Chop Shop

With shaky, raw camera work and non-professional actors, this independent film about a brother and sister struggling for an existence in a rough New York neighborhood definitely has an air of realism. But the very things that give it its edge may be its downfall - the acting is barely passable at times, and the story lacks a strong thread, perhaps limited by inadequate resources and talent. The subject matter is honest but not particularly original - a young, hardworking boy fends for himself in the big city, begging for work and selling candy on the subway until he manages to find odd work (and housing) at a chop shop. Soon his older sister comes to live with him and work in a taco truck, and the two of them dream up a solution to their dependency and poverty. Chop Shop offers a melancholic, candid look at a strained sibling relationship, but its potential for insight and emotional power is not quite fulfilled.

Worth Watching
3 out of 5
Buy this film: Chop Shop

Plot: 3
Imagery: 2
Originality: 2
Soundtrack: 3
Overall: 3

Last Go Round - Ken Kesey

Kesey's rodeo tale most closely resembles Sailor Song, his Alaskan adventure, rather than his cerebral and cunning earlier works. His characters are colorful but not exceptionally deep, and he dances around the edge of cliche, but there is always the sense that he might throw you off when you're not expecting it. Inspired by stories of the first Pendelton Roundup told to Kesey (and friend Ken Babbs) in his youth, Last Go Round fully embraces the actual event's mythicized history - naturally, Kesey adds some of his own flavor into the pot. Related from the perspective of an aged rodeo star, the language is bright and amusing and full of twisted cowboy wisdom (infused with some North American and Asian mysticism). For anyone who has ever attended the bizarre event of the Pendelton Roundup, it provides a unique perspective; otherwise, it is a rollicking tale from a more conservative, but still confident and sly, Kesey.

Worth Reading
3 out of 5
Buy this film: Last Go Round: A Real Western

The Last King of Scotland

Instead of focusing on the atrocities perpetrated by the Ugandan regime of Idi Amin, this film tells the surreal story of a young Scottish doctor who unwittingly forges a relationship with the megalomaniac but charismatic dictator. Driven by rash idealism, the doctor abandons a family practice to work in the third world, by chance finding himself treating Amin, before long he is irreversibly entangled in the uncertain world of Ugandan politics and civil war. By avoiding graphic images of the genocide, or hardly referring to it most of the film, the viewer experiences the Scotsman's amazingly limited understanding of the situation around him. While surely altered and magnified by Hollywood, the premise of this story is intriguing, and Forrest Whitaker successfully brings to life the infamous Amin's childish insanity.

Worth Watching
3 out of 5
Buy this film: The Last King of Scotland
Download: The Last King of Scotland

Plot: 3
Imagery: 3
Originality: 3
Soundtrack: 3
Overall: 3

The Diary of a Madman and Other Stories – Nikolai Gogol

This collection of short stories by Gogol, an early 19th century Russian, is both impressive and entertaining. The tales contain heartwarmingly pathetic, believable characters with qualities still relevant to contemporary society, as well as occasional self-reflexive quips from the author (100 years before Vonnegut’s overuse drove them out of style). The line between reality and absurdity bends, blurs, breaks and returns reshaped within the cruel social structures and tedium of daily life, producing original didactic tales. Gogol employs very few time cues but when he does (such as poking fun at the French and Germans) they provide interesting insight into the historical period. The Diary of a Madman and Other Stories is fun and enlightening; whether you’re looking for an easy distraction or for a heavier, layered journey, you’ll get something worthwhile out of this book.

IMPORTANT!
4 out of 5
Buy this book: Diary of a Madman and Other Stories

Tartuffe

“Great is the number of hypocrites on earth and many are the forms in which they appear! Many a time we unsuspectingly sit next to them! For see!”

And thus begins one of the greatest films ever created. Tartuffe, a silent German tale, warns of the dangers involved in unchecked devotion to religion, ideologies and other inherently hypocritical institutions. Its wisdom is revealed through the interactions of wonderfully descriptive characters: A villain whose face is constantly hidden in a book, only removed to reveal his true evil; an ignorant and entirely fooled man; the faithful wife who imperils herself to set free that man; and the loyal maid who makes the plan work. This film should be shown everywhere to everyone in hopes of saving the easily-tricked from devotional slavery. Very fun to watch: a true classic.

