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Moses Complex - Freud, Schoenberg, Straub/Huillet
Book
Moses has long been a source of modern fascination. For Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis, Moses was...
Living with Lynching: African American Lynching Plays, Performance, and Citizenship, 1890-1930
Book
Living with Lynching: African American Lynching Plays, Performance, and Citizenship, 1890-1930...
Time Slips: Queer Temporalities, Contemporary Performance, and the Hole of History
Book
This bold book investigates how performance can transform the way people perceive trauma and memory,...
When Dating Becomes Dangerous: A Parent's Guide to Preventing Relationship Abuse
Mariska Hargitay, Barrie Levy and Patricia Occhiuzzo Giggans
Book
Send your teenager out into the dating world equipped with the knowledge, strength, and...
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Mayhem (2017) in Movies
Aug 24, 2020
Mayhem is a pretty fun comedy horror from Joe Lynch for the most part.
Centred around an outbreak of a virus in an office building, the workers inside are sealed in for 8 hours whilst the airborne anti virus does it's thing. The virus itself causes people to lose control of their inhibitions, and in an office space, that includes a whole lot of violence towards people that you would naturally grow to hate over time.
It's a simple premise executed well enough.
The two leads Stephen Yeun and Samara Weaving are a hugely likeable pairing, and have a great supporting cast to work with. The dialogue is often funny, and everyone involved nails the humour - I can't remember any of it falling flat.
The story is fairly predictable and it's one of those films that likes to cut away rather than show violence - not everytime, but certainly on multiple occasions, which takes away a lot of the impact Mayhem could have otherwise had.
The Last Drive-In host Joe Bob Briggs raises a good point - in a world awash with horror comedy, it would have been interesting to see how this film would have turned out if it had been played straight. As I said, the humour is genuinely good, but I agree here - it could have really benefitted from being a full on horror experience.
Overall though, Mayhem is entertaining, and I no doubt will watch it again at somepoint. It's hard to not enjoy a film that includes a brutal fight sequence whilst Faith No More plays in the background.
Centred around an outbreak of a virus in an office building, the workers inside are sealed in for 8 hours whilst the airborne anti virus does it's thing. The virus itself causes people to lose control of their inhibitions, and in an office space, that includes a whole lot of violence towards people that you would naturally grow to hate over time.
It's a simple premise executed well enough.
The two leads Stephen Yeun and Samara Weaving are a hugely likeable pairing, and have a great supporting cast to work with. The dialogue is often funny, and everyone involved nails the humour - I can't remember any of it falling flat.
The story is fairly predictable and it's one of those films that likes to cut away rather than show violence - not everytime, but certainly on multiple occasions, which takes away a lot of the impact Mayhem could have otherwise had.
The Last Drive-In host Joe Bob Briggs raises a good point - in a world awash with horror comedy, it would have been interesting to see how this film would have turned out if it had been played straight. As I said, the humour is genuinely good, but I agree here - it could have really benefitted from being a full on horror experience.
Overall though, Mayhem is entertaining, and I no doubt will watch it again at somepoint. It's hard to not enjoy a film that includes a brutal fight sequence whilst Faith No More plays in the background.
Skin and Bones (London Love #3)
Book
Hugo Burrows has life under control. He has a decent job, a long-term relationship and a flat in...
Contemporary MM Romance Hurt/Comfort Grumpy/Sunshine Eating Disorder
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated He Said/She Said in Books
Aug 26, 2017
Gripping, horrific look at victim blaming of women
There are so many twists that your head will keep spinning. However, each one has been laid out carefully so it doesn't seem frivolous. The story plot is coherent and the author has done a great job of keeping it together without going completely over the top Hollywood style.
It's a rather sad look at how much victim blaming there is in society especially surrounding violence against women. The woman in this case is Beth, a troubled young girl, and you wonder if she's telling the truth even right near the end. She's portrayed as slightly psychotic while the defendant is "good young boy with a solid reputation ". An important read and completely relevant our times.
It's a rather sad look at how much victim blaming there is in society especially surrounding violence against women. The woman in this case is Beth, a troubled young girl, and you wonder if she's telling the truth even right near the end. She's portrayed as slightly psychotic while the defendant is "good young boy with a solid reputation ". An important read and completely relevant our times.
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Educated in Books
Apr 5, 2018
Harrowing and inspiring
It seems almost impossible that Tara Westover is an academician from both Harvard and Cambridge given that she had never been to school. Her story is important, revealing how women are treated and subjugated in fundamentalist societies.
Brought up in a survivalist, Mormon family, Westover speaks about a poverty-stricken, difficult childhood where education is seen as secondary and violence is rife. Her relationship with her abusive brother is horrifying, And moreso is her family's acceptance of his behaviour. So gaining scholarships to top universities in the world despite having had no clue about the Holocaust, the civil rights movement, and Napoleon, is no mean feat.
While parts are repetitive, it is engaging and harrowing to hear her inspiring story.
Brought up in a survivalist, Mormon family, Westover speaks about a poverty-stricken, difficult childhood where education is seen as secondary and violence is rife. Her relationship with her abusive brother is horrifying, And moreso is her family's acceptance of his behaviour. So gaining scholarships to top universities in the world despite having had no clue about the Holocaust, the civil rights movement, and Napoleon, is no mean feat.
While parts are repetitive, it is engaging and harrowing to hear her inspiring story.
Awix (3310 KP) rated A Clockwork Orange (1971) in Movies
Apr 7, 2019 (Updated Apr 7, 2019)
Kubrick's provocative examination of violence and morality. Young offender Alex (McDowell) leads a carefree life of theft, assault, and rape, until his actions catch up with him and he is sent to prison. There he volunteers for a new therapy which is supposed to remove his capacity for violent wrongdoing...
A massively iconic, much-imitated film, despite being taken out of circulation (in the UK at least) by the director for thirty years. The film's musings on the nature of moral agency are less striking than its baleful, scathing criticism of social attitudes towards crime and punishment, and the extraordinarily vivid opening and still difficult-to-watch opening sequence. A grotesque morality play with many coups de cinema; an extraordinary film by any standard.
A massively iconic, much-imitated film, despite being taken out of circulation (in the UK at least) by the director for thirty years. The film's musings on the nature of moral agency are less striking than its baleful, scathing criticism of social attitudes towards crime and punishment, and the extraordinarily vivid opening and still difficult-to-watch opening sequence. A grotesque morality play with many coups de cinema; an extraordinary film by any standard.
Dean (6927 KP) rated Max Payne (2008) in Movies
Apr 27, 2019
I haven't played the games, of which a third is due out soon?! So I can only merit it as a film in its own right. Aware of poor reviews, I wasn't aware too much of the story behind the games, other than a cop who hands out his own rough justice. It was an interesting film but I think most expected a lot more action, or maybe more blood and violence. Instead it's more of a film noir thriller. The visuals are impressive, not just the cgi angels but the overall cinematography. The action gets better towards the end with a good shoot-out, but overall it needed a bit more throughout. A good surprising cast line up though!