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Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated After Life - Season 2 in TV
Aug 6, 2020
It’s difficult not to enjoy or at least admire anything Ricky Gervais writes for TV. His track record now speaks for itself. What you are going to get at the very minimum is a well thought out concept, some odd characters, mostly with their hearts in the right place, and a handful of irreverent jokes that will make you howl out loud and also have a little think.
I loved season one of this show about a man constantly on the edge of wondering whether to bother carrying on with life after the tragically early death of the wife he loved more than life itself. If you want to remind yourself what I said about it, please check the archives. Much of what I had to say then still applies – it is the same show, just six new episodes.
Which is both good and bad, I think. Good because it is good. It makes you think and care and respond humanely, but with lots of chuckles. Bad because it doesn’t do a lot to move things on. Tony, played pitch perfectly by Gervais is still depressed, of course he is, his wife is still dead. He is starting to try a bit more with people around him, and taking more risks with his own life. But the pills are still down the side of the sofa, the red wine is still flowing, and so are the snarky comments.
People like the dog. I can see why. Dog lovers know that bond all too well. The reason to get up in the morning is your best canine pal, and that is sometimes enough. Slowly, Tony is starting to find new reasons to get out of bed though; helping others be happy is given him reason to be. And that is the genius of it really – because he can be a bit of a prick, but you always forgive him when you see the kindness behind the wall of pain.
For me, this season isn’t better than the first one, it is about the same, which is no bad thing. To be at all critical, it seems to be relying too much on the same point being made over and over. Which may be why it wasn’t recently nominated for any Emmys, when it was touted to do quite well. Or is it because of Gervais’ last go at the Golden Globe elite in January?
Watch it. Enjoy it. Recommend it to friends who haven’t seen it. Just don’t get too carried away with it until season 3 proves it goes somewhere new and interesting that it didn’t already go to.
I loved season one of this show about a man constantly on the edge of wondering whether to bother carrying on with life after the tragically early death of the wife he loved more than life itself. If you want to remind yourself what I said about it, please check the archives. Much of what I had to say then still applies – it is the same show, just six new episodes.
Which is both good and bad, I think. Good because it is good. It makes you think and care and respond humanely, but with lots of chuckles. Bad because it doesn’t do a lot to move things on. Tony, played pitch perfectly by Gervais is still depressed, of course he is, his wife is still dead. He is starting to try a bit more with people around him, and taking more risks with his own life. But the pills are still down the side of the sofa, the red wine is still flowing, and so are the snarky comments.
People like the dog. I can see why. Dog lovers know that bond all too well. The reason to get up in the morning is your best canine pal, and that is sometimes enough. Slowly, Tony is starting to find new reasons to get out of bed though; helping others be happy is given him reason to be. And that is the genius of it really – because he can be a bit of a prick, but you always forgive him when you see the kindness behind the wall of pain.
For me, this season isn’t better than the first one, it is about the same, which is no bad thing. To be at all critical, it seems to be relying too much on the same point being made over and over. Which may be why it wasn’t recently nominated for any Emmys, when it was touted to do quite well. Or is it because of Gervais’ last go at the Golden Globe elite in January?
Watch it. Enjoy it. Recommend it to friends who haven’t seen it. Just don’t get too carried away with it until season 3 proves it goes somewhere new and interesting that it didn’t already go to.
Run, John, Run
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Do you like shopping? John does. When Janet and John go to the big department store, Janet says,...
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated For a Good Time, Call... (2012) in Movies
Sep 19, 2020 (Updated Nov 26, 2020)
Started out a little worrisome but thankfully this is every bit as funny, progressive, breezy, joyous, and woefully slept on as its cult supporters make it out to be. Miller and Graynor's chemistry is out of this world; and Nia Vardalos, Mark Webber, and of course the man Justin Long are smashing in their respective supporting roles. This was right around the start of that era where these raunchy sex comedies started to get not just really fucking obnoxious but also formulaic and near intolerable - so it's more than refreshing to see one that gives its characters an insane amount of both agency and dignity, setting up a commendable amount of their intricacies and quirks without ever pandering on the former nor judging them for the latter. The whole thing just has this infectiously delightful verve and bright personality about it, and it never seems like it's making any of the topics it finds humor in the actual butt of the joke. I admit that I'm sick of seeing just random montages of the city in opening credits sequences like this though, it adds nothing to the experience other than to remind you that this takes place in New York - and it does show its clumsiness in other areas too sometimes, but it's a damn good time as well as a reminder in how far some thoughtfulness and authentic care can go in elevating an experience like this. Ends a bit suddenly but otherwise the realization of that last scene is simply perfect.
Matching Bloodlines (The Princeton Allegiant #3)
9.0
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Vampires don’t date. They possess. Nothing could have prepared Francisco St. Claire for...
