List #29: So You Love the Cast of Hannibal, but Wish Watching the Show Itself Weren't So Psychologically Damaging --- Part 3

See Part 1 (Hugh Dancy) here, and see Part 2 (Mads Mikkelsen) here.

I'm sure Bryan Fuller is trying to ruin your life at this point, even if you aren't caught up on Hannibal (and perhaps don't intend to be), because his life-ruining power is just that strong now. Let's try to get through this together.

Caroline Dhavernas

On Hannibal, she's
Dr. Alana Bloom --- psychology professor; beer lover; friend+ of Will Graham; always, always right

Instead, Watch Her in

Heart: The Marilyn Bell Story (2001)

It's about a young woman making a record-breaking swim, but that's not the important thing. The important thing is that you get to watch Dhavernas be triumphant!

Wonderfalls (2004)

[also created by Bryan Fuller]

It's one of the best television shows in the history of ever, and the bright colors and talking animal figures might successfully distract you from noticing that Bryan Fuller has always been tough on his amazing characters.

Wonderfalls was also Rec. #2.

Come back for: other places to see the crime scene investigators (a.k.a. the "sassy science squad").

See You in a Week or So

The (almost) Daily Wreck is going on a short hiatus. 

What a great opportunity to poke around in the Index of Names and Titles! 

You could go to "M" to see how I dealt with both David Mitchell the author and David Mitchell the actor.

Or! You could look at "H" to see my love of all things related to Audrey Hepburn. While you're there, you can take note of the fact that I've spelled Katharine Hepburn's name correctly.

Or, you could always just start with "A," I guess.

When The (almost) Daily Wreck returns from hiatus, we'll jump right into a celebration of the wonder that is Caroline Dhavernas.

See you then!

Image credits: 

First image [screenshot from The Birds] from "1,000 Frames of Hitchcock."

Second image [Caroline Dhavernas collage] from fyeahcarolinedhavernas.tumblr.com.

List #29: So You Love the Cast of Hannibal, but Wish Watching the Show Itself Weren't So Psychologically Damaging --- Part 2

See Part 1 (Hugh Dancy) here.

Is Bryan Fuller still trying to ruin your life? I have more suggestions.

Mads Mikkelsen

On Hannibal he's
Hannibal Lecter --- psychiatrist; ex-surgeon; foodie; music snob; psychopath; not a vegetarian

Instead, Watch Him in

After the Wedding (2006)

A chance to see Mikkelsen being subtly decent and heartbroken instead of subtly menacing. The tagline for the film is "Champagne is poured . . . secrets are spilled," but none of the secrets involve someone being a serial killer/cannibal.

Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself (2002)

It's a film about a depressive man who keeps trying to kill himself, and it is still more uplifting than Hannibal. It was also Rec. #108.

Next up: The wonderful Caroline Dhavernas.

List #29: So You Love the Cast of Hannibal, but Wish Watching the Show Itself Weren't So Psychologically Damaging --- Part 1

Is Bryan Fuller currently trying to ruin your life? I have some suggestions.

To start us off, I'm going to focus on one actor per day, because it turns out I have a lot to say.

Hugh Dancy

On Hannibal, he's
Will Graham --- protagonist; tortured criminal profiler; sleepwalker; dog collector; man perpetually on the verge of a complete breakdown

Instead, Watch Him in

Daniel Deronda (2002) 

Dancy is so young! (Still kind of tortured, though.) Plus, Romola Garai is in this. We love Romola Garai. Also, the miniseries is available to stream on Netflix.

Hysteria (2011)

You know how Dancy does some line readings in Hannibal that are just off-kilter enough to feel more real than they should? He does that here, too, and gets a much happier ending for his trouble.

Tomorrow: We'll look at Hannibal himself, Mads Mikkelsen.

