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Jazzy Jeff (7 KP) rated REC (2007) in Movies

Jan 6, 2018  
REC (2007)
REC (2007)
2007 | Horror
9
7.5 (13 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Zombies (2 more)
Suspenseful
Tense zombie chases
Shaky found footage (0 more)
My favorite horror film
Contains spoilers, click to show
The film offers newbies to the horror genre the kick they are looking for within the horror genre. Suspenseful, intense, scary, and gory, it is without a doubt one of the best Horror movies of the past decade, if not of all time, and one i have remembered. 2007 had not seen a whole lot of found footage movies, or those of memorable ones other than cloverfield and the blair witch project, so this style was relatively new, and it's yet to have been done better. We follow a young reporter and her cameraman (who represents us as the audience) as they become unwillingly quarantined in an apartment with its residents, pleading with the outside for their escape. An outbreak is turning those infected into flesh eating "zombies" carried within the people as a standard illness at first. This film creates the "you are there" experience like nothing you have seen or will see before, and that you are just as desperate to escape as the camera crew. Nothing within this film feels staged, the emotions feel raw and geniune. The scariest moments are things that are happening in the frame but not front and centre, those things lingering in the dark or the corner of your eye. As the story slowly gets revealed, you get more unnerved by the events unfolding. There are brilliant and terrifying scenes that will stay with you for life.

However, the rest of the franchise doesnt give as much impact as this one presents.
  
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Gifts of the Heart
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Gifts of the Heart by Karen Boes Oman
Illustrated by Marilyn Brown
Genre: Children’s Fiction
Rating: 5/5

Gifts from the heart tells a very cute story in verse about a Grandma and a Grandpa who go to their Grandchildren’s house for Christmas. But on the way, a huge storm came and swept all their presents away to Little Bow Peep’s house, where everyone was in need of the things that Grandma and Grandpa had. So Grandma and Grandpa gave the gifts to those who needed it most instead of taking them back. Then when Grandma and Grandpa went to the Grandkids house, they explained to the children what happened with their presents. Little Bow Peep shows up with flying sheep in a sleigh and takes all the Grandchildren for a ride to her town, where they receive gifts from the heart made by the people of the town to thank them for giving up their gifts.
This is a wonderful story about giving to people who are in need, and it shows kids that giving is just as much fun as receiving. This is a wonderful story that should be on every shelf!
Recommendation: Ages 4-8
  
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Janeeny (200 KP) rated The Iliad in Books

Jun 10, 2019  
The Iliad
The Iliad
Homer, E.V. Rieu, Peter Jones | 2014 | Essays
6
7.1 (11 Ratings)
Book Rating
Personally I think this should have also counted towards my classic read for the month aswell, but hey, I don’t make the rules . . oh, wait . .
For those of you not in the know The Iliad is Homers epic poem about the Trojan war, this version was translated by EV Rieu.
What can I say about this, without sounding like a complete philistine? It is essentially a Soap Opera based around testosterone fuelled macho men and a bunch of Gods having a hissy fit! I loved it!

Crivens, there’s a lot of people in it though!! It did take me a little while to get into it, and being a little rusty on my Greek mythology I kept forgetting who was on whose side, but I eventually found my stride, and if you can wade through all the different ways that different people were killed (Homer does really like describing how each person died, potentially the Tarantino of his day!) It is a really detailed account of a mythological war that inspired a whole wealth of literature, and I can see why it is a classic.
  
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Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) created a post in Dear Smashbomb....

Jan 18, 2019 (Updated Jan 18, 2019)  
How do you feel about watching tv and movies, or listening to music or podcasts after learning unsavory details about an actor, director, producer, podcaster, or others involved in them? Can you compartmentalize their behavior and enjoy art as art or does it forever ruin it for you? How can we reconcile our love of certain performers and their onscreen personas with their monstrous behavior offscreen?

I find it so frustrating and disappointing when I learn that someone I have admired for decades is a perverted sex monster. I want to be politically-correct and denounce their behavior but it's difficult when they have created art that speaks to me and moves me and that I have loved for years. Some truly talented people have turned out to be terrible people. It's one thing when you've known for years about someone's exploits and abuse, such as in the case of Woody Allen and Roman Polanski. Those were things I knew about for ages and I avoided their movies. But another thing when it's someone whose work you've admired and respected for years. I don't know how to feel.
  
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Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) created a post

Jan 18, 2019  
How do you feel about watching tv and movies, or listening to music or podcasts after learning unsavory details about an actor, director, producer, podcaster, or others involved in them? Can you compartmentalize their behavior and enjoy art as art or does it forever ruin it for you? How can we reconcile our love of certain performers and their onscreen personas with their monstrous behavior offscreen?

I find it so frustrating and disappointing when I learn that someone I have admired for decades is a perverted sex monster. I want to be politically-correct and denounce their behavior but it's difficult when they have created art that speaks to me and moves me and that I have loved for years. Some truly talented people have turned out to be terrible people. It's one thing when you've known for years about someone's exploits and abuse, such as in the case of Woody Allen and Roman Polanski. Those were things I knew about for ages and I avoided their movies. But another thing when it's someone whose work you've admired and respected for years. I don't know how to feel.
     
Show all 15 comments.
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Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) Jan 21, 2019

In my opinion, they are two totally different aspects of a person's life that should not affect one another in any way.
There are so many creators that I love watching or listening to that I totally disagree with politically, but I am able to separate those things. Just because I disagree with one aspects of a person's opinions or actions, doesn't mean it tarnishes everything that that person has ever done.
George Washington was an incredible man who was fundamental in the battle for American independence over Britain, but he also kept slaves and treated them as animals. Both of these things exist and that's what makes a person whole. As much as we would like to believe that everybody is either purely good or purely evil, that is just not true, there are always shades of grey.
I am not in any way defending any of the despicable things that people like R Kelly and Kevin Spacey are accused of doing, but just because Spacey allegedly preyed on young boys, it doesn't mean that his performance in Se7en isn't still one of the greatest performances ever committed to film.
Another example of this is rap music. I am a huge rap fan and there are rappers that I listen to that brag in their songs using misogynistic language or homophobic slurs, things that I fundamentally disagree with. However, that doesn't mean that I can't appreciate their flow or delivery.
To be honest, I think that it is actually way more healthy to separate these things as an audience member. If I was to stop listening to/watching everyone that had ever been accused of doing something bad by the press, there probably wouldn't be much content left.

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Allison Knapp (118 KP) Jan 21, 2019

I would have to agree with you there. Talent and personal life are definitely two separate matters