Paranormal Romance
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2423 KP) rated Kill or Bee Killed in Books
Jun 5, 2024
Bailey Must Bee Careful
It’s time for the annual Bee Festival in Humble Hills, Colorado. Since Bailey’s Granny Bee is in charge, that means that Bailey will be busy with the week-long festival helping make sure that it runs smoothly. One of the events is a local-restaurant cooking contest, and morning show host Rex Rafferty is coming to town, with a film crew, to host the event. However, Rex is a horrible man, and it isn’t long before Bailey and her best friend, Evie, who is a contestant, are doing all they can to avoid him. Before the contest is over, he’s been murdered. The crew he brought with him seem like obvious suspects, but the evidence seems to point to the event’s contestants. Can Bailey free her friend?
The book starts out a bit slowly, but with a very funny scene. It isn’t long before the plot kicks in and we are meeting the victim and prime suspects. I enjoyed following Bailey as she looked for the killer. The ending was a bit abrupt, but it did answer all of my questions and kept me turning pages. Over the course of the book, we get laughs from characters and other slapstick situations. A few of the characters still don’t get enough page time to develop, but I enjoyed seeing the series regulars again and watching their relationships grow. The suspects are good, but a couple could have used a little more page time. Overall, this is a fun second entry in what is quickly becoming a sweet series.
The book starts out a bit slowly, but with a very funny scene. It isn’t long before the plot kicks in and we are meeting the victim and prime suspects. I enjoyed following Bailey as she looked for the killer. The ending was a bit abrupt, but it did answer all of my questions and kept me turning pages. Over the course of the book, we get laughs from characters and other slapstick situations. A few of the characters still don’t get enough page time to develop, but I enjoyed seeing the series regulars again and watching their relationships grow. The suspects are good, but a couple could have used a little more page time. Overall, this is a fun second entry in what is quickly becoming a sweet series.
Merissa (13298 KP) rated Wild Infatuation (Rebel Rockstars #3) in Books
Jul 15, 2025
WILD INFATUATION is the third book in the Rebel Rockstars series, and it's the turn of lead guitarist, Shawn, and long-term top fan, Terrance.
Terrance has liked the band from their very start, following them to dive bars to watch them perform. Along the way, he realises he likes Shawn, whereas a lot of others like Jacob. Shawn is aware of the green-eyed man who has been to every show, but because of his troubled past, is determined to keep his distance. That works okay until Terrance applies for, and gets, a temporary job as Hair and Makeup for the music video they are shooting.
This story drew me in as I was reading it, although it also had me shouting aloud at various parts. Terrance is a good soul with pure intentions, too good for the world we live in. So when what happened happened, I can't say as I was surprised. Shawn is very close-lipped regarding everything, but it did surprise me just how little he told his bandmates. You know, the ones who have been with him from the get-go!
This was a good story that I read in one sitting, and works well with the other books in the series. I look forward to whoever comes next! Definitely recommended by me.
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 15, 2025
Terrance has liked the band from their very start, following them to dive bars to watch them perform. Along the way, he realises he likes Shawn, whereas a lot of others like Jacob. Shawn is aware of the green-eyed man who has been to every show, but because of his troubled past, is determined to keep his distance. That works okay until Terrance applies for, and gets, a temporary job as Hair and Makeup for the music video they are shooting.
This story drew me in as I was reading it, although it also had me shouting aloud at various parts. Terrance is a good soul with pure intentions, too good for the world we live in. So when what happened happened, I can't say as I was surprised. Shawn is very close-lipped regarding everything, but it did surprise me just how little he told his bandmates. You know, the ones who have been with him from the get-go!
This was a good story that I read in one sitting, and works well with the other books in the series. I look forward to whoever comes next! Definitely recommended by me.
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 15, 2025
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
9.2
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The compelling, inspiring, (often comic) coming-of-age story of Trevor Noah, set during the twilight...
Cinematic Cold War: The American and Soviet Struggle for Hearts and Minds
Denise J. Youngblood and Tony Shaw
Book
The Cold War was as much a battle of ideas as a series of military and diplomatic confrontations,...
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated The Predator (2018) in Movies
Sep 26, 2018
Waste of idea, talent and my time
If I was to show future generations a prototypical 1980's "Machismo, Blood and Guts Action Flick", I would pull the original 1987 PREDATOR (starring good ol' Arnold Schwarzenegger) off my dusty shelves and show this to them. It is a film so "of it's time".
In subsequent years, there have been more films that attempted to use the Predator character - PREDATOR 2 (1990), AVP: ALIENS VS. PREDATOR (2004), ALIENS VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM (2007) and PREDATORS (2010) - all disappointing. All failing to equal the balance of machismo, action and humor that is needed.
So...it was with great anticipation that I looked forward to THE PREDATOR, a new film written and directed by Shane Black (KISS KISS BANG BANG, IRON MAN 3, THE NICE GUYS) - one of the actors in the 1987 flick!
