JJ's Book and Movie Recommendations

A=Action, B=Biography, C=Classics, CH=Children’s Lit, CL=Chick Lit, COM=Comedy, D=Drama, F=Fantasy, H=Historical Fiction, I=Inspirational, M=Mystery, P=Political, R=Romance, S=Suspense, SF=Science Fiction, SH=Self-Help, T=Theology, TT=Time Travel, W=Women’s Issues/Feminism, WE=Western, YA=Young Adult

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Favorite Movies

I have two separate categories for movies. Favorite movies are infinitely rewatchable, whereas best movies are movies of high quality and social importance that I will probably never watch again.

Favorite Movies:
  1. Blade Runner
  2. The Empire Strikes Back
  3. Star Wars
  4. The Matrix (original only)
  5. Bridget Jones's Diary
  6. X-Men trilogy
  7. You've Got Mail
  8. Raiders of the Lost Ark
  9. The Sixth Sense
  10. Gattaca
Best Movies (incomplete list):
  1. Schindler's List
  2. Amistad
  3. Saving Private Ryan

Favorite TV Shows and Characters

Favorite TV Shows I have never watched much TV, but I'm loving the availability of TV shows on DVD! Here are my five favorite shows:

  1. Friends
  2. Coupling
  3. The Office (U.S.)
  4. Felicity
  5. Frasier
Favorite Sitcom Characters:

  1. Jeff Murdock (Coupling)
  2. Phoebe Buffay (Friends)
  3. Niles Crane (Frasier)
  4. Chandler Bing (Friends)
  5. Bill McNeal (NewsRadio)

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Movie: X-Men 3: The Last Stand (SF, A)

I had high expectations for X-Men 3. I love the whole X-Men concept, am semi-versed in the comics, and was really pleased with the first two movies. Also, my favorite character (after Wolverine) is Beast, so I was especially eager to see what Kelsey Grammer would do with him.

I was not disappointed.

This time around, a scientist has discovered a child who can render mutants ineffective. He imprisons the child and creates a "cure" for mutations. Obviously, not all the mutants want to be "cured," so they decide to do something about it.

I don't want to give away too much of the good stuff here. Let me just say that important characters die, powers are stripped away, and much destruction ensues. Incidentally, in a cast of intriguing and engaging characters, Magneto almost steals the show; in his last scene with Mystique, he demonstrates how he has become like the Nazis he hated.

Lest I sound too much like a fangirl, let me also point out the film's weaknesses:
  1. The mutant whose father creates the "cure" doesn't have much to do except set the key conflict in motion; he's a Maguffin and a placeholder instead of a character.
  2. After Jean Grey has been resurrected as the Phoenix, she wonders around shell-shocked for the rest of the film. The actress does a stellar job with shell-shocked, but for a person who's supposedly full of uncontrollable desire, she seems strangely passive.
  3. There are just too many anonymous mutants. I liked seeing them and all of their skills, but with this many mutants in one place, the film doesn't let each of these characters have a name, much less a unique story.
Still, this is a very good superhero story which, despite the title "The Last Stand," leaves ample room for a sequel. Grade: A-

PS: Make sure you wait for the brief scene after the credits. Sometimes, thirty seconds can change everything.

Movie: The 40-Year-Old Virgin (COM, R)

I was a little nervous about watching The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Some people from my church walked out because of its crassness, but I stayed through the (admittedly rough) first twenty minutes and was very glad I did.

When his friends find out Andy (Steve Carell) is still a virgin, they make it their mission to get him deflowered ASAP. In the process, there is some bad language and even worse advice. Andy half-heartedly goes along with his friends' ridiculous and extremely hilarious setups, including chest waxing, bar pickups, and speed dating. Andy also meets Trish (Catherine Keener), a single mom. Terrified of telling Trish his Big Secret, Andy is thrilled when she wants to postpone sex until they have a real relationship.

While the purpose of the movie is obviously to get Andy laid, his relationship with Trish is strengthened by their decision to abstain. Beneath the surface of this oversexed comedy is the idea that sex should be about more than a physical act; relationship is what makes sex meaningful and special.

My church friends would have been surprised that this film actually upheld their core values. Despite its occasional excesses, I loved this film. Grade: A

Book: Codependent No More (SH, W)

The full title of Melody Beattie's book is Codependent No More : How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself. It is appropriate for men or women; I included it as a "women's issues" books because so many women fall into the trap of codependence and then teach their daughters that this type of unhealthy "nurturing" is how females should express love to others.

This book explains codependency and offers hope to help people escape the trap of feeling responsible for other people's behavior. The book primarily uses alcoholism/drug addiction as the type of behavior that creates codependency, but it was helpful for my non-chemical-related issues as well.

This book really helped me to recognize the lies I was believing that made me feel angry and helpless. It showed me how I was letting other people's problems control me and taught me how to set better personal boundaries and to determine how involved I wanted to be in other people's drama. It doesn't teach selfishness, but rather how to love yourself and treat yourself well when unhealthy people around you try to make you carry their burdens.

This book has so much to teach that I couldn't get everything on the first read.
As soon as I finished reading it, I flipped to the front and began it again. Grade: A+

Reviews by Genre: Chick Lit

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Monday, June 12, 2006

Reviews by Genre: Mystery

Books
TV

Reviews by Genre: Classics

Reviews by Genre: Suspense

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Movies
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