My Rant about Limited Releases

It's that time of year again-- the pre-holiday, pre-award show season when great movies flood the theaters. Magazines are starting to issue lists of Golden Globe and Oscar worthy movies and performances. This buzz can work the avid movie fan into a state of drooling anticipation. Calanders get marked, the last of the summer/fall floods of flat, trite, and dry pop movies are patiently tolerated, and expectations mount, but if you don't live in LA, NY, or Chicago the odds are that many of these movies so anticipated will not becoming to a theater near you. It's the marketing scheme of the limited release. The idea that independent or "artsy" films require a tiered release so that films have time to build word of mouth to insure the bottom line of the studio. This system of limited release has been the bane of my existence. Two weeks in a row I let myself get amped up for a film only to find, on release-day-Friday, that the film would only see a limited release and not anywhere near me. As a result, I find myself asking is this really a necessary scheme to keep studios in business or is a sad commentary on the culture of film goers in America?

I understand that film studios, though often portrayed as evil and overly concerned with their bottom line, are in fact business entities that must make money to continue making movies. With the case of small independent movies, the system of the tiered release is, though frustrating, at least understandable. It is movies such as Up in the Air which stars George Clooney and has the budget, stars, and buzz to support an immediate wide release that I find so frustrating. Publicity for Up in the Air inundated the airwaves flaunting a release date of December 4th, but the release date was limited--a fact which was not publicized. With the case of this movie it is clear that the platform release was designed to draw out buzz and keep the movie fresh on the tongues of movie goers--and in the minds of award voters--into the new year. Either that or any movie that is not Transformers or New Moon is considered to be an artsy flick that needs such a limited release. To bolster my point, the new Disney Princess film--The Pincess and the Frog--which has been vaunted and long awaited, only saw a limited release over Thanksgiving--a traditional weekend of kids and family movies. Was the Disney powerhouse really that afraid of the power of New Moon?

However, it is not the wait of a few extra weeks to see a film that is problem. It is the fact that many of these substantive films will not make it to many theaters for months, if they make it all. (500) Days of Summer took months to make it to many theaters in the middle of the country and then only ran for a couple of weeks. The Reader, Kate Winslet's Oscar winning film, did not see anything resembling a wide release until the weeks running up to the Oscar ceremony and correspondingly the weeks running up to the DVD release--and even then the movie did not make it beyond the biggest cities in the nation.

Whether it is a widely publicized release date that is actually only a limited release--such as was the case with the December 4th limited release of Up in the Air, which does have a scheduled wide release on December 25th--or a movie getting rave reviews and Oscar buzz--such as A Single Man, An Education, The Road, and countless others, which will see wide releases only if the box office offers unexpected returns or they start racking up awards--the limited release is the frustration of many avid movie lovers and cinema goers during the pre-Oscar movie season.

It Turns out Batman is a Boner!

This made me laugh.

First Thoughts on New Moon: A Step in the Right Direction

Almost a year to the day after Twilight hit theaters, it's sequel New Moon has teens--well women in general--flocking to the theater.

New Moon is by far the most internal book of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Saga. Books that take place almost entirely inside of the protagonist's head are difficult to translate to the screen--see the labored adaption of Twilight. This and a thousand other reason had me worried when I entered the theater to see New Moon. The book centers on the Bella Swan's internal journey towards the light and away from Edward. When Edward leaves Bella for her own good, Bella spends nearly 200 pages learning how to live again after her world comes crashing down. Soon Bella finds Jacob Black, an all-to-willing family friend, to help her along in her journey. Meyer spends chapters cultivating, growing, and nurturing the relationship between Jacob and Bella. The quiet transformation that Bella undergoes under the warm and watchful encouragement of Jacob is what has so many...I want to say teens but sitting in the theater this afternoon with more middle age women than screaming teens makes me say women hopping on Team Jacob. The movie was bound by the constraints of time, already running at just over 2 hours, the movie does not quite do justice to the tender affection that develops so slowly between Jacob and Bella, but I think that this has more to do with lack to time than a lack of reverence for the relationship. Weitz, the director, and Rosenburg, the screenwriter, are incredibly faithful to the book on the whole. There will be no cries for scenes from the book that didn't make it into the movie like there were after Twilight, and furthermore Weitz and Rosenburg try to added just enough to the story to give the viewer something to care about, something to strive for--though this hook never quite sinks into the viewer. On the whole, Weitz's directing style is far less distracting than was Catherine Hardwicke's direction in Twilight. There were definitely moments that the camera movement detracted from the story rather added to it, but these moments occur far less often with Weitz at the helm. Furthermore, Weitz's camera direction kept the camera out of the faces of the actors and often allows several actors and even some of the background into the shot.

