OBPL Adult Summer Reading 2008

Book review: Choice of Evil by Andrew Vachss

2008-08-19T12:58:00.000-04:00

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
When con-man and unlicensed private investigator Burke's girlfriend is killed at a gay-rights rally, Burke seeks vengeance, only to find out that the killers have already been dispatched by a serial killer who is murdering anti-gay activists. Employed by a gay-rights group who wants to help this vigilante get away, Burke is drawn into a very complex web of crime and murder that could possibly involve the only man he has ever feared, the ice-man assassin Wesley. Vachss turns the conventions of tough-guy noir on it's head with strong women and gay characters that defy the stereotypes of the genre. He is a master of the form, and this is one of the most memorable of the Burke stories.

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Library Event Review: The Wag Band Concert

2008-08-15T09:38:00.001-04:00

Reader number 51 wrote: What an enjoyable Saturday afternoon listening to the acoustic sounds of the Wag Band. I immensely enjoyed their mix of songs which included Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel as well as the Boss, "Bruce". I highly recommend seeing this band performed locally in our area as evident by the fact I signed up for their email listings of performances.
Rating: A.

Book review: Ghosts of the Garden State by Lynda Lee Lacken

2008-08-15T09:32:00.003-04:00

Reader #110 wrote: This was a very interesting book. Grade: B.

Book Review: The Second Home Book by Marylouise Oates

2008-08-15T09:28:00.003-04:00

Reader # 110 wrote: This had lots of helpful tips. Grade: A.

Book Review: The Science of Fear by Dan Gardner

2008-08-11T15:33:00.001-04:00

Librarian Tim wrote:

The Science of Fear: Why We Fear the Things We Shouldn't--and Put Ourselves in Greater Danger by Daniel Gardner

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
As someone who suffers from anxiety and fear problems that can be pretty debilitating at times, it was looking forward to reading this book to see if there were any ideas that could help me recognize and alleviate my fears. Gardner focuses on the psychological aspects of fear, quoting at lengths from researchers and their experiments. While he does bury the reader at times in numbers and studies, he narrows his thesis down to humans having split personalities: the head, thoughtful and rational, and the gut, impulsive and reckless. In this sense, it is the flipside to Malcolm Gladwell's book Blink. In that book, the gut was responsible for good decisions, in this book the gut the gut takes all information at face value and ratchets up the fear. Gardner is successful with presenting his ideas, but the scope is somewhat narrow, as he focuses on the psychological and it would have been interesting if he could have included some neurological research about how gut and head co-exist and conflict within the brain.

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Book review: True Believer by Nicholas Sparks

2008-08-05T12:39:00.003-04:00

Reader #529 wrote: Good summer read - romance and supernatural mystery. Grade: B.

Book review: Scarlet Feather by Maeve Binchy

2008-08-05T12:37:00.002-04:00

Reader #529 wrote: An okay read, a little predictable. Grade: B.

Book review: The Joys of Reading by Burton Rascoe

2008-08-05T09:41:00.002-04:00

Reading old books about books is enlightening. One discovers that authors were considered great and lasting in 1937 are completely forgotten now, and one is perhaps reminded that many authors currently in favor may fade from view in another few decades. THE JOYS OF READING: LIFE'S GREATEST PLEASURE by Burton Rascoe (copyright 1937, and of course there is no ISBN) has hapters on "The Joys of Reading" and "How to Judge Literary Values," but it also has lists. The list of twenty-five favorite authors from 1900 to 1925 includes many that have withstood the
test of time: H. G. Wells, G. K. Chesterton, Rudyard Kipling, Henry James, and Jack London. But it also includes Joseph Hergesheimer, Gamaliel Bradford, May Sinclair, and W. J. Locke, and omits (for example) Arthur Conan Doyle. A list of the twenty-five favorite books lists two by Wells: THE OUTLINE OF HISTORY and MR. BRITLING SEES IT THROUGH. Admittedly, his classic science fiction novels were written before 1900, but this century still saw THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON, THE FOOD OF THE GODS, and IN THE DAYS OF THE COMET. Grade: B-.

Book review: Spellbound by James Essinger

2008-08-04T19:06:00.003-04:00

Reader #83 wrote: SPELLBOUND: THE SURPRISING ORIGINS AND ASTONISHING SECRETS OF ENGLISH SPELLING by James Essinger (ISBN-13 978-0-385-34084-7,
ISBN-10 0-385-34084-2) is more a history of the English language
and less an explanation about spelling. Essinger also makes some
mistakes, or rather, has some misunderstandings. He refers to "a
holy book, such as the Christian Bible, the Muslim Koran, or the
Jewish Talmud" (page xxviii). The Talmud is not really a holy
book; it is more a set of annotations to the Torah, which *is* a
holy book. He says of "kosher" that it "has come to mean in
modern English not just food that is prepared according to Jewish
but also, more broadly, anything that is correct, genuine, and
legitimate" (page 26). The only problem is that that is what it
means in Hebrew; one speaks of a "kosher scroll" in a mezuzah,
for example.

And in writing about languages which do not use the Roman
alphabet, Essinger says, "where there is an accepted romanization
system, the writing of a foreign nonalphabetic name is fairly
straighforward. But a strange-looking name in a foreign language
that is written using Roman letters will not have any
standardized way of being written" (page 52). If it is already
in Roman letters, why change it at all?

On page 77 he gives a sample of text written in the International
Phoentic Alphabet (IPA). I found myself thinking how interesting
it looked. Then on page 78 he says, "purely phonetic writing
looks absolutely horrendous, as the physical appearance of
Hamlet's speech in the IPA shows all too well." Well, that
wasn't my reaction at all!

Essinger talks about how the English language became basically a
completely different language by 1500 from what it was in 1400,
and the "Great Vowel Shift", which made what had been pronounced
"Saw it is team to say the shows on the sarm fate noo," to our
present "So it is time to see the shoes on the same feet now."
Again, though, a lot of this is only marginally related to
spelling. Grade: B.

Movie review: The Incredible Hulk

2008-08-04T19:02:00.002-04:00

Reader #83 wrote: The Army created but cannot control Bruce Banner, the Hulk. Banner's anger has the power to turn him into a bouncing ten-foot monster as hard as rock. Edward Norton (who plays Banner) is one of the finest actors of his generation. This may not be the best film for him, but he is an asset to the film. THE INCREDIBLE HULK is a darker and grimmer superhero film with a more tragic hero than we have seen of late from the Marvel films.

[Following the main text there is a minor spoiler on some points that did
not work for me.]

Within weeks of each other we have seen at theaters two Marvel Comics
superhero films. While they also stand alone, they are really chapters in
a longer story whose arc has yet to be revealed. IRON MAN and THE
INCREDIBLE HULK are both good as superhero films go. The public seems to
prefer IRON MAN, which I reviewed previously and gave a high +1 on the -4
to +4 bell-curve scale. THE INCREDIBLE HULK gets the same rating, but of
the two I give the edge to THE INCREDIBLE HULK. Why do I prefer this
film? First, I am never likely to meet a playboy arms dealer like Tony
Stark. Do I doubt that such a person drives around war zones drinking
cocktails? Let us say I am unconvinced. Perhaps characters like this
exist in the real world, perhaps not. On the other hand I can well
believe that there are people living in the slums of Brazil coming to
terms with personal problems like anger. Do I believe that when they
become enraged they grow to twice their scale, turn the color of avocados,
and adopt a doors- optional policy for getting around? Perhaps they do in
their imaginations. For me that is not a big stretch. And do these
people become so possessed by their rage that they become supremely
violent? You bet they do. For me Bruce Banner (The Hulk) is a much more
believable main character than is Tony Stark. He is a man of very common
emotions, simply exaggerated. Needing the violent outlet while detesting
it is very real. Iron Man being kidnapped and forced to develop missiles
is not quite as real and certainly less primal.

The plot of THE INCREDIBLE HULK can be summed up in two or three
sentences. In the Ang Lee THE HULK the military used super- science to
turn Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) into an awesome fighting man. When he
gets mad enough to fight he becomes a ten- foot-tall monster. After the
early transformations he did some really bad things (only hinted at for
those who have not read the comic or seen THE HULK). Banner ran away and
is now hiding out in the crowded slums of Brazil trying to learn to manage
the world's deadliest rage. To keep busy he corresponds electronically
with an enigmatic friend whom he knows only by the code name Mr. Blue.
The army, personified by General Ross (William Hurt), has tracked him down
and sends a special commando, Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), to capture him.
Well, we know how well that will work. And admittedly here and elsewhere
there are few real surprises in the film. Banner evades capture and works
his way back north to an East Coast school, Culver University. At this
school is his girlfriend Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) and the scientist Mr.
Blue (Tim Blake Nelson). (There are also quaint bicycle-stands labeled
"City of Toronto".) There he will find the ultimate confrontation--or at
least the biggest in the film.

Marvel films seem to be developing their own style that continues from
film to film. We have the cameo for Stan Lee. This time he is not at the
end of a garden hose as he was in the last X-Men movie, and he is not at
the end of a conversation as he was in IRON MAN. This time he is the
end. More specifically he is a very much a loose end in the plot. I
waited in vain for the plot to explain what happened to his character, but
if it was there I missed it. Also there is a certain inexorable
predictability in the plotting. There is segregation of each to his own
type. What does a man in a power-suit fight in the climactic battle? He
is matched against a man in a bigger and more mighty power- suit. What
does a hulk fight in the climactic scene? It has to be a bigger meaner
hulk. Another element of the Marvel style in recent films to have a final
scene at the end of the credits. It has some unexpected twist to reward
those audience members who stay through the credits. X-MEN 2 had such a
scene, as did IRON MAN. Here the scene is moved to the beginning rather
than the end of the credits. It looks like someone in production decided
that too many people were missing what could be a pivotal teaser scene.
Stan Lee is not the only in-joke casting. We get to see/hear Lou Ferrigno
as both the voice of the Hulk and as a minor character. There are cute
allusions to Godzilla movies, to King Kong, and even to Tiananmen Square.

Edward Norton acts with a low-key style. I am not sure he conveys the
angst as much as was needed, but his persona is a nice counterpoint to the
thrashing monster he becomes. The most memorable acting in the film is
from Tim Blake Nelson, whose boyish glee for studying the Hulk makes him
one of the most likeable mad scientists in recent film history. Nelson,
some of the realistic settings, the tragedy of the main character, and the
dark style make this a better than average Marvel superhero film. For my
money it is also better than the very recent IRON MAN. Grade B

Film Credits: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0800080/

Minor spoiler warning:

I did have a few problems with the script. At one point after a blackout
spell Banner asks a stranger, "where am I?" The stranger responds, "In
Guatemala." If a stranger asked you where he was, would you say "the
United States"? My wife wanted to know how Banner had managed to cross
the Panama Canal without anyone noticing how really big and green he was.
Perhaps he had switched back to Banner. After all, the rules of this
particular mutation are unclear. There is a nice tender King-Kong-Anne-
Darrow sort of scene in which he is Hulked, but does not seem to have been
angry for hours. Why is he still engorged?

If someone about 160 pounds actually threw a helicopter, it is the human
who would do most of the flying according to the laws of physics. You
learn to ignore the fact that he would have to be a lot more massive as
the Hulk than he is as Banner. It is therefore probably bad form to show
an examination table that held Banner perfectly well moments before but
crushes under the massive weight of Hulk. It rubs our noses in the fact
that Banner's mutation circumvents conservation of mass.

Movie review: Untraceable

2008-08-04T18:50:00.003-04:00

Reader #5 wrote: This "R" rated, action-packed, suspense/thriller movie stars Diane Lane as the lead FBI agent assigned to a track down a killer who airs his murders on his web site. This movie is not for the weak at heart but milder than the "Saw" movie series which made it much easier for me to watch. Not too many movies made in the last few years have kept my interest but this one I would say is the best I can remember watching since the movie "Seven" with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman (watch that one too). The box cover compares "Untraceable" to "Silence of the Lambs" and I would have to agree. "Untraceable" is creepy and you may want to watch it with someone and keep some lights on! I would definitely say that it is worth renting and watching not once, but a few times. It was very well made and with technology what it is these days, it is extremely believable which adds to the high entertainment quality of this film. Why are you still reading this, go out and rent it today!

Book review: Apocalipstick by Sue Margolis

2008-08-04T18:33:00.002-04:00

Reader#536 wrote: Even though it took a while to finish, I really enjoyed it. It's based in the UK. I can relate to it. I love the love twists...The main character is Rebecca. She works for "Vanguard" which is a small newspaper (based in UK). She finally gets her big break when a girl working for a cosmetic company reveals the dangers of a popular cream. On top of that, her enemy from school has re-emerged and is about to marry her dad. At the end it all works out...with a good mix of sweet suspense! Grade A.

Book review: The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini

2008-08-04T18:27:00.003-04:00

Reader# 83 wrote: Khalid Hosseini was born in Afghanistan and today lives in California as a physician and now a novelist. In fact, THE KITE RUNNER (ISBN-13 978-1-594-48000-3, ISBN-10 1-594-48000-1) is his first novel, it was adapted into a popular film, and he has now written a second novel, A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS which itself is in the early stages of production as a film.

THE KITE RUNNER begins as the story of the relationship of two boys. Amir is a boy of Kabul whose father, a wealthy merchant, owns a nice mansion with servants. Hassan is the son of Amir's servant. The two boys are inseparable. They seem apart only when Amir goes to school and Hassan returns home to for the household chores of a servant.

For sport Amir flies kites competitively and is becoming very good at the
sport, attracting local attention. His servant Hassan is his kite runner.
That means Hassan chases after the rival kites that Amir has decapitated.
Hassan dotes on Amir, which bother Amir a little. Amir also tells stories
that enchant Hassan. Together they face the local bullies who terrify them
both.

The day of a great kite competition comes and Amir has a great victory.
Hassan runs to get the loser's lost kite. Eventually Amir runs after
Hassan and sees him being confronted by the bullies. Amir watches on as
his friend is raped. He wants to defend his friend and knows he should,
but is terrorized and instead sulks off.

After that nothing is the same between the boys. Amir comes to hate
himself for his cowardice and disloyalty. Hassan does not admit to knowing
of his friend's betrayal of him, but he almost certainly does. Amir turns
his shame into rejection of Hassan.

This is all just the set-up of the story. We will follow Amir through
tumultuous years of history for Afghanistan and his father's and his own
perilous escape to the United States. His shame at the one action will
bring him back to a Kabul under the Taliban in an effort to redeem his
life and to recover his self- respect.

