1st Half 2008 – The Year So Far

Six months have gone by, so I figured it was as good as time as any to state my case for the best (and worst) of the year so far.

Movies
I haven’t seen a ton of movies so far this year, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by several of them. As opposed to my year-end best of movie, where I pick my best/favorite movies that were released in that year, this is a list of the best and worst movies I’ve seen this year no matter when they were released. These are ranked kind of randomly, since they’re a cross section of years.

The Visitor. This movie was an absolute delight from beginning to end. It’s written and directed by Thomas McCarthy, who also did the great The Station Agent in 2003. (He’s also an actor who has had bit parts in a lot of different movies and TV shows, but I know him best as Scott Templeton, the weasly Baltimore Sun reporter from The Wire.) McCarthy’s genius (in both of his films) is that he writes wonderful characters and then simply puts them into a situation and sees what happens. The story centers around Walter Vale, a tenured professor who is basically sleepwalking through life until he stumbles across an immigrant couple living in his New York City apartment. For reasons that Walter doesn’t even understand, he allows them to stay, and he strikes up a friendship with the male squatter, Tarek. The film deals not only with this relationship, but also tackles the themes of immigration, our post-9/11 world, and how it’s never too late in our lives to find out who we really are – and what we’re really capable of. Character actor Richard Jenkins is magnificent as Walter. I did not want this movie to end -- and that's the highest compliment I could give.

Recount. A behind-the-scenes look at the 2000 Presidential Election Recount from both sides of the aisles. Great performances by Tom Wilkinson, Denis Leary, and Kevin Spacey, plus a tour-de-force from Laura Dern as Katherine Harris. This was on HBO, but easily could have been a theatrical release.

Into the Wild. Sean Penn’s story of Christopher McCandless and his post-college journey to find himself, which ultimately leads to a disastrous trip to Alaska. I loved Jon Krakauer’s book by the same name, and this movie does a great job of getting across that urge to do more that is in all of us – but an urge that very few people ever really act on.

The Orphanage. I mentioned this movie in a prior blog, so I won’t go into it much here. It still creeps me out a bit when I think about it.

The Savages. I’m not sure how to describe The Savages. It’s funny, but it’s not entirely a comedy. It’s sad and tragic at times, but not entirely a drama. The two main characters, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney, are siblings who must find a way to take care of their father, who is suffering from dementia, after his live-in girlfriend dies and he has no place to stay. The script walks a tightrope between tender and cruel, funny and bittersweet. Everyone in this family is messed up in more ways than one, and I like the fact that it doesn’t try to portray anyone as the hero or the villain; the good guy or the bad one. We’re all a bit flawed, but we all try to do the best we can. And often times whatever we need to do to get through the day. Easily is in my top 5 of 2007 films.

The Worst: The Number 23. Oh how I detested this movie. I’m not even sure why I kept watching. It’s the story of a man, played by Jim Carrey, who gets a book called “The Number 23” for his birthday, and as he reads it he starts to think about how it’s all about his life. “23” refers to the fact that the number is found ALL OVER; not only in his life (he was born Feb. 3), but everywhere in the world (the human body has 46 chromosomes, or 23 from each parent; Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times; 9/11/2001 can be rewritten as 9+11+2+1=23; etc). The entire premise is ridiculous (you could add up 9/11/2001 so you get 14, 41, or 32 as well. But wait, 32 is the inverse of 23! A-ha!) If this asinine premise wasn’t bad enough, the movie then starts to show plot from the book he’s reading with ridiculously filmed “flashbacks”, and builds to a supposedly cliff-hanger of “who wrote the book…and who is out trying to get him?” By the end I wasn’t even rolling my eyes – I was close to gouging them out.

Books
I’ve read 10 books so far in 2008 – but I’ve slowed down a ton since March, when I had a lot more time on my hands. Since it’s only 10, I figured I’d give my 2-minute review of each, in the order I read them.

A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini. I didn’t think this follow up to The Kite Runner was as good, but it was still a great read. I’m glad Hosseini branched out to have 2 female lead characters, and to show the atrocities women had to live through in the Taliban-led Afghanistan. Grade: B+.

