Passed in 2010 R.I.P.

 

as happens every year we suffer great losses. 2010 hit me particularly hard. my mom passed as well as jill clayburgh a brilliant actress and friend. 

for all those who suffered personal loss this year i offer you my condolences. 

to those in the video you will be missed and i thank you all for sharing your talents.

Happy New Year 2011

has it really been 22 years?

All Good Things' ***stars

a love story, a crime story, the tale of a madman. good production values and better acting raise it above what might have been a lifetime movie of the week. it keep me engrossed and that's enough for me.

two thoughts: i can understand why ryan gosling's star is on the ascendant but can't understand why kirstens dunst's star has dimmed. she is beautiful, talented and charming. it's time for her to be noticed again.

lily rabe, daughter of jill clayburgh, in a supporting role is a scene stealer but no jill clayburgh.

Happy New Year from Hanoi, Vietnam

Kia ora everyone. As 2010 winds down I hope things are going well for you, wherever you find yourself on the planet. It's been quite a full-on year for me, but a good one.

I'm spending my last night of 2010 (and first couple of days of 2011) in Hanoi, Vietnam. In amongst the Temple of Literature, Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, water puppet theatre and other assorted sight-seeing and food tasting, I've also stumbled across a truly excellent second hand bookstore: Bookworm Hanoi. It touts itself as the 'best bookstore in Southeast Asia', and in my opinion (having travelled Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam over the past three weeks), it certainly is. I've been reading a bit on this trip (four crime novels thusfar - PHNOM PENH EXPRESS by Johan Smits (good), BANGKOK HAUNTS by John Burdett (great), THE NEON RAIN by James Lee Burke (great) and PROBABLE CAUSE by Theresa Schwegel (good)), but largely from books I either brought from New Zealand or picked up at the Brunei or Bangkok airports at the start. There has been little in the way of good, available crime novels on my travels - the odd one here or there in a hotel book exchange; that's where I picked up the Shwegel book - but Bookworm has a truly terrific selection (several hundred books), at great and fair prices (from 25 cents to US$5 for most - compared to the US$13 that a Hoi Ann bookstore specialising in 'new' photocopied books wanted for a secondhand real Michael Connelly book). Could do with a few more Kiwi crime novels, but oh well.

Honestly, I could spend hours in Bookworm browsing the shelves. My better half had to drag me out yesterday - but I guess that makes up for all the times I've been waiting, eyes glazed over, in handbag/dress/souvenir/handicraft/shoestores on this trip. Haha.

I'd upload a photo, but the Internet can be temperamental here, so the logo above will just have to do. Click on it for more information. I talked to the owner yesterday, and he's looking to start holding some literary events here in the city in 2011, including perhaps some crime fiction ones. So watch this space, and pop on in, if you're in this part of the world.

I hope you all have a safe and wonderful New Years. See you in 2011.

Happy Birthday Bebe

bebe is an amazing performer. she shined on the tv series 'cheers'. however, her greatest mark has been on the broadway stage. she won two tony awards for 'sweet charity' and 'chicago'. the film version of the latter would have been much better had she been cast as velma kelly. zeta jones was a huge mistake. but then again bebe wasn't married to michael douglas.

Movie Star of the Year

last year this title belonged to sandra bullock pulling in a gizzilion dollars with both 'the blind side' and 'the proposal'

this year the honor goes to the ever growing talent of leonardo decaprio with two of his films and two of my favorite 2010 films, 'inception' and 'shutter island', pulling in big bucks. he deserves the title. he just keeps growing as an actor and is the best of his generation.

'inception'

'shutter island'

both films are currently available on dvd and blu ray

When a Man Loves a Woman

mr and mrs mathews....she's as smart as he is.

you can feel the love and respect between this couple

needless to say chris and i share the same political beliefs...slightly left of center

'Black Swan': ****stars

first let me state that i've never been a fan of natalie portman. then i shall say that every once in awhile an actor gets a role of a lifetime like charlize theron in 'monster' and adrien brody in 'the pianist'. this is natalie's role of a lifetime. she is nothing less than extraordinary as a ballerina rehearsing the role of the swan queen in 'swan lake'. as she tries to enhance the role of the evil twin, the black swan, her descent into madness is slow but asured as she becomes more the black queen than the white queen twin. yes ms. portman is extraordinary and gives one of the greatest performances on screen ever.

