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Scrum For Dummies
Book
Practice an agile form of management to stop wasting time and money Scrum For Dummies is an easy to...
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) in Movies
May 20, 2021
Tobe Hooper's seminal The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a straight up horror classic, that changed the face of the genre. It's influence can be seen all over the place, and it's notoriety is still prominent. To this day, TTCSM is still misunderstood by wider audiences. It's title, alongside it's "video nasty" reputation that stuck for decades, suggests that the viewer is in for a depraved gore fest, when in reality, this film borders on arthouse more often than not. Its brimming with iconic shots, and beautiful cinematography work courtesy of Daniel Pearl. In terms of gore, you don't see much of it. Pretty much all of the violent scenes are implied, and the movie shies away from showing anything explicit, a move that is incredibly effective.
Its pacing is pretty much perfect. The slow build first half is suitably uncomfortable, and full of great performances that keep it engaging. When things kick off, it grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go until the credits roll. Some incredibly well done sound design and tense music score compliment the breakneck final act, that is just an unencumbered assault on the senses. It's exhausting (in a good way).
Marilyn Burns' Sally is a badass final girl that causes the Sawyer family a whole bunch of trouble, and Leatherface is a wonderfully portrayed maniac - a genuinely terrifying MF, who has a sympathetic side. He's the main reason why TTCSM is still scary as fuck all these years later. The scares on display are all well earned, and the jump moments are startling and are far from being cheap.
What more can I say, TTCSM is truly one of the greats. It's uncomfortable, entertaining, extremely well put together, and is wholeheartedly deserving of its place in horror royalty.
Its pacing is pretty much perfect. The slow build first half is suitably uncomfortable, and full of great performances that keep it engaging. When things kick off, it grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go until the credits roll. Some incredibly well done sound design and tense music score compliment the breakneck final act, that is just an unencumbered assault on the senses. It's exhausting (in a good way).
Marilyn Burns' Sally is a badass final girl that causes the Sawyer family a whole bunch of trouble, and Leatherface is a wonderfully portrayed maniac - a genuinely terrifying MF, who has a sympathetic side. He's the main reason why TTCSM is still scary as fuck all these years later. The scares on display are all well earned, and the jump moments are startling and are far from being cheap.
What more can I say, TTCSM is truly one of the greats. It's uncomfortable, entertaining, extremely well put together, and is wholeheartedly deserving of its place in horror royalty.
BN
Botox Nation: Changing the Face of America
Book
The first in-depth social investigation into the development and rising popularity of Botox The...
Stitch Your Own Silver Linings: A breakthrough guide to helping yourself to happiness - no matter what
Book
Have you ever had the experience where one minute life is wonderful, and you are on top of the...
An Unlikely Union: The Love-Hate Story of New York's Irish and Italians
Book
They came from the poorest parts of Ireland and Italy and met as rivals on the sidewalks of New...
Earth's Deep History: How it Was Discovered and Why it Matters
Book
Earth has been witness to mammoths and dinosaurs, global ice ages, continents colliding or splitting...
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Happily Undead in Dark River (Dark River Days, #2) in Books
Jan 6, 2021
I read the first book in this series a few months ago and really quite enjoyed it so when I got my KU subscription and saw this was in the catalogue I decided to grab this one, too.
This one picks up not long after the events of the first with Raine now being persona non grata in Dark River apart from her four guys. It's going to take some time for the townspeople to come to terms with Raine being the victim of their well-loved, long-term resident (who I won't name.) It seems that what went down in their little town has drawn the attention of the Vampire Nation and they are on their way to investigate.
I did enjoy the first one, this one wasn't quite as engaging. I felt this one was getting a little too complicated with all the new lovers she was acquiring. Four men I can cope with - and have read several books with four males in reverse harems - but I think that at the end of this Raine was quickly verging on about 7 or 8 men that she would happily share her bed with and the others not be bothered about. It was getting a little ridiculous for me.
I can't say the storyline of this one pulled me into it, either. It was rather reminiscent of the first. Someone wants her dead, various attempts on her life and then saved by her guys - only the number of them has multiplied a little. There was quite a lot of sex in this, with various partners and combinations of men. It felt rather heavy on the erotica side of romance and I wasn't entirely convinced by the feelings floating around.
As much as I liked the first book I don't think I'll be continuing the series.
