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Jonathan Caouette recommended 3 Women (1977) in Movies (curated)

 
3 Women (1977)
3 Women (1977)
1977 | Classics, Drama
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"This is, by far, one of my all-time favorite films of all time bar none. I have seen the film well over one hundred times, and I am always trying to get people to watch it with me. Funny enough, as I type this, I am in Bordeaux, France, at the first ever Bordeaux International Independent Film Festival. I was asked to pick one film that I loved that I could talk about, and, of course, it was 3 Women. The screening is tonight, and I am seeing if for the first time on 35 mm. I had seen VHS copies of the film prior to the wonderful Criterion version coming out, and, of course, I now see and hear things in the film that I have never known before Criterion brought that all in. The film has a magical quality. I experience new things and information about the film every time I see it. It’s like a recurring dream that I don't mind redreaming over and over. It’s my favorite film in the world. I would love to do a one-off film festival somewhere called The Identity Crisis Film Festival . . . and show all films that I feel are similar to 3 Women, such as That Obscure Object of Desire, Persona, and Mulholland Drive."

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Paul Weller recommended Odessey and Oracle by The Zombies in Music (curated)

 
Odessey and Oracle by The Zombies
Odessey and Oracle by The Zombies
1968 | Rock
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"In my mind it conjures up those crisp autumn days. The first time I ever heard this record wasn't at the time [of release], it was a few years later. They put it out as part of a double album. That was the first time me and my mate [and early Jam member] Steve Brookes heard it. Steve lived near Woking Park and it was autumn time, so I guess that's always been part of it for me in terms of the sensations that it brings up. It's almost like a concept album in sonic terms. Like a suite almost. I went to see them about five or six years ago where they played three nights at Shepherd's Bush Empire - I went to at least two of them - where they played the whole album with the original line-up. That was really special. So many people that I talk to love that record, from all over the world as well. It's amazing that it's taken over 45 years for it to sink in. I like the English melancholic thing to it. It's something that's in the English psyche anyway, innit? Something to do with our appalling weather. It's probably my all-time favourite record. Whenever I've spoken to people who've never heard it I always try and go and buy them a copy."

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Ensnared by Innocence (Roaring Rogues #1)
Ensnared by Innocence (Roaring Rogues #1)
Larissa Lyons | 2021 | Paranormal, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
ENSNARED BY INNOCENCE is the first book in the Roaring Rogues series and we are introduced to a Regency world where an Heiress can be sold off to pay debts, whether she wants to be or not.

Francine has no idea why her aunt is so adamant she accept the proposal of someone Francine dislikes intensely. In three months, Francine will reach her majority and then won't have to marry anyone. With that in mind, she approaches Blakely and propositions him.

This was a delightful book to read, with the relationship between Francy and Erasmus growing from mutual admiration to love. I would have liked a bit more about Erasmus shifting to a lion rather than just a sex scene, plus more about his Cubs. Still, that scene was steamy so maybe I missed something. There are some classic one-liners in here that made me chuckle, together with wonderful descriptions of the ton, the surroundings, etc.

The first book in a series that I have thoroughly enjoyed and have no hesitation in recommending. Looking forward to the next one.

** 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!
  
Moog Indigo by Jean-Jacques Perrey
Moog Indigo by Jean-Jacques Perrey
1970 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"Oh Jesus, have you heard that album? I just recently found that. I think it was when I first got a Moog, and I read the history of it and I heard Jean-Jacques... he was one of the first ones to use it in a pop way. I read a book about him. I didn't know that Edith Piaf sponsored him to come over to the United States. He had this instrument - I saw it on YouTube - that really, at the time, just sounded like the violin and all these other things, and it was just incredible. Also, he did a version of 'Flight Of The Bumble Bee' and he recorded a hive of bumble bees and then went back to his laboratory and spliced them individually - amazing! He kind of looks like my dentist, he's such a nerd! Disneyland uses his version of 'Baroque Hoedown' for their Electric Parade. When he went to Disneyland to hear it he was like, "Wow", he was amazed! I think at one point Disneyland stopped using it and people were like, "What the hell?! What happened to that music?" So it came back. To me, that's part of the attraction, it's wacky, it fits in with all these lights and the kids love it and all that stuff."

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After Life (Wandafaru Raifu) (1998)
After Life (Wandafaru Raifu) (1998)
1998 | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
7.5 (4 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Then, my last one is going to be β€” this might be slightly more obscure, though it really shouldn’t be. I fell in love with this film when I first saw it and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a film as beautiful, as contemplative. The film After Life by Hirokazu Koreeda. I remember when I first saw it, just being totally blown away by every single frame of it. The honesty of it, the fact that it celebrated life, the fact that it was so unbelievably profound and spoke volumes about living life to the fullest and cherishing every moment. I don’t think there’s been a more beautiful film about life itself. It’s so understated in the way he tells his story. It’s obviously a collection of vignettes and a collection of talking heads, but woven into this narrative. Again, I might be wrong, but I seem to remember that the number of the people who contributed to the experiences of life are real people β€” it’s almost like documentary-styled elements to the film itself. So you got these really personal memories that are very private. Sometimes they’re nostalgic, sometimes they are beautiful, sometimes they’re funny and amusing. That, for me, is the ultimate win. When the Blu-rays of that came out in Japan, straight away I was like, β€œI’m buying this film! I need this film in HD.”"

