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"Well, I grew up in the sixties. In 1962, I bought the first Rolling Stones single, and I still have it. I still have every single they released, in order, right up until Brian Jones was murdered. I saw Pink Floyd god knows how many times, and even did a couple of light shows for them... We started listening to pirate radio and John Peel’s Perfumed Garden, and had a friend at school called Spidey who was very good at spotting interesting new music. John Peel was the first person to play The Velvet Underground, and Spidey said, “Listen to this, you’re gonna love this!”. That’s when we got the first violin. We used to go to Birmingham, to this tiny little record shop that had nothing of interest except some Albert Ayler and free jazz. There was a record in there, and we recognised the artwork from Oz magazine so we knew it was by Hapshash and The Coloured Coat, because they used to do psychedelic posters and Oz. So we bought it just because of that. It was on Magnet Records. When we pulled out [the disc], we were shocked to see that it was on red vinyl, which we’d never seen before. We later discovered that all these people on the scene in London wanted to raise money for the legals fees of John “Hoppy” Hopkins, the first person who’d been busted for drugs and who co-founded the International Times. He was a real mover and shaker of the times. It’s like twenty to a hundred people high on acid jamming! We fell in love with it and still listen to it all the time. When we DJ, people come up to us and ask, “What was that with that great riff?” Guess what one of them ended up doing? Writing “We Are The Wombles”! That really got me in the head, that was worse than a bad acid trip!"

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Awix (3310 KP) rated The Accountant (2016) in Movies

Mar 11, 2018 (Updated Mar 17, 2018)  
The Accountant (2016)
The Accountant (2016)
2016 | Drama
7
7.5 (36 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Really-not-that-bad-at-all action thriller with Ben Affleck doing a surprisingly good job of playing a brilliant accountant-stroke-hitman. The film kind of dodges around the implication that Affleck's character is autistic, but the inference is clear and while this is still Movie Autism (never mind the crippling downsides, you get super powers!!!), it is still sympathetic and has at least a few vestiges of reality to it.

The plot eventually ends up being completely gonzo, involving corruption in the robotics industry and duelling assassins, but the movie fends off the moment when you shout 'this is all utterly ridiculous!' for a surprisingly long time. Eclectic cast includes Affleck, John Lithgow, Jon Bernthal, and Anna Kendrick (who appears to be about three feet tall in a few of her scenes). A fun and engaging movie; not a particularly great thriller but all the peripheral weirdness keeps it watchable.
  
Die Hard (1988)
Die Hard (1988)
1988 | Action
The best action film ever?
When it comes to action films, Die Hard really can't be beaten. I'd even go so far as saying it's the best action film of all time.

 It has everything that makes for an excellent action film. A likeable protagonist in John McClane, who's a pretty awesome action hero that Bruce Willis was born to play. Alan Rickman too is fantastic and strangely likeable as the bad but you still love him villain Hans Gruber. The film itself may be a little cheesy at times, but after a slow but necessary build up it really gets into it's action stride and is full of some brilliantly funny lines and moments too. For an 80s action film as well, it looks surprisingly good.

Whilst I'm not convinced this is a Christmas film (being set on Christmas eve doesnt mean it has festive feels!), it's still a hugely entertaining action flick and one that more modern films can't match up to.
  
Jonah Hex (2010)
Jonah Hex (2010)
2010 | Action, Drama, Horror
2
5.1 (13 Ratings)
Movie Rating
A recent re-watch of Jonah Hex went something like this:

- a lot of stuff happened before that title card that it's already incoherent
- wait, Michael Fassbender is in this?
- I can't see what's happening
- ah sweet, it's the dude from Mastodon.
- wait, Will Arnett is in this?
- Megan Fox really drew the short straw on a lot of her movie projects
- is that Michael Shannon!?
- ah sweet, it's the dude from John Wick.
- wait, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is in this!?
- once again, couldn't see what the fuck was happening because of the piss poor lighting, but Jonah Hex is nearly dead again, apparently.
- Ah cool, here's a mid-runtime action heavy sequence, still can't tell what's happening.
- wait....nope, it's over.

Christ, this movie is a blurry mess that's impressively hard to follow considering its short runtime. I love the Jonah Hex comics, I tend to enjoy Josh Brolin and John Malkovich, how is this such a trainwreck?

That Mastodon soundtrack is badass though.
  
