It’s been a while since I dove into a Dan Brown book. I do enjoy his Robert Langdon adventures, and I love how he takes elements from the real world, be it organizations, technology, art, architecture, religion, science and marry them into engaging popcorn thrill ride narratives. Origin is no different, but also includes a…
Tag: narrative
Infernal Affairs (2002) – Andrew Lau Wai-Keung, and Alan Mak
DK Canada’s The Movie Book rolls out the What Else to Watch list following my screening of Oldboy. Infernal Affairs is up for viewing, and served as the basis for the North American adaptation, The Departed. Yes, The Departed is a solid film, the original is so much better. Tightly edited, fantastically crafted the film…
Meddling Kids (2017) – Edgar Cantero
When I was a kid I loved reading the Hardy Boys (I could knock out a book in a day – which to me at the time was amazing, and I loved those little blue hardcover books). Between ages 11 and 12, I danced around the edges of things that could be interpreted as scary,…
The Grip of It (2017) – Jac Jemc
I threw a google search into the system lately for best haunted house books, and scariest books and garnered a nice list of novels I would be keen to read, The Grip of It falls into the haunted house category and it’s a solid, and quick read. With a story that gets under your skin…
21 Grams (2003) – Alejandro G. Inarritu
The next title on the What Else to Watch list in DK Canada’s The Movie Book, following my screening of The Sweet Hereafter is 21 Grams, which has a strong emotional punch to its unique storytelling narrative. Filled with flash forwards and flashbacks, the tale reveals terrible emotional moments throughout, and then lets us build…
The New World (2005) – Terrence Malick
Terrence Malick brings his arthouse visual style to the tale of Pocahontas (Q’Orianka Kilcher) and Captain John Smith (Colin Farrell) in the next title on the What Else to Watch list in DK Canada’s The Movie Book, following its recommendation of Aguirre, The Wrath of God. Joining Kilcher and Farrell in the tale of the…
Smile of the Wolf (2018) -Tim Leach
Getting its Canadian release this month from Anansi Press, Smile of the Wolf by Tim Leach is a powerful Icelandic tale set against a backdrop of ice and revenge, where honor is the only law. Kjaran is a poet, and spends winters in the homes of those who would take him and hear his songs…
Breathless (1960) – Jean-Luc Goddard
A free-from film, echoed in its jazz soundtrack, Breathless is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Thelma & Louise. With it’s jump cuts, it’s occasional breaking of the fourth wall, Goddard’s uneven, but impressive film heralded the arrival of the French New Wave. Jean-Paul…
The Bounty (1984) – Roger Donaldson
The next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my return to the action genre and my screening of The Pirates of the Caribbean, is The Bounty. This one has everything working for it, a score by Vangelis, an all-star cast including Anthony Hopkins, Mel Gibson, Liam Neeson, Daniel Day-Lewis,…
Annihilation (2014) – Jeff VanderMeer
Full disclosure: I had never heard of this book until I saw the trailer for this movie from the writer and director of Ex Machina, the visuals looked amazing, and the ambiguity and mystery conveyed by the short teaser drove me out to find a copy of the Southern Reach trilogy right away. Annihilation is…
Minds of Winter (2016) – Ed O’Loughlin
An ode to the stark, beautiful ice covered unexplored reaches of the globe as much as to the human soul and its search for knowledge, discovery and connections; swathed in furs and driven by sledges , Ed O’Loughlin’s Minds of Winter delves into the history and exploration of the distant poles and ice floes while…
Terminator Salvation (2009) – McG
The final stop with the Sc-Fi Chronicles book for me with the Terminator franchise, as I’ve now had a chance to cover all of them, is this interesting entry from the same pair of writers who gave us Rise of the Machines. This one could have been alright, though I feel McG was probably the…
