October 2010 Books and Movies

Funny People

A little bit funny, a lot of melodrama, just waiting for it to end by the last half hour. It was like two story arcs just missing each other. The Adam Sandler storyline is pretty lame compared to the Seth Rogen one, but I suppose the two complement each other. It's definitely a renter, which I suppose is why I watched it a year late downloaded to my computer, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it unless you have a bit of time to waste. It's way too bloody long and you have to wait an age between good moments. Meh. It has a really good ending (last 5 min) though, sort of validates the 2.5 hours of your life you just gave up. :)

RED

Great action flick about retired CIA agents trying to stay alive while dodging a ordered hit from higher up. Some of my favorite actors are in this (Mary Louise Parker, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren) and the non stop action is very entertaining. I even liked Bruce Willis, because he was doing a more funny and human version of his typical action persona. Really fun, either go see it or rent it!

Fubar II

In contrast, the sequel had much higher production value and a better plot. The boys go to Fort McMurray to work on the oil rigs but with the same headbanger mentality. I found myself laughing a lot more. It was also interesting to see the cast 10 years on. Many of them looked very different. I even got an @mention on Twitter from the dude who plays Dean, which was pretty cool.

Fubar

Because Fubar II was out in theaters, J made me watch the first one, so I would know what was going on. It's about a couple of western Canadian headbangers (think Strange Brew hosers) doing absolutely nothing, because that's what they do. It was made on a very low budget, which made it hard to understand the audio at times, but there were some really funny moments.

A Spot of Bother
Mark Haddon

Great book about an English family made up of retired parents, the mother having an affair, grown children, one approaching her second marriage with a child from a first marriage, the other, gay, recently broken off from his partner. Their relationships are at times tenuous and other times joyful. The twist is, the father goes off the deep end, and is trying to do so in a polite, dignified manner. As the book moves to it's conclusion, Katie's wedding, all plots are neatly resolved, with funny scenes. It's extremely well written and well packaged as a light, interesting read. I think I'll try Mark Haddon's other novel as well.

Whatever Works

Slow to start and better suited for serious Curb Your Enthusiasm fans than myself, but in the end, a pretty good film. Larry David is is usual curmudgeonly self and the plot twists are classic Woody Allen. Actually this is the first film he's set in New York in quite a while. The filming has a grainy 70s cop show quality and gives a real picture of the city. Patricia Clarkson (whom I love) is absolutely fabulous. In fact the casting is great all round. Definitely worth a look.

Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married
Marian Keyes

You can definitely tell that this is one of Keyes early works. I think it was her first novel, but I'm not entirely sure. It's rough, but you can still see her signature style of mixing heavy topics with comedic relief. Lucy is a supremely annoying doormat, but you develop more sympathy for her as the book goes along. The heavy storyline is about alcoholism, a topic quite familiar to the author, as I've mentioned in other posts. Not her best, but most certainly a good taste of what's to come, which for the most part, was brilliant.