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Showing posts from October, 2025

Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon

Maybe not a Pynchonian masterpiece, maybe not always the most responsible or serious of his ouvré, but certainly, if what you're reading Pynchon for is that subtle brain massage coupled with that deep, actually profound understanding of man, and people, and places, Against the Day is a rollicking good time, a confusing and absurd mess of emotions, a variety of trips to a wealth of scenes well worth the effort, so if I could offer only one piece of advice, it'd be to stick with it.

Notorious (1946)

I think Ingrid Bergman really outshines everyone else in this classic old Hitchcock, so to that extent it’s delightful, and it has all the best Hitchcock subtleties and clues; like most of his movies I’m not always the most captivated by the plot itself but this one is a lot better than North by Northwest.