Month: April 2021

Books Read in April 2020

Picture Books

The Bear in my Family
Maya Tatsukawa
Read for Librarian Book Group

Readers may wonder early on who the bear really is.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Carole Boston Weatherford and Frank Morrison
Read for Librarian Book Group

The illustrations and rhyming storytelling is top-notch in this picture book about the Queen of Soul. But what really pushes the book to greatness is the cover hidden under the jacket.

Young Adult

Rent a Boyfriend
Gloria Cho

Cho imagines a world where young Asian-American women can rent a boyfriend to get their parents off their backs. (This is, apparently, a thing that does happen in Asian countries.)

This was a fun romance.

Let Me Hear a Rhyme
Tiffany D. Jackson

This book is a love letter to a time and place (90s Brooklyn). I had trouble with the back and forth of the narrative, but enjoyed the mystery and the antics.

The Rest of the Story
Sarah Dessen

A great summer-at-the-lake story with observations about class, family, and addiction. I sometimes felt whiplashed by Dessen’s technique of jumping forward and then looping us in, and I wished I had made a character list at the beginning. But the characters were great and they kept me reading.

The Way You Make Me Feel
Maureen Goo

Trying on and shedding personalities is one of the most interesting things about being a teenager. Due to a prank gone awry at her junior prom, Clara starts spending more time with new people and that makes apparent what her current attitude leaves out of her life.

As usual with Goo, really great characters!

Fan Art
Sarah Tregay

This book is set in Boise and I’m pretty sure the high school in this book is standing in for my high school. Aside from that very specific enjoyment, I liked that the main character was out to his parents and not out to his friends. It’s rare to see that combo.

My Calamity Jane
Hand, Ashton, Meadows

Calamity Jane, Annie Oakley, Frank Butler, and Wild Bill Hickock take us on an alternate history trip as they hunt garou, what we call werewolves. Full of the patented asides the Janies are famous for, this was a great trip, though I suspect Wild Bill’s actual show spent a lot of time talking about killing Indians, not garou, which dampened my enjoyment some.

Grownup Fiction

The Nickel Boys
Colson Whitehead

Elwood’s life before, after, and during his time at the Nickel Academy is rich with detail in this engaging, heartbreaking book. The acknowledgements have links to connections with the real-life reform school the Nickel Academy is based on.

Young Nonfiction

Paper Son
Julie Leung & Chris Sasaki
Read for Librarian Book Group

Not only the story of pioneering (and uncredited) Disney animator Tyrus Wong, but also an introduction to paper sons and daughters.

The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep
Allan Wolf

Wolf provides a good balance of poetry and prose as he tells the tale of the Donner Party.

Gone to the Woods
Gary Paulsen
Read for Librarian Book Group

Paulsen’s memoir of his childhood is rich with language, vivid, joyful, and heartbreaking. Life has changed a lot since Paulsen was a boy and hopefully not as many children lose their childhoods as he did.

Grownup Nonfiction

Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town
Jon Krakauer

Krakauer’s coverage of a “rape scandal” (which really was a lower-than-average series of rapes) is full of things to be frustrated about. New to me was David Lisak’s work on serial rapists and the role of prosecutors in charging or not charging rapists. The women’s stories—all of them—are gasp inducing and the aftermath (legally and personally) is rough. I read this book in a 24-hour period.

Shit, Actually: The Definitive, 100% Objective Guide to Modern Cinema
Lindy West

I greatly enjoyed this “objective” tour through modern cinema. Lindy West’s asides and observations brought much mirth to the household as I read.

Translation: the boyfriend heard a lot of this book as read by an up-and-coming Audible narrator: me.

Top Movies April 2021

?5 movies watched?

?April. Where one movie made its own category.?

A pie chart showing 3/5th Good, 1/5 Recommended and 1/5 Rocky

Click on any title to read the full review.

Friends with Benefits

A testament to charisma.

Justin Timberlake and Milia Kunis in Friends with Benefits. A star with text: Good. An arch with text: 3SMReviews.com: Friends with Benefits

Detour

If you only watch one 40s-era movie this year, this should be it.

