The Quick and the Dead (1987) - A brief movie review

I had briefly reviewed Louis L'amour's The Quick and the Dead in my blog last year. I normally shy away from movie adaptations as they tend to be nowhere near what the book would be. But last week I had a sudden hankering to see if this book had been turned into a movie...and it was. So I got it through Netflix. I am not disappointed. I am very happy with how the movie has been made. I had always felt that the book's pivot point was the character of Susanna Mackaskell. Everyone else -- Duncan Mackaskell, our Hero Con Vallian, the baddies and the never-ending prairie -- get mentioned a lot. But it was Susanna who somehow kept the proceedings together.

When I saw in the opening credits that it was Kate Capshaw -- yes, that Kate Capshaw from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom -- who had been cast as Susanna, I began to give myself virtuous airs. However, as soon as Kate appeared on screen, I was very interested. Within ten seconds, I realized that she was an inspired choice. Tom Conti, who plays Susanna's husband Duncan, took a while to grow on me. For Sam Elliott, the role of Con Vallian wasn't stretching it. He pretty much sleep walks through it earnestly. The rest of the cast was ok. Patrick Kilpatrick portrays an Ute. Ute?! What happened to the Huron?! I was half expecting Wes Studi, who played Magua the Huron so astonishingly effectively in The Last of the Mohicans, to show up. Oh, well.

For me, the highlight of the book was the encounters between Vallian and Susanna and Vallian and the Huron. Patrick Kilpatrick, who was so effective as the Sandman in Death Warrant, hardly seems formidable as the Ute. And alas, that defining fight between the Huron -- Ute in the movie -- and Vallian in the dark, depths of the forest never materializes. Bummer! But the Vallian/Susanna encounters don't disappoint. Mostly. I say mostly because there were two scenes that deviated so much from the book that I am quite sure L'amour turned over in his grave.

There was also a fine depiction in the book, just before the climax, which emphasized Susanna's love for Duncan while he is out hunting shortly after they settle in the cabin. This, unfortunately, did not find its way into the movie. The ending, the expected encounter with the baddies, was a bit rushed, whereas in the book, the climax was, for lack of a better word, savored.

Overall, I liked the movie and will likely watch it again someday!

Anatomy of a scene

With summer almost on us, this is a repost of a post originally published on Crossroads back in June 2007.

"It was late afternoon as I pulled into my driveway and climbed out. The sun was warm and making its way toward the horizon. On a whim, I walked across the huge yard toward the rolling fields beyond the property line. I scurried over the freshly painted white fence and, with my hands on my hip, stood there taking in the lazy scene. The sky was a deep blue with wisps of milky white clouds passing by at a snail's pace. They had all the time in the world. A cockchafer went flying past me. I craned my neck to follow his flight path. He was moving fast and soon he was out of sight over a small hill overflowing with dandelions that were swaying gently to the breeze. It was a calm day but then it was always calm out here.

As I sunned, I slowly became acclimatized to the smells and sounds of the field. A slight but angry rustle nearby indicated that my presence had disturbed the slumbers of a small animal, perhaps a field mouse. Two butterflies were in earnest conversation a ways off. They seemed to tumble down a bit. They were in combat. Were they fighting for the love of a lady then? The distant warble of a purple martin seemed to add a layer of melancholy to their battle. One of them was destined to lose. I hoped that they were not brothers.

The sun was sinking lower in the sky and the breeze had picked up. The light had turned to a cooler blue. There was a faint hint of a familiar scent wafting down from a small hill yonder to my right: the fragrance of bur marigolds that I could not see. Maybe that cockchafer had a cousin who made her home amidst those marigolds. Had he been taking tea with her before he said his goodbyes and so ended up flying past me on his way home? Maybe it was time for me to be getting home too. I took one long earnest look around. Everything seemed to indicate that it was time to start settling in for the night. I turned and started waddling my way back home."

Exploring new horizons in cooking

As of early 2010, my cooking involved only pan frying, steaming, grilling and closed-wok "currying". I tried deep frying a couple of times in an effort to make pan-fried pork shops and chili chicken -- a very popular dish in south India...especially with booze -- but only succeeded in smoking up my small North End apartment. So I don't deep fry anymore. In the past couple of months, however, I have been spending more of my cooking time baking and roasting stuff using the oven. I have been making my own bread too!

There are plenty of bread making recipes along with the ingredient list on the web. So I won't go into too much detail here. Pictured below are the steps to make simple whole wheat bread. The whole thing takes about an hour. Typically I do this Sunday morning and then use the bread up over the following week.


1. Mix bread flour with active dry yeast, honey and warm water.

2. Add salt, melted butter and, in increments, whole wheat flour. You want to add the whole wheat flour in increments until the batter easily comes off the container and yet is slightly sticky.

3. Roll the batter around in a pan containing a thin layer of melted butter until the batter has a coating of butter. At this point, the batter should be firm and come easily off the container without sticking. Cover the container using plastic wrap or foil and let sit until the batter doubles in size (not pictured).

4. Punch batter down and place in loaf pan.

5. Wait until the batter rises an inch or so above the rim of the loaf pan. Then place loaf pan in oven. Set oven to 350 degrees. Set timer to remind you in about 30 minutes.

6. After 30 minutes, turn the oven off and take the loaf pan out of the oven. Baste top of bread with a thin layer of melted butter.

7. Yum!

To store this bread, use a bread box. If you don't have a bread box, leave the bread in the loaf pan and let it cool first before covering it with aluminum foil. This way, the bread should keep well for a few days.

