February Media Round-up

February 2010 - probably the first month of my lifetime where the books I read outnumbered the movies I watched. The reason for the drop in movie viewing was James Joyce's Ulysses, which consumed so much time and energy that it began to feel like an obsession, which left very little room for cinematic exploration.

Without further delay, books and movies for February...

Books read in February (with brief reviews):

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov - often agonizing, occasionally touching, and always always funny, Nabokov's novel deserves every bit of praise and outrage it evokes. It's wonderfully offensive.

Of Paradise and Power: America and Europe in the New World Order by Robert Kagan - An interesting argument that postmodern, antiwar Europe was able to thrive because America's military did the dirty work of protecting them. I didn't buy it wholesale, but at least now I know a bit of the history of the tension between the US and Europe.

After Dark by Haruki Murakami - This little book felt like a minor work by a major author. It was intriguing, but not all that powerful.

O Pioneers! by Willa Cather - Cather created an interesting web of relationships, but in the end, there were too many melodramatic monologues and boilerplate plot devices for me to really enjoy the book.

The Ballad of the Sad Cafe and Other Stories by Carson McCullers - I think McCullers loses a great deal of her impact in the short story arena, and out of the South, which she evokes so well in the novels I've read.

Of Love and Other Demons by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - A lyrical, incisive little novel that explores connections between human sensuality and spirituality. Stuck with me long after I put it down.

No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe - A bit of a disappointment after Things Fall Apart. While it uses idiomatic language, the folktale tone of this book's predecessor is replaced by what feels like a conventional morality tale set in the third world.

Blessed Unrest by Paul Hawken - This book, while difficult to get through and occasionally preachy, opened my eyes to the power of grassroots, community-based movements to create positive change. Very inspiring.

Ulysses by James Joyce - So much has been said about this book, but I'd like to add that I felt like reading it reshaped my brain. I plan to revisit it regularly.

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut - Did this book seem a bit lame to me because I read it right after Ulysses? Probably. But still, I get tired of Vonnegut's contempt for his characters, and his snarky tone. Sure, it's funny and insightful on occasion, but I was glad to be done with it.

A Home at the End of the World by Michael Cunningham - Cunningham is one of my favorite contemporary novelists, and this is one powerful book. The characters, rich, broken, and utterly believable, are rendered in such rewarding prose.

Miami by Joan Didion - Poetic journalism. This book is compact, eye-opening, and masterfully written.

Movies watched in February (with brief reviews):

The Hurt Locker - This movie may make it into my top 25 movies of all time. It was visceral, emotional, and ultra-realistic in its portrayal of a squad assigned to diffuse roadside bombs in Iraq.

The Lady from Shanghai - A pretty good film noir from Orson Welles.

The Band Wagon - a musical which my friend recommended to me as one of the best, directed by Vincent Minelli. It was enjoyable, but musicals just aren't my thing.

Journey from the Fall - A Vietnamese-made movie about the plight of refugees and political prisoners. I found it very moving and totally believable.

Paul Robeson: Portrait of an Artist - A short documentary about what it cost a black performer when he spoke out against racism in America.

Casino Royale - A perfect reinvention of Bond for the new millenium. Casino Royale was a popcorn movie of the highest order.

My Darling Clementine - One of the great westerns. Epic, engaging, and character-driven.

Goodbye Solo - Director Rahmin Bahrani might become one of my favorite. Goodbye Solo and Chop Shop both surprised and uplifted me with their unflinching look at what it takes to keep going, and what happens when you give up.

The End.

One Month Down

I have been following two New Years' resolutions. One was to read one book per week this year- while some books will take months (Ulysses, Infinite Jest and Moby Dick, all of which I hope to read in 2010), there are other books I'll blast through in one sitting. The goal is to have it all balance out to at least 52 books when 2011 rolls around.

The other goal is to track the books I read and the movies I watch this year. I have two pieces of paper taped to the wall above my desk, one listing books read and one listing movies watched. January was a good media month, with 18 movies watched and 8 books read.

Books read in January (with brief reviews):

Dubliners by James Joyce - may end up being the best story collection I read all year

Wobegon Boy by Garrison Keillor - no one does sentimental satire like GK

Sanctuary by William Faulkner - his language is masterful, but I'm not sure he speaks to me

Emma's War by Deborah Scroggins - one heavy, masterfully written true story. See the previous post for my thoughts

The Best of Roald Dahl - while clever and funny, Dahl's mean-spirited shorts got on my nerves pretty quickly

Light in August by William Faulkner - this is undoubtedly a masterpiece, but Faulkner's storytelling can distract me from the story sometimes

A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton - I was shocked by how rich, relatable, and well-paced this novel was

The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers - i found this book far more focused and affecting than her more famous The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. McCullers is becoming a favorite. I hope to read the rest of her novels in next few months.

Movies watched in January (with brief reviews):

Merrill's Marauders - I can see why director Sam Fuller was ticked about the final cut of this movie, but there were enough signature Fuller moments to make it worth the watch.

Dancing to New Orleans - There wasn't anything special about the way this doc was put together, but I love NO and its music scene so much, I didn't care. It was great to see musicians talk about the scene, and to see them perform.

The Stunt Man - One of my mentors loaned me this film, saying it was "kinetic filmmaking at its finest." It's a b-movie masterpiece, with terrible acting adding to its odd, delightful impact.

The Orphanage - The farther away from America a horror movie is made, the better it is. This film was great as drama and as horror. I found it creepy, rich, and touching.

Elizabeth - Brilliant Eastern take on European history. One of the most visually rich movies I've seen in ages.

Zombieland - The gory, super dark humor in this movie worked for me, despite a few boilerplate romantic moments. I like actor Jesse Eisenberg more every time I see him.

Too Late for Tears - This classic Noir film has some great twists, but I had a hard time getting past the dated acting style

Elizabeth: The Golden Age - While it was just as visually stunning as its predecessor, I found this sequel less nuanced than the first Elizabeth, although my wife thought it was the better of the two.

Casino Royale - A hilarious send-up of all things James Bond. Admittedly, this movie was weird, but it worked for me.

Where the Wild Things Are - I was told that this movie was a confused, depressing mess. I disagree. I found it to be wholly original, culturally fascinating, and beautifully directed.

Zatoichi 1: The Tale of Zatoichi - I knew that an old Japanese movie about a blind swordsman was gonna be good, but I had no idea how complex and tormented the main character would be, nor how masterfully the cinematography would engage me in his story.

Synechdoche, New York - Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman proved that he can direct his own bizarre metanarratives just as well as the directors who helmed his other screenplays. SNY is funny, insightful, and unnerving in the best possible way.

Zatoichi 2: The Tale of Zatoichi Continues - Anyone involved in making a series of movies needs to study Zatoichi. The sequels manage to keep getting better as they delve deeper into this fascinating character.

Zatoichi 3: New Tale of Zatoichi - See last review.

Zatoichi 4: The Fugitive - See last review, but imagine an even better film than the preceding three.

Chop Shop - Joined the ranks of City of God and Gomorrah as one of my favorite hyper-realistic, beautifully composed expose films about people living in the slums.

Ichi - Although I'm a huge fan of the Zatoichi franchise, this melodramatic, exploitative spinoff was disappointing. The female lead was less compelling than the original actor, the voice-over narration was annoying, and pretty much everything was overdone.

That sums up my media consumption for January. I'm going to try to do these monthly recaps as we go along to a) keep me accountable for my resolutions and b) draw traffic and comments to this side-project blog of mine.