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Joe Goodhart (27 KP) rated Doctor Who: The Death of Art in Books
Nov 30, 2020
Time for some troof! I tried reading this back when it first came out. I found it $2.95 at a used book store in the U.S. (Philadelphia, to be exact). The premise seemed neat and I saw a mention of Ace in the first few pages, so I felt I was on board. Yeah, no.
Jump ahead to now, I have been re-visiting key 7th Doctor NAs (sorry, but anyone who thinks NuWHO is groundbreaking or mentally stimulating, needs to read some of these and re-evaluate that statement. Just steer clear of this one!). This one was next on my list, as I wanted to give it a second chance, as my mind is so much more freer these days.
Unfortunately, my original opinion still stands for me: this book is rubbish! The beginning is interesting, but then goes so far out of the loop with that Chapter about alien race the Quoth. When Simon Bucher-Jones is on his game, he is A-MAZ-ING, not unlike Brian Michael Bendis when he writes his own creations, but when he sucks like this? <b>PEEEEE-YOOOO!</b>
By all means, do not waste any time, energy, etc. trying to endure this! Your mind will hate for years to come!
Jump ahead to now, I have been re-visiting key 7th Doctor NAs (sorry, but anyone who thinks NuWHO is groundbreaking or mentally stimulating, needs to read some of these and re-evaluate that statement. Just steer clear of this one!). This one was next on my list, as I wanted to give it a second chance, as my mind is so much more freer these days.
Unfortunately, my original opinion still stands for me: this book is rubbish! The beginning is interesting, but then goes so far out of the loop with that Chapter about alien race the Quoth. When Simon Bucher-Jones is on his game, he is A-MAZ-ING, not unlike Brian Michael Bendis when he writes his own creations, but when he sucks like this? <b>PEEEEE-YOOOO!</b>
By all means, do not waste any time, energy, etc. trying to endure this! Your mind will hate for years to come!
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Leprechaun (1993) in Movies
Oct 19, 2020
The original Leprechaun is so so silly. It's low budget, it's brimming with unfunny jokes, it's not scary in the slightest, but dammit it's hard to hate on it too much.
The characters in Leprechaun are mostly typical easy-to-dislike personality voids (apart from my boy Ozzie), but some of the casting is notable. Of course, a pre-Friends Jennifer Aniston takes the lead and is likable enough, but the main star is obviously Warwick Davis. This being the early nineties, the horror genre was firmly set on its villains being the star, following the success of 80s icons such as Freddy Krueger, and the titular creature takes up most of the spotlight.
The Leprechaun himself is so-so. He's more of a little shit than a full blown monster, and the majority of his one liners aren't particularly funny, but Davis is clearly giving his all in this role, and is no doubt the sole reason why this movie spawned an entire franchise, even if Lep is ultimately a poor man's Chucky.
As far as cheesy horror films go, you could do a lot worse than Leprechaun (it's many sequels for example). It's cheap and trashy, but it's still pretty entertaining.
The characters in Leprechaun are mostly typical easy-to-dislike personality voids (apart from my boy Ozzie), but some of the casting is notable. Of course, a pre-Friends Jennifer Aniston takes the lead and is likable enough, but the main star is obviously Warwick Davis. This being the early nineties, the horror genre was firmly set on its villains being the star, following the success of 80s icons such as Freddy Krueger, and the titular creature takes up most of the spotlight.
The Leprechaun himself is so-so. He's more of a little shit than a full blown monster, and the majority of his one liners aren't particularly funny, but Davis is clearly giving his all in this role, and is no doubt the sole reason why this movie spawned an entire franchise, even if Lep is ultimately a poor man's Chucky.
As far as cheesy horror films go, you could do a lot worse than Leprechaun (it's many sequels for example). It's cheap and trashy, but it's still pretty entertaining.
Kristina (502 KP) rated The Beast (The Beast, #1) in Books
Dec 7, 2020
I felt like this story had some potential, especially with the first few chapters. However, it quickly changed for me. "The Beast' is written in dual personalities, that of Dimitri and Columbia, which suited the story fine, but a lot of it felt boringly repetitious - reading almost the exact same moments, just with different points of view. Then came the instalove. Sure, Columbia put up a decent fight, but everything that happens before Columbia returns home literally happens within 2 days, tops. By then, Dimitri is already changing and deciding she's the cure to his darkness and Columbia is trying not to confess that she's already in love with him. I hate to say it, but once both characters suddenly decided it didn't matter how fast they fell for each other, it's what they truly felt, I lost a lot of interest in the story. Jaden promises a tale of darkness without the "typical love story" aspect. Sure, most love stories don't involve an ex-Russian mafia murderer falling in love with a self-harming, sexually abused young woman... But the instalove, the immediate realization that this person is "different", the sudden desire to change a characteristic that's been ingrained for years... That stuff was fluff.
