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Sarah (7800 KP) rated Killing Eve - Season 2 in TV
Aug 11, 2019
Not as good as first series
The first series of Killing Eve was really quite a nice surprise, wonderfully violent and humorous. The problem is that this second series is it’s more of the same and a poorer version at that. Yes its still rather violent and funny, but it just didn’t feel like anything new. If it wasn’t for Jodie Comer as the wonderful Villanelle, I don’t think I could’ve stuck with this series. She at least brings all of the humour and wicked violence which makes this series watchable. My main problem was Eve. I wasn’t her biggest fan to begin with, but I found her downright irritating and annoying in this series. Her indecision about what or who she wanted was getting rather stale by the final episode and the ending was just a bit meh, especially as anyone with a brain can figure out how it’ll pan out if they make a new series.
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Bongo Fury (Bongy Fury #1) in Books
Nov 8, 2019
Do you want to read a humorous thriller novella set in Northern Ireland? Of course you would, who wouldn't?
Bongo fury introduces Jimmy, a man who just wants to run his music shop in peace. But when a friend asks for his help he ends up plunged into a world of gangsters, organised crime and drug deals. He has to use all of his considerable wits to escape from this unscathed.
This story turns on the character of Jimmy, and fortunately he's a terrific narrator, regarding events with a world-weary black humour even when they turn very much against him. The plot is fairly slight but runs at a fast pace so that really doesn't matter very much. What matters is how much fun this book is to read, and it's a lot of fun. Even better is that there is a Bongo Fury 2 which carries the story on.
Note: Lots of bad language and some violence
Bongo fury introduces Jimmy, a man who just wants to run his music shop in peace. But when a friend asks for his help he ends up plunged into a world of gangsters, organised crime and drug deals. He has to use all of his considerable wits to escape from this unscathed.
This story turns on the character of Jimmy, and fortunately he's a terrific narrator, regarding events with a world-weary black humour even when they turn very much against him. The plot is fairly slight but runs at a fast pace so that really doesn't matter very much. What matters is how much fun this book is to read, and it's a lot of fun. Even better is that there is a Bongo Fury 2 which carries the story on.
Note: Lots of bad language and some violence
Awix (3310 KP) rated Judy & Punch (2019) in Movies
Jan 23, 2020
Not many movies contain moments that leave me literally open-mouthed with astonishment, unsure whether to laugh out loud or moan with horror, but Judy & Punch (a comedy-drama-horror-fantasy) has one. The setting seems to be England in the very late middle-ages, where Punch, a sausage-loving puppeteer with a drinking problem, is making life hard for his capable wife Judy. Slowly but surely, the classic events of the familiar Punch and Judy story begin to happen (although they do struggle to insert the crocodile into the movie).
Lots going on here, most obviously a fable about male violence towards women (and how it is justified when it appears in entertainment). The movie isn't especially subtle about this, but it is inventive, well-staged, and played with energy. It does become rather uneven towards the end, but it is easily different enough from most other movies to be worth checking out. Probably not for the faint-hearted or squeamish though.
Lots going on here, most obviously a fable about male violence towards women (and how it is justified when it appears in entertainment). The movie isn't especially subtle about this, but it is inventive, well-staged, and played with energy. It does become rather uneven towards the end, but it is easily different enough from most other movies to be worth checking out. Probably not for the faint-hearted or squeamish though.
Barry Newman (204 KP) rated Antichrist (2009) in Movies
Feb 8, 2020
What the hell did I just watch? Lars Von Trier at his most deliberately controversial and one truly fucked up film. An un-named couple work through the grief of losing their son and the guilt they feel over the circumstances of his death by going absolutely batshit crazy in the woods. Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg do the best they can and their performances are fine , it’s the material that’s the problem . The first hour is deathly dull and the final 40 minutes consists of graphic violence, bizarre imagery, a talking fox and a bit of genital mutilation thrown in for good measure.The film as a whole is a mess and just doesn’t work , it wants to be arty and clever but feels like it’s just trying to shock for the hell of it. I didn’t enjoy any of this movie and would die a happy man if I never saw this again.
Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Pulp Fiction (1994) in Movies
Mar 2, 2020 (Updated Mar 3, 2020)
Is Pulp Fiction a gangster film? Well, if you define the genre as a morality tale about organised crime, then yes, it is. Of course, it is so much more than that. There is so much going on in Tarantino’s opus that it can’t be clearly defined – which is obviously part of the appeal. You can try not to enjoy every minute of it, but why bother? Once you are in on that amazing soundtrack, and the interwoven tales so unique it hurts, you are in to the end, no matter how many times you’ve seen it already. Incredible dialogue, naturally; colourful characters everywhere, it goes without saying; violence, remorse, betrayal, guns, cars, a gold watch, a samurai sword and a briefcase. A moment of decision or hesitation has a consequence that plays out in strange and mystical ways – as a theme, that in itself connects it to the gangster / crime genre.
Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated City Of God (2002) in Movies
Mar 2, 2020 (Updated Mar 3, 2020)
If there is one film I insist folk who don’t often go for a subtitled film watch, then City of God is it. Organised crime takes on a much different flavour in different cultures, and here we see how it is not merely a choice in search of riches and power, but a way of life that becomes a matter of survival. This exceptional film has everything: story, character, beauty, cruelty, ugliness, religion, morality and an abundance of heart and soul. Importantly it was co-directed, including a rare female eye in the genre, and it shows. There is a sensibility to City of God that transcends the trivial nature of many gangster / crime films. The violence is a means by which we feel genuine sorrow and empathy for a world gone mad. A highly polished work of art that resonates in human ways a lot of films on this list fail to do.
The Naked Soul of Iceberg Slim: Robert Beck's Real Story
Book
Iceberg Slim's first three novels (Pimp, Trick Baby and Mama Black Widow) offered some of the rawest...
Undisputed Truth: My Autobiography
Book
One of the most talked-about and bestselling books of last year, this is the no-holds-barred...
Young Blood: The Inside Story of How Street Gangs Hijacked Britain's Biggest Drugs Cartel
Book
'The young bloods did not care whether they killed criminals or civilians...' The Cartel is...
Zero Zero Zero
Book
From the international bestselling auhor of Gomorrah, this searing expose of dirty money and the...