MOVIE: The Brutalist (2024)

by benmweilertNo Comments
The Brutalist Year: 2024 Rating: R Length: 216 minutes / 3.60 hours Conceptually, I enjoyed the idea of The Brutalist (2024). There are few biopics about architects, let alone ones of this specific style, so manufacturing a story that feeds from common tropes in the biopic format felt like an interesting way to showcase this unique artistic architecture. Of course, because the life of Laszlo (Adrien Brody) wasn’t real, The Brutalist leans into other metaphors that were uncomfortable to watch and ended up somewhat ruining the film for me. The problem with a main character like Laszlo is that it doesn’t take long for him to do things that make him unlikable. Sure, one could argue the PSTD from surviving the Holocaust would cause him to act out in these ways just so he could maintain any semblance of control of his life. Unfortunately, the control he seeks is partly the reason for his demise, as it is through drugs and alcohol. Not that this...
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BOOK: Sideways (2004)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Sideways Year: 2004 Author: Rex Pickett Length: 665 minutes / 11.08 hours When I got into this book, the only things I knew about it were that it was about wine and it was made into a movie of the same name by Alexander Payne. Unfortunately, unlike a good wine, this book doesn’t seem to have aged well. Maybe people were able to put up with buddy comedy sex romps back in the early 2000’s, but the social climate has changed considerably since then. I doubt a book like this would be written today, at least without some outcry from people who find the women in it to be inherently objectified. Most of my issue with this book comes down to the characters. I’ll give the author credit for creating individuals that made me react to them so vehemently. The problem is that I hated these characters. I hated Jack for being so sex-crazed that he felt obligated to satiate his urges mere days before...
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