Loose-ing Herself (Book Review: Loose Girl by Kerry Cohen)

You know that girl: the slut, the easy one, the "loose one." Kerry Cohen's "Loose Girl: A Memoir Of Promiscuity" is a story of such girl. It's a raw and honest telling of how she slept her way through her youth, and is written vividly and such poignancy that you really feel the pain and the need behind why she did so. Cohen is such a good writer that she lures you into her tale passionately, but then halfway through the book you ask yourself - is there a point to all this? Yes, you realize that this young woman is substituting the affections of random strangers seemingly because she didn't get enough from his parents, but you also do not sense that she is doing anything about it. The end and retribution comes too quickly that it is almost unbelievable for me, and doesn't give a payoff to what you have previously read. On one hand, I admire her very sensitive writing, but in the end it just comes off as a kind of laundry list of all the men she was with. 

BC-60

Red Velvet Scent (Scent Review: Jo Malone Velvet Rose And Oud)

London's Heathrow Airport is the perfect place to buy Jo Malone fragrances: their duty-free store there prices their bottles around thirty percent less their regular retail prices. So, I was looking for their recent London-only limited edition releases and sadly, most of them were already gone, and the only one they was Velvet Rose And Oud, from their Intense Cologne series. I actually like most of offerings in their Intense Cologne line, as I think those have more depth. And if I am not mistaken, I think this is the very first Jo Malone oud scent, which is the note-du-jour nowadays. This rose scent is not your jammy bright rose - it's deeper, and notes of clove and praline give it a dense hue. The rose is still the heart of the perfume, but the oud obviously gives it a spicy intensity. If there was ever a rose scent that could be easily worn by a man, this would be it. My friend Jeff bought it and I always loved it whenever he wore it during our cruise. I liked it a lot, and found myself holding a bottle getting ready to purchase but, I already have a couple of similar scents in my wardrobe (Lutens' Se Majeste and Labirynth Of The People come quickly to mind) to justify me buying another one. However, if you were clamoring for By Killian's Rose Oud, this would be a cheaper and just-as-nice alternative.

Paris For The Young And In Love (Book Review: Anna And The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins)

Here is another book I read when I was on vacation. Since I was in Europe, I thought I would start reading something set there, specifically Paris. Paris is a beautiful city, but I have yet to have a magical experience there after a couple of visits. So, maybe I will just live vicariously through stories. Anna moves there her senior year in High School, and she tries to fit in a strange country while she adjusts to new friendships. She is also still pining for a boy back home. She develops feelings for a classmate, Etienne St. Clair, who has a long-time girlfriend. Their relationship starts as deep friendship, and well, we all know how difficult and dangerous it can be to "cross the line." I loved that aspect of this story - how complications arise they two develop feelings for each other. It seemed real, and I loved how they never ever really verbalize and act upon feelings, as those feelings get deeper and more profound. I totally wished this had a more bittersweet ending, for it would have made the story more poignant. But, it's still a great read, and it made me feel young and in love even for a moment. 

BC-59

Animal Husbandry (Film Review: We Bought A Zoo)

Sometimes I wonder if I am really as cynical as I used to be, or this old age of mine has made me even softer. I normally do not go out of my way for family-themed things, but I found myself watching "We Bought A Zoo" and enjoying it immensely. I was attracted to it because it was directed by Cameron Crowe, who directed "Jerry Maguire," and "Say Anything." The film was adapted from a non-fiction book about a family who bought and restored an old zoo. It's a fairly predictable story, and you more or less know how the movie turns out, so the fun should be how the filmmakers and actors connect the dots. Matt Damon is superb: he gives his role just the tight amount of pathos without it being too sentimental. I keep on forgetting how good an actor he is, and now that his boyish looks have somewhat faded, one can concentrate more on his characters. I am still unmoved by Scarlett Johansson, an actor I have never "gotten." I think she is too mannered, too self-conscious, and do not understand her appeal. (On stage, I am as baffled by her Tony-award winning performance)  They have even managed to make her unattractive here, with stringy hair and a perma-scowl. The kids are cute, as they ought to be in a movie like this, and I see a great future in Elle Fanning (Dakota's younger sister) who has star quality. This is one of those movies that entertained me while I was watching it. But, I also don't know if I would ever sit down and watch this movie again.

