Pop Culture Nerd – Page 24 – Pop Culture Nerd

Book Review: TOUCH & GO by Lisa Gardner

This review appeared last month in Shelf Awareness for Readers, and is reprinted here with permission.

From the outside, Justin and Libby Denbe look like the perfect couple with the perfect life. He’s the head of a multimillion-dollar construction business; she’s a jewelry maker with the artistic skills to turn their townhouse in Boston’s ritzy Back Bay into an enviable showcase. They idolize their fifteen-year-old daughter, Ashlyn. Then, one day, the entire family disappears.

Justin’s firm hires investigator Tessa Leoni (from Gardner’s Love You More) to look into the kidnapping, which doesn’t immediately generate a ransom demand. What could the perpetrators—who appear to be professionals, with a military background—want? And who hired them? As Leoni probes further, the case revives the pain she felt when her young daughter Sophie disappeared two years earlier.

Gardner does an admirable job of allowing her characters to be flawed without alienating readers. As the Denbes endure captivity, they realize they haven’t interacted like a family in months. Libby has been popping pills, Justin had an affair, and Ashlyn—well, she has a pretty disturbing secret, too.

The ending is fairly predictable, and Gardner has a penchant for repetition—“flushed” and “murmured” appear multiple times on some pages—but the journey is compelling as the Denbes confront the dismantling of their lives, even before the abductions, and slowly find strength during their darkest hours to pick up the pieces again.

Nerd verdict: Go keeps pages turning

1 Comments

Movie Review: OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

I last saw The Wizard of Oz many, many years ago and don’t remember specifics. I’ve seen it maybe twice in my life and it’s not on my list of all-time favorites or anything. This is my way of saying I approached this prequel with an open mind and didn’t compare it to the classic.

Perhaps that’s why I didn’t find it offensive, and even liked some aspects of it, but it’s definitely a Disney movie that’s too cutesy at times, instead of an edgy revisit to the Oz chronicles that some may have expected from director Sam Raimi.

James Franco plays Oscar (get it?), a low-rent magician at a Kansas carnival in 1905, seducing his assistant and anything in a skirt. He’s bound to run into an angry boyfriend or two, but when one of the jealous guys happens to be the carnival’s strong man, Oz escapes by jumping into a hot air balloon.

He lands in a magical, vividly colored world called Oz (the film is in black and white up to this point), and is greeted by a beautiful witch named Theodora (Mila Kunis). She tells him that because of a prophecy, Oz has been waiting for him to come rescue the land from an evil witch.

Oscar isn’t interested in being the savior of anything, until Theodora’s sister (Rachel Weisz) shows him all the gold that could be his if he accepts the challenge. He may be motivated by greed at first, but along the way, with the help of his friends—Finley the talking monkey (voiced by Zach Braff), China Doll (voiced by Joey King), and the good witch, Glinda (Michelle Williams)—he learns he could use his con-man skills for a selfless cause after all.

There are nods to the classic movie, such as Glinda flying inside a bubble (which is clear, not pink), Munchkins, and flying monkeys. And of course, Glinda and the Wicked Witch. It’s hard making a purely good person interesting, but Williams, while not required to flex all the skills in her arsenal, glows with decency and grace.

None of the talented actors are operating at full capacity here, which is not their fault because the writing doesn’t support them. And though Oscar starts out as a cheat and liar, he turns into the hero, something that’s not a good fit for Franco, who seems more comfortable in oddball roles.

It’s clear lots of money was spent on the production, and some of the visuals might make you feel like a kid watching fireworks at Disneyland (I saw the 2D version; it might look even better in 3D). But fireworks last only for a short time. At over two hours, this road to Oz is long and winding.

Nerd verdict: Oz not Great, just OK

Photo: Walt Disney Studios

8 Comments

Nerdy Special List March 2013

Every month, I eagerly await my contributors’ submissions for the NSL; I love seeing what new releases they found outstanding. For the first time, a nonfiction title made the list, and we have a new blogger joining us!