This one picks up not long after the events of the first with Raine now being persona non grata in Dark River apart from her four guys. It's going to take some time for the townspeople to come to terms with Raine being the victim of their well-loved, long-term resident (who I won't name.) It seems that what went down in their little town has drawn the attention of the Vampire Nation and they are on their way to investigate.
I did enjoy the first one, this one wasn't quite as engaging. I felt this one was getting a little too complicated with all the new lovers she was acquiring. Four men I can cope with - and have read several books with four males in reverse harems - but I think that at the end of this Raine was quickly verging on about 7 or 8 men that she would happily share her bed with and the others not be bothered about. It was getting a little ridiculous for me.
I can't say the storyline of this one pulled me into it, either. It was rather reminiscent of the first. Someone wants her dead, various attempts on her life and then saved by her guys - only the number of them has multiplied a little. There was quite a lot of sex in this, with various partners and combinations of men. It felt rather heavy on the erotica side of romance and I wasn't entirely convinced by the feelings floating around.
As much as I liked the first book I don't think I'll be continuing the series.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated The Visit (2015) in Movies
Nov 2, 2020
This movie, and I can't stress this enough, spends way too much time on the young kids budding rapping career. Not convinced I ever want to watch 13 year old white boys rap, let alone 3 or 4 seperate scenes of it...
Anyway, The Visit is pretty good (if you ignore the whole rapping part - not sure if I've mentioned that yet). It has a minimal yet great cast, some solid creepy moments, and a surprisingly grounded twist from the notoriously inconsistent M. Night Shyamalan.
Olivia DeJonge and Ed Oxenbould are likable as the two leads. The framing device of them filming a documentary about their estranged grandparents is a natural explanation for the 'found footage' camera style.
The stand out though is Deanna Dunagan as the grandma. Christ she is unsettlingly creepy, even when she's being kind. Her contribution to this film really lends the narrative as a whole, a huge help of tension. The slow burn nature of it is fantastically realised, and presents the audience with a decent mystery plot, and a chance to try and unravel what is really going on before the inevitable twist hits.
The twist itself is simple yet effective, and is certainly an "oh shit" moment, but unfortunately it leads to a final act that feels a bit over the top and silly. It shifts from an atmospheric creepy chiller to a sub par horror trying a little too hard to pack in the scares. It's a shame because 80% of the runtime is genuinely engaging!
Despite the lackluster ending, The Visit is a solid POV thriller that is head and shoulders above a huge chunk of Shyamalan's back catalogue, and is decent enough way to spend 90 minutes, except for the 3-4 minutes spent with the kid rapping...
Anyway, The Visit is pretty good (if you ignore the whole rapping part - not sure if I've mentioned that yet). It has a minimal yet great cast, some solid creepy moments, and a surprisingly grounded twist from the notoriously inconsistent M. Night Shyamalan.
Olivia DeJonge and Ed Oxenbould are likable as the two leads. The framing device of them filming a documentary about their estranged grandparents is a natural explanation for the 'found footage' camera style.
The stand out though is Deanna Dunagan as the grandma. Christ she is unsettlingly creepy, even when she's being kind. Her contribution to this film really lends the narrative as a whole, a huge help of tension. The slow burn nature of it is fantastically realised, and presents the audience with a decent mystery plot, and a chance to try and unravel what is really going on before the inevitable twist hits.
The twist itself is simple yet effective, and is certainly an "oh shit" moment, but unfortunately it leads to a final act that feels a bit over the top and silly. It shifts from an atmospheric creepy chiller to a sub par horror trying a little too hard to pack in the scares. It's a shame because 80% of the runtime is genuinely engaging!
Despite the lackluster ending, The Visit is a solid POV thriller that is head and shoulders above a huge chunk of Shyamalan's back catalogue, and is decent enough way to spend 90 minutes, except for the 3-4 minutes spent with the kid rapping...
ClareR (5879 KP) rated Daughters of Night in Books
Mar 20, 2021
Daughters of Night is set in Georgian London, not a period that I’ve read that much about. I love a good historical novel, and this is definitely one of the good ones! There’s loads of really interesting, accurate (it seems to me!)historical detail, and the characters are well developed people that I wanted to find out more about.