On Chesil Beach, by Ian McEwan. A short novella about a couple on their wedding night in England in the early 1950’s. McEwan is a master at setting mood and tone, and this is no different. It also showcases one of McEwan’s other talents, which is to show how one seemingly innocuous word, phrase or action can be misinterpreted and cause irreparable harm. Grade: B+

Black Swan Green, by David Mitchell. This story takes place during one year in a teenager’s life in England in 1982. It’s hard to explain what happens, as it really is just a series of happenings. But oh, what great, fun happenings he has. He’s not popular, not terribly smart, and not really paid attention to at home. Pretty much like every teenager. Grade: A-

No Country for Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy. What a great read, just as good, if not better, than the Coen Brother’s movie. Might have gone on a tad too long at the end. Grade: A-

The Last Templar, by Raymond Khoury. Another in a long line of Da Vinci code wanna-bes, The Last Templar starts off great, with a robbery at the Met in NYC by Templar Knights on horseback. In fact, this book is great right up until the last 50-75 pages or so. Then it completely veers off track, the character’s decisions make no sense any more, and the ending is complete nonsense. But I give it some props for the first 3/4’s. Grade: B-

How to Shit in the Woods, by Kathleen Meyer. I thought this sounded like a great, funny book, about people’s misadventures while trying to take care of nature’s business when not even an outhouse can be found. Instead it’s about 5 pages of funny stories and 95 pages of “Leave No Trace” principles. You can read those online. Waste of time. Grade: D

Toast, by Nigel Slater. This memoir by one of England’s best known food critics is hard to read at times. Slater takes the angle of how foods can bring back specific memories from our childhood, but it also relates his not-so-good childhood. Enjoyable nonetheless. Grade: B+

Treasure, by Clive Cussler. I read this many many years ago in my youth, and wanted something for our trip last March to Arizona that was mindless and I didn’t have to think about too much. This fit the bill perfectly. Grade: C

Snow Angels, by Stewart O’Nan. See here for review. Grade: A-

A Prayer for the Dying, by Stewart O’Nan. Sage had grabbed this one at the library, so I figured I’d read it right-quick before she returned it. Another good story, this one about a small town in the Upper Midwest in the years after the Civil War that goes through a diphtheria outbreak, and the sheriff/pastor/undertaker (yes, it’s all one person) who must deal with the situation. Grade: B

Music
Not a whole lot new stuff that’s appealed too much to me this year.

Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend. I absolutely love this album by the New York City based band. It’s all African based music, but it has such a catchy giddiness to it that it always puts me in a great mood when I hear it.

Real Emotional Trash, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks. The former Pavement frontman returns with his latest solo album, and crushes everything that gets into its path. As it should.

The Virgins, The Virgins. If The Strokes and The White Stripes had a child, they would beget, ironically enough, The Virgins. This NYC band plays simple rock songs, straightforward and with emotion. What more could you want.

2008 Predictions
Halfway through the year, and my Kreskin skills are sorely lacking.

1. The Patriots will win the Super Bowl and finish 19-0.
INCORRECT.

2. Arsenal will win the Premiership.
INCORRECT.

3. Fidel Castro will die.
Fingers crossed!

4. Hillary Clinton will win the Democratic Nomination for President.
INCORRECT.

5. Jim Rice will be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
INCORRECT.

6. Javier Bardem will win Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
CORRECT.

7. Julie Christie will win Best Actress Oscar.
INCORRECT.

8. Daniel Day-Lewis will win Best Actor Oscar.
CORRECT.

9. Cate Blanchett will win Best Supporting Actress Oscar.
INCORRECT.

10. The Red Sox will win the World Series again in 2008.
Double fingers crossed!

11. The Red Sox will have 2 20-game winners on their pitching staff.
Uh, what was I smoking when I said this? We’ll be lucky to have 2 15 game winners.

12. Manchester United will win the Champions League.
CORRECT, but only the heels of John Terry’s missed PK for Chelsea.

13. China will win the most medals at the Beijing Olympics.
To come.

14. John McCain will win the NH primary.
CORRECT.

15. Tiger Woods will win 2 majors.
INCORRECT, assuming that he doesn’t make some other miracle comeback for the PGA Championship. That win at the US Open was amazing to see, but he obviously killed his knee to do it. I think I should get partial credit, though.

So that’s 4 correct, 7 incorrect, and 4 to be determined. I need to sweep those last ones to get above .500.