The acting in this movie is at least on par with the acting in the first film. Kristen Stewart definitely has the ability to portray broken-souled mopey-ness in spades. Her portrayal of Bella is a dark and broken exterior overlaying a stubborn will to live and a will to hold on that is at the best of times captivating and at the worst of times annoyingly pathetic to point of forcing the viewer to wonder why either Edward or Jacob would want her. When Bella is left by Edward in the woods with the promise that she'll never see him again, it's heartbreaking. When the directorial effort to keep the story moving gets out of her way, Stewart definitely will pull tears from even some of the hardest viewers. Stewart's performance is imminently watchable even if not her best. Stewart managed to be less...blinky than she was in her first portrayal of Bella and, mercifully, keep the lower lip biting to a minimum. Billy Burke is back as Charlie Swan and he is just as lovable in the role as he was last year. Robert Pattinson is largely absent from this adaptation except during the opening and closing of the film. When he does appear, Pattinson's acting is a bit labored but the hoards of "Twihards" wont mind because Pattinson still manages to throw heart-melting looks at Stewart. Pattinson's American accent is much better and much less like a bad imitation of a New York gang movie. On the plus side, Pattinson's Edward is enjoyable during the confrontation scene at the end of the movie. The problem with Edward is that he is gone from the screen so often that even the strong chemistry between Stewart and Pattinson seems to slip from the viewers mind. Then there is Taylor Lautner. Lautner is the most charming of the three principles in this film. Lautner and Stewart's relationship building scenes at the beginning of the film are sweet and enjoyable but the romantic chemistry between the pair is never quite where it should be. Overall Lautner's performance is strong and it should promise good things for Eclipse when the real Jacob, Edward, Bella triangle comes to a head.

On the whole, the film, though quieter than the first, is a better than Twilight. The movie is, as is the book, merely a transition from Twilight to Eclipse. In the end, the movie will be loved by Twilight lovers and hated by Twilight haters. Those who are neither lovers nor haters of the saga will feel somewhat ambivalent when the movie ends.

Old Shows I Still Love: The Office (Thursdays 9/8c NBC)

When I Started Watching: Spring 2007—middle of Season 3.

Why I Started Watching: I basically had to in order to understand half of the jokes being made around me. Plus my roommates and I would have DVD marathons or various shows and The Office season one came up one night (as the season is only 6 episodes long).

Why I Kept Watching: The show is hilarious. The awkwardness and absence of a laugh track made the show unique and enjoyable. Furthermore, the show as a prime-time comedy that played to both crude humor as well as more intelligent comments on society. Plus the Jim and Pam dynamic was enough to almost force me to invest in the show—that whole will they/wont they thing gets me almost every time.

What Worried Me When I First Started Following the Show: Nothing much, the shows awkwardness was very enjoyable. I began watch after the show had become a success with critics and viewers as was not in danger of being canceled as it had been at the end of season one and through the early part of season two.

What is Great about the Show: The ensemble cast. The cast encompasses a wide variety of actors, playing a wide variety of characters. The beauty of the show is that it aims at being very real and the jokes tend to be very narrow. Broad comedy can be fun but it is always nice when writers allow an audience to use their intelligence. The Jim and Pam dynamic was adorable from episode one, and the Jim and Dwight feud was hilarious from the first jello encased stapler. The show and characters it centers on have been allowed to grow allowing for well rounded characters and provides from great comedy highlighted by great dramatic moments.

