Often been surprised by a movie after what a film critic said about it? Ever felt cheated out of big bucks on the recommendations of a punk 24-year-old? Or really loved the ones they panned? Well, you no longer need to feel out of step with the current movie review band. Different Drummer is for you. Read more about our take on the film world. And get ready to relive your favorite movies with the recipes that follow each review. You can find many other great recipes in Different Drummer’s own Appetite for Murder: A Mystery Lover’s Cookbook.
This 4-time Oscar winner is not really a story about boxing. Instead it is a stinging rebuke to happy endings, a painful exploration of life's existential anguish, and most of all, a tale of love and redemption.
Read MoreDustin Hoffman hits all the right notes in his directorial debut about an English home for retired musicians. It comes somewhere in between the English melancholy glimpse into the abyss of old age offered by The Last Bus and the randy vulgar denial of it too often presented by Hollywood.
Read MoreNo, Anthony Hopkins is not masquerading as a Native American, or running a footrace in India. The Indian is not the man, but a 1920 American motorcycle he spent decades refurbishing to go almost 4 times is original top speed of 55 MPH.
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This is a road trip, but don’t expect Easy Rider, Smokey and the Bandit, The Blues Brothers, Little Miss Sunshine, or Thelma and Louise.
Read MoreSteven Spielberg again reminds us that one purpose of great drama is to inspire as well as delight. His film does both.
Read MoreSteve McQueen is mesmerizing is this brutal saga capturing man’s eternal yearning to be free. At the jungle labor camp he battles betrayal, disease, starvation, as well as encounters with unfriendly lepers, a pragmatically sadistic prison director, nuns with unusual ideas of Christian charity, and more than one person setting him up for certain death. But it is his unlikely alliance with fellow prisoner Dustin Hoffman that anchors this epic tale.
Read MoreToday’s post honors my brother-in law, Dr. George Ihrke, who turns 84 years young today. Veterinarian extraordinaire, dog and horse whisperer, and nominee for the National Field Trial Hall of Fame, he is a true Renaissance man. Today’s feature shows his nerves of steel as we arrive at the Prairie Chicken Grounds with their four horses and six dogs just as a Midwest storm darkens the sky…
Read MoreI met her walking in Austin’s Stacy Park, this thin octogenarian who always had a walking stick with her. We soon became good friends and began to time our walks so we could amble along together.
Who cares if you’ve never rowed in your life. It’s the middle of the Great Depression and you’re living in a rusted-out jalopy eating a can of beans. Making the Washington State rowing team may be the only way to get a roof over your head and a steady paycheck.
Read MoreYou don’t have to be a racing fan to love this film. In fact, with the assorted male egos jockeying for position off the track, it’s those moments that really capture us.
Read MoreRight now the world seems an insecure and frightening place to us, doesn’t it? What better time to watch this terrific film about someone who never let the world or his inborn limitations get him down. Meet Neil Baldwin, Britain’s own version of Forest Gump, but without the Hollywood sentimentality.
Read MoreNeo (Keanu Reeves) from The Matrix meets Charles Bronson from Death Wish. Only the first parts describes Charlie Heller (Oscar winner Rami Malek) a CIA cryptographer (a fancy name for a good guy trying to defend against hackers) until his wife Sarah (Rachel Brosnahani) is killed in a London terrorist attack.
Read MoreThis isn’t just a slap in the face to the glamorized intrigue of the spy world; it’s a punch in the gut, a leveling one that bends you over and leaves you groaning. An unflinching portrait of moral compromise that slowly eats away at a man’s soul, whether he is on the right side or not.
Read MoreForget Jason Bourne’s death defying chases, or James Bond’s wit and savior faire. As in real life, the significant events in this classic espionage film are in muted greys, shadows gliding past us without revealing their true significance.
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John le Carré makes a cameo in this film based on his first post-Cold War 1993 novel. But unlike Hitchcock, he is neither quiet nor demur. In fact, he just about steals the scene and invents some lines impromptu.
Read MoreDid you know Ian Fleming, the famed author who created 007, was a real spy who cut his teeth on one of the biggest deceptions of WWII? Operation Mincemeat, as it was dubbed with typical English gallows humor, involved “the most unlikely of secret agents,” a corpse.
Read MoreThis Cold War spy thriller is based on a real life British courier, so it is grounded in authenticity, and it’s highlighted by a masterful performance by Benedict Cumberbatch, maybe his best performance yet.
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This one appears to be an accident, but what about the “Over 3 Dozen Bodies Found in or around Lady Bird Lake since 2022.
Read more here https://www.differentdrummer.cc/main/body-of-paddle-boarder-found-in-ladybird-lake-june-3-2025
For a more complete summary of events read more here: https://www.differentdrummer.cc/main/rainey-street-drownings-the-smiley-face-killer-connection?rq=Petition%20Demands
"Very scary, especially given that I live in this neighborhood," said Neda, who lives near the lake.
