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Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Straight Outta Compton by NWA in Music

Nov 2, 2017 (Updated Nov 2, 2017)  
Straight Outta Compton by NWA
Straight Outta Compton by NWA
1988 | Rap, Rhythm And Blues
9
9.0 (4 Ratings)
Album Rating
Something To Say
I still remember the first time I heard this record and I listened to it all the way through lying in bed. Eminem was my gateway into rap music when I was in my early teens, which inevitably led onto Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Biggie, Public Enemy and the like, but when I first heard Straight Outta Compton it was like being taken on a journey in the back seat of some banged up car around the burnt out, bullet ridden streets of Compton, CA. Some people may sneer at the inclusion of this album and claim that it doesn’t deserve to be admired due to its glorification of gang violence, sexual abuse and murder. However this album isn’t glorious in any way, NWA aren’t boasting about this kind of behaviour taking place in their hometown, they’re condemning it. This is an album born out of frustration, dissatisfaction and fury for the kind of environment that these guys were brought up in and it is actually inspiring in a lot of ways to kids that come from areas where their friends are getting shot night after night and with the current situation in some American states, this album is probably more relevant than ever. The album does generalise, but it also speaks the truth, there is no denying that the US police were and still are largely made up of racist bigots that abuse the power that they are given. Drugs, sexism and violence are simply a part of the culture in some of the poorer parts of modern America and this album doesn’t shy away from that, it wears its heart on its sleeve and I think that it is one of the most powerful statements to come out of modern music and one that is unfortunately still just as relevant today, 29 years later.
  
Absolution: A Leine Basso Thriller
Absolution: A Leine Basso Thriller
D.V. Berkom | 2019 | Crime, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A Great Series
Once again, DV Berkom provides us with a treat with her latest installment in the Leine Basso series. You would assume that things would be getting a bit stale and boring by now but you would be wrong.

Leine finds herself in a life and death struggle with her nemesis, Salome, a particularly nasty terrorist and assassin (are there any other kinds!) who is after Leine and those she holds most dear. Leine has to use all her skills honed when she herself was an assassin but also those gained whilst working for an organisation called SHEN who rescue victims of human trafficking.

What we are provided with in this book is action, adventure and a thrill-a-minute. What we are not provided with is loads of bad language, gratuitous violence and graphic descriptions of death ... don't get me wrong, there is violence but nothing that you would not expect in a book dealing with assassins, terrorism and trafficking; the author just doesn't go over the top, in fact she doesn't need to as she just lets her writing and the story do the talking.

With excellent characters - and I am particularly pleased to see the return of Jinn, the little streetwise girl Leine saved from being murdered in "Dark Return" - suspense from start to finish and an exciting story, this book grabbed me by the "short and curlies" and refused to let go until the last letter.

I want to thank DV Berkom for providing me with a copy in return for an honest review and for writing another fantastic book which I have no hesitation in recommending this and the rest of the series to anyone but particularly those of you who love a strong, female lead character who has a sensitive and loving side but who is not afraid to kick some rear ends!
  
The Quiet at the End of the World
The Quiet at the End of the World
Lauren James | 2018 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A gentle end to humankind.
Another YA book, where I don’t honestly know why it has been labelled YA. Perhaps unless there’s rampant sex and violence in a book, only children will want to read it. Except I’m 45 (for now!). I love a bit of sex and violence as much as the next Science Fiction/ Fantasy reader, but I also acknowledge that a book can be a damn good read without those things - and this IS a damn good read.

It’s a ‘soft apocalypse’. A drift into the end of human kind. An exploration into what it is to be human, and ultimately: would the earth be better off without us on it? We all know the answer to that really, don’t we?

Lowrie and Shen are the two youngest and last born humans on Earth. A seemingly harmless virus rendered the entire human race infertile, although some already fertilised embryos remained. Lowrie and Shen are the last two babies born from those embryos. And there has been no cure discovered for the virus.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a refreshingly gentle take on apocalypse - no one is killed, no cannibalism, there are no murderous dictators. In fact everyone gets along and works together as a community.

There are some great characters other than the main ones: Mitch, the lifeguard robot who communicates using flashing colours is one in particular. I loved the records of Lowrie and Shen’s found objects at the start of each chapter as well. A real mix of the ancient (to the reader as well) and the modern (to the reader alone!).

A very thought provoking read in these times of climate crisis, and told in a way that makes it accessible to both young and old.
  
The Big Boss (Tang shan da xiong) (1972)
The Big Boss (Tang shan da xiong) (1972)
1972 | Action, Drama
6
7.6 (5 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The 70s cheese that's present in every Bruce Lee film seems overexposed in the film that would eventually lead to him becoming a martial arts action star. The Big Boss is very reminiscent of Riki-Oh - The Story of Ricky. That should be the other way around, but I managed to see Riki-Oh first and The Big Boss later. The two films are similar to each other for their over the top violence. This is Lee's bloodiest film and it's edited from when it was originally shown in theaters in '71.

Other than being bloody, the film is very unrealistic. It seems like anyone can jump ten feet into the air at will at any given point in time, a man leaves his outline in the wall after getting kicked through it by Bruce Lee, and Lee kills the main villain of the film by sticking his fingertips (all of them) into the villain's abdomen. That's just scratching the surface of the film's ridiculousness. Characters are very cliche, as well. The Chow Mei character is a typical damsel in distress kind of female character that is generally weak, has a crush on the main character of the film, and cries...AT EVERYTHING.

The Big Boss is definitely more cartoonish than any other Bruce Lee film. With all that being said, there's something still enjoyable about it. Maybe it's the fact that it jumpstarted Bruce Lee's career as a movie star or that films that contain over the top violence that don't take themselves too seriously are generally pretty awesome. It's a film worth seeing for the history behind it and it's worth owning for the Bruce Lee fans who know what it paved the way for.
  
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