Catching Up

Busy, busy...

But here are a few highlights from the books 'n movies front lately (as I scramble to get back into a regular schedule posting here... and in the rest of my productive life!).

Films:  Just saw the knuckle-biter Captain Phillips.  A very intense study of the real-life  story about Somali piracy.  Tom Hanks's performance is riveting.  I do wish the film makers had had the grace to cut away and end the film just a few minutes sooner - it just seems wrong to watch this tough character finally fall apart once he's saved.  He has every right to!  But give the guy some privacy, right?  The very human portrayal of the pirates makes the film, I think, turning this from just another action flick into art.  I'm hoping to see the other current crisis-on-the-sea movie, Robert Redford's All is Lost this weekend.

I tried watching This Is the End the other night on DVD.  I'm not at all the demographic the filmmakers were aiming for... but did anyone find this apocalyptic brat-pack film funny?  I could see it trying.  Pirates: Band of Misfits however, remains a light but amusing claymation/animation romp with a great alternative version of Queen Victoria.  Funny.

Books:  I lost steam in reading Telegraph Avenue.  Beautifully written, coming from Michael Chabon, but... after being interrupted I never quite got back into it.  I think because I can see the ending coming too clearly and don't (just personal taste) find the ambiance of jazz, blaxploitation/martial arts movies, midwifery, and Berkeley engrossing.  I may go reread The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay instead because I like the world of comics, golems, and Brooklyn better.  (Personal taste.)

I'm in a funny mood.  I want adventure and vicarious thrills, even a touch of the creeps.  Probably the Halloween/November weather.

I got all excited at the library because several authors I follow had new books.  Sadly these were all to some degree disappointing.  Charlaine Harris's last book in her Sookie Stackhouse series (basis for the True Blood TV show) was... O K.  It ended about as I thought it should, but I got the feeling the author herself was tired of the series well before it was actually all written.  (The TV show went off the rails completely at some point.)  I can, however, heartily recommend the first book Dead Until Dark as an entertaining stand-alone.  Then you may find yourself reading the whole saga just to see what happens to Sookie.

On the other hand, though I enjoyed the earliest Anita Blake vampire novels by Laurell K. Hamilton, the series... Well, first I stopped buying them, and after this last library trip I've now officially stopped bothering to check them out.  By page 15 or so it was clear the story has dwindled to boring vampire politics, confusing yet boring interpersonal relationships, or more sex... which reads like self-indulgence.  For me the books are now unreadable.  But the early ones?  The title of the first novel says it all: Guilty Pleasures.

Speaking of which... I'm working my way through a Buffy-thon.*  Enjoying it all over again.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, of course.  Now in mid season 4.  Then maybe Master and Commander again for further sea adventures.  Remember the fun film Cowboys and Aliens?  How about making a Pirates and Vampires?  Pure popcorn!

Film and Book Fest

Films recently watched:

Iron Man III - I liked this one slightly more than Iron Man II and less than the first one.  Ben Kingsley was great.  (I liked the Spoiler-can't-tell-you bit, though I know purists who didn't.)  And I liked seeing Tony Stark cope without the suit and seeing Pepper Potts cope with it.  Fun.

The Angels' Share - previously discussed HERE, stands up to later consideration and, what's more, is still remembered.  Most movies being immediately forgettable.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - I've started the trek through this classic TV series again.  I've just reached the point in the second season when Angelus reappears, for those of you who know it.)  It's nice to revisit these characters and now I'm catching all the jokes.  In the interests of pure research into cultural phenomena I have previously forced myself to watch a bunch o' vampire stuff (research report HERE ) and long-form fiction (HERE), and I still enjoy the Buffy Experience.  Fun and stealthily serious.  I mean, there are scholars no-kiddin' actively analyzing this oeuvre.

Books beside my chair:

Cover for New Orleans Mon Amour, by Andre Codrescu

New Orleans Mon Amour, by Andre Codrescu.  I'm familiar with this author mostly through his talks on NPR.  So far I'm loving his collection of short pieces - essays? - on the city of New Orleans.  Wonderfully atmospheric and well-observed.  Often quirky.  My favorite so far is his "Nouveau Pirates."  Following his recommendation in a later piece in the book (which the Dallas City Council ought to be made to read, as it discusses city-self-confidence), I see that I'm going to have to finally read A Confederacy of Dunces.  It sounds terrific.

I love this daisy-chain of recommendations that link one author to another.  In similar fashion, Codrescu has also made me more eager to listen to the CDs of Don Quixote that I got to listen to in the car.

Otherwise I'm just sort of dipping into old favorite books as the mood strikes me.

But I have discovered a neat thing over at Barnes and Noble: for those of us with NOOK eReaders: on Fridays the NOOK Blog gives away free ebooks!  I've only just discovered this perk, so haven't sampled many or had a chance to discover an unknown gem yet, but I look forward to that.

US versions of UK stories

Why do we insist on translating English stuff for us American-English speakers?

Drives me nuts.

Or as a BBC Brit might say, "It drives one mad!"

