Showing posts with label Alex Cross. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alex Cross. Show all posts

Monday, October 22, 2012

Monday Morning Musings

This weekend my hubby and I went to see the movie "Alex Cross." There have been so many Cross books now, it is hard to remember what scenario goes with which book, and some of the elements in this movie hadn't been in any books, but that was okay. Overall, I liked the movie. Tyler Perry did a credible job as Alex Cross, and in some ways he suits the character better than Morgan Freeman did in "Kiss the Girls" and "Along Came a Spider." I love Morgan Freeman's work, but he just wasn't Alex Cross.

Some critics are really panning the movie, so perhaps it is just a matter of personal taste. Tyler Perry is trying something so different from straight comedy, and some of the critics are saying he has not done that well in this movie. I beg to differ. There were a number of scenes that called for deep emotional reactions, and Perry gave them, especially the scene where he decides to lay down his badge and go after the killer. Granted, he does not yet have the depth of dramatic acting like Morgan Freeman, but he did a credible job here, and, in my opinion, will only get better as Alex Cross.

Now let's just see how Tom Cruise does as Jack Reacher.
Art courtesy of http://www.webweaver.nu/clipart/film3.shtml

While on the subject of reviews, I just have to mention this wonderful review of One Small Victory I saw this morning. Here is just a snippet: "I enjoyed this book very much. It is very well-written with good, accurate prose, a well-constructed plot and excellent characterization"

Doesn't it just make your day to get that kind of feedback? No matter how many books we write, I think all writers battle little doubts all the time. Will anyone like what I write? Susan Mary Malone covered the topic of those fears that plague writers in a recent post at The Blood Red Pencil.

Well, folks, we're coming down to the political wire. One final presidential debate airs tonight, and I can't resist the urge to ask the two candidates to please stop the bickering and attacking and interrupting and shouting and act like gentlemen.

This is Ruthie's take on the debates from the comic strip, One Big Happy: Ruthie is walking with her dog and says, "I wonder what would happen if n\Ninja Kitty met up with Buggy Crowspino. Would they get along just fine? Or would they get all nasty and start hissin' and peckin' at teach other?"
The dog just gives her a look.

"You know, like those guys on the TV debates."

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Guest Blogger Tomorrow

There will be no book review today, but I will say I am reading Double Cross by James Patterson and enjoying it. I recently started reading his books again after reading I, Alex a year or so ago, and I admire his ability to keep a reader engaged. It's true that Alex Cross is a bit over the top sometimes, but so is James Bond. They are fictional super-heroes so they have to be bigger than life.

Whoops, this is almost a review isn't it.

What I intended to do this morning was introduce you to John Desjarlais, a fellow mystery author. Granted he is not as well-known as James Patterson, but he weaves a good tale. John is the author of Bleeder and Viper, both books of mystery that blend  Aztec myth and Mexican Catholicism. He will share a bit about how he studied to get the characterization of the Latina protagonist in Viper just right.
         
A former producer with Wisconsin Public Radio, Desjarlais teaches journalism and English at Kishwaukee College in Malta, Ill. A member of Mystery Writers of America, Desjarlais is listed in Who’s Who in Entertainment and Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.


About the Book:

            On All Souls Day, Selena De La Cruz’s name is entered in her parish church's “Book of the Deceased.” The problem is, she's not dead. And someone thinks she should be.

            John Desjarlais’ latest mystery, Viper, the sequel to 2009’s Bleeder, brings back fiery Latina insurance agent Selena De La Cruz. Working against time, prejudice, and her own Latino community’s suspicions, she reluctantly re-joins her old DEA colleagues to hunt a deadly drug dealer who is out of jail and systematically killing everyone who ever crossed him. Can they stop him before he reaches her name on the gruesome hit list?

            As in  the first book, Desjarlais sets the tale in the colorful small-town settings of “Sinnissippi County” of northern Illinois, this time expanding to Chicago to explore issues of immigration and bi-cultural identity against a rich backdrop of Aztec mythology and Mexican Catholicism.

            His historical novels and mysteries are available at Amazon.com.

                   For more information, visit www.johndesjarlais.com