LA Confidential

Well, to be honest, the weekend past wasn't all work and no play.

Saw LA Confidential after a 7 year gap, my last viewing was via a less than stellar VHS copy. Seen with renewed clarity via a Remastered Special Edition DVD, it's a joy making it's re acquaintance.

My first James Ellroy book was LA Confidential, my introduction to his dark, murky and twisted take on LA circa the '50s. It has all the familiar Ellroy trappings of bent cops, mysterious femme fatales and truly Machiavellian bad guys circumnavigating the seedy underbelly of the City Of Angels.

Director Curtis Hanson generally stays faithful to the book in his movie adaption but out of necessity, some parts of Ellroy's densely plotted book had to be trimmed out to fit a manageable running time. Even then, the twisty turns its plot takes demands your attention.

A dream cast of Russell Crowe, Guy Pierce and Kevin Spacey flesh out Ellroy's 3-man narrative arc that proceeds on a twisted, blood soaked trajectory as they become involved in cases that intersect, bisect and finally collide in a spectacular bullet-riddled mass. Kim Basinger, Danny De Vito and James Cromwell give able support.

Damn if it doesn't make me wanna pick up the book again.

After my exams of course.....

Swotting Weekend

Imagine giving up (or, to be perfectly honest) curbing your twin cravings of books and movies. Well, it's a goal I have set for myself, on account of an exam I will be sitting for at the end of this month. Given the fact that my Immortal Beloved is also taking a test this week (tomorrow, in fact) meant the last weekend saw the both of us transformed into regular swotters, hunched over books, taking notes, eyebrows meeting in frowning concentration.

"Aren't you a little old to be taking a test?" went one cheeky sms from a friend. It followed a confession on my part that I hadn't started Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" which is to be our Book Club choice of the month for April on account of my newly imposed book sobriety.

Well, when passing this exam means an extra RM200 in my paycheck monthly, that's a heck of an incentive to hit the books, I say! Not to mention the extra moolah means the odd indulgence or 2 the next time I trawl book shops!

To my Immortal Beloved, best of luck in your test tomorrow ,darling!