A Wedding for Bella

I first learned of this film a few weeks back while visiting Pittsburgh – it’s a home-town favorite that features some very favorable scenes of the various neighborhoods through the city. When I saw that Scott Baio had a leading role I was a bit concerned (who can’t help but remember him from Happy Days?) but he was perfectly cast in the role of Dominic, the corporate axe-man turned baker who is determined to help Bella, the aging woman who lives above the bakery. Bella, played by Rosemary Prinz, was an interesting character even as her dialog bordered on stereotypical. However, it was Kristin Minter in her role as the wild daughter Lucca who really commanded attention. Caught between the expectations of her immigrant parents and her own dreams and fears, Minter moved from quirky peace core volunteer to devoted daughter to conflicted girlfriend with ease. A Wedding for Bella is on the road between What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and My Big Fat Greek Wedding – and I guess that’s right about where Pittsburgh is.

The Matrix: Revolutions

There’s not too much to say about this one. It’s certainly better than The Matrix Reloaded but not nearly as captivating as the first Matrix. The graphics are outrageous and the various battles are entertaining (ok, I’m a sucker for those fight scenes that involve characters running up walls, floating in slow motion through the air while administering judo moves and defying gravity with a blink of an eye). Almost all of the scenes involving Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss) are nauseating - the romantic blah-blah sounds artificial and the acting is far from convincing. Let’s hope this really is the end of the trilogy – it’s time for the Wachowski’s to take on something different.

Hustle & Flow

A few months back the New York Times ran an article about recent films their reviewers wanted to single out as worthy or exceptional in some way. There were a few well known titles but mostly the list was devoted to independents, foreign releases, or films that had never caught the public’s eye. Hustle & Flow made the list, and on the surface it didn’t sound like very much – Memphis pimp tries to turn his life around through rap music and the help of an old friend. And yes, the film is exactly that –- but what clearly warranted its inclusion on the Times list was the solid acting that kept a familiar plot from becoming too predictable. Terrence Howard has received accolades for his role as Djay, but my favorite performances were from Taryn Manning and DJ Qualls as the slightly dim-witted Nola and the perpetually sweaty and over-eager Shelby. Hustle & Flow is a few steps removed from MTV fodder (not surprisingly, MTV had something to do with the final production or distribution) so don’t expect a critical analysis of African American poverty, urban blight, and societal breakdowns. There are other films that address those issues – but this isn’t one of them.

Object of Virtue

Based on the book jacket description of Nicholas Nicholson’s Object of Virtue, I expected a historical fiction with a strong dose of intrigue, “While researching a priceless work of art, a young man stumbles upon mystery and dark family secrets.” Sasha works for a high-end auction house in New York City as a Russian art expert specializing in Faberge craftsmanship. Anticipation mounts as Sasha traces the history of a legendary Faberge figurine that a Russian of dubious lineage has brought in to sell. The story alludes to old family feuds, and an unknown cousin associated with the Russian selling the figurine creates controversy, but despite various hints the secrets of the family are never fully revealed. A bit of danger and suspense are introduced as Sasha travels to Moscow to conduct research in the government archives, but you never get the impression he’s placing himself in real danger. Nicholson has certainly produced a well written and researched book – my knowledge of Faberge has increased from nothing to a little bit of something as a result of this reading. Object of Virtue is certainly an interesting book, just not quite as mysterious as the jacket makes it out to be.

Brick

Go out and watch this movie now. It’s been making the indie theatre circuit and is now available on DVD through Netflix. It’s hard to believe Brick is Rian Johnson’s debut film; it’s got great pacing, acting, storylines, and suspense. Yes, the dialog is slippery slick. Amazingly complex lines flow flawless from the characters’ lips – it’s as if everyone attended the Eminem school of conversation - but it works so well. How often do you enjoy a film simply because the language is so captivating? Brandon, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is the next John Cusack. He’s scruffy, boy-next-door cute but without the 80s naiveté and plays the tough guy with a good soul role perfectly, can’t wait to see where his career goes… If you enjoy the classic film noir from the 40s and 50s, this is the movie for you. Sure, the “wise guys” and “dames” are identified with different terms now (and the clothes are certainly different) – but it’s still popcorn-muching good fun.

