dark matter is a 2007 american drama film and the first feature film by opera director chen shi-zheng , starring liu ye , aidan quinn and meryl streep .

it won the alfred p. sloan prize at the 2007 sundance film festival .

liu ye plays a young scientist whose rising star must confront the dark forces of politics , ego , and cultural insensitivity .

the film is based on the university of iowa shooting .

dark matter ( film )

director roland emmerich is circling a film adaptation of blake crouch’s alternate reality sci - fi novel dark matter .
dark matter by blake crouch 342 pp . crown . $ 26 . 99 .
“dark matter” has been cancelled after three seasons at syfy , variety has learned .
urltoken dark matter trailer ! a trailer for a new film called dark matter has appeared online . according to it ' s official synopsis , dark matter follows a chinese science student in the united states in the early 1990s . driven by ambition , yet unable to navigate academic politics , then , drama un - folds .
since nearly everything on the show is equally derivative , nothing stands out as egregiously bad or egregiously good . dark matter doesn ' t matter .
we’d love your help . let us know what’s wrong with this preview of dark matter by blake crouch .
meryl streep and ye liu in
dark matter
ran on : 04 - 27 - 2008 janet yang , whose parents were born in china , is the producer of & quo ; dark matter . & quo ;
sony bought the movie rights to “dark matter” in 2014 . andrea giannetti is overseeing the project for the studio .
dark matter is published by macmillan ( £12 . 99 ) . click here to buy it for £10 . 65
we need more three - dimensional leading ladies interacting on our screens , and dark matter has them in spades .
this article explores the relationship between film and international law by reference to the feature film zero dark thirty ( 2012 ) . the authors examine this film in the context of international law , while also considering related questions of genre , torture , gender and targeted killing .
yesterday evening i went to see the new film dark matter , which opened here in new york this weekend . in many ways , it’s very good , much better than i was expecting .
if only
dark matter
weren ' t based on a true story . it might have been a good movie .
“dark matter” is rated r ( under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian ) for language , some sex and a scene of violence .
like its crew , dark matter has the opportunity to potentially erase some of the sins of sci - fi ( and syfy ) series past , and become something better . whether or not it will is another matter entirely .
roland emmerich is in early negotiations with sony pictures to direct the science - fiction thriller “ dark matter , ” based on the blake crouch bestseller .
dark matter succeeds despite its derivative elements . . . because as the season progresses interesting back stories build on questions about nature , nurture and choice .
undeterred after the relatively disappointing commercial response to last summer’s independence day : resurgence , director roland emmerich is heading back to science fiction for his next film , dark matter ( it ' s not related to the tv show of the same name ) .
blake crouch ' s novel dark matter released to the masses in july , leaving us to wonder what ' s going on with the movie adaptation that ' s in development . we ' re keeping a close eye out for updates on the project , and will add whatever news breaks on the dark matter movie here .
syfy space opera dark matter caught many off - guard with just how interesting its first season became . here ' s why you should watch it . . .
* this post originally stated that a terrorist attack in khobar depicted in the zero dark thirty occurred in 1996 , six years prior to the action in the film . in fact , the film depicts an attack in khobar that happened in 2004 . we regret the error .
unlike shows burdened with such labels as “much - anticipated” , dark matter arrived on syfy under the radar , its cloak engaged and its silent running protocol fully implemented .
xing ' s mentor is the great professor jacob reiser ( aidan quinn ) . he puts xing into the cosmology group , where xing quickly develops an interest in dark matter . this stuff , a hypothetical type of matter whose presence can only be inferred , not measured , is supposed to form the organizing metaphor for the film . it ' s an obvious trick , and makes for tedious scenes , as xing stares up into the cosmos and tries to explain dark matter magic to a rather dim - witted girl at the coffee shop .
there are two ugly interrogation scenes in the opening minutes of zero dark thirty that haunt the rest of the experience , and that have come to haunt critical reception of the film itself .
it is easy to see the film as two movies crammed together , neither of them being very good .
review : guardians of the galaxy vol . 2 is marvel’s funniest film , and much braver than the original
wonder woman is currently warner bros . ’ best - reviewed superhero movie since 2008’s the dark knight . and if its early critical reception holds as more reviews are published and the movie hits theaters this week , the film has the chance of surpassing the dark knight altogether .
there is nothing wrong with taking inspiration from actual events , but it ' s a tricky business , and dark matter does no one right by sticking to the shocking conclusion .
roland emmerich is in early negotiations with sony pictures to direct the science - fiction thriller “dark matter , ” based on the blake crouch bestseller . matt tolmach is producing the movie version of “dark matter , ” which was published in july by crown publishing group . the story centers on a college physics professor in chicago with a warm family [ … ]
dark matter is madly fast - moving , made even more so by crouch’s not un - irritating habit of breaking his narrative up into single - line paragraphs . like so :
but first things first . dark matter portraits an ordinary , middle aged professor , jason dessen , having a peaceful evening with his wife and his teenage son . after his decision to m
don ' t take anything for granted in the world of dark matter . . . . . . . solve the problem , and enjoy a great read full of mystery and true love .
after enduring weeks of criticism for the zack snyder - directed superhero film
batman v superman : dawn of justice ,
warner bros . is shuffling the executive ranks in charge of its key dc comic book - based film business .
when dark matter returns next year , we’ll most certainly review it here on den of geek , so we can chew over the answers to some of its many outstanding questions together . until then .
reviewed at sundance film festival , jan . 24 , 2017 . mpaa rating : r . running time : 104 min .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
the film does a fine job of displaying the contrasts between these tense , formalized chinese students and the faux populist american academics .
in case you wandered into this article thinking this had something to do with the syfy tv series of the same name , it does not . dark matter is a recent novel from wayward pines scribe blake crouch .
buttressed by outstanding , unpredictable performances and a beguiling mood of raw nerve collegiate ambition , matter develops erratically but intelligently .
the title of “dark matter , ” a melodrama set in academia , is both a scientific concept and a blunt metaphor . technically , it refers to a form of matter that makes up most of the universe but can’t be directly observed . applied to human affairs , it evokes the unconscious mind and the hidden , destructive forces within relationships .
this article contains mild to moderate book spoilers about blake crouch ' s dark matter . we ' ve put appropriate warnings throughout . ( if you haven ' t read it yet , you can purchase the book here . )
exclusive : roland emmerich is in early talks with sony pictures to direct an adaptation of the blake crouch bestseller dark matter . matt tolmach is producing the large - canvas project . crouch , also the author of the wayward pines trilogy , has another hot property in dark matter , which was published to critical acclaim by crown in july . the sci - fi thriller is about choices , paths not taken and how far we’ll go to claim the lives we dream of .
according to deadline , sony pictures are in early talks with roland emmerich to have him direct a film adaptation of blake crouch’s novel dark matter – not to be confused with the current syfy series or any of the other films that have brandished that title . while crouch’s novel was only just released in july 2016 , sony and producer matt tolmach have been circling an adaptation since 2014 , reportedly dropping $ 1 . 25 million for the preemptive rights . that is what you call industry pull ! dark matter is an intriguing science - fiction exploration of fate and the radically divergent paths of a person’s life created from the simplest of choices .
poignantly and sympathetically gets inside the confused head of an asian immigrant rarely seen in film , a grad student flummoxed by american culture and academic politics .
so , how true is it ? it was a mistake for those involved in the film to suggest that zero dark thirty is
journalistic ,
and to have touted their access to seal team members and cia field officers . no matter how remarkable their research and access , the film spills no state secrets . no movie can tell a story like this without aggressively condensing characters and events , fictionalizing dialogue , etc . boal ' s script is just 102 pages : fewer than 10 , 000 words , the length of a longish magazine article .
sony pictures got the jump on the movie rights for dark matter back in 2014 , well before the book hit shelves . they picked it up based on a 150 - page manuscript , and deadline says that matt tolmach was lined up to produce it . whether or not that ' s still the case is unknown . tolmach has a number of credits lined up as of summer 2016 , including spider - man : homecoming and the jumanji
not - a - reboot
followup starring the rock . there ' s no mention of dark matter on his imdb page right now , so it ' s unclear if he ' s still attached to the project . and the place - holder imdb page for dark matter is presently looking pretty bare .