What Worries Me about the Show Now: The Office used to be about crock-pot humor—the jokes were allowed to simmer rather than jumping for the quick laugh. Over time the show has moved from this slow-simmering humor towards more microwaves style humor—broad jokes for easy laughs. The desire for quick easy laughs has removed some of the charm this little British convert show that challenged prime-time comedic preconceptions. Furthermore, the Jim and Pam dynamic has changed. The army of writers (and it is large enough to be an army) did an excellent job of resolving the will they/wont they romance without killing the show. However, Jim and Pam are now married and about soon to be parents. I’m not sure how this dynamic is going to affect the show. To add to this problem is that Jim is now co-manager so the Dwight/Jim relationship is also off kilter, I think this may be a little too much change all at the same time. I’m not sure what the drive of the show will be in the wake of these changes.

Why I’ll Keep Watching: I’ve invested 5 seasons worth of episodes in these characters and they’re relationships. I’m invested in the future of these characters. I’m waiting to see how the Andy/Erin could be romance will work out, the Angela/Dwight romance will rekindle, and the continued shenanigans of Michael’s interaction in the office.

Favorite Episodes: “Diversity Day”, “Health Care”, “The Alliance”, “The Dundies”, “The Secret”, “Casino Night”, “The Negotiation”, “Product Recall”, “Traveling Salesman”, “Beach Games”, “The Job”, “Fun Run”, “The Deposition”, “Dinner Party”, “The Duel”, “Two Weeks”, “Niagara”

Old Shows I Still Love: Bones (Thursday 8/7c Fox)

When I Started Watching: During the freshman season in 2005 until the show was moved (for the first of a thousand times) and it conflicted with required activities. I rediscovered the show in the fall of 2008 almost by accident.

Why I Started Watching: The show started off with a lead in from House, it was only too easy to leave the TV on after House was over. Once the show began to be punted around the network line up I wanted to follow but was conflicted out.

What Worried Me When I First Started Following the Show: Nothing much, I was a little concerned about how the writers and producers were going to deal with the chemistry between Booth and Brennan (David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel).

Why I Kept Watching: The show is smart. In a market cuckholded by CSI, Bones brings real intelligence to forensic crime solving. The chemistry in the show is both literal and physical. I enjoy the intelligent use of science behind the crime solving duo as well as the chemistry between the two leads. What can I say, I’m a sucker for a will they/wont they relationship.

What is Great about the Show: The producers of this show Hart Hanson and Stephen Nathan show adept handling of complex science and a willingness to tackle interpersonal relationships. The science in the show is real and supervised by real-life forensic anthropologist/novelist Kathy Reichs. But on top of tossing around 10 dollar anthropological concepts like its nothing, the writers have done a good job of giving the viewers just enough to keep them hooked on the Booth and Brennan relationship. Furthermore, the show runners have shown a remarkable willingness to shift the cast around. When the show was growing heavy on empirical sciences, the runners brought in psychologists—first a recurring role for Stephen Fry and then a cast membership for John Francis Daily. The addition of the psychologists on the show has rounded out the cast nicely. Then the support workers in the lab are fantastic, but again to keep the show fresh Zach Addy (Eric Millegan), assistant to Dr. Brennan, joins forces with a cult-based serial killer. The result was a refreshing breath of air in the form of a rotating troop of interns. The show has done a nice job of keeping things fresh and, as a result, has been able to keep a steady number of viewers as the show travels around the network—a journey that would have killed a lesser show.

What Worries Me about the Show Now: Originally the season 4 finale was a bit worrisome. All of a sudden Booth has a brain tumor, and he wakes up apparently not knowing who Brennan is—what?!? However, the season finale viewed through the lens of the first six episodes of season 5 is less worrisome. Apparently Booth’s “who are you?” did not mean that literally didn’t know who Brennan was but rather that he wasn’t sure if she was his wife or not, a much more palatable idea. However, I have a feeling that his may be the season that Booth and Brennan final push beyond the oft repeated “we’re just partners”. This prospect is simultaneously exciting and terrifying. By pushing the joining of forces between the pair into the late 5^th season, I fear that the writers may have written themselves into a hole. I worry the union may so disrupt the shows dynamic as to be detrimental.

Why I’ll Keep Watching: The best part of a will they/wont they relationship is the final “they will” moment. Additionally, the producers and writers of show have earned my faith. I think the show runners care about the characters as much as the viewers do and as such will hand the “they will” moment with care and an eye to the future.

