Ataraxia

  Crime 101 by Don Winslow was adapted for the big screen by the author and Bart Layton, the latter is the director; the result is a good, if not overwhelming thriller – you find thousands of notes on films from The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made   and other sites on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html and YouTube channel, which has about ten subscribers   7 out of 10   Crime 101 is entertaining, and that should be the whole ‘review’, except I will keep adding lines to this, with the knowledge that few, if any bother reading this, and that is also some solace, it means freedom to say just about anything…well, saying what I think about the Orange Twat in the White House got me kicked out   Barry Keoghan is not the lead here, but this thespian is outstanding, he has such a wide range, from The Banshees of Inisherin https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/03/the-banshees-of-inisherin.html to ...

  Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis Great novel - When did I see Elmer Gantry? - Was it twenty years ago? I was anyway impressed by the magnificent Burt Lancaster in the title role. In my memory though, the movie is different from the book. That happens almost always, but in this case I remember a preacher that is strong, manly and likable. Whereas the novel created outrage among the clergy. That was because Gantry, and not just him, is coming out as sinful and depraved. Not always, but I tend to say most of the time. That makes the reading so much more interesting. A complex personage is way more inciting than a human that has only one side, good or bad. The evolution of Elmer Gantry is intriguing and perhaps he can work also as an example in church lessons: -  Look, this is what happens if you sin and err. And the reverend is a strong man, both physically and spiritually...well, the latter in some situations. It is amazing to see how hard he falls and then he jumps back and cli...

  The Tender Trap by Max Shulman and Robert Paul Smith is one of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made – you find thousands of 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 and YouTube channel, plus a multitude of book reviews   8 out of 10   Frank Sinatra has the leading role of Charlie Reader in this comedy, a sort of Casanova https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/06/memoirs-of-casanova-by-giacomo-casanova.html which I understand Sinatra himself was, albeit I am biased and tend to believe rumors on this matter, or even think I have rea about it   He was also alleged to be the inspiration for the singer in The Godfather, Johnny Fontane, the one who comes at the wedding to complain, Don Corleone gives him a lesson, to the effect of ‘be a man’, and then intervenes on his behalf, the director of the film refuses to give him a role, and then he gets the in...

  The Commitments by Roddy Doyle is one of The 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read according to one critic, albeit it is just 3777 th on The Greatest Books of All Time site – you find thousands of reviews on magnum opera from both and other lists on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html   9 out of 10   “This is one of the fantastic, hilarious and short marvels that you can finish in just a few hours, wishing at the same time that there would be more, included for perfect reasons on The Guardian’s 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read list” – this is how ecstatic I was some years ago, when I had the chance to read this for the first time https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/the-commitments-by-roddy-doyle-10-out.html   Alas, on this second take, I was not so elated, even if I discovered that quite a few books will gain when somebody else reads them, audiobooks that is, in this particular case, the actor is also a ta...

  Clockwise by Michael Frayn is a wonderful comedy with John Cleese in the leading role, he is one of the best comedians ever, just as Michael Frayn is a talented writer – you find thousands of notes on films from The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made and other sites, and reviews of magnum opera from The Greatest Books of All time and other lists on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html   8 out of 10   John Cleese was a member of the best comedy group of all time https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/05/monty-pythons-life-of-brian-bymonty.html Monty Python -one important publication, I think it was Time Out, has listed Monty Python’s Life of Brian as number one among the crème de la crème   In Clockwise he has the role of Brian Stimpson, an obsessive-compulsive headmaster, who is towering over his school – John Cleese is very tall I gather – and he has this system, watching everything and using amp...

  The Driver’s Seat by Muriel Spark, included on the list of 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read, along with the celebrated The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie  http://realini.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-prime-of-miss-jean-brodie-by-muriel.html 8 out of 10     Muriel Spark seems to have a penchant for outré characters and Lise from The Driver’s Seat is one of the most awkward we can meet, we may think of To The Hermitage by Malcolm Bradbury, who writes that the literary life is much more interesting than the physical one, for we meet much more vivid, wiser, intense personages, the events are way more vibrant and challenging, and besides, we can access all these from the house, or even bed – not in those words, but I hope to this effect -  http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/09/to-hermitage-by-malcolm-bradbury-author.html  and this novel is a wild ride   Lise is one of the most intriguing figures we can find, though on the other hand, there is plenty to observe outside...

  A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean was nominated for The Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1977, and was adapted for the big screen – the film was directed by Robert Redford and it stars Bradd Pitt in a leading role – you find notes on films from The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made and other relevant lists on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html and YouTube channel   9 out of 10   I have written a note on A River Runs Through It https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/a-river-runs-through-it-based-on-story.html if in fact I do not have two reviews on this, and the present one would make it three…it does not matter, both the book and the motion picture are excellent and worth reading and watching   Paul Maclean is the rebellious young man, in the movie, Brad Pitt is charming as this endearing personage, who gets into trouble, but most often for the right reason: at this dance, he beats ...

