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Author Topic: Recommendations!  (Read 430299 times)

idiosyncratic

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #450 on: 07 Jul 2008, 08:39 »



Duelist

I just saw this movie last night, and I would heartily recommend it to anyone that enjoys sort of surrealist and abstract story lines.  There are a lot of mixed reviews about this movie.  It is a period piece, but it incorporates a lot of modern aspects as well as mashing together a hodgepodge of genres, so a lot of people think that it lacks focus.   I disagree with this viewpoint, however, and I think that overall this movie is satisfying (although I will say that it is a wtc? moment for about the first thirty minutes).  Even if you don't watch it for anything else, watch it for the cinematography because it is absolutely gorgeous. 
« Last Edit: 07 Jul 2008, 08:44 by idiosyncratic »
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MarkTBSc

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #451 on: 12 Jul 2008, 10:02 »

I'm with Z2. David Weber's Honor Harrington books are awesome, as are his Mutineers Moon books, Path of the Fury, Apocalypse Troll (Basically just Terminator - but really really good).

Now, if you're a republican American then I'd also reccomend everything by John Ringo. You may have heard the plaintive cry "Oh John Ringo no!", that's because some of his stuff is severely Non-PC. His Legacy of the Aldenata books are good, ranging up to great. The Empire of Man books with Weber are Awesome and the Paladin of Shadows books? Scary, but good. (Scary as in "I can't believe what the hero just did to that hooker!")

Also, anything that involves Miles Vorkosigan.
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RedLion

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #452 on: 14 Jul 2008, 17:19 »

I'm sure I've done this before, but I'm just going to recommend everything written by Thomas Pynchon, excluding The Crying of Lot 49.

Also, if you have any interest in history, espionage, the CIA...this will sound overblown and even cliche, but if you care about what this country has done and its current state, you need to read Legacy of Ashes, the first truly substantive history of the CIA. The author had access to tons of files that had been blacked out or classified for over 50 years in some cases. What they reveal is infuriating in many regards and bewildering in others.
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jimbunny

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #453 on: 14 Jul 2008, 22:29 »

I've been catching more and more of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, on the Travel Channel. You forget just how interesting these kinds of shows can be.
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Ikrik

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #454 on: 14 Jul 2008, 23:21 »



Also, if you have any interest in history, espionage, the CIA...this will sound overblown and even cliche, but if you care about what this country has done and its current state, you need to read Legacy of Ashes, the first truly substantive history of the CIA. The author had access to tons of files that had been blacked out or classified for over 50 years in some cases. What they reveal is infuriating in many regards and bewildering in others.

Oh wow, this totally and completely catches my eye....I will definitely pick it up if I can see it.

I recommend Stalin and Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore (I believe that's his name) They are both expertly researched and are written in an absolutely engaging and amazing style.
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StreetSpirit

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #455 on: 17 Jul 2008, 21:32 »

Long live Rose Tyler ...
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jimbunny

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #456 on: 22 Jul 2008, 19:54 »

Spoiler warning? (Sigh... "spoilers")
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Meg

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #457 on: 24 Jul 2008, 16:01 »






A movie and a book.
« Last Edit: 27 Jul 2008, 09:49 by Meg »
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Dimmukane

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #458 on: 26 Jul 2008, 22:37 »

So, way earlier in the thread, Khar mentioned Delicatessen.  I watched it not 5 minutes ago, it's thoroughly entertaining.  I particularly love how every resident of the building has some kind of peculiar trait except for Julie.  They're all part of a circus, and Louison came from one...it's definitely a visual film, as well.  It was done by Jeunet and Caro, after all...and it really shows in the color palette.
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #459 on: 30 Jul 2008, 18:26 »

Sunset Boulevard and The Third Man - the quintessential noir experiences. At least for me. I know my cinematic diet is lacking in good noir. >>;
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ViolentDove

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #460 on: 30 Jul 2008, 21:11 »

So, way earlier in the thread, Khar mentioned Delicatessen.  I watched it not 5 minutes ago, it's thoroughly entertaining.  I particularly love how every resident of the building has some kind of peculiar trait except for Julie.  They're all part of a circus, and Louison came from one...it's definitely a visual film, as well.  It was done by Jeunet and Caro, after all...and it really shows in the color palette.

Delicatessen is brilliant!

City of Lost Children is pretty good as well, by the same guys.

