Day: March 31, 2008

My sister Mary sits in with The Loose Marbles, a New Orleans street band. That’s her on the accordion, on the right. Original location, if the embed causes any problems.

More about the Loose Marbles in The New Yorker from May 2007.

I found the final book of the His Dark Materials trilogy, The Amber Spyglass, a bit loose. No untidy loose ends, but Philip Pullman uses more words to describe less action as the climax approaches. I do appreciate the bittersweet ending, though. You don’t get to save the world and live happily ever after. Think of Frodo at the end of The Lord of the Rings. Even in victory, something may be lost.

I’m an optimist, generally, but a bit of pathos never hurts.

Book 2 of His Dark Materials passed in a flash last week. The Subtle Knife continues Philip Pullman’s trilogy, and introduces the not-so-subtly named Mary Malone, the former nun turned physicist. These tales twist, and are complete independently, but the sweep across all three books taken together is marvelous.

I was heading somewhere I knew I’d have to wait, so I grabbed John Steinbeck’s thin novella Of Mice and Men off the shelf. A few pages in, I realized I’d read it before, but didn’t remember details. Anyway, 118 pages later, I knew why Lennie had to die, just like their dreams. It’s not subtle, but the stark language feels like people.

I’m a sucker for a heist movie. The Bank Job isn’t brilliant, but fun all the same. Jason Statham, mildly known from the Transporter movies, and recognizable from The Italian Job (“Handsome Rob,” the driver), carries the movie through some rough spots, even without all the opportunities for action which mark his previous roles.

I saw the movie last week, but jumped on the opportunity to write it up after reading about the guy who makes Eliot Spitzer look pure. This movie turns on some blackmail pictures of various high-and-mighty personages enjoying themselves in ways which don’t benefit from sunshine and press. The Bank Job’s producers must wonder about life imitating art. Using the term “art” very loosely. (Read the link, even if you don’t see the movie.)

Metacritic verdict? 69 I’d bump it a few because I love the genre, even if the attempt at sexual tension between Terry (Statham) and Martine (Saffron Burrows) falls flat.

Best heist movie I’ve seen? Inside Man.

Via Slashdot, I learn that Neal Stephenson’s new novel is coming in September. Not pre-ordering right now, but on the list.