On this day in movie history – Marlowe (2022 movie & novel):

Marlowe

directed by Neil Jordan,

written by William Monahan,

based on the novel The Black-Eyed Blonde by John Banville,

was released at the Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival in Spain on September 24, 2022.
Music by Marcelo Zarvos.

Cast:

Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, Jessica Lange, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Colm Meaney, Daniela Melchior, Alan Cumming, Danny Huston, Seána Kerslake, François Arnaud, Ian Hart, Anton Antoniadis, Julius Cotter, Darrell D’Silva, Kim DeLonghi, Billy Jeffries, David Lifschitz, J.M. Maciá, Patrick Muldoon, Mitchell Mullen, Rosa Rovira, Mark Schardan, Gary Anthony Stennette, Stella Stocker, Michael Strelow.

Recommended reading:

The Black Eyed Blonde

By Benjamin Black.

Filmed as Marlowe (2022), directed by Neil Jordan.

Published by Picador.

First published 2014.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 144723670X

ISBN-13: 978-1447236702

Description:

A Philip Marlowe novel.

Raymond Chandler’s incomparable private eye is back, pulled by a seductive young heiress into the most difficult and dangerous case of his career.

“It was one of those summer Tuesday afternoons when you begin to wonder if the earth has stopped revolving. The telephone on my desk had the look of something that knows it’s being watched. Traffic trickled by in the street below, and there were a few pedestrians, too, men in hats going nowhere.”

So begins The Black-Eyed Blonde, a new novel featuring Philip Marlowe – yes, that Philip Marlowe. Channeling Raymond Chandler, Benjamin Black has brought Marlowe back to life for a new adventure on the mean streets of Bay City, California. It is the early 1950s, Marlowe is as restless and lonely as ever, and business is a little slow. Then a new client is shown in: young, beautiful, and expensively dressed, she wants Marlowe to find her former lover, a man named Nico Peterson. Marlowe sets off on his search, but almost immediately discovers that Peterson’s disappearance is merely the first in a series of bewildering events. Soon he is tangling with one of Bay City’s richest families and developing a singular appreciation for how far they will go to protect their fortune.

Only Benjamin Black, a modern master of the genre, could write a new Philip Marlowe novel that has all the panache and charm of the originals while delivering a story that is as sharp and fresh as today’s best crime fiction.

Praise for The Black-Eyed Blonde:

“Somewhere Raymond Chandler is smiling, because this is a beautifully rendered hard-boiled novel that echoes Chandler’s melancholy at perfect pitch. The story is great, but what amazed me is how John Banville caught the cumulative effect Chandler’s prose had on readers. It’s hard to quatify, but it’s also what separated the Marlowe novels from the general run of noir (which included some damn fine novelists, like David Goodis and Jim Thompson). The sadness runs deep. I loved this book. It was like having an old friend, one you assumed was dead, walk into the room. Kind of like Terry Lennox, hiding behind those drapes.” – Stephen King.

“Banville channeling Chandler is irresistible – a double whammy of a mystery. Hard to think anyone could add to Chandler with profitable results. But Banville most definitely gets it done.” – Richard Ford.

On this day in movie history - Bandit (2022):

Bandit

directed by Allan Ungar,

written by Kraig Wenman,

based on the book The Flying Bandit by Robert Knuckle and Ed Arnold,

was released in the United States on September 23, 2022.
Music by Aaron Gilhuis.

Cast:

Josh Duhamel, Mel Gibson, Elisha Cuthbert, Nestor Carbonell, Swen Temmel, Keith Arthur Bolden, Dylan Flashner, Olivia d'Abo, Michael H. Cole, Claire Bronson, Eric J. Little, Jessica Luza, Rachael Markarian, Leander Suleiman, Ian Hoch, Lorenzo Yearby, Chiara D'Ambrosio, Jacobi Hollingshed, Jason Vail, Ron Fallica, Cooper Thornton, Todd d'Amour, Christina Bach, Leslie Stratton, Dayna Beilenson, Jerry Ascione, George Adams, B.J. Winfrey, Greg Corbett, Megan Hayes, Charlie Sara, Ashley Dougherty, Hannah Celeste, Packer Morley, Viktoria Anske, Ava Anske, Peter Anske Jr., Peter Anske, Faisal Mahmood, James Bryan Lewis, Derek Severson, Clayton Landey, Burns Burns, David Garen, Spence Maughon, Sherilan Lane, Haley Webb, Mary DeMatteo, Harris Boland Hauser, Gemma Jean Young, Alyssa Alexander, Celeste Fianna, Jeremiah McClain, Helena Sadvary, David A.L. Venable, Buddy Watkins.

On this day in movie history - The Fabelmans (2022):

The Fabelmans

directed by Steven Spielberg,

written by Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner,

was released at the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada on September 10, 2022.
Music by John Williams.

