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Dave Mustaine recommended No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith by Motorhead in Music (curated)

DJ Muggs recommended Led Zeppelin IV by Led Zeppelin in Music (curated)

Raising Ryland: Our Story of Parenting a Transgender Child with No Strings Attached
Book
This powerful, moving story-which has already touched more than seven million through a viral video...

My Teenage Zombie: Resurrecting the Undead Adolescent in Your Home
Book
A must-read guide for parents and grandparents who want to practically and successfully help their...

The New Senior Man: Exploring New Horizons, New Opportunities
Barbara M. Fleisher and Thelma Reese
Book
The New Senior Man: Exploring New Horizons, New Opportunities fills a gap that is already huge -and...

Richard Curtis recommended Knocked Up (2007) in Movies (curated)

Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated the PlayStation version of Twisted Metal 2: World Tour in Video Games
Feb 5, 2021
Let The Cars Hit The Floor 2
Twisted metal 2- is a good as the first one. I love this franchise, playing it as young child, i remember just having fun, destorying cars.
The Gameplay: In concept, Twisted Metal 2 is a demolition derby which permits the usage of ballistic projectiles. Players choose a vehicle and an arena—or a series of arenas in the story mode—to engage in battle with opposing drivers. A variety of weapons are obtainable by pick-ups scattered throughout the stage. The objective of the game is to be the last remaining player. Two player duel mode makes a return from the first Twisted Metal, and a co-operative mode allows players to fight through tournament mode with a teammate. However, there is no ending if the game is completed in co-operative mode.
The plot: In 2006, Los Angeles is in ruins and its citizens left to struggle for survival after the conclusion of Twisted Metal, a brutal contest held by Calypso, exactly one year earlier on Christmas Eve. Aboard his airship (running the ticker "CALYPSO RULER OF THE EARTH") in the skies over the destroyed City of Angels, Calypso wonders where the next Twisted Metal will take place; fourteen of the world's best drivers are already assembled to compete for whatever prize they desire. Ultimately, Calypso decides that the world itself shall serve as a battleground. In addition to the remains of Los Angeles, drivers will also battle in Moscow, Paris, Amazonia, New York City, Antarctica, Holland, and Hong Kong.
After defeating all the opponents in Amazonia, the player must face Minion before proceeding to New York City. The Dark Tooth boss fight takes place after the player defeats all the opponents in Hong Kong; once Dark Tooth (and his flaming head) is defeated, the driver meets with Calypso in New York to receive their prize.
Sweet Tooth is my favorite.
The Gameplay: In concept, Twisted Metal 2 is a demolition derby which permits the usage of ballistic projectiles. Players choose a vehicle and an arena—or a series of arenas in the story mode—to engage in battle with opposing drivers. A variety of weapons are obtainable by pick-ups scattered throughout the stage. The objective of the game is to be the last remaining player. Two player duel mode makes a return from the first Twisted Metal, and a co-operative mode allows players to fight through tournament mode with a teammate. However, there is no ending if the game is completed in co-operative mode.
The plot: In 2006, Los Angeles is in ruins and its citizens left to struggle for survival after the conclusion of Twisted Metal, a brutal contest held by Calypso, exactly one year earlier on Christmas Eve. Aboard his airship (running the ticker "CALYPSO RULER OF THE EARTH") in the skies over the destroyed City of Angels, Calypso wonders where the next Twisted Metal will take place; fourteen of the world's best drivers are already assembled to compete for whatever prize they desire. Ultimately, Calypso decides that the world itself shall serve as a battleground. In addition to the remains of Los Angeles, drivers will also battle in Moscow, Paris, Amazonia, New York City, Antarctica, Holland, and Hong Kong.
After defeating all the opponents in Amazonia, the player must face Minion before proceeding to New York City. The Dark Tooth boss fight takes place after the player defeats all the opponents in Hong Kong; once Dark Tooth (and his flaming head) is defeated, the driver meets with Calypso in New York to receive their prize.
Sweet Tooth is my favorite.

LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated The Circle (2017) in Movies
Sep 20, 2020
Totally watchable. Before 2020 this would have played as a cockamamie exercise in "in-what-universe-would-this-actually-happen-?" filmmaking (and believe me this still pushes it), but after the anti-mask protests and general shrugging off of the coronavirus pandemic I'd now believe you stupid mfs would do *anything*. I'm not saying this is all brainless - there are some really sturdy ideas in here that aren't all executed terribly. The way it portrays big ticket corporations sliding their hands into every pocket they can find by way of offering up a "likable mascot" rather than a "founder" (played perfectly by Hanks as a clear riff on [a more likable and somehow less disingenuous] Steve Jobs - but what a waste of a perfectly good Oswalt) and "quotable quips" rather than "talking points" so they don't even have to attempt to hide it is sound. The scene where Hanks straightup manipulates Watson's bland cypher *on* stage to the point of tracking down live human beings to an adoring crowd is horrifying - but this is all still rather diluted, clunky, and bizarre in translation from the book. Looks phenomenal though, and is a notable return to form for Danny Elfman (in general every piece of music here slaps). Fine dumb fun imo, cheesy and laughable but not without some wit. But as a final defense - speaking as someone who has spent months in these cliquey millennial tech circles - the fact that no one acts like a live human being here would be way too on the nose if holy mother of God did they not actually act like this. The extended segment of those two overbearing recruiter types indirectly-but-very-directly pushing that "optional" and "extracurricular" really means "mandatory" is pure nightmare fuel because I have been in those situations - in spades - firsthand irl. Moments like that save this still moment-to-moment entertaining diet pulp when it actively refuses to explore anything else it offers up. Doesn't really have enough oomf but still miles better than your average "Black Mirror" episode.

Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Höstsonaten (Autumn Sonata) (1978) in Movies
Jan 28, 2021
I have been familiar with Bergman for a long time, having seen Summer With Monika, Wild Strawberries and The Seventh Seal at a young age. They were more or less my first experience of foreign language art cinema that I sort of understood and liked. Something about the practical and economical way conversations happen in Bergman appeals to me. They tend to lack melodrama and romance, but are intellectually satisfying and often dramatically devastating. None more so than this mindbendingly sad tale of a mother and daughter in conflict. Bergman’s regular muses Ingmar Bergman and Liv Ullmann go head to head in a masterclass of acting that left me in utter awe. It reminded me of the first time I saw Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under the Influence – such soul-wrenching honest of emotion, it is almost unbearable. In a good way.
The fact that something is bleak has never put me off, and Bergman too is completely unafraid of leaving you entirely depressed. In fact, I wish Hollywood wasn’t so afraid of it. Very few films with personal conflicts this strong spring to mind – perhaps Blue Valentine is as close as it gets. But on the scale of rhetorical blows to the emotional solar plexus, that would be a 4 and Autumn Sonata would be a 9. Truthfully, I have seen few things so brutal and painful played out in film form. Guilt, blame, regret, denial, shame and loss cut to the bone, making the key scenes at the crescendo very hard to watch, but also brilliant because of it. Visually it is warm and cosy enough, but quite static, like a stage play, but of course Bergman was aware of this. He wants us to focus on the people, and so we do. A blindingly strong work of art all round. Just not something you want to revisit too often.
The fact that something is bleak has never put me off, and Bergman too is completely unafraid of leaving you entirely depressed. In fact, I wish Hollywood wasn’t so afraid of it. Very few films with personal conflicts this strong spring to mind – perhaps Blue Valentine is as close as it gets. But on the scale of rhetorical blows to the emotional solar plexus, that would be a 4 and Autumn Sonata would be a 9. Truthfully, I have seen few things so brutal and painful played out in film form. Guilt, blame, regret, denial, shame and loss cut to the bone, making the key scenes at the crescendo very hard to watch, but also brilliant because of it. Visually it is warm and cosy enough, but quite static, like a stage play, but of course Bergman was aware of this. He wants us to focus on the people, and so we do. A blindingly strong work of art all round. Just not something you want to revisit too often.

Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated The Shadow Reader (The Shadow Reader, #1) in Books
Oct 1, 2019
This starts with McKenzie doing in a test in a lecture hall at Uni, only she's interrupted mid test by her friend and love interest, Kyol--sword-master of the current Fae King. The rebels have found her and she's in danger. They run from the room but get attacked by the rebels as they try to escape. In the end, McKenzie fall into the rebels trap and ends up their captive. McKenzie keeps attempting to escape and though half of the rebels want her dead, the leader, Aren, wants her kept alive.
What follows is a complicated twisty tale of right and wrong, of realising that what you thought was the truth for so long has been twisted and put in a new light so you'll go along with it. Truths are revealed that you agree with.
There is an element of love-triangle going on in this. She's had a "thing" with Kyol for ten years: touches and kisses that are prohibited under the King's ruling of no relationships between humans and Fae. And then there's Aren. The rebel leader who steals her away and tries to convince her that the Court is using her for their own gains and not for the good of the people.
In truth I think I was more Team Aren. We got to see more of his relationship progression with McKenzie. They go from not trusting or liking each other particularly to that tender, sweet touches, stage of falling for each other. Don't get me wrong, I like Kyol. But I think because we missed the start of their relationship growth all those years ago that I don't feel as strong of a connection between them.
By the end of this I was urging our group to win the fight. And now I'm very interested in what's going to happen next with this ragtag group.
What follows is a complicated twisty tale of right and wrong, of realising that what you thought was the truth for so long has been twisted and put in a new light so you'll go along with it. Truths are revealed that you agree with.
There is an element of love-triangle going on in this. She's had a "thing" with Kyol for ten years: touches and kisses that are prohibited under the King's ruling of no relationships between humans and Fae. And then there's Aren. The rebel leader who steals her away and tries to convince her that the Court is using her for their own gains and not for the good of the people.
In truth I think I was more Team Aren. We got to see more of his relationship progression with McKenzie. They go from not trusting or liking each other particularly to that tender, sweet touches, stage of falling for each other. Don't get me wrong, I like Kyol. But I think because we missed the start of their relationship growth all those years ago that I don't feel as strong of a connection between them.
By the end of this I was urging our group to win the fight. And now I'm very interested in what's going to happen next with this ragtag group.