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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2277 KP) rated While the Clock Ticked in Books
May 10, 2021 (Updated May 10, 2021)
Can Frank and Joe Solve the Case Before Time Runs Out?
When a man comes to the Hardy home, Frank and Joe are only too happy to offer their detective services in place of their vacationing father. The man just bought a home, and he is receiving threatening notes inside a secret room. Not only does he worry about who is threatening him and why, he is also puzzled by how the notes are getting into the secret room, which only opens on a timer. Meanwhile, the Bayport harbor is being plagued by thieves. Can the Hardy Boys figure out what is happening?
Anyone familiar with the series can guess how parts of the plot will come together, but there is plenty of action and narrow escapes along to way to keep the reader interested. Plus the locked room part of the story proves to be interesting. The characters are thin, but I didn’t notice as a kid, and I still get caught up in the action as an adult. There are some dated references, which isn’t surprising for a book from the 1960’s, but they are minor and most kids probably won’t notice. The action will make kids of all ages glad they read it.
Anyone familiar with the series can guess how parts of the plot will come together, but there is plenty of action and narrow escapes along to way to keep the reader interested. Plus the locked room part of the story proves to be interesting. The characters are thin, but I didn’t notice as a kid, and I still get caught up in the action as an adult. There are some dated references, which isn’t surprising for a book from the 1960’s, but they are minor and most kids probably won’t notice. The action will make kids of all ages glad they read it.
White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960’s
Book
When Muddy Waters came to London at the start of the '60s, a kid from Boston called Joe Boyd was his...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2277 KP) rated If I Had a Hammer in Books
May 15, 2023
Dealing with History and Solving a Mystery
It’s November of 1963, and Dot Morgan’s excitement at witnessing JFK’s trip to Dallas turns to tragedy. While her cousin deals with what they witnessed, Dot has to concentrate on her first job out of secretarial school. She’s working at a local construction company, but she really only likes one of her bosses. When he falls victim to a weird accident at work, Dot starts to investigate. Can she figure out what happened?
You can’t write a series set in Texas in the 1960’s without dealing what happened that November. I liked that this piece of history is given its own subplot, although I did feel like that storyline was rushed. The main mystery is strong, with plenty to keep me turning pages, and the suspects were developed enough to help keep me confused. I loved getting to spend time with Dot again, and the rest of the regulars are good as well. As we get into the second half of the book, the action moves into December, and I enjoyed the Christmas parts of the book, too. If you are looking for a good mystery set around an important piece of American history, this book is for you.
You can’t write a series set in Texas in the 1960’s without dealing what happened that November. I liked that this piece of history is given its own subplot, although I did feel like that storyline was rushed. The main mystery is strong, with plenty to keep me turning pages, and the suspects were developed enough to help keep me confused. I loved getting to spend time with Dot again, and the rest of the regulars are good as well. As we get into the second half of the book, the action moves into December, and I enjoyed the Christmas parts of the book, too. If you are looking for a good mystery set around an important piece of American history, this book is for you.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated The Great Race (1965) in Movies
Jul 6, 2018
A fun throwback to 1920's Silent Film Farces
In a tribute to films of a bygone era, Director Blake Edwards pays homage to silent film farces of the 1920's - even dedicating this film to "Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy" - with the slapstick comedy THE GREAT RACE - and succeeds, mostly.
Reteaming Tony Curtis (as the brave, virtuous and good "The Great Leslie") and Jack Lemmon (as the sinister, dastardly and evil "Professor Fate"), The Great Race is great fun watching these two cartoon characters spar and parry with each other throughout the course of this 2 hour and 40 minute farce.
Lemmon, in particular, relishes in dual roles as the menacing Fate, always dressed in black, twirling his mustache and coming up with scheme after scheme to derail Leslie (think the Coyote in the RoadRunner cartoons). His overacting and hammyness in the character is perfect for the tone that this film has set. And his maniacal laugh is one to remember - unless you are remembering the childlike guffaws of the other character Lemmon portrays, the doppelganger of Fate, Crown Prince Frederick. Both these characters are fun to watch and Fate, especially, plays well against his bumbling assistant and foil, "Max", played in utter buffoonishness by the great Peter Falk.
