"Golden dreams were shiny days"

Stuck On Repeat

"We Found Love" -- Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris
"Million Dollar Bill" (Freemasons Club Edit) -- Whitney Houston
"I'm Alright" -- Kenny Loggins
"Street Dancer" -- Avicii
Drive soundtrack

Cinema

Higher Ground - This film was interesting, and I can see why it is getting critical acclaim. However, it is also one of those films at whose critical acclaim I roll my eyes. This film doesn't really go anywhere. The third act seems to have been forgotten. There is before-evangelism, evangelism, and then no true post-evangelism. The main character ceased to grow for me. I kept expecting something to happen that would make the film have a point, but it never did.

Amigo - I saw the names John Sayles and Chris Cooper and a little light in my head attached to Lone Star started flashing. Lone Star is kind of fantastic, and I love Chris Cooper in general, so I figured I'd give Amigo a shot, even though I hadn't read or even seen any reviews for it. Chris Cooper is barely in this film (though he's  good in the few scenes he has), but Garrett Dillahunt, who I got to know so well watching Deadwood last summer, has a leading roll. Just a warning that about half the film is in Filipino and thus is subtitled. While I give credit to Sayles for bringing attention to an aspect of American military history that I didn't know anything about, it seems he could have made a more compelling film than the one we have here. Amigo is like a lite Filipino version of Dances With Wolves (or is that a lite Earth-bound version of Avatar, these days?). That is, American soldiers grow affectionate toward the population they are supposed to be squashing and end up trying to save/help them, against the orders of their superior. Been there, done that, and seen it done much better than this.

Contagion - I am not sure why I actually saw this movie. The Soderburgh name I suppose. It certainly wasn't the subject matter, since I couldn't even make it past the first chapter of The Hot Zone (that shit's scary, man) when it was assigned as all-school summer reading before my senior year of high school. I managed not to freakout too much about the whole world-wide viral epidemic thing while watching this film, though I did twinge a little every time I had to adjust my contacts. If this film had been made by anybody else and thus didn't have a star-studded cast, I am pretty sure it would have been readily dismissed as a fear-mongering B-movie: Final Destination: For Real Because Nobody Will Be Left To Make Another Sequel About It. At least Gwyneth got killed off quickly, it's just a shame we kept having to see her in flashbacks. On the other side of the coin, it's a shame that Elliot Gould got so little screen time because he continues to be awesome and steal scenes like a pro ("Blogging isn't writing. It's graffiti with punctuation."). Soderburgh needs to keep making films just so Elliot Gould gets the steady employment and killer lines he deserves. Other than that, we pretty much just had a bunch of stars being jerks and or/dying, with Matt Damon playing a version of his character from Hereafter (minus the whole psychic thing). When the climax of your film happens in the first few minutes, I guess there aren't too many exciting places for it to go.

Warrior - I can definitely understand why the studio didn't want this film to come out too close to The Fighter, which is a vastly superior film. Hell, Fighting is a vastly superior film to Warrior. It's scary when a Channing Tatum vehicle has a stronger plot and back-story than a film with a cast as talented as that of Warrior. I am beginning to think Inception was a fluke for Tom Hardy. I loved him in that film, and yet every other character I've seen him play kind of makes me want to slap him (granted, I haven't seen Bronson yet). Joel Edgerton, on the other hand, I like very much (Vulture pointed out that people think he looks like Conan, but I think it is more of a cross between Conan and Sam Worthington. Many a quick glance has had me confusing Edgerton for Worthington and then breathing sighs of relief when I realize I am mistaken). The fights in Warrior are decently choreographed and people in my screen were literally clapping and cheering whenever Tommy or Brendan won one of their fights, but the story just doesn't make the fights compelling enough. There was not enough on the line to make me become emotionally invested in any of the fights (some of the fights were so fast there was no time for any kind of investment), especially since I knew that each brother would win enough fights to be able to face off against each other in the finale. Another case of been there, seen it done much better.

