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B: The Beginning
B: The Beginning
2018 | Animation, Mystery, Sci-Fi
6
7.3 (3 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
intriguing concept, a visual delight, top notch action (0 more)
Very hard to follow plot wise, storytelling isn't that great, and too much exposition or info dumping (0 more)
Killer B - 6/10
B: The Beginning is an anime series produced by Production I.G. and directed by Kazuto Nakazawa and Yoshiki Yamakawa. Nakazawa designed the characters and served as key animation supervisor. Both Nakazawa and Yamakawa wrote scripts and Yoshihiro Ike composed the music.


In the fictional European archipelago nation of Cremona, Keith Flick, a brilliant ex detective, returns to the force from years of isolation. He is assisting the local police, the R.I.S. (Royal Investigation Service), with an investigation involving a series of killings by a man they have named "Killer B". Meanwhile a mysterious criminal organization (Market Maker) with a hidden agenda steals a prototype weapon and has the authorities overwhelmed going on a rampage. Koku, a seemingly normal young man, has supernatural powers and knowledge the organization exists, He is going after them with a singular purpose, to find someone he lost long ago and nothing will stop him.


This anime was very hard to follow. I liked the whole two intertwining storylines and eventually they intersect and things do make sense, i just wished it was better thought out or planned. The concept had me intrigued and the animation is really quite a visual treat. The action is also top notch right along with the animation. I really liked it, but like i said it's pretty hard to follow. If you are looking for an anime with good action and a plot that will have you thinking this would be it. It does have it's flaws though, like the storytelling isn't that great and there is a lot of dialogue exposition (characters just info dumping) but towards the end it all comes together. If you make it that far. I wouldn't give it my seal of approval but if your bored and haven't seen it, it'll definitely keep you entertained. I give it a 6/10.
  
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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Sin City (2005) in Movies

Jan 7, 2021 (Updated Jan 11, 2021)  
Sin City (2005)
Sin City (2005)
2005 | Action, Drama, Mystery
I absolutely adored Sin City when it first released way back in 2005, and I still do to a point, albeit a little less than I used to.
The main positives are of course the cast, and the style.

The cast is stacked - Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson, Benicio Del Toro, Brittany Murphy, Michael Madsen, Clive Owen, Micky Rourke, Jessica Alba, Elijah Wood, Powers Boothe, Devon Aoki, Rutger Hauer, Michael Clarke Duncan, Carla Gugino, Jaime King... that's a fair ensemble if you ask me.
The style is of course a huge part of Sin City. It's neo noir black and white with splashes of colour translate perfectly from page to screen. 15 years later, the effects still look pretty decent and the overall look of the film is practically watching the graphic novels come to life, a strength that is bolstered by the cast involved.
It has a cheesy yet engaging screenplay - the runtime clocks in at over two hours, but never gets boring (just about), and the constant growly voiceovers and on the nose script beats could have potentially been laughable in anyone else's hands, but Robert Rodriguez somehow gets away with it.

The comics ultraviolence is well realised - the movie doesn't shy away from the grimness of proceedings. Some of the content however feels a little problematic in this day and age. The whole thing is plagued by a steady stream of misogyny, which would have probably been toned down if released today, but in my opinion, it's never glamorised. 95% of the male characters are grim shitbags, and the audience know it well.

I understand why a fair few people have an issue with Sin City and it's content, but personally, I find it to be a unique film with plenty of positives, a project that respects it's source material, and just about manages to avoid falling inside of its own arse.
  
Gypsy Blood (All The Pretty Monsters #1)
Gypsy Blood (All The Pretty Monsters #1)
Kristy Cunning | 2020 | Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
193 of 200
Kindle
Gypsy Blood ( All the pretty monsters book 1)
By Kristy Cunning

 
I'm not all that special, really. Or uncommon. I'm sure there are a lot of girls with old gypsy blood who see the dead, have killer cults hunting their family, and turn into something that gets scary when they panic. Yep. Completely unoriginal, if I do say so myself.
Move along. Nothing to see here. Nope. I'm just an ordinary girl.

I wish people would believe that.

I've been labeled as one thing or another for most of my life:
Death Girl.
Crazy Gypsy Girl.
Gothic Chick.
Monster...

