Gretch-a-sketch (old)

Just in case you're wondering, PoP (Proselytizers of Pop) is where I review everything I've read, heard, or seen during the previous week. Yay!

Books
How To Teach Filthy Rich Girls, by Zoey Dean
Privileged, the new show on the CW, is based off of this book, which peaked my interest. Having a movie based on your book is one thing, but a whole tv show? Whoa.
Basic Concept: Megan Smith has to teach two snotty teens. (They're filthy rich, in case you were wondering.) If the girls pass the SAT, the twins' grandmother will pay off the Yale grad's redonkulously expensive loans. I can't blame her for taking the offer, but she's far too trusting of the orphaned Sage and Rose. It was amusingly scandalous and smarter than the average chick lit, although it did suffer from the stereotypical plot line of "Oh noes! I have a boyfriend but this other guy likes me, too. How will I choose?" I haven't really watched Privileged--anyone like or dislike it?

Graceling, by Kristin Cashore
It's been a long time since I was so deeply engrossed in a book like Graceling. Katsa is gifted/cursed with the Grace of killing, which her uncle exploits to torture those who go against his rule. She defies her uncle to go and resolve a larger mystery with her newfound friend and companion, Po. Each interaction with Katsa and Po positively crackles with electricity. Katsa is a strong, unique, and sometimes irrational female lead who is still easy to relate to. The scenery, action sequences, romance, and supporting characters are all gorgeously rendered. I feel really good about placing his sumptuous fantasy debut next to the likes of authors Tamora Pierce and Robin McKinley.

The Loser's Guide to Life and Love, by A.E. Cannon
A.E. Cannon lives here in SLC--she's a newspaper columnist, novelist, and a great speaker. In this book, she's combined A Midsummer Night's Dream with teenage hormones and hidden identities. Ed likes Ellie and Ellie likes Sergio (Ed's alter-ego). Ed has two best friends--Scout and Quark. Scout likes Ed, Quark likes Scout. Hilarity ensues! It's a quick read and there were many self-indulgent chuckles on my part. As it takes place in Utah, it references the Mormon sub-culture, but usually only to clarify bits of the plot--all teen readers will love it.

Music
Pretty in Pink soundtrack
As a certified mix tape compiler (not really, but I deserve to be certified), I love and appreciate soundtracks more than the average music lover. It's all about rise, fall, and the pairing of really good tunes with a really good theme. Based on those qualifications, this is a great mix. Classic 80's--synth-pop and orchestral groove. Plus, it conjures up memories of Blane McDonough, which is never a bad thing.

Vampire Weekend, self-titled
 In a string of Ivy League alt-indie-rockers, Vampire Weekend leads the way. Most of the tracks are edgy and full of allusions. These guys know they're smarter than you and aren't afraid to show it. The result is pretentious, but it's deserved. "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" is a blast, in a self-aware, East-coast kind of way.

Movies
Laser U2
You know that scene in Freaks and Geeks where the Freaks go to the Pink Floyd laser show, except it's actually Southern Rock night? Laser U2 actually played U2, but the disappointment was the same. The lasers were lame-dash-o and the graphics were genuinely weird. My friend summed it up most aptly by saying that it was like watching a screensaver for 45 minutes. I adore U2, but what the heck?

Eagle Eye
There's a menacing threat to the government and two "ordinary" citizens are forced into saving the world as we know it. So begin the majority of action flicks and Eagle Eye doesn't waver from the format. Just like the rest of those movies, the dialogue is painfully weak and any pseudo-feel-good moments are eclipsed by explosions. Newsflash: Billy Bob Thornton really isn't that funny. Michelle Monaghan is young enough to be hot, but old enough to avoid any bizarre sexual tension with Shia LeBeouf. (Well, it's mostly avoided.) Speaking of dear Shia, for some reason they thought it would be a good idea to have his face be all scruffy. I assume this is to make him more appealing to my age-demographic, who will always remember him as Louis Stevens. Instead, he looks like a 38-year-old man who's behind on his child support payments. But if you're interested a second opinion, the Lil' Bro thought the movie "rocked so much" and "can't believe" I didn't like it.

My dawesome friend Megan pulled together a few girls (myself included) to do a panel on the Twilight Saga. It's funny and interesting, so please give it a read!
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

While we're on the topic, I also thought I'd post the review I wrote back when I finished Breaking Dawn. I didn't post it because back then I was still under the whole "review-blog-delusion." Better late than never, right? There's some repetition between my answers for Megan's thing and this review, which is to be expected. Also, hers is much cooler, so read it first.

(One last thing...I have not yet read Midnight Sun and I support Stephenie's decision to not publish it. And the movie looks iffy, but I'll see it open weekend anyway.)

Spoilers, natch

I remember reading Twilight during the week a major paper was due in my sophomore year of college. Big mistake. “Book crack” was how I explained it to a fellow bibliophile. She borrowed my copy and went straight to the book store to pick up New Moon, which I polished off the weekend before finals. That probably wasn’t the best move of my college career, but what did it matter? I’d been bitten.

Before I get to the review, let me put up my argument in defense of the Twilight saga. I’ve never viewed it as more than a Young Adult Romance/Suspense with vampiric themes. I do not believe people should give it any more credit than that. Meyer is not going to be the Austen of our generation and it is not on par with Harry Potter in the realm of YA literature. As far as Stephenie Meyer’s writing goes, it’s frankly hackneyed and repetitive. However, she is a gifted storyteller and her ability to create a compelling and original love triangle is enviable. Her books are abundantly entertaining, which is why they’re so massively successful. Most of all, they’re dead sexy without being inappropriate (minus one headboard, of course).