Saved By Radio

I had the great fortune to locate Salem 66’s Natural Disasters, National Treasures on eBay a few weeks back (Salem 66 lament posted on July 4), and when it arrived I discovered that a “bonus” CD titled Saved by Radio: 2006 Folk Alliance Sampler had been included. The word Folk doesn’t turn me off as it once did, and if truth be told, my punk rock fix is largely satiated by Netflix documentaries, so I decide to see if salvation was at hand.

Even though the cover indicates folk, it wouldn’t be right to call it that, or country, or new country, or singer-songwriter (yuck! worst term ever), or alt-folk. Some of those labels fit some of the songs, but no one label applies to the entire album. There are a few tunes like “Pipe Dream” by Robin Hunter and Mark Davis’ “Face the Day” that bring to mind the great Joe Ely from mid-80s Austin, TX or Mike Ness’ Cheating at Solitaire – real punchy, roots-rocking fun. But then you take a turn and meet up with Chris Vail’s alternative-rock/college radio vibe. “We Fill the Cracks” is up-tempo pop a-la-Fountains of Wayne (that's a positive, "Stacy's Mom" is a delicious dose of power-pop in my book) and “Spit in the Mouth” combines earnest, mumbled vocals with a catchy guitar line. The synth stuff at the end of the song is a bit campy, but the first three minutes more than make up for it.

Then we come to “Harmony” by Ayla Brook and “Pages of Your Book” by Lorrie Matheson– and all I have to say is that if Dave Pirner and Dan Murphy from Soul Asylum had traveled down this road, instead of venturing into the tar-pit of crap they’ve been stuck in for the last several albums, they would still have people buying their records. The songwriting here is smart, meaningful, and sung with conviction. These are the songs that you play over and over until you learn all the lyrics so you can sing along. When Matheson sings, “if I owned the blame finger, I’d be pointing it at you” it brings back the spirit of what was so great about Made to Be Broken and While You Were Out. In 1986 Pirner and company fueled us with the line, “it ain’t bad luck, it’s just you ain’t that tough” and there is twenty years of irony to be read in those words… The Saved by Radio folks certainly deserve good luck, and hopefully they can tough it out as well.

Visit http://www.savedbyradio.com/ for a dose of hope and inspiration.

The Machinist

The Machinist is a creepy, psychological thriller about an insomniac. Careful use of colors, imagery, and music pay homage to Hitchcock’s best and combined they take an ordinary plot and twist it into something dark, uncertain, and disturbing. The pacing is often intentionally slow and the cinematography makes for great photograph-style shots that are captivating and complex. Christian Bale is perfectly unhinged as machinist Trevor Reznik, and one can only imagine the starvation diet he endured during filming – Adrian Brody’s character in The Pianist looks healthy by comparison.

The only questionable aspects were the scenes shot in the machine shop. Having spent a little time in those environs, the machinery and atmosphere were reasonably authentic, but no business in their right mind would allows welders and machinists to go without protective head and eye coverings. The little details do count for something.

Rave

Netflix’s 2-star rating of this film is pretty accurate. Rave is a cross between a bad daytime drama and an after-school special (do they even have after-school specials anymore?) Young, misguided LA hipsters want to go to a rave. They get all gussied up, do some drugs and then all sorts of bad things start to happen. Fights, teen pregnancy, OD-ing, drive by shootings – pretty much everything you could image except an earthquake. There are a few brief glimmers of acting talent, but the script is wooden and some of the scenes are laugh out loud horrible. If you’re looking for a better rave experience, Go, the 1999 film with Sarah Polley and Katie Holmes is exponentially better – even Party Monster with Macaulay Culkin would be a better choice.

Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return

I devoured the first Persepolis last month (see review dated July 9, 2006) – from start to end in one sitting. Persepolis 2 is very different from the first, and it’s told accordingly - it’s hard, sad, tormented, and thoughtful. Picking up where the first book leaves off, Marjane is a young teen attending school in Austria to escape the war and growing fundamentalism in Iran. The transition proves difficult as she attempts to find her place is a society and culture so different from the one she has known at home. We witness Marjane’s isolation, drug use, love life, and depression in the stark black and white illustrations she creates for us. Following a period of homelessness, Marjane returns to Iran as a young woman and must again integrate herself into a society that she is from but no longer of. An amazing and beautiful story to read, mull over, and appreciate.

Awesome: I Fuckin’ Shot That!