Rory from Fourth Street Review doesn’t just review books, she provides pictures and links to recipes of dishes or drinks that somehow tie in with the novels. Reading her blog often makes me hungry and thirsty. One small glimpse of her home library and you might also want to push her down the stairs. Her March recommendation is below, but first, we have two from:

Jen at Jen’s Book Thoughts:

Biography

The Secretary: A Journey with Hillary Clinton from Beirut to the Heart of American Power by Kim Ghattas (Henry Holt, March 5)

This book is an inside look at Hillary Rodham Clinton during her term as Secretary of State. Kim Ghattas brings a special perspective because she grew up in war-torn Beirut. She can see Clinton through the eyes of outsiders, but as a member of her press corps, Ghattas also sees the secretary through the eyes of insiders. The Secretary enlightens readers to the enormous job Clinton faced in rehabbing the US image to the world. She pursued the job with gusto and patriotism. While the global politics may at times seem overwhelming, Ghattas provides CliffsNotes versions so that certain issues’ background doesn’t interfere with the reader’s comprehension.

One of my favorite quotes from the book is: “Just as they had expected her to be a prima donna in the Senate, so too people at the State Department were bracing for a diva. Instead, she was the one pouring the coffee.” I think this sums up so much. This book debunks many negative myths about who Clinton is. Above all, she is a determined woman who believes in the potential of our country. This was a rejuvenating read for me as a citizen.

Crime fiction

The Guilty One by Lisa Ballantyne (William Morrow, March 19)

In this legal thriller set in London, Daniel Hunter is a solicitor who takes on the case of an eleven-year-old boy accused of brutally killing his eight-year-old neighbor. Hunter believes that whether his client is guilty or not, the English legal system’s answer of locking the boy up in prison would not help anyone. He sets out to do all he can for his client, while battling with his own sordid past. Once a troubled youth caught in the foster system, Hunter could have been this boy he is defending.

The Guilty One is an engrossing psychological puzzle steeped in weighty issues like childhood crime and a system that fails its children. The characters are empathetic and authentic. I wanted to apply to adopt as I read through the saga of Hunter’s life. At about 450 pages, I flew through the story in two sittings. I just couldn’t make myself put the book down.

From Danielle at There’s a Book:

Picture book

I Dare You Not to Yawn by Helene Boudreau, illustrated by Serge Bloch (Candlewick Press, March 12)

This fun book is perfect to get kids giggling and yawning just before bed. Featuring Bloch’s brilliant illustrations and Boudreau’s intuitive text, this story of a little boy doing his best to not yawn so he could avoid bedtime has quickly become a favorite nighttime read for both kiddos and Mom.

YA

The Murmurings by Carly Anne West (Simon Pulse, March 5)

Creepy, intriguing, frightening and filled with mystery to the very last page. Nell’s death left Sophie with nothing but questions, and now she’s determined to discover the secrets behind her loss. But Sophie’s search may lead to more than she bargained for. Being a fan of horror and mystery, I couldn’t wait to read this and I wasn’t disappointed. It has a great leading character and is perfect for readers who love their reading a little on the darker side.

From Rory at Fourth Street Review:

Double Feature by Owen King (Scribner, March 19)

Sam Dolan has every intention of being a serious filmmaker, but a culmination of events involving a disturbed fellow student; a wild, luck-draining night with two women; and a larger-than-life father derail his ambitions. Spanning decades, Double Feature examines what it means to lose everything—dignity, respect, inspiration, ambition—and begin again. Fans of Richard Russo and Chad Harbach will adore this fantastic debut novel. A bit of a black comedy, it’s full of wit, charm, and a perceptive look at what makes life worth living.