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
back in the real world , david harris is reporting from the big april aps meeting on the new symmetry magazine blog symmetry breaking . in a blog entry entitled dark matter discovered ? he reports a rumor that the dama collaboration will report on wednesday that they have detected dark matter in the latest run of their experiment . this story just appears on slashdot , “slashdotting” whatever unfortunate web - server is running the symmetry breaking blog , so it is inaccessible for the moment [ i take that back , it just reappeared ] .
in the technical sense of the term , blake crouch’s “dark matter” is definitely a book . even the advance galley i just read ( in one sitting ) was printed on actual paper , with an artfully designed cover and everything . but rather like the mysterious cubelike chamber invented by the physicist jason dessen in crouch’s novel — well , let’s say by at least one version of jason and perhaps by several ; indeed , perhaps by an infinite or incalculable number of jasons — “dark matter” is a portal into other dimensions of reality .
as dark matter ’s characters don’t know their names , they give each other number designations based on the order that they awoke , and with the help of an equally amnesiac android , set off in search of the true about themselves and their ship , the raza .
else the film is a few years off yet . emmerich is said to be in early talks with sony pictures about the project , that matt tolmach is producing .
it also , and unashamedly so , appears to be very much aimed at film adaptation . some scenes go so far as to read like stage setting and direction : “the lighting is soft and unthreatening , like a movie theatre moments before the film begins . there are two straight - backed wooden chairs , and on the small table a laptop , a pitcher of water , two drinking glasses , a steel carafe , and a steaming mug that fills the room with the aroma of good coffee . the walls and ceiling are made of smoked glass . ” et cetera . and indeed crouch , known for the million - plus selling wayward pines trilogy , which was adapted by fox , has already seen film rights optioned by sony pictures for dark matter , for $ 1 . 25m .
update : there are now reports from the talk by tommaso dorigo and alexey petrov , and the slides are here . sounds like this experiment is definitely seeing a signal with yearly variation , but it’s controversial whether this is due to dark matter or something else much less interesting .
for roland emmerich , the story of dark matter might render this adaptation as one of his more grounded films . however , the veteran blockbuster director of classics such as 1996’s original independence day and 1994’s stargate , as well as more recent efforts such as 2013’s white house down and 2009’s 2012 , will be back to his world - wrecking ways soon enough . emmerich will be getting to work on a project for universal sporting a very literal title called moonfall and is also booked for historical action film maya lord . plus , despite his sequel’s anemic earnings , a third independence day film is still not off the table .
“ batman ” isn’t a comic book anymore . christopher nolan ’s “the dark knight” is a haunted film that leaps beyond its origins and becomes an engrossing tragedy . it creates characters we come to care about . that’s because of the performances , because of the direction , because of the writing , and because of the superlative technical quality of the entire production . this film , and to a lesser degree “ iron man , ” redefine the possibilities of the “comic - book movie . ”
dark matter : drama . starring liu ye , meryl streep and aidan quinn . directed by chen shi - zheng . ( r . 90 minutes . at bay area theaters . for complete movie listings and show times , and to buy tickets for select theaters , go to urltoken . )
the question of whether
enhanced interrogations
work is separate from whether they ' re moral—a distinction kathryn bigelow ' s film , but not all of its critics , understands .
screenwriter seth grahame - smith , who was set to make his directorial debut with
the flash ,
slated for 2018 , left the film in april over creative differences with the studio . warner bros . ' s next dc film ,
suicide squad ,
centering on a group of villains , recently underwent additional shooting ahead of its summer release date .
we ' ll add updates about the development of the film if and when we hear word . in the meantime , check out the book if you haven ' t already ! as a fan of stories involving alternate timelines , i found dark matter to be a great read . and i wouldn ' t hate it if blake crouch decided to write some kind of followup . if not a direct sequel , then maybe a spinoff . there are certainly enough directions it could go .
sony and tolmach have been high on dark matter since 2014 , when it made a pre - emptive $ 1 . 25 million deal for the book based on crouch’s 150 - page partial manuscript . at the time , publishing rights for north america sold to crown for more than $ 1 million .
it is stimulating to hear these ideas in a movie with an academic setting that shows genuine respect for learning . “dark matter , ” with its view of cutthroat politics and competing egos inside a university , is also laudable in its refusal to soft - pedal the viciously petty side of the academic fishbowl .
loved it ! ! ! this book is insanity in a box ! 5 stars ! believe the hype ! do not read many reviews ! if you like sci fi or want something different and can suspend disbelief read or listen to this book ! this is the audio version review ! the audio narrated by actor , jon lindstrom , is as good as it gets ! he was the perfect narrator for
dark matter
. this man was born to narrate books ! he ' s that good !
dark matter
starts out pretty simple and then very quickly it turns insane and just keeps getting cra
it ' s terrifying when you consider that every thought we have , every choice we could possibly make , creates a new world . dark matter , to be blunt , is miles and miles away from the line that marks my ‘‘comfort zone . ’’ i never , or very , very seldom , read books such as this one . but the truth is , i never read a book like dark matter before . it’s a love story , it’s a thriller , it’s a science fiction book . it’s thought - provoking , gripping , action - filled . it makes you think about life and family and what
bi didn’t really hold out much hope for dark matter on first viewing . it used a simple idea , and worked around it familiar tropes mostly from western movies , but also some well - worn sci - fi notions . an early story was a version of the magnificent seven , and then there was a zombies - in - the derelict - starship plot , and in another they needed to rely on the android to take a spacewalk to fix the ship . seen all this before ? these weren’t bad stories , though they didn’t really break away from the initial derivative feel that anyone coming to dark matter cold might rapidly assume .
cinema’s onscreen auteur of apocalyptic annihilation roland emmerich is keeping a steady backlog of film projects . while this past summer’s decades - in - the - making sequel independence day : resurgence proved to be a financially disappointing entry in the nostalgia driven film market , a prospective directorial gig might see him adapt the latest novel by blake crouch , author of the recently television - adapted wayward pines trilogy .
the management shuffle is the the latest sign that warner bros . is tweaking its approach to the franchise as it tries to ramp up competition with walt disney co . ' s marvel studios . for example , ben affleck , who played batman in the new film and directed the oscar - winning film
argo ,
was recently revealed as an executive producer for
justice league .
already ,
dark matter
has been criticized by iowa newspapers for making xing so likable , when the actual grad student he ' s based on was anything but . there is nothing wrong with taking inspiration from actual events , but it ' s a tricky business , and
dark matter
does no one right by sticking to the shocking conclusion . it ' s a shame because the alienation of xing ' s character is real enough without the violent ending , and a college campus is a great setting to examine cultural confusion . xing ' s character could have gone in any number of interesting directions . total psycho isn ' t one of them .
some [ information leading to bin laden ] came from detainees subjected to enhanced techniques , but there were many other sources as well ,
he wrote .
and , importantly , whether enhanced interrogation techniques were the only timely and effective way to obtain information from those detainees , as the film suggests , is a matter of debate that cannot and never will be definitively resolved .
the criticism is unfair , and its reading of both the film and the actual story seems willfully mistaken . torture may be morally wrong , and it may not be the best way to obtain information from detainees , but it played a role in america ' s messy , decade - long pursuit of osama bin laden , and zero dark thirty is right to portray that fact .
the burbank - based film company is giving two of its executives increased oversight of the key superhero movie franchise , which is seen as an important pillar of the time warner inc . - owned studio ' s movie strategy .
“dark matter” has been cancelled after three seasons at syfy , variety has learned . the third season finale , which aired last week , will now serve as the series finale . the series centered on an intergalactic crew who awaken on a derelict spaceship with no memories of who they are or how they got there . it starred marc bendavid , melissa o’neil , [ … ]
dark matter demonstrates just what syfy can achieve with the right creative team . it’s not like stargate or battlestar galactica , and is very much evolving to become its own independent thing . if you’ve not checked out this show i recommend you do catch it , and i’d also suggest you don’t take the variable nature of the early stories as any indication of how this show plays out .
syfy is also developing a follow - up series to the c ult classic movie “tremors” with original film star kevin bacon , and have ordered a pilot for “nightflyers , ” based on the novella by george r . r . martin .
something fundamental seems to be happening in the upper realms of the comic - book movie . “spider - man ii” ( 2004 ) may have defined the high point of the traditional film based on comic - book heroes . a movie like the new “hellboy ii” allows its director free rein for his fantastical visions . but now “iron man” and even more so “the dark knight” move the genre into deeper waters . they realize , as some comic - book readers instinctively do , that these stories touch on deep fears , traumas , fantasies and hopes . and the batman legend , with its origins in film noir , is the most fruitful one for exploration .
more spoilery description : including the mentioned kidnapping introduction above , dark matter ' s plot involves the multiverse , sending its lead character into alternate realities where events played out very differently . after he figures out what ' s happened to him following his kidnapping , jason ' s main objective is to find his way back to his original life . to say that the story gets complicated from there would be an understatement . dark matter delves just enough into the science and technology side of the story to allow the reader to understand the logic behind the multiverse . the rest is about jason getting back to his wife , and the challenges he encounters on his way . it poses a lot of interesting what - if scenarios , that add a nice layer of drama to the plot .
