Friday, December 29, 2017

Book review of “The Book With No Pictures” by B.J. Novak Reviewed by Briana Bizier, Raymond Village

How can you teach a child to love reading?

One of the keys is to choose books that are just plain fun. Enter B. J. Novak’s “The Book With No
Pictures,” a ridiculously delightful children’s book designed to win over the most skeptical listener and to prove that even books with no pictures have something to offer kids.

This is not a traditional story book. Instead, “The Book With No Pictures” is an exploration of silly sounds and funny words that will have listeners (and possibly readers as well) laughing out loud. It’s proof, for children and adults alike, that language is fun, books are full of surprises and even grown-ups can be silly.

Parents and loved ones, be warned: Reading this book out loud, as it’s intended to be read, will force you to say things like, “I eat ants for breakfast,” and “I am a robot monkey.” But your children will be laughing so loudly, you may not even be able to hear yourself.

“The Book With No Pictures” appeals to a wide variety of ages. Smaller children will be delighted by the surprises and older children will still get a kick out of hearing an adult say, “Brrrrooooggg!” They may even force visitors to read this book out loud, or take it to school to share with their teacher.
In short, this may be one of the first books your child loves. 

You can check out a copy of “The Book With No Pictures” at the Raymond Village Library.

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Quentin Tarantino movies ranked by Daniel Kilgallon




9. “Death Proof” (2007)
Runtime: 113 mins 
My Rating: 6/10 
Best (Clean) Quote
Stuntman Mike: “This car is 100% death proof. Only to get the benefit of it, honey, you really need to be sitting in my seat.”
Favorite Character: Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell)

8. “Jackie Brown” (1997)
Runtime: 154 mins
My Rating: 7.5/10
Best (Clean) Quote
Ordell Robbie: “Well, I hope you felt appropriately guilty about it afterwards.”
Louis Gara: “Afterwards, I did.”
 Favorite Character: Louis Gara (Robert DeNiro)

7. “Kill Bill: Vol. 2” (2004)

Runtime: 137 mins 
My Rating: 8/10
Best (Clean) Quote
Bill: “You would've worn the costume of Arlene Plimpton. But you were born Beatrix Kiddo. And every morning when you woke up, you'd still be Beatrix Kiddo. Oh, you can take the needle out.”
Favorite Character: Bill (David Carradine)

6. “Kill Bill: Vol. 1” (2003)
Runtime: 111 mins 
My Rating: 8.5/10
Best (Clean) Quote
Hattori Hanzo: “Revenge is never a straight line. It's a forest. And like a forest it's easy to lose your way . . . To get lost . . . To forget where you came in.”
Favorite Character: The Bride (Uma Thurman)
   
5. “The Hateful Eight” (2015) 
Run Time: 167 min
My Rating: 8.5/10 
Best (Clean) Quote
John ‘The Hangman’ Ruth: “Now Daisy, I want us to work out a signal system of communication. When I elbow you real hard in the face, that means shut up!”
Favorite Character: Sheriff Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins)
    
 4. “Inglourious Basterds” (2009)
 Run Time: 153 mins
 My Rating: 9/10
 Best Quote
Lt. Aldo Raine: “Each and every man under my command owes me one hundred Nazi scalps. And I want my scalps. And all y'all will git me one hundred Nazi scalps, taken from the heads of one hundred dead Nazis. Or you will die tryin'.”
 Favorite Character: Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt)

3. “Reservoir Dogs” (1992)

Runtime: 100 mins 
My Rating: 9/10
Best Quote
Mr. Blonde: Are you gonna bark all day little doggie? Or are you gonna bite?
Mr. White: What was that? I'm sorry I didn't catch it. Would you repeat it?
Mr. Blonde: Are you gonna bark all day little doggie? Or are you gonna bite?
Favorite Character: Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi)

2. “Pulp Fiction” (1994) 
Runtime: 154 mins 
My Rating: 9.5/10 
Best Quote
Jules: “Then what do they call it?”
Vincent: “They call it a Royale with cheese.”
Jules: “A Royale with cheese. What do they call a Big Mac?”
Vincent: “Well, a Big Mac's a Big Mac, but they call it le Big-Mac.”
Favorite Character: The Wolf (Harvey Keitel)

1. “Django Unchained” (2012)
Runtime: 165 mins 
My Rating: 10/10
Best Quote
Dr. King Schultz: “Mister Candie, normally I would say "Auf wiedersehen," but since what "auf wiedersehen" actually means is "'till I see you again", and since I never wish to see you again, to you, sir, I say goodbye!”
Favorite Character: Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio)

Friday, December 15, 2017

Movie Review of “The Hateful Eight.” Reviewed by Daniel Kilgallon



Rated: (R)
Run Time: 167 min

Writer-director Quentin Tarantino followed up the success of 2012’s “Django Unchained” with 2015’s “The Hateful Eight,” yet another western project and ironically enough - his eighth full length feature film (of course, “Kill Bill” is considered one movie here). 

Although Tarantino’s impressive body work is quite controversial, there is no denying that he is one of the most talented directors working in Hollywood today. His most recent work only further cements that; offering an excellent ensemble cast featuring Samuel L Jackson, Kurt Russell and an Academy Award nominated performance from Jennifer Jason Leigh.

This movie takes place in the middle of Wyoming, sometime after the Civil War. A bounty hunter called John-The Hangman- Ruth (Russell) is transporting a fugitive named Daisy Domergue (Leigh) to the town of Red Rock in order to claim a $10,000 reward. However, they get caught in a nasty blizzard while on the road by stagecoach and end up finding shelter at a cabin called Minnie’s Haberdashery. They give two more men rides along the way and meet four additional unfamiliar faces when they arrive at the cabin.

If there is one thing I have gathered from this tour of Tarantino’s filmography, it is that no one in Hollywood writes a script better than this man; this is on full display yet again in his second western masterpiece. 

His longest movie to date, “The Hateful Eight” is powered by its intriguing story and incredible dialogue that never loses your interest. Mostly confined to the setting of the deserted cabin, everybody in the star-studded cast delivers amazing performances, including Tarantino favorites Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Roth and Michael Madsen. 

On top of the dialogue, Ennio Morricone (“The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”) delivers his first complete Western score in forty years and it sounds absolutely incredible. That contributes greatly to the old-fashioned style of this movie, something I absolutely loved to see. Of course, Tarantino couples that with plenty of his signature humor in this film, as well as tons of absurd, over the top violence. 

Like “Django Unchained,” it is important to keep the time period of this piece in mind, so there is certainly some extreme content which could be found offensive. Controversy aside, I think that the “Hateful Eight” stands amongst the finest of Tarantino’s films; another entertaining homage to classic cinema, and this time, even his own work. Now that my tour of his filmography is complete, I will be putting together a list ranking his movies to date; watch out for that publication soon.