'black swan' is in and of itself an extraordinary film. as it is one of the best of 2010 it will indeed be one of the best of this young decade. brilliantly directed by darren aronofsky it is so much more than a dance film. it is a 'horror' film in the best sense that madness is horrific.  if this film does not send shivers down your spine you may be dead.

the supporting cast truly supports the lead and unselfishly enhances her portrayal especially mila kunis and vincent cassell. barbara hershey shines as the mommie dearest of ballerina nina sayers.

run to see this film. i was shocked at how damn good it is. more shocked that natalie portman won me over. she's going to be hard to beat come oscar time.

The Worst Film of 2010 in Film: 'Alice in Wonderland'; Worst Actor, Actress and Director

'alice in wonderland' was one big mess. a waste of a whole lot of talent namely tim burton, johnny depp and helena bonham carter. the only actor who belonged in this waste of film was the annual winner for 'worst actress' ann hathaway. her yearly worst win is getting to be a bit of a bore. she is the only actress that could make a person root for the evil queen. enuf already.

unfortunately i'm not happy to award johnny depp the 'worst actor' of 2010 award for this same inane mess.

fittingly i have to give tim burton 'worst director' of 2010.

it's time for burton and depp to move on from each other. 'charlie and the chocolate factory' seems a masterpiece compared to this disaster.

worst actor of 2010: johnny depp in 'alice in wonderland'

(this pains me)

worst actresses of 2010: a tie!

(to be honest i couldn't make up my mind)

kim cattrall in 'sex and the city' and 'the ghost writer'

and

anne hathaway in 'alice in wonderland'

(it boggles the mind how these two women get parts in any movie)

worst director of 2010: tim burton for 'alice in wonderland'

The Worst Films of 2010 in Film: Let the Arguements Begin

for me the worst of the year are films that aspired to be the best. or at least damn good. they are films that starred or were directed by known talents or new talents. they all have one thing in common...they are awful. an awful waste of time.

i will grant that three of these have wound up on some 'best of 2010' lists and have even won some critic's awards. well we are all entitled to our own opinion. these ten films, (tomorrow i'll give the absolute worst) represent my opinion. and for the record i am right!.

so is alphabetical order #2 thru #10 are:


 

a major waste of talent. good cops, bad cops, corrupt cops. it's been done too many times before. simply put it is awful.

what a bitch! break up via snail mail with a guy in iraq. great move. amanda seyfried's character was the most despicable on screen this year. and that's pretty amazing considering the amoral hateful characters in the much better 'the social network'. only channing tatum survives this piece of garbage.

bore bore bore. this slot was going to be held by the deadly dull 'cairo time'. it was a toss up. 'eat pray love' won. or lost depending on your perspective.

some think it's great. it's getting respect from some critic groups. i think it's crap. i'm sorry i do. i think polanski is brilliant. a faux tale trying to excuse tony blair's complicity with the never ending iraq war. this film seemed as never ending. who cares? and who the hell thought kim cattrall could actually be taken seriously in a dramatic role? her zombie like performance made a bad film worse.

the kids are not all right. the two mothers are not alright. they all turn out to be miserable human beings who wind up manipulating the emotions of a biological father, sperm donor,  minding his own business until they come along again. mark ruffalo is the only redeeming character in this film getting the shaft from a self centered dysfunctional family. all families are dysfunctional. this group takes it to new and slimier heights.

simply put it's a mess. jake get someone to read scripts for you. between this and 'love and other drugs' you are killing your career.

the newest installment of ugly americans abroad. it killed a franchise that was already on life support after the first film. and enough of kim cattral already.

an all star mess as most all star movies are.

stereotypes in the most boring film of the year. the critics love it. or think they should to prove they are not elitists. if you are addicted to sleeping pills and want to break the habit watch this every night instead. but it may be coma producing.


tomorrow: the worst film of 2010.

