The Writer's Life 5/26 - Thrills

I add films to my Netflix list months in advance. By the time they arrive, some are a complete mystery as to why I rented them. Such was the case with French thriller Point Blank (2010), which has slam bang action from start to finish and comes in at a tidy 84 minutes. Of course, there are instances that strain credulity, but that is the case with most action pictures. There are a few especially memorable scenes: a motorcycle accident, a chase through a Paris subway station, and the chaos in a station house following multiple robberies and vandalism. It's a fun ride, strictly a popcorn movie. Kudos to director Fred Cavaye. On a scale of five, three-and-a-half. The folks at IMDb rate it 6.9 out of ten. It is not to be confused with the 1967 quirky noir classic of the same title starring Lee Marvin and Angie Dickinson, directed by John Boorman, rated 7.4; or a Mickey Rourke vehicle (1998), rated 3.9. In the 50's and 60's French cinema was influenced by Hollywood noir like Detour (1945), Double Indemnity (1944) and Out of the Past (1947), and some real beauties were the result, among them: Diabolique {'55}, Le Trou {'60}, Le Samourai {'67}. Now it seems to have picked up the pace ala modern American thrillers. Tell No One (2006), based on the novel by Harlen Coben, was also tres bien. As Marv Albert might say: Oui!

The floating book shop had a great day. I didn't even have to set up to earn my first sale. While I was visiting my buddy Bags, watching an action-packed John Wayne flick from the 30's on Encore Westerns, Impy stopped by and bought Killing. He earned that nickname in his youth, unable to stay out of trouble. He has reformed considerably. He has a new toy - a convertible. Given that the object of each day is to sell one of my books, it was a success before I went to work. I sold a bunch of books to various passersby, and a bag of VHS tapes to Bad News Billy, whose troublesome 12-year-old grand-daughter had dispatched him to get her something to eat. He was especially fired up about an SNL Best of Steve Martin video: "Well, excuuuuuuse me!" Later, when I spotted my goombah Carmine, seventyish, in the distance, walking toward me, I looked forward to his special brand of sunshine. When it looked like he was going to pass without acknowledging me, my heart sank. I immediately assumed he'd found Killing offensive to Italian-Americans. He played me like a fiddle, stopping on a dime, turning and laughing. He loved the novel, saying: "It's so real." That is exactly what I hope readers will glean from it. He has passed it on to a neighbor. I'm interested to see how Impy reacts, if he realizes one of the minor characters is patterned after him in a not so flattering light. He didn't complain when I included several of his antics in The Best Revenge, a short story about the street we called home.

Thanks, folks.

Visit Vic’s sites:
Vic’s Third Novel (Print or Kindle): http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic’s Website: http://membershttp://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic’s Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic’s 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic’s 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic’s Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f