terminal and John is nearly completely lost to his memories. You get the fleeting highs and lows that the couple do throughout, but they don't make up for the slow and "every day" nature of the movie.
This one was another on the "I'd have left but then I wouldn't have been able to bitch about it" list.
Andy K (10821 KP) rated Häxan (1922) in Movies
Oct 6, 2019
Very strange...
This collection of 7 silent film shorts are put together in this film Haxan. It's hard to give a plot description in a silent film collection like these. They mostly have to do with witches and the belief in witchcraft through the middle ages up through the time this movie was made. There were also elements of devils and devil worship, paganism, and the occult.
The film tried to make the point some of these people and practices were strange at the time maybe due to not a great understanding of mental illness or psychological problems of those involved.
The way the movie was divided was interesting at times and boring at other times. I definitely enjoyed the sections where there were actual moving images with dialogue cards or subtitles rather than those with still images only.
Since there was no dialogue per say, it was difficult to follow at some points; however, several of the visuals were striking and even a little scary considering this movie is almost 100 years old.
I still rather enjoyed it.
The film tried to make the point some of these people and practices were strange at the time maybe due to not a great understanding of mental illness or psychological problems of those involved.
The way the movie was divided was interesting at times and boring at other times. I definitely enjoyed the sections where there were actual moving images with dialogue cards or subtitles rather than those with still images only.
Since there was no dialogue per say, it was difficult to follow at some points; however, several of the visuals were striking and even a little scary considering this movie is almost 100 years old.
I still rather enjoyed it.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated 9 1/2 Weeks (1986) in Movies
Sep 3, 2021
Wild, magnetic, and hot as hell - nobody does these like Lyne, man. One of the things I love most about this is that it's one of the sacred few of these that don't demonize kink *nor* make it a symptom of some trauma/mental illness; this is simply two consenting adults participating in a kinky relationship. They were getting this shit right in 1986, people - there's no excuse to keep messing it up 35 years later. Of course Rourke and Basinger have smoldering chemistry here too, their performances are so daring for the time and hold up airtight even today. Asks the devastating question of whether it's worse when passion is lost altogether, or when it becomes too consuming for one's reasonable expectations to handle? Also features a montage of the two leads fucking on a rainy alley staircase to loud 1980s synth music after beating up a random group of thugs - so you really get the best of both worlds. The last 20/25 minutes is the best work of Lyne's entire career. 80s MTV version of 𝘍𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘺 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘺 (still not quite as good as 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺, though).
ClareR (5603 KP) rated Hello Beautiful in Books
May 9, 2023
Between finishing reading Hello Beautiful and writing this review, this book has exploded. Oprah has taken it under her wing and shown it as the wonderful piece of work that it is to her followers. So, it has already been read by a lot of people - and rightly so. I loved it. Books about families and family relationships, whether they’re a difficult or loving relationship, are one of my most favourite things.
There are most certainly echoes of Little Women, but if you’ve never read it, it won’t make much difference to your enjoyment. You might want to try Little Women at some point though!
William Waters grows up in a very dysfunctional family, and is drawn into the Padavano family when he marries Julia - it’s a family he comes to love.
With themes of mental illness, family loyalties, love in all of its forms and loss, it’s a big read for only around 400 pages. The story just sped by, and I was bereft when I turned the last page.
I loved the world of William Waters and the Padavano sisters.
Highly recommended.
There are most certainly echoes of Little Women, but if you’ve never read it, it won’t make much difference to your enjoyment. You might want to try Little Women at some point though!
William Waters grows up in a very dysfunctional family, and is drawn into the Padavano family when he marries Julia - it’s a family he comes to love.
With themes of mental illness, family loyalties, love in all of its forms and loss, it’s a big read for only around 400 pages. The story just sped by, and I was bereft when I turned the last page.
I loved the world of William Waters and the Padavano sisters.
Highly recommended.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated A Kiss of Madness in Books
Jan 14, 2019
Too much smut (3 more)
Unbelievable plot
Underdeveloped and unlikable characters
Book is confused about the plot
Reads More Like a Rough Draft
I love reading books about mental illness, and even more so if they take place inside an asylum. When I saw A Kiss of Madness by K.B. Everly and Stacy Jones, it seemed like the perfect read for me. Unfortunately, I was left very disappointed.
