tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86900453611466618532010-07-14T04:57:21.753-04:00Kennoreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-44326505995036257572010-07-02T13:46:00.011-04:002010-07-07T22:43:48.122-04:00

A sign of a great modern day TV serial is that it gets better with every passing season. The characters have more depth and nuance, the storylines become more complex and intriguing, and everything bleeds together in a fantastic mix of themes, suspense and tension.Using that standard, Breaking Bad can now be considered one of the best crime dramas of the past few years. The third season has just

Kennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-47640727995323251822010-06-19T14:12:00.021-04:002010-06-20T22:10:37.567-04:00

How do audience members rate verisimilitude in the films they watch? We sometimes say that a certain film has a realistic feel to it. A certain visceral impression that the situations in the film could have happened just the way they are presented to us.Maybe low production values combined with a decent story contribute to an authentic feel. And sometimes even the passage of time may allow that

Kennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-84566573871900494512010-06-05T10:26:00.026-04:002010-06-11T20:15:35.997-04:00

"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in."The fact that we can never escape our past is a theme in countless crime dramas.Out of the Past, a 1946 crime noir starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, and Kirk Douglas, is an early example of just how powerful that theme can be. A lean, cool movie with all the backstabbing, moral ambiguity, and hopeless fatalism that you could hope

Kennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-29777961914820395382010-02-09T14:45:00.033-05:002010-05-24T18:45:22.296-04:00

Occasionally in life, certain elements conspire, and individuals are cast into exceptional situations. With the glare of the spotlight, and the realization that their every move in a bizarre drama is being chronicled for posterity, the players often step up, and are so thrilled that they have the starring roles in their own real-time soap opera watched by millions, that something surreal happens.

Kennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-86389534065177192322010-02-02T21:55:00.009-05:002010-06-03T19:32:01.241-04:00

Another mass murder that is briefly acknowledged and then forgotten. The coverage is muted because we have become so accustomed to the explosive and sudden slaughter of numerous human beings.Newspaper reports about mass murders include the details of the slaughter and sometimes mention the apparent ho-hum response that such stories now seem to receive. It's only when a new record is set for

Kennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-31146610430972096012010-01-26T23:00:00.009-05:002010-07-08T22:55:03.293-04:00

The Billionaire's Vinegar by Benjamin Wallace is a story of malleability, desperation to be part of the crowd, pretentiousness, and greed. In short, the anatomy of a swindle.For anyone who has long loathed "serious" wine drinkers, and especially wine writers whose turgid tasting notes are full of laugh-out-loud descriptions, there is a great deal of schadenfreude to be had in this book.And while

Kennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-13046083580140089992010-01-10T20:42:00.025-05:002010-05-22T19:57:29.971-04:00

When we hear about horrific events, we usually express immediate shock and outrage. But without looking further and seeking out the full story, any real opinions we have on the subject tend to be superficial, and fade into a few stock responses we offer up whenever the subject is raised.For years I felt and expressed the usual sadness and disbelief about the holocaust and other events associated

Kennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-76174774301455684892010-01-06T21:06:00.012-05:002010-03-06T14:57:29.320-05:00

If you think that newspapers that previously prided themselves on reporting only serious news now include more gossip and seediness in their pages, you're right.Most major newspapers, and especially their online editions, now carry columnists who would have only been able to make a living in the most shameless tabloids a few years ago. No argument is too specious, no inflammatory statement too

Kennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-34082363554274021022009-12-31T20:54:00.007-05:002010-04-03T18:11:52.845-04:00

For a book or movie review to have any credibility, there has to be some balance. In other words, no review should be completely negative or positive. Even if the reviewer absolutely loves what he is reviewing, there must be some criticism, and some call for improvement. Otherwise, the review is tacitly claiming that the book, movie, television show, or anything else that is being reviewed is

Kennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-24840445019860528842009-12-29T13:49:00.005-05:002009-12-29T20:12:46.122-05:00

When ready-made and easy-to-follow narrtatives come screeching to a halt, many people don't quite know how to react.In 1995 I was living in Tel Aviv when Yitzhak Rabin was murdered. The night is burned in my memory. There was a nice chill in the air, and a political rally in support of the Oslo peace process was being held a few kilometres away at the Kikar Malchey Israel (Kings of Israel Square)

Kennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-5217592518175036822009-12-28T18:52:00.008-05:002009-12-29T00:13:11.176-05:00

Various media outlets are salivating at the thought of a mob drama to rival any of the cinematic versions after the son of one of Montreal's Mafia bosses was gunned down in broad daylight on Monday, December 28th.The logical conclusion is that there is going to be instant retaliation and then all hell is going to break loose, with a steady supply of corpses to fill up nightly newscasts and the

Kennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-86767897647538322822009-12-24T17:40:00.012-05:002009-12-25T20:26:07.157-05:00

So you read this old, relatively obscure crime novel--Little Caesar. It's got that kind of hipster cachet that comes from the fact that not many people have read it. But at the same time it's often hailed as the first real crime noir novel. It's about Chicago mobsters of the 1920s, and a movie based on the book was made in the 1930s.You start reading the book and it doesn't really grab you at

Kennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-85449216406702000512009-12-12T21:41:00.017-05:002010-07-03T15:11:26.830-04:00

