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Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
2009 | War
At the risk of sounding clichรฉ, this was rigorously badass. Has a couple holes but honestly this is still as tightly constructed as this story could possibly be. Just as personal preference I would have liked some more Basterd Nazi killing but there isn't a single wasted line of dialogue in all its still magnetically elongated digressions. Speaking of which, it's been nearly six years to the day that I first saw this film and I still remember so many little, seemingly insignificant lines of dialogue (for instance, how much Landa loves milk and pastries). Saying every performance is an idiosyncratic knockout would be redundant, it's Tarantino after all but it needs underlining here as well: Pitt's wondrously imitatable drawl, Waltz's schoolboy-esque glee in fucking with people, the way Laurent reacts as if she'd just imbibed a pound of broken glass after her nerve-wracking conversation with Landa, so on and so forth. The last half hour ranks among some of the finest Tarantino you'll ever see - the blistering retaliation(s) in the theater, the numerous sharp story surprises that hit like a pot of boiling water to the face, the unfiltered confrontational nature which some find to be a - er - controversial choice today? (Fuck you if you're one of them, by the way). Imagine seeing this and still thinking ๐˜–๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜œ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ข ๐˜›๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ... ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜บ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ is better.
  
Lovecraft Country
Lovecraft Country
2020 | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Lovecraft country was a total surprise to me, I expected something that was totally over the top and when I saw the opening scene of the first episode it looked looked I was going to be right. However the show soon settles down and, after the first episode finds itself ground in reality, even if it is a reality contain magic. A lot of the episodes have a Lovecraftian/Pulp feel (The strange case springs instantly to mind) but they are still set in a very real feeling world and some episodes throw a real emotional punch.
The first couple of episodes focus on a couple of characters which leave some of the supporting cast feeling a bit two dimensional to begin with but, by the final episode almost everyone has been filled out and some of the best emotion comes from the characters you'd least expect.
There is violence, racism, sex and magic in Lovecraft Country so you may want to keep younger viewers away.
The series has Lovecraftian themes but also pulls on other classic literature and still manages to steer away from the more conventional monsters , there are no vampires, no zombies and, even though it's called 'Lovecraft' Country his most famous creation, Cthulhu, only has a small cameo that has no effect on the story, favouring the Shoggoth as the go-to Lovecraft creation.
  
God-Shaped Hole
God-Shaped Hole
Tiffanie DeBartolo | 2002 | Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy, Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I was bored, to put it simply. As the pages turned, I found myself asking over and over why I continued to read when I wasn't exactly loving the book. But on I read, determined to see this one through, slightly spurred on by the little hints and foreshadowing sprinkled throughout the story. Then it happened. Every prediction affirmed, revealing a hideous and heartwrenching truth. Honestly, I was quite surprised at how much I hurt, considering how ***bored*** I was during most of the book; but I did hurt, and I mourned Jacob right alongside Trixie. When I saw I was already 90% finished, I had a feeling I would be disappointed again - who loves a story without a happy ending, one such as this. However, like with After You and Me Before You, as tragic as this ending is, I think it's easier to imagine Trixie slowly healing and eventually moving on with life (though never forgetting Jacob and the impact he had) than to experience it happening. Originally, I would have given God-Shaped Hole a 2 or 2.5 star review, but because Tiffanie made my heart break so deeply, I have to give it a 3.5 rating - I was very impressed with how much she made me feel in the final 10% of this book.
  
