Saturday, January 23, 2010
21
"21" is the movie based on the book "Bringing Down the House". I found the book to be exciting, interesting and engaging. I did not find the same for the movie. Of course Hollywood had to butcher the story, simplify the plan and introduce a love story. Ugh, typical Hollywood.Having read the book I might have been a bit biased about the movie but I'm not sure there was much here to enjoy anyways. The plot was both slow moving but rushed. There really isn't too much character building as we really focus around three characters: The Main, his mentor/nemesis and his love interest. That's right, this geeky MIT nerd ends up becoming cool and getting the hot girl.
Save yourself 2 hours and read the book and not this D movie. There are better teen romances out there if that is what you really are looking for.
Labels: Movies
SuperFreakonomics
The follow up to their well received "Freakonomics". I love their fast paced style of writing. True sometimes they jump around a bit much and you forget the original point of the chapter. They always come back though.I just love the interesting views they take and the way they use and create statistics to back up their points. They always present intriguing arguments for their points, so much so that at the end of the chapter you are steadfastly agreeing. Whether it be pointing out that car seats are not all that safe or how terrorists can easily avert detection.
As I already mentioned I flew through this book. Of course there is only 216 pages so its not exactly a heavy book to begin with. They also continue to present their information and arguments in a humorous style so the book remains entertaining no matter the subject. I give this book a A+ and I will continue to read anything they want to publish.
Labels: Books
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Rachel Getting Married
Boy I tell you Netflix loves telling me to watch these independent type films that are so black. The movie revolves around Anne Hathaway's drug rehabbing character and her sister's wedding. Hathaway killed her baby brother while driving him around stoned. So her life is complicated.The movie is so confusing and shot very strange. It seems to have been done with nothing but hand held cameras almost to a Blair Witch degree. With that you have some seasickness and sloppy scenes. One of my least favorite is when they come home at night and the scene moves to an unlit room that stays unlit for quite a bit of time.
I still don't get the whole wedding. The dress and decoration was Indian but there is quite the eclectic collection of guests and cultures. I was confused. And the groom had huge glasses. What the heck was going on.
The movie ran just shy of 2 hours and not surprisingly it could have been easily cut down to 90 minutes or so. I'm not actually sure if this was an independent film or not but it sure has that feel of trying to do to much and is too full of itself with its overly complicated camera actions and the shear unnecessary length of scenes. This movie gets a C- from me and that might be a bit generous. It's tough to recommend anyone to use 2 hours of their time on this film.
Labels: Movies
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons
I finally finished the latest Bill Simmons book. Let me tell you, it was quite the task. The book is over 700 pages long and it definitely felt that long.Simmons attempts to tackle some interesting subjects including differentiating the eras and the Russell/Chamberlain debate. He actually makes some very interesting points about the eras including discussing the high scoring on poor shooting and lack of defense that the NBA played in the early years (50's). Shooting 38% was the norm rather than a poor shooter.
Anyways, what seems like the bulk of the book is the Hall of Fame pyramid which is 5 levels of the greats, rather than all HOFs bulked together. He settled on a list of 96 players. After slogging through the list of players he then attempts to determine the greatest team of all time. I don't want to spoil it for you but I was surprised by his top players and not by his top team.
Simmons seems to have a bit of an obsession with modern players and can't fully appreciate how players of a different era didn't have to play in this game. He talks of the evolution of the game but is always hating on older players by saying they have no place in the game today. Maybe that is part of the problem with today's game? Not enough basketball players and too many athletes? Just a thought.
The book was just ok but it was very long winded and although I am a fan of his columns (when he writes them which is rare now) this book doesn't have the same feel. Sure there are some good pop culture references in the book but I think the length and subject matter blended them all in a bit too much. I can give this book a B but just be warned that even if you're a Simmons fan this book would be a task and a half unless you really care about the NBA and more importantly its history.
Labels: Books
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Slumdog Millionaire
Wow. Just wow. This is hands down the best movie I have gotten through netflix so far. I just loved the story I suppose. It's told a little odd because the beginning of the movie is actually contains flashbacks to two separate time frames. They reflect on Jamal's appearance on a popular Indian version of "Who wants to be a millionaire". They go through each question to figure out how a dirt poor kid from the slums could know the answers.Those questions are the vehicle for a look back in the lives of Jamal and Salim. For each answer there is a dramatic story from his youth. A youth filled with problems and issues and a very complicated relationship between the two brothers.
Of course having the gorgeous Freida Pinto as your love interest will also help the movie! She essentially drives a wedge between the two brothers as they struggle with their relationship.The movie is, of course, a love story when all is said and done. Most movies are but this one was able to intertwine a brilliant story of two brothers who watch out for each other. Even when it looks like big brother has abandoned little brother he comes through in the end.
The movie does have some subtitled scenes, but they are not overwhelming. I did struggle with some of the accents and I rewound a couple of times. Even with these drawbacks this move is still a solid A+ and it deserved all the recognition it got including the 2008 Best Picture.
Throw in a bonus bollywood dance scene with the credits (with a song that also won an Oscar for best original song) and I am sold on this is one of the best movies of the 2000's and I'm leaving you with the song "Jai Ho".
Labels: Movies
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