May 22, 2013

Grimes & Rowe Watch a Movie: Star Trek Into Darkness

Title: Star Trek Into Darkness
Directed by: J.J. Abrams
Distributed by: Paramount
Release Date:
Rated: PG-13

Synopsis: After the crew of the Enterprise find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. (Via IMDB)

Brian: Many are going to see Star Trek Into Darkness, have a good time, and quickly move on with their lives, but I can’t help but look at this big summer sequel as somewhat of a missed opportunity. In 2004 Sam Raimi built on the universe he created in Spider-Man and created the stupendous Spider-Man 2, and in 2008, Christopher Nolan followed up the decent Batman Begins with the best summer blockbuster of the last twenty years, the game changer that was The Dark Knight. J.J. Abrams makes great entertainment, but he truly excels when he shows a great enthusiasm for his projects, like 2011′s Super 8, the beautiful coming-of-age science fiction story that made my top ten list that year. His reboot of Star Trek in 2009 was a lot of fun, but not much more than that, and I was hoping for his four-years-in-the-making sequel to up the stakes. Unfortunately, Star Trek Into Darkness is a generic, forgettable summer sequel, one entertaining and action-packed enough to please most audiences, but one that doesn’t take too many risks, and most notably, one that doesn’t offer a single surprise in its two-hour running time.

Shaunta: Awww. I didn’t find it forgettable at all. I’ll remember it. I know what I’m talking about, because I literally cannot remember anything at all about the 2009 Star Trek movie. Nothing. I know I watched it, but it had zero impact on me. This one did impact me. I thought that in addition to some truly spectacular action sequences, it was a good story about male friendship. The dynamic between Chris Pine as Captain Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock was fabulous. But for me, the reason I will not forget this movie, Benedict Cumberbatch as Kahn took the show. I admit to being more than a little in love with the actor, so it would have taken a lot for him to not pull this off. But he managed to be human and evil is just perfect balance that I wasn’t sure until the end whether or not he was a good guy or a bad guy. Star Trek, in any form, isn’t meant to be surprising. Not any more. It’s the cinematic equivalent to comfort food. It’s supposed to be comfortable and familiar, but really good. I’m not even sure how in the world Star Trek of the Kirk/Spock variety could be really surprising without derailing everything that came before.

Brian: The film works best in the smaller moments, like the quick banter between Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto). There’s a lot to recommend here, and this is in no way a negative review. The opening sequence is stunning, with its near fatality in a volcano of lava and white creatures running through red bamboo sticks. The big finale, with its extraordinary depiction of San Francisco destruction, works well. The arc of Spock in this sequel works the best, with Quinto delivering a very good performance. His lack of emoting in the beginning leaves him some terrific scenes for the end. The movie, though, just isn’t that memorable; there’s not any specific scene or moment I’ll be thinking about a week from now. One stunner of a moment toward the end left me shrugging, because I knew a beloved character wasn’t going to be killed off. A lot of positive talk has been aimed at Benedict Cumberbatch as the new villain (gee, what do you think his name’s gonna be?), but he came off as mostly a bore to me. Zoe Saldana and the other supporting players get next to nothing to do in this installment, and why is it that every twenty minutes of the movie, the crisis feels like it’s life and death? The special effects are top-notch, more than half of the film is chaotic action, but there’s nothing special going on here, nothing to truly inspire the imagination. Unlike the more solid Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness is a decent night at the movies, but not a great one.

