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LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated The Story of Our Times (2018) in Movies
Sep 19, 2020
Trevor Moore is one of the most underrated comedic forces on the planet and this is singlehandedly elevated in its weaker bits solely on his presence as an entertainer alone. That is to say - while this still does paint a pretty sound picture of 2018 America - a lot of (but not all) targets in the middle portion (the Kardashians, "I identify as [insert weird thing here]" people, social media influencers) are low-hanging fruits to say the least. But his songs about them are supremely catchy, ripe with Moore's winning personality, and routinely hilarious (e.g. bronies? old news. making them a target in a pro-bullying ballad? gold). This still pretty much feels very warmly nostalgic like an extended episode of WKUK but I still wish this was more in vein of that outlandish and lovingly juvenile content he excels so much at a la the first two songs here - which rank among some of the best comedy album material of all time - rather than the old man/neckbeard-esque complaining it eventually becomes. Though even then, it still seems relatively self-aware ("It must be tough for a white male having to deal with all this stuff." "No, it's not that... okay maybe it is.") much moreso than some Joe Rogan type shit which has also tackled material like this; and it saves itself in the bottom of the 9th with that uproarious final song. Plus this looks amazing and also gets bonus points for featuring one of the most accurate cinematic DMT trips, penis 9/11 in Minecraft, *and* the funniest DaddyOFive joke
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Jarhead (2005) in Movies
Sep 20, 2020
𝘉𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. At least 90% surface-level and even more largely reductive - of course it is - but it's also totally incompetent. A 2+ hour torture session slog through a barren wasteland visually (Deakins of course shoots the living hell out of it, so there's some damn fine imagery every now and again but Jesus Christ could we do more than two fucking [mawkish and over-obviously symbolized] colors for this whole thing?) but moreso narratively, where this has absolutely nothing to say. You'd think this intentionally dances right around any sort of gift-wrapped commentary about the Gulf War, toxic masculinity, the late 1980s, the American military for young men, or literally anything at all with how dead and non-thematic this awkward crawl is. It can't even be bothered in exploring its own characters lives, I kept forgetting who these people even were - the movie clearly didn't care about them so why should I? Also has the same problem most of these one-dimensional, pandering, tedious war flicks have where it rushes right through the supposed pivotal moment all of this arduous buildup was clearly meant for when they all return home and it's only like 5 minutes of soap opera-level crap and a cheesy 'mic drop' finisher. At its best when it gets weird and Sam Mendes-y, and I can't say it's without solid moments of haunt - plus Gyllenhaal, Sarsgaard, and Foxx keep it marginally more tolerable - but even if it *could* handle its tone (spoiler alert, it can't) this still plays like it was made by complete idiots who only cared about this being would-be Oscar bait.
Kristina (502 KP) rated Verum (The Nocte Trilogy, #2) in Books
Dec 7, 2020
I'm not crazy. I haven't been diagnosed with being mentally insane. I don't hear voices inside my head and I don't hallucinate. At least, I don't think so. After reading Verum, I don't know what to think anymore. Is this real? Am I real? What are we? Courtney Cole has me spiraling in a deep pit of unending madness and I don't think I can claw my way out. When Nocte was finished, I was curious to find out what Dare's secret was, but I felt stable - finally. Then I read Verum. I felt like I was becoming insane, as if the insanity of the Savage's home was transmitting from the pages and straight into my brain. I couldn't keep up and just when I thought I was, everything would crumble and I'd have to rebuild. From the beginning, things were shaky and weird, but as the book progressed, I literally felt my sanity slipping. Calla walked me through a roller coaster of emotions that ended up with one same feeling: crazy. I felt psychotic. Literally. Mystery after mystery, lie after lie, revelation after revelation. I didn't know what was real and what was a figment of Calla's imagination. I still don't know if I should believe any of what I just read. Courtney has made me question my existence. I'm a little afraid to read Initium and then Lux. No, scratch that, I'm terrified. The worst part? As frustrated as I am at not knowing the full story or being able to understand the full picture, I absolutely love it. Guess that makes me certifiable. I'm insane.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Better Watch Out (2016) in Movies
Dec 19, 2020
Better Watch Out isn't just another unconventional Christmas movie to throw into the ever growing pile, no sir. As much as it sets itself up as another fun festive horror, it's actually possesses one hell of a mean streak, and is genuinely uncomfortable to watch for a huge chunk of it's runtime.