Xanderath (690 KP) rated the Xbox 360 version of Borderlands 2 in Video Games
Aug 25, 2019
Butt Stallion riding a meat bicycle
Contains spoilers, click to show
One of the best, if not the best, shooter i have ever played. Ive replayed this game many times and never get bored. Great characters with a great story, propel you through the game at an appropriate pace while allowing the choice of side questing or not. i recommend side questing because theyre all great. My favourite characters are Zero and Krieg for the random outbursts of hilarity. So Handsome Jack is the main antagonist and throughout the game were taught to hate him more and more for the horrendous things he has done, which makes the final fight with him all the sweeter because you feel like you have defeated a monster. The dlc for this game was also incredibly good and added a great many hours of content. the replayability with the different characters is always a bonus and there are three different modes to keep the challenge real. The weapons are great and some have hilarious effects. I have to give this game 10/10 because i have played hundreds of hours on it and never been disappointed. Gearbox took their niche with borderlands, expanded it and made it an absolute legend cant wait for more installments.
The Black Witch
9.6
Rate It
Book
A new Black Witch will rise…her powers vast beyond imagining. Elloren Gardner is the...
Bostonian916 (449 KP) rated Burden (2018) in Movies
Aug 4, 2020
I'm not sure why this movie is listed as being released it 2018. It was released VOD early this summer due to theaters closing down. IMDb has it listed as 2018, as well. Perhaps that was the intended release?
Anyway, Burden is a true story about Mike Burden, an active KKK member in the deep south. Having lived a life of hate and anger, he falls in love with a woman who shows him that there are other ways. He denounces his position in the Klan and removes himself from it entirely with the help of a local reverend who happens to be black.
The film makers did a wonderful job of showing the mental and emotional anguish that Burden went through by walking away from the only "family" he ever knew, even though they were heinous, it was still not an easy task.
Garrett Hedlund and Forest Whitaker are both absolutely phenomenal in their respective roles. From what I understand, the film stays pretty true to the actual story that played out in real life.
Though the film is based on events that took place in the 90's from what I can tell, the story told is a relevant today (perhaps moreso) than ever.
Anyway, Burden is a true story about Mike Burden, an active KKK member in the deep south. Having lived a life of hate and anger, he falls in love with a woman who shows him that there are other ways. He denounces his position in the Klan and removes himself from it entirely with the help of a local reverend who happens to be black.
The film makers did a wonderful job of showing the mental and emotional anguish that Burden went through by walking away from the only "family" he ever knew, even though they were heinous, it was still not an easy task.
Garrett Hedlund and Forest Whitaker are both absolutely phenomenal in their respective roles. From what I understand, the film stays pretty true to the actual story that played out in real life.
Though the film is based on events that took place in the 90's from what I can tell, the story told is a relevant today (perhaps moreso) than ever.
Bostonian916 (449 KP) rated Ghost in the Shell (2017) in Movies
Sep 2, 2020 (Updated Sep 2, 2020)
Ghost in the Shell (this movie) got a ton of vile response when it was announced and released. While the source material differs from this film VERY much, as a standalone movie, Ghost in the Shell is actually quite good.
I'm a big fan and advocate of letting a movie based on anything else (comic book, novel, whatever the case might be) stand as its own entity. Conveniently, this allows me to enjoy a ton of movies that I otherwise wouldn't have been able to. This is a classic example of this mentality in action.
Scarlett Johansson does a fine job in her role, regardless of whether people think she should have ever been cast in what is traditionally an Asian role. She doesn't deserve a lot of the hate that she received. She is doing a job that she is being paid to do. Simple as that, the same way that you and I go to work every day and do things we might not be in love with.
Anyway, if you can get over the disconnection from the source material, Ghost in the Shell is an enjoyable experience. The only way to know is to watch for yourself.
