Susan Hated Literature

Dir: Isabel Coixet
Writ: Nicholas Meyer based on book by Philip Roth

• Ben Kingsley … David Kepesh
• Penélope Cruz … Consuela Castillo
• Dennis Hopper … George O’Hearn
• Peter Sarsgaard … Kenneth Kepesh

IMDb ; OtherReviews

David Kepesh, sometime narrator of this film, is an ageing lecturer. Or an ageing Tom Cat, going from woman to woman in order to maintain his independence. And then Consuela comes to his class.

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Author: Kazuo Ishiguro
ISBN: 0571154913 DDC: 823.914
LibraryThing : More Reviews

It seems increasingly likely that I really will undertake the expedition that has been occupying my imagination now for some days.

The Remains of the Day is about Stevens, a butler in a “grand old English house”. He spent his life trying to be a “great” butler in the service of Lord Darlington. With the death of Darlington he remains in Darlington Hall working for the new owner a rich American, Mr Farraday. It is at Mr. Farraday’s suggestion that Stevens, our narrator, first begins thinking about taking a short trip out into the English countryside, and to see Miss Kenton. Now Mrs. Benn she recently sent him a letter, hinting, Stevens thinks, at her unhappy marriage and her wish to return to service in Darlington Hall. On his journey Stevens reflects over his life and the changes he has seen.

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Dir & Writ: Paul Thomas Anderson
Based on book by Upton Sinclair

• Daniel Day-Lewis … Daniel Plainview
• Ciarán Hinds … Fletcher Hamilton
• Dillon Freasier … H.W. Plainview
• Paul Dano … Paul Sunday / Eli Sunday
• Sydney McCallister … Mary Sunday

It is hard to know how to describe this film. It is more of a character study than a story. Of course there is some plot, an oilman and his desire to suceed, but the story isn’t too important. What is important is the character of Daniel Plainview, as played by Oscar winning Daniel Day-Lewis.

The opening scenes show just how driven Daniel is. We watch him, working on his own, in a mine. No dialogue at all for around 15 minutes, just this man in a hole, digging, dynamiting up the earth, falling down the hole, injured and yet still having the drive to pull himself out of that hole and struggle back into town to get his bit of dirt evaluated.

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Dir: Stephen Frears
Writ: Peter Morgan

• Helen Mirren - HM Queen Elizabeth II
• Michael Sheen - Tony Blair
• James Cromwell - Prince Philip
• Sylvia Syms - HM The Queen Mother
• Paul Barrett - Trevor Rees-Jones
• Helen McCrory - Cherie Blair

This is an odd sort of film. Parts of it are very good, but other parts, well I just don’t think they work. The film is mostly set in the few days surrounding the death of Diana, as the British public went into public mourning over the “People’s Princess” while the Royal Family seemed to remain aloof and distant. Thereby earning a lot of criticism from their subjects.

Maybe my main problem with the film was that I never understood the huge out pourings of grief over Diana, and I really don’t get why she still manages to sell papers, almost 10 years after her death. The hundreds of thousands of people who went into the streets in tears didn’t know her at all, yet her death still impacted hugely on them. And the Queen of England didn’t appear to get it either. Prefering to stay in Balmoral with the family, dealing with the family’s grief in private. In a dignified manner.

And Helen Mirren does a good job at portraying this woman raised to be dignified and in control. Raised in a different generation so that to some she appears cold-hearted and distant. The rest of the casting I wasn’t so impressed with. James Cromwell is too dignified to really excel as Prince Phillip, although on occasion he does get it right. While many of the other actors looked to similar to the characters they were portraying and so came across more as a skit show rather than as actors. And I wouldn’t be happy if I was Cherie Blair as written for this film.

Also the fact that “the boys” were never shown was a bit of a mistake from the story’s perspective, although I can see why the film makers would want to respect the privacy of William and whatever the other one is called. And I suppose you could argue that the film is about the Queen, not the family, but it didin’t really work for me.

Overall I felt the film was effective in parts, especially in its mixing real footage of the time, but it just didn’t work as a whole. As a character study of the Queen, yes. But apart from that it wasn’t great, maybe because instead of characters we got imitations of the other main players.

Or then again, maybe it is just the fact that I really don’t seen the point in having a monarchy at all, and that political opinion coloured my interpretation of the film.

IMDb | Film Fest Journal | Me Against the Keyboard | Movie Reviews for Greedy Capitalist bastards

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ISBN: 0515140872
Author: Laurel K Hamilton
Series: Anita Blake #13
DDC: 813.54

It was half past dawn when the phone rang. It shattered the first dreams of the night into a thousand peices so that I couldn’t even remember what the dream had been about.

I’m not really sure why I picked this book up, after the last few turned into nothing but porn I thought I’d give them a miss. But it was only €7, and I’ve read the others so I thought I may as well be a completioniest. But this doesn’t really seem to be the same as the others in the series. Its shorter, and there really isn’t any plot. I mean there is a storyline about raising some fella who died of a heart attack before he could testify to the FBI, but that isn’t what the book is about. It is just the setting Hamilton chose to get Micah and Anita on their own.

In a way this is a character piece. Micah has never really had a strong role in any of the other books, so this is Hamilton’s chance to explain a bit about him, and his background. And there isn’t even that much sex. So little plot, little smut, its all about character interaction and Anita and Micah getting to know each other a little better.

I do have to wonder about the cover though. Honestly look at it and say it isn’t off-putting.

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