Wild East: Stories from the Last Frontier, edited by Boris Fishman

So I was already annoyed at the outset by this whole Eastern Europe as "last frontier" idea (as described by Fishman in the introduction), and the notion that this book was going to reveal some kind of truth about Eastern Europe to me (if you wanted to do that, why not compile a collection of stories by Eastern European writers, rather than by Americans and ex-pats?). So I could certainly be accused of being overly critical. A few of these stories, I might have enjoyed if I'd read them in a different context.

... but not that many, I suspect. Honestly, aside from being boringly stereotypical (Eastern Europeans as violent, criminal, money-seeking, hard-drinking, mysterious, yet often charming), most of the stories just aren't that good. Partly, I'm just tired of hearing what Americans think about different parts of the world. But also, there just wasn't much to these, the plots were uninteresting, the characters unbelievable. Much of the violence seemed sensationalized or gratuitous, the one exception being Thomas de Waal's piece on Chechnya, which was really more journalism than fiction, and also, though horrifying - not all that good.

Overall - meh. Not worth the read.

Strange Fruit: The Biography of a Song, by David Margolick

I think I'm kind of a snob when it comes to books written by journalists. I generally expect that they're gonna be packed full of interesting information, but probably not all that well written. There are exceptions, of course, but the thing is - most nonfiction isn't really amazing, stylistically. This book does nothing to change this bias of mine. Though it is a case where you kind of wonder why he wanted to make it a book in the first place - he really doesn't seem to have a book's-worth amount of things to say. There's a lot of repetition, and a lot of testimonials from people that basically amount to them saying they really love the song, which by the end, seem increasingly unnecessary.

It's also a bit misleading to call it the biography of a song, because it's really much more about Billie Holiday's version of it. While it does tell you the truth about who actually wrote it, and mentions other versions of it here and there, it really spends all its time talking about Billie Holiday. The book is clearly a little uneasy in terms of how it handles discussions of The Lady, which is fair, because she's a problematic figure. The central "controversy" of the book, one could say, is the question of whether or not Holiday actually understood what she was singing. Apparently there were claims that she didn't. The author seems to say that it's pretty unlikely that she didn't, and leaves it at that. The fact that Holiday lied about the song's origins, and claimed it was written for her, etc, the book clearly refutes, but also cites the true author of the song saying that he understands why she said that, and he doesn't want anyone to focus on her doing so, etc.

Reading it, the thing I was thinking about is this whole power of words versus power of music versus power of a voice issue. To me, just reading the words, I get the chills. As poetry, it's just devastatingly intense. Musically, I don't think it's that amazing a song - I think the music subtly sets off the words, it's a melody that seems pretty simple with a slight jazziness to it. Basically, it's nice, but I don't think the song without the words would be all that momentous. But the argument of the people who love the song is that Billie Holiday sings it in a way that no one else can. That she has this particular vocal genius, where her voice expresses something in the song that the words alone can't.

I guess I have a slightly harder time with this part. In that people tend to speak of it as if it were a fact: "X can convey sadness in their voice in a certain way". And honestly, sometimes I just... don't hear it. I'm not saying this is true of Billie Holiday or her version of this song necessarily, I just mean in general.

One might also add in relation to this, the power of photographs. The book has a photo section in the middle. It's mostly pictures of Billie Holiday. Makes sense. Suddenly, you turn the page, and it's pictures of lynchings. Which freaked me out bigtime, and I still can't get those images out of my head. They're horrific.

Point being, that's kind of an interesting thing to consider, the power of various mediums. And added to that - the power of those mediums for political change.

One thing that's distinctly lacking in the book is a better idea of the context. I mean, there are really good descriptions of the actual performances of the song, which is nice, but it'd be nice to know more about the historical moment. For instance, just how common lynchings were, and how that changed over time. The author gives a few numbers, but you don't really get a good sense of it. And that's really missing.

Overall, meh, it's an ok book. It could easily have been a magazine article though.

