Smashbomb

"Mizoguchi is one of the greatest masters who ever worked in the medium of film; he’s right up there with Renoir and Murnau and Ford, and after the war he made three pictures—The Life of Oharu, Ugetsu, and Sansho the Bailiff—that stand at the summit of cinema. All of his artistry is channeled into the most extraordinary simplicity. You’re face-to-face with something mysterious, tragically inevitable, and then, in the end, peacefully removed. I love all three of these pictures and many other Mizoguchi films as well (including Princess Yang Kwei-fei, The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums, and Miss Oyu, to name only a few), but Ugetsu has the most powerful effect on me. There are moments in the picture, famous ones, that I’ve seen again and again and that always take my breath away: the boat slowly materializing from out of the mist and coming toward us . . . Genjuro collapsing on the grass in ecstasy and being smothered by Lady Wakasa . . . the final crane up from the son making an offering at his mother’s grave to the fields beyond. Just to think of these moments now fills me with awe and wonder."

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Kudos

Kristina (502 KP) rated Paper Princess (The Royals, #1) in Books

Dec 7, 2020

I don't even know what to say. Honestly, I saw someone else say that this book wrecked them and I was feeling masochistic, so I decided to pick it up and read it for myself. Unfortunately, I chose to pick it up around 11 o'clock at night. Wrong choice! I absolutely could not stop! I read the whole thing, straight through, until almost 4 o'clock the next morning. And the reader I got my recommendation from was right - this book absolutely did wreck me. Not so much that I ugly cried, but enough that I literally felt a hole in my heart when I was finished. Nothing could have prepared me for the ending. Some books based on high school teenagers are so cliche and immature, but Paper Princess was different and extremely refreshing. I found myself relating so much with Ella that it was almost scary. The story felt original and I like that. Throughout the whole book, I rode the roller coaster of emotions right alongside Ella. The ending has left me devastated, but I'm desperate to move on to the next book and discover what's next for Ella!

Kudos

Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated Adventure Time Vol. 4 in Books

Jun 24, 2019

Number four in this colourful series! Another fun, exciting adventure with our favourite characters. It includes issues 15 to 19 of the comic.

The first adventure Finn and Jake embark on is the retrieval of their voices after a princess tea party is crashed by the mischievous Magic Man. The princesses all get together, including Bubblegum and LSP (of course), to assist Finn and Jake.

After that, the boys find themselves in the Ice King's hidden (and forgotten) dungeon. They want the treasure at the other end, but that requires defeating several monstrous bosses first...

The adventures are, as always, great fun. The graphics are awesome and the dialogue is hilarious. This volume teaches us a lot about the Ice King's past, too, and is actually quite emotionally deep at times.

I really enjoyed this! A light-hearted, funny read (although it had it's more emotional moments). I found myself actually sympathising with the Ice King, and really wanting to know more about his past. And I loved the cover gallery, as always! There are some amazing pieces in here!

Easily 4 stars for this volume, at least.

Kudos

Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated Adventure Time Vol. 5 in Books

Jun 24, 2019

Just a quick review of this, as it's pretty similar to all the previous volumes.

Familiar characters dominate the stories as usual, including Jake, Finn, BMO, Princess Bubblegum, Ice King, Marceline and even Lemongrab. The relationships between the characters are nice in this, especially regarding PB and Marceline.

The stories are funny, weird and super enjoyable, full of humour and colour and adventure (duh). The fourth wall is, of course, practically nonexistent, as the commentary along the bottom of the pages addresses the audience directly. It really immerses you in the world of Finn and Jake, as well as adding another layer of humour. The commentary makes these comics unique from most others.

The art is awesome. I still love looking through the gallery of covers at the end. The colours are so vivid and the styles are all so wonderful. It's one of the nicest comics to just look at.

Of course, it is kinda childish. But it's an easy and relaxing read, and there are some very subtle jokes and comments that only older readers will understand.

4 stars. It's a really fun read, and I love all the characters so much!