Deliverance (1972)

I made it almost 23 years without seeing this film.
After watching it, I feel like I probably could have made it another 23.
It's hard to watch.  The story is so messed up!
The only part I knew about going into it was the famed banjo duel.  However, I always thought that it happened while they were on the river, and that the haunting refrain always accompanied whatever horrors they might run into.
First of all, I thought Burt Reynold's character was a jackass.  Had he not been such a twit, everyone probably would have lived.  But, that wouldn't have made for a very engaging movie.
Ned Beatty, of course, made his movie debut in Deliverance.  And what a hell of a debut.  "What work have you done before, Mr. Beatty?"  "I was the guy that squealed like a piggy and got sodomized in Deliverance."  "Oh.  Yeah, we don't think you're really Gunsmoke material.  Here, you can be in one episode."
And boy did John Voight come a long way after this film.
As for the film itself, it was not as "thrilling" as I expected out of a movie classified as a classic American thriller.  It mostly made me not want to ever visit backwoods Georgia.  
This was another film that left me with a lot of questions.  The guy that Ed killed was not the guy that cut his chest open - whatever happened to that guy?  Why did Drew decide to commit suicide?  Why the hell did any of them disagree with Louis about getting rid of the body of the rapist?  They wouldn't have gotten in trouble - it was self defense!  Did the cop really know what happened with the killing and whatnot?  When he said he wanted the little town to die quietly, did he really mean he wanted them all to die?  What was so significant about Ed witnessing the graves being dug up relocation?  What happened to Louis - he confessed and then Ed and Bobby hauled ass outta town.  Why did Ed's wife seem so disinterested when he got home?  Why the nightmare of the hand coming up out of the water at the end?  Was the kid with the banjo blind or just so inbred he could hardly open his eyes?
Why the hell do hillbillies like to rape fat men?
I imagine that some of my questions would be answered in the book.  And I will probably read it at some point.  When I get through the other 300 books I want to read.


Length-wise, it was reasonable.  Not too short, not too long, though there were a lot of time I wished things would just kinda move along.
The acting was very good.  The nasty mountain men made very believeable nasty mountain men.  Though, do you really want to be known for being able to do that so well?
The filming was great.  In fact, it's my understanding that that's one of the things this film received one of its 3 Academy Award nominations for.  I also know that it has been preserved by the Library of Congress as a national treasure of cultural significance.
The story, as I said before, was messed up.  I understand that living in the mountains away from all technology must really suck, but these inbreds were scary.  I mean, genuinely.  On many levels.  But while I think it was effed up, that doesn't make it suck.  It was very good.


Length:  4.0
Acting: 4.0
Cinematography:  4.0
Story:  4.0
Overall:  4.0


I don't think I'll ever watch it again, but it was worth a viewing.  Still creeped out by it, though.

When You Are Engulfed in Flames - David Sedaris

This book was fantastic!  I could barely put it down!
It was my first experience with David Sedaris and I am wholly impressed.  There were so many occasions where I was compelled to laugh out loud, a reaction that rarely happens when I'm reading to myself.  
There was only one chapter I ended up skimming over, and it was just because it was so disjointed. (The one about him going to an Ivy League and his parents wanting him to major in Matricide and Patricide - what the hell?  It lost me in the very beginning about the religious ceremony and never really reigned me back in.  I imagine he was in some way intoxicated when he wrote that section...I can't think of anything else that would explain it and how it is so uncohesive with the rest of the book.)  
All in all, it was a joy to read. I particularly enjoyed his lessons in Japanese.  The way he failed so miserably at the school was wildly engaging.  I especially liked the journal-entry form to it all.  
He's led an absolutely fascinating life and it's a pleasure to read about it all.  
While Japan was fascinating, his obsession with his spiders was heartwarming, and his experience with his neighbor Helen was heartbreaking.  For all his sarcasm and hammyness, he can certainly strike a chord.  
I can't imagine how fun his family reunions must be - his sisters sound like just as fabulous characters as he is.  The story of their babysitters growing up was another laugh-out-loud section.  He's so to-the-point; I love it!
The man-pee-bag-accessory!  That is one of my husband's favorite sections.  The story of the mouse that burned a house to the ground - and his encounter with the limo driver - it was all just so hilarious.
There's just so much of the book I can recount with a smile.  The way he comes up with topics before dinner to discuss with Hugh - I do the same thing with my husband!  He's just so real of a person but he can pen these experiences in such a way that makes them seem so out-of-the-ordinary and wonderful.  He takes the monotony and humdrum out of life and makes it seem extraordinary.  So few authors have that gift these days.
I'm looking forward to working my way through his other books.
Length-wise, I wish it were longer.  I could have kept reading it forever, it was so wonderful!
David Sedaris's writing style is amazing.  I can't believe I went almost 23 years without reading of his work.  He's so engaging and intriguing.  His narrative style feels like a conversation.
The stories were incredible.  He's so transparent and his experiences are fascinating.
I would absolutely read this book again!  I was so wholly amused it was wonderful and absolutely worth a second, third, or even fourth reading!


