Highbrow Magazine - stephen king https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/stephen-king en Our All-Time Favorite Books (Which You Should Also Read) https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/9472-our-all-time-favorite-books-which-you-should-also-read <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/books-fiction" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Books &amp; Fiction</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Tue, 11/20/2018 - 12:51</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumbooks_2.jpg?itok=2-_JNRdo"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumbooks_2.jpg?itok=2-_JNRdo" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>All of us treasure a few books in our lives, which we read and reread and pass onto future generations. These books managed to bore themselves into our brains and hearts, and some even had the power to shape who we are today.</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>In honor of PBS’s <em><a href="https://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/books/#/">The Great American Read</a></em> – which selected Harper Lee’s <em>To Kill a Mockingbird</em> as America’s favorite book --  <em>Highbrow Magazine</em> writers and contributors list their all-time favorite book, which stands head and shoulders (so to speak) above the rest of the musty books in their personal libraries.</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/1favebooks.jpg" style="height:400px; width:260px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>My personal all-time favorite book is J.D. Salinger’s <em>The Catcher in the Rye</em>. Having spent most of my childhood in Europe, I was late in discovering American literature (I was too busy studying Shakespeare and Flaubert and Graham Greene). I read <em>The Catcher in the Rye</em> in my freshman year at university in one sitting – I was unable to put the book down. I was enamored of Holden Caulfield, the hero (or anti-hero some would say) of the story, whose brutally honest, tell-it-like-it-is, heartwarming narrative captured me. I thought J.D. Salinger was a genius, and I immediately went to the bookstore and purchased all his books. To this day, he remains one of my all-time favorite writers. <em>The Cather in the Rye</em> is the reason I decided I wanted to write for a living – to live a life surrounded by words, and literature, and writing, and books.</p> <p><strong><em>--Tara Taghizadeh, Founding Editor and Publisher--</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2favebooks.jpg" style="height:400px; width:283px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Each of the novels I’ve chosen below is based in part on “real-world” historical figures, from Lee Harvey Oswald and Thomas Cromwell to the Cambridge spy Anthony Blunt. In these books, these individuals become fully realized, flesh-and-blood creation on the page, transformed by the powers<a name="_GoBack" id="_GoBack"></a> of literary imagination. </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Libra (1988) by Don DeLillo</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>The author, whose body of work predicted 9/11, looks backward on the Kennedy assassination. DeLillo reinvents the capricious figure of Lee Oswald, caught in a tangled conspiracy leading to the great American tragedy of November, 1963. </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>The Untouchable (1997) by John Banville</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>A masterful recreation of the world of the British upper class, which spawned a cadre of spies and traitors from the 1930s on. Victor Maskell is the “Untouchable,” an all-too-human double agent whose life is riddled with innumerable secrets and lies. </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Wolf Hall (2009) by Hilary Mantel</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>In this Booker Prize-winning novel, the author recreates the “hot mess” of King Henry VIII’s court in the 1520s. Mantel’s greatest achievement is the riveting figure of the king’s adviser, Thomas Cromwell, a complex, ruthless master of palace intrigue.</p> <p><strong><em>--Lee Polevoi, Chief Book Critic--</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3favebooks.jpg" style="height:400px; width:261px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Maybe because I grew up in California, maybe because I felt the longings and wanderlust of my adolescence when I first read John Steinbeck’s great saga, <em>East of Eden</em>, the book has remained close to my heart.  It captures the heat and the beauty of Steinbeck’s own Salinas Valley, so that the landscape becomes as big as the characters themselves. It is also about the hunger for love and acceptance, the push and pull to find one’s place in the world.  And finally, in Steinbeck’s own words, “We only have one true story…the never-ending contest in ourselves of good and evil.”</p> <p><strong><em>--Sandra Bertrand, Chief Arts Critic--</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/4favebooks.jpg" style="height:400px; width:249px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>My all-time favorite book is <em>Carrie</em> by Stephen King. I love this novel because even though I know what’s going to happen, it still manages to keep me hooked. It’s different because the protagonist, Carrie, could be considered evil. Yet, we are able to look into every other character’s perspectives and struggle to find a character that isn’t flawed in some way. The book has stood out to me because it was the first time I experienced a protagonist who wasn’t “good,” but wasn’t necessarily “evil” either. There were times I cried reading it because I felt bad for Carrie. Stephen King did a great job in making the characters real through their thoughts and feelings.