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SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 2015
THE SUMTER ITEM
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King’s ‘Finders Keepers’ torments readers BY ROB MERRILL The Associated Press The power of books over readers is a frequent theme in the work of Stephen King. Who can forget Annie Wilkes in “Misery,” chopping off novelist Paul Sheldon’s foot with an ax? “Finders Keepers” gives us a con named Morris Bellamy whose obsession with the work of a writer named John Rothstein goes way too far. It’s not a spoiler to say Bellamy kills Rothstein (it happens on page 14), steals his unpublished notebooks and dreams about the words inside them during his 35 locked-up years. While Bellamy’s doing time, a young
boy named Pete Saubers, who is also in love with the work of the late Rothstein, finds those notebooks and figures out they could secure his family’s fortune. Mom and dad are on the brink of divorce, dad’s life having radically changed when he was a victim of the “Mercedes Killer” a few years ago. Enter King’s new Scooby Gang, introduced in “Mr. Mercedes.” Retired cop Bill Hodges, autistic office manager Holly Gibney and Harvard student Jerome Robinson get involved with the case after Pete’s sister Tina tells them she thinks her brother is in trouble. What follows happens fast. At 432 pages, this qualifies as a novella in the King canon. The plot tumbles along,
with the past informing the present and the suspense building until the end. At times it feels too contrived, almost as if King is picturing the movie in his head, flashing back decades to fill in holes in the story. But there’s nothing else to nitpick about. If you like King, it goes down easy. There are flies on dead bodies, melting faces and eyeballs split like grapes. You’ll find yourself cheering for Bellamy’s long, agonizing death. Best of all, on the final page, you’ll know that what started with “Mr. Mercedes” is meant to be a trilogy. Psychopath Brady Hartsfield is getting his mojo back at the Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic, and that means book three probably isn’t far away.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
“Finders Keepers,” by Stephen King, is seen.
‘Jurassic World’ is lacking in suspense BY JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer Along the scaly spine of the Tyrannosaurus Rex runs the evolution of Hollywood blockbustering. Twenty-two years ago, Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park” set the standard for the kind of movie the industry has, ever since, bred like test-tube dinos. “Jurassic World,” the latest incarnation of the franchise, is lacking the deft sense of wonderment, wit and suspense that guided the original. Director Colin Trevorrow, who ended his first and only other feature, “Safety Not Guaranteed,” with a Spielbergian magical twist, has instead made a more biting thriller hung up on the corporate mandates of post“Jurassic Park” Hollywood. What was once a charmingly hokey, if fatally misguided island resort off Costa Rica created by a wealthy, wide-eyed carnival showman has grown
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Indominus Rex is seen about to attack in a scene from the film “Jurassic World,” directed by Colin Trevorrow, in the next installment of Steven Spielberg’s groundbreaking “Jurassic Park” series. The Universal Pictures 3D movie released in theaters Friday. into a sprawling, monorail-traversed theme park worth billions. “Bigger, louder, more teeth” is the demand of the park’s corporate overlords, which includes the serene CEO Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan). But the real face of the new Jurassic World is operations manager Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), a business suit-clad executive who calls the dinosaurs “assets” and describes the park in terms of revenue,
not awe. When her two nephews, a brooding teenager named Zach (Nick Robinson) and his younger, more excited brother Gray (Ty Simpkins), arrive for a visit, Claire still spends most of her time in the NASA-like control room or hosting potential sponsors. The only one who seems to understand the dinosaurs is Chris Pratt’s Owen Grady, a kind of Velociraptor Whisperer. He’s trained a foursome of
Rock band is brash on new album
because it’s not smoothed by humor. If the modern blockbuster could use anything, it’s a rework by a few talented comedy writers. The 3-D “Jurassic World” is also an ugly, over-saturated movie; CGI has run amok here as much as dinosaurs. Pratt, the Harrison Ford heir apparent, slides perfectly into the film. But it’s Howard who makes the biggest impact as a corporate cog whose controlled world is imploding.
A Thousand Horses perform at the CMT Music Awards at Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday in Nashville, Tennessee. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY RON HARRIS The Associated Press Southern rock specialists A Thousand Horses pride themselves on being influenced by some of the genre’s greats, such as The Black Crowes and The Allman Brothers. You can hear those influences throughout their latest album, “Southernality.”
Raptors, each sporting their own nickname, by clicking sounds. When the dinosaurs’ intelligence is again underestimated, chaos returns to the park, courtesy of a wily, ferocious hybrid of mysterious genetic makeup called the Indominus Rex. The corporate commentary in the screenplay, by Trevorrow, Rick Jaff, Amanda Silver and Derek Connolly, comes across as heavy handed partly
Push play on the album’s first track, “First Time,” and the listener is treated to a raucous keyboard-fueled song that is uncomfortably close to Black Crowes’ “Jealous” in vocals and instrumentals. Thankfully, A Thousand Horses come a bit more into
their own on “Smoke,” the first single from the album and one that enjoyed country chart success in the United States and Canada. Lead singer Michael Hobby equates a woman to a bad cigarette habit, and somehow it fits the band fine.
PUBLIC NOTICE CAPER REPORT REVIEW AND PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on Thursday, June 25, 2015 at 6 p.m., Santee-Lynches Regional Council of Governments (SLRCOG) on behalf of the Sumter County Regional HOME Consortium will hold a Public Hearing at the Santee-Lynches RCOG office at 129 South Harvin Street, Sumter, SC. This Hearing concerns the Sumter County HOME Consortium’s Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) which will be submitted to the HUD Regional Office on or before July 1, 2015. The CAPER outlines the availability and utilization of HUD HOME funds for the period of April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015. A Summary of the Program Year’s activities will be available for public review at the SLRCOG office at 125 South Harvin Street, Sumter, SC. The SLRCOG and its member local governments do not discriminate on the basis of age, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability in the administration of, access to, treatment, or employment in its Federally-assisted programs or activities. Persons with questions or comments concerning the Public Hearing may contact Sharon Durden, ECS Department, (803) 774-1988.
2015 The Sumter Item is asking its readers to join in its efforts to help United Ministries of Sumter County. Please choose to donate to one of the following: CRISIS RELIEF, which assists people who have received eviction and utility disconnect notices, and helps provide food, furniture and appliances for domestic violence victims. HOMELESS SHELTER (Samaritan House), which gives a safe place to sleep for up to 20 men and eight women. HOME REPAIR AND WHEELCHAIR MINISTRY (SAM), which makes homes safe, dry, secure and accessible by repairing roofs, floors, etc. Name: Address: Phone:
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