Is the assault on books, censorship or simply a warning to those who might be harmed or offended? Is it to keep one vulnerable person safe or to limit a subject or author? America is both a tolerant and intolerant country. There are tolerant and intolerant people. I am reminded of the Ray Bradbury book, … More The Trouble With Books (and knowledge in general)
A great love story. Of three people. A pleasant surprise. Cyrano is not perfect, yet it is a very enjoyable film. This film got lost in the mainstream release of films last year. Cyrano is not an over the top production, yet it has spectacular production values – this was a film with a grand … More Cyrano (2021)
This blog is a companion to my “Almost Noir” posting. I listed Eddie Muller as a noir expert, he is a film historian, host on TCM and keeper of the noir genre. Muller published a fascinating book on film noir, Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir, in 1998, and has updated and expanded … More Dark City: Film Noir
“Do you really think anyone’s going to pay money to see a movie about a dumb Texan who takes a bus to New York to seek his fortune screwing rich old women?” – John Schlesinger The answer to that question is, yes. On a $3.2 million budget, the film grossed more than $40 million on … More Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Sue Grafton was my favorite mystery writer. She wrote the popular alphabet detective series of Kinsey Milhone. Grafton died several years ago before she could complete the alphabet, but she got close. In the years since, I’ve continue to enjoy the series of David Baldacci (although I missed the Camel Club), Lee Child’s Jack Reacher … More Stephanie Plum: Bounty Hunter
The first time I heard of him was in reference to The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, more from the HBO series, than from the original books. I was impressed with the series, which ran from 2008-2009 for a total of seven episodes. The books were hugely popular and some high-powered Hollywood types backed the … More Alexander McCall Smith
Agatha Christie. Hercules Poirot. Murder. “There’s evil under the sun,” Poirot says. Peter Ustinov returned as Poirot, his second of four outings as Poirot. EMI Films shelled out a reported $10m to make the film, an impressive budget at the time. The cast, costuming and locale look very expensive. Guy Hamilton returns for his second … More Evil Under the Sun (1982)
“Best” is a very subjective term, I don’t even know how to describe what it means. Maybe you know it when you see it, or hear it, or even feel it. Best is also very personal. Dickens’ story has been told many times through the years, as television and feature films, live-action, animation, and even … More The Best Scrooge?
Catch-22 is one of the most iconic American books and catch-phrases in our language. I first read the book in 8th grade, it wasn’t my first choice, but Mrs. Wilbur challenged me to read a meaty novel, and this one was at home. So, Catch-22 it was. A massive book with non-linear structure and dream-like … More Catch-22: Observations
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