As a final note, I recently bought a pressure cooker. I have used it successfully to prepare pot roasts. In a future post, I will post some pictures from that piece of cooking.

Cuvee Christophe 2005 (A brief wine review)

Click for larger picture.

Typically I just get a bottle of Mondavi...easier to open a bottle with a cap. Occasionally I try a more expensive bottle either for myself or as a gift for someone. According to Dave at the Golden Goose market in the North End, the Christophe 2005 sells for USD 40 but was on sale at half the price. He exclaimed that a chef friend of his liked it so much that he ordered a whole case. Anyway, for the price, I was convinced. I have to say that this is a very good wine -- especially in relation to the cheap wines that I normally consume -- with a comprehensive enough after taste.

Blood-Thirsty Gentlemen

Cricket - South Africa in India 2009/10

Man, what a Test match series this has been!

India were pummelled in the 1st Test at Nagpur by a world-class South African bowling attack on the back of a Dravidian like 253 from Hashim Amla in the first innings. Then, a week later, India have bounced back in the 2nd Test after having completely outplayed SA, and despite Amla's grit on the fifth day, to draw the series. A 3rd test, in Chepauk, for instance, to replace the remaining One Day International (ODI) matches especially in light of the upcoming Twenty20 overload -- aka IPL -- would have been a great decider. I mean, what're a few more sleepless nights for me. But ODIs cannot be completely ignored especially in India. I am just glad that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) asked the South Africans for two Tests to replace four of the originally planned seven ODIs.


Amla was a pillar of resoluteness for the South Africans.

M Vijay, who is relatively new to the Indian Test side and debutant Badrinath seem to have done enough without really contributing. You could argue that they were both just starting to play at the International level but that does not explain South Africa's own debutant Alviro Peterson's fine performance. Well, well, we will just have to wait and see if Vijay and Badrinath can do better. Also, even if Yuvraj gets fit, I don't think that he should be included in Tests in the near future. An opportunity must first be given to Virat Kohli or Manish Pandey.

During the 2nd test, I remember Ravi Shastri commenting that if India won a few matches on a pitch like the one at Kolkata, they can handle pitches anywhere in the world. Very true! Hats off to the groundsman to have prepared a proper Test wicket. However, we cannot always expect a pitch like that elsewhere in India. In late 2009, Doug Bollinger's performance (5/35) during ODI six in Guwahati that sealed the seven ODI series in Australia's favor spoke volumes as to what a bowler with tremendous pace can accomplish on flat pitches that generally provide nothing for a fast bowler. So going forward, in the bowling arena, Abhimanyu Mithun must be given an opportunity. I have a feeling that Ishant Sharma can only perform well on bouncy pitches owing to his tall height, lankiness and lack of pace. Mithun, with his much higher pace, tall height and more robust build, should be able to do better at both home and away.

I do agree with some fans that Test series should be planned better, comprise of either three or five matches and must be played only on certain grounds. However, as seen in this series, any number of Tests would still make for a gripping experience as long as the teams involved can play high quality Cricket.

Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain - 2001 (A brief movie review)

Warning: Spoilers possible.


Amélie was filmed in Montmartre, a hilly district to the north of Paris city.

This was a clean movie that some guy had uploaded in HD format on Youtube. I had flown through Paris many times before but have not actually spent any time in the city itself. I had been planning to go there sometime during the next 12 months. And it was in "preparation" for this tentative trip that I sought out French movies on a dreary New England Saturday a few weeks ago. Amélie was the first movie I decided to watch. Bad choice. I have yet to look for and watch another one.

Paris isn't simply a setting here. The city is delightfully in your face and quite a bit of daily life, as it happens in markets to train stations, can be seen. If any one has watched director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's other work (he directed one of my favorite movies of the 90s, Alien Resurrection), you will know he has a strong sense of visual style. This is clearly evident in the movie. The colors are rich and saturated and we are not bothered by issues like environmental pollution.

Amélie herself, as the radiant titular character, is a reflective and aware young woman who is quietly seeking the love of her life. After the second time watching this movie, it suddenly dawned on me as to why so many women, in their online profiles, mention it as an alltime favorite. The combination of the portrayal of both Paris and Amélie in this movie can be empowering in more ways than one. I have to admit that the movie did make me feel a bit embarrassed as to how I have sometimes responded to situations with the women in my life. I don't think that I will ever defer from taking a physical only interest in the occasional beauty that walks into my life. Reality is reality. But I figure I can go about it in a much more contemplative manner.

As in any really good movie, supporting characters are fleshed out well without being obvious in their performances. A couple of scenes, like when Amélie returns the oddball's (AKA Nino) album, seemed overly dramatical and is the kind of scene you typically would find in mainstream Indian movies. But I didn't draw an inference like that while watching the movie as what unfolded in each frame kept my senses glued to the screen.

I read one critic's view that the movie in its exaggeration of Parisian life does not do anything about representing the city's multi-cultural aspect. To put it bluntly, the critic voiced that no non-white actors were part of the cast. To which, Jeunet's response was that the character of Lucien was played by an actor with a Lebanese background. I thought both arguments were weak and probably unnecessary. The critic was being silly. Just look at how American filmmakers undermine the solidarity of both white and non-white races by attempting to be politically correct in movies and commercials. Sometimes not being politically correct can provide rewarding results. As for Jeunet, he need not have responded...and especially using the Lucien character as an example. Anyone who has seen the portrayal of the Lucien character would tend to agree with me.

The soundtrack is addictive and I have already made a playlist of it on Youtube while the audio CD and DVD are currently sitting in my Amazon wishlist. All in all, a terrific effort by Jeunet.

I give it quinze thumbs up!