Quick Quack Quentin
Book
From the award-winning creators of Oi Frog! comes an hilarious tale about one duck's quest for a...
No Stick Shooter
Games
App
Happy Robot presents a fresh take on the classic retro-arcade shooters we all know and love....
The Outcast
10.0
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Book
The bestselling novel from the author of The Snakes, The Outcast is a powerful portrait of...
Vets on Call (Talyton St George, #9)
8.0
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Book
t's all change at Otter House as a new vet moves in. Perfect for fans of Katie Fforde and Catherine...
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Rings (2017) in Movies
Jul 12, 2019
A plot about a film that kills people who watch it is in itself offputtingly hokey. Previously I was never a fan of “The Ring” or “The Ring 2,” and I did not find either of them memorable to say the least. But, this sequel starts off in such a comedic fashion that most people will no longer have expectations to be scared. But this may not be a bad thing at all.
After the first few scenes something happens, and the film begins to be more artsy rather than hokey. Trippy effects like rain flowing upward or weird black liquid that almost looks like melted latex flowing out each time the evil spirit is coming, make this a surreal piece of entertainment. This film is actually best described as a modern day dark fairy tale and not a horror film.
Parts of the plot are very dark as you learn the complete story of Samara. Themes of captivity, murder, infanticide, and child molestation subtly peak into the plot. But it does not delve too far into these aspects which could have been truly twisted, instead it veers off into a more modern theme.
A college professor, Gabriel (Johnny Galecki), who teaches an experimental biology course and studies the afterlife, discovers the deadly film when he buys an old VCR. After watching it himself he comes up with a creative way of keeping himself and others who watch it alive. Hint – it involves a selfish pattern of sacrifice, which is a bit darkly comedic but also a realistic and shadowy reflection of human nature.
“Rings” is no horror masterpiece, but it is entertaining, unique, and a tad bit creepy.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Killer Shrews (1959) in Movies
May 3, 2019 (Updated May 3, 2019)
Bad acting is compounded by post-synched dialogue and the impressive range of accents on display from the cast, but the thing is that this isn't just a monster movie where the monsters are shrews, it's a shrew-based monster movie where the shrews are realised by a combination of dogs in costume and sabre-toothed glove puppets. Genuinely very funny to watch; objectively deserves a very low score but highly entertaining if you're in the mood.
David McK (3425 KP) rated Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) in Movies
Dec 31, 2019 (Updated Apr 28, 2020)
It's fair to say that this has permeated popular culture: the bullwhip, the hat, the fear of snakes are all intrinsic to the character and heavily copied over the years (Tomb Raider, anyone? The Uncharted series?), with even TVs The Simpsons doing a parody of the opening tomb robbing scene with Homer chasing Bart and ending up rolling down the stairs.
There's almost too many iconic scenes (and quotes) to count: that tomb robber bit at the start, the fed-up Indy shooting the sword-wielder in Cairo (initially storyboarded as a full on sword fight, except the actors all got sick), the Well of Souls sequence, the escape, "It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage", the opening of the Ark by the Nazis and the final warehouse scene, to name but a few!
The Lure of the Honey Bird: The Storytellers of Ethiopia
Book
In 1967, at the age of 23, Elizabeth Laird set off for Addis Ababa to take up her first teaching...
Why Not Me?
7.4
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Mindy Kaling has found herself at a turning point. So in Why Not Me?, she shares her ongoing journey...