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Mind the Buzz
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Mind the Buzz is the most educational trivia game for iPhone and iPad with more than 12,000 original...
New Collected Poems
Tomas Transtromer and Robin Fulton
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Winner of 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature Poetry Book Society Recommended Translation Tomas...
Poetry
Andy K (10823 KP) rated Frailty (2002) in Movies
Jan 4, 2018
Paxton acting and directing (1 more)
Plot twists
Bill Paxton was one of my favorite actors of all time. I was very sad when he passed away in 2017 at the young age of 61. He will leave a legacy of fantastic films including Aliens, Twister, One False Move, Apollo 13 and this film which he also directed.
Matthew McConaughey walks into the office of FBI agent Powers Boothe and begins telling a very unusual story. When he was a kid, his dad said he had a vision which gave him the ability to see "demons" within human beings. He is then given the task of "dispelling" the demons in front of his two young sons.
The film creates quite the moral dilemma for the audience as you feel for the boys and the dire predicament their father places them into. You also wonder whether he can really "see" the demons or he is just losing his mind.
The 3rd act of the film takes some interesting turns as the true nature of some of the characters is revealed. You will not see this one coming.
A real standout in the Paxton legacy.
Matthew McConaughey walks into the office of FBI agent Powers Boothe and begins telling a very unusual story. When he was a kid, his dad said he had a vision which gave him the ability to see "demons" within human beings. He is then given the task of "dispelling" the demons in front of his two young sons.
The film creates quite the moral dilemma for the audience as you feel for the boys and the dire predicament their father places them into. You also wonder whether he can really "see" the demons or he is just losing his mind.
The 3rd act of the film takes some interesting turns as the true nature of some of the characters is revealed. You will not see this one coming.
A real standout in the Paxton legacy.
Gloria (27 KP) rated Prison Break - Season 2 in TV
Jul 18, 2017
A Continuation of Greatness
Ditches the prison setting and places our characters on the run. The scope of the plot has been wildly increased. New characters round out the cast each with their own motivations. We get a very grand game of cat and mouse.
The show continues to keep you on the edge of your seat. Shocking character deaths and big moments that change the pace for the rest of the season pop up regularly. The big risks it takes, make for a more tense and enjoyable season.
While the tense, tight, and dangerous corridors of the prison are missed, the writers show that they can keep viewers interested and fearing for their favorite characters even with a bigger playground. This immediately creates more interest and intrigue.
It's an expansion and improvement on what was an already excellent show.
The concepts and characterizations are greater than ever, and the complex nature of a prison escape comes flowing with liquid tension, and at all times it grips you with a curious state of empathy.
The show continues to keep you on the edge of your seat. Shocking character deaths and big moments that change the pace for the rest of the season pop up regularly. The big risks it takes, make for a more tense and enjoyable season.
While the tense, tight, and dangerous corridors of the prison are missed, the writers show that they can keep viewers interested and fearing for their favorite characters even with a bigger playground. This immediately creates more interest and intrigue.
It's an expansion and improvement on what was an already excellent show.
The concepts and characterizations are greater than ever, and the complex nature of a prison escape comes flowing with liquid tension, and at all times it grips you with a curious state of empathy.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Anon (2018) in Movies
May 14, 2018 (Updated May 14, 2018)
Anon Starter
Well-styled but ultimately sluggish, laborious and derivative sci-fi thriller. Clive Owen plays a troubled cop in a somewhat dystopian future where (basically) attaching everyone's audio-visual sensory centres to the internet has eliminated crime. Or has it? Someone has come up with a way of editing themselves out of the system, allowing them to kill with impunity.
A decent idea, I suppose, but rather implausible and also not nearly as original as everyone seems to think; the thriller plotline is largely neglected in favour of ruminations on the nature of fact and truth, secrecy and privacy, guilt and memory: none of these produce any insights or anything really memorable, and the film's pretensions to being a serious movie are kind of undermined by the gratuitous nudity required of many of the female cast. Looks okay, and Owen is always watchable, of course, but I was waiting impatiently for it to end well before it actually did. I'll choose an interesting bad film over a boring one any day of the week, and Anon's worst crime is that it's simply really dull.
A decent idea, I suppose, but rather implausible and also not nearly as original as everyone seems to think; the thriller plotline is largely neglected in favour of ruminations on the nature of fact and truth, secrecy and privacy, guilt and memory: none of these produce any insights or anything really memorable, and the film's pretensions to being a serious movie are kind of undermined by the gratuitous nudity required of many of the female cast. Looks okay, and Owen is always watchable, of course, but I was waiting impatiently for it to end well before it actually did. I'll choose an interesting bad film over a boring one any day of the week, and Anon's worst crime is that it's simply really dull.
Midge (525 KP) rated The Colour of Murder in Books
Feb 11, 2019
Clever And Enjoyable
THE COLOUR OF MURDER is the first book by Julian Symons that I've read and I really enjoyed it. Though it is naturally a book of its time, I found it endearing and charming. The characters were fantastic and the book, for me, is reminiscent of a Patricia Highsmith or a Ruth Rendell mystery.