I love the Beasties but I was a bit skeptical when I heard that this concert film was shot by giving video cameras to random folks in the audience. But really, I should have known better…The sound quality is awesome, which immediately elevates this film well-beyond “bootleg” status, and the editing from the various cameras is creative, interesting to watch, and well done – even if the color is a bit washed out or yellow at times. Awesome is 90 minutes of non-stop action – no wonder these guys are still so skinny. Sure, the close-up shots reveal that it’s not 1986 anymore, but who cares? “Brass Monkey” will launch your butt off the couch, “Ch-Check It Out” will keep you on your feet and with the closing song “Sabotage,” you’ll be forming your own mosh pit in the living room. Beastie Boys, you rock.

Dancer in the Dark

Last Christmas I heard Bjork’s version of “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music on the radio. The lyrics were the same as the original but the intonation was eerie – it was sung as a sad, emotionally wrenching lament. The DJ mentioned it was from the film Dancer in the Dark, and now, eight moths later; it finally reached the top of my Netflix queue. I’m a big fan of Bjork’s voice and music, especially the older stuff, so I wanted to enjoy this film – but there were parts, particularly in the middle, that were almost impossible to get through because the story-line is just so tragic. When one terrible circumstance after another happens it just gets a bit too depressing to watch. Bjork is quirky, lovely, and complex in the role of Selma, a blind factory worker desperately saving money for an operation that her son needs. However, some of the other characters – Bill, the landlord, and Jeff, the co-worker who loves Selma - are too wooden and one-dimensional. I have to say that the best part of the film was the scene where Selma sings “My Favorites Things” – it made everything else worthwhile.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

I didn’t read the book, and have only a vague recollection of the original film, but this offering by Tim Burton is curious to say the least. All of the children, with the exception of Charlie, are despicable and Johnny Depp’s Willy Wonka is eerily like Michael Jackson – complete with a pale, expressionless face and Jackie-O sunglasses. The set design is pure eye candy and the Oompa Loompas steal the show with their song and dance routines. There’s also a pretty funny reference to Burton’s disastrous Planet of the Apes. At least someone can laugh about it now…
Despite all the fantastical candy making gadgets though, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory leaves you craving something with a bit more substance.

Lost, Season 1

I’m a late arrival to the Lost party, and my excuse is that I relinquished my cable TV service 18+ months ago. However, seeing that so many people talk about the show with rabid enthusiasm, I added it to my Netflix queue to see if it was really worth all the froth. After watching all seven discs, in rather rapid succession, I abashedly admit to being hooked, line and sinker.

The plot has a great blend of supernatural intrigue and complex human personalities. I really enjoy how each episode shines a little light into a particular character’s past as it makes the show into something more than just “40 people on a freaky, creepy island.” There were a few bits and pieces that were a bit over-the-top but for every melodrama there were five totally captivating and spot-on scenes, so it more than compensated. I highly recommend the extra features DVD – it’s worth it for a “behind the scenes” look at the production of the polar bear and contained some hysterical footage of the original scene which involved the “bear” and the character Sawyer.

Didn’t I do a good job of not providing any spoilers? If you haven’t gotten on board with Lost, do so now. Season 2 will be available on DVD in September and I’m already queuing it up.

11:14

11:14 is the debut film from director Greg Marcks and it’s certainly worthy of renting – especially if you’re a fan of dark comedies like Shallow Grave. Five separate stories converge in the moments leading up to 11:14pm and as the film unfolds we see the connections between the various characters. There are a few brilliant performances – Hillary Swank is hysterical as the convenience store clerk who’s desperate to keep her job, and Patrick Swayze has a particularly memorable scene with a dead body and a golden retriever. And I certainly can’t leave out the antics of three teen-age boys in a van… shaving cream, book burning, and a detached penis provide an entertaining mix of dialog and urban myth. The film gets off to a somewhat slow start, but the ending provides a big bang (pun intended) and an interesting surprise.

11:14 is available through Netflix. :-)

Intensity

I don’t know why I read books like this. This isn’t to say that Dean Koontz’s Intensity was poorly written or a big, boring waste of time, it’s just that I should know better than to get involved with books that feature freaky serial-murderer rapist psychopaths – even if they are a work of fiction. The first section of the book is horrifying – a woman hides from a killer while he systematically tortures and executes everyone else in the house. You find yourself holding your breath and on-edge wondering what sort of insanity is going to unfold next. In the ensuing chapters you’re given brief reprieves where you’re allowed to fell invigorated, hopeful even – but that safety is snatched away in mere sentence or two and once again you’re left running through the pages hoping that it’ll be over and done with. My suggestion is to read Intensity as quickly as possible because waking up in the middle of the night fully confident that evil is right outside your door is inevitable…

