Action
Friday night’s movie fix, courtesy of Netflix by mail, was a violent, quirky, slick romp, Bullet Train (2022). It’s the story of multiple passengers of a Japanese train out for cash, revenge or both. The action is almost non-stop. The dialog is clever. Brad Pitt stars. Two big names show up late. I recognized the long-haired Michael Shannon and am embarrassed to say I didn’t recognize Sandra Bullock, whose screen presence I’ve always enjoyed. I was unfamiliar with the rest of the cast despite their impressive credits. All were solid. I wouldn’t say the plot is easy to follow, but it’s secondary to the mayhem, so it almost doesn’t matter. David Leitch directed. I’ve seen two other of his films, John Wick (2014), for which he was uncredited, and Atomic Blonde (2017), starring Charlize Theron. Obviously, he has a flare for action. Zak Olkewicz adapted Kôtarô Isaka’s novel. Anyone squeamish about casual violence and bloodflow should pass. The flick did well at the box office, returning more than $239 million worldwide against a budget estimated at less than $86 million. 302,000+ users at IMDb have rated Bullet Train, forging to a consensus of 7.3 on a scale of ten. I wouldn’t go that high. I was not bored, but it didn’t seem fresh. Here’s the star in character:
Sign of the times: Hampton trailer sells for $3.75 million. I guess the owners aren’t worried about the alleged rising seas.
From a nypost.com article by Patrick Reilly, edited by yours truly: US Army veteran Andrew Peters, 28, of Wisconsin was killed in action in Ukraine. It is believed he is the seventh American to lose his life there. RIP, Sir.
This NYP headline may be the most amusing of the day: “Blue-collar workers have higher sperm counts: Harvard study.” Who drew that assignment? Wait, here’s another candidate: “Biden’s welcome to Italy’s Meloni proves his fascist talk was empty.” Cue Emily Litella: “Never mind.”
“Damned if you do, damned if you don’t” headline from newsmax.com: “Fed Needs Recession to Win Inflation Fight: Study.”
Another derailment has occurred, this time in North Carolina. To my surprise, I discovered they are common. According to an article at independent.co.uk by Joe Sommerlad: “The Bureau of Transportation Statistics records 54,539 train derailments between 1990 to 2021, an average of 1,704 per year.” Geez. Fortunately, few involve toxic substances.
Without sunshine and a temperature in the vicinity of the freezing mark, the only chance the floating book shop had today was the availability of one of two parking spots that would allow me to sit in the car. That happened and the session went surprisingly well. My thanks to the young man who grossly overcompensated me for Strengths Finder 2.0 by Gallup, and to the retired judge, who bought Answers to Distraction by Edward M. Hallowell M.D. and John J. Ratey M.D. and The Art of Getting Even by Gary Brodsky; and to the gentleman who purchased four sci-fi hardcovers in Russian. Once again, “give it a shot” proved wise.
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