PCN’s recommendation:

Rage Against the Dying by Becky Masterman (Minotaur, March 26)

The prologue, told from the POV of a killer preying on older women, is extremely unsettling, until the killer—and we—realize he’s just picked the wrong victim. She’s Brigid Quinn, a 59-year-old retired FBI agent who may have some white hair and hip problems, but knows how to use her gun and walking stick to deadly effect. There is nothing cute or coy about her; she’s seen and done things that would give you and me nightmares. My full review will appear in Shelf Awareness for Readers later this month. For now I’ll just predict that crime fiction fans will hear some noise about Brigid Quinn and Becky Masterman this spring.

What new releases are you looking forward to this month? Any of these sound good?

1 Comments

Book Review: HAMMETT UNWRITTEN by Owen Fitzstephen, Afterword by Gordon McAlpine

This review originally appeared as a starred review in Shelf Awareness for Readers, and is reprinted here with permission.

One almost has to be a Pinkerton detective to unravel the double crosses and mystery surrounding the falcon statue in Hammett Unwritten by Owen Fitzstephen. Or is it Gordon McAlpine, who wrote the afterword? Isn’t Fitzstephen a character from Dashiell Hammett’s The Dain Curse (though his name was spelled Fitzstephan)? This meta novel is a puzzle like that.

Leaping around in time, the narrative explores why Hammett never published another novel after The Thin Man. As he’s putting final touches on that manuscript, he’s visited by Moira O’Shea, on whom he based Brigid O’Shaughnessy in The Maltese Falcon. She tells him the black bird sitting on his desk is made of a magical stone that grants the owner’s wishes, and is thus the reason for Hammett’s success.

When Hammett scoffs at this notion, she convinces him that the only way to prove the legend wrong is to give her the statue. He immediately encounters writer’s block so immovable, the block is more like a wall. Hammett searches for O’Shea to get back the bird, but she seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. Could the mythology surrounding the falcon be true? Or is O’Shea exacting psychological revenge?

Readers may sometimes feel like McAlpine (yes, he’s the real author) is messing with their heads, but it’s fun to go along with Hammett as he investigates the legend. Fans of Hammett’s work—and The Maltese Falcon in particular—should enjoy references to it, and the novel’s blending of fact with fiction. In the end, it almost doesn’t matter what’s true, only that it’s a story well told.

Nerd verdict: Mysterious, meta Hammett

Buy it now from Amazon| Buy from an indie bookstore

4 Comments

Thoughts on the 85th Academy Awards & Fashion Commentary

MacFarlane. Kevin Winter/Getty

I went into this year’s ceremony more excited than usual because many of the categories were not predictable. Yes, Daniel Day-Lewis and Anne Hathaway were sure things, but there was possibility for surprises in the best actress, supporting actor, director, and screenplay categories. And the surprises did come to pass—who predicted Quentin Tarantino winning original screenplay for Django Unchained? Mark Boal had won the WGA award for Zero Dark Thirty.

Most pundits thought Steven Spielberg would take director since Ben Affleck wasn’t nominated, but Ang Lee won, though Life of Pi had claimed several Oscars by the time best director was declared so it wasn’t a huge shock. I started wondering if Naomi Watts could pull off an upset in the best actress category but Jennifer Lawrence prevailed and I was perfectly fine with that. I loved both performances; Watts’s work was just more harrowing.

Oh, did I mention a tie in the sound editing category? That’s only happened five times before in Oscar history! Both Zero Dark Thirty (Paul N.J. Ottosson) and Skyfall (Per Hallberg & Karen Baker Landers) won.

Unpredictability aside, this was one of the most awful ceremonies in recent memory. Seth MacFarlane made James Franco look like Bob Hope when it came to hosting. I was begging for him to cut short the interminable and painfully unfunny Star Trek opening bit with William Shatner. It had nothing to do with the nominated movies. If MacFarlane wanted to be ahead of the curve and tie in a number to Star Trek Into Darkness coming out this summer, at least have Chris Pine at the helm.

He went on to perform a musical number about seeing different actresses’ boobs in movies. Yes, really.