Shaunta: Benedict Cumberbatch was not boring to me. Not even a little. He was chilling. It’s true that this movie was mostly all about the action and the effects. I think it might have been the loudest film I’ve ever attended. I actually had to cover my ears at some points because I couldn’t take the wrenching-metal noise anymore. And it’s true that the part that’s supposed to be heart-wrenching at the end was tempered by the fact that there was never a moment where I thought that the character would actually die. I thought the movie did a good job of showing the other characters believing it though, and it lead to some pretty touching moments. In a big ensemble cast that’s so well-known, where there is no good way to leave out a character because they are all so beloved, there is no way to give everyone big moments. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Simon Pegg as Scotty. And I thought the beginning of the relationship between Kirk and Alice Eve’s Carol Marcus was done perfectly. It wasn’t over the top. I really enjoyed this movie. It’s not meant to be a deeply philosophical picture, but it does have something to say about friendship that I found interesting. It’s supposed to be fun. And it is. It’s an action movie and succeeds in providing heart-racing sequences. It has strong female characters, when lots of action movies reduce women characters to barely-post-adolescent walking sex objects. I highly recommend that if you’re going to watch Star Trek Into the Darkness, you watch it at a theater where you get the best of what this movie does really right.

May 21, 2013

Book Review: Gingerbread

Title: Gingerbread
Written by: Rachel Cohn
Series: Cyd Charisse
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publish Date: June 1, 2003
Genre: YA Contemporary
Pages: 172
Source: Bought at Indie Bookstore
Buy the Book: Gingerbread

Synopsis: “I will be as wild as I wanna be.” After getting tossed from her posh boarding school, wild, willful, and coffee addicted Cyd Charisse returns to San Francisco to live with her parents. But there’s no way Cyd can survive in her parents’ pristine house. Lucky for Cyd she’s got Gingerbread, her childhood rag doll and confidante, and her new surfer boyfriend.

When Cyd’s rebelliousness gets out of hand, her parents ship her off to New York City to spend the summer with “Frank real-dad,” her biological father. Trading in her parents for New York City grunge and getting to know her bio-dad and step-sibs is what Cyd has been waiting for her whole life. But summer in the city is not what Cyd expects — and she’s far from the daughter or sister that anyone could have imagined.

Shaunta’s Review: I’ll be honest: I read this book because I was desperate to read something that wasn’t assigned by one of my professors, and it’s a small book that I knew wasn’t going to derail my more scholarly reading. I’ve had Gingerbread on my shelf for a long time. Rachel Cohn and David Levithan’s Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is one of my favorites. After reading Gingerbread (and having read Every Day by Levithan), it was completely obvious to me that it was Cohn that made me love Nick and Norah so much. This book is just as quick-witted and sharp-tongued as that one.

It wasn’t perfect. Things came too easily for Cyd Charisse–even when she was being forced to do things she didn’t want to do. (What kind of punishment is moving to a gorgeous apartment in New York City, meeting an awesome brother for the first time, and getting a job you love in his bakery? Really?) Cyd is capital-P Privileged and I would have liked her to recognize that a little more by the end of the story. Maybe she does in the sequels? I’m not sure, but I’ll report back.

Gingerbread the rag doll was my favorite part of this story. I loved her. I loved how she kept Cyd from being over-the-top spoiled-little-rich-girl. Gingerbread is basically Juno in book form with a different story. The language is so similar that I wonder if Diablo Cody didn’t read this book for inspiration. Over all it was super fun, a great distraction from Faulkner and Edith Wharton, and well worth reading.

May 19, 2013

Feeding the Addiction (41)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. Feeding the Addiction is our version. Every Sunday, we’ll post the books that found their way into our hot little hands during the week. Some are sent for review by authors or publishers, some we borrow from the library, and others we buy (Shaunta might have a little thrift store and used book store addiction. Brian loves the library.)

* * *

Shaunta:

Purchased on Amazon

The 5th Wave, by Rick Yancey

Brian:

Borrowed from Library

A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness

May 16, 2013

Book Review: 2030

Title: 2030
Written by: Albert Brooks
Series: N/A
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Publish Date: May 10, 2011
Genre: Adult Literary
Pages: 384
Source: Bought at Indie Bookstore
Buy the Book: 2030

Synopsis: Is this what the future holds?

June 12, 2030 started out like any other day in memory—and by then, memories were long. Since cancer had been cured fifteen years earlier, America’s population was aging rapidly. That sounds like good news, but consider this: millions of baby boomers, with a big natural predator picked off, were sucking dry benefits and resources that were never meant to hold them into their eighties and beyond. Young people around the country simmered with resentment toward “the olds” and anger at the treadmill they could never get off of just to maintain their parents’ entitlement programs.

