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The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell
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You may know W. Kamau Bell from his new, Emmy-nominated hit show on CNN, United Shades of America....
Essays Politics Humour Social Issues
Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik
10.0
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Irin Carmon: I heard you can do 20 pushups. Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Yes, but we do ten at a time....
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated On the Basis of Sex (2018) in Movies
Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)
What a great way to start this film. Ginsburg walking through the crowd of men all set to the Harvard fight song "Ten Thousand Men Of Harvard", it sums up the message of the film so well and makes you realise just how much of a challenge she was up against.
With such a wide career to work with I was pleased to see that for the most part the film concentrated on that main case. The preamble up to that point was interesting and seemed to be well chosen, I did initially find it slightly confusing initially as I think I blinked slightly too long and missed the point where it showed the year change.
I liked the changing dynamic of Ruth and Martin, it showed an amazingly supportive relationship, when he couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel she was there for him and when she thought she was failing he was her rock. The emotion between the two showed throughout and was a welcome addition to the film and there's one moment that's just so amazing where Ruth looks up at Martin and I wondered for one second if Jones and Hammer were actually in love.
Hearing her listing the reasons she'd been rejected from jobs was mind-boggling and had it been me I'd definitely have ended up in jail after bitchslapping at least one of the interviewers. I think the film handles the sexism quite well, although I'm sure it wasn't quite as "easy" as it appeared. The "unintentional" sexism in the characters was interesting to see and added an extra layer into the story.
I could probably wade around in this film for ages nit-picking about things, it's a perfectly adequate production with nothing massively wrong with it... apart from Martin wearing a short sleeve shirt with his suit, that's still annoying me along with the question: why is she referred to as Ruth Ginsburg all the way through apart from once? I feel like we were being kept out of the loop on some in-joke/secret. I came out feeling let down though, partly because I don't think it was quite what I was expecting and partly because of the ending.
You know you're going to get a showstopper of a speech from Ginsburg but it actually was the showstopper from which we switch to a worded cut screen and voiceovers. This was completely at odds with the rest of the film and it robs us of the gratification of seeing the characters get their win. It almost felt like it was aware that it needed to do something to link it to the modern side of the story but didn't know how.
What you should do
It's not a bad watch, but I wouldn't worry about seeing it at the cinema. I'm going to seek out the RBG documentary next and it might be something to watch that covers a wider history.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
Some of those RBG logic and reasoning skills would be absolutely amazing.
With such a wide career to work with I was pleased to see that for the most part the film concentrated on that main case. The preamble up to that point was interesting and seemed to be well chosen, I did initially find it slightly confusing initially as I think I blinked slightly too long and missed the point where it showed the year change.
I liked the changing dynamic of Ruth and Martin, it showed an amazingly supportive relationship, when he couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel she was there for him and when she thought she was failing he was her rock. The emotion between the two showed throughout and was a welcome addition to the film and there's one moment that's just so amazing where Ruth looks up at Martin and I wondered for one second if Jones and Hammer were actually in love.
Hearing her listing the reasons she'd been rejected from jobs was mind-boggling and had it been me I'd definitely have ended up in jail after bitchslapping at least one of the interviewers. I think the film handles the sexism quite well, although I'm sure it wasn't quite as "easy" as it appeared. The "unintentional" sexism in the characters was interesting to see and added an extra layer into the story.
I could probably wade around in this film for ages nit-picking about things, it's a perfectly adequate production with nothing massively wrong with it... apart from Martin wearing a short sleeve shirt with his suit, that's still annoying me along with the question: why is she referred to as Ruth Ginsburg all the way through apart from once? I feel like we were being kept out of the loop on some in-joke/secret. I came out feeling let down though, partly because I don't think it was quite what I was expecting and partly because of the ending.
You know you're going to get a showstopper of a speech from Ginsburg but it actually was the showstopper from which we switch to a worded cut screen and voiceovers. This was completely at odds with the rest of the film and it robs us of the gratification of seeing the characters get their win. It almost felt like it was aware that it needed to do something to link it to the modern side of the story but didn't know how.
What you should do
It's not a bad watch, but I wouldn't worry about seeing it at the cinema. I'm going to seek out the RBG documentary next and it might be something to watch that covers a wider history.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
Some of those RBG logic and reasoning skills would be absolutely amazing.
