Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Books & Movies
Yeah, it's been a while since I've blogged. Sorry!!
But, I promised to talk about books and movies, and that is most certainly what I'm going to do now. :-)
First of all, if you know anything about me, you know that I LOVE to keep up with the latest movies. But, alas, I have only seen THREE movies this summer. Here are my thoughts on those three....
- I, Robot - didn't realize it was an Isaac Asimov story until after I saw it. I must say that the biggest draw for me to see that movie was Will Smith. He's awesome (and great-looking, too!!) And, yes, he did have a shower scene. LOL!! Oh, yeah ... back to the movie ... well, it was *okay*. Just *okay*. The effects were very well done, but it seemed to me more fantasy-ish than science-fiction-y. My favorite Isaac Asimov short story is The Last Question. I actually feel like the premise of I, Robot is very similar to that of The Last Question in that machines are programmed to self correct and seek and search and then take over in an ultimate quest to complete their task. Anyway ... Will Smith is AWESOME!! :-)
- The Village - I saw Signs a couple of years ago because (guess why) Mel Gibson was in it (can you say that I often see a movie for the actor that's in it and not the movie? LOL!! Anyway ... I NEVER go to horror movies ... I get nightmares too easily!! But Signs was a GREAT movie. Loved it!! And I was intrigued that M. Night Shyamalan had an acting role in it (he's the writer/director). So ... I thought that I'd try The Village as well. Another very intersting movie. I really like a movie that makes me think ... and this one sure does!! And, again, Mr. Night-S. is in the movie. The only criticism that I would have is that in comparing Signs and The Village, there seems to be a formula that he follows with the "horror" aspect. I won't go into detail here, in case you haven't yet seen the movie. But it's totally worth seeing ... and ought to give you pause for thought. Oh, and Kate - I have finally realized that M. Night Shyamalan did Sixth Sense, too. Duh, me, huh? When are we going to watch THAT?
- The Manchurian Candidate - it looked intriguing in the previews. And ... of course, I'm a big Denzel fan ... of course. :-) Anyway ... I saw an Angela Lansbury interview before this remake came out, and she seemed perturbed that they would remake the movie ... as it was done well enough the first time. I don't think that I've ever seen Angela Lansbury anything other than wonderful and gracious and upbeat in an interview. Interesting! Sooooo ... the movie. WEIRD!! What a strange concept. And what a strange ending. Again, food for thought ... but not half as enjoyable as The Village.
And, on to books. I mentioned that I read Wicked earlier this summer. No need to rehash. Loved it ... you must read it, too!!
Some other books worth mentioning:
- Tony Hillerman's Memoir, Seldom Disappointed. What a delightful book to read. If you're looking for excitement, drama, serious life-trauma ... don't read this book. He comes right out and says that at the very beginning. His life was rather normal and uneventful, and goes on to prove it throughout the book. How refreshing! The title comes from the idea that if you head out with no expectations in particular, you'll seldom be disappointed. The book is all about the wonderful things that have happened to him in his life. He then goes on to talk about living on a farm in a poor family in Oklahoma during the depression, being the youngest son (in a farming family, the youngest son was not to be compelled to fight in WWII) and agreeing with his mother to sign up for the Army and spending a couple of years fighting in Europe, losing the use of one eye, etc. Yet he has a GREAT outlook on life. And, I love his novels about the Navajo Tribal Police in New Mexico. They're my inspiration for my upcoming (I hope!) road trip to the Grand Canyon!!
- Anything written by Jonathan Kellerman - I am currently reading Self Defense, one of his Alex Delaware novels (all murder mystery) ... I am working through the Alex Delaware ones in order. I'm enjoying it, and it's easy reading.
- In my car, I'm currently listening to Stephen Coonts' Hong Kong. I don't really like it. Sorry, Mr. Coonts, it's just too far a stretch with the robo-warfare stuff. You may be wondering, though, why I'm still listening to it rather than popping in my next book (I have two in the queue). Well, the book intrigues me enough in a couple of ways that I want to see it through. First of all, I apparantly know nothing at all about the history/politics of China. The story is set in Hong Kong, but addresses the political climate in China as a whole. It is set after the city is turned over from the British to the mainland Chinese government. That part of the story interests me greatly. Secondly, one of the main characters is fictional (obviously) ... the man who stood in front of the tank in Tiananman Square, whose identity I believe is still unknown (the picture of that still brings tears to my eyes). It's interesting to idealize about this amazingly courageous man who, according to Coonts' novel, is leading the movement in China to overthrow communism. I find that fascinating!
- In the queue, a book by Cynthia Tobias called I Hate School - which will hopefully give me some insights for my own classroom (if I can get beyond the idea that there might actually be kids out there who hate school ... yeah, right!) :-D
Okay ... if you've gotten this far, you need to tell me about YOUR summer movies, books, etc. What've you been entertained by for the past two months!!??
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I have tried numerous times to post comments to your blog, and often times it doesn't work. So here goes.
You MUST see Spider Man 2. Way cool movie. Best movie of the summer (although I haven't seen any of the 3 you mentioned).
You MUST see Spider Man 2. Way cool movie. Best movie of the summer (although I haven't seen any of the 3 you mentioned).
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