But on that June 12th, everything changed: a massive earthquake devastated Los Angeles, and the government, always teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, was unable to respond.

The fallout from the earthquake sets in motion a sweeping novel of ideas that pits national hope for the future against assurances from the past and is peopled by a memorable cast of refugees and billionaires, presidents and revolutionaries, all struggling to find their way. (Via Amazon)

Brian’s Review: Defending Your Life, the 1991 film written and directed by, and starring, Albert Brooks, is my favorite comedy of all time. Co-starring Meryl Streep, the film tells of a man who dies in a tragic bus accident, then wakes up in a new afterlife where for four days his life on Earth is examined and it’s decided whether he’ll continue on to “the next stage” or go back to Earth to try again. It’s a very funny movie, and a sweet romance, but it’s also the only glimpse into what happens after we die that actually makes sense. It’s a film I’ve watched over and over and over again, and it’s one that’s made me seek out every known Albert Brooks project ever made. It’s not that hard, actually, since his output is disappointingly limited. He’s only made a handful of films, most of which are great, including Modern Romance, Lost in America, Mother, and The Muse. And in 2011, much to my surprise and joy, his first work of fiction was published. I’ve just finished 2030, and let me tell you, this is an eye-opening, fascinating glimpse into a scarily real future, one that reminded me of a slightly less gruesome version of Stephen King’s The Stand.

2030 weaves together at least half a dozen major storylines, and dozens of characters, as they come to grips with hardships in the year 2030. While Defending Your Life is funny in its depiction of the afterlife, there’s surprisingly few laughs in this book, mostly because, as a young person, I’m mortified by the idea of the older generation living longer and longer and we in our twenties and thirties having to pay for them. I’m mortified by interest rates skyrocketing, and climate change becoming a worldwide detonator. The event that sets off the rest of the novel is a 9.1 earthquake in Los Angeles that kills thousands and leaves the city in utter ruins, and even the President is unsure where he’s going to get the money to pay for all the rescue efforts. Brooks does include some more clever, less traumatizing futuristic predictions, like a cure for cancer finally being discovered, and all movies being projected in 3D. But at the heart of the story is total chaos, and not the kind of comedy we’ve come to expect from Brooks.

If I had a criticism of the book, it’s that there’s not the kind of thrust to the narrative that can be found in, say, the apocalyptic works of Stephen King. At 384 pages, 2030 felt a tad long, while 1,100+ pages of The Stand fly by in a breeze. The characters are all interesting, especially The President, who has unimaginable burdens in this near future, and Kathy, a young 20-something, who’s suddenly faced with hundreds of thousand of dollars in debt after her father gets treated at the hospital (and then dies soon after). And I loved all the tiny details Brooks scatters throughout. Ultimately, this book is worth reading sooner rather than later (published in 2012, the book already has predictions of things to come for 2013!). While it doesn’t reach the powers of his film masterpiece, one I’m already thinking of revisiting again, Defending Your Life, it’s an honest, fascinating look at where we might be in seventeen years. I hope it’s the first of many (or at least two or three!) literary endeavors from one of my favorite writers in the universe, Mr. Albert Brooks.

May 13, 2013

Grimes & Rowe Watch a Movie: Iron Man 3

Title: Iron Man 3
Directed by: Shane Black
Distributed by: Paramount / Marvel
Release Date: May 3, 2013
Rated: PG-13

Synopsis: When Tony Stark’s world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution. (Via IMDB)

