Movies

Teresa Peschel: Agatha Christie, She Watched

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The subtitle: “One woman’s plot to watch 201 Agatha Christie movies without murdering the director, screenwriter, cast, or her husband.” This is a fabulous and useful reference book.  If you think you are familiar with all the Marple-Poirot-And Then There Were None adaptations, you probably aren’t.  It’s encyclopedic, with each film rated regarding fidelity to text and quality of movie, along with a cast list, director and screenwriter for each film.  The real plus are the snarky little end comments.  I started putting post its on the ones she recommends as fabulous. read more

Colin Cotterill: The Motion Picture Teller

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This charming mystery from Colin Cotterill’s innovative pen is not a murder mystery, but it is a mystery.  Set slightly in the past – 1996 – the action takes place mostly in a corner of Bangkok where postman Supot hangs out whenever he can at his buddy Ali’s video store.  This book will bring back a wave of memories of old video rental places and the pleasures of browsing the shelves and discovering a treasure.

While neither Ali or Supot make much money, they are united in their love of cinema, and their happiest hours are spent in the back of the store watching an old film like Casablanca. At one point, Supot thinks to himself: “He wondered if anyone had ever starved to death from enthrallment, dazzled to malnutrition by cinematic magic, not realizing they hadn’t eaten for a week.”  One night Ali and Supot’s viewing is interrupted by an old wino named Woot, who brings in a box of video tapes to sell.  Ali gives him a little bit of money, and as he and Supot go through the tapes, they discover an unknown (to them) movie called Bangkok 2010. read more