Archive for the ‘Review’ Category
Duplicate Keys – Jane Smiley (1984)
Saturday, February 27th, 2010
Most mystery books are bad. Laughable; hard to even get through. So when someone recommended Duplicate Keys and a quick search revealed Jane Smiley to be a credible Pulitzer Prize novelist, it was a promising start. The cover had neither raised typography nor anything metallic on it; things were looking up. 
In both movies and books I enjoy being tricked. Led towards the reveal but wrong all along the course. The recommendation was tagged with, “you won’t guess the ending, so you’ll actually enjoy it.” That is one of my most favorite and most dreaded phrases. Favorite because, well because that’s awesome. Dreaded because through the whole thing I’ll discredit the obvious and second-guess every thought.
That is exactly what I did. Well before chapter two, the murderer seemed obvious. So I started looking for traps laid between the lines. Smiley’s literary style is refreshing in a mystery, though I still spent every page searching for the unseen clue. The closer I looked, the closer I got landed back at my initial prediction. The book was going to be great. I was being taken for a ride and as long as the murderer didn’t turn out to be an ex-girlfriend blindsiding the reading having never been mentioned prior to the reveal. That is worse then a completely predictable ending.
Luckily Duplicate Keys didn’t introduce an out-of-nowhere murderer. Unfortunately, my prediction from the first few pages was correct. My recommender got made fun of for that one. After a mental tally of everyone who has a key or knows how to break into my apartment it’s an pleasantly light read. The novel is well written with enjoyable characters and so even with the predictable outcome, it is worth the read some summer while sitting on the beach.
Tags: book, mystery
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Avatar (2009)
Friday, December 25th, 2009
If you saw the trailer, or have heard anyone talk about the movie, you know the whole story. If you’ve seen more then three movies in your lifetime you know the entire story. Something new and different, or at least an attempt towards it, would be nice. Even hiding cleaver clues throughout to be unveiled later would have been enough change. Instead the foreshadowing isn’t so much a subtle shadow as moments of complete blackness. While requests are being made, some smarter dialogue would be appreciated as well. Those things are forgivable though, because story is not what this movie is about.
James Cameron knew it; so the necessary exposition is right up front. Got it out of the way so we could dive (quite literally) into the unknown existence of Pandora. That is what this movie is about. Discovering a whole new world, new species, and new ways of life. Don’t focus on the political undertones. Don’t focus on the technology bringing the movie to life (though The People’s teeth kept distracting me). Enjoy a movie that took twelve years to develop in order to make you feel the wonder and awe of a little kid again.
As the visuals are a large part of this new world go check it out in a theater, where it is designed to be seen. If IMAX in 3-d is available where you’re at, go get your tickets. Though if you too are less then fond of heights, the 3-d thing is a little too effective at times… and subtitles in 3-d mess with your eyes’ focus. But that hardly matters. It’s a movie to be seen in full glory, in 3-d, and at the biggest screen you can find.
It is the experience of Avatar that lives up to the hype. The submergence and discovery of a new land makes you want to become a scout in a foreign country. People are programmed to discover, and this (nearly) three hour video game allows you to do things our bodies aren’t capable of and go places you could never travel to.
Sure I could make some complaints and point out things I wish were in the movie, but it was just too much fun.
Tags: 3-D, movies, Oscar?, Review
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Brothers (2009)
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
Made plans in a bar the night before to go see one of a few movies. Arriving at the theater I thought we were seeing Up In the Air (2009). Being in the mindset for a comedy and sitting down to Brothers was a sucker punch.
The best sucker punch ever. The movie is intense. It’s gritty. It’s personable. It hits close to home. It locks you in and doesn’t let go until the credits roll. And even then it just lets you out of the theater, days later the movie is still rolling around in your head looking for an answer that doesn’t seem to be coming.
As long as you’ve seen the trailer, this next part won’t spoil anything. If you’ve yet to see the trailer, don’t! The movie would be better having not seen it. It’s over manipulating, over Hollywood-ing, and reveals story that is deftly laid out in the movie itself. Departmental support enhanced the story. The make-up is great, though subtle. I have no idea how they got body markings that realistic. The score was somber without dragging you down. The location was cold and stark with snow in almost every exterior. Everything seemed to be placed in a way to allowing acting to amplify story.
