Search

Search only in certain items:

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
1992 | Family, Sci-Fi
Christmas With Muppets
A different spin on the classic tale, its the same story but it adds more to it. It adds the muppets to it and Micheal Caine as Scrooge. Which he was perfect in this film by the way. Thank you Jim Hanson and disney for producing this film. Also Jim Hanson's son Brain directed this film.

I love the muppets and their were excellent and perfect in this film. Their make you laugh, cry, smile, happy and more, the muppets make you really care.

The Plot: The Muppets perform the classic Dickens holiday tale, with Kermit the Frog playing Bob Cratchit, the put-upon clerk of stingy Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine). Other Muppets -- Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie Bear and Sam the Eagle -- weave in and out of the story, while Scrooge receives visits from spirits of three Christmases -- past, present and future. They show him the error of his self-serving ways, but the miserable old man seems to be past any hope of redemption and happiness.

Whos my favorite muppet you may ask well its Kermit the Frog then Beaker then Rowlf the Dog and then Fozzie Bear.

A excellent christmas movie for the whole family to watch.
  
40x40

Alexis Taylor recommended On The Beach by Neil Young in Music (curated)

 
On The Beach by Neil Young
On The Beach by Neil Young
1974 | Rock
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"The second side of this record has three songs that I think are some of the greatest sung by anyone. 'On The Beach', 'Motion Pictures' and 'Ambulance Blues'. They are my favourite Neil Young songs, and they are very introspective and miserable, but they have something about them that makes me want to return to them again and again. I don't find them self-indulgent or too bleak to listen to. It's a deep record and I get a huge amount from listening to it. There's something about Neil Young, he can just do so many different styles, but I guess he's most well known for the After The Goldrush or Harvest records. This is darker, but there's more to get lost in, for me. It sounds a bit all over the place. The first side of it, the tracks are produced by different people over different sessions. Neil Young was making an album like that around this time where he was cobbling them together; he'd make an album then decide not to put it out, and then he'd take tracks from one and then put them on another. Despite those different sounds, it works as a whole record. Neil Young was the first songwriter whose songs I learned to play on the guitar."

Source
  
40x40

Nicky Wire recommended Hatful of Hollow by The Smiths in Music (curated)

 
Hatful of Hollow by The Smiths
Hatful of Hollow by The Smiths
1984 | Rock
9.5 (6 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"Hatful of Hollow by the Great Ones. It’s funny really, because it’s not a proper Smiths album in many ways, it’s all the sessions and everything, but I think a lot of people realise it’s the best version of ‘Reel Around The Fountain’, the best version of ‘Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now’, there’s so many variations and I think every best version is on that album. ‘William It Was Really Nothing’ is two minutes long, but it packs such a punch. ‘Still Ill’, ‘You’ve Got Everything Now’, the bleakness of the cover, the grey and blue, it sums up the time. I can remember every lyric off it. The level of artistry on that record is staggering. To think that half the time they were in a shitty studio in the BBC with an engineer who didn’t know what they’re fucking doing. Johnny Marr must have been so on it. Right from the start. I know it’s predictable to pick a Smiths album but they’re just such a massive part of my youth. That’s what I’ve realised - there’s records you always go back to. It bothers me a bit, because I should be picking different records, but there you go."

Source
  
Les Misérables (2012)
Les Misérables (2012)
2012 | Drama, Musical, Romance
I'm still waiting for Miserable Les to turn up ;-)
Les Miserables.

One of those musicals/films that, while I had head of it and did not the broad strokes of, I had never actually seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Set in post-(Napoleonic)war France, this spans about roughly 20 years or so (i think 17, to be precise) starting in 1815 when ex-con Jean Valjean (Jackman) is released from servitude, breaks parole and reinvents himself but is then endlessly hunted by his former jailor Javert (Crowe), taking it upon himself to raise the daughter of seamstress Fantine (an Oscar-winning Hathaway) - as he believes himself responsible for her demise (which he does play a large part in, as he fired her from her job) Cosette, with the final potion of the film set in the 1830s with Colette now all grown up and falling in love with revolutionary Marius (Redmayne) across the barricades.

