Oracle Night - Paul Auster

Paul Auster's Oracle Night is the story of a writer with writer's block who finds a mysterious blue notebook that leads him off into a series of misadventures that are not so much adventurous as irresponsible. The premise is almost too ironic considering the content, which suggests to me that the author knew he was writing a bunch of nonsense, as though it was really just an exercise to get stagnant ideas flowing. The writing is oppressive; Auster seems to assume his audience isn't intelligent enough, so he provides unnecessary defining clauses for all his "big" words. Had it not been so lauded, at least on its covers, it may not have been so disappointing; but it is this sort of novel that encourages my skepticism of any praised contemporary fiction.

BOOOOOOOO!
1.5 out of 5
Buy this book: Oracle Night: A Novel

Tideland

Tideland, director Terry Gilliam's twisted venture into the malleable minds of children, is disturbing - but not in the sense of the gratuitous gore or violence meant to shock in horror films. As in the popular Mexican film Pan's Labyrinth, Tideland juxtaposes innocence and brutality (though less graphically), portraying the distorting effects of violence and tragedy on youth as well as the ability of the imagination to make sense of horror, or escape it. Set amidst eerie, empty wheat fields and dilapidated farmhouses, the film compares the vulnerability of two minds - a young girl faced with death and abandonment, and an older mentally retarded man with fantasies of submarine adventure. Jeff Daniels plays a decent corpse, and Gilliam employs his trademark sideways, disorienting cinematography (as seen in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Brazil, and his other weird films) to create an atmosphere of uncertainty and menace. Full of colorful, strange imagery and bizarre characters.

WORTH THE WATCH
Rating 3.5 out of 5
Buy this film: Tideland

Plot: 3
Imagery: 4
Originality: 4
Soundtrack: 3 Tideland
Overall: 3.5

In Patagonia - Bruce Chatwin

A travel adventure full of historical anecdotes, myths, and curious tangents. Chatwin traces his travels through Argentina and Chile loosely following stories of his swashbuckler uncle and slowly unravels the truth of legends, some local and others world famous. His path dots around foreign outposts where most strangers accept him with open arms. Within the stories of these characters he objectively reveals a history of violence and displacement of aboriginal peoples as well as the struggles of the first Westerners as they attempted to settle in this far southern corner of the world. A fascinating and fun ride that inspires the reader to go out on their own exploration.

IMPORTANT!
4 out of 5
Buy this book: In Patagonia

Milk

In Universal's rather theatrical portrayal of the story of America's first openly gay public official, Harvey Milk, the audience is carefully guided along the edge of the surrounding controversies and is offered a limited glimpse of the inspirational force that stood at the center of the late 1970s gay rights movement. The Oscar awarded to straight actor Sean Penn for his performance as Milk leads to many questions - including but not limited to - Why did they not choose a real gay actor? And, would a gay actor have won an Oscar for this role? With countless random, spotlighted make out scenes, the stereotype of homosexuals being promiscuous is fulfilled and certain scenes repeated throughout are insulting to the viewer's intelligence. If the director really thinks it's necessary to repeat the same line three times in order to render comprehension, maybe it is time to shorten the movie or rewrite the script. Though the Harvey Milk story is an important part of America's human rights history that helps to illuminate the still current struggle for gays to attain equal rights, there are simpler, more entertaining ways to learn more about it: try the documentary (The Times of Harvey Milk 1984), the book (The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk), or even Wikipedia.

Um?
Rating 2.5 out of 5
Buy this film: Milk
Download this film: Milk

Plot: 3
Imagery: 3
Originality: 1
Soundtrack: 3 MILK Soundtrack
Overall: 2.5

Dark Was the Night - Various Artists

This album brings together a wide array of 'indie' artists both young (Zach Condon of Beirut) and old (David Byrne of he's David Byrne). The result is 31 tracks of hit and miss fun. The low point is certainly Sufjan Stevens' cry for attention coming at the end of the first half. Luckily there are many many high points. Ben Gibbard (of Death Cab) doesn't ruin a wonderful track by Feist which actually kicks off the most solid section of the entire album. Bon Iver and Grizzly Bear offer solid, un-experimental tracks that bring us to the Yeasayer track where frontman Chris Keating actually sings. The start of the flip side begins with an apology track from the always good Spoon. Which is followed nicely by our friends Arcade Fire and an uninspired offering from Beirut. Probably the last noteworthy track on the second half is Cat Power doing a very nice rendition of 'Amazing Grace.' All told this is definitely an album to check out if you have any interest in the aforementioned artists (except Sufjan Stevens).

WORTH THE LISTEN

3.5 out of 5
Buy this album: Dark Was the Night

The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale - Joseph Conrad

This novel of espionage and terrorism, set in early 20th century London, tells the tale of a double agent assigned to a dubious task. Its ironical style is well-orchestrated but traps the narration into excessive omniscience; the interactions are drawn out and the insight into characters is too complete. It seems that the subject matter was not deeply understood by Conrad, and consequently it lacks the vividness and confidence of his seafaring novels, causing his typical verbosity and descriptiveness to hang like dead weight. Despite its shortcomings, it is still Conrad, and provides some insightful glimpses into themes (including terrorism and the involvement of the state) that are maybe even more relevant today.

