Gah.One more book for 2015.

.

So in church today I was flipping through a notebook and found an untypedup book review from back in September. Can you believe that? Geesh.

Anyway, here it is. So embarrassing.

The lucky thing is, in my original numbering I skipped ninety-five, so this didn't take much renumbering at all.

Just scroll down to the scandalous poster of a recent English production and you can see what I thought.



Book one hundred twenty-SEVEN

126) The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht (English book by Desmond Vesey, English lyrics by Eric Bentley), finished December 26

Book one hundred twenty-FIFth to one hundred twenty-SIXth

125) Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann and Kerascoët, finished December 23
124) Miss Don't Touch Me, Vol. 2 by Hubert and Kerascoët, finished December 23

Book one hundred-twentieth to one hundred twenty-third

123) His Right Hand by Mette Ivie Harrison, finished December 21
122) I Was a Child by Bruce Eric Kaplan, finished December 18
121) The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, finished December 18
120) Why I Read: The Serious Pleasure of Books by Wendy Lesser, finished December 16

Book one hundred-sixteenth to one hundred-nineteenth

119) This Is Portland: the city you've heard you should like by Alexander Barrett, finished December 10
118) Out on the Wire: The Storytelling Secrets of the New Masters of Radio by Jessica Able, finished December 9
117) Miss Don't Touch Me by Hubert & Kerascoet, finished December 8
116) Kids Say the Darndest Things! by Art Linkletter, finished November 29

Book one hundred-eleventh to one hundred-fifteenth

115) Men, Women & Dogs by James Thurber, finished November 21
114) Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allen Crow by James How, finished November 21
113) Oh The Moon by Charlyne Yi, finished November 15
112) Beauty by Hubert and Kerascoët, finished November 14
111) "E" Is for Evidence by Sue Grafton, finished November 13

Book one hundred-seventh to one hundred-tenth

110) The Complete Peanuts: 1993 to 1994 by Charles M. Schulz, finished November 10
109) Ball Peen Hammer by Adam Rapp and George O'Connor, finished November 7
108) Magic Trixie Sleeps Over by Jill Thompson, finished November 6
107) "D" Is for Deadbeat by Sue Grafton, finished November 5

Book one hundred-second to one hundred-sixth

106) The Secret of the Stone Frog by David Nytra, finished October 18
105) The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood, finished October 27
104) Magic Trixie by Jill Thompson, finished October 18
103) Binky Under Pressure by Ashley Spires, finished October 17
102) Humor, Horror, and the Supernatural by Saki, finished October 15

Book ninety-eighth to one hundred-first

101) 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King, finished October 14
100) Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye by Tania del Rio and Will Staehle, finished October 5
099) Wonderland by Tommy Kovac and Sonny Liew, finished September 29
098) Johnny Cash — I See a Darkness by Reinhard Kleist, finished September 26

Book ninety-seventh

097) Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee, finished finished September 24

Books ninety-third through ninety-sixth

096) North 40 (volume one) by Aaron Williams and Fiona Staples, finished September 23
095) Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar, finished September 17
094) Castle Waiting Volume 2 by Linda Medley, finished September 15

093) She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith, finished September 11 (took me one week)

I can't remember the last time I read something so apalling to my modern/American sensibilities.

Here's a quick summary of this 1773 comedy:

A rich young man has been deceived into believing that the house he was seeking---to court the daughter of his father's friend---is an inn. Therefore this man, famed for his honor and modesty, treats his potential father-in-law abysmally orders him about and committing all manner of rudenesses. Even worse is how he treats the man's daughter, thinking her a barmaid, grabbing her, and attempting to kiss her.

HASTINGS.

But how can you, Charles, go about to rob a woman of her honour?

MARLOW.

Pshaw! pshaw! we all know the honour of a barmaid of an inn. I don't intend to rob her, take my word for it, there's nothing in this house, I shan't honestly pay for!

Yup. He's an aristocrat and they ain't so everything is his for the purchasing.

Look: similar gags appear in Shakespeare's comedies, but Shakespeare has a subtlety Goldsmith lacks. Plus, Shakes develops poor characters as well as rich.

Reading this also helped me understand Darcy better---and how remarkable Austen's characters are as well.

Anyway. Horrible stuff. Cannot recommend in 2015^*.

Two lines to share though:

"Ask me no question, and I'll tell you no fibs." ---I wonder, is this where this comes from?

"I vow, since inoculation began, there is no such thing to be seen as a plain woman: so one must dress a little particular or one may escape in the crowd." ---Tell your antivax friends THAT!

