Due to the past few days of finicky, irritating weather, I have elected to stay inside where the air is a regulated 72 degrees. And during these past few days, I've done a lot of reading and watched a lot of movies. Here's what I accomplished:
Finished reading the Harry Potter series. Nothing remarkable here, just continuing the tradition of the summer read-through. I have determined that the third book is the best in the series, hands down. The tone of the series starts trending toward darker themes (although some could argue that the extinction of mudbloods in book two is pretty hardcore) and the story stands on its own quite well. The plot twists are gripping and the characters believable. I'm pretty sure every other fan wishes they could read the series as if for the first time. Obliviate!
It's not quite the same, but I'm almost done watching the Harry Potter movies, too. Damn, they suck. I probably could have avoided disappointment had I watched the movies and then read the books, but it's impossible not to compare the gaping flaws in the movies to the books.
Masters of ruining a beloved childhood tale. The four most ironic smiles I've ever seen
I also did more than reading children's books. I finished The Great Railway Bazaar by the master, and arguably the inventor, of the travelogue, Paul Theroux.
He travels from London, into Turkey, across Asia, over to Japan, back across Siberia, and back into London over three months, using railways as much as possible. He recounts the entire tale with sharp observations, a keen sense of humor, and a traveler's intuition. The man can write. I've always wanted to travel to Asia, but this book made me ache with desire for an adventure via railway.
In movies, I watched She's Out of My League. It's an exercise in formulaic movie-making, and nearly the definition of bland. It has its moments- Jay Baruchel plays an endearing, almost painfully shy young man named Kirk who is genuinely easy to root for. His best friend, Stainer (played by the poor man's Seth Rogan, T.J. Miller) is a delightful asshole who pushes the plot forward, but in a very funny way. Unfortunately, the movie seems a little disconnected at times. Kirk and his unlikely hottie girlfriend (I think he used Sparkling eyes technique. If you get that reference, high five) go through the paces of a comedy movie, but the real stars are Stainer and Patty, the respective friends. They stand outside the storyline (and sometimes out of the realm of social norm), while Kirk and Molly (the hard 10) are trapped in a circle of hell, destined to awkward situations and the peer pressure of their friends. Anyway... this mini-review was still too long for a movie this inconsequential.
I also watched The Killing, but Stanley Kubrick. You could say I have a bit of a crush on Kubrick. This is one of his earliest films, in his black and white era. I'm not going to touch it with a review. I will say that it's one of the finest heist films of all times and it influenced Tarantino when he made Pulp Fiction. That should be all you need to know, anyway. So go watch it. Now.
Now, for that song I made you listen to. St. Germain is the pseudonym of Ludovic Navarre, French electro-jazz musician. And it's a truly wonderful experience. Sorry about the terrible quality of the Youtube video, a good version can evoke visions of a night time stroll along a lit waterway. No homo.
Yeah should've watched Inception. Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb.
ReplyDeleteAlso 6th book gtfo