Carl Deuker -- Books, Movies, TV

 Bunuel . . . 2/3 finished.  So far, not much.  Catherine Deneuve is a frigid married woman, abused as a child. Unable to enjoy sex with her husband.  She becomes a daytime prostitute, meeting up with men with strange sexual predilections.  Not sure where this is going

 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

 BBC version. First two hours were very good; third hour less so; last hour didn't work for me. Jane Eyre is taken in by cruel aunt who hates her.  Evil child. Sent away to a boarding school where she is mistreated.  Her one friend dies of flu? She is a good student in spite of it all, advertises for a job as governess, and is hired by Edward Rochester of Thornfield Hall.  He's gruff, older, etc., but love blooms.  Mysterious noises at night.  Fire at night in ER's bedroom.  Grace, servant, responsible. The crazy woman in the attic is too well known for any mystery to work, but they give it a try. Wife backstory.  He marries her in Jamaica, sultry beauty who turns out to be promiscuous. Back in England she goes crazy, attacking people, gets hidden away. ER wants to marry JE, almost does, but crazy wife's brother shows up and exposes the fact he has a living wife.  JE goes off for a year, inherits a ton, of money, hears her name called. Return...

 Strong ending.  Daughters read the screenplay.  Father, in alcoholic stupor, is frail and vulnerable in hospital  Daughter takes the main part.  Younger daughter's son is also in the movie. Final scene "looks" like a suicide . . . only when the word "cut" is shouted does the viewer realize it's actually a scene from the movie Dad has been wanting to make (though there are hints earlier).  About 20 minutes of cuts would have made this a very good film.

 Lots of fanfare about this movie, but it's a bore.  Film director (Norway) with two daughters whom he has neglected desires to make a final film in his own home, based on suicide of his mother.  He wants one daughter--most estranged--to take role of his mother.  She refuses.  He hires American actress, Elle Fanning, instead.  He is unhappy with her efforts; she senses it.  Daughter still refuses.  Mother was in resistance movement against Nazis . . . second daughter does research on her imprisonment and torture. Acting is solid . . . scenes just go on too long. Static as well in development.  

Lorna wins her case.  Security guard is the real murderer, some stuff about jamming Glock. Biofuel introduced into M. case.  One more episode.  decent, not great 

 Mickey with Maggie ex-wife take on Dana.  Dead body in M. trunk. M. threatened the guy.  Somehow a biodiesel deal is involved.  M. ex-girlfriend chef from another book testifies against him for vengeance.  Maggie shoots her down with letters vowing vengeance that she sent.  Former intern testifies against poor M too. She's shot down . . . no job, bitter, out to get him. Cisco serves subpoena on a guy who immediately is murdered . . . biodiesel again. 

 Dull, so far.  Mickey is up for murder (dead body in trunk) and has clearly been set up by somebody.  Instead of getting into the investigation, we have some interesting court battles and lots of less than funny comic interludes.  A little Lorna/Maggie interaction; Mickey meets Maggie's new boyfriend.  Hopefully it will improve

 Mickey in prison for murder. Dead body found in his trunk . . . set up?  Decent, not great start.  

 Claire Danes/Matthew Rhys Excellent acting throughout.  The killer is the suspected killer from scene one . . . a nice change.  Danes (Agatha) has blamed the death of her son in a car accident on the other driver (teenager, maybe drinking) but we learn she was a distracted driver definitely to blame as well. Ending, unfortunately, was ho-hum.  Nile's (Rhys) second wife becomes suspicious that he is the killer, confronts him.  They argue . . . he screams YES, I KILLED HER. Ah, but she has turned on the record feature of her iPhone and he's cooked.  He gets murdered in prison, just to satisfy viewer that justice has been served. Danes writes her book and presumably it's a huge success. Last scene is her at a reading crying her heart out. All in all, very good.  Too bad the ending was so conventional.

 Nile's wife, Madison, is the one who'd been feeding info to the FBI agent whom Nile kills.  Likely the Nile is murderer of Madison, but since that seems so likely it might be wrong.  Agatha in danger -- Nile has read her chapters, knows she thinks he is guilty.  Nina, Nile's second wife, might also be on the chopping block. Solid

 Nile kills Abbott, the FBI agent who has been hounding him.  It seems that the boy who ran over Agatha's son is still alive, perhaps being tortured.  The Jarvis Yards project is in danger.  AOC modeled character drumming up protestors.  Nile's wife no longer seems like a partner in crime, just turned on by a little  s & m.  Surprising scene where Agatha spills her heart to her lesbian lover, asking to be let back into her life, and Ashley says--good luck with your life.

