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Shark Tale (2004)
Shark Tale (2004)
2004 | Action, Animation, Comedy
Ghastly. I mean holy shit these fish are fucking UGLY. I was expecting some sort of ironic enjoyment or overlooked nuance a la something like ๐˜๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต!, but instead I just got an in-your-face assault of nauseating animation and the worst sound design DreamWorks has ever shat out - Angelina Jolie is barely even audible in this. I'm a firm believer that the most aesthetically horrible time period was the 2000s - specifically the mid-2000s - and this tried so hard to be 'in the now' when it was released that it feels like looking back at some sort of garish cave drawing that serves as a reminder for how much society has progressed since then. For instance, you know how you can go back to Finding Nemo and not be repelled because it doesn't open with a fucking "MTV Cribs" parody? I've never been a huge fan of Will Smith's shtick but here it grates worse than it ever has before or since - and with such an irredeemable, downright annoying character like this fugly little idiot to boot. In fact the only intrigue in any of these voice performances are from Jack Black and - er - *checks notes* Martin Scorsese. I can't honestly say it was laugh-free but I can still say it sucks hard.
  
The Jacket (2005)
The Jacket (2005)
2005 | Drama, Horror, Mystery
"๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ท๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ด ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ... ๐˜ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฏ'๐˜ต ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ท๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜บ, ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ช๐˜ณ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ด? ๐˜ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ, ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ง๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ?"
Categorical drivel, nonsense almost solely for the sake of nonsense. Emo time-traveling ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜‰๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜บ + ๐˜›๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜”๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ๐˜ด that feels like a Marcy Playground music video which basically acts as a one hour forty-three minute essay on why dying kind of blows. Sort of awesome, though if there's any supposed underseen masterpiece here as I was led to believe, I haven't found it. Don't get me wrong, there are brilliant concepts here - the whole idea of the titular womblike jacket system is tantalizing, and in numerous instances this portrays a very clever way in which the people in your past manifest into your future and can either help you or haunt you depending on the choices you've once made towards them. But none of it is developed enough, this feels like one of those movies that was really promising until it got whittled away to scraps by the studios - but that wasn't the case? Idk I still liked it - I'm glad this wasn't condescending and purposefully cold like it probably would have been were it made today - but I just wanted it to be longer, man.
  
Debonair in Death
Debonair in Death
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Art Shop Owner Murdered in Cabot Cove
Everyone in town, especially the women, seem captivated by Nelson Penzell, the new co-owner of the art gallery on the water front of Cabot Cove. Jessica Fletcher feels like something is off about him, however. Still, she didnโ€™t expect him to be murdered. Sheriff Metzger is sure that Coreen, the nail tech from the hair salon, is a good suspect since she was seen screaming outside the gallery where Nelson was found covered in his blood. But Jessica thinks something else is going on. Can she prove it?

As much as I enjoyed the Murder, She Wrote books that came out over the last few years, I felt like something was off with the characters we loved from Cabot Cove. This book fixes so much of that. The characters and their relationships to each other feel like a natural extension of the series. The suspects are just as strong. Unfortunately, I did feel the pacing could have been better in the first half, but we get plenty of fun twists in the second half. Any fan of the TV series will be happy they picked up this book for a visit with old friends.
  
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Alex Kapranos recommended Hunky Dory by David Bowie in Music (curated)

 
Hunky Dory by David Bowie
Hunky Dory by David Bowie
1971 | Folk, Rock, Singer-Songwriter
8.6 (19 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"It was really difficult to choose a David Bowie album. I didnโ€™t want to put more than one on. For me, it was a choice between this, Low, โ€œHeroesโ€ and โ€ฆZiggy Stardustโ€ฆ โ€“ all equally magnificent records. This record I like because it was before he became a superstar. Thereโ€™s a lightness and lack of self-awareness on this record, which I think disappears slightly on the later records. Songs like 'Kooks' have this real sense of fresh openness, which maybe he lost on later records, which I really love. Thereโ€™s also some pretty odd moments on there as well, like 'Andy Warhol'. I donโ€™t mean so much the โ€˜sample and holdโ€™ start on the ARP synth โ€“ which is really cool โ€“ but melodically itโ€™s really odd. Itโ€™s more like an Eastern scale than a regular rock & roll scale. It will go from that to something that sounds more like a music hall moment. The songwriting is incredible. I think itโ€™s probably him at his best. Also, when I was going through my choices, I went for records I enjoy from start to finish, even though thereโ€™s a couple of songs that I donโ€™t think are spectacular songs on this album, as a whole itโ€™s a really great record. I remember distinctly buying it from the Oxfam shop around the corner from school when I was a kid, and I think it was the first Bowie album I ever owned. My mum had the compilation Changes Bowie which Iโ€™ve always loved, so when I saw this I was ""ooh, I like David Bowie, I should try this"". I put it on and thought, ""God, thereโ€™s a lot more going on here than just catchy pop songs""."