Joining Curtis for the "good guys" is Natalie Wood as Suffragette and Newspaper
Reporter Maggie DuBois (obviously tailored after real life Suffragette and Newspaper Reporter Nellie Bly). It is said that Curtis and Wood did not get along on set (they had worked together in 2 other films and grew to dislike each other), but their on-screen chemistry cannot be ignored and they are fun together. As is the great Keenan Wynn as Leslie's mechanic and friend Hezekiah Sturdy.
But it is not the characters that makes this film go it is the set pieces and frenetic pacing that Director Edwards put before us. From thrilling chase scenes to a Western barroom brawl, to a trip through a blizzard with a polar bear to the "largest pie fight ever put on screen", this film delivers the goods in a wholesome, 1960's way that makes me truly say...
"They don't make 'em like this anymore".
8 out 10 stars and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)
Reteaming Tony Curtis (as the brave, virtuous and good "The Great Leslie") and Jack Lemmon (as the sinister, dastardly and evil "Professor Fate"), The Great Race is great fun watching these two cartoon characters spar and parry with each other throughout the course of this 2 hour and 40 minute farce.
Lemmon, in particular, relishes in dual roles as the menacing Fate, always dressed in black, twirling his mustache and coming up with scheme after scheme to derail Leslie (think the Coyote in the RoadRunner cartoons). His overacting and hammyness in the character is perfect for the tone that this film has set. And his maniacal laugh is one to remember - unless you are remembering the childlike guffaws of the other character Lemmon portrays, the doppelganger of Fate, Crown Prince Frederick. Both these characters are fun to watch and Fate, especially, plays well against his bumbling assistant and foil, "Max", played in utter buffoonishness by the great Peter Falk.
Joining Curtis for the "good guys" is Natalie Wood as Suffragette and Newspaper
Reporter Maggie DuBois (obviously tailored after real life Suffragette and Newspaper Reporter Nellie Bly). It is said that Curtis and Wood did not get along on set (they had worked together in 2 other films and grew to dislike each other), but their on-screen chemistry cannot be ignored and they are fun together. As is the great Keenan Wynn as Leslie's mechanic and friend Hezekiah Sturdy.
But it is not the characters that makes this film go it is the set pieces and frenetic pacing that Director Edwards put before us. From thrilling chase scenes to a Western barroom brawl, to a trip through a blizzard with a polar bear to the "largest pie fight ever put on screen", this film delivers the goods in a wholesome, 1960's way that makes me truly say...
"They don't make 'em like this anymore".
8 out 10 stars and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Godzilla Minus One (2023) in Movies
Dec 14, 2023
Surprisingly Human...for a Monster Movie
The BankofMarquis just viewed one of the most entertaining films of 2023 - and it’s a GODZILLA film.
Yes, a GODZILLA film.
From famed Japanese Studio Toho, makers of the original Godzilla film from the 1950’s plus other “man in a rubber suit” monster movies like MOTHRA and WAR OF THE GARGANTUANS, Godzilla Minus One subverts the genre for a moment for instead of presenting a “Monster stomping on buildings” movie with some people in the background, this film is about the Japanese people and how they deal with the aftermath of World War II while (also) running from a giant monster stomping on buildings - but the monster story is the “B” story and the people story is the “A” story…and this subversion of the genre works very very well.
The title of the film, Godzilla Minus One, refers to the fact that…after World War II….Japan was “starting from zero”. When Godzilla starts attacking, it knocks Japan back another peg, hence…Godzilla Minus One.
Director and Screenwriter Takashi Yamazaki tells the tale of Koichi (Ryunosuke Kamiki) who encounters Godzilla towards the end of WWII and freezes, causing the death of his fellow soldiers (so his PTSD continues to tell him throughout the film). Once back in Japan, he encounters a young woman, Noriko (Minami Hamabe) who has been left orphaned, homeless and alone and is sheparding an abandoned baby. This unlikely trio form a bond…and a home…while trying to rebuild their lives and (in Koichi’s case) tries to make sense of the devastation he encountered in the war.
Into to this rebuilding stomps Godzilla.
This story is effectively told by Yamazaki, who knows when to focus on the people aspect of the film and when to focus on the building stomping of Godzilla. It’s a delicate balance that is helped by the performances of Kamiki and Hamabe…and the special effects that brings the spirit of the 1950’s and 1960’s Toho monster films to light.
A surpwisingly rich entertainment, Godzilla Minus One will entertain you with monster stomping…and deep human emotion.
Letter Grade: A- (I’m as surprised as you are)
8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Yes, a GODZILLA film.