</p> <p><strong><em>--Caitlin Cohen, Contributing Writer--</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/5favebooks.jpg" style="height:400px; width:400px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>I was making a concerted effort to sound smart in my choice for greatest novel of all time, so naturally I landed on the <em>Harry Potter</em> series by J.K. Rowling. I will concede that Ms. Rowling isn’t the most natural or eloquent novelist of all time (or any time, really), but there is no other realm on this planet that can make me feel as wonderful, youthful, or giddy as does the Wizarding World.  </p> <p><strong><em>--Sam Chapin, Contributing Writer--</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/6favebooks.jpg" style="height:400px; width:260px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>One of my favorite books has always been <em>Gone With the Wind</em>. It's a tale of hope against the greatest odds, as Scarlett O'Hara is dethroned from her genteel lifestyle and forced to march into the future. Yes, she can be viewed as selfish, and yes, she's one of the bad guys in terms of partaking in a society built upon slavery, but she's a survivor too, as the world as she knew it changes before her very eyes. At one point, Scarlett's neighbor, Grandma Fontaine, says: “We bow to the inevitable. We're not wheat. We're buckwheat. When a storm comes along it flattens ripe wheat because it's dry and can't bend with the wind. But ripe buckwheat's got sap and it bends. And when the wind has passed, it springs up, almost as straight and strong as before. In these trying days of great political mess, these words, along Scarlett's final words, are a source of hope: Tomorrow is another day.”</p> <p><strong><em>--Barbara Noe Kennedy, Contributing Writer--</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/7favebooks.jpg" style="height:400px; width:271px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><em>The Sirens of Titan</em> made the PBS list, but I'm more fond of <em>Breakfast of Champions</em>, which handles the caustic effects of loneliness eating their way through American society (P.S.: that same atomization has only grown worse). While Kurt Vonnegut didn't consider <em>Breakfast of Champions</em> his best work, giving it a C grade, it captures lonely people driving themselves to insanity and, of course, a subplot of a writer interacting with his creator.</p> <p> </p> <p>Runners up: <em>The Road</em> by Cormac McCarthy, which I read over the space of a car trip to Vermont and cried at the end. And <em>The Age of Innocence</em> by Edith Wharton, which was so emotionally crushing at its conclusion, I almost threw the book across the room.</p> <p><strong><em>--Adam Gravano, Contributing Writer--</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>For Highbrow Magazine</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/favorite-books" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">favorite books</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/east-eden" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">east of eden</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/don-delillo" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Don DeLillo</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/catcher-rye" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the catcher in the rye</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/harry-potter-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Harry Potter</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/breakfast-champions" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">breakfast of champions</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/gone-wind" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">gone with the wind</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/stephen-king" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">stephen king</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/great-american-read" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">great american read</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Highbrow Magazine Staff</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Google Images; Wikipedia Commons</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Tue, 20 Nov 2018 17:51:10 +0000 tara 8375 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/9472-our-all-time-favorite-books-which-you-should-also-read#comments Watching ‘American Horror Story: Murder House’ https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/8650-watching-american-horror-story-murder-house <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/film-tv" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Film &amp; TV</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Sun, 11/19/2017 - 15:12</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/5americanhorror.jpg?itok=mdvkCMA5"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/5americanhorror.jpg?itok=mdvkCMA5" width="480" height="270" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>                                                             </p> <p>Warning: This review will likely contain spoilers. If you cannot enjoy a story when components of its plot and structure are given in advance, please read something else.</p> <p> </p> <p>A family moves into an old house, and, it turns out that, unbeknownst to them, murders had occurred there in the past. The haunting subsequently begins, as the specters of the past, both from their own lives and the house's past life interact with the less than ideal present: a cheating spouse with a mistress who won't go away, a daughter drifting away from her family and into self-blaming depression.</p> <p> </p> <p>Much of this resembles some well-worn tropes, and not just of haunted house stories or even horror in general, but it works. In part, there's the old gothic novel trick of repeated dead-ends. For example, the repeated presence of the “Rubber Man” suit to complement the abundant eroticism of the series. The viewer feels almost compelled to say that sexual desire is lurking, and with Dr. Harmon's medical specialty biting on the psychosexual is certainly tempting, but ultimately this inquiry turns out to be a dead-end.