Ali A (82 KP) rated We Go High: How 30 Women of Color Achieved Greatness Against All Odds in Books
Jul 28, 2022
Trigger Warnings: Racism, colorism, misogyny, sexism, violence, transphobia, homophobia, gun violence, mentions of drug and alcohol addiction, sexual assault, sexual violence, bullying, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt, religious bigotry *
*The author has marked biographies at the beginning of the novel with * to indicate profiles that detail trigger experiences
From activists to sporting icons, bakers to scientists, journalists to actresses’, We Go High tells the stories of 30 influential women of color who have strived to overcome challenges in their lives. Paired together with stunningly beautiful portraits from Natasha Cunningham, Nicole Ellis celebrates these women of color’s achievements as well as their personal beliefs, attitudes, and determination that drives them to be remarkable.
I loved all the different types of women and their stories that were given in mini biographies - there were a lot of details given in the short amount of pages. This works great because this book is aimed for a younger audience (middle grade/young adult) that opens the door for more research to dive into.
I have known about 90% of the women mentioned in this book, but there were a handful of them I didn’t know. Such as Dr. Kissmekia Corbett, or Kizzy Corbett, who was a leading viral immunologist to help create the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine. Or Sônia Guajajara, a Brazilian Indigenous activist, environmentalist, and politician.
Overall, I feel like this is an amazing book about amazing women of color for those of all ages to enjoy, though especially those in middle or high school as a stepping stone to further research and knowledge.
*The author has marked biographies at the beginning of the novel with * to indicate profiles that detail trigger experiences
From activists to sporting icons, bakers to scientists, journalists to actresses’, We Go High tells the stories of 30 influential women of color who have strived to overcome challenges in their lives. Paired together with stunningly beautiful portraits from Natasha Cunningham, Nicole Ellis celebrates these women of color’s achievements as well as their personal beliefs, attitudes, and determination that drives them to be remarkable.
I loved all the different types of women and their stories that were given in mini biographies - there were a lot of details given in the short amount of pages. This works great because this book is aimed for a younger audience (middle grade/young adult) that opens the door for more research to dive into.
I have known about 90% of the women mentioned in this book, but there were a handful of them I didn’t know. Such as Dr. Kissmekia Corbett, or Kizzy Corbett, who was a leading viral immunologist to help create the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine. Or Sônia Guajajara, a Brazilian Indigenous activist, environmentalist, and politician.
Overall, I feel like this is an amazing book about amazing women of color for those of all ages to enjoy, though especially those in middle or high school as a stepping stone to further research and knowledge.
JT (287 KP) rated Riddick (2013) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
When are directors ever going to learn from their own mistakes. I mean you would think it was a no brainer really. Your first film is a hit, the sequel dies on its arse and the third instalment is a chance to right the wrongs and win back the fans – yet you’re not able to capitalise.
Riddick (Vin Diesel) has been left for dead… again, which is becoming something of a habit. This time stranded on a planet with practically no chance of survival. The opening twenty minutes almost plays out like an episode of Bear Grylls, as Riddick fends off an attack from a pack of rabid Alien like dingos, finds water and fixes a broken leg as only he can (causing some wincing from the audience).
This part is slow, although it still proves that Vin Diesel is worth the entrance fee if he’s able to hold the attention on his own for this long. All this messing about tries to set up the film on some kind of narrative, cutting back to how Riddick ended up in this predicament in the first place. Vin Diesel’s character has his Fuyran backstory elaborated further and how he was betrayed and left for dead on the rock we find him on which, incidentally, he thought was his home planet of Fuyra but as he puts it “not Fuyra!”
After the one man show the film moves into overdrive as two teams of bounty hunters descend to take Riddick’s head back in a box. This begins about forty-five minutes of awful one liners and total blatant sexism. The characters are mismatched and none that you really care about. When you suddenly get immersed in the action you get a sense of deja vu taking you back to Predator and Aliens, as the team of crack shots get picked off one by one.
The action is alright but it’s nothing special. The overall shooting of the film isn’t enhanced by the fact it’s all done in front of a green screen.
There are plenty of plot holes and Twohy has to result in pinching a sub plot from Pitch Black as the character Johns (senior in this case) becomes an all too familiar figure. Fans of the original will know what I’m talking about. This does little to enhance the film and is just a glorified way to salvage something that really hasn’t been good from the outset. What made Pitch Black so revering was the fact that we knew nothing about Riddick, he was just there for the ride.
