Archive for January, 2008
‘Cloverfield’ Reviewed
Sunday, January 20th, 2008I heard mixed reviews about Cloverfield, including complaints that the handheld camerawork caused nausea, or that it was unconvincing that the character operating the camera would have the presence of mind to keep videotaping throughout the whole saga.
Well, I never got nauseous, and I thought they did a good job explaining the cameraman’s drive to keep videotaping in order “to document” what was happening because “people will want to know.”
Even if you’re not convinced, once look passed the issue of the handheld camera perspective, it’s exciting to watch, and I left the theatre wanting more. You can’t help wanting to know more. The movie is presented as videotape evidence recovered by the Department of Defense from Central Park following an attack on the city by some creature. It starts from the planning of a going away party Rob Hawkins, who is about to leave New York City for a job in Japan. The attack happens during the party and you follow him, his brother and his girlfriend, his best friend and another party attendee throughout the attack.
The virtual realtime experience of the attack is extraordinarily effective, as it was for The Blair Witch Project (which I haven’t seen but I’ve heard enough about). The interesting thing about Cloverfield is that it has been described as Godzilla meets The Blair Witch Project. Probably a very fair description, only, had Cloverfield been done more like a tradition action movie, it may not have done so well… Considering remakes of Godzilla and King Kong didn’t seem to do as well as hoped. They certainly weren’t memorable movies, and I can’t say I had a strong desire to see either of them. Cloverfield’s appeal had a lot to do with the presentation as a continuous story from the point of view of a character’s handheld camera.
All you are given in the movie is the “evidence” of the recovered videotape. So, while I was absolutely satisfied by the movie, I found myself wanting to know more about the aftermath: What was the creature that attacked New York? I’d like to believe that once Cloverfield is released on DVD there will some great bonus features explaining all the things we want to know about “what happened” that we weren’t going to find out in the movie, as it was presented.
Cloverfield is definitely worth seeing.
‘Double Cross’ Reviewed
Saturday, January 19th, 2008As a longtime fan of James Patterson’s Alex Cross series, I always look forward to the next book of the series, despite the fact that the last few have been somewhat disappointing. I was hoping for James Patterson to redeem himself in Double Cross after a rather unsatisfying previous attempt in Cross. Unfortunately, Double Cross lacked in thrills and suspense, and was horribly predictable.
Perhaps Patterson has taken the Alex Cross character as far as he can realistically take him with. If it truly is better to burn out than to fade away, then Alex Cross needs to go into retirement… soon. In the more recent additions to the series, I found myself more interested in the parts of the stories that revolved around his personal life, particularly the strains on Cross’s family with his work and lifestyle, and a custody battle with his ex-girlfriend over their toddler son. There was a noticeable absence in Double Cross his family, and it’s not as if the parts about the DC Audience Killer or Kyle Craig were so engrossing that we couldn’t be taken away from them for a few more brief moments. Cross’s family life gave a lot more depth to his character, and was complementary to the bigger story. In Double Cross, it felt more artificial and supplementary.
But the worst thing about it was the predictability. I had the killers’ identities figured out much sooner than I should have. And some aspects of the end with Kyle Craig I had faint ideas of how they would turn out as well.
The story had potential in the beginning, but it just didn’t hold up to the end. If you’re a fan of the series, you have to read it just like I had to… but it just doesn’t measure up to his earlier efforts, such as Kiss The Girls or Cat & Mouse, two of my favorites in the series
I Am Legend: The Story vs. The Film
Friday, January 18th, 2008Yesterday, I finished reading Richard Matheson’s original story, I Am Legend. I saw the movie last month, and liked it a lot. It didn’t take me long to buy the book it was based on — I was very much interested in comparing the two.
I bought the book at the airport last month and since read it in small portions during my commute home from work. In short, Richard Matheson’s original story and the latest film adaptation of it are very different in ways that just work to each version’s benefit.