The basic premise revolves around 12 year old Luke. When his parents head out for the evening, his babysitter Ashley is hired one last time before she moves away from the area. Not long into the evening, weird shit starts happening, and it's soon apparent that the two of them and Luke's friend Garrett are all falling victim to a home invasion, and they have to fight to survive the night. Without going into spoiler territory, the plot isn't quite this straightforward, and there's a midway twist that gives us a properly sadistic main antagonist.
This is all portrayed superbly by its main cast. Levi Miller is great as Luke, and the other main cast are played by The Visit alumni Olivia DeJonge, and Ed Oxenbould (thankfully not constantly rapping this time around). The three of them absolutely carry this film to it's bloody climax.
The gore isn't too shabby, and is done fairly tastefully all things considered. When shit starts to hit the fan, we are treated to some genuinely tense moments, and a couple of jump scares that have that rare honour of feeling somewhat earned.
All in all, Better Watch Out is a decent slice of Christmas horror. It's different, it's clever, and has a fucked up Home Alone kind of vibe for good measure. Worth checking out!
The basic premise revolves around 12 year old Luke. When his parents head out for the evening, his babysitter Ashley is hired one last time before she moves away from the area. Not long into the evening, weird shit starts happening, and it's soon apparent that the two of them and Luke's friend Garrett are all falling victim to a home invasion, and they have to fight to survive the night. Without going into spoiler territory, the plot isn't quite this straightforward, and there's a midway twist that gives us a properly sadistic main antagonist.
This is all portrayed superbly by its main cast. Levi Miller is great as Luke, and the other main cast are played by The Visit alumni Olivia DeJonge, and Ed Oxenbould (thankfully not constantly rapping this time around). The three of them absolutely carry this film to it's bloody climax.
The gore isn't too shabby, and is done fairly tastefully all things considered. When shit starts to hit the fan, we are treated to some genuinely tense moments, and a couple of jump scares that have that rare honour of feeling somewhat earned.
All in all, Better Watch Out is a decent slice of Christmas horror. It's different, it's clever, and has a fucked up Home Alone kind of vibe for good measure. Worth checking out!
Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated The Amazing Book is Not on Fire: The World of Dan and Phil in Books
Jun 24, 2019
Two of my favourite things combined together: YouTube and reading!
The Amazing Book Is Not On Fire is just jam-packed with everything a fan could want. Stories, photos, illustrations, quizzes, trivia... There is so much going on!
Of course, the boys talk about their show on Radio 1, and all the opportunities that arose from the job - such as meeting One Direction. They also share their school experiences, their trip to Japan, and a rather unbelievable tale about what happened in Vegas...
As well as all their personal memories and journals, Dan and Phil talk about how they began their YouTube careers, and give advice to those wanting to go into the same profession. There's even a handy generator for video ideas!
All out favourite characters are mentioned, with Jessica, Becky, Dil Howlter, Simon the shrimp and Phil's lion having their own pages. Oh, and a double-page spread of Phil's hamster-breeding experiences.
And yes, there is fan-fiction. Phil Lester's tale, The Hand, features Harry Styles in a rather unexpected manner... And Dan's The Urge is, unsurprisingly, rather strange and dark. They are surprisingly nice reads in themselves!
Everything sounds as if the boys are reading aloud to you, as they've managed to capture their own voices in text. It's honestly just like watching one of their videos!
Here are some of the many visual pages in the book:
[Visit www.bookmarkedreading.wordpress.com for the review featuring images.]
There are deep moments, weird moments, helpful moments, funny moments. I would definitely recommend that any fans of AmazingPhil and Danisnotonfire read this! I'm going to give it 4 stars, as I really enjoyed it!