Tatum & Theron. Mark Davis/WireImage

When MacFarlane tried to class things up by bringing out Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum to dance along while MacFarlane sang “The Way You Look Tonight,” it still had nothing to do with this year’s movies. The classic tune from Swing Time won an Oscar for best song back in 1936, and MacFarlane could have included it later on in the show, but the opening should be about the current crop of movies.

Overall, MacFarlane just wasn’t funny. I think the only joke of his that made me laugh was the one in which he teased that the cast of Prometheus would appear to explain “what the hell was going on with that.” Daniel Day-Lewis was wittier when he said Meryl Streep was Spielberg’s first choice to play Lincoln, while the actor was supposed to portray Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady.

And what was that final number, an “ode to the losers,” that MacFarlane performed with Kristin Chenoweth, who deserved better? So embarrassing! Mr. PCN quipped, “The only things this number needs are Rob Lowe and Snow White.”

Let’s go over some of the winners in the major categories before I move on to the fashion.

ARGO producers: Grant Heslov, Affleck, George Clooney. Kevin Winter/Getty

Best Picture: Argo (announced by the biggest surprise presenter of the evening, Michelle Obama!)

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

Best Actress: Jennifer Lewis, Silver Linings Playbook

Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

Best Director: Ang Lee, Life of Pi

Best Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

Best Adapted Screenplay: Chris Terrio, Argo

Best Song: Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth, “Skyfall” from Skyfall

Best Score: Mychael Danna, Life of Pi

Best Cinematography: Claudio Miranda, Life of Pi

For a full list of winners, go here.

OK, let’s critique the fashion!

There were many nicely dressed stars, but nothing made me say Wow. Mr. PCN popped in and out as I watched the red carpet so I’ve included his comments here as well.

Jessica Chastain. Kevin Mazur/Wireimage

This is probably the best I’ve seen Chastain look—she glows. Her red carpet style has always been a bit off somehow. Here, she looks classy and polished, if a little safe.

Mr. PCN: I have a problem when people are the same color all over.

Jennifer Lawrence. Steve Granitz/WireImage

White is boring, and it’s too big at the bottom, but above the waist she looks gorgeous.

Mr. PCN: Looks like she’s wearing layers of fake snow you see in amusement parks.

Catherine Zeta-Jones. Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Wearing gold to the Oscars (and then posing in front of a poster of it) is trying too hard.

Naomi Watts. Steven Granitz/WireImage

Ooh, interesting neckline. Pewter or gunmetal is not my favorite color, but this dress is so sleek and just the right amount of sparkly.

Mr. PCN: It screams, “This is my favored breast.”

Charlize Theron. Steven Granitz/WireImage

There is nothing exciting about this—not the color, the style, nothing. It fits well, and that’s the best thing I can say about it.

Mr. PCN: Um, everything about her works for me.

Jennifer Garner. Steven Granitz/WireImage

Jane Fonda. Kevin Mazuz/WireImage

Tie for best color: Jennifer Garner and Jane Fonda. These two stood out from all the white and black and pale-colored gowns.

Halle Berry. Steven Granitz/WireImage

She showed that she could cover up a little and still be sexy, in a strong instead of slutty way.

Mr. PCN: Looks like a girl in bondage, not a Bond girl. It also resembles the Chrysler building.

Stacy Keibler. Steven Granitz/WireImage

Another gunmetal gown I found striking. It looked liquid, as if it was slowly dripping off her.

Mr. PCN: This is what Halle Berry should’ve worn.

Anne Hathaway. Steven Granitz/WireImage

Wish it were a more vibrant pink. And, uh, what’s going on there in front?

Mr. PCN: Those darts are really perky.

Amy Adams. John Shearer/Invision/AP

This reminded me of Kyra Sedgwick’s 2006 Emmys dress, and therefore didn’t seem new or exciting.

Kyra Sedgwick. Frazer Harrison/Getty

Mr. PCN: The skirt [on Adams’s dress] looks like the goatskin pants that Tom Hanks and Dan Aykroyd wore in Dragnet.