Favorite Episodes: “The Man in the Fallout Shelter”, “The Man in the Morgue”, “The Boy in the Shroud”, “The Woman in the Sand”, “Aliens in the Spaceship”, “Death in the Saddle”, “The Santa in the Slush”, “The Wannabe in the Weeds”, “The Pain in the Heart”, “The Bone that Blew”, “Critic in the Cabernet”, “The End in the Beginning”, “Harbingers in the Fountain”, “Night at the Bones Museum”, “Tough Man in the Tender Chicken”

Old Shows I Still Love: House (Monday 8/7c Fox)

When I Started Watching: During the Summer re-runs of season 1 in 2005.

Why I Started Watching: A friend of mine who was about to start her pre-med curriculum in the fall was obsessed with the show and all but forced the whole group of us to watch the show with her every week.

What Worried Me When I First Started Following the Show: I was worried that the concept would get old. DDX, 50 wrong diagnoses, and finally—every time, just in the brink of time—the right diagnosis. I was partially right. There is always this underlying assumption that House and the Team will get the offending virus, bacteria, prion, or general body malfunction under control.

Why I Kept Watching: Hugh Laurie—enough said. Well also the gripping plots and the novel idea of a cranky genius doctor. The comfortable assumption that House will be victorious has allowed for some big shocks when House does not save the patient. The producers of House have shown that they’re not afraid to kill a patient and more importantly—and more interestingly—they’re not afraid to let that death have serious repercussions. All of that makes for a good show, but Hugh Laurie is the cherry on top.

What Worries Me about the Show Now: The show, through three strong seasons, had a formula that worked well. The dynamic between Foreman, Chase, and Cameron was comfortable and entertaining. However, the producers were not content they shook the show up in the beginning of Season 4, which was both entertaining and refreshing. This willingness to “shake things up” is important when shows reach into 5^th, 6^th, and 7^th seasons. Season 5 also ended with a bang, House checking into a mental hospital. I enjoyed the hallucinations suffered by House and the fact that House will finally be forced to deal with his viccodin habit in a real way. What worries me is that the beautiful 2-hour season opener felt more like a series finally rather than a season première. In the wake of this movie-like season opener, the show seems to be struggling to find its footing after altering the central character so much. The future of the show is a bit worrisome at the moment. Will House relapse back to the drugs? This would be one of the more frustrating avenues the show could take. How many times are the producers going to pull viewers through that story arc. Will House stay clean? If he does will he be crankier? That would certainly be entertaining but it isn’t really new territory. The viewers have seen time and again how the pain winds House up, how would another journey down this story arc lane be different and refreshing? Furthermore, in the season première, House developed a new outlook on life. Will this outlook make him less cranky? If he does become less cranky, the procurers are messing with their central hook, which is dangerous. In the episodes that followed the season premiere, the show has struggled to find its equilibrium in the wake of all these character changes. There has been less medicine and more inter-personal drama. I for one like the medicine aspect of the show. If I wanted interpersonal drama with a gossamer thin veil of medicine, I’d watch Grey’s Anatomy or ER re-runs. As season 6 matures, I’m worried that House will deviate too much from the show that it was and the show that it could be again.

Why I’ll Keep Watching: Does it need to be said again? Hugh Laurie—how does he still not have an Emmy?!? Additionally, over the past 5 seasons I’ve become attached to the characters, their backgrounds, and their interpersonal ties. I don’t think that the shaky legs the show is standing on at the moment will be inevitably fatal. I think that with the proper defribulation the show can revive into greatness and the journey should be entertaining.

Favorite Episodes: "Three Stories", "Hunting", "Failure to Communicate", "No Reason", "Needle in a Haystack", "Mirror, Mirror", "House's Head", "Wilson's Heart", "House Divided", "Under My Skin", "Both Sides Now", and "Broken"

Old Shows I Still Love

Thinking through shows that I have just begun to watch has made me look at the shows that I watch that are not new and evaluate why I first tuned in, why I kept watching, and why I love the show. Over the next few days--in an attempt to dampen the stress of the end of the semester--I'm going to look back as shows I tune into every week as well as shows I still revisit on DVD every now and again.