District 13: Ultimatum

I loved the first District 13 movie, so I was totally stoked to hear they were making a sequel. Alas, it basically sucked. Unlike the first movie, which has totally sweet fight scenes, a thrill ride plot, and some compelling political resonances, D13: Ultimatum is just... boring. The plot aims for political commentary, but decides to do it by "revealing" the evil at the heart of Halliburton (cleverly called Harriburton in the movie). So it's not exactly daring. The fight scenes are surprisingly unexciting, and overall, there's nothing of quality that wasn't already in the first one. Except, perhaps, a new badass chick, who wears less clothes than the one in the first movie did, and has a pretty cool tactic of killing people by attaching a blade to her braid and whipping it at people.

Still, it's pretty disappointing overall.

The Princess and the Frog

Of course I had to go see The Princess and the Frog. Who could resist the urge to see how Disney managed to pull off its first black princess? I went in with my critical faculties at ready, and left in a haze of warm fuzzies, utterly won over by the predictable charm of Disney. It's such a sweet movie. I am such a sucker.

So, to begin though, I should say that I've been skeptical of all the angsting over the whole race issue. I mean, I agree, it's a major issue, and Disney needs to be sure to get it right (I don't remember, though, quite so much angst over Mulan, or Princess Jasmine, or Pocahantas...). And obviously, Disney has a lot to apologize for, particularly in its depiction of black people. But people were critiquing the movie months before it even came out. She's not black enough! She's too black! Why isn't the Prince black? Oh, she can't have a white prince? She turns into a frog?!? From where I was sitting, it seemed like there was really no way that Disney could make everyone happy. No wonder they'd never tried this before. So while I was ready to be attentive to the portrayal of race in the film, I wasn't looking to be quite as hypercritical as some other people (her body language isn't black enough? come on.).

So, to begin with what for many will be the main point - I thought they did a decent job with the black characters. I think in terms of getting the voices authentic versus the dangers of caricature, they maybe played it a hair too safe. So that while Tiana and her family did have a touch of drawl, they sounded a wee bit artificial - especially Tiana as a little girl. But I think that in the interest of not taking it too far, they did ok. Meanwhile, some of the less central characters, like Ray the Firefly and Mama Odie, they felt a little more comfortable going all out on, and did well.

In fact, the only real caricatures in the film were the white hillbillies the heroes encounter in the swamp. They were definitely a fairly appalling caricature of white rednecks. But I doubt anyone really minds that, eh?

Next, the gender issue. This was actually a little heavy handed. Tiana is a hard-working young lady who knows that you can't just sit there and demand your desires of a star, you have to get off your ass and make shit happen. Cool. Tiana's big flaw, in fact, is that she doesn't know how to have a good time. Ok. There's an interesting sort of moment where she has to decide between her man and her career, and she kind of picks career, and then she's kind of sad about it, and then she decides she can maybe have both, and it works out fine! Luckily, her man doesn't have career plans of his own. One could pick on this, but why? It has its heart in the right place.

Actually, one of the most striking things about the movie is its reflection on class mobility. Tiana's father worked his whole life and couldn't rise above his position (but it's ok, because he had a family who loved him, the movie tells us), but he desperately wanted Tiana to. And she manages to save up her money, only to then be turned down in terms that subtly suggest racism/sexism. Ultimately (yes, I'm giving it away a little bit here), she does get what she wants, but the thing is - no amount of hard work will suffice. Ultimately, you DO need to wish on a star/marry a prince. This is a strangely pessimistic moral, but also one totally in keeping with Disney's overall message. In other words, it's good old Adorno again - you get the princess who could be you, and whom you can identify with and live out her fantasies, but all the same, you can't actually be her, because she got a prince. If you can get a prince, you too can join the upper class, but obviously that's not exactly easy.

