Stuck On Repeat
"Lies" - BURNS
"Oceans" - Coasts
"Stay with You" - Avicii feat. Mike Posner
+ (album) - Ed Sheeran
Cinema
Promised Land - January is such a blah month for movies, and this January is extra BLAH. Oof. It's a bad sign when even I can't get excited about going to the cinema, but that seems to be how things are going. At least now that I have MoviePass, once I've gone to the cinema 2.5 times, the rest of the movies I see in the month are essentially free. Promised Land was a holiday season leftover, and it looked decent enough to be worth seeing. I guess it was an okay movie, but overall it didn't really do anything for me. In fact, I am so indifferent and apathetic toward this film that I can't muster much of anything to say about it. Essentially, it's harmless and forgettable, but not a terrible way to pass two hours.
Fairhaven - This film has grown on me so much in the weeks that have passed since I saw it. While on the surface it seems like another entry in the cliched thirtysomething-guys-trying-to-figure-out-their-lives-in-their-hometown genre, it really has a great depth of feeling and a tender soul beneath the toughness and cold of the setting and the characters. While a cool palette of the washed out blues and grays of seaside winter permeate the film (and often seem echoed in Chris Messina's brusque, unfulfilled character), Tom O'Brien and Rich Sommer both bring an appealing warmth and vulnerability to the screen. O'Brien also co-wrote and directed the film, and I look forward to his further endeavors. He is a filmmaker in the vein of Edward Burns, but with a harder, more pragmatic edge. Of course I loved his own character's obsession with Tom Brady, as well as the whole working-class Massachusetts vibe throughout. This is a film about people struggling to find those things most meaningful to them in a confined world. At its core, Fairhaven is gently haunting, tragic, and hopeful.
Quartet - As the old woman in the aisle seat across from me got up to tell her
husband in the aisle seat in front of me, "That's Maggie Smith!" And in
fact, it was. She is better here than in the similarly themed Best
Exotic Marigold Hotel and had some sassy moments worthy of the Dowager
Countess. As for the rest of the cast, and the film itself, they are
pleasant enough, as older English people are wont to be. As to be
expected, this is a sweet, inoffensive light comedy with the addition of
classical music. Worth seeing for the supporting cast of actual older
musicians and singers if Maggie's sass isn't enough, or if you are
unable to identify her
Gangster Squad - I still don't understand what accent Ryan Gosling was going for, but he
did deliver each and every one of his lines perfectly. There was a
particularly good one about shooting people in the legs. Anyway, I went
into this film with low expectations, and everything worked out. I was
heartened to see that so many reviewers compared Gangster Squad to Dick
Tracy, since I was pretty excited/obsessed with the later when I was
six. I think the weird make-up transfixed my child's mind. I guess that
movie was fairly campy (though I don't remember it that well,
considering I haven't seen it in 22 years), since Gangster Squad
certainly is. But a little camp never hurt anyone, especially when deco
backdrops (and more than a few bad puns) are involved. However, it is a shame that Emma Stone's sass wasn't put to good use or given nearly enough screen time.
Knife Fight - If I didn't happen to follow @roblowe on twitter, I probably wouldn't
have seen this film (though somehow I still would have known about it).
Being the Rob Lowe fan that I am after reading his memoir last summer, I
just had to check out his latest big-screen project. As a bonus, it's about
politics, and it sports Richard Schiff in a supporting role (West Wing
holla!). Much of the film is winking satire (heavy on the wink), including some terrific
parody political ads, and those sections are very strong and enjoyable. Unfortunately, the film meanders into soul-search territory in its last third
and looses its way as it tries to find a heart.
Parker - Not nearly as humid as The Paperboy and much less compelling than Jack
Reacher. I have tried to understand Jason Statham on several occasions,
and I am still at a loss to comprehend what is so great about him, other
than his ability to be endlessly stoic and tough. Also, you know there's a problem
when a cowboy hat works for Dwight Yoakam, but not for an action movie
star. However, I do have to put in a good word for
Nick Nolte, who is able to bring a surprising depth of feeling to his
few short scenes. Parker - the film and the character - are merciless, and this utter
lack of feeling throws the audience to the curb (right along with
Jennifer Lopez) providing no emotional footholds between the broken
bones and sharp knives.
Broken City - I don't think this film could be any more heavy-handed if it tried. I am convinced that without the periodic, comprehensive "here's what is going on and why people are doing things" scenes, the film itself would lose track of the startlingly simple plot that it has managed to tangle beyond reason simply by deploying this strategy of parsimonious reveals, rather than going for a big finish.
Book Shelf
1Q84, Haruki Murakami
I had such high hopes for this book. Despite the fact that it was so long, the publisher had kindly broken it down into three different volumes. By the time I got to volume two, I knew I was in trouble. 1Q84 reminded me most of a more intellectual, less gory Game of Thrones in that it could have accomplished so much more if it had only been shorter and utilized an economy of words. There are some interesting concepts hovering around the edges of Murakami's book, but he never allows any of them to land. There are far too many loose ends and ideas that are never fully realized. The third volume is the worst of all. I would literally fall asleep every time an Ushikawa (a particularly dull and pointless character) chapter started. It's a bit of a downer that my year of reading long books for quality and not worrying about quantity didn't exactly get off on the right foot.
Killing Floor, Lee Child
Jack Reacher is totally my guy! I love these books! They are so smart and twisty and detailed and, for lack of a more refined word, yummy. The Jack Reacher books are certainly ones that can be devoured with gusto. I look forward to working my way through the entire series and seeing what various types of trouble Jack is able to find in the course of his travels off the beaten path. Child's ability to create such wonderfully tangible sense-of-place and atmosphere is outstanding, as is his ability to write colorful characters, each with just the right amount of depth suitable to his or her role in the story. In this volume, Child's characterization of a small Georgia town rivals anything similar by Grisham, which is certainly something since Child is British.
Lucky Man, Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox's humor and honesty shine through this book, no matter how rough the going gets, and it gets pretty rough on several occasions. Recently, things haven't been going as smoothly in my own life as I would like, and this book served as a nice reminder that not only things could be a lot worse, but also that no matter how tough life gets, there's always a way to work through it. An inspiring, galvanizing memoir.
Post title from: "Vespers" from The Wild Iris, by Louise Glück
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