The synopsis for A Kiss of Madness sounded very interesting. It could have been a very interesting book except there's too much going on in the story. Lydia gets sent to Brocker's Center for the Criminally Insane after having a vision and throwing a chair through a window as well as attacking an innocent bystander. She could have chose jail time or to voluntarily commit herself to Brocker's. She chose the latter. While there, she gets feelings about people and doesn't feel like she belongs. She meets three guys who are patients with their own issues. However, she ends up thinking they're hot, and they also think she's hot. The guys all agree to be her boyfriends and end up following her everywhere. When one of the other female patients goes missing, Lydia tries to uncover what really happened putting herself in grave danger. I was confused if A Kiss of Madness was trying to be more of a romance novel, a mystery/crime novel, or a paranormal novel. I got the insane asylum vibe for a few chapters, but soon this book lost its whole mental illness vibe. I felt like the insane asylum setting was just thrown in there to make this book sound more interesting than it actually was. It soon turned more into an erotic novel which made me like the book even less. There was just too much pointless fairly graphic sex for my liking. I feel like all the fairly graphic sex and sexual references really took away from the story. I also didn't like the ending. It just felt too rushed. Actually, the whole story just felt really rushed. I also didn't understand how one character who had a violent past could have such a great job. I won't go into further details because it's a spoiler.
I started out liking Lydia and was on her side for the first few chapters or so. However, I found myself losing the connection I felt with her the more I read. She just came across as being very irresponsible and immature. I didn't really care for Pierce, Emmett, or Mason/Jason either. None of the characters in A Kiss of Madness were fleshed out enough to be likable or believable.
The pacing starts out great in A Kiss of Madness. However, it soon slows down once the sex scenes come into play. Then it slows down and becomes more of a smut novel instead of a decent read. Luckily this is a short read or I would have given up on it when I got to the sex parts.
Trigger warnings for A Kiss of Madness include violence, murder, mental illness, attempted sexual assault, fairly graphic sex scenes, sexual references, and profanities.
Overall, A Kiss of Madness started out great. However, it soon went downhill close to halfway through the book. I feel like this book feels more like a rough draft on what could be a decent read. It just needs a lot more work to be good. Get rid of a lot of the pointless sex scenes and references, bulk up the story and characters a bit, decide on what angle to go with, and give this book some guts! At this time, I would not recommend A Kiss of Madness by K.B. Everly and Stacy Jones.
The synopsis for A Kiss of Madness sounded very interesting. It could have been a very interesting book except there's too much going on in the story. Lydia gets sent to Brocker's Center for the Criminally Insane after having a vision and throwing a chair through a window as well as attacking an innocent bystander. She could have chose jail time or to voluntarily commit herself to Brocker's. She chose the latter. While there, she gets feelings about people and doesn't feel like she belongs. She meets three guys who are patients with their own issues. However, she ends up thinking they're hot, and they also think she's hot. The guys all agree to be her boyfriends and end up following her everywhere. When one of the other female patients goes missing, Lydia tries to uncover what really happened putting herself in grave danger. I was confused if A Kiss of Madness was trying to be more of a romance novel, a mystery/crime novel, or a paranormal novel. I got the insane asylum vibe for a few chapters, but soon this book lost its whole mental illness vibe. I felt like the insane asylum setting was just thrown in there to make this book sound more interesting than it actually was. It soon turned more into an erotic novel which made me like the book even less. There was just too much pointless fairly graphic sex for my liking. I feel like all the fairly graphic sex and sexual references really took away from the story. I also didn't like the ending. It just felt too rushed. Actually, the whole story just felt really rushed. I also didn't understand how one character who had a violent past could have such a great job. I won't go into further details because it's a spoiler.
I started out liking Lydia and was on her side for the first few chapters or so. However, I found myself losing the connection I felt with her the more I read. She just came across as being very irresponsible and immature. I didn't really care for Pierce, Emmett, or Mason/Jason either. None of the characters in A Kiss of Madness were fleshed out enough to be likable or believable.