There are some minor faults to the book. The character of Hassan is just a
little too perfect and it adds a melodramatic feel to the book. Amir did
so much worse than betray a friend, he betrayed the wonderful, loyal,
faithful Hassan. He denied, if you will, a Christ-figure. This weakens the
story. If Hassan had not been so perfect would the betrayal be any more
forgivable? Do we need to be just only to the faultless?

Much of the thrust of the book is the contrast of life in Kabul before and
after the coming of the Soviet invasion and later of Taliban. The old
Kabul under the monarchy is a place of contentment (at least for the
wealthy Amir and his family) whose similarities to the West are more
apparent than the differences. Kabul under the heel of the Taliban is a
place of constant fear, of public executions, of corruption, and of
systematized child rape under the guise of religious orthodoxy. It is the
place that Amir must go to redeem himself and his self-respect.

As bad as the Taliban is for the men in THE KITE RUNNER, it is far worse
for women as we see in the haunting A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS. These are
purported to be the first novels written in English by an Afghan. If so
they are an enthralling start.

I read in sequence THREE CUPS OF TEA (by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver
Relin), THE KITE-RUNNER, and A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS. The three make a
very good combination. The Mortenson book is non-fiction and tells of his
efforts building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. At least to
Mortenson this work is a powerful weapon against the Taliban and other
Islamic extremists. His schools give education to the young and with
education they can resist the extremists. His book also describes what a
virulent evil the Taliban has been for Afghanistan. It also sees that part
of the world through the eyes of an American. This has a downside and an
upside. The downside is that Mortenson cannot understand the area as
thoroughly as someone who was born and raised there. The upside is that he
knows how an American would see that part of the world. To Mortenson the
area is very alien to his and our expectations. On the other hand in
Hosseini's writing Kabul sounds not too unlike the town I grew up in. Each
book in the succession expresses more rage and frustration at what the
Taliban did to Afghanistan. Together they make a strong case for anything
anyone can do to defeat this terrible movement. Grade A.

Movie review: Refusnik

2008-08-04T15:27:00.001-04:00

Reader #83 wrote: This is the saga of the Refuseniks, Jews in the Soviet Union who requested to leave knowing they would be treated as enemies of the state and given harsh and at times barbaric treatment. A new documentary written and directed by Laura Bialis tells the story of the nearly thirty years of courage in the face of repression in the Soviet Union. This is polished and evocative filmmaking.

It is spring. This is time of Easter and Passover and the time of year
that it is traditional for television to run the film THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. This year there is another and somewhat parallel story being released, though this one is a documentary of recent history. The film is REFUSENIK, and it tells the story of Jews again held against their will in a country that will not let them go. The country was Russia in the last decades of the Soviet Union. Russia's tradition was to suppress and abuse the Jews with discrimination building to pogroms back in Tsarist times. The coming of communism to Russia brought only a short respite before the new rulers of the country continued with their repressive policies. Under Stalin the repression began again and it specifically targeted the Refuseniks--Jews who had requested to leave the country--for almost three decades. With American and the newly founded Israel ready and anxious to provide a haven for these Jews they needed only the permission of the government to exit. As a policy permission was never granted. Being refused the people came to be called Refuseniks, but their punishment went beyond merely being refused. Jews who requested to leave were treated with barbaric hatred. They typically lost their employment and frequently were imprisoned and even tortured. Many were exiled to the frozen Gulag. Others were treated as mentally ill for wanting to leave the "ideal workers' state" and were committed to mental institutions. With the fall of the Soviet Union and with pressure from the West and worldwide eventually the Jews of the Russia were allowed to leave. 1,500,000 of them did leave, most settling in Israel and the United States.

While in the 1970s and 1980s the Refusenik movement got some public
attention, little has been said about it since. So as not to forget what happened Laura Bialis writes and directs this documentary about the story of the Refusenik movement. The style is mostly eyewitness accounts by participants, many of whom were activists in and out of the Soviet Union in the events of the movement. Their stories are illustrated with archival and newsreel footage. Best known among the activists is Natan Sharansky, who had requested and been denied an exit visa. In 1977 Sharansky was arrested and tried for invented charges of treason and spying for the United States. These charges have since been shown to be false. Sharansky was incarcerated in Leftorovo Prison were he remained under barbaric conditions for 16 months. He was then sent to a prison camp in the Siberian Gulag where he remained for nine more years as his wife desperately worked for his release. By 1986 the USSR was foundering and was anxious for Glasnost. Then President Ronald Reagan made clear that the treatment of Soviet Jews would be a strong consideration in the negotiations. Sharansky was released in 1986. His story and the stories of Kirov Ballet star Valery Panov and of physicist Andrei Sakharov, all Refuseniks, are part of the story.

Where the documentary falls down a bit is in not discussing the motives of the Soviets in repressing the Refuseniks. Michael Gorbachov is quoted as saying that these people were considered to be people of value to the Soviet Union, but they could make little contribution as laborers in the Gulag. It is more likely that he did not want to set a precedent of letting one group go when so many other groups might have wanted the same privilege. And eventually they as well as the Refuseniks got it.

REFUSENIK bears witness to the struggle of the Refuseniks and of the
changes that their courage and that of the international community brought about. This film makes a good pairing with THE SINGING REVOLUTION (2007), which was released earlier this year and tell the story of Estonia's campaign to free themselves from the yoke of the Soviet's. Both have messages that we need just now. REFUSENIK scheduled to be released in New York City May 9 and in Los Angeles on May 23. Grade A.

Book Review: Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

2008-08-04T15:14:00.002-04:00

Reader #62 wrote: Watchmen is far from your average "superhero" comic. The year is 1985, and US relations with Russia are, predictably, cold. The action starts with the investigation of the murder of a "costumed crimefighter" called The Comedian (no relation to The Joker). In fact, all of the main characters in Watchmen are costumed crimefighters, mostly retired and estranged, though, after the government outlawed "vigilante justice". These "superheroes" are all too human, with broken marriages, histories of violence, and lots of old grudges against one another. Even Doc Manhattan, who as the result of a lab accident is transformed into a physics-wielding demigod, has the tragic flaw of losing his capacity to understand emotions. Despite their broken and long-past-prime condition, however, this reluctant team must solve the puzzle of who would want them out of the way. Time is running out for America, too, because Russian tanks are moving into Afghanistan, and Russian fingers are tickling the red button...

Watchmen is dark, creepy, and violent, as one would expect from the creator of V for Vendetta . It's also thoroughly engrossing; I read the entire novel, a rather hefty thing, in one day. Besides the excellent character development, I particularly enjoyed the fact that the line between right and wrong was rather blurry, something that's not often done in the superhero genre. By fighting crime without the consent of the government, the "good guys" are inherently lawbreakers (not to mention their acts of arson, sexual assault, and murder), while the "bad guy" has, arguably, the well-being of the entire world at heart. Grade: A.

Book review: Dark Prince by Christine Feehan

2008-07-30T10:37:00.002-04:00

Reader #8 wrote: The first in this series, it was hard to put down. It was a love story about about a vampire and just great! Grade: A.

Book review: Lost Duke of Wyndam by Julia Quinn

2008-07-30T10:32:00.003-04:00

Reader #8 wrote: I love Julia Quinn's books. They make the past come alive for me and the stories hold me and I wish they want on and on. Grade: B.

Book review: What She Wants Lynsay Sands

2008-07-30T10:23:00.002-04:00

Reader # 8 wrote: Going back to 1199 and finding living so different, but life so much the same. Willa has hidden her whole life and those around her try to keep her alive. But in the end, the killer is not who you think it is. Grade: B.

Book review: Safe House by Andrew Vachss

2008-07-30T09:50:00.003-04:00

Librarian Tim wrote: When ex-con, con-man and unlicensed private investigator Burke is contacted by a former jailhouse buddy about his need to disappear, he gets pulled into a secret underground of women who are protecting battered and abused women and children from harm. This is one of the wildest Burke stories, involving neo-nazis, undercover government agents and the witness protection program. When Burke gets in deep, he calls in his "family": reclusive tech genius The Mole, con-man and former strong-arm bandit The Prof and weapons expert Clarance. Together they must save Burke's friend, outwit the feds and the neo-nazis and thwart a terrorist attack. This was a very interesting book, not your typical noir crime novel. Vachss pushes a the envelope a lot, particularly in his descriptions of "warrior women" who run shelters and protect others from harm. Grade: B.

Book review: Knight's Honour by Roberta Gellis

2008-07-30T09:41:00.003-04:00

Reader #8 wrote: I love books about the dark ages and how different life was then from now. Elizabeth is a strong woman in a world where women have no power. Roger has great power and is quick in all he does. Both are proud and driven to each other. Grade A.

Book review:The Eternal Highlander by Hannah Howell & Lynsay Sands

2008-07-30T09:36:00.002-04:00

Reader # 8 wrote: Great stories set in 1474 about a family trying to blend in to different styles. I'd like to read more to see how they live on, I love vampire stories. Grade: B.

Book review:Single White Vampire by Lynsay Sands

2008-07-30T09:31:00.004-04:00

Reader #8 wrote: A 600 year old man gets the rug pulled out from under him. I laughed out loud through most of the book. This is the second in the series about this family of vampires and I just love it. Grade: B.

Book Review: The Forger's Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century by Edward Dolnick

2008-07-29T12:39:00.001-04:00

Reader #82 wrote: THE FORGER'S SPELL: A TRUE STORY OF VERMEER, NAZIS, AND THE GREATEST ART HOAX OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY by Edward Dolnick
(ISBN-13 978-0-06-082541-6, ISBN-10 0-06-082541-3) is primarily about Han van Meegeren, a painter who forged several Vermeers which fooled even the leading art critics of the day. Dolnick goes into a lot of technical detail of how van Meegeren did this, and even more on the psychology of convincing people that forgeries are real. He also explains how critics in the 1930s were fooled but we can tell immediately these are fakes. One reason, he says, is that van Meegeren's women have features that were considered beautiful in the 1930s when he painted them, but not now. So while his audience saw beauty, we do not. He actually makes a science fiction connection, saying, "science fiction always tells as much about the era when it was created as about the era it tries to imagine. In the future as it was
portrayed in the fifties, for instance, husbands commuted to work in personal rockets and wives stayed home and cooked up meals in a pill. For a decade or two, readers found it all quite plausible." (page 221)

One might compare this to films. We can look at a film made about Troy for example, and be able to tell whether it was made in the 1930s, the 1950s, the 1980s, or the 2000s. Even if someone tries to make a film now that looks old, there are often things that give it away. Some are technical, but others are harder to define. The Timothy Hines version of WAR OF THE WORLDS was made to look Edwardian--though obviously no one was making color sound films then--but it is clearly a product of the 2000s rather than, say, the 1950s.

I have two quibbles with THE FORGER'S SPELL. One is that the book is told in a strange order. For the first hundred pages Dolnick talks about Nazi art looting and thefts, then he jumps back to the creation and selling of forged Vermeers in the 1920s and 1930s. As each major character is introduced Dolnick has to jump back in time again to give the background of that character, which gives the narrative a "stop-and-start" quality. Then he finishes with the discovery of the forgeries, after the war. So Dolnick tells the middle chapter of the story, then the beginning, and then the end.

It is not until the epilogue that Dolnick addresses why a painting thought to be by painter X is worth millions, but whenit turns out to be by painter Y, it is worth $1.98. (Actually, good forgeries are worth more than that, but as curiosities rather than as art.) We have this idea that art should be valued as art, but it seems that much of it is valued as relic. Van Meegeren asked, "Yesterday this picture was worth millions of guilders, and experts and art lovers would come from all over the world and pay money to see it. Today, it is worth nothing, and nobody would cross the street to see it from free. But the picture has not changed. What has?"

Dolnick's answer is three-fold. First, "the world was full of people who thought of themselves as art lovers but were in fact merely snobs." Second, he quotes Alfred Lessing, who said that Vermeer was great because "he painted certain pictures in a certain manner at a certain time in the history and development of art." And lastly, Dolnick says, "When we praise a work of art, we have in mind not only the finished product but the way that product was made. ... [The] forger has the unfair advantage of working from someone else's model." (page 291) Grade: B.

Book Review: Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death by M.C. Beaton

2008-07-29T12:34:00.002-04:00

Reader #82 wrote: I really like the BBC radio adaptation (I cannot find the name of who did it) of AGATHA RAISIN AND THE QUICHE OF DEATH by M.C. Beaton (ISBN-13 978-0-312-93916-8, ISBN-10 0-312-93916-7), so I decided to read the book (and possibly the whole series of Agatha Raisin books). While the book was okay--and had I read it cold, I might even have said good--I discovered that the best parts of the radio adaptation were not in the book at all. The basic plot is there: London public relations executive Agatha Raisin retires to a cottage in the Cotswolds, where she tries to gain acceptance by entering the local quiche-baking content. Her quiche, however, is actually store-bought, and what is more, has poisoned the judge! But the adaptation has an acerbic wit that is missing from the book, where the characters are flatter and less appealing, even the ones who are supposed to like. The book is very popular--there are seventeen sequels--but not up to my expectations. Grade: C

Movie review: Short reviews part 2

2008-07-29T12:28:00.001-04:00

Reader #83 wrote: THE NAKED SPUR Made the same year as Shane, but THE NAKED SPUR outshone it in the box-office. Aside from the acting power the budget was not very high. It does have some nice high country nature photography, filmed in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Under Anthony Mann's direction it was one of the first films in which Jimmy Stewart got beyond his aw-shucks, country boy image and was shown as a driven and disturbed man. In this film he is full of rage and suspicion. The plot is sort of a portable TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE crossed with 3:10 TO YUMA. Stewart is a bounty hunter looking for a former acquaintance with a big reward on his head. Along the way he picks up a gold-hungry old prospector and a disreputable ex-soldier (Ralph Meeker). They get their wanted man (Robert Ryan) and the young woman who is traveling with him (Janet Leigh wanted a role where she had to do more than just pretty up a set). The three bounty hunters have to get their prisoner back to civilization to claim the reward. Ryan is clever enough to play his three captors off against each other. Three men want the reward split as few ways as possible. One man wants to kill his three captors. One woman is deciding what she wants. This is a good story and the scenery is a plus. Grade A.

