"Every criminal knows what his accomplice is capable of and knows that his accomplice knows exactly the same about him."
--- Maria Dolz,
The Infatuations, Javier Marias, 2013
(List #35)
(QfFC #15)
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Friday, June 26, 2015
Friday Flashback: Rec. #101: Some Kind of Wonderful
I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.
What: Some Kind of Wonderful is deliciously angsty. Just look at the faces on the DVD cover above. Those are the serious, intense faces of high school students struggling with socioeconomic disparity in mid-1980s California. Each of them (Amanda, Keith, Watts) gets solid character development and some great lines. Also, there are charming teen thugs!
Comparable to: I think it's safe to say Rob Thomas watched this at some point while he was creating Veronica Mars.
Representative quote: "Well, I like art, I work in a gas station, my best friend is a tomboy. These things don't fly too well in the American high school." [Keith]
Bonus representative quote: "I'd rather be with someone for the wrong reasons than alone for the right." [Amanda]
Bonus bonus representative quote: "It's better to swallow pride than blood." [Watts]
How to get it: Just look for those three intense faces.
Connection to other Wreckage: Veronica Mars (season 1 and 2) was Rec. #168.
What: Some Kind of Wonderful is deliciously angsty. Just look at the faces on the DVD cover above. Those are the serious, intense faces of high school students struggling with socioeconomic disparity in mid-1980s California. Each of them (Amanda, Keith, Watts) gets solid character development and some great lines. Also, there are charming teen thugs!
Comparable to: I think it's safe to say Rob Thomas watched this at some point while he was creating Veronica Mars.
Representative quote: "Well, I like art, I work in a gas station, my best friend is a tomboy. These things don't fly too well in the American high school." [Keith]
Bonus representative quote: "I'd rather be with someone for the wrong reasons than alone for the right." [Amanda]
Bonus bonus representative quote: "It's better to swallow pride than blood." [Watts]
How to get it: Just look for those three intense faces.
Connection to other Wreckage: Veronica Mars (season 1 and 2) was Rec. #168.
[Originally posted 4/10/11.]
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Rec. #378: The Way We Are
What: According to essayist Margaret Visser, this is (some of) the Way We Are:
- "There is an insistence in our culture that women ought to be pure, and that this involves not moving around." [about flight attendants]
- "There is no story at all. Just a workshop for making toys in the North Pole, a few anecdotes about one of his reindeer, and that's about it." [about Santa]
- "The human male has always revered his chin." [about beards]
These essays are short, short, short, but they cover a lot of interesting ground. Other topics include: turkey, blushing, parades, avocados, and tipping.
How to get it: Currently out of print in the U.S., but Kindle-able!
Connections to previous Wreckage: The Way We Are was part of List #51: Great Books, Terrible Titles. An earlier book from Visser, The Rituals of Dinner, was Rec. #63.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Quote from a Fictional Character #69
"Good night and sweet dreams ... which we'll analyze at breakfast."
--- Dr. Alex Brulov,
Spellbound, 1945
Friday, June 19, 2015
Friday Flashback: Rec. #286: Special Topics in Calamity Physics
I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.
What: In Marisha Pessl's debut novel, a high school student named Blue has spent much of her life traipsing around academia with her professor father. It's messed with her head a bit, which might explain her reaction to the death of her film studies teacher. Or it might not.
Comparable to: Topic-wise, Special Topics in Calamity Physics is very similar to Donna Tartt's The Secret History. Tone-wise, though, it's closer to Jaclyn Moriarty's I Have a Bed Made of Buttermilk Pancakes (Rec. #235).
Opening lines: "Dad always said a person must have a magnificent reason for writing out his or her Life Story and expecting anyone to read it."
You might not like it if: You find the countless (and sometimes obscure) references to film and literature daunting, especially considering the 500+-page heft of the book. Take heart, though --- the book also includes several visual aids.
How to get it: Buyable, borrowable, Kindle-able. And possibly coming at some point to a theater near you. (Miramax has the rights.)
Connection to previous Wreckage: I Have a Bed Made of Buttermilk Pancakes was Rec. #235 and it is magnificent.