Salma Hayek. Steven Granitz/WireImage

How is it possible for a dress to make Salma Hayek look not sexy?

Mr. PCN: She broke into a museum of old movie costumes and stole that dress.

Nicole Kidman. Steven Granitz/WireImage

Was Kidman trying to land a contract for a Vegas show?

Helen Hunt. Steven Granitz/WireImage

Most Green Award goes to Hunt, who wore an H&M dress she already owned. Yes, you read that right. She said she wanted to plug the brand because the it partners with Global Green. The gown needs some ironing but she looks pretty good. Kudos to her for not getting caught up in all the couture frenzy.

Kate Capshaw. Getty Images

Most badass heels: Kate Capshaw.

What did you think of the show and fashion? Sound off in the comments!

8 Comments

Book Blurbs by PCN

Yesterday, I sent a note to crime author Meg Gardiner, thanking her for vetting a book for me. I receive lots of ARCs for review consideration and sometimes I’m so overwhelmed, I don’t know what to read first, or even read at all.

But when I saw Meg’s blurb on the cover of Dana Haynes’s Ice Cold Kill (out March 26), I thought I’d give that book a try. I don’t blindly believe in blurbs, but I’ve read Meg’s work and been lucky enough to spend time with her at Bouchercon, so I know she’s a whip-smart, discerning person who doesn’t suffer morons or, I assume, moronic writing. And so far, I’m enjoying Kill.

So I thanked Meg for helping with this choice, because sometimes even synopses don’t do anything for me except make my eyes roll backward into my mouth. When I told Meg this, she responded, “Now there’s a blurb: ‘Won’t make you choke on your eyeballs!'” I thought, That would definitely make me read a book.

Then I started thinking about how boring most blurbs are, how they often resemble each other and become useless noise. So I came up with the following blurbs that would get me to read something:

“Takes you on the kind of ride that gets you thrown into a Mexican jail!”

“Scarier than a clown exorcist!”

“Blows your mind like a hooker who likes brains!”

“More exciting than whatever you’re doing, unless you’re playing with chickens!”

“Like an EpiPen to your heart…after a triple espresso!”

“You couldn’t handle this book!” (reverse psychology)

“Better than the book by that guy you read that one time!”

“It will kick your teeth in, gouge out your eyes, pull out your guts, and jump rope with them!”

Would these work for you? Want to add your own blurbs in the comments? Does anyone want me to endorse your book?

2 Comments

The Girl Who Won’t Stop Running

Within the last year, I came across these covers:

This paperback of Lisa Unger’s book came out in June 2012.

The same month, the cover below for Michael Robotham’s new book, due October 2012, was revealed on his Facebook page.

After I commented that it was similar to the Unger cover, I received an ARC of Sorry with the following cover (I am not claiming I instigated the change or had anything to do with it):

Looks like the image was reversed, and some minor changes were made, including one arm being tucked in. This version appeared on the finished book.

A couple months ago, I received the ARC below (the book came out Feb. 5). There in the background is the tucked-arm girl!

I don’t know anything about cover design, but if the person who created the image of the girl receives payment for each usage, he/she is having a pretty good run. Maybe next time, the girl in red will be running toward us, or even upside down!

3 Comments

Nerdy Special List February 2013

What is happening to February? It’s more than half over?! Better post this month’s Nerdy Special List, then.

Jen at Jen’s Book Thoughts read two standout February releases:

Birthdays for the Dead (Harper Paperback, Feb. 19) is the new standalone from Stuart Macbride. Detective Ash Henderson is part of the task force trying to catch the Birthday Boy, a psychotic killer who is abducting girls just before their 13th birthday, torturing them to death, and then sending their parents birthday cards every year on the girl’s birthday—cards that contain progressive pictures of the girl’s torture. Henderson has a piece of information the rest of the team lacks, though. The Birthday Boy kidnapped and killed Henderson’s daughter. This is a deliciously dark psychological thriller. Whether you’ve read Macbride before or not, if dark and haunting is your kind of thriller, Birthdays for the Dead is a must!

