How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu (2010)
This book was surprising in that as I was reading it I couldn't decide if I liked it or not. I like the idea behind the plot, that is that the main character lives in a science fictional universe, and is cognizant of that fact. I did not like the writing style as much, which consisted of overly long run-on sentences where the author used every conceivable permutation of an idea, every hyperbole, every simile, every comparison possible to get across his thoughts, his ideas, his thought processes. (much as I have just done in this last sentence). The main character is by turns sympathetic and depressing. He seems depressed and disillusioned by his life, and is reluctant to live it fully. He is so reluctant in fact that he has spent most of his time in the past 10 years of his job as time machine repairman parked in the Indefinite Present, just so he could avoid moving forward in time. And now the unthinkable has happened. He is now stuck in a time loop, and unless he can escape it he will undoubtedly die.
I found that the book read as a metaphor for regret. Regrets about one's life, and one's relationships with others. It also had a lot to say about memory, how it works, how it fails, how subjective it is. I'm not certain if the ending was happy or just bittersweet, but it was well written. I think the part of this book that annoyed me was the writing style. Although it had quality prose, I just don't enjoy reading someone take a paragraph to say something that at most should have taken one sentence. I give this book an A- , because despite the style and the milquetoast main character, it is a very good book. And if you like this one, a book that I found similar in tone was Super Sad True Love Story.
Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
This is a very touching movie, if you let yourself feel for the protagonist. The premise is quite a strange one; Lars lives in the garage next to his parents' house, where his brother and sister-in-law now live. Lars is very reserved, even standoffish with everyone in his life. His sister-in-law, who is pregnant with her first child, worries for his state of mind constantly. When Lars comes over with his first female friend, her fears prove well founded. Because Lars's friend is a life sized anatomically correct doll. What follows is a heartwarming story of a community coming together to help heal one of their own, despite their misgivings. I was skeptical about this movie at the start, thinking from the summary that it was some type of comedy. Instead I was treated to a message of acceptance and the healing power of community in the face of mental illness and grief. I found myself moved to tears by the end of the movie, but I won't give you any spoilers. If you enjoy movies such as Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close or The Silver Linings Playbook, then chances are you will like this one.
Bourne Legacy (2012)
I quite enjoy the Bourne series of films, and this one was no exception. This movie takes place at the same time as Bourne Ultimatum, though Jason Bourne is only seen in photographs during this film. Instead we follow another agent, Aaron Cross, who is part of a black ops experiment called Operation Outcome. Cross is genetically enhanced thanks to a drug he has to take every day to keep the effects going. When a whistleblower threatens to expose the operation, Aaron Cross and all other members of Outcome are slated for elimination. Cross escapes, and decides to track down the source of the enhancing drugs with the help of a former scientist who worked on them. The movie has a pretty satisfying ending, although I felt some parts were rushed. I enjoyed the action scenes, and although they were fast they didn't suffer from as much of the blurriness I often notice with high speed martial arts fights. All in all a very good action film. I recommend watching Bourne Ultimatum either before or after to clarify some of the plot points.
Anchorman: the Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
My advice about this movie: if you lived through the 70s and hated it, you might not be able to tolerate this movie. Anchorman takes everything that was tacky, bad, chauvinistic about the 70s and puts it all in one place. This movie is filled to the brim with references to iconic 70s movie tropes, such as the gang fight, office romance, and cheesy 'romance' music. If it weren't making fun of itself pretty clearly, this movie would not have been watchable. They went out of their way to make the characters act offensively towards women, as a nod to the hostile work environment faced by women in that decade. Although this movie is meant as a parody, I was disappointed when the female lead decided to get into a romance with one of the chauvinistic males. It seems she was betraying all her ideals when she did that. I don't know if that was meant as again parodying the 70s mentality, but I would have preferred if the female lead had stuck to her guns and foregone the romance altogether. If you like Will Ferrell movies, you will probably like this one. I give it a B- overall. It was ok, but it's not what I would choose again.
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