"How much will we illuminate before we are extinguished?"

Stuck On Repeat
"Move In The Right Direction" -- Gossip
"The Feeling" -- The Knocks
"Peanut Butter" - Alison Valentine
"Beth/Rest" (Work Drugs remix) -- Bon Iver
"Safe and Sound" -- Capital Cities
"Live In This City" -- Dragonette
"Brokenhearted" -- Karmin
"Celebrate" -- Mika 
"Angels" (Ken Loi remix) -- Adrian Lux


Cinema
Ruby Sparks - I liked this movie a lot more than I was expecting to, but it didn't blow me away by any means. However, this film is another great example of Chris Messina's ability to steal any scene he is in from absolutely anyone. In fact, it is his presence in the movie that pushed me to go see it more than anything else. Conceptually, the film has a strong base, but Paul Dano just isn't the right person to make it fully realized.

Total Recall - Yes, this film is derivative in so many ways, but it is also entertaining if you are willing to accept that and go along for the ride. I had watched the original film about a year ago, and had read Philip K. Dick's story the week prior to seeing the film. Dick's source material is actually quite bare-bones, and from that aspect, this film builds nicely on that ground work while making some nods to Verhoeven's film to appease the cine-complainers out there. The plot of the film does take some brain power to process, the action is fun to watch, Colin Farrell is enjoyable, and the scenery is well rendered. There is also a really nice attention to detail going on, such as Farrell's character reading "The Spy Who Loved Me" on the way to work one morning. While that happens to be my least favorite in Fleming's Bond cannon, it was a very nice touch in this film.

Iron Sky - This film tries too hard to be bad, and thus does not even succeed at being badly entertaining. Nor does it have a camp factor, because that was apparently not the kind of B-movie that the filmmakers were aiming for. Instead, this is most decidedly a C-movie with strangely decent production values that lead to an overall unbalanced feeling throughout the film. I also found its usage of "Ride of the Valkyries" to make absolutely no sense, since the piece was played while Germans were on the defensive; not to mention that this movie has no right to reference Apocalypse Now. Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum.

The Campaign - Dylan McDermott is the best thing about this film, and makes the whole thing totally worth the price of admission. If you like Dylan McDermott, just go see it. Trust me. Jason Sudeikis is also enjoyable and ads some additional flavor and flair, which is needed since we've all seen Farrell's and Galifianakis's shtick many times before. That is not to say that those two don't deliver the product promised or expected, but that shtick couldn't have carried this whole film without the supporting cast to bring some additional dimension to the proceedings.

2 Days In New York - I had high hopes for this film since I had greatly enjoyed 2 Days in Paris. However, this installment lacks two of the things that made its predecessor so fantastic: Adam Goldberg and Paris. What was an exotic and acerbic comedy of errors in that film is made more mundane and less funny by moving the action to my daily stomping grounds and replacing Goldberg with Chris Rock. Now don't get me wrong, Rock does a fabulous job of being the straight man amidst looniness that grows exponentially, but the chaos surrounding him is almost too much for one man to anchor. Despite some strong moments here and there - such as an extended gag about a non-existent brain tumor and a well placed cameo by an indie actor - the lack of coherency prevents the film from being satisfying in the end.

The Bourne Legacy - Classic Bourne this is not, but nor does it promise to be. Jeremy Renner is a whole different type of star than Matt Damon, and he brings his own raw, intense, muscle-bound touch to the franchise. Since this film does not have Robert Ludlum's excellent source material from which to draw, it lacks the emotional heart that drove the original Bourne trilogy. However, depth of character is about the only area in which I found this film to be lacking. It certainly does a hell of a job ticking all the boxes for tradecraft, fights, chases, and general badassery. On top of it all, this film has excellent sound (as in sound editing/sound mixing), which, despite the field I am in, is not something that I notice in more than a few films a year. While the story could have been stronger and deeper, there are many very smart plot points throughout the film. In particular, there was one moment which I thought was a The Grey redux, but then realized was a clever bit of tradecraft. It is those moments that make a good spy movie come that much closer to great.