THE BARON OF ARIZONA This is a 1950 film by Samuel Fuller. Fuller worked outside the studio system and was what we would call today an independent filmmaker. Many of his films had a sort of amateurish or unpolished appearance. Perhaps they have the feel of the short film that the studios assigned to their new directors to give them practice. Nevertheless Fuller frequently took on themes that were taboo at the time. Here Fuller tells the story of real-life James Addison Reavis (1843-1914) and one of the greatest frauds in American History. Reavis used forged papers in an intricate plan to falsely justify his purported claim to virtually all of the land in Arizona. Supposedly it was his inheritance from a land grant by the King of Spain. Spanish deeds had to be honored by the US Government under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The government could not prove his claim was a fraud. With a plan perhaps more elaborate than cinematically intriguing Reavis creates and plants forged evidence to make his claim. The story is not polished, but will appeal to fans of THE HOAX and CATCH ME IF YOU CAN. In spite of some awkwardness and the mostly static telling the story is basically good. Grade B.

Movie review: Short reviews part 1

2008-07-29T12:27:00.001-04:00

Reader #83 wrote: THE LAST WINTER. 2006 brought one of the better efforts from maverick horror film maker Larry Fessenden. It is not special effects heavy. The film shows a drilling crew led by Ron Perlman having some odd and unprecedented problems. It seems this year it is just not getting cold so the roads are slushy rather than icy, a big inconvenience. But something else is desperately wrong. The warming is causing something very bad to happen under the permafrost, though nobody is quite sure of the nature of the evil. People are dying, and those left alive have an inexplicable sense of doom. Fessenden seems to set many of his stories in the cold North. He is good at creating an eerie, chilly mood. This film reminds me a lot of John Carpenter's THE THING, but without the explicit scenes of a monster. Fessenden tends more to Val Lewton's approach of showing very little of the real horror and letting the viewer's imagination run wild. This is a very strange, mysterious film. Grade B.

THE FALLEN IDOL. This 1948 drama is one more fine film from Carol Reed, the man who directed THE THIRD MAN, ODD MAN OUT, and a personal favorite of mine, the almost impossible to find OUTCAST OF THE ISLANDS. A young boy idolizes his family's butler (played by Ralph Richardson). As pleasant as the butler is, that is just how nasty his wife the head of the service staff is. When the wife is accidentally killed the boy believes the butler is guilty of murder, but loves him enough to try to lie for him. The story is by Graham Greene and Reed is his very best screen interpreter. The photography is excellent sharp monochrome with very black blacks and very white whites, in start contrast to the writing. I liked the film so much I watched again THE THIRD MAN, Reed's best known class. Two Greene/Reeds in one day makes for a very good day. Grade A.

Book Review: Holidays in Hell by P.J. O'Rourke

2008-07-28T16:10:00.002-04:00

Reader #62 wrote: As far as vicarious vacations go, this one wasn't half bad. O'Rourke is a snarky, alcoholic journalist who travels to some of the world's most dangerous and impoverished places, at least the ones that were "hip" in the late 80's. His ability to interview parties on both sides of various armed conflicts is impressive, and his language is colorful and entertaining (if occasionally obscene). O'Rourke makes no pretense of being some noble champion of the opressed; he frequently, in fact, reminds us that he's just a selfish jerk who's looking for fun on his publisher's dime. But in spite of himself O'Rourke sheds light on the absurdity and hopelessness of the Third World and more effectively crying out for answers than he probably intended. Grade: A.

Book Review: Danger in Tibet: A Miss Mallard Mystery by Robert M. Quackenbush

2008-07-28T16:04:00.002-04:00

Reader #5 wrote: Miss Mallard searches through the foothills of Mount Everest for her nephew. They are world famous detectives and her nephew vanished while attempting to track down an infamous thief! She meets an inn keeper and the housekeeper at the inn where her nephew was staying in Tibet. They let Miss Mallard into her nephew's room and inside she discovers several clues to help her in her quest to find him. One very crucial clue is a gold coin and a map! This book takes Miss Mallard on an awesome adventure that kept us guessing the whole time as to where her nephew disappeared to and why. Just when we thought we had it all figured out, we were thrown for a curve and very surprised at the ending. It was a delight to read and I would even read it again in the future! Grade: A.

Book review: Tuva or Bust! Richard Feynman's Last Journey by Ralph Leighton

2008-07-28T15:51:00.003-04:00

Reader #83 wrote: One of the great scientists of the 20th century was Richard Feynman. Feynman got a doctorate in physics from Princeton and went to work at the Manhattan Project. There his whimsical nature and his ability to think "outside the box" made a real reputation for himself. He taught himself to crack safes in order to demonstrate security holes at America's most secret project. By 1951 he was a professor at Caltech which he remained until his death in 1988. His lectures on physics have become classics in book and film form. Feynman Diagrams are a visual way to describe subatomic particles he invented in 1948 and remain in heavy use to the present. He also was considered a great bongo player. He had a wild sense of humor and loved telling stories about his exploits. The stories were collected by a Ralph Leighton and published in two delicious volumes, SURELY YOU'RE JOKING, MR. FEYNMAN and WHAT DO YOU CARE WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK? He was appointed to the Rogers Commission to investigate the Challenger Disaster. He traced the cause of the disaster to the rubber O-ring seals which failed to function in the wintry temperatures of the Challenger launch. These are just highlights of a great career. Any books about Feynman should be fascinating and most are. TUVA OR BUST! would seem on the surface to be one such book, but it is a serious disappointment.

The book is by Ralph Leighton, the close friend of Feynman who collected stories for the above two books. Leighton was something of a traveler and thought he knew geography until Feynman asked him whatever happened to Tannu Tuva. Feynman remembered from his youthful days of stamp collecting that there were triangular and diamond-shaped stamps supposedly from a place called Tannu Tuva. [See comments at the end of the review.] Leighton was stumped and the two began researching the place. When they found out that the capitol was Kyzyl they decided they had to visit any place that has such a strange spelling. It seems to have become an obsession with the two (or at least Leighton). The book TUVA OR BUST! is Leighton's memoir of his search and plans to visit Tannu Tuva with Feynman. Most of the book's illustrations are photographs featuring Richard Feynman. Leighton lets us know over and over what good friends the two of them were. He drops stories of going to parties with Feynman, playing bongos with him, having Feynman as the best man at his wedding, etc. However, little of Feynman's wit comes through in the writing.

Instead, we have a longish account of Leighton's travails in trying to arrange a trip to Tannu Tuva in Outer Mongolia, part of the Soviet Union, during the Cold War. The account is highly detailed and much of it leaves one wondering why we are being told much of what is in the book. The same story made an entertaining hour documentary for the BBC, "Horizon--The Quest for Tannu Tuva" (a.k.a. "The Last Journey of a Genius"). However that same charm spread over two hundred pages, even with wide margins, is a little thin. Much of it is about Leighton butting heads with bureaucracy heightened by international tensions. Contending with the bureaucracies is a major effort. The story is a race against time as early on Richard Feynman is diagnosed with cancer. The book does not focus closely enough on Feynman to track his failing health, but is puts some pressure on Leighton to solve the problems necessary to arrange a visit. It is hard to feel a lot of concern in spite of this because Leighton repeats over and over that one of the chief attractions for the two is the spelling of Kyzyl.

The path to arranging the trip is arduous and requires more than ten years. During this time we observe form an arm's length what is happening in the international competition between the United States and the USSR. We here about the Challenger crash. The pair makes discoveries like finding pieces of the throat-singing music that can be found only in Tannu Tuva. Incidentally, the book comes with a plastic record of with a sample of the music. Samples can be found at .

The book is mostly about Leighton, many of whose journeys were made alone, yet it repeatedly keeps mentioning that there is a connection to Feynman, lest we forget. Leighton bets on the mentioning of Feynman keeping the book interesting and loses that bet. If the traveling partner were some unknown Joe Smith the account would probably have a very much smaller readership. Other stories include how the two go on bongo playing forays. We read about Russian restaurants and how bad the service is. We are introduced to various Eastern Europeans, some of whom are helpful and some are not.

I would recommend this book really only to people who have already read SURELY YOU'RE JOKING, MR. FEYNMAN and WHAT DO YOU CARE WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK? They are more entertaining and give the reader much more of a feel for Richard Feynman.

Incidentally, I am informed by a stamp collector that the Tannu Tuva stamps that started the whole proceedings probably never saw Tannu Tuva and were never used for postage. Apparently the future Nobel Prize winner was taken in by some fraudulent stamps. My friend showed me a few. Though cancelled, they have full gum on the back, indicating that they served no postal purpose. The postmarks carefully never obscure the pictures on the stamps, so that they can be sold to unwary collectors. Perhaps some government official gave permission in return for a cut of the take. Rating: C.

Book Review: Graphic Classics: H.P. Lovecraft

2008-07-28T15:46:00.003-04:00

Reader #82 wrote: Eureka Productions has a series called GRAPHIC CLASSICS, each of which has six to ten short pieces by the featured author, each done by a different person (or people). For example, the H. P. LOVECRAFT volume (ISBN-13 978-0-9746648-9-7, ISBN -100-9746648-9-8) has "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" adapted by Alex Burrows and illustrated by Simon Gane, "The Shadow Out of Time" adapted and illustrated by Matt Howarth, and so on. This means that if you do not like the style of one piece, you may like the next. "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" had (in my opinion) too many panels that were almost entirely black and dark gray. "Dreams in the Witch-House" has a very stark (one might almost say harsh) black and white look. "Sweet Ermengarde" uses a much lighter touch, with thinner lines and more detail. "The Cats of Ulthar" is basically a text story with one large illustration on each page. And so on. Similarly, the MARK TWAIN volume (ISBN-13978-0-9787919-2-6, ISBN-10 0-9787919-2-4) has a variety of styles as well. I would love to see GOTHIC CLASSICS (ISBN-13978-0-9787919-2-2, ISBN-10 0-9787919-2-4), which features NORTHANGER ABBEY by Jane Austen and THE MYSTERY OF UDOLPHO by Ann Radcliffe, among others. How they manage to condense a full novel down to forty pages or so is perhaps something I do not want to see--even CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED had more pages than that, I think--but I am still curious.

Of course, a large part of the attraction of both Lovecraft and Twain is their language, and what the graphic form often does is to sacrifice some of the text for pictures. As such, it's more comparable to a film made from the story, rather than the story itself. Grade: B.

Book Review: Suspended In Language by Jim Ottaviani

2008-07-28T15:41:00.001-04:00

Reader #82 wrote: SUSPENDED IN LANGUAGE: NIELS BOHR'S LIFE, DISCOVERIES, AND THE CENTURY HE SHAPED by Jim Ottaviani and Leland Purvis (ISBN-13978-0-9660106-5-7, ISBN-10 0-9660106-5-5) is 318 densely packed pages of physics. (Indeed, at times Ottaviani and Purvis abandon the graphic style for solid paragraphs of text-- and hard-to-read text at that, with closely spaced san serif typeface with normal, bold, *and* italic fonts, all in the same paragraph. This would be difficult to follow even as a regular biography, but the added graphics make it even more difficult. (Indeed, one of the points it makes is that the "solar system model" of the atom is the last one that people could visualize--and it is wrong. Part of the Heisenberg Indeterminacy Principle is that one cannot see some things, so there is a certain irony in the graphic format here. Grade: C

Book Review: Bone Sharps, Cowboys and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani

2008-07-28T13:10:00.002-04:00

Reader #82 wrote: BONE SHARPS, COWBOYS, AND THUNDER LIZARDS: EDWARD DRINKER COPE, OTHNIEL CHARLES MARSH, AND THE GILDED AGE OF PALEONTOLOGY by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic (ISBN-13 978-096601066-4, ISBN-10 0-966010663) is about ... well, what the title says. At 165 pages, it covers the subject fairly well with a straightforward approach done in sepia tones. It does not deliver the dinosaurs that the cover seems to promise, except as museum skeletons and isolated fossils, but it does give the reader an idea of what paleontology was like in the Gilded Age. Readers should be sure to read the "Fact or Fiction?" section at the back to find out where Ottaviani took liberties with the truth. Grade: B+.

Book Review: The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer Lee

2008-07-28T13:06:00.002-04:00

Reader #82 wrote: THE FORTUNE COOKIE CHRONICLES: ADVENTURES IN THE WORLD OF CHINESE FOOD by Jennifer Lee (ISBN-13 978-0-446-58007-6, ISBN-10 0-446-58007-4) began in 2005 when the Powerball lottery had 110 second-place winners instead of the expected 3 or 4. Why? Because five of the six winning numbers were printed on thousands of slips in fortune cookies, and 110 people picked them in the lottery. Lee started out trying to find out the origins of the fortune cookie, and along the way also discovered the truth about General Tso's Chicken, what "chop suey" really is, why Jews like Chinese food (and at least something about the Kosher Duck Scandal of 1989), what the connection is between Chinese restaurants and illegal immigration, and why no one can agree on what soy sauce is. Eventually, Lee does track down the fortune cookie, but the digressions are actually more interesting than that particular search. Grade A-.

Book Review - Handbags and Homicide by Dorothy Howell

2008-07-24T13:45:00.003-04:00

Reader #412 wrote: Great book! Not a typical mystery. It's a combination of Legally Blonde and Agatha Christie. Haley wants to be a Beverley Hills detective but she works at a department store with a credit card debt. Howell makes the reader keep guessing. For sure this is a woman-only book. Great surprise ending, not the usual "who kills who and goes to jail." I will be waiting for another Haley Randolph mystery! Grade: A.

Movie review: Chop Shop

2008-07-24T09:48:00.002-04:00

Reader #83 wrote: Life on the streets of Queens, New York, is a hand-to- mouth existence for a twelve-year-old Latino and his sister. The camera seems simply to follow young Alejandro around and show us the story of his life and his relationship with his older sister with whom he shares a plywood-clad room over the title auto body shop. Made on a very small budget, this film is actors in front of a camera telling a story that seems very real. The low-key drama has a real feel for the texture of life in the underbelly of Queens. Ramin Bahrani (of MAN PUSH CART) directs and co- authored the script.

This review contains minor plot spoilers. Using no music, little cinematic artifice and an almost documentary style, we are ushered into to the world of Alejandro. Ale (played by Alejandro Polanco) is a Puerto Rican boy about twelve surviving by doing whatever he can. He lives in an auto bodywork shop in Queens. Roger Ebert's review informs me that this area is the "Valley of Ashes" that F. Scott Fitzgerald describes us in THE GREAT GATSBY. It has not greatly improved over the years. Now it is the kind of dead end trap that we think of as being in the Third World.

