It has been a while since I wrote down anything book-related, so I figured it was definitely that time again, especially after finishing the masterpiece that is 'Slapstick' by Kurt Vonnegut.
It is about a lanky, Neanderthal-looking man who rises from an obscure and sheltered youth to become the last President of the United States. It is an amazing read, and just one of those books you never want to put down.
There are a few concepts within the book that, as all Vonnegut books do, seem meaningless on the surface, but encompass a much larger issue. This novel dealt with the problems humans have with other humans, namely that we are growing further and further apart, and feeling less connected to each other as time passes and our society evolves.
The main character, Dr. Wilbur Daffodil-11 Swain, comes up with a scheme to give everyone an extended family, by changing their middle name to a plant, animal or mineral, and attaching a number to it, up to 20. The main thurst of it is that everyone who has the same middle name is family, akin to a cousin, and everyone with the same name and number would be considered a brother or sister. Eventually it evolves to the point that people congregate based on the middle names, with Indianapolis, for example, becoming what one character calls, a 'Daffodil City'.
It was amazing the scope that this story had, with other elements such as the breakdown of the American society into tiny, feudal-like elements due to a superflu. There is a King of Michigan, and also a Duke of Oklahoma, who the King is at war with. We also find that the superflu was actually caused by microscopic Chinese citizens, who had been shrunken down by their government in order to save space, food, and resources.
The Chinese are very secretive in the book, something we could easily experience in our times as well, and live in a completely closed off society, because their society is so far advanced past ours. I think this is a comment by Vonnegut that the American, or Western societies of the world will eventually fall under the weight of themselves, and we will not be the flag-bearers of the world much longer. I have to agree.
All in all, Slapstick made its way into my novel Hall of Fame, right up there with Slaughterhouse Five, and also Cat's Cradle. If you couldn't tell by my HOF roster, I am a big fan of Vonnegut's work.
Please, if you haven't read this book, visit your nearest Chapter's, Coles, or any other book dispensary near you, because it will change your views on the world. Certainly worked for me.
This is your Red Star Reviewer signing off, hope you enjoy...
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Lost Returns!!
The day we have all been waiting for has finally arrived. For nine long months, all of us Lost-lovers have languished without our weekly fix of Jack, Locke and Ben...but now, the pain is over.
In two short days, the premiere of Lost's fourth season is set to hit the airwaves, entitled 'The Beginning of the End'. Quite an appropriate title, as this will be the first episode since Damon and Carlton set their end-date for our dear Islanders. It has been promised to be action-packed and supposedly moves like a freight train, which is good news after S3's lackluster first 6 episodes.
There were only 8 episodes in the can before the darkness of the writer's strike hit us all, so we are assured of at least that much. In a recent interview, Jorge Garcia (Hurley, for the un-initiated) told us that the window has not closed on the chance for S4 to be the full 16 episode journey originally intended, as long as the strike comes to a close soon. We can only hope.
But, 8 is better than nothing, and nothing is just what we've had for too long now. On Thursday, I will be there, waiting for the magic to unfold, to find out who these boat-people are, who they work for, and why rescuing the 815'ers isn't their 'main objective'. My review will be up soon after, and I hope all of you will visit me here to revel in the return of our favorites.
Until then, I hope you enjoy it as much as I know I will....
In two short days, the premiere of Lost's fourth season is set to hit the airwaves, entitled 'The Beginning of the End'. Quite an appropriate title, as this will be the first episode since Damon and Carlton set their end-date for our dear Islanders. It has been promised to be action-packed and supposedly moves like a freight train, which is good news after S3's lackluster first 6 episodes.
There were only 8 episodes in the can before the darkness of the writer's strike hit us all, so we are assured of at least that much. In a recent interview, Jorge Garcia (Hurley, for the un-initiated) told us that the window has not closed on the chance for S4 to be the full 16 episode journey originally intended, as long as the strike comes to a close soon. We can only hope.
But, 8 is better than nothing, and nothing is just what we've had for too long now. On Thursday, I will be there, waiting for the magic to unfold, to find out who these boat-people are, who they work for, and why rescuing the 815'ers isn't their 'main objective'. My review will be up soon after, and I hope all of you will visit me here to revel in the return of our favorites.
Until then, I hope you enjoy it as much as I know I will....
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Completely Random Movie Review: No Country for Old Men
Back and in the flesh after a 2 month hiatus, aren't you excited?!
