pop culture consumption Jun-Aug 09
Finally up-to-date...now to tackle those Lollapalooza posts!
recs in bold
anti-recs in italics
31. Laura Lippman - Baltimore Blues
First in the Tess Monaghan series. I really liked this; Lippman's use of language is lovely, which was an unexpected (but nice!) surprise in a genre that often neglects to pay attention to the writing because they're so plot-driven. I enjoyed the characters too, particularly Tess, the former-journalist-turned-PI who has to try and find out who has framed her rowing partner for the murder of his fiancee's boss.
32. Laura Lippman - The Power of Three
This is kind of a standalone book, based on a real crime. Rather than focussing on the detectives and their police work, it tries to sort out how three teenage girls, once best friends, hurt each other physically and emotionally, culminating in a fatal shooting. Because of the large amount of time it tries to cover (it flashes back constantly to show different stages of the girls' friendship from childhood onwards) and the attempt to solve the crime while delving into the psychological and relational reasons for the shooting, it feels loose with uneven pacing and lacks coherency. And so the actual revelation of the how and why of the the shooting is a bit of a anti-climax given the time we've spent circling it.
33. Tim Winton - Breathe
I raced through this because I thought it was building up well to a dramatic peak, but it fizzles out so badly through a rushed last third. Disappointing. The writing is great, Winton's ability to describe natural surroundings and the feeling and excitement of the surf is as good as ever, but the story lets it all down.
34. Craig Thompson - Carnet de Voyage
I have to admit to not loving Blankets like every other person I know, because Thompson was so longwinded and whiny, but this small illustrated travel diary is absolutely gorgeous. *_____* for each page, oh my. He travelled through parts of Europe and Morocco for a promo trip/holiday and, on the advice of some friends, wrote and drew an account of his journey as well as noting his feelings and thoughts on life in the aftermath of an intense relationship with a sick ex-girlfriend. Limited by page, pen and ink availability, Thompson is much more tolerable and interesting. The artwork is AMAZING.
35. False Colours - Alex Beecroft
I'm sure I saw someone reccing this on the flist a few weeks ago, and then I found it for cheap in NY. It is pretty much, as
littlerhymes described it, 'gay Hornblower'. It is unevenly plotted - major events would occur with little to no set-up - and it has annoying stereotypical foreign villains. But the pining and the period detail made for a decent read, and I raced through it in about an hour while I was waiting for a plane.
36. Life Class - Pat Barker
Starting just prior to the start of WWI, the first half focusses on a trio of art students in London, their encounters with each other as they become more and more entangled in each other's lives. Paul feels aimless and talentless, Neville is talented but a bit of a tosser, and Elinor is serious and much admired by both men. Then war breaks out, and the three of them find their perceptions of the world and each other much altered. I was really absorbed in this, and I found Paul a thoughtful observer of life both pre-war, and in the thick of the worst of it. I did find the last third of this rushed, and some important relationships are poorly developed and then cast aside in a few lines, and because of the end it has an abrupt unfinished feeling, but it almost works because it mirrors the messiness of life.
Slaughter (2009)
Caught this on a tiny TV in a dive bar and I was horrified and completely engrossed at the same time. Faith is trying to recover from an abusive relationship when she meets and strikes up a friendship with Lola, who lives on a farm outside of town with her gruff father and a younger brother. Faith starts to notice some unusual things around the farm, particularly around the slaughterhouse where Lola's father spends a lot of his time. For a low budget film, there's some good tense build-up to the eventual madness and gore, and some nice cinematography. The ending came like a punch to the gut.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) --> here
The Answer Man (2009)
Wow, this was awful. Boring, choppy, aimless, predictable. A shame actually, considering the roster of actors I like: Jeff Daniels, Lauren Graham, Lou Pucci, Olivia Thirlby, Kat Dennings.
(500) Days of Summer (2009)
I wanted to like this, and it has some very cute moments in it; in particular, the musical sequence is absolutely wonderful. But despite its self-awareness, it still manages to be irritatingly conventional at times, and uncomfortably misogynistic. Zooey Deschanel plays yet another quirky and shallowly characterised free-spirit/love interest, and the movie never tries to give her any back story or real motivation for her actions, which unfairly makes her seem like a real bitch. There are basically no other women in this film (including a very odd choice to make Matthew Grey Gubler's girlfriend an offscreen character). Joseph Gordon Levitt is very cute though, and there's some fun in playing 'Hey It's That Guy/Girl!' (Volcano Joe! Spencer Reid! etc etc)
Public Enemies (2009)
This was fine, but not great. It felt a bit episodic, a chain of events involving Dillinger, but not really connected well at times, so we never really get to know him, nor his gang all that much. This makes it so much harder to feel for anyone on screen, to feel engaged with the story. Michael Mann sets up a protagonist pair as he often likes to do, but here it doesn't feel like Dillinger and Purvis are really equal-but-opposite, there's no real tension in their confrontations. The cast are solid, though Depp cruises a little 'cos he has 'suave but dangerous' down to a t, and Christian Bale has very little to do but look intense. Billy Crudup does a great publicity seeking Edgar J. Hoover though. (On a side note, this was another movie full of "Hey! It's that actor!" I mean, wtf Stephen Dorff? LeeLee Sobieski? Not to mention all the random Australians, some of them in prominent parts.)
