Author: stumberry

Film Review- Moonrise Kingdom

Title: Moonrise Kingdom

Genre: Film

Grade: B+

Notable People: Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Francis Mcdormand, Harvey Keitel, Edward Norton…and a group of really talented kids. Directed by Wes Anderson.

Review: I really liked this whimsical movie about a scout pack on a remote island in 1965. All the adult stars are “out of type” but really good and the kids steal the show. Lots of hidden values, quite funny and a surprisingly moving love story. Beautiful location shoot and the camera work is wonderful. Great summer movie.

Novel Review- The “Kamil Pasha” series- Jenny White

Title: The “Kamil Pasha” series

Genre: Novels

Grade: A-

Notable People: Jenny White

Review: OK- so I’ve become a bit obsesses with 19th century Istanbul. These are a series of novels- like the ones I had previously reviewed featuring the “eunuch detective”- set at the end of the reign of the Turkish empire. White’s novels are better written than the first set and captivating. The protagonist- Kamil Pasha- is a “magistrate” in the local courts and a compassionate crime solver; a man ahead of his time in highly structured and rigid society. The historical basis are fascinating and the mysteries are great. White is a social anthropologist at Boston University and knows her stuff. This is a well worth it summer reading project.

Film Review- Moonrise Kingdom

Title: Moonrise Kingdom

Genre: Film

Grade: B+

Notable People: Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Francis Mcdormand, Harvey Keitel, Edward Norton…and a group of really talented kids. Directed by Wes Anderson.

Review: I really liked this whimsical movie about a scout pack on a remote island in 1965. All the adult stars are “out of type” but really good and the kids steal the show. Lots of hidden values, quite funny and a surprisingly moving love story. Beautiful location shoot and the camera work is wonderful. Great summer movie.

Film Review- To Rome with Love

Title: To Rome with Love

Genre: Film

Grade: A-

Notable People: Directed by Woody Allen, Alec Baldwin, Ellen Page, Roberto Benigni, Penelope Cruz, Jesse Eisenberg

Review: Disclaimer: I am a devotee of the Woodman. That said, this is another in his recent love songs to foreign lands; a he did with London, Barcelona and Paris- Woody paints a masterpiece of Rome’s beauty. The story is classic new century neurosis. Baldwin is a hoot, Cruz is devastating, Page is herself…and this one features the return of the Woodman in a smaller role- with a psychoanalyst wife that matches him for the ages. If you eve liked a woody- you gotta go.

Novel Review- The Death Instinct- Jed Rubinfield

Title: The Death Instinct

Genre: Novel

Grade: A-

Notable People: Jed Rubinfield

Review: this Harvard Law professor has produced a beauty; the story of aftermath of the great September terrorist attack on Lower Manhattan…..in 1920!!! Who knew- based on facts about an amazingly hidden incident in American history. It has Wilson, Harding, Madame Curie and Freud and it’s a page turner to boot. Will make you think twice about 9/11. Spellbinding.

Film Review- The Hunger Games

Title: The Hunger Games

Genre: Film

Grade: B+

Notable People: Jennifer Lawrence, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Sidney Tucci, Donald Sutherland

Review: Tess and I went to see this for my birthday after a month long wait for a data. Worth the wait. The two of us read the trilogy last year at same time so were highly eager for the film. These are tough books to make into film- but it is a an admirable job. I was surprised the film was able to capture the struggle to maintain humanity amidst the horror. Lawrence is a revelation as the heroine Katniss. Harrelson is quite the part and Tucci is to die for. Banks is unrecognizable and Lenny Kravitz has a very key small part. Great scenery and captures the angst of it all…. And the metaphors.

Film Review- Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Title: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Genre: Film

Grade: B+

Notable People: Emily Blunt, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ewan Macgregor

Review: I think the title probably tells you all you need to know; delightful movie about uptight English people trying to help a very rich and mystical Sheik to create a dam and bring salmon fishing to the middle est. Thomas is a force.

Novel Review- The Yashim series- Jason Goodwin

Title: The Yashim series

Genre: Novels

Grade: A-

Notable People: Jason Goodwin

Review: I previously wrote about the fist of these books that I read- and have now read all four in the current series. If you like intrigue in 19th century Istanbul; filled with sultans, pashas, harems and thousands of years of mythology- then these are for you. Very well written and amazing sense of the history and culture- and did I mention that our here- Yashim- is a Eunuch? Give it a try..

Film Review- The Artist

Title: The Artist

Genre: Film

Grade: A-

Notable People: Director: Michel Hazanavicius. . Actors: Jean Dujardin · Bérénice Bejo· John Goodman · James Cromwell

Review: You’ve heard a lot about this film and all valid. I loved it- but I think you really have to be a fan of old films to really get juiced by it. The acting s magnificent and it is a veritable love song to the cinema. The credits-which look like they came from Casablanca- are worth it alone.