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Stephen Morris recommended Paris 1919 by John Cale in Music (curated)

 
Paris 1919 by John Cale
Paris 1919 by John Cale
1973 | Pop, Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"Towards the end of the list I was getting desperate, but Paris 1919 came to me straight away - it's one of my all time favourite albums. It's like the anti-Transformer; I see it as the antithesis of that record, and I definitely have more love for Paris 1919. I think it's the best album John Cale's ever made. It's odd, because it's a poppy record, but even his poppy records have sinister overtones. And I love 'Child's Christmas In Wales'. It's a very Christmassy album. Do I play it a lot at this time of year? I'm forbidden from playing records at home. I put Berlin on at home once, and it just killed the room. I tried to make it better by playing some Motown, but the atmosphere had gone."

Source
  
Child's Play (2019)
Child's Play (2019)
2019 | Horror
Contains spoilers, click to show
If you haven't seen the 1988 Child's Play, you'd be surprised by this decent film. If you have seen the original, you may keep looking for comparisons and come up short. There are a few comparisons to the original 1988 movie of the same title. Chucky has been revamped and recast to adhere to a younger generation of horror fans. While I missed Brad Dourif's sinister voice, I enjoyed the new life Mark Hamill brought to the sinister doll we all grew up with. This is a different Chucky, by far. Chucky is comical and slowly grows more and more evil as the movie reels on. But you can't help but feel a little sorry for the little guy. It's basically just bad programming as opposed to an evil soul inhabiting the toy. There are different deaths in the movie. While it's less predictable in comparison to the original, its entertaining to watch and not laggy like most remakes. :)
  
Fred Gets Dressed
Fred Gets Dressed
Peter Brown | 2021 | Children
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Fred Gets Dressed implies a cute book. It's a good one for teaching children how to get dressed. It also shows a bit of transgender dressing. I enjoyed that part of it, especially when the parents came into the bedroom. I am not sure if this is the plot of the story or not.

It shows that they let their child choose what they want to wear. It may also be teaching to let your child play dress-up with a child or children. They may want to try on mom or dad clothes, and that should be okay as well.

The author seems to be emphasizing allowing your child to play dress up and it being okay to wear mom's clothes or dad's clothes. It is a sweet story; nonetheless, Children will enjoy this. May Fred be a girl or a boy? Who to say? The author does not say if Fred is a boy or a girl. Your children could see themselves in the story; This does not always happen. Well done with that.

I rated the book four stars (moons). I am not exactly sure if the story is about transgender children or learning to get dressed. That does not matter too much, but the other reason for it implying determination is I did not get the print copy. I am not blaming the author on this, as it is the slow mail that is the problem. I hope that parents will pick this up to put on their child's bookshelves. It is a good book for children to learn whether the story or plot is about transgender children or learning to get dressed or to play dress up.

Children should be allowed to play dress-up. There is nothing wrong with trying on other people's clothes. It may be that they either enjoy or identify with them better.
  
Child's Play (2019)
Child's Play (2019)
2019 | Horror
Predictably Gruesome, But Entertaining
Child's Play is a 2019 slasher/horror movie directed by Lars Klevberg and written by Tyler Burton Smith. It was produced by Orion Pictures, KatzSmith Productions, and BRON Creative and distributed by United Artists Releasing. The film stars Aubrey Plaza, Gabriel Bateman, Brian Tyree Henry, and Mark Hamill.


A revolutionary line of high-tech dolls, designed to be life-long companions to their owners, called Buddi, is launched by the Kaslan Corporation. Buddi dolls learn from their surroundings and act accordingly by connecting and operating other Kaslan products making it a success with children world wide. Before committing suicide after being fired at a Buddi assembly plant in Vietnam, an employee disables all of the doll's safety protocols on the doll he is assembling. In Chicago, Karen Barclay (Aubrey Plaza), a retail clerk, encourages her son, Andy (Gabriel Bateman), to make new friends as she prepares for his upcoming birthday. She blackmails her boss to procure a Buddi doll as an early birthday gift but once Andy activates it, the doll begins to display violent tendencies.