so dark matter is not sensible , but sensible is overrated . it is proud and joyful in its absurdity , and having a lot of fun with it too . it also might be the most helter - skelter , race - to - the - finish - line thriller you’ll read all year , with such a clever , mind - boggling final twist that sony’s adaptation could just be worth it .
blake crouch is a bestselling novelist and screenwriter . he is the author of the forthcoming novel , dark matter , for which he is writing the screenplay for sony pictures . his international - bestselling wayward pines trilogy was adapted into a television series for fox , executive produced by m . night shyamalan , that was summer 2015’s # 1 show . with chad hodge , crouch also created good behavior , the t
on rotten tomatoes , wonder woman has a 93 percent rating as of friday morning — a hugely positive number that easily surpasses batman v superman : dawn of justice ’s 28 percent , suicide squad ’s 25 percent , and man of steel ’s 55 percent . it also ranks just below christopher nolan’s the dark knight , which sits at 94 percent , and beats every film in the entire marvel cinematic universe except for the first iron man movie .
former fox executive hutch parker , who produced fox ' s upcoming superhero film
x - men : apocalypse ,
sees value in both that kind of filmmaker - driven approach and what is widely seen as marvel ' s producer - driven one .
the unraveling begins when liu innocently challenges reiser’s theories about dark matter and the big bang theory , foolishly imagining that reiser will be impressed by his originality of thought . reiser , offended by what he views as liu’s disloyalty and feeling his own career threatened by liu’s radical theories , angrily lectures him about waiting for his turn and being a team player . then he sets about sabotaging his protégé’s future . the consequences are dire .
it seems really logical ,
said jason e . squire , a film business professor at the university of southern california .
they are adjusting their internal reporting structure for it to be more efficient and — in the case of dc films — branded .
yet surely , the grace of a good tv show isn’t to dot every ‘i’ and cross each and every ‘t’ , but to tell a good story and get the audience to emotionally invest in the characters . dark matter does that rather well , and it got better at it as the season progressed . some of the characters haven’t reached their full potential yet , and their nemesis , alex rook ( wil wheaton ) , needs to be developed too .
“dark matter , ” directed by chen shi - zheng from a screenplay by billy shebar , is a movie of ideas that does an exemplary job of translating scientific speculation into layman’s language . the filmmaking style of mr . chen , an internationally renowned opera director ( still best known for his 20 - hour “peony pavilion” at lincoln center in 1999 ) , is considerably more formal than american audiences are accustomed to . and that formality keeps you at a distance .
johns is a respected comic book writer - turned executive , who was a key player in the success of dc television properties such as showrunner greg berlanti ' s
the flash
and
arrow .
johns is also co - writing the next standalone
batman
movie with ben affleck . berg , also a film producer , is known for his role in guiding movies such as
the dark knight rises ,
argo
and
american sniper
to the big screen .
the critical reception for
batman v superman
was decidedly negative , with reviewers and fans highlighting its dark and gloomy tone and questioning snyder ' s handling of the two most widely known superheros . batman v superman
grossed $ 870 million at the worldwide box - office since its march debut . yet marvel studio ' s competing film
captain america : civil war
is expected to hit the $ 1 - billion box office mark this week , less than a month after its debut in theaters .
or at least into other dimensions of media . crouch’s wayward pines trilogy became the basis for a fox television series whose pilot episode was directed by m . night shyamalan , possibly because crouch’s episodic tale about a rural idaho town that is not what it appears to be was more like a shyamalan film than anything the director has made in years . “dark matter” is surely destined for a similar fate , and as you read it on paper it inhabits a state of quantum transubstantiation , or “superposition , ” to use jason dessen’s lingo . it’s a novel right now , one that barely qualifies as beach reading because you’ll gulp it down in one afternoon , or more likely one night . but the next time you look , it will have metamorphosed into some other form .
review : winner of the alfred p . sloan prize at the 2007 sundance film festival - - an award given to films featuring scientific themes - - this hypnotic , culturally pertinent drama is based on the troubling real - life story of gang lu , a promising chinese student in t… ( more )
rose’s advice : relax . their ill - timed visit coincides with a big annual gathering , which brings a bunch of rich people over for a picnic — all of them white , except for a token asian and one other “brother” ( lakeith stanfield ) , whom audiences have seen abducted in the film’s tone - setting opening scene . the armitages’ friends also seem far more accepting of chris than he would have anticipated , though their questions leave him feeling uncomfortable , and when he presses stanfield’s character for his take on the situation , the guy snaps , uttering the unheeded warning of the film’s title .
click here to watch a video review of on my booktube channel , from beginning to bookend . to describe this book would be to distract from the elements of surprise , mystery and thrilling confusion found within its pages . dark matter is best picked up with as little knowledge of the story as possible and its events explored with the same sense of vulnerable astonishment as the protagonist , jason dessen . the pacing and structure of this novel are brilliant . events unfold in evermore enticing ways , a
the film ' s protagonist is a bright and adorable chinese physics grad student named liu xing , played gamely by liu ye . xing is a strong believer in the american dream , a pure soul who knows nothing of campus politics . he is ill equipped to deal with the actual terrain of academia .
as a long term star trek fan , i can recognise the value of discord . because , and i’m sure lots of people will disagree with me on this , that’s what made deep space nine really interesting . on all the other trek shows , the characters generally got on very well , pulling towards a common objective . that wasn’t always the case in ds9 , and it made for a much more exciting character dynamic . after a short while , dark matter started to exhibit exactly that sort of friction .
alternative universes , alternatives realities , a better or worse or a completely deferent version of yourself , and the choices that make you “you” , are the main topics that blake crouch is attempting to elaborate in his book “dark matter” . i ought to confess that blake managed to play a severe game with my mind as i’ve got to the point considering about my sanity , after losing myself into the story , the infinite of the universe and the “what if” scenarios . all in all , it was a mind blender .
matt tolmach is producing the movie version of “ dark matter , ” which was published in july by crown publishing group . the story centers on a college physics professor in chicago with a warm family life . the teacher is knocked out by a masked abductor and wakes up in a world he doesn’t know in which his wife is not his wife , his son was never born , and he’s a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable and impossible — his theory has become a fully - realized technology for inter - dimensional transfer .
the subsequent saudi attacks occur . daniel accepts responsibility for the failure , along with his new associate , the film ' s heroine maya . this is all in the first minutes of the movie . torture has been tried , and it has failed . it is maya then who then proposes something different . why not trick him ?
while we wait for updates about the movie , it seems only natural to consider the tv series alternative . it ' s not just because blake crouch ' s wayward pines took the tv route , earning positive reviews . dark matter seems prime to be a tv show , or at the very least , a limited series . in the book , jason visits various alternate realities , and there are others referenced that we don ' t actually get to experience with him . it ' s impossible to avoid sliders flashbacks when thinking about a tv show that centers on a guy taking a spin around the multiverse , just trying to get back to his own reality . but a dark matter tv show would not only have time to explore even more realities than what we saw in the book , but it could also explore other jasons ' perspectives , perhaps picking a few alternate jasons ( including jason - 2 ) to serve as supporting characters . or maybe breaking the story up to focus on a few jasons , and forcing the viewer to try to figure out which one to root for .
warner bros . has named executive vice president of development and production jon berg and dc comics chief creative officer geoff johns to lead dc films , a recently designated brand for company ' s movie business , according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly .
spoiler - free description : dark matter poses the question
are you happy with your life ?
as it relates to the story ' s protagonist , jason desson , an ordinary physics professor who is kidnapped by a masked man , and later wakes up to find himself in a life that ' s somewhat different than the one he had . in this reality , he ' s no longer married , and no longer has a son , and his career as a physicist is much more successful . the mystery of his circumstances unfolds from there .
and while
batman v superman
was not a commercial failure by any means , analysts have described it as a mildly disappointing start for the franchise . the $ 250 - million film was intended to set up a series of pictures including
wonder woman ,
aquaman
and the two - part
justice league .
the fact that crouch barely pretends to answer this — the jason with a wife and kid who narrates the story is the “real” one , of course ! — won’t slow you down much as you plow through “dark matter . ” but higher - order speculation about the nature of identity amid the quantum science of uncertainty is by no means new to science fiction , and i couldn’t help reflecting on the various ways genre masters less concerned with forward momentum — ursula k . le guin , neil gaiman , peter f . hamilton — have tangled with such things .