Ale goes from one small job to the next. He works at the shop and tries to drag in customers; he does day labor for construction; he steals hubcaps; he hawks illegal DVDs; he sells candy on the subway. When he does the latter he announces to the subway car that he is NOT selling for a basketball team. In fact he does not go to school at all. We simply follow Ale around with a handheld camera and watch as he gets himself in and out of trouble. Ale's sixteen-year old sister is Isamar played by Isamar Gonzales. The five major actors all use their real first names.

Isamar has just run away from a safe house and is now living with Ale above the chop shop in a room with plywood walls and apparently one small bed. Together the two of them banter like brothers and sisters do anywhere. Their dream is to own a taco and beans truck. Isamar says it should have her name painted on the side, Ale insists it should have his name. Isamar cooks and cleans the tiny room, Ale hustles earning what money comes in. He and his friends talk in a disarmingly normal way about baseball and hookers. Trouble begins as the boys watch the hookers ply their trade on the ugly streets and Ale thinks he sees Isamar in a truck cab. Now the snack truck means to him not just an easier living, it is also how he hopes to rescue his sister from prostitution.

Ramin Bahrani is an Iranian-American filmmaker whose film MAN PUSH CART was well-received on the film festival circuit. In this follow-up film, he uses a style with a real feel of authenticity. Before the plot takes hold one might almost think this was a documentary. Yet eventually, as with THE BICYCLE THIEF, the scenes start adding up to a poignant plot. Alejandro Polanco has a lot of personality that holds this very low-key drama together as the story wends it way to a melancholy and inconclusive conclusion.

The setting may be New York, but it could be Africa or Central America. And the story could be from post-war Italy with filmmakers like Vittoria De Sica. Grade: B.

Movie review: The Dark Knight

2008-07-24T09:34:00.003-04:00

Reader #83 wrote: THE DARK KNIGHT In a year in which one film after another is based on comic books this is a super-hero film whose depth is like no other. It plays with the whole philosophy of the superhero and the whole nature of superhero battles. It manages to bring together an action film and a thought piece. This is a lot more than we have come to expect from a comic book film.

Spoiler warning: This review discusses more abstract concepts and issues than plot points, but they still might be considered spoilers.

In Gotham City (here apparently a visual amalgam of Manhattan and Chicago) five criminal gangs have pooled their resources only to have them stolen by a brilliant but psychotic sociopath, the Joker (played by the late Heath Ledger). The presence of the Joker brings out Gotham's other strange resident, the Batman (Christian Bale) and thus begins a giant battle between two very twisted men in costumes.

THE DARK KNIGHT is possibly the most hyped film of the summer. Surprisingly, for once, the hyped film is also one of the most serious and complex films of the year. Within the lines of this comic book story are some ambiguous moral decisions, and between the lines of the script some deep philosophical questions. This is the second Batman film directed and written by Christopher
Nolan, whose films are best described as astonishing. FOLLOWING, his first, was an unconventional thriller seen by relatively few people. But his MEMENTO was an amazing introduction to Nolan for most film fans. THE PRESTIGE, his latest film before this, was an intricate puzzle box that is fascinating on first viewing and is even more so on the second. Even considering THE DARK KNIGHT, it is still THE PRESTIGE that is his best work.

As for his Batman films, BATMAN BEGINS (which preceded THE PRESTIGE by two years) has a much deeper psychological pitch than any other superhero film in memory. Nolan painted Batman as twisted from childhood and not so much a hero as a victim of his own demons. It was one of the best super-hero films, but BATMAN BEGINS still rested comfortably within the conventions of the comic superhero genre.

Nolan's second Batman film surpasses his first with a dark psychological drama that nearly reinvents the superhero film. It brings us to a land where in spite of the possible good intentions of the superhero, the innocent can become victims of the fight itself. THE DARK KNIGHT is a comment on all other superhero films and the implicit safety net with which they operate. It reminds us that with great power comes not just great responsibility but also some great psychological burdens.

The concept of Batman, as with most superheroes, has usually been that he can do anything that needs to be done to stop evil. The end of a Batman story or nearly any superhero story has traditionally been that order is restored and things have returned to the state they were at the beginning. All dangers have been averted and evil has failed. Somewhat more sophisticated superhero stories might allow one or two innocent people killed to reinforce how bad the evil is. But in general the butcher's bill in a superhero film has been small. That is just part of the formula. And we are supposed to feel fortunate we had the superhero around to keep down the killing. That was just how a superhero story works. But in THE DARK KNIGHT Batman is faced with the proposition that innocent people are killed and others will die until he reveals his identity. He must decide how valuable to him is the secret of his identity. People are dying and that rips away the traditional safety net that his protection is infallible.

With the invisible safety net of superhero story convention gone, there are collateral deaths that Batman cannot avert. They are killed because the Joker wants to show the limits of Batman's power and also for the simple abstract cause of chaos. The Batman supposedly defends order without seeing that he himself, a bat-masked, self-appointed vigilante, is a breach of that order.

THE DARK KNIGHT takes us to a new world in which there can be serious casualties in a battle between super-hero and super-villain. The Joker is attracted to fighting the Batman specifically because he is the Batman. He is not trying to get rich from the proceeds of his crimes; he is simply playing a game with the Batman. And the Batman cannot back away from the fight because he is the Batman.

For the Joker the game is mostly about Batman, but just for kicks he also adds an object lesson for the rest of us. He shows us with a psychological experiment that fear can turn many of us
into mass murderers also. One of his crimes is an exercise to do just that. It is it a potent message in the post 9/11 world. But clearly this is a deeper Joker than Jack Nicholson's or
Caesar Romero's Joker clown who laugh gleefully as they defaces paintings or do other mischief. It is like comparing an abyss to a little furrow. Heath Ledger gives a good performance as the
Joker. He does make one the great silver screen creeps, nearly a polar opposite of his Ennis Del Mar in BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN.

Where Nolan falls down is the background world for his story. At times the background has a very realistic feel, like that of a MYSTIC RIVER. Other times it seems to fall back on the less credible logic of a comic book. One case is when a character has figured out Batman's identity and is scheduled to reveal it on television. We are led to believe the station was ready to put him on television for the revelation, but they do not know whom he is going to name.

THE DARK KNIGHT has an enviable cast of usually lead actors playing supporting roles. In addition to Bale and Ledger, Aaron Eckhart plays District Attorney Harvey Dent on a strange journey from crusading public servant to the featured villain in the next Batman film. Both Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine are reduced to playing squires to the Dark Knight. Gary Oldman plays the future Commissioner Gordon who wields the Bat-searchlight. Finally, Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Rachel Dawes (the Batman's love interest) and Eric Roberts plays a mob boss. The screenplay is co-authored by brothers Christopher and Jonathan Nolan who collaborated on the scripts for MEMENTO and THE PRESTIGE.

By July of 2008 the filmgoer might not be blamed if he were a little tired of comic book action films hitting the theaters one after another. IRON MAN, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, WANTED, ... the list goes on. THE DARK KNIGHT leads the pack and is the most intelligent of the lot. Grade: A.

Jews of Cochin

2008-07-23T17:14:00.003-04:00

This July 15th program went very well IMHO. Turnout of 80 was amazing! Gila and I estimated a crowd of only 20-30, so she only made 50 vadas (the Indian-Jewish fusion equivalent of falafal). Luckily they were large enough to cut each in half and give them out one at a time. All the vadas went, along with virtually all of the tamarind sauce (the sweet one). For some reason, we had almost all of the super-spicy pickle chutney left. I thought the chutney was great, but that’s just me.
Oh yeah, the presentation. Gila was very informative, speaking about how Jewish people came to a town in southern India, and how they kept their customs while integrating themselves into the community. For example, despite being Jewish, Gila attended catholic school. She said she never felt discriminated against while growing up.
Gila also showed photos of her family and of the interior of temples. The photo of Hebrew torahs, bedecked in colorful Indian garlands, was another example of combining Jewish and Indian customs.
--dena

Book Review: Harshini by Jennifer Fallon

2008-07-21T15:47:00.003-04:00

Reader #519 wrote: This book concludes "The Hythron Chronicles." I thought that Ms. Fallon did an excellent job finishing this trilogy. After reading these books I've added Ms. Fallon to my list of great fantasy writers. Throughout all her books, she has so skillfully developed the characters and really brought them to life. The third book wraps up the story, but makes you want more. I definitely recommend this author! Grade: A.

Book Review: Treason Keep by Jennifer Fallon

2008-07-21T15:40:00.002-04:00

Reader #519 wrote: This is the second book in the Hythron Chronicles. Picking up where Medalon left off, Ms. Fallon continues the story at the breathtaking pace. I loved the introduction of a second very headstrong female character, Princess Adrina. Some of the antics in the book had me laughing. I also love a good romantic side to the story and the characters certainly deliver. After finishing this book, I couldn't wait for the sequel. Grade: A.

Book Review: Don't Fill Up on Antipasto by Tony Danza

2008-07-21T15:36:00.003-04:00

I don't recommend this book. Dull stories, dull writing and dull recipes. Grade: D.

Book Review: Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl

2008-07-21T15:27:00.002-04:00

Reader #529 wrote: Great book for food lovers - interesting memoir with mouth-watering food descriptions and recipes. Grade: A.

Book Review: My Guy Barbaro by Edgar Prado

2008-07-21T15:13:00.003-04:00

Reader #74 wrote: A very touching story about a very special horse, but what really makes the book worth reading is the endearing story told by the jockey who loved Barbaro the most and his "rags to riches" story, from poverty in his homeland of Peru to the USA where he went on to win the Kentucky Derby with Barbaro. A must for any horse racing fan, too! Grade: A.

Book Review: Rock On by Dan Kennedy

2008-07-21T15:07:00.002-04:00

Reader #74 wrote: A very funny book about life in the music business and the record industry. It is filled with hysterical inner monologue from the main character who wonders how he landed in the dying music industry, but rejoices in his chance at success and basks in the image of his hip self. Hilarious! Grade: B.

Book Review: Instamatic Karma: Photographs of John Lennon by May Pang

2008-07-21T15:00:00.003-04:00

Reader #74 wrote: A lovely photo tribute to John Lennon from May Pang, Lennon's girlfriend from 1973-75. Many of these photos are rare, never before seen images of a much loved icon. An absolute must for any Beatles or music fan. You will discover a private side to John Lennon and his relationship with May Pang as well, seldom seen before. Enjoy! Grade: A.

Book Review: Simplexity by Jeffrey Kluger

2008-07-21T14:09:00.002-04:00

Reader #82 wrote: SIMPLEXITY: WHY SIMPLE THINGS BECOME COMPLEX AND HOW COMPLEX THINGS CAN BE MADE SIMPLE by Jeffrey Kluger (ISBN-13 978-1 4013-0301-3, ISBN-10 1-4013-0301-3) has such chapters as "Why is it so hard to leave a burning building or an endangered city?", "How does a single bullet start a world war?", "Why is a baby the best linguist in the room?", and "Why are your cell phones and cameras so absurdly complicated?" But while Kluger generally covers these topics, he often leaves out key information, while at the same time adding digressions. For example, in the chapter on leaving burning buildings, he talks about how difficult to was to evacuate the World Trade Center towers, not just because of psychological reasons, but because the four of the stairways were 44 inches wide, and two were 56 inches wide, designed in 1970 for two people to walk abreast. The problem is that people in 2001 were much wider than those in 1970, and this disrupted the flow. Interesting and important, certainly, but not a question of simplicity versus complexity. And in his chapter on "How does a single bullet start a world war?", he never actually says what he is referring to. (I assume it is the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand by Gavrilo Princip that started World War I.) Even with these flaws, the book is thought-provoking. And perhaps complexity can best be summed up by this paragraph of Kluger's:

"The act of buying nearly any electronic product has gone from the straightforward plug-and-play experience it used to be to a laborious, joy-killing exercise in unpacking, reading, puzzling out, configuring out, testing, cursing, reconfiguring, stopping altogether to call the customer support line, then calling again an hour or two later, until you finally get whatever it is you've bought operating in some tentative configuration that more or less does all the things you want it to do--at least until some error message causes the whole precarious assembly to crash and you have to start all over again. You accept, as you always do, that there are some functions that sounded vaguely interesting
when you were in the store that you'll never learn to use, not to mention dozens of buttons on the front panel or remote control that you'll never touch--and you'll feel some vague sense of technophobic shame over this." Grade: B-

Audiobook review: Murder is Easy by Agatha Christie

2008-07-21T14:05:00.002-04:00

Reader #82 wrote: I listened to MURDER IS EASY (a.k.a. EASY TO KILL) by Agatha Christie read by Hugh Fraser (ISBN-13 978-1-572-70490-9, ISBN-101-572-70490-X) on a recent trip. Or rather I listened to most of it, and then finished it in book form after I arrived. However, this was a bit confusing, as the audio version refers to the old woman as Lavinia Pinkerton (even with a reference to the name-sharing with the detective agency), while in the book she is Lavinia Fullerton. I cannot seem to find any indication of when the change was made, or why. As for the story, there may be one level too many of mis-direction for the story to be considered elegant--or maybe not. Grade: B.

Book review: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

2008-07-17T10:40:00.002-04:00

Reader #83 wrote: Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, but writes English well with a simple, pure writing style. His first novel was THE KITE RUNNER, a favorite with reading clubs across the United States. That book tells a power story of two boys who are close friends growing up in Kabul. The main character in a moment of cowardice betrays his friend to save himself. It is a sin that he carries with him all his life, eating at him until he reluctantly submits to doing a dangerous and selfless mission to atone in part and to expiate his sin. The boy, like Hosseini himself, left Afghanistan to live in the United States and to write. The character's mission of self-redemption takes him back to an entirely different Kabul under the barbaric rule of the Taliban. The main character is much like Hosseini himself and the book is about the relationships of male friends and of fathers and sons. In particular it shows the destructiveness of the Taliban to males. As bad as that is, Hosseini recognizes that the plight of women under the Taliban is far worse. That situation is explored his second novel, A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS.

First, the bad news about A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS. Because this story is not autobiographical he could tell any story he wanted. He chose an apparently borrowed framework. His story is at base a retelling and amplification of Alice Walker's THE COLOR PURPLE. It is much broadened and the setting is very different, but the situation and even the plot is much the same. Each is the story of a young woman who is forced into a loveless marriage with a much older man who uses her as a slave and as a target for abuse. The situation goes on for years and just when it seems it can get no worse the husband brings another more attractive woman into the household. The two rivals conflict and fight for the number two position in the household until they realize they have more in common than they have differences. The hatred turns to a solid friendship and genuine affection as well as a shared hatred for the offensive husband. They team up against the abusive husband. That plot fits both stories. Its lack of originality is the one demerit of Hosseini's otherwise fine book. Since THE KITE RUNNER was for me a new plot, I would rate that book a little higher. But SUNS is still an engrossing and excellent read. [A small admission here. My knowledge of THE COLOR PURPLE is based on the film. I have not read the book.]