^* or 2016




Books ninetieth through ninety-second

092) Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl by Stacey O'Brien, finished September 5
091) The Wallcreeper by Nell Zink, finished September 5
090) The Animal Family by Randall Harrell, finished September 4

Books eighty-seventh through eighty-ninth

089) Zenith: Phase 1 by Grant Morrison and Steve Yeowell, finished September 4
088) The Last Dragon by Jane Yolen and Rebecca Guay, finished September 1
087) Anthem by Ayn Rand, finished September 2

Books eighty-second through eighty-sixth

086) A Wolf at the Door and Other Retold Fairy Tales edited by , Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, finished August 31
085) Castle Waiting by Linda Medley, finished August 30
084) An Amorous Discourse in the Suburbs of Hell by Deborah Levy, finished August 30
083) Women at Church: Magnifying LDS Women's Local Impact by Neylan McBaine, finished August 30
082) The League of Outsider Baseball: An Illustrated History of Baseball's Forgotten Heroes by Gary Cieradkowski, finished August 25

Books seventy-fourth through seventy-seventh

081) Saint Cole by Noah Van Sciver, finished August 20
080) That A Guise, John? by Brace Pannier, finished August 19
079) A Blink of the Screen by Terry Pratchett, finished DATE
078) Revival Volume Four: Escape to Wisconsin by Tim Seely and Mike Norton, finished August 16

Books seventy-fourth through seventy-seventh

077) Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, finished August 15
076) Happy Birthday, Wanda June by Kurt Vonnegut, finished August 6
075) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, finished August 4
074) The Erotic Spirit: An Anthology of Poems of Sensuality, Love, and Longing edited by Sam Hamill, finished July 28

Books seventieth through seventy-third

073) Dial H: Exchange by China Miéville et al, finished July 27
072) Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World by Sid Fleischman, finished July 24
071) "C" is for Corpse by Sue Grafton, finished July 22
070) Isle of 100,000 Graves by Fabien Vehlmann and Jason, finished July 19

Books fifty-ninth through sixty-ninth

069) Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett, finished July 17
068) Dial H: Into You by China Miéville et al, finished July 15
067) Benny Breakiron: The Red Taxis by Peyo, finished July 15
066) Bossypants by Tina Fey, finished July 14
065) Liberating Form: Mormon Essays on Religion and Literature by Marden J. Clark, finished July 12
064) The Rise of Aurora West by Paul Pope and J. T. Petty and David Rubín, finished July 12
063) Battling Boy by Paul Pope, finished July 11
062) The Last Days of Video by Jeremy Hawkins, finished July 6
061) Arabel's Raven by Joan Aiken, finished July 3
060) Templar by Jordan Mechner and Alex Puvilland and LeUyen Pham, finished July 2
059) Heaven Knows Why! by Samuel W. Taylor, finished June 26

Books fifty-sixth through fifty-eighth

058) Itself by Rae Armantrout, finished June 21
057) Western Wind: An Introduction to Poetry by John Frederick Nims and David Mason, finished June 19
056) Matilda by Roald Dahl, finished June 15

Books fifty-second through fifty-fifth

055) Bad Houses by Sara Ryan and Carla Speed McNeil, finished June 14
054) Star Wars Underworld: The Yavin Vassilika by Mike Kennedy and Carlos Meglia and whoever, finished June 12
053) Batman Vol. 5: Zero Year - Dark City by by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo (et al), finished June 11
052) Deadpool's Art of War by Peter David and Scott Koblish, finished June 10

Books forty-sixth through fifty-first

051) Men of Wrath by Jason Aaron and Ron Garney, finished June 10
050) X-Men: No More Humans by Mike Carey & Salvador Larroca & al., finished June 9
049) Alex + Ada by Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn, finished June 9
048) Miracleman Book 2: The Red King Syndrome by Alan Moore (not credited by name) and a bunch of other people, finished June 6
047) Coffin Hill: Dark Endeavors by Caitlin Kittredge and Inaki Miranda, finished June 6
046) Coffin Hill: Forest of the Night by Caitlin Kittredge and Inaki Miranda, finished June 4

Books forty-second through forty-fifth

045) Castle Waiting: The Lucky Road by Linda Medley, finished at midnight so either June 2 or 3
044) The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami and translated by Ted Goossen, finished June 2
043) The Round House by Louise Erdich, finished June 1
042) Best American Comics 2014 edited by Scott McCloud, finished May 31

Books thirty-seventh through forty-first

041) The Brothers K by David James Duncan, finished May 18
040) Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis, finished May 18
039) Skandalon by Julie Maron, finished May 1
038) The Final Story by Jeff Shaara, finished April 29
037) Shutter Volume 1: Wanderlost by Joe Keatinge and Leila Del Duca et al, finished April 29

