Movies watched for the first time (non-theatrically) since last week:None. Pop Culture At Home has been brought to me by Dexter lately, as Mrs. Fletch and I have polished off Season 5 of the serial killer drama. With that complete, I shall now have time to delve into some more videos...provided we don't start up a new show (Mad Men? Breaking Bad?)
Music I'm currently obsessed with:
* I dunno...I'm really stinking when it comes to this particular segment of The State. Good news is on the way, though, as three brand spankin' new CDs are on the way from Amazon (hooray for old school! And weird that CDs are old school!) - the latest from DeVotchKa (I know, I mention them often) and Kings of Leon (worried about this one, like it might be the last I buy from them anytime soon), along with one from the back catalog of White Stripes, Get Behind Me Satan, as a recent listening of "My Doorbell" had me bopping to that for a few hours. Hooray for me having a good song in my head for once. And hey, how 'bout we use that as the song I'm currently obsessed with. See, I just had to talk myself through this...
Book I'm currently reading:
* I am currently bookless.
Since the last State, I have finished both The Breach and Sputnik Sweetheart.
The Breach, by Patrick Lee, is an enjoyable sci-fi page turner - a tale of loss and redemption that travels all over the globe, from Alaska to Wyoming to Switzerland and back, all the while delving into Men in Black-style otherwordly stuff, time travel, and other things best suited to comic books. It gets murky and cumbersome at times, and the writing is competent but fairly generic: you won't walk away from the book thinking you've just read the work of a literary genius, and Lee has some serious work to do in the character development department (even physical characteristics would help). Solid if unspectacular. I think it'd make for a great (kinda dumb) action flick...or maybe just great.
On the other side of the spectrum is Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami. It's all character and (almost) no plot. Frankly, I'm not sure which I prefer - Murakami is clearly a skilled writer, and I was never really bored, but I still felt unsatisfied upon finishing the book.I believe next up will be some massive book Mrs. Fletch has that's a collection of Roald Dahl short stories.
Things to Click On
* Alex continues her movie sketches, but also wants you to know about her Tumblr blog in which she tracks down and posts old, cool foreign movie posters. The one for The Terminator is the fucking bomb. I want. (Film Forager)
* Note to those writing reviews from Univarn - it ain't enough to just state an opinion to be a critic. On the whole, this is basic stuff, but some people tend to forget what being a critic is all about. I think it's more coincidence than anything, but Max posted a similar essay at Anomalous Material on the same subject. (A Life In Equinox)
* Are you ready for The Big Lebowski 2? Tara Reid is. (Funny or Die)
* The rejuvenation of the LAMB's Movie of the Month is nearly complete. Our next film is Black Dynamite. Full details here. (The LAMB)
* Wanna be a filmmaker but think you need expensive equipment? Think again. (Mashable)
* Andrew starts with a simple question, "What Kind of a Movie Would You Make?," but ends up getting all introspective about his life and stuff. (gmanReviews)
4 people have chosen wisely: on "The State of the Cabins (3/30/11)"
Ah I love Dexter! What'd you think of season 5? I loved Peter Weller, he looked like he was having so much fun. And Julia Stiles was a nice addition. I'm nervous for the 6th season, since I think it's time they ended the show (they're writing themselves into a hole with Harrison) but I feel they're just going to keep pushing it forward until it's less interesting and loses viewers.
Also Devotchka's new album: excellent, though nothing especially new (which is ok). Get Behind Me Satan is a fun one too, and "My Doorbell" is one of the best songs along with "The Denial Twist" and "Take, Take, Take".
Aaaand thanks for the linkage! I am genuinely having so much fun finding all this international poster art, it's nice to find other people who are into it!
@ Alex - Dexter comments at the end...
Yea, I'm fine with more of the same of DeVotchKa. I took a spin of the album a few weeks back when some site was streaming the thing (think I linked it here). Of course I will love it. :D
Yep, dig all those Get Behind Me songs already. I just don't yet have all of the Stripes albums and need to remedy that.
You are most welcome. Cool posters should not be lost to time nor missed due to the country of their origin.
Ok, Dexter...
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
Peter Weller was great. Yes, he got to ham it up and play a nasty ol' baddie, and I could stand to see more of him in the future. Where the hell has he been? He was a great pickup and jolt of energy to the show, even if his character was a bit one-dimensional.
I'm not the greatest fan of the finale. There's nothing all that wrong, per se, but they seem to have ended with the super happy fun time ending...aside from Deb finding out about Dexter - which I thought they were gonna do - what drama is left? Quinn should be off his back, Astor loves him again, he has no girlfriend drama, etc, etc.
I've thought all along that the show has to end with him either getting killed or going to prison - there's no other satisfying finish, is there?
END END END END SPOILERS
You know, even though Michael C. Hall is from my hometown, I've never seen more than one episode of Dexter in a single session. Something about the show, it's one of those I tend to just watch an episode here and there which means I get absolutely nothing with respect to the story... shame.
Oh, and thanks for the linkage good sir. With all these posts following mine I'm just going to take credit for them all :P
@ Univarn - Yeah, I can't imagine Dexter working well at all as a single-serving show. You'd have no idea who the people are, what they care about, etc. It's got a relatively small cast that doesn't change all that much, so you get to know the few of them pretty well.
Alright - off to write a post about what it means to be a critic...
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