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Great House
6.7
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Book
Shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2011, Nicole Krauss's Great House is a haunting story...
While the Women are Sleeping
Book
Celebrated as one of the greatest writers of his generation, Javier Marias is best known for his spy...
Frayn Plays: v. 4: Copenhagen, Democracy and Afterlife
Book
Michael Frayn is one of the great playwrights of our time, enjoying international acclaim and...
Julia Holter recommended On Your Own Love Again by Jessica Pratt in Music (curated)
Destruction and Sorrow beneath the Heavens: Reportage
Book
Known for his brilliantly dark fictional visions, Laszlo Krasznahorkai is one of the most respected...
ClareR (5551 KP) rated Tall Bones in Books
Apr 6, 2021
Tall Bones by Anna Bailey is a beautiful, terrible, haunting book. This is not the USA of Soccer Moms and happy church gatherings. Whistling Ridge is a town with deep problems: domestic and child abuse, racism, corruption, drugs, homophobia and a Pastor who condones most of these things.
Abi and Emma are best friends, and when Emma leaves Abi, at Abi’s request, at a party at the Tall Bones, she expects to see her the next day. Except she doesn’t. Abi goes missing, seemingly without a trace. Everyone and no one is suspected of her disappearance. After all, her father, Samuel, is a thug and a bully, her mother is clearly beaten regularly, as are her children - why wouldn’t she run away?
To be honest, after reading this I couldn’t understand why any of the young people stayed in Whistling Ridge - unless their world view is like that of their, largely speaking, bigoted parents.
This book is shocking - a real kick in the guts type of story. And it’s not a one off kick. I hated 99% of the characters by the end: and this is the bit where I say how much I enjoyed reading it. Yes, here we are again with my love of the horrible characters. It’s easy to like nice characters, not so easy to get enjoyment out of the dark and evil types (or is it?!😈).
Either way it’s an atmospheric, dark, fascinating novel. And I loved it.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this fabulous novel.
Abi and Emma are best friends, and when Emma leaves Abi, at Abi’s request, at a party at the Tall Bones, she expects to see her the next day. Except she doesn’t. Abi goes missing, seemingly without a trace. Everyone and no one is suspected of her disappearance. After all, her father, Samuel, is a thug and a bully, her mother is clearly beaten regularly, as are her children - why wouldn’t she run away?
To be honest, after reading this I couldn’t understand why any of the young people stayed in Whistling Ridge - unless their world view is like that of their, largely speaking, bigoted parents.
This book is shocking - a real kick in the guts type of story. And it’s not a one off kick. I hated 99% of the characters by the end: and this is the bit where I say how much I enjoyed reading it. Yes, here we are again with my love of the horrible characters. It’s easy to like nice characters, not so easy to get enjoyment out of the dark and evil types (or is it?!😈).
Either way it’s an atmospheric, dark, fascinating novel. And I loved it.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this fabulous novel.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Into The Forest (2016) in Movies
Sep 19, 2020
A light, pretty take on the bonds of family during hard times gets brutalized halfway through by one of the hardest to watch scenes of 2015 before becoming a powerfully emotional apocalypse tale about how much of your life is actually necessary. This has been criticized up and down for not using a 'harrowing' enough crisis to set the scene, and look I'm just going to tell you right now that I understand why you all think this is 'millennial' but this right here would be my living nightmare. I'm that character in every pre/post-apocalyptic movie who loses their shit after the power goes out in the first five minutes - I don't even go tent camping, like I *need* that shit. To quote Kumail Nanjiani from 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘚𝘪𝘤𝘬: "I'm going to be the first guy to die. I die so the other characters get to find out something weird is going on". Also a big plus that this doesn't turn into some finger-shaking technophobic lecture as it no doubt would have under any other circumstances. No I don't take a ton of stock in this rather simple story on the surface but the real beauty of it is brought to life with these all-in performances, earthly visuals, together with the *deeply* rich and evocative score. It's such a bracingly haunting yet unforgettably sensual experience, and it has one of the more sound 'good thing, bad thing, good thing, bad thing...' structures for the genre. Very lovely.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated The House That Jack Built (2018) in Movies
Sep 19, 2020
One of the singular most disgusting, depraved, downright inhuman pieces of genre filth I've ever laid eyes on - try to think the 𝘚𝘢𝘸 movies' gore porn meets 𝘈 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘮 levels of twisted and shockingly grotesque subject matter. Not perfect: at times this feels more like a defense than an apology (not that he doesn't answer for a lot nor are the defenses always unwarranted), but it's rigorously complex and as a piece of provocation this is simply exquisite - almost unparalleled. Over two and a half hours of unforgettable novelistic madman monologues and some of the most cruel, savage violence you will ever see in a motion picture. I'm seldom ever less than fully impressed by Lars but the fact that this is so twisted and animalistic yet the humor is still so on point is only another testament to why he's one of the greatest living directors. Bats for the fences and rubs your noses right in all its slime, plus it has some of the most haunting effects work you're likely to ever see. Matt Dillion gives not only the ultimate performance of his career, but one of the defining of the decade in what can only be described as blood-curdling, remorseless but totally eccentric work. Screamed and shrunk into my own body numerous times. I've seen a metric ton of vile, uncomfortable cinema and I'm not unsettled easily but this was truly terrifying - as well as 110% unique. My jaw was dropped the entire epilogue well through the credits. RIP - Bruno Ganz.
Gripping and creepy
I will start off by saying I might be biased when it comes to dramas like this. I love true crime, especially ones based here in the UK. It may be because of where I work or my educational background, or just because true crime is a fascinating subject. Whatever the reason, I've heard about Dennis Nilsen before and this short series is a truly excellent depiction of him and his crimes.
Right from the start this is a gripping and chilling watch. It has a slow pace but fortunately not enough that it ever drags too much. The soundtrack in this is often haunting and really enhances the tension and suspense, as well as giving you the creeps. And speaking of giving you the creeps, whilst the rest of the cast are very good, the standout is by far David Tennant as the ridiculously creepy Nilsen. He really gives you the chills and watching this you're almost in disbelief that Nilsen was this nonchalant and manipulative. But if you'd watched the "Real Des" documentary shown after this series finished, you'd see that this was actually have Nilsen was. And not only that, but Tennant embodies him perfectly - in looks, accent and general manner and behaviours. I couldn't imagine anyone else playing him so well.
This might not be a pleasant watch for many as whilst it's still a dramatisation, it does go into some gruesome and rather horrific detail on Nilsen's crimes. But it's worth watching for Tennant's stellar performance if nothing else.
Right from the start this is a gripping and chilling watch. It has a slow pace but fortunately not enough that it ever drags too much. The soundtrack in this is often haunting and really enhances the tension and suspense, as well as giving you the creeps. And speaking of giving you the creeps, whilst the rest of the cast are very good, the standout is by far David Tennant as the ridiculously creepy Nilsen. He really gives you the chills and watching this you're almost in disbelief that Nilsen was this nonchalant and manipulative. But if you'd watched the "Real Des" documentary shown after this series finished, you'd see that this was actually have Nilsen was. And not only that, but Tennant embodies him perfectly - in looks, accent and general manner and behaviours. I couldn't imagine anyone else playing him so well.
This might not be a pleasant watch for many as whilst it's still a dramatisation, it does go into some gruesome and rather horrific detail on Nilsen's crimes. But it's worth watching for Tennant's stellar performance if nothing else.