Night Watch

Based on the trilogy by Sergei Lukyanenko, Night Watch incorporates all the best elements of the first Matrix, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. Yup, we got shape shifters, a 12 year old boy, and a snowy owl. The exception here is that everything is dark, gritty, depressing, and spoken in Russian (with English sub-titles, of course). The “light” characters appear to permanently suffer from the DTs and the “dark” ones are a bunch of vampire junkies - one even looks like Elizabeth Wurtzel in her pre-medication days. The plot is the standard battle of good versus evil, but with some serious violence – one particularly gruesome scene involved a small pair of scissors doing an awful lot of damage. Blood flows freely and frequently and the special effects are quite graphic. My only complaint was that the first part of the ending was a bit disappointing – however, the ultimate conclusion more than made up for it. I’m definitely looking forward to the next installment. Let's hope it won’t suffer the same afflictions as the Matrix: Reloaded…

Liz Durrett Part II

I’ve been listening to The Mezzanine for the last few days and there’s something going on with the vocals that I can’t quite put my finger on. When I wrote about Husk a few days back I compared Durrett’s sound to Mazzy Starr and the Cowboy Junkies but after listening to the new CD I’m no longer satisfied with that. This time around I’m having different impressions – and I'm totally reminded of the first time I heard Sinead O’Connor. I’m not saying that The Mezzanine sounds just like The Lion and the Cobra (which, upon re-listening to, does have that distinct “late-80s” sound to it) but there are some strong similarities to that album’s lesser known songs like “Just Like U Said it Would B” and “Drink Before the War” - it has something to do with the way the vocals float over and clash against the music – it sticks in your brain and haunts you.

Listen now to:
Knives at the Wall
All the Spokes (my hands down favorite)
The Mezzanine
In the Throes

Prep

I spent most of my adolescence wishing I could escape my dull suburban life by attending boarding school. Like the book’s protagonist, Lee, I would spend hours looking over prep school admissions brochures and wishing I could be one of those teen-agers with fair-isle sweaters and long blonde hair. The thing about private schools that always squelched my interest though was the constant emphasis on sports. In public school gym was a joke and competitive teams were optional extracurricular activities, and that was worth something in my book.

Curtis Sittenfeld provides a psychological “escape hatch” for those readers (like me) who see too much of themselves in this tormented and insecure character – the entire story is told in retrospect. Lee, our narrator, is older now, well into adulthood and looking back at her high school experiences. However, we as readers acknowledge that the adult she is today is a manifestation of the girl she was then and the lens she uses to examine the past was initially developed during those years. Sittenfeld is brilliant at crafting dialogue and characters that resonate deeply to anyone who has ever been the odd one out or who has navigated the tricky road of an outsider wanting to be on the inside. I started reading Prep and couldn’t stop – and even though it left me emotionally exhausted and out-of-sorts in the end, I’m looking forward to her next book. Glutton for punishment right?

Sad insights include:

"I worried someone would notice me, and then when no one did, I felt lonely."

"And we matched each other well, our bodies fit. I didn’t know enough then to realize that doesn’t always happen – that sometimes you cannot settle on an angle with the other person, your weight won’t balance, your bones poke."

"…there are people we treat wrong, and later, we’re prepared to treat other people right."

"I've heard a thousand times that a boy, or a man, can’t make you happy, that you have to be happy on your own before you can be happy with another person. All I can say is, I wish it were true."

50 Albums That Changed Music

I don’t know why I bother with these lists, but whenever I’m presented with one I can’t help but gravitate to it – knowing full well that I’ll either be left scratching my head in confusion or downright irritated with the selection. Fortunately, the UK’s Guardian-Observer's 50 Albums That Changed Music list didn’t result in either of those – although their ranking does tend to defer to a number of UK artists (The Spice Girls and The Stone Roses? OK, whatever...).

Of the 50 listed, these would have to be some of my favorites: the self titled albums by The Velvet Underground and Nico, The Ramones and The Smiths, Straight Outta Compton from NWA's, Joni Mitchell's Blue, The Stooges' Raw Power, London Calling from The Clash, and Prince and the Revolution's Purple Rain (I admit that my friends and I saw this movie at least a dozen times and memorized all the lines and songs - like some weird 80s version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show...).

To see who else made the cut (confusion or irritation is optional) visit:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,1821230,00.html

Oi! Oi! Oi!

