Smashbomb

'The Neon Demon' 2016 is my film of the decade and also my favourite film of all time too.

'The Neon Demon' is all my passion, my addiction, my love for cinema and everything that inspires me, excites and drives me in life all crammed together into one cinematic masterpiece. In fact I think this film is so perfect and it means so much to me that its become a huge obsession of mine to the point where I think about it on a daily basis and even have my phone/room themed around it, tattoos of it, clothing/earnings based around it and it also influences most photos I take too. Directed by Nicholas Winding Refn and just like 'Only God Forgives'/'Drive' its visually immense, beautiful, intimidating, full of mystery and chock full of raw emotion too. Every scene is dense, rich and stylish with clearly a lot of time, care and thought put into each one be it the colours, lighting, camera angles or object placement everything in the frame is there for a purpose both visually and metaphorically. This film invokes and awakens so many emotions with me every single time I watch it that every time it ends I feel I've learnt something new not onlu about the film but about myself too. With next level acting and such an unnerving yet spellbinding soundtrack 'The Neon Demon' almost sends shivers down my spine and catapults me into a hypnotic state of immersion still when rewatching it to this day. Clearly inspired by Dario Argento movies such as 'Suspira' this film also has such a nostalgic feel to it as well containing very similar themes and uncomfortable visual/psychological horror too that many will no doubt find disturbing but to me it helps ramp up the tension, create a chilling atmosphere and adds huge emotional impact to the film. I doubt any film will ever replace this film as my top spot and although its slated by pretty much everyone (Jena Malone however said she was proud of it when I met her) the sheer depth, horror, inspiration, courage, enlightenment and joy that I personally get from watching it makes me feel so alive that if I met NWR I think I'd just burst into tears of gratitude.

Tom Nanni aka Neon Nans Reviews

Kudos Comment

KalJ95 (25 KP) rated God of War in Video Games

Jan 3, 2020

God of War

2018 | Action/Adventure

9.0

(64 Ratings)

Video Game Rating Watch

The most gripping and emotionally engaging narrative in years. (2 more)

Combat is brutal and satisfying.

The one take camera is an astonishing achievement.

Side missions lack the same wonder as the main story. (0 more)

Powerful Playstation Epic.

Back in 2015, gaming hit its peak, and the new generation really came into full effect. Bloodborne, MGS V: The Phantom Pain, Rise of the Tomb Raider, just some games to hit the same year, but what really made me question just how incredible video games could become, was The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Since then, I found games that reached similar levels, but never peaked as much as that. Until God of War.

God of War engaged with me so much because at the time I was trying with my other half to have a child, and persistent family issues meant I no longer spoke to my father. Following the story of Kratos and Atreus really hit home, and I've never felt so gripped and emotionally attached to fictional characters. Every beat of the narrative is put there to for purpose, and to carry weight along this epic journey with a father and son. It packs so much intensity at times it becomes enthralling, almost addictive to continue its 25 hour length. This, I suppose, you could say is it's one part of two contained within the game.

Of course, there are levels upon levels to examine within this masterpiece, but simplifying it within two aspects seems the most appropriate way. The second is the combat.
God of War is brutal, bloody, bold. The simplicity to master the move sets is so brilliant and often bonkers. Throwing your trusty Leviathan Axe, and calling it back never, ever gets boring, and pushes you to become more intelligent with its system. The more the game enters its next stage, a curveball hits you, and you have to learn what you know already, and add even more creativity. By the end, you should be an expert. That is until you meet the Queen Valkyrie. That's all I'll say.

God of War is a masterpiece. Sure, there could of been a little more meat on the bone when it came to the endgame, more side mission content. But the story is so perfect, so masterful, it deserves every bit of praise it gathers.

Kudos

Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Kiss Me First in TV

Aug 1, 2019

Kiss Me First

2018 | Animation, Drama, Thriller

8.0

(8 Ratings)

TV Show Rating

good story line, interesting characters (0 more)

a bit slow (0 more)

Kiss me first is six part T.V. series form 2018 that is (loosely) based on a book of the same title by Lottie Moggach. Set in the near future the series follows Leila, a young woman living alone in the house she shared with her mother, who had recently died. Leila spends most of her time in the Virtual Reality world of Azana where she goes by the name Shadowfax. Whilst in Azana, Shadowfax meets another play known as Mania who introduces her to a group known as ‘Red Pill’. As Shadowfax begins to spend more time with red pill she starts to realise that events in the game are being mirrored in real life.
As we are introduced to the characters the first couple of episodes’ flip between the real world and the VR world of Azana but, as the series progresses the VR gives way to the real world, pulling you into the madness of the characters and making the games being played even more sinister.
Kiss me first is not a light hearted series and through the red pill members it tackles subjects like depression, suicide & euthanasia as well as the core theme of manipulation which also makes it quite a slow burn.
I said that Kiss Me First was based on a book of the same title and, after watching the series I went off and read the book and found it to be quite different but also the same, let me explain. The book has the main core characters but Red Pill is a chat room and there is no VR or other version of Azana. Shadowfax/Leila only meets/speaks to two of the group (Mania and Adrian) and one of those are dead for most of the novel. Most of the same subjects are still covered in the book but the book seems to have a bigger focus on suicide whereas the T.V. series spends more time on depression. The book also seems to be a search for purpose and the series a search for belonging and friendship and the changes made in the series seem to make the Leila/ Jonty relationship a bit forced and almost irrelevant. If you enjoyed the book the series is worth a shot but expect a lot of changes and a bit more of a techie element.