  Matilda by Roald Dahl is ranked 1325 th on The Greatest Books of All Time, indeed, it has an extraordinary, enticing main character – you find thousands of notes on magnum opera from The GOAT and other lists on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html and YouTube channel   8 out of 10   Matilda https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2026/03/note-on-matilda.html is a fantastic character, and I have already posted a video on my YouTube channel on the subject, that was about the film adaptation, with an excellent cast, especially Danny de Vito as the horrendous, if hilarious father, a con artist, just like the Orange Caligula   We live in the age of the crook, in my view – though I have to be careful with this, for I have been kicked out of Goodreads and then I hade vicious comments on my allergy for the Orange Monster – the free world has as leader, and what a role model, a maniac, absurd, demented, stupid, vile in...

  The Case of the Gilded Fly by Edmund Crispin, included on the 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read list  https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jan/23/bestbooks-fiction 10 out of 10     One of the enticing, thrilling aspects about this novel is that although it is included on the 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read list in the Comedy Section, it is clearly a crime story also, if not mainly – indeed, yours truly had to stop reading and look up the list to see where it is situated, for he was confused, thought this was taken from comedy, only blood was about to be spilled and we are told in advance…   Indeed, the introduction is amusing enough, with the train arriving in Oxford, but only after prolonged effort (seeing as this 4 to 11 October 1940 and in parts of the world – including here – trains still take ages before reaching their destination, if they ever do, the humor can be lost on some of us) with the music of Walpurgis, the engine sounding as if it is dismantled...

  Socrates – A Man for Our Times by Paul Johnson is a wonderful book – you find thousands of notes on magnum opera from The Greatest Books of All Time and other relevant lists on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html and YouTube channel, perhaps you care to visit   9 out of 10   Paul Johnson https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/01/intellectuals-by-paul-johnson.html is the outstanding author of Intellectuals, and having enjoyed that so much, I was eager to read Socrates, indeed, the writer has a history of Christianity that I could – maybe should – read, except it is around twenty four hours long   Socrates has always been a favorite role model for me, as a teenager, I had the chance to encounter him in spirit, learning about the famous Oracle of Delphi statement that he was the wisest man of ancient days, and then how he was puzzled, not arrogant over it, and realized it must be because he does not claim t...

  Quadrophenia – written by Dave Humphries, Martin Stellman, Franc Roddam, and directed by the latter is one of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made – you find thousands of 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   There are some phenomenal actors in this motion picture, one of them is Ray Winstone https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/last-orders-is-fabulous-breathtaking.html before the days of his Sexy Beast, The Departed, Last Orders, or even Cold Mountain filmed near my house in Rosenau, about twenty five years ago   Jimmy Cooper is the hero, or anti -hero maybe a better description, of this movie, released in 1979, forty-seven years ago, and he looks like a Rebel Without a Cause -incidentally, this is the tattoo which this psychologist has, the one I meet at the gym, who got me into some trouble, little mess, bust still, I am...

  The Silent World by Jacques-Yves Cousteau was The 1957 Winner of The Oscar for Best Documentary, it was also the Palme d’Or Winner in 1956 and it is one of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movie Ever Made – you find 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   Jacques-Yves Cousteau was a pioneer of ocean exploration and a ‘celebrity’ when we were very young, we watched his documentaries with great interest and elation – they were aired on television under Ceausescu because there was nothing political about the seas, whales and fish, or at least commies did not mind it   The politics were in fact connected with the paramount duty to save the oceans, and the planet in general, drawing attention to the threats posed by humans to the life of various (if not all species) and we see striking images with the beauty of the under-water life, fish, plants, cor...

  Note on The Comedy Clockwise with John Cleese | realini

  Three Trapped Tigers by Guillermo Cabrera Infante is on the 650 th spot on The Greatest Books of All Time site, which is the reason why I have tried to enjoy it: alas, it does not work for me and that should be about all I have to say about it, only there is more in the lines below – you find thousands of notes on books from The GOAT and other relevant sites on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html   6 out of 10   Kingsley Amis https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/03/the-kings-english-guide-to-modern-usage.html said : ‘First you want to get hold of something to say, then you fudge up a plot of a story of some kind, and then you put in bits of things you have seen and heard round the place, and then you try and make it all sound sort of interesting or witty or funny or unusual or striking in some way. If you find some bit that isn't that, you work at it until it is, or at least as near it as you can get.’ And I lo...

  The Front Runner by Matt Bai is not one of the best motion pictures you could see, it is not one of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made, nevertheless, the story is relevant and this cinephile has enjoyed it – for notes on films from The NYT 1,000 and other sites you could check my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html   8 out of 10   I have written a review on The Front Runner https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/10/the-front-runner-based-on-book-by-matt.html but it was on some channel recently, and although it is not spectacular, it is still worth watching, especially given the contrast between what happened in 1988 and then in 2016 and then in   -           2024   The American electorate brought on top of the world an Orange Joker – he is still there as we speak – recently, even after he showed between 2016 and 2020 what he can do, what with...