Drive - I used to be a soundtrack fiend, but hadn't found any inspiring original scores in quite some time. Drive has turned that situation around. The heavy, moody synths perfectly capture and partner with the neon and street-light glow of the LA night. This film is all atmosphere - one you can't help but be sucked into despite its sinister elements. No matter how they are soundtracked, any scenes that take place in the harsh light of day before that golden hour at which the sun begins to sink seem out of place - this film and these characters are meant to be nocturnal. The music and the impeccable lighting intertwine to create an LA that exists only for these characters and the audience (I saw the film twice within a week and it held me in its spell just as strongly the second time around). Ryan Gosling carries this film on his (increasingly bloodied) bomber-jacketed shoulders, with soulful glances and a justifiable economy of words. Like Daniel Craig's character in Cowboys & Aliens, Driver does not need to say much to convey all the emotions and thoughts swirling around in his head; who needs words when you have pale eyes and a toothpick? Carey Mulligan, while one of my favorites, seems a little out of place here, as does Christina Hendricks majorly slumming it, but Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, and Ron Perlman seem hand-picked for each of their roles. The many violent scenes are visceral and gory without being gratuitous. Within the context of the film, they are in a way strangely satisfying, especially when the violence is delivered by the Driver. The elevator scene in particular is a thing of self-contained beauty. Highly conceptual films often come across as contrived, but Drive creates its own beautiful truth within a sublimely surreal microcosm of LA noir. It is arthouse, pulp, and pop all rolled into one and surrounded by a glowing pink halo. I have a sinking feeling that no other film this year is going to live up this one.

Moneyball -  Is it Oscar season already? Or does a spot-on Aaron Sorkin script partnered with some wonderfully nuanced performances just make it feel that way? I am a sucker for baseball movies, especially those with truly charismatic leading men. Brad Pitt is in full Redford mode here, and works some of the best hand gestures ever to punctuate the slick, clever, and heartfelt lines that seem to naturally spill out of his mouth, especially when working the phones. While at a base level, this is a film about the snooze-inducing topic of baseball statistics, it manages to make gaming the system just as thrilling as winning a game. It was a joy to watch Pitt's and Jonah Hill's characters fight so strongly for a system about which they are so passionate and in which they so strongly believe.  I also enjoyed learning about the front office of a baseball organization, having previously been a little hazy on what exactly a GM and crew did. Thanks for not coming to Boston, Billy Beane, because then we wouldn't have gotten Theo Epstein, who has done a pretty good job himself and is easy on the eyes to boot.

What's Your Number? - Cute. Fun. Delivers what is promised in the trailer. I enjoy Anna Faris, and I enjoy Chris Evans, so since the script happened to be decent and mostly competent, I enjoyed this film. Yes, Faris's and Evans's comedic talents could have been put to much better use than they are here, but they make a good team and bring heart and soul to an otherwise generic romantic comedy. Additionally, I love this film simply for featuring Ben Taylor's "Wicked Way" on the soundtrack. I am not sure why they used it where they did in the film, but any exposure for Ben is good exposure in my book. Also on the soundtrack is "Explosion" by another favorite of mine, Eli "Paperboy" Reed. To cap it all off, what girl wouldn't want to see Chris Evans play basketball in the Boston Garden while wearing only his boxers?

The Queue Formerly Known as Netflix

That Thing You Do!
Cracks
La Jeteé
Caddyshack
Valhalla Rising
The American President
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
A Summer Place
The Forgotten 

Amature Gourmet

Raspberry sour cream pound cake
Tofu & veggie stir-fry with peanut sauce and rice noodles
Sweet potato and crab soup

Book Shelf

The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit, Sloan Wilson

Carrying over my Mad Men obsession from last month, I took to the internet to find this wonderfully curated list of books seen or mentioned on the show. Thank goodness for public librarians! (And also Vulture and Flavorpill.) Gray Flannel Suit seemed a particularly good read to keep that Don Draper vibe going, and indeed it was. I can definitely see that many elements of the show took inspiration from Wilson's novel. It also reminded me of Revolutionary Road, which I am now curious to read having seen that movie. I've always had a soft spot for the 50s, and thus I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It's not anything ground-breaking, just a good snapshot of daily life during a defining era.