Breaking Dawn covers the time from Bella and Edward’s wedding through a period of great change in their lives. It is not the strongest book in the quartet, but it does the series justice. The defining passion of the previous books is not lost—maybe it even gained steam along the way. The way Stephenie planned Book Three in BD is either genius or a huge cop-out and I honestly have to lean towards the genius side. There are twists and turns that I didn’t except (granted, a few were painfully obvious). For the most part, the new characters are remarkable enough to hold the reader’s attention during parts that might otherwise seem tedious. Her writing (not surprisingly) ranges from trite to touching. I will admit, though, that there were sections that were actually done quite well, primarily in Jacob’s book and also during the meeting with the Volturi. If only her editor had helped as much in the other portions!

I was very impressed with the way that Stephenie handled the intimate moments in Eclipse, so I was naturally curious with how she’d deal with it in BD. It’s not thinly veiled, but still tasteful enough that parents really shouldn’t freak out about their girls reading it. I know plenty of moms will feel differently, but that’s just my opinion.

I was glad to see a whole section from Jacob’s POV. I have always adored Jacob and I needed that closure from his perspective. I totally thought he was going to imprint on Leah—I should have picked up on the fact that it was a ruse. Lots of reviews rant about the fact that he latches onto young Nessie, but I wasn’t that weirded out by it. (Editor's note: Looking back, I am pretty skeeved out.) The match of Quil and Claire was some funny foreshadowing for that. It’s not like Jacob has to wait for the normal amount of time, either.

Vampire Bella is substantially more enjoyable to read than her human counterpart. Sure, the personality switch is contrived, but what about any of the saga isn’t? She was always meant to be a vampire. Why wouldn’t she be happy and loving and ready for the challenge? Bella gets a loving husband, a family, and eternal life. Plus, she gets to look super hot while kicking the crap out of the evil guys. That actually makes complete sense from an LDS perspective.

Again, many reviewers seem irked by the fact that Bella gets everything (and at such a young age!) without any personal sacrifice. They complain about the marriage agenda and how she isn’t ready for motherhood. I almost agree with these things, but not quite, because a) Bella suffers from a ginormous martyr complex, b) of course it’s going to have a happy ending, and c) I really wouldn’t go taking lessons on love from these characters. Writing this review is definitely the most thought I’ve put into the series as a whole. It was fun to read and I’d still recommend it to other people. It met every single one of my not-that-high expectations.

Renesmee?

What an appalling name.

I mean, really.

A review of WALL-E

Just a heads up--the following post contains info about the plot of WALL-E, go figure.


It's a tale as old as technology. Boy robot meets girl robot, girl robot goes back into space, boy robot follows her into the final frontier, boy and girl robot must save the human race.
I had been vaguely interested in this movie based purely on the fact it's a Pixar film. I read so many positive reviews yesterday (which is a major testament to the power of the internet) that I knew I had to see it opening weekend. And really, what can I say other than Pixar has done it again?

Pixar has this enviable ability to be able to portray raw and relatable human emotion in the most unlikely of subjects. They've covered toys, insects, fish, monsters, automobiles, and rats. (In my opinion, their strongest film yet is The Incredibles, but they were dealing with people in that one.) What makes WALL-E so impressive to me is that it seems like Andrew Stanton and crew viewed this the film as a challenge to improve everything else they have done before.

It first ups the ante because communication is dealt with in a very R2-D2 fashion of beeps and mechanical whirls. However, you still easily understand the longing of WALL-E for EVE and EVE's frustration with WALL-E. Secondly, the soundtrack melds together futuristic themes with some very old-fashioned stylings. One of the most beautiful scenes is aided by Louis Armstrong's La Vie en Rose in the background. Lastly, the color palette on earth is muted and stark, but still stunning in its own way. It's one thing to show that the undersea is lovely with bold fish as in Finding Nemo, but to use mainly shades of brown and still get the impression of earth's grandeur? That's some crazy talent.

Like all good movies for kids, it's more than enough to keep the adults engaged. A major strength of Pixar to other studios is that Pixar relies on rich storytelling and keeping the animation brimming with details as opposed to crass innuendos and pop culture references. Granted, it does allude to 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars: A New Hope, and Short Circuit, but I think those are requisites for making a movie about space.

I loved the intertwining of Hello, Dolly! It's always been a favorite musical of mine and my senior year of high school I was in the pit orchestra for that show with all of my friends. I particularly adored the emphasis on hand-holding--in today's world there's so much focus on rushing the physical aspect of relationships. It was nice to return to a period where something simple like hand-holding meant a great deal. Heck, I still get giddy over the prospect. The romantic aspect of the show is terribly endearing, especially one scene set in zero-gravity.

Naturally, John Ratzenburger makes an appearance. I'm sure it's filled with other easter eggs, but I was too wrapped up in the story to pick up on them, so a re-watch is needed. The credits are gorgeously crafted. There's no extra end-bit like in Cars or A Bug's Life, but just stay for the new Peter Gabriel song and the art. Oh, also! The pre-film short is called Presto! and it's delightful. The story is about a magician and his rabbit in a brilliant homage to Bugs Bunny and the classic Looney Tunes. Chuck Jones would be proud.

There are a few take-home messages, namely 1. Take care of the planet, 2. Hard work is more rewarding than the easy way out, and 3. Stuff is less important than relationships. They aren't heavy-handed; in fact, they're important lessons for the upcoming generations to learn. It's also interesting to look at it as an updated version of Plato's Allegory of the Cave. Honestly, I think the main moral I learned came from Pixar in general--put the most effort and care into your work you possibly can. Not because of the money, not because of the praise, but because the things you love deserve your best labor. The passionate production of WALL-E shows and the time spent is entirely worth it.
4/4 Stars