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The Last of Us Part II
The Last of Us Part II
2020 | Action/Adventure
I really wanted to like this game. There have been so many issues with the leaks and misleading trailers. Initially the game starts out pretty strong showing Ellie and Joel living in Jackson peacefully. That doesn't last long of course and the main theme of the story is about how the cycle of revenge and violence hurts everyone. The gameplay is good for the most part, but the storytelling comes across as very heavy handed and having to switch between Ellie and Abby feels frustrating. I understand the intent behind what the writers were trying to do showing both sides of the situation but it comes across as clunky and sloppy writing. I also took issue with the handling of a trans character in the game. They made this trans character a target for constant abuse and trauma, including deadnaming them something that is incredibly hurtful to a trans person. The fact that the writers did not get any input from trans writers is frankly grossly irresponsible because we LGBT people are more than trauma and we're tired of this constant trauma trope. It's not okay and it's very lazy writing. The story is not completely bad, but it's not great either and I feel we didn't really need this sequel. You can read my full review with spoilers here: http://lorrie28-mothergamer.blogspot.com/2020/06/the-last-of-us-part-ii-good-but-not.html
  
Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby by Girls Against Boys
Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby by Girls Against Boys
1993 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"This was the record that sold me on that band. When I lived in Sacramento California I lived right next door to this little club called the Press Club, and they were playing there. I was sitting on my porch and their van pulled up and I started talking to them. That was when they were touring that record, and it was my favourite record at that time. It's heavy, but it has a lot of groove to it - I don't know if there were too many groups who were doing that kind of riff rock, but it had all these discord sounds to it, and then two bass players, one of them using distortion the whole time and the other guy holding down the low end, the keyboard player playing vibes. It didn't sound like anything else at the time. They were from DC, where a lot of my favourite bands are from, like Fugazi, Minor Threat, these bands who started a lot of scenes in music. I never got too into political rock and roll, obviously great lyrics are great lyrics, but what grabs me is the cadence of the singer, how they choose to deliver the words. And that dude, he had this raspy voice, this distinct voice, to me it was more sex, he has this loungy kind of vibe. Lyrically he seemed to talk about partying, drugs, and girls."

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Willy's Wonderland (2021)
Willy's Wonderland (2021)
2021 | Horror, Thriller
7
6.7 (13 Ratings)
Movie Rating
I can safely say that I got exactly what I expected from Willy's Wonderland, a schlocky as hell B-Movie horror that manifests Nicolas Cage going toe-to-toe with a host of murderous animatronic mascots, set to a music score of synth heavy electronica/children's party jingles. Is it silly and dumb? Yes. Does it have annoying and unlikable teenage human characters who are there just to die horribly? Also yes. Is it entertaining as fuck? Most definitely.

Cage's silent protagonist feels like the role that his career has been leading up to all these years. He has his very own corner of the zeitgeist at this point, and is just running with it, happily poking fun at himself whilst managing to be undeniably badass, whether it be the Mad Max-esque opening, tearing the robots to shreds with his bare hands, or him furiously dancing whilst playing pinball. Whenever he's on screen, he steals all the focus, without uttering a word. It's so ridiculous and enjoyable, that it renders the half-baked plot a moot point.
The animatronics themselves look pretty decent for the most part, and there's some solid gore here and there. It's the kind of gore that will make you burst out laughing, but in a good way.

Willy's Wonderland is far from a perfect experience, but it is what it is, and never tries to be anything more, and therefore succeeds in what it's trying to achieve.
  
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Young Jean Lee recommended Contempt (1963) in Movies (curated)

 
Contempt (1963)
Contempt (1963)
1963 | Drama, Romance
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"This is my favorite film. By all accounts, the making of Godard’s first commercial movie was a nightmare for him, and you can see his own contempt written all over it. First he tells us that what we are about to see is fake, and then he proceeds to mock the commercial film industry for the rest of the movie. Some moments in the dialogue seem intentionally ludicrous, like when Paul describes his relationship with Camille through a heavy-handed interpretation of the Odysseus/Penelope myth. The stream of visual absurdities (Prokosch’s tiny book, Paul typing with two fingers, even the final car crash) discourages us from ever taking anything too seriously. Yet because Godard never tries to make us buy into a bunch of psychological hoopty-hoo, this film is devastating and feels realer as a depiction of a crumbling relationship than anything else I’ve ever seen. We’ve all known this couple: after the first flush of romance, the woman finds herself financially dependent on some self-centered, brutish mediocrity with a roving eye. We watch Camille vacillate between the horns of her dilemma in a totally believable way before making the decision to leave Paul and go back to being a typist. As the only non-cartoon character, with her convincing mix of youthful insecurity and defiant self-regard, Camille becomes the whole world of the film. The cinematography and score are perfect, and the final shot of the Mediterranean destroys me every time."