Everything Is Illuminated

I loved that book. The movie wasn't bad either- it has the lead singer from Gogol Bordello playing the Ukrainian lead, of all people. Unfortunately, the movie pretty much cuts out almost all of the trachinbrod story, and focuses more on the present.
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #461 on: 30 Jul 2008, 22:08 »

Sunset Boulevard and The Third Man - the quintessential noir experiences. At least for me. I know my cinematic diet is lacking in good noir. >>;

The Third Man is amazing-- if you like Orson Welles definitely try "The Lady From Shanghai", its Welles' directorial triumph and he stars in it as well (with a handsome irish brogue!). Also starring, his beautiful and talented wife (at the time) Rita Hayworth (Who I think is the perfect image of classic film beauty). It's a bit different from your typical noir, but I think that makes it even better!
Speaking of Rita Hayworth-- another great noir is "Gilda". Hayworth is in every way a performer. She steals the show.
...and last but not least, if you like Humphrey Bogart try he Maltese Falcon!
Ok I'm done spewing Noir titles now.
Cool, cool. Thanks for that.
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jimbunny

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #462 on: 31 Jul 2008, 00:31 »

Re: Everything... I can't get completely behind the book (or the movie, since I haven't seen it). I feel like it was movingly written, but inconsistent, and a little too disconnected from itself for what I think it was intending. I feel like if it had been in the hands of a more mature author it would have been a really great book.
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KvP

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #463 on: 31 Jul 2008, 15:36 »

The Criterion edition of High and Low was just released, so go watch it you cunts.
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Dimmukane

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #464 on: 31 Jul 2008, 21:11 »

I just watched Russian Ark, a movie famous for being filmed in a 95ish-minute single take.  If you have any interest in Russian history or culture, and enough interest in cinema to be able to appreciate it, you will love this movie to death.  What is supposedly even more fascinating are the extra features on the DVD chronicling the making of the film, which I have yet to get my hands on.
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Uber Ritter

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #465 on: 02 Aug 2008, 22:52 »

"The Straight Story" is very good if you like slow stories, beautiful camerawork, small-town America and Old people.  I'm a fan of all four.
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #466 on: 03 Aug 2008, 20:23 »

If you read science fiction at all, I recommend the Sparrow and it's sequel Children of God. They are written by Maria Doria Russel, and are incredible.  They have very well planned stories, with fantastically detailed settings and characters.  It covers a wide range of interesting topics:  encountering other cultures, scientific discoveries, faith and philosophy, humour and adventure.  Excellent reads.

I was about to come in here and say close to the exact same thing, so I'll just quote this instead to re-iterate how excellent these two books are.
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wespeakinmidi

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #467 on: 06 Aug 2008, 14:44 »



a must read.

Quote
The Rum Diary is an early novel by American writer Hunter S. Thompson that was written in the early 1960s but was not published until 1998.
The story involves a journalist named Paul Kemp, who moves from New York to work for a small newspaper, The Daily News, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Set in the late 1950s, the novel encompasses a tangled love story of jealousy, treachery and violent alcoholic lust among the American expatriates who staff the newspaper.
Thompson himself traveled from New York to San Juan in 1960 to write for an ill-fated sports newspaper on the island. Thompson had unsuccessfully applied to work at the larger English-language daily called the San Juan Star while novelist William J. Kennedy was the editor. While in Puerto Rico, Thompson befriended many of the writers at the Star, providing the context for The Rum Diary's fictional storyline.
Although Thompson was only 22 when he wrote the story, it deals extensively with a fear of “going over the hill” and growing old. The prominent characters are typical of Thompson's work; violent, maniacal and alcoholic, stumbling through life. It is written in a highly paced and rather exciting style, also typical of his work.
Thompson told PBS talk show host Charlie Rose in 1999 that he had given up the novel because it had originally "bounced about seven times - I got the standard list of rejection letters - and I came back from South America and I got into the politics of the 60s and 70s, and it was a full time job." He then said that he revisited the book because "it's got a romantic notion...that and money.. and I was faced with the fact of having to dig out my 40-year old story...I can't change it, like, 'ye gods, this is me, this is the world I lived in'...so I approached it as a writer...it's a good story."