This movie was pretty good, and that goes for remakes/reboots. I think everyone has seen a bad Chucky movie and this is not one. I really didn't like the redesign or new look of the Chucky doll but it grew on me as the movie progressed. Also I guess I'm just so used to his voice being different, that I also didn't think Mark Hamill's voice fit either, until the movie progressed further. I agree with certain critics that complained about the inconsistent tone, and how it lacked the principal's perverse originality. It definitely didn't have the me vibe of the original but I like how it made it, its own thing. But I think this was a very successful remake. The acting from Gabriel Bateman was really good and I wound up really liking Mark Hamill's performance as well. He actually made me feel sorry for the doll. I give this movie a 7/10. And I say you should definitely check it out, especially if you are a fan of the Child's Play movies.
  
Child's Play (2019)
Child's Play (2019)
2019 | Horror
Mark Hamill gives a stellar & sinister new voice to your favorite Buddi. (0 more)
The schlock moments, though few, are cringe worthy indeed. (0 more)
New Chucky Is My Favorite Chucky
I am a reborn Chucky fan after the wonderful 2019 reimagining that is Child's Play. It is not easy to follow a long-standing series with a history of both slasher success, and campy catastrophe. Child's Play is a fresh new story that puts a much-needed spin on a franchise that frankly had been run into the ground. At its heart, this movie is exactly what it is supposed to be, a thrilling tale of a killer doll run amok. Though I imagine some diehard fans are inevitably going to be disappointed, I call this a resounding win. I wasn't a fan of the Chucky design at first, but it won me over later during a hilarious teaching moment between Andy and his pal in the first act. The lighting and camera work are solid, with a haunting, playful score that draws out the tension like a blade. Parents be warned, there is plenty of brutality, and no shying from gore. Even jaded millennial kids should wait to see this one. The story is a fantastic satire of all things electronically assisted, and paints a believable portrait with bloody overtones. The thrilling premise really shines due to the superior talents of the cast and crew. Aubrey Plaza brings weight to a character that is almost unceremoniously sidelined for most of the movie. The real celebration is Gabriel Bateman's performance as Andy Barclay. The slower paced moments settle a pall of tension over events as you share in Andy's isolation and later persecution. The supporting cast won me over entirely. Even the cannon fodder characters are awesome, with a pleasant dose of likability that gives them depth, with varying levels of unpleasantness that will have you tongue in cheek rooting for Chucky at times. Good stories are enjoyable. Check. Great stories get us thinking. Double check. When top-tier tech meets malicious malfunction, Chucky will have us all asking ourselves... "Are you broken like me?
  
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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Child's Play (2019) in Movies

Jun 25, 2019 (Updated Jun 27, 2019)  
Child's Play (2019)
Child's Play (2019)
2019 | Horror
This one's for 2Pac
Contains spoilers, click to show
Child's Play is really a film of two halves - the first being the better half and here's why:

The film starts off introducing us to Buddi (this remakes version of the originals Good Guys), and briefly explains that what will eventually end up as Chucky, is a defective product - a robot that connect to any device to your home, with all his safety protocols switched off.
This is the first thing that I imagine will piss off Chucky purists but it's a change that I thought was fine.
When the plot gets going and 13-year old Andy is acquainted with his new toy, is where the movie really shines. Chucky learns from Andy and just wants to make his new best friend happy, to the point that it paints Chucky as sympathetic. It's actually quite upsetting when he begs not to be shut in a dark closet, after not understanding why his violent tendencies have upset his friend.

The design of the doll itself, I thought was pretty good. He looks creepy as hell, and the way his eyes change colour just add to the whole set up... Plus Mark Hamill is clearly having a ball voicing Chucky - inspired casting right there.
The main problem I have with the cast was Aubrey Plaza, who's great in Parks and Rec, Scott Pilgrim, Legion etc, but here usual wide eye, psycho, sarcastic act doesn't really fit in with her role as mother to Andy.

Then there's the second half of the film, which to me felt very rushed, where Chucky goes full blown crazy, and starts controlling other Buddi dolls - an idea which is absolutely fine (and probably what will happen in the sequel), but the movie skirts by it pretty quickly. After building up for over an hour, a lot of explanations are left out, to make way for a violent show down finale between Chucky and Andy, that almost feels a bit unearned.

Overall though, Child's Play is a pretty fun horror trip, that sets itself apart from the original pretty nicely. I sincerely hope it's not just a one off, and we get more in the future.
  