Books thirty-second through thirty-sixth

036) The Motherless Oven by Rob Davis, finished April 27
035) Zero Volume 1: An Emergency by Ales Kot et al, finished April 22
034) Deadly Class Volume 1: Reagan Youth by Rick Remender, finished April 19
033) Animal Man Vol. 4: Splinter Species by Jeff Lemire et al, finished April 17
032) Swamp Thing Vol. 4: Seeder by Charles Soule et al, finished April 15

Books twenty-eighth through thirty-first

031) Small Gods by Terry Pratchett, finished April 6
030) The Frangipani Hotel by Violet Kupersmith, finished April 2
029) The Adventures of Rabbi Harvey: A Graphic Novel of Jewish Wisdom and Wit in the Wild West by Steve Sheinkin, finished March 29
028) Vivian Maier: Self-Portraits edited by John Maloof, finished March 23

Books twenty-sixth through twenty-seventh

027) Passing by Nella Larsen, finished March 18
026) Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson, finished March 17

Books twenty-second through twenty-fifth

025) Ghost World by Daniel Clowes and Terry Zwigoff, finished March 16
024) Hawkeye: L.A. Woman by Matt Fraction and some very talented artists, finished March 15
023) Hawkeye: Little Hits by Matt Fraction and a large number of artists, finished March 14
022) Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon by Matt Fraction and David Aja and Javier Pulido, finished March 12

Books twentienth through twenty-first

021) Does Santa Exist?: A Philosophical Investigation by Eric Kaplan, finished March 11
020) Babymouse #8: Puppy Love by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm, finished March 11

Books sixteenth through ninteenth

019) The Book of Mormon, finished March 3
018) Cow Boy: A Boy and His Horse by Nate Cosby and Chris Eliopoulos, finished March 1
017) Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle, finished February 26
016) Drawings II by Jake Parker, finished February 19

Books twelfth through fifteenth

015) The PreHistory of The Far Side: A 10th Anniversary Exhibit by Gary Larson, finished February 18
014) Nation by Terry Pratchett, finished February 16
013) Fences by August Wilson, finished February 10
012) Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, finished February 6

Books tenth through eleventh

011) Adverbs by Daniel Handler, finished February 4
010) Death by Chocolate: Redux by David Yurkovich, finished February 3

Books sixth through ninth

009) The End of the World by Don Hertzfeldt, finished January 31
008) Ms. Marvel: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona, finished January 24
007) Drop Shot by Harlan Coben, finished January 18
006) Cardboard by Doug TenNaple, finished January 15

Books first through fifth

005) The Complete Peanuts: 1991-1992 by Charles M. Schulz, finished January 10
004) City of Brick and Shadow by Tim Wirkus, finished January 9
003) Harem Scarem in El Cerrito by Neva Calvert Carpenter, finished January 4
002) iPlates Volume II: Prophets, Priests, Rebels, and Kings by Stephen Carter and Jett Atwood, finished January 4
001) Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut, finished January 3

final booky posts of
2015 = 2014 = 2013 = 2012 = 2011 = 2010 = 2009 = 2008 = 2007

most recent post
in this series

Glimmer Train Winter 2016

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Welcome to the new year! Let's look at Glimmer Train's latest, shall we? Just a quick observation or four about each work of fiction.

"Darling, Keith, the Subway Girl, and Jumping Joe Henry" by John Thornton Williams

This is one of the more striking looks at the state of modern masculinity I've read in some time. Darling is a homeless fellow. Keith is a college freshman in the city for the first time. Both have a hands-off love of the girl working at Subway. Both of their identities are wrapped up in some way with how this woman whose name they don't know could give them a sense of identity. This was stated explicitly in a book I read recently, but this and other stories in this issue revolve around the need men have to craft masculine identity around what we imagine women think of us. It's not a new notion to me, but it's troubling both because I accept it as absolutely true in my life and am uncomfortable with that certainty. This story played with my thinking on this issue and in smart ways.

"Full" by Claire Luchette

Huh. I . . . have no memory of this one.

"The Wall Between" by Tamar Jacobs

This was a dandy exploration of OCD up there with the OCD sections of Her Fearful Symmetry. I don't get what the names were supposed to symbolize (Florida? Dakota?), but something about Florida's sad, OCD-shackled life came off heroic here, and I like that.

"Chad Erupts in Strife" by Michael Varga

I could talk about masculinity in this one too, but I no longer want to.

"The Hecklers" by Aaron Guest

This one is very much about masculinity. It's also interesting in that it's the first AA story I've read that's mostly about AAers failures to stay on the wagon. Also these guys are total a******s and make me want stay away from all bars and professional sporting events. Also how do you say clean if you're too fat to reach your own genitals?

"The Bleeding Room" by Veri Kurian

We're back at college, this time with a female protagonist though the men around her are failing in remarkable ways to become men. This issue is fascinated with early adulthood. If you're looking to submit to Glimmer Train, consider writing about university students. Anyway, what is it with college students and alcohol (etc)? I had a teetotalling college experience and every one of the drinking sessions in these stories makes me glad that was so.

