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Egghead: Or, You Can't Survive on Ideas Alone
Book
Sometimes funny, sometimes serious, mostly absurd collection of poetry and essays from rising comedy...
The Spirit of London
Book
A copy of this title is being given to each participating athlete in the London 2012 Olympic Games...
Amanda Palmer recommended Let Love In by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds in Music (curated)
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Soul (2020) in Movies
Jan 1, 2021
The second Pixar effort of 2020 is nothing short of excellent. Soul is a wonderful experience from start to finish, dealing with abstract ideas in a touching way, and boasting some of the finest animation out there.
When compared to older Pixar efforts, it's easy to see just how far this sort of thing has come. Soul manages to look photo realistic, despite the cartoony designs of the human characters. It has matured in other ways too - where these films used to be kid friendly adventures with a message lurking within, that's not quite the case anymore. The themes in Soul are very much for an older audience, and sure, there are talking cats and colourful visuals in The Great Before to keep younger viewers involved, but the narrative here focuses on how one can feel like their life is wasted sometimes, how it's easy to feel lost in such a big world, and the acceptance of death. With heavy subject matters at the forefront, the frequently heart-warming and funny screenplay results in an story that is expertly crafted to hit all the right emotional buttons, whilst still being fun, and full of awesome jazz.
Director Pete Docter is of course the man behind Up, Inside Out and Monsters Inc. so it's no surprise that his fourth Pixar feature is one that can stand tall next to those greats. A fantastic voice cast including Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Richard Ayoade, Anglea Bassett, Phylicia Rashad, and Rachel House among others, adds the remaining ingredients to ensure that Soul is another magnificent string in Pixar's bow, and is an essential watch.
When compared to older Pixar efforts, it's easy to see just how far this sort of thing has come. Soul manages to look photo realistic, despite the cartoony designs of the human characters. It has matured in other ways too - where these films used to be kid friendly adventures with a message lurking within, that's not quite the case anymore. The themes in Soul are very much for an older audience, and sure, there are talking cats and colourful visuals in The Great Before to keep younger viewers involved, but the narrative here focuses on how one can feel like their life is wasted sometimes, how it's easy to feel lost in such a big world, and the acceptance of death. With heavy subject matters at the forefront, the frequently heart-warming and funny screenplay results in an story that is expertly crafted to hit all the right emotional buttons, whilst still being fun, and full of awesome jazz.
Director Pete Docter is of course the man behind Up, Inside Out and Monsters Inc. so it's no surprise that his fourth Pixar feature is one that can stand tall next to those greats. A fantastic voice cast including Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Richard Ayoade, Anglea Bassett, Phylicia Rashad, and Rachel House among others, adds the remaining ingredients to ensure that Soul is another magnificent string in Pixar's bow, and is an essential watch.
Naomi Judd recommended The Silence of the Lambs (1991) in Movies (curated)
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated The Big Sick (2017) in Movies
Sep 19, 2020
One of those products that feels fresh and generic in about an equal ratio, but this just *soars* off of the chemistry of its cast. Zoe Kazan and Kumail Nanjiani are wonderful, simply wonderful together here; Ray Romano and Holly Hunter are faultless; and Kumail's family + stand-up partners are as well cast as can be even if the latter add nothing more than mostly tired jokes that don't land to the story. I admit this is still pretty scattershot, but for me that's part of what makes it so interesting? If anything is subversive here it's two things: 1. the way this flips the typical romcom on its head by taking on multiple different styles of execution as it goes along (the mostly unfunny but charming as hell opening romance, the anxious but amiable [and more funny] first meetings with the parents, the harrowing confrontation of grief, and the confusing [for the characters] but unfortunately rather rushed through ending resolutions) and 2. Kumail playing himself during a real life tumultuous period in his life. Even though dozens of liberties were taken to make this more palatable for a studio romance, the broad side of things remains rooted in truth even down to supporting scenes - and seeing Kumail as himself act out those real life events and formulate them into a positive story add a whole new level of emotional heft. Plus he's just a rock-solid comedic force in general and he handles the sad scenes nearly just as well. Even if there are still some tropes in this, the base story still feels rather nuanced. Very flawed but so nice, so wholesome.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Possessor (2020) in Movies
Dec 4, 2020
From the mind of Brandon Cronenberg comes his second feature length, Possessor, and the best way I could sum it up is that it's a subtle assault on the senses. Although it occasionally throws unsettling imagery at the screen now and again, these moments are seldom and fleeting. The main assault comes from the constant sense of dread that is present from it's visually striking and bloody opening, straight through to it's pretty insane climax. I just felt on edge consistently, thanks to the minimal but forboding score, top notch editing on display, and some quite brilliant performances.
Andrea Riseborough is great, as she was in Mandy, and her presence in modern horror is a welcome one. Her character is the overarching glue that holds all the emotional strains of the plot together with a cold core.
Christopher Abbott is wonderful, as he essentially plays two seperate characters, and sells his descent into madness perfectly.
The supporting cast include the likes of Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tuppence Middleton, and Sean Bean, and it's honestly just a pretty solid cast all around.
The plot is intriguing in a dystopian sci-fi kind of way, and has enough horror elements to really get under the skin. The scene that the already recognisable poster image is taken from is one of the most recoil inducing and uncomfortable scenes I've seen in a while. This premise played out with a decent screenplay, accompanied by sudden bursts of extreme violence, give Possessor an identity of it's own, and make it a modern horror entry that can stand shoulder to shoulder with the big boys.
One of the films of the year for me!