In reading the book, I found that it was easier to feel the main character’s isolation than in the movie. The movie, for starters, was a lot shorter, and the main action took place over a shorter period of time. His isolation in the movie is softened by his companionship with his dog… Though his talking to mannequins was effective in demonstrating his desperation for contact. In the book, he does not have a dog (though one turns up late in the story) and rather than talking to mannequins, Neville resorts to heavy drinking.
The book goes into a lot detail about Robert Neville’s search for a cure to the plague, and you get a sense for his enormous amount of free time and his dedication as he struggles to not only deal with his virtual solitude, but with the horrors of the plague that took his family away, and ultimately let him to not only bury his wife, but kill her violently again when she returned from death.
In the book, he is not military doctor (as he is in the film) so his quest for a cure involves starting from the basics of medicine. As he builds up his knowledge from reading books on medicine and biology his understanding of the plague (and how to possibly cure it) increases.
In the book, the humans who weren’t killed by the plague (with the exception of Neville) became vampire-like zombies, who displayed similar weaknesses as vampires from popular legends (aversions to sunlight, crosses, and garlic) which may have been appropriate when the story was first published, but seemed a bit dated and uninspired to me. The genesis of the zombies in the movie (a mutated cure for cancer) was more appropriate for the present, and the vampire elements (except for the aversion to light) were not used.
Another thing that separates the movie from the book is that the movie had to have action that would bee effective for the medium given the opportunities that exist with special effects.
It’s hard to say too much about the differences and similarities between the book and the movie without giving away too much. In the end, I can say that I enjoyed them both, but I can’t say which I liked better. I liked the action and visuals of the movie, and the detail of the book. They both have their own strengths and weaknesses. Each were done at a particular time where certain themes or styles were appropriate.
Unlike my previous book/film comparison, there is no clear winner here. If you’re going to see the movie, read the book first. Both are worth enjoying.
Nirvana Unplugged on DVD
Monday, January 14th, 2008Why did it take so long for Nirvana Unplugged In New York to be released on DVD? I have no idea. Perhaps the best performance that has ever come out of MTV’s Unplugged.
As a longtime fan of Nirvana, I remember anxiously
awaiting the CD release of Nirvana Unplugged In New York. For die-hard Nirvana fans, to own the uncut video of Nirvana Unplugged is something of equal significance. And the DVD is more than just the raw footage of the performance - though that would have been enough satisfy.
Included in the DVD as bonus material are Nirvana’s rehearsals for their Unplugged performance. Perhaps the most significant gem from the five songs from the rehearsal is “Pennyroyal Tea,” which was rehearsed as a band arrangement, with Pat Smear doing backup guitar and vocals, and tried again with Dave Grohl doing backup guitar as Pat did backup vocals. This was clearly not working, which explains why Kurt Cobain ended up performing the song entirely by himself for the actual performance.
Seeing the uncut performance offers a new glimpse of Nirvana’s rare acoustic concert. While most fans were familiar with the MTV broadcast and/or the album release, the raw footage offers more chatter between songs by the band, video of songs “Something In The Way” and “Oh, Me,” as well as some short comical cover of “Sweet Home Alabama.” Other comical moments occur throughout the DVD, including a call for requests where one fan yells “Rape Me,” to which Kurt replies “I don’t think MTV will let us play that,” an obvious reference to Nirvana’s appearance at the 1992 MTV Music Awards when he started playing the controversial song in protest, then switching to Lithium just before MTV was about to cut them off.
Even if you’re a fan who taped Nirvana’s Unplugged performance back when it was first broadcast, you’ll have to get this DVD. The old VHS tape recorded off the TV can officially take the backseat to this superior DVD loaded with all it’s goodies.
Books Bought
Saturday, January 12th, 2008You’ll notice I’ve added a new section to the right sidebar called “Book Bought” — which, obviously shows books that I’ve recently purchased. I decided to add this section because I don’t usually read book in the order I purchase them, and I really want to show what books are coming into my personal library. Books under “Books Bought” are different from books under “Future Reads” because ideally “Future Reads” includes only books that I plan to read in the near future. True enough, Joshua Ferris’s Then We Came to The End has been listed under “Future Reads” for several months, and I have yet to crack it open, though my plan is to remedy this after I finished I Am Legend.
