Movie Review: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Summary:
Elizabeth wakes up one morning to discover her boyfriend, Jeffrey, being distant and acting odd.  She nearly immediately intuitively senses that this man is not Jeffrey.  The only people to believe her are her boss, Matt, and an author and his wife.  Together the four of them struggle against the nearly invisible alien invasion of a type of plant that morphs human bodies in with their own personalities, thereby replacing the humans.

Review:
This is a remake of the 1956 movie of the same name.  I was told you don’t need to watch the 1956 version first, but now I’m not so sure.  A lot of the story just didn’t make any sense, and I’m wondering if those are plot points that were better addressed in the 1956 version.  For instance, what makes someone at risk to become an alien hybrid?  We know that the aliens came into Elizabeth’s household on a flower, yet her boyfriend morphs overnight whereas she does not.  Why?  Similarly, a process is started by the aliens and at some point it becomes dangerous for that person to sleep, for when they sleep, the metamorphosis completes.  Why isn’t everyone transforming in their sleep?  At what point is it dangerous to sleep?  Why does sleep complete the metamorphosis?  For that matter, why do the aliens duplicate the humans’ dna in a pod?  Why don’t they just invade the body and combine dna that way?  Why does the person’s body disappear when the pod is complete?  Why have they come to earth?  And for the love of god, why do they make that horrible screeching noise?  I’m pretty sure plants don’t generally make noise.  Obviously, this movie left me with a lot of questions and not many answers, and that’s something I don’t tolerate well from my scifi movies.  If you’re going to do scifi, do it well.  Build a world that is not our own but still makes sense!  It ruins the experience for me if I’m continually yanked out of that world by my brain going, “Wait…..what?!”

On the other hand, the special effects are really good for the 1970s.  The opening with the alien life wafting around space is impressive and reminded me of cgi.  The pods are simultaneously realistic-looking and grotesque.  Whatever noise they recorded for the aliens screeching is truly spine-chilling.

Two items of note.  The first is that you get to see Jeff Goldblum of Jurassic Park in another brainy, geek role, which is fun.  Also, there’s some brief nudity, which is always fun in a movie when it’s not in the context of awkward, obviously not really happening sex.

If you like scifi you won’t regret watching this movie.  Just be sure to have something to do while you watch it–like knitting, or a game of Clue–to keep your mind off of the glaring plot holes and unanswered questions.

2 out of 5 stars

Source: Netflix

Movie Review: Phantasm (1979)

Summary:
After Mike’s parents and a family friend die, he starts to suspect something sinister is going on at the Morningside funeral home.  After seeing cloaked dwarves and a flying sphere of death, he manages to convince his brother Jody that not all is right.  The two set out to defeat The Tall Man before any more townspeople die.

Review:
It’s rare for a movie to be simultaneously funny and scary, but Phantasm pulls it off well.  The Tall Man is incredibly spooky.  His mere appearance makes you jump.  Yet the dialogue provides comic relief.  An example is early in the movie, Mike thinks he’s heard something sinister in the woods.  Jody respond, “Ah, it was probably just a gopher in heat.”

The spooky elements are actually creative.  Very few horror tropes are utilized.  Some of the scenes reminded me of The Shining, with the eerie, waiting, quiet.  The audience and the character knows something is afoot, yet there is nothing right then that is actually wrong.  It gives delicious chills down the spine.

What really tips this over into awesomeland, is the character Reggie–an ice cream truck driver.  For almost the entire movie, he wears his ice cream man uniform complete with a giant black bow tie, yet he manages to be badass.  He jams on the guitar with the teenagers and fights a good fight.  He’s such a creative character, going beyond the immediate perception of an ice cream man.  I wish there were more characters like him in horror movies.

If you enjoy old-school horror with a touch of comedy, or just want to see some creative scares, I recommend Phantasm.