So, yes, there's some big names in the cast, including also Helena Bonh-Carter and Dacha Baron-Cohen providing the comic relief (and, somehow, I wasn't in the least bit surprised to see her there).

I'm still waiting for that bloke Les to turn up, though.
  
Claws for Alarm
Claws for Alarm
Karen MacInerney | 2018 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Don’t Be Alarmed. You’ll Enjoy This Mystery
Natalie’s current guests at her bed and breakfast are on a yoga retreat, but any thoughts she’d had of peace and quiet have vanished. They are demanding different food and squabbling amongst themselves. However, the real drama is happening elsewhere on this island off the coast of Maine where newcomer Francine is making everyone’s life miserable in her efforts to remake the island into what she thinks is should be. After a particularly memorable fight with Claudette, Francine winds up dead. Natalie knows her friend couldn’t have done it. But who did?

I do need to get one issue out of the way first. There is a timing issue in the plot that keeps me from giving the version I read five stars. Once it is edited (and the author is working on the revisions), that won’t be an issue at all. And that’s great because this book is wonderful. I love the setting of the series, and always feel like I’ve gotten to relax when I am reading about it. Natalie and the usual cast are old friends, and I was glad to get updates on them. The new characters are just as strong and memorable. I thought I had the killer pegged early, but it turned out I was wrong, yet all the twists made sense at the end.
  
40x40

Jo (37 KP) rated More Than This in Books

Oct 6, 2018  
More Than This
More Than This
Patrick Ness | 2014 | Children
8
8.9 (10 Ratings)
Book Rating
I don't even know! I just really do not know what to make of this. Honestly, I'm so conflicted.

This kicked off with such a dramatic opening, but then the first third was almost intolerably dull and I came so close to giving up on it. I just couldn't make myself care about Seth's miserable existence in his lonely 'hell'. I didn't enjoy his cycle of sleeping and moping, eating rancid food and drinking rancid water, puking and hurting. I get the importance of it, properly setting up the scene - the mood of hopelessness- and all, but it went on far too long.

I'm really glad I did push on, though, because damn! When shit finally did start happening, I was completely and utterly sucked in. The main body of the story had me hooked! Mighty confused but hella invested. And Tomasz -bless him, he totally earned himself a place in my <i>favourite-ever-characters</i> club. I loved him so, so hard!

Then the end hit way before I was ready for it.

And that ending, man... That <b>bloody</b> ending! What the ever-loving <i>FUCK</I>? After all that build up, it kinda felt like I'd been spat out and shat on :(

 So. Yeah...

Following much deliberation, I'm awarding 3 stars for the story and one whole star to Tomasz all of his own.
  
Since I Had You - Single by Stan Taylor
Since I Had You - Single by Stan Taylor
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
Stan Taylor is an LA-based singer-songwriter and Bubbs is a music producer. Not too long ago, they released an adorable R&B tune, entitled, “Since I Had You”.

“Just a simple approach to the kinds of music we love, writing about life in our mid-20s and trying to find someone to settle down with. Stan and I get lost in the melodies of Marvin Gaye and the old soul heroes but throw in our own new school approach. Sprinkling in a few live instruments to go along with a Dilla-inspired groove. Hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it.” – Bubbs

‘Since I Had You’ tells a romantic tale of a young guy who feels a certain type of way whenever his significant other isn’t around him.

Apparently, she departed in the morning to do something important, and ever since then, he’s been miserable, missing her dearly.
Later, he admits that the thought of her makes him lose his cool. Therefore, he smokes a cigarette to calm down.

Even though it’s only been several hours since they last held each other, he can’t wait to be back in her warm embrace.

