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Flowerpower (154 KP) rated The Shawshank Redemption (1994) in Movies
May 17, 2017
Tracy (238 KP) rated Deadpool 2 (2018) in Movies
May 21, 2018
I learned what a prison pocket is (1 more)
Bill Skarsgard
I didn’t love it as much as the first one, but I still really liked it
Ashley Shaw (2 KP) rated Suicide Squad (2016) in Movies
Jun 3, 2019
Action packed with interesting varied characters
ClareR (5589 KP) rated A Bit Of A Stretch in Books
Feb 21, 2020
A UK prison diary
All hail The Pigeonhole! The app that makes me read - and enjoy - books that I would never normally even pick up. I loved this book!
Chris Atkins was sent to prison for 5 years after being involved in a dodgy tax scheme that was used to finance his films. Wandsworth was to be his home for a large part of his sentence, and this is where the book is set. Chris wrote a diary whilst he was there, and he certainly had enough to write about: drug dealers, self-harmer’s, prison officers, of the helpful, clueless and vindictive varieties, and senior officials trying to instigate some sort of reform (which ends badly, if I’m honest).
It’s a funny, and at times frustrating read. It illustrates everything that’s wrong with our prison system, which seems to be stuck in the Victorian era. We need to decide what we want our prison system to do: to simply incarcerate, or to rehabilitate. The number of people who reoffend is phenomenal - isn’t this a total waste of money? Is this really a reflection of time well served?
Anyway, I suggest everyone reads this and makes up their own minds.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book, and to the author, Chris Atkins, for reading along.
Chris Atkins was sent to prison for 5 years after being involved in a dodgy tax scheme that was used to finance his films. Wandsworth was to be his home for a large part of his sentence, and this is where the book is set. Chris wrote a diary whilst he was there, and he certainly had enough to write about: drug dealers, self-harmer’s, prison officers, of the helpful, clueless and vindictive varieties, and senior officials trying to instigate some sort of reform (which ends badly, if I’m honest).
It’s a funny, and at times frustrating read. It illustrates everything that’s wrong with our prison system, which seems to be stuck in the Victorian era. We need to decide what we want our prison system to do: to simply incarcerate, or to rehabilitate. The number of people who reoffend is phenomenal - isn’t this a total waste of money? Is this really a reflection of time well served?
Anyway, I suggest everyone reads this and makes up their own minds.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book, and to the author, Chris Atkins, for reading along.
John Grisham recommended Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era in Books (curated)
JT (287 KP) rated Starred Up (2014) in Movies
Mar 16, 2020
Violent and to the point (1 more)
Great acting
Prison Isn't Suppoed To Be A Holiday Camp
Prison dramas don’t get much grittier than this. Not since Scum has there been one with as much brutal tour de force. Eric (Jack O’Connell) is ‘starred up’. A term used to describe violent young offenders moved straight into an adult prison. Once he gets inside he comes face to face with the only person that might be able to control him, his father Neville (Ben Mendelsohn).
It’s a major part of their relationship as Nev’s parental tactics involve the cruel to be kind method. It’s the only way that Eric is going to survive and the only way he will walk out in one piece. Eric finds some solace in Oliver (Rupert Friend) whose anger management sessions are a place to unleash a tirade of resentment. It places him within a group where any other individual might find themselves out of their depth – Eric takes it full on.
The film is written by Jonathan Asser, a former prison psychotherapist who worked in HMP Wandsworth. So he more than anyone can inject the film with a massive sense of realism. The prison violence can be hard to watch but you don’t find yourself turning away from the screen.
It’s not shrouded in Hollywood gloss and is shot with graphic precision. Mendelsohn’s performance is excellent playing the psycho and his delivery is spot on. Friend is also a joy to watch and a real talent. The Homeland star-making imprints into the acting elite.
However, this is very much O’Connell’s film and it’s not hard to see why he is fast becoming a standout actor. Grabbing this role in a vice-like grip he battles with his personality, the adoration from his father and a corrupt system who want him eradicated. It doesn’t paint the prison system in a particularly good light but then prison isn’t supposed to be a holiday camp.
It’s a major part of their relationship as Nev’s parental tactics involve the cruel to be kind method. It’s the only way that Eric is going to survive and the only way he will walk out in one piece. Eric finds some solace in Oliver (Rupert Friend) whose anger management sessions are a place to unleash a tirade of resentment. It places him within a group where any other individual might find themselves out of their depth – Eric takes it full on.
The film is written by Jonathan Asser, a former prison psychotherapist who worked in HMP Wandsworth. So he more than anyone can inject the film with a massive sense of realism. The prison violence can be hard to watch but you don’t find yourself turning away from the screen.
It’s not shrouded in Hollywood gloss and is shot with graphic precision. Mendelsohn’s performance is excellent playing the psycho and his delivery is spot on. Friend is also a joy to watch and a real talent. The Homeland star-making imprints into the acting elite.
However, this is very much O’Connell’s film and it’s not hard to see why he is fast becoming a standout actor. Grabbing this role in a vice-like grip he battles with his personality, the adoration from his father and a corrupt system who want him eradicated. It doesn’t paint the prison system in a particularly good light but then prison isn’t supposed to be a holiday camp.
Erika (17788 KP) rated Dream/Killer (2015) in Movies
Feb 1, 2020
This true crime documentary left me feeling very sad. It's the story of a father's quest to get his wrong convicted son out of prison. The case was crazy, and the prosecutor(s) were so corrupt (surprise, surprise). Obviously, this quest leads to said release from prison.
The most heartbreaking thing was that after the son went through all this, he had no idea as to how to function in the outside world, since he was just 20 when convicted. I ended up just feeling completely awful for him, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the dude ends up offing himself, or purposely gets in trouble to go back to the structured environment in prison.
It's a pretty short, interesting watch, if you're a true crime buff.
The most heartbreaking thing was that after the son went through all this, he had no idea as to how to function in the outside world, since he was just 20 when convicted. I ended up just feeling completely awful for him, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the dude ends up offing himself, or purposely gets in trouble to go back to the structured environment in prison.
It's a pretty short, interesting watch, if you're a true crime buff.
Ross (3282 KP) rated At Folsom Prison by Johnny Cash in Music
Jun 29, 2020
Rolling Stone's 88th greatest album of all time
Great atmospheric live album. It is bizarre that one of the biggest selling live albums of all time is frequently interrupted to make prisoner visit announcements. Includes a number of songs seemingly written by inmates of the prison. Contrary to popular belief, Cash was never actually in prison (except overnight stays for misdemeanours), so with this album, the similarly well known San Quentin album and others, he spent significantly more time performing in prisons than incarcerated there.
Jay Wright (4 KP) rated Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019) in Movies
May 13, 2019
Zac Efron's Ted Bundy (2 more)
The suspense
The prison scene at the end
Dang. I tell you what. Zac Efron was absolutely fantastic and equally as chilling as Ted Bundy. The writers and directors painted Bundy in a way that made me feel somewhat sympathetic for him and his fiance, despite knowing what he did to those women. The ending scene at the prison was absolutely chilling. Fantastic directing and acting. Zac Efron and Lily Collins shined, and I would go as far as to say that was Zac Efron's best performance ever.
Bird (1700 KP) rated The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015) in Movies
Aug 30, 2017
Accurately depicts the real-life events of the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment (3 more)
'Watch through your fingers' insight
Fascinating subject matter - a social experiment that goes badly wrong (or right?)
The atmosphere is sufficiently claustrophobic, dark, and imposing
Disturbing and brutal portrayal