2022-03-31

March on to Filmdonia

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I love movies. It depresses me when I see so few in a month. Filmdonia is even farther away than it looks!

ELSEWHERE
library dvd
Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar (2021)

One day, I saw one of the greatest trailers I have ever seen. Just out of nowhere, there it was. (You should watch it too.) But then , it being 2021, movies being slippery, it managed to come and go to and fro and never did get my paws on it. But then, over a year later, I saw a tweet saying a person never went wrong recommending this film and hey! the library had it. And the librarian told me it was so, so good.

So now I've seen it. And it is as mad as I'd hoped. And I realized, most movies this insane that I have seen are Guy Movies. The closest I can think of is Ruben and Ed. The mix of dopey characters and unreal reality and goodheartedness and utter insanity? Ruben and Ed. Best comparison I can make.

Anyway, Barb and Star (you can learn more about their names from some new information included only in another trailer that I just found looking for the first trailer) get some bad luck and decide to leave town for the first time ever and end up in Florida and, well, you know Florida.

Come for the madness. Stay for the love.


HOME
library dvd
The Lady in the Van (2015)

The name Alan Bennett is only vaguely familiar to me. Perhaps because of The Madness of King George or perhaps because of one of his other well known works which I know from title only. But he is not only writer but two of the primary characters in this film—the man who lives his life and the writer who turns that living into plays. And much of the living for fifteen years bumps into the madwoman living in a van on his driveway.

The play is a comic study, to be sure, but it is also the tragedy of a lost soul navigating a dirty mortality.

It's also a bit shameful, to see Britain in its 1980s doldrums arguably outperforming America today when it comes to taking care of our poor.

Anyway, the acting is stellar and the direction invisible. Both good choices, given the material.


THEATER
Century Hilltop 16
The Batman (2022)

I realized, talking to some 17yrolds about this movie, just why it is they keep making more of them. It does not matter how good previous iterations are. Each generation craves a Batman all their own. And yes, this one does do cool things like have a terrifying/funny villain and some veddy cool shots and probably the best detective story in any Batman movie and we could go on, but the main thing is this: it is new. And therefore it is theres.

The way Batman Forever made me chase a runaway shopping cart, the way Batman Begins felt like now we are grownups with a Batman to match—that's what The Batman will be for this years' folks, 15 – 25. And hey! They deserve it as much as I did.

I loved this movie, but it wasn't for me. And it can't be for me what it will be for them. And I'm happy to let them have it.

I do hope they let Matt Reeves take another crack at it. I want to see what the Batman becomes as he transitions from Vengeance to Hope.




HOME
library dvd
The Awful Truth (1937)

The essay included with the Criterion claims this is the greatest of the screwballs. That's a big claim. And I'm not sure I buy it. I felt it took a while for the movie to find its legs and, on first viewing, I was confused by the movie's refusal to address either character's (potential) infidelity. But once it got going, oh my. Plenty of laughs and chaos. And better than My Favorite Wife, although that one includes some of the same stars and a near-identical final cabin-attic set.

But even if this movie weren't fun (and it is) and even though it's not the greatest screwball (sez I), it would have to be worth watching on historical grounds as the first time Cary Grant truly plays Cary Grant. Fascinating to learn that the film was practically improvised and that Grant was so unhappy and uncomfortable he tried to pay his way out of his contract. Perhaps, if he had succeeded, you and I would never have heard of him. Who can say.




Previous films watched

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2022-03-23

You say snot, I say guar gum

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I picked up a white-chocolate and peppermint version of Milkadamia's macadamia milk sometime after the holidays when the store felt it had to go. Then, last week, someone got tired of it being in the pantry and stuck it in the fridge. I opened it and have been slyly enjoying it all on my own. The fridge was packed and it's not that exciting a box.

As I am a loving husband, however, as as I had already drunk three quarters of the stuff, I did share a cup with my beloved. She did not like it but kindly blamed her dislike on the flavor of what she had been previously eating. The next day, on her own, she tried again—and utterly despised it.

She has retained no memory of the taste as she was focused entirely on forcing herself to choke it down, in order to give it a fair shake. The last half she drank over the sink: just in case.

It was the texture that got to her. And it is thick, I grant you. She said it reminded her of some almond-milk-gone-bad of yore.

