December Newsletter

     It's the last month of the year, the home stretch. I would like to take a second and wish you the happiest of whichever holiday is your choosing and congratulate you on making it this far in 2016. We lost another icon. Mr. Leonard Cohen is no longer with us. It seems as though all of his press releases over the last few months have been about accepting his mortality and embracing the next step so it's hard to say that it's a complete shock but it always sucks when someone who's music and writing has been a part of your existence is now absent. I'm Your Man is one of my desert island albums, which one is yours?  I wonder how many times we'll hear Black Star, Bad Magic and You Want It Darker as we get closer to the end of the year.
     On a more cheerful note, Ronda Rousey is getting back into the octagon against Amanda Nunes on December 30th. I've always wanted to see her fight live but considering that it's taking place in Vegas ($$$) and the nosebleed seats are $95.00 with prices going into five digits the closer you get ($$$$$), this is not going to be that time. I'll just watch it on t.v. like everybody else.
     Do you have a reader on your gift list? Are you just looking for something interesting to get you through the day? Here's what I've read lately, maybe you'll get some ideas-

The Enemy by Lee Child- Do you remember last month when I said that the next novel after Persuader could only get better? Thankfully, I was right. This one is set in the late 1980’s as The Berlin Wall is coming down and the army is on the verge of downsizing. It’s a little disappointing that Child had to resort to the prequel (it’s a personal thing. I’m nostalgic for the days when adventure series just moved ever forward. Fleming never did a prequel, just saying) but it’s such a refreshing return to form that you take the bitter with the sweet. My only other criticism of this book is that I listened to it on cd and the narrator has this slow east coast-esque cadence to his voice that would be great if he were reading a Brett Halliday novel but it’s hard to imagine Jack Reacher speaking in this manner. Reacher is a man of few words, his sentences are short and clipped. I admit, it’s nit -picky, the story is still good, pick up the book and listen to whoever’s voice you want to.
 

Joyland by Stephen King- Not your typical Stephen King novel, this is published by Hard Case Crime. It’s told in flashback as a man recounts his days of working through school as a carnie in North Carolina in the early 1970’s. As you might have guessed, there’s a crime that’s been committed and because it’s King, there’s also a ghost involved. If you like King or just good slow burning mysteries, check it out.

A Life In Parts by Bryan Cranston-  Back in October I had the chance to attend his…well, I’m not sure what to call it…book signing/interview/speaking engagement (?). It was presented by a local bookstore and the price of admission paid for a copy of his new autobiography that he was promoting. He didn’t sit at a table and sign each book as people filed by which is why I’m hesitant to call it a book signing. He did, however, sign 100 copies beforehand and they were interspersed throughout the piles. When you take into consideration the number of people that The Uptown Theater holds, 100 is about a handful. I was just happy to be there and get a book, no sense in getting my hopes up. The bookstore owner interviewed Mr. Cranston who would then give very elaborate answers to the audience. The whole experience was rather unique and informal. It was fascinating to listen to him tell of his early days (he worked on Alligator(!!) as a special effects p.a.) and, of course, his time on Malcolm In The Middle and Breaking Bad. I was hoping to hear more about Trumbo but I guess that’s another story for another time.

     The book is written in a series of short vignettes so it’s perfect if you’re at work or a bathroom reader. It covers his childhood through his Tony Award winning performance in All The Way. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Cranston fan (you will be by the end) because the book is not just about him but the journey of an actor exploring his craft. I really recommend it.

     After the show, as I looked out across the sea of humanity being herded out the exit where three volunteers were passing out books as fast as they could, I’d almost forgotten about the hundred signed copies. I guess that’s how Charlie felt about his golden ticket. They had us moving like paratroopers, only instead of static lines there were books handed out before crossing the threshold into the dark American night. I walked back to my car and it wasn’t until I was home that curiosity finally nagged me enough to open my gift bag and discover that sensation of relief and excitement that 99 others felt that night.

One Shot by Lee Child- The storytelling is still on par and Jack Reacher is back in the present (well, the early 2000’s when the book was published). This is the one Paramount based the movie Jack Reacher on. It’s similar in storyline but still different enough to keep you interested. On a good note, the narrator of the cd is the same guy from The Enemy but, he got it a little closer this time. If you’ve enjoyed the other books in the series, don’t stop now!

     My movie list is considerably shorter than last month since I've been working more than watching but, since man cannot live on the written word alone, here's something you might want to check out-
Ashby-This movie came out last year and probably made its way through the festival circuit. Mickey Rourke plays a retired hitman who's neighbor is high school kid that just moved in. The kid gets a school assignment to talk to an older person and find out their story. I'll set up the premise for you, but you'll have to watch the movie to find out the rest. I really enjoyed it.

Doctor Strange-Wow! Have you seen this yet? The visual effects are incredible and need to be seen on the big screen so don't dawdle. I've been a cursory Doctor Strange fan since I was a kid. One of my cousins introduced me to him but I was always more of a Captain America and Daredevil fan to get into the mysticism of the good doctor. Here again, I'm not going to give away all of the plot points of the film, I'll just say go see it and enjoy.

Hacksaw Ridge-Say what you will about Mel Gibson, I enjoyed this movie. He branched out and tried some new things stylistically and you hardly recognize it as a Gibson film. I'll let history provide the spoilers and just say go check it out.

Home For The Holidays- This has kind of become a Thanksgiving tradition at my house. An all-star cast, each playing at least one of your relatives. If you get the chance, read the short story by Chris Radant.

Juggernaut- This has been a favorite of mine for a while. Richard Harris, Omar Sharif, Anthony Hopkins and Ian Holm in the same movie about a mad bomber who'll blow up an ocean liner if he doesn't get his money! If you've seen it then you know what I'm talking about, if you haven't seen it then remedy that now!

A Perfect Day- Benicio Del Toro, Tim Robbins, and Olga Kurylenko are overseas aid workers in The Balkans. It's a dramatic comedy that kind of reminds you of No Man's Land ('01). Watch and enjoy.

Pieces Of April- Thanksgiving is not complete until you've seen this movie. This is probably my favorite Oliver Platt role. The whole cast is good, don't get me wrong. It really gives a little pull on the heart strings.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles- John Hughes set the gold standard for Thanksgiving films with this classic. Steve Martin and John Candy are great together.

Rambo: First Blood Part II- Every so often, I'll take these off the shelf and remind myself of how good they are. I usually start with First Blood but anymore that's just one I enjoy more in December or, at least the winter months. I'll keep this short or else I'll just go on for paragraphs about the whole series. It's everything I shouldn't like in a movie but do- the first one is based on a novel and it went on for three more sequels...and I love them all.

Rambo III- Oh how the times have changed. Once the Mujahadin were our allies and our all-American fighting machine helped them defeat the Ruskies. Ignoring the dated politics of this film, it's still pretty fun. I have a guy that I rent prop weapons from who was an extra rebel horseman in the climactic finale. He'll tell me all kinds of on set stories, most of them are cautionary since he broke his leg when his horse went down in a scene. The Ultimate Edition dvd has a few deleted scenes.

Rambo- Our boy is a little older and a hell of a lot more jaded in the fourth chapter. The blu-ray has a directors cut that also has a director commentary. About the only noticeable difference in the directors cut, aside from pieces expanded a little here and there, is that you find out what "is". Personally, I think it completes the scene a lot better, not really sure why it was cut aside from time restraints.

     A quick note for you t.v. watchers- if you get the chance, check out Alfred Hitchcock Presents. I'm currently in season five and the show is incredible.

     That's about all I have for this month, again I'd like to wish you all a happy holiday and hope to see you in the new year!