The Day Is Dark (St. Martin’s Griffin, Feb. 26), by Icelandic crime fiction writer Yrsa Sigurdardóttir, continues her Thóra Gudmundsdóttir series. Thóra travels to Greenland to help investigate the disappearance of two men working on a mining research project. The local inhabitants believe the location of the project is cursed and the more Thóra investigates, the more the curse looks possible. The juxtaposition of science and myth makes this mystery thought-provoking and intriguing. The writing may seem clunky at times, but this may likely be due to the translation. The underlying story is complex and the supporting characters are as rich and developed as the protagonist herself.

Danielle at There’s a Book has two recommendations as well, but in different categories:

Young Adult:

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys (Philomel Books, Feb. 12) is the follow-up to her very successful debut novel, Between Shades of Gray, and she proves she’s here to stay. Easy tells the story of Josie, a young girl trapped in New Orleans during the 1950s due to her mother’s profession as a prostitute. Josie’s determination to get out and make a life for herself is thwarted by the death of a visitor she can’t seem to distance herself from. Out of the Easy is rich and full of all of the mystery you could hope for in a setting such as New Orleans. Despite this being a young adult novel, I could easily see adult readers falling in love with this world and Ruta Sepetys’s brilliant storytelling yet again.

Picture Book:

Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Idle (Chronicle Books, Feb. 5) is one of the most beautiful and entertaining picture books created to date. Idle’s illustrations, which include strategically placed flaps that lift, tell the story of an uncoordinated aspiring ballerina and a graceful flamingo who attempts to teach the little girl how to dance. It’s a wordless picture book that captures the true meaning of grace, beauty, and friendship. Not only is it a favorite of my four-year-old daughter, but Flora and the Flamingo is quite possibly my favorite picture book to date.

PCN’s recommendation:

Since Tuesday, February 19, marks the 71st anniversary of the issuance of Executive Order 9066, which sent Japanese-Americans to internment camps during World War II, it seems fitting that this month’s standout book for me was Sophie Littlefield’s Garden of Stones (Harlequin MIRA, Feb. 26). It shredded me and left me wanting to weep for days. Jen asked me to mention that she also recommends this book.

The story begins with a killing in 1978, and Lucy Takeda is a suspect after a witness reports seeing her at the scene. The tale then travels back and forth between 1978 and the early 1940s, when a teenage Lucy and her beautiful mother, Miyako, are forced out of their Los Angeles home in the days following the Pearl Harbor attack and sent to Manzanar. Littlefield creates a sense of unrelenting dread as each day passes for Miyako and Lucy at the camp, with readers knowing the women are headed for experiences that would alter them forever, but feeling as helpless as the internees in doing anything about it.

Apparently, during the book’s proposal stage, Littlefield’s editor had to defend her qualification to write this book. The author, after thorough research, shows she’s definitely up to the task, telling the story in a convincing narrative voice, giving us a glimpse of how innocent Japanese-Americans must have felt during an ugly time in US history.

Littlefield steers clear of being manipulative and sensational, depicting horror with subtlety, which is more effective because our imagination fills in the rest. There are heartbreaking details about daily life in the camp, with Miyako and Lucy striving for dignity and grace even in the most degrading conditions, but there’s beauty, too, as represented by the titular object, and Lucy’s seed of hope that grows no matter how many times others try to kill it.

What books have you enjoyed so far this month? Which February releases are you looking forward to?

6 Comments

CHRISTMAS IN HANOI, POE, and Charlie Huston

Scene from the play: What the hell is going on here? And of course that’s me with veil on head.