Batman the Brave and the Bold: Mayhem of the Music Meister

"The music meister sings the song that the world wants to hear"--and that is the truth. I tuned into this episode of Batman the Brave and Bold because of Neil Patrick Harris. NPH's songs from the 2004 Broadway revival of Assassins and performance of Evening Primrose were--and still are--on repeat on my iPhone. Neil Patrick Harris singing in anything, even a Batman cartoon, was bound to catch my attention. I tuned into the episode not knowing what to expect. I fell in love with the music. The episode had Broadway style and--what sounds like--a large orchestra behind it. While the drive of the episode was more than entertaining, the drive behind the Music Meister was less than compelling. NPH voiced the orange-haired Music Meister a man who can control anyone who hears his "booming voice". This drive in the epidsode is unique and entertaining, but exactly what the Music Meister was trying to achieve by controlling the world is not quite clear all he really manages to do is hijack a satellite and force the world to "steal all you can, while you're under his sway". But the songs "Drive Us Bats", which is delightfully glib--"He always has a sidekick/Some Boy Wonder at his call/His utility belt holds everything/Can’t find that at the mall--and the duet "If Only" with Black Canary are reason enough to checkout the episode and (most definitely) the soundtrack.

New Shows to Me: Glee (Wednesday 9/8c Fox)

I began watching Glee for the music and kept watching for the plot. I, like the rest of the world, watch the pilot episode of Glee in May. However, unlike the rest of the world, I was largely unimpressed. I found the music catchy but the plot unbelievable—a woman fakes a pregnancy to keep her husband at home? However, one day messing around Hulu I rediscovered the show a few episodes into the season. I decided to go back and give the show that world seemed to love another shot. Given the chance to watch the first few episodes in quick succession the plot, that at first I didn’t buy in to, quickly pulled me in. It was clear that I did not give the multi-layered dramedy enough chance. . The writers and creators of Glee seem determined to win a slew of awards for diversity. The show is about outcasts and the ensemble of characters certain encompasses outcasts—a heavy black girl, a newly out of the closet gay man, a stuttering Asian, a kid in a wheel chair, and a former cheerleading captain/president of the celibacy society pregnant teenager. This gang of outcasts attempting to navigate the tumultuous waters of high school is worth watching. However, what makes the show so watchable is the dynamic if the unattainable love between Emma and Will was adorable and—for once—delightfully innocent. I found myself quickly longing for the day that Will finds that his wife’s pregnancy is a lie. However, the producers seemed to have accounted for this day by putting another obstacle in the way—Emma’s pending marriage. As entertaining as the Emma-Will-Terri triangle is, one love triangle was clearly not enough for the writers. The quadrangle between Rachel, Finn, Quinn and Puck is less unique but somehow just as enjoyable. What is unique is the foil between Quinn’s pregnancy and Terri’s lack of pregnancy. This provides for not only an interesting dynamic but a unique plot that pushes the shows hook—music—effectively and enjoyably into the background.

New Shows to Me: Castle (Monday 10/9c ABC)

Castle, currently in the beginning of its second season, centers around Richard Castle, played by Nathan Fillion, who is a best selling mystery writer who is a womanizer and loving father. Castle is the perfect vehicle for Fillion as there really is no one better at playing the lovable scoundrel.

The series begins with the publication party for Castle’s new book in which he killed of his best-selling central character because he was bored. On the same night, intense detective Kate Beckett realizes a connection between a series of murders—that connection is the gruesome deaths portrayed in Castle’s novels. Castle is brought in as a suspect turned police assistant. By the end of the case Castle has found the subject for his next series of novels—a thinly veiled Beckett. Thanks to Castles friendship with the mayor, he gets to tag along with Beckett on future cases as he works the novel. The chemistry between Castle and Beckett (Stana Katic) is phenomenal. While is took a couple of episodes for Katic to hold her own opposite the tour de force that is Nathan Fillion, the show as been getting steadily better. The electric connection between the lead pair is not unique—Bones for one has the will they/wont they over the dead body as well. What is interesting about the pair is the fact that Beckett is known to be a fan of Castle’s work—though Castle has no idea just how much, and that affection is returned by Castle. The fact that this affection is, on some level, overt makes the relationship interesting, unique, and fun to watch. However, what makes Castle so enjoyable is the drastic difference between his besting selling author/playboy life style and his role as loving, doting father—interesting to the viewer and interesting to Beckett. Molly Quinn plays Castle’s daughter Alexis. Molly is the perpetual perfect child and student who Castle dotes on as well as encourages to lighten up. Quinn’s character is an excellent b-story foil to Castle. This show is well rounded, funny, and dramatic. When the plots stay away from the shows slight tendency for predictable stories, the show is a delightful way to cap off a Monday night.