"Necessary Animals" by Aja Gabel

I didn't expect to read a werewolf story in Glimmer Train. And this is a pretty good one (even if the dead-girl storyline takes up too much space at the end). If I were making a collection of werewolf stories, I would include this literary gem. It's also---wait for it!---a story about masculinity! (Is this a special issue? Masculinity and drunk eighteen-year-olds?) The werewolf gene seems to be a masculine trait in Ally's family, and she feels left out. But she works out with her brother to compensate.

"How to Survive a Non-Funeral" by S.A. Rivkin

Although, sure, about masculinity, this is more a story about adulthood. Too live-in lovers who have rejected the dreamkilling scourge of marriage and family they've seen overtaking their friends, go visit her family as her grandfather is dying. While there, they have to confront---at least obliquely---that her estrangement from her past family (and from her future family) is nothing but an extended adolescence. It's a very subtle and intelligent piece.

"Affording to Lose" by Emily McKay

This is not fiction. And it's one of the best pieces on struggling with madness I've read, up there with an essay by Steve Peck and a short story by David Foster Wallace.

"A Matter of Twenty-Four Hours" by Andrew Roe

Like the Rivkin story, this is a story about someone trapped in an extended adolescence. He does come home to see his mother die, but whether any of the changes will, this time, prove lasting, is TBD.

"The Afterlife of Turtles" by Lee Conell

This story about a girl at college and her crazy (literally) uncle who calls her all the time hit me close. I have some notalltheres who call me. Would I notice if they disappeared?

"In Search of Absolutely Nothing" by Micah Nathan

Didn't really care for this one. It's rather a mess organizationally, and the story itself is a bit of a cliche, though the individual characters are well drawn and a few bits of imagery were quite intense.

Final quarter of films2015

.

In theaters:

The Peanuts Movie (2015): I wrote a whole post on this movie. In short, despite its flaws, I had a wonderful time watching this movie. It made me happy and warmed my soul---in other words, not the bombastic monstrosity we feared. In fact, this film, arguably more than any other Peanuts animation, captured the idiosyncratic line quality of the strip. Not at all what I assumed would be the case when 3D renders first hit the scene all those months ago. So phew. And yay.

The Good Dinosaur (2015): I don't know what this film was like before it was completely rejiggered, but the current marketing utterly failed to sell it honestly. Here's what you need to know: it's a western. Classic western. Disaster strikes the old farm. A young man out on his own. Cowboys and bandits, good guys and bad guys, growing up. It even fits in a wild-animal story while finding a better solution to the inevitable separation than IDONTLOVEYOUANYMORE. Look: the film has flaws (key among them the ungood apatosaurus design), but most of its problems are, in my opinion, bad marketing.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015): My favorite parts were when Han and Leia were on screen together. In part because they are Han and Leia but undoubtedly because, as they've aged, my father and Han Solo have gotten closer and closer in appearance. (The actors being about the same heights as my parents can't hurt either.) The rest of the film was good and I enjoyed it and look forward to watching it again to discover if I want to watch it again to discover if I want to watch it again to discover if I want to watch it again to discover if I want to watch it again. And if I do, then we'll declare it a worthy successor.

At home:

The Skeleton Twins (2014): Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader transition to drama much better than, say, Jim Carrey (and they certainly make believable siblings). This is a sad tale, but it's grounded in a solid, real relationship and even the most joked-at character finds pathos in the end. Tight script. A joyful drag.

Heavy Metal (1981): I saw snippets of this movie with some frequency during sleepless high school nights, up late, channel surfing, often landing on USA. One memorable time, I watched one of its naked women flying away at a hotel with my mother and she didn't even notice. It being a cartoon, it didn't register to her as threatening. It's been probably more than twenty years since I last saw it, so who knows how correct my memories are, but I'm quite certain a lot got cut from USA's broadcasts. For one thing, there are even more ridiculous breasts. More in the senses of both total number and anatomy. The anthology format is interesting, but---as in many anthology films---ultimately artificial. It's also weird how poorly rotoscoping has aged. And the actions scenes kind of suck, honestly. But there is a sort of adolescent purity to the thing. And now I can lay that piece of my past to rest. (Although I should add that this movie almost certainly inspired my childhood. It's hard to believe the hero of the final segment didn't provide some vital DNA to Masters of the Universe---she looks like the Sorceress and He-Man stole some of her gimmicks.)

UHF (1989): Since last quarter's viewing Son #1 has been quoting this movie relentlessly. And so now it's been seen by all three. Amazing how well this film predicted everything from Adult Swim to YouTube. (Not so good at predicting FCC regulations.)

