pop culture consumption (jan - mar)
I've been meaning to talk about books I've been reading, movies I've been watching, and gigs I've been to like other awesome people on the flist, but I keep forgetting to do it monthly, so I promised littlerhymes I'd think about doing it quarterly. And I missed that date too, heh.
Books-wise, it's been a really lacklustre start to the year, which is bad because I usually start off strong and trail off by the end of the year, so I'm anticipating a shit total for this year. I also had this resolution to write reviews for every single book I read this year, but uh.
1. Piratica - Tanith Lee
It took me a while to warm to Piratica - more than half the book, in fact, and there were a few times when I really thought about just giving up. I did like the solving of the puzzle for the treasure, that was brilliant, but I found it a bit too cheesy and predictable at the end.
2. Martin Dressler - Steven Millhauser
I swear I picked this up *before* Patrick's turn on L&O *g*. Interesting fable; it managed to cover in its slim volume a great deal about the ideas of progress, modernism and culture that abound in the now, while being set at the turn of the century. I liked its detached tone, the fantastical elements of his hotels, but it's not particularly emotionally memorable.
3. Emotionally Weird - Kate Atkinson
This was a great read, even if the student-life tales of the daughter were much more lively and memorable and I was sorely tempted to skip the mother's story at times. It manages to be clever and interesting and hilarious, and the controlled chaos of the story and the storytelling awes me.
4. The Devil in Amber - Mark Gatiss
Part of me really wants to like this series, with its arch knowing references and writing, but mostly I'm let down by the mystery plots, which are really thin.
5. Guitar Girl - Sarra Manning
I love how she gets teen girls, right down to the moodiness, the flights of fancy, the shaping of the self. BUT I didn't like Dean in this at all, which makes the romance fail in my eyes, and it was difficult to understand Molly's attraction to him, and her consequent actions. The details about the hard slog towards stardom were interesting, if slight.
as an aside, when I bought this at Basement Books, the two male cashiers had a loud lewd conversation about how they'd do the girl on the cover, as they rang up my sale. Ewww.
6. The Princess Diaries: To the Nines - Meg Cabot
I love this series, even when it is constantly ridiculous. I still think Cabot's writing is strongest when she's channeling Mia; this world is the only one where her flights of fancy and constant pop references manage to feel right for the narrative. This one kind of bookends the first book by bringing back Lana and redeeming her somewhat, widening the rift between the two Moscovitz kids and Mia, making JP more central to Mia's life, and makes amusing reference to the movie adaptations. It's all fun and familiar.
7. The Umbrella Academy 4
8. The Umbrella Academy 5
reread: Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
This still doesn't quite gel with me. I originally picked it up because the first two chapters has this great energy about it, and throughout I like how both writers give a great sense of the scene and how the kids feel about it. But it never goes anywhere, and the reconciliations and relationships that happen by the end of the night don't feel earned.
reread: Bookends - Jane Green
This is a comfort book for me. It's fairly ordinary chick lit, and tries to cram too much into its plot, and has a weird tone change towards the end when one character develops a health problem, but I keep coming back to it, because I like the fantasy in it; two characters quit their jobs to open the cafe/bookshop of their dreams and it's a success, people find true love, the dumpy sweet woman triumphs over the manipulative gorgeous ex-girlfriend, friends remain friends no matter what.
9. Confessions of a Blabber Mouth - Mike and Louise Carey (comic)
I have a love/hate relationship with the Minx imprint comics; so far I'm not impressed by these 'comics-for-girls' (Clubbing is truly awful; The Plain Janes promised so much but failed to connect) but occasionally they're entertaining and sweet (this one is good, as is Good as Lily). But they're so limited in their scope - why can't comics for girls delve into material other than family and relationships? I think the concept rubs me the wrong way more than the books themselves.
10. Long Hot Summer - Eric Stephenson, Jamie McKelvie (comic)
Ooh, this was so bitter. All the characters are quite unlikeable, but they seemed quite realistic, and it stayed with me. Simple artwork, reminiscent of Tomine, but without the depth in the storytelling, nor as much emotional resonance.
