Zander’s Weblog

Cute story with very nice pacing, voices, and foley. The animation on the other hand was stunning–absolutely gorgeous rendition of water in all its guises, an amazing feat.

[at Theater Schmeater] Oy, Gewalt! So glad I had that drink beforehand. Well acted, well directed, pointless drivel.

Sweet film–like watching a cute puppy dry-hump grandma’s leg (“ahw, isn’t that sweet”). Michael Cera has a patent on sincere naivete. My favorite parts: Seth’s fantasies in the liquor store, and the amazing penis sketches in the closing credits.

I admire Natalie Angier’s willingness to take on the task of describing, for lay people, the entire universe of science. And she does a credible job of it, too. Problem is, her prose is so thickly larded with puns, gratuitous analogies, and gags as to be nearly unreadable. A pity she didn’t treat her OCPD (obsessive compulsive pun disorder) before sitting down to write.

or The Boss of It All, Lars von Trier’s incredibly quirky comedy, in Danish and Icelandic. It works in a plodding, ponderous Scandinavian sort of way, but I think von Trier is best when darkest. Dogville, for example.

I remember having read all of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City books as they were released, looking forward to each new arrival with a Christmas-morning glee. They were addictive and delightful. So it was an unexpected pleasure to be able to visit these characters again. A wonderful read that had me alternately laughing my head off and weeping.

I like Don DeLillo, and really enjoyed Underworld and White Noise. Falling Man not so much. It’s a book that tries to process the events of 9-11 and ends up a literary autistic rocking back and forth, just on the verge of genius, but ultimately a tedious mirage.

Charles Ferguson’s documentary (Special Jury Prize for Documentary at 2007 Sundance) about how Iraq was turned into a quagmire. Devastating. Americans will carry this burden like the Germans carry Hitler. Where is our congress? Why are there no Nuremberg trials?

David Wagoner’s play about the poet Theodore Roethke is an amazing evocation of the wild genius that sometimes graces bipolar disorder. And John Aylward, all by himself, owns the stage. A must see. Now playing at the ACT Theatre (thru 8/26).

I liked all three of the Bourne films but agree with Matt Damon who said on The Daily Show that if they made another one it would have to be called “The Bourne Redundancy.” I think they’ve whipped about as much shakey-camera adrenaline as they could have out of this series. They should have left Jason in the Hudson.