Yea, I know no one is (haha...?) but i haven't had access to a computer for those 2 months, (which I'll be referring to from here on out as 'The Dark Time') so i haven't been able to post any of my unique brand of rambling reviews.
This little diddy is going to be on a newer movie, still out in theatres, the new Cohen Brothers flick 'No Country for Old Men'. Now this is a lot unlike any other Cohen movie I've ever seen, and seeing how they wrote, directed, and produced what might just be my favorite movie of all-time (The Big Lebowski), I will trust the Cohen's to dazzle me every time they put pen to paper or eyes to a camera, and No Country was no exception.
It was violent, dark, everything Cohen Brothers movies usually aren't, and featured a merciless and entirely creepy killer by the name of Anton, played by the fantastic Javier Bardem, who, I learned afterwards, is apparently a star in the international market, and deservedly so.
The whole movie just had this air about it that stood out, from the shots, to the dialogue, to the characters, it was all just, in a word, awesome. I found it was written in an odd way, where none of the major points that would be traditionally shown in a plot were actually shown. The death of a main character was seen afterwards, not when it actually occured, and another death we were entirely unsure of at the end. The major plot driver (Millions in drug money) was never really addressed in the end either, and was left somewhat in the air.
Normally, I would hate ambiguous things like this, but for some reason, maybe the Cohens, maybe Javier Bardem, I don't know, it worked very, very well in my mind. And when the ending came, it was at a point where part of me expected and hoped the credits would roll, but thought the movie could easily go another 15-20 mins.
I would recommend this movie to anyone that loves great acting, great dialogue and great shots, but I can also easily see why No Country could turn people off.
Honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing it again, as there are little things that I'm sure I didn't pick up along the way, but that's generally true for any great movie, to be able to pick everything up it takes at least 2 runs through and maybe more.
Javier Bardem is going to be, and should be, breaking into the North American scene more now, and is actually getting Oscar buzz for his portrayal of Anton, which is surely justified, as a creepier killer doesn't easily come to mind.
Tommy Lee Jones was at the perfect time in his career for this role as well, the aging cowboy that just doesn't understand the world anymore, and Josh Brolin was fantastic as the man who randomly runs across the money and then lays his life, and the life of his wife, on the line to save it as if it was his child.
To sum everything up, No Country for Old Men was one of the better movies I've seen in 2007, and I would recommend it to anyone visiting a cineplex in the next few weeks.
Until next time (Hopefully not 2 months) this is your random, rambling reviewer, Red Star, signing off...
Yea, I know no one is (haha...?) but i haven't had access to a computer for those 2 months, (which I'll be referring to from here on out as 'The Dark Time') so i haven't been able to post any of my unique brand of rambling reviews.
This little diddy is going to be on a newer movie, still out in theatres, the new Cohen Brothers flick 'No Country for Old Men'. Now this is a lot unlike any other Cohen movie I've ever seen, and seeing how they wrote, directed, and produced what might just be my favorite movie of all-time (The Big Lebowski), I will trust the Cohen's to dazzle me every time they put pen to paper or eyes to a camera, and No Country was no exception.
It was violent, dark, everything Cohen Brothers movies usually aren't, and featured a merciless and entirely creepy killer by the name of Anton, played by the fantastic Javier Bardem, who, I learned afterwards, is apparently a star in the international market, and deservedly so.
The whole movie just had this air about it that stood out, from the shots, to the dialogue, to the characters, it was all just, in a word, awesome. I found it was written in an odd way, where none of the major points that would be traditionally shown in a plot were actually shown. The death of a main character was seen afterwards, not when it actually occured, and another death we were entirely unsure of at the end. The major plot driver (Millions in drug money) was never really addressed in the end either, and was left somewhat in the air.
Normally, I would hate ambiguous things like this, but for some reason, maybe the Cohens, maybe Javier Bardem, I don't know, it worked very, very well in my mind. And when the ending came, it was at a point where part of me expected and hoped the credits would roll, but thought the movie could easily go another 15-20 mins.
I would recommend this movie to anyone that loves great acting, great dialogue and great shots, but I can also easily see why No Country could turn people off.
Honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing it again, as there are little things that I'm sure I didn't pick up along the way, but that's generally true for any great movie, to be able to pick everything up it takes at least 2 runs through and maybe more.
Javier Bardem is going to be, and should be, breaking into the North American scene more now, and is actually getting Oscar buzz for his portrayal of Anton, which is surely justified, as a creepier killer doesn't easily come to mind.
