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Carl Barat recommended track Death on the Stairs by The Libertines in Up the Bracket by The Libertines in Music (curated)
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ClareR (5779 KP) rated Killing Beauties in Books
Feb 5, 2020
Killing Beauties is about the female spies (She-Intelligencers - isn’t it funny how they could make even that sound like an insult 🤔) who worked for the exiled Charles Stuart during Cromwells reign. Charles Stuart himself sends two female spies back to England to turn Cromwell’s Secretary of State, John Thurloe, into their accomplice using their feminine wiles and training. This is actually based on the true story of two female spies - not something that any of us are usually taught in history lessons at school (perhaps due to their methods!). This is a story with heaps of subterfuge and betrayal, and women who are determined to do the best job they can for their King and their secret society. It was quite amusing in places, which was a little light relief in an otherwise tense story. There’s loads of great historical detail too - think sights, smells and sounds.
It’s a really fun book - fast-paced and with a feeling of danger. I loved it!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising the book, and for Pete Langdon for commenting along with us readers!
It’s a really fun book - fast-paced and with a feeling of danger. I loved it!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising the book, and for Pete Langdon for commenting along with us readers!
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Leigh J (71 KP) rated Dreamcatcher (2003) in Movies
Nov 24, 2019 (Updated Nov 24, 2019)
Stephen King does The Thing
Contains spoilers, click to show
4 friends make their yearly trek to a Cabin in a remote part of Maine to eat, drink, be merry and Hunt. However Jonesy, Pete, Beaver and Henry are not just any ordinary group of friends. For as long as they can remember, there has been a psychic link between them, strengthened further by the addition of Duddits, a mentally disabled young boy who they rescued from bullies one day after school when they were all kids. Their link as a group of 5 is so strong that they even rescue a young girl who has been missing for a while. Now the boys have grown up and this trip is their chance to let loose and blow off some steam, minus Duddits who is still mentally a young boy. Whilst out hunting, they come across a distressed and dazed man who tells them he got lost in the woods whilst out with his Hunting group... and the man is obviously ill. He has a suspicious injury to his face and he can't stop burping and farting, which are so horrible that they make the guys nauseous. Soon enough, they guys discover the man is in a blood soaked Bathroom, dead, and an Alien Weasel looking creature thrashing around in the toilet bowl. And there's a red fungus growing on (and in) everything. Could this really be an Alien invasion? Can the 4 friends strike back against these otherworldly enemies? And what will happen when the most malevolent one of these Aliens decides that Jonesy would be a great place for him to be able to wreak havoc from?
Dreamcatcher is an adaptation of the Book of the same name from Stephen King. I'm now VERY happy I read the Book before I watched this Movie as some things in the Book don't come across that clear in the Movie. Not a lot of people enjoy the Book and feel it's quite out there for Stephen King but I really enjoyed it, and the same can be said for the Movie! The story is really captivating, especially the friendships between the guys and the interaction between Jonesy and Mr Gray (his new invader) and I really appreciated the very "Thing" quality this Movie has (I literally have no idea why it reminds me of The Thing but it just does!) Definitely worth a watch, but it's not going to be for everyone as I would recommend reading the Book first.
Dreamcatcher is an adaptation of the Book of the same name from Stephen King. I'm now VERY happy I read the Book before I watched this Movie as some things in the Book don't come across that clear in the Movie. Not a lot of people enjoy the Book and feel it's quite out there for Stephen King but I really enjoyed it, and the same can be said for the Movie! The story is really captivating, especially the friendships between the guys and the interaction between Jonesy and Mr Gray (his new invader) and I really appreciated the very "Thing" quality this Movie has (I literally have no idea why it reminds me of The Thing but it just does!) Definitely worth a watch, but it's not going to be for everyone as I would recommend reading the Book first.
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Bong Mines Entertainment (15 KP) rated I'll Find You in Dreams - Single by Tiphanie Doucet in Music
Jun 26, 2019
The Racer is an indie-band from New York’s Hudson Valley. Not too long ago, they released their “I’ll Find You in Dreams” single featuring singer Tiphanie Doucet.
“Head down can’t keep from falling over. Eyes blurred with grief, we’ve grown like the trees, now slowly older, and I’ll never be your island king. The city sings her song to me. The only soul alone on these tangled streets.” – lyrics
‘I’ll Find You in Dreams’ tells an emotional tale of an individual who yearns for something or someone who seems completely out of reach.
The likable tune contains a dreamy storyline, heartfelt vocals, and emotional instrumentation flavored with great piano lines, evocative synths, and nostalgic elements.
The Racer consists of Pete Marotta (vocals, keys), Mike Esserman (guitar, keys), Eric Sosler (bass, keys, sax).