dark matter by blake crouch was a very addicting read ! it was mostly a science fiction novel with a little bit of romance and some suspense to make it a most enjoyable read . all three of those components is what i really liked about this novel . i was hooked from the very first chapter ! while the story started out really strong for me there were some portions of this novel that i just didn ' t get and it was a little hard to follow the mechanics of it all . i think that if there was less of the scien
dark matter is a book that thrills , horrifies and asks deep philosophical questions . it begins with jason , a physics professor surrounded by his beloved wife , daniela , and his teenage son , charlie , cooking supper . he steps out to meet with a long time friend , ryan , who has been awarded a prestigious prize . on his way home , jason is abducted , after which life as he knew it shatters . i found myself seeing the book through the lens of the band , the talking heads . . . their album titles , song titles and
while some have interpreted the dc executive shifts as an effort to more closely emulate the marvel decision - making model , warner bros . has always maintained its commitment to a director - driven approach that resulted in christopher nolan ' s blockbuster
dark knight
trilogy .
the film is divided into five chapters , each titled after a different element . the ethereal voices of the beijing angelic choir , singing a cappella chinese - language renditions of songs like “beautiful dreamer , ” become a kind of greek chorus underscoring the cross - cultural divide . excerpts from “tosca” and “madama butterfly” are incongruously used as explicit plot pointers .
sci - fi ' s track record on tv is probably more miss than hit in recent years , but the potential for this novel to work as a tv show really shouldn ' t be ruled out , especially if the right writer or team of writers took an interest in tackling what could be an incredibly complicated , but equally compelling tv series . just a thought . but it may all be moot , because as of now , dark matter is lined up for the movie treatment . if that changes anytime soon , we ' ll be sure to let you know .
i suppose we’re both just trying to come to terms with how horrifying infinity really is . this book made me feel tiny . it was overwhelming and scary , but oh so very gripping too . dark matter is the kind of compelling
i must know wtf is going on
book that makes you forget about everything else you had to do that day . you step into this world - this absolute mind fuck of a world that will tug at both your heart strings and your brain cells - and you don ' t want to come out until you know how it
i don’t mean that as disparagement , or mostly i don’t . “dark matter” is far too cheerful and indeed too earnest to feel cynical , even as crouch pilfers material from dozens of sources and mixmasters together multiple genres of popular fiction . this book is alternate - universe science fiction bolstered by a smidgen of theoretical physics . it’s a countdown thriller in which the hero must accomplish an impossible task in constrained circumstances to save his family . under deeper cover , it might also be a fantasy novel shaped by c . s . lewis’s “chronicles of narnia” or lev grossman’s postmodern “magicians” series .
berg and johns had already been considered part of an unofficial
brain trust
for the dc comics franchise that was also said to include snyder ; his producer - wife , deborah ; and charles roven , producer of director christopher nolan ' s
dark knight
trilogy .
these are facts . critics of these practices , and of the film , now find themselves in the curious position of arguing that torture played no role in the intelligence - gathering that led to abbottabad . this is presumably because if the opposite were true , then the hunt ' s successful outcome might lead weak minds to conclude that torture has been proved effective .
dark matter follows jason dessen , an ordinary physics professor at a small chicago college who , after being mysteriously abducted , awakens in an alternate version of the present in which he never married his wife or had his son . in this version of reality , dessen focused on his groundbreaking scientific endeavors , yielding an exceptional life with great accomplishments . despite the personal accolades in this timeline , dessen’s love for his family drives him to find a way to return to the timeline he knows . however , in signature crouch manner , the layers of intrigue slowly peel , revealing a sinister conspiracy and unfathomable truths .
what on earth can i say about this book ? i don’t even know how to describe it . i’m just going to say it was totally awesome ! ! ! it ' s an incredibly unique page - turner and i couldn ' t put it down . this was my first read by blake crouch and dark matter was literally an action packed roller coaster ride ! i was thoroughly engaged and engrossed by the story . i went into this book totally blind and had no idea of the plot . also , there were surprises along the way - - the book is unpredictable - - and i remaine
but first things first . dark matter portraits an ordinary , middle aged professor , jason dessen , having a peaceful evening with his wife and his teenage son . after his decision to meet one of his accomplished friends , who had won a prize on a scientific achievement , his life changes dramatically . during his mind - altering adventure he faces madness , danger , and choices that have to be made . but purely , he receives and realizes that “the knowledge” of our existence in the universe is both a burden and a blessing that can either improve or destroy our heathen , in so many ways , civilization .
winner of the alfred p . sloan prize at the 2007 sundance film festival - - an award given to films featuring scientific themes - - this hypnotic , culturally pertinent drama is based on the troubling real - life story of gang lu , a promising chinese student in the u . s . who , in 1991 , went down in flames , taking several innocent people with him .
in the crew of lovable chinese grad students , who like to sit in the sun and drink beer and talk about girls , like most self - respecting college dudes , one man stands as a foil to xing . zhang ming , played by tsao lei , exerts great effort to assimilate . he speaks clear english even among his chinese colleagues , goes to church , dresses up in the lab and tailors his doctoral work to support the
reiser model .
the intellectual dishonesty of ming ' s modest thesis proposal horrifies xing . as xing digs into his research on dark matter , ming supplants xing as reiser ' s pet .
stargate sg - 1 ' s joseph mallozzi and paul mullie are behind syfy ' s new series , debuting june 12th , based on their dark horse comic . the show follows the crew of a derelict spaceship who are awakened from stasis with no memories of who they are or how they got on board .
that is not the choice our nation made back in 2001 , when this story begins . the fear that contaminated our military prisons in subsequent years became a scandal . it would be very neat to conclude that it was not only wrong , but useless . zero dark thirty doesn ' t do that , nor should you .
winner of the alfred p . sloan prize at the 2007 sundance film festival - - an award given to films featuring scientific themes - - this hypnotic , culturally pertinent drama is based on the troubling real - life story of gang lu , a promising chinese student in the u . s . who , in 1991 , went down in flames , taking several innocent people with him . having completed . . . read more
blake crouch is a bestselling novelist and screenwriter . he is the author of the forthcoming novel , dark matter , for which he is writing the screenplay for sony pictures . his international - bestselling wayward pines trilogy was adapted into a television series for fox , executive produced by m . night shyamalan , that was summer 2015’s # 1 show . with chad hodge , crouch also created good behavior , the tnt television show starring michelle dockery based on his letty dobesh novellas . he has written more than a dozen novels that have been translated into over thirty languages and his short fiction has appeared in numerous publications including ellery queen and alfred hitchcock mystery magazine . crouch lives in colorado with his family .
but quinn has fun with reiser . he ' s the archetype of the good - looking , morally questionable professor , whose bright blue eyes and jocular manner - he ' s constantly trying to make xing call him jake , much to the polite student ' s horror - barely conceal a bitterly competitive spirit . after he takes the eager xing to a conference , and another scientist counsels xing to focus on the possibilities of dark matter , reiser ' s paternal gestures become unpleasant . quinn is such an able actor that it takes only a few movements , a hand placed a little too tightly on xing ' s neck , a couple of callous words at a dinner party , to establish reiser ' s fear of actual talent .
“guess who’s coming to dinner” meets “the stepford wives” in “get out , ” in which a white girl brings her black boyfriend home to meet her parents , whose superficially warm welcome masks an unthinkably dark secret . blending race - savvy satire with horror to especially potent effect , this bombshell social critique from first - time director jordan peele proves positively [ … ]
the first film from famed chinese theater and opera director chen shi - zheng sets the scene of cloistered american collegiate life beautifully . the geometric lines of the buildings , the rolling grass , the dingy grad student housing , the petty dramas of students , professors and donors and the grotesque posturing at academic conferences are instantly recognizable . unfortunately , the well - honed mise - en - scene crumples as the plot follows the events of a 1991 iowa state campus tragedy .
the key performance in the movie is by the late heath ledger , as the joker . will he become the first posthumous oscar winner since peter finch ? his joker draws power from the actual inspiration of the character in the silent classic “ the man who laughs ” ( 1928 ) . his clown ' s makeup more sloppy than before , his cackle betraying deep wounds , he seeks revenge , he claims , for the horrible punishment his father exacted on him when he was a child . in one diabolical scheme near the end of the film , he invites two ferry - loads of passengers to blow up the other before they are blown up themselves . throughout the film , he devises ingenious situations that force batman ( christian bale ) , commissioner gordon ( gary oldman ) and district attorney harvey dent ( aaron eckhart ) to make impossible ethical decisions . by the end , the whole moral foundation of the batman legend is threatened .
meryl streep ' s character , a university donor named joanna silver , provides another parental model for xing . she appears early on in the film to befriend the chinese students , taking them on field trips and offering her large house for a cocktail parties . her character often doesn ' t seem necessary , but streep ' s acting is superb : silver skirts the line between being a genuine friend to xing and indulging in orientalist stereotypes , making chinese culture one of her hobbies .
clearly , “get out” will play very differently to black and white audiences — and if the film doesn’t rile a significant contingent of the latter , it simply isn’t doing its job . but there’s something telling in the underlying anxiety that peele’s script exploits , from the opening scene ( in which an uneasy black man walking alone in a predominately white suburb recalls the fate of trayvon martin ) to the last , when the arrival of a police car suggests a near - certain turn for the worse .
in the movie the real life space physics at iowa has been transposed to cosmology at a university in utah . it remains set in the early 1990s , with protagonist liu xing recently arrived in the us from mainland china . his advisor , jacob reiser , is a cosmologist with a model called the “reiser model” which is based on cosmic strings . liu xing comes up with what he considers a breakthrough , a new model based on using superstrings to explain dark matter . this doesn’t meet with reiser’s approval , and he is failed at his dissertation defence for a bogus reason ( this is one of the ways the movie sadly departs from a realistic plot or the true story ) . the scientific advisor for the movie was david h . weinberg , a cosmologist at ohio state , and lee smolin is thanked among many others in the credits .