Tommy Lee Jones was at the perfect time in his career for this role as well, the aging cowboy that just doesn't understand the world anymore, and Josh Brolin was fantastic as the man who randomly runs across the money and then lays his life, and the life of his wife, on the line to save it as if it was his child.
To sum everything up, No Country for Old Men was one of the better movies I've seen in 2007, and I would recommend it to anyone visiting a cineplex in the next few weeks.
Until next time (Hopefully not 2 months) this is your random, rambling reviewer, Red Star, signing off...
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Completely Random Movie Review: Kung Fu Hustle
Wow this completely random thing is growing pretty quickly...
I was intrigued when this movie first came out, mostly because it looked like nothing else I had ever really seen. I do love anything that's unique, so I had wanted to see it for a while, but never actually got around to it, until a few days ago, and man, wow, am I glad I did.
It was AMAZING, so off the wall funny, weird, with some great kung-fu thrown in to boot. The story and dialogue and everything was just so perfectly cheesy and strange, I couldn't take my eyes away.
Steven Chow is a seriously groundbreaking director, and I would recommend this to anyone that loves kung-fu and quirky humour, which I sincerely hope is many of you, because if not, I recommend going to the doctor, and I mean right now, because something is wrong there...
I was intrigued when this movie first came out, mostly because it looked like nothing else I had ever really seen. I do love anything that's unique, so I had wanted to see it for a while, but never actually got around to it, until a few days ago, and man, wow, am I glad I did.
It was AMAZING, so off the wall funny, weird, with some great kung-fu thrown in to boot. The story and dialogue and everything was just so perfectly cheesy and strange, I couldn't take my eyes away.
Steven Chow is a seriously groundbreaking director, and I would recommend this to anyone that loves kung-fu and quirky humour, which I sincerely hope is many of you, because if not, I recommend going to the doctor, and I mean right now, because something is wrong there...
Completely Random Book Review: The Hobbit
This may turn into a new section here at the Review, where I recap something I read, saw, heard about, etc, that essentially has very little to do with what I normally write about here, i.e., television.
I just finished reading, for the first time actually, The Hobbit, by Tolkien, and I must say, it was an immensely, and surprisingly, entertaining read. Now generally, I'm not much for wizards, and magic, and goblins and such, but it is my lady friend's favorite book. And she had just come off of reading one of my all-time favorites, Slaughter-House Five by Kurt Vonnegut (If you want a great, quirky read, I can't recommend anything better) So I felt as if I owed her one and grudgingly picked up the tale of the wizard and the goblins and the magic...and I loved it.
Tolkien has such an amazing style, like he's telling you the story personally, and the way he brought everything to life was just amazing. It was like you could tell that he took a very long time to perfect this little world he had created, and knew everything about it so perfectly, and relayed it in such a way that you felt as if it were real.
As I said, I've never been one for this type of fiction, and I never even watched the 2nd and 3rd Lord of the Rings movies, because, it just didn't do it for me. But now, I'll be cracking into the Fellowship of the Ring before I can even snap my fingers, because Tolkien just drew me right in, and I really can't say I'm sad about that...
I just finished reading, for the first time actually, The Hobbit, by Tolkien, and I must say, it was an immensely, and surprisingly, entertaining read. Now generally, I'm not much for wizards, and magic, and goblins and such, but it is my lady friend's favorite book. And she had just come off of reading one of my all-time favorites, Slaughter-House Five by Kurt Vonnegut (If you want a great, quirky read, I can't recommend anything better) So I felt as if I owed her one and grudgingly picked up the tale of the wizard and the goblins and the magic...and I loved it.
Tolkien has such an amazing style, like he's telling you the story personally, and the way he brought everything to life was just amazing. It was like you could tell that he took a very long time to perfect this little world he had created, and knew everything about it so perfectly, and relayed it in such a way that you felt as if it were real.
As I said, I've never been one for this type of fiction, and I never even watched the 2nd and 3rd Lord of the Rings movies, because, it just didn't do it for me. But now, I'll be cracking into the Fellowship of the Ring before I can even snap my fingers, because Tolkien just drew me right in, and I really can't say I'm sad about that...
Monday, September 17, 2007
Prison Break Season Three Preview
Prison Break wasn’t supposed to be here, and we all know it. It was supposed to be a one-off, one season gimmick show…but then it blew up. People started watching, ratings and ad buys went up, and Wentworth Miller was known as ‘Pretty’ to many more people than just T-Bag.