One day, while looking for artists in New Jersey to be on a show they were organizing, they came across Tiphanie Doucet’s music and loved it.
Shortly afterward, they performed live with Doucet at their show. Later, while hanging out, they asked her to sing on their “I’ll Find You in Dreams” single.
At the age of 15, Tiphanie Doucet starred in the film Le bébé d’Elsa, and later in the Glee-like TV series Chante!
Those exposures increased her popularity in France, where she grew up studying ballet and harp. After her career in TV ended, she made her way to America for a fresh start.
Since then, she’s been writing songs and testing them out on street corners, cruises, and cafés throughout New York and Jersey City.
“Head down can’t keep from falling over. Eyes blurred with grief, we’ve grown like the trees, now slowly older, and I’ll never be your island king. The city sings her song to me. The only soul alone on these tangled streets.” – lyrics
‘I’ll Find You in Dreams’ tells an emotional tale of an individual who yearns for something or someone who seems completely out of reach.
The likable tune contains a dreamy storyline, heartfelt vocals, and emotional instrumentation flavored with great piano lines, evocative synths, and nostalgic elements.
The Racer consists of Pete Marotta (vocals, keys), Mike Esserman (guitar, keys), Eric Sosler (bass, keys, sax).
One day, while looking for artists in New Jersey to be on a show they were organizing, they came across Tiphanie Doucet’s music and loved it.
Shortly afterward, they performed live with Doucet at their show. Later, while hanging out, they asked her to sing on their “I’ll Find You in Dreams” single.
At the age of 15, Tiphanie Doucet starred in the film Le bébé d’Elsa, and later in the Glee-like TV series Chante!
Those exposures increased her popularity in France, where she grew up studying ballet and harp. After her career in TV ended, she made her way to America for a fresh start.
Since then, she’s been writing songs and testing them out on street corners, cruises, and cafés throughout New York and Jersey City.
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Johnny Marr recommended Bert Jansch by Bert Jansch in Music (curated)
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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated The Suicide Squad (2021) in Movies
Aug 5, 2021
James Gunn returns with the sequel to 2016’s Suicide Squad. This time, the nefarious company woman Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), returns to Belle Reve to recruit the next iteration of Task Force X. Initially, we are introduced to the new recruits: Savant (Michael Rooker), Blackguard (Pete Davidson), Javelin (Flula Borg), Mongal (Mayling Ng), T.D.K. (Nathan Fillion) and The Weasel (Sean Gunn). We meet our favorites from the first film: Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney). They have signed on to be dropped into a small island nation, Corto Maltese.
This country, just taken over by a military coup has a lab with a 30-year secret weapon. Ms. Waller offers them years off each team member’s sentence to “Save the World”. Or, in this case, infiltrate Corto Maltese to find and destroy the project. Our hapless but highly skilled group lands and takes on heavy fire.
Meanwhile, we have Team B led by Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena), Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), Polka Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), King Shark (The physical, John Economos with the voice of Sylvester Stallone). As the separate teams go forth and bond in violence, we find out more about their personal childhood traumas that made them the criminals they have become.
This sequel has James Gunn’s DNA all over the film. He raised the bar from the first film by providing bright, visual treats. The action is violent in a cartoonish manner that buffers the impact when one looks at the many ways one can dispatch a human. The story goes from sarcasm, dry wit, demented clown to the stooges’ physical hilarity. As we watch the Squad fight their way across the island, there are points where these characters are skilled killers despite the humor in their murderous madness.
I was laughing throughout the film, it certainly felt like a panacea for these challenging times. Pay attention, there are little moments of snappy comebacks that feel like they’re from old-school Mad Magazine. The pace runs steadily which helps the dissonance become more impactful. The Suicide Squad was not boring, it was very entertaining and such a campy ride. FYI: there are TWO after-credit scenes.
The Soundtrack is so very good from the first shot, to the after credit, shotsThis Summer Blockbuster certainly delivers the entertainment.
4.75 out of 5 Stars
This country, just taken over by a military coup has a lab with a 30-year secret weapon. Ms. Waller offers them years off each team member’s sentence to “Save the World”. Or, in this case, infiltrate Corto Maltese to find and destroy the project. Our hapless but highly skilled group lands and takes on heavy fire.
Meanwhile, we have Team B led by Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena), Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), Polka Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), King Shark (The physical, John Economos with the voice of Sylvester Stallone). As the separate teams go forth and bond in violence, we find out more about their personal childhood traumas that made them the criminals they have become.
This sequel has James Gunn’s DNA all over the film. He raised the bar from the first film by providing bright, visual treats. The action is violent in a cartoonish manner that buffers the impact when one looks at the many ways one can dispatch a human. The story goes from sarcasm, dry wit, demented clown to the stooges’ physical hilarity. As we watch the Squad fight their way across the island, there are points where these characters are skilled killers despite the humor in their murderous madness.