BookMarked
The Amazing Book Is Not On Fire is just jam-packed with everything a fan could want. Stories, photos, illustrations, quizzes, trivia... There is so much going on!
Of course, the boys talk about their show on Radio 1, and all the opportunities that arose from the job - such as meeting One Direction. They also share their school experiences, their trip to Japan, and a rather unbelievable tale about what happened in Vegas...
As well as all their personal memories and journals, Dan and Phil talk about how they began their YouTube careers, and give advice to those wanting to go into the same profession. There's even a handy generator for video ideas!
All out favourite characters are mentioned, with Jessica, Becky, Dil Howlter, Simon the shrimp and Phil's lion having their own pages. Oh, and a double-page spread of Phil's hamster-breeding experiences.
And yes, there is fan-fiction. Phil Lester's tale, The Hand, features Harry Styles in a rather unexpected manner... And Dan's The Urge is, unsurprisingly, rather strange and dark. They are surprisingly nice reads in themselves!
Everything sounds as if the boys are reading aloud to you, as they've managed to capture their own voices in text. It's honestly just like watching one of their videos!
Here are some of the many visual pages in the book:
[Visit www.bookmarkedreading.wordpress.com for the review featuring images.]
There are deep moments, weird moments, helpful moments, funny moments. I would definitely recommend that any fans of AmazingPhil and Danisnotonfire read this! I'm going to give it 4 stars, as I really enjoyed it!
BookMarked
Lindsay (1760 KP) rated Ghost Moon in Books
Jul 28, 2020
Ghost Moon is something different. Though not by ghosts or paranormal. Just different in a way that it tells a story but given that it more mystery and romance than paranormal. The title does not give away much about what this book is about.
We meet Lark as she is driving to the new place that she inherited. When she arrives she sees someone in the front window. Things get even more interesting and enjoyable once she comes goes into the house. Her cat is my favorite. How he reacts is funny. I guess if your pet is acting weird you might want to think about it. They seem to be able to sense something or someone.
Kathryn Knight writes a well-written story. Though it seems this one was very heavy in the romance department. He also meets Jesse Holt. What is happening at Holloway House seems to affect Jesse neighbor Lark. He meets him and he comes to Lark recuse the first night. He offers to talk to his mother and her friends to find out who this ghost is.
If you enjoy ghost or ghost stories, this one is good. It seems it should be ghost mystery or at least paranormal mystery. This is good for fans of mystery and or romance as well. My favorite part is the paranormal which is the ghost in it. Why I do not know, could be that I want to know what happens to the ghost and why she there. There are many twists and turns throughout. You will be trying to guess along the way as to what happens and what does this ghost want until the end.
We meet Lark as she is driving to the new place that she inherited. When she arrives she sees someone in the front window. Things get even more interesting and enjoyable once she comes goes into the house. Her cat is my favorite. How he reacts is funny. I guess if your pet is acting weird you might want to think about it. They seem to be able to sense something or someone.
Kathryn Knight writes a well-written story. Though it seems this one was very heavy in the romance department. He also meets Jesse Holt. What is happening at Holloway House seems to affect Jesse neighbor Lark. He meets him and he comes to Lark recuse the first night. He offers to talk to his mother and her friends to find out who this ghost is.
If you enjoy ghost or ghost stories, this one is good. It seems it should be ghost mystery or at least paranormal mystery. This is good for fans of mystery and or romance as well. My favorite part is the paranormal which is the ghost in it. Why I do not know, could be that I want to know what happens to the ghost and why she there. There are many twists and turns throughout. You will be trying to guess along the way as to what happens and what does this ghost want until the end.
BookwormLea (3034 KP) rated The New Mutants (2020) in Movies
Aug 29, 2020 (Updated Aug 29, 2020)
Probably the worst Marvel movie I've seen. And i watched Dark Pheonix
Contains spoilers, click to show
I was so hyped for this movie! Have you seen the trailer? Movie gold! Well. Only half the trailer is actually stuff that happens. And the parts that do are the worst ones. The lead actress who plays Dani, is the most amateur actress ever. Her portrayal of an angry girl who just lost her family is probably the weakest I've seen. She literally looks like she just dropped her sandwich. And it sort of got better in the middle when we found out how they all found their mutations but then the end felt so rushed. Oh suprise! The weird girl you brought in last minute is the cause of the problems that only started when she got here! And the Russian girl who seemed real kick ass, had the most boring fear and her mutation that seemed cool, is pretty much just her being crazy. I kind of liked that the dragon was real to only her but then they went and CGId the crap out of it at the end fight scene. Why???
