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Leslye Headland recommended Bombshell (2019) in Movies (curated)
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated The Oath (2018) in Movies
Nov 8, 2020
Mental horror. What was marketed as a routine goofy comedy ended up being this fucking monster of intense, bleak, hyper-abusive, bloody torment that still has hard laughs to spare. Outside of its tidy ending which wraps things up a bit too quickly (that I have good and bad things to say about) it's as good as 𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘖𝘶𝘵 in weaving the seemingly intrinsically violent divisiveness of American politics into a hard-hitting socio-political satire that toes the line between horrifying and hilarious with a natural ease. There's a crescendo near the end of this that had me physically biting my fist and leaning closer and closer over in my chair I damn near couldn't take it. I already loved Ike Barinholtz going into this but I'm still so impressed with this, he and Haddish have terrific chemistry and the whole cast is a knockout (Billy Magnussen holy shit). Rather than being a cringy "both sides" white man rant as we may (not so unreasonably) expect (*cough* 𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘵), it's instead mainly convinced with being incredibly loud and incredibly mean to these people without really declaring one viewpoint the ultimate winner or the ultimate loser in a way which perfectly emulates today's political landscape. Attacks habits and opinions that until this the genre had left untapped. Luckily for me my comfort genre is assholes jostling each other so this was like candy. One of the best political comedies I've seen in eons. Couldn't have picked many better films than this to watch while Trump was finally getting voted out.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post
Apr 9, 2021
ClareR (5721 KP) rated Purple People in Books
Jul 26, 2020 (Updated Jul 26, 2020)
The satire is strong in Purple People, and there was a point in this where I thought that it all could be feasible. Ok, maybe not, but life never ceases to surprise me!
Eve Baxter is a reporter on an online news channel that reports all things weird and wonderful. She lives in New York, and is happy with her life and the distance it puts between her and her family. After a call from home to say that her father has been attacked and is unconscious in hospital, Eve decides to go home. At the same time, news comes out of the UK about a strange phenomenon: purple people. It transpires that in a bid to take the strain off an inadequate prison system and a rise in antisocial behaviour and violence, perpetrators are turned purple. No one quite knows how this is achieved, so Eve decides that she is going to find out.
This was a very entertaining read: I loved the humour especially, and there’s a big moral question in this. Is this really any way to treat people, whether they’re criminals or not? And is it really ‘right’ to lump all criminals in the same purple category, no matter the type of antisocial behaviour? Personally, I’m just glad that it’s not something that we could get away with (at least I hope so!).
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book, and for Kate Bulpitt for commenting along with the other readers in the margins.
Eve Baxter is a reporter on an online news channel that reports all things weird and wonderful. She lives in New York, and is happy with her life and the distance it puts between her and her family. After a call from home to say that her father has been attacked and is unconscious in hospital, Eve decides to go home. At the same time, news comes out of the UK about a strange phenomenon: purple people. It transpires that in a bid to take the strain off an inadequate prison system and a rise in antisocial behaviour and violence, perpetrators are turned purple. No one quite knows how this is achieved, so Eve decides that she is going to find out.
This was a very entertaining read: I loved the humour especially, and there’s a big moral question in this. Is this really any way to treat people, whether they’re criminals or not? And is it really ‘right’ to lump all criminals in the same purple category, no matter the type of antisocial behaviour? Personally, I’m just glad that it’s not something that we could get away with (at least I hope so!).
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book, and for Kate Bulpitt for commenting along with the other readers in the margins.
Dakota and the American Dream
7.0
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When ten-year-old Dakota becomes bored sitting next to his mother on a park bench, he drifts off and...
Awkward, failed attempt at satire?
After college, Elinor moves to New York with her journalism degree and dreams of writing pieces that mean something. She sees a future with her boyfriend, Mike, also a journalist. Instead, Elinor lives in a cramped apartment with no kitchen, sleeps on a foam pad, and nannies to two slightly whiny and obsessive children. She thinks her future is looking up when she's offered a position at Journalism.ly, a digital brand a la BuzzFeed. But soon Elinor learns that her sole function there is to produce pieces that go "viral" and then she and Mike break up, pushing her into a deeper depression. Is it even possible to have the creative and romantic life she dreamed of, Elinor wonders?