The audience is aligned with the characters. Viewer knowledge is limited to that of the characters. Meaning at times you know no more then anyone on screen, and at times you know something you wish everyone on screen knew what everyone else on screen knew. It created sympathy and frustration for characters who are harboring truths from others and for those whose truths are not being heard. A surprise was the acting of the two daughters, Bailee Madison and Mare Winningham. They are working with some of the most accurate dialogue for a kid that I’ve heard. The joke at the dinner table is perfectly executed by everyone involved. And both can cry on cue, which is always impressive. Tobey Maguire has his best performance in a long time if not ever, and lost more weight then Jenny Craig could. Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman were great in supporting roles highlighting Sam’s struggle to find the human side in himself again. Hoping to help him recognize the life before him as worth fighting to have back. It is not a movie about war, but a movie about brothers, which sounds dumb considering the title. The idea is introduced early on but buries itself. It transfers from the support of a brother at home to brothers in war back to a role reversal of familial brothers. In the depths of Sam’s personal battle the idea resurfaces as a final hope of survival.
Unless you’re my Mother, who would hate the movie and scold me for telling her to see it, you should go see Brothers. Lose the lower third and ticker, bring the newspapers to life, and watch it with a pillow. If you hurry up and see it at AMC 16 in Burbank, CA like we did there is an added bonus. A speaker popped in a constant steady rhythm throughout the entire film. Like a single droplet of water falling, it brought a whole new level of agitation and frustration to the viewing.
“Elephant!”
“Only the dead have seen the end of war…”
Tags: movies, Oscar?, Review, War
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The Hurt Locker (2009)
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
My knowledge of this film was limited when I sat down to watch:
- Directed by a woman
- Written by a reporter imbedded with an EOD unit
- Shot on location (turns out this isn’t true, but Kuwait and Jordan are close)
- It’s the unit a friend of mine was in for three years
The unique perspective of a journalist second one is reason enough to watch. When the movie was originally released the title had buzz. I assumed (made an ass out of you and me, or really just me) it was horror/gore. No idea why. But now it is Christmas time and screener season and a perfect time to watch.
The movie could have been stronger, but it still stands above a lot of war movies out there. A glimpse into a dangerous unit some don’t even know exists. Handheld super 16? Okay, sounds fun. Freestanding scenes written to get the most out of the moment? Excellent*. A non-narrative character film? Fitting.
(*Thinking of the scene with the little building and flat tire. Which was well done for dramatic purposes, and I liked it while watching it. The second time I though about it though there seemed to be a lot of flaws and dumb things going on.)
The characters are garnishing a lot of attention, especially SSgt. William James. Having not been in the unit nor the service I’ll withhold judgment on if he’d be allowed in that unit with his techniques. As far as the character goes, it worked for me. There wasn’t as much character development in the rest of the unit. Spc. Owen Eldridge was as interesting to me as the lead was. 
It would have been an effective study to develop alongside fulfilling the opening quote through James. The best part of the lack of a real storyline was the sense of the mundane life of a soldier. Even with their daily routine consisting of disarming unknown bombs and being shot at. There is no happy heroic arch, it is day after day after day. Seems accurate from the stories I’ve heard.
That is not to say that the film is boring. That’s the beauty of following the Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) unit. It’s suspenseful, and the more you get to know the characters the more you are rooting for the title to reach zero days left in Bravo Company’s rotation. The movie hits you deeper when you remember that the actors are portraying a unit that is currently living what you’re watching. Reflecting upon the film has made me like it less.
It’s a good movie. Worth watching. Worth taking the time to digest. Worth discussing afterwards. And like we did, you can start with the music used in the final scene. Because, while everything seemed to fit up until that moment, oh my goodness was it a pretty bad choice.
“The rush of battle is often a potent and lethal addiction, for war is a drug.” –Chris Hedges
Tags: movies, Oscar?, Review, War
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Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
a.k.a. Once Upon a Time in Nazi Occupied France (the previous spaghetti western meets WWII title)
This needs to be prefaced. After having just watched John Dillinger do his thing in Public Enemies I wasn’t all that excited to watch Tarantino do his to WWII.
