Yeah, I know. Lazy. But, I was trying to get a lot of things done. So, better late than never, right? It finally got cold outside, so it feels more justified to sit in front of the computer and type up some blogs.
I did make some things, and it was fun. But in an effort to just catch up, I'll just do the books and the movies. There's not loads, so hopefully this will be a quick read (quicker if I can't remember back too far).
Movies:
Crimson Peak has Tom Hiddleston in it. Initially, that's all I needed to know. But it ended up being a fairly solid ghost story and the sets were beautifully done (it was Guillermo, so think the beauty of Pan's Labyrinth) and it was a good time. I wasn't freaked out, I wasn't upset by gore. It was just a ghost story that was pretty to look at and therefore, enjoyable to me.
The Martian was just as good as the book. Despite my anti Matt Damon feelings, I really, really enjoyed this one and rooted for him (knowing the outcome made no difference here...I still was wanting things to get better). I still feel a little like "enh" when it comes to this story line because it's been done a few times now and really, Sam Rockwell in Moon will always be my baseline for this, but I did enjoy the Martian despite myself.
Spectre was a Bond movie. I know a lot of people are bored with the genre, but I still liked it...adding Christoph Waltz as a bad guy always ups the interesting factor. Did things blow up? Yes. Was there massive flirting? Yes. Was Bond hot and in nice clothes and drinking and messed up in the head? Yes. So, it was a Bond movie. No surprises really, although they did try and I was a little taken in by it. But I sat through it and enjoyed it. I think my barometer for truly judging Bond movies is long gone. I just enjoy them for what they are: eye candy.
Hunger Games: Mocking Jay part 2 was a fitting end. I remember not liking the last book at all and being surprised that part 1 was so engaging as a movie since the reading was so, well, boring. They wrapped up the series well...with me having no solid memory of what happened, I was still able to suspend reality and get into it. It was good until the very, very end. What is it with all the technology that we can not CGI a baby to save our lives (this movie, Twilight, etc.)? It's a real problem. Babies should not appear larger than the ADULTS holding them. Seriously.
A local theater did a revival showing of Meet Me in St. Louis for the holidays and it was the first time I've seen the whole thing. I loved it. Really loved it. A lot. It will be added to my Christmas viewings in the future. It's just a happy little movie with singing.
And now the big one. Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I've read the criticisms. I've listened to people (friends and strangers) complain. Here's the thing. I really liked it and thought it was good. It's supposed to be the same as the other movies. History is doomed to repeat itself in this universe or there is. no. story. Abrams is a fan and he did a great job balancing his fandom and going with a story we can follow. It's a hero story. And we have a hero. And yes, it's a girl. And yes, she's a fast learner, but we don't know enough of her background to really know who she is yet. People watch reality shows and believe them all the time. Why can't people just relax and enjoy a movie about a far away place that had some things resolved but you know good and evil will always be a thing, so just let it go and enjoy? If there's something to dislike, it's Kylo Ren. I mean, come on. He's whinier than Luke was at that age. And Luke was a world-class whiner (go back and rewatch if you don't remember). But because of that? We've gotten a couple of the best Twitter feeds ever invented: Emo Kylo Ren (@KyloR3n) and Very Lonely Luke (@VeryLonelyLuke). Even if you didn't like the movie, you should follow these. They're hilarious.
Books:
In the past three months, I read these: Alexander McQueen: Blood Beneath the Skin by Andrew Wilson, The Martian by Andrew Weird, Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson, Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling, The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood, Unfaithful Music and Disappearing Ink by Elvis Costello, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King, Tricky Twenty-Two by Janet Evanovich, After Alice by Gregory Maguire, and The Grownup by Gillian Flynn.
Blood Beneath the Skin was a very in depth look into Alexander McQueen's life. This book made me pretty sad, but I'm glad I read it. I was beyond horrified to learn that many of his early collections were lost because they were simply thrown away. I mean, I know you don't always know someone is going to be big, but I feel like being a pack rat for something like a collection might be a good idea? It's really sad that he's gone. He was freaking brilliant at what he did.
The Martian (see movies) was a fun read. The book is what made me decide to see the movie even though it was a lot of Matt Damon. By now most of you know, a guy is thought dead on a Mars mission and so the crew leaves him there, but the story is of his survival on Mars. It's a good story and worth the time to read.
Jenny Lawson is awesome. Her second book, Furiously Happy, is just as funny as her first, but includes a lot of her struggles with depression. When you read her stories, you want to be her friend. When you read about her problems, you want to give her a hug. She's just fantastic. Read this book.
Mindy Kaling's second book, Why Not Me? is even better that her first one. Again, you get that feeling that if she lived close to you, you'd be friends. She's extremely relatable and highly entertaining. This is another one you should read.
It had been about forever since I'd read a Margaret Atwood book. The Handmaid's Tale might've been the last one? I had to look it up on Amazon since I read it in October, but as soon as I saw the cover, I was like OH! The Heart Goes Last was an interesting tale. Basically, the world has taken a crap on itself and there's now an experimental dual-city thing where people can go and one month you're in the nice town, living a nice life and the next month, you're in prison, providing services for the people in the town. At the surface, it seems like a good plan for rehabilitation for both people and places, but of course, like all these not-quite dystopian future books, people at the top get power hungry and things go very wrong. I enjoyed this one and I could see it being a mini-series on TV.
Elvis Costello's Unfaithful Music and Disappearing Ink was, hmm...interesting? It was over 600 pages of some self-indulgence, but he's someone I really like, so I was ok with that. It bumbles around his life and tells things, but never shows glorious insights or epiphanies...he's mostly just telling things that happens as he remembers them...like you met him in a pub and asked him random questions and he rambled out some answers. I can't really recommend it unless you just love Elvis Costello. Then you have to read it because he put all of it together, you know? Otherwise, you can probably skip it.
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams is a book of short stories from Stephen King. Each story is different...and he gives an introduction about each story. I enjoyed this a lot...King has been having a little comeback with me and that's a good thing. Every fourth or fifth one is a dud to me, but for the most part, I've been liking the run he's having. Some of these stories wouldn't have been as intriguing without his introductions though. This might be worth your time if you have ever liked King. He's in a good stride right now.
Tricky Twenty-Two is the same as all the other Stephanie Plum books. Again, I'm not apologizing for reading these. It's always the same, her car always gets blown up, her grandma is always crazy, she's always torn between Ranger and Morelli, and these books always makes me laugh out loud. That's good enough for me.
After Alice is about Alice's friend, Ada, who also falls into Wonderland. She escapes her every day life and has a great adventure and helps to rescue Alice from an "off with her head" judgment. It was nice to visit Wonderland with a different guide. It was fun to see it through a different, more clear-headed voice. It also took a lot of Victorian Oxfordshire into the story, which I thoroughly enjoyed (we all know by now how much I heart England). A nice rainy day read.
The last one I finished in December was Gillian Flynn's short story, The Grownup. I was not a fan of Gone Girl, so this was me giving her another chance. This I liked much better, possibly because it was very short and to the point. She still leaves it open to interpretation, and I guess that's her thing, but it didn't bother me as much with this one. If you like her, pick this up if it goes on sale - hardback price for a book that short isn't worth it, but if it's cheap, like a couple of dollars, it'll be a good deal.
That's it! I've already been reading and seeing movies in January, so there should be a decent amount of substance for the next post. Happy 2016!