The pacing starts out great in A Kiss of Madness. However, it soon slows down once the sex scenes come into play. Then it slows down and becomes more of a smut novel instead of a decent read. Luckily this is a short read or I would have given up on it when I got to the sex parts.
Trigger warnings for A Kiss of Madness include violence, murder, mental illness, attempted sexual assault, fairly graphic sex scenes, sexual references, and profanities.
Overall, A Kiss of Madness started out great. However, it soon went downhill close to halfway through the book. I feel like this book feels more like a rough draft on what could be a decent read. It just needs a lot more work to be good. Get rid of a lot of the pointless sex scenes and references, bulk up the story and characters a bit, decide on what angle to go with, and give this book some guts! At this time, I would not recommend A Kiss of Madness by K.B. Everly and Stacy Jones.
Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated How I Lost You in Books
May 16, 2018
As seen on <a href="http://theghastlygrimoire.com/"; target="_new">The Ghastly Grimoire.</a>
How I Lost You by Jenny Blackhurst is difficult for me to score with ease, to be completely and totally honest. There are several things I loved about this book and others that felt more like a cliche. Aside from those few moments, I enjoyed reading this novel.
Susan Webster, a.k.a. Emma Cartwright, finds her head still spinning after serving her time in a psychiatric prison for the murder of her son. As a character, she is for the most part fairly well-written. Having suffered a psychotic break, she becomes an unreliable narrator and Blackhurst does an excellent job at describing the sort of incredulity that individuals suffering mental illness find themselves often faced with. Reading Susan’s point of view felt very much like my own after a break I had about two years ago, and for that reason I found her to be relatable – all the way down to the seemingly instant attraction to an otherwise unknown man.
In some reviews, Susan’s interest in Nick has been viewed critically. I, on the other hand, have been that desperate for someone, anyone, to possibly listen to me or give me time of day so I feel Blackhurst’s portrayal of Susan in such a circumstance is certainly realistic. Diminished capacity for judgment is a side effect of mental illness, one that often gets dismissed as a cry for attention.
The story unfolds fairly quickly and in ways that are, at some moments, unsettling. Many of these moments take place in the past, where flashbacks take us to the glorious lives of the Durham Elite. It is in these flashbacks that I encountered the one cliche that absolutely annoyed the piss out of me: a cult like gathering that seemed to come out of nowhere. Seriously, cults are beyond overdone.
I really found myself dancing between three and four for this piece, largely because of the typical use of the “cult” as a scapegoat. For the most part, this is the only bit that appeared to stand completely out of place, so I’ve decided to lean toward four. Thus far, I find Emily Bestler’s selections to be wonderfully appropriate to my tastes and I look forward to seeing more of her publications as an imprint of Atria and Simon & Schuster.
I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book for the purpose of review. This review is written without bias and reflects my honest opinion.
How I Lost You by Jenny Blackhurst is difficult for me to score with ease, to be completely and totally honest. There are several things I loved about this book and others that felt more like a cliche. Aside from those few moments, I enjoyed reading this novel.
Susan Webster, a.k.a. Emma Cartwright, finds her head still spinning after serving her time in a psychiatric prison for the murder of her son. As a character, she is for the most part fairly well-written. Having suffered a psychotic break, she becomes an unreliable narrator and Blackhurst does an excellent job at describing the sort of incredulity that individuals suffering mental illness find themselves often faced with. Reading Susan’s point of view felt very much like my own after a break I had about two years ago, and for that reason I found her to be relatable – all the way down to the seemingly instant attraction to an otherwise unknown man.
In some reviews, Susan’s interest in Nick has been viewed critically. I, on the other hand, have been that desperate for someone, anyone, to possibly listen to me or give me time of day so I feel Blackhurst’s portrayal of Susan in such a circumstance is certainly realistic. Diminished capacity for judgment is a side effect of mental illness, one that often gets dismissed as a cry for attention.
The story unfolds fairly quickly and in ways that are, at some moments, unsettling. Many of these moments take place in the past, where flashbacks take us to the glorious lives of the Durham Elite. It is in these flashbacks that I encountered the one cliche that absolutely annoyed the piss out of me: a cult like gathering that seemed to come out of nowhere. Seriously, cults are beyond overdone.