on its release , it was shown with the toto ( armando novello ) comedy short the furniture movers .

a little sister of everybody

a little sister of everybody , sometimes called a little sister to everybody , is a 1918 silent film directed by robert thornby , starring bessie love and george fisher .
everybody ! ! i have a new little sister ! . . . - jasmine ' s house , inc | facebook
nv everybody ' s brewing ' little sister ' isa india style . . . | tasting notes , market data , where to buy
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this popular design featuring the words
everybody loves a little sister
comes in black in sizes and green ( picture coming soon ) newborn to 12 months .
that is the persona i’ve settled on : approachable and genuine . everyone’s little sister .
we’d love your help . let us know what’s wrong with this preview of little sister by david hewson .
zach clark’s “little sister , ” starring addison timlin , tops the list for the best films of 2016 .
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we waited while it rang . everybody waits while a telephone rings . after a while it stopped .
full ipa flavor , with low alcohol content . little sister isa is grassy , with a flowery… show more
we’d love your help . let us know what’s wrong with this preview of the little sister by raymond chandler .
remember imani hakim who played the bratty little sister tonya on “ everybody hates chris ? ” well , she’s all grown up now and she will be starring in the upcoming movie “ chocolate city . ”
“little sister” premiered at sxsw and recently played at bamcinemafest . it is currently seeking u . s . distribution .
cut ,
gammon said .
print that one . break for lunch everybody .
mind your own business about my sister leila ,
she spit at me .
you leave my sister leila out of your dirty remarks .
note that this character does not actually have to be anyones sister , and a character who is someones sister is not guaranteed to fall under this trope .
like many american films of the time , a little sister of everybody was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards . for example , the chicago board of censors cut , in reel 4 , the intertitle
i ' ll kill his dog , hugh travers , as a warning
.
we’d love your help . let us know what’s wrong with this preview of mr . darcy ' s little sister by c . allyn pierson .
they were 15 years apart , but shared a passion for home and family . alice finch lee on the growing pains of her little sister , to kill a mockingbird author harper
the little sister ? she was just in here . she ' s on her way back to manhattan with the swag .
everybody knows what an ak - 47 is . . . anybody who ' s ever watched a decent action movie would
full ipa flavor , with low alcohol content . little sister isa is grassy , with a flowery aroma . this beer has a great balance of chinook and cascade hops . show less
in a non - mage - hawke playthrough , bethany - who is hawke ' s actual little sister - also qualifies whenever she ' s present .
that makes it a little harder to get a start ,
i said .
i was leaning a little , knees bent , all set for a jump again .
“abigaile always had a lot going on with happy hours and events , which affects the style of menu you can do , ” says sanford . “ [ vuong and i ] had the conversation that we wanted to do a small restaurant , like a little sister of abigaile , and it just happened organically . little sister is like a more refined version of abigaile , with a food style that’s more specific . ”
i can ' t figure why he would say that to his sister .
haute pot : salt - andpepper lobster with butter - fried shallots and fried chilies is “the star of the restaurant , ” says little sister general manager kristina kanaley .
her eyes widened a little too innocently . her laugh was a little too silvery .
don ' t be ridiculous . the man is worth a couple of million dollars .
l : 3f + foamy head , little retention , almost no lacing . little ring . beer is a light , hazy copper .
chef tin vuong put manhattan beach on the cool - inary map with his asian - inspired foodie favorite , little sister . next stop : downtown !
bonnie from the xy saga of pokémon is clemont ' s little sister , and his big brother instinct is combined with similar protective feeling from ash , serena , and their pokémon .
in jane austen’s pride and prejudice , main character mr . darcy has a younger sister named georgiana . while she’s a secondary character in p & p , i’ve always found her intriguing . thankfully , in mr . darcy’s little sister c . allyn pierson has taken on the challenge of expanding the story to focus more on georgiana as she grows into a young woman . mr . darcy’s little sister begins in september of 1813 , about a month before pierson has placed the darcy / bingley wedding on october 19th . georgiana is
pretty little liars : troian bellisario talks the a . d . reveal | urltoken
farrell smiled a little and was silent . endicott turned slowly to mavis weld .
in that way , i can inhabit a special place , still allowed to be feminine , someone everyone roots for but no one is sexually attracted to , or intellectually threatened by . everyone wants his kid sister to win . everyone will defend his little sister from bullies .
one of those little cameras with a very fine lens . you can take snaps in almost any kind of light . a leica .
mr . darcy’s little sister is a wonderful story that picks up right after elizabeth and darcy ; and jane and mr . bingley become engaged . however the main voice of the novel is from miss georgiana darcy’s perspective , darcy’s sixteen year old sister . the book starts with georgiana writing a letter to elizabeth bennet , her soon to be sister - in - law…“my dearest sister –to - be…i cannot even begin to tell you how delighted i am to know that you are making my brother the happiest of men ! i look forwards wi
no , i haven’t . most people i work with , take me as their younger sister before anything else . they tend to draw me close as a friend and to advise me . when i go to them for any consultation , they are happy to help . i’m someone you’ll just enjoy talking with , that has worked for me . maybe , that’s why i find it easy , i’m everybody’s little sister .
the little sister ( philip marlowe , # 5 ) , raymond chandler , esmail fassih ( translator ) the little sister is a 1949 novel by raymond chandler , his fifth featuring the private investigator philip marlowe . the story is set in los angeles in the late 1940 ' s . the novel centers on the younger sister of a hollywood starlet and has several scenes involving the film industry . it was partly inspired by chandler ' s experience working as a screenwriter in hollywood and his low opinion of the industry and most o
there was not a hell of a lot of time to play around with .
at manhattan beach’s little sister , punk rock lyrics from fugazi adorn the walls , with phrases like “sitting outside of town” and “everybody’s moving” taking on added meaning given the restaurant’s perch in the south bay—an area just outside the culinary hotbed that is los angeles , but where ambitious projects like this one are causing discerning diners to take a second look .
spoiler alert : this post contains plot details from the series finale of pretty little liars .
i still didn ' t answer . she blushed a little . then she giggled .
don ' t say little apartment . that sounds like a whore too .
specific , indeed—and inspired by vuong’s upbringing in the san gabriel valley ( or the “626 , ” as little sister’s menu cheekily calls it ) . “there were about 100 restaurants within a square mile of my family’s house , ” says vuong . “little sister evokes those authentic flavors i grew up eating . the fundamentals are chinese - based with french techniques , [ resulting in ] a mixture of vietnamese and hong kong–style foods . ”
in runaways , molly and klara fill this role , to varying degrees - molly is everyone ' s baby sister , but klara is more of a little sister to nico and karolina , while chase and victor treat her more like a ladette . oddly enough , the baby sister aura even seems to affect other people in the marvel universe - for instance , during secret invasion , speed of the young avengers literally went out of his way to keep molly and klara safe during a battle with the skrulls .
i nodded and went out . there are days like that . everybody you meet is a dope . you begin to look at yourself in the glass and wonder .
with its graffiti art and elevated cuisine ( presided over by vuong ) , abigaile paved the way for its aptly named “little sister . ” melding bold , authentic pan–southeast asian flavors with an even bolder attitude ( read : loud hip - hop music and wall images of gun - toting butterflies ) , little sister debuted in july 2013—fueled by vuong’s vision and sanford’s south bay savvy
he sipped a little more of his armagnac . he pointed at the photograph lying in front of him with the two pieces fitted together .
this is where big sister progesterone comes in . progesterone follows estrogen around and tidies up after her , creating order out of chaos .
what , philip ?
she asked softly and opened her lips a little wider .
everybody dies . no mystery there . but why and how everyone dies . now , there ' s a mystery worth solving . probably the biggest mystery there is .
are you mad at me ?
she asked timidly , making a little circle on the desk with the point of a finger .
she laughed . it was a silly pooped - out little laugh like a child trying to be supercilious at a playroom tea party .
you have never spoken to him ?
she asked idly , a little too idly .
some of the best bird photography of the year—a collection of the 2018 winners and runners - up .
i ate dinner . i only have a two - quart stomach anyway . i understand a little spanish .
so i was wondering ,
i said .
what name does your sister leila use in pictures ?
he just sat there and stared at me with his nasty little eyes half closed and his nasty little mustache shining . one of his hands twitched on the desk , an aimless movement .
he nodded and almost fell off the couch .
must be i ' m drunky ,
he said .
kind of a bit of a little bit drunky .
oh yes , of course .
nice recovery . fast and clean . but her smile looked a little more tired .
