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Review of David Sedaris' "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim"

9/23/2010

I just finished reading "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim" by David Sedaris.

Sara gave me this book because she had two copies, and I was immediately interested in reading about someone else's dysfunctional family. It's individual stories about David Sedaris' family and their crazy shenanigans.

The beginning few stories were not as funny as I had hoped, but by the end I was cracking up. At times I felt bad for laughing at certain moments that might have been sad or uncomfortable, but Sedaris just has such a great way of writing humorously.

I sometimes wish my life was as interesting enough to write about, but not the kind of interesting that Sedaris' life was. I don't know how I would particularly react if I had a close relation that wrote about me in a not-always-so-good light.

I liked the book, but I kind of hate that I liked the book. I feel that a lot of this shouldn't have been funny but was.

Let's put it this way, I wish David Sedaris would write fiction. He really has a way with words that I enjoy and he is a very good humorist. Writing humor is hard, and he has the knack. I will probably read another book by him, but I'm in no real rush to do so. Out of 5 stars, I would give it a solid 3... I could take it or leave it.

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"Flipped" Movie Review

9/14/2010

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I just went to see Flipped with a friend of mine. I had no idea what it was about except for the little he told me. This is what I have to say about the movie:

If you have a margarita and then go to the super early matinée of this movie when the theatre is completely empty, it is really easy to make side comments the whole way through... which we did. The movie wasn't bad, but tequila makes everything a little funnier. So my actual thoughts on the movie without the bias of alcohol? It was a total surprise. Maybe I've become so desensitized everything in movies these days, but this was a good family film. There is a little swearing, but really that's it. I was expecting more drama and more sex and more action. Nope. It was a good family film. I'm not disappointed that those things weren't in the movie, in fact, it made me rethink the movies I've seen recently. I was a little disappointed in how quickly the ending came around, like Rob Reiner got bored and decided to end the movie early.

Overall, I would give this movie 3.5 stars out of 5. Don't think I would see it in theatres, but it's good to watch. I also don't think I'd own it.

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"Interstate 60" Movie Review

9/13/2010

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Netflix is a dangerous thing. When you rate movies, Netflix recommends movies to you based on your ratings. Maybe I've just rated enough movies, but the recommendations are usually very good. One such movie that just popped up was a James Marsden movie from 2002 (?) called Interstate 60.

I can't believe I hadn't heard of this before! I don't really know how to describe it. It's like a modern day fairy tale. I really like mythology, and that's what got my attention. It starts out with two guys talking at a bar about the lack of mythical beings in American myths. Then another guy joins the conversation saying that this isn't true, America is just too young for these beings to have gotten around enough for people to know about them.

James Marsden's character is living in his father's shadow and just wants an answer to his life. Gary Oldman plays O. W. Grant (One Wish Grant) and he hears Marsden's wish for an answer. Marsden gets sent to deliver a package across the country on Interstate 60, a fictional highway.

I really love how this movie makes you think and question what you think you know about things. It's funny and entertaining, it's original and creative. It's just a good movie. I can't believe I hadn't heard of it.

This is definitely going to be added to my DVD collection!

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Review of Audrey Niffenegger's "The Time Traveler's Wife"

9/12/2010

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I didn't actually finish the book, but I read quite a bit of "The Time Traveler's Wife". You see, the book didn't belong to me so I had to return it before I leave the state.

My thoughts on this book:

It was hard to get into. The "chapter" set up is rather odd. I don't do well with numbers and there are a lot of dates and age comparisons and changes. I found myself completely ignoring how old people were during whatever year and I think that took away from the story. I like the family holiday part, that seemed like the most "real" part of the book. I don't know what it was, I just couldn't get into it. I had no motivation to see where this ends up. I mean, the title is "The Time Traveler's Wife" so we know they get married, but it takes them half the book to do so. It's no big surprise. The only really surprising parts of this book are when you find out about Henry's life. I didn't find him to be a very sympathetic character so it wasn't enough to make me want to read more. Generally my rule is: if a book doesn't catch you by the time you finish the first third, it's not really going to get much better. I gave this book well over it's "third" and... well, I'm giving up on it. Sorry to all the people who loved the book, but those are just my thoughts. But don't take my word for it! Find out for yourself, and check it out at your local library!

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Review of David Sedaris' "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim"

"Flipped" Movie Review

"Interstate 60" Movie Review

Review of Audrey Niffenegger's "The Time Traveler's Wife"

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