Robot & Frank - This is a very endearing film that is hard not to like. Frank Langella, it goes without saying, is awesome. However, it is Peter Sarsgaard as the voice of Robot who paradoxically forms the emotional heart of the movie. The script and story are well done and well executed. Jeremy Sisto randomly shows up for one particularly great scene, and there is a nice touch of the absurd to the whole thing, befitting a sly, touching SciFi-tinged tale set in the near future.

Little White Lies - Sure, this film tends toward the clichéd, but it also has some resonant fundamental truths about human nature and human relationships at its core. This film could just as easily be about a Hamptons share house, but thank goodness it's not, since the fact that it's French allows us to watch François Cluzet, Marion Cotillard, Gilles Lellouche, and a bunch of other top-flight French actors having a lot of fun. This film lays its characters out on the table for our close inspection - they may be living beautiful lives, but they have ugly souls. The candid examination of friendship in today's society deeply resonated with me, hitting close to home on more than one occasion.

Hit & Run - The first time I saw a trailer for this movie, I thought it was a joke and wondered what the hell Bradley Cooper was doing in such a picture after Limitless and with two much more promising films coming out this fall. I can't say that I am any kind of Dax Shepard fan (though he was kind of perfect for Idiocracy, and who else *would* one cast to play opposite Dane Cook in Employee of the Month?), but when Hit & Run got decent reviews, my curiosity got the better of me. This film isn't great by any means, but it is sort of sweet in its own little way. Plus, the driving is pretty fun to watch, even if it did mainly just make we want to immerse myself in Drive. There are also some nifty cameos toward the end of the film that made it worth sitting through.

The Intouchables - After seeing Little White Lies, I needed some more François Cluzet (aka French Dustin Hoffman) in my life. Fortunately his much more recent hit (LWL came out in 2010; way to go international distribution, and thanks for your minimal involvement Jean Dujardin!) was still in theaters despite being released in New York months and months ago. As the reviews said, this film is rather clichéd (the French seem to be good at that) and stereotypical, but the acting is rather good. Plus, it made me want to go back to Paris ASAP, which is never a bad yearning to have.

Premium Rush - Yup, I'll still get annoyed with bike messengers and delivery guys. Far too much riding on the sidewalk in this film! That being said, this is such a New York movie and it was pretty cool to see Joseph Gordon-Levitt and company whizzing by blocks which I know well as a pedestrian. The story isn't fantastic, but it did keep me engaged, and JGL was a pleasure to watch, as always.


Book Shelf
Stories I Only Tell My Friends, Rob Lowe
I picked up this book because I have recently begun to (slowly) work my way through The West Wing, and have thus been reminded that Rob Lowe is quite awesome. I remembered that his book had garnered pretty good reviews when it was published last year, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I did not regret my choice. Lowe has led a charmed life and knows how to tell a good story, and, more importantly, a good anecdote. His friendships with the Sheen/Estevez family, Tom Cruise, and Patrick Swayze (as well as the other young men involved with The Outsiders) offer new insight into the lives of these stars and into the young Hollywood scene of the 80s. Lowe has the ability to write with an open an honest voice that doesn't diminish any of the people or events about which he writes, yet also keep it all grounded and not overly glamorous. Any actor worth his salt has to be able to sell himself, and Lowe got me just as excited about some of his lesser known films as he himself purports to be. I came away from this book very charmed and entertained (I laughed out loud on several occasions), and I promptly added a passel of Rob Lowe films to my Netflix queue.

