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Philip Crossman

Vermont

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"That is 1/16th of what our developing social brain is looking for."

What Happened To You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing REVIEW Trauma. You can fight. You can flee. You can freeze. You can also, it appears, flock or feign. But this book offers a great deal more specific detail about the brain, trauma, neglect, and resilience than I had picked... Continue reading

Posted Dec 27, 2021 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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A Reluctant Samaritan

The Marksman REVIEW Former U.S. Marine Corps sniper, Jim Hanson has a dying ranch along the Mexican border. As a consequence, he sees undocumented aliens making their way over the border fence and when he does, he reports them. Not maliciously. Not is some racist way. But simply as a... Continue reading

Posted Aug 30, 2021 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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The Making of Bonnie's Clyde

Dreamland REVIEW Dreamland is an excellent tribute to the lack of development in the teenage boy brain, especially when it suffers from some sort of deprivation and distress. Eugene, the main character is a teenage boy abandoned by a biological father when he was five. He lives in Depression era... Continue reading

Posted Aug 28, 2021 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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"They sought to make the revival permanent.”

Radical Sects of Revolutionary New England REVIEW Stephen Marini’s book covers a fascinating period of time and subject, the emergence of non-conformity in one of the world’s most intentionally conformative societies, New England in decades before the First Great Awakening. From the time the Puritans had first landed, they had... Continue reading

Posted Aug 2, 2021 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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“Henry had been a good master"

The Known World Review Edward P. Jones’ novel The Known World bears a title full of irony. The novel is set in Virginia in the decades before the Civil War and hosts a broad set of characters who are all playing out their ethical lives in an environment that has... Continue reading

Posted Jul 25, 2021 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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“Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.”

The Book of Forgiving REVIEW Bishop Desmond Tutu is a hard man to argue with when he talks about the need to forgive people and be forgiven. Its hard to say to a man like that “You don’t know what has happened to me.” For me, it was a book... Continue reading

Posted Jul 17, 2021 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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Land REVIEW The word “Land” is a double...

Land REVIEW The word “Land” is a double entendre here. Clearly, it refers to the setting of the film. The main character moves into an abandoned cabin in the Montana mountain wilderness after a family tragedy and the stunningly beautiful scenery plays an important role in here healing. But the... Continue reading

Posted Jun 10, 2021 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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"He stood and faced the reality of death for my sake."

Our Friend REVIEW First, I should say that this film is based off the May 2015 article entitled “The Friend” by Matthew Teague in Esquire Magazine. The article may be even more compelling than the film. “We don’t tell each other the truth about dying, as a people,” Matthew writes... Continue reading

Posted Jun 4, 2021 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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“Your stories can only keep you company for so long.”

News of the World REVIEW Jefferson Kyle Kidd travels the backroads of Texas reading the news to people so isolated they are hungry for it. People gather and put dimes in a bucket to hear Jefferson read from a collection of newspapers that he curates and synthesizes for them. And... Continue reading

Posted May 25, 2021 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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“They are stable, and we are catastrophic.”

Anchors REVIEW Dillon and Julia Jones. Former intimates meet by coincidence on a street outside a hotel in New York. He is a month away from getting married and she has just discovered that she and her husband are pregnant. The conversation soon makes its way to the last time... Continue reading

Posted Apr 3, 2021 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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“I know you want her back, kid."

Chemical Hearts REVIEW. What exactly happens to your body and brain when your heart gets broken? Chemical Hearts (the movie) Our Chemical Hearts (YA Novel) tries to explain it in a story of two high school students dealing with their own broken hearts. The author of Our Chemical Hearts takes... Continue reading

Posted Mar 6, 2021 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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"I have the soul of a millionaire."

La Boheme REVIEW It almost sounds like a joke that my son the IT major might tell: An artist, a writer, a philosopher, and musician walk into a garret in Paris on Christmas Eve, unable to pay the rent or pay for adequate heat … [You finish the joke] The... Continue reading

Posted Dec 26, 2020 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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"Its not fair”

“I don’t understand. I try to do my job. I follow the rules and people hate me. Innocent people get hurt and other people – people who are not good get to walk around and do whatever they want . Its not fair.” – Peggy, Mad Men Peggy may be... Continue reading

Posted Nov 25, 2020 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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“If we had not met again, everything would have come to a natural conclusion.”

