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Friday Fun! (Grad School Returns)
Grad school is fully back in swing. While I still wish I could miraculously have the copious amount of time I had over winter break when I was just working full-time, instead of working full-time and attending grad school part-time, I don’t totally hate my classes this semester. Yet.
One of my classes is on being an academic librarian in science and technology. The professor is an adjunct, which means he works in the field and knows what he’s talking about. Miraculously, I have yet to loathe any of my fellow students in that class. In fact, I even like some of them. A couple of them were in my medical librarianship class last spring, and I enjoy hanging out with them while they smoke on our break. They don’t have this false sense of being superheroes a lot of students in the program do. They just want a good, stable career, like me.
My other class is an online one on academic libraries. I’ve found I learn more in online classes, not sure why. I pretty much can’t stand any of my fellow students in it, but that’s ok. It’s easy to just roll your eyes at the statements made when you’re not trapped in a classroom with them. I like the professor though, and the assignments seem like I’ll actually learn something from them.
I’ve reached the climax in the novella that I’m writing. I’m excited to get to edit it and send it off to a friend for critique. I seem to actually be following through on my, totally not officially made but thought about a lot, resolution to write my novellas/books more. I really feel like the time I’m spending working on improving my writing is well spent, which is a pretty darn good feel good pill. Maybe someday you guys will get to review my books! Lol.
Happy weekend!
Movie Review: World’s Greatest Dad (2009)
Summary:
Lance knows he’s a good writer with a voice that deserves to be heard, but somehow it gets lost in the shuffle of his everyday life as a divorced high school English teacher and dad to his teenage son. His son is a jerk and a bit of a pervert, but Lance’s love for him helps him get through the day. When he comes home to find his son dead from erotic asphyxiation, his world is turned upside down.
Review:
This movie is a wonderful study of multiple, well-rounded, three-dimensional characters. From Lance to his hoarding neighbor to his art teacher, shallow, childish, love interest and everyone in-between, this movie is chock full of characters who are believable as real people. You want to study them more in-depth. You want to know what makes them tick.
Lance is such a likeable guy. He’s sweet, loves old horror movies, strives to write the best he can. All he wants out of life is to be recognized, not just on the level of his writing, but in his life over-all. He desperately wants to be noticed and loved. Parents will appreciate that whatever it is that makes Lance’s son such a jerk, it is never portrayed as Lance’s fault.
Beyond the wonderful characters, the movie makes a great commentary on what makes a book publishable. It points out the hypocrisy of popularity surrounding a controversy and the general sheep-like quality of the masses. This combined with the character studies makes it well worth the watch.
I recommend it to those who enjoy character-driven movies with a wry sense of humor.
4 out of 5 stars
Source: Netflix
Book Review: Mommie Dearest by Christina Crawford
Summary:
In the early days of Hollywood, Joan Crawford became one of the first celebrities to adopt children. From the outside, it looked like her children had it all–presents, inherent fame, an apparently adoring mother. However, in Christina’s tell-all memoir, she reveals the truth behind the image. A mother obsessed with cleanliness and rigid rules. A mother who demanded her children worship her like her fans did in order to receive her love. A mother so desperate to cling to her days of fame that she attempted to beat down any glimmer of success in her children. A mother who Christina still desperately loved to the bitter end.
Review:
This memoir is a must read for anyone who thinks that having money and being a celebrity automatically makes for a good parent. Joan Crawford expected her four adopted children to be exactly what she wanted them to be instead of loving them for their uniqueness and human imperfections. Christina’s situation gradually worsens as she becomes older and starts to show glimmers of being her own person. The scenes of abuse in Christina’s childhood are the best written in the book. It is clear that she remembers them vividly and can still identify with the emotions that went through her as a child and young teenager.
*spoiler warning*
That said, Christina never manages to disentangle herself from her mother. In spite of everything her mother has done, Christina still attempts anything and everything to reconcile with her, apparently ignoring or forgetting the fact that she never did anything wrong to cause her mother’s behavior in the first place. Joan Crawford is a cruel, spiteful, evil person, and Christina naively continues to seek her love even in her 30s. This makes it more sad than most memoirs about abuse as it seems that Christina never truly overcame her abuser.
*end spoiler*
The writing, beyond the scenes of abuse, is sub-par. Christina has a tendency to ramble a bit in an uninteresting way. She also seems to not understand which parts of her life to skim over a bit. I mean, did we really need to know exactly when in a funeral her husband hands her a paper cup of water? No. Additionally, she obviously had a bad editor, as there are quite a few spelling and grammar mistakes, which is odd for a mass market paperback.
Overall, it’s worth a read if you’re into memoirs or the inside Hollywood scoop. All others should probably give it a pass though.
