I read, saw, listened to, played - issue 74

Other versions

It's time for the irregular cultural review! I'm talking about things seen, read, listened to, even played too. Completed things, but not only (see the end of the article). And if the blog no longer offers Comments sections, that doesn't mean you can't contribute to Mastodon, BlueSky or elsewhere.

This is the first installation of this part of the blog in english. I'll try to make it a regular one.

Small Mercies, by Dennis Lehane

It's been a long time since I tackled a book so quickly. Dennis Lehane's The Silence grabbed me and pulled me into this story wrapped in the History.

South Boston. Mid-70s. A poor neighborhood full of Irish descendants who pride themselves on being a tight-knit community. And they band together against what they consider an injustice: busing. A desegregation operation designed to mix different neighborhoods, with children from black neighborhoods sent to middle and high schools in white neighborhoods, and vice-versa. And at the end of a suffocating summer, as anger rumbles and latent racism explodes, we follow two characters.

Mary Pat, the Irish mother. Whose 17-year-old daughter disappears in the middle of a summer's night. And who will do everything in her power to find her. And Bobby Coyle, a homicide detective who investigates the strange death of a young black man in the subway station of the same white neighborhood.

The first part of the book plunges us into social drama. Poverty, non-mixing, hatred and racism are at the heart of the events that take place. We plunge into the daily life of Mary Pat, who is far from a saint. She's trying to survive, having already lost her first husband and her son. And the disturbing disappearance of her daughter is only going to make things worse. Especially when Butler's gang, the local mafia, seems to be involved. At the same time, the body of this young black boy is found, and Inspector Coyne investigates the neighborhood, and these two stories collide.

It's tough, fascinating, and almost a reflection of certain current events. And then, halfway through, the novel changes tone. Certain revelations and events trigger a break in the story. It becomes a story of violence and revenge. We step out of the big story and into the small one.

A thrilling journey that I recommend.

Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke

• A phantasmagorical, strange, distant atmosphere in the first third, as we discover the labyrinth.
• An onion-peel mystery, unfolding layer by layer for us and for the narrator.
• Fluid, beautiful and evocative. A wonderful writing style.
• The more the mystery is revealed, the more the harshness of the situation becomes apparent. Some of the revelations hit home hard.
• Not everything is explained, which is just as well. We remain in Piranesi's point of view.

Flow

• Rougher, different animation (cell-shading?) gives the film a distinctive look.
• No human dialogue. Magnificent work on sounds, on animal voices and intonations.
• A strange situation with this terrifying, rapid, monstrous rising water.
• A story of friendship and mutual aid. The animals aren't just animals (they know how to handle a boat, after all).
• A simple story of travel. But a beautiful story, beautifully told, for the whole family.
• An unexplained mystery that drives the story from start to finish. And that's just fine.

Schitt's Creek, season 1

• A couple of rich, out-of-touch people find themselves in a remote American village they bought “as a joke” a few years ago, and have nothing else left.
• A situational comedy, very much so. Fishes out of water.
• Some normal characters, but Schitt's Creek has a few of its own.
• Behind the humor, humanity. The characters evolve, change their views a little.
• Yes, we laugh. Yes, it's stupid. Yes, it feels good.
• An obvious inspiration for the Krause of Brindlewood Bay!
• Let's get on with Season 2!

Is the Found Footage dead?

A french video about Found Footage, by the Fossoyeur de Films (Movies' Undertaker).

• A new video from Le Fossoyeur de Films, this time on the Found Footage genre.
• A perfect format in time, sometimes digressing (that's the channel's style), but exploring the topic well.
• Full of references, obvious ones, but not the only ones. Yes, Blair Witch. Yes, Paranormal Activity. But where can we find it today?

Are you afraid of the Dark Universe?

• I've already talked about it, in the previous post, but now I've finished season 1.
• A Jekyll x Hyde thriller, I wasn't expecting that.
• House of Dracula, the Avengers-like show that brings everyone together, is a blockbuster that succeeds perfectly in its mission and makes all the characters evolve.
• You get caught up in the show, and the exchanges surrounding the choices are interesting to follow.
• I want to see these movies! All of them! In fact, I feel like I've seen some of them, and certain images are etched in my mind, it's crazy.

The Bourne Supremacy

• After a good experience with the first installment, I followed it up.
• A quality opener, with a big twist. And Billy Butcher.
• The CIA is hiding things (surprise!). And internal strife. And there are traitors on at least two levels (surprise?).
• The plot lacks surprise once it gets going. There's a big action scene involving cars. But it lacks espionage.
• We'll hold off for the third.

In Progress...

• Person of Interest unfolds bit by bit, offering some damn good episodes in the first half of Season 1. The Carter-Reese relationship is really well handled.
• Assassin's Creed Black Flag is OK. But in small doses. And all the little subsystems really weigh down the experience (don't care about Abstergo, don't care about trade routes).
• Into the Breach is so addictive. And when you pull off a good build... Rah!
• I've become Podcasts Addict, and I wonder how I did without this app before.
• The Traitors is fun. There's a lot of bad stuff, especially in the editing, but the game and the players make the experience addictive.