I'm a big fan and advocate of letting a movie based on anything else (comic book, novel, whatever the case might be) stand as its own entity. Conveniently, this allows me to enjoy a ton of movies that I otherwise wouldn't have been able to. This is a classic example of this mentality in action.
Scarlett Johansson does a fine job in her role, regardless of whether people think she should have ever been cast in what is traditionally an Asian role. She doesn't deserve a lot of the hate that she received. She is doing a job that she is being paid to do. Simple as that, the same way that you and I go to work every day and do things we might not be in love with.
Anyway, if you can get over the disconnection from the source material, Ghost in the Shell is an enjoyable experience. The only way to know is to watch for yourself.
colin... (64 KP) rated I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020) in Movies
Sep 30, 2020
I've been waiting an entire year for this film. This is my favorite book I've ever read, so I had a bit of skepticism coming into it, but if anyone could do it, Kaufman could. Now, I've seen it, and I'm incredibly conflicted. I'm kind of disappointed that Kaufman used his normal "I'm so quirky and this is off-putting" doalogue instead of leaning into the psychological horror aspects that the book heavily relies on. He also takes a lot of creative liberty with some stupid jokes, like the whole Zemeckis joke which is nowhere to be found in the book. It just kinda peeves me how Kaufman seemed very unwilling to step outside of his comfort zone, but that's a conversation for another day.
That being said, it's impossible for me to deny that it's a great film. It's technically brilliant, and aside from some occasionally grating dialogue, or monologue, the pacing and script is very well done. Although I'm very disappointed in the film that I was given, I'd be very wrong to identify it as anything other than brilliant.
Edit: After reading his Indiewire interview, I fucking hate Kaufman and the way that he butchered the original material with reckless abandon. Fuck his pretentious ass.
That being said, it's impossible for me to deny that it's a great film. It's technically brilliant, and aside from some occasionally grating dialogue, or monologue, the pacing and script is very well done. Although I'm very disappointed in the film that I was given, I'd be very wrong to identify it as anything other than brilliant.
Edit: After reading his Indiewire interview, I fucking hate Kaufman and the way that he butchered the original material with reckless abandon. Fuck his pretentious ass.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Phoenix (Prophecy #1) in Books
May 11, 2020
76 of 200
Kindle
Phoenix ( THe Prophecy boom 1)
By Jessica Wayne
Anastasia Carter is plagued by nightmares of death and coming destruction.
Countless nights she's awoken coated in sweat, unable to shake the feeling that someone was coming for her.
But nightmares are just tricks of the mind, right?
Her world is turned upside-down when dreams become reality and a violent attack rips her away from the man she loves, landing her in a world parallel to her own.
In Terrenia, Anastasia must question everything she ever thought she knew.
As she struggles to come to terms with her new reality, she discovers she doesn't have much time. Terrenia is on the brink of a war that could easily destroy not only this world, but Earth as well, and only one person holds the key.
Anastasia must find the light within to defeat the darkness that comes for them all.It was actually really enjoyable to read. Straight forward very good writing and a world and characters to love and hate!
A bit predictable in places but that wasn’t a bad thing! The book flowed well!
I read a bit of Jessica Wayne when I read a collaboration with Meg Anne and knew I’d enjoy her books!
Kindle
Phoenix ( THe Prophecy boom 1)
By Jessica Wayne
Anastasia Carter is plagued by nightmares of death and coming destruction.
Countless nights she's awoken coated in sweat, unable to shake the feeling that someone was coming for her.
But nightmares are just tricks of the mind, right?
Her world is turned upside-down when dreams become reality and a violent attack rips her away from the man she loves, landing her in a world parallel to her own.
In Terrenia, Anastasia must question everything she ever thought she knew.
As she struggles to come to terms with her new reality, she discovers she doesn't have much time. Terrenia is on the brink of a war that could easily destroy not only this world, but Earth as well, and only one person holds the key.
Anastasia must find the light within to defeat the darkness that comes for them all.It was actually really enjoyable to read. Straight forward very good writing and a world and characters to love and hate!
A bit predictable in places but that wasn’t a bad thing! The book flowed well!
I read a bit of Jessica Wayne when I read a collaboration with Meg Anne and knew I’d enjoy her books!
Landscape with Invisible Hand
Book
National Book Award winner M. T. Anderson returns to future Earth in a sharply wrought satire of art...
Young Adult science fiction