Sign up
Search
Advanced search settings

Search only in certain items:

Search results
All (5000)
Content
People
Apps
Books
Orbs
Movies
Music
Podcasts
Shows
Tabletop Games
Tech
TV
Video Games
YouTube Channels
Videos
40x40

Awix (3310 KP) rated Joker (2019) in Movies

Oct 4, 2019 (Updated Oct 4, 2019)  
Joker (2019)
Joker (2019)
2019 | Crime, Drama
8
8.5 (146 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Striking riff on some elements of the Batman mythology looks good but simultaneously feels like it's trying to do too much and struggling to justify its own existence. In an early 80s Gotham City, severely troubled clown/comedian Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) is struggling to maintain his grip on reality, not to mention his own sanity. But a powerful force of nihilistic chaos is incubating within him...

A very strong performance by Joaquin Phoenix is the main reason to see this film, as he manages to be pitiable, frightening, and occasionally very funny. The sustained grimness and intensity of it is also surprising and impressive. That said, it does take rather a long time for the traditional Joker characterisation to begin to appear, and the question of whether this character can actually support a whole movie has clearly troubled the film-makers, too - hence, presumably, the attempts to make points about anti-capitalism, social unrest, and the mass media. These don't chime especially well with the period setting, which is presumably to facilitate the homages to King of Comedy, Taxi Driver, French Connection and Network which the film is filled with. One inevitably wonders what the point of the Joker is without Batman, unless it's simply to shock and provoke. This film does those things, but only up to a point and to no very obvious end. A good-looking, well-made, well-played film, but perhaps just the tiniest bit portentous.
  
40x40

Sarah (7798 KP) rated Hustlers (2019) in Movies

Sep 5, 2020  
Hustlers (2019)
Hustlers (2019)
2019 | Drama
3
6.1 (23 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Tries too hard... and fails
I've had this on my Amazon to watch list for quite some time and finally decided to give it a go last night, and to be honest I wish I hadn't bothered.

This makes out like it's going to be a stylish crime caper similar to films like Ocean's Eleven etc, but it really is as far from it as you can get. It's very dull and considering it has a less than 2 hour run time, it drags on for a very long time. The plot sounds interesting but in reality it's completely lacklustre. It tries to pull off this heartwarming friendship tale but it fails miserably - none of the characters in this are particularly likeable and endearing and aren't helped by some rather terrible acting from the likes of Constance Wu and Julia Stiles. I am very glad though that Cardi B and Lizzo were only cameos as they were bad enough in those, I couldn't have dealt with Cardi B especially for the entire duration. Also the stripping scenes have been handled very badly. Yes it's a film about strippers, but rather than showing this aspect in a powerful and respectable way, it actually feels really seedy and is a bit cringey to watch.

Overall there wasn't really much to like about this film, although Jennifer Lopez was bareable. Could've been done so much better.
  
40x40

Ari Augustine (10 KP) rated The Deep in Books

May 4, 2020  
The Deep
The Deep
Alma Katsu | 2020 | History & Politics, Horror, Thriller
10
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Historical Fiction with a supernatural twist, I was drawn to The Deep like a moth to a flame. It's been awhile since I've read anything compelling enough to read in a single sitting, but Katsu deliveries such a horrific, heartpounding, and mind-spinning twist to a tale we're already so familiar with, that the story grips us from page one.

Annie Hebley is a nurse who survived the sinking of Titanic and has since confined herself to an mental institution. However, at the start of The Deep, she is hired to work on the Britannica to help the wounded WW1 soldiers. What I love about this story is how well it blends actual history in between these moments of atmospheric supernatural events. We meet characters who were once very much alive on a ship that actually existed. There's something eerie about tethering such a story in a historical way that connects to the reader, and this element of the story certainly spoke to me. But what I loved MOST was how unreliable Annie was as a character. Her point of view jumped between 1912 and 1916, blurring the lines of reality even further. Although the pacing wasn't always consistent, I love, love, LOVED Katsu's writing.

Overall, I'd recommend The Deep to anyone with a dash of patience, a dangerous curiosity for the supernatural, and, well, anyone who lives creepy stories rooted in history.