11. The Dark Knight Returns - Frank Miller (comic)
I've been digesting this one bit by bit over a few months. I love the meta of it, the dissection of the perceived relationships between superheroes (comics) and the media, the long-held arguments of how audiences receive the violent images.
12. The Mirador - Sarah Monette
13. Home from the Vinyl Café - Stuart McLean
14. War for the Oaks - Emma Bull
15. Odd and the Frost Giants - Neil Gaiman
16. The Umbrella Academy 6
Oh, Gerard. I enjoyed the series, though I am kind of put off that the female characters seem to get short shrift. And it does feel like a very abrupt end. His sense of the sublimely ridiculous is lovely though.
17. Little Sister - Raymond Chandler, Michael Lark (comic)
18. The Know-It-All - A.J. Jacobs (NF)
I really enjoyed this; I thought this would be really arch and trivial, but the fact he grounds it with stories of the relationships of his life - with his father, his wife, and his wife's family - linked with his own attempts to start a family gives it an emotional grounding that made me care why he went about this task of reading the Encyclopedia Britannica all the way through. Also, obsessive geekiness, in whatever form, is something I really enjoy. His writing is also really easy to enjoy.
19. Killing Yourself to Live - Chuck Klosterman (NF)
Whereas this book is occasionally really funny, and has all those trivial popcultural connections, but his obsessive navel gazing over his relationships and his own asshattery got in the way of the story. I don't think personal intrusions into non-fiction is necessarily a bad thing, but while I enjoyed the facts about how music stars died, and the interactions with ordinary Americans around these historical places, I didn't enjoy Chuck Klosterman after a while, and there ended up being a lot of Chuck Klosterman in this book.
20. Sin City: The Hard Goodbye - Frank Miller (comic)
Hm. I admire this as a noir pastiche, and the artwork is so awesome, from the silhouettes of really confronting scenes, to the neverending pattern of bricks and tiles that give it this really claustrophobic feel, to the hard-boiled dialogue. But it's not a comfortable read, and I'm as much repulsed by it as I like think it's roughly beautiful.
Because of my film course this semester, I've been watching a few older movies, mostly with a noir bent, leavened with a sprinkling of lighthearted rentals.
The Jane Austen Book Club (207)
Rather pedestrian movie. It captures the characters from the book well, but there's no heart in it; I didn't buy into the central relationships at all. Probably not helped by having to split all that screentime between six main characters.
The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
From the trailer, I was worried this would be too idiosyncratic, but I really liked it. It's absolutely beautiful to look at, and wryly funny all the way through, and the brothers are really sweet even with their many flaws and neuroticisms. I'm not sure if it completely hangs together, and the end drags a little, but there are some wonderful moments in this.
Eurotrip (2004)
This is such a guilty pleasure for me. Sure, the movie goes for the easy laughs, but there are moments that are great - Scotty Doesn't Know, the robot fight, the question of what one gest for $5.17US in Eastern Europe.
There Will Be Blood (2007)
It has a fantastically tight and interesting first half, but then it meanders and comes apart under the weight of its own ambitions. Day-Lewis is good, but in that histrionic way; Dano has his moments but in that finale just loses against the insanity of Day-Lewis' Plainview (in so many ways). I felt it's 2hr 40min running time greatly by the end. It does do some wonderful things in conveying concepts of family and greed in the struggle of the man within the monster. Loved the use of sound and score, particularly in that sparse beginning.
Ice Princess (2005)
Uh, Michelle Trachtenberg is adorable, but this movie is a mess. It wants to be serious about mother-daughter relationships and femininity, but it also wants to be soppy crap about 'going for your dreams'. But the leads do their best with the leaden script; Kim Cattrall is quite believable as the former champ who has some regrets and ethical issues, and Joan Cusack is great, as always, as Casey's academic mother. The ice-skating is also quite fun to watch. The romance is ridiculous, and could've been excised completely.
