Tuesday, April 30, 2013

April 2013 Books and Movies

The Waitress
Melissa Nathan

This was ok. Typical chick lit format, with the exception of dividing the story up like a menu, appetizer, main course, dessert etc. I feel bad that I sort of read it and forgot about, especially since the author died at such a young age which sets off that sub-conscious thing when works become better posthumously. I really liked The Nanny, so I wanted to like this more, but in reality, it's a light read, good for someone who either really likes chick lit as a genre, or needs a really long book for a vacation.

Good Hair

This was really good. I love Chris Rock at the best of times, but couple his humour and delivery with a positive message that tells young black girls that their are beautiful just as they are, before straightening products, weaves and potentially harmful chemical treatments as young as six, I'm sold. I was horrified to learn that hair weave companies buy Indian hair for pennies from monasteries that shave girls heads as a sacrifice, then turn around and sell their product for hundreds of dollars to women who can ill afford them.

Mansome

I really liked Morgan Spurlock's Supersize Me and subsequently got into his 30 Days series, but this was a little dumb. The beards at the beard competition were impressive, but so called metrosexual grooming habits have been around for ages. The pro-wrestling component was just funny, as I don't think much of that world beyond great stage fighting technique. Give it a miss.

Food Matters

As is my hope whenever I start watching a food documentary, I expected great things from this documentary. It started out ok, but then descended into a big advertisement for the raw food movement. There are some interesting factoids about environmental concerns and soil conditions, but this film lacked substance and didn't present anything new for me. Give it a miss with the exception of people  who haven't a clue how food gets on their plate.

Jack (TV Movie)

Although countless reviewers said this was badly done and misrepresented Jack Layton's politics and life, I enjoyed it immensely. I was able to suspend my disbelief where I had to and just went along for the ride. I cried and cried at the end, mostly because that's what I did when I found out he had died in real life. Politicians may come and go, but there will never be another Jack Layton. He stood up for the people and had a lasting impact on social policy both municipally and federally. I really enjoyed Rick Roberts as Jack and and Sook-Yin Lee as Olivia Chow. Their connection was touching and honoured what I really feel was true to their real life counterparts. I was glad to see that both Erin Karpluk and Wendy Crewson had supporting roles, as I always enjoy their acting. There was great use of archival CBC clips and some pictures of the real Jack Layton at the end, just in case you weren't crying already. If you loved Jack, give it a watch. I know I'll watch it again.