So, we got a 2nd season that was radically different from the first, that seemed to come in a lot of main chunks of stories, with an overarching one that seemed to come in a bit late.
We had the race for the money, then the aftermath, with everyone splitting up, the failed escape from the country, which segued nicely into the political/conspiracy part, then another escape from the country that went surprisingly smoothly, a courtroom drama, then everyone gathered inexplicably in Panama of all places for the coup de gras.
I just hope there’s more of a bigger picture type of story this time around, as Season One was, with a clear endpoint in sight that we slowly and agonizingly build towards. Not that I think the writers were making it up as they went with S2 or anything, just needed a more fluid story that didn’t jump around so much…but I guess when you cover that many miles with that many characters, the jumpiness is bound to happen.
Now that coup, of the de gras variety I was talking about before, was absolutely beautiful. It was ironic, poetic, however you want to put it, but really, everyone kind of got what they deserved.
And it set an unbelievable stage for Season Three.
The whole Sona prison concept sounds dynamite, with no guards, prisoners running everything…and just how the prison itself looks. That final scene where Michael walks down the hallway and sees what he really has gotten himself into was one of the more chilling and absolutely wicked scenes of TV I’ve seen in a long time.
Also, one of my favorite parts of Season 1, the prison politics, are back, and this time, they’re a lot deadlier.
I’ve read a few spoilers, which I of course, won’t just go into out of nowhere, wouldn’t do that to you non-spoilery people, wouldn’t want to muck up those squeaky clean minds, but it seems as though there is a few really well-rounded stories right off the bat that involve everyone in a good way.
I hope we can get more into the Company, and the whole conspiracy portion of the show, but I feel like that's coming. Hell, they may just be waiting for Paul Adelstein to come back from the pretty-sure-to-fail Private Practice and seek his revenge (you do have to admit, his death was a tad ambiguous last year, no?)
I for one, cannot wait, as Prison Break will be one of the few shows I really look forward to during the week, on that Lost/Heroes level, and I know it will be an absolute rollercoaster…of one kind or another…
Heroes Season Two Preview
Heroes was easily my favorite new show from last season, and burrowed its way deep into my cold, dark, heart, right alongside Lost, 24, and Prison Break as pure TV gold…Gold Jerry, GOLD! (Sorry I’ve been watching Seinfeld repeats all weekend)
Although the finale of Season 1 of Heroes did leave quite the bitter, unsatisfied taste in my mouth, I’m expecting big things this time around. I do have some concerns about the tightness of the story, with so many added characters, and the semi-cop out of jumping three months ahead, but I have faith in Tim Kring to pull it all together, even if he did fail spectacularly at doing so with the end of the first year. (The bitterness will fade ppl, just give it time).
There is set to be some big changes. A new, scarier Sylar-type character, a quick death, a resurrection, and some Petrelli amnesia tossed into the mix, all in the first ep… not to mention our Japanese friend that has tumbled backwards in time to feudal Japan…going to be a quite the ride…
But, lets go back to something I touched on above, the slew of newer characters. Heroes last year already had a large cast, and we found ourselves going large blocks of eps without seeing some people (Isaac Mendez and Matt Parkman come to mind) and I just don’t want to see that kind of thing happen even more this year.
I was never a big Veronica Mars fan, but I know Kristen Bell and her snappy, witty talents will be well-appreciated here (Still wish she had gone to Lost though…)
Anyways, onto my other main concern, the jump-ahead gimmick.
This is basically just something that buys time, as you have to go through and piece things together from the point of the jump to where you’re at now, then go forward from there, prolonging the main story. As an author I’ll admit freely I’ve done this, because it can be beneficial to if a story has stalled, it lets you refresh everything and tweak people a bit. You have sort of a blank slate instead of one coherent, expanding story.
I only complain about this technique because I have come to believe it is nothing more than what I referred to it as above, a cop out, and I have actually stopped using it, because of that very problem. A good story should unfold in one long strand, getting more complex and layered as it goes, and I’m fearing with Heroes, it might not be as deep as I first thought, as I know Tim Kring talked about renewing the show in this sort of way every year. Just shows that the Heroes story isn’t as tight as it should be, or I guess, as much as I wish it would be.
All in all, I know Heroes is going to be good this year, spectacular even, and I know it will draw me in like it did before, because Tim Kring is a good storyteller, but the real question I’ll be looking to answer this year will be if Heroes is going to become something deeper, something fantastically unique, something to pore over, study and somewhat obsess about (Lost, you guessed it ) or is it going to be just brain candy like everything else…?
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