From famed Japanese Studio Toho, makers of the original Godzilla film from the 1950’s plus other “man in a rubber suit” monster movies like MOTHRA and WAR OF THE GARGANTUANS, Godzilla Minus One subverts the genre for a moment for instead of presenting a “Monster stomping on buildings” movie with some people in the background, this film is about the Japanese people and how they deal with the aftermath of World War II while (also) running from a giant monster stomping on buildings - but the monster story is the “B” story and the people story is the “A” story…and this subversion of the genre works very very well.
The title of the film, Godzilla Minus One, refers to the fact that…after World War II….Japan was “starting from zero”. When Godzilla starts attacking, it knocks Japan back another peg, hence…Godzilla Minus One.
Director and Screenwriter Takashi Yamazaki tells the tale of Koichi (Ryunosuke Kamiki) who encounters Godzilla towards the end of WWII and freezes, causing the death of his fellow soldiers (so his PTSD continues to tell him throughout the film). Once back in Japan, he encounters a young woman, Noriko (Minami Hamabe) who has been left orphaned, homeless and alone and is sheparding an abandoned baby. This unlikely trio form a bond…and a home…while trying to rebuild their lives and (in Koichi’s case) tries to make sense of the devastation he encountered in the war.
Into to this rebuilding stomps Godzilla.
This story is effectively told by Yamazaki, who knows when to focus on the people aspect of the film and when to focus on the building stomping of Godzilla. It’s a delicate balance that is helped by the performances of Kamiki and Hamabe…and the special effects that brings the spirit of the 1950’s and 1960’s Toho monster films to light.
A surpwisingly rich entertainment, Godzilla Minus One will entertain you with monster stomping…and deep human emotion.
Letter Grade: A- (I’m as surprised as you are)
8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
The Twilight of Southern Steam: The Untold Story 1965 - 1967
Book
This book is first and foremost the story of the enginemen and their steeds which brought the steam...
Building Cultures Valparaiso: Pedagogy, Practice and Poetry at the Valparaiso School of Architecture and Design
Sony Devabhaktuni, Patricia Guaita and Cornelia Tapparelli
Book
Building Cultures Valparaiso takes a critical look at how pedagogy, practice and poetry are brought...
ClareR (5789 KP) rated The Most Fun We Ever Had in Books
Nov 16, 2021
I do love a good character driven novel, and The Most Fun We Ever Had is just that. It’s a big book at just over 500 pages, but I was so engrossed, that it went by in a flash.
This is the story of the Sorensen family: Marilyn and David meet in the 1960’s, fall in love, get married, have four daughters and never fall out of love. Quite unusual for books these days, where marital strife seems to be the norm. Don’t worry though, the daughters more than make up for their parents! Marilyn and David seem to take everything in their stride, even when the teenaged grandson they never knew existed, appears in their lives. They’re master jugglers: they’ve juggled four daughters and all of their problems, and are more than happy to include this young man in their lives. Along with a surprise granddaughter when their third daughter becomes a single parent.
I’ve tried to pinpoint what it is about this book that I liked so much, and I think that its just so emotionally engaging. It’s pretty difficult to read this book and NOT become involved in this family’s lives. It’s enthralling, and a great read for those of us who enjoy being a fly on the wall!
It’s a great mix of humour and emotional turmoil. I loved it!
This is the story of the Sorensen family: Marilyn and David meet in the 1960’s, fall in love, get married, have four daughters and never fall out of love. Quite unusual for books these days, where marital strife seems to be the norm. Don’t worry though, the daughters more than make up for their parents! Marilyn and David seem to take everything in their stride, even when the teenaged grandson they never knew existed, appears in their lives. They’re master jugglers: they’ve juggled four daughters and all of their problems, and are more than happy to include this young man in their lives. Along with a surprise granddaughter when their third daughter becomes a single parent.
I’ve tried to pinpoint what it is about this book that I liked so much, and I think that its just so emotionally engaging. It’s pretty difficult to read this book and NOT become involved in this family’s lives. It’s enthralling, and a great read for those of us who enjoy being a fly on the wall!
It’s a great mix of humour and emotional turmoil. I loved it!
Adventures of the Great Marlo and the Blue Pearl
Book
After the success of his first book 'Now It Begins', Gary Markwick has ventured into the world of...
Oliver!: A Dickensian Musical
Book
When the show was first produced in 1960, at a time when transatlantic musical theatre was dominated...