Jul 27 2006
Miscellaneous Reviews
These aren’t really reviews; more like quick, unsubstantiated opinions of some new books, movies and music that have come my way in the past few months, beginning with…
BOOKS Paul Auster’s Oracle Night and The Brooklyn Follies. I’ve already forgotten the plot of each of these novels; the characters and the stories left no impression on me. There’s nothing new here — which is fine if you’re into sequels and numbered books. But more of the same doesn’t cut it for me. Paul Auster hit his peak with The Book of Illusions, a novel that had me hooked from the first page to the last. His novel Moon Palace is excellent, too, meadering at times, but still a good read. Sidney Lumet’s Making Movies is the best memoir I’ve read about what it’s really like making movies. Like building a house, it takes some detailed planning, and then a whole lot of hard physical larbour.
MUSIC Jolie Holland’s Springtime Can Kill You — Funny, but this jazzy-bluesy album hasn’t grown on me. “Crush in the Ghetto,” the title track and “Mexican Blue” stand out, but the rest I can take ‘em or leave ‘em. They lack that ghostly, out-of-sync rhythm that seems to characterize her previous albums. She’s polished some of the soul out of her music (though it’s still not a bad album). Eilen Jewell’s Boundary County — Kind of reminds me of Jill Barber but with dirt under her fingernails. Currently the most-played CD in our house. (Thank you to J-Walk.) Emily Kurn’s White Bird — Old-time roots style music, like Iris Dement but without the religion (and heard on Whole Wheat Radio). You can tell she’s young, but you can also tell she’s only going to get better. Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris’s All the Roadrunning — Mark Knopfler’s Golden Heart, Sailing to Philadelphia and Ragpicker’s Dream are good albums. His last album and this one, although not complete duds, kind of fall into Paul Simon territory. Too bad.
MOVIES Some movies I recommend: The Matador — It’s not high art, but it’s good entertainment. Funny without being stupid. Rotten Tomatoes calls it, “A humorously amoral, oddball, comic thriller.” Match Point — A slowly unfolding thriller that’s likely to have you rooting for the bad guy. You’d never know it was a Woody Allen movie (don’t let his name turn you off). Red River — Roger Ebert calls this a great movie. I agree. Howard Hawks directing John Wayne in what is simply a good old-fashioned western full of entertaining stereotypes (just don’t take them seriously). The Devil and Daniel Johnston — A documentary about a mentally unstable guy who is the worst musician on the planet, but a brilliant and honest songwriter. An Inconvenient Truth — Worth watching even if you think you already know everything about global warming. Sad, though, that this documentary may have done more harm than good; if there was ever a chance of getting through to conservatives who dismiss everything scientific as “theory,” having Al Gore as the presenter here instantly kills that hope. Lucky Number Slevin — Not a very good movie, but enjoyable if you’re into watching stylish criminals shootin’ everything and blowin’ up stuff. United 93 — A respectful take on the events of September 11th, 2001. House of Sand and Fog — A serious movie where you kind of get the feeling things aren’t going to turn out too good for anyone (which I normally can’t stand), but the good performances make for a good movie. Some movies I do not recommend: King Kong — It’s a spectacle of fantastic CGI creatures, but ultimately, who cares? The New World — If Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line is a poetic masterpiece, then The New World is just bad poetry. Falls flat. Lady in the Water — I like M. Night Shyamalan, but I agree with Rotten Tomatoes: “A far-fetched story with little suspense.” It’s not a really bad movie; it’s just not a good one. Ditto for The Da Vinci Code, Ice Age 2, Pirates of the Caribbean 2, Poseidon, and Superman Returns.
