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Arthur (2011)
Arthur (2011)
2011 | Comedy
8
8.7 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Arthur Bach is a spoiled, boyish, alcoholic, New York City playboy with amazing hair and heir to the family business and fortune. He and his faithful sidekick Bitterman travel far and wide to have fun and drink. Well, Arthur drinks, Bitterman drives. He is also very dependent on his nanny Hobson who has been with him since he was born and still takes care of him. One day his mother Vivienne decides she’s had it with his antics, embarrassing her and the family company, so she gives him an ultimatum: either he marries Susan Johnson or he will be cut-off and have to fend for himself on the mean streets of New York City.

Though he doesn’t love Susan, he eventually decides to go along with his mother’s wishes and propose to her. But during this time he also meets the enchanting Naomi, an unlicensed tour guide of Grand Central Terminal who has dreams of being a children’s author. As the wedding day draws nearer and nearer, Arthur and Naomi grow closer and closer. Then tragedy strikes. How this affects Arthur could change his entire life. Does he marry Susan and keep his wealth but gain the world’s scariest father-in-law? Does he choose the mean streets of New York City to be with Naomi? Or do he and Bitterman jump into the Batmobile and drive off into the sunset?

This remake of the 1981 movie Arthur honored the wonderful story that many of us know and love from the original film while still possessing its own unique flair. I believe Dudley Moore would have been very happy with Russell Brand’s excellent performance as Arthur Bach (if you disagree, hold a seance and prove me wrong). Helen Mirren does an amazing job as Hobson and she pretty much owns any scene she is in. Nick Nolte & Jennifer Garner were great as Burt (world’s scariest future father-in-law) and Susan Johnson (Arthur’s total-10-on-the-L.A.-scale) fiancee. Last but not least, I thoroughly enjoyed the performances of: Greta Gerwig as Naomi (Arthur’s love interest), Geraldine James as Vivienne Bach (Arthur’s Mom) and Luis Guzman as Bitterman his faithful sidekick and chauffeur (though I do wish Luis would have been given more screen time). The film definitely kept the audiences attention from start to finish but we were all laughing so much that I have to see it again to hear the jokes that I missed the first time.

If you were sober when you saw the original movie you probably remember the key parts of the story line but if not then this movie will seem like an entirely original movie to you.
  
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Mark Arm recommended Tales Of Terror by Tales Of Terror in Music (curated)

 
Tales Of Terror by Tales Of Terror
Tales Of Terror by Tales Of Terror
1984 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"Tales Of Terror were this band from Sacramento. Unfortunately this record hasn't physically been reissued yet. They came through Seattle and played a show. It was random, nobody had heard of them, they hadn't got a record out. It was at an all-ages venue where you'd just go for something to do and this band came on and destroyed the place. And this was probably around '84 so at that point I was kind of looking for other things besides hardcore, which I was much more into a year or two previously. Green River had started at this point and I was trying to do something a bit differently, and this band came out and among the covers they played they did 'Search and Destroy' and 'Spanish Castle Magic' and everyone in the band was just an awesome, crazed musician. The singer would do backflips and land on his feet and by the end of the set all of them except for the drummer were wrapped up in cords. Somehow they all got tangled up and it didn't seem like something pre-planned, it was the natural course of events for that particular show. They were just wild, wild dudes and unfortunately a couple of them are dead now, and one of them is severely debilitated due to too much drugs, which is kind of a bummer. They were the kind of people who were just up for everything and they'd push whatever boundaries and envelopes there were. Supposedly they would carry a blender with them and they'd just put whatever in the blender. They'd go to someone's house, find the alcohol and weird shit from the fridge and put it in and then they'd drink it. I even heard they would put dirt in it. I don't know if that's true, it seems a little over the top. They were a great band that unfortunately only lasted for one record. The only flaw of that record is that it starts off with a cover of 'Hound Dog' but once they kick into their own songs after that it's a fantastic fucking record. It's really super loose. The record seems like you can almost hear them getting drunker and drunker as everything continues. Green River covered one of their songs from that record - a song called 'Ozzie' - we didn't do it nearly as good but... we did it. They were a big influence in our approach to live performance. Unfortunately I don't have the limberness and the wherewithal to do that now. There was one crazy Mudhoney show at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London where everybody tried to fit up on stage."

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We Were the Salt of the Sea
We Were the Salt of the Sea
Roxanne Bouchard | 2014 | Crime, Mystery, Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Ode to the sea, that would describe this book the best, I think. This novel could make even the coldest heart to fall in love with this powerful God’s creation. 🙂

Catherine was looking for her biological mother, and one day she found her, but she was dead. There were so many unanswered questions left, and Catherine was trying to find out, who her mother really was. The characters chosen for this novel were incredibly complex. Their thoughts and feelings filled this book with different states of mind and different perspectives. All the characters had their own unique personality, and sometimes, they were really mysterious to me. I needed quite a bit of time to analyze them. I didn’t have a particularly favourite character in this book, I think they all had their pros and cons, making them all very believable and realistic.

