Saturday, May 14, 2016
%2B7.jpeg)
New Stuff: Die Erforschung der Exoplaneten
This book sums up the current knowledge comcerning the (exciting) new discoveries of exoplanets.
Friday, May 13, 2016
First Lines: Joseph D. Pistone - Donnie Brasco: Tie In Edition: My Undercover Life in the Mafia
I looked down from the witness stand at five Mafia defendants, five rows of press, and a standing-room-only courtroom filled with more than 300 people.
The Perfect Storm (2000)
In the Fall of 1991, the "Andrea Gail" left Gloucester, Mass. and headed for the fishing grounds of the North Atlantic. Two weeks later, an event took place that had never occurred in recorded history: a giant storm.
The story is told presenting the crew of the ship as simple fisherman who become heroes. But the only true hero in this movie is the storm.
On second viewing: it's watchable mostly for the storm scenes.
Halliwell*: "There are some astonishing visual moments here - notably the small boat attemting to climb an impossibly high wave - but the crew members, each equpiied with a personal crisis to fill in the gaps between the waves, are no more than stereotypes so that their elemental struggle remains uninvolving."
Maltin**1/2: "...drenched with special effects and noisy, exciting seagoing action, but its characters and story points are bathed in cliche'."
Jungle Book (1942)
A boy raised by wolves tries to adapt to human village life.
A wonderfully colorful jungle adventure with a great Sabu as Mowgli and some fantastic animal scenes; however, the movie hardly has anything to do with Rudyard Kipling's beloved stories.
Halliwell*: "High-budgeted but rather boring live action version with stiff-jointed model animals."
Maltin***: "Colorful Kipling fantasy...Exciting family fare, fine Miklos Rozsa score."
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
First Lines: Stephen King - On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
I was stunned by Mary Karr's memoir, The Liar's Club.
New Stuff: Charles Mingus
Since I don't much of Charles Minus' work yet, I ordered two collections, vol. 2 arrived first.
Les femmes de l'ombre (2008)
In 1944, in London, a lieutenant assigns his sister to convince three other women to form a five-woman task force under his command to rescue a British geologist from a German hospital in the countryside.
Well-made, old-fashioned WWII espionage thriller with a good cast and lots of action that manages to keep the tension high till the end.
Monday, May 9, 2016
New Stuff: Franz Schubert
Ursula wanted me to ge this new interpretation of Franz Schubert's song cycles Die schöne Müllerin, Winterreise and Schwanengesang.
New Stuff: Men's Adventure Magazines
A collection of some great and amusing pulp magazine covers and illustrations.