Leatherface (2017)
Leatherface (2017)
2017 | Horror
'The BoreGore Generation...'
Is it me or do the majority of films released via Lionsgate follow almost identical film making styles and patterns? It seems to me these days that you can take any old franchise that is currently doing well, take its name, say it's a prequel/reboot/origins and churn out a dull and predictable viewing experience.
It's all here... the pre-credits scene setting things up for us: Just watch that and you pretty much know what to expect for the rest of the film. Gore: Sadly the usual post Hostel/Saw kind of gore. Victims getting killed by unusual, elaborate and highly impractical devices (why murders can't be content with axing, stabbing and gutting their victims anymore is beyond me. Seems like these newbies get their kit from Acme these days). Crushed skulls. Removing of extremities. Gut ripping predictability. Plenty of graphic scenes but we have seen it all before. Hundreds of times. Personally I've become desensitized to this style of gore. Tedious. Maybe I'll nickname it "BoreGore"... Even the soundtrack is as generic as it comes, low moody noodling that goes nowhere. So at least it is keeping consistent with the film. Generic is actually the best way to describe this film. To be honest I didn't expect much going into this film. At least they got that right...
  
The Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)
The Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)
2018 | Action, Sci-Fi
6
7.7 (33 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Part three in The Maze Runner series, our young hero Thomas embarks on a mission to find a cure for a deadly disease known as the "Flare".



Because I'd never read the books I never saw the first two in this series... but I was getting desperate for things to watch, I was physically twitchy because the end of the month was coming and I was perilously low on films, so I binged watched the first two in the nights running up to this one and booked myself a ticket.

I enjoyed them as a whole, and I'm glad I watched them back to back because I don't feel like they were as strong individually. There were some feelings of Lost ending issues... but I suppose I'm going to have to let that go.

Unless I missed something, I feel like there were too many questions left unanswered, and in this film in particular, several moments that made me a little annoyed. Like seriously... half of those things didn't need to happen the way they did!

Since seeing them I've ordered myself the five books to read (or not read, as my TBR gets perilously tall), there's something sitting in the back of my mind telling me that the books will be better, I may be back to change my rating.
  
Apollo 11 (2019)
Apollo 11 (2019)
2019 | Documentary
Brilliant documentary footage (1 more)
(Still) nail-biting landing scenes
Some of the dialogue is difficult to hear (0 more)
A giant leap for mankind?
It's the Apollo 11 mission. That's it. No annoying voiceover from Clooney or Gosling spouting truisms (provided you ignore Walter Kronkite's occasional excellent and sonorous TV commentary). Just extraordinary footage from July 1969 of the 8 day mission and the days immediately preceeding (and in the end titles, following) that historic event.

A brilliant documentary that deserves to be seen at the cinema, and on as big a screen as you can manage to find. It only seems to have a limited UK release (I saw it at our local Picturehouse cinema), but it is really worth going out of your way to catch if you can. A film that properly provides you with a view of our blue oasis of a world from afar: and critically what we might be doing to it.

I also thought it should make humanity feel rather ashamed of itself: if man took those great leaps in the 10 years after JFK's famous speech, what has really been achieved in manned space travel in the 50 years since? On Earth's report card it should say "C- .... could do better".

For the full review, see here - https://bob-the-movie-man.com/2019/07/10/one-manns-movies-film-review-apollo-11-2019/
  
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Sarah (7800 KP) rated Cube (1997) in Movies

Oct 14, 2019  
Cube (1997)
Cube (1997)
1997 | Horror, Sci-Fi
7
7.6 (31 Ratings)
Movie Rating
A cult classic
I first watched Cube when I was at college, it was a bit of a cult classic at the time and I absolutely loved it. Sadly watching it back now is maybe a tad disappointing.

Plot wise this is a brilliant idea, and a great early example of the type of torture style horror that we're used to from the likes of Saw and Hostel. Some of the CGI is a bit dodgy (not a surprise considering it was made in 1997) but the deaths and traps are still really inventive and well thought out. The story may get a little too deep into Maths later on but it's still a very good idea. The problem with this film is mainly the acting. Aside from David Hewlett (who I can't fault after his turn as McKay in Stargate), there is a lot of very hammy over acting going on in this, notably from the character of Quentin but the others are at fault too. And when paired with a very patchy script- I mean who the hell says "holy cats" - it brings this film down a couple of notches that the plot really doesn't deserve. I loved the ending though, and I do think this is a film worthy of a cult classic.