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LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated When Will I Be Loved (2004) in Movies

Jul 4, 2021 (Updated Jul 4, 2021)  
When Will I Be Loved (2004)
When Will I Be Loved (2004)
2004 | Drama
"๐˜ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ฉ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ต๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ฅ๐˜บ'๐˜ด ๐˜จ๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ญ, ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ถ๐˜ค๐˜ฌ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ? ๐˜๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด!"

A deeply, *deeply* misogynistic, artsy-fartsy disaster of stratospheric proportions where every slimebag man has some idiotic 'philosophical' defense as to why they need to manipulate this woman into letting them fuck her - made by a known serial sexual predator. I felt complicit for even entertaining the idea to watch such dogshit, like I needed a military-grade chemical shower after seeing it. Or to at least bleach my eyes. Might be the worst movie I've ever seen, if not then certainly somewhere down in the bottom 5 or 10. Written, edited, and shot like a bad high school student project with this unbearable non-story which rips off - of all movies - ๐˜๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜—๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜ญ (by name, in fact)? Neve Campbell has sex with another women (without showing any skin of course) behind a transparent mesh curtain scored to a shitty Bach cover - imagine if that episode from "South Park" where the people smelled their own farts was real and you'd get this depth-free piece of shit. As cynical, uninvolved, and up-its-own-ass as ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜‹๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด is, at least that one actually went through with its promise of provocation. ๐˜๐˜ช๐˜ง๐˜ต๐˜บ ๐˜š๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜Ž๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ is unironically more provocative than this. Effectively just a series of bullshit conversations that go nowhere and shit-tier sex scenes more poorly thrown together than that one from Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part I. And then it also features horrible ass songs on the soundtrack because of course it does. One of the rare movies to bag Roger Ebert's highest rating... which was also 'earned' by fellow turds ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜Ž๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜Š๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ด and ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜Š๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜–๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ (which - awful as they are - are masterpieces compared to this) so it shows how much that distinction is worth lmao. Shoot me now.
  
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LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated The Dreamers (2003) in Movies

Dec 3, 2020 (Updated Dec 3, 2020)  
The Dreamers  (2003)
The Dreamers (2003)
2003 | Drama, Romance
Actual lines of dialogue from this movie:

"๐˜ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ'๐˜ต ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜Ž๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ. ๐˜‰๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ง ๐˜ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฅ, ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข ๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฌ, ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ง๐˜ต-๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜จ๐˜ถ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ต."
"๐˜'๐˜ฎ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ด๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ [๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ]."
"๐˜ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ'๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข ๐˜ฃ๐˜ช๐˜จ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ง๐˜ง, ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต? ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜บ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ'๐˜ต ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฌ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜”๐˜ข๐˜ฐ ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ข ๐˜จ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ... ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ข ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ข ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด."

The far less entertaining ๐˜Š๐˜ณ๐˜ถ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ ๐˜๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด meets... idek, the really long talky parts from ๐˜›๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ? A woeful experience - uses a ton of intellectual jargon but says next to nothing. On the one hand, perfectly emulates this sort of 20-something who thinks they're the most original being on the planet despite being another clichรฉd story no one wants to be around... but on the other, at what cost? These people seem beyond insufferable to be around - three pretentious, odious fucks sit around drinking wine and smoking while spewing superficial first-year-film-major histrionics, jerking off, and smelling each others' underwear. Every bit as lumbering, surface-level, and pompous as that sounds. Usually I'm all for these conceited combinations of toxic people, self-destruction, and explicit sex but this is virtual parody levels of this sort of "wants to be a 70s movie really bad" cinema. Has a few good scenes that actually find a palpable mood but otherwise exists almost solely to brag about how many old movies it's seen, uses both those aforementioned films and the real life 1968 Paris riots as not much more than mere window dressing while failing to confront whatever shred of an idea it briefly poses for a scene or two. Eva Green and the dad are the only two tolerable performances. All but begs you to find it audacious and daring with a shit-eating sneer while simultaneously gutting the homosexuality from the original text so this won't steer *too* far off the hetero curve. And then it ends with a total "who cares?". Pretty but dumb. The sex stuff is kind of decent, though.
  
