Daily Archives: January 3, 2008

Best of December

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The best movie I saw in December was a tie between Juno and Sweeney Todd. Both made me laugh, one made me cry (just a little!), they both had great music and great acting. If I was forced at gunpoint to pick one, I’d probably go with Juno. Sweeney Todd is as good as you would expect, but not necessarily moreso; Juno was better than you could know, given the previews and the ridiculous whining some critics are doing (IGNORE THEM!).

The best book I read in December was…even harder to pick than the movies as I really loved almost everything I read this month. The funniest was a tie between “An Uncommon Reader” and “Gentlemen of the Road”. The most unusual was “Red Spikes” and the two I perhaps liked the most (and didn’t know at all what to expect from either one) were “Simplify” and “Incendiary”. But honestly, I would recommend ALL my December reads.

The best gig I went to in December…doesn’t exist because I didn’t go to any concerts in December! Can you believe it? I kinda can’t…

My favorite tunes in December were Sea Wolf “Leaves in the River” and Bat for Lashes “Fur and Gold”. Also loving Lupe Fiasco‘s new one “The Cool” and the soundtrack to Juno. Have a lot of new stuff that I haven’t spent enough time with yet, but can’t stop pressing repeat on the first few off The Avett Brothers “Emotionalism”.

Random personal highlights: Two and half weeks off. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT.
Lowlights? The worst drive home I’ve had in YEARS. One of the worst drives EVER in my LIFE. Really scary.

Big Screen: Sweeney Todd

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Exhilarating. Johnny Depp shines once again. I loved it. A very enjoyable night at the movie theater.

If anyone ever films Dickens (again), they need to hire the guys that did the CGI London for this movie!!

Fiction: “Exit Ghost” by Philip Roth

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A return to Nathan Zuckerman, hero of old. Just as neurotic, but now bitter, old, despairing, and at the end of things. Impotent in more ways than (the literal) one.

Interesting juxtaposition between the defeated Zuckerman being written by a Roth at the top of his game.

If you had read the previous Zuckerman books, I don’t see how you can pass this one up. It’s not a smash hit the way other recent Roth books have been (American Pastoral, I Married a Communist, Plot Against America = all great) — and it’s no Sabbath’s Theater — but it’s got some nice closure on the NZ story.

Big Screen: Charlie Wilson’s War

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The previews for this movie didn’t thrill me and I’m happy to report I was proven wrong. Well acted, well directed, and quite thoughtful. Nice to see Tom Hanks having fun again. Although if I were Emily Blunt I’m not sure I would have taken that part: a real waste of her acting skills.

And holy crap does Philip Seymour Hoffman just blow this thing right out of the water: he’s top notch here!

Sci Fi/Fantasy: “A Feast for Crows” by George R.R. Martin

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Book 4 of “A Song for Fire and Ice”.

I had forgotten how great this series is (let’s see, I read Book 3 in…2003, woah). As with other fantasy series of similiar ilk, there are many, many storylines with a whole cacophony of important players. There’s sure to be at least one or two characters you’re interested in following. I am loving Arya’s storyline the most, although I do have a soft spot for the Kingslayer. (Don’t you picture him as a strapping gent, like Mads Mikkelsen or Heath Ledger…)

My other mainstay fantasy series has hit a rough patch given that Robert Jordan died recently without completing it… I’m sure there are bereft readers all over the world on that one! I hope there are no worries on that count here!

Fiction: “Ludmilla’s Broken English” by DBC Pierre

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Two divergent storylines that eventually come together: a) conjoined twins (now separated) experiencing freedom from institutions for the first time and b) a Russian peasant girl at sea in a world of poverty and war.

Slapstick and comedic. I continue to be impressed by Pierre’s ability to write for ANY voice: this is a complete departure from his previous (Booker-prize winning), and very dialectic, Vernon God Little. Not a departure, however, in its brusque, harsh humor. I enjoyed it.