WORTH THE READ
3 out of 5
Buy this book: The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale (Penguin Classics)

Absurdistan - Gary Shteyngart

Absurdistan naturally draws comparisons to two satirical masterpieces, A Confederacy of Dunces and Catch-22, as it is the story of a massively obese young rich man caught amidst the international insanity of corporate globalization and war. But lined up against those two works, it simply cannot compare. It is, at times, a highly descriptive, lively, and amusing novel, but not much more - after all, what could a modern novel about the absurdity of war and the military-industrial complex possibly add to what was given to us by Joseph Heller back in 1961? As if aware of this, Shteyngart relies too heavily on the details of today's world theater - oil, the Soviet bloc, hip-hop, McDonald's, Halliburton - as if to gain validity, but its use of all-too familiar, already stigmatized names only limit its power. It seems to be a criticism of specific companies rather than of the underlying system that allows for their operation. His parodies are so obvious that they may make one think they are in on something without actually having to think, and its mockery of American culture is too easy - the protagonist, a mammoth Russian brat, enjoys quoting the Notorious BIG, as if the late rapper wasn't ridiculous enough on his own. Whereas the mysterious Syndicate and painful circular logic of Catch-22 boost that novel to the timeless universal, Absurdistan remains no more than a sometimes entertaining, but mostly annoying, comment on the current age.

Um?
2 out of 5
Buy this book: Absurdistan: A Novel
Download for Kindle: Absurdistan: A Novel

The Firecracker Boys - Dan O'Neill

More than a story of unethical government scientists attempting to deceive the citizens of their country, The Firecracker Boys illustrates the decisively split interests that occur so commonly throughout American history, creating both well-defined heroes and unmistakable villains.

Edward Teller and the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) spent years attempting to push through an unprecedentedly large nuclear test in northwestern Alaska. Ground zero of Project Chariot was to be on Native land about 30 miles from the ancient village of Point Hope. Despite overwhelming scientific evidence indicating the opposite, the scientists maintained that no damage would be done to food chains, land, or humans of the proposed area. The AEC and their Alaskan business supporters demonstrated extreme racism and disregard for the concerned local Eskimo communities, advocating partiality in the press, academic censorship, and blacklisting of scientists who tried to reveal the truth. The Firecracker Boys shows greed, carelessness, and selfishness on behalf of the government stopped only by the compassion, dedication and selflessness of a small group of citizens. At once inspiring and horrifying, the story makes you question why this behavior was tolerated in public employees, as well as how the American people can continue to trust such a corrupt institution as their own leadership. Dan O'Neill has collected and organized an amazing amount of previously classified information as well as conducted original interviews. The book is well written and captivating; a must read for anyone who considers themselves to be an environmentalist, patriot, or human being.

IMPORTANT!
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Buy this book: The Firecracker Boys: H-bombs, Inupiat Eskimos, and the Roots of the Environmental Movement

W.

The abbreviated title of Oliver Stone's newest flick lends itself to the inevitably questions: What is this? Who cares? But most of all, Why was this film made? And why was it made now, released so soon after George W. left the White House, before we could try to forget him? Couldn't we have waited for future revelations and hindsight? Shouldn't we have waited until his death so we could watch it reproduced in Hollywood splendor? But Mr. Stone apparently didn't bother with those kinds of questions as he set out to create this biographical drama, a collection of highly-selective moments in the still-going life of an extremely lucky, arrogant, and delusional man who happened to stumble into the presidency of the United States.

It seems that Stone also lacked the balls, so to speak, to give us a fully-biased vision of the devil, so the film fluctuates between wild speculation, cheap shots, and contrived sympathy. As usual with this breed of movie, there is an attempt to explain the subject's bravado, ambition, and idiocy, but it appears there was no decent explanation to be found, so instead Stone reduces all of Bush's famous mistakes and shortcomings to a father-son complex (George Sr. apparently preferred Jeb).

In his typical disregard for subtlety, Stone tries to say things with a few obvious, bloated instances of imagery (Bush and his cronies sweating like suited vampires in the Texas heat as the commander in chief leads them literally down the wrong path on his ranch), but nothing manages to express anything new or useful, and they even throw in the usual, tired jokes (a whole scene, for example, unconnected to anything else, reproducing the famous pretzel incident). A more compelling film would have focused on a specific aspect of Bush's presidency - perhaps the campaign of deceit that led America into two unending wars in the Middle-East.

BOOOOOOOO!
Rating 1.5 out of 5
Buy this film: W. (Widescreen)

Plot: 1
Imagery: 2
Originality: 1
Soundtrack: 1
Overall: 1.5

Frost/Nixon

Ron Howard's film, which recreates the famous interviews with the former president Richard Nixon conducted by British TV personality David Frost, manages to create an atmosphere of just enough uncertainty and tension to somehow distract from the fact that it is a film centered around two people speaking together for several hours. Not surprisingly, the film tries to humanize the "monster," but not at the sake of downplaying his crimes. Nixon is portrayed as a man with a heavy conscience, many regrets, and a deep self loathing, but also a great contempt for his constituents and naivete in regard to other human beings. As the story's climax is the same as that of the actual interviews (the moment where Nixon confesses his "mistakes" to the American people), the film's purpose seems to be to show the unlikely circumstances that led to that point, and therefore shows beyond the two men to their respective teams (continually utilizing a tiresome boxinb analogy) to demonstrate what a collaborative effort is is to either maintain or break down a public image. Perhaps this film would be cathartic to those who actually lived through the pain of Nixon's election and presidency, but I imagine the actual footage would offer a bit more kick than a reproduced version. Either way, it is amazing to consider that Nixon was essentially paid to confess to a crime, and another man earned celebrity for digging it out of him, but justice was never served - a bit of irony that the film touches on but doesn't bother too much with, but which leaves me wondering, "What was the point?"

WORTH WATCHING
Rating 3 out of 5
Buy this film: Frost/Nixon

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