It took my mother's death for me to finally start getting answers about what's really been going on. Unfortunately, most of the answers come from men...who aren't just men. Somehow, I've gone and landed myself in a world truly filled with monsters, and I'm starting to think this is where I should have been all along.

Only...I don't understand what's going on. I'm walking into the middle of a story that's thousands of years old, and I'm the new girl on the block who doesn't have a clue how this world even works. My only guides happen to be the most lethal of the bunch.

They decide who lives or dies. They decide who gets stabbed or tortured.
Yeah...

I've gone and drawn attention to myself, and the ones paying attention are the ones everyone else seems to fear.

How do these things always happen to me?


I didn’t know what to except but found myself totally involved! I love the idea of these alphas and I love her Gypsy powers and how she still has so much to learn! We get to learn with her because this is written so you want to keep going! Anna her ghost is so bloody funny I laughed quite a bit woke my husband several times from sleep! I do think Ace was a bit obvious and she was a bit stupid there but now things get a bit more interesting
  
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Joey Santiago recommended Highway to Hell by AC/DC in Music (curated)

 
Highway to Hell by AC/DC
Highway to Hell by AC/DC
1979 | Rock
8.4 (5 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"My first concert! I rode my bike to the city, because I lived in the suburbs and I tried to meet Angus Young outside the tour bus, asking the security guy, [imitates younger self] "Can I meet Angus Young?" "No, he's not here!" "Hey dude! What the fuck?! Don't talk to me like that, I bought a ticket!" Also, it was my first experience of how loud - it was the loudest shit I've ever heard! And in the suburbs, they were a dangerous band. It was like, "Oh fuck, the devil", it kind of made Kiss look tame, and it just powers. And when Angus Young solos, it's just magic. I saw them on that tour when Bon Scott had died; he'd just died and Brian Johnson had just taken over, and I was totally sceptical, and then it was like, "Oh, he's fucking good!" And actually, when Kim left the band, and we're going, "Aw shit, we're fucked", and we're talking about what we're going to do, and then we're like, "Fucking AC/DC replaced the fucking lead singer! We can do this! [sombrely] We shall overcome!" And we thought about replacing Kim with a dude, and then we went, "What?! They replaced Bon Scott with a guy that sounds exactly like Bon Scott! Let's not break the plate! We're not broken, we're not broken at all. Give me a fucking break." So I was totally adamant [laughs]! Song two ['Girls Got Rhythm'], it's like: "SEX!" It's about "SEX!" It's not like Foreigner, where it's obvious but it's fucking stupid - come on, you can do better than that! It's like, "I want to have sex with you, what's the problem?" I think it's the ultimate way to get attention: "Come on, we're not here to meet up, let's cut to the chase. I'm not going to waste your time, don't waste my time! Let's fuck, come on, I don't have time for this!" [laughs]"

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Pat Healy recommended The Killing (1956) in Movies (curated)

 
The Killing (1956)
The Killing (1956)
1956 | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

"Outside of 2001: A Space Odyssey, these are my favorite Kubrick films. The Killing is a tense and lean noir starring the great Sterling Hayden and a cast of character actors (Marie Windsor, Elisha Cook Jr., Jay C. Flippen, Timothy Carey, et al.), each of whom possesses his or her own special brand of menace and pathos. The film’s dialogue is by the best crime writer who ever lived, Jim Thompson (who worked with Kubrick and Calder Willingham on Paths of Glory as well), and it’s the music in Kubrick’s nonlinear racetrack heist caper, which I think is the best noir ever made. Hayden is one of the most curious creatures to ever grace the screen. I can never take my eyes off him, and as gruff as he is, I always feel for him. The tragic, cosmic joke at the end of this movie will break your heart—even when you’re wondering why you wanted this bum to get away with the crime. Johnny Clay is the ultimate “beautiful loser.” Paths of Glory is, in my humble opinion, the finest war film ever made. While not concerned primarily with combat and focusing instead on its multilayered consequences, the drama is as explosive as any battlefield action you’ll ever see. It lays bare the blatant hypocrisy of the powers that be, who never get their hands dirty but put innocent and well-intentioned men in the trenches to fight their battles for them. Kubrick takes us through the trenches with dazzling tracking shots that show us the weathered faces of the men who fought the Great War, some of whom will later be brought to trial and executed for “cowardice” after not being able to pull off an impossible mission. Kirk Douglas has never been better. And if the final scene in the battered cabaret, featuring Kubrick’s future wife, Christiane, singing a German folk song, doesn’t destroy you completely, you are probably some hideous sun demon."

