A Heap of Reviews for the New Year

Wow, I haven't posted anything since last year. Well, November is a really long time ago. So, I have read a couple of books and saw a heap of moves that I will tackle in this here little post. Ok, so maybe it won't be so little. But enough of the explaining, lets get to reviewing.

Pope Joan. This little novel is by Donna Woolfolk Cross. It is based on the legend of Pope Joan, a woman, disguised as a man of course, who became Pope and ruled from St. Peter's throne for two years. Apparently there have been numerous references to Pope Joan in different historical writings. The Roman See, perhaps not surprisingly, denies that a woman ever became pope. Regardless Pope Joan is a great story. Cross tells it very well and managed to keep me enthralled from beginning to end. It also managed to get me interested in the legend itself. I always say a good book is one that makes you want to read more! Last Words: Read it!

Memiors of a Geisha. This novel is of course by Arthur Golden. I had read the book many moons ago. I remember thouroughly enjoying the book, but that's about it. A lot of the details escaped me. I watched the movie (see review below, duh) and needed ro reread the book. Mr. Golden tells a glorious tale. Better than the movie (again, see below). It is so rich in detail that I am surprised I could not remember more. There's plenty of drama and plenty of laughter. Last Words: Read it ... and if you haven't read it in awhile, read it again!

Walk the Line. I love Johnny Cash. How can you not really? I was a bit skeptical about Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon stepping into the shoes of Mr. and Mrs. Cash, especially when I heard that they did their own singing. But, they did a marvelous job. In fact, the whole picture is great. Better in fact, than Ray. That's right, I said it. Better than Ray. Ok, I guess I am not the first to say that. This is one of those biopics that makes you want to gather up everything about the person that you can. In this case, I am talking the music of course. And not the just Johnny's music, by June Carter Cash's music as well. Last Words: Watch it. You love it if you like Ray.

Memoirs of a Geisha (the movie). See, I told you I watched the movie. Now, this movie was not utterly spectacular, but it was pretty good. It strayed quite a ways from the book (not a surprise, really). But I mean quite a ways. Gone is the tipsy house and little Chiyo's hopes of being adopted. Gone is New York. But there is a lot that it is there. The ladies in the main roles are all fabulous actresses, Gong Li especially. She, not being able to speak English, learned all her lines phonetically and still managed to be the most convincing of them. The movie is also visually beautiful. Last Words: Watch, but don't expect the novel!

Brokeback Mountain. So good I watched it twice. This is way more than a "gay cowboy movie". This is a love story. A tortured love story at that. It is heartbreaking. Who knew Health Ledger could act so well? Who knew Ang Lee could direct so well? Okay, that's a low blow, we should all just pretend The Hulk was never made. Everything about this movie is just right. It is nicely done, just a tad understated and one really connects with the characters. Last Words: Watch it. Just watch it.

Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and Wardrobe. This here movie is great for the little ones. They'll love of it. For you adults out there, especially fans of C.S. Lewis's books, you might not enjoy it so much. It tries really hard to be The Lord of the Rings. So much so that when you go to the website, you are greeted by Andrew Adamson (LOTR's site has greetings from Jackson and Crew). Adamson is no Jackson. I will say the movie was fun to watch in a full theater with lots of college students. And it certainly wasn't boring. Last Words: watch and just maybe watch it at the theater for that big screen experience.

Zathura. This is another great movie for the kiddies. This is based on the book by the same guy who wrote Jumanji and The Polar Express. John Favreau directs, and directs the heck out of it. He got some good performances out of the kids and even Dax Shepard. A critic suggested that Favreau stick to these types of movies, given his success with the highly entertaining Elf. Zathura, I think is better than Jumanji. Much more imaginative and better done. Last Words: watch it on DVD, since that is probably the only place you will be able to find it soon.

King Kong. Ahhhh, Peter Jackson, how did we live so long with out you? King Kong is amazing. The special effects kick the butt of LOTR's special effects. Andy Serkis is better as Kong that he was a Gollum. Naomi Watts is marvelous as Ann Darrow, conveying so much with so few words (not unlike a certain Mr. Ledger). It is long, but I hardly noticed the three hours. No, really, the move is that good. There's big scary bugs, big scary dinosuars, big scary Jack Blacks (he's really the weakest part of the flick. I am really quite surprised Kong didn't dominate the box office. Last Words: Go watch it people!

The Producers. Now, normally, anything that has Mel Brooks's stamp on it is utterly hilarious. I am a big fan of the original Producers and I never got to see the broadway version. While this movie does not match the hilarity of the original, it is still pretty darn funny. There were a couple of moments where I didn't think I would be able to supress my giggles. Apparently lots of the Broadway cast are in the picture, with the exception of Uma Thurman and Will Ferrell. Both are great. Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane are great too. They have great chemistry. My two biggest complaints may be 1) the direction (the director needs a little more big screen practice, it was very theatery) and 2) Broderick was sometimes a bit too over the top. That works well on stage where a live audience is responding, but not so much on screen. Last Words: watch, but wait for it to hit DVD/Video.

Fun with Dick and Jane. Jim Carrey is usually fun. Tea Leoni is usually fun. This movie starts out really fun. But then it just gets kind of eh. It was entertaining enough, but not hilarious. The son of Dick and Jane is probably the most entertaining character of all. Last Words: if you want to see it, wait for to come out on DVD/Video.

Whew. that's it. For now.