Code: [Select]
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ellemnop

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #468 on: 13 Aug 2008, 03:27 »

The movie "Supertroopers" because it is one of those pointless movies you can rent out on a weekend and watch without having to think too hard! is has hilarious actors and an amusing storyline and is just an all-round funny movie to watch if you have nothing better to do!
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dalconnsuch

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #469 on: 14 Aug 2008, 12:34 »

i'm a kurt vonnegut nerd so i have to recommend a kurt vonnegut book obviouisly

THE SIRENS of TITAN

review brought to you by common sense media, don't want to read it don't read it


"It was all so sad. But it was all so beautiful, too."

The late Kurt Vonnegut was perhaps best known for his bestselling novel, Slaughterhouse-five, later made into a movie. But many would argue that THE SIRENS OF TITAN was the better book, and his greatest work. It has all the elements we've come to expect from a Vonnegut novel: biting satire, bizarre imagination, dry comedy, plus rich layering of commentary on philosophy, religion, humanity, and more. But this book adds an emotional depth, a wry warmth and kindness, and a fondness for his characters that is often lacking in his other works. It is satire with heart and soul.

Vonnegut had a knack for doing sweetly melancholy humor better than just about anyone, and he gives it free play here. Forget that it's science fiction, and forget the strange synopsis -- this story will draw you, from the first page, into a lovely and poignant rumination on the meaning of existence. If you were to cross Mark Twain in his bitter old age with Harper Lee you might get something like this -- biting humor and cynicism crossed with loving wisdom, delivered with the gentlest, most understanding, touch

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Surgoshan

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #470 on: 14 Aug 2008, 19:28 »

Because when you laugh during a nap, you don't remember why.

Super Troopers is hilarious.  Broken Lizard peaked with that film, which is a shame because they've made more since.
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Dimmukane

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #471 on: 14 Aug 2008, 21:36 »

Yeah, most comedies that don't make you think too hard aren't all that good.  Super Troopers was pretty awesome for being a somewhat simple film.
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allison

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #472 on: 15 Aug 2008, 08:07 »

The movie "Supertroopers" because it is one of those pointless movies you can rent out on a weekend and watch without having to think too hard! is has hilarious actors and an amusing storyline and is just an all-round funny movie to watch if you have nothing better to do!

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Spluff

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #473 on: 17 Aug 2008, 03:59 »

This sounds to me exactly like the reasons why you should not watch a movie. If you're just watching a movie to pass the time, why not take a nap instead?

That's pretty much the only reason I ever watch a movie - to pass the time! Also, taking naps during the middle of the day would send my body clock crazy.
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jennDawgg

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #474 on: 18 Aug 2008, 11:36 »

Does anyone have book suggestions for a person who likes to read:
Lester Bangs articles
Nick Hornby
Douglas Coupland (Life After God is amazing.)
Jane Austen (favourite is Mansfield Park.)
Chuck Palahnuik (I can read Survivor: A Novel over and over.)

Thank-you! :-)
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mat_mantra

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #475 on: 26 Aug 2008, 12:55 »

Just finished "When You Are Engulfed In Flames" by David Sedaris.  Excellent book.  I know it's been said once before in here, but read his collections.  Very good stuff
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Coward

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #476 on: 26 Aug 2008, 15:45 »

If you like hard-boiled detective stories, along with a fair dash of sci-fi, you can't go too far wrong with Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan. The narrating detective, who dies in the prologue, is hired by a wealthy businessman to find out who murdered him six weeks ago, on a different planet no less. This may sound a little convuluted, but it does all make sense in the novel.

If nothing else, read it for the torture scene. A thoroughly good read.

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Wasteroo

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #477 on: 28 Aug 2008, 18:54 »

Oh man, I literally just saw The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.



It is a good thing, if you can put up with the fact that it is a silent movie.
It's not particularly scary (it is a horror movie from 1919, after all), but the atmosphere of dread that persists throughout the film is worth the price of admission alone.
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Harun

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #478 on: 29 Aug 2008, 16:48 »

if you don't mind tons and TONS of gore, this is one of the best slashers I've ever seen:



Synopsis: A gang of young thieves flee Paris during the violent aftermath of a political election, only to hole up at an Inn run by cannibalistic neo-Nazis
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Dimmukane

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #479 on: 03 Sep 2008, 22:06 »

This is England.


The movie American History X would've been if Edward Norton didn't fuck it up.  Easily one of the best movies to be released in the last 10 years.
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Dimmukane

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #480 on: 04 Sep 2008, 07:34 »

I felt that Norton kind of dropped the ball in the second half, but I was actually referring to how he asked the studio to give him permission to edit it how he saw fit.  The director has since tried to distance himself from the movie, because it's not how he wanted it to turn out.

