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Erika (17788 KP) created a video about track Femme Fatale by Duran Duran in The Wedding Album by Duran Duran in Music
Jun 17, 2019
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recommended The Maltese Falcon in Books (curated)
David McK (3425 KP) rated The Big Sleep in Books
Jan 28, 2019
Dean (6926 KP) rated Dexter - Season 7 in TV
Jan 16, 2021
Are you...?
After the finale of the last series Dexter's secret is out. How will this effect his relationship with Debra, how will she react? Good to see a return to form, I thought the 6th series main story wasn't as good as other series. There is also a femme fatale in this series, special guest star Yvonne Strahovski better known as Serena Waterford in The Handmaid's Tale. Will Dexter put a stop to her or is he strangely drawn to someone similar. Possibly the best series yet.
Karina Longworth recommended Where Danger Lives (1950) in Movies (curated)
Lenard (726 KP) rated The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019) in Movies
Jun 9, 2019
The hidden truth of those dogs, cats, and other four-legged friends you care about continues. More like a three episode animated series than a 80 minute feature film, The Secret Life of Pets is a collection of three interconnected stories, a Pup Furtion with Chloe as the wise Paul and four wolves instead of just Winston Wolf. First, Max (now voiced by Patton Oswald) and Katie have a new master, the baby/toddler Liam. Parenthood give Max an anxiety disorder turning him into a canine version of Marlin protecting his yound ward from all the dangers of New York City instead of the Great Barrier Reef. Katie and new hubby take Max and Duke to the country for some relaxation where Max meets alpha dog Rooster who teaches our old dog new tricks. The second story is Gidget who is entrusted with Max's toy Busy Bee and loses it in the apartment of a cat lady. Gidget is given lessons in cattitude by Chloe to save Busy Bee. Last up, Snowball who moonlights as a costumed hero meets a femme fatale Daisy who wants Snowball to save a circus tiger from an abusive Russian. For a supposed family feature, there is a lot of animal cruelty on display whether intentional or not. I cannot support any film without regard for the safety of its animal cast. Therefore, avoid Secret Life of Pets and watch Aladdin a second time.
Jamie (131 KP) rated Naja (volumes 1-5) in Books
Jun 4, 2017
An underwhelming and strange assassin mystery
What a shame. The comic had an interesting concept and started off pretty well but in the end was really lacking. Naja is a badass to be certain, but she has almost no personality. She was the stereotypical ruthless femme fatale and not much more than that. The other assassins from Zero’s organization were genuinely interesting and the fights were memorable. I just wish I could have cared more about Naja. The plot drags for the first few volumes and I had wished for a little more from the story.
I ended up regretting that wish.
The more that was revealed, the more it just seemed like torture porn. The sad part is, even after some traumatic experiences from Naja’s past was revealed, I didn’t find myself feeling much more for her character.
The comic crashed and burned spectacularly with the final volume honestly leaving me feeling rather angry and disgusted. It seemed to me that the story was almost like a twisted retelling of Romeo and Juliet, tragic star crossed lovers each hailing from rival families with a sprinkling of incest. It was disturbing in the worst way possible and I honestly wish I hadn’t finished the series off.
On the bright side, the art style is modern and edgy and very easily one of the best aspects of the comic. The action sequences are fast and bloody and were fun to read. Overall I can’t recommend this one given the weak story, but Bengal’s art is definitely something to admire.
I ended up regretting that wish.
The more that was revealed, the more it just seemed like torture porn. The sad part is, even after some traumatic experiences from Naja’s past was revealed, I didn’t find myself feeling much more for her character.
The comic crashed and burned spectacularly with the final volume honestly leaving me feeling rather angry and disgusted. It seemed to me that the story was almost like a twisted retelling of Romeo and Juliet, tragic star crossed lovers each hailing from rival families with a sprinkling of incest. It was disturbing in the worst way possible and I honestly wish I hadn’t finished the series off.
On the bright side, the art style is modern and edgy and very easily one of the best aspects of the comic. The action sequences are fast and bloody and were fun to read. Overall I can’t recommend this one given the weak story, but Bengal’s art is definitely something to admire.
Merissa (12051 KP) rated America's Femme Fatale The Story of Serial Killer Belle Gunness in Books
Oct 1, 2021 (Updated Jul 12, 2023)
AMERICA'S FEMME FATALE is the story of a female serial killer who did it for the money or to keep people quiet or from looking at her too closely. Belle is cold-hearted, cold-blooded, and sadly in my mind, managed to get away with it.
We follow her from her teenage years in Norway to her going to America. The book is full of photos of Belle herself, plus other people and situations relevant to the story. I do believe that part of the reason she was able to get away with so many murders was, quite simply, the time in which she lived. I would hope and pray that something of this magnitude wouldn't happen in this day and age.
Although this book has been incredibly well-researched, it was a bit dry and confusing in places. At one point, we make a segue into highlights of the lives of some of her victims which I found to be unnecessary to the story, as it didn't make it any clearer. I personally would have enjoyed it more to stick with the main part of the story.
There were a couple of editing mistakes that I found, but nothing to take away from the story itself. Just a change of name, for example.
An interesting read about someone I hadn't heard of before, and definitely recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Oct 1, 2021
We follow her from her teenage years in Norway to her going to America. The book is full of photos of Belle herself, plus other people and situations relevant to the story. I do believe that part of the reason she was able to get away with so many murders was, quite simply, the time in which she lived. I would hope and pray that something of this magnitude wouldn't happen in this day and age.
Although this book has been incredibly well-researched, it was a bit dry and confusing in places. At one point, we make a segue into highlights of the lives of some of her victims which I found to be unnecessary to the story, as it didn't make it any clearer. I personally would have enjoyed it more to stick with the main part of the story.
