This movie is HILARIOUS. Side-splittingly funny family farce. Along the lines of The Royal Tennenbaums, but less dark (despite it being funeral-focused). Ray Romano and Hank Azaria are funny, as expected, and Debra Winger is really funny, playing against type. Loved it.
Lots of completely inappropriate, non-PC humor, which is really the best kind, right? Everyone knows that the only gay relationships that work are between people of the same height. Or Azaria having told his daughter (Zoey Deschanel, so sweet) that her mom died when she was young “from being a social worker who cared too much.” (Turns out she was actually a porno actress.) Too funny.
Category Archives: Recommending
Nonfiction: “Under the Banner of Heaven” by Jon Krakauer
subtitle: “A Story of Violent Faith”. KC gave me this for Christmas and it’s probably something I would not have bought on my own. But daaaammmmmn is it good. Following several crimes committed by Mormon “Fundamentalists” (those who have broken away from the “mainstream” LDS Mormon church), it goes through the history of Mormonism itself, the philosophy of many of the breakaway sects, interviews with current members of regular Mormonism, fundamental Mormonism, as well as “apostates” (excommunicated members), and members who ran away from it all (Run! RUN FAR!!!!!).
It is incredibly researched and extremely well written and I could barely put it down long enough to go to sleep at night. Completely compelling reading about crazy, scary people. Extra kudos to Krakauer for including the rebuttal from the LDS Mormons (who aren’t really the FOCUS of the book anyway) and going through it point by point to either acknowledge errors or alternately say “Nope, I am right on that.”
Extremism in any area of life (religion, adventure, etc.) is not necessarily something I’m interested in, but it’s so well written, it was well worth reading.
Big Screen: In the Valley of Elah
Intense and sad, and yet a very quiet movie. Things happening beneath the surface for many of these characters. A couple things about the mystery that I felt weren’t explained quite right / didn’t sit quite right. But makes its point quite well: the war isn’t just happening “over there.” The soldiers bring it home with them.
And if you were paying attention at the beginning, the message at the end is very clear: We are a country in distress. No doubt about it.
Really great performances by Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Susan Sarandon. And a couple of the “unknowns” playing the soldiers really did well in their parts. Very impressive filmmaking.
Fiction: “Day” by A.L. Kennedy
A war veteran finds himself acting as an extra in a film about the war…and finally finds himself back in a place he understands. A place where he can finally come to terms with his war experiences, his regrets, his hopes…
What an amazing book. Just as Kennedy’s last novel “Paradise” took me so much into the mind of the alcoholic main character that I could practically taste the alcohol on my tongue, this book brings you into a completely different world, yet just as fully. Alfred’s experiences in the war (WWII, by the way), and the bonds he formed then, and the emptiness he’s felt since…
I found it extremely powerful and moving. It’s the third Kennedy I’ve read, the third I’ve loved. To think that the same author could write so movingly on such different themes…truly awe-inspiring. She ranks right up there with Pat Barker and Ann Patchett for me — three of the greatest living authors of our time.
In Concert: Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
What an amazing show. Blew me away. Can’t really put it into words. Ben Harper’s amazing voice, and his truly remarkable guitar skills, and his completely awe-striking mastery of so many musical styles… His band is polished and professional but can still rip it up. There were loud rocking moments, and rollicking funky moments, and Marvin Gaye sexy moments, and quiet heartbreakingly beautiful moments. They’re promoting their new album “Lifeline” (with possibly the most lovely title song of any album in recent history) and I think it may be their best one yet. Highly recommended, both the album and the show.
Big Screen: The Bourne Ultimatum
Fan-fucking-tastic. The car/and other transport chases were awesome, the fights were breathtaking. Loved it.
Wow, Earlimart is bewitching me.
I’m listening to the new Earlimart “Mentor Tormentor” while I am trying to catch up on book reviews tonight, and this album is completely entrancing me. It’s so lilting and melodic and calm yet building. The vocals are lovely. Wow. What a pretty album!
I’ve mentioned their previous album (“Treble & Tremble”) to lots of people and just gotten a blank stare. I listened to that one quite a bit, but I don’t remember there being as many male/female trade-offs in the vocals. There’s a folksy, country twinge to this band, but they’re less rhythmic than most country, and the harmonies feel thicker/stronger (and more pop) than most folk.
Now I wish I would have bought tickets to see them (tomorrow at Schuba’s) but I know I really don’t have the energy anyway (and I knew looking at my calendar, I wouldn’t, which is why I didn’t buy them when they went on sale a few months ago). Eh bien…next time.
For now, I will turn off the lights and listen to this loveliness and dream myself into another world…
Fiction: “Run” by Ann Patchett
Since this book doesn’t come out until October in the US, I was very excited to stumble upon it in Belgium. It’s not that long of a read (it didn’t even last me the entire plane ride from Brussels to Philadelphia), but it was a really rich, satisfying read that has stayed with me since.
One of my favorite reading “things” is when unrelated books you read in short periods turn out to be thematically linked; they become a matched set to me / a good “pair.” As with “The Buffalo Soldier” which I read a week earlier, this is a story of racially-mixed adoption (white parents/black child(ren).
What truly makes a family? What makes a mother? How important are the physical links? Do the emotional ones replace them? Can your hopes and dreams for other people ever STOP hindering them / stop hindering your relationship with them when they don’t work out?
This was just really lovely. I think I’ve now read all Patchett’s books. I’m on the bandwagon. Leading the parade. They’re all really different than each other; they’ve all got at least one breathtaking, beautiful moment. This book had several. Run, Kenya, run…
Fiction: “Seven Types of Ambiguity” by Elliot Perlman
Technically this was my vacation reading but since I didn’t want to carry it on the plane with me on the way back, I didn’t finish the last few pages until a few days after I got back thanks to the luggage screwup.
Ginger loves this book and had recommended it to me several times. Finally she just sent me a copy. Wow. Somewhat like another book I read recently, or a movie like “Memento”, as each chapter unfurls, something takes you by surprise. Yet UNLIKE say the current show “Damages”, the things that happen unexpectedly MAKE SENSE and are not blindsiding you. You weren’t expecting them, or you might not have predicted them, but it’s one of those books where things unfold in such a neat way… You have to keep reinterpreting your previous conclusions as you go.
Carrying the torch of a love long lost can lead one to do things you wouldn’t expect. Yes? No?
It’s a big, thick one. It takes a bit of time. But it’s worth it.
SModcasts: Side-Splittingly Funny
If you found Clerks, Clerks 2, or Jay & Silent Bob to be just downright fucking hilarious, then these podcasts are for you. If you like the “Evening with Kevin Smith” DVDs, these podcasts are for you. If you can sit through 45 minutes of really blatant grotesque sex and slime talk, these podcasts are for you. I had to download them for my Dad, Kevin Smith’s biggest fan, and after hearing his rave reviews of SModcast #2, just started listening to them myself.
Too dangerous to listen to on the El because other passengers think you are a freak when you bust out laughing over what’s playing on your ipod. These would brighten even the darkest horrible days. So funny.