Netflix has tons of punk rock documentaries. I guess this means that my generation has entered nostalgia mode and is looking to escape from their slightly disappointing and very average lives (or maybe that’s just me…). But I’m happy to lap it all up, even if it does makes me feel “marketed to.” A few of these films have been excellent – Another State of Mind and GG Allin’s Hated immediately come to mind. Oi! Oi! Oi! was ok. It’s only an hour and is worth it for the footage of the Toy Dolls. I LOVED “James Bond Lives Down My Street” – in fact I even stole the 45 from my college radio station upon my graduation (unfortunately, that song is not in the film) . The rest of this documentary is essentially a bunch of older, heavier, beer-swilling oi-sters talking about the good old days when they were “keeping it real.” That’s a bit dull. However, it was fun to see some footage of The Exploited with their multi-colored Mohawks and mullet-like hairdos and the performances by The Business were excellent. Although for all the ragging they did on The Clash, they sure sounded an awful lot like them…

Fishcakes

Fishcakes makes funky art that’s wicked cheap. I discovered this wonderful world last December at a holiday “craftland” when I fell in love with a glow in the dark zombie doll. Its squishy fuzziness immediately transfixed me and the name alone was enough reason to buy it.

I essentially wanted to hear myself say, “Yeah, Craftland was just OK, but I got this really cool glow in the dark zombie doll…”

My most recent Fishcakes acquisition is a sew on patch stating “I’m Confused” (see image). If you visit fishcakes.net you’ll find all sorts of stickers, t-shirts and assorted fun la-la. Vastly superior to the Groton’s codfish cakes that you (hopefully didn’t) grow up on. Eew!

Liz Durrett

Back in the bad old days I discovered interesting new music through my favorite college radio stations, Spin and NME. Hah! Remember when those were actually good magazines? Now that “punk is dead and I have a job,” I rely more on the Sunday New York Times music column than any other source. This isn’t to say that every week has recommendations I like (it does tend to go heavy on the jazz end, so I guess I’m on the younger end of the reader demographic), but I have been introduced to some really cool international and other non-mainstream musicians. Liz Durrett is one of those NYT gems. I picked up Husk on eBay for $5 and it has really grown on me. Durrett sounds like the best parts of Mazzy Star and Cowboy Junkies mixed together - swirley, ethereal sounds but with less psychedelia and a bit of twang. The vocals on “Captive,” which is the strongest and most distinct track, sound as if she’s singing through a telephone – and the effect is very personal and a bit haunting. Other favorites include “Ablaze,” “Bc,” (are those backing vocals or a theremin?) and “Slip.” I just ordered her follow-up CD, The Mezzanine, and from the thirty-second bits I’ve already heard, it’s going to be the perfect soundtrack to a hot and hazy July.

Syriana

Syriana illustrates the swirling cesspool of oil corporations, lawyers, congressional types, entrepreneurs, and secret service in their quest for oil rights and big money in the Middle East. The plot unravels in a spiraling motion giving us glimpses of characters, their backgrounds and interconnectedness. Even the players that start out as seemingly “good guys” reveal themselves to be less than that by the film’s end. Syriana is considered a “thriller” but its story mirrors the current US-Middle East situation so completely that the thrill is replaced by resignation. The acting is great. George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Jeffrey Wright perfectly exhibit the complexities of their respective characters, and their storylines are full of those “thrilling” twists and turns which ultimately lead to a somewhat predictable conclusion.

102 Minutes

We all remember the details surrounding our lives on the morning of September 11, 2001. The events of that day, mundane or complex, are etched with clarity and precision. Years later it is still possible to recall the shock, horror, dismay, fear, anger, and sadness that accompanied the TV and internet images, the radio updates, and the social commentary. My memory of that day, beyond the images and the feelings of uncertainty they carried, centered on having to retrieve the names of students, alumni and parents who lived or worked in the vicinity of the attacks for the president of the university that employed me. While co-workers were huddled around the television, I was at a computer with a colleague running database queries and double-checking our returns. This was a request that had no margin of error. The sheer number of names we retrieved was astounding – you couldn’t help but wonder who those people were and if they were still alive.

102 Minutes was published slightly over a year ago and it recounts, in horrifying detail, the 102 minutes that elapsed from the moment the first plane stuck the north tower at 8:46am until it collapsed, following the south tower, at 10:28am. Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn covered 9/11 for the New York Times and their comprehensive research is enough to make you wonder, or say a prayer of thanks, that more people didn’t die. Communications between the Port Authority, NYPD and NYFD were all but impossible – you’d think the attack had happened in 1961 instead of 2001 given the level of technology that was deployed and the various departments’ historical unwillingness to address their grievances with one another.

