Quick Hits and A Miss

Time for some quick hits on some recent viewings and listenings:



Hit:  Casino Royale (2006)

Daniel Craig's first James Bond film is also the film version of the first Bond novel, and it's a thrilling ride, from the extended action scene at the outset to the gritty end.  It's a pretty physically brutal debut for Craig, but the film provides some insight as to why Bond is the way he is (for example, why he doesn't get attached to women).  The DVD extras are a plus as well, including an interesting "making of" feature.

Hit:  The Cabin In The Woods (2012)

Five friends head out for a weekend of relaxation at the titular cabin and quickly realize that something's really not right.  Giving away very much of the plot would be a disservice, but the film gets more imaginative as it rolls on.  The combination of high suspense, gore, and monsters witha few twists and turns make Cabin a quality horror flick.

Miss: Traveler, Trey Anastasio



Anastasio, most known for his work with Phish, seems to be content in life (at least that's the feeling one gets from this set of songs), but his most recent effort bogs down due to awful lyrics and a cover of Gorillaz "Clint Eastwood" that isn't that different from the original.

Music Review- Norah Jones, Little Broken Hearts

Not sure what I was expecting when I started listening to Little Broken Hearts, but a homicidal Norah Jones wasn't the first thing that came to mind.  Little Broken Hearts is an angry, um, broken-hearted album that never shifts out of melancholy.  A dreary listen, you might wonder?  Not particularly, although it's probably not the best for, say, the treadmill or a long-distance drive.  The songs are well-written and well-produced, and the second-to-last song, Miriam, has Norah grinning while she imagines offing her cheating lover's paramour.  Chilly, chilling stuff indeed.

Book Review- One Last Thing Before I Go/Jonathan Tropper

Author:  Jonathan Tropper

Title:  One Last Thing Before I Go

 

Plot Outline:       Drew Silver hasn’t gotten much right in his life for quite a long time.  He lives at the Versailles, an apartment complex for divorced men.  He’s also let down his daughter Casey on many occasions.  Life is continuing on this downward slope when Drew suddenly collapses.  The diagnosis is a tear in his aorta, which can be repaired with an operation.  Silver makes a radical decision not to have the operation, given how he’s lived his life over the past few years.  This decision means he will die soon, and the aftermath of the decision is much debated throughout.

Impression after reading:   Tropper is one of my go-to authors.  He does such a terrific job with flawed characters and making the reader realize that despite how disappointing these flaws can be, there’s so much still to love about the character.  Reading One Last Thing Before I Go reminded me of Jonathan Franzen.  Tropper’s style isn’t as dense as Franzen’s, but his tendency to give his characters surprising quirks or habits (such as Silver’s blurting out his internal monologues aloud) makes his novels so compelling, and One Last Thing Before I Go is no exception. 

Other recommended works by Tropper:  Everything Changes, This Is Where I Leave You

We Bought A Zoo

 

Movie:  We Bought A Zoo

Director:  Cameron Crowe 

 

Stars:  Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson

 

Plot Outline:  Matt Damon plays Benjamin Mee, a widower struggling to start over.  He quits his job and looks for a place to restart.  The search for a new home turns up a place out in the country (nine miles away from Target, a fact that is repeated a few times throughout the film).  It's perfect, and Benjamin feels that it's ideal for his family, but comes with a catch:  there's a fully functioning zoo with staff that the new owner must take on.  Benjamin agrees, and complications ensue.

 

 

Overall impression:  The movie's pretty predictable as far as plot goes, and the dialogue is pretty bad in some spots. Benjamin's daughter Rosie is far too precious and says things too advanced for her age.  Son Dylan is well-played by Colin Ford, and the conflict between Dylan and Benjamin is the most compelling part of the film.  Scarlett Johansson plays a passionate zookeeper, and to me, it's her best role in some time.  The film is too predictable and too cute to be a must-see, but it's got some good parts.

Matt Cassel injury/Scoop Jackson's article

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8480146/fear-self-loathing-kansas-city

On Sunday, the Baltimore Ravens played the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.  Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel was hit hard in the fourth quarter and was on the ground for a while.  Normally, the fans are silent while a player suffering this type of injury is being treated, but the Chiefs fans, unhappy with Cassel's play, started cheering.  To me, this is reprehensible.  Yes, Matt Cassel is a struggling quarterback, but he's also a human being who suffered a serious injury. 

Scoop Jackson:  "Last season the Denver Broncos recognized the "climate" when they finally put Tim Tebow into the lineup. The Chiefs could have done something by taking the temperature of their own fan base quicker and making a move of their own. So, the Chiefs are as much to blame for putting their quarterback through a situation like this as the fans are for expressing their misdirected feelings in the way that they did."

So the Chiefs are to blame for their fans behaving like Neanderthals?  And teams now have to "take the temperature of their fan base" when making moves?  I don't buy the argument that because fans pay for their tickets, they have the right to behave any way they want.  Boo Matt Cassel after his fourth interception.  Just don't cheer when he goes down with an injury that threatens his livelihood and health. 

Mumford and Sons- Babel

I really got into Mumford and Sons back into 2010.  The soaring banjos, Marcus Mumford's roaring vocals, and the memorable harmonies put their debut release Sigh No More into heavy rotation on radio stations and led to them supersizing their concert venue in Milwaukee.  After a while, though, Sigh No More lay on the shelf.  After a while, the banjos got repetitive and even the chorus of "Little Lion Man" featuring the f-word got tired.

Would their second effort be more of the same, or would the band show some versatility?  On Babel, there is more of the same- there are the same soaring banjos and what I'd call Lord of The Rings lyrics (overly earnest, wordy, and melodramatic, but Babel showcases both a fiery Marcus (the title track) and a quieter side (the haunting sequence of "Ghosts That We Knew, romantic "Lover of The Light and the first part of "Lovers Eyes").  The radio single "I Will Wait" may be their finest work, catchy yet not annoying upon multiple listens.  Babel is a recommended listen, especially the middle part.

Ted

Seth MacFarlane is one talented guy.  He’s responsible for three shows on Fox (Family Guy, American Dad and The Cleveland Show), released a CD of standards and hosted the season opener on Saturday Night Live.  (This just in- he’s now hosting the Oscars.) He does an incredible amount of voices (Peter Griffin, Stewie, and Brian on FG, among others) and seems to be able to accomplish whatever strikes his fancy.

The only thing he can’t really accomplish, as evidenced by Family Guy and his movie Ted, is put together a believable plot.  In Ted, Mark Wahlberg plays John Bennett.  John, when he was a little tyke, got a teddy bear for Christmas, names his bear Teddy and made a wish that Teddy could talk.  The next morning, his wish came true, and John had his new best friend, his Thunder Buddy (turns out both John and Ted are afraid of Thunder). 

Fast forward to a 35-year old John, who now gets high with Ted, who seems to be a terrible influence on John.  John has been dating his girlfriend Lori (played by Mila Kunis) for four years and is clueless that she might want something more after all this time.  He tries to change it around (over and over, actually), but keeps making the wrong decisions.  He and MK kick Ted out, but John still hangs out with him nearly every day.

Ted pretty much plays like an episode of Family Guy.  Man screws up repeatedly, makes an effort to change.  Woman grows weary and gets mad.  Man changes and all is well.  Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis only seem to have a slight bit of chemistry together (actually, Wahlberg has more chemistry with Ted). 

Ted has a few funny moments, but grows increasingly tiresome and even painfully so near the end, so I wouldn’t recommend it even in a second run cinema or when it comes out on DVD.