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Sorry to Bother You (2018)
Sorry to Bother You (2018)
2018 | Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
2
7.0 (23 Ratings)
Movie Rating
I... well, that took a turn.

Where to start? This felt like I was watching an episode of Dimension 404/Electric Dreams/Black Mirror... take your pick, and that's kind of my first problem with it. There are a lot of things that don't need to be there for it to work. It could easily have been an episode of something and had more of an impact (for a good reason).

Credit where credit is due though, I have never seen anything quite like this before. I'd like to say I hope I never do again but with my cinema policy of seeing nearly everything that comes out it's bound to happen. I just can't really work out how to sum it up. It starts with a little humour and an intriguing idea and then it takes such a bizarre turn that I lost any enjoyment I'd had for the rest of the film.

Cassius making calls and then being physically put into the life of that person was a triumph for the film. It was funny and worked with the off the wall nature of the entire production. Watching his rise at the company is actually an uplifting sequence of events. From his very first interview through to power caller there's a certain amount of joy watching him succeed. How I wish that feeling hadn't ended.

When we go to the party with Cassius and Mr ___ my enjoyment started to slide. It was an awkward kind of humour that I really don't like. Most of the elements seemed to be unnecessary and by the end we'd just reached gratuitous. Then of course we get the biggest twist of the film. That's when I really lost it.

I just can't think of anything else I want to say about this film.

What you should do

Lots of people seem to like it... but I'm not one of them. Just watch some of the TV shows listed above instead.

Movie thing you wish you could take home

I don't want anything from this film apart from the two hours of my life it took.
  
The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life
The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Second Story Press

Okay so I love Shakespeare and I love stories set in high school drama departments so that alone should have done it for me but I just really didn't vibe with this book! I didn't enjoy any of the characters (especially the main character) and as a character driven reader that's such an impportant thing for me! I can forgive a lacklustre plot if the characters are good and enjoyable! There were parts that I enjoyed and I generally didn't hate it but I did find myself just reading it solely so that I could get it finished rather than enjoying the experience. It had a lot of potential and I'm sure a lot of people will like it but it just didn't do it for me, unfortunately!
  
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)
2017 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
The ending. (0 more)
Ugh, story, WHAT STORY? (0 more)
This film shouldn't have told tales.
Contains spoilers, click to show
Literally the only part of this one I enjoy is the ending. Seeing Will and Elizabeth FINALLY be reunited is so lovely but the rest just isn't work my time if I'm honest. Stranger Tides felt forced but this just felt pressured into being a POTB when it just isn't. It doesn't fit in the world of it. Unfortunately Johnny Depp couldn't save the terrible writing and plotline. The actors in this that were new to me seemed like awful actors but after seeing them in something else i realise they were just trying to make the most out of the un-charismatic, shoddy, rushed, desperate writing.
  
TD
The Dragons of Hazlett
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Eh. I'm trying to be gentle, assuming that this must be a very early effort. The magic system simply didn't make sense to me. The entire society, in fact, seems nonsensical. A world in which magic reigns supreme, and the simplest devices (like wheels and levers) are regarded as diabolical? Nonsense. By the end, it felt like an intellectual exercise carried to an extreme. I can see using the conceit for a short story, but it just can't support a novel.
  
Hooked on this Feeling
Ooga- Chaka, Ooga-Chaka, Ooga-Chaka, Ooga-Ooga...
What else to say? This film was bound to have a great soundtrack, and the fact that it is packaged like the tape in the film, is just the icing on the cake.
With films like this, the soundtrack is a must, since you will have the songs stuck in your head.
The music perfectly syncs with the film, and the two blend together in a great 70s feeling.
  
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Elizabeth Banks recommended Flashdance (1983) in Movies (curated)

 
Flashdance (1983)
Flashdance (1983)
1983 | Drama, Romance

"Yeah. I mean, if I had to pick my first R-rated movie that I was like, “This is the greatest movie I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” it was Flashdance. My mom took me to see Flashdance when we were really young. It was like way underage for R-rated; you know, you had to go with an adult. She was the adult who took us, because to my mom, it was just a story about a ballerina."

