Notable People: Taylor Kitsch, Michael C. Hall, Logan Marshall- Green, Ellen Hoss Created by: Mans Marlind
Title: The Defeated
Review: German series, originally titled Shadowplay, and taking place in the allied-divided Berlin immediately after the close of the second war- this show is a riveting look at the chaos of the times and the growing imminence of the Cold War. Kitsch shines as a war worn New York cop sent to the American sector of Berlin to train a novice volunteer police force, led by the compelling Hoss. The plot thickens with the underbelly of Max (Kitsch) trying to track down his deranged army-deserter bother, Moritz (Green), who is busy tracing down and creating grizzly deaths for surviving Nazis in hiding. Very well written and a potent glance ta the times. Clearly due for a second season.
Review: this is the fourth in this very interesting series about Amos Decker, brain inured survivor of his family’s murder-massacre and current oddball FBI consultant. Decker’s Ohio State football brain injury resulted in perfect memory but muted emotional capability……he is quite the character. This book takes him back to his hometown of Burlington, Ohio for the birthday of his late daughter, and winds up in a very convoluted set of murders and potential espionage that Decker cannot walk away from. The characters are very strong in these books and Decker emerging sense of being able to have relationships is well conceived. Baldacci is a very good writer and keeps you captivated throughout. For those who like the genre, this series is a keeper.
Review: Who doesn’t like revisiting an old friend? Accidentally ran into this book, from the Mitry and Berger mystery series that I had last left off about 15 year ago. Surprisingly, Handler has kept putting out this series (since late 90s) about a determined Black female state trooper in remote Connecticut and her dubious partner in crime, a Jewish New York movie critic relocated from the city……. who she calls “doughboy” due to his penchant for all things doughnut and his resulting physique. I always liked these books, even though they are not world class writing………but the characters are really quite well developed and the setting of the remote village of Dorset, along the glitzy Long Island Sound area of Connecticut are quite the draws. There is great Jewish grandmother character in the weeds here, who seems to be the second coming of Bella Abzug. I am excited to rediscover these books, and have taken three out of the library. Quick, entertaining reads for the chilly nights ahead. By the way, Handler is clearly devotee of the great, great John D. McDonald, who wrote all his fantastic Travis McGee novels with colors in the titles.
Notable People: Robin Wright, Demián Bichir, Kim Dickens Directed by: Robin Wright
Title: Land
Review: Released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO, this is clearly a labor of love written, produced, directed and starring Robin Wright. It’s quite a turnaround from her years long spin on House of Lies. Quiet and moving film, with no real surprises- the themes have been done many times before and it is a bit predictable, but Wright and Bichir have great chemistry, and the cinematography is way worth the price of admission. Ever dream of living on a mountaintop and totally off the grid? This is a pretty good portrayal of that until the troops mysteriously come to the rescue. Worth a cold night on HBO.
Review: A magnificent rebound in the Gamache series for Penny after her previous work, “Still Life”, which was the least compelling in this wonderful series. Armand Gamache is on suspension as the head of the Quebec Surete (Provincial Police) and chasing all kinds of ghosts in the mystical village of Three Pines. The regular characters just get better and better and Penny is willing to go out on a limb to tackle real work problems and complex relationships in her fictional accounts. As always, the mind and heart of Gamache are the backbone of these books, and a magical exploration it is. Penny’s acknowledgment sections are surprising personal, frank and moving and make you feel like a valuable part of her writing (never experienced that before)- and in this one she movingly talks about coming back to these books after her husband, Michael (the inspiration for Gamache) died, and she had decided she would not continue the series….but her muse called, and she is back better than ever. These are don’t miss stories regardless of genre.
Review: WIN is another intriguing character from the mind of the prolific Corbin, who also writes the Myron Bolitar mystery series (WIN is a fictional chum of Myron’s). WIN is short for Windsor Horne Lockwood III, a top of the line blue blood New Yorker, martial arts expert, borderline personality/narcissist, who unabashedly performs acts of violence in the interest of what he sees as necessary justice, while enjoying a life more or less in the style of Bruce Wayne (if I have to tell you how that is, we are in trouble here). The book has WIN delving back into a fatal bombing by a 60s militant group, woven into a story of the heist of major art works of Vermeer and Picasso, late night exclusive arranged hook-ups for the rich, sex abuse horrors and the mob……it’s a lot folks……but hard to put down. Corbin writes well, if a bit egotistically smug. The book should all be films in my view, and if you like suspense/mystery/wild yarns, give this one a gander.
Notable People: Michelle Terry, Ellie Haddington, June Watson Created by: Michelle Terry and Ralf Little
Title: The Cafe
Review: Cute and quirky English comedy about three generations of very stoic woman running a seaside café in remote Britain. Wonderful cast of zany characters and almost slapstick type of situations. Droll in the finest British comedic tradition. Phoebe Waller Bridge seemed to hone what would become her infamous Fleabag character as aide player on this show. A very nice diversion if you usually watch intense serial dramas , and at around 20 minutes per episode, it’s a refreshing quickie. Two seasons and out, unlikely to return given last season was in 2013.