Length:  4.0
Writing:  5.0
Story:  5.0
Re-readable-ness:  4.0
Overall:  4.5

Death Note (2006)

First of all, let me iterate that I am in no way a "weeaboo."  My husband is the one into anime and all things Japanese.  I just like sushi and Sailor Moon.
But, after over 3 years subscribed to the Netflix service, the live-action film Death Note, based on the manga, was recommended to me.  And I decided, what the hell?  I'd give it a try.
I'm not sure what I went into expecting.  I knew the premise of the movie/anime/manga vaguely.  Boy gets notebook that allows him to kill whomever's name he writes in it.  Pretty simple.
At first blush, I was unimpressed by the movie.  But after digesting it for a few days, my opinion has changed.
While the female characters are bland, and kind of stupid  (read:  Naomi), the male characters and the shinigami, are pretty awesome.  Actually, my favorite character probably was Ryuuk.  He amused me, and even though he confessed he wasn't into taking sides, the way he tried to keep Light from turning into a total douche was nice.
I also thoroughly enjoyed L.  Though, the ending left me frustrated.
I know that the movie did not stay true to the manga (I wiki'ed it) and maybe not the anime (I didn't read that section but considering how long the series has run, I can't imagine that the movie followed the canon set up by both drawn forms of the series.),  but it left a lot of holes.  I'm never a fan of open, unresolved endings.
Did Light get rid of the Death Note?  Or does Misa now have a copy, too?  Did L know that it was Light?  If Light still has the Death Note, is he going to keep killing the good guys along with the bad guys?  Does he get to keep the shinigami?  How long can he keep it a secret?  How can he live with that on his conscience?  Is the Death Note broken since he set up Shiori's and Naomi's deaths?
I really wanted Light to get caught.  I did not want L to be "wrong."  And since it didn't follow canon, anyway, what would it have hurt to have avenged the deaths of the innocent?
Giving Misa the Death Note just opens it up for a sequel, for the killing to continue.  
I don't know if it's a normal thing in Japanese cinema or storylines, but the female characters were so dumb!  Naomi was just asking to get herself killed by saying she was the detective's fiance and that she used an alias. How stupid!  Light was smart enough, he could have figured it out without her giving it away so easily!
Length-wise, it was reasonable.  I was multitasking so it went by pretty quickly.  I feel like the story was a little bit too big to fit into the time they alloted, but it wasn't horrible.
The acting was...on par for what I expect from a Japanese drama.  L and Light's father were the best actors, hands down.
The cinematography was good.  Nothing super-incredible-zomg-awesome, but not jarring or annoying like Cloverfield or something.
As I said before, the story was ok.  Better than a lot, but not that gripping for me.  Light's evolution was nice to watch, but unsettling and unsatisfying.  I felt like something was missing...maybe it just didn't translate into English well, but it seemed like there was a side of his personality that was either undeveloped, or regretfully not there.

Length:  4.5

Acting:  3.5

Cinematography:  4.0

Story:  4.0

Overall:  4.0

So, long rant short, I enjoyed this movie.  A little.  I don't think it's something I would watch again.  And I'm not terribly compelled to read the manga or watch the anime, but who knows?  Maybe one day I'll get bored.

District 9 (2009)

**Spoilers ahead**

I didn't hate this movie, like I originally anticipated I would. It was gory, yes, but not horrifyingly so.

Wickus was a wholly likable character.  It was very easy to get attached to him in the beginning.

One thing that stuck out to me was that it seemed like they were trying to convey too large of a story in two short of a time frame.  Wickus's transformation also seemed too abrupt.

Furthermore, I didn't understand why, if the humans wanted to get rid of the prawn once and for all, they didn't just drop a nuke on District 9.  Obviously, that would have made for a much shorter movie, but it seems like a logical human choice.  And it isn't hard to imagine that if something like this happened in real life, this is exactly how we would treat the aliens.  I didn't wholly understand why the South Africans (and the world) were eager to befriend the aliens when they first arrived - the lack of a form of communication tends to make people hostile to one another in the real world.

The relationship between the young Prawn and his "father" is heartbreaking at times.When Wickus (rather idiotically, in my opinion) decided he would fly the recovered ship up to the mother ship, I was certain the older Prawn was going to be kill by MNU and my heart broke for the little Prawn.  The depth of human emotion that the two Prawn experienced was awesome.  The scene where Christopher finds the other Prawn that have been experimented on was nerve-wracking.  I spent so much time on the edge of my seat wondering if they'd make it out.  I was delighted that the ending was left open for a sequel and I sincerely hope that one is made.  I have hope that Christopher would return in 3 years so that Wickus could be reunited with his wife.  And who doesn't want to see a war between intergalactic space aliens and humans?!

So.  Overall.  It was enjoyable.  Even the gory scenes weren't too terrible.  The blood wasn't lingered on; a lot of room was left for the imagination (or lack thereof).  Length-wise, it was nearly perfect.  Not too long for me to lose interest, not to short for me to feel like I was watching an episode on TV.  The acting was also nearly perfect - while I can't say I was really familiar with anyone in the film, I thought they all did a fantastic job.  I'm particularly fond of that sort of documentary-style fiction film, and this one played right in to that interest of mine.  Most of the cinematography I enjoyed, but there a came a point in the film when the first person view stopped.  I missed it because I thought it brought a stronger sense of reality to the film.  Finally, I thought the story was incredible.  Yes, I understand that it was an allegory to the problem of apartheid in South Africa, but I felt it was so profoundly presented.

Length:  4.5

Acting:  4.5

Cinematography:  3.5

Story:  5.0

Overall:  4.5

I'm not sure that I'd give it a second viewing, but I'd certainly recommend it to my friends for a first!

Welcome!

So to compliment my food review blog, I've decided to make a movie/book/game review blog as well, and let my food blog be just about that:  food.
I will gladly take requests of materials to review.
Things will be reviewed as I get through them.  For instance, the inaugural review will be of District 9, which I just watched this afternoon.
Currently, I am reading When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris, so I intend to write a book review of it once I finish it.
On with the reviewing!