Andrea Riseborough is great, as she was in Mandy, and her presence in modern horror is a welcome one. Her character is the overarching glue that holds all the emotional strains of the plot together with a cold core.
Christopher Abbott is wonderful, as he essentially plays two seperate characters, and sells his descent into madness perfectly.
The supporting cast include the likes of Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tuppence Middleton, and Sean Bean, and it's honestly just a pretty solid cast all around.
The plot is intriguing in a dystopian sci-fi kind of way, and has enough horror elements to really get under the skin. The scene that the already recognisable poster image is taken from is one of the most recoil inducing and uncomfortable scenes I've seen in a while. This premise played out with a decent screenplay, accompanied by sudden bursts of extreme violence, give Possessor an identity of it's own, and make it a modern horror entry that can stand shoulder to shoulder with the big boys.
One of the films of the year for me!
Ducklady (1174 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Kingdom Hearts III in Video Games
Aug 25, 2019 (Updated Aug 25, 2019)
The worlds and characters look incredible (1 more)
The battles are fluid
Feels like your watching a movie instead of playing a game (1 more)
the story is convoluted
I have been waiting for this game since Kingdom hearts 2 came out when I was a kid. I have been a huge fan of the kingdom hearts games for many many years and when I found out that this one finally had a release date, I was ecstatic. I even watched a whole bunch of videos and read lots of info about the full story so far. Despite this, while playing through, the story seems over complicated and a lot of it was pointless.
Exploring the worlds is a lot of fun and the game hits you with a huge dose of nostalgia, but for me there wasn't enough actual gameplay, especially compared to previous games and the giant wait time for this game to be released.
Although the fight scenes flowed so well, all the combos and special moves made this game way too easy. I was also expecting there to be loads more worlds, but it was distinctly lacking for a full game that cost a bomb.
I couldn't stand the sheer amount of cutscenes and ended up skipping most of them when I was about halfway through the game. I am frustrated that I never got to the ending as the game ceased to interest me.
I have to commend the game on the way it looks though, the "let it go" scene was like it was straight out the movie and all the NPC's looked excellent.
Overall, the game is fun, but greatly didn't meet my expectations.
Exploring the worlds is a lot of fun and the game hits you with a huge dose of nostalgia, but for me there wasn't enough actual gameplay, especially compared to previous games and the giant wait time for this game to be released.
Although the fight scenes flowed so well, all the combos and special moves made this game way too easy. I was also expecting there to be loads more worlds, but it was distinctly lacking for a full game that cost a bomb.
I couldn't stand the sheer amount of cutscenes and ended up skipping most of them when I was about halfway through the game. I am frustrated that I never got to the ending as the game ceased to interest me.
I have to commend the game on the way it looks though, the "let it go" scene was like it was straight out the movie and all the NPC's looked excellent.
Overall, the game is fun, but greatly didn't meet my expectations.
Elder Sign: Omens for iPad
Games
App
**Please note that this verision of Elder Sign: Omens is iPad only. The iPhone version is sold...
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated A Tigers Destiny (Tiger Protectors #3) in Books
Sep 4, 2020
161 of 200
Kindle
A Tigers Destiny ( Tiger Protectors book 3)
By Terry Bolryder
Kel Cunningham is the only white tiger shifter in the world. Taller, stronger, and faster than almost anyone, he's the best protection money can buy. Still, his two older brothers have found mates and Kel is ready to find a special someone of his own and settle down. And when his latest job brings him face to face with curvy Sofia, the first woman to make his tiger sit up and growl possessively, he thinks maybe she's the one. That is, if he can keep her safe and figure out why everyone in the underworld seems to be hunting her.
Sofia doesn't know what to make of the giant, model-gorgeous man hired to protect her. Kel's ice blue eyes, blond hair, and tall body stand out wherever he goes, and Sofia doesn't need to fall for a man that could get her noticed. But she soon sees that Kel is capable of handling anything that comes their way, and that beneath that muscular, sexy chest is one of the kindest hearts she has ever met. She knows she should stay distant, keep her secrets and trust no one. But Kel's warm, safe arms and searing kisses make her want to break all her rules.
So the last of the brothers is mates! Terry Bolryder has a formula and she sticks to it! This doesn’t make each book less enjoyable at all I still love them and most shifter readers will! They are quick but fun reads.
So now we continue onto the dragons and finding their dragon heart!
Kindle
A Tigers Destiny ( Tiger Protectors book 3)
By Terry Bolryder
Kel Cunningham is the only white tiger shifter in the world. Taller, stronger, and faster than almost anyone, he's the best protection money can buy. Still, his two older brothers have found mates and Kel is ready to find a special someone of his own and settle down. And when his latest job brings him face to face with curvy Sofia, the first woman to make his tiger sit up and growl possessively, he thinks maybe she's the one. That is, if he can keep her safe and figure out why everyone in the underworld seems to be hunting her.
Sofia doesn't know what to make of the giant, model-gorgeous man hired to protect her. Kel's ice blue eyes, blond hair, and tall body stand out wherever he goes, and Sofia doesn't need to fall for a man that could get her noticed. But she soon sees that Kel is capable of handling anything that comes their way, and that beneath that muscular, sexy chest is one of the kindest hearts she has ever met. She knows she should stay distant, keep her secrets and trust no one. But Kel's warm, safe arms and searing kisses make her want to break all her rules.
So the last of the brothers is mates! Terry Bolryder has a formula and she sticks to it! This doesn’t make each book less enjoyable at all I still love them and most shifter readers will! They are quick but fun reads.
So now we continue onto the dragons and finding their dragon heart!