New Shows to Me: The Big Bang Theory (Monday 9:30/8:30c CBS)

The Big Bang Theory (TBBT) is in its third season and from what I’ve gathered has been something of the little show that could. That was, of course, before Jim Parsons garnered an Emmy nomination for best actor in a comedy and the ratings this season began to shoot through the roof. I heard the buzz touting this show as one of the only intelligent shows aimed at people in their young 20s and I thought, “Hey I’m in my young 20s maybe I should check it out”. It’s been on the back-burner for a while especially after I saw the clips shown in the Emmy promos and shown during the actual ceremony—especially the Leonard Nimroy clip from “The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis”. I finally got around to checking the show out about two weeks ago and I actually gauffed out loud. The cast is lovely. I loved Johnny Galecki on Roseanne, Kaley Cucco on 8 Simple Rules, Simon Helberg in Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, and when the hilarious Jim Parsons and Kunal Nayyar are thrown in the result is a heart-warming, hilarious show about incomprehensible physicists struggling to understand the social world. TBBT is a refreshing show for many reasons but the chief among these is the fact that show is about intelligent people. When was the last time a sit com centered around main characters that hold Ph.D.s in theoretical physics, astro physics, or applied physics? Or Ph.D.s at all? Sure Ross had a Ph.D. on Friends but he rarely acted like it. The guys on this show speak a language all their own—not only strange sounding physics lingo but also debating the minutia of the comic book and video gaming world. The show is intelligent, heartwarming and definitely worth checking out.

New Shows to Me: How I Met Your Mother (Monday 8/7c CBS)

How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) has been on the air for years now, but I have only just crawled out from under the rock I apparently lived under to discover its hilarity. As soon as I finally got around to checking the show out, I fell in love. HIMYM has a refreshing catchy concept at the center, the familiarity of construct (including a laugh track), and a fantastic cast to recommend it. The refreshing method of telling the story from the future (in the voice of Bob Sagat no less) allows for hilariously fungible time lines—and what a great hook! Doesn’t everyone at some point ask how his or her parents met? While the show does come across as a bit of a Friends set in a bar, the concept of the show has at it center a drive that Friends and so many other sit coms lacked. The show is the story of a time when your friends are your family but it is also the story of the time when you’re ready to settle down but don’t have someone to settle down with. The character of Ted is endearing enough and Sagat’s voice over is funny enough that it makes the viewer really want to know how he meets the mother of his children. Finally, the awesome cast at the center of HIMYM. The cast includes two previously (relatively) unknowns such Josh Radnor as the central Ted, and Colbie Smolders as the perfect woman. The pair are delightful both together and separately. Each is at the center of some awesome story lines (for Ted see “The Pineapple Incident” and I’m partial to Robin in any of her turns as “Robin Sparkles” Canadian pop-star especially in “The Slap Bet” and “Sand Castles in the Sand”). Jason Segal is known from Freaks and Geeks and any number of other Judd Apatow projects. Segal plays Marshall who is a law student/lawyer and in a long-term committed relationship. Segal is the hilarious best friend to Ted and good-hearted foil to Barney. Segal has great story lines played with both heart and hilarity (see “The Duel” and “The Best Burger in New York”). The other half of Segal’s Marshall is Alyson Hannigan’s Lily. Hannigan is best known from her Buffy and American Pie days. Lily is the wannabe painter turned kindergarten teacher who is both hilarious and lovable as the gooey girlfriend and only real source of femininity in the show (for great Lily episodes see the B story in “Sweat Taste of Liberty” and “The Front Porch”). Last but most assuredly not least the one and only Neil Patrick Harris. NPH is the fantastically amusing, magic-trick performing, bro-code writing, catch phrase shouting, and man whorish Barney. There are no end of fantastic Barney episodes and the signs point to more great episodes to come (for great Barney episodes see “The Bracket”, “Zip, Zip, Zip”, “Game Night” and “Benefits”). The show is currently tying to find its way into a 5th season hook but the season is shaping up. Definitely go back to the season one because HIMYM is the kind of show that rewards its long-term viewers by inside jokes and past season references. The show is definitely worth checking out.