4 out of 5 stars

Source: Netflix

Friday Fun! (Grad School Returns)

Grad school is fully back in swing.  While I still wish I could miraculously have the copious amount of time I had over winter break when I was just working full-time, instead of working full-time and attending grad school part-time, I don’t totally hate my classes this semester. Yet.

One of my classes is on being an academic librarian in science and technology.  The professor is an adjunct, which means he works in the field and knows what he’s talking about.  Miraculously, I have yet to loathe any of my fellow students in that class.  In fact, I even like some of them.  A couple of them were in my medical librarianship class last spring, and I enjoy hanging out with them while they smoke on our break.  They don’t have this false sense of being superheroes a lot of students in the program do.  They just want a good, stable career, like me.

My other class is an online one on academic libraries.  I’ve found I learn more in online classes, not sure why.  I pretty much can’t stand any of my fellow students in it, but that’s ok.  It’s easy to just roll your eyes at the statements made when you’re not trapped in a classroom with them.  I like the professor though, and the assignments seem like I’ll actually learn something from them.

I’ve reached the climax in the novella that I’m writing.  I’m excited to get to edit it and send it off to a friend for critique.  I seem to actually be following through on my, totally not officially made but thought about a lot, resolution to write my novellas/books more.  I really feel like the time I’m spending working on improving my writing is well spent, which is a pretty darn good feel good pill.  Maybe someday you guys will get to review my books! Lol.

Happy weekend!

Movie Review: World’s Greatest Dad (2009)

Summary:
Lance knows he’s a good writer with a voice that deserves to be heard, but somehow it gets lost in the shuffle of his everyday life as a divorced high school English teacher and dad to his teenage son.  His son is a jerk and a bit of a pervert, but Lance’s love for him helps him get through the day.  When he comes home to find his son dead from erotic asphyxiation, his world is turned upside down.

Review:
This movie is a wonderful study of multiple, well-rounded, three-dimensional characters.  From Lance to his hoarding neighbor to his art teacher, shallow, childish, love interest and everyone in-between, this movie is chock full of characters who are believable as real people.  You want to study them more in-depth.  You want to know what makes them tick.

Lance is such a likeable guy.  He’s sweet, loves old horror movies, strives to write the best he can.  All he wants out of life is to be recognized, not just on the level of his writing, but in his life over-all.  He desperately wants to be noticed and loved.  Parents will appreciate that whatever it is that makes Lance’s son such a jerk, it is never portrayed as Lance’s fault.

Beyond the wonderful characters, the movie makes a great commentary on what makes a book publishable.  It points out the hypocrisy of popularity surrounding a controversy and the general sheep-like quality of the masses.  This combined with the character studies makes it well worth the watch.

I recommend it to those who enjoy character-driven movies with a wry sense of humor.

4 out of 5 stars

Source: Netflix

Book Review: Mommie Dearest by Christina Crawford

Summary:
In the early days of Hollywood, Joan Crawford became one of the first celebrities to adopt children.  From the outside, it looked like her children had it all–presents, inherent fame, an apparently adoring mother.  However, in Christina’s tell-all memoir, she reveals the truth behind the image.  A mother obsessed with cleanliness and rigid rules.  A mother who demanded her children worship her like her fans did in order to receive her love.  A mother so desperate to cling to her days of fame that she attempted to beat down any glimmer of success in her children.  A mother who Christina still desperately loved to the bitter end.

Review:
This memoir is a must read for anyone who thinks that having money and being a celebrity automatically makes for a good parent.  Joan Crawford expected her four adopted children to be exactly what she wanted them to be instead of loving them for their uniqueness and human imperfections.  Christina’s situation gradually worsens as she becomes older and starts to show glimmers of being her own person.  The scenes of abuse in Christina’s childhood are the best written in the book.  It is clear that she remembers them vividly and can still identify with the emotions that went through her as a child and young teenager.

