Ataraxia

  Embers by Sandor Marai would be ‘Candles burn until the end" in Hungarian, it was called ‘Elegiac, somber, musical, and gripping, Embers is a brilliant disquisition on friendship, one of the most ambitious in literature’ – Embers is ranked 459 th on The Greatest Books of All Time site, and I wonder if it would not have about the same place were I to organize a sort of ‘personal favorites’ list – there are thousands of reviews of books from the GOAT and other sites on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html   9 out of 10   Embers has reminded me of Footprints in The Jungle https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/04/footprints-in-jungle-by-somerset.html by one of my favorite authors, Somerset Maugham, in which this couple has plotted to kill the husband, and they did it, in the…jungle   First, we get the background, The General is arguably the main character of the narrative, albeit we could also say that Konra...

  Only Angels Have Wings written by Jules Furthman, Eleanore Griffin and Howard Hawks, directed by the latter is one of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made – there are a few thousand notes on films from The NYT 1,000 and other lists on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html                                8 out of 10   I have seen Cary Grant recently in Suspicion https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2026/02/suspicion-written-by-samson-raphaelson.html another feature from The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made list, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, one in which Cary Grant plays the opposite, or almost, of Geoff Carter   If the personage from Suspicion was…well, dubious, he is the one the title refers to, albeit he might not be as nefarious as initially thoug...

  The Story of O by Pauline Reage is ranked 807 th on The Greatest Books of All Time site and it was considered ‘a provocative and influential work that continues to resonate in literary and cultural discussions, challenging readers to confront their perceptions of desire and submission’, in fact, some will be horrified, while a few will be delighted to find their BDSM fantasies expressed in a ‘mainstream’- and I wonder about that, seeing as it was banned in France – work…there are a few thousand reviews of books from The GOAT and other lists on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html   6 out of 10   The Story of O has reminded me of Anais Nin https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/12/a-model-and-other-stories-by-anais-nin.html and her erotic tales, which are really out there, pushing the boundaries: where were these books when I needed them, which is at the age of fourteen, sixteen, limited to The Decameron as I was? ...

  Moments That Made The Movies by David Thomson – I will refer here to Payday by Don Carpenter, which is one of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made – there are multiple notes on films from The NYT 1,000 and other lists on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html     8 out of 10   Payday is not just one of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made, it has made it on my own list of favorites, and it should be among the first 200 or so, it reminds me of This Is Spinal Tap https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2026/01/this-is-spinal-tap-written-by-and.html another formidable film, though the latter is a comedy   Rip torn is phenomenal in the leading role of Maury Dann, a country music singer, I have been wondering why this extraordinary thespian has not had more chances like this, I mean being cast in the anti-hero or hero roles…yes, we have seen him in The Insider, Marie Antoinette, but support...

  Stranger Than Paradise written by Jim Jarmusch and John Lurie, directed by the former is one of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made – not that it matters, but there are a few thousand notes on films from The NYT 1,000 and other lists on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html   8 out of 10   A rather unusual proposition, the name Stranger Then Paradise could serve as a warning – strange is the name of the game – although on the other hand, we could also say that this looks like a rather banal narrative: this lady lands from Hungary, stays with her cousin for a while, then leaves, he comes after her and they travel to Florida   ‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life. As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality. Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real lif...

  Rififi aka Du rififi chez les hommes by Auguste Le Breton was The 1955 Winner of The Best Director Award for Jules Dassin, and The Nominee for The Palme d'Or at that same Cannes Film Festival, it is also one of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made – you find plenty of notes on films from The NYT 1,000 list on my blog, here is the link https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html   8 out of 10   There are many motion pictures, books, sometimes the former are inspired by the latter, dealing with crime, robberies, for instance Asphalt Jungle https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-asphalt-jungle-by-wr-burnett-10-out.html and Rififi is one of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made for good reason   Tony le Stéphanois is a criminal, some of his pals suggest an easy shtick at the then famous jewelry Mappin and Webb- Jo le Suedois and Mario Ferrati propose that they take a car, go to the window of the ...