pop culture consumption 3
*hugs internet tight* Never leave me again.
recs in bold
anti-recs in italics
47 Bellwether - Connie Willis
This started slowly, and I almost gave up on it halfway through, but it was a fun ride to the end. I still think it has too much set up, and the payoff happens too fast, but I enjoyed the crazy scientists and the frustrations of the workplace and the esoteric fad knowledge.
48 The Fate of the Artist - Eddie Campbell
Just read it. He’s grumpy and whimsical and original and amazing.
49 Animal Factory - Edward Bunker
The book is much better than the movie; you get a much better idea of why Ron and Earl strike up a friendship, and much greater awareness of why they Earl would risk it all to try a break out after so many years of comfortable existence in jail. Their dynamic is still really good - that awkward tension between Earl’s paternal and yet sexual desire for Ron, and Ron’s platonic love for Earl.
50 Debutante Divorce - Plum Sykes
Again, it’s so frothy and empty, and I find it fun. But it’s not as good as the other one she wrote.
51 Devil’s Cub - Georgette Heyer
52 The Winter Prince - Elizabeth A. Wein
Interesting retelling of the Arthurian legend with a focus on Mordred and his relationship with Arthur’s legitimate heirs, particularly the boy who will become king over him.
53 I Am Mordred - Nancy Springer
Similar theme as the book above, but less atmospheric in its telling, and more unsubtly angsty.
54 Buying a Fishing Rod for My Grandfather - Gao Xingjian
Some of the short stories - the eponymous tale, The Accident - have the punchiness that sustains the lyrical writing; the others vary between subtle, meandering, and near unreadable.
R Dead Europe - Christos Tsiolkas
This book IS NOT for the fainthearted. Both times I’ve read this I’ve had to stop somewhere towards the end to just recover from the graphic, hallucinatory, horrible images. But it’s a really powerfully written, thought-provoking book. You’ll just feel grubby for ages afterwards.
55 This Lullaby - Sarah Dessen
I didn’t like the main character, so I found her actions and her thought-processes quite alien, and it made it hard to feel sympathetic for her. But it was a decent read.
56 A History of Bombing - Sven Lindqvist
Very idiosyncratic, original ‘history’ book, tracking the use of racism and colonialism to oppress minority cultures through warfare. It’s chronologically laid out in sections, but you’re asked to read following the pathway set out by the author as he builds his argument in a very detailed, esoteric way.
57 The Yiddish Policeman’s Union - Michael Chabon
[spoiler]“Cos the gay messiah’s coming…”[/spoiler] Sorry. I couldn’t help it. That’s what I had in my head from the moment of the reveal. It took me two tries to get through the first third, but once I settled into the stylised writing, I enjoyed the noir pastiche.
58 Venetia - Georgette Heyer
Ugh. You can see from the first page that they’re going to get together, but there’s hardly any real spark after their first spirited meeting - he’s too tame too quickly, she’s head over heels pretty soon after - and in between, there’s pages and pages of unlikeable, boring characters and situations to get through.
59 Janes in Love - Cecil Castelluci and Jim Rugg (comic)
Decent. Again, nice art, and the passion of the characters to use art to better their community is well conveyed. The story kind of goes around in predictable circles about boy-girl relationships until late in the book when Jane finds her goal. (Ro tells me the Minx imprint is no more, and I am not surprised.)
60 Nightbirds on Nantucket - Joan Aiken
Good read. I am looking for the rest of the Willoughby Chase sequence.
61 Last Chance Saloon - Marian Keyes
Typical small-town-girls in big-city chick lit. Keyes has a formula that obviously works for her - 3 characters, usually female, best friends, who have diverging relationship/work/life interests, who are held together by their support for each other through relationship/work/life problems, and usually a lot of drinking.
62 The Obsidian Dagger - Catherine Webb
This suffers from the same problem as the first Horatio Lyle book - Catherine Webb wants to be Terry Pratchett (of the earlier Discworld books). She is, however, not that funny nor insightful. All the characters are one-dimensional - Teresa is never more than the scrappy ingenious urchin, Lyle is Sherlock Holmes and Sam Vines rolled into one, and Thomas is the indiscriminately aged (he could be anything between 8 and 18, according to the schizophrenic characterisation) toff who seems uselessly naïve unless called upon by the plot to suddenly develop skills and courage previously unknown.
63 Sushi For Beginners - Marian Keyes
I enjoyed this better than the other, because it didn’t try to make me like the characters at the start, just presented them warts and all, and thus felt more believable (well, within its own strange chick-lit universe of fashion, media and hunks).