In the Land of Women (2007)
There's possibly a good movie in this, but it doesn't have an emotional climax, and just trails off into an unsatisfying and yet pat ending. Adam Brody is oddly likeable - you can see why the women are drawn to him. Kristen Stewart is lovely as the confused teen he befriends.
Hairspray (2007)
This is ADORABLE. It's beautiful - from the dancing sequences to the lollipop coloured sets of an almost mythical Baltimore in the 60s, which works to highlight the optimistic, fairy-tale tone. The performances are very good all round, particularly Nikki Blonsky who just lights up the screen, and Michelle Pfeiffer doing a fantastic job of playing the blonde bitch. Music is fun, dancing is amazing, and it zips along wonderfully.
Citizen Kane (1941)
Surprisingly enjoyable. The techniques might seem commonplace now, but it makes it all the more interesting how ahead of its time the cinematography was. (Also, remarkably slashy! Charles/Leland, anyone?)
Out of the Past (1947)
Awesome example of classic film noir. Great acting from the main trio, it looks great, and all the double, triple crosses keep the story zipping along and tense.
Gun Crazy (1949)
For its low budget origins, this achieves a lot in storytelling and visual style. I love the scene where she tells Bart that if they don't do it her way, he might as well say goodbye - it's a fantastic summary of the femme fatale - and both actors completely sell the tension and passion in the story.
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Hm. There are moments where this really works for me - Bogart's quickfire banter, Mary Astor's hilarious innocent act and then her "yes, I'm a liar" admissions. But the mystery is just meh, and I was quite disappointed by the overdramatic romantic resolution.
Heat (1995)
I really liked this. For a crime thriller it's surprisingly focused on relationships - between the men and their families, between the gang of thieves, between the cop (Pacino) and the crim (De Niro). Pacino does a lot of shouting as acting, but De Niro is better as the tightly controlled mastermind who is undone by his emotional weaknesses.
Sin City (2005)
see comment above for the comic.
Ooh, that got long. I probably would be better off doing these month by month. *makes new resolution*
Books-wise, it's been a really lacklustre start to the year, which is bad because I usually start off strong and trail off by the end of the year, so I'm anticipating a shit total for this year. I also had this resolution to write reviews for every single book I read this year, but uh.
1. Piratica - Tanith Lee
It took me a while to warm to Piratica - more than half the book, in fact, and there were a few times when I really thought about just giving up. I did like the solving of the puzzle for the treasure, that was brilliant, but I found it a bit too cheesy and predictable at the end.
2. Martin Dressler - Steven Millhauser
I swear I picked this up *before* Patrick's turn on L&O *g*. Interesting fable; it managed to cover in its slim volume a great deal about the ideas of progress, modernism and culture that abound in the now, while being set at the turn of the century. I liked its detached tone, the fantastical elements of his hotels, but it's not particularly emotionally memorable.
3. Emotionally Weird - Kate Atkinson
This was a great read, even if the student-life tales of the daughter were much more lively and memorable and I was sorely tempted to skip the mother's story at times. It manages to be clever and interesting and hilarious, and the controlled chaos of the story and the storytelling awes me.
4. The Devil in Amber - Mark Gatiss
Part of me really wants to like this series, with its arch knowing references and writing, but mostly I'm let down by the mystery plots, which are really thin.
5. Guitar Girl - Sarra Manning
I love how she gets teen girls, right down to the moodiness, the flights of fancy, the shaping of the self. BUT I didn't like Dean in this at all, which makes the romance fail in my eyes, and it was difficult to understand Molly's attraction to him, and her consequent actions. The details about the hard slog towards stardom were interesting, if slight.
as an aside, when I bought this at Basement Books, the two male cashiers had a loud lewd conversation about how they'd do the girl on the cover, as they rang up my sale. Ewww.
