All the Men in My Life Keep Getting Killed by Candarian Micro-Reviews

Movies

Iron Man (**** – liked)
The Avengers (*** – enjoyed)
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World(**** – liked)
Toy Story 3 (*** – enjoyed)
Kick-Ass (*** – enjoyed)

Books

YA/MG fiction:
Divergent (**** – liked)
The Throne of Fire (**** – liked)
Wonderstruck (**** – liked)
Shine (**** – liked)
Eyes Like Stars (*** – enjoyed)

Adult fiction:
The Burning Wire ( *** – enjoyed)
The Best Laid Plans (**** – liked)
The Quantum Thief (**** – liked )

Adult non-fiction:
How We Decide (*** – enjoyed)

Iron Man by Jon Favreau (film, 2008) — Thanks for bringing over your Blu Ray, Ryan! Robert Downey, Jr. is awesome as the titular character, even if he has that weird disjointed beard whose corners don’t connect with those of his moustache. In fact, he’s so awesome that his costars sometimes don’t quite seem to keep up with him — in particular, I wished Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts had come off as more of an exasperated intellectual equal than an exasperated really-smart-but nowhere-near-as-smart-as-Tony-Stark woman. Otherwise, I enjoyed this character enough that I didn’t really care either way about the story.

The Avengers by Joss Whedon (film, 2012) — Thanks for seeing this with me, Natalie and Ryan (and also for putting up with me not having seen any of the previous Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, or Captain America movies)! This movie was fun, with lots of “HULK SMASH!” and “IRON MAN SNARK!” and “THOR NO USE CONTRACTIONS!” That said, I find films like this push my button labelled “Smart. Ladies. Can I please just have more smart lady characters? Who are people? Can I feel like women are equal in this story and have important and cool characteristics instead of feeling like you had to make the one token woman perfect because she’s token? Please?” I liked Black Widow, but I would have liked her even more had the fact that she was a woman not been one of the attributes that made her special.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World by Edgar Wright (film, 2010) — Thanks for lending this to me, Natalie! I loved the aesthetic of this movie, with its video-game conventions and slick special effects and the Toronto-ness of it all. On the other hand, the main character, Scott, who must best the seven evil exes of the girl of his dreams in order to date her, rubbed me the wrong way with his self-centred self consciousness. I liked his roommate Wallace though, and Scott does get better by the end of the movie as he completes his journey of personal growth.

Toy Story 3 by Lee Unkrich (film, 2010) — Thanks for lending this to me too, Natalie! If you haven’t seen Toy Story or its other sequels, there’s no point in explaining this one, and if you have, then you know roughly what to expect. I have to admit, I never enjoyed the other Toy Story movies as much as many of my social circle seemed to do. This instalment had the depth I expect of Pixar, but for some reason, it just didn’t grip me as emotionally as I expected.

Kick-Ass by Matthew Vaughn (film, 2010) — And also this one, Natalie! :) There were a lot of great performances in this movie, which tells the story of a teenaged boy who decides to dress up in a diving suit and become a real-life superhero. I was particularly impressed by Chloë Grace Moretz as a girl whose father trains her to be a crazy deadly crime fighter. My main empathetic barrier is that I’m a bit sick of this kind of main character — the geeky dude who gets the hot girl he has a crush on as the prize for completing his coming-of-age is fine, I guess, but why does he seem to be the only archetype around in movies about ideas I find cool?

Divergent by Veronica Roth (YA dystopian fantasy novel, 2011) – As I mentioned before, this book about a girl reaching adulthood in a world where all teens must choose between clans embodying five major virtues is a much more interesting take on the kind of sorting system made familiar by the Harry Potter series. The main character Tris is sympathetic and just the right mix of vulnerable and tough. We get to see her inner doubts and hang-ups, but it’s also easy to see how the other characters would have great reason to admire her strength and courage.

The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan (MG fantasy novel, 2011) – This is the second book in the Kane Chronicles, in which our biracial sibling heroes, Carter and Sadie, continue to race the clock to prevent chaos from conquering the world, this time working to free and reanimate the sun god Ra. To be honest, I couldn’t really remember most of what happened in book one, and I found that once I recalled the basic premise, it didn’t really matter. This instalment was fun and easy to read, with plenty of action and emotional intrigue.