For movies I saw on the plane:
Confessions of a Shopaholic was a teensy bit better than I expected it to be, but I expected it to be really cringingly bad so it's not much of a recommendation. Isla Fisher is likeable though, even playing the incredibly appalling Rebecca (worst.friend.ever.) and there is a lot of pretty in this film (people, clothing, places).
17 Again stayed just this side of okay due to the charm of the Zefron and the unexpected amounts of chemistry between him and Leslie Mann, but was bizarrely uncomfortable to watch at times and really predictable and conservative all the way through.
Duplicity was pedestrian, even with the ridiculous amounts of twists through in. Clive Owen, who I believe to have chemistry with *everything*, could not convince me that he was completely head over heels for Julia Roberts. The ending was infuriating, especially because it basically allows a hitherto unexplored character to be the ultimate victor, and it doesn't feel deserved.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past had me bodily inching away from the screen in an attempt to escape the incredible skeeviness of Matthew McConaughey's character. This being an unimaginative update on A Christmas Carol, except in terms of romance and tru wuv, you know he's going to be redeemed but he was so awful that I honestly didn't want Jennifer Garner (playing an incredibly attractive and intelligent doctor who is inexplicably single) to sacrifice herself by ending up with him. I enjoyed Emma Stone's small role as the actual ghost of girlfriends past, she was hilarious.
The Great Buck Howard features some great actors - John Malkovich! Emily Blunt! - but it was so boring and slow and incomprehensible that I kept drifting out of the story. Colin Hanks has no charisma playing the put-upon assistant of a has-been magician on the comeback trail, and the story really splutters to a nothing ending.
recs in bold
anti-recs in italics
31. Laura Lippman - Baltimore Blues
First in the Tess Monaghan series. I really liked this; Lippman's use of language is lovely, which was an unexpected (but nice!) surprise in a genre that often neglects to pay attention to the writing because they're so plot-driven. I enjoyed the characters too, particularly Tess, the former-journalist-turned-PI who has to try and find out who has framed her rowing partner for the murder of his fiancee's boss.
32. Laura Lippman - The Power of Three
This is kind of a standalone book, based on a real crime. Rather than focussing on the detectives and their police work, it tries to sort out how three teenage girls, once best friends, hurt each other physically and emotionally, culminating in a fatal shooting. Because of the large amount of time it tries to cover (it flashes back constantly to show different stages of the girls' friendship from childhood onwards) and the attempt to solve the crime while delving into the psychological and relational reasons for the shooting, it feels loose with uneven pacing and lacks coherency. And so the actual revelation of the how and why of the the shooting is a bit of a anti-climax given the time we've spent circling it.
33. Tim Winton - Breathe
I raced through this because I thought it was building up well to a dramatic peak, but it fizzles out so badly through a rushed last third. Disappointing. The writing is great, Winton's ability to describe natural surroundings and the feeling and excitement of the surf is as good as ever, but the story lets it all down.
34. Craig Thompson - Carnet de Voyage
I have to admit to not loving Blankets like every other person I know, because Thompson was so longwinded and whiny, but this small illustrated travel diary is absolutely gorgeous. *_____* for each page, oh my. He travelled through parts of Europe and Morocco for a promo trip/holiday and, on the advice of some friends, wrote and drew an account of his journey as well as noting his feelings and thoughts on life in the aftermath of an intense relationship with a sick ex-girlfriend. Limited by page, pen and ink availability, Thompson is much more tolerable and interesting. The artwork is AMAZING.
35. False Colours - Alex Beecroft
I'm sure I saw someone reccing this on the flist a few weeks ago, and then I found it for cheap in NY. It is pretty much, as
littlerhymes described it, 'gay Hornblower'. It is unevenly plotted - major events would occur with little to no set-up - and it has annoying stereotypical foreign villains. But the pining and the period detail made for a decent read, and I raced through it in about an hour while I was waiting for a plane.