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Eddie Murphy Raw (1987)
Eddie Murphy Raw (1987)
1987 | Comedy, Musical
This >> 𝘌π˜₯π˜₯π˜ͺ𝘦 π˜”π˜Άπ˜³π˜±π˜©π˜Ί: π˜‹π˜¦π˜­π˜ͺ𝘳π˜ͺ𝘰𝘢𝘴, the blue leather suit >> the red leather suit - however - the drunk father bit from π˜‹π˜¦π˜­π˜ͺ𝘳π˜ͺ𝘰𝘢𝘴 >> the drunk father bit from this (even if the toy factory stuff is still hilarious). One of the most optimized stand-up routines in all of comedy, tapers off a bit in the last half hour but otherwise most of this flows together perfectly - not a word wasted, not a word too heavy, not a word missing. A breathless, hysterical tirade of brute toxicity which many performers today try and fail to emulate with their "can't say ANYTHING these days amirite??" out-of-touch middle-aged man energy. A simple facet of comedy this exemplifies which the aforementioned curdled attempts at Reddit-tier provocation fail to realize is that you have to try to be funny first, *then* go for the offensive stuff. The crowdwork here is just insane, Murphy as a stage performer was unmatched in the 80s: the energy, the creativity, the gravitas, the sheer talent. Not only are his vocal impersonations on point as always, but so too are his physical ones - a simple change in glance and facial expression and you feel like you're *actually* watching that person until the real Eddie 'returns'. It's nuts. Then it's also got such infectious 80s flair and is one of the few stand-up movies where the skit stuff at the beginning is actually worthwhile (looking at you, π˜’π˜¦π˜·π˜ͺ𝘯 𝘏𝘒𝘳𝘡: 𝘞𝘩𝘒𝘡 π˜•π˜°π˜Έ?). Singular,
  
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ClareR (6074 KP) rated Mother Mother in Books

May 4, 2021  
Mother Mother
Mother Mother
Annie Macmanus | 2021 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I have to admit to reading this book because I was curious. I’ve heard of Annie Mac on the radio, and I was intrigued. Oh, and I really liked the cover. This is often a reason why I choose a book: sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. It definitely worked this time.
I was sucked in to this books world, and became really emotionally invested in this story. Mary and her brother have such a hard upbringing, that what comes later seems inevitable. Regardless of this, Mary becomes a good mother. She does that thing that so many mother do, and gives up her sense of self, and her life revolves around her son, TJ. She has a job she enjoys, but she is a solitary figure. When she stops seeing her friend Louise after she finds out that she’s pregnant with TJ, there isn’t any mention of anyone else. I couldn’t help but feel that she must have been so lonely.
Mary clings on to her family, even though her father and brother probably don’t deserve her attention and love, and TJ takes advantage of her unquestioning love - like a typical teenager.
There are some pretty heavy, emotional parts in this, and I read the last few chapters through tears. I can’t believe that this is a debut - it’s so well written. It’s an easy book to recommend, and a tough book to read.
  
Definitive Collection by Donny Osmond
Definitive Collection by Donny Osmond
2009 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

Crazy Horses by Donny Osmond

(0 Ratings)

Track

"I remember this from the time, but also my son, Sonny, who's five, is obsessed with this record. I first played it to him when he was three and he'd get his little guitar off the shelf and just go mental with it. When one of your kids likes it that means you have to listen to it about 15 times a day but I didn't mind. It's like, "Yeah let's stick it on, play it louder." It's just absolutely perfect and so heavy. And lyrically I get it now but I didn't at the time. You don't really get lyrics when you're a kid. You just think it's about horses. I always thought Jeff Beck's 'Hi Ho Silver Lining' was "silver lightning" - I thought it was about a horse. That whole thing to me is just a love song for a horse. Fuck knows what it's actually about. Drugs? Yeah, probably. One of my favourite memories of school is the school cloakroom full of tartan - that was for Bay City Rollers, but it just really reminds me of this era. My sister was a couple of years younger than me but she had Osmonds socks and an Osmonds lampshade. She had a couple of their albums. But 'Crazy Horses' is such a fantastic record. The first record that I ever liked was 'Billy Don't Be a Hero' by Paper Lace. I nearly chose that, but then I listened to it again and it's not very good."

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The Maze Runner (2014)
The Maze Runner (2014)
2014 | Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi
There's absolutely no excuse to not have utilized the actual maze more (we get like three action scenes in it?) but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a ball with this otherwise thoroughly fun and often thrilling popcorn entertainment. Dylan O'Brien is tremendous in it, even when it wears the dystopian YA format a little too prominently. For a while I couldn't tell if the simplicity helped or hurt this in the end - I mean on the one hand this has precious nothing to say about the implications of its brutal story/world, but then again on the other it 110% forgoes the usual heavy-handed yet jejune moralizing that normally sugar-coat these films. I'm sure you could have found a decent medium between the two but Wes Ball's direction is sturdy, and I kind of like the idea of all these random 18/20-somethings nonchalantly trapped in this ludicrous scenario who just see this giant, mechanical deathtrap maze as a way of life lol. So I had more than enough fun with it. Try to picture a 2014 blockbuster "Lord of the Flies" without the obvious symbolism meets a market-tested π˜›π˜©π˜¦ 𝘝π˜ͺ𝘭𝘭𝘒𝘨𝘦 where a bunch of extras get PG-13-ed to death by huge mechanical alien spiders. Plus no one even takes their shirt off I mean that's *gotta* be a first for one of these.