In this we know far too much about him, and personally I didn’t really want to. I liked him how he was, a dark entity with issues and whether or not he was the type of person that you could trust? Perhaps the biggest shock and something of an annoyance was the blatant sexism on show for poor Katee Sackhoff. Clearly a sexy on screen presence she spends most of her time fending off advances from Jordi Mollà’s Santana.
The final act is almost a par with the end of Pitch Black as Riddick and the remaining crew fend off a mass attack from those scorpion like atrocities that we met at the start. Riddick is a step down not up for the franchise and it’s a bit of a misguided mess with a poor script and sexist dialogue. If they even attempt to think of returning for a fourth then they’re going to have to re-shine their eyeballs so they can see more clearly.
Riddick (Vin Diesel) has been left for dead… again, which is becoming something of a habit. This time stranded on a planet with practically no chance of survival. The opening twenty minutes almost plays out like an episode of Bear Grylls, as Riddick fends off an attack from a pack of rabid Alien like dingos, finds water and fixes a broken leg as only he can (causing some wincing from the audience).
This part is slow, although it still proves that Vin Diesel is worth the entrance fee if he’s able to hold the attention on his own for this long. All this messing about tries to set up the film on some kind of narrative, cutting back to how Riddick ended up in this predicament in the first place. Vin Diesel’s character has his Fuyran backstory elaborated further and how he was betrayed and left for dead on the rock we find him on which, incidentally, he thought was his home planet of Fuyra but as he puts it “not Fuyra!”
After the one man show the film moves into overdrive as two teams of bounty hunters descend to take Riddick’s head back in a box. This begins about forty-five minutes of awful one liners and total blatant sexism. The characters are mismatched and none that you really care about. When you suddenly get immersed in the action you get a sense of deja vu taking you back to Predator and Aliens, as the team of crack shots get picked off one by one.
The action is alright but it’s nothing special. The overall shooting of the film isn’t enhanced by the fact it’s all done in front of a green screen.
There are plenty of plot holes and Twohy has to result in pinching a sub plot from Pitch Black as the character Johns (senior in this case) becomes an all too familiar figure. Fans of the original will know what I’m talking about. This does little to enhance the film and is just a glorified way to salvage something that really hasn’t been good from the outset. What made Pitch Black so revering was the fact that we knew nothing about Riddick, he was just there for the ride.
In this we know far too much about him, and personally I didn’t really want to. I liked him how he was, a dark entity with issues and whether or not he was the type of person that you could trust? Perhaps the biggest shock and something of an annoyance was the blatant sexism on show for poor Katee Sackhoff. Clearly a sexy on screen presence she spends most of her time fending off advances from Jordi Mollà’s Santana.
The final act is almost a par with the end of Pitch Black as Riddick and the remaining crew fend off a mass attack from those scorpion like atrocities that we met at the start. Riddick is a step down not up for the franchise and it’s a bit of a misguided mess with a poor script and sexist dialogue. If they even attempt to think of returning for a fourth then they’re going to have to re-shine their eyeballs so they can see more clearly.
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Sausage Party (2016) in Movies
Jul 20, 2017
Funny voiceovers (1 more)
Classic Seth Rogen humour
Wasted potential (1 more)
The animators were treated poorly
Comfort Food
Based on the trailer I had high expectations going in, but really this movie is exactly what you expect it to be. The humour ticks all of the boxes that you would expect it to, casual racism, crass sex jokes, low brow sexism and drug induced illusions, the only difference that these feature in this movie to all of Seth Rogen’s other movies is that they are animated in this instance. If you switch off your brain and all you are looking for is a silly comedy then there is a good time to be had here and I did enjoy my time with this movie, but I can’t help but feel that there was also a lot of wasted potential here. I expected to have sore sides from laughing during this film and I only laughed out loud twice in the cinema and to be honest any less than three belly laughs during a Seth Rogen movie is underwhelming for me. Maybe I am being harsh, plus I was quite ill when I saw the movie so maybe if I went back and watched it again while feeling better I would have a better time. Like I said up top, if all you need is a quick fix of immature, shameless humour then you will enjoy this movie for what it is, but there could have been more done with this project and I’m a little bit let down that it couldn’t live up to its full potential.
Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated The Wonder in Books
Mar 15, 2018
Also read my review here: http://bookbum.weebly.com/book-reviews/the-wonder-by-emma-donoghue
<b><i>It came to Lib then that the question to ask was not how a child might commit such a fraud, but why?</b></i>
<i>The Wonder</i> is an absolutely beautiful and thought-provoking novel and by far one of the best books I’ve read this year.
Set in towards the end of the 19th century, we meet one of Ms Nightingale’s own nurses, shipped out to Ireland to investigate a so-called miracle. Young Anna O’Donnell hasn’t eaten since her 11th birthday, which passed four months ago. Lib begins a frustrating journey into learning whether Anna is truly a modern day Saint.
She is determined to prove the miracle a hoax, but being faced with old Irish superstitions she doesn’t understand, sexism and strong Catholic faith, she has a hard time getting to the truth.
It’s a bit of a slow ride, but it’s interesting enough to keep you wanting to know more. Donoghue creates a beautifully vivid story for you to really lose yourself in, you’ll find yourself reading this book within a couple of days (or hours, depending on when you’re reading it). Not what I’d classify at a mystery novel - the story is so much more than just working out the story behind Anna’s apparent loss of appetite. It’s a story of faith, believing in yourself and following your heart.
A really enjoyable book, with a wide array of likable and dislikable characters, beautiful scenery and heart warming lessons to take away, this is a must read for any historical fiction lover.
<b><i>It came to Lib then that the question to ask was not how a child might commit such a fraud, but why?</b></i>
<i>The Wonder</i> is an absolutely beautiful and thought-provoking novel and by far one of the best books I’ve read this year.
Set in towards the end of the 19th century, we meet one of Ms Nightingale’s own nurses, shipped out to Ireland to investigate a so-called miracle. Young Anna O’Donnell hasn’t eaten since her 11th birthday, which passed four months ago. Lib begins a frustrating journey into learning whether Anna is truly a modern day Saint.
She is determined to prove the miracle a hoax, but being faced with old Irish superstitions she doesn’t understand, sexism and strong Catholic faith, she has a hard time getting to the truth.
It’s a bit of a slow ride, but it’s interesting enough to keep you wanting to know more. Donoghue creates a beautifully vivid story for you to really lose yourself in, you’ll find yourself reading this book within a couple of days (or hours, depending on when you’re reading it). Not what I’d classify at a mystery novel - the story is so much more than just working out the story behind Anna’s apparent loss of appetite. It’s a story of faith, believing in yourself and following your heart.
A really enjoyable book, with a wide array of likable and dislikable characters, beautiful scenery and heart warming lessons to take away, this is a must read for any historical fiction lover.
Solar Flares: Science Fiction in the 1970s
Book
Science fiction produced in the 1970s has long been undervalued, dismissed by Bruce Sterling as...
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Straight Outta Compton by NWA in Music
Nov 2, 2017 (Updated Nov 2, 2017)
Something To Say
I still remember the first time I heard this record and I listened to it all the way through lying in bed. Eminem was my gateway into rap music when I was in my early teens, which inevitably led onto Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Biggie, Public Enemy and the like, but when I first heard Straight Outta Compton it was like being taken on a journey in the back seat of some banged up car around the burnt out, bullet ridden streets of Compton, CA. Some people may sneer at the inclusion of this album and claim that it doesn’t deserve to be admired due to its glorification of gang violence, sexual abuse and murder. However this album isn’t glorious in any way, NWA aren’t boasting about this kind of behaviour taking place in their hometown, they’re condemning it. This is an album born out of frustration, dissatisfaction and fury for the kind of environment that these guys were brought up in and it is actually inspiring in a lot of ways to kids that come from areas where their friends are getting shot night after night and with the current situation in some American states, this album is probably more relevant than ever. The album does generalise, but it also speaks the truth, there is no denying that the US police were and still are largely made up of racist bigots that abuse the power that they are given. Drugs, sexism and violence are simply a part of the culture in some of the poorer parts of modern America and this album doesn’t shy away from that, it wears its heart on its sleeve and I think that it is one of the most powerful statements to come out of modern music and one that is unfortunately still just as relevant today, 29 years later.
For the Love of Money: A Memoir
Book
In 2014, a former hedge fund trader's New York Times Sunday Review front page article about wealth...