 Agatha writing about Nile.  Nile's wife "befriending" Agatha, visiting A's ex-wife at her studio/gallery.  Lots of different agendas.  Abbott, the FBI guy, still interested.  Body of teenager who supposedly drowned himself still not found, nor has the body of Nile's first wife been found.  Pretty good.

 Nicole has seemingly recovered from her mental illness; Dick is a mess,  alcoholic and depressed by his lack of anything close to the career he anticipated. Too much money . . . which also makes it hard for me to sympathize with the guy.  Glamorous and weak.  I'll be glad to be done with it.

 Mormon girl . . . family "stars" on YouTube, but mother Ruby is actually abusive.  This recounts the movement from starting out to the arrest of Ruby. So far, very good

 Episode One:  Claire Danes (Aggie Wiggs) writer's block continues. Matthew Rhys (Nile Jarvis) has perhaps murdered the boy who hit and killed Aggie's little boy. Continued conflict over jogging trail.  Jarvis suggests that Aggie should write a book about him . . . the probable plot.

 Roaring Twenties roaring to a bleak close for Dick and Nicole.  He has lost his position at the sanitorium . . . alcoholism She is still lying about worrying about her mental health. Her father, who sexually abused her as a child, is perhaps dying. 1929 . . . 

 Claire Danes (Homeland) Matthew Reis (Americans) Danes is writer with one wildly successful book, a son who died in car accident? caused by teenager, and a new neighbor (Reis) who is suspected to have killed his wife though no body has been found

 Janice, drunk, accidentally drowns her baby.  Rabbit returns, tries to man up in the traditional sense, seems to be succeeding.  At a funeral for baby he suddenly shouts:  Don't look at me, I didn't kill her.  She did. People are appalled, and book comes full circle as Rabbit runs again, away from the funeral and his life. Updike's ability to observe and his formation of similes are one of a kind. amazing

 DD has affair with Rosemary. Nicole a mess as usual. Abe died in NYC, best to death leaving bar. Dick becoming drunken bum. Arrested in Rome

 Another film with a strong opening and a weak ending. Jane Fonda won academy award, which is puzzling. She was okay, but nothing special. Perhaps the daring aspect — high class prostitute was reason

 Great  opening.  Rabbit, unhappy in marriage, goes out on an errand (pick up his car) and takes off . . . driving where?  South?  West?  Gets to West Virginia and turns around, but doesn't go home.

Abe a total drunk.  Dick Diver spends all his time and talent on Nicole.  Idle, rich life.  Abe gets involved with Black man who has invented shoe polish. Dispute over money . . . Black guy is killed.  He's found in Rosemary's (young actress in love with Dick) bed.  Scandal, ruining her career, if discovered there.  

 Solid movie with good, if not great ending.  Credits show actual photos from the incidents upon which the film was based.  Only ones to remain on island were Heinz and his wife (Sidney Sweeney).  Dr. Ritter dies of food poisoning which might be murder.  Duchess and one lover killed. Other lover dies trying to leave island when boat runs out of fuel. Mysterious why it was a flop.

 Riviera drinking ends.  All decamp for various places.  Nicole breaks down; Dick comforts her.  This is witnessed by a garrulous woman.  She starts to blab; a man tells her to shut up.  Woman's husband takes offence . . . duel occurs in which no one is hurt.  Divers are unaware of the drama they've caused.

 Things, never good, go completely to hell.  The "baroness" and her two lovers steal food from the others.  Her goal is to pit the two other couples against one another.  The doctor, first resident, wants to team up as well against her.  Yacht arrives--Hancock oil baron.  Brings food.  Baroness tries to seduce him; he laughs at her.  A first for her. When he leaves, Baroness steals the supplies he's left.  Confrontation--Baroness shot in head by doctor; one of her lovers stabbed to death.  (The second lover has deserted her.) Bodies thrown into ocean.  Wives don't know . . . for sure.

 Six episodes, so story telling is not rushing along.  Nicole (incest victim) fights for mental health with the aid of Dick Diver (husband) who is ambitious psychiatrist. Her wealth makes work unnecessary, sapping that ambition.  Her mental illness keeps him busy.  Living on Riviera, drinking.

