Stuck On Repeat
"Brightside" - The Knocks
"Her Favorite Song" - Mayer Hawthorne
"Rose Rouge" - St Germain
"Dreamtime" - River & Phoenix
"Get Lucky" - Sam Sparro
Cinema
Pain & Gain - While I didn't love this film as much as I had hoped to based on the fabulous trailers, it still offers an interesting societal commentary. Additionally, it delivers that commentary much more successfully than Spring Breakers did. Whereas James Franco's character in Spring Breakers was an over-the-top caricature, it is not hard to buy in to the guys in Pain & Gain as real people. Both Mark Whalberg and The Rock (Dwayne can do no wrong) deliver top notch performances here - all earnestness, misguided conviction, heartbreak, and cluelessness. It must have been difficult for such smart guys to play so dumb, but then again, that's why they're actors. The gimmicky camera work got old quickly, but the shifting POV voice-over narration worked surprisingly well.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist - The "flashback" portions of this film are the best thing about it. Seeing the US reaction to 9/11 through the eyes of a Pakistani was fascinating, and the scene in which the protagonist is betrayed by his American girlfriend's art show is both electrifyingly acted and profoundly heartbreaking. The relationship aspect of the story seemed trite at times, mainly due to Kate Hudson's flat performance, but it's all worth it for that one scene. Kiefer Sutherland is perfect as a Wall Street suit who only has eyes for the bottom line, but Liev Schriber is wasted as little more than a narrative device.
Love Is All You Need - Let's be real: I'm not going to pass up a romantic comedy starring Pierce Brosnan, especially when he is in his sweet spot of playing a heartless, but nonetheless sexy, rich guy. Pierce is perfectly good in his role here; it's the plot and characters surrounding him that could use a little help. Don't get me wrong, Trine Dyrholm is a perfectly feisty foil, but I'm sure no one would have objected if Paprika Steen (as Pierce's insufferable sister-in-law) had accidentally fallen off one of the lovely Italian cliffs that we are shown so often. The proliferation of too-long scenic shots is another problem with this film, especially since their presence and their lack of purpose is distractingly noticeable. However, in the end, Brosnan's and Dyrholm's performances make Love Is All You Need a serviceable and pleasant romantic comedy - one made better by the fact that half of it is in Dutch.
Oblivion - Yup, this was just as good the second time around, though I did start to notice a few plot holes here and there. However, these inconsistencies are easy to forgive when caught up in the gorgeous visuals, sweeping score, and the demi-god that is Tom Cruise. Fingers crossed that this sticks around long enough for me to see it a third time in the cinema. Meanwhile, the soundtrack has become one of my go-to albums this month.
The Iceman - This film is worth seeing for Michael Shannon's performance, but the film itself was way more generic than I expected it to be; the story is like far too man mob movies that are already out there. "Based on a true story" only gets you so far. At least Chris Evans was on hand for a small, twisted turn as Shannon's sometime partner in crime. Evans is a delight when he is given a chance to take on grittier roles (see 2011's Puncture).
Star Trek Into Darkness - James Tiberius Perfect Hair, to quote Simon Pegg's delightful Scotty, is back in action, with Chris Pine playing the role he was seemingly born for. Those piercing blue eyes just don't look the same away from the bridge of the Enterprise. Of course Into Darkness isn't quite as good as 2009's outing, but sequels are seldom as good as their predecessors, especially when those predecessors are exceedingly fresh thrill-rides that not only hit every mark, but knock those marks out of the park. However, in this second outing the entire cast seems to be having more fun with their roles, and Bones, Scotty, and Uhura are all given opportunities to shine. The new film does a nice job of playing off Wrath of Kahn in just the right ways to make long-time fans happy while not excluding those newer to the series. Benedict Cumberbatch as the villain is a well-matched adversary for Kirk and Spock, though his performance is less dynamic than those of Pine and Zachary Quinto. I saw this in IMAX 3D, which was a tad overwhelming what with all the lens flares and extreme close-ups, so I can't wait to see it again on a normal screen. However, the infectious thrill-ride spirit of Into Darkness is right on the money for summer. So glad JJ Abrams has been able to extend the magic that made me fall in love with his whole crew in 2009.
Frances Ha - I don't get Greta Gerwig. I didn't get her in Greenberg. I didn't get her in Damsels in Distress. And I certainly don't get her in this film. Frances is a self-centered jerk who makes bad decisions. I couldn't fathom why anyone would want to be her friend, and I could totally sympathize with the best friend who pulls away from her over the course of the film. I think I was meant to sympathize with Frances as she flounders and tries to find her way, but this film was like being forced to spend an hour and a half with the type of insufferable acquaintance I try my best to avoid in my daily life. That being said, I can certainly imagine that characters who live and act like the ones in this film could easily be real New Yorkers.
What Maisie Knew - The shifting dynamics between the four adults in this film are fascinating to watch. Observing the demise of one family and the growth of another from those broken pieces, all from a child's perspective, was both heartbreaking and hopeful. Onata Aprile in the title role is a watchful wonder. The four adults around her all bring just the right touches of emotion to their roles as well. With such nuanced acting and a character focused story, What Maisie Knew is easily better than some of the Broadway plays I've recently seen.
Book Shelf
Gai-Jin, James Clavell
About a quarter of the way into Gai-Jin, it finally hit me how similar 19th century Asia is to modern Corporate America. The British trying to get meetings with the Japanese is like a reprise of my daily work life. Sigh. Then, about half way through Gai-Jin, I finally started enjoying the book. The problem with Clavell's Japan novels is that the Japanese are so annoying with their roundabout ways of speaking, their lack of commitment, and their trickery. All of this BS leads to not very much happening, and therefore a somewhat boring book. However, things finally did start picking up around page 600 (out of 1234) with some higher levels of intrigue and violence. As always, Clavell is a master at drawing richly detailed characters and providing plenty of drama to go around.
Beautiful Ruins, Jess Walter
This book was a good light read for the beginning of vacation. It is not a "literary miracle" as the quote from NPR on the front cover indicates. As contemporary fiction goes, Beautiful Ruins is quite palatable and not at all pretentious. It is a straight-forward novel that tells a nice story without some random agenda of the author's lurking behind every word and phrase. This quality is exceedingly refreshing.
Echo Burning, Lee Child
This is the least plausible / most far-fetched Reacher book I've read so far. However, despite my issues with the plot, Child still won me over with his mastery of creating a rich sense-of-place and quickly drawing characters that you can care about even though you know they are disposable.
Post title from: "Nostos," from Meadowlands, by Louise Glück
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