Sign up
Search
Advanced search settings

Search only in certain items:

Search results
All (930)
Content
People
Apps
Books
Orbs
Movies
Music
Podcasts
Shows
Tabletop Games
Tech
TV
Video Games
YouTube Channels
Videos
40x40

Jordan Binkerd (567 KP) rated Excalibur (1981) in Movies

Sep 4, 2019  
Excalibur (1981)
Excalibur (1981)
1981 | Action, Sci-Fi
7
7.7 (10 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Lush, beautiful visuals (1 more)
Stellar performances from all involved
Long movie, but feels like it rushes from highlight to highlight without fleshing out the story. (1 more)
More mythic fantasy of "knights in shining armor" as my younger self would have conceived it than anything grounded in reality.
Long on visuals, short on narrative cohesion and characterization
Excalibur is a classic, and deservedly so. The visuals and performances from the entire cast are outstanding, and you get to see early appearances from the likes of a then-unknown Patrick Stewart or Liam Neeson. The film is epic in scope, and that's part of the problem--in trying to tell the entire Arthurian legend, the film only has time (even at nearly two and a half hours) to hit the highlights without adding sufficient connective tissue to make sure that we care about the characters. Then there's the fact that the film caters to more of a child's fantasy version of knights in shining armor than anything else. I don't mind the anachronism of plate armor in the "dark ages," but characters living in their plate day on and day out, in peacetime, in the middle of their fortress? That crap is uncomfortable! Ten year old me would have bought that reality, but this film would have been (and in fact specifically WAS) denied to ten year old me based on the nudity and gore. I'm not asking for gritty realism, but I also wasn't expecting a return to the fantasties of my youth. Worth seeing, to be sure, but not timeless or without it's flaws.
  
40x40

Christine A. (965 KP) rated The Radium Girls: The Scary But True Story of the Poison That Made People Glow in the Dark (Young Readers' edition) in Books

Sep 2, 2020  
The Radium Girls: The Scary But True Story of the Poison That Made People Glow in the Dark (Young Readers' edition)
The Radium Girls: The Scary But True Story of the Poison That Made People Glow in the Dark (Young Readers' edition)
Kate Moore | 2020 | History & Politics, Young Adult (YA)
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Young Readers' edition of The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review. The opinions are entirely my own, and any quotes are taken from the ARC and may be different in the final published copy.

The Radium Girls: The Scary But True Story of the Poison That Made People Glow in the Dark was adapted for younger readers by Kate Moore from her bestselling novel The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women.

It tells the story of the wonder drug of the early 1900s, radium. It was thought to cure illnesses, and its luminescent properties made it ideal for glow-in-the-dark watches and for dials and instruments of pilots during WWI. To paint these devices, women would lick the brushes, dip them into the radium, paint, then repeat. The women did not know they were becoming sick with radium poisoning. Some did not show symptoms until years after they stopped working with the radium.

If you read the original version, you know it is detailed and includes timelines of multiple people. The version for a younger audience is written with age-appropriate content, but it is still incredibly detailed and more than 400 pages. The story shows these women as individuals, showing their separate lives, but also the strong, tight-knit group who fought for themselves and to ensure workplace safety for all.

This book is perfect for assigned reading for history or science classes.

This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 9/1/20.
  
40x40

Dork_knight74 (881 KP) rated The Clovehitch Killer (2018) in Movies

Dec 14, 2018  
The Clovehitch Killer (2018)
The Clovehitch Killer (2018)
2018 | Drama, Horror, Mystery
8
7.5 (6 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Well done
This low budget thriller was quite the find. It's a very thought provoking, emotionally stirring tale about a teenage boy who starts to realize that his "all american dad" might be a serial killer. The acting was good and the cinematography was decent enough. The story was the shining glory here. It unfolded beautifully and is a wonderful example of how a movie can be EXTREMELY good even without a big Hollywood budget. Everything fell into place perfectly throughout and it even had a bit of a twist at the end. Nothing too gory or flashy in this one but I highly recommend it. Especially if you're into "true crime" style movies. Worth a watch!