Innocence REVIEW Innocence (2000) is about a couple separated by circumstance who agree to meet again 40 years later, now in their 70’s. Claire is still married while Andreas is not. The connection they shared in youth is abundantly present from the moment she steps off the train to meet... Continue reading

Posted Oct 29, 2020 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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“Doesn't feel good to have people you trust be reckless with you, does it?”

Say You Will REVIEW This is one of those movies that requires a sequel to know if it ends well. Not everything is wrapped up with a bow by the time the final credits roll. The story line keeps coming back to a central theme about whether or not people... Continue reading

Posted Oct 25, 2020 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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“I don’t think I was quite ready for a goodbye.”

Monsoon REVIEW Imagine that you are young and have your entire life ahead of you. You are about to head off to college and your life-long friend and next-door neighbor have a decision to make: Do you love each other? There you are alone together swimming in the pool in... Continue reading

Posted Oct 24, 2020 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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Something I Cannot Say

The Things We Cannot Say REVIEW In the spirit of Kate Morton (an author I have reviewed several times lately), the author of The Things We Cannot Say, Kelly Rimmer, has written another story about the search for a parent’s past - a story about Alice, a woman who has... Continue reading

Posted Oct 23, 2020 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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La Belle Dam Sans Merci

Waking REVIEW Ben has a tough choice to make. He has to decide between the perfect relationship or a literal dream. His girlfriend of six years has just moved back into time and is ready to marry. Her father, a therapist, is ready to retire and hand over all his... Continue reading

Posted Oct 23, 2020 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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“We need to break up.”

See Girl Run REVIEW Closure. “The act of ending something” See Girl Run opens with a series of interviews with women talking about high school sweethearts. We learn that they are being vetted for a reality TV show that involves being re-introduced to their high school flames 20 years later.... Continue reading

Posted Oct 10, 2020 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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Welcome to Eucatastrophe Reader

Esteemed Reader, I have been posting book, poem, and movie reviews to this blog for about a decade. There are now almost 1300 book and movie reviews to be found here. Some are short. Some are extensive. There are reviews of documentaries, romance movies, dramas, novels, textbooks, primary source anthologies,... Continue reading

Posted Oct 4, 2020 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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"I don't want to be perfect. I want to be us."

The One I LOVE REVIEW The One I Love is a movie about this couple who are about to divorce. Their marriage counselor recommends that they go to this retreat house in the mountains for a weekend. When they arrive, they find that something bizarre is going on in the... Continue reading

Posted Oct 4, 2020 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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“Oh Mario, dead? You? Like this? Dead like this? Like this?”

Tosca REVIEW Okay, so, for the first time in my life, I figured I would watch some opera (since the MET has graciously decided to let us country bumpkins watch it for free during COVID). https://www.metopera.org/user-information/nightly-met-opera-streams/ Last night was Puccini’s Tosca. If I could simplify the plot somehow, it goes... Continue reading

Posted Sep 26, 2020 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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“There’s a providence that watches over the deserving.”

The Count of Monte Cristo REVIEW The theme of Alexander Dumas’ epic novel seems to be stated in the following quote from the novel. “There’s a providence that watches over the deserving.” -M. Morell (Ch 1) The converse is also true that God does not forget the deeds of the... Continue reading

Posted Sep 26, 2020 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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"They have their own kingdoms behind their eyes."

The King REVIEW In Kenneth Brannaugh’s version of Shakespeare’s Henry V, the young king “Hal” comes across as a forceful and calculating personality who shapes the events of the play with intention and purpose. Brannaugh’s Henry knows what he is doing when he declares war on France, when he executes... Continue reading

Posted Sep 10, 2020 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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"You’re either sun burnt, sleep deprived, or seasick and after a few days there’s hallucinations."

Adrift REVIEW “Got caught in a storm. Wound up stranded. Went through hard times. Managed to survive and get back home.” Sounds like the plot line to a gazillion movies from Robinson Crusoe to Swiss Family Robinson to Lord of the Flies to Castaway to Perfect Storm. But I should... Continue reading

Posted Sep 8, 2020 at Eucatastrophe Reader

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