In this novel Mariam was always mistreated as a child because as an illegitimate daughter she was a family embarrassment. At fifteen she is married off to an abusive husband of forty-five, Rasheed. She lives in virtual slavery to the brutish and physically repulsive Rasheed. I do not remember one scene in which Rasheed rises above being a hissable villain. But a new indignity is coming to Mariam.

Rasheed takes a second young wife, Laila, the daughter of a wealthy family who is pregnant by another man, Tariq, who was her true love. Laila receives word that Tariq has been killed in battle and resigned herself to marriage with Rasheed. After many long months of a rocky start Mariam and Laila find a genuine affection for each other. Each helps the other through her difficult situation in the household.

But there are worse things in the woman's lives than Rasheed. We are given background of the wars in Afghanistan and the two women seem to suffer with each regime change. But when the Taliban take control the situation becomes truly harrowing and nearly unbearable. Women are treated lower than animals. Most medical facilities are male-only. The conditions at the rare and distant women's hospitals are completely barbarous. The descriptions of the "hospital" are nightmarishly the most haunting images of the book.

Both of Hosseini's books will be an education for Americans on the concentrated evil that the Taliban brought to Afghanistan. The first book had a scene of the stadiums in which women are stoned to death in front of large audiences. The newer book has the stadium stonings become an important part of the plot. In that sense the two books dovetail.

Both books are about courage. THE KITE RUNNER also focuses on cowardice, guilt, and responsibility. A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS is more about victimization, which perhaps is not so uncommon a theme. Both books are an education in the barbarity of the Taliban and what they have done to Afghan society. Two such books are an impressive start to Hosseini's career. Grade: A.

Movie review: Journey to the center of the earth 3d

2008-07-17T09:49:00.004-04:00

Reader #83 wrote: Fun as thrill ride, but surprisingly poor as film, this is a story of three modern reluctant explorers who find out that the center of the Earth is just as Jules Verne described it with a lot of fast theme-park-like rides. It has even less logic than Verne gave it. Rent the 1959 version.

The 3D effects of JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 3D are almost worth the price of admission. That means this film as a whole is almost worth the price of admission. As an adaptation of Jules Verne's novel this film is nearly worthless. In fairness I should say that no Jules Verne novel has ever been translated well to the screen and probably never will be. That is just not how Verne writes generally. Possibly the best film version of a Verne novel is the Disney 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, but that film has a lot of inventing. In the book, after the main characters are brought aboard the Nautilus they mostly just see wonders rather than have adventures. Similarly, in Verne's novel JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH there is not much action. Aside from occasional separations from the main party the characters mostly just see occasionally scary wonders. The 1959 film was one of the highlights of my youth but it made good cinema only because of heavy revisions to Verne's story by the writing team of Walter Reisch and Charles Bracket who had previously written films like NINOTCHKA and TITANIC (1953).

Strictly speaking, the new 3D version of JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH is not an adaptation at all. It is an adventure that takes place in our world with characters who are very much aware of the Verne novel. (A similar approach was taken to the 2002 version of THE TIME MACHINE.) This film is more a vehicle to show off 3D effects than it is to tell a real story. Life in the interior of the Earth seems to have aspects of theme park rides, video games, and both Disney and Warner Brothers cartoons. There are some nice renderings of engravings from Jules Verne books into real-looking albeit digital sets.

Trevor Anderson (played by Brendan Fraser) is a scientist who discovers that he has to play host to his nephew Sean (Josh Hutcherson) for two weeks. At the same time he discovers that for some reason he has a limited time to access volcanic chimneys into the center of the Earth. The reason for the rush is unexplained by it has something to do with changing numbers on a computer screen so it must be scientific.

Trevor packs up the nephew and off they head for Iceland. Along the way they pick up Hannah Ásgeirsson (Anita Briem) the daughter of a scientist who worked with Max. Max was Trevor's brother, Sean's father, and a friend of Hannah's late father. The name Ásgeirsson, incidentally, means "Son of Asgeir" and would never be given to a woman. The credits list her father as Sigurbjörn Ásgeirsson so she should have been Hannah Sigurbjörnsdottir. Briem would have known that, being Icelandic herself, but getting things accurate was just not where this film was at. The group came to study the chimneys, but soon they are trapped inside the Earth a long distance below the surface. Which brings us to the falls.

Our hearty band frequently falls distances of many miles and manages to land with no ill effects, like Alice in Wonderland. Two such falls and they make it to the center of the Earth. That saves time and story-telling, but it cuts out most of what would be interesting in the film. Admittedly, how far down the center of the Earth is a moot point. If the center is just a single point it could be a long way down. If "center" refers to a very large region it might not be that far down. (Think of it this way. The center of an inflated balloon is a pocket of compressed air that begins a small fraction of an inch below the surface.)

These are most unusual explorers. They can fall hundreds of miles and land without breaking a bone. Hundreds of miles beneath the surface of the Earth they never seem greatly concerned for how they can get to safety. In 105-degree temperatures they never seem to break a sweat or in the case of Hannah even smear her lipstick. At one point a character is jumping from one rock to the next in a line of rocks floating in air suspended by magnetism. Somehow he manages to do this without imparting any rotational momentum until he gets to the very last rock. It just plays better if only the last rock has a rotational momentum. The travelers brought no food with them and rarely seem to pass much that is edible, but they always seem to be well-fed. The film exempts itself from any laws of physics or logic. Luminous birds that glow like fireflies illuminate the world beneath the earth. These are birds from 150 million years in our past, yet they look more like modern bluebirds than like the archaeopteryx of that period. What is more, the birds seem to understand English and show very human-like expressions like some fugitives from Disney's CINDERELLA. One of the birds adopts the travelers and follows them around like Tinkerbell.

Visually the film has some nice moments, but not all of the images work. There is a large Tyrannosaurus Rex that looks like a digital animation and is not believable as a living animal the way the T-rex in JURASSIC PARK did. Too often the lighting is too dim to really see the dimensional imagery to its full effect. There is some blurring. Frequently the left-and right-eye images do not coalesce. The 3D work, virtually the film's only virtue, is a step down from that of BEOWULF. For me it would be very hard for JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH (2008) to match the enjoyment that the 1959 version brought me. However, this film does not even come close. The 3D effects are actually quite nice usually, but see it for the 3D or not at all. Rating: D

Movie review: Trumbo

2008-07-15T10:07:00.002-04:00

Reader #83 wrote: The story of Dalton Trumbo's career is told, based on the play of the same name by Dalton's son, Christopher Trumbo. The story is illuminated by Trumbo's writings, particularly his correspondence dramatically read by major actors of the film industry. Actors recreate the moods of this always tremendously well-spoken man. This may be the last film to feature Trumbo's writing and it has some of his most powerful prose. It is may be the best film that has ever been made about the Hollywood blacklist and the Hollywood Ten.

The darkest chapter of the American entertainment industry was the years of the Hollywood blacklist during the McCarthy era. People accused of disloyalty to the government--usually for actions that were completely within their Constitutional rights-- could not confront their accusers, but would suddenly find that nobody would hire them. Careers were destroyed by innuendo.

Ten Hollywood screenwriters refused to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee's investigation into whether as anonymously accused, there were Communist influences in the film industry. In most cases this lack of cooperation was a refusal to betray their friends and give names of people who could be accused of being Communists. Unchecked the accusations would have spread in a chain reaction. If each person accused gave the names of two others the entire film industry could have been consumed. Ten screenwriters refused to cooperate. These were the Hollywood Ten.

One screenwriter among the ten was Dalton Trumbo. Before the years of the blacklist he was a successful screenwriter with an eloquent and powerful command of the English language. Like the others of the Ten, he was sentenced to a year in prison on the charge of contempt of Congress. When he was released he had become an un-person as far as his Hollywood career was concerned. Studios could not hire him for fear of being accused themselves of hiring Communists. Trumbo could submit only very few scripts he had written and then only under a pseudonym or by the use of a front man whom Trumbo would allow to claim credit for Trumbo's work. In 1956 a Trumbo script--submitted under the fictitious name Robert Rich--was given an Academy Award that could not be claimed. Then in 1960 two major films were released, SPARTACUS and EXODUS, each written by Dalton Trumbo. The producers and directors of these films risked the wrath of the American public and gave Trumbo screen credit for his own work. It was an extremely risky action. The decision to use Trumbo's name was made by Kirk Douglas and Otto Preminger respectively of these two films. When there was little fuss from the public. Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper was a notable exception calling SPARTACUS "A story sold to Universal from a book written by a Commie [Howard Fast], and the screen script was written by a Commie [Dalton Trumbo], so don't go see it." When the public did go see it it was generally acknowledged that the blacklist was dead. Trumbo, Preminger, and especially Douglas had tested the waters and demonstrated that the government hunt for supposed Communist influences had lost the support of the American people.

The story of Trumbo is important and moving enough. But nine major actors give dramatic readings to his correspondence: Joan Allen, Brian Dennehy, Michael Douglas, Paul Giamatti, Nathan Lane, Josh Lucas, Liam Neeson, David Strathairn, and Donald Sutherland. In addition Kirk Douglas also talks about his relationship with Trumbo and the history of the period. In addition there are filmed interviews with Trumbo to fill in gaps and interviews with family and friends still living.

The story covered by the film goes from Trumbo's career in the 1930s to his final acceptance back to public approval in 1960 (with a bit of a postscript in the 1970s). In the 1930s the Communist Party seemed to be the only American party that had a direct policy of opposing Fascism and confronting dictators. During World War II, the Soviets were at least nominally America's allies. But when the war was over the fear and hatred of the Soviets turned into a vicious anti-Communist witch-hunt. Some actors, afraid for their positions, willingly cooperated with the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). The first who did not cooperate were called the Unfriendly Ten. Later they were re-dubbed the Hollywood Ten. The film follows Trumbo through his time in prison and then to his self-exile to Mexico to find work that he could not find the United States. The actors dramatize his many moods reflected in his correspondence including Paul Giamatti's very funny reading of a letter from Dalton to son Christopher on the subject of masturbation, a letter that probably ranks with Mark Twain's 1601. The film follows Trumbo through times when he was taking any work he could get and when he returned by screenwriting, the career he had promised himself he would never enter again. He used fronts and pseudonyms to sell his scripts while hiding his name. All of this is described with great eloquence in his correspondence. It is also illustrated with scenes that he wrote for the movies, which take on new meaning in the context of Trumbo's life.

There is a certain continuity across the many actors who read his words. They can be funny or sad or serious and heavy, but it is the same voice behind them and the same carefully and powerfully wrought prose. TRUMBO is among other things a lesson in how two say volumes with an economy of words. As a sort of grand finale the actors all share a reading with overlapping segments so each can get a part of this one reading. As admirable as TRUMBO is, and as powerful in his convictions, Dalton Trumbo is not the hero of this story. Dalton Trumbo is a man whose strong character was more important to himself than his sense of self-preservation. By being a person of character he knowingly (or mostly knowingly) allowed himself to be the victim of dangerous political forces.

The real hero of this film is Kirk Douglas. He is present and speaking through stroke-slurred speech, but he obviously wanted to participate. Another hero is Otto Preminger who also credited Trumbo's work. These two men risked losing heir careers to make a stand against the Hollywood blacklist. TRUMBO is essentially the story of a rescue against high odds. And more than just Trumbo's career was rescued. Douglas and Preminger are the rescuers. This film concentrates on why that rescue was necessary, why it had to be done, and why all Americans are the beneficiaries of the rescue of one articulate contrarian with a bushy moustache. Kirk Douglas gives a good account of his part in the events in his autobiography THE RAGMAN'S SON. The film TRUMBO gets its New York City release on June 27. Rating: A.

Movie review: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

2008-07-15T09:54:00.002-04:00

Reader #83 wrote: Guillermo del Toro makes great horror films like CRONOS and PAN'S LABYRINTH. His graphic novel films are just not his best work. HELLBOY II's visual images are spectacular and the film is full of fights and action, but there is only a bit of plot and that involves an epic fantasy premise that would have taken multiple films to do well. The characters are flat and the film has no center. This is a film to watch, but there is not much to think about. The conclusion holds no surprises.

HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY has my vote for this year's "WHAT DREAMS MAY COME" Award for the most spectacular visuals in service to the least worthy story. The two films are somewhat different in that WHAT DREAMS MAY COME was saccharine while HELLBOY II has a graphic novel hero involved in a half-hearted attempt at Tolkein-like fantasy. And it pains me to say this, because HELLBOY II is written and directed by Guillermo del Toro whom I consider the best living horror film director. He makes horror films and films based on graphic novels. To my taste he is much better at the former than at the latter. Every film he makes is visually exquisite, but the graphic novel films just do not have the same quality of storytelling that he gets when he creates his own characters. He has a better touch telling stories about vulnerable characters than with invincible ones. Del Toro is probably missing the boat on the character of Hellboy also. The part-human and part-demon Hellboy should be torn between human and demonic urges. That would be a fairly dramatic premise. Instead he comes off as the brawny, master sergeant type, not very complex or very interesting. He is more earthy than most superheroes, but his character could be more engaging than it is.

Hellboy (played by Ron Perlman) is involved here in a Tolkein-like high fantasy. The film suggests there is a war between humans and the mythical creatures like fairies and elves. The adventure is a quest for the pieces of an ancient crown which gives the bearer the power to command a clockwork "golden" army. For most of the film it does not matter what they are looking for, the point is that Hellboy gets into fights to find the thing. The crown is actually the key to the war between humans and the creatures of myth. This is a big concept and one film devoted to the subject might not give del Toro sufficient time to develop the myth of the great crown or the mighty army. But it is not much of even this film. Most of the screen time is spent with Hellboy trying to clobber some great monster or with him sitting around drinking beer after beer and while bonding with his effete fish-man sidekick Abe Sapien. Sapien looks like a fugitive from Rene Laloux's FANTASTIC PLANET. The beer sessions give plenty of opportunity for a product placement of a particular Mexican beer. Hellboy's chief enemy is Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), an evil sorcerer who is tied by an invisible bond to his non-evil sister Princess Nuala (Anna Walton). Any injury to one will afflict both. So nobody wants to hurt Nuada for fear of hurting Nuala. The look for Nuada seems borrowed from Michael Moorcock's Elric.

