DVD
Hard Candy. After meeting in a chat room, 14-year-old girl Hayley meets 30-something Jeff at a coffee shop, goes back to his place for drinks, and Jeff gets the camera out. But, it turns out that Hayley may be the predator. The reviewer at allmovie wrote "Of course, topicality can only get a film so far in terms of finding it an audience, and despite the controversial and somewhat off-putting central concept, it's a clever combination of tense thrills and directorial restraint that prove the ultimate key to Hard Candy's success."
Thank You For Smoking. A movie with an "All Star Cast!" that's actually funny. Publicist Nick Naylor "gleefully manipulates everyone and everything in his path" in his work to support smoking and defend tobacco companies.
Mission Impossible: III. Tom Cruise returns as agent Ethan Hunt working to rescue a fellow agent kidnapped by arms dealer Davian. This is supposed to be the best Mission Impossible movie by far. So, stop fretting over Cruise's press statements and enjoy the picture.
DaVinci Code. The big-time bestseller brought to life on screen. Unfortunately I ordered the full screen version instead of the widescreen version.
The Filth and the Fury: A Sex Pistols Film. The Pistols lasted for 26 months and one album, just long enough to cause a furor and have a disastrous U.S. tour. Lucky for you they filmed it, huh?
Go for Zucker. German comedy about pool shark and gambler Jaecki Zucker. After jackie's mother dies he has to feign being an Orthodox Jew to receive his inheritance. Not an easy thing to do since Jackie lapsed years ago, and his wife is a gentile.
Lake House. Not to be confused with the James Patterson novel. Doctor Kate has mail ging to her old lake house forwarded to her new address. Instead she gets mail from the previous owner architect Alex. Their letters are somehow traveling through time to one another.
CDs
The Crane Wife by the Decemberists. Allmusic calls them"an accordion- and bouzouki-wielding, British folk-inspired collective from Portland, OR, that dresses in period Civil War outfits and has been known to cover Morrisey" and gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Meltdown by Justin Roberts. A kids music CD. Featured on the Today Show and full of songs kids love.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
More New Fiction, 29 November '06
Wild Fire by Nelson DeMille. A realistic and detailed novel by DeMille. In 2002 former NYPD Detective John Corey and his FBI agent wife, Kate, investigate a right wing plot to destroy two U.S. cities with suitcase nukes. The explosions will set in place a secret government plan for retaliation that would flatten most of the Middle East.
Chasing the Dead by Joe Schreiber. Thirty-Four year old single mom Sue Young gets a call telling her that her infant daughter has been kidnapped. A mix of crime and horror as the kidnapper forces Sue to travel through the night and complete various tasks in penance for a childhood crime Sue committed.
Hidden Assassins by Robert Wilson. Seville, Spain Police Inspector Jefe Javier Falcon investigates the explosion of an apartment building. A mosque had been in the basement and the question is: Were the mosque members careless with their own explosives, or were they targeted? "Wilson constructs a richly layered, intricately plotted story that examines the corrosive consequences of all types of terrorism, from the geopolitical to the domestic, on victims and perpetrators."
Giraffe by J.M. Ledgard. I ordered this book because it is based on a bizarre incident in communist Czechoslovakian zoo. The world's largest herd of captive giraffes was killed by the government in 1975 with no official explanation provided. Ledgard imagines the people behind the story and includes the scientist hired to follow the herd after their African capture, to the sharpshooter assigned to kill the animals.
Hard Way by Carol Lea Benjamin. Private Investigator Rachel Alexander, and her dog Dashiell, go undercover as a homeless person to investigate the murder of a retired businessman who was pushed in front of a NY subway train.
Chasing the Dead by Joe Schreiber. Thirty-Four year old single mom Sue Young gets a call telling her that her infant daughter has been kidnapped. A mix of crime and horror as the kidnapper forces Sue to travel through the night and complete various tasks in penance for a childhood crime Sue committed.
Hidden Assassins by Robert Wilson. Seville, Spain Police Inspector Jefe Javier Falcon investigates the explosion of an apartment building. A mosque had been in the basement and the question is: Were the mosque members careless with their own explosives, or were they targeted? "Wilson constructs a richly layered, intricately plotted story that examines the corrosive consequences of all types of terrorism, from the geopolitical to the domestic, on victims and perpetrators."
Giraffe by J.M. Ledgard. I ordered this book because it is based on a bizarre incident in communist Czechoslovakian zoo. The world's largest herd of captive giraffes was killed by the government in 1975 with no official explanation provided. Ledgard imagines the people behind the story and includes the scientist hired to follow the herd after their African capture, to the sharpshooter assigned to kill the animals.
Hard Way by Carol Lea Benjamin. Private Investigator Rachel Alexander, and her dog Dashiell, go undercover as a homeless person to investigate the murder of a retired businessman who was pushed in front of a NY subway train.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
New Books, 28 November 2006
Treasure of Khan by Clive and Dirk Cussler. Dirk Pitt rescues a boat crew in Siberia's Lake Baikal and goes on to discover a Mongolian tycoon intent on becoming a modern day Genghis Khan. Pitt travels from Russia to the Gobi Desert.
Next by Michael Crichton. From the book description, "Next blends fact and fiction into a breathless tale of a new world where nothing is what it seems and a set of new possibilities can open at every turn." Modern science has made the intense similarities between monkey and human advantageous. Science has also made the similarities among humans advantageous - Need a new kidney? Let me look around for you.
Brother Odd by Dean Koontz. Koontz's third novel featuring Odd Thomas. Thomas lives in a monastery in the Sierra Nevada mountains and can see the spirits of the dead. Thomas has previously used his ability to solve crimes and prevent tragedy, but he has trouble discovering the cause of his latest visions.
L.A. Rex by Will Beall. A rookie policeman tries to hide his friendship with a ganglord as he and his experienced partner investigate a murder in South Central Los Angeles. Very gritty, written by a LAPD Officer.
Act of Treason by Vince Flynn. A presidential candidate's motorcade is attacked by terrorists two weeks before the election. After the candidate's wife dies, he sweeps into office. CIA agent Mitch Rapp is told to follow an evidence trail that leads back to Washington.
Next by Michael Crichton. From the book description, "Next blends fact and fiction into a breathless tale of a new world where nothing is what it seems and a set of new possibilities can open at every turn." Modern science has made the intense similarities between monkey and human advantageous. Science has also made the similarities among humans advantageous - Need a new kidney? Let me look around for you.
Brother Odd by Dean Koontz. Koontz's third novel featuring Odd Thomas. Thomas lives in a monastery in the Sierra Nevada mountains and can see the spirits of the dead. Thomas has previously used his ability to solve crimes and prevent tragedy, but he has trouble discovering the cause of his latest visions.
L.A. Rex by Will Beall. A rookie policeman tries to hide his friendship with a ganglord as he and his experienced partner investigate a murder in South Central Los Angeles. Very gritty, written by a LAPD Officer.
Act of Treason by Vince Flynn. A presidential candidate's motorcade is attacked by terrorists two weeks before the election. After the candidate's wife dies, he sweeps into office. CIA agent Mitch Rapp is told to follow an evidence trail that leads back to Washington.
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