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Book Review: Beowulf by Anonymous/Unknown
Summary:
This classic, epic poem tells the story of the life of Beowulf, a Geat warrior. In his youth, Beowulf assists the Danes who are being terrorized by a monster named Grendel. He defeats Grendel and Grendel’s mother single-handedly in hand to hand combat. When the Geatish king dies, Beowulf acts as guardian of the kingdom while the prince grows up. All is well until a dragon starts to terrorize the land.
Review:
Having read The Odyssey, The Iliad, and The Aeneid and liking them all quite well (in spite of the fact that The Aeneid is a Roman rip-off of the Greek epics) I was expecting something somewhat different from Beowulf than what I got. Although the adventures in these epics generally center around one or two characters, they are also the tales of the history of an entire people. Since Beowulf conducts pretty much all of his battles on his own, I don’t really get that vibe from Beowulf. It also is odd to me that these people seem to have a real talent for pissing off monsters buried deep in the Earth. Whereas the other epic poems are about battles between nations and the impact that has on individuals, this is really just about some guy who goes around killing monsters that people have managed to royally piss off. It’s kind of like reading a videogame in which every level consists of one monstrous boss.
Maybe this whole difference in tone is due to the fact that this pagan history is being told by a Christian narrator, whereas the other epics are told by pagan narrators. There’s definitely a vibe of “oh those silly old pagans” to Beowulf, which makes it rather hard to relate to the characters.
On the other hand, just as in the other classic, epic poems, the language is beautiful. Since I listened to this as an audiobook, I got to really listen to it. Hearing epic poetry read aloud is almost always better than reading it, as the oral tradition is where they came from. Bloody scenes manage to come across as exquisite due purely to the language being used.
If you enjoy epic poetry, you’ll definitely enjoy Beowulf. However, if you’re new to epic poems, I’d recommend you start with The Odyssey instead.
3 out of 5 stars
Length: 245 pages – average but on the shorter side
Source: Librivox recording via Audiobooks app for the iTouch
Buy It (Amazon or Bookshop.org)
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Movie Review: Bolt (2008)
Summary:
Bolt is the star of a weekly tv action show in which he protects the little girl he loves from evil masterminds using his super doggy powers such as the super bark. The producers, however, have worked hard to make sure Bolt doesn’t know it’s not real, so when he accidentally gets shipped to NYC, he’s in for a bit of a surprise. Lucky for him along the way he teams up with an alley cat and a hamster who help him truly become a super dog.
Review:
Anyone who knows me knows I have a thing for talking animal movies. It’s probably got something to do with the fact that in the imagination land that is my head, I tend to create my own soundtrack for the animals around me, so when dogs in a movie see a ball and we hear them saying “ball! ball! ball!” instead of barking….yeah, I’m hooked.
That said, I wasn’t intrigued by the preview at all. It all seemed so contrived, that I went into it expecting not to like it. I was, however, pleasantly surprised. The story manages to be cute and believable enough. Bolt isn’t egotistic. He’s intensely loyal in a way only dogs can be. He’s been led to believe he can shoot lasers with his eyes, and it’s kind of adorable when he tries to melt iron in the real world.
The characters he meets along the way are the best of what we’ve come to expect from animated movies. From the bad-ass alley cat to the over-exuberant hamster to the gangster pigeons they all work together to make Bolt’s non-television world the vibrant place it becomes.
The overall message of Bolt is actually quite delightful, and a surprise coming from Disney. Only when Bolt comes to accept that over-the-top superpowers are fake can he come to be the best dog he can be in the real world.
I would definitely show this to kids, but anyone who enjoys animated movies without shout-outs to adults watching will enjoy this film.
4 out of 5 stars
Source: Netflix
Movie Review: Seven (1995)
Summary:
Detective Sommerset is almost ready to retire. He just has to introduce the new detective, Mills, to the inner-city beat, but two grisly murders mark the appearance of a serial killer. His murders are each a punishment for one of the seven deadly sins, and Mills will need all the help from Sommerset he can get to solve the crimes.
Review:
For those of us who grew up on CSI, grisly crime scenes are nothing new. What makes them work in this film is their subtle and not so subtle associations with each of the seven deadly sins. The English major in me gloried at the detectives’ research into Dante’s works. The crimes are not just well thought-out; they are literary.
Beyond the crimes though is the story of the two detectives ever resonating just beneath the surface. With a job this grisly in such a bad part of town, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. You can’t have a family and live here, and you can’t do this job anywhere else. Sommerset chose the job, but he clearly wonders if that will be the best choice for Mills.
Pitt, Freeman, and Spacey are all great actors, and they do not disappoint here. I do think they miscast Paltrow as Mills’ wife, however. She doesn’t read as blue collar whatsoever, whereas Mills does. There seems to be little chemistry between the two, and I am certain that is due to Paltrow’s acting. Her doe eyes do not suit the character.
Although the story can move a bit slowly at times, it is an enjoyable watch for anyone with a literary slant and a taste for the grisly.
4 out of 5 stars
Source: Netflix
Friday Fun! (Nina’s Back, Refunds, and Gardening)
This was a busy, but overall fun week for me. One of my closest friends, Nina, was on a two month trip to Israel, and this week she returned home! (She kept a blog of her trip, check it out!) She and one of my other good friends came over Wednesday night, and we all cooked together. Well, Nina and I did. E was the cheering squad. Also, she brought the chocolate. Nina made tehini the way they do in Israel, and we had that with whole wheat bread for an appetizer. It’s a lot like hummus, only more bitter. For dinner we had whole wheat crust pizza topped with vodka sauce, marinated tempeh, shredded carrots, avocado, onions, spinach, and cheese. You guys, vodka sauce lends such a nice sweetness to a pizza. Swoon. Also, Nina brought me a lovely tapestry from Israel. I believe she said it was made by the tent dwelling Arabs, but I was also tipsy when she gave it to me, so I could totally be wrong about that. Although it is many colors, it is predominantly a vibrant shade of red with hints of black, so it will go really well with my living room. I’m so happy Nina is back, and she and E are going to be roommates, so I’ll be seeing much more of both of them.