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Steven Yeun recommended Mulholland Drive (2001) in Movies (curated)

 
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
2001 | Documentary, Drama, Mystery

"Mulholland Dr. was probably the nerdiest experience I’ve had. Just watching the film and then thinking about it, listening to commentaries, then researching online what other connections I missed and seeing all these deeper themes and meanings, I realized that’s how you can make a film! This was the first Lynch film I ever saw. That Naomi Watts performance, and the performance within the performance, still haunts me. The movie felt like it was just kind of fucking with me, and I really enjoyed that. Being John Malkovich was another one of those formative films that expanded my horizons on what film can be, what it can comment on, how many layers you can attach, and how meta it can get. Mulholland Dr. and Being John Malkovich came out around the time when I had already cemented in my mind what a movie was. Then for all that to just blow up in my face was really awesome."

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Being John Malkovich (1999)
Being John Malkovich (1999)
1999 | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi

"Mulholland Dr. was probably the nerdiest experience I’ve had. Just watching the film and then thinking about it, listening to commentaries, then researching online what other connections I missed and seeing all these deeper themes and meanings, I realized that’s how you can make a film! This was the first Lynch film I ever saw. That Naomi Watts performance, and the performance within the performance, still haunts me. The movie felt like it was just kind of fucking with me, and I really enjoyed that. Being John Malkovich was another one of those formative films that expanded my horizons on what film can be, what it can comment on, how many layers you can attach, and how meta it can get. Mulholland Dr. and Being John Malkovich came out around the time when I had already cemented in my mind what a movie was. Then for all that to just blow up in my face was really awesome."

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P.S. I Still Love You (To All the Boys I've Loved Before, #2)
P.S. I Still Love You (To All the Boys I've Loved Before, #2)
Jenny Han | 2015 | Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult (YA)
7
7.8 (13 Ratings)
Book Rating
PS I Still Love You is a continuation of Lara Jean's story from To All The Boys I've Loved Before. It really is a seamless continuation - it picks up almost immediately where the first ends, in the holidays, with Lara Jean pining over Peter.

I didn't like this one as much as the first - the sisters are still here, but Lara Jean doesn't spend as much time worrying over her dynamic with her sisters as she did in the first book. This second book is all about Peter, his ex, and what's going on at school. That's fine - obviously the story needs to evolve and move, but the sisters were such a huge part of the charm of the first book that I really miss them in this one.

A second boy is introduced in this book - John - and to be honest, I like him more than Peter. I know Peter and Lara Jean are really set up as THE couple in this series, but - John's so nice. And Peter's so oblivious.

There's one more book - Always and Forever, Lara Jean - and while I'm sure it won't happen, I'm holding out hope that John will come back in book #3 and win Lara Jean over. I really, really liked him.

You can read all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
  
NE
Never Enough Love
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
John Lazano tells us the tale of John Lazano and his search for enough love. It's the story that spans fifty-four years of his life from his beginnings from a traditional New York Italian Catholic family. He lived multiple lives with multiple wives traveled the world and had hundreds of affairs. He is a talented writer who definitely does not leave anything to the imagination. The fascinating life he lived in the Navy, his traveling on cruise ships and his uncanny ability to get himself tangled up with women of all kinds from his second wife a madam in San Diego to his traditional third wife who came from a traditional Italian home who followed behind him between New York, New Jersey, Minnesota and Florida. He was even unwitting married to a fellow Navy midshipman who was a bi-sexual who almost ruined his career in the Navy. John has a way to take you on the travels and you wander along the way when will love that he is receiving. It can not seem to Never Enough Love. I feel for this man who seems that even when he loses it all throughout the story that regardless of all his travels and pursuits he is still searching with no boundaries.
  
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Ameeka (131 KP) rated Arrow in TV

Jul 7, 2017  
Arrow
Arrow
2012 | Drama
Cinema quality action sequences (2 more)
Dark and realistic tone
Well-written characters
Melodramatic moments (0 more)
Appeals to viewers of all ages
Arrow, a superhero drama, has an appealing lead performance from Stephen Amell. This show's dark and realistic tone really brings on the suspense. It has a very compelling villain in John Barrowman's Malcolm Merlyn, whom is a pretty well-written character that makes you understand his motives. Sometimes the show includes The CW's melodramatic moments, which can be extremely difficult to get through. However, the show still manages to pull the audience back in with it's well-choreographed, cinema-quality action sequences and brilliant performances from very talented actors and actresses.
  
The Gods of Mars (Barsoom #2)
The Gods of Mars (Barsoom #2)
8
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
After 11 years stuck on Earth, John Carter is thrilled to find himself back on Mars. But he will have to fight hostile aliens and superstition to get back to his beloved wife.

I enjoyed this for what it was - an action novel. The characters are rather thin, although I certainly found myself caring for the main characters. And John's amazing ability to fight off waves of enemies gets a little tiring. But it's still a fun book. Watch out for the cliffhanger.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/12/book-review-gods-of-mars-by-edgar-rice.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.