See Stronger, Be Better, Forget ‘It’

Hellooooooo, is anyone (deep) out there? For God’s sakes, according to the trailers and the number one film at the box office “It”, we are a country of violent dunces. Do me a favor, go see Stronger and redeem our collective reputation. Funny thing is, before the violent 8 trailers, my companion and I realized… Continue reading See Stronger, Be Better, Forget ‘It’

A literary segue, Conversing about Horse Walks Into a Bar by David Grossman

Sometime soon, I’ll be filmed (https://www.instagram.com/books1sarasota/) having a conversation about Horse Walks into a Bar by David Grossman. To prepare, I thought I’d riff here to work out the kinks. Speaking of riffing…let’s talk first about whether a stand up comic could get away with what Grossman’s main character (Dovaleh) did, which is basically tell… Continue reading A literary segue, Conversing about Horse Walks Into a Bar by David Grossman

Daniel Day-Lewis, Say It Ain’t So: Before Retirement, How about Lincoln in the Bardo, the movie?

Here was a 2:45 a.m. thought: Why doesn’t Daniel Day-Lewis wait and retire after doing Lincoln one more time for a George Saunders inspired Lincoln in the Bardo inspired film? At any rate, the minute I heard DDL was retiring I decided I needed to go back and see a film I had never seen.… Continue reading Daniel Day-Lewis, Say It Ain’t So: Before Retirement, How about Lincoln in the Bardo, the movie?

Like the Deepest Ocean, Time Out of Mind Directed by Oren Moverman

I’ll always love Owen Moverman for his superb Love&Mercy and so I spent three nights of penance to get through Time Out of Mind. One of my friends said, “why do you feel the need to finish movies?” Well, in this case, because I have a home, and yet almost daily, I see homeless in… Continue reading Like the Deepest Ocean, Time Out of Mind Directed by Oren Moverman

Dean, a BBQ type of film=well done!

Continuing with my kookie summer time references is the BBQ review title of Demetri Martin’s well done film Dean. A new feature of this review will be a “This review is sponsored by…” ad whenever some kind person pays for my movie going experience. My way of acknowledging nice folks. So this review is brought… Continue reading Dean, a BBQ type of film=well done!

Unsupervised Teens, Always Big Trouble “L.I.E.”

Wow, just finished a recommendation for a PPLL, L.I.E. directed by Michael Cuesta. Was surprised I hadn’t heard of this director considering how well written and how artistically directed this film was from ‘way back’ in 2001. And while an Emmy for Homeland is nothing to sneeze at, I would have expected his subsequent films… Continue reading Unsupervised Teens, Always Big Trouble “L.I.E.”

Non-Fiction Book Review: Radical Candor

Since we’re in the drought of movie season, here’s another book review: Staff Member Book Review: Radical Candor by Kim Scott Being a retired school teacher, I’ve been to plenty of workshops where the presenter spends the first hour telling you what they’re going to tell you. Annoying, right? Well, the good news is, reading… Continue reading Non-Fiction Book Review: Radical Candor

You’ve earned the right…Moscow, Belgium

In an attempt to preserve my budget, I talked myself out of seeing Toni Erdmann a second time and instead did a library borrow of a foreign film called Moscow, Belgium. I know, I know, it’s old, from 2008, but the familial conflicts so timeless and universal, that it could have been made yesterday. I… Continue reading You’ve earned the right…Moscow, Belgium

French Movie: misogyne….for shame “Elle”

If my blog could be a live feed, which I’m sure might be possible on Facebook (which I loathe, which I consult begrudgingly once a week), we would learn together the name and sex of the writer and director of “Elle”, possibly the worst movie I’ve seen in years. So here we go. I did… Continue reading French Movie: misogyne….for shame “Elle”

Rituals Paterson Rituals

The Red Wheelbarrow* (William Carlos Williams, 1883 – 1963) so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens. Jim Jarmusch used William Carlos Williams as his muse for the movie Paterson. And if you’re going to see a movie without any action, based on poetry, one would think… Continue reading Rituals Paterson Rituals