The Pillow Book
Beautiful and really interestingly constructed in terms of look, structure and narrative. I'm not sure I understood it, but it probably deserves to be watched more than once to unpack the visual and storytelling layers. Thought provoking.
Persepolis
The art retains the simple grayscale/bw of the book, but the animation is smooth and appropriate. The first half, about Marjane Satrapi's childhood in Iran and the revolution that the whole country was swept up in, is more compelling. The movie still has a good structure to it, a resolution that's sad and affecting and fitting for the story of her life to this point. A thoughtful and interesting and lovely movie.
27 Dresses
I found her obsessiveness kinda creepy, rather than charming. It was slightly funnier than I expected, and not as shrill, though I still found the whole premise ludicrous. The ending is pure dross. Good enough for a girly night with friends, but only if they allow you to mock it (sometimes).
Kung Fu Hustle
I laughed myself silly. This was so much fun. It's shambolic, but that's part of the charm - that it's both predictable and yet goes on these bizarre flights of fancy from time to time. The restless referencing to old movies - Hollywood musicals of the 40s, classic kung fu pics of the 70s - is great and geeky. My only problem was with the romantic subplot. Again, he's shoehorned it in, and written a one-dimensional literally mute female love interest, bah.
Under the Tuscan Sun
This movie is such a mess. It darts between episodes in Frances' life without any rhyme or reason, nor any emotional continuity. None of the romantic relationships are built up to satisfactorily. Most of the characters are so annoying you want to see bad things happen to them (...or is that just me?) Ick. Waste of perfectly decent actors.
The Dark Knight
So intense. I was worried it was going to crush my soul into tiny unrepairable pieces by the end, but Nolan put a little hope into the ending. Great acting by all the main cast (particularly props to Oldman, who makes the best Gordon ever). I'm still mulling over it now, because there's so much to absorb wrt to plot, to universe, to character development, and to general themes of humanity overall.
Get Smart
Fun, silly, with nice references to the original, but isn't slavishy devoted to remaking it.
Prince Caspian
Workmanlike. Does what it aims to do, and is very beautiful in doing so. Unintentionally funny - "hey I think I've seen that shot before in LOTR!" Does pad out the slim story from the book with too much fighting, and it slows the pace of the movie down.
Little Miss Sunshine
Juno
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
All held up under repeat viewing.
recs in bold
anti-recs in italics
47 Bellwether - Connie Willis
This started slowly, and I almost gave up on it halfway through, but it was a fun ride to the end. I still think it has too much set up, and the payoff happens too fast, but I enjoyed the crazy scientists and the frustrations of the workplace and the esoteric fad knowledge.
48 The Fate of the Artist - Eddie Campbell
Just read it. He’s grumpy and whimsical and original and amazing.
49 Animal Factory - Edward Bunker
The book is much better than the movie; you get a much better idea of why Ron and Earl strike up a friendship, and much greater awareness of why they Earl would risk it all to try a break out after so many years of comfortable existence in jail. Their dynamic is still really good - that awkward tension between Earl’s paternal and yet sexual desire for Ron, and Ron’s platonic love for Earl.
50 Debutante Divorce - Plum Sykes
Again, it’s so frothy and empty, and I find it fun. But it’s not as good as the other one she wrote.
51 Devil’s Cub - Georgette Heyer
52 The Winter Prince - Elizabeth A. Wein
Interesting retelling of the Arthurian legend with a focus on Mordred and his relationship with Arthur’s legitimate heirs, particularly the boy who will become king over him.
53 I Am Mordred - Nancy Springer
Similar theme as the book above, but less atmospheric in its telling, and more unsubtly angsty.
54 Buying a Fishing Rod for My Grandfather - Gao Xingjian
Some of the short stories - the eponymous tale, The Accident - have the punchiness that sustains the lyrical writing; the others vary between subtle, meandering, and near unreadable.
R Dead Europe - Christos Tsiolkas
This book IS NOT for the fainthearted. Both times I’ve read this I’ve had to stop somewhere towards the end to just recover from the graphic, hallucinatory, horrible images. But it’s a really powerfully written, thought-provoking book. You’ll just feel grubby for ages afterwards.
55 This Lullaby - Sarah Dessen
I didn’t like the main character, so I found her actions and her thought-processes quite alien, and it made it hard to feel sympathetic for her. But it was a decent read.
56 A History of Bombing - Sven Lindqvist
Very idiosyncratic, original ‘history’ book, tracking the use of racism and colonialism to oppress minority cultures through warfare. It’s chronologically laid out in sections, but you’re asked to read following the pathway set out by the author as he builds his argument in a very detailed, esoteric way.