*spoiler warning*
That said, Christina never manages to disentangle herself from her mother.  In spite of everything her mother has done, Christina still attempts anything and everything to reconcile with her, apparently ignoring or forgetting the fact that she never did anything wrong to cause her mother’s behavior in the first place.  Joan Crawford is a cruel, spiteful, evil person, and Christina naively continues to seek her love even in her 30s.  This makes it more sad than most memoirs about abuse as it seems that Christina never truly overcame her abuser.
*end spoiler*

The writing, beyond the scenes of abuse, is sub-par.  Christina has a tendency to ramble a bit in an uninteresting way.  She also seems to not understand which parts of her life to skim over a bit.  I mean, did we really need to know exactly when in a funeral her husband hands her a paper cup of water?  No.  Additionally, she obviously had a bad editor, as there are quite a few spelling and grammar mistakes, which is odd for a mass market paperback.

Overall, it’s worth a read if you’re into memoirs or the inside Hollywood scoop.  All others should probably give it a pass though.

3 out of 5 stars

Source: Swaptree

Movie Review: The King of Kong (2007)

Summary:
The world of competitive gaming (and by world, we mostly mean the US) has been a tight-knit bunch of people since the 1980s.  Everyone acknowledges the awesomeness that is the head referee and current high-score in Donkey Kong and perfect score in PacMan holder Billy Mitchell.  All that changes when a determined rival shows up in the form of Steve Wiebe, a middle school science teacher.  Is Steve actually better than Billy?  Is the competitive gaming institute corrupt?  Is Billy as good as he says he is?  Should videotaped gaming sessions count?  All these questions and more are addressed in this documentary.

Review:
This is hands-down the most amusing and engrossing documentary I’ve ever seen.  Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve actually played Donkey Kong, so I sort of understand what’s going on when the guys play.  Maybe it’s that I’ve known uber-nerds like this my whole life.  You know the type–awkward, greasy, yet positive of his own awesomeness.  I think it’s mostly that it’s a portrayal of a group of people united by what they love to do as opposed to who or what they are that makes this such a watchable documentary though.

Still, though, the documentary could have gone horribly awry if it weren’t for the skill of the filmmakers.  They manage to tell the story in a way that lets us laugh at them, but not in a cruel way.  They let us see that these guys know they’re a bit odd to more mainstream Americans, but they don’t care.  That makes it totally cool for us to be amused at how seriously they take it all.

However, the documentary does more than show us a subculture and let us be amused.  You can see your own group reflected in this one.  We all have the devious person, the person who just wants power, the person who just wants recognition, the henchman, etc…  It’s fun to see these realistic group dynamics on screen surrounding an issue as non-controversial as Donkey Kong.

I highly recommend The King of Kong to anyone who loves documentaries, mockumentaries like Modern Family, or videogames.

5 out of 5 stars

Source: Netflix

Prolific Blogger Award

One of my fellow bloggers, Jessica of The Bookworm Chronicles has passed the Prolific Blogger Award on to me.  It goes to those bloggers who “read voraciously, blog tirelessly and have made the blogging community such a vibrant place,” according to the creator of the award, Hazra of Advance Booking.

I am pleased and surprised to have won my first blogging award, and I feel honored that it comes from one of my most loyal commenters!  I do put quite a bit of effort into this, so the recognition feels good.  Thanks Jessica!

Part of receiving the award is passing it on to 7 others.  So without further ado, here are my nominations:

