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Adam Silvera recommended Liesl & Po in Books (curated)

Erika (17789 KP) rated Mortal Kombat (2021) in Movies
May 8, 2021
You know when you watch a movie, and you're completely entertained during it, but afterwards, all you remember is the action portions, and none of the plot? That's me right now, after watching this movie just a little less than three hours ago.
I'll get this out of the way, the plot was obviously forgettable. Now, if this was a dramatic film, this would be a huge issue, but, this is a movie based on the first insanely violent video game ever produced. I was there for the fighting, and not the plot. The main focus was Cole, and sorry, but he was kind of a yawn until he got his stuff together.
Now, let's get into why I saw this movie. The action, the fighting, the gore. This earned its R-rating. The fighting choreography was great, and I loved that they used the some of the same moves from the video games. Also - the fact that some of the characters quipped with the closing fight messages was hilarious. The best placed one was 'Flawless Victory', after a kill.
Sub-Zero has always been one of my favorite characters, so I was glad he got the most screen time, out of the villain squad.. I have to say, as the movie was nearing the end, I was wondering when Scorpion would make his grand entrance. Finally, the pay dirt came at the very end, and yes, the 'Get Over Here' line did make an appearance.
They obviously left it open-ended for a sequel, which has been green-lit already. You can bet I'll be there on opening day for some big, dumb, gory fun.
I'll get this out of the way, the plot was obviously forgettable. Now, if this was a dramatic film, this would be a huge issue, but, this is a movie based on the first insanely violent video game ever produced. I was there for the fighting, and not the plot. The main focus was Cole, and sorry, but he was kind of a yawn until he got his stuff together.
Now, let's get into why I saw this movie. The action, the fighting, the gore. This earned its R-rating. The fighting choreography was great, and I loved that they used the some of the same moves from the video games. Also - the fact that some of the characters quipped with the closing fight messages was hilarious. The best placed one was 'Flawless Victory', after a kill.
Sub-Zero has always been one of my favorite characters, so I was glad he got the most screen time, out of the villain squad.. I have to say, as the movie was nearing the end, I was wondering when Scorpion would make his grand entrance. Finally, the pay dirt came at the very end, and yes, the 'Get Over Here' line did make an appearance.
They obviously left it open-ended for a sequel, which has been green-lit already. You can bet I'll be there on opening day for some big, dumb, gory fun.

Kathleen Hanna recommended ESG by ESG in Music (curated)

Nancy Whang recommended Silence Yourself by Savages in Music (curated)

LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword (2017) in Movies
Sep 21, 2020
Pick your poison: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 meets 𝘖𝘶𝘵𝘭𝘢𝘸 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨, 300: 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 meets the 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯'𝘴 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥 movie, or 𝘎𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘨𝘺𝘱𝘵 meets 𝘙𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘰𝘰𝘥 (2018) - you decide. Either way they all eventually mesh with 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢, too. As stupid and trashy as it needs to be, legit some of the dumbest stuff imaginable lmfao. Pure junky spectacle with jaw-dropping visuals and neurotic editing, felt like somebody laced my drink with crack while I was watching it. God-tier Law performance right here, chews the scenery so much that legend has it his jaw dislocated. Unmistakably Ritchie in areas but unfortunately often sacrifices auteur personality for genre convention (take a shot every time you see a side character you'll remember and you'll end up totally sober - and that stupid joke about the roundtable at the end was puh-thetic). To say this frankly disgraceful excuse of a screenplay is the exact same movie as all of these other edgy historical action-remakes for high school boys would be a severe understatement. Glad it didn't turn too much into jokey blockbuster corn or yet another over-emphasized failed origin story (most of this is wisely cut to montages with like nu-gothic heavy breathing scores lol). In short, the type of movie I'm *shocked* wasn't released in 2003/2004. I feel bad for those who love King Arthur and then saw this movie - but Jude Law cuts off a guy's ear then whispers into it and Charlie Hunnam full-on does the 𝘛𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵: 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘔𝘰𝘰𝘯 angst-run through the woods. So of course I, for one, enjoyed the hell out of it.

