OVERRATED
All hyped up by the hype, I was at the front of the line when "Julie and Julia" arrived on DVD. I liked the irrepressible La Streep and her hubby, Stanley Tucci. I even liked the Amy Adams/Chris Messina half of the picture. But in the end, I kept dozing off. This picture about Julia Child stays in the mind about as long as a soufflé in an earthquake. (And poor Linda Emond as Simone Beck: Where did she get that so-called French accent?)
UNDERRATED
Thriller writer Adrian McKinty deserves more press than I have seen about him. He writes gorgeous (and yes, very violent) genre fiction that is not a guilty pleasure but just pure reading pleasure. He's poetic at evoking places and relentless about the evil lurking in the hearts of men. And, in his newest book, "Fifty Grand," McKinty adopts a female protag -- Detective Mercado of Cuba -- who is his most complex character yet.
CLAUDE PECK
