Search
Harvey Penson (7 KP) rated The Revenant (2015) in Movies
Jul 12, 2017
Fantastic Cinematic Experience
Films are works of art, pieces not to be taken for granted, unless they are ones that want to be taken for granted. There is a new term for the word masterpiece…Revenant!!
Unbelievable, breath taking, exhilarating, these descriptions are not enough to describe this wonderful movie.
When left for dead by the rest of his military group, Hugh Glass (DiCaprio) must look death in the face and battle great woodlands to seek vengeance on the one who betrayed him. DiCaprio is mind blowing in his performance that looks so convincing, you’ll believe he actually went through it. You do not recognize this man at all in his performance, there is no sign of Belfort, Jack Dawson, or Cobb, DiCaprio shows us a completely new person, you won’t believe he is even an actor.
FWI I am being deadly serious here, not joking at all.
One of the most unique parts of the film, is the use in cinematography, the most effective, and beautiful use I have ever seen. So huge hats off to Emmanuel Lubezki. It pulls you in to the film, and you completely feel the rush of the film through your body.
Alejandro González Iñárritu has pulled of another remarkable, and stunning piece of cinema, that will take you to a whole new world of film. It may be long, but every moment pulls you closer.
This truly is the most amazing, beautiful, and unbelievable film I have ever seen, and is now close to becoming the best. It’s a whole new experience and must be viewed in cinemas. It’s a complete 10/10, and must be viewed by all film fans.
Unbelievable, breath taking, exhilarating, these descriptions are not enough to describe this wonderful movie.
When left for dead by the rest of his military group, Hugh Glass (DiCaprio) must look death in the face and battle great woodlands to seek vengeance on the one who betrayed him. DiCaprio is mind blowing in his performance that looks so convincing, you’ll believe he actually went through it. You do not recognize this man at all in his performance, there is no sign of Belfort, Jack Dawson, or Cobb, DiCaprio shows us a completely new person, you won’t believe he is even an actor.
FWI I am being deadly serious here, not joking at all.
One of the most unique parts of the film, is the use in cinematography, the most effective, and beautiful use I have ever seen. So huge hats off to Emmanuel Lubezki. It pulls you in to the film, and you completely feel the rush of the film through your body.
Alejandro González Iñárritu has pulled of another remarkable, and stunning piece of cinema, that will take you to a whole new world of film. It may be long, but every moment pulls you closer.
This truly is the most amazing, beautiful, and unbelievable film I have ever seen, and is now close to becoming the best. It’s a whole new experience and must be viewed in cinemas. It’s a complete 10/10, and must be viewed by all film fans.
MoveWith: Best Audio Workouts
Health & Fitness and Lifestyle
App
“With multiple instructors in over 10 fitness categories, you’ll get amazing motivation and...
Power Nap with Health Sync
Health & Fitness, Utilities and Stickers
App
Written for watchOS 4.0, a first of its kind Power Nap app for Apple Watch. Power Naps can...
Rachel King (13 KP) rated The Penelopiad in Books
Feb 11, 2019
This book was a very easy read and quite interesting, too. I have never read The Odyssey, (though that would be an ideal goal to keep in mind) but I am familiar enough with the plot to keep up with the many subtle references throughout The Penelopiad. This book was told from the point-of-view of Penelope, Odysseus's eternally-loyal wife, with the Chorus of maids chiming in with their opinions every other chapter.
Margaret Atwood does an excellent job of portraying the character of Penelope in a unique way without disrupting what we know of her from the original text. In this book, Penelope tells her story from beyond the grave, interspersed with her interactions with other known characters of that time, such as her self-involved cousin, Helen of Troy. Penelope balances many opposing traits into one body - from the bitter housewife, to the scheming seductress, to the self-sacrificing devotee - and still comes out as an admirable woman and wife that few could emulate so convincingly.
The chorus of maids served as both a comedic interlude in a rather tragic story and as further commentary of Penelope's story and their shared fate. Irony played a large part in the maids' story and final demise. Margaret Atwood's explanation for their cumulative death following the deaths of the numerous suitors made perfect sense according to the arrogance and bravado attributed to Odysseus from Penelope's account.
In many ways, this book bears strong themes of feminism, despite Penelope's loyalty to Odysseus. Though I imagine that The Odyssey portrays Odysseus as a grand hero worthy of respect, Penelope's narrative of him both in life and in death makes him out to be at times a philandering womanizer with immeasurable luck and other times a melodramatic little boy with an overactive imagination and an insatiable appetite for adventure. The ones who seemed to endure the most suffering in this plot were the ones that were shown the least respect and recognition - the women.
Margaret Atwood does an excellent job of portraying the character of Penelope in a unique way without disrupting what we know of her from the original text. In this book, Penelope tells her story from beyond the grave, interspersed with her interactions with other known characters of that time, such as her self-involved cousin, Helen of Troy. Penelope balances many opposing traits into one body - from the bitter housewife, to the scheming seductress, to the self-sacrificing devotee - and still comes out as an admirable woman and wife that few could emulate so convincingly.
