Smashbomb

"I somehow remember hearing the first Human League album that has 'Being Boiled' on it, and just being amazed at how strange it was. Then when they started Heaven 17 it was the most odd, phenomenal pop music. At times it seemed as if they were choosing to be really poppy and commercial, and they were really good at it, and other times of their own free will and volition, they were trying to be like mutant pop stars. Then the BEF, and I feel old dating myself like this, it first came out as a cassette and it was very rare for an artist to release an album on cassette. There was one song on there, I think it's called 'The Decline Of The West' and it still stands as one of the most beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard. That particular instrumental somehow wormed itself into my DNA. There are certain songs like that, 'Heroes' by David Bowie, 'Atmosphere' by Joy Division, I remember as a young 15-year-old musician thinking to myself 'all I want to do is aspire to make music that's 50% as good as this'. It seemed utterly absurd to try and make music as good as this, because that would be impossible, but I thought it might be a realistic challenge to make music half as good. Thank you for asking me to do this. Now I'm going to go and listen to all these records."

Source

Kudos

Roksana Szczęsny (538 KP) rated Moxie (2021) in Movies

Mar 13, 2021

Moxie (2021)

2021 | Comedy, Drama, Music

8.5

(2 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Representation. (1 more)

Likeable characters.

Some scenes are rather unrealistic. (0 more)

Young adult film done right.

When I was getting ready to watch this movie for the first time, I was sort of expecting it to be your ordinary, cringy YA film - I was very pleasantly surprised at how well the movie pulled off the topics it was covering.

I don't think I have ever seen a YA feminist movie before so this was very much a new experience for me. I love that the movie realistically included representation such as a character that is disabled. I know that when I was younger my disability made me feel ashamed and seeing this in a movie targeted at teens would have given me a slight confidence boost.

I have to give the movie props for not making the main character "perfect"; she very much has flaws that can be spotted at certain parts of the movie and at one point, she even gets called out by her best friend.

All in all, I have to say I enjoyed the movie and the only negative thing that I have to say about it is that at some points it was not very realistic, but I think that can be excused when looking at the bigger picture, I truly hope the movie inspires young people to take a look at the world and see the changes that need to be made so that we achieve equality and equity for all.

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Cori June (3033 KP) rated The War of the Flowers in Books

Mar 14, 2021

The War of the Flowers

Tad Williams | 2003 | Science Fiction/Fantasy

7.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Descriptions (3 more)

world building

index of people places and things

800+ pages

long winded (2 more)

whiney dense lead

800+pages

A stand alone book. As a fan of Tad Williams I have put this book off from reading (it had been on my TBR list for over a decade) because of a previous stand alone book, I was afraid I won't like this one. Luckily, because of a TBR reading challenge I finally picked it up, and was pleasantly surprised at the intricate worlds that have been built.
The book is set up in five parts and has a couple of POVs most being that of Theo (the main character) who goes from California to the world of Faerie. A very different Faerie then expected. A very unique take on it.
Theo is thrown into a world he doesn't understand and has an extremely difficult time with well... don't want to give any spoilers. Although I will say the author isn't afraid to put Theo through hell, from the get.
While I did figure out quite a lot of the book along the way I was more pleased then annoyed when I was right in my assumptions.
The descriptions are very realistic and graphic in places (the author's note at the beginning is warranted) making this book quite long as are most of his books. A good long read that may not be for everyone.

Kudos

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2371 KP) rated The Bounty in Books

Apr 23, 2021

The Bounty

Janet Evanovich | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy, Romance

5.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Hunting Gold

FBI Agent Kate O’Hare and semi-reformed thief and conman Nick Fox are on loan to Interpol to stop a theft at The Vatican. Nick is shocked when he recognizes the thief – his father Quentin. Quentin made it out of The Vatican with one part of a map that is supposed to show where stolen gold was hidden during World War II. Who is he working for? Is there gold? Can Nick and Kate figure out what is going on?

This is an over-the-top book that would have made a perfect action movie. You have to let go of logic and just enjoy the ride, and if you do, you’ll find that the book is fun. The story can be a bit repetitive, but the set pieces (and there are several of them) are filled with creative, over-the-top action. The characters are a little thin, and we really only have three returning characters, but they are developed enough to keep us engaged. Nick and Kate’s relationship seems to have recovered a little from the previous book, but it isn’t where we left them at the end of book five. If you are looking for something serious or realistic, don’t even think about picking up this book. But if you are in the mood for mindless over-the-top action (sensing a theme?), you’ll enjoy this book.

Kudos

LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Open Water (2003) in Movies

Sep 19, 2020

Open Water (2003)

2003 | Horror

5.3

(4 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Admirable for what it had to work with, and I guess it gets points for being one of the most realistic shark movies out there - but why the hell did this terrify everyone back in the day lmfao. It amounts to a somehow pointedly slow 81 minutes (less after credits) of a couple bickering at sea while... like, occasionally seeing a jellyfish or maybe half a second of a shark from far away. This actually works better as an (intentional) comedy than a horror film, and the beginning of this feels like a weird ass porno, too - complete with millimeters away from couples full-frontal nudity in a dingy hotel room. The one thing this has going for it is that they're in *real* ocean water with *real* sharks, and on that front there are some real motherfucker shots in this that made me jump just on principle. There's also just some really terrific footage of various sea + land creatures in this that help add to the realism. When all is said and done I have to give props to that brutally hopeless coda though, Jesus Christ - made my skin crawl and actually made this whole product grow on me a lot more than my initial measure. But it fucks around too much and even though it does what it can decently well, it isn't enough. While I still think it's too unfair of a reaction, I can clearly see why everyone hates this now.