The most disturbing piece of information concerned the overall perception of safety that people had. The buildings were not as safe as people had believed. The common thought was that the buildings could withstand an airplane hit for several hours – but unknown to the majority of the regular workers who inhabited the building, the fireproofing and other safety measures had never been tested. When the towers were originally constructed building codes were changed to accommodate the need to maximize office space (read: $dollars$) at the expense of sufficient stairways and other methods for evacuation. If there’s anything to be learned from this book it’s that you should never, ever, have blind faith that a building is large enough to protect you, or that the fire or police will be able to rescue you. Get out immediately, hit the stairs running, and don’t look back for anything. Only a small number of people who worked at the point of impact or higher made it out of the buildings alive – and they survived only because they operated on those principles.

Brimfield Antiques Show

I love old things – in particular, the ordinary, household type stuff. My eyes light up over old typewriters, fans, phones, shelves, tableware, books, tools - and the cheaper the better. Prior to eBay, you could find this stuff for a song – but alas, in the days before eBay my budget was even tighter than it is now – and now it seems that every person wants to get big bucks for any “vintage” item over twenty years old.

After trooping through the Brimfield fairgrounds for hours and discovering that the best deal to be had was lunch (a delicious turkey sandwich and some homemade french-fries) I was heading back to the car when I decide to revisit the very first vendor I had visited. This stand had a box full of porcelain glove maker’s hands. And at $10 a piece they weren’t a steal, but I didn’t want to walk away empty handed so I decide to get one. That was when I say the fan – an Emerson, probably 1930s –with a new cord and in working condition. All the other fans I had spied had been priced well over $50, but this one was $35 so I bought it. Now it’s reasonably cleaned up and sitting in my front room near the TV and sofa. The hand is in the nearby window, waving to everyone outside.

Pinback

While sipping some "acceptable" coffee (on so many levels...) at a hipster vegetarian restaurant I heard some music playing in the background that caught my attention. A little quiet, a little dark, a little edge - and then a little more edge - and then, "Wow!" it sounds like the best XTC songs - the songs that made you love brit-alt-pop in the 80s. And no, I'm not talking "Dear God" and that inane Peter Pumpkin Head song. I haven't had my interest piqued that intensely in quite some time.

The server comes with my order. The fact that he's working at a hipster vegetarian restaurant should be enough information to complete a reasonable physical/personality profile. I ask him what CD is playing and he says, **mumblesomething** which I can't hear because I'm aging but also because many of my formative adult years were spent working in rock clubs (perhaps while my server was singing Barney songs in the bathtub?). When I ask him to repeat the name I get a sigh of exasperation and a bit more articulation - Pinback.

Great! Having the information was worth the irritation and slight humiliation at having lost all semblances of my former ESP cool powers. I have no idea what the hipster vegetarian people think of Pinback's Summer in Abaddon, but I think it's great. Much more acceptable than the coffee.

In the fine XTC tradition:
- Non Photo-Blue
- Fortress
- The Red Book
- AFK (it's the last song and worth the wait)

Garden State

Garden State is a mediocre film with an amazing soundtrack. My recollection of the characters, storyline and other blah blah is a bit hazy at this point (other than to recall that it came off a bit contrived and over-eager) but the music is such a lovely auditory trip that I've yet to grow bored with it. The sequence of songs is quite good - like your favorite college radio dj who had a great ear for segueing one song into the next - creating a unique story and tone and leaving you wanting another ride on the emotional rollercoaster. There are lots of gems here, no real weak spots, and some great surprises. Personal faves include:

The song everyone loves to love: Thievery Corporation, "Lebanese Blonde"
The song that you want to dance to but the beat isn't quite there: The Shins, "Caring is Creepy"
The song with incredibly sexy singing: Zero 7, "In the Waiting Line"
The song that is so heartbreaking you can't believe it was written by the vegemite sandwich guy: Colin Hay, "I Just Don't think I'll Ever Get Over You"



"Without you here, there is less to say..."

