Once Upon a Time in the Micro Reviews

Movies

Midnight in Paris (**** – liked)
The Tree of Life ( *** –  enjoyed)
Rise of the Planet of the Apes ( ** – found interesting)

Theatre

The Wizard of Oz (***** –  loved)
Private Lives (**** – liked)

Books

Adult fiction:
Postern of Fate (*** – enjoyed)
By the Pricking of My Thumbs (**** –  liked)
Snuff (***** – loved)
The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N (*** – enjoyed)
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (***** –  loved)
Rumpole of the Bailey
The Trials of Rumpole
Rumpole for the Defense
Rumpole and the Golden Thread
Rumpole’s Last Case
Rumpole à la Carte
Rumpole on Trial
and
The Anti-Social Behaviour of Horace Rumpole (***** – loved)

Midnight in Paris by Woody Allen (film, 2011) – Owen Wilson stars as a writer who escapes touring Paris with his stuck-up fiancée by finding a magical car that takes him back in time to shmooze with famous writers and artists in the 1920s. The way the story dealt with our tendency to idealize the past was interesting, and I especially liked that there was magic within the magic  (e.g. characters from the past find magical portholes to the even-more-distant past). On the downside, I couldn’t stand how the main character was a douchenozzle — I’m happy to cheer for douchenozzles provided they know they’re douchenozzles, but instead, the movie came across more like “Owen Wilson plays Woody Allen as Woody Allen imagines himself”.

The Tree of Life by Terrence Malick (film, 2011) – This is a very beautiful movie that almost made my mom, my sister, and me lose ourselves in hysterical laughter about thirty minutes in. The family member who loved it admitted to accidentally sleeping through parts of it. If you were making a parody of arthouse films, you’d wind up with something that looked at lot like this, and even though this film is aesthetically brilliant and has an interesting theme with book-of-Job resonances, it was too opaque and indulgent for me.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes by Rupert Wyatt (sc-fi film, 2011) – Then again, I spent most of this movie surfing the Net on my smartphone, because I could feel my brain going to screen-saver as I watched. It was fun, but there were no surprises, although I guess it was intriguing to see how the storytellers evoked sympathy for a protagonist who’s somewhat responsible for the annihilation of the audience’s species. And is poor Tom Felton going to play bullies for the rest of his life?

The Wizard of Oz by Ross Petty Productions (pantomime, 2011) – This was my first pantomime, but I hope it won’t be my last. Yeah, the jokes are corny, the songs are silly, the plot is non-existent… but what we’re really here for is to see Ross Petty camp it up as the Wicked Witch, and maybe to boo and hiss along with the kids in the audience as they get into the story. And, man, nobody plays a you-love-to-hate-her panto dame better than Mr. Petty.

Private Lives by Richard Eyre and company (play, 2011) – Thanks, M-L, for inviting me to see this with you! Former married couple Elyot and Amanda find themselves in a quandary when they realize they’ve brought their new spouses to honeymoon at the same hotel — but still have feelings for each other. In some ways (frothy banter about upper-class luxuries) Noel Coward is so dated; in others (the suggestion that sexual/romantic situations other than idyllic heterosexual monogamy are normal) he still feels way ahead of the times. Sometimes I forget that postmodern shows don’t have a monopoly on damaged, twisted characters or shocking social suggestions, but this show reminds me of how wrong I am — and the performers deal ably with Coward’s quick dialogue.

Postern of Fate by Agatha Christie (mystery novel, 1973) – Dame Agatha’s mystery-solving couple, Tommy and Tuppence, investigate a murder that took place decades ago and just might be tied to espionage. I tried, you guys, but I like the villains of my thrillers to be evil monsters, not political operatives, and Tommy and Tuppence aren’t the most exciting characters. Besides, the plot doesn’t get started in this book until at least a third of the way through, which is frustrating.

By the Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie (mystery novel, 1968) – Despite this being another Tommy and Tuppence mystery, I enjoyed the dastardly plot that unfolds when Tuppence investigates the apparent disappearance of an old woman who made seemingly senile comments about a murdered child. There’s lots of action in this one. Dame Agatha succeeds is cultivating a creepy atmosphere, all the more impressive when she keeps the reader in the dark until the very end of the book as to whether there was actually a crime committed.

Snuff by Terry Pratchett (fantasy novel, 2011) – Terry Pratchett is awesome, and this is a Vimes story, so it’s awesomer. Snuff is about our protagonist visiting another new setting (a country manor), encountering another race of misjudged non-humans (icky goblins), and solving another thrilling mystery involving corrupt officials. Because this has become the standard Vimes story, it’s just a little déjà-vu disappointing, but a “disappointing” Pratchett is an “amazing” anyone else, so I dare you to put this down once you’ve started.

The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N by Leo Rosten (comedic short stories, 1937) – Whether or not you find these stories funny depends on how entertaining you find an old-school Yiddish accent. In his English-as-a-second-language classes, Old-World immigrant Mr. Kaplan says the darnedest things! Reading this was like reading a book of puns: each one is funny the first time, but repetition dulls the hilarity very quickly.

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein (sci-fi novel, 1966) – It took me a couple years to get past the first few pages of this book about the emancipation of a lunar prison colony from Terran control, but once I got into it, I couldn’t figure out why I’d balked. There are so many interesting ideas packed into this story, and many still feel fresh in a decade that has already seen popular uprisings around the world. Perhaps the book’s one weakness is the way the plot slows down once the lunar rebellion settles past its initial stages.

Rumpole of the Bailey (mystery short stories, 1978)
The Trials of Rumpole (mystery short stories, 1979)
Rumpole for the Defense (mystery short stories, 1982)
Rumpole and the Golden Thread (mystery short stories, 1983)
Rumpole’s Last Case (mystery short stories, 1987)
Rumpole à la Carte (mystery short stories, 1990)
Rumpole on Trial (mystery short stories, 1992)
and
The Anti-Social Behaviour of Horace Rumpole (mystery novel, 2007) by Sir John Mortimer – So Rumpole is basically another Sherlock Holmes/House/Nero Wolfe/etc., only he’s an defense attorney instead of a detective/doctor/private eye/etc. He narrates his own stories in a witty and erudite fashion, and unlike the other eccentric geniuses I named, he really gives the impression that everyone except him is hilariously nuts. The author does a good job of making the reader unsure exactly how much of what Rumpole says is bluster and how much the character really believes in his well hidden heart of hearts.