Erika (17789 KP) rated The Life and Trials of Oscar Pistorius (30 for 30) in TV
Nov 25, 2020
I love ESPN's 30 for 30 series (the Tonya Harding documentary is one of my favorite sports docs). When I saw that they had done a series about Oscar Pistorius, I was all in.
This series consists of 4 episodes, that are nearly 2 hours each. To clarify, these TV shows with really long eps are not the norm in the USA, like they are elsewhere.
I had watched the Dateline ep on the Pistorious murder a few weeks before I watched this series. Of course, the narrative is of that one was skewed towards the story of domestic violence, and justice for Reeva. This is the story that's peddled all over the world. Not that it's wrong, I'm a supporter of women in domestic situations, but it's always struck me as extremely biased.
This doc did focus on Oscar, his upbringing, and his quest to complete in the able-bodied (sheesh - that's awful) Olympics. His side of the story is highly plausible, and his actions were a product of his upbringing. The documentary films really shed like on the social situation in South Africa at the time. Honestly, I only took one history class that dealt with continent in general, so there wasn't really a focus on the country itself. Seriously, the only things that stood out in my mind regarding South Africa were their incredibly odd accents, Mandela, and District 9. So, I found the additional information extremely interesting.
Overall, I found it to be far more balanced than anything I had seen in the past regarding the case, which was refreshing.
This series consists of 4 episodes, that are nearly 2 hours each. To clarify, these TV shows with really long eps are not the norm in the USA, like they are elsewhere.
I had watched the Dateline ep on the Pistorious murder a few weeks before I watched this series. Of course, the narrative is of that one was skewed towards the story of domestic violence, and justice for Reeva. This is the story that's peddled all over the world. Not that it's wrong, I'm a supporter of women in domestic situations, but it's always struck me as extremely biased.
This doc did focus on Oscar, his upbringing, and his quest to complete in the able-bodied (sheesh - that's awful) Olympics. His side of the story is highly plausible, and his actions were a product of his upbringing. The documentary films really shed like on the social situation in South Africa at the time. Honestly, I only took one history class that dealt with continent in general, so there wasn't really a focus on the country itself. Seriously, the only things that stood out in my mind regarding South Africa were their incredibly odd accents, Mandela, and District 9. So, I found the additional information extremely interesting.
Overall, I found it to be far more balanced than anything I had seen in the past regarding the case, which was refreshing.

Kim Pook (101 KP) rated The F**k-It List (2020) in Movies
Oct 14, 2020
Something explodes, but we don't see what it is. Teenagers are stood watching, one doesn't even flinch so obviously had something to do with it, but what did he do and why? As we are thrown back 24 hours earlier, we are about to find out.
To be honest not much happens leading up to the event. Brett's friends throw a party in his garden without his prior knowledge whilst his parents are away, and afterwards finds out he is accepted into 7 colleges, oh and he accidentally blows up the school when a senior prank goes wrong,which is what we saw at the start of the movie.
Around half an hour in he creates a video which lists everything he wants to do and accidentally publishes it for everyone to see worldwide which attracts hundreds of likes and comments. Coupling this and the explosion, Brett is told he would not be graduating from school thus ruining his chances of attending college. As a rebellion he invites everyone to burn their school books in the shape of a certain gesture and shares it online gaining him thousands of followers. He is eventually contacted by someone who wants to turn his fame into a money making scheme, the more followers he can get, the more money he will receive.
All this dragged out for a whole hour of the movie and I felt the storyline was pretty rubbish. I expected it to be a guy attempting to tick off things on his list with the help of his friends, but the list was only really mentioned once or twice. Very disappointing.
To be honest not much happens leading up to the event. Brett's friends throw a party in his garden without his prior knowledge whilst his parents are away, and afterwards finds out he is accepted into 7 colleges, oh and he accidentally blows up the school when a senior prank goes wrong,which is what we saw at the start of the movie.
Around half an hour in he creates a video which lists everything he wants to do and accidentally publishes it for everyone to see worldwide which attracts hundreds of likes and comments. Coupling this and the explosion, Brett is told he would not be graduating from school thus ruining his chances of attending college. As a rebellion he invites everyone to burn their school books in the shape of a certain gesture and shares it online gaining him thousands of followers. He is eventually contacted by someone who wants to turn his fame into a money making scheme, the more followers he can get, the more money he will receive.
All this dragged out for a whole hour of the movie and I felt the storyline was pretty rubbish. I expected it to be a guy attempting to tick off things on his list with the help of his friends, but the list was only really mentioned once or twice. Very disappointing.

Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Logan Lucky (2017) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
Jimmy Logan is down on his lucky, his busted knee from college football has just lost him another job. His brother wants you to believe it's the Logan's curse plaguing their family again. That nonsense isn't going to stop Jimmy, getting something out of his life. He's got a plan.
There's going to be a robbery.
It doesn't matter how often I see the title, my brain always recalls it as Lucky Logan, it sounds so much better that way round.
I enjoyed this one, I'm glad I saw it, but I don't think I'll need to see it again. At 119 minutes long it was a little painful to watch, not because it was bad, but because it felt like every minute of that time. I actually checked the clock because I thought it must have been ending soon and it had only been on for an hour.
Despite that, all the stars worked really well on screen together. It was a little off to see Craig in that role, but he played it with a nice amusing spin. I just went on a fun little Kevin Bacon loop as well, as I didn't realise there was a Gleeson in it... "wait, he's not the one I know" after a few click I realised that this one's brother was in American Made... small world!
It's a fun story line, and you do get a bit of an Ocean's feel about the whole thing. It is pretty much Ocean's Eleven with hillbillies. The ending did amuse me. I'm not sure why they left it like that, but it does leave you wondering...
There's going to be a robbery.
It doesn't matter how often I see the title, my brain always recalls it as Lucky Logan, it sounds so much better that way round.
I enjoyed this one, I'm glad I saw it, but I don't think I'll need to see it again. At 119 minutes long it was a little painful to watch, not because it was bad, but because it felt like every minute of that time. I actually checked the clock because I thought it must have been ending soon and it had only been on for an hour.
Despite that, all the stars worked really well on screen together. It was a little off to see Craig in that role, but he played it with a nice amusing spin. I just went on a fun little Kevin Bacon loop as well, as I didn't realise there was a Gleeson in it... "wait, he's not the one I know" after a few click I realised that this one's brother was in American Made... small world!
It's a fun story line, and you do get a bit of an Ocean's feel about the whole thing. It is pretty much Ocean's Eleven with hillbillies. The ending did amuse me. I'm not sure why they left it like that, but it does leave you wondering...

Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated The Equalizer 2 (2018) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
Having been a long time since I saw the first one it was difficult to link any of the very specific things between the two. My only recollection of it is that he was a subdued hero who pulled out some extreme vengeance. This one was no different in that respect.
The action was good and at the beginning you see the use of the stopwatch, which is noticeable in it's absence through the rest of the film. The final action sequence trails through the storm torn town as Washington picks off the enemy and the whole thing seems to be going well until some random first-person shooter camera angles are thrown in out of nowhere and seem completely out of place.
But that isn't the only thing that seems out of place. The whole story line about the art loving neighbour of McCall only partly adds to the film. We see his brief secondary story line with the inclusion of his gang friends, but as soon as it appears it disappears, and doesn't really contribute at all. As odd character placement goes there's also Pullman as the bereaved husband. Needed? Possibly. The right choice? Possibly not.
If you can look past the strange conclusion-less pieces of the film then all the action, the main story line and a nice summing up to a side story make for a good film to pass some time. But I didn't feel like it met its potential. A lot of people in the screening seemed to be distracted throughout, another film that while full of action was somewhat slow paced at times.
The action was good and at the beginning you see the use of the stopwatch, which is noticeable in it's absence through the rest of the film. The final action sequence trails through the storm torn town as Washington picks off the enemy and the whole thing seems to be going well until some random first-person shooter camera angles are thrown in out of nowhere and seem completely out of place.
But that isn't the only thing that seems out of place. The whole story line about the art loving neighbour of McCall only partly adds to the film. We see his brief secondary story line with the inclusion of his gang friends, but as soon as it appears it disappears, and doesn't really contribute at all. As odd character placement goes there's also Pullman as the bereaved husband. Needed? Possibly. The right choice? Possibly not.
If you can look past the strange conclusion-less pieces of the film then all the action, the main story line and a nice summing up to a side story make for a good film to pass some time. But I didn't feel like it met its potential. A lot of people in the screening seemed to be distracted throughout, another film that while full of action was somewhat slow paced at times.

Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Thirteen Weddings in Books
Sep 6, 2019
I suppose I should say that I'm not normally a lover of chick-lit but Paige Toon is an author I will buy happily.
CONTAINS SPOILERS, SO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.
I feel a bit like I'm in limbo. Is there going to be a second book? I WANT there to be a second book! I NEED there to be a second book.
I'm sorry but I was pretty much Team Alex all the way through this. Okay at the end he didn't help himself when he went through with his stupid wedding, but for me the attraction and connection between him and Bronte was amazing. He told her he loved her, messaged her everyday, she phones him up to tell him to stop and he does? Really? It seems too easy. I never really saw Alex as a quitter.
And Lackie...I liked you. Just not as a couple with Bronte. You were fun, charming, sexy...but I can't say I felt the chemistry between you as much as I could with Alex.
AND considering I tend to want my girl to go with the first guy...then that would be Alex.
I loved the first 75%. It was the author's usual witty book with great, likeable characters and an interesting plotline which I loved. I would have gladly given it 5 stars if not for the ending.
I know the author can't please everyone with her story, and that it's terrible of me to rate it down an entire star just because she didn't write the ending I wanted, but that's the kind of mood I'm in right now.
CONTAINS SPOILERS, SO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.
I feel a bit like I'm in limbo. Is there going to be a second book? I WANT there to be a second book! I NEED there to be a second book.
I'm sorry but I was pretty much Team Alex all the way through this. Okay at the end he didn't help himself when he went through with his stupid wedding, but for me the attraction and connection between him and Bronte was amazing. He told her he loved her, messaged her everyday, she phones him up to tell him to stop and he does? Really? It seems too easy. I never really saw Alex as a quitter.
And Lackie...I liked you. Just not as a couple with Bronte. You were fun, charming, sexy...but I can't say I felt the chemistry between you as much as I could with Alex.
AND considering I tend to want my girl to go with the first guy...then that would be Alex.
I loved the first 75%. It was the author's usual witty book with great, likeable characters and an interesting plotline which I loved. I would have gladly given it 5 stars if not for the ending.
I know the author can't please everyone with her story, and that it's terrible of me to rate it down an entire star just because she didn't write the ending I wanted, but that's the kind of mood I'm in right now.