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The War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds
H.G. Wells | 2012 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
7.7 (22 Ratings)
Book Rating
Through the first 2/3 of this book, I thought I was going to be disappointed - in fact, given how far I'd gotten without feeling particularly engaged, I think I can say I was in fact disappointed. But in the end, Wells makes up for it: not with any extreme plot twists or cheap literary tricks, but with a sense of profundity, with a moral. War of the Worlds isn't the Hollywood movie that came after it, or even the notorious radio show that caused the panic of a nation - instead, it's a novel about a man and his thoughts in the face of the worst disaster. It's a discussion of humanity, psychology, and morality, disguised as an alien adventure.
  
Marvel's The Defenders  - Season 1
Marvel's The Defenders - Season 1
2017 | Action
I love the cinematography in this series! The color schemes, the camera work, the choices that are made throughout are great. The story likewise, though it is quite slow through the first couple of eps as the team is re-introduced and brought together. Jessica Jones' snark is great, Luke Cage is strong and thoughtful as always, Matt Murdock steeps in his angst a bit more than I'd really prefer, and Danny Rand...is a spoiled, immature child playacting at being a superhero as before but everyone else's reactions to him make him a bit more palatable. The discussion between Cage and Rand in episode 2 was great.

Overall this is a good addition to Marvel canon. It's only as strong as its story and its weakest link, but still an enjoyable show.
  
National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
1983 | Comedy
The dog went on the picnic basket!
The Griswolds!

Everyone's favorite adventurous family embarks on their inaugural journey together to go see Wallyworld in California and encounters creepy annoying relatives and all sorts of unsavory characters along the way.

I once had a long discussion with someone about which was better, the first Vacation or Christmas Vacation, this one being my favorite of the bunch. The family dynamic on the open road, for me, was slightly more entertaining than Christmas at home with the relatives which is also still a lot of fun.

Seemed like a liked the introduction of Randy Quaid, John Candy, Christy Brinkley and Imogeen Coca and just thought it was a lot of fun waiting to see what happened next.

  
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Lee (2222 KP) rated Skip To The End in Podcasts

Aug 28, 2018  
Skip To The End
Skip To The End
TV & Film
9
7.0 (4 Ratings)
Podcast Rating
Seriously entertaining, essential for any movie fan
Currently on episode 102, I'm ashamed to say that I only recently discovered Skip To The End. It's now the only podcast I listen to, eagerly awaiting the release of each new episode. I don't really have time to listen to any other podcasts anyway... but that's not the point...

The 3 presenters are all very knowledgeable, all very funny, and have a great rapport with each other. Each week, a new movie release is reviewed and dissected and a classic movie gets rewatched for analysis and discussion. Regular features such as the top 3 (top 3 moments that ruined a movie, top 3 anti-heroes) and the mass debate all add up to make this a thoroughly enjoyable podcast for any movie fan. Highly recommended.
  
The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle
The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle
Stuart Turton | 2018 | Mystery, Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
7.9 (24 Ratings)
Book Rating
Mindblowing Murder Mystery
Any fan of a jolly good, old fashioned murder mystery may enjoy a new spin on the favourite format. Imagine an Agatha Christie style thriller from the point of view of several characters, a narrator who swaps bodies and arrives at different times in their week. He must solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle, avoid the evil Footman and play time to his advantage if he is ever allowed to leave Blackheath. This was a complex, and yet highly enjoyable, work of fiction. Within three chapters you will begin to appreciate the work it must’ve taken Turton to create this tense thriller. It’s an exhilarating peek into the minds of other characters and their perspectives, the more their individual stories overlap, the more the narrative flows. Definitely a book for discussion.
  
The Assassin (1961)
The Assassin (1961)
1961 | Crime, Thriller
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
First film directed by Elio Petri, which at first may seem simple and superficial, but after watching it I kept thinking and thinking about it and ended up being referred to The Usual Suspects (Bryan Singer, 1995), because at no time do we have an account of the impartially, all flashback scenes are narrated by Marcello Mastroianni's character. There are no absolute truths in the film. The direction is very competent and the performance of Mastroianni, as always, perfect. In the end there are some exaggerations and they miss exploring some aspects, but I really liked the movie. Nowadays there would be a good discussion about him being featured on the cover of a newspaper as a murderer while he was a suspect, something quite common in journalism to this day.
  
Kinda Funny Gamescast
Kinda Funny Gamescast
Games & Hobbies
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Podcast Rating
Two fantastic personalities passionate about what they are discussing (1 more)
Features a lot of interesting guests
Tim's bias for Nintendo (1 more)
Not as insightful since Colin left
Kinda Brilliant
I have been listening to Gamescast since day one. The podcast took a few episodes to find it's feet, but once it did, it quickly became one of the most insightful gaming discussion podcasts on the internet.
Unfortunately Colin left Kinda Funny almost a year ago and some of the show's integrity went with him. Now it is just Greg and Tim that host it, however it is still very much worth listening to, if you can ignore some of the outrageous things that Tim frequently hits out with. It has been good though, to listen to Tim grow as a prevalent voice in the video game journalism echo-chamber.
  
The 17th Suspect
The 17th Suspect
James Patterson, Maxine Paetro | 2018 | Mystery, Thriller
7
8.0 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
I Suspect You’ll Enjoy This Book
Yuki has taken on a potentially explosive assault case in which a man is accusing his female boss of assault. Is it as straightforward as it seems? Meanwhile, Lindsay has been given a tip about someone killing the homeless in the city. Unfortunately, the killings are outside of her jurisdiction, and her efforts to investigate start an inner department skirmish. Can she figure out who is killing these people?

Fans of the series will be pleased with the latest outing. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep them reading, and the cases are both compelling. Of course, the usual weaknesses are there, including Cindy and Claire being under used and all the characters being thin. Additionally, I thought the discussion of Yuki’s case was much more graphic than it truly needed to be.
  
Anger Is a Gift
Anger Is a Gift
Mark Oshiro | 2018 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Young Adult (YA)
10
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book has left me speechless, in awe, and in tears. The timeliness of it with the #MarchFor OurLives can not be understated. It reminds us that minorities have been faced with violence for too long and often at the hands of those who are supposed to serve and protect. The diversity of the characters is truely a quilt of the underrepresented within this country. The care and compassion that Oshiro uses to create such deep characters makes a true impact on the reader. As a middle and elementary school teacher I don't think I could use this book to teach but I can recommend it. I think this book needs to be in every high school library in the country though and possibly used in the curriculum . It is a discussion that needs to be opened.
  
This is such a powerful, yet heartbreaking, book about the effects of bullying and how it can ultimately lead someone to commit suicide, or "bullycide". It also has wonderful resources at the end, including discussion questions about the book, as well as statistics about bullying and suicide and hotlines/websites for those who are being bullied or contemplating suicide. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is involved in education, especially at the middle/high school levels, as well as those who have children at that age, but I also think everyone could benefit from seeing this perspective. It'll make you think twice (or, it *should*, anyway) before using that derogatory term to refer to your friends when they do something stupid, or before laughing at someone because they're different than you. Five stars.