As for the books I’ve just purchased, let me give you a run down:
As any reader of my blog knows, I’m a fan of Nick Hornby. Despite this, I haven’t read The Polysyllabic Spree or Housekeeping vs. The Dirt, both a compilation of selections from his “Stuff I’ve Been Reading” column for The Believer literary magazine.
I said in my previous blog entry that I was working on getting James Patterson’s Double Cross on audiobook, and I’ve finally done that. That will likely be read soon after I get it in the mail.
The last book I got was The Better of McSweeney’s, Volume 1 , which is a collection of “the best stories from the first ten issues of McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern.” McSweeney’s publishes Believer and also put out the aforementioned Nick Hornby books of his columns from Believer.
Reading Update
Monday, January 7th, 2008There’s a been a few changes to my “Currently Reading” list.
First, I’ve put Love in The Time of Cholera on hold for now. The book has been a struggle for me to get through. Perhaps it’s the story… or the fact it’s a translation… I’m not sure. But, I’ve put it on hold in order to read two other books.
The first book I started reading after putting Cholera on hold was I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. I was interested in reading the book after seeing the movie last month. So far, I can say that the book is very different… But I cannot say which one is superior. I will give a full report when I finish the book.
The other book I started was The Book of Other People, a compilation short stories edited by Zadie Smith. I admit one of the main reasons for my getting the book was that Nick Hornby made a contribution to the book, however, I do find the book’s premise intriguing (the contributors were instructed simply to create a character) and expect to enjoy the colleciton in its entirety.
So, that’s what I’m reading at the moment. Perhaps I’ll end up reading more by Richard Matheson, or start reading Zadie Smith.
Recent & Future Patterson Reads
Sunday, January 6th, 2008Since my previous James Patterson update I’ve read a few more of his books, and a few more are coming out soon…
Recently Read:
5th Horseman and 6th Target
The last two books in James Patterson the Women’s Murder Club series.
Judge & Jury
A very good thriller about a mafia trial. Patterson’s love scenes are a bit smarmy, but story was great.
To Be Read in 2008:
Double Cross
The latest in the Alex Cross series… Still haven’t gotten a copy yet. Attempting to get the audiobook now.
7th Heaven
The latest in the Women’s Murder Club series… To be released February 4, 2008.
Maximum Ride: The Final Warning
The latest in the Maximum Ride series… To be released March 18, 2008.
Sail
New story, not part of a series… I’ll probably get the audiobook. This one will be released June 10, 2008.
The Dangerous Days of Daniel X
This one sounds very different from his previous work… More along the lines of a sci-fi thriller. This one will be released July 22, 2008.
‘Alvin and the Chipmunks’ Reviewed
Tuesday, January 1st, 2008I originally had no intention of seeing ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks‘ when I first saw a poster advertisement for it in the movie theater. However, I was won over by the previews, and found it to be a movie I had to see, if only to satisfy my curiosity. As a kid, I can remember watching the Alvin and the Chipmunks cartoon, and while I can’t say I had high hopes for the movie, I knew it would have a few laughs and be at the least, mildly entertaining. Reintroducing The Chipmunks to the kids of today was probably risky. However, since the Chipmunks were created in 1958, I can imagine that a lot of parents who took their kids to see the movie had seen and heard the Chipmunks in their youth.
I didn’t think the story would be that great, but the movie definitely was good for laughs. Jason Lee, who I would not have expected to pull off the role of Dave Seville, actually played the part quite well — as good, if not better than anyone else could have.
The CGI effects are less convincing, but that’s hardly a reason to dismiss the movie. Alvin, Simon, Theodore are actually appear and move like chipmunks (which was not so in the cartoons)… but that hardly prevents you from feeling sympathy for the chipmunks as they initially try in vain to make Dave see them as a family, or getting a warm fuzzy feeling when a nervous Theodore asks to sleep with Dave because he’s scared after having a nightmare (that scene had me going “Awww…”
All in all, it was a fun movie to watch.