Humbleodeon- Book and Movie Reviews

[Opsa]

Here's where we can review books, movies, articles, theater, art, you-name-it.

[Aphos]

I've been on a Tony Hillerman kick lately.  He has several mystery novels that are placed on the Navajo resevation.  Lots about Navajo, Hopi and other Indian cultures, and their interaction with white culture.  Interesting stories.

[Sibling Lambicus the Toluous]

I've been reading "The Great Transformation" by Karen Armstrong.  It's quite interesting - she explores the shared traditions that led to everything from Hinduism to Christianity, and looks at the origins of eastern Asian religions as well.

Also, I recently had a chance to re-watch the original version of "Flight of the Phoenix" (with Jimmy Stewart, Sir Richard Attenborough, and Ernest Borgnine).  I had forgotten how good the movie is.  It's a pretty close race between it and Apollo 13 for the title of "best movie where engineers save the day".

[Swatopluk]

Ah, the chance to post reviews of obscure movies again. Must go to work on "The Call of Cthulhu" (2005) immediately!

[Sibling Kephra (Tansy)]

Hmmm Movies I've seen as of late:
-The Omen (remake) - Meh.
-The Grudge2 - Good until the last 3rd of it.  Fascinating story line that all falls apart at the end.  It's like they ran out of money/ideas and decided to go with 'fukkit'.  (Pardon my french)
-Hunting Season - Omg!  Kronos and I laughed so hard at the deer's version of the Teddybear's picnic song that people thought we were insane.  No joke.

Books:
- The Witch's Dream by Florinda Donner-Grau:
Sort of a 'Carlos Castenada' feel to it (He did the Intro for it actually), but with a female slant.  Good read.  Good 'thinker'.
- The Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman:
Man's father dies.  Man discovers his father was a God.  And he has a twin who has Godlike powers of his own.  Of the trickster kind.  Let the hilarity/thought provoking moments ensue...
Loved it.  It's Neil Gaiman... duh. 

[Sibling Lambicus the Toluous]

I saw The Bridge last night as part of a documentary series at a theatre in Toronto.  They had a Q & A session with the filmmaker afterward.

The movie's about the people who commit suicide at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.  He set up a camera near the bridge every day for a year, and apparently got 23 suicides on film.*

The movie is mainly a series of interviews with the friends and family of people who committed suicide there (and one of the very few people who jumped off and survived), interspersed with shots of the bridge and, sometimes, people jumping to their death; the shots of the bridge (and the jumpers) are from half a mile away, so nothing overly graphic or gruesome is seen, though it is disturbing to watch the people falling.

I wouldn't say it's a happy movie, but it was definitely not done in a gratuitous way... the storyline is fairly organic, but it explores a lot of the issues around suicide: what drives people to it?  How can people be guided away from it?  How does it affect others?

Actually, there was one thing that the filmmaker discussed afterward, but didn't touch on much in the film: several times, you see someone standing on the ledge in full view of anyone who cares to look, yet people walk right by without saying a word.  Personally, I think I found that more disturbing than watching people fall.

An unpleasant topic, but fairly and respectfully done, IMO.  I definitely got something out of it.

Anyhow, it's playing in limited circulation right now, so if you're interested, have a look for it in a major city near you.



* The filmmaker told us their policy during filming: when they saw someone they thought would jump, they would phone the police.  Sometimes, the cops would get there in time, but many times they wouldn't.  Also, they deliberately hid the reason for their filming, for fear that if word got out in the community about why they were there, they'd attract people who wanted their suicide immortalized on film.


Edit:

The next movie in the series is Jesus Camp, a film that was discussed in depth at TOP.  If you're interested in seeing it and don't mind a road trip to Toronto, mark January 10th in your calendar.   

[Swatopluk]

Even more disturbing are gathering crowds that shout "Jump!Jump!Jump!".
That's not just in movies but happened for real over here recently.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Even more disturbing are gathering crowds that shout "Jump!Jump!Jump!".
That's not just in movies but happened for real over here recently.

Crowds: a large gathering of humans, who temporarily have had their brains suppressed and all their empathy removed.

Your "Jump!Jump!" brought to me an image of a crowd at a public hanging, with the many 'greedy eyes' awaiting the spectacle of suffering of which was to come.

Writing this has dredged up another image, from a very old B&W movie A Tale of Two Cities, and the mass-insanity of the French Revolution.

It seems the very thin veneer of humanity is easily stripped away by the simple act of being in an "anonymous" group.   

[Swatopluk]

The typical crowd behaviour was one of the reasons why public executions were abolished in the Western world. Lynch mobs are the probably most extreme example. I am pessimist enough that it would not take much to organize one even today in certain areas. And there are still some (even prominent guys) that openly decry that burning at the stake is not an option anymore (not for themselves of course).
I would likely agree, provided it is the proponents that get charcoaled

[Sibling Lambicus the Toluous]

Your "Jump!Jump!" brought to me an image of a crowd at a public hanging, with the many 'greedy eyes' awaiting the spectacle of suffering of which was to come.

I think the folks who would have gone to public hangings in the past now have their bloodlust satisfied by going to NASCAR races to watch the crashes.   

[Swatopluk]

Why do you think there is almost always a traffic jam forming on the opposite lane, if there is a car crash happening?

[ivor]

Do you look? 

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Your "Jump!Jump!" brought to me an image of a crowd at a public hanging, with the many 'greedy eyes' awaiting the spectacle of suffering of which was to come.

I think the folks who would have gone to public hangings in the past now have their bloodlust satisfied by going to NASCAR races to watch the crashes.   

Or, a Hockey game?

[Kiyoodle the Gambrinous]

Hockey is not so interesting any more.

The fights aren't occuring as often as they used to.

[Swatopluk]

Do you look? 

I don't have or drive a car.