The French Connection, released in 1971, is a Crime/Action/Thriller set in New York City. It stars Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider. The story follows two NYC cops who become aware of a shipment of heroin coming from France that they are trying to intercept. The story itself was pretty good, but what I found most interesting was the several chase sequences that take place throughout the film. There are sequences in which one person is following another on foot, sequences where multiple cops are following multiple people in all different directions, a scene of cat and mouse in the subway, a car chasing train scene and a few others. I found myself getting into these scenes more than any other. I am pleased with the progress of the story through the film, but the ending was quite abrupt. I will not give away the ending, but I was asking myself questions at the end. Of course, I do enjoy when a movie has me thinking about it afterward. I give The French Connection 7 our of 10 stars on IMDB.
#34...1/5. Read 5 books off the Time's Top 100 Novels List
I just completed my first book off of the Time's Top 100 Novels List...Lord of the Flies. I have heard good things over the years about this book, and it was a no brainer for me to choose. Now having completed it, I find myself a bit disappointed. One of my favorite books, Battle Royale, is always compared to Lord of the Flies, but I just don't see it. There are similarities, like "kids" on an island by themselves, as well as death being a theme. That's about it. Lord of the Flies has young children where Battle Royale has teenagers, and in Battle Royale they are forced to kill each other. By the end of Lord of the Flies there were some savage things going on, but the kids weren't forced into it. Anyway, I did find myself wanting to know what would happen next as I ended each chapter, but honestly it was because I was looking forward to something that never came. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I didn't have expectations, but I can't change that now. I may have to read it again sometime in the future to reanalyze my opinion on it.
In case you don't know, Lord of the Flies is about a group of schoolchildren whose plane crashed on an island. It turns out no adults survived (although it seemed as if the only adult on the plane was the pilot). The story shows how these children establish leadership and responsibilities which later leads to tension among them. As a fan of the show Lost, I noticed many themes from this book that the show "borrows." It is an interesting read that I would recommend, but if you're looking for more shock and excitement, I would direct you to Battle Royale.