Friday Flashback: Rec. #142: Tex and Molly in the Afterlife

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: Dead hippies. This book is about dead hippies --- specifically the Tex and Molly of the title, who've fallen down a well. It's also about corporate doers of environmental evil, glib afterlife factoids, '90s computer hackers who call themselves the Prophets of Delirium, a nerdy botanist, the deconstructionist staging of a midsummer play, and a baby bear. There's also some transmogrification.

Comparable to: Tom Robbins, Thomas Pynchon, Kurt Vonnegut. Also, author Richard Grant specifically references Neil Gaiman, which is a pretty accurate sign of where his head is.

Representative quote: "Tex and Molly eyeballed one another. Tex made a little wiggle of the brow, as though assuring her that whatever she might be thinking, he wholeheartedly agreed."

You might not like it if: You don't want to read about hippies. Even (or especially?) fictional dead ones whom the author mocks affectionately.

How to get it: Tex and Molly in the Afterlife isn't currently in print, but you can buy it used or borrow it from your library.



[Originally posted 6/11/11.]

Rec. #296: Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle

What: Sometimes it still feels like it could have been a dream. But no --- in the mid-'90s, we really did get a biopic about the wonderful, brittle, sharp-edged Dorothy Parker and her clever, clever friends of the Algonquin Round Table. Not only did the movie exist, it also seemed to include nearly every actor balancing at the mainstream / indie film fringe then.

A special note on the cast: I mean, really.

Jennifer Jason Leigh as Dorothy Parker
Campbell Scott as Robert Benchley

Plus
Martha Plimpton as Jane Grant
Matthew Broderick as Charles MacArthur
Lili Taylor as Edna Ferber
Chip Zien as Franklin Pierce Adams
Jane Adams as Ruth Hale
Keith Carradine as Will Rogers
Rebecca Miller as Neysa McMein
Jon Favreau as Elmer Rice
Jennifer Beals as Gertrude Benchley
Peter Gallagher as Alan Campbell
Heather Graham as Mary Kennedy Taylor
Andrew McCarthy as Edwin Pond Parker II
Gwyneth Paltrow as Paula Hunt
Wallace Shawn as Horatio Byrd

. . . to name a few

Representative quote: "You don't want to turn into the town drunk, Eddie. Not in Manhattan."

Bonus representative quote: "Tragedies don't kill us, Woodrow. Messes kill us."

Connections to previous Wreckage: Read about Parker in the biography What Fresh Hell Is This? (Rec. #237). Read Parker's own writings in The Portable Dorothy Parker  (Personal Wreck #3).

Also, did you notice Rebecca Miller listed up there? That's the same Rebecca Miller who wrote Personal Velocity (Rec. #278).

Rec. #295: The Washington Story

What: The Washington Story is author Adam Langer's sequel to his much-praised debut novel, Crossing California. Don't be fooled by the almost-certainly-intentionally-geographically-misleading titles, though. Despite some threads extending outward (to New York, to Florida, to Berlin), the focus here is on Chicago, and on a very specific Chicago at that.

The Chicago of The Washington Story is the Chicago of the 1980s --- one that has just elected its first African American mayor and watches the sky for Halley's comet.

Opening lines: "Jill Wasserstrom, cub reporter for her high school newspaper, the Lane Leader, was a great believer in fate, so it was not surprising that she would read great meaning into the fact that, in 1982, during the second week of November, three historically significant incidents would occur within one twelve-hour period."

Representative quote: "The few times that Muley tried to dissuade him from his behavior, Hillel always agreed with Muley --- yes, he should seek counseling, yes, cocaine was addictive, yes, calling out 'Hey, Leon Spinks!' to a gap-toothed bouncer at Dingbats' cocktail lounge wasn't smart."

You might not like it if: Too many characters, too much plot.

How to get it: Buy it or borrow it.

Connection to previous Wreckage: Crossing California was Rec. #82.

Friday Flashback: Rec. #148: Lady Windermere's Fan

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: Lady Windermere's Fan was Oscar Wilde's first major comedy, and it revolves around many of the same themes as his more famous later plays. (It is also the source of many of Wilde's most famous bon mots [see Representative Quotes].) The upper classes are mannered and witty; Victorian hypocrisy is satirized; and a rigidly moral woman goes slightly astray.