3 out of 5 stars
Source: Swaptree
Movie Review: The King of Kong (2007)
Summary:
The world of competitive gaming (and by world, we mostly mean the US) has been a tight-knit bunch of people since the 1980s. Everyone acknowledges the awesomeness that is the head referee and current high-score in Donkey Kong and perfect score in PacMan holder Billy Mitchell. All that changes when a determined rival shows up in the form of Steve Wiebe, a middle school science teacher. Is Steve actually better than Billy? Is the competitive gaming institute corrupt? Is Billy as good as he says he is? Should videotaped gaming sessions count? All these questions and more are addressed in this documentary.
Review:
This is hands-down the most amusing and engrossing documentary I’ve ever seen. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve actually played Donkey Kong, so I sort of understand what’s going on when the guys play. Maybe it’s that I’ve known uber-nerds like this my whole life. You know the type–awkward, greasy, yet positive of his own awesomeness. I think it’s mostly that it’s a portrayal of a group of people united by what they love to do as opposed to who or what they are that makes this such a watchable documentary though.
Still, though, the documentary could have gone horribly awry if it weren’t for the skill of the filmmakers. They manage to tell the story in a way that lets us laugh at them, but not in a cruel way. They let us see that these guys know they’re a bit odd to more mainstream Americans, but they don’t care. That makes it totally cool for us to be amused at how seriously they take it all.
However, the documentary does more than show us a subculture and let us be amused. You can see your own group reflected in this one. We all have the devious person, the person who just wants power, the person who just wants recognition, the henchman, etc… It’s fun to see these realistic group dynamics on screen surrounding an issue as non-controversial as Donkey Kong.
I highly recommend The King of Kong to anyone who loves documentaries, mockumentaries like Modern Family, or videogames.
5 out of 5 stars
Source: Netflix
Prolific Blogger Award
One of my fellow bloggers, Jessica of The Bookworm Chronicles has passed the Prolific Blogger Award on to me. It goes to those bloggers who “read voraciously, blog tirelessly and have made the blogging community such a vibrant place,” according to the creator of the award, Hazra of Advance Booking.
I am pleased and surprised to have won my first blogging award, and I feel honored that it comes from one of my most loyal commenters! I do put quite a bit of effort into this, so the recognition feels good. Thanks Jessica!
Part of receiving the award is passing it on to 7 others. So without further ado, here are my nominations:
- Meghan of Medieval Bookworm. Although she now lives in Britain, I first met her in undergrad. Reading her thoughtful reviews of literary fiction, historical fiction, nonfiction, romance, and more make me wish we’d known each other better then.
- Debbie of Different Time, Different Place. She’s one of the few book bloggers I’ve stumbled across who predominantly reviews nonfiction. Her reviews give you enough of a taste of the style and content of the book without trying to tell you everything you’ll learn from it.
- Katie of Read What You Know. She’s a fellow librarian, and her blog reflects her enthusiasm for the ya lit she encounters in her day to day work as a teen librarian. Her reviews take into account the perspective of adult and teen readers of ya lit alike.
- Ana and Thea of The Book Smugglers. They not only take turns reviewing books, but also do joint posts. I like that in the posts you can see the interaction and learning that comes from sharing a reading experience, plus they’ve added to my scifi tbr pile quite a few times!
- Nymeth of Things Mean a Lot. She reviews an eclectic mix of books, but my favorite are her reviews of graphic novels. She includes shots of the art, and her reviews were a part of what spurred me on into the very enjoyable graphic novel land.
- Helgagrace of Title and Statement of Responsibility. Another blogger I know in real life, due to the fact that we’re both Massachusetts librarians. I enjoy sharing reading stats with her. Her reviews read like a conversation, and I’m not just saying that because I’ve actually spoken to her. ;-) She also talks about life and library issues.
- Last but not least Rob of Books Are Like Candy Corn. He’s based in Hawaii, so his blog is kind of like a tropical vacation for a frozen New England gal like myself. His reading choices broaden my horizon, as he is not only older and at a different stage in his life than most of the book bloggers I read, but also is male. (We are a predominantly female group).
It’s kind of odd to me to have the power of bestowing an award, but there you have it! At the very least, if you’re named above, you know I’m a loyal reader of your blog. If the above-named recipients choose to take part in the award, please go check out the rules.
If you’re a reader of my blog, but not the type to comment, please let me know if you have your own blog. I’d love to check it out!
Movie Review: Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Summary:
The Cold War between Russia and the US is going along swimmingly until a US General goes off his rocker, convinced that commie fluids are secretly infiltrating Americans’ fluids. He issues the Wing 9 order, designed as a fail-safe in case the President is incapacitated, thereby sending the US and Russia flying toward a nuclear holocaust.