She's Spinning Around (Book Review: Spin by Catherine McKenzie)

"Spin" by Catherine McKenzie was, for me, an unexpected delight. It is, in the best sense, a celebration of a "hot mess."  It is about a young woman, Kate, who goes "undercover" in rehab to get scoop on a celebutante in exchange for a job at a music magazine. While the premise is somewhat unrealistic, the character has such a funny and unique voice that it all becomes quite believable and very very real. I loved the naturalistic way that characters discover and nurture their relationships. Though some characters may be a bit on the cardboard side, they served their purpose as the story moved forward. This is a great beach/vacation read: there's a lot of 'fun' in it, and even a great lesson to be learned in the end. And though the author, Catherine McKenzie is Canadian, I can sense a bit of British influence in the story and characters ( a lot of pub culture scenes) and of course I am such an Anglophile it just added to my appreciation of the novel. Oh, and also, I must add that I also loved that the love interest was a ginger: we sure don't get as much of those nowadays.

BC-58

Pink Down To Earth (Scent Review: Stella McCartney L.I.L.Y)

I have a perfume quirk: I don't like it when someone describes my scent as "clean." I don't think perfume should smell clean, for me it's an artistic expression, and for me, smelling "clean" is akin to a blank canvas. So I had to think twice when someone complemented me wearing L.I.L.Y, saying that the perfume smelled clean. But you know what? it does smell clean, it smells fresh, and in this instance, the description seems apt. I had been wanting to sniff Stella McCartney's L.I.L.Y. for a while, for I was/am a big fan of "Stella," her first fragrance. I thought she did a good job of modernizing the rose int hat one, and I had read that she was doing the same thing for muguet, or lily of the valley for this new fragrance. And you know how you can sometimes "envision" a scent? L.I.L.Y is exactly how I thought it would be: a lily of the valley that is soft yet sturdy, modernly classic, and ethereal. I love how even if this is a floral scent, it can easily be worn by a man. There is oakmoss/truffle in it that makes the scent woodsy. And yes, it is definitely clean-smelling but not "washed-out" or aquatic. There is a white musk here that brings the scent down to earth.I think this is a great Summer scent - I wore it on hot, hazy, humid weather and it smelled fresh, but not to fleeting enough on colder days. It's a beauty.

Women (Book Review: I Hate Everyone by Joan Rivers and I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron)

While on holiday the past two weeks, I found myself reading two books by two women, and I swear it was purely coincidental, or was it? Maybe some kind of energy was pulling me towards their books. 

The first one, which I read on the plane, was Joan Rivers' "I Hate Everyone...Starting With Me."  I am prefacing by declaring myself a  "Joan Ranger,"  which is what she calls her fans. I have been a fan of hers since way back, and have more or less followed most things she has done. I don't really like what she has been doing of late (never liked her Celebrity Apprentice gigs and most stuff after) but I think she deserves to do whatever she wants to do at this point. This book is a collection of things she hates, and it goes on and on and on. While I am sure the material works well with her stand-up routine, I found that on paper, it read very bitter and angry. Without her wink-wink delivery, it just did not engage me in a positive manner. The book was full of fillers, and I felt like she was trying to extend a very flimsy idea for a whole book. I still love her - I love survivors, and she is definitely one - and I hope she releases a more personal book soon. I remember being floored by her autobiography a while back. 

The recent passing of Nora Ephron made me want to finally read her last book, " I Remember Nothing, And Other Reflections." I read Lena Dunham's touching essay  recently and thought it was thoughtful and made me realize that Ms. Ephron touched a lot of people's lives. (I remember Steve Martin tweeted that he could not post jokes because he was still thinking of her)  This book is more a collection essays and it offers offers a glimpse of what is inside Ms. Ephron's mind, and while I may not agree with some of her thoughts, I appreciate her wry and funny tone.  She talks about failed marriages, rough childhood, missing chandeliers all in the same breathe and they are always interesting. Her kind of writing almost seems old-fashioned nowadays. In this age of blogging, her detailed essays seem too detailed, broadly thought out. It ends in a bittersweet manner - wherein she lists all the things she will and will not miss when she leaves the world. I wonder if she was already sick when she was writing this book, as it had a slight tone of foreboding in the end. This is personal writing at its very best, and it made me want to check out her other books. It made me lament the world losing her.

BC-56/57

People Alone (Film Review: People Like Us)

"People Like Us" is that rarity in a summer movie: a film with no explosions, no special effects, not even magic mikes.  It's even too low key to be a Nicholas Sparks novel. Based on real life events from Director Alex Kurtzman's life, it is a story of a Type-A personality-affected man who finds out, after his father's death, that his father had a family, and he has a half sister. It's a simple enough story that should be more honest. It only isn't because the screenplay is full of holes, but you can more or less forgive that. The reason? Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks gives down to earth performances that will make you believe. I never thought Pine much of an actor before, but he holds his own here, and Banks, as a woman-of-the-world type, glows in all the scenes she is in. The two of them have such a comfortable chemistry I have to sometimes remind myself that their characters are and will not be romantically involved. A much braver film may have explored that option, but here they play it safe by having Pine's character have a girlfriend. Michele Pfeiffer, playing Pine's mother, is given an almost thankless role, though she works hard at what she is given, but you can still sense that she was bored with her role. In a lot of ways, I liked it more than "Magic Mike," which I also saw this weekend. This one is just a little more honest, and more adult in sensibility.