There were a couple of editing mistakes that I found, but nothing to take away from the story itself. Just a change of name, for example.
An interesting read about someone I hadn't heard of before, and definitely recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Oct 1, 2021
Nick Rhodes recommended Velvet Underground & Nico by The Velvet Underground in Music (curated)
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Reminiscence (2021) in Movies
Aug 24, 2021
Needed a better Director - like one of the Nolan boys
Christopher Nolan is one of the greatest Directors of our time usually making films that have an attribute of time in them. His brother, Jonathan Nolan, has had a hand in most of his brother’s terrific works as well as the creative force behind such “trippy” TV series as PERSON OF INTEREST and the recent revival of WESTWORLD. In both of these TV Series, Jonathan Nolan was assisted by his wife, Lisa Joy.
Lisa Joy has written and directed her own “trippy, play with time” film, REMINISCENCE that has quite a few of the hallmarks of a Christopher (or Jonathan) Nolan film - but it also has one very unsettling aspect to it - it plays like a twice over copy of something else.
REMINISCENCE is a classic neo-noir with our hero being smitten by the femme fatale which draws him into her world, where murder, criminal activities and low-lifes run rampant all with a downbeat tone.
This sounds like a terrific premise for a Christopher Nolan film, unfortunately, in the hands of Lisa Joy, it is like watching a local community theater production of a Broadway musical.
The first 1/3 of this film is one long, laborious setup for the tragedy that will unfold and it is told at an uninteresting snail’s pace. Reminiscence picks up a bit in the middle with a pretty good action scene - and plot twist - before squandering this momentum with mediocrity at the end.
Joy’s script - which was on Hollywood’s infamous “blacklist’ of scripts for many, many years (a list of screenplays that are generally praised, but for some reason or another have not been produced), is at the core of the problem. The dialogue is not very interesting and dripping with heavy film noire clichés. She does not follow the Hollywood doctrine of “show, don’t tell”. She TELLS the audience much, much more than is needed and never really gives the audience any credit for figuring things out for themselves.
For example, there is a “dirty cop” that is central to the plot (there always is in this type of film). So, how do the other characters in the film address him? “You’re the dirty cop…”
I’d laugh if I wasn’t so bored.
What DOES work in this film is the acting of Hugh Jackman (as our hero), Rebecca Ferguson (as the femme fatale) and - especially - Thandie Newton as the “Gal Friday” of Jackman’s. Someone needs to give this talented actress a true showcase of her talents.
Someone also needs to give good ol’ Cliff Curtis a vehicle for his talents - he is one of the most misused good performers in Hollywood and he is misused in this film as well.
And…don’t get me started on the special effects. If you are going to make a trippy, sci-fi, futuristic neo-noire thriller, you probably shouldn’t cut the corner on the special effects, but this film does that, amazingly.
But…with a good Director at the helm there is enough “good enough” here (especially in the acting) that you should be able to pull something decent out of it.
But…Joy is making her theatrical film directing debut - exactly the type of director that this film does not need. What this film needed wasn’t a rookie director like Joy, it needed a Nolan - either Jonathan or (preferably) Christopher to make this work. But, one will have to be contented with a copy of a copy.
And that’s just not good enough.
Letter Grade: C+ (the performances of the leads almost salvage things.
5 stars (out of 10) - and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Lisa Joy has written and directed her own “trippy, play with time” film, REMINISCENCE that has quite a few of the hallmarks of a Christopher (or Jonathan) Nolan film - but it also has one very unsettling aspect to it - it plays like a twice over copy of something else.
REMINISCENCE is a classic neo-noir with our hero being smitten by the femme fatale which draws him into her world, where murder, criminal activities and low-lifes run rampant all with a downbeat tone.
This sounds like a terrific premise for a Christopher Nolan film, unfortunately, in the hands of Lisa Joy, it is like watching a local community theater production of a Broadway musical.
The first 1/3 of this film is one long, laborious setup for the tragedy that will unfold and it is told at an uninteresting snail’s pace. Reminiscence picks up a bit in the middle with a pretty good action scene - and plot twist - before squandering this momentum with mediocrity at the end.
Joy’s script - which was on Hollywood’s infamous “blacklist’ of scripts for many, many years (a list of screenplays that are generally praised, but for some reason or another have not been produced), is at the core of the problem. The dialogue is not very interesting and dripping with heavy film noire clichés. She does not follow the Hollywood doctrine of “show, don’t tell”. She TELLS the audience much, much more than is needed and never really gives the audience any credit for figuring things out for themselves.
For example, there is a “dirty cop” that is central to the plot (there always is in this type of film). So, how do the other characters in the film address him? “You’re the dirty cop…”
I’d laugh if I wasn’t so bored.
What DOES work in this film is the acting of Hugh Jackman (as our hero), Rebecca Ferguson (as the femme fatale) and - especially - Thandie Newton as the “Gal Friday” of Jackman’s. Someone needs to give this talented actress a true showcase of her talents.
Someone also needs to give good ol’ Cliff Curtis a vehicle for his talents - he is one of the most misused good performers in Hollywood and he is misused in this film as well.
And…don’t get me started on the special effects. If you are going to make a trippy, sci-fi, futuristic neo-noire thriller, you probably shouldn’t cut the corner on the special effects, but this film does that, amazingly.
But…with a good Director at the helm there is enough “good enough” here (especially in the acting) that you should be able to pull something decent out of it.
But…Joy is making her theatrical film directing debut - exactly the type of director that this film does not need. What this film needed wasn’t a rookie director like Joy, it needed a Nolan - either Jonathan or (preferably) Christopher to make this work. But, one will have to be contented with a copy of a copy.
And that’s just not good enough.
Letter Grade: C+ (the performances of the leads almost salvage things.
5 stars (out of 10) - and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)