Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (4126)

Content

Sarah (7800 KP) rated The Cows in Books

Aug 17, 2020

The Cows

Dawn O'Porter | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry

8.3

(4 Ratings)

Book Rating

Entertaining and powerful

I was a little worried about reading this book as I was concerned about it being a little preachy, however I’m so glad that my concerns were completely unwarranted.

This is a very powerful, moving and motivational book. It promotes powerful and independent women without becoming too preachy or overpoweringly feminist, yet with a heartwarming, interesting and relatable story. There are aspects of all 3 of the main characters that I identified with, and no doubt most other women will too. Their stories and lives made me laugh and cry throughout the entire book, and I really struggled to put this down. I also thought I knew where this story was going until a major twist over two thirds of the way through completely shocked me. I never saw it coming and I loved this, along with the ending in general which didn’t play out in exactly the way you’d expect. I’ve seen Dawn O Porter’s documentaries in the past but wasn’t too sure what I’d make of her writing, however this is beautifully written. She’s come up with some human, deep and maybe slightly crazy characters that are all endearing in their own ways and intertwined their stories into something immensely entertaining. It’s also made me really think about my own life and make me feel better about things that have been getting me down, and I’d really encourage any woman to read this who might be in need of a pick me up. I will definitely be reading more of Dawn O Porter’s work after this.

Kudos

Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Pontypool (2009) in Movies

Jun 7, 2020

Pontypool (2009)

2009 | International, Horror

7.3

(8 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Shock Jock Grant Mazzy starts a new job as the morning DJ for the small-town radio station of Pontypool in Ontario, Canada. Struggling with the change of pace Grant and the rest of the stations staff are unprepared for the reports of rioting that start to flood into the show.
Pontypool takes ‘Outbreak’ and ‘Zombie’ movies and adds a nice little twist. The majority of the movie is set in the confines of a small radio station and the three leads are fed information via phone calls and police broadcasts which means that they and therefore the viewer doesn’t see what is happening in the town. The film handles this restricted setting well, slowly building up the atmosphere and tension felt by the three main cast members and playing on Grant’s lack of ‘Small town experience’.
Unlike a lot of zombie movies, Pontypool doesn’t have a lot of visible blood and gore, having most of the violence described instead of shown. This makes the one or two violent scenes even more meaningful as they aren’t just there for the sake of the gore but do actually add something to the atmosphere and story, this is also helped by the fact that we don’t knowingly see a zombie until past the half way point.
Pontypool is an interesting, atmospheric film that relies on story over the need for effect, not only due to any budget restrictions but also because that is what the type of story it is trying to tell.