Shopgirl

The first forty-five minutes of Shopgirl were extremely irritating and it had everything to do with Jason Schwartzman's character, Jeremy. The greasy-hair, ADHD thing was fine in Spun, but I really didn't need another dose. Fortunately, it's at the 50 minute mark that Jeremy starts traveling with a band and the film shifts to focus on the developing relationship between Claire Danes and Steve Martin. Danes portrayal of a somewhat solitary woman who's stuck in just-a-little-bit of a rut is perfectly timed, Martin plays the wealthy but-even-more-stuck role in such a way that you never feel sympathy for him, and Schwartzman manages to style his hair and turn himself into an endearing, albeit somewhat kooky, kind of guy by the end of the film.

I've heard the book was considerably better, and a quick search on Amazon shows used copies for under a buck. I'd start there first.

An Inconvenient Truth

I maybe see a film in an actual movie theatre a handful of times each year. I don't like movie theatres - ticket prices are expensive, the seats are uncomfortable, the internal temperature is typically too cold and the concession food is garbage. But I did go out to see An Inconvenient Truth and it was well worth the price of (matinee) admission. Global warming isn't an unknown of topic in my social/employment circles, but the data presented and the potential implications were horrifyingly new to me. As someone who lives within the 20 feet from sea level range, it's somewhat difficult to imagine what life would be like if my city no longer existed.

I do wonder though if this film will succeed in significantly impacting behavior. The worst perpetrators of global warming - on either an individual or corporate level - aren't going to see the film, aren't going to read the book, and aren't going to change their practices one bit unless a higher authority compels them to do so.

But I don't want to be a total pessimist, so I've committed myself to being more vigilant about recycling and will abstain from using the clothes dryer this summer. The film contends that without intervention, significant environmental changes will happen within the next fifty years. Many of us will still be alive during that time. Do we really want to wait around to see if it "comes true"?

http://climatecrisis.org/

Persepolis I

I received Persepolis I & II for my birthday last fall and I can't believe I put off reading them this long. Marjane Satrapi's illustrations are smart - chunky, thick and meaningful without lots of extraneous details and doodling. In fact, the drawings allow YOU, the reader, the opportunity to read meaning into them instead of the other way around. Marji's a bit of a punk rocker, outspoken and intellectually curious - but this short tale is so heart-breaking that I need a little space before I tackle Persepolis II. I love this sequence about Marji's first cigarette...

Cache

When I was child I was picked on fairly often (glasses + braces + skinny + athletically disinclined + funny name = easy target) and for years my fantasies were filled with the ways in which I would seek my revenge. Cache is a story about childhood injustices that have never been forgotten and bubble strangely to the surface decades later - highlighting how narcissistic pranks can alter a life course. Or can they? Can we really trace the current state of our lives to one or two defining moments in our childhood? "I am this now because you did that to me then." We do not start our lives on equal footing and with each day encounter situations which may amplify or amputate our chances of success - in whatever way to determine to define it. Cache does a nice job of subtly exploring these emotions - from the p.o.v. of a man whose childhood decisions have come back to haunt him.

Don't expect the story to end all neatly and nicely finished.
Do expect Juliet Binoche to look amazingly French.

Marianne Faithfull

On the liner notes to Before the Poison Will Self writes, "...the experience is one of stripping off: How far are you prepared to reveal yourself in your response to this music? To what extend are you admit that you year for love and yet thrive on hatred?"

Of the ten songs on this disc, five feature music and lyrics by PJ Harvey and three by Nick Cave - and when you listen, it's pretty clear who had their hands on which ones -but my favorite is one titled "Last Song" by Damon Albarn. "It's not a love song, it's the last song for you" and musically, lyrically, sums up Will Self's description perfectly.

Just take it for a listen - you won't want it to stop (and maybe you'll start to relish the stinking, filthy mood it puts you in...).

Slowness

I've read two other Milan Kundera books, The Joke and The Book of Laughter and Forgetting. Both were excellent at placing a human face on the suffering and survival of the people of Czechoslovakia under communism. Both were written long ago, and in a very different world from which Slowness springs.

It's not to say I didn't like Slowness, it's just different from what I expected. It's the 1990s, it's Paris, and everyone wants to be on television and one-up their rivals. In stark contrast to this prevailing attitude enters the character of the Czech entomologist - he's a bit of a parody of the Central European character that Kundera's earlier books helped to create - but you can't help feel some pity for him as he attempts to work his way back into his academic community after two decades in exile. There is a scene where he attempts to explain to a conference organizer the historical importance of the diacritical marks that should appear on his misspelled name tag. It's clear that the organizer has no frame of reference for what the proud Czech is talking about - and could care less - but you can't help but cheer the entomologist on. Be proud of who you are - past, present and future!