Review:
One of my first questions when watching this film was if they’d made it black and white intentionally. Apparently, in the 1960s, making a film black and white was the equivalent of the modern day mockumentary. Dr. Strangelove takes a tongue in cheek look at the Cold War’s nuclear stand-off. To a certain extent, this works. Everyone in the movie thinks they’re doing what’s best for their country when in reality they’re about to destroy the entire world as we know it.
The film sets out to be funny, and parts of it are. The stand-off between the general who’s lost his mind and his British subcommander are witty. On the other hand, the whole character of Dr. Strangelove read as ridiculous and over-acted to me. Thankfully, the presence of Dr. Strangelove is wonderfully off-set by the acting abilities of George C. Scott who perfectly plays the all-American military man. Overall, the movie is funny, but not hilarious.
The special effects are good but not stunning for the decade. Most of the film doesn’t need any special effects though, so this is barely noticeable.
If you’ve got 94 minutes to spare and enjoy dark humor, give Dr. Strangelove a chance. You won’t be disappointed. Plus you’ll get to check out the snazzy argyle underwear worn by a general’s secretary.
3 out of 5 stars
Source: Netflix
Movie Review: District 9 (2009) South Africa
Summary:
In this alternate history, 20 years ago an alien spaceship came to a stop over South Africa. It appears that they broke down over Earth. They appeared sickly and malnourished, so the South African government set up a shanty town for them just outside of Johannesburg. Now tensions are increasing between the South Africans and the aliens who they call Prawns. The government hires a corporation called Multi-National United to come in and forcibly move them 25 kilometers from Johannesburg. The leader of the project soon discovers the Prawns aren’t exactly what the media has laid them out to be……and neither is Multi-National United.
Review:
I knew as I was watching it that I was going to really like this mockumentary. Having an alien landing that is neither hostile nor a diplomatic mission from a more advanced species is really creative, as is having the humans hem and haw over what exactly to do with the aliens. The aliens wind up in no-man’s land, stuck due to red tape and a general lack of consensus.
I also enjoyed that the movie doesn’t establish certain groups as all evil or all good. There are individuals within the South Africans, the Prawns, and the MNU who are good or evil, just as it actually is in real life. The main characters are complex, trying to do their best when facing tough decisions.
Now, as for the movie elements, the special effects are amazing. I kept forgetting that the Prawns were CGI and not actors. The Prawns’ weapons are exactly what you want out of a scifi film–based on real world weapons, but decidedly more awesome.
There were a few pieces of loose plot that bothered me. A non-spoiler example is the fact that the Prawns and the humans understand each other, and it’s not explained how that came about or how difficult it might be. It almost seems as if just anyone can understand the Prawns’ clicking. Another example is it’s never explained if there are female Prawns or if they are hermaphrodites or what.
A lot of people say that this is about race relations. I disagree. While it’s easy to draw out comparisons, I don’t think that’s the main issue in the film. I think District 9 is more about how groups of people affiliated by nationality interact, and how people do the best they can given the circumstances.
I highly recommend District 9 to scifi and non-scifi lovers alike.
4 out of 5 stars
Source: Redbox
Movie Review: Moon (2009)
Summary:
In the near future, a corporation has figured out how to harvest energy from the sun via a station on the the moon. Sam Bell accepted a 3 year post as the sole human being in the station. His only company is Gerty, a computer who is faceless save an emoticon that expresses the emotions behind his statements. It starts to look like three years may have been too long of a stint for Sam. Is he going crazy or is there something more sinister at work?
Review:
This movie largely consists of just one actor performing–Sam Rockwell, who plays Sam Bell. This is not an easy task to pull off while maintaining audience interest, and he does a wonderful job. Kevin Spacey, who voices Gerty, strikes just the right combination of mechanical and human sounding vocalizations. He does a splendid job being creepy.
The concept of a future where one corporation provides most of the energy used by the planet is a great scifi concept to base a film on. The technology and sociology necessary for this to occur are both believable enough that not too much effort is needed to suspend disbelief. On the other hand, the movie never really explains how exactly the energy is harvested. This struck me as a moderately important plot element to be missing.
The special effects were surprisingly good for a low budget film such as this. In fact, I kept forgetting that it wasn’t a big blockbuster release.
I can’t say too much more without ruining the movie for you. I will tell you that at first I thought it was just average, but then I couldn’t stop thinking about it for days after watching it. Particularly when I saw a bus with an emoticon on it that looked just like Gerty’s. I love it when a movie affects you in a sneak attack way, and I highly recommend Moon if you enjoy scifi or thought provoking films.
4 out of 5 stars
Source: Redbox
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This work by Amanda Nevius is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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