• MT VOID, 02/10/23 -- Vol. 41, No. 33, Whole Number 2262

    From evelynchimelisleeper@gmail.com@21:1/5 to All on Sun Feb 12 08:14:19 2023
    THE MT VOID
    02/10/23 -- Vol. 41, No. 33, Whole Number 2262

    Co-Editor: Mark Leeper, mleeper@optonline.net
    Co-Editor: Evelyn Leeper, eleeper@optonline.net
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    Topics:
    Mini Reviews, Part 12 (SHE SAID, THE WOMAN KING,
    UNA GREAT MOVIE, WOMEN TALKING) (film reviews
    by Mark R. Leeper and Evelyn C. Leeper)
    This Week's Reading (THE DIARY OF A BOOKSELLER, CONFESSIONS
    OF A BOOKSELLER, REMAINDERS OF THE DAY, SEVEN
    KINDS OF PEOPLE YOU FIND IN BOOKSHOPS, HAY BEFORE
    THE BOOKSHOPS) (book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)

    ===================================================================

    TOPIC: Mini Reviews, Part 12 (film reviews by Mark R. Leeper and
    Evelyn C. Leeper)

    This is the twelfth batch of mini-reviews, all by and about women:

    SHE SAID: SHE SAID starts out seeming to be about Trump, but that
    is merely the background for one of the main characters. The real
    story is about Harvey Weinstein and the toxic Hollywood
    environment. The reporters covering the story find it difficult to
    get people to speak out; there are either NDAs (non-disclosures
    agreements) or a fear of retribution in their careers. (At least
    two of the women who did come forward also appeared in the film as
    themselves.)

    The film (directed by Maria Schrader and written by Rebecca
    Lenkiewicz, Jodi Kantor, and Megan Twohey--the last two the
    reporters who broke the story) is strangely similar to ALL THE
    PRESIDENT'S MEN with two reporters chasing a story. There are also
    elements of SPOTLIGHT, with reticent witnesses and a gradual
    revealing of the scope of the problem, though these seem less
    obvious. Carey Mulligan as Megan Twohey, one of the reporters in
    this film about sexual assault and harassment, reminds one of her
    role in PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, though that had her as a victim as
    well as an investigator.

    Released 06 January 2022 on streaming. Rating: +2 (-4 to +4) or
    7/10

    Film Credits:
    <https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14807308/reference>

    What others are saying:
    <https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/she_said>

    THE WOMAN KING: The specifics of THE WOMAN KING are fictional, but
    most of the generalities are accurate, except for the personality
    of King Ghezo and the position of Ghezo and the head of the Agojie
    regarding slavery. In the film, they oppose it; in real life Ghezo
    was one of the worst slavers in West Africa.

    But the Kingdom of Dahomey (located in present-day Benin) did have
    a corps of female warriors, probably because so many males had been
    killed in fighting with neighboring states. (This corps, the
    Agojie, was the inspiration for the female warriors in BLACK
    PANTHER.)

    There is a certain irony (to us, anyway) that we know of this corps
    of female African warriors almost entirely through the reports and
    writings of white males. On the other hand, for this film the
    director (Gina Prince-Bythewood), both writers (Dana Stevens and
    Maria Bella), and the cinematographer (Polly Morgan) are all women,
    which is quite unusual for what is basically a historical war film.
    Notable in the cast are Viola Davis as the general of the Agojie,
    and Thusa Mbedu as Nawi.

    Released theatrically 16 September 2022. Rating: +2 (-4 to +4) or
    7/10

    Film Credits:
    <https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8093700/reference>

    What others are saying:
    <https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_woman_king>

    UNA GREAT MOVIE: UNA GREAT MOVIE (written and directed by Jennifer
    Sharp) is basically a remake of the 1989 Kevin Bacon film THE BIG
    PICTURE, which given the title, may not be an accident. A
    screenwriter talks to various Hollywood executives, and gradually
    her screenplay about a Black women traveling through Mexico looking
    for romance becomes full of stereotypes, and white-washed to boot.
    But UNA GREAT MOVIE itself retains its focus, and it updates THE
    BIG PICTURE with more current concerns.

    Released theatrically 29 June 2022; now on DVD. Rating: +2 (-4 to
    +4) or 7/10

    Film Credits:
    <https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6765628/reference>

    What others are saying:
    <https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/una_great_movie>

    WOMEN TALKING: WOMEN TALKING is set in an anti-feminist world, in a
    world much like that of A HANDMAID'S TALE. But it is not a future
    dystopia; it is set in the present, and is an isolated society run
    by men where religion is used to control the womenfolk. And it is
    based on a real-life Mennonite colony in Bolivia in from 2005 to
    2009. The film portrays this society of women kept illiterate and
    under total control in very muted tones, almost as if it were a
    black and white film.

    This is a film that depends on the script and the acting. Sarah
    Polley both directed and wrote the script (based on the novel by
    Miriam Toews). The novel is told entirely from the "minutes" kept
    by the male school teacher, while the movie actually shows you the
    women talking, and gives you a better sense of their feelings. As
    Sheila O'Malley points out, in the novel you are getting the
    women's feelings filtered through the man who is taking the
    minutes. This is yet another 2022 film by a woman director and
    screenwriter that focuses on women and their feelings and
    perceptions. (MASTER; THE WOMAN KING; CATHERINE CALLED BIRDY; and
    GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE are some other examples that come to
    mind.)