</p> <p> </p> <p>Also, its origin story as a last-ditch attempt by Chad to keep the one thing he can't control, his relationship with Patrick, adds a nice touch of a male inadequacy narrative reminiscent of some of Stephen King's work (<em>The Shining </em>has it, as does <em>Christine</em>). The racism of Constance and the realtor would be another dead-end, although, in a ghost story, where the past and present meet uncomfortably, race might be a fertile ground — maybe not for the particular setting, but in general (my mind lights on northern cities or even my home region of Long Island).</p> <p> </p> <p>There are other tried and true elements of the season. The house's many ghosts interacting with one another as well as the Harmon family adds the complexity of conflicting goals and multigenerational drama to the tale. For example, all the women want a baby, as do Patrick and Chad, and sharing isn't exactly an option. In all, the viewer might find himself reminded that, as Sartre wrote in <em>No Exit</em>, “Hell is other people.” The multigenerational complexity is on its own intriguing as each of the ghosts can be a foil for another and the living, for example Nora Montgomery's conniving to get Vivien's child, even making a deal with Tate to do so (it should be noted that while Nora eventually gets her kid, it's not a bed of roses and she eventually gives up the child to Vivien).</p> <p> </p> <p>In “Murder House,” one is confronted not just with the hell of other people but, to borrow from another modern author, William Faulkner, the reality that the past is not dead — in fact it's not even past.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/6americanhorror.jpg" style="height:352px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>While much of this has been done before, in different combinations, the series works well and manages to keep the viewer hungering for more. The fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes is certainly deserved and it's a testament to the strength of this first installment in the series that not a single episode is rated below a 55. But the excitement wasn't all <em>ex post facto</em>. As the series was getting started <em>Washington Post</em>'s Hank Stuever gave the series a B+, writing, “Overdoing things is one of Murphy's trademark flaws, but this show has a captivating style and giddy gross-outs.”</p> <p> </p> <p>While Stuever raises the question of why the Harmons don't move out, so too does a less enthusiastic reviewer, Uproxx's Alan Stepinwall, whose headline labels the show, “an overwrought mess,” and who later goes on to compare it to an undergraduate's drunken pranks. The question is a bit of a cheap shot. A home is a large investment, and, in this case, it's not just a place where the Harmons intend to rest their heads at the end of a day.</p> <p> </p> <p>Dr. Harmon is running his practice out of the house, and he and his wife invest a significant amount of money and work in remodeling it. It doesn't take an economist to appreciate the propensity of regular human beings to misunderstand when an investment is no longer worth the money and effort spent.</p> <p> </p> <p>Even before this, there are logistical questions that hamstring this line of inquiry: taking the realtor to court will take time and money, as will the questions of where to relocate to and how to do it; all the while, the Harmons will need a place to live, and, as they nominally own it, the Murder House isn't exactly out of the question, especially if there are appeals. The oversight is forgivable, as with knowledge of what journalism pays one is likely to find that it's unlikely either writer owns property.</p> <p>           </p> <p>In retrospect, the first season is more than watchable. It's fodder for that special feeling of heightened awareness that comes from a good horror tale, where the telltale scrape of dried leaves across pavement and the chill in the wind excite them and that sense of something being just “over there, “just out of sight — nebulous, nefarious, and always watching, waiting.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:                                                 </strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>Adam Gravano is a contributing writer at</em> Highbrow Magazine.</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>For Highbrow Magazine</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/american-horror-story" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">American Horror Story</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/murder-house" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">murder house</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tv-series" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">tv series</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/stephen-king" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">stephen king</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Adam Gravano</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Sun, 19 Nov 2017 20:12:45 +0000 tara 7826 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/8650-watching-american-horror-story-murder-house#comments ‘Dark Shadows,’ ‘People Like Us’ Arrive on DVD, Blu-ray https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1621-dark-shadows-people-us-arrive-dvd-blu-ray <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/film-tv" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Film &amp; TV</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Tue, 10/02/2012 - 13:16</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumDark%20Shadows%20-%20Horizontal.jpg?itok=FtjRig9k"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumDark%20Shadows%20-%20Horizontal.jpg?itok=FtjRig9k" width="480" height="320" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> The latest collaboration between actor Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton leads this week’s crop of home video releases.