1. Meghan of Medieval Bookworm.  Although she now lives in Britain, I first met her in undergrad.  Reading her thoughtful reviews of literary fiction, historical fiction, nonfiction, romance, and more make me wish we’d known each other better then.
2. Debbie of Different Time, Different Place.  She’s one of the few book bloggers I’ve stumbled across who predominantly reviews nonfiction.  Her reviews give you enough of a taste of the style and content of the book without trying to tell you everything you’ll learn from it.
3. Katie of Read What You Know.  She’s a fellow librarian, and her blog reflects her enthusiasm for the ya lit she encounters in her day to day work as a teen librarian.  Her reviews take into account the perspective of adult and teen readers of ya lit alike.
4. Ana and Thea of The Book Smugglers.  They not only take turns reviewing books, but also do joint posts.  I like that in the posts you can see the interaction and learning that comes from sharing a reading experience, plus they’ve added to my scifi tbr pile quite a few times!
5. Nymeth of Things Mean a Lot.  She reviews an eclectic mix of books, but my favorite are her reviews of graphic novels.  She includes shots of the art, and her reviews were a part of what spurred me on into the very enjoyable graphic novel land.
6. Helgagrace of Title and Statement of Responsibility.  Another blogger I know in real life, due to the fact that we’re both Massachusetts librarians.  I enjoy sharing reading stats with her.  Her reviews read like a conversation, and I’m not just saying that because I’ve actually spoken to her.   She also talks about life and library issues.
7. Last but not least Rob of Books Are Like Candy Corn.  He’s based in Hawaii, so his blog is kind of like a tropical vacation for a frozen New England gal like myself.  His reading choices broaden my horizon, as he is not only older and at a different stage in his life than most of the book bloggers I read, but also is male.  (We are a predominantly female group).

It’s kind of odd to me to have the power of bestowing an award, but there you have it!  At the very least, if you’re named above, you know I’m a loyal reader of your blog.  If the above-named recipients choose to take part in the award, please go check out the rules.

If you’re a reader of my blog, but not the type to comment, please let me know if you have your own blog.  I’d love to check it out!

Wolf Bite Wednesday (Snowbrellas)

I’m starting a new weekly meme that I hope you all will enjoy.  I was inspired by a comment on my review of the book Ethan: Site 39.  The author stopped by and called it “the Wolf Bite,” which I found hilarious and promptly decided this needs to be a meme.

The meme will be a relatively brief and hopefully humorous rant about something that irritates me.  Hence the whole bite thing.  I will be trying for it to be witty and not whiny so you guys will enjoy.  Crossing my fingers, er, toes since I’m typing, let’s get down to business with the first topic: Snowbrellas!

I was pleased as punch to see snow greeting me this morning when I left for my commute.  Thoroughly enjoying feeling it land on my face and decorate my coat, I walked to my bus stop.  There I was met with one of my prime winter-time irritants.  No, not plow trucks or ice.  The Snowbrella.

The Snowbrella is what I have dubbed umbrellas when people carry them in the snow.  Long I have attempted to figure out what exactly possesses people to carry umbrellas when it’s snowing.  Do they not understand that the snow won’t soak through their clothing like rain does?  Have they never heard of the lovely concept of the winter hat?  Do they think if the snow touches anything but their boots they will melt?  Then I start to wonder if they’ve ever even ventured out in the snow without an umbrella or, god forbid, played in it.

The wonderful winter scenes of falling snow and the various snazzy hats and scarves people don in the winter are ruined by the appearance of these bulky snowbrellas.  They jar me from the pleasure of a season I enjoy with the association with the freezing rain of fall.  Not to mention that I then have to navigate not to get whapped upside the head by a snowbrella, because we all know how bad people are at managing where their snowbrella goes.

What the hell, people?  Acquire a winter hat, leave the snowbrella at home, stop ruining the scenery for everyone else, and enjoy the winter.  You live in New England, for heaven’s sake!  Enjoy it!

Plus, you look like a complete idiot hiding under your umbrella from the snow.

Movie Review: Dr. Strangelove (1964)

Summary:
The Cold War between Russia and the US is going along swimmingly until a US General goes off his rocker, convinced that commie fluids are secretly infiltrating Americans’ fluids.  He issues the Wing 9 order, designed as a fail-safe in case the President is incapacitated, thereby sending the US and Russia flying toward a nuclear holocaust.

Review:
One of my first questions when watching this film was if they’d made it black and white intentionally.  Apparently, in the 1960s, making a film black and white was the equivalent of the modern day mockumentary.  Dr. Strangelove takes a tongue in cheek look at the Cold War’s nuclear stand-off.  To a certain extent, this works.  Everyone in the movie thinks they’re doing what’s best for their country when in reality they’re about to destroy the entire world as we know it.

