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A Feminist Perspective on Human Trafficking of Women and Girls: Characteristics, Commonalities and Complexities
Nancy M. Sidun and Deborah L. Hume
7.0
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Focusing on the trafficking of women and girls from a feminist perspective, this book examines how...
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Lizzie (2018) in Movies
Sep 21, 2020
You won't see me denying that this has a thick, foreboding, woozy atmosphere of gothic dread surrounding it which is seldom ever less than bracingly effective; a haunting shot here, a great score there, some seriously acidic dialogue throughout, along with some fucking A-class murders and one of the best lesbian kiss scenes of the 2010s decade. But at the same time this is nearly about as on-the-nose and woefully self-serious as you could possibly play this material, you don't even need to go full-on exploitation to have some more fun with this than is had here. Closes with a shrug in its final moment, too. With a source *this* well-known and speculated upon, why not shoot for some ππ°πππΊπΈπ°π°π₯ππ’π―π₯-style spitballing? Chloe and Kristen's dynamite performances *and* chemistry end up (thankfully) receiving the strongest writing in this otherwise just serviceable screenplay so yeah it's still okay (even despite having no sense of pacing or structure) but I would have loved to have seen Oz Perkins take a crack at this.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her (2000) in Movies
Sep 20, 2020
Back when every studio drama wanted to be indie real bad (when we got shit like J-Lo's ππ―π¨π¦π ππΊπ¦π΄ for example) and when hyperlink movies were king. This really could have been something, but instead it leans way too close into the template for all the movies this is ripping off (one-quirk characters overexplaining the themes to the leads and - by extension - the viewers, long writerly conversations that exist solely for decoration, cloying symbolism, purposefully disappointing non-resolutions, etc.) All but completely throws aside the lives of these unique, incredibly intriguing women in favor of having their stories revolve around some lackluster romance - pretty much defining them all by it in the end. For shame. Not entirely unpleasant, of course the ensemble is stuffed with amazing talent, it has a nice cadence and some decent scenes here and there. But as far as I'm concerned Rodrigo GarcΓa should be fired for continually swinging and missing by turning these potentially thought-provoking stories into underwritten, tiresome (and borderline offensive) grief exploitation.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Rambo: Last Blood (2019) in Movies
Sep 19, 2019 (Updated Sep 19, 2019)
Savagely, sadistically, but (oddly enough) not entirely gratuitously violent exploitation movie. Hulking war veteran John Rambo has retired to a quiet life in Arizona and all is well, until his innocent young niece is kidnapped by Mexican gangsters, hooked on drugs, and installed in a brothel. Suffice to say Rambo does not respond well to this.
Sounds like a recipe for a bone-headed train-wreck of an action movie, and there are a lot of things about it which are deeply problematic: the depiction of Mexico and Mexicans is highly provocative, it's inherently misogynistic, and some of the violence arguably goes too far. But parts of it have a depth and soulfulness to them that is rather surprising - Rambo himself is a highly ambiguous figure, and the story is competently told with a real sincerity to it. The climax is disappointingly mechanical, but the story holds together and it's always a bit cleverer and more surprising than you're anticipating. A horrible movie, yes, but not a wholly bad one.
Sounds like a recipe for a bone-headed train-wreck of an action movie, and there are a lot of things about it which are deeply problematic: the depiction of Mexico and Mexicans is highly provocative, it's inherently misogynistic, and some of the violence arguably goes too far. But parts of it have a depth and soulfulness to them that is rather surprising - Rambo himself is a highly ambiguous figure, and the story is competently told with a real sincerity to it. The climax is disappointingly mechanical, but the story holds together and it's always a bit cleverer and more surprising than you're anticipating. A horrible movie, yes, but not a wholly bad one.
Coasts in Crisis: A Global Challenge
Book
Coastal regions around the world have become increasingly crowded, intensively developed, and...
Genetic Resources, Chromosome Engineering, and Crop Improvement: Medicinal Plants: Volume 6:
Book
Medicinal Plants, Volume 6 of the Genetic Resources, Chromosome Engineering, and Crop Improvement...
Organisation: Philosophy, Structure and Morality
Book
A central aim of this paper is synthesis between conflicting rational and contextual views of the...
Hazel (2934 KP) rated Close to Home in Books
Dec 29, 2019
Absorbing
This is the first in a series of novels starring DI Adam Fawley and his team and what a start to the series this is. I actually missed this first time round and was only reminded I had it when I was sent book 4!
Packed with fantastic characters not all of which are particularly likeable but all of whom are well developed and with interesting stories to tell in their own right. The story line is a difficult one to read being that of child abduction and exploitation however this is not written in a gratuitous way but with care and attention although not is all as it seems and so begins DI Fawley's task of unravelling just what has happened to young Daisy.
This is a fast paced, gripping and absorbing story that had me reading it in quick time in order to discover the secrets and lies contained within the twists and turns of this excellent book and I highly recommend this to those of you who love a great police procedural.
Thank you to Penguin Books (UK) and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.
Packed with fantastic characters not all of which are particularly likeable but all of whom are well developed and with interesting stories to tell in their own right. The story line is a difficult one to read being that of child abduction and exploitation however this is not written in a gratuitous way but with care and attention although not is all as it seems and so begins DI Fawley's task of unravelling just what has happened to young Daisy.
This is a fast paced, gripping and absorbing story that had me reading it in quick time in order to discover the secrets and lies contained within the twists and turns of this excellent book and I highly recommend this to those of you who love a great police procedural.
Thank you to Penguin Books (UK) and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Bombshell (2019) in Movies
Jan 20, 2020
Based-on-fact drama exposing the reality of sexual harassment in the American media, from the director of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (feel that cognitive dissonance!). When a broadcaster is hired from right-wing network Fox News, she resolves to sue the founder, causing ructions throughout the organisation. It's actually a bit more wide-ranged and discursive than that, touching on various issues connected to attitudes towards the media and the exploitation of woman. Not explicitly anti-Trump, but the mood music is certainly not supporting him - I doubt many of the red cap brigade will find much here to enjoy.
To be honest, I was kind of expecting something more like The Big Short or Vice - angry and smart, but also blackly funny and formally creative. After a fairly sparky first act this just becomes quite a serious drama about sexual harassment. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but the thing is that it does become a bit issue-led. Some very good performances, though, and the prosthetics are fun too, I suppose (most of these people are unknown in the UK, though - did like Malcolm McDowell's Rupert Murdoch). Very watchable.
To be honest, I was kind of expecting something more like The Big Short or Vice - angry and smart, but also blackly funny and formally creative. After a fairly sparky first act this just becomes quite a serious drama about sexual harassment. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but the thing is that it does become a bit issue-led. Some very good performances, though, and the prosthetics are fun too, I suppose (most of these people are unknown in the UK, though - did like Malcolm McDowell's Rupert Murdoch). Very watchable.
Mastery, Tyranny, and Desire: Thomas Thistlewood and His Slaves in the Anglo-Jamaican World
Book
Eighteenth-century Jamaica, Britain's largest and most valuable slave-owning colony, relied on a...