‘Since I Had You’ contains a relatable storyline and ear-welcoming vocals. Also, the likable tune possesses groovy instrumentation flavored with a nostalgic R&B/Soul aroma.
  
Hell Yeah - Single by Raffaella
Hell Yeah - Single by Raffaella
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
Stan Taylor is an LA-based singer-songwriter and Bubbs is a music producer. Not too long ago, they released an adorable R&B tune, entitled, “Since I Had You”.

“Just a simple approach to the kinds of music we love, writing about life in our mid-20s and trying to find someone to settle down with. Stan and I get lost in the melodies of Marvin Gaye and the old soul heroes but throw in our own new school approach. Sprinkling in a few live instruments to go along with a Dilla-inspired groove. Hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it.” – Bubbs

‘Since I Had You’ tells a romantic tale of a young guy who feels a certain type of way whenever his significant other isn’t around him.

Apparently, she departed in the morning to do something important, and ever since then, he’s been miserable, missing her dearly.
Later, he admits that the thought of her makes him lose his cool. Therefore, he smokes a cigarette to calm down.

Even though it’s only been several hours since they last held each other, he can’t wait to be back in her warm embrace.

‘Since I Had You’ contains a relatable storyline and ear-welcoming vocals. Also, the likable tune possesses groovy instrumentation flavored with a nostalgic R&B/Soul aroma.
  
Yakuza Moon: The True Story of a Gangster&#039;s Daughter
Yakuza Moon: The True Story of a Gangster's Daughter
Sean Michael Wilson | 2011 | Comics & Graphic Novels
8
8.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book tells a story of Shoko Tendo, and it was a manga version of her memoir. Her life was pretty brutal and filled with bad decisions, drugs and sex. She got mixed with the wrong crowd at a very young age, and that got her into drugs, countless horrible and abusive relationships, mostly with married men. I didn’t like Shoko at all, she continuously made poor decisions in her life, and it all started with her being “Know it all” in her young days.

The narrative of this novel is filled with violence, and it got sadder and more miserable as I was reading through this book. This book is a great example of how poor decisions can ruin one’s life. Even though it was a sad book, I absolutely loved the illustrations used to portray this story. I found this novel quite educational, I learned how people were getting by in Japan in 1990ies, especially women.

This book is quite nerve-racking and upsetting, and the chapters are quite long, but it is a one-sitting read and pages just fly by. The ending of this book rounded up the story very nicely, but I wanted a different ending for Shoko.

So, to conclude, it was an unusual and shocking journey for me, but at the same time an invaluable experience gained throughout the pages, and I would strongly recommend it to everybody.
  
The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)
The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)
2019 | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Great fun British film
This film seems pretty timely - the backdrop of the country being split and in turmoil with everyone miserable and/or arguing perfectly nails pre-Brexit Britain, without actually naming the cause of the upset. Seeing kids sensing their parents' and teachers' stress levels and looking to help really nails home how much we are all struggling with the current climate and need to think about the impact that has on our homelives.
The plot is fairly standard Arthurian legend - boy pulls sword from stone and seeks to unite his enemies behind him in battling against forces of evil. The film does this with full knowledge and gentle telling of the actual legend, and doesn't look to be a re-telling, rather a modern day "second coming of Arthur".
There are plenty of laughs throughout the film, with a typical British flavour.
There is also action aplenty with some really powerful battle scenes and excellent SFX.
Director Joe Cornish (of Adam & Joe fame - there is also a nice cameo from Adam Buxton in the film) does a fantastic job of telling the story through the eyes of a child but without it being patronising or twee.
The cast are superb, with the young Merlin really being a star (and creepily like a young Joe Cornish). While I enjoyed Patrick Stewart's role as Merlin, I felt it added less gravitas than I think was intended and wasn't really necessary, the young incarnation perfectly playing the role himself.
A great, fun and thrilling adventure.
  
40x40

Lee (2222 KP) Feb 19, 2019

I seem to be the only one who found the young Merlin annoying as hell ?