"The Fugitive" Movie Review

THE FUGITIVE ★★★★★

Image source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c7/The_Fugitive_movie.jpg

If there's one thing you should know about me, I'm a huge fan of thriller and suspense movies. And knowing me, one who really isn't the movie kind of person, this is saying a lot. In fact, there was a point in my life that I had watched too much of these movies that I ended up being a paranoid, suspiciously looking behind me at malls and thinking everyone had a plan to abduct me or something.

The Fugitive was about a man, Dr. Richard Kimble, who was wrongly accused of the murder of his wife. The police believed he was guilty. But while he was on a train - alongside other convicts - towards their punishment (death by syringe), something went out of hands. And before he knew it, Kimble was running for his life. On his trail was Deputy Gerard Lee, desperate to catch him, and resorting to all means possible. But Kimble was intelligent, and this hunt turned out to be more difficult than he expected.

This is probably one of my favorite thriller movies now. It makes me feel saddened about the quality of suspense these days (a review on another movie I watched will explain this), while this, written more than twenty years ago, when technology wasn't as good, was a masterpiece. There was a sufficient mixture of suspense, smart characters, and a good plot. And with Harrison Ford as the main guy, what else could I ask for?

There was some twist too (although our mom spoiled us, much to our annoyance). But what I really appreciated was the fact that Kimble didn't survive just because of sheer luck but out of his efforts. And yes, he was pretty smart too. In what movie did you see the protagonist actually make sure the enemy is secure before leaving? Very rarely. Finally, someone with enough brains to haul his dear life out of death.

Apparently, this is my first Harrison Ford movie. And of course this won't be the last. Looking forward to watching more suspenseful movies involving him.

Review of "Dearly Devoted Dexter (Dexter #2)" by Jeff Lindsay

DEARLY DEVOTED DEXTER (DEXTER #2)

by Jeff Lindsay 

A man who discovers his pants are on fire tends to have very little time to worry about somebody else's box of matches.

I thought I was going to like this better than the first installment, but I turned out to be wrong. There were a couple of things that made me like this, of course. First, I appreciated the effort that Dexter was trying to be normal; and it certainly was interesting to watch and see him try. Second, someone was finally becoming suspicious of our good old serial killer.

But I have a few issues too. 

The Dark Passenger seemed to be tugging on his sleeves to much, wanting to be the driver. How was Dexter actually able to resist this temptation? Again, he seemed too good to be true. Or indeed, maybe this was just the effect of trying to act "human" long enough. That being the case, one wouldn't really be able to expect too much slashing for Dexter's part here in Dearly Devoted Dexter. Speaking of which, Jeff Lindsay couldn't seem to think of new cases aside from cutting off body parts. But at least this time there was a twist.

Sure, Dexter was becoming more human, and yet he had shrugged his shoulders at Sergeant Doakes coldly. But sometimes, he would be narrating how happy he was, etcetera. I'm just saying that Lindsay should be clear about this "feelings" thing because it was inconsistent throughout the story.

There were more things I was quite comfortable about. Particularly, the thing between Debs and Kyle. Like what our now Sergeant Morgan always say, "What the fuck that does mean?" Seriously, when did that idea even emerge out of thin air, and dear Lindsay, we'd appreciate some help, you know. You could at least have given us some explanation. And, more importantly, is this problem that was also present in the first book and I had hoped would disappear: like other authors, Dexter was favored too much by his creator. He was always safe. And although there was certainly some suspense leading to his capture, in the end the readers would feel okay since we all knew deep inside that there was no way he would die, after all. True enough, look at what happened at the last chapter. Our dear boy was saved at the nick of time, while poor Doakes had to suffer too much. Okay, I don't really like the guy, but you'd have to feel bad for him. Lindsay treated him too badly and unfairly, like what he did to La Guetta at the first book. I'm seeing a pattern here. Hmm. Sounds suspicious.

Some tidbits were predictable (such as the thing about Cody), but most of them weren't, so I guess that's a plus point.

Maybe I'm being quite unfair to Lindsay too. But hey, don't take it the wrong way. I love Dexter to death and that's enough reason for me to go on reading to the end of the series.

Review of "Venus in Furs" by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch

VENUS IN FURS ★☆☆☆☆

by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch

Love knows no virtue, no profit; it loves and forgives and suffers everything, because it must.

The first part of the book was quite sufficient and interesting enough. The haunting visions of the beautiful Venus wrapped in her furs dominated the beginning of the story. As Severin's tale was unfurled, it became a curious thing to see how far Wanda would go to feed his insane dreams and fancy, which primarily involves whipping him and completely dominating him. Basically, what Severin wanted was to be wholly under the power of a dazzling woman - who Wanda seemed to qualify - or so he thought. At first, Wanda was reluctant to abide by his wishes; she was experimenting. More often than not her compassion for the man would dominate and she would feel remorse for him, enveloping him in tender kisses to assuage the pain she inflicted. But Severin insisted that it was suffering he wanted. And that he was prepared to become a slave to the beautiful Wanda if thatwas the only way he could stay with her.

My love seems to me like a deep, bottomless abyss, into which I subside deeper and deeper. There is nothing now which could save me from it.

Before the contract between the two was signed, Severin has already performed his duties as a servant faithfully, much to the pleasure of Wanda, who was becoming pleased with her new power and position. As the story progressed, Wanda became even crueler and crueler, until a point that Severin began to think that he was beginning to despise her. However, one kiss or one embrace from her would immediately vanquish such thoughts. This became Severin's weakness and was a crucial thing that led him to his sad fate.

Well, perhaps BDSM just isn't my thing, but I found it rather strenuous to read through the passages of torture and Wanda's harsh laughter resonating in the air. At the beginning, I didn't feel the pain much, because Severin actually enjoyed the pain, I too wasn't burdened with the whips and lashes. But as the time passed by, his masochism would sometimes wear off and I'd cringe slightly whenever he received his blows.

The characters are twisted and mad, especially Severin. Even Wanda too goes beyond the boundaries of normal. But then, perhaps the main reason why I decided to pick this up is because I've grown tired of reading about stories where men beat up the women violently. I want a change of scene. And, obviously, I didn't like it either. BDSM really is just not my thing.