THE HATEFUL EIGHT * CONCUSSION * A FALL OF MARIGOLDS * THE WATER DIVINER * INSURGENT

Happy New Year 2016! What an uneventful day - I hope this isn't a portent of the year ahead. So far just about nothing was accomplished, but it's only 6 pm, so I hold out a small bit of hope for visible forward progress. I'll start with this blog:

The Hateful Eight - Quentin Tarantino does it again, this time with an old time "road show" to highlight the first weeks of release of his new western. It's visual, witty, old fashioned, modern, detailed, watchable, violent and most of all entertaining. I'm so glad that I got to see it with Steve and Peter.
Concussion - The first time we went to see Hateful Eight, the theater had problems with the projectors (remember those days?) and the show was cancelled. Rain checks were given, and since it was a Saturday night with the Trabari (or felt like one) we all went to see the next movie showing at the Cineplex, which was Concussion. I hope Will Smith is nominated for an Oscar for his performance based on the true story of a man who made a discovery that had and will have lasting implications on one of America's favorite pastimes. 
A Fall Of Marigolds by Susan Meissner - If you ask me for a book recommendation, I'll be able to give you this title with no qualms. I'd been waiting for an excellent story. This one occurs in 1911 and 2011 in New York City, and a beautiful piece of fabric connects the characters and stories. Read it next. 
The Water Diviner - Those of us with Asia Minor connections either rushed to see this movie or avoided it, taking place as it does in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 and 1919. Supposedly its based on a book co-written by an author with a Greek name, and at the beginning of the movie, credits indicated that it was based on a true story. At the end of the movie, the disclaimer about any similarity to real events or people, etc. were coincidental. And I didn't see a "based on the book" credit. So. To be honest, as a movie, it's a good one. As for based on any reality, it's way out there. Those times and those people are gone now, and all we have left are photos, articles, accounts and memoirs of those times. I agree with a Salon writer who wrote an article decrying the fact that a movie was made about 1915 in Turkey that doesn't indicate a Christian genocide of Armenians and Greeks.  Which in part was how the genocide was able to happen - the Western powers did not care enough to take official action to prevent it. 
Insurgent - The kids are at it again. The divergents really want to save the world from Kate Winslet, the leader who is propagandizing for her own ends.  I didn't read the books, but the movies are good - watch Divergent first, then this one, and we'll wait for the third in the trilogy.