Russian

MOVIE: Anora (2024)

March 3, 2026February 24, 2026 by benmweilertNo Comments

Anora Year: 2024 Rating: R Length: 139 minutes / 2.32 hours When I first watched Anora (2024) in theaters, I had heard a lot of buzz about how good it was. This was shortly before it was nominated for Best Picture, and I agreed it was a strong contender to win (which it did). There were three ways I thought the Best Picture could go, and Anora was the film that aligned best with modern cinema, with more independent artists in full control of their work. That it is also a striking (and hilarious) examination of the difference between the working class and the owning class is a bonus. The first act of Anora felt obnoxious as it introduced the titular character and this Russian oligarch’s son who wanted to buy this stripper’s time for an extended binge of hedonism. However, once reality hits the situation and the movie pivots, the unlikely group of people searching for this runaway son provides some of the funniest...

BOOK: Uprooted (2015)

August 7, 2024June 5, 2024 by benmweilertNo Comments

UprootedYear: 2015Author: Naomi NovikLength: 1,064 minutes / 17.73 hours One of my first experiences with the writing of Naomi Novik was with Spinning Silver. This Rumpelstiltskin retelling was quite interesting and complex compared to the original fairy tale it was based on. Realizing this was the second in a “series” (of which I’m using this term loosely), I eventually sought this book’s predecessor. Uprooted seems to be an adaptation of eastern European folktales, but with more of the romance aspect that I expect from these kinds of fantasy books. As with other fairy tale retellings, Uprooted starts off with plenty of tropes from the Grimm fairy tales. Dragons stealing maidens from their families, peasant farmers in poverty, things like that. It continues into the predictable tropes of the Dragon being misunderstood and the fair maiden resisting his cold personality long enough to have him warm up to her. Fortunately, this book is deeper than the tropes it was based on. The depth...

BOOK: The Brothers Karamazov (1880)

March 7, 2018March 4, 2018 by benmweilertNo Comments

The Brothers Karamazov Year: 1880 Author: Fyodor Dostoyevsky Length: 2,239 minutes / 37.32 hours As is usually the case with Russian literature, The Brothers Karamazov is a daunting read. These thick tomes are usually on lists of books you should read, but picking up such a large volume and consuming its contents can be quite intimidating. Even the audiobook version (which I used for this review) clocks in at almost a full work-week of listening to get through it all. Still, those who manage to take on this herculean task are likely to be rewarded with an engaging story that covers a wide variety of topics to include (but not limited to) religion, marriage, communism, fatherhood, and (of course) brotherhood. Having already read Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, I found The Brothers Karamazov to be more along the lines of Law & Order. His former book was a tight and well-paced examination of guilt, even in the face of necessity and wealth distribution. The Brothers Karamazov,...