Brian: Movie trilogies usually don’t work like this. Usually the first installment, the film that introduces us to all the characters, works as a fine but mostly dull origin story. Then the second film slays us with its brilliance. And then the third film, with the highest budget yet, gets so big and bloated that ultimately the suits in power have to re-launch the series a few years later with new actors and a slightly different title. (Of course I’m not talking Spider-Man, wink wink.) But the Iron Man trilogy has not worked out this way. The first Iron Man, still the best in the series, was a glorious entertainment, my favorite mainstream blockbuster of 2008 after The Dark Knight. Iron Man 2, on the other hand, was one of my ten least favorite movies of 2010; plagued with a fast schedule and multiple re-shoots, the movie was a big, loud mess. And now, after the wondrous entertainment that was last year’s The Avengers, we have Iron Man 3, a film that should have been the mess Iron Man 2 initially promised, but is instead an imperfect but super fun installment in the Marvel movie universe, with Downey Jr’s best performance as the character yet, and a hilarious, fast-moving script from the great Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, The Long Kiss Goodnight), who also turned up as director here. There are a few lulls in the middle of the movie, and the finale leaves a little to be desired, but overall I had a great time at this one.

Shaunta: I went to see Iron Man 3 on Mother’s Day with my husband and 8-year-old daughter. It was a late-ish show for a school night (bad mommy!), so I had a unique barometer to how good this film was. I watched to see if Ruby fell asleep. She did get comfy: shoes off, my jacket like a blanket, practically laying in her daddy’s lap. But she stayed awake and riveted through the entire film–including what felt like a year of credits to get to the little cookie at the end. Ruby is a superhero aficionado, and although her first love is Spiderman, she really loved this Iron Man flick. She loved the small references to the Avenger movie (the man with the hammer falling from the sky? Thor! Thor!) She loved just about everything about it. So did I. There was a lot that worked for me. There’s a kid in this one who perfectly plays against Tony Stark’s high opinion of himself. Pepper Potts gets to kick some ass, and the action scenes are the top of the top. I didn’t feel any lulls anywhere, but my husband agreed with Brian about there being a couple in the middle. I do agree though that the ending had too much of a Christmas bow on top. Too neat.

Brian: One element I thought worked really great was an onset of anxiety problems that Tony Stark is facing, mostly from the dramatic events at the end of The Avengers. Since none of the other characters from that film show up (well, until the funny little credit cookie), it would have been easy to just throw out a quick line about the previous film and let Iron Man 3 work as a complete stand-alone. Instead, Black smartly uses the extraordinary events from Joss Whedon’s film and uses it for drama here, to give vulnerability to our central superhero character. In less assured hands, this aspect to the movie might have felt cloying, but it’s an interesting and welcome addition to the film. The film is rich with great characters and performances, many from new faces to the series. Ben Kingsley is a revelation in this movie. Yeah, yeah, I know, he won the Oscar for Ghandi a bazillion freaking years ago, and he’s been great in a thousand things ever since, like House of Sand and Fog (a movie that still shakes me up every time I think of it), but the unique spin he puts on this character is part Heath Ledger, part Will Ferrell, and a complete original. Guy Pierce, as the main baddie, is equally up to the task. Also worth mentioning is little Ty Simpkins, who plays a boy that Tony takes under his wing in a middle chunk of the movie, and who gives one of the most relaxed, natural child performances I’ve seen on screen in a long, long time. The movie loses a little of its momentum in the chaotic action finale, and Gwyneth Paltrow still doesn’t do much more here than play the damsel in distress, but for those who had to endure the rocky second installment, Iron Man 3 is a return to form.

Shaunta: The one thing that distracted me during the movie was trying to figure out who the actress was playing the character Maya. I knew I knew her, but I couldn’t put my finger on from where. And then it hit me all at once. She is a dead ringer for a young Molly Ringwald, and I just saw and loved her in Parade’s End. When I say dead ringer, I’m not kidding. Look:

See? She’s a brunette in Iron Man 3, but still. Anyway, I thought Rebecca Hall as Maya was fantastic. And like I said before, the little boy was great. I also really enjoyed Don Cheadle as the Iron Patron. Honestly, there wasn’t much I didn’t like about this movie. To be honest, I don’t even remember Iron Man 2–literally nothing about it–even though I know I watched it. It didn’t stick with me as a good movie, but it also didn’t upset me as a terrible movie like it did Brian. Iron Man 3 on the other hand is worth seeing in the theater. And it’s memorable. Ruby woke up talking about it. As I write this, my older daughter Adrienne is debating with me whether the message at the end, “Tony Stark will be back” means that a fourth movie is possible or if we only get more Iron Man in Avengers 2. Unlike Brian, Ben Kingsley’s character was a weak spot for me. He was too silly. The whole idea of his character just didn’t work for me. But over all, I really, really enjoyed Iron Man 3.