The chorus of maids served as both a comedic interlude in a rather tragic story and as further commentary of Penelope's story and their shared fate. Irony played a large part in the maids' story and final demise. Margaret Atwood's explanation for their cumulative death following the deaths of the numerous suitors made perfect sense according to the arrogance and bravado attributed to Odysseus from Penelope's account.
In many ways, this book bears strong themes of feminism, despite Penelope's loyalty to Odysseus. Though I imagine that The Odyssey portrays Odysseus as a grand hero worthy of respect, Penelope's narrative of him both in life and in death makes him out to be at times a philandering womanizer with immeasurable luck and other times a melodramatic little boy with an overactive imagination and an insatiable appetite for adventure. The ones who seemed to endure the most suffering in this plot were the ones that were shown the least respect and recognition - the women.
Ross (3284 KP) rated Awaken Online: Dominion in Books
Nov 29, 2019
Another excellent tale in the world of AO
This the 4th "full-length" (though the side quests aren't exactly novellas!) story in the LitRPG series starts of with Jason in his new incarnation as a "Keeper". He has a new set of tools, necromancy spells and abilities to get to grips with, and a new threat to overcome.
For once, the in-game story is split between characters, as we see Jason and Riley take on new training regimes (Jason has finally realised he can't always cower in the background letting his zombies and skeletons do all the work and he has to become better at combat himself), Frank goes on tour to secure the outlying towns of their growing empire, and the baddie Alex plots to get some revenge on Jason for publicly besting him. We also spend time in the real world as a senatorial hearing is opened to look into allegations that Awaken Online may not be safe for its users.
All of the characters develop notably in this book, none more than Jason who has to do some soul-searching, change his in-game role, and also make peace with what the game technology may be doing to his mind and body.
The story is strong, though with a smaller scale in its problem solving than before - the focus is more on Jason and Riley's personal challenges rather than larger quests. It is a little heavy on the admin at times but given how complicated games like this would be that adds to the immersive feel of the book.
The only main gripe for me is the use of the word "tendril" on almost every page, and the occasional use of "overtop" which very much jars when read.
Otherwise, another superb, gripping tome in this online fantasy world.
Next up is Frank's side-quest, hopefully before Christmas (I can't seem to keep up with Bagwell's output and am always at least 2 books behind!).
For once, the in-game story is split between characters, as we see Jason and Riley take on new training regimes (Jason has finally realised he can't always cower in the background letting his zombies and skeletons do all the work and he has to become better at combat himself), Frank goes on tour to secure the outlying towns of their growing empire, and the baddie Alex plots to get some revenge on Jason for publicly besting him. We also spend time in the real world as a senatorial hearing is opened to look into allegations that Awaken Online may not be safe for its users.
All of the characters develop notably in this book, none more than Jason who has to do some soul-searching, change his in-game role, and also make peace with what the game technology may be doing to his mind and body.
The story is strong, though with a smaller scale in its problem solving than before - the focus is more on Jason and Riley's personal challenges rather than larger quests. It is a little heavy on the admin at times but given how complicated games like this would be that adds to the immersive feel of the book.
The only main gripe for me is the use of the word "tendril" on almost every page, and the occasional use of "overtop" which very much jars when read.
Otherwise, another superb, gripping tome in this online fantasy world.
Next up is Frank's side-quest, hopefully before Christmas (I can't seem to keep up with Bagwell's output and am always at least 2 books behind!).
My Yoga Guru: yoga exercises for fitness, well-being and relaxation
Health & Fitness and Sports
App
The App Store’s most popular Yoga app – newly updated, My Yoga Guru is now the most...
Legion - Season 3
8.0
Rate It
TV Season Watch
**New Season Premieres June 24th, 2019* Based on the Marvel Comics by Chris Claremont and Bill...
Andy K (10823 KP) rated Enter the Void (Soudain le vide) (2010) in Movies
Oct 13, 2019
WOW!
Not many modern filmmakers garner such a reputation for being controversial and are well deserved. Lars von Trier and Ari Aster come to mind, but I am sure there are others. They pull no punches with their work, so most provoke extreme reactions either love or hate. Maybe also appreciate the art form or what they are trying to say, but do not enjoy the extreme sex or violence or shock value from many of their scenes.
From the psychedelic opening credits (which are the complete film credits by the way, meaning no end credits at all) this film grabs your attention and should immediately realize what you are about to watch is going to be different, exciting, revolting and most of all unique in every way from most movies you have seen in your life until now.
The film focuses on the relationship between Oscar and Linda, a brother and sister living in Japan when tragedy strikes. Oscar goes to meet a friend for a drug deal only to have something go very wrong. For some reason, the police are present and pursue Oscar to the bathroom where he tries to dispense the drugs eliminating the evidence down the facilities. Shortly after, Oscar is shot in the chest and dies on the bathroom floor.
It seems as if Oscar's "soul" leaves his body and begins a hallucinatory journey interacting with his former friends, acquaintances and sister in a spiritual and mind blowing way to help make him and the audience understand the events which led to his death.
