Hello and welcome to another addition of Five Cool Things the bi-weekly article where I talk about all the fun, interesting, and yes, cool things I’ve enjoyed since the last time.
Hush Hush by Laura Lippman
I don’t remember when or why I started following Laura Lippman on social media. I think it started over on Twitter and then moved to Bluesky when I dropped that horrible cesspool owned by Elon Musk. But I don’t remember intentionally following her over there either. She must have popped up as someone I should follow and I decided that was a good idea.
Buy Hush HushI enjoy her social-media feed. Most mornings, she posts beautiful sunrise photos of the famous Domino Sugar factory in Baltimore from across the harbor with a poem attached. Often, she posts mirrored selfies in some new outfit that somehow feel wholesome and sweet, unlike 99 percent of the selfies posted on the internet.
I didn’t know she was a writer until several years into following her. I only realized she used to be married to David Simon, the creator of some of my favorite TV shows, until a couple of months ago.
The other day I was in my local library, looking through the shelves of books they have out in the lobby – “for sale, only $1!” They had several Lippman books, and I randomly decided to pick this one up. I almost grabbed them all, but I still wasn’t sure what type of book she wrote, or whether or not I’d like them. My shelves are already full to bursting so I figured I’d read this one, and if I liked it, I’d come back for the rest. I did like it but unfortunately, the others were all already gone by the time I came back. Never fear, I’ve picked up a couple of other books by her at other bookshops.
Hush Hush is the 12th installment of her series featuring Baltimore private investigator Tess Monaghan. I didn’t have any trouble following the story. I’m sure I missed some nuance in the character, but nothing left me confused or left out.
This is a mystery, but one that isn’t so much interested in who did what, how, and why, but in the characters. In motherhood, forgiveness, and insanity. Melisandre Harris Dawes is a beautiful, wealthy, somewhat infamous woman who has just returned to Baltimore after more than a decade away. Twelve years prior, she left her baby alone in her car on a hot summer day, letting her roast until dead. She served no prison time as she successfully argued in court that she suffered from postpartum psychosis and was thus legally insane.
She gave her husband full custody of her two other daughters and fled the country. But as the book begins, she’s back. She wants to reconnect with those daughters. She’s also hired a documentary filmmaker to make a movie of it all, and probably give her a comeback story in the media.
Tess, who has a young daughter of her own, has been hired as protection. Someone starts sending Melisandre vaguely threatening letters. One of her staff members is mildly poisoned.
But like I say the book isn’t so much interested in that mystery as these two women. It doesn’t pass judgment on either of them (Tess has her own problems), but neither does it let them off the hook. But it tries to understand them. I liked it very much. I’ll definitely be reading more from Laura Lippman and I think I’ll start with Tess Monaghan No. 1.
The Grateful Dead – Dicks Picks Volume Two
Dick Latvala was one lucky son of a gun. He became a Deadhead in the early days of the band. Saw them live numerous times. Became an early taper and trader. Eventually, he started hanging around their business office, enough that he landed a job doing odds and ends. Then, he started complaining that the band wasn’t doing enough with their live recordings. The Grateful Dead taped most of their performances. At first, it was so they could listen to them back and judge their playing but then it just became a thing. But they weren’t organized with it. Tapes were lying around everywhere. They were often unlabeled and sometimes they were recorded over.
Buy Dicks Picks Volume TwoDick nagged them enough that he became keeper of the vault. This led to a series of officially released concerts called Dick’s Picks. I’ve recently started listening to them from the beginning and it has been a lot of fun.
Volume 2 was recorded in Columbus, OH on Halloween 1971. This is peak Grateful Dead. For some reason, they decided to only include the second set, making this the only volume in the series that is just one disc. It begins with one of the best “Dark Stars” I’ve ever heard. It starts with the familiar theme and then immediately starts to stretch out into improvised bliss. It takes just over seven minutes for Jerry Garcia to sing the first verse then they wander away from it. They search for a song. Jerry finds something, plays a repetitive riff for a while then drops it. At some point, they start playing something that sounds like Archie Bell and the Drells’ “Tighten Up.” It is amazing. Then it breaks down again and eventually it turns into “Sugar Magnolia.” They finish up with a medley of “Saint Stephen>Not Fade Away>Going Down the Road Feeling Bad>Not Fade Away” that is nothing short of brilliant.