May 10, 2013

Grimes & Rowe Watch a Movie: Mud

Title: Mud
Directed by: Jeff Nichols
Distributed by: Lionsgate
Release Date: April 26, 2013 (Wide)
Rated: R

Synopsis: Two teenage boys encounter a fugitive and form a pact to help him evade the bounty hunters on his trail and to reunite him with his true love. (Via IMDB)

Brian: No actor in recent memory has had the kind of unexpected career resurgence as Matthew McConaughey. After showing promise in the 90′s in movies like Lone Star, A Time to Kill, and the underrated EDtv, he slowly sank into the quicksand pit of romantic comedy hell. The Wedding Planner, Failure to Launch, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. Honestly, after his awesome turn in 2002′s Frailty, McConaughey fell off the face of the Earth for me. His being in a movie didn’t fill me with excitement, but with apathy. That all has changed in the last year, in which he has turned in five fantastic performances in a slew of fresh, daring indies, like Bernie, Killing Joe, and last summer’s smash hit Magic Mike. With a performance likely to have Oscar written all over it later this year in Dallas Buyers Club (just you wait!), and turns in Martin Scorsese’s and Christopher Nolan’s next two upcoming films, McConaughey is back, and on display in full force is his great talent, once again, in Mud. Playing yet another unique creation of a character, McConaughey embodies the title character with passion and mystery, and most of all, humanity. From writer/director Jeff Nichols, who made the great Take Shelter in 2011, Mud is a fascinating film to get lost in. It doesn’t have quite the same haunting power as The Place Beyond the Pines, which was also about beaten down characters and two kids trying to come to terms with the harsh realities of life, but it’s a very fine film.

Shaunta: I need to see The Place Beyond the Pines, just so that I have a frame of reference since it seems like every movie for the rest of the year might be compared to it! I thought Matthew McConaughey was great in Mud, but for me, this movie was all about the kids. Tye Sheridan as the lead character, Ellis, and Jacob Lofland as his best friend Neckbone, were incredible. Neckbone might be my new favorite kid character ever. What this movie is really about, at it’s heart, is Ellis–a fourteen-year-old romantic, figuring out that the world isn’t really set up for pure romance. I loved the relationship between Ellis and Neckbone, the way they related to the adults around them, and how this movie managed to capture that moment between grown-up and not grown-up with absolute perfection. As a writer, I’m fascinated by that time in between, when you’re old enough to have your own world, but not quite old enough to live there by yourself yet. Ellis and Neckbone have a secret, and it was delicious to watch it play out.

Brian: Jeff Nichols makes quiet character studies, rich in dialogue and slow-building tension. At every turn of Mud you know something big and terrifying is coming, but you have to have patience. Nichols plants seeds everywhere, all to create the template for an ending that throws all but one of the characters into an explosive confrontation. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy the story unfold like a great novel. I loved the setting of the film, the gorgeous and eerie backwoods of Arkansas. The cinematography is gorgeous, everything from the tranquil shots of the lake to the passings-by of archaic corporate in the middle of the town. The two pre-teen actors, Tye Sheridan as Ellis and Jacob Lofland as Neckbone, are terrific finds. I’m always amazed when child actors can be so real and human and devastating on screen, and that’s what you get with these two. For me the big weak link of the film was Reese Witherspoon, her character Juniper, her storyline, everything. Mud’s love for Juniper keeps him going, but we never really get to understand their relationship, or what they mean to each other. Witherspoon doesn’t really play into the finale at all, and in the end, I found her appearance in the film distracting more than anything. An unknown in this role might have served the movie better. McConaughey, on the other hand, is mesmerizing in the main role, and I loved watching the growing bond his character has with Ellis. Their final tender moment toward the end is a thing of beauty. Mud is long and a little slow and may not work for everyone. But as much as I enjoyed, say, Iron Man 3, it’s films like Mud that keep me coming back to the theater. As long as unique stories like Mud keep being told, we’re going to keep coming back.