Source
  
All I Ever Wanted
All I Ever Wanted
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
All I Ever Wanted really made me happy, and got me hooked on Kristan Higgins. This is why:

First, I loved the characters. Some were quirky (Louis the mortician, Noah her one-legged grandfather), some were funny (Her sister Hester! ROFL) Some were just mean. (MOM.) And some had the biggest heart in the world (Our hero, Ian). The relationships and the characters played out in such a real tangible way, and I loved every minute of it. Although Iโ€™m glad my family isnโ€™t like Callieโ€™sโ€ฆ itโ€™s fun to sit back and watch.

Second: I was very pleased with the fact that the characters, dialogue, and plot werenโ€™t perfect (happyland syndrome.) Some of you may know that happyland syndromeโ€”everything working out perfectly all the timeโ€”will make me close a book in three minutes. All I Ever Wanted had nothing of the sort. It felt like real life, and because of that, it was relatable.

Third: It was a very sweet, very real, very good romance. And it was CLEAN. Yes! No skipping chunks of pages and trying to avoid unnecessary scenes! This pretty much made my dayโ€”maybe my weekโ€”that Iโ€™ve found a good romance author who doesnโ€™t write sex scenes into her novels. Thank you Kristan Higgins, youโ€™ve just made my bookshelf.

So thatโ€™s why I loved it. And thatโ€™s why Iโ€™ll be reading more of Higginsโ€™ work in the future.

Content/recommendation: little language, very few sexual references. Ages 14+
  
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Sam (74 KP) rated Why Mummy Drinks in Books

Mar 27, 2019  
Why Mummy Drinks
Why Mummy Drinks
Gill Sims | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.1 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
Set out to appear as a diary, Why Mummy Drinks follows the day-to-day life of middle-class mummy Ellen. From trying to be the popular Pinterest-worthy parent to aspiring to seem like she has everything together, the life of Ellen is documented in hilarious honesty.

I really enjoyed reading this one. It was so funny and honest, and I can definitely see how it sold so well. I loved the perfect parents in the playground who Ellen aspired to be, and how they fed their kids on quinoa. It was just so funny.

My favourite characters were Bardo and Louisa. Everyone has those embarrassing relatives that youโ€™d rather people didnโ€™t know about, but these took it to another extreme. They lived outside and brought their children up outside, almost like animals. They were so surreal and I would have happily read a book just on their lives.

I wasnโ€™t sure whether to buy this one, mainly because of it being aimed more towards parents than me. But now I can safely say that you donโ€™t have to be a parent to appreciate the humour.

There were a few parts that took the humour a bit too far for me and were past funny, but they didnโ€™t ruin the book. I found the book a bit slow in some places as well, but I read the second half on a sunny day within a few hours and quickly forgot about that.
  
Pyewacket (2017)
Pyewacket (2017)
2017 | Horror
5
6.0 (7 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The cast is solid, and the performances are good (0 more)
This premise is a bit dated, it feels like a 90's film at times (0 more)
This film doesn't know WITCH film it wants to be...
Pyewacket is a witchy teen angst film, that feels a bit like it wanted to be Ginger Snaps for witches, following the life of a teen girl whose father has recently died, and whose mother is not dealing well with the new reality.

Against her protestations, her mother moves them to a house in the woods, and away from her school and friends and after a heated exchange, the daughter decides to perform a dark ritual in the woods.

The crux of the film is that she later regrets the decision and is haunted by ghostly presences in the house that she suspects are the result of her ritual.

The whole film feels out of time, as if it were a late 90's early 2000's teen horror, with the majority of time spent exploring teen angst and cringey cliched subculture banter, rather than really tyring to ramp up any tension or scare the viewer.

At no point is a bad film, but it is trying to walk the line between genuine horror and that sort of 'The Craft' style teen culture movie, and it just doesnt seem to really nail either.

Its not bad, its not great, its just ok.
  
The Nutcracker Conspiracy
The Nutcracker Conspiracy
Lauren Carr | 2020 | Mystery, Thriller
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Are you a fan of Murphy and Jessica? Then do not look much further than that of Lauren Carr. The Thorny Rose Mystery is picked up once again. We find that Murphy and Jessica are in the thick of things once again in โ€œThe Nutcracker Conspiracyโ€.

The plot seems to be interconnected a bit. Is it just that or is it two different things but involvement. This book seems too real like it really as if I am in real-world experience in my time. There seem to be Jessica who seems to in the middle of defending her friend Amy and her friend Kenneth. When her house is blown up and her husband is killed? Is it Amy that plotted it or is it someone else?

Murphy seems to be trying to find out who killed not one person but several different people. I seem to like this what my real-life government might be doing in a fictional tale. I hope not. But the plot seems to involve more than just the murder but also doing something called a spy ring?

What is the PEAA group? Will Murphy and Jessica come out of this okay and survive? This book has it all. It got surprises and twists and turns from beginning to end. We even get Chris Matheson involved to a point. What is going on? What happens with the President's assassination attempt?