The siblings have had a rough life including the horrible death of their parents in an automobile accident when they were young. They were in the back seat as well, so not only witnessed the physical and emotional trauma, but also had to endure the subsequent separation from each other through foster care having to grow up without each other. Before they were separated, they made a blood pact and said they would always be there for each other no matter what.
Linda works at a dance/strip club and the forlorn about the death of her brother, but continues her job duties including dancing and having sex. She gets pregnant, then deals with the repercussions of the act. She becomes increasingly despondent with her life and wishes her brother was still with her.
Oscar's spirit meanders through the lives of his former life watching and understanding the emotions of those left on Earth.
The film is hard to explain and therefore maybe hard to understand as well. This seems to be one of those movies that is not only the words that are spoken, but the emotions that are portrayed and not said aloud. Whatever you believe spiritually about the soul and reincarnation, this film is not here to change your religious beliefs. It is shown in "first person" most of the time, so you interact with the characters of Oscar's life just as he is.
The use of neon colors both on the exterior cityscape of Japan and interior shots o the dance club are gorgeous and reminded me of what the world would appear as if life used a blacklight. The sequences of drug use could not be described as anything else other than living artwork. The rainbow kaleidoscope of the "trip" were reminiscent of "2001: A Space Odyssey" and I read afterwards which is where Noe drew some of his inspiration.
Undoubtedly, the multitude of graphic sex scenes and shocking imagery will turn many off as some of it is pretty extreme, but I feel suits this film symbiotically and perfectly. In fact, the second half of the film is more style than substance (which you could probably say for a lot of Noe's films), but somehow you don't mind since you are along for the ride and enjoy the spectacle anyways.
After reading about the film after my viewing, I discovered there is a "director's cut" including around 20 minutes of additional scenes bring the running time to over 2 1/2 hours.
It looks like I'll be getting the Blu-Ray and watching again in a few weeks!
From the psychedelic opening credits (which are the complete film credits by the way, meaning no end credits at all) this film grabs your attention and should immediately realize what you are about to watch is going to be different, exciting, revolting and most of all unique in every way from most movies you have seen in your life until now.
The film focuses on the relationship between Oscar and Linda, a brother and sister living in Japan when tragedy strikes. Oscar goes to meet a friend for a drug deal only to have something go very wrong. For some reason, the police are present and pursue Oscar to the bathroom where he tries to dispense the drugs eliminating the evidence down the facilities. Shortly after, Oscar is shot in the chest and dies on the bathroom floor.
It seems as if Oscar's "soul" leaves his body and begins a hallucinatory journey interacting with his former friends, acquaintances and sister in a spiritual and mind blowing way to help make him and the audience understand the events which led to his death.
The siblings have had a rough life including the horrible death of their parents in an automobile accident when they were young. They were in the back seat as well, so not only witnessed the physical and emotional trauma, but also had to endure the subsequent separation from each other through foster care having to grow up without each other. Before they were separated, they made a blood pact and said they would always be there for each other no matter what.
Linda works at a dance/strip club and the forlorn about the death of her brother, but continues her job duties including dancing and having sex. She gets pregnant, then deals with the repercussions of the act. She becomes increasingly despondent with her life and wishes her brother was still with her.
Oscar's spirit meanders through the lives of his former life watching and understanding the emotions of those left on Earth.
The film is hard to explain and therefore maybe hard to understand as well. This seems to be one of those movies that is not only the words that are spoken, but the emotions that are portrayed and not said aloud. Whatever you believe spiritually about the soul and reincarnation, this film is not here to change your religious beliefs. It is shown in "first person" most of the time, so you interact with the characters of Oscar's life just as he is.
The use of neon colors both on the exterior cityscape of Japan and interior shots o the dance club are gorgeous and reminded me of what the world would appear as if life used a blacklight. The sequences of drug use could not be described as anything else other than living artwork. The rainbow kaleidoscope of the "trip" were reminiscent of "2001: A Space Odyssey" and I read afterwards which is where Noe drew some of his inspiration.
Undoubtedly, the multitude of graphic sex scenes and shocking imagery will turn many off as some of it is pretty extreme, but I feel suits this film symbiotically and perfectly. In fact, the second half of the film is more style than substance (which you could probably say for a lot of Noe's films), but somehow you don't mind since you are along for the ride and enjoy the spectacle anyways.
After reading about the film after my viewing, I discovered there is a "director's cut" including around 20 minutes of additional scenes bring the running time to over 2 1/2 hours.
It looks like I'll be getting the Blu-Ray and watching again in a few weeks!
SS
Super Self-Confidence Hypnosis Subliminal Affirmation HD Video App by Glenn Harrold
Lifestyle and Health & Fitness
App
This superb high quality subliminal hypnosis video by best selling hypnotherapist Glenn Harrold,...
DreamZ - Lucid Dreaming. Control your dreams!
Games and Health & Fitness
App
Warning: Lucid dreams are highly addictive! Have you ever wanted to fly? be famous? get back in...