Comparable to: Of Wilde's other plays, it most closely resembles An Ideal Husband.

Representative quote: "I can resist anything but temptation."

Bonus representative quote: "Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about."

Bonus bonus representative quote: "Scandal is gossip made tedious by morality."
[I could go on.]

You might not like it if: You're not wild about Wilde.

How to get it: It's in the public domain! Enjoy.




[Originally posted 6/20/11.]

List #28: Cons, Capers, and Heists on Screen --- Part 3

See Part 1 here and Part 2 here.


Cons! Capers! Heists! Here is the rousing conclusion to an incomplete list of some you may have forgotten about:

The Lady Eve

Featured Players: Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn

The Mark: Naive ophiologist/heir to an ale fortune.

Quote: 
"You're certainly a funny girl for anybody to meet who's just been up the Amazon for a year."

"Good thing you weren't up there two years."

For more information: See Rec. #129.

Micmacs

Featured Players: Dany Boon, Yolande Moreau, André Dussollier, Julie Ferrier

The Marks: Two rival weapons manufacturers.

Quote:"I'm Bazil."
"I know. You have a slug in your brain box. I know a family who'll adopt you."

For more information: See Rec. #74.

The Spanish Prisoner

Featured Players: Campbell Scott, Rebecca Pidgeon, Steve Martin

The Mark: It varies. A lot.

Quote: "Beware of all enterprises which require new clothes."

Bonus quote: "Nobody going on a business trip would have been missed if he never arrived."

List #28: Cons, Capers, and Heists on Screen --- Part 2

See Part 1 here.


Cons! Capers! Heists! Here is the second part of an incomplete list of some you may have forgotten about:

Fitzwilly

Featured Players: Dick Van Dyke, Barbara Feldon, Sam Waterston

The Mark: Various department stores, who don't even know what hit them.

Quote:
"Good morning, Mr. Fitzwilly. Beautiful morning, sir."
"Thank you, Oliver. I do my best."

Happy, Texas

Featured Players: Steve Zahn, Jeremy Northam, William H. Macy, Ally Walker, Illeana Douglas

The Marks: The Little Miss Fresh Squeezed beauty pageant. And a bank.

Quote:
"The last man in that safe who didn't work here, my dad shot in his tracks."
"I understand that's the most painful place to be shot in."

How to Steal a Million

Featured Players: Audrey Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, Eli Wallach

The Mark: A certain statue in a Paris museum.

Quote: "American millionaires must be all quite mad. Perhaps it's something they put in the ink when they print the money."

For more information: See Rec. #205.


Continue with Part 3 here.

List #28: Cons, Capers, and Heists on Screen --- Part 1

This past weekend, Now You See Me did unexpectedly well at the box office. Bravo to that, I say, as I am such a sucker for stories of cons, capers, and heists, especially ones of the Robin Hood variety.

So, cons! Capers! Heists! Here is the first part of an incomplete list of some you may have forgotten about:

The Brothers Bloom

Featured Players: Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo

The Mark: An eccentric heiress who borrows hobbies.

Quote: "The trick to not feeling cheated is to learn how to cheat."

Connection to previous Wreckage: Written and directed by Rian Johnson, who also wrote and directed Brick (Rec. #62).

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Featured Players: Steven Martin, Michael Caine, Glenne Headley

The Marks: The idle rich on the French Riviera.

Quote: 

"I didn't steal any money! She just saw me with another woman! You're French, you understand that!"

"To be with another woman, that is French. To be caught, that is American."

Duplicity

Featured Players: Clive Owen, Julia Roberts, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Giamatti

The Marks: Dueling corporate giants.

Quote:
"My caper's in the Bahamas. Where's yours?"
"Cleveland."


Continue with Part 2 here and Part 3 here.