Public domain image by Anne Pratt HERE

This "translating" happens all the time with books.  The title of the first Harry Potter book was changed from HP and the Philosopher's Stone to HP and the Sorcerer's Stone; presumably because we colonials weren't up on our alchemy.  Or one of my recent discoveries - really good urban fantasy / police proceedural novels - had the first in the series retitled from The Rivers of London (with intriguing cartographic style cover) to Midnight Riot (with suggesting-violence-but-downplaying-ethnicity cover).  The second book kept its UK title, Moon Over SOHO, but again switched an edgy for a cerebral cover.

A little insulting.

And the number of TV shows "reimagined" for the American Market is staggering.  The Office is one example.  Some rewrites work, many fail because something essential is lost in translation.

The latest straw for me yesterday was watching the US remake of Being Human, a terrific Brit vampire/werewolf/ghost flat-share dramedy (you know the trope, mismatched roommates a la The Odd Couple, but with more gore).

The UK version is terrific.  And I think perfectly cast.  The werewolf character, in what you might call "plain clothes," is wonderfully quirky in looks and behavior.  The ghost is charming and ditzy.  While the vampire, Michell, is a version of that rock-n-roll classic the edgy lead singer, all leather-jacketed swagger and sex appeal.  As a bonus, the guy is also funny/scary/puppy-dog-eyes on cue and has Irish Charm TM.

Whereas the US version...

I'm sure these are all good actors, but casting succumbed to that American tendency to pick Breck-Hair people.  The werewolf looks quirky... only to the extent of a bad haircut (or messy hair); in behavior, he's more whiny than endearingly odd.  The ghost seems bland too, but that may be just losing the accent.  As for the Homecoming King, er, vampire...  Contrast between US and UK versions couldn't be greater: the US actor must be six feet taller than the UK's; instead of dark curls and a mercurial face, he has Eagle Scout hair and a chin Mt. Rushmore can't match.  More heroic high school quarterback than transgressive rock star.  Prince Charming with an iron deficiency.  Fangs?  Probably caps.

That classic, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, starred vamps of exactly these two types in rock-star Spike and quarterbackish Angel, but the former was the secret good guy and the latter had the charming Irish accent and a wide swath of dark-side.

I much prefer the UK version of Being Human.   (Compare for yourself on Netflix.)

I guess the tipping point annoyance for me was realizing that the US vamp was given the name "Aidan" - which is the UK actor's.  (Aiden Turner, now playing one of the "boy band" dwarves in The Hobbit.)  As if the name alone would translate the charm:

O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet...

Or vice versa?  Or not.  

I do wish we'd stop "translating" English into American. Next it'll be Downton Abbey as Biltmore, all among them rural land-owning Vanderbilts or something.

BTW That verse is by Shakespeare.  You'd think us Americans would trust those Brits to write by now, wouldn't you?

Book and Film Up-Date

I just read a very good review for Terry Pratchett's latest book Dodger on Boing Boing HERE... which reminded me that I'm waaaay behind on reviews of books and films myself.

So here's a fast up-date:

Dodger by Terry Pratchett - This novel is set in Dicken's London rather than Pratchett's Anhk-Morpork, yet the resemblances between the two cities are even greater than I had suspected.  Read the review above, then buy and read the book itself.  I enjoyed it.

Looper - This time-travel film is very cleverly worked out, with one of the most compelling scenes of if-something-happens-to-your-younger-self? you'll ever see.  For anyone serious about their dystopian time-paradox sci-fi this is a must-see film.  Intelligent. Well acted.  A great creepy kid.  Bruce Willis.  Entertaining.  And rather more gory than I'm quite comfortable with... but I'll watch it again.  Great resolution.

I'm re-reading The Architecture of Happiness, by Alain de Botton.  I cannot overstate the thoughtful clarity of this discussion of architecture and design and how they affect us.  Every designer, every user of design, everyone could finish this book a happier, wiser person.

(Over-sell you think?  Seriously, a good book.)

A Grab Bag

Lots of little notes today:

On my desk is a lovely old copy of Architecture, Gothic and Renaissance by Roger Smith.  My copy is old (found at Half Price Books for a whopping $5, love that place), with a hand written note of "1952" in it.  But after checking online, it looks like the book was actually copyrighted in 1908... which explains the lovely illustrations.  Public domain!  Wahoo!  No doubt you'll be seeing images from it in future posts too.

The Grand Canal, illus. from Architecture, Gothic and Renaissance by Roger Smith - public domain

Also in books, I'm presently reading, well, several things.  Among them the very funny and eye-opening history of the American '5os as a memoir by Bill Bryson, The Thunderbolt Kid.  Also a revisionist history of interior design since 1600 (whose title I can't recall this second), more on that later.

On the Film Fest front: I recently watched Cedar Rapids.  I was only accidentally watching it at first - it was on in the room - but I was soon caught up in the adventure and misadventures of the hero, a naive small-town-Iowa insurance salesman on his first visit to his industry convention in the wicked city of Cedar Rapids.

Epic!  The guy's an Odysseus on stormy seas indeed - harrowed to his soul by the temptations of this larger pond.  A fascinating and very funny movie.

Also movie related: Aardman Animations new film The Pirates! is open and I want to see it badly.  These guys are brilliant... Wallace and Grommet?  Chicken Run?  Brilliance in stop motion Claymation.

