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last weekend, and I gotta say that I really enjoyed the whole series: The Titan’s Curse (book 3), The Battle of the Labyrinth (book 4), and finally The Last Olympian (book 5) were all high 4 stars for me. The later books were better than the earlier books, and the whole series is addictive (I read all 5 books in the span of about a week).
If there’s one thing I have to complain about (this is what kept them out of the 5 star range for me), it’s that sometimes I felt like author Rick Riordan glossed over parts of the story to move between the main plot points faster. I felt like he could have gone into more detail in some not strictly essential scenes to help ratchet up the tension and bring you inside the characters, to bring you deeper into the story. The bottom line is that though I liked Percy a whole lot, I’m not sure if I loved him like I loved Harry.
That said, these books are highly entertaining and I strongly recommend them.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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:
This movie was the clear standout of the festival. It was an intense, understated drama with a terrific cast and a smart script. Though it became a bit tedious near the end, the movie on the whole was excellent. Highly recommended.
One of the other lessons we’ve learned through bitter experience is this: never watch a triptych. Anything with three stories sucks. This wasn’t nearly as bad as Love for Share or 3 Needles, nor yet as mediocre as Three Times, though one of the three films featured in this particular triptych, the one in the middle, was flat out terrible. I mean really awful. The first movie, directed by Michel Gondry, was charming and entertaining, and the third, directed by Joon-ho Bong (of The Host fame) was simply the most gorgeously filmed movie at the festival, and the best-filmed movie I had seen in quite some time.
Somebody should have told me I was supposed to drop acid before watching this movie. Though the movie was well-executed and they made good use of the rotoscoping (sadly not the case with a lot of filmmakers who use the technology), it was hard to get engaged. Worth watching, but nothing to write home about.
Understated but beautifully executed docudrama about the emergence of California vineyards and wineries onto the global scene in the mid-70s. Great actors, good script, beautiful scenery. What more can you ask for? Well, if we want to be nit-picky, a few less helicopter flyovers of wine country. Highly recommended.
This movie was what I expected: good, solid entertainment with lots of special effects. Fun, but lacking the charm of the first movie, this latest edition in the series had one big drawback. As much as I like Maria Bello, she really was miscast here; she had no chemistry with Brendan Fraser at all, and wasn’t believable in the role. Also, bummer that we don’t get to see His Hotness Russell Wong in non-undead form for longer. :*(
I can’t say I was surprised that this was a bad movie, because I wasn’t expecting much in the first place. That said, I was hoping it’d be a bit more entertaining, at least. In a phrase, I’d describe this movie as almost, but not quite. The story was interesting, but poor direction and an inferior screenplay really dragged down a movie with potential. Bumped to 2 stars for the good job on the lighting, though all of the really cool looking-scenes were reminiscent of better-executed ones from other movies. Like I said: almost, but not quite.
So I got an Apple TV for Christmas, and I just watched my very first rented HD movie on it: V for Vendetta (4 stars).
I have no idea whether the movie was especially faithful to the graphic novel on which it was based, but I found it, if not precisely thought-provoking—if you think about it, considering its timing, in terms of a political statement, it’s a bit clumsy and heavy-handed—intelligent and well-made.
It was not as visually stunning as we’ve come to expect from modern comic book adaptations, but it was made with aggressive competence, and Natalie Portman’s understated but really rather powerful performance carried the film, along with the relentless and interesting story. I am glad I was watching it with remote in hand, because you really couldn’t look away for a second.
The important thing here is that it worked, leaving everything else aside, as a good piece of entertainment. Recommended.
About the Apple TV renting experience—I’m going to cancel my Netflix account pretty soon, since even though ATV doesn’t have the same selection, I have wasted so much money in the last 6 months alone on the same two movies (which I still haven’t watched!) that I could have rented 20 full HD movies from the iTMS—browsing is a bit stilted if you want to go through the entire library and don’t really know what you’re looking for, but renting and watching is supremely simple. iTMS is steadily improving its selection, so it won’t be long before it rivals Netflix, provided you would be able to rent TV shows like you can with the DVD service.