I was laughing throughout the film, it certainly felt like a panacea for these challenging times. Pay attention, there are little moments of snappy comebacks that feel like they’re from old-school Mad Magazine. The pace runs steadily which helps the dissonance become more impactful. The Suicide Squad was not boring, it was very entertaining and such a campy ride. FYI: there are TWO after-credit scenes.
The Soundtrack is so very good from the first shot, to the after credit, shotsThis Summer Blockbuster certainly delivers the entertainment.
4.75 out of 5 Stars
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Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated The King of Staten Island (2020) in Movies
Jan 25, 2021
Incredible
An amateur tattoo artist is forced to grow up when his mom (who he is living with) falls in love with a new boo.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 7
The very first few moments sees main character Scott Carlin (Pete Davidson) driving on the highway with his eyes closed, seemingly trying to off himself. It’s a powerful scene followed quickly by Scott and his friends tripping out with the typical hilarious banter you find in a Judd Apatow movie. While both great scenes, you still don’t get a full sense of where the story is going after the first ten minutes hence the score.
Characters: 10
Cinematography/Visuals: 9
Shot in a memorable style that brings out the best and worst of Staten Island at the same time. Director Apatow has a knack for capturing extremely impactful moments, especially the awkward ones. Every scene, no matter how short makes the most of its time and tells its own story. It’s such a hard thing to do yet Apatow finds a way to do it repeatedly.
Conflict: 10
It’s funny, I can’t look at Scott’s character without thinking about my 16-year-old son. He’s kind of drifting about in the same aimless way and, like Scott, doesn’t seem to understand how his now actions will affect his later. The beauty of having a character like this is the ability to be able to drive external conflict through Scott’s internal growth. He is struggling for selfish reasons. He wants his mom to be happy, but not at his expense. The dynamic of conflict is perfect.
Entertainment Value: 9
Memorability: 10
Pace: 8
The story flows along pretty smoothly, although I wasn’t happy with the 147-minute runtime. That’s a bit extensive for a comedy in my opinion. Again, I was impressed about how time was maximized for the most part, but there were a few spots where I felt things could have been trimmed.
Plot: 7
The movie does cheat to meet its end, but I was ultimately ok with it because the rest of the story was pretty incredible. The cheat is a blip on an otherwise quality story that really enhances the growth of the characters. Every scene really does come together well to tell a great story.
Resolution: 10
Overall: 90
From jump, The King of Staten Island hits you in the mouth and keeps you entertained. I enjoyed this movie for multiple reasons, but mostly because it checks all the boxes. Even the things it falls short on is just slightly missing the mark. Highly recommended.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 7
The very first few moments sees main character Scott Carlin (Pete Davidson) driving on the highway with his eyes closed, seemingly trying to off himself. It’s a powerful scene followed quickly by Scott and his friends tripping out with the typical hilarious banter you find in a Judd Apatow movie. While both great scenes, you still don’t get a full sense of where the story is going after the first ten minutes hence the score.
Characters: 10
Cinematography/Visuals: 9
Shot in a memorable style that brings out the best and worst of Staten Island at the same time. Director Apatow has a knack for capturing extremely impactful moments, especially the awkward ones. Every scene, no matter how short makes the most of its time and tells its own story. It’s such a hard thing to do yet Apatow finds a way to do it repeatedly.
Conflict: 10
It’s funny, I can’t look at Scott’s character without thinking about my 16-year-old son. He’s kind of drifting about in the same aimless way and, like Scott, doesn’t seem to understand how his now actions will affect his later. The beauty of having a character like this is the ability to be able to drive external conflict through Scott’s internal growth. He is struggling for selfish reasons. He wants his mom to be happy, but not at his expense. The dynamic of conflict is perfect.
Entertainment Value: 9
Memorability: 10
Pace: 8
The story flows along pretty smoothly, although I wasn’t happy with the 147-minute runtime. That’s a bit extensive for a comedy in my opinion. Again, I was impressed about how time was maximized for the most part, but there were a few spots where I felt things could have been trimmed.
Plot: 7
The movie does cheat to meet its end, but I was ultimately ok with it because the rest of the story was pretty incredible. The cheat is a blip on an otherwise quality story that really enhances the growth of the characters. Every scene really does come together well to tell a great story.
Resolution: 10
Overall: 90
From jump, The King of Staten Island hits you in the mouth and keeps you entertained. I enjoyed this movie for multiple reasons, but mostly because it checks all the boxes. Even the things it falls short on is just slightly missing the mark. Highly recommended.