“little sister” may be a small film that resolves in a familiar truism — “all you can do is keep trying , and hope that somehow trying is good enough” — but timlin’s turn is good enough to convince us that trying will be .
almost everybody ,
i said .
if you ' re going to wear those rimless glasses , you might at least try to live up to them .
you ' re a little chilly and you have to eat some lunch ,
i said .
twenty - five dollars a day ,
she said wonderingly .
little lonely dollars .
you just making this up - or got evidence ?
he sounded a little less relaxed .
say youre a villain . youre up against a team of heroes and you need a sure - fire way to rattle them . what do you do ? well , the best way to get everybody worked up is to threaten that character , the one who the whole team feels they need to protect . congratulations , youve just found everyone ' s baby sister ( or brother ) .
he probably has his clothes on . after all , you ' re his sister . you ought to know .
i , as everyone’s little sister , am able to selectively dish it back to everyone . but not all the time . i have to pick and choose my moments . and it’s exhausting . and maddening .
please tell us a little about your business ( ie . the type service you provide ) . . .
some people refer to you as ‘little genevieve . what’s the relationship with her like ?
little sister – another lowlands thriller kim and mia timmers are twins who have spent the majority of their life locked up in a mental health facility , after being found guilty of murdering the lead singer of a once world renowned band called the cupids . what little is known from that time is shrouded in mystery , and all the locals of the dutch fishing village , voldendam . as the timmers twins reach 21 they should no longer be kept in the facility out on the edge of the island of marken , hidden aw
really haunting thriller about two sisters who ( allegedly ) murdered a man 10 years ago when both their parents and their triplet sister got killed . a real pageturner . although i ' m dutch i ' m not very familiar with the region waterland , though everybody knows volendam offcourse . for me this was the best book in the series so far .
a hopeless alcoholic . you probably know how they are . they drink and drink and don ' t eat . and little by little the vitamin deficiency brings on the symptoms of delirium . there is only one thing to do for them .
he turned and looked at the sterilizer .
needles , and more needles . it makes me feel dirty . i am a graduate of the sorbonne . but i practice among dirty little people in a dirty little town .
a good writer and a good style but for some reason i did not love this . moments of horror that felt a little contrived and some rather tense moments that were very well done .
mr . darcy’s little sister is an enjoyable look at the life of georgiana darcy immediately after her brother’s engagement to elizabeth bennet . georgiana is very excited about having a new “sister , ” but also is very nervous about meeting her and first impressions . her teen angst also extends to her upcoming first season in london and her presentation to the royal family . georgiana has the independence of a fine income to be able to marry for love rather than wealth . there is a downside to this ind
little sister tastes like it smells ; gander that . lemon , grass , sunshine , puppy dogs . bitterness is on the low side of moderate . finishes with mild sweetness , hay , & vanishing citrus . light , refreshing , & super easy to drink .
aviva weinberg of relative heroes is literally the baby sister of her team as it ' s made up of her siblings . when the weinbergs help with the invasion of zandia several members of young justice and their allies make sure to keep her out of the line of fire or at least behind forcefields and bulletproof individuals since she is incredibly young for a superhero , even when compared to the rest of the group which is almost entirely made up of teenagers .
that so ?
not a flicker of an eye . not a movement of a muscle . i might as well have been talking to a turtle .
i ' m his protection , pal . i gotta protect him . a guy like sherry can ' t see everybody . i see people for him . i ' m the same as him - up to a point you understand .
ned gammon nodded .
nothing like a little hamming to clear the air . all right here we go .
jaime took cersei , his sister - lover , the mother of his three deceased children and one more in the oven , at her word and prepared to march north alongside the armies of jon and daenerys .
a voice i had heard before said sharply :
shut up , you little bitch . i ' ll be out in a second .
it ' s just possible that i ' m not used to playing in front of a back projection screen that has a habit of running out of film only in the middle of a take .
she gave me a level look which was not too admiring .
if it was anything like that , we ' d know ,
she said .
everybody has things in their pockets to tell who they are .
a woman from a small kansas town hires philip marlowe to find her missing brother . what marlowe finds is himself ensnared in a web of drugs , blackmail , and murder . . . as i ' ve said many times , noir fiction and i go together like a bottle of cheap vodka and nightmares about being chased by coyotes . the little sister by the esteemed raymond chandler is no exception . it may be because it ' s been a few months since i ' ve read one of raymond chandler ' s oddly poetic noir masterpieces but i liked the little
she made a threatening gesture with the little gun .
turn around ,
she snapped .
but fast .
she looked sharply down at my empty hands . studio stills are usually a little too big to put in your pocket .
she leaned back in her chair . her little face was thin and angular now . her eyes had a watchful look .
related : pretty little liars series finale : i . marlene king reveals her original idea for a . d . , a deleted wren scene , more
that stopped me for a moment , then i laughed .
you ' re a nice little liar ,
i said .
goodbye .
sheva alomar of resident evil 5 is described as the
little sister
of her bsaa squad by her c . o . and mentor , being the youngest and greenest member . of course , chris redfield is told of this long after she ' s ably demonstrated her own competence and badassery , and his survival depends on her throughout the mission as much as hers depends on him .
the screening of “little sister” that i attended was also a world première and i watched the film with a special joy—the same one that accompanied the screenings of “the arbalest , ” “collective : unconscious , ” and a few others at sxsw—in anticipating these films entering the world and taking their place in the future of the cinema , a future that they’d do their part to shape . that future is the main and proper subject of criticism ; it’s why film festivals remain crucial and indispensable experiences .
and just what would i get for this money , my charming little gum - shoe ? i ' m quite sure of what you are , of course .
amigo , i have no idea at all .
her voice had a hushed withdrawn sound . she might have been a little scared . i didn ' t know what of .
“wonderful what hollywood will do to a nobody . it will make a radiant glamour queen out of a drab little wench who ought to be ironing a truck driver’s shirts , a he - man hero with shining eyes and brilliant smile reeking of sexual charm out of some overgrown kid who was meant to go to work with a lunchbox . out of a texas car hop with the literacy of a character in a comic strip it will make an international courtesan , married six times to six millionaires and so blasé and decadent at the end of i
love is such a dull word ,
she mused .
it amazes me that the english language so rich in the poetry of love can accept such a feeble word for it . it has no life , no resonance . it suggests to me little girls in ruffled summer dresses , with little pink smiles , and little shy voices , and probably the most unbecoming underwear .
i opened the bag and went through and found a white envelope that looked a little familiar . out of it i shook the photo at the dancers , the two pieces fitted together and pasted on another piece of paper .
these sisters depend on each other . estrogen feels insecure without boundaries and gets herself into trouble with her friends and family because of her impulsiveness and lack of consideration . she tends to blame everybody else for life’s problems without being able to put a brake on herself . she needs progesterone to put things in perspective .
he seems like a nice little guy ,
i said , still watching the hand that held the gun . not a quiver in it now .
review originally posted on diary of an eccentric c . allyn pierson pushes georgiana darcy to the forefront of mr . darcy’s little sister , a sequel to jane austen’s pride and prejudice . austen did not focus much on georgiana’s character , so readers know little about her aside from her almost elopement with the scoundrel george wickham , her shyness , and the fact that her brother cares deeply for her and will do anything to protect her and her reputation . pierson moves georgiana out of mr . darcy’s sh
what doesn ' t add up ? i ' ve told you the truth . i ' m orrin ' s sister . i guess i know what kind of person he is .