(My guess is that tweet should say my but I can't explain how I typed an ! in place of an m.)

I get it. It is extreeeemely viscous. I'm dipping graham crackers in it right now and I've given up on dipping—I just drop them in. They stand for a moment before slowly tipping over. Then I leave them for several minutes before pulling them out. They do not fall apart.

This stuff is extremely viscous.

Anyway, I had taken a sip from my dipping cup as I walked to the table and realized why I like this so much and my wife does not. It goes back to our childhoods and opinions we formed them.

You see, Milkadamia's White Chocolate Seasonal Delight is basically Pepto Bismol if Pepto Bismol were food instead of medicine.

Delicious.

2022-03-19

Soooo many comics (and my first H.G. Wells novel in at least 16 years)

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025) Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett, finished March 8

This novel is an excellent example of what Pratchett does well: understand people; incorporate mythology; treat characters with dignity and care (even if the reader might rather see them slapped); defamiliarize then reimagine and redefine basic words and concepts and tropes.

I can see why he was so happy with the Tiffany Aching novels.

The 5yrold, upon reaching the final page, immediately asked if we could get the next one. I was happy to tell her I had already placed it on hold.

If you want a summary, here: Tiffany apprentices with an ancient witch where she accidentally steps into the world of gods and goddesses, interrupting the natural flow of seasons as winter, now in love with her, incorporates and makes his coldness permanent.

It's an intense thing for a girl to combat. But she has wise women and friends and the gift of good sense. And you don't even realize Chekhov has shown you his gun until the moment after it has been fired.

Such satisfying storytelling.

under two months


026) The Croquet Player by H. G. Wells, finished March 11

A colleague handed me his copy of this Wells novel I had not so much as heard of before and insisted I read it. And so I have.

I'm honestly not sure when I last read a Wells novel, but it was before I began the Five Books at a Time series back in 2007. In high school I read all the Wells novels in my local library and thought that meant I had read all the Wells novels, to which all I can say is ha ha ha ha ha.

Anyway, it was fun to hang out with him again! From the title and cover and I figured this would be something less high concept but boy oh boy was I wrong. This 1937 novel does nothing less than explain current atrocities and predict more to come. So tada, Mr Wells.


In short, humanity has lost its Frame of the Present and we now are aware of the endless past and the endless future and this is driving us mad. This is all accomplished by means of a Bertie Wooster-like character who meets a couple early adopters of madness and, lacking a Jeeves, thus begins slipping into madness himself.

I can't tell if this fellow's reaction to the madness he has been exposed to is intended sardonically or satirically or sarcastically someotherly, but it's clear Wells expected his contemporaneous audience to receive a certain lesson. It's not easy for me, 85 years later, to clearly identify that lesson, but the questions are still piercing and valid.

The book is short enough that its two-blokes-talking set-up shouldn't prevent kids from engaging with its ideas, if you're into forcing that sort of thing.

this week
 

027) Lost States: True Stories of Texlahoma, Transylvania, and Other States That Never Made It by Michael J. Trinklein, finished March 12

I love reading about states that never became states. Many is the Wikipedia rabbithole I've fallen down, reading about East Dakota or Jefferson. I'll get you started, but BE CAREFUL. Just finding that link has led me to open a score of tabs I did not intend to open.

Anyway, Trinklein here has book together short summaries of a bunch of fun states that never came to be, along with maps (mostly of his own creation) and some faux ephemera like stamps and postcards and license plates from those coudabin states.

So I loved this book. And I will think about these borders and alternate realities for a long time. Your own mileage may vary.

a week or two
 

028) Nightwing: Leaping into the Light by Bruno Redondo and Tom Taylor, finished March 13

I loved this. I mean—I think Nightwing is one of the top couple DC characters ready to break into the mainstream (by which I mean: lead character in a blockbuster movie) and this book is a strong choice for the story to make that happen.

(I think it would be better if the first movie began with Nightwing and Batman estranged, but this would be an excellent concluding story. Just leave out the heart-taker guy. If you leave him in, you'll have to do two or three more movies.)

