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Felicity Huffman recommended Rudderless (2014) in Movies (curated)

 
Rudderless (2014)
Rudderless (2014)
2014 | Drama
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"People might question this but Rudderless, which was directed by my husband [William H. Macy]. But I say Rudderless because of two things. One is because of the way the movie was structured, and the way Bill directed it. The audience got to experience in a small way, I think, what parents get to experience when their child does something horrific. That you’re going along with one experience of your child, which is, “He or she is like this, and this is the kind of person they are, and I love them dearly.” And then they do some horrific, incomprehensible action and it pulls the rug out from under you. And Bill did that and the movie Rudderless does that; it pulls a rug out from under you. Your breath gets knocked out of you, you go, “[Gasp].” And suddenly you are reevaluating Billy Crudup’s relationship with his son from a completely different perspective and, again, I just think that’s masterful storytelling. The other reason is Billy Crudup’s performance. And, acting with Billy Crudup, I mean, what, did I do two scenes with him, maybe three? It really changed the target for me. I went, “Oh that’s what good acting is.” Really, and it really informed my work on American Crime. So for me it was a clinic on great acting. So for those two reasons."

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Spying on the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide
Spying on the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide
Tony Horwitz | 2019 | History & Politics
(0 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"Like many people I was stunned and saddened when the world lost Tony Horwitz. I had met Tony and his wife, Geraldine Brooks, at several book functions over the years, and I marveled at his comingling of journalism and storytelling, as he traveled the world in search of knowledge. I was introduced to Horwitz, as many were, with Confederates in the Attic. In this, unfortunately his last book, Horwitz travels the south again as he traces the footsteps of Frederick Law Olmsted, who would find fame and fortune as a landscape architect, with perhaps his crowning glory being Central Park in New York. Horwitz travels throughout the south and talks to people from all walks of life in an effort to figure out what has changed in America, or if it’s always been so divided. And if there is a pathway forward to forge a national consensus on anything. Like Bill Bryson has done in his travels, and Mark Twain did well over a century before, Horwitz has not simply written a book chronicling his journey, he has opened the heart of America, its majesty and its darkness for all to see. We all will miss Tony Horwitz and what he has brought to our collective conscience. If you’ve never read him, this would be an ideal place to start."

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Becs (244 KP) rated This Is The Life in Books

Oct 2, 2019  
This Is The Life
This Is The Life
Alex Shearer | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry
2
2.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I actually ended up DNF-ing (Did Not Finish) this novel because I just couldn’t get into it. I read about 50 pages and was just so bored with the story, the writing, the plot. There just wasn’t any part of the story that appealed to me, which I find so hard to believe because I can generally get into any book and love it.

I will not be trying to reread this as it’s honestly one of those books I can never see myself getting into. When I first picked it up, the synopsis gave me a hint of a memoir style of reading and I absolutely love memoirs. But as I read, I was just blown away with how boring the writing was. There was no sense of wonder and even the story was just lacking that hint of storytelling that makes a story this grand thing, that catches your attention, and leaves you wanting more.

Don’t let my opinion on this affect whether you pick This Is the Life up for yourself, because you never know, you could love it!

“When she’d gone I said to Louis, ‘How come no one here has any worries?’ He looked at me, puzzled. ‘Everyone says “No worries,” ‘ I told him. ‘I can’t believe they don’t have any.’ “
  
Child's Play (2019)
Child's Play (2019)
2019 | Horror
Mark Hammill (0 more)
Took liberties with the original film series' canon. (0 more)
A good modernization of the cult classic killer doll film.
As a man in my 30s, I grew up on the original Child's Play and the sequels that followed. So, I was half excited and half worried when this reboot/remake was announced. So many attempts by Hollywood to bring back beloved and cult classics have failed miserably and ruined the magic of the originals. Through the first 20 or so minutes of this one, I was worried this one would fall into this category. And while I wasn't completely thrilled with the film's liberties taken with the doll's origin story, it was easy to set aside due to some decent storytelling. You get to know Chucky in these scenes and a basis for his later acts is laid. You feel for him, and you laugh (a thing done often in the Child's Play canon.) Then, the 2nd and 3rd acts of the film ramp up and continue to build in an understandable, graphic gorefest with a horror plot to keep you riveted. Although I am a purist and would have preferred they stick closer to the original, I thoroughly enjoyed this modernization of the killer doll tale. (But I'll never forget Charles Lee Ray or the chant of dooey de dim bella, give me the power I beg of you!)
  
    That Dragon, Cancer

    That Dragon, Cancer

    Games

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

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    An immersive, narrative experience that retells Joel Green’s 4-year fight against cancer through...

Citizen Kane (1941)
Citizen Kane (1941)
1941 | Classics, Drama, Mystery
Orson Welles' Citizen Kane is the Citizen Kane of modern movie-making. That doesn't make a lot of sense, but it tells you everything about the place of this film in our culture. Amoral narcissist inherits a huge fortune, accrues even more wealth and power by peddling fake news, but finds his political ambitions thwarted by a sex scandal (which just goes to show you how different life is from the movies).

Trying to ascertain the extent of Citizen Kane's influence on the movies is a bit like trying to map the coastline of the USA without leaving Kansas: the film is packed with so many narrative and technical innovations it's impossible to conceive of the impact it had on the industry. Terrific performances and a clever, serious script about the dangers of choosing the love of power over the power of love, and many moments and images of throwaway genius. You might have expected Welles to make more of the possibilities for unreliable narration in the movie, plus some of his technical virtuosity seems more geared towards showing off than thought-through storytelling, but this is still a genuine classic. One wonders what else Welles might have achieved, had he been allowed to continue to make films with all the resources of Hollywood behind him - but it wasn't to be. Still, this film alone guarantees him immortality.
  
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Andy K (10823 KP) May 24, 2020

Well said