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Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Incendies (2010) in Movies

Feb 11, 2021 (Updated Feb 11, 2021)  
Incendies (2010)
Incendies (2010)
2010 | Drama, Mystery, War
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The third in my series of films you would recommend to a visiting alien to explain humanity is… the harrowing yet utterly brilliant Incendies (2010), directed by Denis Villeneuve, from the play by Wajdi Mouawad.

Utilising a French and Arabic speaking cast you have probably never seen before, this brutal drama feels as close to reality as you would ever want a story of this nature to be. Yet, of course because it is a Denis Villeneuve film (he also made Blade Runner 2049, Enemy, Prisoners, Arrival, Sicario etc, if you are not familiar with him) it is drenched in style and visual embellishment that makes it a work of art transcending a documentary feel. Naturalism is evident in the acting, but so is an awareness of storytelling. It also boasts one of the most jaw dropping endings I have ever seen. Once experienced, never forgotten. Rated the 111th best film of all time on IMDb currently, and my Decinemal score agrees with that.
  
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Laura Doe (1350 KP) rated The Shelf in Books

May 12, 2022  
The Shelf
The Shelf
Helly Acton | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Who would have thought that a book about being on a reality TV show after being dumped on TV would be such an interesting book topic?
I love that Helly Acton dreamt up an entire Tv show around a devastating moment in life and turned it around to something positive. Having seven women in a house at a low point in their lives could have gone completely horribly, but the characters that Helly wrote gelled together so well that there wasn’t a lot of drama but you still rooted for each and every woman in The Shelf house.
I loved how she integrated social media and technology into the house with The Wall and The Tracker, and used them to show how they would be interacted with if they were included in a real reality TV show.
I didn’t want to put this book down, and didn’t know who I wanted to be evicted each time there was an eviction as I loved each one of the characters. I also liked how at the end of the book, everyone’s happiness wasn’t measured by whether they were in a relationship or not, it was whether they had met their goals. And I also love that the theme throughout this book wasn’t that you need to be in a relationship to be happy, but that you need to love yourself first to be happy and don’t rush into being with someone who ultimately isn’t right for you just because you think that you’re running out of time.
I can’t wait to read Helly’s next book now.
  
The Magicians - Season 3
The Magicians - Season 3
2018 | Adventure, Fantasy, Mystery
10
8.8 (4 Ratings)
Character arcs are growing beyond the books, The actors are more comfortable together, the visuals have gotten much better, Story didn't stall, Quentin's depression wasn't a featured character (0 more)
Not enough episodes (0 more)
The Most Magical Season to Date
I've said multiple times that "The Magicians" by Lev Grossman are the grown up allegory for the current millennial existential drama we see played out around us every day. So many of us grew up with these fantastical stories that shaped our lives and we wanted so much to be "Magical". Season 3 finally grapples with these ideas that the previous 2 seasons only hinted at. We see the despair and coping with reality that the characters have put off for so long.

I felt that the books were good by themselves, but made better by the television show. The show was only ok on its own, but season 3 starts to make headway on being its own thing. Season 3 showed that they can survive without the books and even be great on their own.