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Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Lifeforce (1985) in Movies

Feb 16, 2021

Lifeforce (1985)

1985 | Horror, Sci-Fi

7.6

(13 Ratings)

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Contains spoilers, click to show

Lifeforce is a typical English movie, bringing together myth and Sci-Fi with a number of familiar faces and one church being blown up (really, we brits even have to blow up churches in doctor who).
Lifeforce is part Quatermas, part (gender bent) Dracula with inspiration from Alien and various Zombie movies and a space ship that looks like the inspiration for Lexx. Add nudity and you have one hell of a Sci-Fi flick.
Lifeforce actually stands up quite well, most of the practical effects hold up but the alien energy does look like the Ghostbusters containment generator has, once again been shut off.
There is a hint of a backstory to the vampires and where they came from which could have been worked on but perhaps it was meant to be a set up for a sequel/prequel that never happened.
Life force is an exiting story and well worth a watch but there is a lot of nudity if you don't like that sort of thing.

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LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Journey To The West: Conquering the Demons (2014) in Movies

Sep 21, 2020

Transcendent. A purified gonzo spectacle with enough madcap panache to measure on the Richter scale. Stephen Chow really is the *fucking* man, like if Ang Lee in the early aughts did enough acid to choke out a small village. Like all of Chow's work, it's got it all: riveting emotion, uproarious comedy, zany action, stellar production, and less than zero visible self consciousness to speak on. Exactly what these movies oughta be - plays with space like a champ and stages itself like an old school cult classic with a heavy emphasis on rubberlike physicality and Rube Goldberg-esque setpieces brought lovingly into the modern era, then injected with numerous hallucinogens. A gigantic Buddha bitch slaps the entire planet in this (literally). Have some issues with underwriting in its core relationship, and a bit too loose of pacing near the end; but it whips itself into shape enough to hardly notice too much. Balances silly with serious really formidably. The tectonic, slapstick partner piece to the blood-gushing, limb-loathing 𝘕𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘢 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯.

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BookInspector (124 KP) rated Trailblazers: Stephen Hawking: A Life Beyond Limits in Books

Sep 24, 2020 (Updated Jan 26, 2021)

This book tells the life story of this great astronomer from his birth to the end of his days. However, this book is written in a quite simple and understandable language, that curious children could process. I think to enjoy this book, the child needs to know a little bit of physics and be interested in space and black holes. This book not only shares the parts of Stephen’s life but also explains his discoveries, that are quite technical. I really liked the illustrations in this novel, they make the whole book less textbook-like and more enjoyable to read.

As an adult, I really liked the knowledge I was able to gather from this book. Stephen Hawking was a charismatic, funny, and intelligent person, and I respect his bravery and strength. I was very happy and inspired by his inventions and personality, and I think not only children, but adults should familiarise themselves with this incredible person’s life and achievements. Do give this book a go, and hopefully, the next generation can continue his great work. 🙂

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Awix (3310 KP) rated Ad Astra (2019) in Movies

Sep 20, 2019

Ad Astra (2019)

2019 | Adventure, Drama, Mystery

6.8

(37 Ratings)

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Portentous sci-fi film takes some of the less interesting bits from Interstellar, welds them on to the basic idea of Gravity, and adds Brad Pitt and a couple of killer baboons in the hope that no-one will notice (this strategy seems to be somewhat successful). Cosmic rays from Neptune are threatening civilisation as we know it, and so Pitt is rocketed off to the Moon and then Mars in order to try and make contact with his long-lost father, who is in the frame for masterminding this. (This honestly is the plot.)

Visually stunning to look at, and I suppose the central metaphor of the film is well-executed (Pitt's journey into outer space reflects the way he is addressing some of his own internal psychological issues), but it is just a tiny bit dull - they keep having to insert arbitrary moon buggy chases and killer baboons just to pep the movie up a bit. The future world envisioned by the film is neither particularly original nor terribly convincing. Pitt's performance is better than the movie deserves.