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What We're Reading: A 'Clean Version of Hell' and a Local Stunt Legend

CHICAGO — Does this rainy day feel like it's dragging for anyone else? Here are some things we're reading to stay awake.

Furious Style: David Matthews is reading a surprisingly earnest and favorable review of “Furious 7” by New York Times film critic A.O. Scott. Starring Vin Diesel and the late Paul Walker (among other stars), the seventh installment of “The Fast and the Furious” franchise opening Friday pits the federal government and ragtag team of vigilante speedsters against a “superterrorist” and another villain played by Jason Statham. Despite the film’s seemingly excessive plot and action sequences, Scott applauds “Furious” for owning its “oh-no-they-didn’t sublimity.”

“Movies far less sure of their intentions, sincere in their themes or kind to their audiences — have snapped up statuettes,” Scott writes. “There will no doubt be better movies released in 2015, but ‘Furious 7’ is an early favorite to win the prize for most picture.”

For what it’s worth, Diesel predicted his latest movie will win Best Picture at next year’s Oscars.

Alone again, unnaturally: The supermax prison at Florence, Colorado holds its inmates, including former Chicago gang leader Jeff Fort, in near-'round-the-clock solitary confinement creating what one former warden describes as "a clean version of hell." Senior editor Andrew Herrmann says the New York Times gives readers a glimpse into that hell, where a third to half of inmates are estimated to be mentally ill. Self-mutilation is not uncommon, including one inmate who turned a battery into a drill bit to bore a hole in his head. (Warning: Other descriptions may not be suitable for lunchtime reading.) At a hearing on solitary confinement called by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill), a psychologist testified that some prisoners "are not sure if they exist and, if they do, exactly who they are."

 

solitarywatch.com

This Guy's Got Sole: Some days, the thought of having a job that doesn't involve staring at a computer screen is mighty appealing. Among the jobs reporter Patty Wetli finds most intriguing: foley artist. These are the folks who use all sorts of props and contraptions to make sounds for movies and TV — like "crushing skulls" and "rusty door." Priceonomics, which is a blog we'd never heard of until now, profiles Gregg Barbanell, one of fewer than 75 full-time foley artists, whose credits include "Breaking Bad" and "Little Miss Sunshine." Fun fact: Barbanell owns more than 100 pairs of shoes, which he uses to recreate all different manners of footsteps.

Chicago’s Legendary Stuntman: Chicago magazine explores the life of stuntman Rick LeFevour, who drove the car in "Ferris Bueller’s Day Off," jumped out the window in Groundhog Day and now supervises stunts on “Chicago Fire” - which has upped the city’s stunt game.

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