But I’m Just an Analyst!

Good morning Consumers, This is Please Consume, the newsletter that loves movies more than Leo loves girls born between the years 2002 - 2005.

This is what we’ve got for today 👇️ 

• Caleb gives us the final pick for Paperback week!

• The staff gives you their picks for what you should be watching this weekend.

• News and Notes.

Let’s get rolling…

With the upcoming release of A Haunting in Venice, we wanted to take this opportunity to talk about our favorite pulpy book to screen adaptations. We’re discussing ‘paperback’ novels.

Also referred to as airplane novels or beach reads, these are the books you read to pass the time, books your mom discusses in book club or the novel's your dad won’t stop talking about for, like, 6 months after finishing it.

So let’s dive into this surprisingly deep well.

 The Hunt for Red October (1990)

Written by Caleb Madden

Paperback movies always make for great dad movies. If your dad is anything like my dad, he reads a lot of paperbacks. Jack Reacher, Dan Brown, and Tom Clancy are all names dads across America know and love.

That’s why my pick for this week is the forerunner of all dad movies: The Hunt for Red October. A classic paperback movie that forged the path for the many Tom Clancy movie adaptations to come.

Books Level Boring

In 1982 an insurance agent in Maryland by the name of Tom Clancy began writing a novel by the name of “The Hunt for Red October.” In 1984 the book was picked up by the Naval Institute Press and the rest was history. The book was a massive success and from it the writing career of Clancy was launched.

The thing that made “The Hunt for Red October”so good as a novel was its incredible attention to detail. Clancy was obsessed with the inner workings of the American Military and CIA and so the novel is pretty dense with military jargon, naval terms, and procedure. The hero of the story isn’t some jacked acrobat secret agent. Jack Ryan is an analyst for the CIA. He writes books about military leaders and looks at computers. But that is where the magic appears in the movie. Compared to a spy movie today, The Hunt for Red October is pretty, well… boring.

But I’m Just an Analyst!

I know that it may not sound like a great pitch for a movie to call it boring. But hear me out! It’s actually a good thing that it's boring. Instead of The Hunt for Red October being a gun riddled shaky-cam fest we get to look at the characters and the world in greater detail.

Let me tell you, The Hunt for Red October has some of the best acting in a spy movie, maybe ever. Jack Ryan (played by Alec Baldwin) is kind of a dork in the tall, handsome CIA agent kind of way. Jack is afraid of flying, he likes researching military tactics, and he is basically a professor with a family. Yet, when the time comes and his country needs him he rises to the occasion (remember he is still tall, handsome, and “normal people jacked”).

Jack’s counterpart in the film is Marko Ramius (played by the legendary Sean Connery). He’s a Soviet naval captain in charge of the U.S.S.R’s most advanced submarine in the fleet. But really he’s just a broken hearted man disillusioned with the ideals of communist Russia. The result of these two out of place characters is a genuinely compelling plot in a spy thriller about a CIA analyst trying to save a defecting Soviet Naval captain. Amazing!

They Just Don’t Make Them Like They Used To

As mentioned before, the plot and characters in this story are actually compelling compared to something more modern, say The Gray Man. Sure, there aren't a ton of beat ’em-up moments with stuntmen putting their lives on the line or giant CGI explosions, but there is a ton of suspense and thrill. You actually are compelled to care about these characters and their motives because the movie isn’t distracted with trying to show you the coolest effects or stunt work ever.

Unfortunately, I think this breed of movie is dead… Even the newest take on the Jack Ryan character (Amazon Prime’s Jack Ryan) is mostly just military action set pieces. This sort of movie just doesn’t sell to executives anymore and that makes me sad. But that’s exactly why you should watch this movie because they probably won’t make many more of these.

Today’s Scene

Here are some selections from our staff for what you should watch this weekend.

Stop the endless Netflix scroll and let us pick for you.

Christian’s Pick

Up in the Air - on Netflix

I really can’t put my finger on why I love this movie so much.

It is something I’ve returned to at least once a year since watching it for the first time.

One of the reasons I think I’m so into it is its look at the post-2009 recession. It put a star like Clooney in the role of someone who fires people for a living.

Give it a try and see if you are drawn in the same way I was.

WATCH NOW

Tom’s Pick

Diabolique (1955) - Max

I’m throwing out a foreign film for you guys. This was one of the first movies in a language other than English that I ever watched and it ruled.

It’s a great story with compelling performances and there’s a scene at the end that is so stressful I told my mom about it.

WATCH NOW

Tyler’s Pick

Together Together- Hulu

Are you a chiller? Do you like good vibes and good chemistry? Do you miss mumblecore even a little bit?

If yes, then give this movie a watch. It’s a quality film that sadly got memory-holed by the pandemic.

Plus, it’s got that one actress from I Think You Should Leave.

WATCH NOW

Caleb’s Pick

The Nice Guys (2016) - Netflix

This comedy neo-noir is so damn funny. Gosling and Crowe do an excellent job of playing off of one another and the mystery is fun.

Not to mention it’s directed by one of my favorite directors, Shane Black, who made the best Iron Man movie and Predator (2018).

This movie is fun from front to back and I would highly recommend giving it a watch this weekend.

WATCH NOW

Here is some of the latest news that we found interesting…