So, I've had my "What I'm reading now" and "What I'm looking forward to seeing" features up for awhile, but I never much say anything about them. So here goes, some of the more recent books and movies I've experienced, and what I thought:
Books
The Men Who Stare at Goats: Interesting, if you like a dose of paranoia in your reading, but some of his conclusions and the points he was trying to make don't necessarily add up. Good read, though, if you know anything about MK-ULTRA and want to know what other kind of nonsense our government has been up to.
See No Evil: Damn fine book, well written, by a guy who really comes across as an expert. When the man writes about Middle Eastern terrorist organizations, his knowledge can leave you dizzy, but it's an educational read about a complex subject in a complex time. Best book I've read in awhile.
Jarhead: Compelling, well written. Tries a little too hard to be crude on purpose to show how crude and base he (and by extension, other Marines) is. Still very good, and I really want to see the movie.
Black Sunday: Dear god, this was horrible. I gave it a shot since it was by Thomas Harris, writer of Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs, and Hannibal. Even Hannibal, the worst of the three "Lecter" novels, outshone this piece of shite by a mile. I don't know why I even read the whole thing. I just kept hoping it would get better. Instead, it just came out like a long Mack Bolan story (I may be the only one reading this that knows about Mack Bolan, but suffice it to say the publisher pumps out a new Mack Bolan book every month).
Movies
The Ice Harvest: This one wasn't quite as good as I expected. It wasn't as plain wrong as Bad Santa, to which it drew a number of comparisons from critics. The plot was a little too standard film noir treachery tale. And there weren't enough scenes with John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton together - if you've seen Pushing Tin, you know they play well off each other (and if you haven't seen it, go rent it). This was made up for in part by many scenes with Cusack and Oliver Platt, who also play very well off each other. Platt is probably my favorite comedy actor, is highly under-rated, and was fantastic in this film. Other than him, it really wasn't too great.
Syriana: One of the two best films I have seen all year. Along with "Good Night, and Good Luck", one of two Oscar grab attempts by Clooney and Sodebergh. I haven't seen Good Night yet, but if it's near as good as Syriana, it's worth it. This one will leave you thinking, and feeling somewhat dirty the next time you put gas in your car. If you own stock in a major oil company, it'll make you want to take a long, hot shower. As well you should.
Munich: I have a hard time deciding if this was better than Syriana or not, but it's damn good. I have to give it more points than Syriana for it's lead - Eric Bana really puts on a show here. Erik has a good commentary on it already.
Enough of my prattling for now. I have actual things to do. Mattbear out.
8 months ago
2 comments:
Excellent, I'll have to check these out. Just finished Jarhead myself, and I pretty much agree with your summary, although I think it would be hard to write realistically about a war you fought in and not be almost over-the-top profane.
Alicia mentioned she's reading My War, which was apparently written by a friend of her boyfriend (who got back from Iraq himself not too long ago), so I think I'll have to check that one out next.
Yeah, I'm not saying he shouldn't be profane. I'm saying it seemed forced. Kind of fake. I've known Marines, and they do talk like that, but it seemed like he was intentionally pushing it into his writing.
I may just have to read that "My War" book. Maybe after I wade through the heavies that Jen gave me for Christmas. That guy has a blog that he did from Iraq, but he seems to have pulled anything about the war itself. Not sure whether that is because of his publisher or the Army telling him to.
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