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!!
Author Archives: Duff
Fiction: “Exit Ghost” by Philip Roth
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
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!
Poetry: “The Midnight Court” translated by Ciaran Carson
a.k.a. “Cuirt an Mhean Oiche” by Brian Merriman.
A bawdy Irish poem. Lots of fun.
(By the way, Ciaran Carson is an accomplished poet in his own right, as well.)
Sci Fi/Fantasy: “A Feast for Crows” by George R.R. Martin
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
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.
Fueling the Celebrity Obsession
- KC re-upped my subscription to US Weekly for the new year. (I have to keep track of my celebrity boyfriends somehow!)
- Whatever you think of her and Tom Cruise’s marriage, the photos of Katie Holmes in the recent InStyle (you know, the one with her on the cover) are gorgeous. Her new hair has been photoed fugly elsewhere but it looks lovely as here, as well as the dresses they put her in.
- And as for Julia Roberts in Vanity Fair, I didn’t particularly enjoy any of the pictures but I did really enjoy some of the things she said. Seems she’s really just hit a sweet spot where she’s happy and things are great and I loved some of the quotes and ideas she’s thinking about. “I’ve never met a cookie I didn’t like.”
- Julia talks for a moment about Natalie Portman, who herself recently did an InStyle cover/article, which gives a link to a great charity organization, Shoe 4 Africa. I’ll be shipping them my old tennies whenever I buy new ones (shipping info at the link) considering when I buy new ones because the old ones are “too worn out to wear to the gym anymore b/c the support is gone” they are still fine to be “worn” just not to the gym!
Last Minute iTunes Purchases
Buying stuff off other people’s year-end lists for the roadtrip home…
- Dyme Def “Space Music (rap/hip hop from Seattle)
- Mavis Staples “We’ll Never Turn Back” (takes you back)
- The Avett Brothers “Enthusiasm” (twangy poppy fun)
- Hard-Fi “Stars of CCTV” (an older album as I love the new one I got earlier this fall)
- Jay Brannan “Unmastered” (the dude from “Shortbus” if that means anything to you. great sassy lyrics)
- UGK “Underground Kingz (rap)
DVD: Flags of Our Fathers
Some of the “storming the beach” filming was really amazing, although I think it would’ve been better on the big screen.
But the story was a bit scattered. And having that many well known actors popping up in bit parts can be kinda distracting, even though they were good performances.
À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am…
Making: Mix CDs. I had ideas of quilting I would do this week, but so far I haven’t done any. So there you go.
Reading: I just finished a book today; I think tomorrow I’m going to start reading “Ludmila’s Broken English” by DBC Pierre (who won the Booker for Vernon God Little a few years back, which I did enjoy). Somehow three books in this month, everything I read had a red spine. So I decided to keep the trend going for the rest of the month. Oh the crazy ways the reading list evolves.
Watching: This week’s K-Ville I enjoyed. Also loved Juno on the big screen. Maybe Beowulf tomorrow? We’ll see.
Listening: I’ve listened to many many things today as I’ve been running around in iTunes listening to samples of lots and lots of stuff. Plus the new Lupe Fiasco that came out yesterday (“The Cool”). Yay! Love Lupe: : Love it. Also bought Kid SimpleSimple Kid (sounds like Beck’s little brother with some Elliott Smith thrown in) and Nick Light (another melancholy boy, singer, songwriter type), and old Siobhan Donaghy since I can’t find the new one yet (Reckless ordered it for me), which is very girly girly pop. Girly pop! Yay! I have to fill the iPod up for the long ride…