The Masterpiece by Fiona Davis

The Masterpiece by Fiona Davis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Such an interesting read, Davis' book combines several of my favorites: historical fiction, mystery, architecture, art and art history.

Alternating between the 1920s and 1930s and the 1960s, the author easily moves between two main characters without the reader feeling like its watching a tennis game.

And the ability to convey the grandeur and beauty of art and architecture without the use of photography or illustration is an art in and of itself.

Weave between all of this a fascinating story about women's place in the art world without banging a righteous and indignant drum.

Well done.



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City Hall - Al Pacino, John Cusack (1996)

HEART RATE: YYYY

Perusing the list of John Cusack's films today, I spotted one that I had not seen: City Hall.

Made 12 years ago, Cusack looks so young. But, hey, didn't we all?

He plays a deputy mayor to Mayor of New York, played with resounding aplomb by none other than Al Pacino.

Geemenee Christmas, that Al Pacino can ACT! But I'll get to that in a minute . . .

A man walks his 6-year old son to school. As they cross the street a snitch hooks up a detective with a low-life drug pusher. Guns start firing, the pusher and the detective go down and in the midst of the exchange, the little boy is killed.

City Hall is notified and Kevin Calhoun (Cusack), who manages Mayor John Pappas, steps in to clean things up for the mayor and begins to uncover a complicated series of graft.

But back to Al. He decides, against advisement, to speak at the young boy's funeral. Facing an angry crowd of constituents who want to know why he's not cleaning up the city, Pacino literally turns the crowd around with a mesmerizing performance of a speech.

A good movie, I have to confess that Cusack's attempts at a Louisiana accent fails dismally. But he's still adorable and still convincing in the role.

The movie also stars Bridget Fonda, Danny Aiello, Martin Landau.