Sorry about the complete disappearance, folks. Things got hectic in April and May. What can I say? Now I hope to be back and on schedule. That said, I don't plan to post every week on the same day. I'll post when I have three things to comment on. (Hopefully that will be once a week but who knows.) Also, as many of you know, I finally gave in to peer pressure and created a Facebook account. I enjoy it a lot more than I expected to. If you've got the time, it's awfully fun!
Film: The Evil Dead
I watched the first of Sam Raimi's Evil Dead trilogy last week and the second last night. (Army of Darkness is on its way.) I love them both for different reasons. The first Evil Dead film has several scary moments. Raimi's eye for cinematography is excellent; it's what makes The Quick and the Dead such a beautiful film. (Well, that and Russell Crowe.) The creepiest moment by far is when Ash's possessed girlfriend sits in the doorway cackling crazily. The effects - especially at the end - are cheesy and over-the-top, but the editing and cinematography are delightful.
Television: Picket Fences
I've been rewatching this show from the early 90s. I remember it with loving nostalgia and I am glad to see that the nostalgia is not completely unfounded. Ray Walston still shines as the cranky judge and Holly Marie Combs is still the show's moral center. Kathy Baker gets a little heavy-handed but it was the early 90s and working mothers still hadn't found their niche in prime time drama. (I'm not sure they have found that niche yet, but that's a conversation for another day.) The shows are timely for the time period but so far every one has a moral lesson: euthanasia, animal cruelty, teen sex, transsexuals. Despite the typical problems of dramas from that time period, I am very much enjoying my walk down memory lane.
Book: Alias Grace
Margaret Atwood's historical fiction novel is an amazing read, even if you don't like historical fiction. The story centers on the 19th-century murderess Grace Marks as she tells her story to Simon, a psychoanalyst, of sorts. More questions than answers are raised by the end of the book so I don't want to give anything away. What I will tell you is that you'll be surprised by several moments in the novel. Will you sympathize with Grace when her story has been told?
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13 comments:
Where have you been, young lady? :wags finger:
Errrm, unfortunately I can't comment on any of your 3 picks.
But, I am on book 6 of the Sookie Stackhouse series (great fun!), and I saw Frost/Nixon (solid Ron Howard) and Zack and Miri recently. Good God I laughed at the phallic garbage chute monster a la Star Wars. And Jason Mewes is hilarious. But KS should have left in those high school reunion scenes that were in the extras.
I haven't seen Zack and Miri yet. It's in my Netflix list, though! I really enjoyed "Frost/Nixon." I just heard a review of the Sookie Stackhouse series on NPR. Sounds fun!
It's all about True Blood. S2 starts this Sunday!
A David Kelley show dealing with a different issue per episode? Sounds like things didn't change much between Picket Fences and Boston Legal!
I've been harassed about Facebook so much that I've had a Heather/English Patient reaction to it: I don't want to do it at all anymore! Jeez, I shouldn't have to join Facebook just so I can look a people's photos! I've sure it's fun if you're so inclined but there's something a little overwhelming and scary about so many networking sites.
I agree entirely about Facebook, Jennica. I didn't think I wanted to deal with it but there are just some people I want to know about who refuse to email. (You folks know who you are!) It came down to joining Facebook or hearing about things second-hand weeks later. I still prefer email or a phone call, though!
"True Blood" Season 1 is on my list. I can't wait to watch it!
Heather, I think you will really enjoy True Blood--it's right up your alley.
Krista, you will probably pass me on the Sookie books soon. I have the latest paperback here but I probably will not read the newest one until it's in PB. What did you think of the books up to 6?
I had stopped reading the Sookies in order to read "The Unlikely Disciple," about a kid from Brown who spends a semester at Liberty University. Highly recommended, as is the very similar book "God's Harvard." (Both non-fiction.)
I am doing a lot of rereading right now. I want to work my way through the first six HP books before "Half-Blood Prince" comes out in July. I am also rereading "The Shining" because I'm revising "The Shining" chapter of my dissertation for publication. I will start a new book before too long, though!
I just started All Together Dead (#7) now. They're all really good. The only thing is, as far as them being "mysteries," I think that it's pretty obvious when she is giving important clues because she is more descriptive than otherwise.
I guess that's all secondary to the relationships and Sookie's development though. I am a total Eric devotee!
What do you think of the guy who plays Eric on True Blood then? Because I was not blown away last year. I'm sure he'll have a bigger role in S2 (Eric wasn't in Dead Until Dark much either) so maybe it will get better.
I am also not a Quinn fan, period, full stop. I liked the 2 "witch war" books but after that, I'm not sure Harris knows where she is going all the time with her characters or plots.
Oh, did you catch the "missing chapter?" The author published a short story prior to the Queen/New Orleans book that explains how Sookie met Sophie-Anne for the first time. I forget which book that was (maybe #6?) but you get into that book and feel like you skipped a book. Anyway, it's because of that short story. Here is a link to it online:
http://www.wattpad.com/137801-One-Word-Answer
Thanks for the link. That did fill in a blank. I think Book 6 ( the one set in New Orleans) is probably my least favorite of the series so far.
I don't have any particular objection to the actor they got for Eric - but they really didn't give him much to do. Eric was hilarious in Book 2 - so they better make him good on the show!
Quinn - eeehhhhh. I can take him or leave him. Of course, if it comes down to Quinn vs. Eric (as I suspect book 7 does), obviously, I choose Eric. My next favorite Sookie-man is Sam, and then Bill, although the show version of Bill is pretty darn great.
Nah, I'm a Bill lover all the way. I think Sookie has not given him enough of a chance to redeem himself, especially in Club Dead.
Or maybe I'm just biased because of Bill on the show.
I read somewhere that you should picture Vin Diesel as Quinn. That helps, because I had a hard time envisioning what was attractive about the man to Sookie, just going by Harris's description.
Oh yeah, on the show it's Bill hands-down. They made him way more cuddly for the show.
But in the books, he was already sort of making me suspicious in #1 - which turned out to be right!
Let's put it this way - she always knows where she stands with Eric, and when he does surprise her, it's always because he unexpectedly goes out of his way to help her. When Bill does something surprising, it's always a disappointment.
My question is: why is Quinn always shirtless? :)
Yeah, but Eric is always going to put himself first, every time. I have a hard time believing he would ever been good or reliable for Sookie. He's just too self-centered.
I do like the explanation about why Bill came into Merlotte's in the very beginning. The whole thing makes more sense. However, I do believe his explanation of falling for Sookie later on. And yet again, that's another thing that she never gave him a chance to explain or really tried to understand.
I think he is already more reliable than Bill. Eric got in trouble for Long Shadow. He stayed at the bloodbath in Dallas, when Bill left her. He went to the orgy with her, with no demand for anything in return.
He stayed with her in Club Dead, even though there was a risk of getting discovered by the king. And the driveway. And of course, he was perfect in #4.
In #5 he helped with Sam and Tara. He never used the Debbie Pelt thing against her. He was barely in #6 but even then he made Bill confess (which could be seen as either self-serving or noble, I know).
Eric saved her from Andre in #7, which was a stand against the queen that Bill certainly would not/could not have taken (I just read that part last night).
Bill was gone when she faced down Rene. Bill put his database before her, even before Lorena. There's the trunk thing. He purposefully brings dates into Merlotte's all the time. He was lying from the very beginning, but Eric was always honest with her.
She does have a tendency to run away, avoid difficult discussions - but she does that to both of them.
Oh well, let's hijack Heather's next thread too! Maybe we can debate the merits of Edward vs. Jacob - LOL
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