Edit: Just saw The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.  Such an incredible movie.  A lot of the shots remind me of old daguerrotypes.  Definitely one of the best films that I've seen in the last 10 years.  Absolutely stunning.
« Last Edit: 13 Sep 2008, 23:16 by Dimmukane »
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BrilliantEraser

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #481 on: 14 Sep 2008, 18:09 »

Movie: J'eux D'enfants (English title: Love Me If You Dare)

One of the most fun and light films I have seen in the past few years; it remains childish and playful even as the entire story descends into gloom.

Music: Chris Trapper / The Push Stars
You may have a bit of trouble finding anything by these guys, but they are fantastic. The Push Stars was a three-man group fronted by Chris Trapper that broke up a few years ago. Chris has since begun working on solo albums and touring as a one-man show. All of his albums show a great deal of depth and imagination, ranging from forlorn and acoustic (Songs From The Middle Of The World) to fun and upbeat, with a full jazz band behind him (Gone Again). Well worth the listen.
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #482 on: 25 Sep 2008, 07:47 »

the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer is extremley good and manages to mix Irish fables of fairies and other magical creatures with ultra futuristic technology and criminal masterminds, nad also, the main character is 12 years old and smarter than most adults of any species in the book... talk about creepy.
Other works by Eoin Colfer are also highly recomended, they offer a fresh outlook on many old themes and add his own personal twist of mixing old school Tolkien type fantasy with innoviative science fiction, defiently a good read if youre looking for something refreshing.

Seconding Artemis Fowl, this book series gets insane in it's later parts. Mulch Diggums, a kleptomaniac dwarf that digs tunnels by unhinging his jaw and eating and then expelling the dirt, is one of the greatest characters I have ever read. Highly recommended even if the reading level is below you.

Also would recommend:

Gravity by Tess Gerrisen

A great work of Scifi involving the Internationally space station and a mysterious contaminent.

Timeline by MIchael Chrighton

[Not the shitty movie!] The greatest Medieval/Timetravel story I have ever read.
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geffyb

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #483 on: 25 Sep 2008, 08:29 »

Trainspotting the novel was incredible.....and by that I mean it was incredibly hard to read.  But still an amazing book, highly rewarding to get through fourty or fifty pages.

I'm thinking of getting into some Grindhouse movies.....can anyone suggest some good (relatively) ones?

Braindead or Dead Alive(U.S. title)

Peter Jackson+Lawnmower+Zombies=Awesome
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Kaeldra1

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #484 on: 26 Sep 2008, 20:01 »

I just watched Kiss Kiss Bang Bang last night, and it skyrocketed up to one of my all time favorite movies.  It's a really dark comedy, absolutely quotable, and has the kind of twisted plot that just keeps you going WTF?!?! while laughing your ass off at the same time.
Besides, Robert Downy Jr.   8-) nuff said.
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #485 on: 27 Sep 2008, 00:40 »

Not to mention Val Kilmer giving the performance of his life. I mean how many actors out there could steal scene after scene from the aforementioned Mr. Downey?
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Kaeldra1

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #486 on: 27 Sep 2008, 05:41 »

That's true, Val Kilmer was hilarious!  I love him, I just am a bigger fan of Robert Downy Jr.  But together?  Wow.
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Dimmukane

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #487 on: 27 Sep 2008, 08:53 »

Werckmeister Harmonies.  If anyone here's enjoyed Tarkovsky's movies, they'll like this one.  To me, though, it was something different entirely.  It exists out of the normal definition of movies


Edit: I should add, this film had the single most powerful sequence I have ever seen.  Jens, I know you'd like this one.
« Last Edit: 11 Oct 2008, 12:17 by Dimmukane »
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #488 on: 28 Sep 2008, 16:39 »

Brick was good film. At the beginning, the extent to which it re-appropriates all the trappings of film noir borders on silly, but it becomes less over the top as it goes on.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Nora Zehetner, the film's femme fatale, are both fantastic.

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #489 on: 08 Oct 2008, 11:21 »

I recently finished Blood Meridian or The Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy.  I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys Western novels, though it goes against many conventional themes of Westerns.  It can be very bleak at times, to the point where I had to put the  book down for a week or so before continuing.

