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Ace in the Hole (The Big Carnival) (1951)
Ace in the Hole (The Big Carnival) (1951)
1951 | Comedy, Drama, Film-Noir
9.0 (5 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"It’s sort of the first–and I think still the best–about the media circus, the kind of the vulture culture of descending onto a place where’s child’s life is in danger, the “boy in the well” kind of thing, and how the press is either hoping that the kid dies or is heroically saved so they have a good story. They’re supposedly covering what they think will be a heartwarming story of bravery, but it’s really the darkest cynical tale about popular media culture. It was too dark for people to deal with at the time. Billy Wilder had such a heart of darkness in him, in such a funny way."

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2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
1968 | Classics, Sci-Fi

"The last one, I’ll say another classic: 2001. I think it’s a movie that you can watch every year and you’ll keep discovering new things. It’s funny how, as time goes by, the movie becomes more relevant and poignant. I love the fact how the storytelling of Kubrick is always inviting you to interpret the movie yourself, but at the same time it’s so rich — so much layers. The fact that now we’re living in a moment where technology is replacing man from [the] center of life — Kubrick really started to talk about that so many years ago, and I think it’s overwhelming. Every time I see it I think it’s overwhelming because I discover new things."

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The Gray Chamber (True Colors)
The Gray Chamber (True Colors)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Loved this interesting mystery!
I loved the last book I read by Grace Hitchcock "The White city" and this one definitely follows along the same lines of greatness :) I loved the main characters, and I thought them to be very relatable characters with some fun quirks. I enjoyed the flow of the story, the mystery of it, and the heart stopping suspense :) It will definitely go down as one of my favorites.
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars for the great characters, funny moments, and superb suspense. I highly recommend this book!
*I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.
  
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
1964 | Comedy
8.2 (25 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"I love Stanley Kubrick so much that the mere mention of his name is enough to make me smile involuntarily. This is not my favorite Kubrick film, but it’s terrific. Peter Sellers. The war room. The Coke machine. The way each plot element triggers the next like falling dominoes. It’s a perfect machine. There are so many funny and absurd lines: “Now look, Col. Bat Guano, if that really is your name” and “Of course it’s a friendly call. Listen, if it wasn’t friendly, you probably wouldn’t have even got it.” As always, I love Kubrick’s bureaucratic, non-psychological language. His persistent return to flat, transactional dialogue provides the perfect banal foil to his wilder, more imaginative moments."

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Michelle Monoghan recommended Fargo (1996) in Movies (curated)

 
Fargo (1996)
Fargo (1996)
1996 | Drama, Mystery

"I really like Fargo a lot. It has everything. I love the Coen brothers. I love Frances McDormand, I think she’s just an extraordinary actress. She’s so funny in that movie, as Marge. I’m from the Midwest, I’m from Iowa; so obviously that accent’s really heightened, but it’s something that I hear every time I go home. It’s something that feels like very much where I grew up; that backdrop is exactly where I grew up. It’s definitely exaggerated but yeah, there’s definitely that, “Oh, oh my gosh” where I come from. And when I go home and after I have a couple of beers you’d probably hear it come out: “You betcha!” [laughs]"

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Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)
Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)
2020 | Comedy
It's not as good as the original for the most part but it never could be, the character is too well known to have that level of anonymity ever again. But it has some absolutely cracking moments that more than makes up for it. A lot of the sequel is clearly scripted and those moments aren't as strong, although Maria Bakalova as Borat's daughter was a great addition, she's genuinely really funny. I still can't get over the fact that so much of the movie was made during lockdown in Spring, though. It's incredible really, and it'll be fascinating to relive some of those moments years later.
Full Review: https://oftenofftopic.wordpress.com/2020/10/30/borat-subsequent-moviefilm-2020/
  
The Umbrella Academy
The Umbrella Academy
2018 | Action, Fantasy
Comic book (2 more)
Good characters
Good music
Miraculous ending (3 more)
Powers out of nowhere
Too clean
Too easy
Miraculous
Contains spoilers, click to show
The first season was really great, I enjoyed the storyline and characters, plus I do enjoy a good comic book adaptation. The second season was good, I enjoyed the new setting and loved the music. Some funny parts and deals with a few hard topics. However, it quickly goes downhill, the story is almost the same as the first season. We got so bored, we only really watched it because there was nothing else to do (lockdown).

The ending is silly, far too clean and sudden new powers save the day. Very melodramatic, over the top.
  
Hollywood Shuffle (1982)
Hollywood Shuffle (1982)
1982 | Comedy
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"An African American filmmaker [Robert Townsend] and being Keenen’s little brother inspired me to want to do movies. It really told the whole truth about African-Americans in the struggle, in a funny way, without all of us banging on the door going, “Hey Hollywood, love us.” Through laughter, it erased color lines, and is one of my all time favorites. I love when you do a movie with people doing multiple characters. That’s something I do and love to do, and I find that it’s one of the hardest things to do and still be grounded as a regular person in a movie. I’m inspired to do movies like that in my next phase."

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Nick Cave recommended Here I am in Books (curated)

 
Here I am
Here I am
Jonathan Safran Foer | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
(0 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"“I fled through Jonathan Safran Foer’s Here I Am and halfway through I was in tears and again a bit further on, more tears – as a father, as a son and as a husband. The last book that did this was Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and in some way this book is not dissimilar – there is a family in crisis and there is an apocalypse – but The Road is all darkness with brief spasms of light, and although Here I Am is also a deeply melancholy book about a doomed family, it is wickedly funny, so that you are laughing too, as it all goes to hell. A book with an enormous and furious heart. I loved it.” -NC"

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