"A gentleman to see you, Doctor."
Saturday, September 16, 2017
Go With Me (2015)
An ex-logger comes to the aid of a woman who returns to her hometown in the Pacific Northwest and finds herself harassed and stalked by a former cop turned crime lord.
Well-made adaptation of the Castle Freeman Jr. novel has an excellent cast and beautiful landscape photography, but is told like a slow-paced, but unremarkable modern-day Western abandoning the more complex and ambiguous plot of the book.
Friday, September 15, 2017
The A-Team (2010)
A group of Iraq War veterans looks to clear their name with the U.S. military, who suspect the four men of committing a crime for which they were framed.
The movie manages to recreate the TV series not-so-serious tone and does entertain in that fashion, but is weighed down by over-the-top (and expensive) pyrotechnics.
Maltin**1/2: "A B movie tricked out with big-budget production values...Neeson establishes the seriocomic tone with self-mocking sass and steely-eyed authority. Overdone, to be sure, but surprisingly entertaining."
First Lines: William Hope Hodgson - The Night Land
"And I cannot touch her face And I cannot touch her hair, And I kneel to empty shadows - Just memories of her grace; and her voice sings in the winds And in the sobs of dawn And among the flowers at night And from the brooks at sunrise And from the sea at sunset, And I answer with vain callings..."
Thursday, September 14, 2017
Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World (2016)
Werner Herzog examines the past, present and future of the Internet and how it affects human interaction and modern society.
Typically for its director this exploration of digital technology is more essay than documentary crisscrossing the topic from seemingly random angles, but nonetheless presenting some astounding insights.
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
First Lines: H. Rider Haggard - Marie
My dear Sir Henry, -
Nearly thirty-seven years have gone by, more than a generation, since first we saw the shores of Southern Africa rising from the sea.
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Into the Abyss (2011)
Conversations with death row inmate Michael Perry and those affected by his crime serve as an examination of why people - and the state - kill.
Gripping and in-depth study that manages to analyze this difficult issue without bias.
On renewed: again amazed how Werner Herzog manages to deliver an equally personal as well as unbiased study.