57 The Yiddish Policeman’s Union - Michael Chabon
[spoiler]“Cos the gay messiah’s coming…”[/spoiler] Sorry. I couldn’t help it. That’s what I had in my head from the moment of the reveal. It took me two tries to get through the first third, but once I settled into the stylised writing, I enjoyed the noir pastiche.
58 Venetia - Georgette Heyer
Ugh. You can see from the first page that they’re going to get together, but there’s hardly any real spark after their first spirited meeting - he’s too tame too quickly, she’s head over heels pretty soon after - and in between, there’s pages and pages of unlikeable, boring characters and situations to get through.
59 Janes in Love - Cecil Castelluci and Jim Rugg (comic)
Decent. Again, nice art, and the passion of the characters to use art to better their community is well conveyed. The story kind of goes around in predictable circles about boy-girl relationships until late in the book when Jane finds her goal. (Ro tells me the Minx imprint is no more, and I am not surprised.)
60 Nightbirds on Nantucket - Joan Aiken
Good read. I am looking for the rest of the Willoughby Chase sequence.
61 Last Chance Saloon - Marian Keyes
Typical small-town-girls in big-city chick lit. Keyes has a formula that obviously works for her - 3 characters, usually female, best friends, who have diverging relationship/work/life interests, who are held together by their support for each other through relationship/work/life problems, and usually a lot of drinking.
62 The Obsidian Dagger - Catherine Webb
This suffers from the same problem as the first Horatio Lyle book - Catherine Webb wants to be Terry Pratchett (of the earlier Discworld books). She is, however, not that funny nor insightful. All the characters are one-dimensional - Teresa is never more than the scrappy ingenious urchin, Lyle is Sherlock Holmes and Sam Vines rolled into one, and Thomas is the indiscriminately aged (he could be anything between 8 and 18, according to the schizophrenic characterisation) toff who seems uselessly naïve unless called upon by the plot to suddenly develop skills and courage previously unknown.
63 Sushi For Beginners - Marian Keyes
I enjoyed this better than the other, because it didn’t try to make me like the characters at the start, just presented them warts and all, and thus felt more believable (well, within its own strange chick-lit universe of fashion, media and hunks).
The Pillow Book
Beautiful and really interestingly constructed in terms of look, structure and narrative. I'm not sure I understood it, but it probably deserves to be watched more than once to unpack the visual and storytelling layers. Thought provoking.
Persepolis
The art retains the simple grayscale/bw of the book, but the animation is smooth and appropriate. The first half, about Marjane Satrapi's childhood in Iran and the revolution that the whole country was swept up in, is more compelling. The movie still has a good structure to it, a resolution that's sad and affecting and fitting for the story of her life to this point. A thoughtful and interesting and lovely movie.
27 Dresses
I found her obsessiveness kinda creepy, rather than charming. It was slightly funnier than I expected, and not as shrill, though I still found the whole premise ludicrous. The ending is pure dross. Good enough for a girly night with friends, but only if they allow you to mock it (sometimes).
Kung Fu Hustle
I laughed myself silly. This was so much fun. It's shambolic, but that's part of the charm - that it's both predictable and yet goes on these bizarre flights of fancy from time to time. The restless referencing to old movies - Hollywood musicals of the 40s, classic kung fu pics of the 70s - is great and geeky. My only problem was with the romantic subplot. Again, he's shoehorned it in, and written a one-dimensional literally mute female love interest, bah.
Under the Tuscan Sun
This movie is such a mess. It darts between episodes in Frances' life without any rhyme or reason, nor any emotional continuity. None of the romantic relationships are built up to satisfactorily. Most of the characters are so annoying you want to see bad things happen to them (...or is that just me?) Ick. Waste of perfectly decent actors.
The Dark Knight
So intense. I was worried it was going to crush my soul into tiny unrepairable pieces by the end, but Nolan put a little hope into the ending. Great acting by all the main cast (particularly props to Oldman, who makes the best Gordon ever). I'm still mulling over it now, because there's so much to absorb wrt to plot, to universe, to character development, and to general themes of humanity overall.
Get Smart
Fun, silly, with nice references to the original, but isn't slavishy devoted to remaking it.
Prince Caspian
Workmanlike. Does what it aims to do, and is very beautiful in doing so. Unintentionally funny - "hey I think I've seen that shot before in LOTR!" Does pad out the slim story from the book with too much fighting, and it slows the pace of the movie down.
Little Miss Sunshine
Juno
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
All held up under repeat viewing.