36. Life Class - Pat Barker
Starting just prior to the start of WWI, the first half focusses on a trio of art students in London, their encounters with each other as they become more and more entangled in each other's lives. Paul feels aimless and talentless, Neville is talented but a bit of a tosser, and Elinor is serious and much admired by both men. Then war breaks out, and the three of them find their perceptions of the world and each other much altered. I was really absorbed in this, and I found Paul a thoughtful observer of life both pre-war, and in the thick of the worst of it. I did find the last third of this rushed, and some important relationships are poorly developed and then cast aside in a few lines, and because of the end it has an abrupt unfinished feeling, but it almost works because it mirrors the messiness of life.
Slaughter (2009)
Caught this on a tiny TV in a dive bar and I was horrified and completely engrossed at the same time. Faith is trying to recover from an abusive relationship when she meets and strikes up a friendship with Lola, who lives on a farm outside of town with her gruff father and a younger brother. Faith starts to notice some unusual things around the farm, particularly around the slaughterhouse where Lola's father spends a lot of his time. For a low budget film, there's some good tense build-up to the eventual madness and gore, and some nice cinematography. The ending came like a punch to the gut.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) --> here
The Answer Man (2009)
Wow, this was awful. Boring, choppy, aimless, predictable. A shame actually, considering the roster of actors I like: Jeff Daniels, Lauren Graham, Lou Pucci, Olivia Thirlby, Kat Dennings.
(500) Days of Summer (2009)
I wanted to like this, and it has some very cute moments in it; in particular, the musical sequence is absolutely wonderful. But despite its self-awareness, it still manages to be irritatingly conventional at times, and uncomfortably misogynistic. Zooey Deschanel plays yet another quirky and shallowly characterised free-spirit/love interest, and the movie never tries to give her any back story or real motivation for her actions, which unfairly makes her seem like a real bitch. There are basically no other women in this film (including a very odd choice to make Matthew Grey Gubler's girlfriend an offscreen character). Joseph Gordon Levitt is very cute though, and there's some fun in playing 'Hey It's That Guy/Girl!' (Volcano Joe! Spencer Reid! etc etc)
Public Enemies (2009)
This was fine, but not great. It felt a bit episodic, a chain of events involving Dillinger, but not really connected well at times, so we never really get to know him, nor his gang all that much. This makes it so much harder to feel for anyone on screen, to feel engaged with the story. Michael Mann sets up a protagonist pair as he often likes to do, but here it doesn't feel like Dillinger and Purvis are really equal-but-opposite, there's no real tension in their confrontations. The cast are solid, though Depp cruises a little 'cos he has 'suave but dangerous' down to a t, and Christian Bale has very little to do but look intense. Billy Crudup does a great publicity seeking Edgar J. Hoover though. (On a side note, this was another movie full of "Hey! It's that actor!" I mean, wtf Stephen Dorff? LeeLee Sobieski? Not to mention all the random Australians, some of them in prominent parts.)
For movies I saw on the plane:
Confessions of a Shopaholic was a teensy bit better than I expected it to be, but I expected it to be really cringingly bad so it's not much of a recommendation. Isla Fisher is likeable though, even playing the incredibly appalling Rebecca (worst.friend.ever.) and there is a lot of pretty in this film (people, clothing, places).
17 Again stayed just this side of okay due to the charm of the Zefron and the unexpected amounts of chemistry between him and Leslie Mann, but was bizarrely uncomfortable to watch at times and really predictable and conservative all the way through.
Duplicity was pedestrian, even with the ridiculous amounts of twists through in. Clive Owen, who I believe to have chemistry with *everything*, could not convince me that he was completely head over heels for Julia Roberts. The ending was infuriating, especially because it basically allows a hitherto unexplored character to be the ultimate victor, and it doesn't feel deserved.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past had me bodily inching away from the screen in an attempt to escape the incredible skeeviness of Matthew McConaughey's character. This being an unimaginative update on A Christmas Carol, except in terms of romance and tru wuv, you know he's going to be redeemed but he was so awful that I honestly didn't want Jennifer Garner (playing an incredibly attractive and intelligent doctor who is inexplicably single) to sacrifice herself by ending up with him. I enjoyed Emma Stone's small role as the actual ghost of girlfriends past, she was hilarious.
The Great Buck Howard features some great actors - John Malkovich! Emily Blunt! - but it was so boring and slow and incomprehensible that I kept drifting out of the story. Colin Hanks has no charisma playing the put-upon assistant of a has-been magician on the comeback trail, and the story really splutters to a nothing ending.