New Shows to Me

Lately more and more TV shows have broken their way into my weekly line-up. I’ve been watching more TV than ever before in my life. I’ve spent the early days of my grad school career trying to find ways to relax and entertainment news articles have been my solution. The result of reading about all these new shows and movies is that I want to check them out. Over the course of the semester I have found several new shows that I use my weekends to soak in. Over the next few days I’ll try and post a few thoughts on these shows for something non-school related.

Love Walked In/Belong to Me

Marisa De Los Santos has achieved something that has become so rare that it makes one want to shout from the roof top—“Hey, I’ve found it! Look!” De los Santos has successfully navigated the murky waters of the pejoratively named “chick lit” genre. In her first novel Love Walked In, de los Santos creates characters so warm and real that is nothing short of a refreshing delight to meet them again in her powerful sequel Belong to Me.

LOVE WALKED IN

My life – my real life – started when a man walked into it, a handsome stranger in a perfectly cut suit and, yes, I know how that sounds. Or I know how it might sound, to the kind of person I used to be, one who spent her days skirting around the edges of adulthood, commitment, responsibility, accomplishment – whatever word you use to describe diving into the deepest part of being human. Take your pick; they’re all woefully inadequate, but they’re also all we have. –Love Walked In, page 287.

Cornelia and Clare are the lovable and surprisingly—even tenderly—real pair at the center of Love Walked In. Cornelia is a modern woman who is successfully filtered through the lens of reality and, thankfully, is nothing like the Sex and the City image that movies and television lead viewers to believe are everyday people. Cornelia is a college educated woman who took a detour after one semester of graduate school. When the reader meets Cornelia, she is contentedly managing a coffee shop in Philadelphia. She is not stuck so much as waiting until she finds a career path she loves. She is navigating the city and enjoying life—and classic movies—when Martin Grace enters her life. He is a dreamishly handsome, successful businessman who, of course, takes and instant liking to Cornelia. He is, in appearances, everything that she would have if she could design her ideal man—right down to the striking resemblance to Cary Grant. However, Martin and Cornelia don’t quite click that way that Cary Grant always seems to in the movies. When his daughter Clare enters the scene everything changes drastically, leading to a love story (or two) of a whole other kind. 11-year-old Clare is going through a life crisis that people beyond her years are beyond the means to cope with. She enters Cornelia’s life and takes her by storm. The relationship is not always easy but is quite real. In the process of trying to help Clare, Cornelia finds some of the pieces—and people—missing from her life.

Love Walked In is not revolutionary. The book brings little actual substance to the table—other than—quite often—beautiful prose and real characters. For years the book has sat on my shelf, I did not rave about it—though I loved it. In fact I rarely ever mentioned it except when someone asked for a light reading recommendation. There are some poignant lines and phrase throughout the book that I have added to my list of quotes, but it wasn’t until I finished de los Santos’ second novel that I found the revolutionary qualities of the central characters.

BELONG TO ME

It seemed impossible that you could stand in a kitchen making hot chocolate and grilled-cheese sandwiches with your best friend dying in the next room, the voices of her children tangled up with the voices of your own, that you could butter bread and watch, through the window, the trees relinquishing their leaves and hear the silvery tumble of water into a kettle, and be suddenly aware that what resided at the heart of every shape and sound was peace. A rightness hovering above all that was wrong, shimmering, like heat rising from a street in summer.

--Belong To Me, page 85

Belong to Me is novel of an entirely different sort. While Love Walked In has elements of real life among the two central love stories, Belong to Me is, in many ways, entirely about real life and the unexpected, unwanted obstacles that fall into our lives.

Cornelia has now been transplanted from the urban life, to the suburbs. Far from the picturesque, Rockwellian life she had imagined, Cornelia is faced with navigating through the social circles strictly controlled by Piper—who, of course, takes an instant disliking to Cornelia. However, Piper is not all that she seems. Piper is dealing with a dying best friend and a swiftly imploding marriage. The reader will soon realize that Piper needs a friend just as much as Cornelia does. Then there is Dev the precociously intellectual 13-year-old boy who is trying to navigate the waters of a sudden, and unexplained, cross-country move. Though the Hitchcock-style twist can be spotted from miles away, so gifted was the story and the prose that I was all but screaming, simultaneously, “No, No, No” and “Yes, Yes, Yes” as I began to see the plot twisting.