The film sets out to be funny, and parts of it are.  The stand-off between the general who’s lost his mind and his British subcommander are witty.  On the other hand, the whole character of Dr. Strangelove read as ridiculous and over-acted to me.  Thankfully, the presence of Dr. Strangelove is wonderfully off-set by the acting abilities of George C. Scott who perfectly plays the all-American military man.  Overall, the movie is funny, but not hilarious.

The special effects are good but not stunning for the decade.  Most of the film doesn’t need any special effects though, so this is barely noticeable.

If you’ve got 94 minutes to spare and enjoy dark humor, give Dr. Strangelove a chance.  You won’t be disappointed.  Plus you’ll get to check out the snazzy argyle underwear worn by a general’s secretary.

3 out of 5 stars

Source: Netflix

What Public Libraries Should Be

There is a debate going on about what public libraries should be.  So far, the librarians seem to be presenting a near united front, repackaging the library as a social place.  A place filled with programs such as speed-dating, Rock Band night, rent a person events, and more.  A place where you can rent newly released movies and videogames.  A place where, “Books are being pushed to the side figuratively and literally.” (source)  The few detractors from this mindset are generally portrayed as old, crotchety patrons who just don’t understand the times.

Well, I am a young librarian, and I don’t like where public libraries are headed.  To be clear, when I say young, I’m 23 years old.  Additionally, although I spent one summer working in a public library, most of my experience is in academic and medical libraries.  However, I think this puts me in the semi-unique position of understanding some of what public librarians deal with, but also being a member of the general populace they are seeking to serve.

I’ve made some rumblings about how I don’t agree with certain aspects of this modernization of the library.  The response from other librarians is generally a truly puzzled, “What’s wrong with it?”

What’s wrong with it?  When did public libraries turn into community centers instead of centers for life-long learning?  In a democracy, it is vitally important that the populace seeks to self-educate, to question, to delve into matters themselves.  A key element of that is literacy, and of course it is important to draw reluctant people into literacy in creative ways.  To this end, I’m supportive of libraries containing genre fiction, romance novels, graphic novels, etc…  However, whatever happened to the materials that truly make people think?  I used to frequent the public library, but last year, I just got sick of the junk I was seeing in the “nonfiction” section.  Autobiographies of the most recent reality star and not a single one of Albert Einstein, for instance.

Public libraries are not only supposed to encourage literacy but also thought and learning.  True, deep thought about serious issues.  I remember stumbling upon a book in high school in my public library about the controversy surrounding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  It presented a fair portrayal of multiple sides of the controversy, and I was floored to see such intelligent debate.  It made me think about the mores and ideals I was raised with, and questioning their own validity in much the same way.  This is the kind of experience literate patrons should be having at a public library, not digging through book after book about the last 20 years of pop culture and coming up empty-handed.  If I, a person trained in reference, can’t find thought-provoking books, what makes anyone think that untrained patrons will just happen to stumble upon them?

The public library is also supposed to be about equality.  Anyone who lives in the district can have a card and access the sources.  Now though we’re seeing libraries hosting various features that patrons must pay an additional fee to use.  An example of this is the Nevada libraries that now have Redbox vending machines.  Patrons must pay $1 a night, plus tax, to rent a DVD.  Some say this is fine, but I say, what about the homeless kids who come into this place that purports to support the idea that educating yourself is a right, only to see more things they can’t afford?  I’m sure it is disheartening, and it is contrary to the principles of a public library.

It sickens me to see the public library going from a place revered in the community as a place of literacy, learning, and equality to a bastion of the non-thinking, pop culture junk we’re fed by those who don’t want us to actually better ourselves.  You may as well be handing out Soma with the library cards, and if you don’t know what Soma is, try reading Brave New World.