Summer 2012 Movie Kick-Off: The Avengers

The Avengers

4 out of 5 stars

What do you do when you want to watch something about beloved, classic fictional characters made with disgustingly expensive special effects and starring at least five incredibly hot male models - I mean actors?


You go pay your future children's college money for a ticket to see The Avengers, of course!  


Is it worth it? I would say definitely.  They hired some pretty skilled special effects guys, because there is some sweet computer action going on here.  And then there's the wave of nerd euphoria that comes with seeing a whole group of your favorite childhood obsessions together in one movie.  Now if only I could get someone to put the Power Rangers, all the Nick Toons, and the Backstreet Boys together, they would be an animated crime-fighting musical group; we definitely don't have enough of those. I call the copy rights on this. 


I was expecting that Robert Downey Jr.'s sarcasm would have to carry the movie, but the others did surprisingly well.  And of course, the entrance of the Hulk stole the show.  I mean, when a huge, invincible green guy starts roaring and throwing stuff, he's got my attention (guys, take notes).  


Even that Hawkeye dude who fights super villains with a bow and arrows is hot enough to distract me from the fact that he's fighting super villains with a bow and arrows. 


Overall, Avengers is a win-win for everybody: the studio makes its money back, actors stay employed, and you get to ogle your one-film-wonder characters one last time. 


  

Quoth The Raven: "Meh"

The Raven

2.5 out of 5 stars

I was fairly excited to see this film - the subject of Poe is not yet horribly overdone, but alas, there were more weaknesses here than strengths.

First, I think it tried too hard to be the Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.) movies, with that hyper-throwing-lines-out-like-everyone's-on-crack vibe.  Those movies are only Bs anyway, we don't need copycats.

Second, as much as I like John Cusack, he was the wrong choice for Poe.  He does not work the macabre well; maybe he's been typecast too long as that feel-good stereo-toting lover boy next door, but he really doesn't have a creepy bone in his body.  Unfortunately, that's a disadvantage when you're playing a famous historical creeper.  In the scenes where Cusack was supposed to be an arrogant a**hole, he just couldn't pull it off.  Why? Because he is too good; he's nice to the bone.

I hate to say it, but Johnny Depp probably would have been a better choice, or maybe Stanley Tucci - we know he's got serial killer down pat from The Lovely Bones.

Acting aside, it would have been just a fun movie if it weren't for the over-the-top violence.  Now don't get me wrong: I like my violent movies just like the best of them, but this was just excessive without anything to back it up (like a good storyline, memorable characters, etc.).

Final Cut: Maybe when it comes to Netflix it might be worth checking out if you have nothing else to watch, but otherwise, save your money.

A Room Without A View

Room

by Emma Donoghue

4 out of 5 stars

To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough...not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, ROOM is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.

I first heard about this novel sometime last year when it was very positively reviewed by Entertainment Weekly.  I immediately downloaded the sample, but it ended up sitting for ages in my nook library as a lonely little sample, just waiting for me to give it some attention. 

Most people would probably be turned off by the dark subject matter, but I was drawn immediately to the uniqueness of the story.  It is told in the words of five-year-old Jack, so as an adult reader you gain information in little bits and spurts, as it is delivered to Jack.  

As Jack's narration continues, you get to observe how Ma and Jack have carved out an existence for themselves, and you feel right along with them as they transition between worlds.  The book definitely stuck with me for a while after I finished reading, enough for me to look up some of the relevant true-life cases that inspired the story - Jaycee Lee DuGard and Josef Fritzl, for example.

The novel's power lies not in the graphic details of the crime but in the human elements of the story.  It's a gripping, moving story that I wholeheartedly recommend for anybody willing to explore a nontraditional literary plot.

My Latest Obsession

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

4.5 out of 5 stars

 Last summer, out of curiosity, I read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson.  To be quite honest, I was intrigued by the story, at least enough to finish the book, but I wasn't overly impressed.  It was much more graphic than I was used to reading at the time, and I was left wondering at the choice of title, as it appeared to me that Mikael Blomqvist got much more screen time (and was more central to the story) than Lisbeth Salander.

So I left it at that. I did not continue the second book, nor did I bother to reread the first. I remained thoroughly unimpressed. 

And then the movie came out.

Rooney Mara bowled me over with the power of her performance. Daniel Craig supported her perfectly as Kalle Blomqvist. Lisbeth Salander finally came alive for me; at last I understand the enormous popularity of the series.  