I really found myself dancing between three and four for this piece, largely because of the typical use of the “cult” as a scapegoat. For the most part, this is the only bit that appeared to stand completely out of place, so I’ve decided to lean toward four. Thus far, I find Emily Bestler’s selections to be wonderfully appropriate to my tastes and I look forward to seeing more of her publications as an imprint of Atria and Simon & Schuster.
I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book for the purpose of review. This review is written without bias and reflects my honest opinion.
Jayme (18 KP) rated Turtles All The Way Down in Books
Apr 15, 2018 (Updated Apr 15, 2018)
Characters (3 more)
Plot
Accurate depiciton of mental illness
Didn't have an "easy" or cliche "fairytale" ending
I’ve been meaning to pick up a John Green book for a very long time, but it wasn’t until I heard good reviews of this book that I finally did. My initial thought after finishing the book is this: I now understand all the hype.
I read a great deal of YA fiction, but it is not very often that I finish the book feeling whole. Not because the ending was that of a fairy tale — John Green has a reputation for ensuring those endings don’t exist in his novels — but because the book was just so well-written. I feel as if many YA writers sit down to write books, but forget who their audience is. They are writing a much more washed out and juvenile version of what teenagers are actually like today. They are afraid to let their characters cuss or talk about sex, as if neither action actually exists among young adults. YA authors tend to stray away from the reality of teen behavior, but this book faced realities in a compelling way.
The novel follows Aza, a sixteen year old with an obsessive compulsive disorder, as she navigates the implications of her illness on her relationships with other people. Simultaneously, Aza and her best friend Daisy make it their mission to find Davis Pickett’s billionaire father wanted by the police, and it just so happens that Davis is an old friend of Aza’s from camp.
I appreciated the way the Aza, Daisy, and Davis (as well as the other secondary characters) were facing so many different conflicts (i.e. grief, financial classes, love, mental health, college decisions) at once, because that is exactly how the world works. Real teenagers do not fixate their lives on one specific conflict for extended periods of time, rather they balance several conflicts. I love the way this book was able to depict that struggle to maintain a balance in such a way that allowed readers to follow each plot line to the very end.
I loved the characterization, as they all felt tangible. Their mannerisms and tendancies were displayed through each appearance on the page. There was not a single moment in any interaction that made me feel as if the personalities of these characters were lost, not even in the dialogue (which was also incredible). This attention to detail is something that will drive me to pick up another John Green novel in the near future.
I read a great deal of YA fiction, but it is not very often that I finish the book feeling whole. Not because the ending was that of a fairy tale — John Green has a reputation for ensuring those endings don’t exist in his novels — but because the book was just so well-written. I feel as if many YA writers sit down to write books, but forget who their audience is. They are writing a much more washed out and juvenile version of what teenagers are actually like today. They are afraid to let their characters cuss or talk about sex, as if neither action actually exists among young adults. YA authors tend to stray away from the reality of teen behavior, but this book faced realities in a compelling way.
The novel follows Aza, a sixteen year old with an obsessive compulsive disorder, as she navigates the implications of her illness on her relationships with other people. Simultaneously, Aza and her best friend Daisy make it their mission to find Davis Pickett’s billionaire father wanted by the police, and it just so happens that Davis is an old friend of Aza’s from camp.
I appreciated the way the Aza, Daisy, and Davis (as well as the other secondary characters) were facing so many different conflicts (i.e. grief, financial classes, love, mental health, college decisions) at once, because that is exactly how the world works. Real teenagers do not fixate their lives on one specific conflict for extended periods of time, rather they balance several conflicts. I love the way this book was able to depict that struggle to maintain a balance in such a way that allowed readers to follow each plot line to the very end.
I loved the characterization, as they all felt tangible. Their mannerisms and tendancies were displayed through each appearance on the page. There was not a single moment in any interaction that made me feel as if the personalities of these characters were lost, not even in the dialogue (which was also incredible). This attention to detail is something that will drive me to pick up another John Green novel in the near future.
Andy K (10821 KP) Dec 14, 2019
Versusyours (757 KP) Dec 14, 2019