Carl Deuker -- Books, Movies, TV

 So far, not so good.  The show is heading toward a climactic performance at MSG for Deborah Vance, but they don't seem to have material to get there.  One entire episode opening a show honoring her ex & dead husband,  Frank Vance.  Another show turned over to Deborah and her daughter's ill-fated attempt to be part of the Amazing Race.  Still a third given over to brief affairs for Ada an D.snoozers.

 Diane Keaton as somewhat (though not all that much) repressed 20 something.  Affair with teacher, fantasies of sex as prostitute, jealousy of sexual freedom of sister Tuesday Weld.  Fast moving, which covers a lot of sins

Good story. Margaret's father, a cleric, stubbornly refuses to go along with his new superior. They move north to manufacturing town based on Manchester.  London ways v Manchester ways.  Education, refinement v. business and striving. Thornton runs the mill.  Hard man,  anti union, but with integrity as he sees it. Margaret dislikes his hard ways, but is drawn to him.   Strike.  Thornton confronts workers. M goes out on balcony and is hit by rock.  Hitting a woman puts the strikers into a weak position; they capitulate.  The man who threw the rock is ostracized and kills himself. Strike leader takes over his family. M. brother is a seaman wanted for mutiny.He sneaks back to see his mother before she dies. He's recognized, a fight, the other man dies. What a mess! 

 Four part miniseries.  Tom Hardy as Heathcliff.  Acting was great, some liberties taken with story, but the main feel came through strongly.  

 James Caan and Kathy Bates Caan is author of series, Misery, which he hates. His most recent novel kills her off, and he has just finished a "real" book for the first time.  He's heading home. Snowstorm, accident, crash. Bates "rescues" him. She LOVES the Misery series so loves him.  When she reads the latest installment, she's appalled. Misery dead! No.  When she next reads his new novel, she's even more appalled.  Profanity. Bates turns out to be a crazy mass murderer.  She keeps Caan in hiding, forces him to bring Misery back to life in a new novel, tortures, torments him.  (Broken legs in car crash) Enjoyable movie, directed by Rob Reiner

 2007 Fancy Daye comes back to her village to care for her dying father. Immediately three men fall in love with her.  Richest man in town; the parson; and Dick Dewey, laborer. Fancy is educated with aspirations.  All three men offer something.  Wealth, intellectual life and travel, and love. Fancy opts for love and marries the laborer, but the film does a great job of making this choice not so obviously correct.  The parson, were he not a prig of sorts, does offer her a fuller life. Well acted  . . . charming in the best way