Anyways. Enough of that. I really wasn't thinking about all that while I watched the movie. I was busy oohing and aaahing and being mushy over all the cute characters and their lovely stories. I didn't cry, but I did laugh, and generally quite enjoyed the whole thing. As a final note, I'd like to add that the movie is a pleasure, visually. Lush colors, lovely scenes, and a very nice nod to other animation in the restaurant dream sequences.

All in all, quite well done.

The Runaways

My desire to be Joan Jett started when I was 9 years old or so* and was only slightly, perhaps, eclipsed in later years by my desire to sleep with Joan Jett. So it was kind of obvious that I was gonna see The Runaways, despite the fact that it did not appear to be a particularly good movie. And indeed, it wasn't, though it definitely lives up to its guilty pleasure status. Actually, overall, I was surprised at how much better it was than I expected.

To begin with the weak points, the storyline is kind of meh, and the dialogue is generally pretty bad. Dakota Fanning is not especially impressive as Cherie. You learn damn near nothing about the other members of the Runaways, except that they seem to be totally awesome and it'd be really nice to know more about them. The whole Cherie story is, sorry to say, one of the least compelling things about the movie.

BUT oh man Joan Jett is so awesome. She really comes off as this raging badass who's also, like, super understanding and tolerant of Cherie's flakiness, and passionate about being known for music instead of sex**. Kristen Stewart does a pretty decent job, I have to say. She's not amazing, but she could certainly be worse.

Visually, the movie is well done. I was particularly impressed by the Cherie-Joan sex scene, which is really, really cool. It's kind of funny; I have this kind of prudish hey! it's fucked up to sexualize 15 year old girls! thing, so I was really impressed by the way the movie handled it. It's not explicit, but it's actually pretty hot. Overall, I have to say, the movie did an interesting job handling the sexuality issue, in that while the girls are hot, they're also very clearly 15. Especially when you see Dakota Fanning prancing around in lingerie, I at least was like man... she's cute, but she's not really sexually appealing. Maybe in a few years when she fills out a bit or something, but she just looks like a skinny teenager.

Finally, it was generally awesome to see a movie where chicks are raging badass rock stars, doing all the rock star stuff and generally being every bit as awesome as any dude could be.

So yeah, it wasn't a great movie. But I enjoyed it.

*What's amusing is that my initial fascination with Joan Jett began, not by hearing her music or seeing her, but by reading some young adult novel where one of the characters was obsessed with Joan Jett and dressed like her and spiked her hair. She was obviously the coolest character in the book, so it was obvious to me that this Joan Jett person was a model to be emulated.

**So, I've never really been that into The Runaways - I'm really just a Joan Jett fan. But when I got home, I got on the youtube to check out some videos. So a few points:

1. Cherie does actually have a pretty cool voice. A good example of the contrast is the song Cherry Bomb. Here's the Runaways version, and here's Joan's. Cherie does this neat vocal thing on the Hello daddy, hello mom! part that Joan doesn't do, and it's actually pretty cool.

2. Watching The Runaways version also made me appreciate the movie more. Here's the movie version. Not only did they basically nail the look, though updated a bit to make it more attractive than the 70s, but Dakota Fanning also does a decent job emulating Cherie's vocal stylings. All in all, pretty cool.

For added fun, here's Joan Jett and Cherie Currie reunited on stage in 2001 performing the song together. Note how Joan Jett is still ungodly hot, even now.

Kinamand

I am a total sucker for cross-cultural romances, especially ones where the couple starts out not even knowing each others' language. I know it's probably a total fantasy and completely unrealistic, but is it really so different from the schlock that Hollywood peddles?

Kinamand is a bittersweet, touching story, very well acted, and overall lovely. Much recommended.

My only complaint is that the Chinese isn't translated. I understand that the point is that we're encountering events from the perspective of the protagonist, so if he doesn't understand, why should we. Nonetheless, I think it would generally be a good thing if movies like this provided subtitles for all of the dialogue, rather than leaving the "foreign" language strange and mysterious. Ling isn't speaking some kind of gibberish, even if we don't know what she's saying. I have no doubts that the film is enhanced when you understand her actual words. So why not translate them?