Dick comes into some money in this collection and into a blood relation and into some serious family history. Plus, he has all the strong relationships he's built over the years and the respect from them he has earned. As he navigates what to do about his sudden windfall, he speaks with Superman (and some other important but less famous characters); afterwards, he speaks with Batman. The respect these two men hold for Dick is genuinely moving. Between that and Dick's ambitious and righteous plans for the money, I found myself teary-eyed. Dick Grayson is one of the best human beings in the DCU—and we got to see him grow up.

It's kind of awesome.

Kind of the best thing this sort of endless serial storytelling can give us.

Plus, I like the thing that often shows up in Nightwing comics of a sequence of moments appearing in a single panel. How did this become one of his trademarks?

two days
 

029) Batman: The Court of Owls by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion, finished date

I can see why this gets lauds as one of the great Batman stories. It's certainly playing with the mythos in interesting ways. But it's not really enough to pass judgment. Back to the library for #2, I suppose.

one day


030) Invisible Ink: My Mother's Secret Love Affair with a Famous Cartoonist by author, finished date

I read an excerpt from this as part of the most recent (last) BAC I read. I don't remember what I thought and I've never cared for Zippy but here I am reading the book. I . . . can't remember how I happened to check it out. So much mystery!

But I'm happy to say Griffith can tell a longer story. Some of his choices only sort of make sense (his floating mother heads I get but the coming and going of her disconcerting wink I do not understand). This is one of the best memoirs I've read about family history and deciphering the past and the connections between generations. In part because it's just as much about the holes that will never be filled as it is about the discoveries made.

It has an ambiguous, Stuart Little-like ending,* but since it cannot conclude, why not?

I'm so glad I'm not a Freudian, however, as then I would have to spill ten thousand words on this man's pursuit of his mother's mystery. Phew!

a few days at most


031) Ghosts of Vader's Castle by a slew of folks, finished March 15

A dumb little Star Wars-themed horror comic for the under-ten set. But don't worry! Characters from the movies make cameo appearances!

one day


032) The Flintstones Volume 1 by Mark Russell and Steve Pugh, finished March 16

I happened to see a couple pages of this on Twitter the other day and could not believe what I was seeing. So on an impulse I checked and the library had it. So I checked it out.

All believing it would be terrible.

Even the laudatory comments on the back cover calling it the best comic of the year and most important art of 2016 just perplexed me, did not convince me.

So I read it and it's genuinely funny and takes deadly aim on some serious topics and doesn't let it's satirical aim spare anyone or anything and was even actually moving at one point.

I mean . . . the Flintstones?????

Yes. The Flintstones.

an hour


033) The Flintstones Volume 2 by Mark Russell and Steve Pugh, finished March 16 

If anything, this was . . . better?

The link attached to the above image talks a great deal about how this The Flintstones is sad. And that is true as well. But it is smart and funny, too. And cruel. It's a lot of things.

If it's possible to believe it's worth your time, you might as well.

one imagine the same


034) The Jetsons by Palmiotti/Brito/Sinclair, finished March 16

Lots of great science-fiction ideas crammed into a story with flat characters, bad dialogue, and lifeless facial expressions. Add to that an artist who is trying really hard not to sexualize (does not seem to come naturally) and an uncertain relationship with the source material and all one can really say is: it's no Flintstones.

Which is a really weird thing to hear oneself say.

(I did actually say this and it broke my wife's brain.)

one imagines the same yet again


035) Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles by Mark Russell and Mike Feehan, finished March 18

So this Mark Russell is some kind of writer.

Now, I don't know these Hanna-Barbera characters as well as the Flintstones or the Jetsons, so that fact that I could only occasionally hear their voices in my head or recognize their characters may be on me as much as on the comic, but also the comic has permission to reinvent and reimagine as well as to reflect.

For the first half of the collection, I didn't feel it had a clear sense of how to balance its old IP with it thoughtful and adult content, but by the end I was completely sold.

In short, Snagglepuss is a gay playwright, arguably the most celebrated American playwright working. He's also targeted by HUAC. From those two facts alone, you can imagine the heavy themes that might appear. I mean—a classic cartoon character commits suicide. This is not light reading. Even though many of the characters are crayon-colored.

Unusually for me, I appreciated the historical notes at the end. I learned from this book that Marilyn Monroe was Castroville's first Artichoke Queen and so it was good to learn I couldn't quite trust all the fun facts. The timing of Marilyn's time with Arthur Miller was different, for instance.

