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Awix (3310 KP) rated Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) in Movies
Feb 4, 2018 (Updated Feb 9, 2018)
Angry in America
One of the more intelligent movies to attempt to deal with the culture wars in America at the moment, this starts off looking like a relatively straightforward tale of a wronged woman taking on the callous reactionary establishment in smalltown USA, but then turns into something rather more nuanced.
Mildred, the main character, may be in the right, but that doesn't stop her from being an intolerant nightmare a lot of the time, while the racist cop who is her main opposition is not quite the uncaring thug he appears to be. In any case, it's the two sides' refusal to even try to consider the others' perspective that leads to the darker events as the story progresses.
Well-acted and well-written, it may be that the movie's refusal to offer easy or upbeat answers will work against it as far as some viewers are concerned. But another impressively provocative movie from Martin McDonagh.
Mildred, the main character, may be in the right, but that doesn't stop her from being an intolerant nightmare a lot of the time, while the racist cop who is her main opposition is not quite the uncaring thug he appears to be. In any case, it's the two sides' refusal to even try to consider the others' perspective that leads to the darker events as the story progresses.
Well-acted and well-written, it may be that the movie's refusal to offer easy or upbeat answers will work against it as far as some viewers are concerned. But another impressively provocative movie from Martin McDonagh.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Abominable Science!: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids in Books
Mar 23, 2018 (Updated Mar 23, 2018)
A hard-headed look at a number of famous cryptids (legendary animals) from a palaeontologist (Prothero) and a 'professional skeptic' (Loxton), attempting to determine if cryptozoology really is a genuine science (Michael Sheard just writes the introduction). Also goes on to consider the further question - if people aren't actually seeing monsters, then why do they think they are?
Pretty much guaranteed to make your average Bigfoot hunter or Nessie spotter squeal in outrage, but the writers' main proposition - that the famous cryptids are essentially products of 20th century pop culture - is coherent and well-argued, if nothing else. Some of the chapters are a bit more accessible than others, and they do take a variety of approaches - the section on sea serpents mainly focuses on the cultural development of the idea of such a creature, while the one on the Congo dinosaur is a fierce critique of creationist attempts to hijack science. A thoughtful and persuasive book.
Pretty much guaranteed to make your average Bigfoot hunter or Nessie spotter squeal in outrage, but the writers' main proposition - that the famous cryptids are essentially products of 20th century pop culture - is coherent and well-argued, if nothing else. Some of the chapters are a bit more accessible than others, and they do take a variety of approaches - the section on sea serpents mainly focuses on the cultural development of the idea of such a creature, while the one on the Congo dinosaur is a fierce critique of creationist attempts to hijack science. A thoughtful and persuasive book.
The algorithm (3 more)
Not seeing friends posts
Nobody seeing my posts
People are idiots
It's Facebook
Who doesn't have Facebook? It's ingrained in our culture these days. Everybody has it and it's the easiest way to stay connected to everybody. The concept, in the beginning, was great. It really was a great way to stay connected to all your friends in family, all in one place. I think over the years it has just grown into something else. There's too much click-bate, there's oversharing, there are so many ways to get sucked in that have nothing to do with staying connected to people. I wish there was a fresh new site that could be the new Facebook, the next big social media site, but everybody is already on Facebook, and a lot of my other sites (this one included) are connected to my Facebook to make logging in easier.
Akward (448 KP) rated Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization in Tabletop Games
Jun 15, 2018
The most Civilization board game (2 more)
There is a ton of complexity that will keep it interesting for a long time
Variation of gameplay style (war, culture, technology, wonders)
The mechanics will likely be too much for most people (1 more)
A handful of the cards are not balanced well
Civilization in Boardgame Form
Do you like the video game Civilization? Then you will absolutely love this board game. Do you not love intense Euro strategy games? Then you will probably hate this game.
This game is very intense. There are a lot of mechanics, and a lot to learn. It follows the basic mechanics of the Civilization video game fairly closely, but even veteran Civ players took a while to learn it.
You also have to be comfortable with the game taking all day. The time estimate on the box is very wrong. Our first game took us three hours, and we only made it through the first age (there are three).
This game is very intense. There are a lot of mechanics, and a lot to learn. It follows the basic mechanics of the Civilization video game fairly closely, but even veteran Civ players took a while to learn it.
You also have to be comfortable with the game taking all day. The time estimate on the box is very wrong. Our first game took us three hours, and we only made it through the first age (there are three).
David McK (3372 KP) rated Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) in Movies
Dec 31, 2019 (Updated Apr 28, 2020)
The first Indiana Jones film, with Harrison Ford in the role for which he would become iconic.
It's fair to say that this has permeated popular culture: the bullwhip, the hat, the fear of snakes are all intrinsic to the character and heavily copied over the years (Tomb Raider, anyone? The Uncharted series?), with even TVs The Simpsons doing a parody of the opening tomb robbing scene with Homer chasing Bart and ending up rolling down the stairs.
There's almost too many iconic scenes (and quotes) to count: that tomb robber bit at the start, the fed-up Indy shooting the sword-wielder in Cairo (initially storyboarded as a full on sword fight, except the actors all got sick), the Well of Souls sequence, the escape, "It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage", the opening of the Ark by the Nazis and the final warehouse scene, to name but a few!
It's fair to say that this has permeated popular culture: the bullwhip, the hat, the fear of snakes are all intrinsic to the character and heavily copied over the years (Tomb Raider, anyone? The Uncharted series?), with even TVs The Simpsons doing a parody of the opening tomb robbing scene with Homer chasing Bart and ending up rolling down the stairs.
There's almost too many iconic scenes (and quotes) to count: that tomb robber bit at the start, the fed-up Indy shooting the sword-wielder in Cairo (initially storyboarded as a full on sword fight, except the actors all got sick), the Well of Souls sequence, the escape, "It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage", the opening of the Ark by the Nazis and the final warehouse scene, to name but a few!
saheffernan (157 KP) rated Such a Fun Age in Books
Mar 24, 2020
Contains spoilers, click to show
This book had a topic that had drawn me in and I had high hopes for. Halfway through the book it seemed as if I had started reading an almost entirely different book. The dialogue and parts of the story had seemed to fall apart.
The only character I cared about only partially was Emira and her charge Briar. They had a cute relationship that did seem to grow. That however is the only part of the story that had growth. Alix had a white savior complex that was shown again and again leaving me feel disgusted while reading. After accusing her ex boyfriend from high school and Emira's current boyfriend of fetishizing black people and culture. The story then became about a successful women throwing everything away to get back at her high school boyfriend instead of the topic in which the book started out with.
In the end it just left me feeling gross, and sad for how these people had acted.
The only character I cared about only partially was Emira and her charge Briar. They had a cute relationship that did seem to grow. That however is the only part of the story that had growth. Alix had a white savior complex that was shown again and again leaving me feel disgusted while reading. After accusing her ex boyfriend from high school and Emira's current boyfriend of fetishizing black people and culture. The story then became about a successful women throwing everything away to get back at her high school boyfriend instead of the topic in which the book started out with.
In the end it just left me feeling gross, and sad for how these people had acted.
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