Up in the Air

Having read this scathing review, I had fully expected to hate this movie. So it was a pleasant surprise when I found myself increasingly amused by the film as it progressed. It wasn't quite so pleasant overall that I ultimately really LIKED the movie, but you know, it made those 2 hours at least somewhat enjoyable.

The review linked to is, in some ways, correct. There is something morally dubious about being expected to root for the guy who fires people during a recession, who's boss is literally gleeful when he cites figures of the declining economy. But that shouldn't be surprising in a movie from the makers of Thank You for Smoking (which I thought was terrible), and anyhow, plenty of great artists have created a main character out of someone who would otherwise seem villainous and made an audience love them. I agree with the reviewer that there's a fair amount of condescension in the movie, but even though I came to the film primed to expect it, I really didn't think it was that heinous. The problem was really that most of the characters were caricatures, and therefore any that you weren't supposed to like that much seemed condescending.

And this is the big problem with the film, overall - the characters. The supreme case being George Clooney's - as with Thank You For Smoking, the movie is centered around a guy who is kind of an asshole. It seems as though the film is meant to be a psychological investigation of this guy, yet there's this distinct sense of uncertainty about him. Is he actually a good guy, beneath it all? Is he a thoughtless jerk? Maybe he's just emotionally immature? The movie can't really seem to make up its mind, and ambulates between options. I think somebody thought this would make it seem complex and nuanced. It doesn't. In fact, there's a decided instability to the film overall - the tone shifts rather puzzlingly throughout, from satire to sentiment and soul-searching, and it's really hard to say whether you're supposed to be touched or ironically amused at the character's expense. Maybe it's just me, but I found the whole thing really uneven.

As for the pluses though - I have kind of despised Vera Farmiga for awhile, especially after her role in The Departed. I thought of her as that melodramatic rabbit eyed woman. But she was phenomenal in this movie - I take back all the mean things I've said about her. Actually, though a tad unrealistic, her character is by fat the best part of the film. Anna Kendrick, who plays the assistant, was also pretty good, though her character was the most egregious example of caricature. But for all that, she managed to infuse it with a little bit of personality. Also, a lot of the dialogue was well done. I wouldn't call this a modern Cary Grant movie, but there were some funny bits and some fairly interesting banter. The conversations were marred somewhat by the characters themselves, but they had potential.

The gripes (ie, the relatively minor things that contributed to my negative feelings about the film):

#1, first and foremost - cliche. There are some many scenes in this movie that feel like they've been ripped off from other films. I don't want to give anything away, but you'll know the Big Lebowski moment when it happens. There's even more cribbed from Intolerable Cruelty, which isn't really surprising, given that George Clooney is essentially playing the same character in both.

#2 (comparatively minor, but still) I thought it was really neat that the movie had a sexy text message exchange. "sexting" as it's come to be known (I am trying to advocate for sexmessing instead) is an increasingly common phenomenon in today's world, and it's high time movies did something with it. Not to mention, I'm all for good erotic scenes (Vera Farmiga wearing nothing but the necktie was pretty awesome). But the thing about pushing the envelope is that you have to actually be willing to push it, and include some genuinely sexy messages. You have these two jet-setting, techy type-a personalities who are obviously freaks in the sack - and then you give them these pathetically tame texts? Weeeeeeaaaaak.

#3 (again, minor) These people spend hours and hours on planes, and yet they never crack open a fucking book? Gah!

#4 Is it just me, or does it seem like there are a lot of scenes where something is covering up part of the camera lens? At first I thought it was a mistake, but then I started noticing that there are a lot of shots where there are these odd hulking shapes dominating most of the frame, and the point of interest is kind of squished between them. But the hulking shapes are generally just that - shapes - like on the airplane, it's a big blob of a seat, or something. I don't know, a lot of the movie was visually quite appealing, but that sort of annoyed me.