The woman's body was found Sunday, Dec. 1, in the water near Brazos and East Cesar Chavez Streets.
"A 911 call was received from a kayaker who was paddling upstream and observed some type of object in the water," said Officer Leah Ratliff with the Austin Police Department.
Police say it appears the woman was homeless, in her 60s, and may have been trying to keep warm, when she somehow ended up in the water. Detectives do not suspect foul play.
"There's nothing that appears to be suspicious. There's no type of connection that they believe," said Ratliff.
o Another body was found in Lady Bird Lake on Dec. 2
o The death was one of at least six near the lake so far this year
o Another death in the lake sparks renewed concerns
AUSTIN, Texas - There are renewed concerns after the body of a woman was found in Lady Bird Lake over the weekend. This is one of at least six deaths in or near the lake so far this year.
"Very scary, especially given that I live in this neighborhood," said Neda, who lives near the lake.
The woman's body was found Sunday, Dec. 1, in the water near Brazos and East Cesar Chavez Streets.
"A 911 call was received from a kayaker who was paddling upstream and observed some type of object in the water," said Officer Leah Ratliff with the Austin Police Department.
Police say it appears the woman was homeless, in her 60s, and may have been trying to keep warm, when she somehow ended up in the water. Detectives do not suspect foul play.
"There's nothing that appears to be suspicious. There's no type of connection that they believe," said Ratliff.
A petition calls out the Austin Police and City officials for what it terms “a miscarriage of Justice,” hinting that there is something “darker at play” here, and accuses officials of treating the victims’ families “callously and without empathy.”
Victim’s family pleads against plea bargain for this Austin Serial Killer.
https://www.differentdrummer.cc/main/i-survived-the-rainey-street-ripper
“I survived the Rainey Street ripper': Drugged man who plummeted 25ft off bridge believes 'serial killer' stalking Austin tried to drown him.” Daily Mail
Twelve bodies have been found in Lady Bird Lake and Colorado River since 2022
Police insist there is no serial killer but the mounting bodies sees rumor persist
Jeff Jones survived falling off bridge near river, thinks he may have been pushed
Read more here
The Serpent’s Tooth: A Texas Mystery
Austin is now the trendy number one city, but back in the eighties it was more laid back – not so many skyscrapers and urban hipsters. Just outside of town, you'd be likely to run into old cowboys, ranch hands, and a diamondback or two. And just maybe – an accidental death not as accidental as it seems…
Complete with Texas Recipes for the Oktoberfest Dinner where all is revealed.
An Illustrated Introduction to Classical Horsemanship: Concepts and Skills from A to Z
by Gary Borich
A comprehensive resource in a succinct alphabetical format that brings the beginning rider through every aspect of learning to train and ride for show and trail.
o Another body was found in Lady Bird Lake on Dec. 2
o The death was one of at least six near the lake so far this year
o Another death in the lake sparks renewed concerns
AUSTIN, Texas - There are renewed concerns after the body of a woman was found in Lady Bird Lake over the weekend. This is one of at least six deaths in or near the lake so far this year.
"Very scary, especially given that I live in this neighborhood," said Neda, who lives near the lake.
The woman's body was found Sunday, Dec. 1, in the water near Brazos and East Cesar Chavez Streets.
"A 911 call was received from a kayaker who was paddling upstream and observed some type of object in the water," said Officer Leah Ratliff with the Austin Police Department.
Police say it appears the woman was homeless, in her 60s, and may have been trying to keep warm, when she somehow ended up in the water. Detectives do not suspect foul play.
"There's nothing that appears to be suspicious. There's no type of connection that they believe," said Ratliff.
o Another body was found in Lady Bird Lake on Dec. 2
o The death was one of at least six near the lake so far this year
o Another death in the lake sparks renewed concerns
AUSTIN, Texas - There are renewed concerns after the body of a woman was found in Lady Bird Lake over the weekend. This is one of at least six deaths in or near the lake so far this year.
"Very scary, especially given that I live in this neighborhood," said Neda, who lives near the lake.
The woman's body was found Sunday, Dec. 1, in the water near Brazos and East Cesar Chavez Streets.
"A 911 call was received from a kayaker who was paddling upstream and observed some type of object in the water," said Officer Leah Ratliff with the Austin Police Department.
Police say it appears the woman was homeless, in her 60s, and may have been trying to keep warm, when she somehow ended up in the water. Detectives do not suspect foul play.
"There's nothing that appears to be suspicious. There's no type of connection that they believe," said Ratliff.
https://www.differentdrummer.cc/main/body-of-paddle-boarder-found-in-ladybird-lake-june-3-2025
