Quantum of Solace

I saw Quantum of Solace a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it more than Casino Royale. There, I said it. Perhaps, it was the big screen rather than DVD viewing experience or the excitement of a jam-packed theatre, but I think the reviews Quantum has been receiving are a little harsh. It may not use the lighter tone of previous 007 movies but from what I understand, the whole idea behind the Daniel Craig incarnation of the character was to reboot the franchise. Bond is vengeful and serious but the film has moments of levity (several courtesy of Judi Dench) and features at least one neat gadget (a table that knows everything). The plot isn't very comprehensible but that's not much of a change. Maybe your chances of enjoyment are greater if, like me, you aren't a huge Bond fan because no specific expectations need to be met. On the whole, Quantum of Solace is a decent action film. One criticism I heard more than once does hit the mark though: the editing is often too frenetic. Fast cutting makes the opening car-chase sequence nearly impossible to keep up with and grows tiresome quickly. Points to Casino Royale on this score. Its free running opening was super cool.

The Roundup Lists. Already

The NY Times Book Review's 100 Notable Books of 2008 can be found here. As I have read exactly zero of these titles, the point that I almost never read anything based on the currency of publication is now excruciatingly obvious.

Trailer Watch

Slumdog Millionaire - Because I'm a sucker for TIFF People's Choice Award winners.

The Class - Want to know what it's like to teach high school in France? Here's your chance to find out.

Nights and Weekends - Minutiae is fascinating. Small-scale love stories, equally so.

JCVD - Lots of talk about Jean-Claude Van Damme as he's never been seen before. One thing's for sure: the film is nice to look at.

Since the Weekend

The L.A. Times reported on an increase in visitors to a town called Forks. All due to a little book series by Stephenie Meyer. Though I haven't read any of the Twilight titles and vampire-tourism seems a little hardcore, I can understand the appeal of trying to match up imagined locales with real-life counterparts. Tour of the Wonka factory? Um, yes please.

Pop & Hiss related a caution to musicians about licensing their music to films and television.

Reading Copy linked to this video of choreographed bookcart dancing featuring a group of librarians. Best thing about it: the token guy in the troupe. Spot-on library demographics.

I learned that Woodhands is tour-blogging for NOW Magazine. Nice.

I Love Morrissey's Verbosity, For Real

Is it wrong that I'm looking more forward to the title of Morrissey's upcoming memoir than to his actual recollections? I'm sure the tales will be interesting but the revelation of the number of words that can be shoehorned onto the book's cover should be nothing short of glorious. Can't you just see it now: These are Precious Words that Need to Reach the Light of Day or After the S: My Life Beyond the Pluralized Version of the Most Common Surname in the World or Heaven Helped This Miserable Bigmouth to Get a Thorn In His Side That Made Him Into a Charming Man. Anticipating to the max!

Revolutionary Road

I finished Richard Yates' Revolutionary Road awhile ago which would normally be an impediment to my recalling much of anything about the book. That I remember it enough to write something tonight is a testament to the enduring strength of the material. The story tracks the increasingly strained relationship of the Wheelers, a young, married couple living the dream in 1950s Connecticut, but secretly believing themselves superior to their environment and suffering in its blandness. Suburban malaise might seem an easy target now, but you can imagine it was a fresh and surprising theme when the book appeared in 1961. Frank has married a beautiful girl, April, created the perfectly balanced family (one girl, one boy) and settled into a low-stakes business job in the city. But he's not satisfied and neither is his wife. As Frank struggles to understand the enigmatic April, his perceptions of her stifle all but the odd glimpse of the actual woman sharing his home. His narrative grip on the unfolding story mirrors for the reader the suffocation that she feels. Yet, Frank isn't a villain. He is as clueless about the way his life has turned out as April is despairing about hers. The Wheelers' story can only end badly, but Yates' novel never takes a wrong turn. It's not easy to witness two characters floundering so miserably. Still, the book compels you to stick by them, even as they seem to be abandoning each other.

The novel gets movie treatment in December with the on-screen reunion of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in the title roles. When will those two kids get it together and be happy?

Soundtrack for this post: I am a Scientist by Guided by Voices

Amal

Richie Mehta's Amal is a fable of a film. The narration that kicks off the tale of rickshaw driver Amal sets the tone: we are about to learn a lesson. In this case, it is the age-old truism that money doesn't buy happiness. Amal may be materially poor but he is rich in spirit. While this moralistic bent should be cause for been-there-done-that-cliche-frustration, Mehta's film leaves the viewer anything but frustrated. It works as fable and as entertainment. It is instructive without being preachy. It has a clear story arc heightened by moments of unexpectedness. It is warm and heartening. Lead actor Rupinder Nagra is most responsible for this warmth. His gentle demeanour lends the film a serenity it might not otherwise achieve and creates a genuine protagonist worth rooting for. In an era where anti-heroes reign and irony often trumps sincerity, that's no small feat. The depth of the supporting cast (including Water's stoic Seema Biswas) gives Mehta all the power he needs to make an affecting film about the goodness of being kind.

Save the Quotation Mark

In the Wall Street Journal, Lionel Shriver argues in favour of retaining quotation marks to denote dialogue. What an odd argument to have to make. They should stay. Period.

