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Infinity Pool - Brandon Cronenberg
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 164
This made the list, then somehow got forgotten about. And so I watched last night/this morning.
A lot to digest.
The premise, a couple on vacation discover that their wealth excludes them from the consequences of their actions.
Beautifully shot, explored, amazing locations and sets, and, as per family tradition, the judicious use of gore.
An uncomfortable watch, henceforth the poor reviews, but - very well done. An absolutely savage portrayal of (Insert Nationality Here) on Vacation, of privilege, wealth, of the inanity of resort vacations, and an excruciating dissection of lives lived without consequence or accountability.
An excellent film, stylistically shot but not entirely to my taste - or to most peoples, I suspect, hence the poor reviews, the truth here is flayed in exquisite detail, and there's not a single sympathetic character (other than that of the detective, who perfectly rebukes them with the lines: "You feel you have been inconvenienced?" &"Our country is not a playground for foreign Children...".)
Now back to work.
High Noon
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 148
The last on my "Western" themed movie, "High Noon" with Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Lloyd Bridges and a very young (and underutilized Villain) Lee Van Cleef, whom you'd recognize as the Villain from "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" Trilogy.
The hook for this one is that it's filmed in "Real Time", or rather, the action of the film is supposed to be the hour and half leading up to the showdown. A Marshal gets married (Middle aged Gary Cooper, Young Grace Kelly), and when about to leave for his honeymoon is forced to stay back and deal with some outlaws arriving on the Noon train.
OK, the hook of "real time" is of course a little overstated, while the clocks in the movie keep pace with the time, action is condensed to fit the narrative.
Better than "The Searchers", but I'm rather done with the Western Genre...
The Sandman
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Blog
- Hits: 145
This was a small part of E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Sandman" - I recognized it instantly.
I actually thought it was an Austrian Folktale - Krampus, after all, but no, this is all Hoffmann...
Tales of Hoffmann - E.T.A. Hoffmann
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Books
- Hits: 211
A selection of grotesque and supernaturally inspired stories by E.T.A. Hoffman, perfect for Christmas.
Lots of notes made and googling to be done afterwards, his stories, both comical, thrilling (after the fashion of Shelley), Ghost Stories filled with sleepwalkers, psychics, odd characters that seem to exist between worlds, the Wandering Jew, for example, capturing in turns the implacable remembrance of love, those moments one knows will never be repeated, of true-love generally thwarted, of fashions and news of his day, for example he spins the tale of a miner who was found perfectly preserved in Copper Sulfate, only to be identified by his widow of 50 years, a true tale (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fet-Mats), then embellishes upon it to create a story of a sailor drawn to the Mine at Falun by a supernatural agent, not that the events at Falun were by the fashion of the day not fantastic enough, expositions that rely upon unknown circumstance and incredible coincidence, both fantastic and yet relatable, The character, for example of Chancellery Private Secretary Tusmann, whose taste in books somewhat reflects mine own, for example: 1720 "Cicero Presented as a Great Windbag and Pettifogger in Ten Orations" and from whose varied list of recommendations of books long out of fashion I'm led on to:
Wiegleb's - Natural Magic (a practical book on conjuring, or Magic as practiced by Penn & Teller, written in the late 1700's)
Nudow's "Theory of Sleep",
Frankfurt Dream book
Artemidorus - on dreams & Excerpts Here
Anyways, a light but suitable holiday read. Now off to do some work...
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