In case any of you were considering filing a missing persons report on me, I’m still here, just keeping my head down on a bunch of different projects. I’ve been rehearsing for a play, Eddie Borey’s Christmas in Hanoi, which opens Wednesday, Feb. 13, at East West Players. The official description from the theater’s website (where you can buy tickets):

A mixed-race family returns to Vietnam for the first time since the war. One year after the death of their strong-willed mother, siblings Winnie and Lou travel with their Irish Catholic father and Vietnamese grandfather to reconnect with their roots. Whether they embrace that past or reject it, they are haunted by their own family’s ghosts and by the phantoms of Vietnam’s long history.

Here’s the trailer. Director Stephane Gauger felt it best I was shot from behind, in the dark, obscured by smoke.

On top of this, I’ve been editing, having just wrapped a couple of projects and will soon be receiving Poe, the first collaboration between Brett Battles and Robert Gregory Browne. It’s the start of a new series featuring Alexandra Poe. For more info, go to the book’s Facebook page. I’m so looking forward to it!

I’m also doing some minor work for HEW PR to help launch Charlie Huston’s new website soon, ramping up to the release of Skinner in July. Who is excited about this?! Finally, a new Huston novel! While waiting for the site and book, you can visit Charlie’s page on Facebook.

Enough blah blah blah about me for now. I recently finished some books I’ll review soon, and will post February’s Nerdy Special List later this week, with some good recommendations from my trusty fellow book bloggers.

What’s new with you? What are you reading? What do you recommend?

Photo: Michael Lamont

3 Comments

SAG AWARDS 2013

I’m still in rehearsals six days a week for the new play, and doing various freelance gigs, so this won’t be a full write-up, just a few highlights in case you missed the show (apparently it didn’t air in some territories).

I tune in to the SAG Awards, which are less glamorous than the Oscars and not as freewheeling as the Golden Globes, because I get to vote for the winners here. There are 15 categories, and I voted for 7 of the winners, so I was happy about 50% of the results.

The one I was most excited about was Argo‘s win for best ensemble in a motion picture. It didn’t surprise me because I polled my actor friends and there’s a lot of love and respect for that movie. This bodes well for Argo winning best picture at the Oscars next month, which should make Oscar voters look shortsighted for ignoring Ben Affleck.

As I mentioned on Facebook, he is the only director of a best-picture nominee who also starred in it. I don’t see Spielberg directing himself as Lincoln or David O. Russell playing bipolar. What Affleck did has a high level of difficulty and he pulled it off with aplomb. The Producers Guild of America likes Argo, too, because it also won the top motion picture prize at that ceremony Saturday night.

Two of my favorite quotes came from acceptance speeches by Tina Fey, who won for best female actor in a comedy series (30 Rock), and Daniel Day-Lewis, best actor in a motion picture (Lincoln). Fey said to Amy Poehler: “I’ve known you since you were pregnant with Lena Dunham,” a continuation of the joke they started at the Globes when Dunham thanked them for getting her through middle school.

Day-Lewis, who got a standing ovation, said: “[I]t occurred to me that it was an actor that killed Abraham Lincoln, and therefore somehow it’s only fitting that every now and then, an actor tries to bring him back to life again.”

Go here for the full list of winners.

Let’s discuss some of the fashion. There were no real standouts for me. Most were ho-hum (too much black) or in the what-the-Freud? category.

Anne Hathaway usually has impeccable taste but I hate this look, which is reminiscent of Demi Moore’s bicycle-shorts-under-a-skirt fiasco from the Oscars in the ’80s (click here to see it—if you dare). This style just doesn’t make sense to me. If you want to wear a short dress, do it. Don’t throw some froufrou around your hips to cover up your legs but not really.

Oh, dear. It’s really unfortunate that Julianne Moore, whom I think is amazing, attended a SAG ceremony wearing this.

Claire Danes‘s dress is interesting but makes her look much older. Helen Mirren would rock this.

This probably would look like a cheesy prom dress on me and most people, but Marion Cotillard makes it impossibly chic.

Rose Byrne gets the award for Most Creative Use of Grandma’s Bathroom Wallpaper.

I wondered if Jaimie Alexander was wearing her dress backward. Or if she’s a fembot who managed to turn her head all the way around.

