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Austin Garrick recommended Videodrome (1983) in Movies (curated)

 
Videodrome (1983)
Videodrome (1983)
1983 | Horror, Sci-Fi

"Sometimes my biggest reasons for connecting to a film are simple, primitive, just about a feeling. Videodrome and Repo Man are two that fit into that category. In addition to the fact that it costars Debbie Harry in my favorite roll of hers, I love Videodrome for its particular use of my hometown, Toronto. Sure, Toronto is used in films all the time, but usually disguised as New York, or Chicago or Detroit. No filmmaker has used Toronto better and more consistently over the years than our hometown hero Cronenberg, though, and Videodrome he shot and set in the downtown Toronto of my childhood, complete with a central part of the story revolving around our local cable station CityTV (as “Civic TV,” the station James Woods’s character, Max Renn, works for), which really did play soft-core porn if you stayed up late enough. To this day, my dad lives on the street Max Renn lives on, and Barry Convex’s Spectacular Optical is a bakery on the same street as the Electric Youth studio downtown, just a minute away, making the connection both past and present. Repo Man has my favorite Criterion release cover art; it’s amazing and designed by movie poster artist Jay Shaw, who also designed the artwork for singles from our album Innerworld. With Repo Man you get Harry Dean Stanton in his first big-screen lead role, Emilio Estevez as his partner, and the streets of Reagan-era Los Angeles set to a classic punk soundtrack. What more would I need to love this film? Nothing. But like with all great Criterion selections, there’s always something new to take from it with every watch."

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Bad Influence (Bad Bachelors, #3)
Bad Influence (Bad Bachelors, #3)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Annie is the brains behind the Bad Bachelor website. It has brought a myriad of emotions to women around NYC and beyond. Some people are for the site and others want her to shut it down for ruining lives. Either way Annie knows it is helping most women navigate the dating world and she doesn’t want to take that away from them. She has firmly stayed out of the dating world since her relationship ended years ago when she chose her family over her relationship. Joseph is never far from her thoughts but that is as close as she wants him, until she knocks him into a pond by accident.

Joseph has returned home again after making a name for himself overseas. He hasn’t stopped thinking about Annie much over the years, as his ex fiancé can attest to. He is hoping to get a chance to have a good heart to heart with her and apologize for leaving her the way he did. While contemplating his thoughts at their spot by the pond he literally bumps into his past.

Annie and Joseph didn’t have a great conversational past and they both fully admit it. Now that they’ve gotten a second chance will they make the best of it this time or fall back into their old habits? Annie doesn’t want to fall back into her past, especially while she is being threatened by someone over the Bad Bachelors website but she needs Joseph’s help to find out who is behind the threats.

Bad Influence is the third book in the Bad Bachelor series and a great continuation of the storylines. I received an advance copy from Netgalley without expectation for review. Any and all opinions expressed are my own. A 4 ½ star read, personally I found some slower parts to the story but overall a very good read. You don’t have to read in any order as each is a standalone but if you want background on the other 2 main couples and/or the website I would recommend starting with book one, Bad Bachelor.
  
Meghan and Brandon met in college and became good friends. Some might say they are from opposite sides of the tracks so how could they have anything in common. But those are some of the things that bonded them early in their relationship. Graduation is coming and Meghan is finally going to put her feelings for Brandon on the line and see if he feels the same for her.

Brandon has been in love with Meghan since the first day he saw her. Their friendship means the world to him and he doesn’t want to do anything to mess it up, especially not by admitting his feelings. Tonight’s party is the last time he will see her, at least for a while so he wants to enjoy every single second left with her. When she tells him she feels the same way about him he can’t believe his luck. They make love but then something happens and she kicks him out afterward.

Years go by without contact between the two, they resumed their “real lives” and are both miserable. Brandon has returned to the family business which has become all consuming and Meghan works odd jobs to pay for a crappy apartment and take care of her son, Eaton. When a medical emergency threatens her son’s life she does what she needs to do to secure the money needed for his surgery.

Brandon and Meghan move past misunderstanding, betrayal and lost years to forge their relationship again. Will they be able to let the past be the past and move forward together, without repercussions? Although this is the second book of the series Saving Samantha (Book 1) does not need to be read first as they are both standalone. Some characters overlap but it isn’t confusing as to who is who. The author once again weaves a romantic, second chance at love story with wonderful characters who capture our imagination. I received an advance copy without expectation for review, any and all opinions expressed are my own. Solid 4 star read again from the author.
  
A Name Unknown will completely sweep you off your feet. If you are even the slightest bit bookish, you will simply fall head over heels for Peter! A man of incredible character, high standards, genuine compassion, a deep relationship with Jesus, and a serious TALENT with words! Rosemary, is just...AHHHH! A woman who I want to meet. A woman who I wish was a real life person so that I can interview her, have lunch with her, and go for walks together along the cliffs in Cornwall. Also, Roseanna talks about Cornish Pasties...Um...those are perhaps my very favorite meal EVER! (Here is a recipe, Jody Hedlund also talks about them in Undaunted Hope...I use butter and not margarine and I do not put rutabaga in them.)

Throughout the story both Peter and Rosemary struggle with secrets that lay in their past. Some known, some unknown, (even to themselves) some discovered along the way. As they grow closer they come to understand that they can not have these barriers between them."With the greatest risks come the greatest rewards", but is it worth it to risk everything that they have built their lives on? Will they be able to confide in one another before all is revealed? And will the past stand between them and keep them apart? Or draw them closer together?

There is SO MUCH we can learn from this story. And ONE of the biggest points is that God is able and willing to forgive us...NO MATTER our past, no matter what we have done, what we have been through. The question is, do we want Him to? Do we want Him to change us for the better? The other message that stands out SO.STRONGLY...Is that God hears us. He may not always give us the answers we WANT...But He HEARS us...Even if it doesn't feel like He does.

Set at the very beginning of WWI, this book begins an incredible adventure for Rosemary's family. I am SO looking forward to the next books.

I received a complimentary copy of A Name Unknown from the publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
  
    OXENFREE

    OXENFREE

    Games

    8.5 (2 Ratings) Rate It

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    “Oxenfree takes the best parts of supernatural 1980's teenage horror films and combines it with...

Meet Me In Another Life
Meet Me In Another Life
Catriona Silvey | 2021 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book is so beautifully written and so different from anything that I have read in the past couple of years. It kept me engrossed the whole way through and while I wanted to know what happened, I didn’t particularly want the book to end.
We follow Thora and Santi as they meet in Cologne time and time again. Each chapter changes who we follow as the main character which makes it quite different. But although they’re either different ages or have lived a different life they still come back to each other like they are drawn to each other. The world around them changes and the relationships they have change, but they always find each other: whether that’s as father and daughter, friends or lovers.
At first, it was just like they were in a different universe each time and it was a different set of choices that were played out that shaped who they became. But as the book went on it became obvious that that wasn’t the explanation the author was going for. As they continue, they begin to remember things from their past lives and try to work out why they are so drawn to each other. The end of the book was a twist that I didn’t see coming, I had such hopes for them both and teared up a little bit during the last few pages.
The writing was beautiful and the way that Catriona Silvey wove the stories and the different possibilities between the two characters was so amazing to read. I think it will be a book that sticks with me for a long time.