Frankenweenie (2012): Not quite as good the second time (flaws do rise to the surface...), but it didn't have low expectations going for it anymore. The danger of success. Still: eminently enjoyable.

Bernie (2011): I enjoyed this movie so much, with its sorta-documentary style and really terrific performance from Jack Black. It is funny, but the sad parts are sadder than the funny parts are funny. Because the pathos Jack Black brings to the role makes you feel so much for Bernie that we too can't escape the shadow he's trapped under, even when everyone else is convinced nothing is wrong.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003): First time I've seen this since the second film disappointed me and broke my heart and made me swear off pirates all together. Happily, tonight we broke this out to share with the kids and it's still wonderful. Structural elements and details that mirror Star Wars and Indiana Jones and thus show why these things are always awesome when done well. And Johnny Depp. And Geoffrey Rush. And the two pretty characters. And all the character actors along the edges. I will admit this time I noticed a couple flaws, but they aren't the sort of flaws that matter. Like, in Jurassic Park, the goat/cliff problem. These things are storytelling and if the storytelling is done well enough, slight flaws don't matter. Major flaws do, however, and bringing back Barbosa in the second movie is one of those. Yes, Black Pearl made me want to watch all the sequels but, alas, I know better. Shame.

School of Rock (2003): This remains such a pure expression of joy. Hard to imagine it ever getting old.

Enemy (2013): Came out the same year as the last doppelganger film we watched. This one takes itself a bit too seriously and ends up confused about what it's saying. The other film also asked more than it answered, but it didn't fetishize uncertainty. Great acting in this one too, but watch the other one.

Big Eyes (2014): Although, when you start looking, you can find Tim Burtony aspects to this movie, it's most remarkable, as a Tim Burton movie, for its restraint. The acting is good. Amy Adams has the smallest eyes of any actress in the film. It's a respectful biopic. It's a good movie. I'm not sure we'll remember it in ten years, however. I'm not sure that we will.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989): Kids of today produce a verdict of hilarious. I have to say: although it's by no means a "great" movie, I still had a great time watching it too. They're begging for Bogus Journey tomorrow.

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991): When I was a kid, I liked this movie more than the first in the series. Having just watched them on back-to-back nights, I have to disagree with myself. Although its higher points may be higher, it's crasser, less guileless, and the third act ddrraaggss. That said, party on dudes.

The Parent Trap (1961): This film runs long by contemporary standards, but I don't find any fat on its bones. It's funny and heartfelt and honest. And, watching it the first time as a parent, kind of great on more than one level.

Bride of Frankenstein (1935): Finally I have seen this movie. I am one step closer to being able to accept my eventual demise. This is a hard film to write about in just one paragraph. Let's start by saying I won't judge it by how well it responds to the book. Even including a prologue with the Shelleys and Byron, it's making no attempts to be THAT Frankenstein---and rightly so. It's a distinctly noncinematic book---a "true" adaptation is impossible. The makeup and performance of Karloff is terrific. The side characters are great. The religious imagery is moving. The Bride is on screen not nearly long enough. The ending is nonsense and sours the experience for me. Is it a masterpiece? I dunno. I love its use of techniques from both the melodrama and German Expressionism while remaining essentially naturalistic. Parts of the film are hard to enjoy as filmed when your mind's been polluted by Young Frankenstein. Another thing: the pacing and length of this film (quick but able to be slow / an hour fifteen) prove that it's possible to make a great movie using time much differently than modern film. I'm not sure a film shaped and stretched like this one could be accepted today, but I would love to see some attempts made. Anyway, I liked it well enough. And for a gay man, James Whale seems to understand the filming of breasts quite well. Can you say that on Thutopia?

Wild (2014): This is an amazing film. The way it's shot, the way it's edited, the way it plays with chronology and memory, the use of color, what Reese Witherspoon does with her face---both with the muscles under the skin and the abuse to the skin itself. The film does a terrific job of showing darkness and pain and distance. I feel I learned about not just hiking, but mourning and despair and depravity and loneliness being a lone woman in a world that threatens to take advantage of you in that state. It's beautifully shot and beautifully paced. I'm happy Witherspoon is still with us. I'm amazed Nick Hornby was capable of writing it. I see now why people speak highly of Jean-Marc Vallée. This movie will probably change a few lives. (The cgi fox, however, c'mon.)

The Mountain of the Lord (1993): Although no one's likely to confuse it with a purely-meant-for-entertainment version of the same story, this is pretty good stuff. Some of the performances are just terrific, especially the guy playing Wilford Woodruff. His performance really is both corner- and capstone of the film. One line ("He was right. He was . . . always right.") is just one of those lines I always have access to. Bit of an obscure reference for most audiences, I suppose. Anyway. The older two kids really liked it. So that's a win as well.

