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Gabriel Garcia Marquez recommended Tales from the Thousand and One Nights in Books (curated)
Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) created a post in Smashbomb Feedback
Jun 24, 2019
Seth Pye (5 KP) rated IMDb Movies & TV in Apps
May 3, 2020
Intuitive (1 more)
Informative
Indispensible Reference!
I couldn't get by without IMDb! I've had the app for as long as I've had a smartphone, and open it almost daily. What lesser-known projects have my favorite stars been involved in? Who's that up-and-comer who put in such a moving performance in my last watch? Which movies by the directors I follow are essential to be able to understand their repertoire? If you're even a very casual film buff, this is sure to be indispensable to you as you navigate movie culture!
ClareR (5603 KP) rated Thea and Denise in Books
Aug 18, 2022
Two women with two very different lives, Thea and Denise had both had enough of their daily grind. Thea is divorced, her daughter wants to live with her father and his new family, and Denise is treated like a servant by her husband and sons. I’d be in that car and on that road trip pretty fast if my family treated me like Denise’s, I can tell you.
I really enjoyed Thea and Denise’s road trip, their adventures and growing friendship. I particularly liked Denise’s mum!
I read this on The Pigeonhole.
I really enjoyed Thea and Denise’s road trip, their adventures and growing friendship. I particularly liked Denise’s mum!
I read this on The Pigeonhole.
Jessica Erdas (463 KP) rated The Perks of Being a Wallflower in Books
May 16, 2018
This book is one you can read time and time, again. Simultaneously beautiful and tragic. It details growing up, suicide, puberty, depression, anxiety, relationships, sex, drugs, and secrets. Told by way of secret letters in a diary style, each one showing more and more clearly the daily life of Charlie, a strange outcast who wants to belong but also just wants to observe. I highly recommend putting yourself through this wonderfully written adventure. Get ready to be heart broken by almost every page and uplifted by the moments of elation as though they were your own.
Smashbomb (4683 KP) created a post in Friends of Smashbomb
Apr 1, 2019
Vegas (725 KP) rated Unrest (2017) in Movies
Oct 16, 2019
Suffering from CFS I can partially relate to the people featured in this documentary, their daily struggles, how it affects people around them and the support they get. It also makes you realise that however bad you feel personally, there are people out there who are suffering in ways you cannot even begin to imagine.
It isn't an easy documentary to watch and certainly isn't a rainbows and pink unicorns film, don't watch if you want some light entertainment, but highly recommended for information...
It isn't an easy documentary to watch and certainly isn't a rainbows and pink unicorns film, don't watch if you want some light entertainment, but highly recommended for information...
Elif Shafak recommended The Captive Mind in Books (curated)
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Angry Optimist: The Life and Times of Jon Stewart in Books
Sep 6, 2017
Insight into a beloved but flawed role model
So I’m a little ambivalent about this book. Jon Stewart took over at The Daily Show the same year I graduated high school. I was 16 and only starting to pay attention to politics. I was also raised quite conservative Christian – the pundit we listened to the most was Rush Limbaugh. And here was a man saying things that were the total opposite of what I’d been taught – but also things that resonated a lot more with me. Many years later, when The Daily Show and Jon Stewart were labeled the most trusted voices in news media, I had no trouble at all believing it. He not only knew how to speak to my generation, he also spoke for us. All the things we were thinking, he was out there shouting. He was our window into this grown up, corrupted world of politics, and we loved him for it.
Not to say he’s perfect. I’d heard – and Angry Optimist mentions – that he can occasionally be a rage-filled asshole. That the staff of The Daily Show has a woman problem. (As in, not enough of them, and can’t keep them.) So while I do admire the man, I am not blind to his flaws.
The book is interesting – I learned more about his early life and career – but nothing really game-changing. And perhaps that says something about Stewart. There aren’t really any skeletons in his closet, or scandalous stories. He’s just an angry Jewish comedian.
Rogak’s style of writing is easily consumed; I read the entire book in about three hours. Perhaps part of why I find it so anticlimactic is that she ends it with this sense of not knowing what Stewart might be up to next, and whether, if he does decide to leave The Daily Show eventually, if the show will end with him – and we know those answers now, three years after the book was published. Stewart has retired (barring the occasional appearance on Colbert’s show) and Trevor Noah is doing an admirable job of holding down the fort after Stewart’s exit. (With less anger, and a little more befuddlement, which is a fun change.) I was also a little disappointed that she mentions Stewart’s friendship with Anthony Weiner – but doesn’t say anything about how he took the ribbing from Stewart over Weiner’s rather unglamorous exit from politics.
I have also heard that the audio book is not good – apparently the narrator is boring. So I’d recommend the print book over the audio, if you choose to read it.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Not to say he’s perfect. I’d heard – and Angry Optimist mentions – that he can occasionally be a rage-filled asshole. That the staff of The Daily Show has a woman problem. (As in, not enough of them, and can’t keep them.) So while I do admire the man, I am not blind to his flaws.
The book is interesting – I learned more about his early life and career – but nothing really game-changing. And perhaps that says something about Stewart. There aren’t really any skeletons in his closet, or scandalous stories. He’s just an angry Jewish comedian.
Rogak’s style of writing is easily consumed; I read the entire book in about three hours. Perhaps part of why I find it so anticlimactic is that she ends it with this sense of not knowing what Stewart might be up to next, and whether, if he does decide to leave The Daily Show eventually, if the show will end with him – and we know those answers now, three years after the book was published. Stewart has retired (barring the occasional appearance on Colbert’s show) and Trevor Noah is doing an admirable job of holding down the fort after Stewart’s exit. (With less anger, and a little more befuddlement, which is a fun change.) I was also a little disappointed that she mentions Stewart’s friendship with Anthony Weiner – but doesn’t say anything about how he took the ribbing from Stewart over Weiner’s rather unglamorous exit from politics.
I have also heard that the audio book is not good – apparently the narrator is boring. So I’d recommend the print book over the audio, if you choose to read it.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated Bait (2019) in Movies
Oct 2, 2020
Blow the man down
Bait is a beautiful disorientating gem of a movie about how we failure to understand and communicate with each other on a daily basis. Set in an old fishing village that's having to change with the times while leaving its locals struggling to make a living. bait is loaded with conflict and tension as tourists and locals cross paths and confront each other on a daily basis. Watching bait is a constant visual treat it's scratchy, jumpy, weathered and seemingly missing vital scenes giving it not only a sense of nostalgia but great authenticity too. Dialog is stiff, seemingly mismatched and layered in an almost hazy dream like way adding brilliantly to the overall atmosphere, harsh themes and knife point tension. Acting is tip top too with every single character seething with realistic portrayals of frustration, jealousy, anger and #hatred these along with close up shots of clenched fists and faces showing eyes of sheer boredom add superbly to a film that feels so relatable and incredibly British. Bait is by no means a happy watch with its intense close up imagery, pulsing scratchy film reel and defining silence that accompanies all the constant drama and conflict but theres something so pure, heart warming and nostalgic in all it's damn fine riveting hopelessness that rewards all that stay till it's haunting and mezmerising conclusion.