Category Archives: Reviews: Books, Movies, Music, TV

Movies

Posted on January 14, 2010 by Al

All we really want from a movie is to be entertained. Something we can slip into, with both novelty and familiarity. A story that has resonance, a clear perspective, and visual sophistication. This week, I’ve seen three films which, in very different ways, drew me in and left me lighter, more fulfilled.
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Avatar

Posted on January 1, 2010 by Al

For the few of you who might still be on the fence, a proper review really only consists of three words: Go See It. Just don’t breath the air until you have a mask on. Continue reading →

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Cutting For Stone

Posted on December 22, 2009 by Al

Cutting for Stone is a full-bodied tour through mid-century Ethiopia, with stops in India and America’s Northeast. Verghese knows his subject, knows his people, and most of all knows his story. Complex, human, and honest, this book is immersing and rewarding. Continue reading →

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Happy New Year To The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Al

If you love a complex story which grows tauter with every chapter, but demand an equally complex mind behind the story, with enough time to pause and think about what might be going on, these books will raise your spirits. No cheap thrills, hack writing or logorrhea here, just a well-constructed mystery story and multiple fully drawn engaging characters, flaws and all. Continue reading →

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Trouble The Water

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Al

Trouble the Water, an Oscar-nominated documentary released in 2008, appears as found art. At its heart, it is a story of and by Kimberly Roberts. 24 years old at the time of Katrina, she was living in the Ninth Ward … Continue reading →

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Winterdance

Posted on September 3, 2009 by Al

Winterdance, by Gary Paulsen, documents the author’s serious poetic lark with the Iditarod dog sled “race”. Continue reading →

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Water For Elephants

Posted on August 19, 2009 by Al

“Water for Elephants”, by Sara Gruen, appeared in 2006 and hit the best seller lists for over a year, ranking #1 on the NY Times paperback list in summer, ’07. So, if you HAVEN’T read it yet, what are you … Continue reading →

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Into Thick Air

Posted on July 9, 2009 by Al

But like all dreams, this one took him places he never though he’d visit, and refined his appreciation for the variety and common ground among the people of the world. Continue reading →

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Cycling’s Greatest Misadventures

Posted on April 28, 2009 by Al

Cycling’s Greatest Misadventures, edited by Erich Schweikher.

Best book about cycling I have ever read. Continue reading →

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Paranoid Park

Posted on April 22, 2009 by Al

Gus Van Zant, director of Paranoid Park, has made over over a dozen films since 1989’s Drugstore Cowboy. Continue reading →

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