I finally got around to viewing Hugo, courtesy of Netflix. Martin Scorsese abandoned his cynicism for this ode to creativity. In great part it is a tribute to film pioneer Georges Melies, who made the oft shown short highlighted by the shot of a rocket ship flying into the eye of the man on the moon. The film's chief attributes are its cinematography (Robert Richardson) and visual effects, both which won Oscars. It was awarded five in all. It is as beautiful-looking as any movie you will ever see. The story, based on a children's book by Brian Selznick, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, adapted for the screen by John Logan, is conventional, appealing but not engrossing. The great Ben Kingsley plays Melies. Christopher Lee, Ray Winstone and Jude Law bring their huge talents to small parts. Sacha Baron Cohen moves out of the realm of satire and into the role of the rigid security agent of a Paris train station. The focus is on an orphan living on his own, played by Asa Butterfield, whose blue eyes are laser-like. He is ably assisted by young old pro Chloe Grace Moretz. On a scale of five, three-and-a-half. The folks at IMDb rate it 7.8 out of ten.
With so many teams in Major League Baseball, the results are becoming more unpredictable than ever. There is a fantastic story in New York. R. A. Dickey, a knuckleballer, has had a brilliant first half. He is 10-1, with an ERA of 2.20, 90 K's in 90 innings and only 66 hits allowed. He is 37. After several years of mediocrity at the major league level, he began experimenting with the knuckler as a member of the Texas Rangers. His first outing was a disaster, as he allowed six home runs, a dubious record he shares with another knuckleballer, Bill Wakefield. He bounced around several teams before landing with the Mets in 2010. Although he pitched very well his first two seasons, his record did not reflect it, as the team was bad and he did not receive a lot of run support. That is not the case this season. This has to be the Mets most cost-effective acquisition ever, and it must rival that of any in MLB history. Dickey studied English Lit at the University of Tennessee. He has co-written a book with Wayne Coffey: Wherever I Wind Up, My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball. In 2011, inspired by the Hemingway short story The Snows of Kilimanjaro, he climbed the mountain, despite management's threat to not pay him if he were injured. He tied the event to a charitable angle highlighting human trafficking and raised $100,000. Let's hear it for Mr. Dickey.
I had a big win today too, as the percentages floated my way. Jenny, of Sicilian descent, had passed the floating book shop many times and never stopped, assuming I was selling only Russian books. When I told her Killing was about an Italian-American family in turmoil, she was hooked. Then she noticed A Hitch in Twilight and bought it too. Grazie asai, signorina, and thanks also to the other kind folks who bought books on this gorgeous (finally) day.
Visit Vic’s sites:
Vic’s Third Novel (Print or Kindle): http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic’s Website: http://membershttp://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic’s Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic’s 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic’s 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic’s Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f
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