‘nelle harper had a vivid imagination all her life , and early on she would compose stories , ’ said alice finch lee ( left ) of her sister harper ( right ) , pictured in 2006 . photograph : ap
i did a little more than that ,
i said .
i gave the landlord a little gin and went through the register and talked to a man named hicks . george w . hicks . he wears a toupee . i guess maybe you didn ' t meet him . he has , or had , orrin ' s room . so i thought maybe -
it was my turn to do a little trailing in the air .
she clutched her bag to her bosom with tight little fingers .
you mean something has happened to him ?
her voice faded off into a sort of sad whisper , like a mortician asking for a down payment .
stop sneering at me . orrin ' s in a lot of trouble . some -
her voice quivered a little and her breath came quickly ,
some gangsters are after him .
no he hasn ' t ,
she said tightly .
he has a little scar on his left hand where he had a wen removed .
a little potassium hydrocyanide ,
a voice said , over the transatlantic telephone .
not fatal , not even dangerous . merely relaxing . . .
i grinned and drew it out of her reach .
all right . but it ' s such a cute little bag . it ' s so like you .
ms estrogen is childlike in her exuberance for making things happen . she has little awareness of the effect of her actions . she is happy just to be doing something – anything .
she nodded her little chin half an inch . her eyes were melting .
take my glasses off ,
she whispered ,
philip . i don ' t mind if you take a little whiskey once in a while . really i don ' t .
he stopped and drew in his breath . his face glistened a little as if with sweat . he leaned forward from his hips .
she couldn ' t . she did not have the number and she had very little time .
although vuong’s food pushes the envelope for the south bay , it’s bound to be right at home downtown , where little sister’s second location is set to open this spring , across from bottega louie . “as a chef , you have to understand your audience , ” vuong says . “in manhattan beach , going full throttle , super authentic , or way too shrimpy [ wouldn’t have worked ] , but downtown , little sister will really shine as far as the heavier flavors . people are more accustomed because of the proximity to san gabriel valley and even chinatown , with the new dim sum–style flavors . ”
marlowe is back again , but in a rather bad mood in 1949 , after a spell of almost six years , raymond chandler had his hero philip marlowe re - enter the stage in the little sister , a weird case of multiple blackmailing and mob murder . it all starts in a seemingly harmless way when orfamay quest , a rather prim - looking , mousy young woman asks him to find out the whereabouts of her brother orrin . marlowe , in a strange way fascinated and simultaneously revolted by the demure and holier - than - thou orfamay
chandler ' s 5th novel has philip marlowe going to hollywood as he explores the underworld of glitter capital , trying to find a sweet young thing ' s missing brother . a movie starlet with a gangster boyfriend and a pair of siblings with a shared secret lure marlowe into the less than glamorous and more than a little dangerous world of hollywood fame . chandler ' s first foray into
i picked this up in a charity shop and then sat enthralled ! a page turner indeed ! a really nice
sequel
to pride and prejudice focusing on georgiana darcy . full of prejudices and romances and the same selection of characters which any reader of the book will know . clever if a little straightforward in some places but a very enjoyable book .
“little sister” is his best film to date , and it shimmers with a quiet sense of ambition from the start , high - concept in a low - key way . colleen lunsford ( a note - perfect addison timlin ) isn’t a struggling actor or a recently fired shoe designer , she’s a young nun in new york city , a virgin on the verge of taking her first vows . she’s also a bright - eyed former goth who’s full of social grace , and her supervisor at the convent ( horror icon barbara crampton ) is growing concerned that the girl hasn’t fully divested herself from the outside world .
yet another fantastic raymond chandler book ! ! this time marlow goes into hollywood and we get his take on the the movie business in the late 1940 ' s . his prose is top notch and one of a kind . i marvel at the consistency of the writing and constantly colorful analogies and metaphors . one of my all time favorite writers . the little sister deals with a young woman who is trying to find her brother and of course marlow is hired to do the job . he works his way through a labyrinth of high life sleaze tr
the little sister by raymond chandler . philip marlowe has a small and dirty little office . marlowe is a private detective . some days he ' s on the side of the police and some days not . one of those days orfamay quest walks into his office with a request . . . find her brother orrin . he ' s been gone from home back in manhattan , kansas for a long time and his letters have stopped . this begins marlowe ' s long and complicated journey in finding orfamay ' s brother . the twists and turns that come with each char
that ' s far too much ,
the little voice said .
why , it might cost hundreds of dollars and i only get a small salary and -
you ought to have used a little of that back at the road block . that tall guy looked lonely . you could have taken him off in the bushes .
why would he want to stick you ?
beifus asked with a derisive grin .
you were his pal . you were down there to keep him safe for his sister .
“i don’t believe you” will do it , jaime said , and he walked away . next thing , he was alone on a horse , outside , and snowflakes were falling even as far south as king’s landing because — everybody chant along — winter is coming .
he turned abruptly and put a pile of handkerchiefs into his suitcase . i moved a little closer to him . when he turned back there was what might have been a watchful look on his face . but it had been a watchful face to start with .
helen grady ,
she said .
well , a little well - bred obscenity never did any harm , did it ?
she let out a silvery little laugh .
amigo , there are men i do not know . even at the chateau bercy .
she shook her head .
no , there is a little hill between . i do not think they would hear , amigo .
i ' m going to make a little speech ,
he said .
you ' re not going to like it .
you said orrin wasn ' t the black sheep in your family . remember ? with a very peculiar emphasis . and when you mentioned your sister leila , you sort of passed on quickly as if the subject was distasteful .
his hand came out to it with the beautiful anxiety of a mother welcoming a lost child .
not much of a sales talk for a blackmailer ,
he said , still smiling .
i ' d sell that cheap . for love of a pair of dark glasses and a delphinium - blue hat and a crack on the head from a high - heeled slipper .
he picked his cigar out of the green glass ash tray and blew a little smoke . through it he gave me the cold gray eye . i got a cigarette out and scratched my chin with it .
you ' re cheap . it ' s a cheap little bastard , isn ' t it ? a hundred bucks it says . is a hundred bucks money in your circle , darling ?
i said :
neither can i . i may call you again . don ' t get me wrong , dr . lagardie . this isn ' t any kind of a shake . i ' m just a mixed - up little man who needs a friend . i kind of felt that a doctor - like a clergyman -
i poured another slug of the gin and held it out of his reach .
the voice changed . the furriness went out of it . it said sharply and swiftly :
how ' s every little thing in bay city ?
takes a bit of medical knowledge then ?
i got out a poor old package of camels and untangled one from the cellophane .
i see ,
torrance said coolly , then burst out laughing again . he turned to ned gammon .
okay , ned . now everybody ' s got the rat poison out of their system , maybe we can give it to you the way you want it .
french rolled himself a cigarette and lit it with a kitchen match he struck on the back of a chair . he sighed .
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flack took hold of the arms of his chair and squeezed . his voice came from the bottom of a well saying :
you can ' t prove a damn thing .
his hand went up and felt the angle of his jaw . it already showed swelling . his mouth grinned but his eyes were still a little vague . french stood rooted and silent .
i was lucky to have selected tested - hands that helped make the experience a glide . it was like having a wonderful ride . the cast and crew were fantastic . it was so easy , we met our target everyday . everybody was united . i know it’s my film , but it’s one of the best set i’ve ever been on .
the new restaurants will join abigaile , little sister , wildcraft , and dia de campo for a total of seven blackhouse openings in four years . it’s a breakneck pace for the two partners , but slowing down doesn’t seem to be in the cards—especially in the rapidly shifting south bay . “in the last two or three years , a lot is changing down here with people trying to get in the game , ” says sanford . adds vuong , “it’s time to turn the knob a little more . ” 1131 manhattan ave . , manhattan beach , 310 - 545 - 2096
diversity is not important to them . so i need to go . to someplace bigger , where there are more women around . where i have some more protections and some more anonymity . because it is pretty damn hard to be everyone’s little sister when you are just wanting to be yourself .
she came in briskly enough this time . her motions were small and quick and determined . there was one of those thin little , bright little smiles on her face . she put her bag down firmly , settled herself in the customer ' s chair and went on smiling .
booktrail literary destinations : little sister booktrail there’s something very moreish about this author . having read his novels in order , i am always left wanting more and wanting to return to amsterdam . he’s one of the authors who for me not only uses his settings well but really weaves them in and out of every aspect of the plot . his writing and characters are just so evocative of time and place and really make the settings more than backdrops . the island setting in particular shows a unique
pride and prejudice continues . . . georgiana darcy grows up and goes in pursuit of happiness and true love , much to her big brother ' s consternation a whole new side of mr . darcy . . . he ' s the best big brother , generous to a fault . protective , never teases . but over his dead body is any rogue or fortune hunter going to get near his little sister ! ( unfortunately , any gentleman w
this was a real page turner for me , but maybe i am a bit biased because of the setting . a good series .
for as long as i ' ve lived in southern california , i have thought of raymond chandler as the archetypal los angeles writer , and of philip marlowe as the archetypal l . a . noir hero . the little sister is one of his later novels , and one of his most complex , yet it is a page - turner ( almost , a page - burner ) from start to finish . it all begins with a prim young lady from manhattan , kansas , named orfamay quest is willing to part with as much as twenty dollars to find her brother orrin , who has disappeared
oh . torrance in this ?