The narrative of this novel was very smartly written, drop feeding the reader with the investigation’s findings, and opening the characters bit by bit. It was quite a slow burner for me, and I really missed some good twists and turns, but I think this novel concentrates more on the character’s feelings and their search of true selves, rather than trying to solve the crime. I really liked the setting and atmosphere of this novel, and the whole plot was soaked with sea love. The author has a passion for sailing, and you can truly feel her love for the sea when she explains the bond, which sea brings out in sailors. Authors expertise shines not only through the sea love but also through knowledge of boats and fishermen’s routines.

The writing style of this novel was very beautiful and incredibly poetic. The chapters had pretty decent length and didn’t leave me bored. The language of this book has quite a lot of sailing terms and is filled with French charm, so I had to look up some of the terms, which sounded alien to me. 🙂 I did like the ending of this book, I think it rounded the story quite well, however, this book makes your brain work, and even though there is a clue of who Catherine’s father is, I still couldn’t figure it out. (I am too lazy 😀 ) So, if you read this book, please let me know in the comment section down below 😉

So, to conclude, if you like sea, boats and a little bit of crime, filled with charming prose and unique characters, then this book is definitely for you. Summer season is just around the corner, so don’t forget a copy of this book, while enjoying that drink on the beach 😉
  
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HerCrazyReviews (247 KP) rated Super Size Me (2004) in Movies

Sep 8, 2019 (Updated Sep 8, 2019)  
Super Size Me (2004)
Super Size Me (2004)
2004 | Comedy, Documentary, Drama
Fast Food May Be Bad But Most Points Made In This Documentary Are Worse
We had to watch this film in school when I was younger and I remember agreeing with most of his points. After re-watching this though, I agree with a few of his statements but what mainly puts me off is how he conducted his thirty day challenge. He went from exercising every day (more then the average person) and eating extremely healthy to not exercising at all and ordering RIDICULOUS sized portions. After ordering these portions instead of saving some for later (you know, like most people do) he decided that he had to eat it all which caused him to constantly throw up. He did this over and over! His doctor also recommended to drink water instead of constantly drinking pop. Even told him that this would help him out a lot but he still didn’t listen. Like, DUDE, listen to your freaking doctors. Instead, he decided not to put his health in peril. I don’t get why he wouldn’t because obviously McDonalds serves water and not everyone gets pop.

This could have been a great documentary talking about how bad fast food is. Which I mean, most people already know about, but he still could have made serious points. And I will admit there were point in here that were good. Such as the Super Size portions are not necessary and when he interviewed that doctor whose family founded an ice cream business. When the doctor was describing the connection between his family’s severe health problems and their eating habits I felt like that was an excellent point! Other then that though most points aren’t proven in the best way possible. Plus, he was adding in bits that didn’t even connect to the fact that fast food is bad. For example, when he showed a child a card with Jesus on it and was surprised that the kid didn’t know Jesus but knew Ronald McDonald. Dude, there is more then one religion out there and not everyone is even religious! (This just upset me a ton!)

I’m just going to jump straight into it and say this documentary pisses me off. While, yes, some people may be obese it isn’t always because they eat too much fast food. There are other reasons why they may not be societies perfect skinny ass version of the normal weight. I do understand though that he is focusing on people being overweight because of fast food not because health reasons or why the BMI index is wrong. I just think that he is going to extreme lengths on purpose which showed an inaccurate representation of what fast food does to the normal consumer because most people don’t eat fast food everyday like Don Gorske.
  
I Like Me (2018)
I Like Me (2018)
2018 |
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Characters – Maggie is a free spirit that has spent most of her life being carefree, she returns home for her father’s funeral where she invites herself to stay with her half-sister, Maggie will drink too much and cause constant stress in her sister’s life, while not even getting a conversation out of her son. She writes a self-help book that makes her a big star, which offers her a chance to help people, but she struggles to deal with her own problems in life. Hannah is the younger half-sister of Maggie, she is married and looking for a promotion at work, she has her life pretty much together, until Maggie arrives in her life and things start to go wrong. Luke is Hannah’s husband that is still feeling young heart being a fan of disco bowling. Michael is the son of Maggie’s, the person she most wants back in her life, but he keeps his distance from her.

Performances – Sue Schaffel and Anna Fagan take the leading roles, they show us great chemistry through the film as they both have to show the ups and downs of their lives. Chris Kozlowski will get most of the laughs in the film.

Story – The story here follows a free spirit that returns to her home town, where she tries to put her life back together with her self-help book making her an internet sensation, but can she fix her own life before it is too late. This is a story that does focus on the idea that people will need help in everybody life, people might turn to books, but in reality it will always be yourself that helps the most. We do see how people can go off the rails and will try to find their own directions, while we will also people that seem to be grounded, but lack direction. We do get the important messages here and by the end of the film you will understand the meaning behind everything in the story.

Comedy – The comedy in the film comes from Maggie’s action and a lot comes from Luke just trying to be a good husband without ever siding with anybody.

Settings – The film keeps the settings simple enough being everyday home locations, until we go to the disco bowling which adds the colour and fun to the life of the characters.


Scene of the Movie – Disco bowling.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – There could have been more on Maggie’s childhood, like was she raised with Hannah, who was her mother.

Final Thoughts – This is a fun comedy that does have a life message involved, it will get the laughs and has strong performances throughout.

Overall: Fun comedy.