That was Reilly, Ace of Spies, and I recall it as being pretty good. Also, I thought he was great in Dead Calm. As for Jurassic Park… yeah, the movie is full of holes and I can't point to any human performance in it that I'm much enamored of (except Laura Dern's delightedness when she first sees the dinosaurs). …

"the first time that Schwarzenegger has spoken his native language onscreen". You mean he wasn't in every other film? How come I never understand him then?

Nice to see this grade and review. I heard McQueen and Chewie (as I like to refer to him, and I bet he loves that) interviewed on NPR this morning. Sounds like, with no pretensiousness, McQueen pretty much had to tell this story, and it really doesn't seem to be calculated Oscar-bait (though I have no doubt it will…

It's better, actually, to use water-tight containers for shipping. Not in this case, obviously…

… if only he had realized that he was gonna need a bigger boat…

"It’s the actor’s longstanding remoteness and self-effacement that Chandor taps into here"
THAT makes sense. When I first heard about the film I was a little confused at Redford's casting. He's certainly a decent actor, but not one I'd think of to hold down (heh, I didn't say "anchor") a movie like this. But that…

Perhaps not a great first interracial date movie though.

Tom Sawyer is sort of like The Hobbit. That is, both Twain and Tolkien put out ideas of what they wanted to do, then with their later books, they seemed to figure out what to say and what audience they wanted to reach.
Twain kept Sawyer around for the light, nearly unnecessary stuff - Tom Sawyer Abroad and Tom…

Yeah, I'm about 1/2 through Midnight Rising, and it's probably the best book on Brown I've read. Tiny bit embarrasing that I've read a LOT of them. I mean, not as embarrassing as the fact that he's one of my favorite historical figures. Terrorist/zealot and all. Not sure I'd invite him over for dinner really, but…

I found the Westlake book at a used bookstore, but it's a recent reprint, I think from 2001 or so. He's so good; even a dated story like this (I think it's from 1966) has an immediacy that is hard to match. I like that Westlake, in all his pseudonyms, never brought less than his best skills.

I have that massive trade paperback of the Amber books, and it's so.. much… fun….! Each time I read it (can't read one Amber book, I think of it as one giant novel) I like those last 5 books more. Damn, I miss Zelazny….

Any time… I'm really thrilled that it's out, though I only happened upon his books relatively recently (thanks to someone here - Donna maybe?) in a hopeful article about long-awaited projects. So I haven't been waiting as long as many people, but man.. the re-read is a thrill and half, since there's so much detail…

Well, she did kill MY puppies. I blame myself - I invited her over for dinner and forgot to shop and she was hungry.

I've been really busy too; don't have CSPAN even, but I listen to NPR on the commute home. It seems as though the Democrats (finally) picked the right stance and didn't back down (I hope, anyway). The Republicans are so fragmented that they nearly sent a bill up for a vote that even THEY (who compiled it) didn't…

As I'm sure has been pointed out several times, the best part was his reading of Green Eggs and Ham, a book about, you know, keeping an open mind and trying things that you initially think will be bad.
What's Congress' approval rating this week, something like 4%? I don't even think they're aware of what their jobs…

"…..BANJO!!!!…"

Know what's cool about the new Disqus? When you get only 1 1/2 paragraphs into a Tarkovky' Former AD post, you have the option to click on "see more".
And you don't have to! This America, man.

Hey, *I* have a portfolio! Well. a PeeChee folder, anyway.

The Last Temptation flak was ridiculous. I think it's a great movie, but that's neither here nor there — I worked in an independent bookstore at the time the movie came out, and some local christian group wrote letters (a petition, actually) demanding that we remove the novel from our shelves. I had the fun job of…

Yeah, that wouldn't be my pick, man.