June Favorites

Lucky Them: I love this film. It's beautiful and gentle and reminds me of High Fidelity, albeit from a female perspective. In case you're catching up on my life, High Fidelity was a seminal movie for me, and I've never come across anything that came close to capturing it's wonderfully sullen, wry mood until now. Lucky Them may not be as imminently quotable or star John Cusack, but it does have the music, the music snob (Toni Colette - fabulous), the past loves (predictable casting, but I won't give it away here), the somewhat ill-advised attempt at a new relationship (with cutie Ryan Eggold), and the quirky friends with limited social skills (Thomas Haden Church in his best performance since Sideways). There's also Oliver Platt who adds so much in a small role, just as he did in Chef last month, and Gary Gulman (one of my favorite stand ups) popping up as a random and pleasant surprise. Everything about this movie is why I love movies and why it's worth it to take a chance on random indie joints.  Lucky Them captures a specific mood and lifestyle perfectly, and I totally bought into the lives of these characters.

Edge of Tomorrow: I read the book, which has the much cooler title of All You Need Is Kill, last summer, and while the overall concept was nifty and engaging, the execution was a bit lacking. Still, I was excited to see how they would bring it to the big screen and worried that Tom Cruise would be too old for the part of a rookie recruit. Don't get me wrong, Tom is handsome as hell and doesn't look his age, but he doesn't exactly look like he did in the days of Top Gun either. I should have known better than to worry, because the purpose of a Tom Cruise movie is to make Tom look good and remind us that he is a genuine Movie Star. From his very first scene with Brendan Gleeson, I knew that no one but Tom could play the role of Cage as it was written for the movie. I mean who else can be a conceited jerk and still be totally charming, all thanks to that killer smile. Work it, Tom! The film itself is a great mix of action, comedy, and video game dynamics. Emily Blunt holds her own very well, and Bill Paxton is clearly having a good time hamming it up as a southern-fried Sargent. I came out of the cinema at the end feeling extremely satisfied. And then I got to do it all again five days later, because I can't see a Tom Cruise movie in the cinema just once. As with many SciFi movies, especially those that involve time-travel elements, knowing the end game makes a second viewing richer because small details are able to stand out in new ways. I can't wait to see Mission: Impossible 5, the next Jack Reacher, or whatever Tom has on tap next.

Death Angel and Terminal City, Linda Fairstein: Now that I am all caught up on the Jack Reacher series from Lee Child, I decided it was time to return to Linda Fairstein and Alexandra Cooper, who I had taken a break from for a few years. Death Angel was the second of Linda's books that I read this year, and it was so good that I had to run out and buy Terminal City as soon as it was released (if you know me, you know it's very rare that I shell out for hardcovers or think it's worth it to lug them around with me). Terminal City did not disappoint! But let me back up: Death Angel is awesome because it delves into the history of Central Park (each of Linda's books focus on the history of a different location/landmark in New York City) and there are exciting developments afoot for Coop and everyone's favorite politically incorrect detective, Mike Chapman (I've been reading these books for ten years and I still don't know who I'd cast as Chapman if these stories ever hit the big screen -- these are the things that keep me up at night). There were several loose ends left at the end of Death Angel, hence my need to read Terminal City ASAP. While some of those ends are still a bit loose at the conclusion of this new story, it is still a very satisfying read. This time Alex and the gang get well acquainted with the Waldorf-Astoria and Grand Central Terminal. I learned a lot of information I didn't know about places I've been to on countless occasions in both of these books; there are few things that make me appreciate the complexity, richness, and beauty of New York City like a Linda Fairstein book.

Red Pandas at Prospect Park Zoo and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden: After a few years of saying, "I really should check out the Prospect Park Zoo" and less than satisfying attempts to see red pandas in Berlin and Washington D.C., I finally made it to the eastern side of Prospect Park. The red pandas (there are three of them!) are utterly delightful and I spent far too long staring at them and taking approximately a bazillion pictures. I split my staring into two sessions, which was a good call because two of the pandas were sleeping during my first viewing session, but when I came back later two of them were running about their compound and being exceptionally cute all around. The rest of the zoo was pretty good too - there are some cute tamarins and other small animals. I will definitely go back to visit the pandas again, though hopefully it will take me less time to get around to my second visit than it did for the first one. While I was in that neck of the woods, I figured I might as well check out the Botanic Garden, which was as lovely as expected, especially since I was there in the late afternoon and the light was pretty much perfect for strolling around and looking at plants.