Belong to Me was a rare novel in a genre filled to brim with clichés. Further to the beautiful prose, when I finished the book, I simply stopped. The book made me think--about nothing and everything all in the same moment. Marisa de los Santos has achieved with this novel that moves the reader to tears, laughter, and thought in equal measure.

Thoughts on HP & the Half-Blood Prince

Since midnight on July 15 it has been clear that people around that world have been eagerly awaiting an update in the Harry Potter saga. The fact that nearly everyone in the theatre already knows what is about to happen doesn’t seem to matter much. The movie pulled in the largest ever midnight showing box-office revenues and smashed through the opening weekend coming out, unsurprisingly, on top. Little if any of this was unsuspected. What was unsuspected was the vast difference between critical reviews and Potter fan reviews. The critics loved the film and Rowling book lovers, in large part, were not impressed. The problem, I think, lies in the fact that avid Potter readers walk into the theater and expect to see every plot point covered in the 652 page book portrayed on screen—in less than two and a half hours. It’s simply not possible.

Adapting a novel for the screen is about choosing what has to be left in, what has to be taken out, and what the story needs to fill the holes. I say this as someone who has never thought about adapting a novel for any reason let alone to add movie to the most successful movie franchise in Hollywood history. The point is however, The Half-Blood Prince is the most…internal, if you will, of the books in the saga. Large parts of the action in the book happen inside Harry’s Head. Harry struggling with his emotions towards Ginny, Harry’s curiosity about the actions of Malfoy, and Harry’s struggle to put the pieces of Dumbledore (or more accurately Voldemort’s) tale together. It’s difficult to portray all of these things without a drastic departure from the rest of the movie series. All that to say that I think Steve Kloves did a decent job considering the type of story with which he was working. But most of all, Potter fans should know by now that the films and books are two very different species and expectations from one should not be carried over to the other—it’s simply unfair.

Stepping away from the book, this movie is the best in the Potter series by far. In fact, I’d even go so far as to say that this movie, without it’s potter support, is stand alone a well crafted and entertaining movie. The series has grown and the actors have certainly matured from the days when Christopher Columbus was at the helm, but that’s to be expected as they are some 10 years older. Excellent portrayals are to be seen from all sides and Rupert Grint and Tom Felton turn in their best performances to date showing that they have been drastically underused in previous installments.

In past movies, Grint has done little more than whimper at appropriate times (when confronted with spiders, crashing a car, the idea of Sirius Black, the mention of You-Know-Who’s proper name, Vampires, Bad Dress Robes, and so on). In this movie, Grint is finally given the chance to act. One of the most comic scenes in any of the seven books was brought to life beautifully—and hilariously—by Grint. On the Quiddich field, drugged by love potion, and suffering from an over attached girlfriend, Grint shows that he has comedy chops that could lead to a career outside of Hogwarts.

For the past two movies, Felton has shown up only to remind the viewers that life at Hogwarts comes with a few warts. In this movie, through clever script manipulation, Felton as Malfoy plays the chosen one opposite Harry Potter. Draco Malfoy struggles with the task he has been chosen for by the dark side. Felton gives more than his usual sneers in this film, he is allowed to stretch, allowed to grow and due to this shows that he has range as an actor. Felton’s portrayal of the struggling adolescent makes the viewer both despise Malfoy and pity him for the role he is struggling to fulfill.

Then there are Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson who turn in their usual high-quality performances. Watson is heartbreaking to watch as she portrays heartbreak and Radcliffe takes comedic scenes and shows that it is no mistake that he is at the center of this mega hit.

There are also the usual stellar British actors that provide sterling support for the young cast. Most of note in this film are Jim Broadbent who brings Professor Slughorn hilariously to life and Alan Rickman who makes it clear that there is no one else worthy enough to play Harry’s chief Hogwart’s foe.

All in all, taking the film for what it is—a movie dependent on literary fans for success—the film is very good. It may never make the ranks of the best films of all time but it is what it is: a blockbuster—and a very worthy one at that.