Summer Lovin Happened So Fast (Book Review: Loving Summer by Kailin Gow)

The title of the book is "Loving Summer," and I started it because here we are in the throes of summertime, and I thought it would be appropriate. I thought it would be a fun read, something to go through while lounging by a pool or by the beach. That would be the idea, anyway, since I wasn't doing either of those things. But I found this story quite heavy. It's fine, I guess, but it wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I felt the kids took their emotions too seriously, but at the same time acted too immature. I wanted to like the main character, Summer, but she was too wishy washy and it didn't help that the author gave her unbelievable situations. (A teenager takes over a California  acting class school out of the blue? )  I tried to be open-minded and told myself these are kids, but I just ended up not liking any of the characters, even the adults. "Loving Summer" should have been more fun. 

BC-55

Got To Believe In Magic (Film Review:Magic Mike)

There was no way anyone could stop me from watching "Magic Mike" on its first day. And I knew I would enjoy it, though I was unsure how. Would I like it on a shallow level (beefcake), or will it be camp, or perhaps I would enjoy it as a piece of cinema? And so, I did enjoy myself a lot, because it is a very entertaining movie, a morality tale that never becomes too preachy. Essentially, it is a classic Hollywood American Dream formula film. Magic Mike (Channing Tatum) works multiple jobs, but he really wants to be a custom furniture maker. He stumbles upon a protege, "The Kid," and we see him mentor the kid, and show him the ropes to make it big. There's nothing really fresh in the screenplay, but we still are emotionally invested, mostly from the great acting from the cast, especially Tatum. I now realize that Tatum epitomizes the great modern actor of our times: effortless, relatable, unpretentious, real. In every movie I have seen him, he is always different, always distinct, always effective. Here he is the cocky stripper with the heart of gold, the mentor who comes through.  He is the heart of the movie, the one who grows up, the one who carries the same heart heavily, and the one who wraps it all up in the end. The rest of the cast shines, too - Matthew McConaughey is perfect in the Mother Den/Pimp role. You can tell he is having a lot of fun with the project. I was also impressed with Alex Pettyfer - he shows a vulnerability and an "aw shucks" earnestness that was vital for the role. For those who are looking for skin, there's enough and plenty of that, although I thought it was not really titillating from its lack of subtlety. The early evening almost all-women audience seemed to be lapping it up, though. Yes, pun intended. "Magic Mike" is not just a dirty romp - you will not feel too guilty when you wake up in the morning.

First I Was Afraid (Book Review: First You Fall by Scott Sherman)

I read and loved "Second You Sin," by Scott Sherman, and then I realized it was the second book in The Kevin Connor Mystery Series, so of course the anal retentive in me just had to seek out "First You Fall," which is the first book of the series. And guess what? I loved it as well. I observed a while back that older people liked to read mysteries, and maybe because I am older now that I am getting into the genre more. Books like "First You Fall" will inch me to reading more, if they are this enjoyable. But I find what I like most about this book is the characters. We of course have the protagonist: the rentboy with a heart of gold, and we have his obligatory slutty best friend. Their interplay is wonderful: witty and erudite. (Kevin's mother is also a hoot)  The "mystery" part here is pretty good, and there's good action in the final chapters. For me, it was a great blend, and though I like the second book better (I thought there were more characters than mystery in the sequel) this one kept my interest level high and it definitely wasn't boring. I hope to Mr. Sherman adds more to the series. 

BC-54

This Summer's News (Television Review: The Newsroom/HBO)

Aaron Sorkin is back on television. HBO's new summer series, "The Newsroom" premiered Sunday and this series is a welcome delight. A lot of critics haven't been kind to this show, calling it preachy and condescending. Well, I am not going to complain about that because I agree with what the series is saying. Surely, the show is opinionated, and arrogant perhaps, but at least it has a specific point of view. Perhaps you disagree with it, but you cannot begrudge it's message. I am reminded of it as I read accounts of what is happening at NBC's Today Show. Ann Curry, allegedly, is being pushed out, and is being blamed for its ratings decline. However, I think the bigger problem is the tabloidization of morning news in general. There used to be a time when you turned the news in the morning and you heard news. Nowadays, you get a magazine type show where they interview reality television stars. That is perhaps part of "The Newsroom"'s message - at some point, you have to make a decision to be "above it all." Sure, for a lot of people, that may be a hard pill to swallow, and most times these are the same people reviewing shows like "the Newsroom." But with its snappy dialogue and charismatic cast, the show is vastly entertaining - whether you agree with its message or now. John J Gallagher and Thomas Sadoski are great in it, as the then-and-now producer of Will McAvoy's (Jeff Daniels) show. I am not entirely convinced about Daniels, though I think he will grow on me as the season progresses. There is just something about him, for now, that seems off: too sleek, not sleek enough, too polished, not attractive enough? Something. Anyhow, I will be watching, and expecting the best.