    Released 6 January 2023. Rating: high +1 (-4 to +4) or 6/10

    Film Credits:
    <https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13669038/reference>

    What others are saying:
    <https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/women_talking>

    [-mrl/ecl]

    ===================================================================

    TOPIC: This Week's Reading (book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)

    For those who love 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD for its description of
    bookshops, I can heartily recommend the books of Shaun Bythell (THE
    DIARY OF A BOOKSELLER [Profile Books, ISBN 978-1-781-25863-7],
    CONFESSIONS OF A BOOKSELLER [David R. Godine, ISBN
    978-1-567-92722-1], REMAINDERS OF THE DAY [David R. Godine, ISBN 978-1-567-92756-6], SEVEN KINDS OF PEOPLE YOU FIND IN BOOKSHOPS
    [David R. Godine, ISBN 978-1-567-92692-7]). Bythell is the owner
    of The Bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland. Wigtown is "Scotland's
    National Book Town", although unlike Hay-on-Wye in Wales, this did
    not come about naturally, but was planned as a way to revive the
    town.

    I have read four of these through our public library's Hoopla
    account(*); CONFESSIONS OF A BOOKSELLER is not available these, or
    through inter-library loan, and all the copies for sale are more
    than I want to spend. THE DIARY OF A BOOKSELLER concentrates
    mostly on the bookshop, albeit with some comments on other aspects
    of life in Wigtown. By the time Bythell gets to REMAINDERS OF THE
    DAY, however, it has become more a diary of his life in Wigtown,
    with far more characters than I can keep track of, and less a view
    into bookselling. There's nothing wrong with discussing other
    matters--reading about rationing, apartment dwelling, etc., was
    part of what made 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD charming--but by REMAINDERS
    it has become the tail that wags the dog (so I guess my
    recommendation is a bit less hearty for REMAINDERS). In my
    opinion, of course; you mileage may vary.

    These lured me into searching for other books about bookselling,
    but what I found was, ironically, a book that was 100% village life
    and no bookselling whatsoever: HAY BEFORE THE BOOKSHOPS by Bridget
    Ashton (Austin Macauley, ISBN 978-1-398-45206-0). This is Ashton's reminiscence of her childhood in Hay-on-Wye in the early 1950s,
    when there were *no* bookshops in Hay--and not much else in the way
    of modern amenities (or mod cons, if you prefer). Of course, it
    doesn't claim to be anything but that (although the title means it
    is trading at least a bit off the while bookshop thing). I suppose
    the most accurate review would be, "For people who like this sort
    of thing, this is the sort of thing they would like."

    (*) Hoopla is a great way to borrow ebooks/audiobooks from your
    library; check if they offer it. The big drawback is that each
    library has a daily limit on how many books it can lend out that
    day, and if you try to download something in the evening, you may
    well be told you have to wait until the next day. For that matter,
    I've gotten that message at 10AM. On the other hand, you night
    owls are good to go, because the count resets at midnight. [-ecl]

    ===================================================================

    Mark Leeper
    mleeper@optonline.net


    I never read the papers...I rely on Sven to tell me
    if there's a war broken out. No, I think there's far
    too much going on already without reading about it
    as well.
    --Alan Ayckbourn

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  • From Gary McGath@21:1/5 to eleeper@optonline.net on Sun Feb 12 12:42:12 2023
    On 2/12/23 11:14 AM, eleeper@optonline.net wrote:
    THE WOMAN KING: The specifics of THE WOMAN KING are fictional, but
    most of the generalities are accurate, except for the personality
    of King Ghezo and the position of Ghezo and the head of the Agojie
    regarding slavery. In the film, they oppose it; in real life Ghezo
    was one of the worst slavers in West Africa.

    Portraying the slavers as the good guys is a pretty big "except."

    --
    Gary McGath http://www.mcgath.com

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Kerr-Mudd, John@21:1/5 to eleeper@optonline.net on Mon Feb 13 10:47:57 2023
    On Sun, 12 Feb 2023 08:14:19 -0800 (PST)
    "eleeper@optonline.net" <evelynchimelisleeper@gmail.com> wrote:

    THE MT VOID
    02/10/23 -- Vol. 41, No. 33, Whole Number 2262

    []
    These lured me into searching for other books about bookselling,
    but what I found was, ironically, a book that was 100% village life
    and no bookselling whatsoever: HAY BEFORE THE BOOKSHOPS by Bridget
    Ashton (Austin Macauley, ISBN 978-1-398-45206-0). This is Ashton's reminiscence of her childhood in Hay-on-Wye in the early 1950s,

    She's a Gubbins now
    https://www.bridgetgubbins.co.uk/

    when there were *no* bookshops in Hay--and not much else in the way
    of modern amenities (or mod cons, if you prefer). Of course, it

    It was an interesting border market town. The hardware store was a wonder
    to a little kid; you^w grown ups could buy nails by the bucketload.
    Literally. The Three Tuns would have been just settling into it's 50 year delapidation about then. (Caveat - I never went inside). The trains went
    with Beeching in '63.

    doesn't claim to be anything but that (although the title means it
    is trading at least a bit off the while bookshop thing). I suppose
    the most accurate review would be, "For people who like this sort
    of thing, this is the sort of thing they would like."


    []
    --
    Bah, and indeed Humbug.

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