In The Garden of Beasts, Erik Larson
I have decided that the sub-genre of non-fiction about the Diplomatic Corps leading up to and during World War II is one that I particularly enjoy (see also: The Irregulars). As always, hindsight is 20/20, but Larson does an admirable job transporting the reader to Berlin in the 1930s and painting a picture that explains why the US did not step in to stop Hitler in the years before the War. The simple answer is that politics are to blame (when are they not?); petty jealousies, social standing, and American antisemitism all played a large role in how reports from the American Ambassador to Germany were received in Washington at the time. Knowing what we do now about Hitler and the War, as well as the way in which the War is now approached in a historical context, assures that there are several shocking revelations about the political climate in 1930s Berlin and the corresponding reactions (or lack thereof) in Washington. A fascinating read for aficionados of WW II history looking for a different perspective on the beginning of the War. 

A Storm of Swords, George R. R. Martin
So. Many. Pages. There was a lot of good action in this book, but I would have enjoyed reading it more if I didn't constantly have the feeling that it was never going to end. I enjoy these books, but I don't love them, so I do want them to end. Some books should go on for ever and ever, but not these. That being said, the action here is solid and there were a few genuine surprises (though all of those surprises could have been more smoothly and deftly executed - SPOILER - no pun intended). I also felt that Martin was trying to cover too much ground on many occasions. He has built all the concurrent stories up to the point where they hold equal importance, yet he often concentrates on only two stories for long stretches, leaving the others to languish and creating conditions in which it is difficult to get back into the stories that have been neglected for hundreds of pages (sorry, Arya and Danny). The stories are all strong and deserving of attention, but would be better served by greater technical prowess in their telling.

Argo, Antonio Mendez and Matt Baglio
I am super psyched for the upcoming movie of Mendez's story, so when I saw an ARC of this book at Housing Works, I just had to snatch it up. While I have no doubt that the film is going to be better than the book by miles, I am still glad to have had this primer on the Iran Hostage Crisis - an event which preceded my birth by five years. As is the case with many a true spy story, there is a lot more mundanity to it all than le Carré and company would lead you believe. However, Mendez does provide an insightful peep behind the curtain of the CIA in the 70s and occasionally injects his tale with amusing asides. By the time he has walked the reader though the entire situation and operation,  it's hard not to be in awe of the ingenuity and bravery that fueled the exfiltration at the heart of this story. Plus, the origin of the term "argo" is kind of awesome in a very old-school way.

Cat's Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut
When I read Slaughterhouse Five five and a half years ago, this is all that I had to say about it in my journal: "It was interesting - actually quite a fun read - a very different take on WWII." These days, I hardly remember anything about that book, which doesn't feel right given how much Vonnegut is lauded. However, after reading Cat's Cradle and knowing what my mindset was in February 2007, I am not surprised that I didn't have much of a reaction to Vonnegut at that time. Having not read any Pynchon or similar at that time, and coming off of Never Let Me Go, I am sure I didn't know what to make of Vonnegut. I thought maybe I was missing something. However, my second go at the author hasn't endeared him to me any further. While this was certainly better than Busy Monsters (and I can definitely see why Vonnegut is referenced on that book's jacket), I just didn't see much of a point to it all. I knew it would be a quick read, and thus I set about finishing it as quickly as possible so I could move on to something less self-satisfied. Vonnegut is kind of like the Hemingway of gonzo SciFi - I don't care for his writing style, but I'll read his stuff anyway because I'm a lemming like that sometimes.

The Time of My Life, Patrick Swayze & Lisa Niemi
After Rob Lowe's memoir painted such a wonderful portrait of Patrick Swayze, I knew I needed to read about Swayze's life in his own words. Like Lowe, Swayze is an extremely personable writer. It felt like I was sitting down with a new friend being regaled with stories of a life well lived and with very little held back. Swayze nails a perfect blend of intimacy and humor while recounting his life. His unique journey from New York ballet dancer to Hollywood actor, along with his strong personal convictions and struggles, make his story one worth reading.



Post title from: New York magazine, Book Review: Schulz on Jim Holt’s Why Does the World Exist?