The movie started with the expectation of being turned off a half hour later, but the opening scene sucked me in. It was a smart way to introduce the language use in the movie. Had amazing, seldom seen, pacing and perfectly timed reveals building the tension. Then triggers started being pulled. Yup, a Tarantino product. Luckily that comes with a lot more good then it does gore. The opening scene alone meant I’d see the film through to the end. But I’d have my computer open for distraction.
Almost any scene I watched was great. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that there were even more good ones in between that I missed. Finally, shortly before Chapter Five, my attention got sucked in to fully focus.
Shortly after moving out here my roommate came home with the script and (with my permission) told me all about it. I am far from a historian, but oddly protective of WWII and its accuracy. So the ending was just the completion of a story arch, and irked me a bit. I’m hoping there were at least some who got to see it not knowing the end. The way it was intended for. Knowing what really happened in the war and having their minds implode when watching the finale of the film.
What I saw early in the movie was good. The entire ending was entertaining. At some point I should finish watching all the pieces in the middle. The more I think back on it the more I liked the movie, I’m sure there’s a breaking point at which time I’ll go back to my previous opinion.
“I love rumors! Facts can be so misleading, where rumors, true or false, are often revealing.”
Tags: movies, Oscar?, Review, War
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Public Enemies (2009)
Sunday, December 20th, 2009
The film is very much what you’d expect from the synopsis: “the Feds trying to take down notorious American gangsters.” Old timey suits, old timey cars, and old timey tommy guns (Colt M1921AC Thompson) going off at people wearing new timey squibs.
Maybe I was in the wrong mindset to watch John Dillinger do his thing, but I was relieved to see the courtroom twenty minutes in and excited to watch a legal battle federalizing criminal manhunts. I was then disappointed to realize we wouldn’t be spending much time inside a courtroom during the next 2 hours and 5 minutes. At least there was a cat and mouse chase to watch.
[Yes, I was looking at the time. This is both a habit from writing papers and a sign that I’m not completely engrossed in the film.]
Compared to its 1930s crime counterpart Public Enemies falls short. When faced with the opportunity to be completely amazing or just another mediocre DVD to forget about, it chose the latter. The documentary feel was an interesting approach, but didn’t work and became boring early on. It created no more of an emotional attachment to characters then a reenactment on a bad crime show. The composer saved the film a little bit. The score informed me the most about what I Was supposed to be feeling at any given moment. But besides the score, sets, and costume there is little worth watching.
The film picks up every once in a while, but it doesn’t hold and the payoff is minimal. The story is worth knowing as part of our history, but should be learned in some other, any other, way. If you need your old timey crime fix, check out The Untouchables (1987). In fact, even if you’re not looking to specifically watch a crime drama sit down to The Untouchables. It’s that good.
“What keeps you up nights, Mr. Dillinger?” “Coffee.”
Tags: movies, Oscar?, Review
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Peanut Butter and Chocolate Banana Smoothie
Thursday, November 12th, 2009
Certain things need to be present in a person’s diet. For my diet this includes steak, smoothies, and peanut butter. Steak would be gross blended*, so I put the next two together.
Drop into the blender:
Bananas, Ice, Vanilla vitamin/minerals/healthy stuff powder, smidge of Cocoa powder
Blend this all together for bit, then add:
Peanut butter
Blend for a few seconds more. What you do at this point is up to you; I tend to pour it away from sharp blades and drink it.
Now while am not sure there is such a thing as too much peanut butter, I have found that there is such a thing as too much peanut butter in a smoothie. If drinking this after a solid ride, the “overload of peanut butter point” comes much quicker. Started choking not having the energy to fix the giant wad of thick rich overloaded peanut butter clump in my throat. That did not stop me from risking my life and finishing anyways.
Hopefully one day I can learn to enjoy it without giving myself a brain freeze.
*Cannot verify that steak would be gross blended. Not sure I want to be the test dummy to waste a good steak finding out though.
Tags: cycling, delicious, fooding, VitaMix
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Miller’s Crossing (1990)
Monday, October 26th, 2009
Went from U2 streaming live from the Rose Bowl on YouTube to a VHS of Miller’s Crossing that my sister bought at a rummage sale way back when. During a scene between Tom and Verna the movie cut to a high angled shot and the screen jumped with a fuzzy bar quickly rising across it. I sat up in my chair suddenly much more interested in what was about to happen. My mind? High tech prohibition era security cameras… busted! Reality? A fancy camera angle for the time and the VHS player was tracking. Old timey technology is fun, don’t forget to rewind!