Beauty from Pain (Beauty, #1)
Beauty from Pain (Beauty, #1)
Georgia Cates | 2013 | Contemporary, Romance
4
6.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Well this is a backburner book (#1 on my to-read on Goodreads), having been on my Kindle since some time in January 2014 when it was released. I think I've put off reading it simply because of the "erotica" label it had on Goodreads. It wasn't exactly erotica, though. Yeah, they had quite a lot of sex but there was a romance to it, too.

So this starts with Laurelyn arriving in Australia with her best friend to spend time with her best friends brother for three months as he studies wine making there. On the first night they head out to a bar and take part in an...open mic night? Laurelyn sings and plays the guitar (I think) and attracts the attention of Jack, a man looking for his next lover. Instead of the usual week/month, he plans to spend three months with his next bed fellow, giving her whatever she wishes for and making her feel special. Laurelyn catches his attention and he plans to seduce her into agreeing to his arrangement.

I guess if I was on the receiving end of an attractive rich guy wanting to spend three months with me, getting to know me and spending a lot of that time in bed, I'd enjoy it, too, but I have to admit I got a little bored with this. It was taking a little too long to get where it was going and I skipped entire sex scenes. The books 271 pages felt more like 500.

It had a rather promising start, apart from the slightly stalkerish behaviour of Jack as he tried to meet Laurelyn again, and I enjoyed the slow seduction and how he treated her. But then I didn't really see the relationship grow as such. It didn't work for me, personally.

By the end, I wasn't all that bothered about what was going to happen next with the characters so I won't be continuing the series.
  
Fake Truth
Fake Truth
Lee Goldberg | 2020 | Thriller
3
3.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Truth is I Wish More of This Book Were Fake
Writer Ian Ludlow is stuck. Despite his most recent exploits as an off the books CIA agent, he canโ€™t come up with anything worthy of his next book. So when his CIA partner, Margo French, throws a newspaper at him, he picks a couple of articles at random and they begin to investigate as if Ianโ€™s writerโ€™s imagination was right and there is a connection between them. The scary thing is, they might have stumbled upon something that way, with tentacles that spread from Russia to the US-Mexico border with the news media in between. But what exactly have they found?

Iโ€™ve enjoyed the first two books in this series, but this one was a disappointment. While we see the various threads involved in this plot early on, the story still moves too slowly for the first half. Once it does start, we get plenty of action and a great climax. Since this is a loving spoof of the spy genre, I definitely enjoyed some laughs. The characters can be a bit thin, but thatโ€™s part of the genre. Unfortunately, so is sex, and there are several sex scenes I really could have done without. The author stages his story in such a way that very thinly disguises his politics, which really pulled me out of the story. I pick up fiction to escape politics, not to have one point of view shoved down my throat. I realize both of the things that bothered me might be selling points to others, but to me, they kept me from fully enjoying the book. I enjoyed the first two books in this series (and the books should be read in order since this one has some spoilers for previous adventures), so hopefully the series will be back to entertaining for the next in the series.
  
Dark Indiscretions (Dark Indiscretions #1)
Dark Indiscretions (Dark Indiscretions #1)
Shakuita Johnson | 2013 | Erotica, LGBTQ+, Paranormal, Romance
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is the fast-paced tale of Jennifer Johnston, a Mystic (that's part vampire, part shape-shifting witch to you and me). Now Mystics have a bad reputation and for the most part, that's well deserved. Jennifer, however, is the anomaly. She's the one who doesn't want to be bad, who has gotten on with her life and is doing just dandy. That is until her daughter finds her mates.

I liked the idea of this book but have to say that I had some problems with it in reality. The thing for me is that there is no build-up, no impact, and no time to process. It is all done quite matter-of-factly and almost unemotionally. And I'm saying that for parts of the story that really, really should have had more of an impact.

I will give one example which is not Jennifer's story but is to do with her. She has met her mates - Yey! One of them rejects her because she is a Mystic - Boo! But instead of this building up and finding out how it would affect the trio with one of them so against the idea, this is what happens. He has a temper tantrum, she goes upstairs. The second male gives the first one a dirty look and follows her upstairs. They then have sex (!), first male joins in, everything's fine, let's carry on with the story. Nothing was resolved, no questions answered, just let's have sex and that will sort it.

It's the same throughout the book, even at the ending. Now I like a fast-paced book that doesn't drag but I would still like to have had 'more'. I liked the concept but struggled with the reality.
 
