Epinions Recent Reviews for bansidhe

Doesn't Say (or Do) Anything at All

Mon, 1 Oct 2001 16:28:56 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - The problem with Don't Say a Word is that it has a 4 hour story condensed into a bland overstocked hour and fifty-two. There's just no way to make this movie believable in such a short time span.

First, Dr. Nathan Conrad (Michael...

Birch and Buscemi Hit Paydirt

Mon, 1 Oct 2001 15:50:48 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - Ghost World is a surprisingly complex, innovative and artistic movie. It is a testament to the skill of director Terry Zwigoff that this movie works as well as it does; that each character is portrayed with realism and humor, no matter the depths...

Tijuana Artiface

Wed, 27 Jun 2001 12:30:36 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - Despite the clamoring of critics and viewers alike, I waited for this film to come out on video. I'm glad I did. There are pieces of this film that are good, and I think, interesting. Sadly, the film is plagued (overall) by racial and gender stereotypes,...

It wasn't the Longest Journey...but it was a good one

Tue, 26 Jun 2001 11:50:20 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - Although I enjoy computer games, I've never been a big fan of the hack-and-slash variety, and striking down monsters with a sword doesn't really interest me. Because of this, I tend to try puzzle-oriented games, adventure games that depend more on the...

Revealingly Awful

Fri, 15 Jun 2001 15:16:23 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - It kills me to say this...really, really kills me...but R.E.M.'s latest contribution to popular culture falls a little flat of genius. In fact, it falls a little flat period. Prior to this release, I heard critics everywhere "oohing and aahing" over...

A Miracle in Prose

Fri, 15 Jun 2001 13:58:40 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - In an era where the quickly produced, stand-alone best-seller seems the goal of most modern authors, Louise Erdrich stands out as something of an oddity.

Her books, written over 13 years, do not spread out across the landscape, touching here...

Get In Mah Belly

Tue, 6 Mar 2001 16:53:34 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - I can tell you why Hannibal was scary. Hannibal was scary because he made us forget that he was a "bad guy." He was scary because he was smart enough to blur those stark black lines we like to draw between "right and wrong" and "good and evil." Hannibal...

All the Wasted Time....

Fri, 5 Jan 2001 17:57:14 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - The Question: What could go wrong with brilliant director (and actor) Billy Bob Thornton directing a cast of beautiful and pervasive actors with a well-acclaimed book to base the script on?

The Answer: Just about anything. And everything. And...

Oh Look, the little man is peeing on the floor!

Fri, 6 Oct 2000 15:28:28 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - Everyone raved about this game. And I may be strong, but obviously, not that strong. Why, there were entire virtual malls being built to exchange Sims items, millions of family "photo albums," chat rooms dedicated to the survival of your...

More than a Reconstruction

Fri, 6 Oct 2000 14:06:27 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - It was sometime in early April, and there I was in a police station in Amsterdam. Square in the middle of the redlight district in the wee hours of the morning, my eyes grainy and my head pounding, I listened to the policeman's cordial but less than...

Lynching the Landlord

Fri, 6 Oct 2000 12:45:09 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - It's hard to be a fan of punk rock and not know the Dead Kennedys. Their popularity peaked at about the same time that the Punk Rock movement was failing, eating itself alive, etc., but they somehow managed to produce a timeless ode to revolution in this...

In the Time of the Butterflies

Thu, 5 Oct 2000 16:21:44 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - I should start by saying that this is one of my favorite books. I like it in a very particular, very serious way that is reserved for very few books. With its themes of feminism, equality, struggle against oppression, and an underlying theme of love...

Foucault's Ethics

Mon, 2 Oct 2000 11:19:25 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - Foucault is the hurdle over which many of my academic forrays stumbled. He is dense, complicated, brilliant, confusing, and lightyears ahead of the philosophy of his era. His name has become a catchphrase in modern academia, where he is vilified and...

Thai in the City

Thu, 28 Sep 2000 12:37:22 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - Finding good Thai food in a city as big as Chicago isn't a very difficult task. In fact, if you're willing to apply yourself, you can find almost any style of cuisine prepared with care and authenticity.

Within the city of Chicago, Hyde Park...

How Much does it have to suck before it becomes good?

Thu, 13 Jul 2000 15:40:01 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - I have an attachment to all things hopelessly irreverent that is somewhat well documented among my friends. One of my Christmas gifts this year, therefore, was a copy of "Philosophy of the World" by the Shaggs.

If you aren't familiar...

Can Defeat Whole Legions with Single Blow of Fist

Mon, 10 Jul 2000 12:08:22 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - A good Fourth of July movie, the Patriot has a lot of gimmicks guaranteed to get it above two stars.

1) Mel Gibson, bless-his-heart, is a good way to improve any flick. He's got those earnest eyes, that slightly confused expression, and he's...

A Highway Worth Riding On

Mon, 10 Jul 2000 11:24:22 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - Blue Highways was first published in 1982, but I think has been rereleased/reprinted several times. Written by William Least Heat-Moon, it is an epic of travel, American life, and the changing course of a nation. While the author has gone on to write...

Why I'd Rather be in my Coffin than Read This

Thu, 6 Jul 2000 18:11:43 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - I ran out of books two days before the end of my vacation and, as luck would have it, on the one day of my vacation that it rained. There I was, relaxing on the front porch, surrounded by the calming sounds of rainfall...with nothing to read. As luck...

Why I'd Do It Again...

Thu, 6 Jul 2000 15:02:17 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - I've somehow found myself in that circle of literature where David Foster-Wallace's name keeps popping up and then vanishing again. I don't know how it happened, but I suspect it was inevitable. Trying to keep to the side-roads of the literature highway...

Truth is Naked

Thu, 6 Jul 2000 14:51:04 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - To be honest, I've always been predominantly a fiction-fan when it comes to reading for pleasure. Non-fiction is something reserved for school assignments, research, or work. When it's time to unwind, I almost always read fiction. I've never been a big...

I Wish I had a River....I Could Skate Away On

Thu, 29 Jun 2000 12:28:51 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - I like a lot of music. Between the two of us, we have an entire free-standing bookcase filled with CDs. I suspect I inherited a lot of it from my family--which has always been fairly music-crazy.

My mother was always a big fan of Joni...

Expect Nothing, Get Nothing

Wed, 28 Jun 2000 15:03:11 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - The problem with having a title like "Great Expectations" is that the when the film fails utterly...there is just too much irony involved!

I'm not one of those people that feels that a film-from-book should necessarily be obedient...

Excellent Ethnograpy!

Wed, 28 Jun 2000 14:30:35 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - As a student of anthropological and gender studies, I find myself with a considerable reading list of ethnographies annually. Many of these fall short of my perhaps excessive desire to read an ethnography that:

a) doesn't belittle or pigeonhole the...

Modern, Mature, and Easy to Read

Tue, 27 Jun 2000 23:12:21 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - Cisneros is, indeed, a tremendous voice to have appeared on the horizon in the last few years. So much of what she writes is consumed with identity--the collusion of her gender, ethnicity, age, faith, etc...and it's an interesting conglomeration...

Better than I Expected

Tue, 27 Jun 2000 22:57:10 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author bansidhe - I actually agree with a lot of the other reviewers on the negative aspects of the movie. I think, because there are so few mainstream films with themes that centrally, ethically, and reasonably deal with homosexuality, we come to expect too much out of...