Ann Savage and Tom Neal in Detour. A star with text Recommended. An arch with text: 3SMReviews.com: Detour

Rocky

Not good enough to be good, but with a certain je ne sais quoi this movie forced itself into its own category

Sylvester Stallone and Talia Shire in Rocky. A star with text: Not great. An arch with text: 3SMReviews.com: Rocky

Pieces of a Woman

It’s a shame how sad plots keep people from excellent performances.

Vanessa Kirby and Shia LaBeouf in Pieces of a Woman. A star with text: Good. An arch with text: 3SMReviews.com Pieces of a Woman

Lady from Shanghai

The sun-and-fun noir.

Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth in The Lady from Shanghai. A star with text Good. An arch with text The Lady from Shanghai

Rita Hayworth is the Lady from Shanghai

Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth in The Lady from Shanghai

The Lady from Shanghai

?Directed by Orson Welles?
?Written by Sherwood King, Orson Welles?

The review:

Orson Welles does an Irish accent and takes the noir film to a bunch of sunny locals for an interesting night at the cinema.* Everyone really dug into their characters, none more so than Glenn Anders, who played his part with a sweaty dedication. There were also twists a plenty, and some dramatic visuals as befits the dude who made Citizen Kane.**

The verdict: Good

Cost: Free via TV Time app on Roku TV (But get ready to see the same commercials repeated.)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching all of the Filmspotting 40’s Noir Marathon movies:

Further sentences:

*So much sun and fun! (But that underbelly of darkness followed them, don’t worry) I loved that we seemed to be getting location shots, rather than sound stage shots.
**”This movie is awesome!” I cackled aloud near the end.

Questions:

  • What did you think of the treatment of all the people of color who wandered through this film?
  • What are your favorite Rita Heyworth and Orson Welles movies?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Columbia Pictures boss Harry Cohn told Orson Welles he would never again hire one man to produce, direct and act because he could never fire him.

Also this:

In the aquarium scene, the tanks were shot separately, enlarged, and matted in to make the sea creatures appear more monstrous and loom closer to the actors.

Other reviews of The Lady from Shanghai:

Orange background with a white frame. Text: Personally, I don't like a girlfriend to have a husband. If she'll fool a husband, I figure she'll fool me.—The Lady From Shanghai. Read the three sentence movie review. 3SMReviews.com

Second Shot!

My second shot was early in the morning. This turned out to be a mistake, as I had mild flu symptoms and the copy editing load at work was heavy and also one of the copy editors called in sick. So I was shivering and miserable while copy editing. Still, it’s better than not getting a second dose.

As you can see, I was one of those 15,249 Pfizer vaccine doses.

Here are my various things acquired on this day. The woman who gave me my shot was a bit distracted. Among other things, she asked me what color bandage I wanted and then after I said orange, gave me the yellow.

As it was before, I enjoyed the efficient process at the convention center.

Requiem: Silicone Spatula

This was given to me as a Christmas gift and it spent some time at The Emerson School because I had too many spatulas. Eventually though, I ran low again at home and I brought this back home.

I liked the stainless steel handle combined with the silicone head. Just the right amount of hard and soft!

Sadly, eventually the silicone broke down and split, so to the great garbage can in the sky this goes.

Pick Up Pieces of a Woman

Vanessa Kirby and Shia LaBeouf in Pieces of a Woman

Pieces of a Woman

?Directed by Kornél Mundruczó?
?Written by Kata Wéber?

The review:

“Young mother’s home birth ends in tragedy” is a phrase that will probably have most of the potential audience saying, “Nope!” but for those of you who like sad dramas that depend more on acting than dialog, this film is for you!* The film does a great job establishing a loving relationship between the two leads so we can then watch things crumble. Vanessa Kirby is new to me** and her Best Actress Oscar Nomination is well deserved.***

The verdict: Good

Cost: Netflix monthly fee $8.99
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*That’s me! If it’s you, don’t miss this!
*I apparently saw her in Hobbs & Shaw?
***Though I honestly felt the filmmakers were trying to position Ellyn Burstyn for a best supporting nomination.****
****She was good in this, but there was a weird age gap. She’s 88 (Which: !) and Vanessa Kirby is 31, which means if they are playing their ages, Burstyn would have been 57 when she gave birth to Kirby. I think an actor in her 60s would have been a better fit age-wise.

Questions:

  • Is it just me? Does getting the ages of the actors wrong also bug you?
  • How long after the main events of the movie do you think the ending takes place?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The title doesn’t appear until 30 minutes into the movie.