Cast:

Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Gabriel LaBelle, Mateo Zoryan, Keeley Karsten, Alina Brace, Julia Butters, Birdie Borria, Judd Hirsch, Sophia Kopera, Jeannie Berlin, Robin Bartlett, Sam Rechner, Oakes Fegley, Chloe East, Isabelle Kusman, Chandler Lovelle, Gustavo Escobar, Nicolas Cantu, Cooper Dodson, Gabriel Bateman, Stephen Matthew Smith, James Urbaniak, Alex Quijano, Kalama Epstein, Connor Trinneer, Lane Factor, Greg Grunberg, David Lynch, Jan Hoag, Carlos Javier Castillo, Ezra Buzzington, Paul Chepikian, Brinly Marum, Mason Bumba, Mary M. Flynn, Adriel Porter, Tia Nalls, Larkin Campbell, Harper Dustin, Crystal the Monkey, Nikolai Bazan, Jared Becker, Art Bonilla, Colt Carville, Ari Davis, William Dawson, Deborah Dir, April Elize, Kendal Evans, Alejandro Fuenzalida, Samantha Rose Gomez, Andrew Goodman, Caroline Anna-Kaye Green, Taylor Hall, Sarah Hamilton, Orion Hunter, Cody Mitchell Key, Julian Lerma, Paige Locke, Marissa McBride, Cody Miller, Jonathan Moorwood, Vera Myers, Nick W. Nicholson, Molly Renze, Brandon Keith Rogers, Julyah Rose, Meg Schimelpfenig, Lucy Schmidt, Rob Shiells, Meredith VanCuyk, Trang Vo, Max David Weinberg, Nicole Alicia Xavier.

On this day in movie history - Sniper: The White Raven (2022):

Sniper: The White Raven

directed by Marian Bushan,

written by Marian Bushan and Mykola Voronin,

based on the true life and experiences of Mykola Voronin,

released in Ukraine on August 24, 2022.
Music by Nadiia Odesuk / Nadya Odesyuk.

I first saw Sniper: The White Raven back in April (2024), on The Movie Channel.

After watching it, I had to include and recommend it in my book: What's On?

Based on the true life and experiences of Mykola Voronin, an ecologist, teacher and writer.

He lived a simple life off the grid with his wife, Nastya, in Donbas, Ukraine.

In 2014, Russian soldiers invaded and murdered his wife.

Mykola, fueled by rage and the need for justice and vengeance for his wife, enlisted in the Ukrainian Army.

He trained, became a sniper, and fought back.

He switched from idealistic pacifist to warrior, assigning himself the codename Raven, in reference to the White Raven symbol his wife placed in stones outside their home.

Mykola vowed to defend Ukraine.

Russia senselessly invaded Ukraine again in 2022.

This movie and true story couldn’t be more topical or important.

Powerful.

Real.

Raw.

Tragic.

Heartbreaking.

We stand with Ukraine.

Victory to Ukraine.

Glory to Ukraine.

Slava Ukraini.

Cast:

Pavlo Aldoshyn, Maryna Koshkina, Andrey Mostrenko, Roman Semysal, Oleg Drach, Roman Yasinovskiy, Oleg Shulga, Vadim Lyalko, Vadim Kurilko, Vladyslav Dmytrenko, Eugen Volosheniuk, Oleksandr Bykov, Serhiy Artemenko, Egor Kozlov, Zachary Shadrin, Olena Chervonenko, Demyan Radzivilyuk, Alina Karpenko, Anatoly Tikhomirov, Yanina Andreeva, Evhen Chernykov, Igor Parkhomenko, Vitaliy Kovalskyy, Oleksiy Storozhuk, Vitaliy Belskyy, Aleksandr Dyumin, Oleksiy Nakonechnyi, Andriy Yakubov, Kyrylo Goz, Vitaly Kalyuzhny, Mike Parish, Adrian Petriw.

A timeline and pictorial tribute to the work of Stanley Kubrick:

A timeline and pictorial tribute to the work of Stanley Kubrick

In celebration of his movies:

Day of the Fight (1951)

Flying Padre (1951)

The Seafarers (1953)

Fear and Desire (1953)

Killer's Kiss (1955)

The Killing (1956)

Paths of Glory (1957)

Spartacus (1960)

Lolita (1962)

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Barry Lyndon (1975)

The Shining (1980)

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Video created by Jack Kost.

2022.

Music credit:

Cryptic Sorrow by Kevin MacLeod.

If it can be written, or thought, it can be filmed.

– Stanley Kubrick.

In memory of Stanley Kubrick

Director

Producer

Writer

Photographer

July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999

On this day in music history - Cloudwalker & the Ascent, by Zero Ohms (2022):

Cloudwalker & the Ascent

Album by Zero Ohms,
released June 24, 2022.

Credits:

Cloudwalker and the Ascent; Unknownland; Vistas Beyond; Tum Gaon (ascending to higher places); Skybound (free from terrestrial bonds); Deep Sky Tones; Across the Seven Skies.