Carl Otto Czeschka

Denis Mcloughlin

Taken

So, yeah... Taken... It's quite an effective, relentless film. I can see why it was popular. There's the Jason Bourne shakycam that seems unavoidable in modern action films. There's the Jack Bauer torture scene and the CSI style flashbacks. It gets a bit silly, and fun, towards the end with Liam Neeson killing EVERYBODY. And it's Neeson who makes the film worth seeing. The guy is a real actor. If it had been Schwarzenegger or Stallone it would have felt less fresh. Clocking in at 1H25 the film doesn't overstay its welcome. The phone speach! I would maybe have liked a more French touch, something less Michael Bay and more Godard, but I guess that's expecting too much. Anyway... I enjoyed the film, but don't feel the need to rush down to the local cinema to watch Taken 2.

Nancy Lynch

Scream Nancy

And more stuff

Bought in Paris:

Cassidy's Girl by David Goodis
A Son of The Circus by John Irving

Husbands by Cassavetes
The Candidate, with Robert Redford
None But The Brave by Frank Sinatra
Soldier Blue
Easy Living
Empire of The Sun by Spielberg
Taken by Pierre Morel

Yes, I bought Taken! Look, it only cost 4 euros. I was curious what all the fuss was about, okay?

Edward Hopper

Well, I took the train up to Paris to drop off the Lost Cat originals at my French publisher's offices, then went to see the big Edward Hopper retrospective at the Grand Palais. There were early paintings he did in Paris, illustration work he did back in the US, etchings and of course most of his major paintings, including Nighhawks, that is really mesmerizing to see in real life, and that I wanted to take with me, but it was too big to fit under my coat. It was kind of touching to see how a lot of the people present were elderly, people who had trouble walking or needing a wheelchair. Art is something I never think about and I don't go much to museums, so it took an exhibit like this to make me see clearer that yes, art is important and that to make art is something to be proud of, and that the politicians who don't believe in supporting the arts, who think that money is everything, and who probably never read a book, well, they're wrong and they can all go... jump in a lake.