I. Love. Lisbeth. Salander. 

I'm currently working my way through the final book of the triology, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest, and will be posting some more in-depth book reviews, but for now, if you see nothing else this year,

GO SEE THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO.

 

 

 

A Book That's Not About Horse Racing

It's been a long, lonely few months since last I published anything to my humble little blog.  Honestly, I've been pulled in every direction by my school work, work work, and family commitments - every which way but doing what I really love, which is reading and writing.  I'm like a teapot though - stop me up for too long and I'll eventually blow my lid clean off (metaphorically speaking, of course).

So what's got me boiling?  I've just finished reading a new book that was so good I have to write about it to somebody or I'll explode, and nobody wants that, least of all the unsuspecting family members I live with.

So here it is, world:

The Scorpio Races

by Maggie Stiefvater

4.5 out of 5 stars

It's got everything any self-respecting reader wants in a novel: drama, true love, beautiful imagery, and yes, scary man-eating water horses.

The story takes place on a fictional island that seems convincingly real; it could be any seaside town except for that small bit about the man-eating horses.  On this strange yet completely acceptable island, the locals host an annual race riding (what else?) the carnivorous equines.  Our protagonists are a young woman struggling to keep her family together in desperate times, and the reigning champ who lives life by his own rules.

Ironically - and Maggie talks about this herself - the book has little to do with the racing.  It's about self-identity, the things that are most dear to us, seeing people for who they truly are, and loving outside of ourselves.

I was instantly drawn into the lives of the characters, thanks to Maggie's style of switching first-person narration between each player.  I loved reading both Puck and Sean's points of view.  The narration itself demonstrates Maggie's trademark style.  She crafts her words with such poetry, it's like reading a song.  The cadence of the words themselves lend a rhythm to the story that makes it truly her own unique creation.

The romance is exactly my cup of tea: perfectly understated, so that the reader feels the intensity of emotion between the two characters, the restraint between them allowing the moment in which they are finally able to express themselves to be most powerful.

The one down side to restraining the passion is that it does end leaving you wanting more.  The Scorpio Races reminded me of Jane Eyre, which is one of my favorite love stories, but which also leaves me frustrated and wishing the author would just come out and finish it already.

But, there is much to be said for delayed gratification.

Box Cutter

The guy in the orange suit won't do anything crazy, we promise.

Breaking Bad
Episode 4.1, Originally Aired 17 July 2011

9.5 out of 10 stars

Initial Reactions
Wow. I mean, WOW. What a way to start a season. Walt and Jesse ARE murderers after all, Victor gets slaughtered, Skylar uses her baby to manipulate people, and Denny's sells (hopefully) their first "post-body-liquification" breakfast platter.

Ok, let's break it down:

At the end of the last season, Walt vehemently tells Jesse that they aren't murderers, that everything they've done is fully justified by their situation. Well, if they weren't murderers then, they certainly are now. Gale was the first truly innocent and lovable person they've killed. They have definitely now crossed a line they can't come back from.

I would take a few steps back if I were Victor.

There is a short diversion to show that Marie is struggling with Hank, who is really at his jerkiest in this episode - not without reason, but still. I hope something happens soon to get him out of this funk. It is not fun to watch him being so mean.
Then there's the standout scene of the episode: Walt, Jesse in the lab confronting Gus. There's a telling interplay between Gus and Walt. Panicked Walt can't stop talking, while Gus doesn't say a word for many long minutes. And then the massacre of Victor: I knew something bad was going to happen when the network flashed a special "viewer discretion is advised" warning right before the lab scene. Still, I was completely shocked by what actually did happen.

Nothing else satisfies after body disposal

The real kicker was following all the blood up with ketchup at Denny's. I'll never look at Denny's the same now, that's for sure.


Standout Performances
1. Gus. Gus. Gus. Can anyone else stay SILENT for more than 5 minutes of screen time and keep increasing the tension, second by second? Don't think so.

2. Skylar - used her baby to manipulate the locksmith. She's definitely all-in at this point.

3. Lab scene. Hands down.

4. Denny's scene. Breakfast will never be the same.


Burning Questions
1. Why did Gus kill Victor? Total surprise! I still don't understand.
2. What is Walt & Jesse's relationship with Gus going to be now? With each other?