On the set design frontier: I'm scrambling to keep up with several projects.

Boeing, Boeing is being built.  Its flats (walls) are largely built, leaning around the shop ready to get installed, as the main stage level is built, using the stock steel joists WaterTower Theater has on hand.  On top of that will go a few steps and a slightly raised rear "hallway" with a French "wrought iron" railing.  I got to take a field trip to a shop where the decorative curly-cue part of the railing is waiting - not actually bent metal, but cut from plate steel by very high power and focused water jets.  Fascinating machinery.

Meanwhile, in Fort Worth, Mistakes Were Made is also being built.  This show will have a puppet fish in it, so the real complications of this simple set are all around how to build this fish tank area to make the fish visible, yet the puppeteer screened.  Tricky.

At Kitchen Dog, Ruth is getting close to building.  The carpenter is considering the drawings - which have been revised a bit as rehearsals, the script, and the director have evolved the work.  Working with a live playwright and developing text is always interesting.  (Earlier post on living playwrights HERE.)

And, of course, there are a couple shows on the drawing board.

Phew!

Film Fest - Commercials

I don't know about you, but I'm irritated at having to sit through commercials in a movie theater before I see the "Coming Attractions" (themselves commercials), before getting to see the film I paid for.  I'm really irritated by commercials and pre-views on DVDs I rent or buy.  Especially when they're rigged so I can't skip them, but can only fast-forward through.

But once the movie starts I REALLY don't want more commercials!

Last night I watched Real Steel, the Hugh Jackman rock'em-sock'em battlebot flick.  It was entertaining, if unoriginal, but then sports movie cliches become cliches because they work.  So I rooted for the "good" robot Bruiser from the Wrong Side of the Tracks, and the Kid, and the Failed Athlete Making a Comeback, and the Faithful Girlfriend Who Still Believes...  Hugh Jackman is always worth watching and the other actors were appealing.  Action scenes were exciting, which was what was required.  So I enjoyed the film.

Real Steel, image from the L.A. Times review

Except for the Really Obvious Product Placements.

Really guys?  Did you filmmakers have to shill for Dr Pepper, HP, Sprint, Cadillac, etc.?

A good review at the LA Times HERE.

Non-Theater Catch-Up

Inspite of my recent crazy-busy theater schedule, I have been able to read and watch a few other non-theater things:

I rewatched the film Cowboys and Aliens, which stands up well to a second viewing.  (Earlier POST.)

I also watched for the first time the art film Toast, based on an autobiographical novel by food writer Nigel Slater.  A young teen boy, a budding foody, lives in a household where dinner might be - seriously! - three cans heated in a pan of boiling water.  He loves his mother, but she can't cook.  After her death, his unsympathetic and bullying father hires a cleaner (played by Helena Bonham Carter)... who eventually becomes his hated stepmother.  But boy can she cook!

Enjoyed it.  Terrific performances all round and Bonham Carter is just mesmerizing.

On the book front, I finally finished Thinking Fast and Slow (earlier POST) which was fascinating and, I think, important.  It's written in layman's language (barring a few "heuristics" etc.) with the ideas presented from an economist's view (natural, what with that Nobel Prize), but if you can tease out smaller fragments from the dense argument, the facts of how humans make decisions are vitally important to anyone who wants to be persuasive: salesmen, artists, designers of all kinds, writers of prose or poetry... everyone basically.  Read!

As lighter fare, I started rereading the Chalionese series by Lois McMaster Bujold, starting with The Curse of Chalion, which features one of my all-time favorite heroes.  Also rereading an early Georgette Heyer, The Black Moth.  I'm enjoying it (and it's the only Heyer on my NOOK), but my real favorites are her later books like Frederica, Venetia, A Civil Contract, or Friday's Child whose paperback copies I've read to rags.  I'm not usually a ROmance reader, but Heyer is witty, frothy, and seriously researched.

Heyer, Austen, Wodehouse, and Pratchett - Public domain images messed with.

When life gets difficult or harried, Heyer's books are in my short stack of refreshing breaks, along with P. G. Wodehouse, Terry Pratchett, and Jane Austen.  These disparate writers all share the knack of creating engrossing characters and worlds where there exists a wryly humorous (and sometimes inky-dark) view of human foibles...  Their unembittered laughter can polish up my own smudged perspective.

Film Fest - Harry Potter

In honor of the latest and last Harry Potter film coming out on DVD, I'm watching the whole series.

It's rather impressive to watch the films one after the other (one a night) and to feel the cumulative effect of the story.  Rather fascinating to see the young actors grow up before your eyes.

Tonight was the third film, The Prisoner of Azkaban.  This may be my favorite.  It's tone is distinctly darker, marked by the introduction of the Dementors, as well as two of my favorite characters: Professor Lupin and Sirius Black.  It also has one of the funniest scenes in the series - the inflation of the visiting Aunt.

Poster image borrowed from U4posters.com

I'm a fan of the Harry Potter books and films.  Classics, I think.  For anyone who hasn't yet read the last book or seen the last film, here's my spoiler free reaction to seeing it back in July.