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Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)
Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)
2020 | Action, Adventure, Crime
SWING BATTER BATTER BATTER!
Birds Of Prey is yet another win for the DC universe and a huge step up from one of the most hated films of all time Suicide Squad. Right off the bat Birds Of Prey is an absolute blast and what you will notice immediately is just the sheer amount of explosive energy it has has to offer. Its this energy that constantly gives you the feeling of being on a rollar coaster travelling through a circus of pure amusement, the visuals are loud, the colour pallet is striking and vibrant, the sound is immersive/atmospheric and the soundtrack brings everything together beautify using old classic songs that have been remixed with a modern day kick which help to really give the film pace. Fight scenes are really fun, violent and also well choreographed with a nice crunch to all the impacts too. Infact fights do all feel very John Wick inspired becoming more of a beautifully synchronised dance routine flowing perfectly like the ice skating scenes from itonya rather than using messy quick cuts. BOP also seemingly borrows from Deadpool too as far as plot, humour and mature content go but im happy to report it works really well and manages to feel much more at home/gritty and adult here and less forced/childish than it is in Deadpool in my opinion. Margot robbie shines as Harley Quinn even more so than she did in suicide squad, she really has got this character down to a T now and its so so satisfying to see her own the screen as her again as she struggles to find her independence and make a name for herself. Ewan Mcgregor is also magnificent in a part that he clearly enjoyed playing beacuse boy was he entertaining as hell as a guy thats almost an obsessive man child whose only feared and powerul because of his status and money. Hes also unpredictable with a spoilt brat like temper and the way the film shifts in tone when he becomes angry can be chilling especially when its mixed with such savage and brutal violence. Plot is fairly basic and not the most intresting but that doesnt matter here because the movie holds its own with the constant thrills/variety it provides and just like a looney tunes carton its such pure addictive madness that it will suck you right in and leave you with a chelsea smile from ear to ear. Possibly the most enjoyable and visually awsome comic book adaptations yet well worth seeing.
  
Inside Out (2015)
Inside Out (2015)
2015 | Animation, Comedy, Drama
Have you ever wondered what goes on inside that noggin of yours when your feeling angry, scared, sad or happy even? The producers and directors of Up and Toy Story have delved inside these emotions with their new film Inside Out. It is the latest and greatest film from Disney’s Pixar to open this summer. The film brought in some of the best comedic actors together and strategically placed them in the mind of an eleven year old girl.

 Riley is an eleven year old girl from Minnesota. Her parents have made the difficult decision to uproot her and move to San Francisco for her fathers new job. Riley’s life is flipped upside down and inside out. She is guided only by her emotions as most of us are. Her thoughts are being manned by a control room of sorts. Joy (Amy Poehler) keeps everything at bay. As it is her soul purpose to keep Riley happy and all the other emotions away from the controls as much as possible. Although other emotions like Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith) tend to creep in from time to time.

Her memories are color-coded specific to each emotion. Core memories are glowing. Sadness has become quite enamored with these glowing core memories and can’t help herself from touching the orbs turning all of the happy core memories into sad memories. As her mind short circuits it paves the path for fear, disgust and anger to take over. Joy must stop this from happening and retrieve core memories that are almost lost. Guiding them along the way is Bing Bong (Richard Kind), Riley’s imaginary friend who was thought to be forgotten.

 Inside Out will literally give you a seat on the train of thought and will wind through all the twists and turns of the mind. With such an ambitious idea Pixar has proved once again that they can make a film that can relate to both young and old. It will definitely tug at the heartstrings. It did for me as I was about Riley’s age when I was uprooted to Costa Rica so I hold this film close to my heart. Lots of surprises, laughs and maybe even a few sniffles await you with this film and really shouldn’t be missed. A few hidden surprises also await the true Disney fan. Skip the 3D version not worth the extra couple dollars.
  
    Guerrilla Bob HD

    Guerrilla Bob HD

    Games and Entertainment

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Playing Nice
Playing Nice
J.P. Delaney | 2020 | Crime, Thriller
9
8.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
The protagonists in this story were Pete and Maddie, and the story is told from their perspectives. Pete is unemployed/freelance journalist, who loves being the main carer of his son – Theo. Pete is very sweet and a true people pleaser. Maddie is working in advertising and has difficulty finding her motherly instinct when it comes to Theo. We also have Miles and Lucy, the real Theo’s parents, that are truly strange. The only character I really liked was Pete, he is just so sweet and innocent man. I did not like Maddie, I think she is an absolute hypocrite. However, I have to admit, her input in this book was intriguing. The author is an absolute expert when it comes to creating psychopaths in his novels. Every single book has one, and they are really well developed and delivered. In this book it was Miles. I really have nothing good to say about him at all, except that he is a master of deceit and nastiness.