Spilt Milk (Book Review: Leche by R Zamora Linmark)

There is a famous desert in The Philippines called "halo-halo," which strictly translated is "Mix-Mix." It is a sweet concoction based with milk, and like the Cobb salad, is a mix of different types of sweets. It's texturized - you get gelatin, rice peal drops, beans, ice cream, coconut, and is sinfully delicious. I liken R. Zamora Linmark's novel "Leche" to it: the book is a collage of different things: fantasy, reflections, "Tourist Tips," postcards. It is also unfocused, and quite untrue. I don't buy that this book is an ode to Linmark's country of youth: I get the sense he does not even like the country, or its people. Filipinos are fiercely nationalistic, and I suspect would be not be happy with the way they are represented here. The Philippines most famous first daughter of the 90s, Kris Aquino, is definitely a mine for satire, but she gets him (and his satire of her) all wrong here. Worst of all, there doesn't seem to be a cohesive narrative here. I thought the main character, Vince, was unlikeable, and minor characters come and go with no rhyme nor reason for you to care about anyone. All, in all, I think it's a missed opportunity. 

BC-53

Precious And Few (Film Review: Moonride Kingdom)

I am at a loss as to how to describe Wes Anderson's newest movie, "Moonrise Kingdom." Twee? Precious? Fantasy-like? While those are adjectives that can describe  his latest movie, they just scratch the surface. But before anything else, let me just state on record that I am not the biggest fan of Mr. Anderson's movies. In fact, I stopped trying to "understand" them.  At this point, I admire them more, because they obviously touch a lot of people, based on his loyalists. But I was kind of looking forward to seeing this movie, as I thought it may appeal to my sensibility: themes of young love, melancholy abound here. My verdict: I liked it enough to not say I hate it. I am kind of glad I saw it, though I wouldn't say I would want to see it again. It's a story of two tweens who start to communicate through letters, then agree to run away. They set up camp and they dance to Francoise Hardy, and French-kiss chastely. It's pure, and innocent, and sweet. But they are young, and even they don't know what their love means. But the movie is much more than that, the boy is a foster child, and because of this incident, is abandoned by his foster parents. "Social Services," played with deliciousness by Tilda Swinton (God - can this woman do anything wrong?) wants to claim him now and put him in a "juvenile orphanage" which evokes Dickensian images. Filmed through a 16mm camera and filtered like an Instagram app photo, the movie is never uninteresting to look at. I will not lie and say that there weren't instances where I rolled my eyes - why must Anderson always have adults as idiots in his films - but more or less, I believed Anderson's (so written with Roman Copolla) screenplay. All the actors here are in on Anderson's joke, and I cannot believe I saw a movie where I liked Bruce Willis' performance. 

Ain't It Nice! (Stage Review: Nice Work IF You Can Get It)

When it comes to Broadway musicals, my taste skews towards the old-fashioned. "Nice Work If You Can Get It" is old-fashioned, alright, and I loved it. It is a glorious parade of Gershwin songs, and about ten minutes into it, I found myself with a silly grin, in a happy place, intoxicated with its fizz and sparkle. It's definitely a "throwback" to musicals of yesteryears: star leads, thin book, lots of madcaps, splashy production numbers? And what's wrong with that? For me, nothing. Today's audience may nto totally love its long-ish running time. If I may admit, some numbers could be cut. It's vaudeville-ish in a way: each character has specific musical numbers, and some minor characters may not merit theirs. But Kathleen Marshall's very specific point of view is great. So yes, more than a couple of things may be reminiscent of what she did for the Roundabout revival of "Anything Goes," but they work. I consider the two productions twin sets. They both work. And there's a low-key but effective chemistry between Matthew Broderick and Kelli O'Hara. True, Broderick is low-watt compared to everyone else on stage, but it seemed a perfect counterpoint to O'Hara's comedic foil. I was quite impressed with the latter - I hadn't realized she could be funny. Judy Kaye won a Tony for her performance, and she is fine if a bit underutilized (I would have given the Tony to Elaine Paige, though.) And can I talk about the wall-to-wall Gershwin songs. They really are tiemeless, and I could hear Kelli singing "Someone To Watch Over Me" for the rest of my life and wouldn't be bored by it. But my favorite thing about the musical: it made me feel good, it made me think about romance, it made me feel like dancing as I was leaving The Imperial Theater. very few things in the world can do that to me.