But yes: this is a work of historical fiction, and its weaving of classic cartoon characters with the heaviest moments of midcentury history worked surprisingly well. I did come to genuinely care about these characters.

And that's kind of amazing, isn't it?

two days


036) Ballad for Sophie by Filipe Melo and Juan Cavia, finished March 19

I LOVED THIS BOOK. From the beginning I was drawn in by its characters—both the writing and the refined drawing. Refined, but postmodern in the sense of bits of the penciling process still visible behind the inks and watercolors.

A young reporter shows up to interview a curmudgeonly old reporter. Which is as fine a setup to story as any, but the story as laid out provides layers and and motifs that set up enormous emotional payouts in the final act.

This is the best work of fiction I've read this year and the best comic. It's off to a strong start for book of the year. I could write about it at length, but I don't want to steal anything about the experience from you should you choose to have it.

I suppose I should give you a content warning (sad debauchery) but even so, I do hope you will read this book. It has been my wonderful companion these past evenings and would, I am certain, do the same for you. I want to move into this book and just sit with its principals, sipping hibiscus tea. (It's good for the kidneys.)

several days


Previous Posts

001) U Is for Undertow by Sue Grafton, finished January 4
002) Far Sector by N.K. Jemisin et al, finished January 7
003) Joseph Smith and the Mormons by Noah Van Sciver, finished January 7
004) The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding, finished January 11
005) The Art of Perspective by Christopher Castellani, finished January 11
006) Bad Kitty Goes on Vacation by Nick Bruel, finished January 12
007) Remina by Junji Ito, finished January 15
008) The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill, finished January 15
009) The Tea Dragon Festival here by Katie O'Neill, finished January 15
010) A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett, finished January 18
011) Diana: Princess of the Amazons by Shannon & Dean Hale and Victoria Ying, finished January 26
012) Just Julie's Fine by Theric Jepson, finished January 28
013) The Art of Description by Mark Doty, finished January 28
014) Green Lantern: Legacy by Minh Lê and Andie Tong, finished February 5
015) Serious Concerns by Wendy Cope, finished January 9
016) The Art of Mystery by Maud Casey, finished February 11
017) The Art of Bible Translation by Robert Alter, finished February 13
018) No Longer Human by Junji Ito, finished February 15
019) Zatanna and the House of Secrets by Matthew Cody and Yoshi Yoshitani, finished Febraury 17
020) Fuzz by Mary Roach, finished February 19
021) Deserter: Junji Ito Story Collection by Junji Ito, finished February 25
022) You May Already Be a Winner by Ann Dee Ellis, finished March 4
023) Audience-ology by Kevin Goetz, finished March 4
024) The Writing Life by Annie Dillard, finished March 7


final posts in this series from
  2007 = 2008 = 2009 = 2010 = 2011 = 2012 = 2013
2014
 = 2015 = 2016 = 2017 = 2018 = 2019 = 2020 = 2021

___related___
UNFINISHED BOOKS
REJECTED BOOKS



2022-03-07

You may have already read this

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019) Zatanna and the House of Secrets by Matthew Cody and Yoshi Yoshitani, finished Febraury 17

Given I don't know much about Zatanna (and how is anyone supposed to recognize her at age thirteen, sans enormous breasts?) I can't really say how this compares. Largely, her whole thing seems kind of dumb, though I imagine someone's made it work.

This too was a little dumb but in a fun MG way. And it was fun to read with the 5yrold because it shared elements from the first two Tiffany books, so she could onestory along with the plot twists.

So. Fine, I guess.

two sits in one evening


020) Fuzz by Mary Roach, finished February 19

I love Mary Roach. She is clearly an excellent human being and her books are delights that open up a new corner of our shared world. You cannot read a Mary Roach book without spending all your time putting it down so you can grab people and force them to share your delight in a new fact you've just read.

After reading Fuzz, you will have facts about cougars and bears and monkeys and camels and deer and leopards and keas and many others as well and their relationships to people and cars and buildings and corn and each other.