My only criticism toward it is the lack of incite into the main character.  I felt like I was denied access to his conscience almost entirely.  This made it hard to understand the reasoning behind his actions.

Additionally, I hate McCarthy's minimal writing style.  I need my quotation marks and apostrophes.
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Hljómalind

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #490 on: 18 Oct 2008, 10:41 »

Our book group did The Road by McCarthy. Captivating and freaky.

I have a couple of recommendations:

Fiction - S/He by Minnie Bruce Pratt, interesting and varyingly poignant and humorous short fiction collection that challenges conventional approaches to gender, sex and sexuality

Non-fiction - Fences and Windows by Naomi Klein, collection of vignettes, essays and op-eds that summarises the left anti-corporate globalisation
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Body of Lies - DiCaprio & Crowe
« Reply #491 on: 20 Oct 2008, 07:45 »

I went to see DiCaprio's movie of this week - Body of Lies - and I like it! Mainly because DiCaprio and Crowe made such great pair to spice up this combustible spy thriller, which acted as a timely theme about the power shifts in the spy world since 911. Russell Crowe gained 50 pounds to his gladiator frame to play this Uncle Sam who revealed the moral rot behind the facade of homeland security. And Leonardo DiCaprio, a CIA agent, is the pawn in his chess. (but DiCaprio is still the main role in his top form!)

All these elements kept my excitement level high throughout the movie, especially the shooting scene in Morocco, and the changes of some subordinary plots from the novel also gave me some romantic surprises. It is a good movie and a pretty much mind-bender, I have to say.

Trailer Here



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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #492 on: 04 Nov 2008, 18:14 »

TV-show wise, I'd suggest Kyle XY. Amongst all the other popular shows like House, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, The Office, Supernatural, and whatever, they've really underrated this one.

It may start out boring at first (what got me into it was when I sat down to see what it was like, and I saw the 6th episode of the first season and was fascinated), but it picks up and it's actually a really good show when you get into it - it grows on you. A lot of people are turned off because they think "omg, the way he's just always staring at the screen in the commercials is just creepy, and his eyes... omg... and the way everyone's like, 'HE HAS NO BELLY BUTTON', it's... ugh", but there are actually interesting elements incorporated - it's about a boy who basically started his life as a 16 year old, and the way he looks at everything is just interesting to observe. He questions a lot of human nature, and it's interesting to see such a fresh perspective, an innocent one if you will.

Like I said, it just has to grow on you.
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dozyrozy

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #493 on: 14 Nov 2008, 03:08 »

I'm reading A Home At The End Of The World at the moment and (insert McDonalds tune here...) I'm loving it. I have to read it for class, but it's the one I've enjoyed most this term.

So... has anyone seen the film? I'm considering buying it, but it's had pretty bad reviews on the internet. I'm not expecting it to be as good as the book as films rarely are, but can something with Colin Farrell in it be that bad?
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Alex C

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #494 on: 14 Nov 2008, 21:33 »

Yes, a film with Colin Farrell in it can be bad. It could be so bad in fact, that your post inspired me to go check his IMDB to see if he was involved in anything decent (besides Tigerland) when I wasn't looking.
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dozyrozy

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #495 on: 15 Nov 2008, 02:13 »

I was thinking more about the fact that he's beautiful than his acting skills. I haven't actually seen him in anything for a while but I've fallen in love with his picture on the front of the book. Actually... I went to IMDb too and I think the only thing I've seen him in at all recently in Phone Booth, and that came out in 2002. Maybe I have bad judgement, but I liked it.

But anyway... anyone seen it? (A Home At The End Of The World not Phone Booth)
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doombilly

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #496 on: 17 Nov 2008, 07:18 »

Here's a book I read some time ago and my wife just read based on my recommendation:
William Styron's - The Confessions of Nat Turner.

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AanAllein

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #497 on: 19 Nov 2008, 16:39 »

Yes, a film with Colin Farrell in it can be bad. It could be so bad in fact, that your post inspired me to go check his IMDB to see if he was involved in anything decent (besides Tigerland) when I wasn't looking.

The New World?
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Dimmukane

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #498 on: 19 Nov 2008, 18:53 »

In Bruges?
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #499 on: 20 Nov 2008, 20:23 »

I liked In Bruges, it was a fun indie film, a little heavy handed with the main theme but other than that well done and entertaining. I was going to recommend it when all the Farrell talk started but someone beat me to it
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