6. The Princess Diaries: To the Nines - Meg Cabot
I love this series, even when it is constantly ridiculous. I still think Cabot's writing is strongest when she's channeling Mia; this world is the only one where her flights of fancy and constant pop references manage to feel right for the narrative. This one kind of bookends the first book by bringing back Lana and redeeming her somewhat, widening the rift between the two Moscovitz kids and Mia, making JP more central to Mia's life, and makes amusing reference to the movie adaptations. It's all fun and familiar.
7. The Umbrella Academy 4
8. The Umbrella Academy 5
reread: Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
This still doesn't quite gel with me. I originally picked it up because the first two chapters has this great energy about it, and throughout I like how both writers give a great sense of the scene and how the kids feel about it. But it never goes anywhere, and the reconciliations and relationships that happen by the end of the night don't feel earned.
reread: Bookends - Jane Green
This is a comfort book for me. It's fairly ordinary chick lit, and tries to cram too much into its plot, and has a weird tone change towards the end when one character develops a health problem, but I keep coming back to it, because I like the fantasy in it; two characters quit their jobs to open the cafe/bookshop of their dreams and it's a success, people find true love, the dumpy sweet woman triumphs over the manipulative gorgeous ex-girlfriend, friends remain friends no matter what.
9. Confessions of a Blabber Mouth - Mike and Louise Carey (comic)
I have a love/hate relationship with the Minx imprint comics; so far I'm not impressed by these 'comics-for-girls' (Clubbing is truly awful; The Plain Janes promised so much but failed to connect) but occasionally they're entertaining and sweet (this one is good, as is Good as Lily). But they're so limited in their scope - why can't comics for girls delve into material other than family and relationships? I think the concept rubs me the wrong way more than the books themselves.
10. Long Hot Summer - Eric Stephenson, Jamie McKelvie (comic)
Ooh, this was so bitter. All the characters are quite unlikeable, but they seemed quite realistic, and it stayed with me. Simple artwork, reminiscent of Tomine, but without the depth in the storytelling, nor as much emotional resonance.
11. The Dark Knight Returns - Frank Miller (comic)
I've been digesting this one bit by bit over a few months. I love the meta of it, the dissection of the perceived relationships between superheroes (comics) and the media, the long-held arguments of how audiences receive the violent images.
12. The Mirador - Sarah Monette
13. Home from the Vinyl Café - Stuart McLean
14. War for the Oaks - Emma Bull
15. Odd and the Frost Giants - Neil Gaiman
16. The Umbrella Academy 6
Oh, Gerard. I enjoyed the series, though I am kind of put off that the female characters seem to get short shrift. And it does feel like a very abrupt end. His sense of the sublimely ridiculous is lovely though.
17. Little Sister - Raymond Chandler, Michael Lark (comic)
18. The Know-It-All - A.J. Jacobs (NF)
I really enjoyed this; I thought this would be really arch and trivial, but the fact he grounds it with stories of the relationships of his life - with his father, his wife, and his wife's family - linked with his own attempts to start a family gives it an emotional grounding that made me care why he went about this task of reading the Encyclopedia Britannica all the way through. Also, obsessive geekiness, in whatever form, is something I really enjoy. His writing is also really easy to enjoy.
19. Killing Yourself to Live - Chuck Klosterman (NF)
Whereas this book is occasionally really funny, and has all those trivial popcultural connections, but his obsessive navel gazing over his relationships and his own asshattery got in the way of the story. I don't think personal intrusions into non-fiction is necessarily a bad thing, but while I enjoyed the facts about how music stars died, and the interactions with ordinary Americans around these historical places, I didn't enjoy Chuck Klosterman after a while, and there ended up being a lot of Chuck Klosterman in this book.
20. Sin City: The Hard Goodbye - Frank Miller (comic)
Hm. I admire this as a noir pastiche, and the artwork is so awesome, from the silhouettes of really confronting scenes, to the neverending pattern of bricks and tiles that give it this really claustrophobic feel, to the hard-boiled dialogue. But it's not a comfortable read, and I'm as much repulsed by it as I like think it's roughly beautiful.