The Irregulars, Jennet Conant

Fascinating stuff about several figures in whom I've long had a passing interest: namely Roald Dahl (and Patricia Neal, who I had the pleasure of meeting several years ago), Ian Fleming, and David Ogilvy. As young men, these fellows had quite some extraordinary experiences as part of the British spy ring in Washington D.C. and New York during WW II. Glamour, politics, and intrigue make for a ripping good story, and an educational one as well. The optimistic and carefree attitude that these men were able to sustain during war time reminded me of the tone that made Michener's Tales of The South Pacific, which is a great favorite of mine. I am glad Conant followed through past the war, explaining how Fleming ended up with Goldeneye on Jamaica and how Ogilvy got into advertising. One figure who I found particularly interesting was Henry Wallace, who was Roosevelt's VP during much of WW II. I honestly can't remember discussing him in history class, perhaps because he wasn't well liked in Washington and ended up being eclipsed by Truman. Yet, he was a very important figure in Washington during the time he was in office, particularly to the British. Seeing the war through fresh eyes/another nation's perspective is fascinating in itself, but is made even more interesting by the illustrious young men who lived it and took inspiration for their later careers.

Stringer, Ward Just

Reading a Ward Just book always makes me feel as though I am not using the English language to its full potential. I wrote down a whole page of quotes from this book, yet for about half of it, I had no idea what was going on. Just has somehow written a novel more befuddling than the most twisty le Carre spy novel. If you are a fan of Just's more recent work, this sophomore novel is worth a read simply because it demonstrates that the man has had a knack for immersive, descriptive storytelling and nuanced characters from the get-go. Let me know if you have better luck than I did figuring out the third act of the story.

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century: 1910 and 1969, Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill

You know things might be getting a little too esoteric when even I have to whip out my BlackBerry to google literary references (sadly I was reading this on a train, and thus my librarian mother was not handy to query about said references). That said, these volumes are taking the League in very surreal direction, as set-up in the Black Dossier. The use of narrative "songs" in these volumes is an interesting, if at times wearying, device -- one which lets the illustrations carry more of the weight of the plot. I am curious to see how this story concludes when the third volume of Century (to be set in 2009) is released. Bringing the League into modern times as they struggle with immortality adds a satisfying layer of depth and humanity to stories that often seem as if they are at arms length, due to their fantastical nature.

Men at Arms, Evelyn Waugh

For me, the biggest thrill in this book was that the Halberdiers took the same train line that I used to ride all the time when I was in Farnham. They stopped in Woking and Brookwood as they made their way to Aldershot. Good times. I miss my Friday trips to Woking (and I do not miss the early morning helicopter runs over Farnham from Aldershot), though presumably back at the beginning of WW II the Peacocks was in fact not in existence.  Like all the best Waugh books, this one tackles the Establishment with wit and aplomb. There is also the ever-present theme of Catholicism and how Catholic families fit into English society. I found Men at Arms extremely entertaining, even laughing out loud on occasion. Yet beneath his cutting repartee, Waugh manages to capture the uncertainty and questions of duty that plagued a generation. Understanding what Britain and its people went through during WW II goes a long way to explaining why the country is what it is today. A profound sense of tradition and duty is never a bad thing - it's certainly something America could use more of these days.

Officers and Gentlemen, Evelyn Waugh

Guy Crouchback's saga continues, this time with less religion and more military farce. The ridiculous acronyms make me chuckle each time a new one is introduced. DLFHOO, anybody? (That would be Director of Land Forces in Hazardous Offensive Operations, out of H.O.O.HQ, naturally). Waugh captures the pointless bureaucracy of war so deftly, sending his mixed-bag commando unit from Scotland to Africa with little to do but drink at the nearest club and stay as far away as possible from any real action. After having had quite a Sorkin-tastic weekend (Moneyball, The American President, part of Sports Night season one) prior to reading this book, Waugh come across as a kindred spirit to Sorkin with his sharp dialog that never misses a beat or a chance to make a dig, sparing no expense on anyone's account.

Post title from: "September" -- Earth, Wind & Fire