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Pat Healy recommended Paths of Glory (1957) in Movies (curated)

 
Paths of Glory (1957)
Paths of Glory (1957)
1957 | Classics, Drama, War

"Outside of 2001: A Space Odyssey, these are my favorite Kubrick films. The Killing is a tense and lean noir starring the great Sterling Hayden and a cast of character actors (Marie Windsor, Elisha Cook Jr., Jay C. Flippen, Timothy Carey, et al.), each of whom possesses his or her own special brand of menace and pathos. The film’s dialogue is by the best crime writer who ever lived, Jim Thompson (who worked with Kubrick and Calder Willingham on Paths of Glory as well), and it’s the music in Kubrick’s nonlinear racetrack heist caper, which I think is the best noir ever made. Hayden is one of the most curious creatures to ever grace the screen. I can never take my eyes off him, and as gruff as he is, I always feel for him. The tragic, cosmic joke at the end of this movie will break your heart—even when you’re wondering why you wanted this bum to get away with the crime. Johnny Clay is the ultimate “beautiful loser.” Paths of Glory is, in my humble opinion, the finest war film ever made. While not concerned primarily with combat and focusing instead on its multilayered consequences, the drama is as explosive as any battlefield action you’ll ever see. It lays bare the blatant hypocrisy of the powers that be, who never get their hands dirty but put innocent and well-intentioned men in the trenches to fight their battles for them. Kubrick takes us through the trenches with dazzling tracking shots that show us the weathered faces of the men who fought the Great War, some of whom will later be brought to trial and executed for “cowardice” after not being able to pull off an impossible mission. Kirk Douglas has never been better. And if the final scene in the battered cabaret, featuring Kubrick’s future wife, Christiane, singing a German folk song, doesn’t destroy you completely, you are probably some hideous sun demon."

Source
  
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Benedick Lewis (3001 KP) rated Die Trying (Jack Reacher Book#2) in Books

Sep 14, 2020 (Updated Sep 14, 2020)  
Die Trying (Jack Reacher Book#2)
Die Trying (Jack Reacher Book#2)
Lee Child | 2010 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.4 (12 Ratings)
Book Rating
Some really tense moments - particularly towards the end (3 more)
Reacher isn’t always right but he always wins
Nice chemistry between the two main characters
A definite resemblance to Far Cry 5
Definitely some padding (0 more)
Different from the first but equally as good
Jack Reacher (no middle name)’s second outing is a lot different to his debut. Killing Floor was a personal story and felt more focused around Reacher - it also felt like he had godly powers and never seemed to lose. In Die Trying, Reacher is put in a situation out of his element initially but eventually gets his stride. Without wanting to spoil too much, it involves Reacher and a woman on crutches getting kidnapped. When they find out the purpose of the kidnapping, things are a lot worse than one can imagine.
It isn’t really giving anything away to make parallels with 2018’s Far Cry 5. It would be really surprising if the makers of the Ubisoft hit hadn’t read this book. Child’s style is very too the point - with a little padding here and there that if you preserve you get through. Chapters are broken into segments and sometimes flick between multiple characters, which keeps the pace rolling. Child has a good ability to make an event happen and for it to be seen via multiple character perspectives observing said event. It was a little confusing towards the end with certain twists, if you’re not reading in one go, but it isn’t so dense that you lose track and give up.
The payoff is satisfying and action packed, delivering surprises and rapid story telling. Sometimes novels have difficulty rounding things up but there’s no trouble here. It is a well researched novel as well but Andy McNab’s Nick Stone delivers more authenticity regarding weapon handling and operation.
Read this if you enjoy a Hollywood style thriller. It is compact enough to get through quite quickly but detailed enough to make you enjoy the ride.