Part of the pleasure of a del Toro film is in looking for allusions and personal touches. Del Toro seems to have two trademarks that hail back to his first feature film CRONOS. He seems to always have visual imagery of clockwork and some of insects. In this film he goes overboard on the clockwork. There is clockwork under the opening titles. The final fight is on a giant clockwork set. There are no insects but there are small crawly things called "tooth fairies" that stand in for the insects. There is a doff of the hat to Stanley Kubrick and John Landis with an allusion to the mythical and non-existent film SEE YOU NEXT WEDNESDAY.

More touches, good and bad: One might expect that after STAR TREK V a director would think twice about having drunken men bond by singing together, but del Toro tries it here and it still does not add much charm. There are also several shots on TV monitors of the Universal horror films that del Toro likes. There are supposedly scenes set at the famous Giant's Causeway. If so the "causeway" remains off-screen. The film does have a giant, but we are not told if it is supposed to be the legendary Fionn mac Cumhaill (a.k.a. Finn McCool) who supposedly built the causeway. The credit sequence at the end seems to have subliminal messages different from the credits. Perhaps people will want to rent the film to see the credits run by a little more slowly.

The visuals of HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY are a triumph of imagination, but the story is more of a failure. Rating B.

Book Review: The Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

2008-07-14T13:49:00.002-04:00

Reader #476 wrote: I recently finished reading The Dawn Treader by CSLewis, having read Prince Caspian I could not wait to read what happens next in the adventures of Caspian, the Pevensie children, and my favorite mouse Reepicheep. As they set sail to the end of the world, they experience amazing adventure both good and bad. I appreciated how often Aslan appears in this installment as he really plays a huge role in helping us realize that there might be a higher being looking after us, not just in our imaginations but in our reality. A lesson to be learned here is to face all or our fears head on knowing that we would never be given anything that we could not handle. Grade:B.

Book Review: Swan Peak by James Lee Burke

2008-07-14T13:35:00.003-04:00

Librarian Tim wrote: Louisiana police detective Dave Robicheaux and his friend, private investigator Clete Purcell need a break from post-Katrina southern Louisiana, so the decamp to a friend's cabin in the Montana wilderness to fish and rest. That rest is short lived however, when Purcell accidentally wades into a trout stream owned by a wealthy family, and stirs up a hornets nest of trouble. When two students from the local college are murdered behind their friends property, Robicheaux and Prucell are pulled even deeper into a story involving a mysterious drifter, a lawman looking for revenge, a crooked preacher and a wealthy family that isn't all it is cracked up to be. It's interesting to read about Robicheaux and Purcell outside of their usual environment of the swamps and bayous of Louisiana. But the story is a familiar one for the series, actually tying up a loose end that has been fluttering since an earlier story. Burke is a natural storyteller whose affinity for the outdoors nearly borders on the poetic, with wonderful descriptions of the mountains and streams of Montana evoking the stories of C.J. Box. Fans of thought provoking crime fiction should enjoy this novel. Grade:B.

Book Review: The Dragon's Nine Sons by Chris Roberson

2008-07-14T13:28:00.003-04:00

Reader #82 wrote:THE DRAGON'S NINE SONS by Chris Roberson is set in the same "Celestial Empire" alternate history universe as many of Roberson's other stories (including the Sidewise Award winner, "O One"). This universe supposes that the Chinese did not curtail their exploration in the 15th century, but went on to reach and colonize North America, and eventually expand to control almost the entire world. This story is set after Mexica has successfully broken away from the Han Empire, and during a space race/war between the two. It is sort of a "Dirty Dozen" in space (though with nine rather than twelve soldiers)--a band of misfits under death sentences sent on a suicide mission. As the first novel Roberson has written in the series, THE DRAGON'S NINE SONS suffers from some problems that one would not have in short stories. For example, there is (to my mind) far too much fore-shadowing at the ends of chapters (e.g., "That was the intention, at any rate. As with so many things, though, the reality fell far short of the ideal."). I also have a quibble with the method required to start the Mexic engines. (Without saying too much, let me just say that while it sounds plausible in theory, the exigencies of battle might cause problems if a ship is understaffed.) Given this method, however, the "practical joke" one Han character plays is so clearly stupid that one is reminded of Damon Knight's term, "idiot plot". Indeed, there seems to be a fair amount of coincidence and contrivance in the story. The most egregious, is how the characters justify the killing of women and children in a Mexic stronghold in their plan. Perhaps the idea is that the reader should *not* agree with them and should see it as an example of how the military rationalizes all its actions, however immoral they may seem. (On the other hand, one character explicitly condemns an action that directly copies a decision from World War II that most people accept as necessary--and no, it's not the atomic bomb.) And one final minor complaint: the copy editor at Solaris does not seem to know the difference between "flout" and "flaunt". The story itself has more of straight military science fiction and less of the "Celestial Empire" background than Roberson's short stories, and as such is a reasonably enjoyable read, even if not as "pure" an alternate history. Grade: B.

Book Review: Kissing Babies at the Piggly Wiggly

2008-07-14T12:57:00.002-04:00

Reader # 97 wrote: The book is very predictable. It was ok but it is not memorable. I think the characters could be more interesting and the story more interesting. I would not recommend this book. Grade: C

Book Review: Wedding Bell Blues

2008-07-14T12:54:00.003-04:00

Reader # 97 wrote: Very enjoyable love story. It delves into a lost love that returns after many years. You discover family secrets and a new found belief in the power of God. I would recommend it for a quick reading book that is uplifting. Grade: A

Book Review: The County Fair

2008-07-14T12:47:00.006-04:00

Reader # 97 wrote: Very enjoyable book that shows the small town camaraderie and how everyone pulls together in a crisis. It has an uplifting ending. Grade: A

Book Review: Roasting in Hell's Kitchen by Gary Ramsay

2008-07-10T10:13:00.003-04:00

Reader # 529 wrote: This was an interesting quick read for fans of Mr. Ramsay. It gave insight into his perfectionist nature and passion for food. Grade: A.

Book Review: Duma Key by Stephen King

2008-07-10T10:08:00.003-04:00

Reader #529 wrote: This book started off a little slow. It did not get interesting until midway through the 600 plus pages. It was very reminiscent of his past books including an ending similar to The Shawshank Redemption. This was a little disappointing, however, any Stephen King fan would want to read this book anyway, as we are his "constant readers." Grade: B.

Movie review: Iron Man

2008-07-10T09:52:00.004-04:00

Reader #83 wrote: A weapons manufacturer decides that the making of weapons is immoral, so turns himself into a weapon to combat bad weapons users. If you can get past the irony (or hypocrisy) of the central concept Jon Favreau's adaptation of the Marvel Comic is reasonably entertaining and uses its digital effects energetically. Robert Downey, Jr.--definitely not a Christopher Reeve type--plays the arms tycoon who builds a suit to give him super powers.

Spoiler warning: there are minor plot spoilers below. One spoiler is saved for the end of the review.

The first big blockbuster of the 2008 summer is IRON MAN. At a high level the story is fine as a Marvel Comic Book on the wide screen. Most of the lower level details should have been given more thought. Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey, Jr.) is sort of a modern-day Howard Hughes, part playboy, part genius engineer. He is a fabulously wealthy second-generation arms manufacturer. Tony Stark has a sort of popular celebrity status in much the way that arms manufacturers usually do not have in our universe. In Afghanistan he is promoting his company's new missile system--powerful enough nearly to nearly kill himself when he launches it (so who will he get to launch it?).

Shortly after he is captured by enemy meanies who want him to recreate his missile using as building parts the spare parts they have assembled in a cave. It must be a really well-equipped cave to rival what a major industrialist can do in the United States. They will watch him via cameras because it is higher-tech than putting one of their own people in the room with him. Then he builds an armored power-suit instead of a missile. Luckily his captors are not watching him closely enough to notice the difference. With his suit he has superpowers and he emerges as what will become Iron Man.

All superheroes need an Achilles Heel, even Achilles. Stark's weakness is that as part of the capture he ended up with metal shrapnel in his blood stream. If they reach his heart he will dies. He is being kept alive only by a strong electromagnet embedded in a port in his chest, one with lights on it so he can find his keys in the dark. He will die if he is without his magnet for any longer than the six minutes or so the film shows he can go without it. Meantime the shrapnel caught in this tug of war is apparently scraping out his arteries. How he is avoiding stroke is anybody's guess. With his power suit he is able to get out of his Afghan scrape, but his plan to vacate the arms business puts him into direct conflict with his father's old partner Obadiah Stane. (Wouldn't Charles Dickens have loved that name.) Stane is played by Jeff Bridges with a startling new look, a shaved head with a moustache and beard making it obvious he is sinister. Stark's main support comes from his counter-feminist factotum, Gwyneth Paltrow in the role of Pepper Potts, perhaps a step down even from her Polly Perkins in SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW.

The script by a large team of contributors raises and then ignores some moral issues. One is the question of whether one can bring an end to weapons by creating newer and more powerful weapons. Even in the film this strategy is less than totally effective, though we are expected to agree with Stark's beliefs. Stark does not kill for any motive but self-defense. But he hands a villain over to Afghan peasants who will likely not share his scruples. This is apparently his version of the United States policy of rendition.

Jon Favreau is an actor of the Ben Affleck and Vince Vaughn generation. Without the good looks of a Vaughn or am Affleck he is now behind the camera directing, and probably making better contributions there. Previously he directed MADE, ELF, and ZATHURA. In this film he directs but also has the tiny role as Tony Stark's chauffeur Hogan. Downey is pleasant to watch for his tongue in cheek characterization. He behaves like someone trying desperately to seem unflappable while he really is not, like he is watching events out of the corners of his eyes. Terrence Howard is around as Stark's friend and liaison to the military, but he does not have much opportunity to act. Notable is Shaun Toub of THE KITE RUNNER and TV's "Lost" as a fellow captive who becomes Stark's friend. Also in a tiny role is Stan Lee, the creator of Iron Man, who traditionally shows up someplace to get his face on the screen in many films based on Marvel Comics. Samuel L. Jackson plays another familiar Stan Lee character in a scene that is saved as a special reward for those who are loyal enough to sit through the credits.

This is a sort of a turn-your-mind-off comic book on the screen. It is clearly popular, but not one of the best few superhero films.

Spoiler warning!

Toward the end our Iron Man fights someone in a power-suit nearly twice as high as his is. It is supposedly his design, but just made bigger. But Stark's suit fits around him like a glove. His legs fit into the legs of the suit and his head fits into the helmet. Make a suit twice as large as its operator is and it would have to operate a very different way. The operator's legs could not reach to the legs of the suit so the legs would have to be fully robotic rather than just power-assists. Stark can kick his real left leg forward, but in the double suit that leg would be only at the level of the suit's belly. The double-sized suit really could not be based on Stark's suit. Grade: C.

News review: Sunday Advance (BB Guns)

2008-07-09T11:31:00.003-04:00

Reader #521 wrote: A 20 year old may face a couple of years in jail because the officer that stopped him for speeding for speeding found a BB gun in his car. I understand why the cops would be upset about seeing what he thought was a real gun. A fine would do, but putting the guy in jail for a BB gun is a little too much, we have much bigger problems to contend with.

Book review: Smart Couples Finish Rich by David Bach

2008-07-09T11:21:00.004-04:00

Reader #521 wrote: I felt my finances were out of control and I didn't know where to start fixing it. My budgets never work, and I was always going over, but this book game me hope. It helps you look at the big picture. David Bach helped me understand what the difference is between an IRA and a Roth IRA. I recommend this book to a couple trying to figure out how to save for the future, or a mom trying to get it together. Grade: A.

Book review: Marvel Zombies

2008-07-09T10:45:00.004-04:00

Reader #521 wrote: I had to read this because I am trying to get me son to read more. I read it with him, it was very gruesome. It was about characters we love, Spiderman, Superman, The Hulk and zombies. If you have a child that thinks eating brains is cool, they will love this book. Grade: C.

Book review: Four Wives by Wendy Walker

2008-07-09T10:23:00.004-04:00

Reader #519 wrote: This was an entertaining read although I didn't have much sympathy for any of the characters. This book was a little like a soap opera. I found myself turning the pages to see what came next. This is definitely a great book for the beach or sitting by the pool. Grade: B.

Book review: The Divorce Party by Laura Dave

2008-07-09T10:19:00.003-04:00

Reader # 519 wrote: I found this book to be very light reading and it didn't have me turning the pages in excitement like other books. The author does a pretty good job on her character development, but I just didn't find them all that interesting. There were some poignant moments in the book though, written with great sensitivity. Grade: C.

Book review: Duma Key by Stephen King

2008-07-09T10:14:00.003-04:00

Reader #519 wrote: Very entertaining read and shows Stephen King at his best. I enjoyed seeing the protagonist's awakening as an artist, and the events that follow his new found talent. King always spins a great yarn and this is no exception. Read it with the lights on. If you see a tattered looking ship on the horizon at sunset - run! Grade: A.

Book review: Shining at the Bottom of the Sea by Stephen Marche

2008-07-09T10:03:00.003-04:00

Reader #82 wrote: SHINING AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA by Stephen Marche is arguably science fiction, though I know of no one who reviewed it as such. (The cataloguing data calls it "experimental fiction". It purports to be an anthology of Sanjanian fiction and other writings, with a preface that provides the historical, sociological, and literary background necessary to understand them. Sanjania is an island nation in the North Atlantic, and was formerly part of the British Empire. It is a very literary culture: "Sanjanians are perhaps the most literary people on earth. Bookstalls are as common as fruit stands, the theatres around Saint Magdalene's Square dwarf the City Hall, and on Sanjair flights the stewards push small carts of books down the aisle after the beverages and pretzels."

Later, it says of Saint Magdalene's Square, "Seemingly endless bookstalls fill the square's edge and spill into the side streets in every direction. Bargain hunters and literature lovers cram
every nook and cranny from sunrise (more or less) to sundown (more or less)." (Sounds like Hay-on-Wye.) The only real drawback to this literary Shangri-La is that it does not exist. Oh, well, you can't have everything.