Because of my film course this semester, I've been watching a few older movies, mostly with a noir bent, leavened with a sprinkling of lighthearted rentals.
The Jane Austen Book Club (207)
Rather pedestrian movie. It captures the characters from the book well, but there's no heart in it; I didn't buy into the central relationships at all. Probably not helped by having to split all that screentime between six main characters.
The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
From the trailer, I was worried this would be too idiosyncratic, but I really liked it. It's absolutely beautiful to look at, and wryly funny all the way through, and the brothers are really sweet even with their many flaws and neuroticisms. I'm not sure if it completely hangs together, and the end drags a little, but there are some wonderful moments in this.
Eurotrip (2004)
This is such a guilty pleasure for me. Sure, the movie goes for the easy laughs, but there are moments that are great - Scotty Doesn't Know, the robot fight, the question of what one gest for $5.17US in Eastern Europe.
There Will Be Blood (2007)
It has a fantastically tight and interesting first half, but then it meanders and comes apart under the weight of its own ambitions. Day-Lewis is good, but in that histrionic way; Dano has his moments but in that finale just loses against the insanity of Day-Lewis' Plainview (in so many ways). I felt it's 2hr 40min running time greatly by the end. It does do some wonderful things in conveying concepts of family and greed in the struggle of the man within the monster. Loved the use of sound and score, particularly in that sparse beginning.
Ice Princess (2005)
Uh, Michelle Trachtenberg is adorable, but this movie is a mess. It wants to be serious about mother-daughter relationships and femininity, but it also wants to be soppy crap about 'going for your dreams'. But the leads do their best with the leaden script; Kim Cattrall is quite believable as the former champ who has some regrets and ethical issues, and Joan Cusack is great, as always, as Casey's academic mother. The ice-skating is also quite fun to watch. The romance is ridiculous, and could've been excised completely.
In the Land of Women (2007)
There's possibly a good movie in this, but it doesn't have an emotional climax, and just trails off into an unsatisfying and yet pat ending. Adam Brody is oddly likeable - you can see why the women are drawn to him. Kristen Stewart is lovely as the confused teen he befriends.
Hairspray (2007)
This is ADORABLE. It's beautiful - from the dancing sequences to the lollipop coloured sets of an almost mythical Baltimore in the 60s, which works to highlight the optimistic, fairy-tale tone. The performances are very good all round, particularly Nikki Blonsky who just lights up the screen, and Michelle Pfeiffer doing a fantastic job of playing the blonde bitch. Music is fun, dancing is amazing, and it zips along wonderfully.
Citizen Kane (1941)
Surprisingly enjoyable. The techniques might seem commonplace now, but it makes it all the more interesting how ahead of its time the cinematography was. (Also, remarkably slashy! Charles/Leland, anyone?)
Out of the Past (1947)
Awesome example of classic film noir. Great acting from the main trio, it looks great, and all the double, triple crosses keep the story zipping along and tense.
Gun Crazy (1949)
For its low budget origins, this achieves a lot in storytelling and visual style. I love the scene where she tells Bart that if they don't do it her way, he might as well say goodbye - it's a fantastic summary of the femme fatale - and both actors completely sell the tension and passion in the story.
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Hm. There are moments where this really works for me - Bogart's quickfire banter, Mary Astor's hilarious innocent act and then her "yes, I'm a liar" admissions. But the mystery is just meh, and I was quite disappointed by the overdramatic romantic resolution.
Heat (1995)
I really liked this. For a crime thriller it's surprisingly focused on relationships - between the men and their families, between the gang of thieves, between the cop (Pacino) and the crim (De Niro). Pacino does a lot of shouting as acting, but De Niro is better as the tightly controlled mastermind who is undone by his emotional weaknesses.
Sin City (2005)
see comment above for the comic.
Ooh, that got long. I probably would be better off doing these month by month. *makes new resolution*