Oh and why can't they have a movie with no romance?? And oh gosh its 2020 so we just had to have the first Marvel Lesbian couple. Which again was rushed, they literally knew each other all of 4 days or something. And for a little wolfy Catholic girl who repents her sins weekly, she commits a lot of sins weekly. *eye roll*. Clichéd and boring. The worst marvel movie/ xmen film to date. Good job its a different timeline and there isn't going to be another one.
Oh and why can't they have a movie with no romance?? And oh gosh its 2020 so we just had to have the first Marvel Lesbian couple. Which again was rushed, they literally knew each other all of 4 days or something. And for a little wolfy Catholic girl who repents her sins weekly, she commits a lot of sins weekly. *eye roll*. Clichéd and boring. The worst marvel movie/ xmen film to date. Good job its a different timeline and there isn't going to be another one.
Amy Norman (1048 KP) rated The Dead Don't Die (2019) in Movies
Oct 2, 2020 (Updated Oct 3, 2020)
This film won't be for everyone, it is a very niche humour; if you have watched any of Jarmusch's other films you will understand how unique this film is, and how he doesn't bow down to 'conventional' film making.
I lifted the below directly from Wikipedia:
Jarmusch has been characterized as a minimalist filmmaker whose idiosyncratic films are unhurried. His films often eschew traditional narrative structure, lacking clear plot progression and focus more on mood and character development. In an interview early in his career, he stated that his goal was "to approximate real time for the audience."
This pretty much sums up the film. It is an unhurried take on a zombie film, in a small American town.
The characters are uncomplicated by the fact that they are very much one thing, and fall into strict stereotyoes i.e. straightforward, rude, weird, the nerd, the unbothered teens etc.
The cast was also huge, it was a true who's who, and each of them played to their strengths perfectly.
Bill Murray and Adam Driver were a fantastic pairing, as the slack jawed police chief, and main officer, that were undertaking the investigation of the towns unusual disturbances, and quite contentedly bumble through to the films conclusion.
The humour was painfully matter of fact, and delivered flawlessly dead pan. A style of humour I have always appreciated.
This isn't a straight up horror/zombie film, so if you are looking for a more mellow and laid back film then you may be able to appreciate this one, but it is certainly not one for the traditional horror fan.
I lifted the below directly from Wikipedia:
Jarmusch has been characterized as a minimalist filmmaker whose idiosyncratic films are unhurried. His films often eschew traditional narrative structure, lacking clear plot progression and focus more on mood and character development. In an interview early in his career, he stated that his goal was "to approximate real time for the audience."
This pretty much sums up the film. It is an unhurried take on a zombie film, in a small American town.
The characters are uncomplicated by the fact that they are very much one thing, and fall into strict stereotyoes i.e. straightforward, rude, weird, the nerd, the unbothered teens etc.
The cast was also huge, it was a true who's who, and each of them played to their strengths perfectly.
Bill Murray and Adam Driver were a fantastic pairing, as the slack jawed police chief, and main officer, that were undertaking the investigation of the towns unusual disturbances, and quite contentedly bumble through to the films conclusion.
The humour was painfully matter of fact, and delivered flawlessly dead pan. A style of humour I have always appreciated.
This isn't a straight up horror/zombie film, so if you are looking for a more mellow and laid back film then you may be able to appreciate this one, but it is certainly not one for the traditional horror fan.
Salvaged (Releasing the Magic #2)
6.0
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What do you do when you find out you’re the thing you fear most?Seven months ago, the Void Virus...
Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft
8.5
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A young adult fiction anthology of 15 stories featuring contemporary, historical, and futuristic...