The earliest pieces--in terms of the internal chronology--are the most interesting, since Mache constructs a separate dialect for that era: "In his eighteenth year, Marlyebone oxchopped and mangled the other wolfheads, Goodfriday Martins, Samuel Baker Deloney, Abraham Crisp and Lover Gromes, and claimed the overward. In his nineteenth year, the Crown pursued him. Crownagent Keagan Poulter took a bulletsmash in the face and could not be regaliated. Agent Will Champion's moniker fibbed everafter his failure. Robert Strunk sunk. In Marlyebone's
twentieth year, his Scourge Sally Parkman, a Woman Crownagent, grabbed his pirate fleet, and yawled it against the waves of Portuguese Cove, ane Marlyebone scuppered overhill byland toward his homecove Restitution, flittering."

This dialect is characterized by many compound words, and I suppose Marche got tired of creating them, because after the first few pieces, they go away, alas.

Book review: Halting State by Charles Stross

2008-07-09T10:00:00.001-04:00

From Reader #82: I had started HALTING STATE by Charles Stross earlier this year and gave it up as too difficult (the introduction of too many characters in rapid succession, too much jargon, etc.). But I read a review that said that after a somewhat confusing beginning, the book settled into a more understandable form. So I tried again, and read about a third before I concluded than it wasn't true for me. Stross has written a book with three point-of-view characters, and written it in the second person. Yes,that's right--in every chapter, the point-of-view character is "you", but you are a different person each time. One result is that you lose many of the reminders of who the point-of-view character is that you would have in a normal third-person narrative. (Even a first-person version might be easier.) And on top of that, the characters write in a combination of Scottish dialect, police jargon, and computer jargon. It is even worse than BRASYL (another Hugo nominee) in terms of the dialects, because there is no glossary at the back. (I checked this time.) It may be good for Scottish computer types, but not for me. Grade: C

Movie Review: Atonement

2008-07-09T09:57:00.002-04:00

Reader #83 wrote:

Joe Wright adapts Christopher Hampton's adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel ATONEMENT. What a thirteen-year-old sees happen at an English
country house is not really what happened. Her testimony when a crime is committed brings tragedy to two people. The film moves us from a posh country home to the war-ravaged shores of Dunkirk. The film tricks the viewer, but can only do that by blatantly cheating. The film is graced but not really enhanced by an impressively intricate tracking shot.

There is a literary sort of film we see coming from England. It is the Merchant-Ivory-Masterpiece-Theater sort of thing with the English upper crust and all their social graces. Another sort of film more frequently seems to come more from the United States. These are puzzle films that are more than just mysteries. They play with the medium itself. For example, MEMENTO tells its story backward in time and the viewer has to guess how the story began. These two story types have been combined in prose, as in Saki's short story "The Open Window," but one rarely sees them combined in film. They sit uneasily together in ATONEMENT. This is a film all about misunderstanding what one sees. Just as young Briony Tallis (played at age thirteen by Saoirse Ronan) gets the wrong ideas about something she sees at her country house, the viewer also sees things that are not really as they seem. But director Joe Wright does not actually play fairly with the viewer. In one case, for example, one character recognizes another in a crowd only to get up close and find it was not really that person. The mistake is understandable since Wright quite noticeably used one actor at a distance and another one close up. Scenes shown from two different people's perspectives have large differences. Perhaps Wright is going for a RASHOMON effect. Still other places, the viewer quite intentionally is shown one thing happening and then is later told that is not what happened at all. There is more deception than meets the eye.

Later in the film we see the British on the beach at Dunkirk waiting to be evacuated. We move among them in a tracking shot just a little short of five minutes in length. The staging of this scene is a tour de force in logistics and coordination requiring great effort to make sure the
hundreds of actors are in place just as the camera reaches them. It goes beyond impressive all the way to being jaw-dropping. But there is a difference between a jaw-dropping achievement and a jaw-dropping stunt. If it really makes the film more effective it is an achievement. Here I did not see what it really added. Perhaps it may add some immediacy, but more likely it will be just a distraction.

Briony Tallis is fascinated by the relationship between her sister Cecilia (played by Keira Knightley) and Robbie (James McAvoy). Robbie is the son of a servant who has become almost one of the family. When Briony sees her sister act in a provocative way in front of Robbie and later sees them making love, she jumps to a wrong conclusion. This combines with her
testimony about a genuine crime to create long-lasting problems for the three. Later we see what they are each doing near the time of the Dunkirk evacuation. They have come by different routes. We see how their relationship has been forever altered by what Briony did years before. The plot is a little contrived with Robbie making a mistake necessary to make the plot work but otherwise very unlikely. His error is a mix-up almost worthy of a Shakespeare comedy. And for me there were unfortunate associations with the character of Ada Doom from Stella Gibbon's COLD COMFORT FARM. Ada Doom destroyed her whole life because as a little girl
she "saw something nasty in the woodshed." Briony too saw something nasty with bad repercussions.

Undeniably there is an interesting story here of guilt without redemption, something that we rarely see in films and have not seen since HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG. But there is a lot that is contrived and does not work. I will probably be in a minority, but the little things wrong with the film add up to too much. Note: this film has one of the longest tracking shots
in an English-language film, but it is dwarfed by the tracking shot in RUSSIAN ARK. That is a 99-minute film which except for the titles and credits is one long tracking shot filmed inside the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia. There is really does enhance the surrealism of the film. But I am not sure the long shot did much for ATONEMENT. Grade: B

Book Review: Janet Evanovich's Plum Lovin'

2008-07-09T09:40:00.001-04:00

Reader # 444 wrote: I have to admit that these books are my guilty pleasure. When I want a lighter read, I love to listen to or read her books. This is the 2nd of an in between series of her numbered one. In this book it takes place right before Valentine's Day and Stephanie Plum the bounty hunter has to play Cupid to make the holiday special for strangers and her sister. The characters in all Janet Evanovich's books are larger than life but I relate living in the Garden State . This is the perfect beach book but I suggest reading Visions of Sugar Plums first. You will not be disappointed. Grade: A.

Book review: Pigeon Wants A Puppy! by Mo Willems

2008-07-09T09:37:00.001-04:00

Reader #68 wrote: If you are not familiar with the Pigeon stories, you need to get acquainted. ( Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Pigeon Finds A Hotdog, Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late, just to name a few) The Pigeon Wants a Puppy is the newest one out. In the story Pigeon is talking to you, the reader, about his dream to have a puppy. My daughter is 5 and just loves the Pigeon, and why not... he speaks just like they do when they want something. The author, Mo Willems, has put together another book showing the art of persuasion that most children just seem to have built into their young minds. Any parent that has had to say no to a child will love these books because it has all the pleas in there. My daughter made me read it twice in one sitting. She read it to her grandmother the next day using the same emphasis on the words that the book demands with the larger print and exclamation points. Mo Willems has created a character that makes not only our children laugh, but we end up laughing, too.

Book review: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

2008-07-09T09:32:00.002-04:00

Reader # 62 wrote: There's been a lot of talk about this book lately, and it's well deserved. Diaz's story of a geeky, overweight Dominican-American is tragic and compelling. The language, though often coarse, is poetic, and his pen paints a vivid picture of this doomed young man through a telling of his family history. The fact that a large chunk of the book takes place in New Brunswick makes the book all the more intriguing for this New Jerseyan. Well worth the read. Grade: A+

Book Review: Three Cups of Tea By Greg Mortenson

2008-07-08T16:53:00.002-04:00

Reader #83 wrote: THREE CUPS OF TEA is the story of Greg Mortenson, apparently as told by Mortenson to David Oliver Relin. So to begin with, who is Greg Mortenson and why should the reader be interested in his life story?

Mortenson was a nurse whose hobby was mountaineering. He attempted to
climb K2, the world's second tallest and most ferocious mountain. But that is not what the book is about. He failed in his climb and nearly died. (Nearly dying seems to have become a recurrent experience of his life.) Trying to save his life his two Balti porters took him to Korphe, their isolated mountain village there in the Karakoram mountain range of northern Pakistan. Grateful for the hospitality that saved his life he promised the villagers that he would return one day and build them a school so that the children and especially the girls of the village could be educated.

A big chunk of the book is how he got funding, how he got materials, and how he built that first school, first having to build a bridge. He became a local hero and soon other villages were begging him to build schools. It was just one thing sort of leading to another. He soon became the centerpiece of the Central Asia Institute, a charitable organization founded by a rich American. Its aim is to bring education and literacy to the youth of the region and especially to the girls.

Along the way he was arrested, kidnapped, and had fatwas declared against him. He stood up to more than a few self-serving religious leaders and gangsters wanting a share of the money going to the school. His adventures make fascinating reading but even more so do his observations of local life throughout the Karakoram Mountain range.

Mortenson and Relin give us a good feel for the texture of life in Pakistan and in neighboring Afghanistan. The book is enthralling. Most of the people he meets are opposed to the power of the Wahhabis and the Taliban and their best weapon against them are the schools. The schools that Mortenson builds are an alternative to the madrassas that so often teach extremism and hatred.

Everything changed for the United States with the September 11 attacks, and this book is one of the things that changes. Late in the book Mortenson comes to the belief that the schools he is building, and more if they could be built, are an answer to terrorism. (Note the book has two subtitles indifferent editions, one aggressive and one not.) It should be only a very faint criticism of Mortenson to say that he probably does not really have the answer to terrorism. But it is the message that he is spreading in talks and in publicity for his work. And by the account in the book it seems that people are being convinced.

Why do I feel he does not really have the answer? (And here I admit I am expressing just expressing my own opinions.) First extremist Islam does not need huge numbers of recruits for its goals. Even if Mortenson won over all the people of the Karakoram, an impossible task, the extremist elements would still have no problem getting the numbers they need to wage their conflict. Consider how few people it actually took to execute the September 11 operation. How widespread a system of schools would be needed to starve the extremists of the numbers needed for such projects? Certainly more than could possibly be feasible.

That raises the question of the costs of this number of schools. Mortenson is able to build his schools at minimal costs. It is something on the order of ten to twenty thousand dollars per school. That is a bargain price, but it is still too high. The school-building project works on charitable donations. It is in competition for donations with Doctors without Borders, Oxfam, and just about every other charitable organization. Certainly in a just world there would be sufficient funds, but it is by no means clear there is. In the book we here about large spikes in the inflow of money when there is publicity for the work in magazines like Parade. The book itself is really one such plea for funding. Eventually that money will run out and he will need to get more still publicity. If Mortenson's organization is not self-sustaining it will be very limited.

The book glosses over the question of what sort of security his schools will have. The book shows over and over the power the Islamic extremists have in that part of the world. I suspect it still understates the problem. The people of the villages seem in the book to be very committed to keeping out the extremist forces. But these schools are a tempting prize for the Taliban. They are ready-built potential madrassas. The schools are too vulnerable to being taken by force and converted to the precisely the purposes that Mortenson is opposing. Mortenson and his organization will die one day, but the buildings and extremist Islam will go on. The schools are particularly tempting targets because of Mortenson's avowed (and fully-justified) mission to educate the girls. The girls certainly have never had any other opportunity for an education. But nothing makes the Islamic extremists so uncomfortable as the threat that women will become Westernized and liberated. (Consider how angry the Saudis were in the first Gulf War that American women were in the military and driving Jeeps. Saudi women's rights fall far short of the right to drive.) That belief alone on the part of the Islamists makes the Mortenson schools prime targets that will remain so long after the fickle West loses interest in them. If the Mortenson schools do not receive long-term military support from a government that has always ignored this region, the schools will eventually become more of a liability than an asset. One feels that the greatest challenges to Mortenson's program lie in the future.

Certainly there are any number of very good reasons to support the work of Greg Mortenson, but as a long-term strategy to combat terrorism it is questionable, regardless of the good the schools do in the short term. His book is an excellent view of that region of the world, a region of which we in the United States have little knowledge. Grade A.

Movie review: Juno

2008-07-08T16:43:00.001-04:00

Reader #83 wrote: Grade B JUNO is a pleasant as light as possible comedy on the serious subject, teenage pregnancy. What happens to Juno after she becomes pregnant seems to cover a wide range of possibilities of the situation. We see what her alternatives are and how she reacts. It is a little disquieting that the film takes things as lightly as it does and the ending just does not feel sufficient to the situation.

High school student Juno MacGuff (played by Ellen Page) has a big problem. At the beginning of the film she is just discovering from her third pregnancy test of the day that she really is pregnant. This changes everything for her. Now what? Does she tell her boyfriend? Does she tell her parents? Does she want to terminate the pregnancy? What are her options? A surprisingly wide variety of those options are covered in this story and the approach is kept breezy even if the subject matter is not. Among the alternatives that Juno considers is allowing the child to be adopted by a local infertile couple, Vanessa and Mark Loring (action-hero actress Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman). They seem like a perfect couple and Juno particularly likes Mark, but in this course in Life 101 the viewer expects there are some problems that Juno does not see. Speaking of not seeing the problems ahead, I had the feeling that writer Diablo Cody did not give sufficient thought to the emotional impact of what has happens in the story and what comes after. Juno remains flippant, but I wonder how long that will last. The end of the film is by no means the end of the story. At least the film does not give all the good lines to Page. There are several witty characters to keep the dialog witty if not always believable. Director Jason Reitman, who previously gave us THANK YOU FOR SMOKING, plays the situation for as much comedy as he can muster. The dialog is kept whimsical and breezy.

Halifax-born Ellen Page has a sort of light bubbly personality that reminds one of a younger Parker Posey. The personality is attractive, but perhaps not quite so appropriate considering the gravity of her situation and the fact she is playing with lives. She seems not quite right, but that could be just the style of the film. J. K. Simmons really shines as Juno's father. He usually seems to play abrasive personalities like J. Jonah Jameson in the Spider-Man films. Surprise: He is just about an ideal father figure. He has humor and generates genuine warmth. I had mixed emotions about his daughter but a genuine affection for his character. And Allison Janney as Juno's stepmother is nearly as genial. I had just seen her in HAIRSPRAY when I saw this film. She had a very visible role in "The West Wing" and she seems to be in demand. I had the feeling that the film was aiming in a large part for a teenage audience and it is ironic that the parents of the main character are so much more likable than the character herself. Most of the other performances are also pretty much on target.

The original music is by Matt Messina, but the music seems to be mostly songs with words that occasionally distract from the action. Overall this is a reasonable teen comedy, a cut above most teen films, but perhaps sending mixed signals. Sidenote: If "Diablo Cody" seems a slightly over-the-top name for the screenwriter, she has gone by many names. Her biography in the Internet Movie Database says that her real name is Brook Busey and that she has been a stripper under the names Bonbon, Roxanne, and Cherish. She has also been a phone sex operator. This is a somewhat atypical background for a screenwriter, but I suppose she should know something about life. Grade: B.

