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Streets of Rage
Video Game Watch
The once peaceful city has been taken over by a criminal syndicate, including factions of the...
Beat'em up

Ari Augustine (10 KP) rated Lord of the Butterflies in Books
May 4, 2020
Gibson's poems hit you right in the heart. They're raw, blunt, unyielding in their insight of violence, love, loss, gender, sexuality, and so much more. Some of my favorites include: Ode to the Panic Attack and America Wakes Me In the Middle of the Night. Both spoke to my own anxieties and I felt those two pieces of poetry really spoke to everyone at some point in their lives.

Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)
Movie Watch
A secret sisterhood of female assassins, over the course of a single night, fight to stop a cycle of...

Christine A. (965 KP) rated Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits in Books
Nov 14, 2018 (Updated May 29, 2020)
Humorous Sci-Fi book 1 of the Zoey Ashe series
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.
When Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong was available to read for review, I was pleasantly surprised, primarily since it was published in 2015. I had read it for a book club in 2016 and remembered how much I enjoyed the story and its humor. My memory was indeed correct.
Wong is known for wit in his novels, and Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits is no exception. It falls into his usual writing genre - humorous SciFi. I realized I should not read his book while at work because I chuckle out loud.
The main character, Zoey, has a ton of snarkiness and a very smelly cat. It is "a world in which anyone can have the powers of a god or the fame of a pop star." It is worse than big brother watching you. It is an entire world in which an all-seeing social network tracks your every move. Villians have superhuman enhancements. Ok, yes, sometimes they do not work, and people blow up.
Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick, book two in the Zoey Ashe series will be released in October 2020, so you have plenty of time to read Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits.
This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 5/28/20.
When Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong was available to read for review, I was pleasantly surprised, primarily since it was published in 2015. I had read it for a book club in 2016 and remembered how much I enjoyed the story and its humor. My memory was indeed correct.
Wong is known for wit in his novels, and Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits is no exception. It falls into his usual writing genre - humorous SciFi. I realized I should not read his book while at work because I chuckle out loud.
The main character, Zoey, has a ton of snarkiness and a very smelly cat. It is "a world in which anyone can have the powers of a god or the fame of a pop star." It is worse than big brother watching you. It is an entire world in which an all-seeing social network tracks your every move. Villians have superhuman enhancements. Ok, yes, sometimes they do not work, and people blow up.
Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick, book two in the Zoey Ashe series will be released in October 2020, so you have plenty of time to read Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits.
This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 5/28/20.

Troy Aker (6 KP) rated The Punisher - Season 1 in TV
Dec 14, 2017
Jon Bernthal (1 more)
Tackles some very timely subjects
SO GOOD!
Contains spoilers, click to show
Once you get through the violence, this show hit home for me having so much military in my family and close friends.
It looks at some subjects that are for me very hard to watch. Soldiers come home from war and try to fit back into society. Fighting PTSD and the realization that society might not have a place for him, ex-Army soldier Lewis acts out in a violent and horrific way to get the public's attention in an attempt to get the world to see the way he sees. It was really hard to watch Lewis's transformation from a confused, out-of-place ex-soldier to a violent terrorist in his death.
Add to this the gravitas that Jon Bernthal adds to the role of Frank Castle and you have a very deep and almost sympathetic show. You just need to get past the sheer violence.
It looks at some subjects that are for me very hard to watch. Soldiers come home from war and try to fit back into society. Fighting PTSD and the realization that society might not have a place for him, ex-Army soldier Lewis acts out in a violent and horrific way to get the public's attention in an attempt to get the world to see the way he sees. It was really hard to watch Lewis's transformation from a confused, out-of-place ex-soldier to a violent terrorist in his death.
Add to this the gravitas that Jon Bernthal adds to the role of Frank Castle and you have a very deep and almost sympathetic show. You just need to get past the sheer violence.

TacoDave (3847 KP) rated Lord of the Flies in Books
May 23, 2019
Engaging (2 more)
Good pace
Believable characters and plot
A brutal classic
"Lord of the Flies" is a classic for a reason. It is the story of a bunch of boys who survive a plane crash and are stranded on an island together. They get along well at first, but soon the pressures of their situation cause cracks in their 'society' and they form into two groups that clash with each other, sometimes violently.
The idea that human civilization is fragile is examined, but not through exposition, rather through the actions of the characters in the story. Are humans inherently violent? Is peaceful society an illusion, one tragedy away from breakdown?
If you've never read this book - or seen one of the movie versions - be aware that it gets brutal at times. There is violence and bloodshed and not everyone escapes unharmed. But it is a fascinating story of civility and civilization and what it means to be a human in a stable society.
The idea that human civilization is fragile is examined, but not through exposition, rather through the actions of the characters in the story. Are humans inherently violent? Is peaceful society an illusion, one tragedy away from breakdown?
If you've never read this book - or seen one of the movie versions - be aware that it gets brutal at times. There is violence and bloodshed and not everyone escapes unharmed. But it is a fascinating story of civility and civilization and what it means to be a human in a stable society.

Dean (6927 KP) rated Donkey Punch (2008) in Movies
Jul 21, 2018
Severely underrated low budget English horror/thriller! Taking a very modern turn on the horror theme and tackling some very taboo ideas as a group of youngsters decide to live it up on holiday losing all their inhibitions as they drink, take drugs and have sex. During which a sex myth tried out leads to one of them dying. As the others battle their own conscience and morals as well as each other to get out of the mess they are in, only ending up in more extreme violence. A good idea for a film that dares to be different. Some may be put off by the sex scene which borders on porn and by the violence. However it does raise some good issues to make a graphic film. Another good entry in recent English horror films. The DVD has quite a few interviews with the cast, director both after and during the making of. Along with some deleted scenes and commentaries.

Barry Newman (204 KP) rated Rambo: Last Blood (2019) in Movies
Feb 9, 2020
This is certainly very different in tone to the previous films and doesn’t really feel like a traditional Rambo film. It’s more of a formulaic action revenge film that borrows heavily from ‘Taken’ and unfortunately does nothing to dispel the Trumpian stereotype of a Mexico populated solely by violent criminals. So no it’s not a brilliant film by any means but it still certainly kept me entertained for 90 minutes with plenty of switch your brain off thrills. I’m a big fan of Stallone and I enjoyed his performance here and I couldn’t help but feel for Rambo as he has the tiny bit of happiness he’d manage to find taken away and is forced back into a world of death and violence. The violence when it comes is incredibly graphic and quite satisfying especially in the finale as Rambo dispatches with the bad guys on his booby trapped ranch. All in all though one of the weaker films in the series but still an enjoyable ride.

Buried in the Heart: Women, Complex Victimhood and the War in Northern Uganda
Book
In Buried in the Heart, Erin Baines explores the political agency of women abducted as children by...

The November Girl
Book
A few months before his eighteenth birthday, Hector runs away to the remote Isle Royale on Lake...
fantasy