The Mandalorian - Season 2
The Mandalorian - Season 2
2020 | Sci-Fi
Better than the first season (1 more)
Less filler episodes
This season was considerably better than the first. I decided to do a spoiler - free review. There were introductions of a lot of Clone Wars/Rebels characters, all of which I really liked. There was also the return of an original trilogy character that was teased in the first season. They've also included some EU content, which is now canon, and referred to Operation Cinder.
We've also finally gotten the Child's name, so that ridiculousness of 'Baby Yoda' can go away now, please.

I had issues with how they presented a very well-known, central character, introduced into the series. I think that they should have used the voice of the original character and cast someone who is younger and looks extremely similar to the elder actor. I hope that if they continue showing this central character, that they consider casting the actor (cough cough, he's already got a Disney contract) to play the correctly-aged character, rather than a slightly-shoddy digital version over some rando actor.
  
Child's Play (1988)
Child's Play (1988)
1988 | Horror
The atmosphere is top notch. (4 more)
The tension could be cut with a knife at times.
Young Alex Vincent is surprisingly amazing in the film.
The film quickly establishes Chucky as a horror icon.
Everything was done with practical effects and actually looks amazing
Hi I'm Chucky, wanna play?
I'm sorry but at least for me this is about as close as you can get to a perfect horror film. The atmosphere of this film is perfect and both the acting and direction are top notch. The special effects are astounding for the time that this came out and Chucky is masterfully voiced by Brad Douriff. This film is interesting in the fact that if you grew up in the 80s and early 90s and remember what life was like back then, not only was this film absolutely terrifying for you as a child, but it holds up beautifully 30 years later. If you are a child of the modern era however, you just might find this film ridiculous and dated. The kills are extremely well thought out and suspenseful and the dark as night soundtrack fully adds to the terrifying experience. Child's Play remains 30 years later for me a staple of the horror genre and one of the main reasons I became such a big fan of the genre. Alex Vincent is unbelievably great holding down the lead role as a 6 year old. Not many horror films can survive centered around a protagonist so young, but this film does so masterfully.
  
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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Seed of Chucky (2004) in Movies

Nov 26, 2019 (Updated Jan 7, 2020)  
Seed of Chucky (2004)
Seed of Chucky (2004)
2004 | Comedy, Horror
5
6.0 (8 Ratings)
Movie Rating
What even is this film!?
Seed of Chucky is the fifth in the Child's Play series, and definitely is the peak of absurdity in this particular franchise.
After writing the first four, Don Mancini steps behind the camera for the first time to direct this entry, and it's crystal clear he wanted to take it into comedic territory, and honestly, it works for the most part.

A lot of Seed is so ridiculous, you can't help but laugh.
Chucky plans to transfer his soul into Redman of all people, Britney Spears gets blown up, there's a live ventriloquist competition that looks more jumping than a metal concert, there's a member of S Club 7 in it, Jennifer Tilly, John Waters, Redman, and Jason Flemyng (because why the hell not) all play themselves - I could go on.
Jennifer Tilly especially deserves credit, as her willingness to poke fun at herself is a big part of what makes this film fun.
Billy Boyd voices Glen/Glenda, the spawn of Chucky, and that's also just ridiculous as it sounds.

Seed has some genuinely nice gore effects going on but as a horror film, it's rubbish. Nothing scary happens at all. But as an all out, stupid comedy with horror leanings, it hard not to like.
I love the more unsettling Chucky of the first two movies, and would take him over the quippy Chucky of the later movies - a huge reason why I didn't care much for Bride of Chucky - but when it's this over the top, I can get on board without too much fuss.
  
Child's Play 2 (1990)
Child's Play 2 (1990)
1990 | Horror
6
7.4 (14 Ratings)
Movie Rating
An enjoyably stupid step down from the first one
Child's Play 2 picks up pretty much where the first is left off, with Chuckys body being recovered and refurbished ready for a re sell.

Of course it doesn't take long for Chucky to escape, and head off on a murder spree to get back to Andy (the same kid from the first one)

This sequel straight up lacks the same quality that the first one boasts. The acting is pretty terrible for the most part (although it nice to see Twin Peaks veteran Grace Zabriskie), and the movie hasn't aged as well as the first.
It still has it's charms though. Chucky is ten times more foul mouthed than before, and the movie wastes little time in setting him loose.

I found it to be fairly boring for the most part, but the whole final act makes up for it.
The final showdown in a Good Guys factory is absolutely ludicrous, but it's part of what makes this series so iconic, and gives the film much needed boost ensuring that it ends on a high note.