It was surprising that Caro Corsham could investigate a death and a disappearance herself, but I suppose with money and status comes a little freedom - and her husband isn’t in the country for the vast majority of the book. Caro’s thief taker, Peregrine Child, is a great character. A complex man, he wants to do what’s right, despite the fact that he’s paid to do so. He comes with his own set of problems: drinking, gambling, he owes money to the wrong people (if there are ‘right’ ones, I don’t know!), but I really had the impression throughout that he had empathy for the prostitute he was looking for. He realises that these women don’t always choose to do the job, and when they do, it’s because there’s little other choice.
This is a big book, and I listened to it on Audible, so it was a lot of hours - but it didn’t seem that way. The narrator, Lucy Scott, was really engaging, and her different voices were discernible from one another. I’ve done this a couple of times recently with my NetGalley books: I realise that there are some books that just really lend themselves well to being read aloud - and it’s a far more entertaining way to get ready for work or to cook dinner!
I loved this book, and I’d highly recommend it - either in book or audible form!
It was surprising that Caro Corsham could investigate a death and a disappearance herself, but I suppose with money and status comes a little freedom - and her husband isn’t in the country for the vast majority of the book. Caro’s thief taker, Peregrine Child, is a great character. A complex man, he wants to do what’s right, despite the fact that he’s paid to do so. He comes with his own set of problems: drinking, gambling, he owes money to the wrong people (if there are ‘right’ ones, I don’t know!), but I really had the impression throughout that he had empathy for the prostitute he was looking for. He realises that these women don’t always choose to do the job, and when they do, it’s because there’s little other choice.
This is a big book, and I listened to it on Audible, so it was a lot of hours - but it didn’t seem that way. The narrator, Lucy Scott, was really engaging, and her different voices were discernible from one another. I’ve done this a couple of times recently with my NetGalley books: I realise that there are some books that just really lend themselves well to being read aloud - and it’s a far more entertaining way to get ready for work or to cook dinner!
I loved this book, and I’d highly recommend it - either in book or audible form!
Kim Pook (101 KP) rated The Woman in the Window (2021) in Movies
Jul 26, 2021
A woman, Anna, wakes up and we get a view around her home, followed by a conversation with her daughter and her husband. We see her watching her neighbours before engaging in a therapy session. It is soon clear that Anna has problems. She has attempted suicide, has a drinking problem and is agrophobic meaning she is too scared to leave the house.
One evening her new neighbours son Ethan, comes over to introduce himself and they get talking, but something is worrying him. The next day his judgemental mum, Jane, comes over after Anna's House is egged on Halloween and they also get talking, but she is worried about her son and husband. That same evening, the husband comes over asking her if his family had come to see her, she lies and says no.
One evening whilst in the bath, Anna hears a scream coming from her new neighbours house, she speaks to Ethan who is clearly distraught but won't say why. Then whilst watching them again, she witnesses a brutal crime where a Russell family member is stabbed, but when she reports it nobody believes her, so she decides to try and find out what happened, which isn't going to be easy for someone with agrophobic.
I want to say I have never seen a movie like this before, and in truth I haven't, but I have seen a very similar storyline on the simpsons, when Bart thinks ned flanders has killed maude, it even plays out in a similar way.
It was an interesting movie though, with so many twists that I didn't see coming and it kept me interested right to the end. I did feel the end wasn't In keeping with the tone of the movie though, it started off like a psychological thriller but ended like a teen Slasher.
One evening her new neighbours son Ethan, comes over to introduce himself and they get talking, but something is worrying him. The next day his judgemental mum, Jane, comes over after Anna's House is egged on Halloween and they also get talking, but she is worried about her son and husband. That same evening, the husband comes over asking her if his family had come to see her, she lies and says no.
One evening whilst in the bath, Anna hears a scream coming from her new neighbours house, she speaks to Ethan who is clearly distraught but won't say why. Then whilst watching them again, she witnesses a brutal crime where a Russell family member is stabbed, but when she reports it nobody believes her, so she decides to try and find out what happened, which isn't going to be easy for someone with agrophobic.
I want to say I have never seen a movie like this before, and in truth I haven't, but I have seen a very similar storyline on the simpsons, when Bart thinks ned flanders has killed maude, it even plays out in a similar way.
It was an interesting movie though, with so many twists that I didn't see coming and it kept me interested right to the end. I did feel the end wasn't In keeping with the tone of the movie though, it started off like a psychological thriller but ended like a teen Slasher.