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Stephen Morris recommended Marquee Moon by Television in Music (curated)

 
Marquee Moon by Television
Marquee Moon by Television
1977 | Rock
9.0 (4 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"This was the great danger of me picking these records - that they'd all come from 1974, but that was when I was most enthusiastic about buying records. And Marquee Moon… I just played it over and over and over again. I just love it. US punk was very different [to UK punk]; over here, the concept of it was absolutely fantastic, and that was the whole thing that got me into it, but it was a bit one dimensional. The Ramones were great, but they were kind of a caricature - a cartoon band. And a lot of punk over here seemed to go for that, as a backlash against over sophistication. I just felt that Marquee Moon and the stuff from New York was odd, and it was different, and it was weird - and I always liked weird thing. It still had a lot of energy; I liked Marquee Moon in preference to, say, Patti Smith's Horses… it was just contrived enough. Any further and it would be too pretentious. It's still great today; as soon as I put it on and hear those first few bars of 'See No Evil', it reminds me of when it first came out and I played it non-stop. Although imagine my disappointment when I bought Adventure on the red vinyl and tried desperately to like 'Foxhole', and it didn't happen."

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LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Contagion (2011) in Movies

Sep 21, 2020 (Updated Nov 26, 2020)  
Contagion (2011)
Contagion (2011)
2011 | Drama
"π˜‹π˜°π˜―'𝘡 𝘀𝘒𝘡𝘀𝘩 𝘒 𝘀𝘰𝘭π˜₯!"
Totally unrealistic, not even a *single* scene where someone buys out all the toilet paper. In all seriousness, it's interesting to kick this around in terms of the current pandemic really only until this starts to take form of a narrative movie (a fucking bingo drawing for who gets the first vaccines? lmfao) rather than a "what if?" scenario - but it's never any less measured or just plain fun. Soderbergh's sickly, medical-esque digital palette coats a befitting film over a story with absolutely no regard for the sanctity of human life. I wish it retained most of the pure penchant for schadenfreude it did in its first hour before turning toward a more traditional route - characters being viciously snuffed out one after another without warning, paranoia cranked up to 11 (bystanders are the enemy, air is the enemy) but even still it does have a giddy love for the cruelty of dragging this world and its inhabitants through the wringer. Sacrifices depth for pure pacing perfection (favorably, might I add) in what is essentially a seamless series of montages that boast the same kind of uninterrupted inertia of (lesser) films such as 𝘊𝘒𝘱𝘡π˜ͺ𝘷𝘦 𝘚𝘡𝘒𝘡𝘦. And what a bitchin' score, no? Could have ended with more vigor, but very much succeeds as the business-casual 𝘊𝘒𝘣π˜ͺ𝘯 𝘍𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳.
  
Everything Must Go (2011)
Everything Must Go (2011)
2011 | Comedy, Drama
Sterile and not funny, but more importantly yet another one of those mopey pity parties about a loathsome, middle/upper class, middle-aged white man who learns to love from those around him by first abusing them emotionally and wallowing in doldrums. The first stretch is pretty rough but that all being said, eventually turns into some serviceable sad porn. The Laura Dern scenes are pointless, and the direction barely rises above just adequate - but I feel the main problem is the very aspect that gets the most praise here; despite Ferrell's best efforts this character comes out as nothing much more than flat. It's clear they were going for like a Jim Carrey in 𝘌𝘡𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘒𝘭 𝘚𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘩π˜ͺ𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘡𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘰𝘡𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 π˜”π˜ͺ𝘯π˜₯ or Adam Sandler in π˜™π˜¦π˜ͺ𝘨𝘯 π˜–π˜·π˜¦π˜³ π˜”π˜¦, but they fail to have those crucial catharsis scenes, those bursts of emotion which made Ferrell's turn in 𝘚𝘡𝘳𝘒𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 π˜›π˜©π˜’π˜― 𝘍π˜ͺ𝘀𝘡π˜ͺ𝘰𝘯 come out unscathed. So instead we have this guy who comes across as more deflated than successfully melancholy and just sort of sulks around while the story does everything you expect it to, then it's suddenly all solved but who really cares by then? Anywho, he and Hall have some serious chemistry and their scenes are enough to make this not so bad even if it can't escape convention.
  
The Karate Kid Part II (1986)
The Karate Kid Part II (1986)
1986 | Action, Comedy, Family
This isn't a tournament...
I've only recently just finished watching the actually quite good The Karate Kid spin off (featuring the same characters, 30 years later) on Netflix.

The reason I mention this?

Because the final episode of Season 2 teases Daniel returning to Okinawa, when he wistfully rediscovers/looks at a book about the history of that location.

It's the same book as in this film (he's reading it on the plane), which I'd never actually seen before.

The plot, basically, is that Daniel accompanies Mr Miyaga back to his ancestral homeland of Okinawa when the latter receives a letter saying his father is dying, 6 months after his (Daniels) victory at the All Valley Karate tournament - the film actually picks up directly here, with Kreese attacking Johnny Lawrence (one of the two main adult characters in Cobra Kai). It transpires that Mr Miyaga left to avoid a fight with his best friend, who had an arranged marriage to Mr Miyaga's love. Said friend still holds a grudge, with his nephew starting to pick on Daniel as a foreigner. As in the first, this ends with a Karate fight, but here the stakes are raised considerably with said fight more brutal than in the first film (but not as brutal as in the season 2 finale of Cobra Kai).