 Jude Law Sidney Sweeney Loosely based on true events. Disgruntled doctor after WWI moves to isolated Galapagos Island.  Writes about his experiences living alternate life.  Couple shows up with son suffering from TB to live on island also.  He and his girlfriend are furious, unhelpful, but couple does well and builds home and garden. Wife (SS) gets pregnant. A third group shows up:  Baroness/tart with her two or three lovers. Her plan is to make money off the island by building a hotel . . . impossible to imagine.  Three groups in tense non-equilibrium; something has to give. Baby born . . . doctor begrudgingly helps 50%

 More of the same. Art G goes through a series of women, all of whom are "the one." Jack N. mocks him, certain that no woman is the one. Two versions of the screwed-up male. Ends with Nicholson at a prostitute acting out an intricate "play" designed to bolster his masculinity so he can perform.  The stud is borderline impotent. I don't have a strong memory of my first impression of the movie; more, I have a memory that it was a big deal at the time for discussing sex so candidly and so non-stop.  The non-stop part now wears; don't Sandy and Jonathan have anything else that they talk about, ever? I suppose that would have complicated and lengthened the movie, and it was long enough.

 Years pass. Garfunkel (Sandy) marries Candice Bergen.  His dialogue with Jack N. (Jonathan) reveals that "she's perfect" but he's unhappy.  Nicholson suggests an affair; A.G. is eager. Nicholson reveals he's been fighting impotence.  Girls have made suggestions that hurt (no doubt that he's gay).  He meets Ann Margaret and (for a little while) her 38 D body revives him.  However, she wants marriage and children and he wants . . . who knows? The non stop discussion of sex was no doubt daring/different/groundbreaking in 1971.  Now, it's a bit boring.  Don't these people have anything else in their lives to talk about?

 First 30 minutes.  Garfunkel and Nicholson discuss girls . . . college students who seemed to have had no contact with females in high school. Enter Candice Bergen.  Garfunkel falls for her.  Nicholson sneaks after her, has sex with her, while she is still ostensibly G's girl.  She doesn't want to her G but seems to love Nicholson more.  He expects her to dump Garfunkel . . . she's hesitating. 

 Fast moving, but that's about all.  Too many cartoon characters.  Junglepussy . . . Colonel Lockjaw . . . Perfidia Characters fit their name.  Perfidia leads a gang of revolutionaries perhaps based on SLA.  Shoots and kills guard in bank robbery.  Arrested, turns state evidence.  DiCaprio, her lover, raises their "child" without knowing he's not the father. Lockjaw (Sean Penn) has raped Perfidia and is the father. Skip ahead 15 years.  DiCaprio is burnt out druggie who somehow gets along with his perfect daughter.  The govt, though, is on to him. Now he must reconnect with his revolutionary old self and fight. Best thing about the movie is his incompetence.  His 15 years of drug use do tell on him. Worst thing . . . room full of white men = evil   room full of brown men and women = good.

Leonardo DiCaprio stars . . . Jack Nicholson role . . . ex revolutionary raising mixed race daughter (the mother, also a revolutionary, has gone into witness protection, but she was never interested in motherhood.  A group of racist rich white guys is out to get all these old revolutionaries.  They take on Sean Penn (Colonel Lockjaw) to track them down.  Lockjaw suspects he is the mother of the mixed race girl as he raped the mother.  He is now so committed to white supremacy that he'd kill his daughter to free himself of her taint.   Lots of implausible characters, moments, etc.  Visually striking.

 Another DeNiro movie by Scorcese.  Strong opening 2/3. Jerry Lewis object of DeNiro's obsession (and Sandra Bernhard).  Lewis politely shines them along; they kidnap him.  Release?  Let DeNiro do his opening late night monologue.  Ending weak.

 I didn't see this when it came out, so new to me.  DeNiro is excellent.  Jodie Foster as 13 year-old prostitute would not be allowed (for good reasons) to do the part today.  Cybil Shepherd in the movie for a little glamor.  Highlight DeNiro's mental collapse.  Weak ending, DeNiro a hero for killing Foster's pimp.  Her loving parents take her back to their home.  (Why did she run away?)

 Not nearly as good as the book.  Cillian Murphy sees abused girl at laundry convent in Ireland.  He rescues her, risking his status in the neighborhood and the education of his younger daughters (the nuns will not take them into their school).  His wife is a shrew, but his own experience as an orphan drives him to do the right thing.  3.5