Finders Keepers is the second book in Stephen King’s Bill Hodges trilogy, though he, Jerome and the wonderful Holly Gibney don’t show up until about halfway through the tale. That doesn’t mean King doesn’t dole out another captivating tale, rather the reverse. We’re introduced to Morris in the late 70s. He’s arrogant, and while not…
Tag: captivating
Memento (2000) – Christopher Nolan
I haven’t watched Memento since it first came out. I remember everyone talking about it, specifically my sister who told me she’d just seen this great movie. It ended up being the last time she knew about a Christopher Nolan film before I did because that film guaranteed a passionate fan. So it’s weird that…
Episode Thirteen (2023) – Craig DiLouie
Orbit Books brings me my first real creepy novel of 2023, Episode Thirteen. Using the familiar structure of the found footage genre, something that has been co-opted successfully for all of the ghost-hunting shows that seem to plague reality television, DiLouie compiles a literary found footage film, offering up video transcripts, EVP recordings, text messages,…
Heat 2 (2022) – Michael Mann & Meg Gardiner
Iconic Holywood writer/director Michael Mann pairs up with acclaimed novelist Meg Gardiner to revisit and expand on the world of cop Vincent Hanna, thieves Neil McCauley and Chris Shiherlis and the pursuit of their goals before and after the events portrayed in the 1995 film. Coiled like a spring, this crime thriller ratchets up the…
The Day She Died (2021)- S.M. Freedman
Dundurn Press delivers S.M. Freedman’s thriller, The Day She Died, to my summer reading pile, and it is a gut punch of a book, exploring dark secrets, while exploring the concept of forgiveness of oneself. It’s a captivating read that pulls you in, and drags you along at full-throttle on a white knuckle ride that…
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark (2018) – Michelle McNamara
Halfway through the HBO docu-series, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, I knew I had to read the source material, and learn more. Written by Michelle McNamara, a brilliant true crime writer, who passed before the book could be published, or the book’s subject caught, sentenced and jailed. As captivating as the series was, the…
Shadow of a Doubt (1943) – Alfred Hitchock
It’s time for a little more Hitchcock as I dive into another old favourite, Shadow of a Doubt starring Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten. A coming-of-age tale with a twist of murder, this film remains completely captivating thanks to the direction, the leading and the wonderful supporting cast which are all recognisable to anyone who…
The Music Box (1932) – James Parrott
Philip Kemp’s Movies book leaps a little forward in time to bring me a comedic short starring that iconic pair, Stan Laurel, and Oliver Hardy. In this half hour short, the pair struggle to deliver a piano up a the most imposing flight of stairs I’ve seen since those featured in The Exorcist. Something that…
The Departed (2006) – Martin Scorsese
I come to a rather interesting list in the Ten Bad Dates With De Niro book that has a couple of films that I haven’t previously covered for the blog. It’s a list of remakes that are arguably better than the original. And the critical reception, not to mention that of the audience, would seem…
Man On Wire (2008) – James Marsh
In 1974, Phillipe Petit walked on a highwire between the twin towers of the World Trade Center. His story, which walked away with the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2009, is the next big film in DK Canada’s entertaining tome, The Movie Book. Filled with interviews of all the people involved, archival footage…
The Mind Reels 