Poetry for your soul

The One and Only Ivan is just plain beautiful! I can't stress enough how much I enjoyed reading this book. 5/5 stars! Just watch the book trailer - I was hooked from the start too:

A metaphor for bravery?

On the flip side of my novel reads, I've been dabbling in the Young Adult and Middle Grade sections here and there. I read See You At Harry's out of curiosity since this was one of THE books pegged to read this year, by everyone I seem to follow on Twitter. Also, I will be attending a Writer's Workshop later this month, in which Jo Knowles is one of the keynote speakers. I try to read up on future panels whenever I can.

Anyhow, Jumping Off Swings was a hit and miss for me, thus the reason for my 3-star rating. I love Jo's writing. She touches the reader just right, but felt there was something missing in the characters. Walking away from this book, I keep thinking "I want to know more". This is a YA novel about teen pregnancy. It's about just going for it. It's also about making me weep in the end (again)!

I Tweeted to Jo directly that her book made me cry, and she responded back with an apology. I honestly don't know if I meant that in a good way or not. The conclusion to the novel is not how I personally would have proceeded with a pregnancy as a teen. I think that's what struck me and I think that's what an actual teen reading this novel would really think about. This is a perfect example of a book which could be used as text in Sex Ed classrooms. You hand this off to 14 year old girl, she'll think deeply about her options.

Good-bye Batman!

"Hello" to the end of the Christopher Nolan series. It's a tough departure, but I honestly don't think I'll miss the franchise. Oh wait... I'm sure someone else has a Batman series in re-make mode at this point, because that's how Hollywood works these days, eh?

Reflecting on this movie today, I would rate The Dark Knight Rises about a 3, but my mind has been muddled with parody impressions of the film, so to be fair I give you my initial reaction. (This is tough to reflect on now, since I saw it opening/2nd weekend. It's my own fault for not addressing the movie sooner!) 4/5 Stars deserved for the well executed finale to the series. By this I mean that all ends were neatly tied together in a tight little bow. I do not crave more Batman, especially if I have to sit through another 2.5 hours of it.

TED!!

The teddybear... not the conference series.

Am I rating this film too harshly? Nah! If you've seen any number of Family Guy episodes, you've pretty much got the premiss of this movie. Ted is simple film about a boy growing up with his fallen-star talking teddybear/best friend. The movie is about their misadventures with weed and relationships.

Ted is hilarious, don't get me wrong... for the right toilet-humor loving viewer. Cleverly done, but I doubt I'll see this movie again any time soon: 3/5 stars.

When You Are Engulfed In Flames

So what DOES happen When You Are Engulfed in Flames? You get a dark-humor collection of short stories!

Not my favorite Sedaris collection, but I think that's what everyone says when they read this. I do recommend it, and it's featured some of my favorite shorts, for example "Buddy Can you Spare a Tie?", which a specific accessory is discussed on the David Letterman:

Overall 4/5 stars for the writing. Just to be forewarned this is a very morbid collection of stories. Though humorous, the overall tone is quite serious.

Please, no more Young Adult

I had high expectations before watching Young Adult. I mean, how can you go wrong with Charlize Theron? No criticism for the acting - that was well done, but I just couldn't find myself interested in the movie. What really sticks out for me is that we're forced to reconnect with people from a past (we) have no knowledge of; no concrete back story is revealed, other than what's told through the course of the film. It's hard to empathize with Mavis, which I suppose is the point.

In a way it's kinda nice that we're tagging along with someone who's never going to come out as a hero, but it's mostly depressing. Everyone grew up, then Mavis decides one day to back-track just because her old ex-boyfriend just had a baby. (Somehow she takes this as a signal that he wants her back in his life.) So she returns to her hometown and becomes the same self-absorbed person she was in high school. It's a sad train wreck, with occasional chuckles: 3/5 stars.

Salmon Fishing In Yemen

I got to watch this movie with my sister one evening, and my take away feeling was just that the movie was cute. I both liked and loathed the ending because it's really a film about adapting to your new environment, and trying something no matter how far-fetched the idea may be. Also there's a sorta-love story, which I felt muddied up the atmosphere of the film.

Salmon Fishing In Yemen? Yep! It's got Emily Blunt AND Ewan McGregor... awesome! But I didn't care for their back-and-forth so much, so it gets a meh: 3/5 stars.

Restless... I guess

Cute movie!

But I've taken a lot of time to think about Restless, since I saw it like... two-and-a-half months ago. Back then I was rating this film about a four, but I punched it down a notch thinking "Do I really want to see this again?" Meh!

I'd most certainly watch it for it's cuteness and close resemblance to Harold and Maude, or if someone wanted to see it with me, but I wouldn't run out and buy the film. (I would love that poster though... It has that perfect blend of morbidity and sweetness that I crave!) 3/5 Stars.