Dean Koontz is one of the most successful authors of all-time. At least 450 million copies of his books have sold. He has 18 credits listed at IMDb, works he wrote directly for or that were adapted to the big and small screen by others. Last night I watched Odd Thomas (2013), adapted from a popular series, courtesy of Netflix. The protagonist has the ability to foretell and solve violent crime, certainly not an original premise but entertaining when done well. I had trouble maintaining interest. The tone isn’t at all convincing. Its lightheartedness, its vivid colors, seem out of whack with the events depicted. It is very loud. For a change I had to set the volume down rather than up. The film has two things going for it: creepy CGI effects of monstrous entities that revel in human suffering, and the endearing relationship of its young leads, played by Anton Yelechin and Addison Timlin. Willem Dafoe is the only familiar face in the cast, and his talents are largely wasted. This being almost entirely escapist fare, there is little interest about the psychological effects such a psychic gift would have on a person. This was Stephen Sommers eleventh stint at the helm, and it seems to be the type of flick in which he specializes. He directed two of the modern Mummy movies. More than 19,000 contributors have rated Odd Thomas at IMDb, forging to a consensus of 6.8 of ten. In the commentary section, fans of Koontz vigorously defend the film against the jibes of the naysayers. I side with the latter. On a scale of five, two. Another plus -- it runs little more than an hour-and-a-half.
The NY Post had some juicy nuggets in today’s edition. The incomparable Hondo, the droll sports handicapper, chimed in on the results of the latest poll that shows Obama to be by far the worst President since WWII. He says rumor has it Jimmy Carter has demanded a recount… In an article on music sales, which are struggling, there has been a surprising development -- vinyl sales have increased by 40%. I don’t get it. CDs and downloads seem far superior. I hope this portends that sales of print books will increase vs. electronic copies, but I doubt they will… In Michael Barone’s op-ed piece on the costly, maddening maze and redundant layers of government, he uses an acronym I’d not encountered previously, which encapsulates the frustration of those fighting the bureaucracy: BANANA -- Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything.
My thanks to Vincenza, who purchased A Hitch in Twilight in the first few minutes of today's session of the floating book shop, which meant that even if thunderstorms rolled in as predicted, the day was a success. It is now just past five and it has yet to rain. There was another oddity -- none of the ten or so other works that sold were children's books or in Russian. I had a visit from Mountain Man, who in addition to ranting about government corruption and incompetence, related an incident from his days at Brooklyn Tech, which at the time had 6000 students, all male, all there on merit. He attended an assembly at which a male-female acrobatic team performed. When a lascivious position was executed, the testosterone level in the auditorium went off the charts and a two-word profane chant arose. Suffice to say, the staff was not pleased. I also had a visit from Ol' Smoky for the first time in two months. As I'd feared, he was evicted from his apartment and is now living on the Boardwalk. Since he doesn't have a legal address, he's benefits have been cut off. At least that's what he told me. Chances are he didn't do the things he needed to rectify the situation. He couldn't hack the rules and regulations of the home to which he was sent. I don't know what he's going to do come winter.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://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 Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
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