Notable People: Daisy Haggard, Adeel Akhtar, Created by: Laura Salon, Daisy Haggard
Title: Back to Life
Review: Really offbeat show- sometimes comical, sometimes very dramatic, starring the wonderful Haggard, who is an undiscovered gem waiting to happen. She plays a 40 y/o woman returning to a staid seaside British community after 19 year in prison for killing her best friend……which it’s very unclear whether she did or not. Her indomitable spirit provides the spark against a series of mountainous adjustments. Akhtar is the gentle neighbor who everyone would want on their side in a crisis. Not sure if this is one series off, but may come back. This one is a sleeper.
Notable People: Jeff Daniels, Maura Tierney, Alex Nuestaedtner, Created by: Dan Futtermen
Title: American Rust
Review: Dark and foreboding drama set in the far reaches of Western Pennsylvania coal country. Daniels shines as the lonely and depressed Police Chief, hiding/running away from a past as a Pittsburgh Detective. The critics really did not like this show, for reasons I can’t really understand. It is a bit slow moving, and, at times, a bit predictable. But, Daniels is a tour de force (as always) in a complicated role and the supporting cast is really good. The cinematography brilliantly captures the area’s fade and despair, and the music is dead on. Nuestaedtner shines as confused former town football hero, stuck in his home town and charged with murder. I anticipated Sundays each week to see the next installment. Anything with Jeff Daniels is worth watching. Season finale left the door open for another season.
Good morning and “Wakey, Wakey…. hands off Snakey” (Rake):
“When fear is finished, there are no more problems to be resolved, only life to be lived” ………………………………………………………………………………………Michael Kewley
“Sudden the cold airs swing. Alone, aloud. A verse of bells take wing. And flies with the cloud.” ……………………………………………………………………………. Alice Meynell
“I’ll get the Last Train to Tulsa, right before the snow….…. if you ever need a ride there, be sure and let me know” …………………………………………………. Neil Young
Slow down, you move too fast…. gotta make the morning last……. blah, blah, blah……Feelin’ Groovy………the hoar frost arrives each morning……. the last browns and oranges hang on for dear life on almost bare trees……warmish rain turns to brittle sunshine chill……………dark, dark, darkness…… begins its ascent in middish afternoon………must be time to go……lift your wings and fly away……to the land of the corn and wheat…..time to go….
One more rainy Sunday led us out after multiple days sequestered at home……to a last drive down through the quaint villages……East Wallingford, Weston, Londonderry, Stratton…. last of the fall colors with moments of retro brilliance….on to the Kings of Sausage at Honeypie……then the ghost town walk at Hapgood Pond…where Lucy goes so bat shit crazy to be on her beloved trail, that she somehow loses her harness…..how can that happen?
Mr. O’Bleary’s Cow………lives up the road at Dennis the Drunk’s house……a pathetic, skin on bone creature that brays at the moon in midday, which really confuses Lucy………this the most recent in a yearly effort to fatten a bulimic bovine for winter food stock….by the time he has the poor Elsie slaughtered……….2-3 meals at most, my guess.
Found a new mountain car repair place………Chris is down in Clarendon and changed my oil for a third of the price of the chains…….in his little garage behind a freewheelin’’ church on a dirt road………no receipt, no tax, just a hand shake (very dirty hands) with the mountain man mechanista……
Got The Bullfrog- Pond Blues- usually more than ready to leave the oozing-out, declining, evaporating Pond behind by this time of year…. when all efforts to keep it near the brim have failed……But Not……look at that puppy……as if it had just filled up from the winter snowmelt runoff……where are the men that I used to sport with?
Friday was cold but very sunny, so off for our last drive- walk adventure…..across the great Connecticut to the “Live Free or Die” and “We Love the Trumpster” province……mostly because the live free nutcakes are also tax free and have no six taxes……so a big ass bottle of fine bourbon for the road, at half the price….and then stop at the quirky Hungry Diner in Walpole……for last dine outside in the sunshine experience……great place, creative comfort cuisine….but when you get the bill it is always more than you thought…..finally figured out they are levying an additional tax for “livable wage for their employees’…..which I support in theory, but wonder who should pay for…..though clearly all who work there have drunk the cool aid….so guess it works..
And speaking of “lasts” …. made the trip down the hill last night to Rut-town for one more glorious Chinese extravaganza at our beloved “East” ……. went gloriously out of the box with our fist Pu-Pu Platter in a decade…. will miss our corner/window Sunday night table……. anyone care for rituals?
And speaking of lasts, number two……Having our first, last and only supper gathering of the year tonight……to bid farewell to a bunch of our closest peeps on The Mount…..The Erstwhile Russian Spy, The Worlds Most Beloved School- Marm, the empress of General Electric, The Masseuse in the Trailer, and her partner, The King of Snow Machines…….will all be here…..which means one last ridiculous housecleaning (TQ has rules about this)….and hiding all the detritus of getting packed to leave (more TQ rules)….there’ll be a whole lot of shakin’ goin’ on……
I imagine I’ll see TQ sometime before the dinner guests arrive though at the moment she is out in the countryside flirting with the Dumpmaster, dropping off at plant daycare, looking for more pine trees to randomly dig up, mulching her heart out, all over the land….and generally presiding as the town angel and Her Majesty of the Lake…………. people may not notice that I have left…. but TQ will be missed…….
So…. off Thursday for The Heartland…. Now it’s time to say goodbye to all our family…M-I-C…see ya real soon….K-E-Y…why, because we love you…………stay very well and keep in touch….might drop a Blog-Bomb or two during the winter….but who knows….