If this puts you on a kick of "more references, please, I'll track 'em down, I'll track them all down," I'd also suggest The Tournament (Rec. #12), wherein Alfred Hitchcock plays tennis and is referred to as "Fred."
What: In Marisha Pessl's debut novel, a high school student named Blue has spent much of her life traipsing around academia with her professor father. It's messed with her head a bit, which might explain her reaction to the death of her film studies teacher. Or it might not.
Comparable to: Topic-wise, Special Topics in Calamity Physics is very similar to Donna Tartt's The Secret History. Tone-wise, though, it's closer to Jaclyn Moriarty's I Have a Bed Made of Buttermilk Pancakes (Rec. #235).
Opening lines: "Dad always said a person must have a magnificent reason for writing out his or her Life Story and expecting anyone to read it."
You might not like it if: You find the countless (and sometimes obscure) references to film and literature daunting, especially considering the 500+-page heft of the book. Take heart, though --- the book also includes several visual aids.
How to get it: Buyable, borrowable, Kindle-able. And possibly coming at some point to a theater near you. (Miramax has the rights.)
Connection to previous Wreckage: I Have a Bed Made of Buttermilk Pancakes was Rec. #235 and it is magnificent.
If this puts you on a kick of "more references, please, I'll track 'em down, I'll track them all down," I'd also suggest The Tournament (Rec. #12), wherein Alfred Hitchcock plays tennis and is referred to as "Fred."
[Originally posted 4/17/13.]
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Rec. #377: Happy-Go-Lucky
What: The brilliant Sally Hawkins is Poppy, an undiscourageable optimist. Poppy is deliberately, carefully happy. She is not naive; she is not dumb.
She is a goal and Hawkins is great.
Comparable to: Other slice-of-life Mike Leigh films, like Secrets & Lies and Another Year.
Representative dialogue:
"Bear with me."
"Is there? Where is he?"
You might not like it if: There are some potentially triggering scenes -- nothing overt, but content warning for threats of violence and references to child abuse. Also, Poppy loves making dumb jokes. So heads up on that, too.
How to get it: This is one of those movies that is sometimes available to stream on Netflix and sometimes not.
Connections to previous Wreckage: Hawkins was also great in Desert Flower (Rec. #353).
I previously mentioned Happy-Go-Lucky as part of List #47: Some of the Best Movies I Saw in 2014.
Friday, June 12, 2015
Friday Flashback: Rec. #230: Life, the Universe and Everything
I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.
What: Continuing the potentially-universe-destroying romps of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in this third installment Douglas Adams gives us the killer robots of Krikkit, a persistent Thunder God, Arthur Dent teaching himself how to fly, and an anachronistic sofa.
Comparable to: Most other things in the Hitchhiker's universe.
Opening lines: "The regular early morning yell of horror was the sound of Arthur Dent waking up and suddenly remembering where he was."
Representative quote: "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has this to say on the subject of flying. There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. Pick a nice day, it suggests, and try it. The first part is easy."
You might not like it if: Some contend that this is the weakest of the series, but some people say that about each installment, except the first. You won't be able to decide for yourself until you've read them all, will you?
How to get it: Buy it, borrow it, Kindle it.
Connections to previous Wreckage: If you want to read the full series in order, start with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Rec. #42), then move on to The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Rec. #198) before reading this one.
What: Continuing the potentially-universe-destroying romps of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in this third installment Douglas Adams gives us the killer robots of Krikkit, a persistent Thunder God, Arthur Dent teaching himself how to fly, and an anachronistic sofa.
Comparable to: Most other things in the Hitchhiker's universe.
Opening lines: "The regular early morning yell of horror was the sound of Arthur Dent waking up and suddenly remembering where he was."
Representative quote: "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has this to say on the subject of flying. There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. Pick a nice day, it suggests, and try it. The first part is easy."
You might not like it if: Some contend that this is the weakest of the series, but some people say that about each installment, except the first. You won't be able to decide for yourself until you've read them all, will you?
How to get it: Buy it, borrow it, Kindle it.
Connections to previous Wreckage: If you want to read the full series in order, start with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Rec. #42), then move on to The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Rec. #198) before reading this one.
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