Source
  
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Nick McCabe recommended Fun House by The Stooges in Music (curated)

 
Fun House by The Stooges
Fun House by The Stooges
1970 | Punk, Rock
8.9 (9 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"It's just dirty rock & roll and it reminds me of good times in the van with The Verve. They were our halcyon days if you like; driving round the UK taking lots of speed and rocking the place basically. It's a good time record. It's a destructive record, but I think we probably felt like that at the time. We felt destructive. It's about not giving a fuck really. When I was digging back into the past, this was one of the treasures."

Source
  
Holmes and Watson (2018)
Holmes and Watson (2018)
2018 | Adventure, Comedy, Mystery
They can't all be winners
Well...they can't all be winners.

I know that Will Ferrell is an "acquired taste" - either you like the "all in" comedy of this man, or you don't. I happen to like Ferrell, his comedy has aged on me like a fine wine. I find that some of his most recent films like THE OTHER GUYS and THE HOUSE are very funny (maybe not as funny as ANCHORMAN...but what is). I think this comedian still has his fastball.

But, sometimes, wine doesn't age well, it turns into vinegar. And for Ferrell, this vinegar is the comedic dud that is HOLMES & WATSON.

Partnering with familiar on-screen partner John C. Reilly (who paired with Ferrell in films like STEP BROTHERS and TALLEDEGA NIGHTS) this film is a parody of the multitude of Sherlock Holmes films - this time showing that not only is Holmes and idiot but so is Watson. But, somehow, they manage to solve the crime and save the day anyway.

Ferrell is (typically) over-the-top and obtuse as Holmes. Usually, this combination works for him (see ANCHORMAN) but it just falls flat here. Same thing for John C. Reilly's Watson - he is just as over-the-top and obtuse and (I think) that's the beginning of the problem here. The two just bounce off each other without the joke landing on either of them - nor does it land of the audience.

Ralph Fiennes (Moriarty), Rebecca Hall (potential girlfriend), Rob Brydon (Inspector Lestrade) and Kelly Macdonald (Mrs. Hudson) all fair poorly with poor material to work with.

Writer/Director Etan (that's Etan, not Ethan) Cohen (IDIOCRACY) does nothing to help things here with either his writing or his direction. My only thought here is that he thought that Ferrell and Reilly could improvise themselves into a good film.

It didn't happen.

Letter Grade: C (because I guffawed out loud - despite myself - a couple of times)

4 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
  
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ArecRain (8 KP) rated Blown Away in Books

Jan 18, 2018  
BA
Blown Away
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this book. I generally like second chance romances but it rubbed me the couple’s history rubbed me the wrong way. I know it shouldn’t and that I am close-minded for thinking so.

I enjoyed the concept of this romance. Storm chasing isn’t something we see a lot especially in the romance genre. I felt like it added enough tension and another dimension to Drew and Aiden’s relationship. I felt like they had more going on than just the typical “oh we can’t be together because of her dead ex-fiancé.” I appreciated that. And honestly, they just made sense together.

This is the first novel I have read by this author so I am glad it was such an enjoyable read. Rothert really knows how to tell a love story.
  
Billed as 'The Sharpe of the Civil War' (ever notice how these types of novels always use that character as their benchmark?), it's easy to see the influence of Cornwell's most famous creation on this novel, which (according to the author) is the first in a planned series of 10 books set during the English Civil War.

 This is told from the POV of a soldier in the (doomed) Royalist army: a soldier who has a history with some in authority (like Sharpe and Wellesley), and who is chosen to go behind the enemy lines on a top secret mission (again, like Sharpe), with the beginning and end of the novel taking place during one of the battles of that war (yet again, just like a Sharpe novel ...). Enjoyable enough, and gets off to a strong start, but is just not as polished as one of Cornwells books. Still, an impressive effort for a debut novel, and I may pick up more of the sequels ...