Ear Crack - Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist Edition

Last Words - The Real Tuesday Weld
After Hours - We are Scientists
Fever - Takka Takka

One For the Books

Literary journals can be shapeshifters: The Thing appears as a different object every time it's produced. On the subject of objects, Reading Copy points to a demonstration that books make excellent sculptures. Norman Foster's going to tinker with the main NYC Public Library building. I'm a little worried. Nothing against Foster but why mess with a good thing, you know? At least the exterior will remain the same. For minutes of fun, try to guess how good a book is by its cover. Thanks to the Book Bench for finding this little time-sucker. In other news, I am still reading, though it may not seem so. I recently finished (and enjoyed) Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield. A book that provides a taxonomy of mix types (radio, dishes, I want to get with you, etc.) and precisely captures my early 90s with the selection of Morrissey's We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful is a friend of mine. Sheffield on NPR here.

Good Reads at The New Yorker

The New Yorker keeps writer Malcolm Gladwell busy in between books. In his latest cultural probe, Gladwell examines late-blooming artists and prodigies and spends time mulling the success of writers Ben Fountain and Jonathan Safran Foer. Also featured - recent short fiction from Roddy Doyle whose books are wonderful. Doyle appears at the International Festival of Authors at Harbourfront next week.

The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner Live

As noted by Pitchfork, Ben Folds Five hooked up in September (on my friend J's birthday, appropriately enough) for a reunion show. The gig was conceived as the inaugural event in a series - Front to Back - put together by MySpace and NowWhat.com. The series concept: artists perform complete albums in sequential song order. Um, love it. What a rare treat for music fans, desperate to hear those under-appreciated Track Nines which never make it into set lists. Soon enough, the following links should lead to concert footage and interviews. In the meantime be contented with, Don't Change Your Plans, a classic album opener and Lullabye, a closer that namechecks James Earl Jones. And I haven't even mentioned exuberantly fun Army or Magic, possibly their prettiest, sad song, used fittingly for a clip tribute to The Virgin Suicides here.

What's Being Done

First and foremost, Tina Fey is publishing a book so I am contemplating breaking my 'no buying hardcovers' rule. The NY Times is pondering the Nobel Prize snubbing of American literature. The funny, drunk girl from Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist is getting deserved props from places other than The Pop Triad. Weezer is loving the Internet and world records.

Less is More

Last week, I attended a screening of Bravo!FACT short films (Thanks E). On the whole, the selections were very good. Favourites included sweetly choreographed Sigh, funny The Perfect Match and Facebook of Revelations: Heroes and visually stunning, not to mention eerie, The Facts in the Case of Mister Hollow. Keep your eyes on the tube for a shot at seeing these little gems. Bravo!FACT Presents airs on Bravo! at 7:30 on Sundays evenings with repeat showings throughout the week. Hooray for arts funding!

Not a Trace of Irony

For unknown reasons, I own and also appreciate the random play of The Bellamy Brothers' Let Your Love Flow in public. It's all the fault of the end credits in that damn Little Darlings movie with Kristy McNichol and Tatum O'Neal. Little Darlings, for the record, is essentially The Facts of Life at summer camp minus Tootie, Natalie and Mrs. Garrett, plus teenage sex and smoking, with dopey Matt Dillon as dopey George Clooney and wee Cynthia Nixon (long before her Miranda days) for extra weirdness.

Captain Mike Across America Vanishes

Michael Moore is offering his new film, Slacker Uprising, as a free download. Just in time for the Obama/McCain showdown later this year. In 2007, he screened a cut of the film at TIFF under the title, Captain Mike Across America. M and I were waiting in line for another movie and saw Moore being escorted into the Scotiabank Theatre for the premiere. M recently asked me what happened to Captain Mike and I told him I didn't know. Well M, this is what happened to it. Should be an interesting experiment for the new frontier of no cost, full-clip Internet entertainment. Would love to know how many people download it. Stats, anyone?

On a Completely Unrelated Note, I Am Stealing Tina Fey's Phrase "Turkey Burger of a/an..." About Everything

Nice to know that old books are not forgotten but when will there be enough time to read them? It's already nearly impossible to keep up with current titles and contemporary or classic classics. Somehow I haven't read any of Miriam Toews books yet. Her new one, The Flying Troutmans, sounds appealing and Pickle Me This' praise certainly helped pique my interest. More on Toews here. Paper Cuts reports that Rolling Stone recently asked comedians to select the funniest ever novels, movies, etc. Finally, this woman is living one of my dreams. Normally, having other people do things for you is a treat, except when your thunder is stolen in the process and you are reminded how very non-thunderous you've been about the thing being done on your behalf.

Word on the Street

Coast to coast, we celebrate reading on Sunday the 28th. Scads of books and magazines to be had. Goodness.

IMDb Does One Better...Sort Of

As if IMDb wasn't already the source of all things helpful, the site is now going to be offering streaming video of films and TV shows for free. I don't want to sound ungrateful, but let's hope they put up some good stuff. What we don't need is an Internet version of the 'Under $5' bin in retail stores. Oh, and let's hope they change their minds about restricting content to users outside the U.S. It's not called the Worldwide Web for nothing, folks.

Discreet Adulation

The Scotiabank Giller Prize nomination process is shrouded in mystery. The nominees list is not.