'Eat Pray Love' or 'Kvetch Kvetch Kvetch' Rates *star

it took me awhile to catch up with this one and i still did not wait long enough. bore bore bore. this movie started and proceeded to nowhere but took 2hours and 20 minutes to get there. julia roberts is ever charming and generally accessible on film but not this time. her performance is as removed and remote. she even made eating in rome look boring and dull. that in itself s a major fete but not the presumed desired end result. skip it. go out for a good italian meal as the one in this film is rancid.

Oscarbation: '127 Hours' Is One of the Years Best

another film that will make my best of 2010. james franco is amazing. danny boyle directs this brilliant film. the grand canyon has never looked better. it's still in theaters so catch it on the big screen where the cinematography really needs to be seen.

Currently reading: THE NEON RAIN by James Lee Burke

Greetings from Vietnam. Along with all my reviewing etc for various newspapers, magazines, and websites, and the odd Reading Challenge or two, I've decided that over the next few months I'm going to do a bit of an 'Origins' series, looking at the debut books of popular and longstanding detectives or crime fiction characters. To go back and read the first books in long series. To look at how these characters were first introduced, described, etc - often before the authors had any idea they would end up being a series character (or at least such a long-running or popular one).

So while I'm travelling here in Vietnam, and having finished PHNOM PENH EXPRESS by Johan Smits (good) and BANGKOK HAUNTS by John Burdett (great), I'm now reading THE NEON RAIN by James Lee Burke, which introduces Cajun detective Dave Robicheaux. Unsurprisingly, it's terrific.

I will post more about this on my return to New Zealand in the New Year. In the meantime, have you read any of the Dave Robicheaux novels? What do you think of him as a character, a detective? Who are some of your favourite longstanding detectives? What other 'origins' books should I have in my series. Comments appreciated.

Mash-Up 2010

two more 2010 year end mash-ups worth taking a look at

The Most Wonderful Day of the Year'

Greg McGee flattered, but denies he's Alix Bosco

Apologies for the lack of blog activity - I am travelling through Vietnam with little to no Internet access. Hope you have all been having a wonderful lead-up to Xmas and the holiday season.

Onto the crime fiction stuff - as many of you who regularly read this blog will know, there has been a fair bit of speculation over the past few months as to the identity of pseudonymed New Zealand thriller writer 'Alix Bosco', speculation that only increased when the author became a finalist, then won, the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel. There have been many rumours about possible identities, and one recurring one centres on acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Greg McGee (pictured). In the current (Summer) edition of Book Notes, the magazine of the New Zealand Book Council, McGee addresses the rumours at the end of an article looking at some recent thrillers. You can read his article, including his comments about Alix Bosco, his/her thrillers (McGee has been part of the team adapting CUT & RUN for television), etc, here.

Hat tip to the always-excellent Graham Beattie for the heads-up on the Book Notes article (I'm a little out of the loop over here in SE Asia).

Merry Xmas to all, wherever you may be in this wonderful world of ours. Hope you enjoy some great holiday reading!

'Carol of the Bells'

Remembering Ava on Her Birthdate

i loved ava gardner. she was earthy. and she was a beauty. was she a great actress? probably not. but she had a screen presence that better actresses did not. she does have some memorable roles. and she has one absolutely brilliant performance. as maxine faulk in 'the night of the iguana' she stood her ground with two of the screen's finest deborah kerr and richard burton. in fact given the showier role her performance came off as the film's best. not getting an oscar nom in 1964 for this role when mary poppins and molly brown did is an ultimate oscar insult. well that being said we lost ava too soon. but she lived...damn did she live!!!

if you only see one ava film in your life make it tennessee williams 'the night of the iquana'. it is quite remarkable as directed by john houston. the cast is stellar all around. treat yourself to a classic.

ava and richard burton

the trailer