I thought that the story was captivating and engaging and extremely well structured, both leading up to the murder, as told by the accused, as he relates his account of events to a psychologist and in court, with the cases for the defence and prosecution. I loved that the style of writing was slightly different to the usual types of murder mysteries, although there was still a whodunit theme, as well as a look at the nature of justice. It held my interest from start to finish and the way in which Julian Symons brought everything to a conclusion was just fabulous. I loved it and it has left me eager to read more from this author.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a free ARC of this book in exchange for a voluntary, honest review.
I thought that the story was captivating and engaging and extremely well structured, both leading up to the murder, as told by the accused, as he relates his account of events to a psychologist and in court, with the cases for the defence and prosecution. I loved that the style of writing was slightly different to the usual types of murder mysteries, although there was still a whodunit theme, as well as a look at the nature of justice. It held my interest from start to finish and the way in which Julian Symons brought everything to a conclusion was just fabulous. I loved it and it has left me eager to read more from this author.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a free ARC of this book in exchange for a voluntary, honest review.
Sawyer (231 KP) rated Love, Death & Robots in TV
May 10, 2019
The animation is just about always amazing in some way (1 more)
I actually prefer these short episodes usually between 5 and 15 minutes
There is a lot of sexuality and nudity including full frontal male nudity that just seems like it's unnecessary most of time (1 more)
It's an aontology show
Which means some episodes are just not going to be as good
A variety sample pack of short sci-fi animated stories
So this is a animated show each episode features a short self-contained story with a distinctive different animation style most of the stories are sci-fi in nature with a few being more on the supernatural side I was actually surprised by the overall quality usually in this type of show there's going to be very highs and very lows
I can say for the most part the show is really enjoyable lots of unique art styles unique stories with different backgrounds a lot of them do feel like it's more style than substance though
And there is a lot of Gore violence and sexuality sprinkled throughout the series that is just off-putting sometimes for me
I can say for the most part the show is really enjoyable lots of unique art styles unique stories with different backgrounds a lot of them do feel like it's more style than substance though
And there is a lot of Gore violence and sexuality sprinkled throughout the series that is just off-putting sometimes for me
Andy K (10823 KP) rated Brawl In Cell Block 99 (2017) in Movies
Mar 3, 2018
This ain't no Wedding Crashers
Having just watched Bone Tomahawk (you must watch it) and learning writer/director S. Craig Zahler also helmed this film, I was even more anxious to see.
After Vince Vaughn loses his job, he is forced into a life as a drug runner. His big score goes wrong, he makes some tough decisions and ends up in prison. He is then manipulated and has to make even more intense decisions in order to make events happen in his favor.
Vaughn is believable as a tough, abrasive husband trying to save his family. His morality is questionable and you can't decide whether to root for him pr hate him. Don Johnson is also a standout as the warden.
I found it fascinating and exhilarating at the same time. Some of the fight scenes are maybe a little excessively violent, but that is the nature of prison life I imagine.
Zahler is slowly making a name for himself with these two films. He also has Dragged Across Concrete coming out later this year.
He hasn't reached Tarantino status quite yet, but he is off to a good start.
After Vince Vaughn loses his job, he is forced into a life as a drug runner. His big score goes wrong, he makes some tough decisions and ends up in prison. He is then manipulated and has to make even more intense decisions in order to make events happen in his favor.
Vaughn is believable as a tough, abrasive husband trying to save his family. His morality is questionable and you can't decide whether to root for him pr hate him. Don Johnson is also a standout as the warden.
I found it fascinating and exhilarating at the same time. Some of the fight scenes are maybe a little excessively violent, but that is the nature of prison life I imagine.
Zahler is slowly making a name for himself with these two films. He also has Dragged Across Concrete coming out later this year.
He hasn't reached Tarantino status quite yet, but he is off to a good start.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Sightseers (2012) in Movies
Mar 8, 2018
Extremely offbeat study in British eccentricity works better as a very black comedy than a horror movie, but the level of gore suggests it really wants to be the latter; animal lovers may want to look away at some points, too. New-minted couple embark on caravan tour/erotic odyssey around northern England and manage to find time for a little light serial killing, too.
Attention to detail and atmosphere mean that this is a consistently funny film, with great performances from the two leads - it's really much more about their relationship than the campaign of bloody slaughter which ends up becoming a significant element of their holiday. This is excruciatingly well-observed and in some ways rather more disturbing than watching various characters get their heads smashed in. Micro-budget nature of the film is never in doubt, but also never really a problem. The ending is a bit arbitrary and abrupt, but not to the point where it's a major flaw in the film. By anyone's standards but Ben Wheatley's, this would be a fairly extraordinary little film, but for this director the extraordinary is actually fairly ordinary.
Attention to detail and atmosphere mean that this is a consistently funny film, with great performances from the two leads - it's really much more about their relationship than the campaign of bloody slaughter which ends up becoming a significant element of their holiday. This is excruciatingly well-observed and in some ways rather more disturbing than watching various characters get their heads smashed in. Micro-budget nature of the film is never in doubt, but also never really a problem. The ending is a bit arbitrary and abrupt, but not to the point where it's a major flaw in the film. By anyone's standards but Ben Wheatley's, this would be a fairly extraordinary little film, but for this director the extraordinary is actually fairly ordinary.