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010): [Note: began this elsewhere, finished it at home.] I saw the first short film a few years ago and I may have shared it with you then. This was a successful transition to a full-length film with an actual narrative. In fact, were it not for the penises and the subtitles and the being a horror film, this would be a great film to share with my dad. It's the whole boy-becoming-a-man tale that he digs. And sure, a couple of the story beats are less well developed, but the film is so assured and smart about what it is and where it's going that we're completely willing to forgive it. In short: Santa is found buried under a mountain in Lapland by some nosy Americans and then, well, things get started. (Horror movie.) The film is much less gory and jumpy than I had expected. It's more a story of a family and friends and wilderness hardship---it's almost a western, in that way. Only instead of Injuns or oilmen or something, it's Santa. Some cable station should play THIS movie all day Christmas. That's what I say.

Elf (2003): Maybe it's regular exposure, but that third act gets less terrible with each viewing. Or maybe it's just that the joy of renewing my love for Zooey Deschanel gets me through. In other news, I've arrived at a theory as to why they get publishing so wrong: it's not publishing they're showing, it's an oversimplified version of blockbuster filmmaking. That makes more sense. Anyway, we'll let Will Ferrell's guileless performance cancel out that annoyance and Zooey's cancel out the third act and what's left? Just the funfunfunnest Christmas movie ever.

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977): I've been reading a lot of articles from 1977 and so watching it this time, I've tried to experience the film as if it were 1977 and instead of this defining film for me, it's breaking what I think about film. Which was a pretty great way to watch it. Although the 1997 additions really do feel out of place and a bit draggy. Still. IT'S STAR WARS.

Die Hard (1988): I've realized for a while now that I would have to watch Die Hard someday. It's reached classic status and even its role as a Christmas movie has moved past the joke stage. Even this year's Christmas episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine is Die Hard-themed. The reason of course is that the first Die Hard movie is that rare action film where the hero could, in fact, die. The hero as played by then-comedian Bruce Willis is mortal, vulnerable, human. And that's the sort of hero that makes for the best action movie. Twenty-seven years in, Die Hard thrills.

Back to the Future (1985): With the younger two kids gone, we're finally getting to the must-see movies of 2015. First one was a hit. I gotta say it holds up. And that I get a lot more references I did when I saw it the first time, at a friend's slumber party. Long, long ago. Anyway. Back to the future.

Back to the Future Part II (1989): Okay. I admit it. There is one pretty big flaw in the time-travel logic. But hey---time travel. Anyway, I love how integrated the sequels are, even if Crispin Glover did sue.

Back to the Future Part IIi (1990): THE END appeared on the screen with 23 seconds left in 2015. What a marvelously satisfying way to end 2015.

Elsewhere:

Hamlet (1990): This is still my favorite filmed Hamlet. I'm ready for a new competitor to win the day, however.

The Bad Seed (1956): Yes! I'm so pleased when a film lives up to its reputation, and this one's only real flaw is one it shares with Psycho (which came out four years later---it was the times) and that's a tendency to over-explain the psychology at work here. Otherwise (other than a few weird time issues that were rather playlike and shouldn't have appeared in a film), this film is awesome. Chilling. Shocking. I couldn't believe what was happening even though I had known coming in what this was all about. It's...just great. I do take issue with its Hays-Code ending, but that hardly takes away from the pleasures. If we can call them that....

Romeo and Juliet (1968): The best way to watch this film is with freshmen who behave like groundlings, overreacting to all the sex and violence.

William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996): Watch it with the right people, and this is the closest to the Globe you can get.

It's Such a Beautiful Day (2012): Dan Hertzfeldt's feature is a thing of beauty---a melancholy meditation on mortality and madness. And his filmic voice is so unique. I found it moving, and hope to watch it many more times.

The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015): I was subbing someone else's class and after some false starts and through some interruptions, we were to watch this film. Luckily, the class was right before lunch, so I got an extra 35 minutes of watch time, but to finish before my next class started, I had to watch some of the last bits on fast forward. It's a shame, because the film was good---chilling as a film on this story should be. It's shocking to watch how quickly the guards degrade. Frankly, it's their degradation that says more about humanity than the prisoner's. If you've been wondering if this film does credit to this true story, it does.

Previous films watched

2015

qu1 qu2 qu3 qu4

2014

qu1 qu2 qu3 qu4

2013

th1 th2 th3

The final book of 2015

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I don't think it's too likely I'll be finishing another book before midnight tomorrow, but I may watch another movie, so I'll post this now and post the last movie post of the year tomorrow.

S'long, 2015!