(This was a thing I noticed.)

Other reviews of Pieces of a Woman:

Orange background with a white frame. Text: And you know what I did, Martha? I lifted my head. That's what I'm asking you to do now.—Pieces of a Woman. Read the three sentence movie review. 3SMReviews.com

Don’t Avoid Edgar G. Ulmer’s Detour

Ann Savage and Tom Neal in Detour.

Detour

?Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer?
?Written by Martin Goldsmith?

The review:

There are three reasons to watch this film and the least of the reasons is that it’s 68 minutes, so it won’t take much of your time. The other two have to do with the road trip conundrum* and the incredible performance by Ann Savage.** I can’t say I know a ton about noir, but I can say that this film is a great place to start, if you are among the noir curious.***

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: free from the Multnomah County Library (I even got the Criterion Collection version.)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Though “back in the day” is often portrayed as a time when hitchhiking was a thing that everyone did, Tom Neal’s character mentions how hard it’s been for him to get a ride.
**She doesn’t appear until the movie is nearly halfway over, but man, does she make this film work.
***And like I said, 68 minutes!

Questions:

  • What was Al Roberts first misstep?
  • How you would have navigated this particular jam?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The budget PRC gave director Edgar G. Ulmer for this film was so small that the 1941 Lincoln Continental V-12 convertible driven by Charles Haskell was actually Ulmer’s personal car.

Other reviews of Detour:

Orange background with a white frame. Shut up, yer makin' noises like a husband. —Detour. Read the three sentence movie review. 3SMReviews.com

Rocky Was Not at All What I Was Expecting

Sylvester Stallone and Talia Shire in Rocky

Rocky

?Directed by John G. Avildsen?
?Written by Sylvester Stallone?

The review:

My delighted feelings about this film stem from the fact that I grew up in the 80s and what I knew of Rocky* was not what this film was. I was ready for thuggish posturing, best of the best, underdog win-it-all and what I found was a meditation on mediocrity, a mostly sweet love story,** and a main character who knew exactly how subpar he was.*** While the writing was good**** Stallone himself wasn’t great, and that kind of sunk the movie for me.*****

The verdict: Skip

(Though honestly, it’s a piece of Americana, captures an interesting period in the US (Philadelphia looks run-down and trashy and all the cars are so very big) and was much better than I thought it would be, so you should probably see it at some point.)

Cost: Free from the Multnomah County Library
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*I’ve never seen a single film in the franchise, but I loved Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” from Rocky III and growing up I for-sure saw a lot of ads for the movies.
**With an underdeveloped female and a “charmingly persistent” male. Neither have aged well, but I loved the mousy Adrian we began with.
***Favorite scene: Rocky is invited to fight Apollo Creed and have the chance to become the heavyweight champion of the world. His response and reasoning were exactly right and exactly not what I was expecting.
****There are some really great speeches in this film, mostly coming from Apollo Creed, but also Burgess Meredith has his day too, as does Rocky.
*****I see how he channeled all his feelings about failing as an actor into this script. The problem is, that I think he did fail as an actor; his insistence on being Rocky made for a lesser movie.******
******But this was a huge hit, so clearly many people didn’t have a problems I did with this film.

Questions:

  • When did you first see Rocky? What did you know about it.
  • Rocky and Adrien’s relationship, yay or nay?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Most of the scenes of Rocky jogging through Philadelphia were shot guerrilla-style, with no permits, no equipment, and no extras. The shot where he runs past the moored boat for example, the crew were simply driving by the docks, and John G. Avildsen saw the boat, and thought it would make a good visual, so he had Sylvester Stallone simply get out of the van and run along the quays, while Avildsen himself filmed from the side door. A similar story concerns the famous shot of Rocky jogging through the food market. As he runs, the stall keepers and the people on the sidewalks can clearly be seen looking at him in bemusement. While this works in the context of the film to suggest they’re looking at Rocky, in reality, they had no idea why this man was running up and down the road being filmed from a van.

(A lot of the lore around this film makes for an ever more compelling narrative.)

Other reviews of Rocky:

  • Guess how hard it is to find reviews of Rocky written by women.
Orange background with a white frame. Text: Women weaken legs!—Rocky. Read the three sentence movie review at 3SMReviews.com