This past weekend was the first in a while where I didn’t have any plans with anyone, any plans to travel, or any plans to do anything, really. So I spent a relaxing weekend doing a little cleaning, catching up on my reading, and watching a couple of movies.

First, the books:

• Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan – 4 stars

  I picked up this book because I was interested in seeing the movie, and in my experience, if I’m going to see a movie and also read the book it’s based off, it’s better to read the book first, since the book is always better than the cinematic retelling. This did not prove to be the exception, but more on that later. The book itself, though made for a slightly younger audience and not quite as engaging as the Harry Potter books—how must it feel to have written something against which all other efforts in the genre are judged forever after?—was very entertaining and got me hooked on the series. Very nice, if a trifle predictable.

• Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan – 4 stars

  A strong follow-up to the first novel, this one develops the characters and the setting further, upping the stakes and building toward the (hopefully) epic finale. Better than the first book.

• Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child – 4 stars

  I know, I know, I said I was close to never picking up a Reacher novel again. And I actually hadn’t intended to, until my sister encouraged me to go back and read this one (the second to most recent book), because she thought it was a lot better than the Reacher books had been in a while.

  And you know what? It was. My chief complaint with the past few novels was that Reacher himself seemed to be going through the motions and didn’t seem engaged in the story; if even he couldn’t get interested, why should I? Moreover, he hadn’t had a decent challenge since The Enemy or One Shot. Where was the conflict?

  Gone Tomorrow, on the other hand, was a refreshing return to basics. Much more engaging and personal than its immediate predecessors, this one is as good as any of the Reacher books and better than most. If you’d become disenchanted with the series, this book makes it worth picking it back up again. Highly recommended.

As for the movies:

• Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief – 1 star

  This was a total and complete bastardization of the novel, one of the worst novel adaptations I think I have ever seen. Almost the only similarity between the two was that some of the characters had the same names—the makers took so many liberties with the story that they cut out perhaps the most crucial plot point. The movie looked exactly like what it was: a studio vehicle with clumsy product placement, a very thin plot, and gratuitous special effects. The end result had none of the charm of the book and was a huge disappointment.

• The Blind Side – 3 stars

  A bit sugary, but engaging. I liked it.

Simply stunning. And the first in a series!

It’s a bit past 2009, but not too late for a retrospective on the best movies I saw that year (most of which were foreign). Without further ado:

1. Yang Yang – 5 stars

   This Taiwanese film is the second by virtuoso director and Ang Lee protégé Cheng Yu-Chieh, and is just about perfect. It is a gorgeous and subtle film—far and away the best movie I saw in 2009.

2. Heaven’s Heart – 5 stars

   This was a Swedish movie actually made in 2008 that I saw in SFIFF 2009, and is drama at its finest. Intense and brilliant.

3. His Wedding – 5 stars

   This radiant Korean short film made the best use of split screen I’ve ever seen and was poignant without descending into the melodrama so much of Korean cinema is prone to. I would love to see a feature-length project from this director.

4. Star Trek – 5 stars

   This is the only Hollywood movie to make it onto my list. J.J. Abrams’ adaptation of the classic series is my favorite Star Trek movie of all time (yes, even better than the previous undisputed champion, The Wrath of Khan).

5. All Around Us – 4 stars

   This one is from Japan, and was the clear standout of SFIAAFF 2009. It was distinguished by its smart script and terrific acting. Highly recommended.

Honorable mentions:

• Can Go Through Skin – 4 stars

  This Dutch movie is the art film, done right. Very high production value and an experimental but superbly effective sound design are the hallmarks of this film. Very highly recommended.

• Claustrophobia – 4 stars

  This movie, hailing from Hong Kong, was made by a screenwriter-turned-director, and it shows. The script is terrific. Make sure to see this one if you can.

What were some of your favorites?

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

Check out the original video page to see it in HD, which I highly recommend. Just stunning. Unbelievably, it’s almost entirely CG.

A reality check of the best kind.

Oh, and speaking of Conan, check this out. Heh.

from laughing so much. First: ta-dah! What amazes me is that they found a guy with a falsetto that could handle that song. Second, there’s this gem, whose vocals are competent though not nearly as good as the first one, but which made me nearly lose control of my bladder. HA.

was unimpressive at best. The script was terrible, and they went nowhere with clearly the most interesting character in the movie—hint: it wasn’t John Connor. I was expecting more. I’ll give it a low 3 stars.

Both the major film festivals in San Francisco this year were disappointing; SFIAAFF was too small, and SFIFF had a high percentage of bad movies. Plus, and I still don’t know why, SFIFF is still using those #)*(@&! pencil-in ballots (though I made it a point to tell everyone who offered me a ballot that I wouldn’t take one until they had tear ballots). My reviews for the festival follow:

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Just got back from watching the new Star Trek movie, and it rocked. 5 stars, baby: beautifully imagined, gorgeously made, and, oh yeah, just plain fun. The best Star Trek ever. Yes, even better than The Wrath of Khan—the rest of the summer blockbusters have some big shoes to fill.