A shallow, ceaselessly breathy magazine puff piece posing as a biography. Millar, former women's editor for the British tabloid the Sun, writes like a lovestruck schoolgirl in hormonal overdrive. Shamelessly, she pummels the reader (or ``we girls'' as she likes to put it) with rhapsodies on Neeson's various charms: ``He is the Holy Grail of all that's desirable in a man—where the physical meets the emotional in perfect harmony.'' There are extended paeans to Neeson's sensitivity, his Irish charm, his well-muscled physique, his long, fetching legs, as well as tittering speculation on the reputedly generous proportions of his ``wedding tackle.'' Occasionally, Millar even slips in something about acting. Poor Mr. Neeson. What has this hard-working, talented actor done to deserve such unmitigated, hopped-up blather? Part of the Irish ``invasion'' of American film in the 1980s, he initially enjoyed only modest successes in Hollywood (except when it came to womanizing—there Neeson cut a swath almost worthy of Warren Beatty in his prime). Convinced that his career depended on constant exposure and demonstrating his versatility, Neeson took almost any role he was offered, villain or hero, psychotic or romantic. But he was always hoping for the kind of defining lead role that would make him a real star. With Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List, he finally had such a role. Or, in Millarese, he ``rocket[ed] right up there into the stratosphere, landing squarely on that territory that was Hollywood's shortlist of universally appealing men.'' As Millar fumbles about, she does occasionally stumble across insights into Neeson's psychology and acting methods. But then it's right back to leering and smarminess and rocketing about the vapidosphere. (8 pages b&w photos)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-312-14002-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1995
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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