Shaunta: I agree about Reese Witherspoon. In a movie this long, there was time to flesh out that character and the relationship between Juniper and Mud more. The absolute devotion he has for her didn’t feel earned. This was a much slower-paced movie than I expected. There were a few spots where it occurred to me that I’d been at the theater a really, really long time. But when the more action-packed part comes at the end, you’ve been waiting for it so long that it feels like the best action in any movie ever. One of the things I really loved about this movie was how it blurred the lines between good and bad. You know who to root for, but you’re never really sure if you should be rooting for them.

*SPOILER ALERT* I really appreciated that this movie didn’t throw any emotional manipulation at me at the end. It would have been so easy to do, and in a movie like this it’s kind of typical, but it didn’t. I left the movie feeling just how I love to feel after a movie: happy and satisfied.

May 7, 2013

Book Review: The White Bicycle

Title: The White Bicycle
Written by: Beverley Brenna
Series: Wild Orchid series
Publisher: Red Deer Press
Publish Date: October 30, 2012
Genre: YA Contemporary
Pages: 216
Source: Borrowed from Library
Buy the Book: The White Bicycle

Synopsis: The White Bicycle is the third stand-alone title in the Wild Orchid series about a young woman with Asperger’s Syndrome. This installment chronicles Taylor Jane’s travels to the south of France where she spends a summer babysitting for the Phoenix family. Including flashbacks into Taylor’s earliest memories, along with immediate scenes in Lourmarin, a picturesque village in the Luberon Valley, The White Bicycle results in a journey for independence both personal and universal, told in Taylor’s honest first-person prose. (Via Amazon)

Brian’s Review: I’ve been on a kick lately of reading both new and old winners of the Michael L. Printz award. About a year ago Shaunta and I made it our mission to track down and read as many Printz books as we could find, to the point where I even made a cheat sheet list that we both carry around at all times (true story!). When the five winners of 2012 were announced, I thought two things. One, where the hell is The Fault in Our Stars (too popular?). And two, I need to read all five of these as humanly possible. Well, it’s been three months, and I’ve gotten to three of them. Not bad! I found last year’s winner In Darkness a little cold, but absolutely adored Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, easily one of my favorite three reads so far in 2013.

And now we arrive at The White Bicycle, the least publicized, the least discussed Printz Honor book this year (it currently has one single review on Amazon!). It’s a Canadian book about a girl named Taylor with Asberger’s syndrome who travels to the south of France for the summer. It’s an easy read, the kind of book that flows from one chapter to the next with ease. I was never greatly wrapped up in the narrative because the writing I felt to be almost too simple, with not a lot of depth to some of the scenes and supporting characters. But what I really enjoyed about the book was its depiction of France from a teenage girl who lives on the other side of the Atlantic. It reminded me of all the fears and joys I had when I studied abroad in Germany in 2005, and all the great memories I got out of the experience.

Taylor is a well-drawn character who acts as the first person narrator. As we delve further into her time in Paris, we get flashbacks to her early life, as well as glimpses into an unexpected she has in the second half of the book with an older woman who has a lot to teach her. I was surprised to learn that this was the third title of a series that Beverley Brenna as written, because it definitely stands alone as a complete book, I’d be curious to see what the other two books are about. In the end this was a pleasant read for a couple days but isn’t one of the Printz books that will stick in my mind very far in the future. I think teenage girls will enjoy it most. If you’re looking for a lighthearted way to spend a couple hours, you could do a lot worse than The White Bicycle.

Follow “”