Breaking Bad is an AMC drama about Walter White,(played by Bryan Cranston) a 50 year-old chemistry teacher who has been diagnosed with lung cancer. With the prospect of a few more years of life at the most, White is distraught at the thought that his family will not be left with anything after he passes away.White's brother-in-law, Hank Schrader, is a DEA agent in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where

Kennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-72189844175395866932009-12-05T13:29:00.009-05:002009-12-05T15:29:33.354-05:00

When a skilled writer gets lazy, the result is a novel like The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly.When you have built up a solid fan base and are guaranteed a fat payoff for every book you are commissioned to write, it must be tempting to churn out a top-of-the-head, subpar effort that is full of clichés.The plot is basic here. A sexual deviant, who also happens to be a skilled hacker, butchers women

Kennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-42056444926037905132009-12-01T21:51:00.009-05:002010-01-06T19:52:10.899-05:00

The LA Times Homicide Report is fascinating for a number of reasons.The sheer, non-stop parade of senseless murders is probably what brings most people back to the blog. It's hard to comprehend that such violence plays out so consistently in one geographic area. But there it is, every day, with new reports of lives ended.Ostensibly, as mentioned in its About page, one of the motives behind the

Kennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-84514780354195743182009-11-14T15:12:00.031-05:002009-12-27T17:54:20.356-05:00

In Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, David Simon details the time he spent with detectives in the homicide division of the Baltimore police department and takes readers inside numerous murder investigations in one of the most violent cities in the U.S.Simon does a great job of avoiding the sycophantic and lopsided treatment that many crime reporters give to the police forces that they

Kennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-83522348265219385192009-10-25T22:05:00.011-04:002009-10-31T21:06:14.867-04:00

The false confession is one of the least known and least understood phenomena in the world of crime and justice. The whole concept seems so strange and incomprehensible to most people that any mention of a false confession elicits a mixture of disbelief and rage towards the person who gave the false confession.A false confession is, just as the name implies, a confession to a crime made by an

Kennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-12341370471790768102009-10-24T22:02:00.008-04:002009-10-31T16:36:11.266-04:00

I suppose that it was inevitable: a weak effort from George Pelecanos. The Way Home is the first book I have read by Pelecanos that did not succeed in creating a memorable world full of interesting characters and a fast moving storyline.The Way Home is maudlin and disappointing. It would likely not have been published had it been submitted by a first-time writer. But Pelecanos has built up a

Kennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-80209854157175905112009-09-20T14:06:00.010-04:002009-09-20T20:04:30.706-04:00

The most frightening thing about the season four premiere of Dexter is the sight of John Lithgow's bare arse.We are treated to this horrific sight on two occasions. Unfortunately, that is the biggest shock in what is an otherwise worn out show that has apparently failed to recover from a disappointing third season.As season four begins, Dexter and his wife Rita are living in suburbia with their

Kennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-14412069330215134502009-07-03T15:42:00.007-04:002009-11-23T21:28:46.111-05:00

Everyone is after a suitcase full of money, and one long chase plays out with numerous confrontations in between. Many a great crime narrative is based on such a premise. A one line summary might lead you to believe that's exactly what No Country for Old Men is about. That wouldn't be wrong, but the movie is also much more than that.The movie focuses on three characters, Llewelyn Moss (played by

Kennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-30002667149722236192009-01-18T12:14:00.015-05:002009-01-19T18:33:52.322-05:00

Sociopathic behaviour is familiar to anyone with an interest in crime and crime fiction. The cold-blooded, unfeeling monster shows up with regularity in the world of fiction and in stories on the evening news.Anyone with a modicum of observation skills has likely pegged someone as a sociopath at least once in their lives. Like the chronic liar who is always creating melodrama and wreaking havoc

Kennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-1886211572772473302009-01-16T14:11:00.015-05:002009-01-16T17:11:15.717-05:00

Oh dear.The new FBI drama, The Beast, premiered last night (January 15th, 2009) on A & E.I hadn't heard much of the show until a week ago when its star, Patrick Swayze, announced that he had come down with pneumonia, an apparent complication that had arisen from his fight with pancreatic cancer. As an actor who has been around for years and been in his share of hits, he has garnered the deserved

Kennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-59610193865956905792009-01-15T19:52:00.010-05:002009-01-19T17:51:35.150-05:00

This is an odd little scam that pops up once in a while. Someone posing as a former or current professional sports player and convincing people to hand over money for the privilege of spending time with them. This latest fraudulent, scheming example from Ottawa, Canada:A formerly drug-addicted con man who posed as a former NHL player to dupe hospital patients out of money says he now hopes to

Kennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-38634430537803521542009-01-15T10:17:00.007-05:002010-07-02T22:25:30.783-04:00

The HBO drama, The Wire, recently completed its fifth and final season.It would be harder to find a serial that was better written, developed, acted, and which stayed truer to its themes over the course of multiple seasons.The Wire explores the sub-cultures of various groups within society. Those in positions of power within each group better understand the dynamics and exploit them for their

Kennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8690045361146661853.post-36236907874006341742009-01-11T23:27:00.019-05:002009-11-14T14:20:34.955-05:00

Years ago I worked in a pub in London, England. It was located on Upper Street in Islington, a neighbourhood that was moving upscale but, like most of the city, still had its share of decent lower class residents and a heaping of scum. There were plenty of pubs along the stretch where I worked.Because it was on the high street, numerous people blundered in simply to use the toilets. Some felt

Kennoreply@blogger.com0