That was the most excited I got throughout the entire film. I sat and thought throughout the 115 minutes; pretty sure that is not what one is supposed to do in a movie. The movie didn’t flow very naturally, but the life of a gangster doesn’t seem to take the most natural flowing path either. Not saying it was a bad choice, but it left me feeling a complete disconnect towards every character and their problems. There were no clear good guys to root for, a Cohen Bros trait, but there weren’t even any sympathetic characters to stand behind. The characters were interesting to watch react in situations, but as more of a psychology study then caring if they chose a safe or prospering path.
Little technical aspects got me through the movie. Turns out I really miss high key lighting, a sort of bright noir lighting theme. I have been watching too much TV and forgot how good a movie can look. The musical score was unique and brought back memories of college lectures past. The writing was up to the standard that’s come to be expected from the Cohen Bros, and that is reason enough to watch their work. Though every time they said “What’s the rumpus” I wished I was at the theater and Max was commanding “Let the wild rumpus start!” in Where the Wild Things Are (2009).
Not much has been said about the actual movie. This gangster film, like most films, had two main storylines:
- Rigging boxing matches. Yet besides being the basis of pretty much everything else that happens in the film you never see a fight. Well you never see a boxing match, there’s plenty of fighting. (The 25 second dialogue scene with a backdrop of two guys sparring in a training gym doesn’t count.)
- A kid and his dog stealing Rug’s toupee. Not really a storyline, but this throwaway joke amused me most in the b-story.
After a few years of referencing the movie in class, Miller’s Crossing was worth the watch. The movie didn’t always flow It can now be checked off the list of the Cohen Bros Canon. And there was a lesson learned: Hold onto your hat.
Spoilerish Question: Has Steve Buscemi ever lived through the entirety of a movie? Through a Cohen Bros movie?
Tags: CohenBros, Movie, Review
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Peanut Butter
Friday, October 23rd, 2009
Our apartment ran out of peanut butter. Crisis. Peanut butter needs to be available at all times. I was out. My roommate was out. There is no one else to turn to for pb at these times. It is unacceptable. I love peanut butter, my roommate loves peanut butter, the dog even loves peanut butter.
Instead of driving to the grocery store, I looked up how to make peanut butter and found it quite simple. Peanuts and a little bit of oil, grind until it looks like peanut butter. I had always veered away from making my own peanut butter. Not that it seems hard to make things, but because I have never been able to find diglycerides in the grocery store; and if something is going to take too much effort I’m not going to be as excited about doing it.
Now, determined to make my own peanut butter, I headed off to find peanuts. Yes, at this point I could have saved a lot of energy and just bought a jar of peanut butter. I was now doing the very thing I set out to avoid doing, going to the grocery store on a weekend.
Got the two ingredients. There was pouring, blending, and poof! Peanut butter. During my brief planning there was no thought of needing a jar for the stuff. So I grabbed what I had, and not thinking ahead about volume, we now have a mug of peanut butter filled to the rim sitting in the fridge.
But it’s tasty, and I know what I’m eating. Next stop: jam, or jelly, or preservatives… still don’t know the difference.
Tags: Food, VitaMix
Posted in Review, Uncategorized, fooding | 5 Comments »
French Onion Soup
Sunday, October 18th, 2009
For my birthday I got a VitaMix. This thing boasts that it can do just about everything and so far it has; last week it washed my laundry. It also comes with a cookbook breaking my roommate and I from our routine diet… aka whatever happens to be on sale at Ralph’s.
The VitaMix claims to be able to cook. Sort of. The infomercials claim it spins fast enough to heat up soup. We checked. It does. So my roommate wanted to make French Onion soup, I was all for trying new things in the new kitchen toy. So excited, that I forgot until first taste testing it that I don’t like French Onion soup. I don’t like onions, generally not a big fan of the French (though I’m not sure where that started), and don’t like enough other ingredients in there to not like French Onion soup.
All that and I still ate a bowl and didn’t get sick. So apparently it was that good. Or it just smelled that good and there was no other food in the apartment.
Tags: Cooking, Recipe, Soup, VitaMix
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