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Dark Shadows</strong></p> <p> <strong>2½ stars (out of four)<br /> Rated PG-13 for comic horror violence, sexual content, some drug use, language and smoking<br /> Warner Brothers<br /> Available on: DVD, Blu-ray and digital download</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> One can always count on director Tim Burton to deliver movies dripping with atmosphere, and his film adaptation of the 1960s and ’70s soap opera “Dark Shadows” is eerily beautiful to look at. Unfortunately, the storytelling elements don’t keep pace with Burton’s visual craftsmanship.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The “Dark Shadows” TV show ran five years, and vampire Barnabus Collins wasn’t in early episodes, but his eventual appearance created a ratings spike, making him the face of the series. Likely for that reason, Burton and company put the focus squarely on Barnabus (Johnny Depp). The movie starts by explaining the character’s past, most importantly how he was transformed from a powerful 18<sup>th</sup> century businessman into a bloodsucking demon that got buried alive. The action then moves forward to 1972, when construction workers unwittingly free the vampire.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The now-ancient Barnabus returns to his estate, finding his family business in disarray. The current head of the household is Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer), and she is kept company by her troubled daughter, Carolyn (Chloe Grace Moretz); her ne’er-do-well brother Roger (Johnny Lee Miller); Roger’s son, David (Gulliver McGrath); David’s psychiatrist (Helena Bonham Carter); and the family housekeeper (Jackie Earle Haley). It’s a dysfunctional group, and Barnabus struggles to fit in not only because he’s a man out of his time, but because each of his descendants has issues.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Slowly, he ingratiates himself to the family, pledging to return their fishing business to its former glory. This won’t be easy, however, because one of Barnabus’ old enemies, a witch named Angelique (Eva Green), has established a successful rival company. </p> <p>  </p> <p> As vampires go, Barnabus is an interesting character in that he is neither good nor evil. As portrayed by Depp, he is often brutal and animalistic, yet he is just as frequently kind and considerate. This is a difficult line to walk, but Depp does a reasonably good job.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Unfortunately, Burton isn’t as skilled at walking the tightrope. Just as Barnabus is an odd mix of good and evil, “Dark Shadows” is supposed to be a mix of humor and horror, and Burton never gets the formula right. There are laughs to be had in chronicling the exploits of a 200-year-old vampire discovering the modern world, and Burton attempts to mine this territory, but never very successfully. That’s probably because many of the comedy scenes are immediately followed by sequences dripping with genuine horror. Alas, they too suffer because of the strangely lighthearted bits that come before.  </p> <p>  </p> <p> As good as Burton is at creating atmosphere, “Dark Shadows” suffers from an inconsistency in tone. The upshot is a movie that feels like it could have been great with a few minor adjustments. Since they were never made, viewers are left with a film that looks terrific, but feels long, dull and uneven.   </p> <p>  </p> <p> DVD and Blu-ray extras include a making-of feature centered on the movie characters and the actors who portrayed them. </p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumpeoplelikeus.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 357px; " /></p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>People Like Us</strong></p> <p> <strong>3 stars<br /> Rated PG-13 for language, some drug use and brief sexuality<br /> DreamWorks<br /> Available on: DVD, Blu-ray, digital download and on demand</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> With “People Like Us,” writer-director Alex Kurtzman has crafted a compelling drama that speaks to the power of familial bonds, even when removed from a traditional setting. The movie focuses on Sam (Chris Pine), a smooth-talking salesman who had such a poor relationship with his father that he considers it an imposition when he’s called home for the man’s funeral. Nevertheless, he and his girlfriend, Hannah (Olivia Wilde), make the trek.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Upon arrival, Sam consoles his mother (Michelle Pfeiffer) and attempts to reconcile his bitter feelings toward his father. The process isn’t going well, and his dad’s attorney (Philip Baker Hall) makes things more complicated when he hands Sam a shaving kit filled with $150,000. The money isn’t, however, for Sam. There’s a note asking him to take care of the sister he never knew he had.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Shocked, Sam secretly gets to know the woman, a recovering alcoholic named Frankie (Elizabeth Banks) who is raising a son (Michael Hall D’Addario) on her own. Even more disappointed in his father, Sam must decide whether to pursue a relationship with his newfound sibling or take the money and run.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Pine is a fine young actor, and he anchors the film nicely, instilling Sam with subtle complexity. It helps that strong supporting players surround him. Banks, Pfeiffer and Wilde are solid throughout, making this particular family crisis seem plausible and real. Much credit is also due D’Addario, a young TV actor who makes a great transition to the big screen.   </p> <p>  </p> <p> Kurtzman co-wrote the screenplay with Roberto Orci and Jody Lambert, and they were able to keep the material relatively fresh despite the crowd of family dramas that have come before. To his credit, Kurtzman also moves the film at a pleasant pace, allowing the characters to properly develop while consistently pushing the plot forward. He also allows viewers time to think about what they might do in similar situations, and that’s the most valuable benefit of a film like this.</p> <p>  </p> <p> DVD and Blu-ray extras include an audio commentary featuring Kurtzman, Pine and Banks.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumtheladymovie.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 399px; " /></p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>ALSO OUT THIS WEEK</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>“The Lady”:</strong> Director Luc Besson (“The Fifth Element,” “La Femme Nikita”) tells the story of Aung San Suu Kyi, the real-life Burmese politician who faced personal hardship in her struggle to bring democracy to her country. Michelle Yeoh and David Thewlis star.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>“Peace, Love &amp; Misunderstanding”:</strong> When a serious-minded Manhattan lawyer (Catherine Keener) learns that her husband wants a divorce, she packs up her two kids and goes to stay with her hippie mother (Jane Fonda). The experience changes the entire family. Directed by Bruce Beresford.  </p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>“Cinderella”:</strong> Disney is opening its vaults and bringing this beloved 1950 fairy tale to Blu-ray for the first time. Fans have several purchase options, the most elaborate being a six-disc boxed set that also includes “Cinderella 2” and “Cinderella 3.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong> “Hart of Dixie” – The Complete First Season:</strong> This CW dramedy follows the life of a young, New York surgeon (Rachel Bilson) who goes to work as a small-town general practitioner after her career aspirations are smashed.  Jaime King, Wilson Bethel and Cress Williams also star.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediuminvisibleman.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 419px; " /></p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Universal Classic Monsters – The Essential Collection</strong>: With Christmas approaching, movie studios are rolling out some impressive boxed sets. This collection includes eight Universal horror films on Blu-ray: “Dracula” (1931), “Frankenstein” (1931), “The Mummy” (1932), “The Invisible Man” (1933), “Bride of Frankenstein” (1935), “The Wolf Man” (1941), “Phantom of the Opera” (1943 and “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954).</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>“David Blaine – Decade of Magic”:</strong> This multi-disc set collects all three of magician David Blaine’s television specials, allowing fans to relive his amazing feats.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>“Iron Sky”:</strong> Science-fiction feature imagining a world where the Nazis constructed a space station on the moon in the waning days of World War II. Their goal? To regroup and take over Earth in 2018. Christopher Kirby, Udo Kier, Gotz Otto and Julia Dietze star. Directed by Timo Vuorensola.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>“Tom and Jerry – Robin Hood and his Merry Mouse”:</strong> New animated film in which Tom the cat and Jerry the mouse offer a new twist on the Robin Hood fable.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>“Pet Semetary”:</strong> Blu-ray debut of the 1989 Stephen King film about a family that moves to a country home next to a pet cemetery, eventually releasing great evil on the world. Dale Midkiff, Fred Gwynne and Denise Crosby star. Directed by Mary Lambert.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Author Bio: </strong></p> <p> <em>Forrest Hartman is an independent film critic whose byline has appeared in some of the nation's largest publications. For more of his work visit <a href="http://www.ForrestHartman.com">www.ForrestHartman.com</a>. </em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/dark-shadows" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">dark shadows</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/johnny-depp" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Johnny Depp</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tim-burton" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">tim burton</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/people-us" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">people like us</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/lady" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the lady</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/peace" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">peace</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/love-and-understanding" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">love and understanding</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/cinderella" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">cinderella</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/david-blaine" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">david blaine</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/pet-semetary" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">pet semetary</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/stephen-king" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">stephen king</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Forrest Hartman</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Warner Brothers</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Tue, 02 Oct 2012 17:16:22 +0000 tara 1660 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1621-dark-shadows-people-us-arrive-dvd-blu-ray#comments