Search

Search only in certain items:

40x40

Erika (17789 KP) rated Bellewether in Books

Feb 2, 2019  
Bellewether
Bellewether
Susanna Kearsley | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I love Susanna Kearsley's novels, they are, in fact, my favorite sort of novels. Partially historical fiction, modern fiction, with a hint of supernatural in the form of ghosts, typically.
I was excited when I read the synopsis of this novel, and couldn't wait to read it. I was slightly disappointed by it, because it wasn't as good as her other novels. The historical portion was a little slow, and the modern novel portion was fairly predictable. I still enjoyed it, just not as much as I would have liked to enjoy it.
  
    Fictional

    Fictional

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    Podcast

    Classic lit with a modern tone, every other week. From the creators of Myths and Legends, comes an...

The First and Last Freedom
The First and Last Freedom
J. Krishnamurti | 2013 | History & Politics, Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences
(0 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"A living embodiment of Huxley’s Perennial Philosophy, Krishnamurti wrote many books about the need for modern people to wake up. As with Tagore, the horrors of World War II and the existential crisis of the Atomic Age dimmed Krishnamurti’s message, but he enjoyed a resurgence just before his death in 1986. He was sensationally glamorous to Westerners but relentless in confronting people with their lack of inner knowledge. The First and Last Freedom distills his teachings in a forceful, concentrated way. Few have taken such a stark view of the spiritual crisis in modern life."

Source
  
Psycho (1960)
Psycho (1960)
1960 | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Contains spoilers, click to show
Ah Psycho, the granddaddy of slashers and a film that I find somehow modern and dated at the same time.
Psycho is a slow burn, at the beginning even the dialogue is sparse as the film builds up to the confrontations with Norman Bates (argued by most as the first modern slasher) and this is part of what makes it dated (and modern), the lack of action and the main character driving around gives Psycho the feel of something that Tarantino might make but it lacks 'something' . It's hard to explain but, by todays standards, parts of Psycho are a bit bland, not necessarily boring but bland. The best example I can think would be the scenes in the car, Psycho has just one character in the car who is imagining what others are saying about her and lots of silence which are filled with dramatic music, where as something like Pulp Fiction you get two characters who are just talking, the music seems to take you out of the situation because, in a modern film it would just be in the background.
As the film progresses we start to pick up on some of the slasher tropes, Norman is strange, again we can't quite explain why but that is sometimes the same in a modern film, we see him spy, once, on Marion and, in a more modern film this would probably be stretched out a bit more.
The kills aren't actually as graphic as most modern day slashers but this doesn't matter as Hitchcock has a talent for making the viewer see what he wants and not just what is happening.
The character of Norman is quite interesting but a lot of 'fleshing out' is just told to the viewer in exposition near the end, however you can see how Norman/Mother could easily be an inspiration for the Jason/Pamela dynamic in the first 'Friday 13th'

Psycho has a lot to answer for, sighted by many as the first modern 'Slasher' movie it caused an uproar for other reasons, the first time a toilet was seen flushing on screen, the first time a 'Leading Lady' was killed off halfway through the film (still a slight oddity now as we normally have one 'final girl') and the fact that the stolen money is just thrown away when it is no longer needed to push the plot along. It is these firsts that help to make the film feel dated, we are used to more graphic kills, toilets are almost irrelevant and there is normally more nudity/sex in a modern slasher.

Apart from being a little dated Psycho is a pretty good and entertain film which has put some thought into it's story and characters