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126) The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht (English book by Desmond Vesey, English lyrics by Eric Bentley), finished December 26

Although the text noted that the first song ("The Moritat of Mackie the Knife") became a massive hit---massive enough, I thought, even I might recognize it, it did not occur to me until I sat down to write this review and fired up Spotify that that Mack the Knife might be that Mack the Knife^*.

As it was, I had a really hard time with these lyrics (any of these lyrics) as written finding a nonce melody that fit. I could certainly see the story being the sort of thing musical nerds of any generation latching onto (though the vulgarity of this play seems to fit late 20s Berlin particularly well). And, as I neared the end, I found the Peachums referenced in a Frank O'Hara poem.

Anyway, I seem to find in The Threepenny Opera everything that annoys me about musicals. I can appreciate that Brecht is reveling in the mire, but it's still stinky stuff.

Brecht's notes on the text: can't decide how I feel about them. I didn't really care what he said and they seemed bizarre notes, difficult to implement in any meaningful way in performance, but their very existence fascinated me.

Anyway. I can't take much more of this music. I think I'll stop here.

(I didn't expect to be so negative when I sat down to write this. Most musicals make me feel this way. I always thought it was Sondheim's fault, or possibly Lloyd Webber. Ends up my antipathy can be pushed further back in time.)

two or three weeks





Previously in 2015 . . . . :

Two drawn by Kerascoët

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I've written about Kerascoët-drawn works before: the excellent Beauty and the enjoyable Miss Don't Touch Me. Here are two more (Thank you, libraries!).

125) Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann and Kerascoët, finished December 23

This is the first Kerascoët book I've read by an author other than Hubert and while it's not quite as stunning as Beauty, it is a wonderful wonderful thing.

Here's the beginning:

I know what you're thinking right now. You're thinking: Wow. Oh, wow. I-- I don't--- Wow.

And I would have to agree with you.

The book goes on in this sort of fairytale innocence pasted over a dark interior. It's Lord of the Flies with one character trying her best to stay civilized as the casual cruelty of the world around her threatens to take over.

I don't want to say more. I don't want to get into my analytical feelings or symbolic suspicions because you can read it yourself and make your own decisions.

If those first pages don't make you open another tab and start looking for it right now, you're batty.

dunno but let's say an hour again



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124) Miss Don't Touch Me, Vol. 2 by Hubert and Kerascoët, finished December 23

The first volume was a rip-tearing murder thriller. This one has elements of that, but it's largely a doomed romance with Important Things to Say about how gay people were treated eighty, ninety years ago. I did appreciate how the twist was different from what I originally expected, but it was projected early enough it wasn't surprising, but late enough to be disappointing. In the end, society sucks for everyone---whether you're poor or rich, they'll find a way to get you down. Yay?

It was nice to see Miss Don't Touch Me approach happiness. And a bummer to see the closest thing these books have to a good person get so gravely disappointed.

an hour




Previously in 2015 . . . . :

Two of these books are about reading. One is about watching tv. One's about killing people. Actually two are about killing people. But that still only adds up to four books total.

.

123) His Right Hand by Mette Ivie Harrison, finished December 21

I haven't written about this yet (Christmas! busy!) but when I do, it'll be here.)

coupla weeks



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122) I Was a Child by Bruce Eric Kaplan, finished December 18

For most of the pages of this book, I couldn't decide if it was good or not. But I kept reading because it was made of bite-size pieces and littered with pictures so it was the perfect book for small moments.

In the end, I figured out what it was about. And now I like it. It was good.

Here's what this New Yorker cartoonist / tv writer's memoir of childhood is about:

It's about the impossibility of forgiving our parents. Not that we don't love them. Not that we can't empathize them. Not that we don't recognize that they did their best. Not that we've recognized it's unfair and unkind and unjust to wish they had done more or better or simply different. Just that parent-child relationships are fraught and lead inexorably to damage and love them or understand them or become them as we may, we never quite fully forgive them. And this is the damage we carry. And, I see looking down at the next generation, pass on.

For I too am damaging my children in ways they will never quite be able to forgive, not fully, not in this life, no matter how much we love each other or how good our relationship as adults turns out to be. The damage is too broad and too deep to ever uncover and release it all. Not in this life. Not in this life.

a week



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121) The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, finished December 18

I have (had) a lot I want(ed) to say about this book, but I'm fighting a cold and I'm not sure I'm capable of piecing together anything intelligible. So here are some disjointed thoughts.

I've been wanting to read this book since it came out ten years ago. I've had a (huge) hardback since that time. So huge that I would always read a page or so and put it back on the shelf. So when I picked up a free paperback copy earlier this year, I knew what my Halloween book would be. (I'd already started 'Salem's Lot, so that needed to be finished first, but it was done before Halloween). I've been reading it as I walk to and from school since. Plus a little but more here and there, but mostly on my commute. Took a couple months, but I finished it.