The quality of the HD film was great, and only rarely was I distracted by visible compression artifacts in the image—my TV has one of the best black levels available in modern plasma panels, but scenes where, for example, you see white smoke on a black background showed some artifacting. Overall, I am very pleased with my first Apple TV renting experience.
Though this latest Jack Reacher novel is leaps and bounds beyond the decidedly underwhelming Bad Luck and Trouble—it was, typically of Child, engaging and well-written, and thankfully suffered from none of its predecessor’s plot discrepancies—I just couldn’t get into it. I think my problem is that I am starting to feel a real lack of credible motivation from Reacher himself. I’m tired of reading Reacher books where he involves himself in something because they messed with the wrong guy, or that the organizing principle of his life is relentless forward motion. When does it become personal? When does it become difficult for him? Where’s the challenge?
The last few books have followed the same formula: someone pisses him off and he goes in and cleans the floor with the villain(s). Not since One Shot, in fact, and probably actually not since The Enemy, has Reacher seemed fully, emotionally engaged in the book’s conflict. Really, he’s lost his humanity, or is near it, and I’m near to never picking up another Reacher book.
The beginning of a new series set in the same world as Briggs’ Mercy Thompson books, Cry Wolf is another strong offering from a very talented author. It was very good, but not quite as good as the Mercy books, and I think it’s because of the character development. Each of the two main characters is still a bit of a cipher, though I hope and expect that will change as the series progresses—it is admittedly a bit unfair of me to compare this single novel to a series that has 3 whole books out, and which is therefore guaranteed to have better fleshed-out characters.
Again, I have to say that Briggs is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors, and Cry Wolf is only strengthening her position. If you haven’t read her excellent, excellent urban fantasy books, I don’t know what you’re waiting for.
This movie would have gotten a 5 if not for the fact that I had already seen Infernal Affairs, the 2002 Hong Kong film on which it was based (also 4 stars), thereby dulling the visceral reaction to a first-time viewing. In fact, The Departed was what Infernal Affairs should have been. In the hands of a far more gifted director than Andy Lau (sorry, but it’s true), the story realized its full potential. Scorsese kept what worked, reworked what didn’t, and came out with arguably his best film. With a stellar cast* and great performances from every last one of them, it’s no wonder that so many people love this movie, and that it got so many awards (which, for a change, it deserved).
This understated but powerful crime drama hit all the right notes. Interesting story, good cast, good direction. And lots of violence. What’s not to like?
* Not to take away from the always excellent Tony Leung, but he couldn’t carry the movie by himself.
I’m just getting a load of some of the blockbusters due out this summer, and I have to say I’m excited like I haven’t been in a long while.
It’s already been a good summer so far, from my experience with the new Indiana Jones movie (4 stars), and I hear Iron Man is good, though I haven’t seen it yet.
Here are some trailers I watched recently that look interesting:
The Incredible Hulk – I made no secret of my dislike of the first Hulk movie; despite a couple of talented leads in Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly, the movie felt flat to me, the characters very hard to care for. Which is doubly a tragedy, as humanity and its lack are so central to the Hulk story. So why am I intrigued by this one? Again, the cast. Edward Norton is my favorite actor working today, and I’m of the opinion that if he can’t do it, no one can. I’m also a big fan of anti-hero Tim Roth. So the fact that half the movie is going to look like a video game cut-scene notwithstanding, I’m still hoping for a good cinematic experience.
Wanted – A stylish shoot-em-up in the tradition of Equilibrium (I don’t care what you say, I love that movie), this one again brings some powerhouse acting talent in Angelina Jolie and James MacAvoy to the action genre. I like what I see in the trailer, pure and simple.
The Dark Knight – I lovedBatman Begins, and I have every expectation of loving this follow-up. Less gimmicky and over-the-top than the previous film interpretations (though that first Burton-Keaton-Nicholson one will always be in my personal hall of fame), this whole new Batman series promises to bring the series back to the darkness where it belongs. Awesome.