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Mutant Chronicles (2008)

7.0 (4 Ratings) Rate It

Movie

At the end of the Ice Age, The Machine came from outer space with the purpose to change men into...

Nancy Whang recommended World Clique by Deee-Lite in Music (curated)

World Clique by Deee-Lite

1990 | Rock

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Album Favorite

"When I was in eighth grade I ran for a student body secretary, or something like that, and all the kids would campaign for a month or so before the elections, putting up posters or whatever. And then on the election day everybody had to give a speech, or have some sort of audio presentation that got played over the school's PA. So there were periods on election day when everyone would be in the home room and you'd have to sit through all these speeches that the 13/14-year-olds were making. And I made my speech using the Deee-Lite tape. I had a double cassette boom box and I would dub different parts of the Deee-Lite tape and mix it up so that it built a speech. I didn't keep it. I feel like it must be in the possession of some member of my family, in a box somewhere. I'd kind of forgotten about that until recently but it turned up in my head recently. Unfortunately I don't really know anyone from that period in my life anymore so there wasn't anybody I could ask about it. I never really put it together that long, long before I had any knowledge of what dance music was, or what sampling or dubbing was I did this thing. But it certainly wasn't cool. I think it confused pretty much everybody in my school. I don't even remember what it said, but I remember feeling very proud of it even though everyone thought I was totally weird and a freak."

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David McK (3204 KP) rated Fugitive in Books

May 31, 2021

Fugitive

Paul Fraser Collard | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry

7.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Entry number 9 in Paul Fraser Collard's Jack Lark series, this is an entry which - speaking personally - I very much found could be split into two main parts: the first part of the novel primarily concerns itself with the Victorian pursuit of 'slumming' (where rich toffs paid good money to see how their poorer counterparts lived in the slums and tenements of London), and the second with the Abyssinian campaign against the mad 'Gorilla King' (in modern day Ethiopia, I believe)

I'd heard, and even knew a bit, about the former. The latter? Sad to say, not so much.

So, for my part, a little new knowledge is a good thing!

As the novel begins, Jack Lark is back in England after his exploits in America (during the Civil War) and Mexico of the previous entries; back where - I feel - he belongs (ummm, speaking internationally, that is, rather than his precise circumstances!) and running Victorian slumming 'tours' (for want of a better word) for the rich who have more money than sense!

I don't *think* I'm giving anything away when I say that one such tour inevitably goes wrong, leading Jack - and a few companions - to flee the country, travelling to Ethiopia to join the expedition against the Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia, more concerned with what they can purloin along the way than the rights and wrongs of the situation that led to the campaign in the first place!

All in all, another solid entry in the series: I'm looking forward to where Jack ends up next!

Kudos

LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Ghost in the Shell (2017) in Movies

Sep 19, 2020

Ghost in the Shell (2017)

2017 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi

6.2

(73 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Dumb as fuck, sheds the vast majority of the source's intelligence - even speaking as someone with only a cursory knowledge of it - for something a lot more nonsensical, westernized, and generic. But it doesn't sacrifice even an ounce of its visual pizzazz - if we've learned anything about Rupert Sanders (non-cheating scandal related, that is) it's that he does not fuck around with his aesthetic. 110% magnetic, self-assured, and every bit as visually stupendous as 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘙𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 2049. I found most of the ending parts to be a disingenuous swing and a miss but who cares, did you *see* the way ScarJo beat the shit out of those people to synth music while she was invisible and the water was going all slo-mo and stuff? As a piece of seductive sci-fi junk food that's nice and heavy on the portent, it's nothing less than orgasmic - though it makes sense fans of the source would detest this, this is pretty much what I expected after all so I can't say my bar was mega high to begin with. I'm in the middle with Scarlett, it isn't too demanding of a performance but the unnatural cranes and dead gawks are right up her alley and do fit quite nicely here so eh I'll take it for now even if it feels like bootleg 𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘬𝘪𝘯. And it's always good to see Takeshi Kitano. Oh and also Juliette Binoche is at least twenty-five times better in this than every role she's ever been nominated for an Oscar for.

Kudos

Kristina (502 KP) rated Reginald Bones (Reginald Bones #1) in Books

Dec 7, 2020

I've always wanted to read from a character with split personalities. I have only found one series dealing with this issue, but it was from another character's point of view, so I didn't get to experience the aspect of someone with *multiple personality disorder*. It was definitely interesting and even more entertaining, as morbid as that may sound. Lucian Bane pretty much created my fantasy book. I gave Reginald Bones 3 stars, but if I'm honest, it's not a solid 3. I felt like the book was better than a 2.5, but not necessarily worthy of a 3.5, so I went with the middle rating. While the story as a whole was intruiging, there were moments when it lagged and I felt almost bored. Then there were many times when I felt confused, which makes sense, considering Bones doesn't remember certain things, but it was a confusion that went beyond Bones' lack of knowledge. Also, the intervals between the switching perspectives was hard to keep up with. One thing I didn't like was when I would be reading from Reginald's point of view, then it would quickly switch to Bones' and it took me a few sentences to realize it. I feel like if the separation of their perspectives had been a little more defined, the reading would have went much smoother. All-in-all, it was a good read and, if I'm being honest, I do look forward to reading the second installment - I'm very interested in Bones' past.

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Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated Finding Grace in Books

Jun 24, 2019

Yesterday I finished Finding Grace, a short historical fiction book I was given the chance to read thanks to NetGalley. It follows Grace, a thirteen-year-old girl living in a Belgian convent in 1975. She was left on the steps as a baby, along with her disabled sister, Dotty. But Dotty recently died, and everything is changing.

Grace is moved to the girls' boarding school dorm. She soon becomes close with Fran, but also has a few run-ins with the stuck up Deirdra. While helping Fran with a history project Grace discovers an old journal kept by one of the nuns at the convent during the war. It tells her horrific story of abandonment, rape and loss.

All the while, the girls are trying to find out more about Grace's past, and avoid the wrath of the horrible Sister Francis. Eventually Grace does get some anwswers, but they were certainly not the ones she was looking for.

I'm not usually very interested in historical fiction but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Even though it was short, the characters were well developed and the plot was exciting and intriguing. I felt immersed in the setting, and felt empathetic for Grace. I actually felt quite invested in her and her search for knowledge.

There were a few typos and such, but as this is only a review copy I can't be sure whether the final publication will include them. It was a quick, interesting read, a good introduction to historical fiction. 4 stars!