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The Limehouse Golem (2016)
The Limehouse Golem (2016)
2016 | Horror, International, Mystery
Fantastic Victorian thriller
If you go in wanting to be blindsided about who did it then you're going to be disappointed, it's pretty obvious straight away who the Limehouse Golem is. Other than that this is a gripping film exploring the dregs of society in Victorian London as two cases come together for Scotland Yard's John Kildare (Bill Nighy) and George Flood (Daniel Mays). The story is constantly bubbling beneath the surface and as it rushes towards its conclusion the violence and gore gets more and more graphic, a lot of it doesn't add anything to the story but the dramatics of it does put the state of mind of the murderer into context.

Olivia Cooke, who plays Lizzie Cree a woman on trial for the murder of her husband, is fantastic in the role and has really put on display how good an actress she is.
  
The Gaelic King (2017)
The Gaelic King (2017)
2017 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
6
6.3 (6 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Fantasy set in a historical setting, but is it good?
The Gaelic King is a low budget fantasy film set in historical Scotland. An exiled king is forced to unite with his once enemies to face a larger threat, a shadow army at the command of a powerful witch.
Honestly, this is a tough one to review. It doesn't do a whole lot wrong, but it doesn't Excel at anything either, it's stuck somewhere in between.

The film has passable acting, is well paced and has a solid storyline. The effects range from ok to bad, but it doesn't compromise the film too much. The music is great but is not balanced well with the sound of the movie, often overpowering dialogue.
Overall, it doesn't bring anything new or unexpected. It won't wow you, but you shouldn't cringe too much either. It's essentially the definition of mediocre.
  
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Jeremy Workman recommended Macbeth (2015) in Movies (curated)

 
Macbeth (2015)
Macbeth (2015)
2015 | International, Drama
4.5 (2 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"I’ve always espoused this dopey idea that everyone should have one Shakespeare play that they know inside out. Just pick one. For me, it’s Macbeth. I’ve seen countless performances and probably watched most every movie version. (Hey, Scotland, PA, I got your back!). For me, Roman Polanski’s Macbeth is really the greatest of all Macbeths (and would have to be in the running for best Shakespeare film). People often mention how it was Polanski’s first film after the Sharon Tate murder or how Hugh Hefner was a producer. Try to get past all the extracurricular stuff and just play’dst (with the English subtitles on, I’d suggest) for the incredible performances, the mastery of Polanski’s cine-aesthetic precision, and a bleakness that feels so relevant today. I love how it’s so true to the play yet also so clearly a Polanski film. It’s harrowing, visceral, and frightening, like all his best work."

Source
  
Cults Percussion Ensemble by Cults Percussion Ensemble
Cults Percussion Ensemble by Cults Percussion Ensemble
2012 | Alternative, Jazz, Rock, Soundtrack
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"Saul from the Fat Whites has been playing this for me a lot while we made the Insecure Men record together. He told me about this music teacher in Scotland who made a band of his students to play his compositions, and how they made this album. It's magical. When we were working there was a lot of arguing over what we should listen to, but we always agreed on this, everyone's always happy. It's one of those albums that's gone in to the catalogue of records I can listen to when I'm dying and sick. It's so sweet and so beautiful and magical, it doesn't bother me at all, no matter what mood I'm in. I can be overly sensitive, and I don't always want to hear what someone's DJing, but if I'm trying to relax I can always put this on and find inner peace."

Source
  
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Stuart Braithwaite recommended Closer by Joy Division in Music (curated)

 
Closer by Joy Division
Closer by Joy Division
1980 | Rock
8.7 (3 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"It closely mirrors Low by Bowie. It took the format of the really busy first side and really melancholic b-side and took it to the next level grim. Grim factor 20. But it's a wonderful record and a very unique sounding record. I remember reading some things about how it was recorded, they didn't really use any amps. They just plugged straight into the desk and replayed it through speakers and recorded it again, which is mental. I've been a massive Joy Division fan ever since I started listening to music. It was probably through my sister and all her goth friends. Was she a goth too? Oh yeah! Everyone in Scotland's a goth, Luke, do you not know that? Margaret Thatcher brought such a black cloud over Scotland that there's nothing better to do than sit about drinking cider and listening to the Sisters Of Mercy."

Source
  
The Monarch of the Glen
The Monarch of the Glen
Neil Gaiman | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
15 of 230
Book
The Monarch of the Glen ( American Gods 1.5 )
By Neil Gaiman

He was not sure what he had been looking for. He only knew that he had not found it.

Shadow Moon has been away from America for nearly two years. His nights are broken with dangerous dreams. Sometimes he almost believes he doesn't care if he ever returns home.

In the Highlands of Scotland, where the sky is pale white and it feels as remote as any place can possibly be, the beautiful and the wealthy gather at a grand old house in the glen. And when the strange local doctor offers him work at the party, Shadow is intrigued.

He knows there is no good reason for him to be there.

So what do they want with him?


A brilliant novella catching up with Shadow! Fab little addition to the 1st book!
  
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David McK (3222 KP) rated Skyfall (2012) in Movies

Aug 27, 2023 (Updated Jun 9, 2024)  
Skyfall (2012)
Skyfall (2012)
2012 | Action, Mystery
"What were you expecting, an exploding pen? We don't go in for that sort of stuff anymore"

That, for me, summed up everything that was wrong with the Daniel Craig Bond films, of which this was the third - give me my exploding pen, dangit!!

Anyway, this oft pops up on lists of 'best of' Bond films, with the plot to do with Bond on the trail of a stolen hard disk drive that contains a list of undercover agents, and with Judi Dench's 'M's past (and a bit of Bonds own).