I won't lie; this was a strange book. Even the narration style is odd. While it's told mostly from Elinor's point of view, we get this peculiar device thrown in at times (e.g., "the reader should know"). You get used to it eventually, but still.
In fact, the whole novel can be very awkward at times and after a while, I lost the thread on whether it was because the book was well-done (she's so well-written!) or just awkward and painful. A lot of the book features much melodrama between the characters, most of whom always seemed to be having bad days. Really, was life so terrible? There is much angst, a lot of social media usage, lots of happy hours and supposed networking, and not a lot of people to care about.
For indeed, a lot of the characters are not likable, and I found myself vacillating in my feelings for Elinor. I didn't grow up in the social media world, like she, but am immersed in it enough now that I could empathize with her--to a point. At some stages, the novel really captured some painful situations. There were some funny points, and places where Elinor could be helpless yet sympathetic. At other points, Elinor was just hapless and unable to take charge of her life in any capacity and filled me with abject terror for the future of the nation.
I was honestly baffled at times on whether the book was satiric, or a commentary on social media and journalism, or taking itself too seriously. Elinor winds up working for Journalism.ly, which is said to be similar to BuzzFeed (and many other sites), and she's told to make things go viral, which, funnily enough, she has a bit of a knack for, despite her own inability to make friends or succeed in social situations (or life, in general). Whether all of this is ironic or not, I'll never quite know.
So, in the end, I'm at a loss with this one. I really don't know how I feel. Satire? A look at a generation? A bunch of hapless unlikable people prattling on? All three combined? I can say that this was a fast read--the author drew me in, as I read it in about a day. I was left with a weird feeling when I finished. I can't say I really recommend it, but it was an interesting read at times.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Edelweiss in return for an unbiased review; more at https://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/.
I won't lie; this was a strange book. Even the narration style is odd. While it's told mostly from Elinor's point of view, we get this peculiar device thrown in at times (e.g., "the reader should know"). You get used to it eventually, but still.
In fact, the whole novel can be very awkward at times and after a while, I lost the thread on whether it was because the book was well-done (she's so well-written!) or just awkward and painful. A lot of the book features much melodrama between the characters, most of whom always seemed to be having bad days. Really, was life so terrible? There is much angst, a lot of social media usage, lots of happy hours and supposed networking, and not a lot of people to care about.
For indeed, a lot of the characters are not likable, and I found myself vacillating in my feelings for Elinor. I didn't grow up in the social media world, like she, but am immersed in it enough now that I could empathize with her--to a point. At some stages, the novel really captured some painful situations. There were some funny points, and places where Elinor could be helpless yet sympathetic. At other points, Elinor was just hapless and unable to take charge of her life in any capacity and filled me with abject terror for the future of the nation.
I was honestly baffled at times on whether the book was satiric, or a commentary on social media and journalism, or taking itself too seriously. Elinor winds up working for Journalism.ly, which is said to be similar to BuzzFeed (and many other sites), and she's told to make things go viral, which, funnily enough, she has a bit of a knack for, despite her own inability to make friends or succeed in social situations (or life, in general). Whether all of this is ironic or not, I'll never quite know.
So, in the end, I'm at a loss with this one. I really don't know how I feel. Satire? A look at a generation? A bunch of hapless unlikable people prattling on? All three combined? I can say that this was a fast read--the author drew me in, as I read it in about a day. I was left with a weird feeling when I finished. I can't say I really recommend it, but it was an interesting read at times.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Edelweiss in return for an unbiased review; more at https://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/.
Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl: A Memoir
8.0
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Emma Watson's Book Club pick for July and August 2016 Before Carrie Brownstein became a music icon,...
What Gardens Mean
Book
Are gardens works of art? What is involved in creating a garden? How are gardens experienced by...
Egghead: Or, You Can't Survive on Ideas Alone
Book
Sometimes funny, sometimes serious, mostly absurd collection of poetry and essays from rising comedy...
Russian Revolutionary Posters
Book
Russian Revolutionary Posters tells the story of the development of the Soviet poster, from the...