Anyway. Don't miss it. Then start filling in the gaps. (Me, I've only read five of seven plus many of her shorter works which I look forward to someday being collected.)

really don't know so let's say a month


021)  Deserter: Junji Ito Story Collection by Junji Ito, finished February 25

My last Ito read was a stunning tour de force by a master of his craft. This one is a collection of short stories starting early in his career and revealing his growth both as a draftsman and as a storyteller. On average, the stories get better as they move forward in time.

That said, it seems to me that his native land is the booklength story and not shorter pieces. While this was largely entertaining, it is the least of his I have read.

about ten days


022) You May Already Be a Winner by Ann Dee Ellis, finished March 4

I wish I could remember why, a few weeks ago, I went to my library website and looked up Ann Dee Ellis and checked out all they had by her (surprisingly, only two books). But I don't remember. I believe I read something short by her and was impressed and wanted more but I do not recall what that thing was. Which is a tad frustrating.

I kind of wanted to read the other of the two books first (I like its cover better), but the flaps made that one sound like a downer and I felt more like something cheerful so You May Already Be a Winner it is!

What a downer.

I mean—it lifts up at the end. Although the final chapter is more of an epilogue demanded to tie up at least one of the two ongoing this-will-happens; the emotional climax came in the chapters before. But hey, endings are hard. I hate most of mine, too.

Anyway, this is the story of a 12yrold girl whose family has collapsed and she is forced into adult roles utterly unreasonable for her to take up. But she takes such good care of her little sister.

The book provides a potent look into the heart of a kid negotiating trauma and the inability of adults to recognize the weight of these things. In part because they can be so overwhelmed with their own perspective.

Anyway, it's joyous but it is also rough. And if we as a culture could get over the stigma of government assistance, that would be great, mkay?

about a week


023) Audience-ology by Kevin Goetz, finished March 4

I'll admit I skipped chunks of this book. The writing is clunky. I blame the editorial staff more than the cowriter, but it's just sloppy stuff. Which is a shame, because it's an interesting topic with excellent anecdotes, but it's not fun to read on the sentence or the paragraph level.

Anyway, Goetz is Hollywood's #1 film tester, taking cuts to sample audiences and getting feedback to make the next cut play all the better. That's interesting! And he has good stories! And still I skipped and skimmed plenty because it's just not a well written book.

And that's why snobs have no fun.

couple weeks


024) The Writing Life by Annie Dillard, finished March 7

These ruminations on writing (both the act and the result) and lovely and provocative and led to much underlining. It's a slight book and wondrous and so you might as well.

Because I read it over such a long period of time much of it is fuzzy now, but I read the final two essays today (both on other artists: one a painter, one a flyer). The latter, allegedly, is the only one in the book Dillard still stands behind (?). I don't know what, but it was a thing of beauty about an artist working an artform I'd never really thought about before: "Nothing on earth is more gladdening than knowing we must roll up our sleeves and move back the boundaries of the humanly possible once more."

basically this school year so far although I might have started it even earlier #pandemicread


Previous Posts 

001) U Is for Undertow by Sue Grafton, finished January 4
002) Far Sector by N.K. Jemisin et al, finished January 7
003) Joseph Smith and the Mormons by Noah Van Sciver, finished January 7
004) The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding, finished January 11
005) The Art of Perspective by Christopher Castellani, finished January 11
006) Bad Kitty Goes on Vacation by Nick Bruel, finished January 12

007) Remina by Junji Ito, finished January 15
008) The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill, finished January 15
009) The Tea Dragon Festival here by Katie O'Neill, finished January 15
010) A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett, finished January 18
011)  Diana: Princess of the Amazons by Shannon & Dean Hale and Victoria Ying, finished January 26

012) Just Julie's Fine by Theric Jepson, finished January 28
013) The Art of Description by Mark Doty, finished January 28
014) Green Lantern: Legacy by Minh Lê and Andie Tong, finished February 5
015) Serious Concerns by Wendy Cope, finished January 9
016) The Art of Mystery by Maud Casey, finished February 11
017) The Art of Bible Translation by Robert Alter, finished February 13
018) No Longer Human by Junji Ito, finished February 15


final posts in this series from
  2007 = 2008 = 2009 = 2010 = 2011 = 2012 = 2013
2014
 = 2015 = 2016 = 2017 = 2018 = 2019 = 2020 = 2021

___related___
UNFINISHED BOOKS
REJECTED BOOKS