Thankfully, they start bringing back the gadgets towards the end of the film - in particular, during the final act in Scotland - in the form of Bond's Aston Martin(?), complete with machine guns behind the headlights and an ejector seat!

It is a strong entry in Craig's tenure, yes, but I *think* I still prefer Casino Royale.
  
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Shirley Manson recommended Sulk by The Associates in Music (curated)

 
Sulk by The Associates
Sulk by The Associates
1982 | Pop
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"The Associates were a huge band in Scotland; they certainly had some success in the rest of the world, but they were ours. Certainly when I was growing up I hadn't yet really discovered too many Scottish bands at that point – this was to change of course but these were one of the first I discovered. 
 
 The Associates struck me because I was aware that they were Scottish after I saw them on Top of the Pops and suddenly I made this connection between, 'Oh, you can be from Scotland, where there's no music industry, and be successful. You can get on Top of the Pops, you can be heard by an audience'. It was just a peculiar lesson and a sudden revelation for me of the possibilities that existed for musicians. 

 When you come from a country where back then there was no real established record industry, per se, they stood out. We had a couple of great record labels, you know, 53 & 3rd and Postcard Records and so on, but it was rare to get signed to those two labels, and they were still very small and independent; it was difficult to have the clout of a major London-based record label. 

 The Associates really captured my imagination. I loved them musically and I was really interested in their style. I was obsessed with the 'Gloomy Sunday' cover that Billy Mackenzie did. He had this extraordinary operatic voice; I'd never heard anything like in my life before. 

 I used to go to this club called the Hoochie Coochie Club in Edinburgh, which was big in the game for me, like I spent every weekend at this club. I was introduced to Billy Mackenzie and we really hit it off; I just was kind of obsessed by him. I just thought he was brilliant and really funny, irreverent, rebellious, and fascinating with the voice of an angel. He was so tortured and he had such a sad story in the end. 

 When I heard that he had taken his own life, I was so gutted: the whole of Scotland felt like they had lost a son. He had so much to give – he wasn't just sort of average, he wasn't an averagely successful musician: he was this extraordinary talent, a great interpreter and, again, a great communicator. He was able to make his own brilliant music but to also re-interpret classic songs that had been done by the greats and still he brought something of his own to that. 

 I think 'Gloomy Sunday' by The Associates is by far the greatest version of 'Gloomy Sunday' I've ever heard, and I've heard some amazing versions, like the one by by Sinéad O'Connor or Billie Holiday, but he brings something really special to that.
 
The Associates helped build Scotland's musical confidence to then start really exploring the music scene on its own terms, as opposed to going through London."

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Destroy All Human Life by Country Teasers
Destroy All Human Life by Country Teasers
1999 | Alternative, Country, Indie, Punk
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"From one extreme to the other. Belle and Sebastian were one side of what was happening in Glasgow, and Scotland, in the ‘90s when I was really young and just starting out and to me Country Teasers represent another parallel, a much darker and more sinister side of what was going on. “They came out of Edinburgh, where they were all from, apart from Ben Wallers, the singer, who’s English. They’re another band I put on in The 13th Note and another band I was drawn to both sonically and lyrically. As you’ll know if you’ve heard this record, Destroy All Human Life, some of the lyrics are extremely difficult. Ben’s attitude has always been to try to make people as uncomfortable as they possibly can be and to explore issues that are usually not talked about at all. “This song, weirdly, I find to be quite beautiful; the melodic line is really wistful and melancholic, which as I said, is what I was aiming for with this collection of songs. There’s a sort of perverse humour to this particular track too. That’s what makes it all the more vivid for me; he’s talking about his bandmates, who I can picture because I knew all those characters at the time. “He rips into them mercilessly! He’s saying Richie’s so weak he almost can’t be seen and something about Eck being skinny and Alan, the guitarist, having a big hook nose. Simon, I think, he said had funny feet and then at the end, he says, “I am the perfect image of mankind / Made by god to remind him of his son / My back is straight like a straight white line / Golden apples issue from the hole in my bum.” It’s really fucking funny! “And also, it captures a particular sense of humour that was shared by a lot of people I hung out with in Scotland at that time and still do. It’s quite dark and sadistic.”"

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Rock Paper Scissors
Rock Paper Scissors
Alice Feeney | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
An excellent twisty thriller
Adam and Amelia Wright win a weekend away to Scotland--and this romantic getaway might be the only thing to save their rocky marriage. Screenwriter Adam spends most of his time working, much to the frustration of Amelia. Adam also suffers from prosopagnosia, or face-blindness, and sometimes Amelia wonders if he'd even recognize his own wife in a crowd. They know this weekend could make a huge difference in their marriage, but what they don't know: they didn't win this trip. And someone really doesn't want them to save their marriage.

"We both know this weekend away is a last chance to fix things. Or at least to try. He hasn't forgotten that."

This was a really fun thriller, honestly! Just one of those creepy and mysterious reads that kept me guessing most of the entire time. It's told from the point of view of both Adam and Amelia and interspersed with Amelia's letters that she writes to Adam each year on their anniversary (but does not let him read). We also have a third point of view, from a mysterious other character. How does everyone fit together? Enjoy trying to figure it out!

"My husband doesn't cheat on me with other women, or men, he has love affairs with their words."

Everyone is keeping secrets in this mystery, leading to a wild ride. The setting is amazing, a cold, dark, and snowy atmospheric Scotland that serves as another character in our twisty thriller. Every thing seems ominous and foreboding, as Adam and Amelia traverse the snowy countryside and mysterious house they are staying in.

Overall, this is a great and thrilling mystery, which keeps you guessing. It's a surprising page-turner, that also delves into the themes of marriage and writing. 4+ stars.

I received a free ARC of this book from Macmillan in exchange for an honest review.