I like how the intro is dated three years after the book came out, leaving room for things to become real as they progress. (I also write things in the near future. Byuck takes place in 2000. Of course, by the time I finished writing it, that wasn't the future anymore. Just Julie's Fine takes place in the future year of 2005. Ask me how that's going.)

The first section of the book weaves past and present with great efficacy. But once the past changes from stories being told vocally to stories being told through documents, it's a bit less smooth.

Still: it's a much better book than Dracula.

The characters are well formed. I grew quite fond of many of them, though, with one notable exception, she only kills characters we barely know.

The title obviously has layers, but one final layer added at the end makes for a nice little twist.

The book feels insanely real. If this is not impeccably researched then it is the dirtiest of literary lies.

Um.

>koff<
>koff<

I feel bad. I spent so much time with this book and I wish I could think of more and better to say.

two months plus or minus a couple days



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120) Why I Read: The Serious Pleasure of Books by Wendy Lesser, finished December 16

I'll admit I skimmed parts of the first few chapters. I wasn't sold on Lesser's bonafides as someone *I* was willing to let lead me through reading, and she kept talking about books I had not read---and sometimes had not heard of.

But as I kept reading, I bought more and more into her ethos and I began to care about even some of the books I'd never heard of. Almost, in fact, she has sold me on the virtues of rereading---something I'm theoretically in favor of but from which mortality has scared me off.

The book's chapter's focus on various "reasons" to read---or, perhaps, various gifts books bestow (or hide away for the those who would discover): novelty, authority, grandeur and intimacy...). Each chapter builds on the last, It's like a How to Read...http://thmazing.blogspot.com/2011/12/s.html#lit for grownups.

Lesser was a good companion, even if she didn't speak much of our common read-list.

I enjoyed spending time with her. And I've noted a few of her recommendations.

about three weeks





Previously in 2015 . . . . :

Blogger predicts I'll call this post “Trigger Warning Starts with 33 Seconds” --- so let's go with that.

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119) This Is Portland: the city you've heard you should like by Alexander Barrett, finished December 10

This little bitty book will make you want to move to Portland. In fact, if it wasn't for an apparent paucity of good burritos, I would, on the advice of this book, move there today.

I would go see the swallows.

I would spend all my evenings in second-run theaters.

Every day I would visit a new foodcart.

Eat a new deep-fried wonder.

But I can't go. The burrito problem is unsurmountable.

maybe three weeks



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118) Out on the Wire: The Storytelling Secrets of the New Masters of Radio by Jessica Able, finished December 9

I started this a loooong time ago. Perhaps as far back as March. I read the first few dozen pages and liked what I read but eventually got bored and set it aside. Time passed. Then I mentioned it at a party and promised to lend it to someone so I picked it up and read the remaining sixty or seventy percent in the last week. And I'm glad I did!

If I were to scan a page and put it here (I'm not going to) it would be from the end, where Abel's avatar talks about the difficulty of working out a long, complex, deeply researched bit of nonfiction about people working out long, complex, deeply researched bits of nonfiction. Of course, she's doing it through comics rather than radio/podcasts, and that interplay of mediums is actually part of what makes the book's frisson so fascinating. I don't work in either medium, but I'm fascinated by them both. And I'm fascinated by this sort of meta-art. The premier (in both senses) example of which in comics is Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics, but what Abel's attempting here is in some senses more complex in that she has to juggle actual interviews with actual people---her work is also journalism (her endnotes are a fascinating variation when you look closely). Frankly, I would have liked more inventiveness in her visual metaphors, but given her presumably broad, not necessarily fully comics literate, intended audience, I can't blame her restraint.

I wonder what the legions of active amateur podcasters make of this work?

maybe as long as six months



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117) Miss Don't Touch Me by Hubert & Kerascoet, finished December 8

While no Beauty, this book from the same comics team intrigues. Sure, partly because it is looooooaded with sex and violence (whore houses! serial killers! s&m!), but the characters are pretty great. And it pulls a Psycho like I did not expect.

TIME



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116) Kids Say the Darndest Things! by Art Linkletter, finished November 29

You've probably heard of this 1957 book. It's a cornerstone of American pop culture, to be sure, having started on tv and worked its way into print and common parlance. You could argue that the noncatcentric internet store of videos is descended directly from his work with kids.

Anyway, the book is charming and fun. Bits of it certainly show age and the jokey final chapter was fun but a misfire.

In the end, it's timeless humor and yet, at the same time, utterly of its age. It gets added gravitas by being introduced by Walt Disney and provides a larger audience for up-and-comer Charles M. Schulz's drawings. How 1957 is that?

ten days





Previously in 2015 . . . . :