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *

August 27, 2016
  
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ClareR (5686 KP) rated The Ophelia Girls in Books

Jan 18, 2022 (Updated Jan 18, 2022)  
The Ophelia Girls
The Ophelia Girls
Jane Healey | 2022 | Fiction & Poetry, LGBTQ+, Mystery, Thriller
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
There is no denying that The Ophelia Girls is a beautifully written, all-consuming novel. The main characters of Ruth and her daughter Maeve, are similar, in that they are both still searching for their place in the world. Ruth seems to feel uncomfortable back in her childhood home, where memories of the summer of 1973 seem to still consume her. Maeve on the other hand, is at the start of being able to make good memories, after being officially told that sheโ€™s in remission from leukaemia. But she still feels like a child - and she doesnโ€™t want to be.

And then along comes Stuart: her motherโ€™s childhood friend, and a friend of her fathers as well. Stuart makes Maeve feel seen. And this is where my internal klaxon went off. Stuart comes across as a predator. He notices Maeveโ€™s infatuation and revels in it, finally taking advantage of her feelings. At least this is how I interpreted it.

Maeve is a girl who has led a sheltered life - a life mainly in hospital. She hasnโ€™t had the opportunity to mix with other children, boys specifically, and has little life experience with the opposite sex. Regardless of that, Stuartโ€™s character truly made me see red. I know, I know, itโ€™s a book, but if I could have reached in, pulled him out and disposed of him (not thought that through properly, obviously), I would have. I will say that the sex scenes between Maeve and Stuart arenโ€™t written in a titillating way. Itโ€™s seen through Maeveโ€™s eyes, and she truly believes that he loves her. All the same, if this doesnโ€™t appeal to you, you might want to steer clear.

In contrast to her mother, Maeve does follow her heart, and the reader is left to decide whether she was actually any better off.

Do I recommend it? Yes, of course. Itโ€™s written with gorgeous, lyrical prose, and really makes you empathise with the characters. Iโ€™m glad I read it.
  
Wonder Woman (2017)
Wonder Woman (2017)
2017 | Action, Fantasy, War
Strong female characters (3 more)
Love Interest without a "damsel in distress"
Not too dark, and not too happy either
The most cohesive DCEU film to date
Not the most fascinating story (0 more)
A Triumph for Women Everywhere (and the DCEU)
Gal Gadot is perfect. She kicks ass and looks great doing it, dominating every frame she inhabits. Thanks to Patty Jenkin's guiding hand, Gadot's iteration of Wonder Woman does so without becoming yet another one-dimensional sex symbol. The movie itself is the most cohesive and fun segment the DCEU has offered yet. Free of the glowering and overbearing lens Zack Snyder has placed over Superman and Batman, Wonder Woman touches on themes of hope and discovered humanity that were yet to be seen in DC's fledgling movie universe. Even if the story is a little basic, and a little reminiscent of Captain America: The First Avenger, it stands on its own two feet and puts up a good fight for two hours and twenty minutes.
  
I've been anxiously awaiting the release of this book since the second one came out last August. I love this series! The tension starts at the very beginning and follows through the entire book, to the last page. I love the characters (Charlie is my hero) and I was furious about what happened at the end (in a good way. I have to read the next book now!).

I will say I wished I'd read the other two again before reading this one. I didn't forget too much, but there were a few little things were I was thinking "Okay I remember something about that, but no details." I would certainly recommend reading them closer together than one year.

If you liked the first two Charlie Madigan books, you'll love this one. Lots of loose ends were tied up, doors were opened, and secrets were revealed. I loved it!

Content/Recommendation: Some language, no sex. Ages 17+
  
On the Basis of Sex (2018)
On the Basis of Sex (2018)
2018 | Biography, Drama
Legal bio-pic has a title that makes it sound like a recipe for a failed marriage; unfortunately it's not as interesting as that. Felicity Jones plays a young Ruth Bader Ginsberg, battling the patriarchy first at Harvard and then in the courts, aided by her husband Marty (it's Armie Hammer time!).

Well-mounted and with some decent performances, and there are some startling revelations (sex discrimination was not considered unconstitutional in the US until fairly recently), but the actual story of the main case covered by the film is not that gripping (a lot of discussion of legal procedure and tax law), and the earnestness of the film also threatens to make it a bit indigestible: of course RBG is an important figure fighting for a good cause, but that doesn't mean any film about her has to feel like The Lives of the Saints. The documentary about Ginsberg is also flawed, but more peppy than this.