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick (MG novel/graphic novel, 2011) – This story of Ben and Rose, two deaf children who live in different times, is told part in words and part in pictures. In the end, once the lives of the two characters begin to intertwine, the plot is quite simple, a journey of self-discovery and learning where you come from. The way all the different parts of this multi-media book come together is satisfying and original.

Shine by Lauren Myracle (YA mystery novel, 2011) – The way this novel started off made me think it was going to be upsetting and along the lines of The Laramie Project: teenaged Cat embarks on a search for the truth in small-town Southern US when her gay friend is horrifically assaulted in what appears to be a hate crime. The characters were well drawn and compelling, but after a certain point, I found that the solution to the mystery was more obvious than I’d have liked. Also, given the subject matter, the story ended in a surprisingly upbeat fashion; in fact, although I like optimism about human nature, I’m not entirely sure I was comfortable with what felt like some overly easy forgiveness scenes.

Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev (YA fantasy novel, 2009) – Bertie is a girl who lives in the otherworldly Theatre alongside all the characters who’ve ever appeared onstage, including her buds, the four attendant fairies from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and her crushes, the pirate extra Nate and The Tempest‘s Ariel, and her story was easy to read. I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as I could have because the plot seemed a little up-in-the-air to me, and more importantly, I can’t wrap my head around theatrical characters existing as Platonic ideals when for me the point of theatre is how there are so many different Hamlets, Algernon Moncrieffs, and Alan Strangs that coexist at the same time. However, I loved the realistic backstage dialogue, including the director’s perennial personal mantra, “You can’t kill them; you need them!”

The Burning Wire by Jeffery Deaver (mystery novel, 2010) – This time, Sachs and Rhyme take on a crazy killer/terrorist who’s rewiring NYC electricity to cause deadly arc flashes and fires. I started getting twist-for-the-sake-of-twist fatigue around a third of the way through, though of course it’s always fun to go for a ride with familiar characters. Still, I no longer believe that any of the important characters will get killed, nor do I take any of what the narrative tells me at face value, ever, which somewhat diminishes my enjoyment of these kinds of stories.

The Best Laid Plans by Terry Farris (humour novel, 2008) – This lampooning of Canadian politics probably only makes sense to those north of the border; if you ever laughed at Royal Canadian Air Farce or This Hour Has 22 Minutes, you’re probably fine. The story, in which a disillusioned ex-political staffer finds himself convincing a disgruntled Scottish engineering professor to stand as the Liberal candidate in a Conservative stronghold riding, is a little predictable (gosh, if our protagonist promises Angus he won’t win because everyone loves the Tory candidate, what do you suppose will happen before the end of the book?) but still a funny satirical look at how the democratic system favours politicians who are good at getting re-elected, not necessarily those who are good at their jobs. The main character, Daniel, can be off-puttingly elitist or white-middle-class-small-c-conservative sometimes, but he’s generally likeable, and the book has a pleasantly homegrown Canadian feel.

The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi (science fiction novel, 2011) – If I weren’t a lazy reader, this would get five stars, but although I enjoyed the complex adventure that basically decided exposition is for the weak, I couldn’t be bothered to try to figure out the nuances of the creative but alienating world Rajaniemi has built. In fact, if you aren’t familiar with the basic principles of quantum mechanics or public-key cryptography, you might not be able to build up the critical mass of understanding necessary for the  plot to make sense. That said, the characters are well drawn, and if you invest the effort, you’ll find that this story of a master thief sprung from prison to steal back his old life and memories is emotionally and intellectually rewarding.

How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer (non-fiction book, 2009) – Lehrer is always a pleasure to read, with his clear way of putting his case. I was disappointed that the main point of this book, that regardless of what cultural ideas embodied in characters like Spock and Data tell us, emotional and rational intelligence both play important parts in making good decisions, seemed obvious rather than insightful. Though it didn’t quite seem to draw together to a strong conclusion, it was still full of interesting case studies.