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The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
2001 | Comedy, Drama
8.6 (10 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"When Wes Anderson asked me to provide incidental narration to his film about the Tenenbaum tribe, I honestly could not make out what the film was about. It turned out to be a Wes Anderson film, which, in my mind, is the New Yorker magazine’s cartoon staff meets Jules Feiffer meets Preston Sturges. Or, perhaps, none of that. The Royal Tenenbaums, at the time of its release, was arguably one of the most original movies, in tone and style, since Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H. The cast is pitch-perfect, and the film features Gene Hackman’s greatest work. (I know. That’s saying a lot. But it’s true.) Anderson and Owen Wilson were nominated for best original screenplay at the Oscars in 2002. With cinematography by the remarkable Robert Yeoman (Drugstore Cowboy, The Squid and the Whale)."

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A Patch Of Fog (2017)
A Patch Of Fog (2017)
2017 | International, Mystery
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Story: A Patch of Fog starts as we meet successful author and television presenter Sandy Duffy (Hill) that would like to return to the quiet life only to find himself caught shoplifting by security guard Robert (Graham). In an attempt to keep the story out of the papers tries to bribe Robert, who turns the tables on Sandy by blackmailing him into being his friend.

As Sandy tries to get himself out of the blackmail, he learns that Robert has a much darker side which puts his and his girlfriend, presenter Lucy (Pulver) lives at risk.

 

Thoughts on A Patch of Fog

 

Characters – Robert is mild mannered security guard in a general store, he is a lonely figure that takes advantage of the situation of power once he catches acclaimed author stealing in his store. He blackmails Sandy into being his friend and tries to stay one step ahead of him as he tries his best to escape from position. Sandy is the acclaimed author that has become a celebrity on television, though he wants to take a step away from the spotlight and the endless conversations about his book, A Patch of Fog. He tries his best to outsmart Robert though he can only get so far before learning Robert has everything planned out. Lucy is the television presenter just starting a relationship with Sandy, she has been trying to get the interview together for long time now.

Performances – Stephen Graham in the leading role as the slightly unhinged loner works very well, he shows that given the chance the moments of darkness can shine through. Conleth Hill is great in his role as the author that wants out of the limelight. When it comes to the rest of the cast they are fine without being overly involved in the main story.

Story – The story follows an author and celebrity being blackmailed by a security guard that catches him stealing. The story does come down to a cat-n-mouse style thriller where each character tries to stay ahead of the other, which brings twists along the way. This is a style of story telling we have seen before and it is one that is always interesting to watch unfold, by having both sides having secrets this does make it feel like one of the better ones too.

Thriller – This is a film that does keep you on the edge of your seat throughout as we wait to see just where things will go next.

Settings – The film does show the different lives both Robert and Sandy live, one with success, one with loneliness, though most of the scenes try to take place in everyday locations.


Scene of the Movie – The truth about A Patch of Fog.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not truly knowing is Robert has done this before or whether something made him snap.

Final Thoughts – This is a by the books blackmailing movie, it does keep you guessing throughout the film and with the two leads shining we did just want to see more.

 

Overall: By the book stalker thriller.

https://moviesreview101.com/2019/03/05/a-patch-of-fog-2015/
  
The Cuckoo's Calling
The Cuckoo's Calling
Robert Galbraith | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.0 (21 Ratings)
Book Rating
[The Cuckoo's Calling] by [Robert Galbraith aka J.K Rowling] was a mystery in the classic sense. The character of Cormoran Strike is one that a series can be built around and I could not really tell who the culprit was until it was revealed at the end. I was very pleased with this book and will be reading more of this series.

I did notice though that the author seems to like protagonists that are from broken families and have not had the best childhoods. Also the author seems to like to make the privileged the antagonists.
  
Romancing the Stone (1984)
Romancing the Stone (1984)
1984 | Action
All About The Stone
Romancing The Stone- is a classic action-adventure film. It has a great cast and director.

The plot: A dowdy romantic-adventure writer is hurled into a real-life adventure in the Colombian jungle in order to save her sister, who will be killed if a treasure map is not delivered to her captors. She is helped out by a brash mercenary, and together they search for the priceless gem located in the map.

Micheal Douglas and Danny DeVito are the best parts of this film. Also Robert Zemeckis directed it. Its a good film.
  
Heart and Souls (1993)
Heart and Souls (1993)
1993 | Comedy, Sci-Fi
9
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
"Absolutely wonderful movie that'll hit you in the feels!! I can't remember how I stumbled across this movie years ago, but after watching, it became one of my all time favourites. It almost has a Christmassy feel to it and certainly wouldn't be out of place on Xmas TV! Any later in the 90's and I can imagine this being offered to Jim Carrey, but thankfully Robert Downey Jr stepped up and was superb. Sedgwick, Woodard, Grodin & especially Sizemore are also at their very best. Do yourself a favour and hunt this down if you've never seen it before. The perfect date movie!"
  