TV Review: Sex and the City

2008-07-08T16:36:00.002-04:00

Reader #62 wrote: I was disappointed in Sex & The City tonight. They aired an episode called "Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl" which at outset promised to be quite edgy. It started off in Charlotte's art gallery with a drag king exhibit. After initial doubts the girls generally agree that the exhibit is cool, and Charlotte even winds up posing for a new painting and embracing her inner male. So far, so good.

While Samantha's storyline was rather small, and Miranda's struggle with letting Steve move in with her was touching, Carrie's plotline was the one that's bugging me. She had recently started dating a guy who, while younger, was fun and quite sexy. Carrie balks, however, when she finds out that Sean is bisexual. When chatting about her "problem" with the girls early on in the episode, each one responds in a stereotypical way. Samantha approves, claiming she herself is "trysexual" and willing to do anything once. Carrie expresses doubts that bisexuality even exists, stating that it's really just a stop on the way to "Gaytown". Charlotte agrees, saying people should just make up their minds, and Miranda hauls out the good old standby that bisexuals are "just being greedy [and] 'double dipping'".

Now, these are all things that I've heard before a million times, so I was hoping that the writers were doing a setup to break down the conventional discussion on bisexuality. If the girls could accept drag kings so easily, why not this? Alas, it was not to be. While Carrie winds up being kissed by a playful Alanis Morrisette in a game of spin the bottle, she decides that she's too "old fashioned" to accept Sean's sexuality. Ok, to each their own. What's not so innocent was the depiction of bisexuals as solely younger, promiscuous, confused and drunken individuals who just hadn't grown up yet. For a show that generally tries to push the envelope about embracing female sexuality, this was a disappointment. I know that later on Samantha actually has a relationship with a woman, and as I recall it was more realistic, but this episode still put a significant damper on the enjoyment of my late night TV. Grade: C+

Book Review: The End Of The Alphabet by C. S. Richardson

2008-07-08T16:33:00.002-04:00

Reader #82 wrote: THE END OF THE ALPHABET by C. S. Richardson was recommended to me somewhere. The premise is that Ambrose Zephyr has been told that he has a month to live, and hence decides that he and his wife Zappora Ashkenazi should travel to cities he has always wanted to visit, working his way through the alphabet. Unfortunately, not much comes of this other than that which would have happened with the alphabetical conceit. There is the occasional bon mot (e.g., "He was cinematically familiar with a few biblical stories."). This is also another example of a book that has done away with quotation marks are being an unnecessary expense of ink. Grade: C

Book Review: People Of The Book by Geraldine Brooks

2008-07-08T16:29:00.003-04:00

Reader #82 wrote: PEOPLE OF THE BOOK by Geraldine Brooks is a novel about the Sarajevo Haggadah. Brooks uses a style that I identify with James Michener's book THE SOURCE (also about Jewish history). This style involves discovering a lot of objects connected with the central focus of the novel (in Brooks, the Haggadah, in Michener, an archaeological dig), and then giving the history of each one. In both novels, the description the main characters in the framing story give is occasionally incorrect. One difference is that Brooks focuses on the women in the history, at times to the detriment of verisimilitude. I had a particular interest in this, since we have been to Sarajevo and have a facsimile copy of the Haggadah, but neither of these are pre-requisites. (Looking at a copy of the illustrations on-line might be helpful, though.) Grade: B.

Movie review: In the Name of the King

2008-07-08T16:14:00.001-04:00

Reader # 444 wrote: This movie was extremely disappointing to me. It seemed to be a rip off of The Lord of the Rings. For a movie with such an all-star cast the dialogue was poorly written and the special effects left much to be desired. I would recommend this if you had not seen the better budgeted movies and were looking for a way to waste 90 minutes. Grade: D

Movie review: The Other Boleyn Girl

2008-07-08T16:13:00.001-04:00

Reader #: 444 wrote: This movie was a complete surprise. I thought that I would be bored by just another historical period movie. Well, I could not believe waht a great movie it was. Natalie Portman as Ann Boleyn was a bit of a disappointment but Scarlet Johanson was very talented. This movie even has me so curious that I went online and checked out how historically accurate it was; and it was! I would recommend this movie to anyone who loves this type of movie. Grade: A

Movie review: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

2008-07-08T16:07:00.003-04:00

Reader #444 wrote: I saw this movie and was so impressed. The imagery was stunning and the special effects were amazing. Reading the book afterwards made me not feel cheated (unlike the Harry Potter movies). The actors that were chosen did the characters justice. My only disappointment was that it could not compare to the first movie. It could be that I was spoiled with how it flowed. I hope there will be more movies though. Grade: B

Audiobook review: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

2008-07-08T15:59:00.003-04:00

Reader # 444 wrote: I have recently finished the audiobook for Prince Caspian. Having read it after seeing the movie (review for that next) I felt that it gave me a lot more detail. The battles are amazing and it is amazing how the political arena mirrors the arena today (thank goodness we are remotely more civilized). The themes throughout the book such as sorcery, legends, honor interweaved throughout make for an interesting read. Even if you have seen the movie, I would suggest you give this book a try. Grade: A

Double Review

2008-07-08T15:53:00.002-04:00

Reader #411 wrote: Atonement by Ian McEwan book and movie review

I first attempted to read the book. I had heard they made a movie out of it, and I always try to read the books BEFORE watching the movie, so this is how I started. When I had read about 50 pages of the book, I put it down and decided to try the movie.

The book is written in intricate detail. Now there is descriptive-paint me a picture kind of detail, and then there is mind-numbingly excruciatingly-throw the book across the room detail. Atonement is the latter. After the first 4 chapters and the plot was not going anywhere I gave up. It was so annoying, I will never pick up another book by this author ever again!

The movie was acceptable. The storyline itself was pretty good, but it was a bit confusing at times and overall it didn't keep me interested through the entire thing. Sorry, but I have to say this was one I would not recommend. Grade Book-F, Movie C+

Movie review: Juno

2008-07-08T15:35:00.002-04:00

Reader # 411 wrote: An unrealistic view of a teenage pregnancy. Bizarre and slow are the best description I can use. This did win for best screenplay last year, but as usual, I don't know where they come to these conclusions. I did make it through to watch the entire thing and managed to chuckle a few times, but I wouldn't rush out to see it any time soon. Grade: B-

Multiple Reviews

2008-07-08T14:55:00.003-04:00

Reader #411 wrote about Children's books:

McDuff and the Baby by Rosemary Wells and Susan Jeffers--Grade B
My 3 year old daughter likes this book, this is the second time we have borrowed it. It's about a dog adjusting to his new family life now that there is a baby involved. The illustrations are clear and easy to see with simple colors.

Chester the Out-of-Work Dog by Marilyn Singer, Illustrated by Cat Bowman Smith--Grade A
My 3 year old daughter and I both liked this book. It's about a family who live on a farm and then move to the big city. Their dog, Chester, feels out of place without his farm noises and sheep to take care of. In the end, he finds a new job in the city and loves his new home. Illustrations are action-packed and easy to see.

The Parrot Tico Tango by Anna White--Grade A+++
We have read this book over and over since bringing it home--my 3 y/o daughter LOVES this book. It's about a parrot who takes all his friend's food and in the end looses it all and realizes he needs to share it. The bright, colorful pictures, repetitive, rhyming phrases and various descriptive words makes this a home run at our house! I would consider purchasing this book to keep in our home.

Wolf Watch by Kay Winters, Illustrated by Laura Regan--Grade C
This is a poetic-style story, about an Eagle watching for wolf pups to be born and emerge from their den so he can take one. The father wolf scares it away, but for my 3 year old, she didn't understand the prose and it was more of a book where we look at the pictures and talk about it rather than reading it. The illustrations, although beautiful, were very dark and difficult to see in the light. We will not be reading or borrowing this one again.

Brenda Joyce - A Dangerous Love

2008-07-03T16:21:00.003-04:00

Reader #51 wrote: Loved the Dewarenne Dynasty books, however, though the character of Ariella was not developed enough as the other heroines. Grade: B.

Don't Mess With Zohan

2008-07-03T16:19:00.003-04:00

Reader #51 wrote: Extremely silly story of an Israeli paratrooper who wants to cut his hair. Not funny. Grade: D.

Debbie Macomber - 74 Seaside Avenue

2008-07-03T16:13:00.002-04:00

Reader # 51 wrote: It is the first of the Cedar Cove series, but can be read by itself alone. This is my first time reading Debbie Macomber and my main criticism is that there were too many characters and plots to follow. Less would be better. However, on the plus side, she develops the characters and their problems, and deals with real life issues. Grade: B.

Stevie Nicks Concert

2008-07-03T16:11:00.002-04:00

Reader #96 wrote: Amazing voice, great musical band, but I missed the songs Fleetwood Mac made famous, she only did a few. Grade: B.

Get Smart

2008-07-03T16:07:00.002-04:00

Reader #96 wrote: I enjoyed the Get Smart television series. This movie was a good imitation, but something was missing. Grade: B.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

2008-07-03T16:03:00.002-04:00

Reader #96 wrote: The movie was enjoyable, however, it lacked the spontaneity of previous Indiana Jones films. Grade: B.

John Grogan - Marley and Me

2008-07-03T15:59:00.002-04:00

Reader #521 wrote: I love dogs and this story was about a crazy, loving lab. The book made me laugh and cry. This crazy dog teaches its owner and I can relate to the devotion the owners had to their canine friend. It's a great summer read. Grade A.

Juno

2008-07-03T15:57:00.003-04:00

Reader #521 wrote: I thought it was OK, but I expected a different ending. I hoped she would decide to keep the baby in the end. Grade: C.

Maid of Honor

2008-07-03T15:52:00.002-04:00

Reader #521 wrote: It had a predictable ending, but it was great fun. Patrick Dempsey was very funny, and you wanted him to get the girl in the end.

David Baldacci - The Collectors

2008-07-03T15:48:00.002-04:00

Reader #90 says: I recommend reading this because it is well researched, adding reality to the plot. His very good main and sub plots hold the readers interest. I found myself not wanting to put the book down. Grade: A.

Shirley Tallman - The Cliffhouse Strangler

2008-07-03T10:34:00.003-04:00

Reader Number 412 wrote: At first is seemed slow like an Agatha Christie book. Then the reading got more interesting with all the murders. You try to figure out the murderer, but you think it's one person, and then they get murdered, too! It keeps you guessing until the end. Rating: B

Lee Child - Nothing to Lose

2008-07-01T10:16:00.000-04:00

Nothing to Lose by Lee Child

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Ex military policeman and full time drifter Jack Reacher hitchhikes into Despair, Colorado only to be arrested on a trumped up vagrancy charge, and then promptly kicked out of town. There's no way he's going to take that kind of behavior, so hooking up with a policewoman from the neighboring town of Hope, Reacher sets out to find out what the town fathers in Despair are hiding. This was a solid, if formulaic Reacher thriller following the standard plot: Jack drifts into town, gets caught up in somebody's mess, finds a woman to help him (and sleep with him) and then solves the problem with a mix of brains and brawn. While it's not a bad thriller, and Reacher is always a compelling character, I think Child needs to get away from the formula and mix things up a bit during his next book. To his credit though, he has Reacher take a stand about the poor treatment of soldiers injured in the Iraq war, and the misuse of soldiers in general by self-serving politicians.

View all my reviews.

Andrew Vachss - Down in the Zero

2008-06-30T13:45:00.002-04:00

Librarian Tim wrote: Burke is out of his natural element again, this time called to a wealthy Connecticut suburb by the son of a former acquaintance who is scared about the rash of apparent suicides among his peers. When Burke investigates, he finds more than he bargains for, including sexual exploitation, blackmail and murder. This was a strange Burke novel, not only was he out of his usual New York setting, but it was as if Vachss was trying to have him establish a father-son relationship between him and his client, a very un-Burke like thing to do. The book stumbles along for quite a while before redeeming itself with a very clever finale. It revels itself as a dark, deep and existential novel. Grade: B

Jodi Picoult - The Tenth Circle

2008-06-30T13:37:00.004-04:00

Reader #482 wrote: Once again Jodi Picoult spins a compelling tale. Picoult is at her best blurring the lines between right and wrong. A great read I highly recommend. Grade: A

Website review - Hubble gallery

2008-06-30T13:25:00.003-04:00

Reader #85 write: This is a wonderful site for exploring the universe, the pictures are amazing and evoke a sense of wonder. Rating A+

Katy Perry's I Kissed a Girl

2008-06-27T15:12:00.004-04:00

Reader 62 wrote: I've had Katy Perry's "I Kissed A Girl" from the album One of the Boys stuck in my head for a good day or two now. When I first heard it I was blown away; a song about lesbians on Top 40 radio?!
Not quite. The song is not so much about a recently outed lesbian's first sexual experience as it is a glorification of the "straight women who get drunk and make out with each other at parties" phenomenon ("I got so brave, drink in hand/Lost my discretion"). The song's protagonist kisses a girl "just to try it", and you know she's not a lesbian because she expresses concern and "hope[s her] boyfriend don't mind it".
I guess I have mixed feelings about this song and its message. On the one hand, Perry's singing about a random drunken hookup with a girl whose name she doesn't know. She is not at all ashamed to say she liked it, but makes sure to emphasize that it "ain't no bid deal, it's innocent" and that it "don't mean I'm in love tonight". This emphatically removes her experience from the realm of same-sex romance and makes it difficult to stick a "pro-lesbian" label on the song.
BUT.
"I Kissed A Girl" is a powerful statement about women's right to claim their own sexuality, whatever flavor it might be. Perry is unrepentant and states that her "experimental game" is "just human nature". And there's certainly something a bit revolutionary about a #1 Billboard song featuring a female artist going on about how sexy women are ("Us girls we are so magical/ Soft skin, red lips, so kissable/ Hard to resist so touchable/ Too good to deny it.")
I don't think Perry is going to win any awards for furthering the cause of gay and lesbian visibility and acceptance. She has, however, undeniably made her mark on the public conversation in a way that even just a few years ago would probably have been impossible. really catchy. :) Grade: B Worth a listen so you, too, can be involved; it's also

Juno

2008-06-25T18:00:00.006-04:00

Reader Number 411 wrote: An unrealistic view of a teenage pregnancy. Bizarre and slow are the best description I can use. This did win for best screenplay last year, but as usual, I don't know where they come to these conclusions. I did make it through to watch the entire thing and managed to chuckle a few times, but I wouldn't rush out to see it any time soon. Grade: B-