Totally Awesome Must See!
5 out of 5
Buy this film: Tartuffe

Plot: 5
Imagery: 5
Originality: 5
Soundtrack: 4
Overall: 5

In Dubious Battle - John Steinbeck

Steinbeck's concise tale of labor strife and political uprising follows a young, disenfranchised worker who joins up with a local branch of the communist party. His mentor teaches him the ins and outs of riding the rails and being subversive, and they soon plant themselves in an apple picking camp and try to stir things up. The story is mostly driven by dialogue, and the author's ideas on the skeptical nature of political ideology and violent struggle are revealed through the discussions of common workers (though Steinbeck's views are expressed most clearly in the words of an apolitical doctor). Full of tension until the final page, this novel is an honest depiction of an American time period as well as a careful inspection of the morality of inciting hatred and rebellion for the sake of a greater good.

IMPORTANT!
4 out of 5
Buy this book: In Dubious Battle (Penguin Classics)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story of the same name opens with the following image: "Wrapped in a voluminous white blanket, and partially crammed into one of the cribs, there sat an old man apparently about seventy years of age. His sparse hair was almost white, and from his chin dripped a long smoke-colored beard, which waved absurdly back and forth, fanned by the breeze coming in at the window." The filmmakers who adapted Fitzgerald's tale either completely missed that passage, or deliberately decided to ignore the absurd tone it set so well. The film version frames the real story by placing it within the ludicrous plot of a dying woman revealing a long-held secret to her daughter. Instead of embracing the obviously silly nature of the premise, that of a person being born as an old man and growing young, the film attempts to use it as a vessel for cliche life lesson after cliche life lesson. The major mistake was choosing drama over comedy - it would have been more effective to cast a bumbling Will Ferrell type in place of Brad Pitt.

Um?
2 out of 5
Buy this film: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Buy the original story: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Other Jazz Age Stories

Plot: 2
Imagery: 2
Originality: 1
Soundtrack: 1
Overall: 2

A Glimpse of Nothingness - Janwillem van de Wetering

The subtitle of this nonfiction account is 'Experiences in an American Zen Community,' and it is precisely that. As you might expect from a student of Buddhism, the writing is economical and unpretentious. Dutch writer van de Wetering wastes no space as he tells of his exploration into Japanese Zen Buddhism and his visit to a commune located within the woods of the American Northeast. Residents of the 'retreat,' which is run by an unforgivingly honest master, subject themselves to strenuous meditation labor as they search for the answers to their koans; but the life of these spiritual seekers is not puritanical - they humanly indulge in instant coffee, cigarettes and booze to keep grounded. Van de Wetering's reflections are tinged with a humility and humor which suggest that he did in fact discover something, even if he beheld it only momentarily. A Glimpse of Nothingness is an interesting peek at an alternative lifestyle. Whether or not you have any interest in the modern practice of Zen Buddhism, it is a fun and light escape.

WORTH READING
3.5 out of 5
Buy this book: A Glimpse of Nothingness: Experiences in an American Zen Community

The Elephant Man

Though it begins with a segment of odd, art house imagery, David Lynch's film about a horribly deformed Englishman is mostly subdued and normal, as far as style goes. Its black and white cinematography is crisp and pleasing to the eye, and in many ways the techniques seem almost anachronistic (aside from a couple of bizarre, dreamy sequences). Anthony Hopkins plays a benevolent surgeon who locates the so-called 'Elephant Man' and attempts to save him from his depraved circumstances. Lynch provides an interesting, compassionate look at perceptions of weirdness in society, and questions both our repulsion and fascination of differences, here shown is the form of an extreme physical mutation. The scenes are unfocused at times, with some abruptly fading away when they ought to continue, and others dragging with no forwarding of the plot, but as a whole it is a very watchable, carefully-crafted film and an revealing critique of human cruelty and hypocrisy.

HIGHLY ENTERTAINING
4 out of 5
Buy this film: The Elephant Man

Plot: 4
Imagery: 4
Originality: 4
Soundtrack: 3
Overall:4

Caverns - O.U. Levon (U.O. Novel)

This Ken Kesey led group effort by a class of 13 University of Oregon creative writing graduate students is a crap shoot of quality. As explained in the introduction, the goals of the class were "to write, rewrite, and submit a finished novel in the three terms alloted [them]" (Kesey, 1990, Introduction to Caverns). The resulting story of a ragtag crew's quest to quell a mystery shrouded with murder and confused by media attention reveals intriguing glimpses of slightly underdeveloped characters through a shaky and at times tedious plot. The collaboration behind Caverns is perhaps the most compelling part of the mainly fun but frivolous novel. If you're a die hard Kesey fan or happen to find this book near a comfortable toilet (to read while you poop) it may be worth your time.

Um?
2 out of 5
Buy this Book: Caverns