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
1985 | International, Drama
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"A great film by Paul Schrader, best known for having penned a bunch of legendary screenplays for Martin Scorsese. The film revolves around Japanese writer Yukio Mishima, and jumps between the story of his life and dreamlike depictions of scenes from his books. It’s got a particularly good score by Philip Glass, who I usually find to be tedious, but this one is nice. Schrader’s use of color and set design during the book segments of the film are quite theatrical and feel closely related to Robert Wilson’s on Einstein on the Beach—although I don’t have any evidence to back that connection up. Great flick, though."

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One By One
One By One
Chris Carter | 2013 | Fiction & Poetry
10
9.8 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Description of murder (0 more)
One by one
My friend recommended this book to me and man, I could not be more grateful!!! Chris Carter is by far my favourite author.
It's been a while since a book had such an effect on me, as this one.
Detective Robert Hunter has to catch a sick murder, who broadcasts the murders, while getting the public to vote on how the victims are going to die.
Knowing how powerful social media is nowadays, I know that if this was to happen for real, people would vote and that scares me.
Seriously, the best description of murder ever.
I highly recommend this book to any true crime lover.
  
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Rachel Lambert recommended Wonder Boys (2000) in Movies (curated)

 
Wonder Boys (2000)
Wonder Boys (2000)
2000 | Comedy, Drama

"It’s dramatically different [from The Godfather] in terms of this town and the world of it. It’s a good movie, tremendously. I’m a writer, so obviously I enjoy the content because it’s about writer things and writer dramas and writer people. It’s just one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. I can watch that movie over and over again. Robert Downey Jr. gives one of his best performances ever. And very funny. And I love Michael Douglas in it; he’s great. But it also has this wonderful capacity for pathos in this very earned way. It doesn’t feel kitsch. It feels really earned and honest, so it can play those lines really well."

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BookblogbyCari (345 KP) rated Origin in Books

Aug 14, 2018  
Origin
Origin
Dan Brown | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
7.3 (21 Ratings)
Book Rating
Book Review by Cari Mayhew.

This is arguably the best Dan Brown book yet! I had been a big Dan Brown fan up until I read The Lost Symbol, which is his most tedious Robert Langdon book. But The Origin has made me a fan once again!

In the prologue, an accomplished computer scientist and atheist secretly meets up with 3 religious leaders, and there are 100 pages of build up before the scientist makes his announcement public – only to be assassinated a moment before his discovery is announced.

Central character Robert Langdon and his companion, the future queen of Spain, set out to unravel the mystery and make it public. But, halfway through the book, conspiracy theorists go wild - Robert is made out to be a kidnapper and becomes a wanted man.

As you might imagine, Dan Brown enabled the scientist’s message to be revealed, and this involved a science lesson for the reader. It was 2 chapters long, and to be honest I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Dan Brown’s Robert Landon books usually contain a profound, revelatory lesson, but in this book, the message didn’t feel particularly revelatory, and the nature of it could well be guessed at during the early stages of the book. (No spoilers!)

Right at the very end, however, was a disturbing twist when the identity of the individual leaking info to conspiracy.net is finally revealed. (Again no spoilers!)

I like how Dan Brown tells his tales through the minds of several of his characters in turn. It really adds depth to the story, giving insight into the bad characters as well as the good.

This time around, the best elements of the story were told in the personal sides of the events, rather than the main thread of the story, for example in the relationships between the prince and his father and the prince and his fiancé.

Sometimes Dan Brown’s scenes are done an injustice by being described in words, when the architectural pieces really belong on the big screen. Whilst I don’t find fault in the descriptions as such, I found it hard to picture the details.

Although the book has just over 100 chapters, these chapters are very brief, and you’ll likely read them in quick succession. If you decide to give the book a try, please stick it out to the end!

For more of my reviews, check out www.bookblogbycari.com
  
Maniac Cop (1988)
Maniac Cop (1988)
1988 | Action, Horror
Maniac Cop - one of the many 80s slashers that came about after the success of the original Halloween a decade before, and one that is actually pretty solid.

For a start, it has a decent cast including the always reliable Tom Atkins, a post Evil Dead II Bruce Campbell, final girl Laurene Landon, and even a small role for Robert Roundtree of Shaft fame.
It was written by B-movie legend Larry Cohen and directed by genre veteran William Lustig - all in all a pretty strong cast and crew, who all managed to turn this would be low budget trashy horror into a cult classic.

The Maniac Cop himself, played by Robert Z'Dar, cuts an imposing figure. The choice not to show his face for the majority of the run time lends him a creepy edge. He also has an uncomfortably massive chin... Throw in a load of blood flying about the place, some unsettling music score, and a pretty fun car chase near the climax, and it's easy to see why Maniac Cop is pretty beloved by horror fans.

80s horror is just the best.