The Grammar of Spice
Book
Even the most enthusiastic cooks and food lovers have jars of dusty powders inhabiting kitchen...
A Good Life: Philosophy from Cradle to Grave
Book
Myshkin was born on a certain day and died on a certain day - and some things happened to him in...
Contingent Citizens: Professional Aspiration in a South African Hospital
Book
Over the past decade, South Africa has experienced widening inequality. The ostentatious lifestyles...
In the Shadow of Mount Sinai
Book
In this short book Peter Sloterdijk clarifies his views on religion and its role in pre-modern and...
David McK (3562 KP) rated Angels and Demons in Books
Jul 4, 2021
And, like, I'm sure, many others, I actually read that sequel first, only later discovering it was such (although, admittedly, not a direct sequel) and going back to read the first on the series.
This is the one largely set in and around Rome, with a high-tech ticking time-bomb counting down in Vatican City as the Cardinals all meet to elect a new Pope following the death of the previous incumbent of that role. It also makes lots of the (supposed?) divide between religion and science, drawing on lots of conspiracy theories and bringing back into the realms of popular culture that old secret society, the illuminati.
I have no problem with any of that, and I do like a bit of derring-do, mystery and romance, but even I found it hard at times to swallow some of the outlandish scenarios and set pieces of this novel - I think, for me, the icing on the cake was the surviving-a-jump-out-of-a-helicopter-without-a-parachute bit towards the end!
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Porno (2019) in Movies
Nov 27, 2020
Set in the early 90s, Porno revolves around a group of Christian movie theatre workers who unwittingly stumble into a seperate, sealed off abandoned movie theatre underneath they one they work in. They find a mysterious movie reel in the depths and watch it, unleashing a Succubus intent on doing a bunch of evil things. I think. The motive isn't made particularly clear.
It's horror element doesn't work as it's too shy to show the gore one would expect from a film like this, but it still takes things too seriously to fully bring the laughs.
It's still humourous though. The cast are all likable, and the script manages to be funny on occasion, in what is essentially a silly semi-horror. Much like it's flirtation with genres, it also touches on some more serious issues, such as homosexuality and it's acceptance by religion, but once again, never quite goes all the way if you will.
Porno isn't awful by any means, but it feels like a wasted opportunity, a fun idea that isn't quite executed well enough to be a film worth returning to.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Annabelle (2014) in Movies
Oct 14, 2020
The Deer God
Games and Entertainment
App
βIt can be a struggle, but it's all worth it when you're shooting fire out your antlers.β ...
Belonging: the Story of the Jews, 1492-1900
Book
The Jewish story is a history that is about, and for, all of us. And in our own time of anxious...
History Religion
Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918
Book
With a death toll of between 50 and 100 million people and a global reach, the Spanish flu of...
History Medicine