Saturday, May 17, 2014
First Lines: Louise Erdrich - The Plague of Doves
In the year 1896, my great-uncle, one of the first Catholic priests of aboriginal blood, put the call out to his parishioners that they should gather at St. Joseph's wearing scapulars and holdings missals.
Friday, May 16, 2014
Holy Smoke (1999)
While on a journey of discovery in exotic India, a young woman falls under the influence of a charismatic religious guru and her desperate parents a cult de-programmer who confronts the woman in a remote desert hideaway.
Despite all the talent involved and some wonderful photography this would-be satire turns silly very quickly.
Halliwell*: "A topical subject is explored in depth, with every approach to life equally questioned, but along the way, with its concentration on the relationship between Keitel and Winset, the impetus is lost and most of the questions raised remain unanswered."
Maltin**: "Naked performances - in every sense of the word - by the two leads and a layered script rife with quirky humor and sexual politics can't bring credibility to Keitel's character. This is supposed to be his 190th case; what were the other 189 like?"
Thursday, May 15, 2014
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First Lines: Christine Schutt - All Souls
Mr. Dell, in his daughter's room, stuck his face into the horn of a stargazer lily, one of a...one of a...must habe a dozen, and he breathed in and said wasn't that something.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Pacific Rim (2013)
As a war between humankind and monstrous sea creatures wages on, a former pilot and a trainee are paired up to drive a seemingly obsolete special weapon in a desperate effort to save the world from the apocalypse.
Lovingly produced homage to Japanese monster movies, entertaining, but one would have expected more from this director.
First Lines: Elizabeth Strout - Olive Kitteridge
For many years Henry Kitteridge was a pharmacist in the next town over, driving every morning on snowy roads, or rainy roads, or summer-time roads, when the wild rasperries shot their new growth in brambles along the last section of town before he turned off to where the wider road led to the pharmacy.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
New Stuff: Tori Amos
Finally a new album; her last one was a bit of a disappointment - so my expectancies is high.
New Stuff: Band of Susans
I recently had another listen into their album Veil and decided to go on collecting their other work.
2010: Moby Dick (2010)
The captain of a high tech submarine is on an obsessive quest to destroy the enormous prehistoric whale that maimed him.
Silly cheapskate variation on Herman Melville's classic novel that does have some minor entertainment value.