dick torrance at the time was a ranking star of the second grade , a not uncommon type of hollywood actor that nobody really wants but a lot of people in the end have to take for lack of better .
this tense whodunit detective story , and best picture - winning thriller was set in the little town of sparta , mississippi during a hot summer . it chronicled the racial tensions between two individuals brought together for a murder case :
from some guys that might want to stick an ice pick in the back of his neck . on account of he is a little too quick with his little leica . taking people ' s photographs when they want to be private . or it could be something else , like peddling reefers and he got wise . am i talking in riddles ?
so many low - budget american indies are about stunted twentysomethings who return to their childhood homes in order to achieve some great personal catharsis , but so few of them understand what home really means , or know how to find it . it’s been more than a decade since “garden state” enshrined that template for a new generation of filmmakers , yet zach clark ’s weird , winsome , and wonderful “ little sister ” is one of the few movies that has used it to tell a story that feels indivisibly true to itself .
it wasn ' t you gave orfamay the thousand bucks , was it , darling ? to make her tell ? she ' s a little girl who would go a long way for a thousand bucks .
a search of the records of the united states copyright office has determined that this work is in the public domain .
there were hard lumps of muscle at the corners of his jaws . his eyes had a reddish glare behind them .
don ' t tell me ,
she interrupted sharply and turned with a glass in her hand . she drank and tossed the loose hair around and smiled a thin little smile .
money , of course . how damned stupid of me to overlook that .
i did my best for you ,
i said .
perhaps if you ' d given me a little more information in the beginning -
and yesterday afternoon , in room 332 of the hotel van nuys , a blonde girl with a towel in front of her face had pointed a . 32 - caliber automatic with a white bone grip at me .
chandler ' s 5th novel has philip marlowe going to hollywood as he explores the underworld of glitter capital , trying to find a sweet young thing ' s missing brother . a movie starlet with a gangster boyfriend and a pair of siblings with a shared secret lure marlowe into the less than glamorous and more than a little dangerous world of hollywood fame . chandler ' s first foray into the industry that dominates the company town that is los angeles .
i poked at the paper with a pencil to keep it burning . she came slowly , step by step , to the desk and her eyes were fixed on the little smoldering heap of torn prints .
in this witty sequel to pride and prejudice , mr darcy ' s little sister , georgiana darcy takes centre stage . her excessive timidity complicates her life ; her self - confidence , mined by her misadventure with mr wickham , hasn ' t healed yet . she grows up in pursuit of true love and happiness but doesn ' t dare open her heart , neither to her beloved sister - in - law , elizabeth bennet , who now lives with her and darcy . she wants to find a love that is every bit as true as elizabeth and darcy ' s . georgiana is
better than that , samwell said , he’s not really a bastard . sam said he read in an old book the confession of a man who had secretly married lyanna and rhaegar , and if that’s the case , jon is the legitimate heir to the iron throne over daenerys targaryen , rhaegar’s sister .
orrin quest . his sister told me he was doing some kind of work for you , doctor . i ' ve been looking for him for days . last night he called her up . from here , she said .
love ?
he dropped the word slowly off the end of his tongue , tasting it to the last . a bitter little smile stayed after the word , like powder smell in the air after a gun is fired . he shrugged and pushed a desk cigarette box from behind a filing tray and over to my side of the desk .
taste is orange lemon citrus hops with a touch of the pine . a bit of grapefruit comes along later . just enough malt to make the style .
weepy moyer . a cop friend of mine said something about a hollywood money man being held on suspicion and then released for lack of evidence .
now don ' t be like that , mister . please don ' t be like that . i ' ve got quite a nice little proposition -
i ' m a little chilly ,
she said .
and i have to eat some lunch .
she held the photo out to me .
compare and contrast the chick , the heart , the cutie , the tagalong kid , moe , and your little dog too .
beifus took his hat off and bowed .
you mustn ' t deny us our little pleasures , mr . flack .
i love this series . absolutely . if modern american crime writers could write like this , my tbr pile would be beyond overflowing . if you want a little more about this book than what i ' ve written here , you can click here and read about it at my reading journal . otherwise , read on . like all of the chandler novels so far , the little sister has a plot that is once again overly convoluted and overly complex , but chandler is in rare form here , having marlowe spill his guts about the city , his job , the
good debut , but why has westdijk made a mediocre tv - film , a really bad feature and another tv - film that was embarrassingly bad after this film ? this film was good mainly because of the original idea , but it tells very little about the directing skills of westdijk .
it is a habit with people of a certain class . onetime actors especially . and onetime crooks .
you ' re marlowe ?
he said in a voice that had a touch of the soft south .
jeremy captured a sweet moment with his youngest brother during the reception . he captioned the photo ,
jacob roloff everybody . we ' ve been in separate states for a good long while so it ' s been very nice to get some quality time with him again as he ' s been helping me a lot on our house renovations . i ' m a diy kinda guy so with a little brother and some youtube , anything is possible .
he added ,
he ' s a smart dude with a good heart . my mom calls us the bookends , spend 10 minutes with us and you ' ll know why .
so i went to a picture show and it had to have mavis weld in it . one of those glass - and - chromium deals where everybody smiled too much and talked too much and knew it . the women were always going up a long curving staircase to change their clothes . the men were always taking monogrammed cigarettes out of expensive cases and snapping expensive lighters at each other . and the help was round - shouldered from carrying trays with drinks across the terrace to a swimming pool about the size of lake huron but a lot neater .
the film opened with a view of a creepy old woman ( philip friedman ) through a window , holding a candle - a major hint , and then the title screen in pulsating , blood - red lettering .
her mouth fell open and she looked ugly . she closed her lips and pressed them together . it was a tight hard little face that i was looking at .
she nodded brightly .
let us say _ i _ picked _ him _ up . he was a very nice little man . really , he was .
it needs a little more explanation , doesn ' t it ? all i see is two people having lunch in a public place . hardly disastrous to the reputation of my client . i assume that was what you had in mnd .
that ' s a fair complaint ,
ned gammon said .
trouble is he only has two hundred and twelve feet of film , and that ' s my fault . if you could take the scene just a little faster -
who ?
there was a dim reflection of shock behind her eyes .
wait a minute . then what ? more prints of the photo ?
common sense - and a lot of experience sitting here with people .
beyond this desk there is a row of glassed - in cubicles stretching along one side of a very long room . on the other side is the waiting room , a row of hard chairs all facing one way , towards the cubicles .
you could know bay city a long time without knowing idaho street . and you could know a lot of idaho street without knowing number 449 . the block in front of it had a broken paving that had almost gone back to dirt . the warped fence of a lumberyard bordered the cracked sidewalk on the opposite side of the street . halfway up the block the rusted rails of a spur track turned in to a pair of high , chained wooden gates that seem not to have been opened for twenty years . little boys with chalk had been writing and drawing pictures on the gates and all along the fence .
i know .
she was breathing a little fast .
it makes me feel very young and innocent and kind of naughty . and i ' m far from being young and innocent any more .
we crossed la cienega and went into the curve of the strip . the dancers was a blaze of light . the terrace was packed . the parking lot was like ants on a piece of overripe fruit .
little orfamay took the billfold and stared at it and then stared at him and her white little face was very still . then she thanked him and opened her bag to put the billfold in it , as i thought - it was all very curious -
for two reasons , amigo . he was more than a little crazy and in the end he would have killed me . and the other reason is that none of this - absolutely none of it - was for money . it was for love .
of course ,
he said . there was a peculiar smile on his face .
how stupid of me .
she blew cigarette ash off the back of her hand . a flake of it went into my eye and made me blink .
i said slowly ,
that would be kind of silly . i could sit in the dark with her and hold hands , but for how long ? in a little while she will drift off into a haze of glamour and expensive clothes and froth and unreality and muted sex . she won ' t be a real person any more . just a voice from a sound track , a face on a screen . i ' d want more than that .
we ' re not . the only thing mexican about you is a few words and a careful way of talking that ' s supposed to give the impression of a person speaking a language they had to learn . like saying ' do not ' instead of ' don ' t . ' that sort of thing .
well , that was something . and it was also something else — and then some . the seventh season of “game of thrones” on sunday went out with a bang , a whimper , a double - cross , a triple - cross , a killing , an execution and a massive demolition project .
the opening marks the start of a big year for blackhouse hospitality . along with the new outpost of little sister , sanford and vuong have two other projects planned for 2015 : a “big sur - meets - ocean ranch”–style steakhouse in hermosa beach and another restaurant in redondo beach . “we wanted to do something in redondo because it’s the most behind in food , but there is definitely a demand , ” says sanford . “look at hermosa : four or five years ago there was nothing , and now it’s super food - driven . ”