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Festivals: A Survival Guide: Cope with Everything: Tents, Toilets, Torrential Rain, Too Much Booze, and More
Book
This illustrated guide is packed with hilarious advice, making it a must have for any festival goer...
HT
How to Do Things with International Law
Book
A provocative reassessment of the rule of law in world politics Conventionally understood as a set...

Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Homegoing in Books
Jul 24, 2017
Extraordinary novel spanning seas and generations
A rather melancholic and at times bitterweet read, describing the journey of one family split into two lineages as a result of colonialism and slavery. It is rather horrific read to tales of rape and torture, but there is no way of skirting around the issue. What is more telling is the effects that eight generations of brutality has on a modern generation and how easy it is to dismiss today's problems without looking at the context.
Yaa Gyasi has really excelled in bringing the narratives together coherently. An important piece of literature worth putting as part of the school curriculum.
Yaa Gyasi has really excelled in bringing the narratives together coherently. An important piece of literature worth putting as part of the school curriculum.

KatyShubo (75 KP) rated You Sent Me a Letter in Books
Feb 22, 2019
Not a page turner
This book promises a page turning, plot twisting, dArk and thrilling read but instead you only want the pages to turn to the torture of reading the book can come to an end.
The ending is well written and worth investing in but unfortunately the build up has been so bad that by the time the end comes, you just don’t care anymore.
There is a lot of promise but it doesn’t deliver.
You don’t care about the mystery letter writer, or the romantic entanglements because we aren’t given any reason to care for the characters until the very end.
The ending is well written and worth investing in but unfortunately the build up has been so bad that by the time the end comes, you just don’t care anymore.
There is a lot of promise but it doesn’t deliver.
You don’t care about the mystery letter writer, or the romantic entanglements because we aren’t given any reason to care for the characters until the very end.

Lee KM Pallatina (951 KP) rated Deadpool (2016) in Movies
Jun 14, 2019
The Merc with the Mouth!
after 10 years and an abomination of a creation as only fox can do fans rejoiced as they FINALLY got the Deadpool movie they wanted.
Starring Ryan Reynolds as the foul mouthed, gun toting, wise cracking, fourth wall breaking merc with a mouth known as deadpool, follow him through this love story full of murder, torture, abandonment and more love as he chases down Ajax, a mutant with advance strength and reflexes who caused wades (deadpools) mutation and skin damaging in the process, so he can return home to the woman he loves (and his collection of WHAM! records)
Starring Ryan Reynolds as the foul mouthed, gun toting, wise cracking, fourth wall breaking merc with a mouth known as deadpool, follow him through this love story full of murder, torture, abandonment and more love as he chases down Ajax, a mutant with advance strength and reflexes who caused wades (deadpools) mutation and skin damaging in the process, so he can return home to the woman he loves (and his collection of WHAM! records)

Dean (6927 KP) rated Red Sparrow (2018) in Movies
Mar 8, 2018
A good espionage Thriller
I didn't see many reviews before seeing this, just a trailer. It's a very stylish spy thriller with some great cast members.
The trailer made it seem quite a seductive thriller, whilst it does have some sex scenes and nudity it's gratuitous rather than sexy. It's quite violent and brutal at times with some torture scenes.
Overall the story is interesting but not gripping and the pacing is up and down in the 2nd half of the film. Thankfully the ending was decent and Lawrence does well in a challenging role.
The trailer made it seem quite a seductive thriller, whilst it does have some sex scenes and nudity it's gratuitous rather than sexy. It's quite violent and brutal at times with some torture scenes.
Overall the story is interesting but not gripping and the pacing is up and down in the 2nd half of the film. Thankfully the ending was decent and Lawrence does well in a challenging role.

Erika (17789 KP) rated Death Wish (2018) in Movies
Mar 16, 2018 (Updated Mar 16, 2018)
I haven't seen the original Death Wish film, so I'm just reviewing this as an Eli Roth directed movie with Bruce Willis in it. One, I was glad that there wasn't as much gore as I was expecting. I know Roth typically directs horror and torture porn, so I'm glad he showed restraint. It did take a bit to get going, but when it did, I was glad. It was interesting and was a really good idea to base it in the Chicago area, given it's like the wild west up there. The only real problem had was the pacing, and it did feel like a long hour and 47 minutes.

Erika (17789 KP) rated The Report (2019) in Movies
Dec 1, 2019
Originally, I was going to see this film in theaters, but Amazon didn't have it showing in Austin, so I ended up streaming this.
Of course, the subject matter of the film was hard to take at points. The film did show some torture that was conducted at black sites: that's something to be prepared for. So, that was a warning for the squeamish.
The story was interesting throughout. This film obviously skewed towards the Dems. It was laughable to me: 'oH nOoooo tHe RePuBs aRe cOmInG!' That was a little over dramatic and eye-roll inducing, but highly amusing.
Overall, this was well-crafted, and engaging throughout.
Of course, the subject matter of the film was hard to take at points. The film did show some torture that was conducted at black sites: that's something to be prepared for. So, that was a warning for the squeamish.
The story was interesting throughout. This film obviously skewed towards the Dems. It was laughable to me: 'oH nOoooo tHe RePuBs aRe cOmInG!' That was a little over dramatic and eye-roll inducing, but highly amusing.
Overall, this was well-crafted, and engaging throughout.

The Last House on the Left (1972)
Movie Watch
Teenagers Mari (Sandra Cassel) and Phyllis (Lucy Grantham) head to the city for a concert, then...

The Shoes of Salvation
Book
A gorgeous hand-lettered poem by Edward Monkton, this is a beautiful duet between a shoe and an...