A Pain in the Ass
I’ve been watching a lot of Lino Ventura this year. He’s become one of my favorite French actors. He typically played tough guys – cops and criminals – in serious drama and crime thrillers. Here, he plays the same type of character, but this is very much a comedy. He’s Ralf Milan, a contract killer, who was hired to assassinate a witness who will incriminate the mob. He checks into a hotel outside the courthouse and waits.
Buy A Pain in the AssIn the connecting room is Francois Pignon (Jacques Brel) a man literally at the end of his rope, as he’s about to hang himself in the bathroom. He ties the rope to a water pipe which bursts when he jumps from it. The water alerts both the concierge and Ralph to what he’s just attempted. Ralph tells the concierge not to call the cops as he’ll keep an eye on him. He’ll make sure Francois doesn’t try it again.
For the rest of the film, Francois will constantly bother Ralph with an onslaught of needs and annoyances. In order to keep from drawing attention to what he’s about to do, he humors Francois, all the while keeping an eye on his watch, knowing when his target should arrive. Its terrific fun. Brel makes a great comedic foil and Ventura plays it completely straight giving him the funniest looks as his annoyance level increases.
Samurai Wolf
Ôkaminosuke (Isao Natsuyagi) is a lone wolf, a samurai without a master. He stumbles upon a scene of great violence and discovers a plot to take over a way station run by the blind Chise (Junko Miyazono). He agrees to help her bring a shipment of gold safely to its destination. The leader of the opposing gang is Akizuki Sanai (Ryôhei Uchida), a formidable fighter himself.
Buy Samurai Wolf 1 & 2There is a familiarity to the story. In some ways it feels like a pulpy Yojimbo with spaghetti-western trappings. But director Hideo Gosha makes it his own. The cinematography is gorgeous; the action scenes are spectacular. It makes great use of slow motion. Often the sound will completely go silent during a fight sequence only allowing a fierce grunt or the striking of blades to be heard.
I’d never heard of this film before. It randomly popped up on my streaming menu and I decided to take a chance on it. I’m glad I did because I was completely knocked out by it.
Night of the Juggler
This was another film that knocked me out, blowing away my expectations. Unlike Samurai Wolf, I’d heard of this one. It had been showing up in various recommendations to me for awhile.
Buy Night of the JugglerJames Brolin stars as Sean Boyd, a former cop turned truck driver who is divorced but has custody of his young daughter. The kid is mistaken for the daughter of a wealthy real-estate tycoon and kidnapped by the psychotic Gus Soltic (Cliff Gorman).
There is an early chase scene that rivals The French Connection in sheer awesomeness. Boyd chases Soltic on foot, then hops into a cab (driven by a young and wonderful Mandy Patinkin). When that crashes, he hijacks another car, driving it fast and furiously across streets, through parks, and into tunnels. It is a wild, terrific ride. The film gets better from there.
Juggler makes great use of the New York setting, taking Boyd all through Manhattan where he’ll come across a wide assortment of characters. Brolin is terrific as Boyd, giving him a real sense of terror and loss, but also a fierce determination to get his kid back. Gorman is great too. His Soltic has been done wrong by greedy developers so he is sympathetic, yet he’s also completely lost his mind. Robert Butler’s direction is lean and fantastic.
The Debut
Jesse Eisenberg wrote and directed this dramedy about an unassuming housewife (Julianne Moore) who gets a small part in her local community theater, but then goes all method actor in it, waging war with the play’s director (Paul Giamatti.) I’m not a huge fan of Eisenberg (though I’ve never seen him direct) but with the trailer looks fun and with Moore and Giamatti in the leads I’m excited.
