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| carrobin |
 Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 11:49 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| I'm in the process of reading "Gone Girl" and am trying to avoid reading the reviews and commentary. It's taking me a while because the hefty paperback is heavier than my usual tote-bag books and I'm trying to get it read at home, putting it in competition with TV and housework. (Right now I'm finishing up a Barbara Pym that I've had so long that it's coming apart, since like most of my lightweight paperbacks, it's been sitting around unread for a couple of decades. Fortunately Charles Stross's paperbacks are small and lightweight, unlike their subject, so I can keep up with those. And my next is a Lawrence Block, recommended through you guys.) |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 1:27 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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carrobin wrote: (... And my next is a Lawrence Block, recommended through you guys.)
If it's your first Block, make sure it's one of the best. Try When the Sacred Ginmill Closes or Eight Million Ways to Die. Then all the rest of the Scudder books. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 1:37 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| It's "Eight Million Ways to Die." I ordered "Ginmill" from Amazon at the same time, but for some reason it's been delayed. And I have Amazon Prime, which I hardly use. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 10:56 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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The Equalizer could easily be dismissed as a mindless exercise in movie violence. The violence is extreme and gruesome and the psychology of the leading character is basic and somewhat superficial. But it's still a terrific movie, a "Dirty Harry" for the millennium, and one in which Denzel Washington shines as seldom before. When we first meet him, he's a seemingly somewhat ordinary widower from Boston, living alone, working in a store like Home Depot, reading books and hanging out in an all-night diner until the wee hours. But more is to be revealed, and much blood is ultimately spilled.
The direction by Antoine Fuqua is disciplined and restrained and stylish, even in the very violent scenes, and allows Washington to fill in a lot of gaps in the writing. The result is a wonderful performance. The vigilante aspects of the story play into the current cold war going on between the USA and Russia, and the baddest bad guy is named Pushkin, which is (coincidentally?)) very close to “Putin.”
Anyway, be preared to hide your eyes in certain scenes if you’re squeamish, but try to get past your anti-violence thing and catch this instant classic. Personally, I can’t wait for “Equalizer 2,” which is already being planned. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 11:11 am |
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Pushkin was a great Russian author. Way before the Communist Russia. Of course you all know that. Too bad that they gave that Russian bad guy Pushkin's name. 
I'll be seeing The Equalizer. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 11:18 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| As I suggested, I think Pushkin might have been chosen to be similar to Putin. But yeah, too bad they had to slander the great author in the process. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 7:36 pm |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12929
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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billyweeds wrote: The Good Lie could easily have become a manipulative tearjerker, but thanks to some restraint and some welcome humor, this true-ish story of "The Lost Boys of Sudan," a group of immigrants from the war-torn region who settle in America in the 1980s, is legitimately moving when it wants to be and warmly funny a lot of the time. The leading roles are all played by non-actors who were either immigrants themselves or related to immigrants, and their heartfelt acting is genuine and (when called for) nuanced and skilled. They are given big assists by Reese Witherspoon and Corey Stoll in supporting roles as helpful Yanks. This is a movie you will not regret seeing even though you may at first resist its uplifting, feel-good pull. It's a ONE-hankie movie, if that means anything to you.
I recommend this as well. Arnold Oceng and Ger Duany are particularly good among the non-actors, and Kuoth Wiel is good as their 'sister' (I think the family tree is a bit complex).
The title is a reference to a crucial scene in Huckleberry Finn. |
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Rocky Laocoon foretold of Troy's doom, only to find snaky water. They pulled him in and Rocky can't swim. Now Rocky wishes he were an otter! |
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 2:47 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4742
Location: Upstate NY
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| "Gone Girl", although it does hold your interest, has such an improbable story that one has to give it a "thumbs down". |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 5:49 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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Ghulam wrote: "Gone Girl", although it does hold your interest, has such an improbable story that one has to give it a "thumbs down".
Disagree on the ultimate thumbs-down, but certainly agree on the "improbable" criticism. The movie is severely overrated. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 12:31 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6961
Location: Black Hills
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billyweeds wrote: The Equalizer could easily be dismissed as a mindless exercise in movie violence.
I was going to do that until "Denzel" appeared in your review. Somewhere long about "Flight" I realized he had matured or somehow plugged into the star power socket that's 220. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 9:24 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| Just finished watching "Shadow of a Doubt" on TCM. I had seen it back in the 60s or 70s and thought I remembered it well enough, but I'd forgotten almost all the details. And how creepily suspenseful it became when he realized she knew he was the killer. And the budding romance between her and the detective. And how really scary Cotten was--the most charming uncle in the world, except when he wasn't. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 5:25 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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carrobin wrote: Just finished watching "Shadow of a Doubt" on TCM. I had seen it back in the 60s or 70s and thought I remembered it well enough, but I'd forgotten almost all the details. And how creepily suspenseful it became when he realized she knew he was the killer. And the budding romance between her and the detective. And how really scary Cotten was--the most charming uncle in the world, except when he wasn't.
The best moment in the movie for me was the scene in the libtary where Teresa Wright finds the newspaper story about the Merry Widow murderer and "The Merry Widow Waltz" plays on the soundtrack in an eerie arrangement that chills the blood.
The screenplay is written by Thornton WIlder ("Our Town") and Sally Benson ("Junior Miss"), two people one would never have predicted would ever work with Alfred Hitchcock.
This was reputed to be Hitchcock's personal favorite of all of his films. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 5:23 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Well, since this is a forum on Current Film and since this movie I'm starring in has now actually been called "the very best film of 2014," I'm going to toot my own horn a little bit here. This is the review from Film Threat.
http://www.filmthreat.com/reviews/80322/ |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 9:06 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| That sounds like quite a film. Surely it'll get a showing here in NYC. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 10:54 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6961
Location: Black Hills
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| And soon after, pack theaters in South Dakota! Anything with "fish" in the title usually draws an audience here. Esp. if paired with "hunt." |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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