Book and Movie Reports by Ed

::spoilers ahead:: Okay, so I finally got up the courage to watch "Fear the Walking Dead" last night. I really liked it. It's not The Walking Dead or 28 Days Later. It's like a meta of those. There's a suspense and a tension that I really liked. These people have no idea of the hell that their handbasket is headed for, but WE do, and everything that we see them do is seen with the knowledge that the shit is truly about to hit the fan. I think the show's creators/writers are actually really clever about how they're exploiting this situation, with us knowing what's coming the whole way. It reminds me of what Hitchcock said about the difference between thrills and suspense. Imagine a scene where 2 guys enter a room, talk about baseball for 5 minutes, and then boom! -- a bomb explodes, killing one or both of them. It's a shock. It's a surprise. It's a thrill. Now change that scene in one way: we see the bomber setting the bomb for 5 min

Movie report: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 “The Dark Knight Returns” is probably my favorite Batman story of all time. The four-issue 1986 graphic novel by Frank Miller and Klaus Jonson contains not only terrific lines (“This would be a good death. But not good enough.”), but some of the most striking images ever. Part 1 of this story was turned into an animated film in 2012, and why it’s taken me so long to see it, I have no idea. The animated film is terrific, totally faithful to the original, but making it all more real. The premise of the story is that Batman has been retired for ten years, partly due, we learn, to the death of the second Robin, Jason Todd. The now 55-year-old Bruce Wayne has been trying to channel his energies into  the rehabilitation of villains like Two-Face and Joker, as well as indulging in ultra-macho, near-suicidal hobbies such as racing Formula One cars out of which he has ripped the safety equipment. In those ten years, Gotham City has

Movie report: The Monuments Men There are good movies and there are bad movies. And then there are movies that make you want to re-write and re-shoot the entire thing. “The Monuments Men” is one of those movies. On paper, this movie must have looked like a sure-fire hit. During the chaos and destruction of World War 2 in Europe, a bunch of guys are trying to save precious works of art that the Nazis are systematically looting or destroying. Great premise, right? It’s like a reverse caper film. Plus, it has Nazis! Not only that, it has a terrific cast: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, and Cate Blanchett! And it has terrific big production values. Lots of battle scenes. Big armies. Tanks. Explosions. Everything you look for in a war movie. But, my gosh, the writing is awful. Nonsensical. Vague. Cryptic. Huh-inducing. And the directing. Jeez. Scenes don’t really end. They just sort of meander around and get lost. There’s one scene where two

movie report: Much Ado about Nothing (2012) If you don’t like Shakespeare, this might be the movie for you. If you do like Shakespeare, it definitely is. I heard about this movie when it first came out, but missed it in the theaters. What got my attention was that it was directed by Joss Whedon, who also directed some of my favorite movies and TV shows, including Firefly, Serenity, and The Avengers. Apparently, Whedon grabbed a bunch of his actor friends and shot the whole movie in 12 days. It’s modern dress, modern setting (his own large, but not a mansion, house), and modern acting. And it’s awfully funny. You’ll spot lots of actors you’ve seen in other recent things, including Amy Acker (Person of Interest), Nathan Fillion and Sean Maher (Firefly and Serenity), Clark Gregg (Avengers), and Riki Lindhome (Big Bang Theory). There are 3 intertwined stories. There’s recently been a civil war between two brother princes: Don Pedro won, Don John lost, and both are now guests of

movie report: I Am Number Four (2011) I aimed to see this movie when it came out, for these reasons: • From the trailer, it looked like people had super powers. • It has a number in the title, upping its geek score. • The number in the title might actually be a character’s name, like Seven of Nine, which pushes its geek score into the stratosphere. But I didn’t, because it didn’t last too long in theaters because of terrible reviews. I watched it on DVD, and right off the bat, it started doing things I don’t like in movies, such as: • Introducing someone I thought was the main character, then killing him off within 5 minutes. • Dark and murky scenes where I can’t tell who’s who and what’s going on. • Characters talk soft and mumbly: can’t understand what they’re saying. • Confusion about who the good guys and bad guys are. • Introduction of 3 young good-looking carefree guys riding on jet skis on the ocean: I do not want to sit through a 2-hour Pepsi commercial.

Art report: Watercolors by John Singer Sargent Last night, I saw the John Singer Sargent watercolors exhibit at the MFA. Wow. Painting with watercolors is something like trying to sign a check with a wet mop. It’s amazing if it can be done at all, never mind done superbly, as he does. I knew Sargent mostly from his portraits, of course. Some beautiful painting there, but what always impressed me was seeing a real human being looking back at me out of the canvas. (One of my favorites: "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit", http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/The_Daughters_of_Edward_Darley_Boit,_John_Singer_Sargent,_1882_(unfree_frame_crop).jpg ) But I had no idea the guy could paint like this. When I entered the first gallery – scenes of the canals of Venice – my jaw literally dropped. “These are *watercolors*?” I asked myself, thinking maybe they were actually oil paintings tossed in to soften us up. Then I read the description card: watercolor. I lean