Some worthy quotes:
"Why has the pleasure of slowness disappeared? Ah, where have they gone, the amblers of yesteryear?"
"He knows that only timid people fear [long pauses] and that when they don't know what to say, they rush into embarrassing remarks that make them look ridiculous."
"A splinter is not so easily extirpated. It is possible to master the pain, repress it, pretend to forget about it, but that pretense is a strain."
"Our period is obsessed by the desire to forget, and it is to fulfill that desire that it gives over to the demon of speed; it picks up the pace to show us that it no longer wishes to be remembered; that it is tired of itself; that it wants to blow out the tiny trembling flame of memory."
"He knows that only the invented story can make him forget what really happened."
"I beg you friend, be happy. I have the vague sense that on your capacity to be happy hangs our only hope."

The Dark Shadow

There's something slightly unsettling about getting out of work early and then having lots of free time on your hands... The upside to this fortunate predicament I found myself in was that I watched The Dark Shadow from start to finish without interruption. My two favorite things about film noir from the 1930s-50s are the dialogue ("tough-guys, wise-guys, dolls and babes") and the set furnishings. Having lived in old, urban housing for the majority of my life, there's something intriguing about seeing apartments that look similar to ones I've lived in - complete with still remaining light fixtures, door moldings and sinks.

Lucille Ball is very good in her role of Kathleen and without her the film would be pretty average. She's a little bit girly (this is 1946 after all) but with a fair dose of sarcasm. She's not comedic - which is fine by me because I never liked I Love Lucy. One thing that I wonder though...did skyscrapers back then really have regular windows that opened up - and that you could push a person out of? I guess in the pre-air conditioning era you would want the circulation and simply hope that people would be smart enough to not get too close...

Match Point

I'm a total Netflix junkie. I know I'm contributing to the demise of all those independent brick-and-mortar video shops, but there's something so satisfying about having DVDs shipped directly to you - it's like getting a little surprise present in the mail.

Anyway, Woody Allen's Match Point was a perfect holiday flick. We've already heard that it's not the standard W.A. fare - no NYC, no W.A., no neurotically insecure characters (as I said, no W.A.). It almost could have been someone else film - except for the soundtrack and typography of the opening and closing credits. However, the message is quintessential W.A. - you can work hard, you can be smart, you can network and make the right moves - but sometimes luck makes all the difference.

Lady Oracle

Margaret Atwood is seriously underrated. I wasn't a big fan of The Handmaid's Tale, which I read almost fifteen years ago, so I was hesitant to delve further. However, a few year's back I enthusiastically devoured Cat's Eye (yes, girls can be very horrible to other girls) and earlier this year made short work of The Blind Assassin (yes, men can be very horrible to everyone). So it was with great excitement when I stumbled upon a number of inexpensive M.A. paperbacks in a used-books store in Ottawa this past May.

Lady Oracle is a real find. I have this habit when I read of developing an affinity toward a character, but then, through the twists and turns of plot, becoming disappointed in them because of their behaviors an actions (hmmm, kind of like what happens in real life...?). The protagonist Joan Foster is trapped - on so many different levels - and no sooner does she break free of one chain, than another is created of her own doing. Joan alternates between brave and adventurous with passivity so crushing that you want to kick her. Hmmm, kind of like what happens in real life...

A few favorite passages from the book:

• "If you could cry silently people felt sorry for you. As it was, I snorted, my eyes turned the color and shape of cooked tomatoes, my nose ran, I clenched my fists, I moaned, I was embarrassing..."
• "...it wasn't more honesty that would have saved me, I thought; it was more dishonesty. In my experience, honesty and expressing your feelings could lead to only one thing. Disaster."
• "So what if you turn into a butterfly? Butterflies die too."
• "I might as well face it, I thought, I was an artist, an escape artist. I'd sometimes talked about love and commitment, but the real romance of my life was that between Houdini and his ropes and locked trunk; entering the embrace of bondage, slithering out again. What else had I ever done?"

Salem 66

Can we petition Homestead to make the Salem 66 recordings available for download on iTunes? Seriously, it would be so great to have some of those amazing Judy Grunwald/Beth Kaplan songs available for the entire world to hear - again. There is so much amazing music from the 80s that has been lost...what can we do to save it from obsolescence?

If you have no idea who Salem 66 were, check out http://www.answers.com/topic/salem-66.