In tidbits of news, my state refund came in, so there’ll be a bit of shopping this weekend. I was going to get a Wii, but I think I’ll wait for my federal refund for that. Instead, I’ll probably get a new tv, mostly so I can finally hitch up my mac to it and stream Netflix. Also, what’s the point of having a Wii if you’re playing on an old tv? (Don’t worry, budgeting types, some of the money will be going into savings and some into the terrifying undergrad debt).
I’ve decided (partly spurred on by my librarian friend, Kristi, check her blog out), that come hell or high water I will get some gardening done this year in spite of the fact that I have neither yard nor balcony and a kitty who is very determined not to share windowsills. I found a windowbox that is a bit sturdier and fits on the windowsill better, so hopefully she won’t knock it off. I’ve also got some other ideas up my sleeve (such as the topsy/turvy planting thing). I’m planning on growing tomatoes, herbs, peppers, and strawberries. I’m also considering potatoes via an indoor method Nina learned about in Israel. I am, however, known to have a brown thumb, so hopefully this pursuit won’t be in vain.
Happy weekend everyone!
Book Review: The Sweet Smell of Success and Other Stories by Ernest Lehman
Summary:
A collection of Ernest Lehman’s noir style short fiction, including The Comedian and The Sweet Smell of Success, which was turned into a film in the 1950s. Varying in length from flash to many pages, most of the stories address the damage caused to individuals by the overly hungry theater, movie, and television industries. Some of the stories also look at individuals suffering from discontent in marriage.
Review:
My first entry in my reading challenge to read books I bought for university but never got around to reading. This was assigned for my Film Noir class in conjunction with watching The Sweet Smell of Success. I loved that class and at least enjoyed the assigned books that I read at the time. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for these short stories.
Lehman’s writing doesn’t just evoke the past of the 1950s, it evokes an alternate, incredibly depressing universe. I have the feeling that was his point in writing these stories. The entertainment industry is evil and will slowly rob you of your soul. There’s definitely merit in that, but it can get a bit depressing and redundant to read the same theme over and over again.
I also found the dialogue jarring. The characters do things like call other men “baby,” and I can’t help but wonder if people actually talked like that back then. It made the stories ring a bit more fake to me than I think they should have.
Three of the stories revolve around press agent Sidney Falco and columnist J. J. Hunsecker. While I enjoyed these short stories it felt as if someone had ripped out three chapters from a back and handed them to me out of order. I wish Lehman had written this as a book or novella. He clearly had an affinity for these characters, as he repeatedly came back to them to explore them, so I wonder why he never just wrote a long piece about them.
The Comedian though is where Lehman hits his stride in this style and theme. He takes just the right amount of time to tell the story. He subtly lets us know the background information vital to feeling something for these characters on this crucial day, and the overarching them of the story is deeper than “the entertainment industry is evil.” Oh, it is still represented as bad, but that is not the main point of the story, which makes it stronger. I recommend reading this short story if you can get your hands on it.
Overall, if you’re in the mood for a marathon session of dark noir, you’ll enjoy this book. Otherwise, I’d recommend finding one of the short stories to get a taste of the 1950s version of the genre.
2.5 out of 5 stars
Source: University bookstore
Movie Review: Penelope (2006)
Summary:
The Wilhern family was cursed by a witch that the first daughter born to the family would look like a pig. It took hundreds of years for a daughter to be born, though, so Penelope’s appearance was quite the surprise to her family, and they reacted by ensconcing her in the house to protect her from paparazzi. Gaining love by someone of the blue bloods is the only way to break the curse, and Penelope’s parents are determined to find it via a matchmaker. Penelope, though, just wants to live and love like regular people.
Review:
I was expecting Penelope to be your average, predictable romantic comedy, probably because that’s how the previews presented it back when it came out. I don’t mind a romcom every once in a while, particularly if I’m having a girl’s night with one of my friends. However, I would not describe Penelope as a romantic comedy. It is a fairy tale in the classic sense of the word. It teaches a lesson, a beautiful one, and manages to completely surprise you at the moment it is unveiled.
The acting is pretty good all around. I had only seen Christina Ricci in Prozac Nation, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to forget her as the mentally unstable Elizabeth. However, all thoughts of that movie quickly left my head, which is a credit to Ricci’s acting ability. Also of note is the fact that there is a little person in the movie, and the fact that he is a little person is of no relevance at all. He’s just a reporter who happens to be little, and I really enjoyed that.
The costumes and sets are stunning. I wanted to live in the Wilhern’s house and own their books. I want a library whose door is camouflaged by bookshelves! I want the dresses Penelope wears. *sigh*
There is a little something that held me back from totally loving the movie, though. I really liked it, but I didn’t love it, and I’m not sure why that is. I think maybe it has something to do with the special effects used for Penelope’s nose. It just didn’t seem all that bad to me. Also, I think there was some miscasting in the two male love interests. Neither of them felt quite right for their roles.
However, it is still an enjoyable movie to watch, and I particularly recommend it for teenage girls or for women who want a chick flick with a good message.
4 out of 5 stars
Source: Netflix
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