The dress isn’t anything special—she’s worn this style before—but Naomi Watts gets my vote for Most Consistent when it comes to hair and makeup. She looks flawless every time. And as much as I enjoyed Jennifer Lawrence‘s performance in Silver Linings Playbook, I’m kind of hoping for an upset by Naomi at the Oscars. Her work in The Impossible is brave, raw, and devastating.

Nina Dobrev wore my favorite gown of the night. The pink is striking without being girlish, and that slash of bare flesh under lace adds unexpected sexiness.

Did you watch? What are your thoughts? Am I the only female alive who doesn’t think Bradley Cooper is hot?

Photos: Hathaway, Moore, Danes/WireImage; Cotillard, Byrne, Alexander, Watts, Dobrev, Affleck and Argo cast/Getty Images

7 Comments

Book Review: STANDING IN ANOTHER MAN’S GRAVE by Ian Rankin

I finally jumped on the Inspector Rebus bandwagon after friends (I’m looking at you, Jenn aka The Picky Girl) have long pulled it alongside and tried to heave me on board. It wasn’t a matter of disinterest on my part but lack of time. Then the generous people at Little, Brown/Reagan Arthur sent me Ian Rankin’s latest novel featuring Rebus, Standing in Another Man’s Grave. I read the first page, then kept going, and finished the novel in two sittings.

Five years after he retired, Rebus is working as a civilian for the cold case squad. He meets Nina Hazlitt, who insists that her daughter’s disappearance in 1999 is connected to several other missing young women, including one who recently disappeared. Rebus is Nina’s sole sympathetic ear, and as he probes the matter, he finds she might be on to something.

But it’s hard to make progress when he’s up against a supervisor more interested in climbing the bureaucratic ladder than clearing cases, and the internal affairs investigator named Matthew Fox who’s hell-bent on nailing Rebus for his unconventional methods. Rebus also has to contend with a couple of mob bosses, all while attempting to not destroy the career of his partner, Siobhan Clarke.

Rebus is a winning protagonist, with a quick wit, sharp eye, and irreverence for anyone he deems a moron. Underneath Rebus’s defiance, though, are melancholy reflections on mortality (the title is something he mishears in a song’s lyrics). He’s aware of his limitations, but still determined to operate on his terms.

It’s interesting how Fox, who headlined Rankin’s The Complainants and The Impossible Dead, is supposedly the bad guy here, but the chapters told from his point of view manage to make us almost sympathetic to Fox’s cause. Rebus can be a loose cannon, and Rankin does a nice job of showing how these two flawed men are possibly more alike than they realize.

The one issue I have is with the ending. **Spoiler**

Rankin doesn’t explain the murderer’s motives, having Rebus and Clarke simply write off the person as a psychopath. This is too easy. While in real life we often don’t get insight into a killer’s mind, in fiction it’s possible to answer the whys, if only to create a sense of logic in a chaotic world, which is one of the reasons I think crime fiction is so attractive for some readers.

The killer’s actions don’t need to be explained by Rebus and Clarke—they’re not psychologists—or even by the killer. What I found lacking was how the cops don’t even seem concerned about the reasons as long as the perp is in custody. The “psychopath” label is supposed to explain everything, but if we just accept that without any desire for a deeper understanding of the roots of violence, it feels like we’re already standing in humanity’s grave.

**End of spoiler**

That quibble aside, I would follow Rebus and his trusty old car on future adventures, and even look into his old cases to see how he got here.

Nerd verdict: Rebus alive and kicking in Grave

5 Comments

Robert Crais and His Mighty Balls

Just a reminder that tomorrow—Tuesday, Jan. 22—is launch day for Robert Crais’s Suspect. You will love Maggie and her relationship with Scott James, so buy the book and help Crais rule the world.

Go to a signing (tour schedule here) and ask him for balls!

[Ed. note: The action figure in the photo is Captain Crais from the series Farscape.]

5 Comments

Older Posts

Newer Posts