And...I was disappointed again.
This film fails because it never really got a grip on just what type of film it wanted to be - is it a Sci-Fi film? Is it an Action film? A buddy flick? A gore fest? A look at Autism? Black's script and direction spreads all these items out on the picnic blanket that is this film and then intermittently picks each one of these up to show us - sometimes a couple of them - like a kid trying to decide whether he wants the chips or the hot dogs or the Oreo cookies and just shoves them all in his mouth together.
And that's too bad, for Black has an interesting premise - rival Predators battling on Earth - with a ragtag group of Earthlings thrown in the middle - and what a "ragtag" group they are! Trevante Rhodes (MOONLIGHTING), Thomas Jane (THE MIST), Keegan-Michael Key (KEY & PEELE), Alfie Allen (GAME OF THRONES) and Augusto Aguilera (CHASING LIFE) make an intriguing band of misfit soldiers that easily could have been an equal to Arnold's ragtag group of soldiers from the 1987 original.
Unfortunately, they are the "back-up band" to the boring Boyd Holbrook (NARCOS) and Olivia Munn (X-MEN: APOCALYPSE) as a couple thrown together to defend Holbrook's Autistic son (Jacob Tremblay - so good in ROOM and wasted here) in a by-the-book "they hate each other when they first meet, so - naturally - they'll fall in love by the end" plot contrivance that doesn't work at all.
Add on top of that Sterling K. Brown (THIS IS US) as a "mysterious" Gov't Agent who is so much of a bad guy, all he was missing was a mustache twirl and the missed opportunities of actors such as Yvonne Stahovski (THE HANDMAID'S TALE) and NIall Matter (EUREKA) who both just stand around and do nothing. They even cast Jake Busey (Gary's kid) - who would be the perfect "over-the-top" bad guy for this sort of film, but...he is just misdirection and wasted as well.
What a wasted effort, a wasted opportunity and a waste of my time.
Letter Grade C_+: The ragtag group of soldiers were at least fun to watch (give Thomas Jane and Keegan-Michael Key their own "buddy" picture)!
5 stars (out of 10) - and you can take that to the BankofMarquis
In subsequent years, there have been more films that attempted to use the Predator character - PREDATOR 2 (1990), AVP: ALIENS VS. PREDATOR (2004), ALIENS VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM (2007) and PREDATORS (2010) - all disappointing. All failing to equal the balance of machismo, action and humor that is needed.
So...it was with great anticipation that I looked forward to THE PREDATOR, a new film written and directed by Shane Black (KISS KISS BANG BANG, IRON MAN 3, THE NICE GUYS) - one of the actors in the 1987 flick!
And...I was disappointed again.
This film fails because it never really got a grip on just what type of film it wanted to be - is it a Sci-Fi film? Is it an Action film? A buddy flick? A gore fest? A look at Autism? Black's script and direction spreads all these items out on the picnic blanket that is this film and then intermittently picks each one of these up to show us - sometimes a couple of them - like a kid trying to decide whether he wants the chips or the hot dogs or the Oreo cookies and just shoves them all in his mouth together.
And that's too bad, for Black has an interesting premise - rival Predators battling on Earth - with a ragtag group of Earthlings thrown in the middle - and what a "ragtag" group they are! Trevante Rhodes (MOONLIGHTING), Thomas Jane (THE MIST), Keegan-Michael Key (KEY & PEELE), Alfie Allen (GAME OF THRONES) and Augusto Aguilera (CHASING LIFE) make an intriguing band of misfit soldiers that easily could have been an equal to Arnold's ragtag group of soldiers from the 1987 original.
Unfortunately, they are the "back-up band" to the boring Boyd Holbrook (NARCOS) and Olivia Munn (X-MEN: APOCALYPSE) as a couple thrown together to defend Holbrook's Autistic son (Jacob Tremblay - so good in ROOM and wasted here) in a by-the-book "they hate each other when they first meet, so - naturally - they'll fall in love by the end" plot contrivance that doesn't work at all.
Add on top of that Sterling K. Brown (THIS IS US) as a "mysterious" Gov't Agent who is so much of a bad guy, all he was missing was a mustache twirl and the missed opportunities of actors such as Yvonne Stahovski (THE HANDMAID'S TALE) and NIall Matter (EUREKA) who both just stand around and do nothing. They even cast Jake Busey (Gary's kid) - who would be the perfect "over-the-top" bad guy for this sort of film, but...he is just misdirection and wasted as well.
What a wasted effort, a wasted opportunity and a waste of my time.
Letter Grade C_+: The ragtag group of soldiers were at least fun to watch (give Thomas Jane and Keegan-Michael Key their own "buddy" picture)!
5 stars (out of 10) - and you can take that to the BankofMarquis
Kamasutra Mastery
Catalogs and Health & Fitness
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Designed with the adventurous in mind! This delightful new App will give you access to multiple...