pith·y/ˈpiTHē/

FILMS

Margin Call

No background music and often silence; audience so silent like there wasn’t one – we were to a man struggling to keep up with the unfolding 2008 financial shenanigans; everyone says ‘fuck’ a lot. 

Grey 

Suicidal Neeson and comrades in plane crash in Alaska (?); stalked by giant wolves; just when you think things couldn’t get worse … (eerie tie-in with his wife’s death which occurred during filming).

Headhunters (Scandi)

Shit doesn’t just happen – shit evolves and tries to take over Scandinavia; memorable; see it twice.

Girl with Dragon Tatoo

Does not need Daniel Craig as the girl (Rooney Mara) is the biz; twisty story; Stellan Skarsgård brooding for Sweden.

Melancholia

The universe strikes back; nowhere to run/hide; Kirsten Dunst can’t be fagged; Kiefer S falls apart big-time; horsey love-child of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin also stars.

Weekend  

Poms tell a story where nothing happens but it works; empathetic and real; no laughs whatsoever.

Tabu

Black and white from 1931; starring actual Tahitians; few sub-titles but you don’t miss that; non-stop action with coconut palms and the ocean.

BOOKS

The Elephant in the Room by Diana McLain Smith.

How relationships make or break the success of leaders and organizations; shows readers how all relationships evolve over a series of stages.

[ for full review see  http://ericjacobsononmanagement.blogspot.co.nz/2011/08/book-review-elephant-in-room.html ]

Human Instinct by Robert Winston (he of the massively bushy moustache and black-rimmed glasses).

 Tells how one-night stands are in fact a by-product of early mankind’s evolutionary necessities; am spurred to write a book called He Is Not Just Not Into You But His Cellphone Has Replaced The Club.

The Maldive Mystery by Thor Heyerdahl.

Because I am writing a book about my dream country (Maldives); this a weighty tome unless you like anthropology.

Voluntary Madness: My Year Lost and Found in the Loony Bin by Norah Vincent.

She wrote Self-made Man about the 18 months she posed as a man; I could not finish this book though – I am affected by the author’s voice and I could not connect – but please do not be put off.

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