Elkit in Wonderland

This Old House Moves, This Old House Moves And Moans (19/52)

F. Paul Wilson, The Haunted Air - another Repairman Jack novel, another great read. I really like Jack and his friends and the people he encounters - so much so that I am beginning to think I ought to slow down, because there are only four or five more books in this series. Should I sidestep to other Wilson works? Fortunately, he's a prolific writer. But like I said a couple of books ago, I didn't care as much for the Adversary Cycle story that I read. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't as good to me as The Repairman.

We'll see, I guess. And I have switched gears to a different kind of page turner: The Story of French is a fascinating read. Well, to a language geek like me, anyway.

Tracks Of My Tears

Here are my Unconscious Mutterings for the week:

• Track :: and field
  
• Snake :: those motherf#@$ng snakes on this motherf#@$ing plane
  
• Assignment :: homework
  
• Blockbuster :: streetsweeper
  
• Bombastic :: spectacular
  
• Adventure :: exploration
  
• First time :: for everything
  
• Aged :: like a good wine
  
• Grip :: best boy
  
• Shortcut :: may turn out to be a detour
  

I Would Get You Back If Only I Could

Monday Music for you: Back Door Slam and "Come Home".

Everybody was Kung-Fu Fighting ... (11/2008)

...or Jiu-Jitsu or something. I am confused after seeing Redbelt. Was this supposed to be The Spanish Prisoner meets Fight Club? And one review said this was Mamet at his best? I wanted to see this because Mamet usually does dialogue-heavy cerebral, stage-like dramas, and just about did a double-take when I heard about him doing a film involving martial arts. This got several good reviews, but I'm sorry, I didn't buy it. I liked the martial-arts part, and I really liked Chiwetel Ejiofor - I think he's a fine fine actor. The plot, on the other hand, made no frigging sense to me whatsoever. What is it with movies threading events in a line that won't hold up on the slightest tug? I've got to say, it dampened my enjoyment of the film. I believe Mamet is a smart guy. Does he think I'm stupid?

Plot holes to drive the proverbial truck through: was this all supposed to be a set-up? Was the actor - Tim Allen nicely cast as a not-so-nice guy - supposed to be in one some conspiracy? How? Why? One guy "won't bring dishonor to the academy", but it's not dishonorable for him to kill himself? That bit I found REALLY hard to believe. A couple of things were never explained (how did that shell case turn up again?), and some important things were brushed off in in a subclause! Who set him up? "So-and-so sold you out." Why? And how?

Still, I didn't hate it, and I thank Chiwetel Ejiofor for his performance. If you like him, you'll probably like this movie. Oh, and you might also enjoy an interview with him at the AV Club.

Iron Man Lives Again (10/2008)

Did you think that Robert Downey jr. would make such a fine superhero? I probably would not have thought of casting him, but I bought it from the first morsel of trailer I saw a few months ago, and could hardly wait for the film to open. I happily suspended my disbelief and thoroughly enjoyed Iron Man. That was a great ride. I mean, GREAT ride. 

Nothing But A Good Ride

When Obama wins, SkyNet will be destroyed at last.

I keep going back for more. I bet you will too.

I See A Bad Moon Rising, I See Trouble On The Way (18/52)

Back to my F. Paul Wilson fest - but "Reborn" is not a Repairman Jack novel; it's from the "Adversary Cycle" - sort of related, all part of the Secret History of the World. I found this interesting, and a breezy read, but I didn't like it quite as much as my man Jack.

Straight Into Darkness (17/52)

I've had "The Left Hand of Darkness" sitting in my stash for a while. Never read anything by Le Guin, not sure why. I liked this a lot - it made me think I ought to read more sci-fi written by women. How many female sci-fi authors do I even know? Three? Ursula Le Guin. Octavia Butler. Connie Willis. (Who else is there? Help me out here.)

Anyway, back to "The Left Hand of Darkness" - I loved the setting here: the lone envoy for a planetary federation, come to a wintry planet to invite them to join. I don't usually care all that much for the outer space sci-fi, because most of it is about weaponry and aliens who must be defeated. I loved this so much more because it wasn't like that at all - it talked about how hard it is to make contact, and how easy it is to egregiously misunderstand each other, when you have such different planes of reference. What's common and normal to the envoy, is weird and freaky to the inhabitants of Winter, and vice versa, and it is only very slowly that the two sides come closer to each other. This is what I love about sci-fi: that it can take a foreign setting to get right into your head and illustrate truths about the human condition. 

State Of Life, May I Live, May I Love

About time I posted my Unconscious Mutterings ...

• State :: of Independence (listening to it right now)
  
• Lively :: sassy
  
• Valet :: butler
• Traction :: friction
• Official :: officious
• Red hot :: Chili Peppers
  
• Powder :: finger
• Replies :: answers
• Flagrant :: disregard
  
• Tweet :: y bird
  

Shine Like It Does (16/52)

At the library a few weeks ago, I came across Stephen King's The Shining, the audiobook, and I picked it up because I remembered it as a great suspense novel, and because I really like Campbell Scott narrating.

I wasn't disappointed. A bonus while I was listening to this book: the Kubrick movie played on television, and I TiVo'ed and watched it. I'd always liked the movie, and enjoyed the cinematography again, but seeing it while reading the novel shows in stark contrast how superior the book is. Every time I read (or hear) Stephen King's stories, I am bummed that he doesn't get more recognition as the fine writer he is, simply because he writes genre. He is superb in developing his characters, getting into their heads, and showing their paths. And he writes beautiful, beautiful prose.

The biggest, most disappointing change in the movie for me: In the movie, Jack Torrance is the bad guy, and it's not really obvious how or why he turns into a murderous madman. He gets his comeuppance; end of story. In the book, the Overlook Hotel is an evil thing in itself (King does this often, connecting evil to a place that holds on to it, and turns good people bad).

And of course lots of other stuff is missing in the film (I realize you cannot fit a fat novel like this one into a 2-hour movie). Anyway, I don't mean to diss the movie, but Gawd, was the novel great all over again! Campbell Scott sounded like he had a great time recording this tome, all 14 CDs of it. I envy him.