Thursday, December 18, 2008

Two Comedies

DVD

It's Bad For Ya' by George Carlin. "Carlin's Emmy-nominated 14th and final HBO special from the March of 2008 features Carlin's noted irreverent and unapologetic observations on topics ranging from death, religion, bureaucracy, patriotism, overprotected children and big business to the pungent examinations of modern language and the 'decrepit state of the American culture.'"
Includes a 1969 appearance on the Jackie Gleason show.

Step Brothers starring Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly. Two middle-aged losers have to live together and their parents marry and join households. Their stupidity drives the newlyweds apart and the nitwits try to bring them back together. Supposedly funny.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

What to Read 16

Rachel the Page recommends two novels: Helen of Troy by Elizabeth George and And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.


Gratuitious Pistol Posing, Jason Bateman, A New AudioBook Vendor

DVD

Hancock starring Jason Bateman and Charlize Theron. Super hero turned bum gets a makeover.
This is rated PG-13 so I assume Theron keeps her shirt on in this one.

Traitor starring Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce. A former undercover intelligence soldier's loyalty is questioned after a terrorist bombing and a prison break.

TransSiberian starring Woody Harrelson and Ben Kingsley. Tourists on the TransSiberian railway are under suspicion after a drug related murder on board the train.

Get Smart starring Steve Carell and other people. Movie version of television show. I have not seen this.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 staring Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera, Blake Lively. Young women all share the same pair of pants or something. Looks like they travel to Greece, or Cyprus, or somewhere else in the Mediterranean.

Wanted starring Mrs. Movie Big Shot and others. Young guy is recruited to join a group of assassins and shoot pistols in slow motion.

Tropic Thunder starring Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Robert Downey, Jr., Nick Nolte Actors filming a war movie in the jungle get into a real shoot-out. I think.

The Mummy: tomb of the Dragon Emperor starring Brendan Fraser, Maria Bello, John Hannah, Michelle Yeoh, and Jet Li. Chinese mummy attacks people and gets shot at by tommy-gun wielding guy.
This is also rated PG-13 so Maria Bello must keep her shirt on in this one.

Chaplin starring a bunch of actors. A recent donation. Biopic of Charlie Chaplin.

Gia starring Angelina Jolie. Biopoic of dead model from the 1970's.
For those of you keeping track: this is not rated but I think Jolie does take her shirt off.

Audio Books

I just started buying from Landmark Audiobooks. Here is a new batch.

Cross Country by James Patterson. A vicious killer who has murdered a whole family is followed from D.C. to Nigeria by Detective Alex Cross.

Rough Weather by Robert B. Parker. Narrated by Joe Mantegna.

Your Heart Belongs to Me by Dean Koontz. Rich guy gets heart transplant and is stalked by crazy lady who wants the heart.

Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer. A connection between the murder of Superman's creator and the murder of Abel? Listen to the novel and ponder.

Private Patient by P.D. James. A patient in a private clinic in Dorset, England dies at a private surgery clinic. Inspector Dalgliesh investigates and "suspects multiply all too rapidly."

Divine Justice by David Baldacci. Government assassin 'Oliver Stone' is on the run. The same people he worked for have turned on him and Stone relies on his friends to escape.

A Mercy by Toni Morrison. A Dutch trader in 1680 buys a slave girl who looks for love from an older woman and a handsome blacksmith.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Books So New You May Cut A Finger

Fiction

Knit Two by Kate Jacobs. Knitting club members at a yarn shop in Manhattan share stories and whatnot.

NonFiction

Forgotten Patriots: the untold story of American prisoners during the Revolutionary War by Edwin G. Burrows. Of teh 200,000 men fighting for America during the Revolutionary War 6,800 died in battle. 32,00 men became prisoners of war. Overcrowded and underfed conditions led to as many as 18,000 deaths in captivity.

Trick or Treatment: the undeniable facts about alternative medicine by Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst, MD. "What works and what doesn't? What are the secrets, what are the lies? Who can you trust, and who is ripping you off? Can science decide what is best, or do the old wives' tales really rtap into ancient, superior wisdom?"

What to Read 15

An "interview" with Julianna Hatfield about her new book When I Grow Up: a memoir. Hatfield website.

I wrote in a previous post that I was unable to schedule an interview to speak with Ms. Hatfield about her book. Since I already had thought of some questions to ask I decided to do a mock-up.


Monday, December 15, 2008