Reading, Watching, Listening..... August in Review

What I Was Reading in August
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
Not the End of the World by Kate Atkinson
The Tent by Margaret Atwood
Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Only one book completed
The Old Country by Mordicai Gerstein

I am an official failure at my summer reading. Frankly, this all depresses me far more than it should. I hate, hate, hate the end of summer because it is a reminder of all the expectations I had that haven't come to fruition... the books I longed to read, the places I planned to go. Sigh. This last book was one I read in one sitting. It's a "kid's book" that was fairly charming... a story told to a granddaughter by a grandmother about life in the old country back when she was a fox. Yep. That's right--a fox.

What I was watching in August
On TV
Grey's Anatomy Season 1
Alias Seasons 2, 3 & 4

I cannot believe that Alias season five isn't available for rent yet. I am not sure I can survive the wait. Meanwhile, I did get my first issue of Entertainment Weekly (I gave it up a year ago because I couldn't keep up) yesterday and it's the TV issue that details all the new upcoming shows for fall. I may have to seek out an equally addictive replacement.

On DVD
The Bad News Bears (2005)
The Matador
Crime Spree
Beat the Devil
Tristram Shandy A Cock and Bull Story
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao
The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio
V for Vendetta
End of the Spear



The Bad News Bears cannot even compare to the original. It was a pleasant enough diversion, but it only served to make me want to see the 1976 version. The Matador is a story of an unlikely friendship between a hitman and a businessman who meet in Mexico and reunite a few years later when the hitman, played by Pierce Brosnan, is in need of some assistance. It was interesting to see Brosnan play this sort of man after recently seeing him as Thomas Crown and for years thinking of him as Remington Steele or James Bond.

Tristram Shandy was bizarre. That's all I can really say. I didn't particularly like it. It hardly seemed like a movie at all. The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio was one I watched because I had read the book. I found the film to be better than I expected it to be. I thought they did a nice job of capturing the story in that format.

The two "classic films" I watched this month were Beat the Devil and The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao. I found Humphrey Bogart to be as charming as ever in "Devil," but I was a bit confused by the plot as I watched it. I guess because of that, this film didn't rate as high as some of his other films I've watched recently. The Seven Faces of Doctor Lao probably seems like a strange choice. Still I read the book by Charles Finney, a year ago and I've been meaning to see this Tony Randall classic ever since. It seems a bit like a typical old western, but it is just odd enough to be in a category of its own. Randall is terrific and I was surprised to see Barbara Eden play the librarian in the film.

The End of the Spear is a film based on a true story and a documentary about the event was recently released as well, though I haven't seen that one. I chose this film not because I am itching to see a movie about missionaries who are slaughtered by natives in Ecuador but because once years ago I read a book written by Elisabeth Elliot called Shadow of the Almighty. That book detailed her husband Jim's life and beliefs and contained segments from his personal diaries. Jim Elliot was one of the men who was killed in that incident ... which frankly had me thinking of my cultural anthropology classes and all the things I'd learned about the effects of encounters of the "white man" who sought to spread his ways to the rest of the world. The film didn't focus on Jim and Elisabeth Elliot like I thought it might. Instead, it featured another one of the families involved. Regardless of my feelings about the role of missions, I did find myself getting sucked into the film and crying at the appropriate places. It was a fine job of promoting Christian principles and selling the idea of sacrificial love. That said, rent at your own risk.


Crime Spree almost seemed like a foreign film since the team of criminals are all from France sent to Chicago on a job. It's amusing at times and serious too. It's a typical heist film, but it has humor in some of the cultural misunderstandings and the mockery of the mob prescence in Chicago. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was a great film for its kind. Robert Downey Jr. was terrific, and I liked the performance of Val Kilmer as well. I typically don't care for either of them as actors, yet they each were well suited to their roles. It's a crime story set in LA: parties, night clubs, hitmen, lawyers, late nights. Downey plays a naive newcomer caught up in the midst of it. I'd recommend this film.

V for Vendetta was great. I liked it quite a lot. I had no idea if I would, but I did like the previews and I don't mind Natalie Portman. Like most dystopian literature or films of this sort it inspires an urge to rise up against the dark forces of suppression in one's own life and government. I couldn't help but wonder if the "reign of terror" perpetuated by Bush in our own country was meant to be reflected in that of the government that V is set to destroy.

Foreign Films
A Bout de Souffle (Breathless, 1960)
Le Samourai (1967)
Thomas est Amoureux (2000)
Ying Xiong (Hero, 2002)
Bob Le Flambeur (1955)

While I cannot take credit for the viewing of so many foreign films lately, I will say I am a happy participant. One Godard, two Melvilles, a Belgian picture and a Chinese film reminiscent of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. I think my favorite remains Breathless. I think that the style of the clothing, the main character with his rascally behavior and the charming Patricia all made for a great film. It seemed very French. Apparently this is a good thing! :)

Thomas in Love was a bizarre film about an agarophobic man who communicated with everyone from within the confines of his home. Hero was a Jet Li story within a story full of action and beautiful fight scenes. It was interesting to watch but it didn't change my life.

Le Samourai, a film by Jean-Pierre Melville, was terrific. It was about a hitman on the job and hours that followed the hit... Most notable was the profound silence in the film and the elegance in Martey's night club. Bob Le Flambeur is another Melville film that was one of his first. This one was filmed over two years using actors who were willing to work whenever Melville had enough money for film, never mind enough money to pay them. Despite being made on a shoestring budget this film was well done. It predates the Godard films that were thought to usher in the French New Wave. At first glance it appears to be a story about a heist.. my favorite kind of film.. but then you realize it's really a story about a man waiting for lady luck.


At the Theatre
The Break-Up


I saw The Break-Up at the drive-in theatre and while that fulfilled one of the items on my 101 list it wasn't a very good movie. I should have known. It's just that I do like Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Anniston well enough. Perhaps I thought that would be enough to carry the film.

What I was listening to in August

Well, this month I had an opportunity to take a road trip so I got to listen to a lot of goodies... I had my ABBA fix on the way there and a good dose of Rolling Stones and Dr. Hook on the way back. After a recommendation from Sara I decided to pick up a copy of The Weepies and I really enjoy their mellow sound.


Here are my MP3 shuffles of the month

I'd Rather Go Blind
by Etta James
On a Promise
by Nic Armstrong & The Thieves
Who I Am
by Jessica Andrews
Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours
by Stevie Wonder
Kissing a Fool
by George Michael


Human Touch
by Rick Springfield
Shattered
by Rolling stones
Couple More Years
by Dr. Hook
Red Clay Halo
by Gillian Welch
Turn it On, Turn it Up, Turn me Loose
by Dwight Yoakam

Howlin' Wind
by Graham Parker
Two Hearts
by Bruce Springsteen
I Know Your Heart
by Mel Torme
Hallelujah
by Ryan Adams
Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World
by Roland Cazimero