
A Season in the Congo
Aime Cesaire, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and Tariq Ali
Book
This play by renowned poet and political activist Aime Cesaire recounts the tragic death of Patrice...

Breaking Cover
Book
Treachery begins at home Back in London after a gruelling operation in Paris, Liz Carlyle has been...

Greta Garbo: Divine Star
Book
Though there have been numerous biographies of Greta Garbo, this is the first to fully investigate...

Tout Hache: Meatballs - Tartares - Burgers
Book
Tout Hache: meat chopped, minced or ground - but not only meat. Many countries have a fine tradition...
Breathless Days, 1959-1960
Serge Guilbaut and John O'Brian
Book
Taking 1959-1960 as a pivotal cultural and political moment, the contributors to Breathless Days...

Joel Schumacher recommended Apocalypse Now (1979) in Movies (curated)

Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Taken (2009) in Movies
Mar 10, 2021
The plot: Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson), a former government operative, is trying to reconnect with his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace). Then his worst fears become real when sex slavers abduct Kim and her friend shortly after they arrive in Paris for vacation. With just four days until Kim will be auctioned off, Bryan must call on every skill he learned in black ops to rescue her.
Its the best one out of the trilogy, should of there been 2 more sequels, no. But $$$.
Intresting fact: Jeff Bridges was first cast as Bryan Mills, but after he dropped out of the project, Liam Neeson accepted the part, desiring to play a more physically demanding role than he was used to. Neeson at first thought the film to be no more than a "little side road" for his career, expecting it to be released directly to video.
Only watch this one.

ClareR (5879 KP) rated Lost Property in Books
Apr 1, 2021
Dot is a person who has become lost. Her loneliness seeps out of every page, her feelings of guilt are relatable (if misguided) and the fact that she doesn’t feel good enough about herself to live the life that she wants to live, is heartbreaking.
The writing is beautiful.
There was more than one occasion where I found myself close to tears. Dot is a character who does her best to make other people feel better - whether that’s her co-workers, those looking for their lost items, her mother in a nursing home, or her seemingly interfering older sister. But she neglects herself.
This book is about Dots journey to finding herself again, and it is wonderful.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this, and to Helen Paris for reading along.
As such, we cover all the familiar ground: Helen of Troy, Paris, the Gods involvement, Agamemnon, Menaleus, Achilles, Odysseus, that giant wooden horse ...
I have to say, however, for such a well know story this is probably the first time I've ever seen (or heard) a straight retelling of it: we normally get either the Gods left out entirely (see the early 2000s film 'Troy'), a slow and plodding retelling that leaves it up to you to decide whether they were involved or not (BBCs 'Troy'), or a reworking/reimagining where the wooden horse is reworked into a metaphor for something completely different (I'm most familiar with those by David Gemmell, such as in his trilogy beginning 'Lord of the Silver Bow').
Having said that, this also has a bit of an abrupt ending, leaving it - I feel - open for a retelling of The Odyssey to come next!

Lee KM Pallatina (951 KP) rated Van Helsing (2004) in Movies
Aug 19, 2019
In 2004 universal released 'Van Helsing', with pretty decent promoting, and some neat casting with rising stars Hugh Jackman & Kate Beckinsale at the helm - with Richard Roxburgh as Dracula (also Robbie Coltrane as Mr Hyde)
The Story:
Van Helsing is on a mission from God, to rid evil from the world. After a 'paris job' goes wrong, Helsing returns to the Vatican to be briefed on this next assignment which sees helsing and his ally and friar named carl heading to Transylvania, to hunt down and kill count Dracula.
Joining forces with a Gypsy Princess named Anna who also seeks to kill Dracula in order to break her family's curse before her bloodline ends allowing her family to enter the kindom of heaven.