Today, I thought I would give you a pair of short posts on a book and a DVD. And, why not back back up a day and check out Laura Kaye's guest post and if you are here before 2/15, 11:59 PM enter the awesome giveaways.
The Book:
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| PYR © Dave Seeley (www.daveseeley.com) |
Diving Series Number 3
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
PYR January 2012
DNF
Disclosure: Received from publisher. No Remuneration was exchanged.
Disclosure: Received from publisher. No Remuneration was exchanged.
I really like what PYR is doing and their entire staff is on the ball producing and effectively marketing new speculative fiction. Even if the book is not for me I admire the quality of the product.
But this is the third entry in a series I had neither heard about nor read. I don't do much with Science Fiction, but when I don't understand what's happening because there is unexplained technical backstory. In 27 pages all I learned is there is a ship of people who got lost in time and are trying to figure out what happened to their friends and family. But, I don't get why the anacapa or stealth technology is flawed or at fault or what it is. Is it on the ships, the planets? There are layers of technology and series history that make it impossible for me to get interested in the book.
But this is the third entry in a series I had neither heard about nor read. I don't do much with Science Fiction, but when I don't understand what's happening because there is unexplained technical backstory. In 27 pages all I learned is there is a ship of people who got lost in time and are trying to figure out what happened to their friends and family. But, I don't get why the anacapa or stealth technology is flawed or at fault or what it is. Is it on the ships, the planets? There are layers of technology and series history that make it impossible for me to get interested in the book.
Otherwise those 27 pages have seen nothing much happen except a bit of information dumping and a guy deciding to check out the dangerous ruins of a base. But, the writing is descriptive and gives the beings, who 'm not sure are human, humanity. If I had read the first two books in the series I may have gotten caught up in the story, but not having done so made it a chore.
The Movie:
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| Crazy Heart (Image via RottenTomatoes.com) |
Crazy Heart
Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhall, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall
Screeplay and Director: Scott Cooper
Book: Thomas Cobb
Production: Fox Searchlight Pictures, Informant Media, Butcher's Run Films More
Book: Thomas Cobb
Production: Fox Searchlight Pictures, Informant Media, Butcher's Run Films More
A faded country music musician is forced to reassess his dysfunctional life during a doomed romance that also inspires him.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1263670/
This film won an Academy Award for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song for The Weary Kind and Jeff Bridges was awarded Best Actor.
I thought the music was okay. Compared to much of what's on the market these days it was genius. I don't know that I have seen Jeff Bridges in more than a few characters: The gruff drunk or screw up we see here and in The Big Lebowski, the villain from TRON, and the smart but clueless professor/spaceguy from Tron, Spaceman and The Mirror has two faces.
But, he was believable as the sad screwed-up whose alcoholism and lifestyle, as the song says, of never meaning to hurt anyone but having to have his fun is catching up with him.
The relationship between his hard-drinking, heavy smoking country singer and Maggie Gyllenhall's much younger music reporter is completely unbelievable as either a one-night stand or longer term. But she does a nice job with it. Their scenes felt unscripted.
The music was pretty good, although there seemed to be a lot of slide. My husband says that folksy fitting of the words to the melody is part of the country music genre. While I don't know if Bridges has been musical his whole life I do think he did a good job here. Bridges seems to have kept up with making music since. Robert Duvall did a wonderful job as his buddy. And Colin Farrell took a really small role here which he really nailed. I couldn't tell if he was genuine in his gentle respect or if he was playing the old musician.
I can see where the Hollywood culture would have awarded this an Oscar as it deals with what happens to so many performing artists when booze, drugs, privileged fame catches up to them. It was a sympathetic role for performance art.
It was two hours of good performances with nice music and a story of redemption.
I thought the music was okay. Compared to much of what's on the market these days it was genius. I don't know that I have seen Jeff Bridges in more than a few characters: The gruff drunk or screw up we see here and in The Big Lebowski, the villain from TRON, and the smart but clueless professor/spaceguy from Tron, Spaceman and The Mirror has two faces.
But, he was believable as the sad screwed-up whose alcoholism and lifestyle, as the song says, of never meaning to hurt anyone but having to have his fun is catching up with him.
The relationship between his hard-drinking, heavy smoking country singer and Maggie Gyllenhall's much younger music reporter is completely unbelievable as either a one-night stand or longer term. But she does a nice job with it. Their scenes felt unscripted.
The music was pretty good, although there seemed to be a lot of slide. My husband says that folksy fitting of the words to the melody is part of the country music genre. While I don't know if Bridges has been musical his whole life I do think he did a good job here. Bridges seems to have kept up with making music since. Robert Duvall did a wonderful job as his buddy. And Colin Farrell took a really small role here which he really nailed. I couldn't tell if he was genuine in his gentle respect or if he was playing the old musician.
I can see where the Hollywood culture would have awarded this an Oscar as it deals with what happens to so many performing artists when booze, drugs, privileged fame catches up to them. It was a sympathetic role for performance art.
It was two hours of good performances with nice music and a story of redemption.