Hellion: Both of the kids at the center of this movie are excellent actors -- this is really their show, with Aaron Paul and Juliette Lewis around simply to provide support. There are actually three other kids with supporting roles, and they all knock it out of the park as well. I really came to care for all of these kids and wanted everything to work out for them despite the self-destructive tendencies of the older brother character. The motocross scene is especially touching and captures the reality of life so perfectly. This is definitely a small film, but it packs a powerful punch.

Jersey Boys: While the film version of Jersey Boys is nowhere near as good as the stage version, it still conveys the magic of that music and those voices. Just like in the Broadway version the characters of Bob Gaudio and Nick Massi (and the actors who played them, different from stage to screen, but still the hot/cute ones) were my favorites. Frankie Valli is interesting, but it's the guys around him that make his a story worth telling. Surprisingly, Jersey Boys on film reminded me a lot of That Thing You Do!, though it might have just been the selection of jewel-tone suit jackets on offer with each new performance. Just as in the Broadway version, the choreography is a lot of fun to watch, and at the end of the film there is a bonus musical number under the closing credits.  However, I am glad I saw the stage version first because the story and chronology makes a lot more sense on stage. As I mentioned, the music is infectious and makes it hard to dislike the film, but with such strong material to work from, this movie could have been so much more magical than it is.

Carbon Leaf at Watermark: This is the third year in a row that Carbon Leaf have come to New York during the summer, and they are always one of my favorite shows of the season, if not the year. These guys have been playing together so long and are such a solid band. They are really good about mixing up their sets and playing a mix of old and new material and never skimping on crowd favorites. This time, they played my most favorite song of theirs, "Desperation Song," which they haven't done in a while, so I was really pleased that I got to hear it live again. Carter continues to be a stringed instrument superman, playing at least six different types of instruments, not to mention different types of guitars and mandolins. Stand out moments include killer slide guitar playing and solo on "One Prairie Outpost," an awesome electric mandolin solo on "Raise the Roof" (below), and an electric guitar solo that packed an emotional wallop during the encore/closer of "Let Your Troubles Roll By." I highly recommend checking out Carbon Leaf when they come to your neck of the woods; even if you've never listened to them before, you'll still enjoy the show!

Snowpiercer: This is a movie that I've been looking forward to for quite some time, and it did not disappoint. It is deliciously dark and bleak, both in production design and story, like some of the best SciFi books from the 50s and 60s, and the best SciFi movies from the 70s and 80s. It is this throwback, no-frills approach to SciFi that I love and haven't really seen in a theater in a while. That's not to say that the production design isn't incredibly detailed and sometimes even gorgeous, but that detail is often lurking under grime or in the shadows. It's always such a pleasure to watch Chris Evans not play a super hero, and he doesn't disappoint here. I read somewhere that he was cast in Snowpiercer because of his performance in Puncture, and that totally makes sense. It's hard to write about this movie without giving too much away, and part of the pleasure of the film is going on the journey from Tail to Engine with Evans's Curtis and his rag-tag crew.  I will say that the film has an extremely compelling story and wonderful forward momentum, as befitting a narrative that takes place on a train. Once you've seen the film, do read this short, but informative Vulture interview with the director; it really helped me work through the few issues I did have with the film. As I mentioned above with Edge of Tomorrow, SciFi films can often benefit from a second viewing, and I look forward to seeing Snowpiercer again, whether that is in the cinema or on DVD (yes, this is definitely one worth buying).

The Leftovers, Tom Perrotta: After having The Leftovers sitting on my shelf since Decmeber 2011, all the posters around town for the new HBO version of the story inspired me to finally read the book. I don't really know what took me so long (I adore Perrotta's Little Children), but I'm glad I finally picked it up. After so many disastrous encounters with contemporary fiction over the past few years, The Leftovers is one of the few books that has restored my faith in the genre. There may not be many writers out there right now who can craft a story that is worth reading, but Perrotta is clearly one of the few that can.