The plot of this novel started pretty slow. It was a pity to see Pete struggling so much, but when the cruel twists came through, my blood just boiled for all the injustice happening in this book. It was like an avalanche of bad news hitting Pete and Maddie, and all that made me sad, angry and kind of annoyed. The topics discussed in this book were premature babies, mental health issues, infidelity, controlling and psychopathic partners and their behaviour, the legal system in the UK, family courts, challenging of “stay at home dad” stigma, and many more. I really liked how the author released the important information in this novel, some of it was thrown in like a bomb, but other important details were shared slowly throughout the book.

I really like the writing style, it is very well researched, truly personal and a challenging read. The book is set in London, and I really enjoy learning about different boroughs. The chapters are pretty short, and the book is so riveting and emotionally absorbing, that the pages just flew by to me. I really liked the ending of this book, it is very surprising but extremely satisfying, to say the least. 🙂

So, to conclude, I strongly recommend this novel to everyone who loves a good psychological thriller. I would love to see this book made into a film. The characters are all so different, unique and intriguing, and the plot is exceptionally well crafted, filled with so many emotions, that it is really hard to read this book without feeling something (in my case it was anger and pity).
  
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Gaz Coombes recommended On The Beach by Neil Young in Music (curated)

 
On The Beach by Neil Young
On The Beach by Neil Young
1974 | Rock
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"This is such a glorious and beautiful album. There are not many albums that make me want to cry but I think this is stunningly beautiful and raw and emotive and it contains some of the best and favourite Neil Young lyrics. You know: 'I need a crowd of people/ But I can't face them day to day' - I feel that. I'm interpreting that in a certain way but I'm with him on that. There are so many times that you listen to stuff that you really feel. It feels so real; more than real even. It's a beautiful album. 'Revolution Blues' has got everything; it's got a great sounding band working really well and nailing it and it's got an energy. Nothing's too internal either. I was talking to someone earlier about the lyrics to Matador and I know that there are some really personal lyrics on there but they still have to have a hook; they can't be too internal. I can't internalise too much or else I close myself off to whoever is listening. I don't want to push anyone away by being so morose or depressing. But Neil Young does it so well. Lyrically he's a great inspiration to me. They sometimes feel like throwaway lyrics or he has quite simple couplets that feel very day-to-day, but then equally he can be a lot more abstract and using metaphors as well. I've looked at that quite a lot in terms of creating that balance of metaphors and real day-to-day life. But why not have some anger in there? I hear that a lot in 'Revolution Blues' where he talks about 'killing stars in their cars' and that's great. It's angry; it's like the first line of 'To The Wire'. The first line of the song is, 'I want to cut myself' but the second line is: 'I want to cut myself down.' You know, it's where I want to cut myself free of all the pressures. I remember when I played it to people and they were like, 'Gaz! What was that?' and I was like, 'No, no, no, it's part of a couplet. The pay-off is line two.' You know, I'm not into self-harm or anything but I like the fact that some days I might feel like I'm really completely fucked and that I might hate myself and do some damage but I won't. I question it. And like I say, Neil Young does that really well."

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Unbreak My Heart (Fostering Love #1)
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
4.5 stars

I don't normally read reviews by others for books I'm about to start but I did with this one. A lot of the reviews were moaning about Shane and they stuck with me, so I'll admit I was a bit biased. Before that little rant starts, though...

This starts with Shane and his wife Rachel heading to see Kate sing and play her guitar in front of a small audience. Kate is Rachel's best friend and helps her look after her three children while Shane is overseas with the military. Tragedy strikes and Rachel dies a few weeks later, though the baby she was pregnant with at the time survives. One year later and it's the anniversary of her death and in a drunken mistake they sleep together. What follows is an emotional rollercoaster.

Now for a bit of a rant. Shane was very hard to like for the first 50% of the book. He was cruel and mean to Kate and I was ready to knee him in the balls. He wanted everything a certain way and if and when that didn't work he got angry and said mean things. Fair enough he regretted them later but just...no! I used about 6 tissues at one point around the 55% mark because it was just so unfair and I was a snotty red eyed mess so I put it down and went to bed. I'd become invested in them as a couple and he was making it very hard for it to happen. I do believe he redeemed himself enough by the end, though. He eventually realised how hurtful he'd been for years! and did everything he could to make it right. He explained himself more and did stuff to help her in ways that really mattered. He still effed up occasionally but they learned to talk to each other. It was really nice to read their relationship in the end.

I could probably have read it all in one sitting if I'd started it earlier in the day. It definitely dragged me in from the start - wondering how this rather mean main character was going to win over the girl he'd ignored for years.

I think it was really well written. We had all different aspects of their relationship from babysitter to lovers to husband and wife with many difficult moments in between. The family interactions were quite cute to watch. It certainly hit me in the feels and in my opinion; a book that makes me cry is a great book.