The AVENGERS! Only Funnier

I confess I haven't seen a single superhero film (aside from Batman,) and I don't read comics, so I feel a bit out of the loop. I've missed out on all the Hulk and Ironman films... not even seen Thor! So my approach to The Avengers was with virgin eyes. It burned my eyes :-( Being one who does not pass up the opportunity to watch films guided by Riff Trax, I saw The Avengers this past weekend with my friend. I don't think I quite understand what happened. I doubt I'll remember the whole film, but in guidance with the third-party commentary, it was amusing in the chuckle department. I will not be seeing this film again (at least I hope not): 2/5 Stars. Seriously, the Riff Trax made this movie tolerable for me.

Oh! I forgot Captain America! How could one forget Captain America?

Silver Linings Playbook

I've taken several days to really think this through. I enjoyed Silver Linings Playbook, mostly because the actors were convincing. Basically, there isn't a sane person on screen, so it's funny, sad, heartwarming, and heartbreaking, all at the same time. Where the film falls short for me is length and would I want to watch this again? Yeah, probably... but it did feel a bit long. Approaching this movie I was expecting something a little more light-hearted or humorous. I found bits funny, but there is a clear seriousness to the film. 4/5 Stars.

Towns of Paper... or something

I'm encouraged to start reading more of Mr. John Green since I loved The Fault in Our Stars so much. Paper Towns was a bit of a miss for me. I wasn't such a fan of the characters, except for the spunky, clearly out-of-her-mind, Margo Roth Spiegelman. Though she's absent a nice chunk of the novel as her old high school comrades go on a manhunt for her through a series of clues which she left behind. One may think that her parents would have had her institutionalized after the first dozen times she ran away from home, but now that she's a "responsible adult" (not even out of high school), she's free to do whatever she wants. No need to file a Missing Persons report or anything. 3/5 Stars.

Slumdog Millionaire

Netflix said I would "totally love this movie". It didn't say it in those words, but I figure that's what they meant by the projected 4.5 star estimate. I'm giving it a 3/5... I want to give it a 2.75, so I'm upping the score to a 3. I don't know what the appeal was for this film. It just didn't click for me. Slumdog Millionaire is coined as a "feel good" movie, but I spent most of my viewing time feeling sorry for everyone. Even the finale was a bit too much.

Tree of Codes

Tree of Codes ends with notes from Jonathan Safran Foer pointing out reasons behind making a die-cut book. I feel this should have been in the front of the book. I don't think this would have given anything away (I've never read The Street of Crocodiles, so I'm not so sure if it aids to the "story"). By "story" I mean Tree of Codes is more of a long poem than a novel. Lovely and intriguing, but honestly forgettable. 3/5 Stars.

In which I read Naked

I read Naked... by David Sedaris. I enjoyed it, more-so in the last few short stories, but sure I liked the book. Honestly don't have much more to say about this book. I felt a little let down just because I was expecting a gut-buster, or at least one story which made me laugh so hard I began to suspect I could be incontinent. Nope. 3/5 Stars.

The Triplets of Belleville

Here we have a crossbreed of the detail and quirkiness of a Hayao Miyazaki animation, (think Spirited Away or My Neighbor Totoro,) with an old-fashioned Mickey Mouse flick, and a dash of Pixar. Also it turned out French... but with little to no dialog. I figured, Netflix seems to think I'll like this movie, and I'm in the mood for an animation! I highly recommend The Triplets of Belleville, especially if you're in animation. This is silly, serious, exciting, hilarious, bizarre... everything. This is also a cute Paris verse New York comparison. I wouldn't recommend this for younger kids... maybe 11 or 12 and up: 5/5 stars. This film does require your full attention. I made the mistake of trying to work on some illustrations while attempting to watch. The movie viewing experience won.

My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece

A purely innocent yet realistic outlook. My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece should be read for Jamie's voice alone. The title alone is a little off-putting, which I was personally drawn to to tickle my morbid tastebuds. Don't let the title trick you; Annabel Pitcher's prose is just quiet enough to handle the delicacy of a deceased sibling/daughter. The logic and comprehension of a 10 year-old reads as authentic.

I'm a tiny-bit cross about this novel - it's "young adult" themed, though flat-out expressed through a middle grade voice. It's hard to place a novel of this nature. I felt the same way while reading Jo Knowles' See You At Harry's. The Tragedy of My Sister Live on the Mantelpiece is offset by Jamie's passive and simpler attitude/maturity level. I recall Fern being slightly older, though she is clearly more mature, mentally.

Jamie's parents were distraught to the point where they were no longer parents. To me this lack of parental/emotional support felt grounded, but incredibly depressing. Whenever his father would peek out from his bottle, I would think how would I have gotten through this? I most certainly would have shriveled up, or needed a significant amount of counseling, but that's just how I couldn't relate to Jamie. 4/5 stars.

Welcome to Mississippi

Happy Accident: reading two books at the same time, nestled in the same (hot, sweltering, I-never-want-to-go-there,) setting. I'm not going to compare The Adventures of Tom Sawyer to The Help, but I bring them up together just for one specific point: change/lack-there-of. In the approximate 100 year difference between these two fictional settings, there "ani't hardly no change" to some of the dialog. What I found so off-putting about some of the reviews for The Help, was that people simply didn't like it because the dialog "didn't sound authentic". This is after ignoring the fact that the novel was based on some true events and hearsay from Stockett's experience.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer I could swear up and down I had read in high school, but I remember non of that! I was creeped out... more often then I want to admit. If Tom were around today, he would be heavily medicated, probably spending hours in front of his Xbox playing the most violent games available. He's a pain, but a lovable pain, so I gave Twain a 4/5 stars.

Now The Help was even more interested in. I saw the movie earlier this year. I can say the film nearly follows the novel down to the details! There were a couple scenes omitted... I'm sure for pacing. I lied when I said I didn't really want to see the movie again... I'm actually dying to see the movie again right now! The novel is so vivid, I was so tempted on multiple occasions just to run out and rent the DVD again. Yes, the book is better because I felt much closer to the characters, but if no, don't skip on the film: 5/5 stars.

I walk away from these two novels with a temporary Sooouthern accent, and less desire to visit Mississippi (if I ever had any). The trip was alright, I do plan to revisit Mark Twain's world of Tom and Huck some time in the new year. And yeah, I'll have to re-watch The Help sometime soon as well.