Movie Review: "The Grand Budapest Hotel"

I've always been enamored of movies with a healthy dose of humorous or eccentric quirk, like Christopher Guest's (Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman), but not so much those whose quirkiness leans more toward the bizarre. This should explain quite well why I'm such a fan of Wes Anderson's movies.

His latest film, The Grand Budapest Hotel, is a little more slapsticky than his more recent movies, but it's still vintage Wes Anderson. Set primarily in the 1930s in a fictional European country, it tells the story of the regal Grand Budapest Hotel, and its chief concierge, the sly, fey, manipulative Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes, getting the chance to show off his comic chops for once). Gustave H is a stickler for perfection and customer service, which in his own mind means romancing all of the elderly female guests, and dousing himself liberally in a memorable cologne.

While this European country is on the brink of war, Gustave H is fighting his own battle—he has been accused of murdering one of his paramours, the elderly and colossally wealthy Madame D. (Tilda Swinton). Madame D, much to the chagrin of her children—particularly her son Dmitri (a dastardly Adrien Brody)—has left Gustave a famous painting, but that codicil to her will is under suspicion. At the same time, Gustave is training a new lobby boy, Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori), who is willing to follow Gustave's every whim, as long as he stops flirting with Zero's beloved, baker Agatha (a sly Saoirse Ronan).

As Gustave fights to clear his name and free himself from prison (with the help of Zero and some fellow convicts), he's also determined to find out the truth behind who killed Madame D., even if it means tangling with Dmitri's hired muscle (Willem Dafoe, looking a little vampirish). What ensues are chase scenes, scandalous discoveries, social commentary about the changing humanity in the face of war, and undying loyalty between Zero and Gustave. It's a fun little romp, full of vintage Anderson flourishes and elaborate art and set direction.

This is a little lighter in nature than, say, Moonrise Kingdom or The Royal Tenenbaums, but I found it just as enjoyable. What I love most about Anderson's films are the worlds he creates and the complexity and idiosyncrasies of his characters, and this movie had both of those touches. The Grand Budapest Hotel, both in the 1930s and 1960s, where the movie is narrated from, is a creation all its own, populated with memorable, passionate, and quirky characters. (Many of Anderson's regulars—Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Brody, Dafoe, and Swinton—are back again for more.)

I loved Ralph Fiennes in this movie. So often he plays morose characters, if not evil ones (cough, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, cough), so it's awesome to see him get to sink his teeth into such a humorous, campy role. I really enjoyed his delivery in many scenes, and the dedication Gustave has to the hotel, even as he's trying to benefit himself as well. Revolori does a great job as the loyal lobby boy, and it's also good to see Ronan smiling in her part. There are so many actors crammed into this movie that you both enjoy their performances and find yourself saying "Oh, wow, they're in this, too?"

Wes Anderson's movies aren't for everyone. But if you're looking for some wisecracking, unusual fun, with some enjoyable performances, definitely check this one out. If you like your movies a little more straightforward and less strange, you might want to pass this one by. I really enjoyed it, though.

Book Review: "Coincidence" by J.W. Ironmonger

Do coincidences really exist? Are our lives determined by chance or does a guiding force dictate what will happen?

On Midsummer's Day (June 21), 1982, three-year-old Azalea Ives is found wandering in the midst of a fair in the United Kingdom. With no sign of any parental figures, and her being too young to provide information about her family or where she lives, she is entered into the foster care system and eventually adopted by teachers Luke and Rebecca Folley.

Ten years later, on June 21, 1992, Azalea's adoptive parents are killed in Uganda, part of an uprising led by notorious warlord Joseph Kony.

The confluence of these events, and the fact that other things have occurred in Azalea's life more than once, has led her to believe that on June 21, 2012, she will die as her mother and adoptive parents before her. She seeks out Thomas Post, a professor specializing in the study of coincidences, to see if he can shed some light on her fate. Post believes that life happens randomly, but the more he gets to know Azalea and learns about how her life has unfolded, the more he starts to wonder—and worry if she might be right about meeting her death on that same day.

Coincidence spans from 1982 to the present, from the United Kingdom to Uganda. It's a tremendously intriguing book that debates whether fate has a hand in determining the course of our future, and whether there is anything that can be done if we believe that to be true. It's also a book about whether you should live your life for the moment instead of worrying about what your fate might be, and how emotions trip up our rational thoughts.

I enjoyed the premise of this book, and liked when it focused on Azalea's story throughout the years and her uncovering the many similarities or coincidences in her life. However, I felt the book spent a little too much time laying out her family's time in Uganda and Joseph Kony's reign of terror (although some of it is explained later in the book) and that took away from the power of the story. I also felt in trying to lay out an argument about whether coincidences really do exist, the book got a bit technical and heavy-handed.

At its heart, this is a powerful, emotional story. I just wish the actual story got more attention than the message the book was trying to convey. But it's still very fascinating, especially if you believe in coincidences.

Book Review: "Shotgun Lovesongs" by Nickolas Butler

Some books do a great job evoking a sense of place and a general mood, which draw you even further into them. Nickolas Butler's Shotgun Lovesongs is one such book. It's beautifully written—poetic, even—and tremendously compelling, and I read it between two short flights.

Little Wing, Wisconsin is a small rural town. Henry, Lee, Ronny, and Kip were best friends who grew up together. While Henry stayed in Little Wing to take over his father's dairy farm, Ronny found some success on the rodeo circuit before his drinking led to a brain injury following an arrest, Kip moved to Chicago to become a broker for the Mercantile Exchange, and Lee was the successful one, becoming a popular singer.

Ten years later, the friends are reunited for Kip's wedding, as he has returned to Little Wing to breathe life into the town's defunct mill. Lee agrees to sing a song at the wedding, and he finds himself caught between the magic of a new relationship with a successful actress and the desire to return home, where life is simpler. But the wedding also causes the start of some stresses among the friends, as they deal with the problems of their own lives and the envy, frustration, jealousy, and insecurity of small-town life when you've known each other forever.

The book shifts in perspective between the four friends as well as Henry's wife, Beth, who also grew up in Little Wing, and had a special connection with many of the friends. It moves back and forth through time, touching on the victories and defeats, hurts and happy times. While some characters are more engaging than others, Butler has imbued them with such life and complexity that they feel almost larger than life, and you find yourself wishing you had friends like these. While nothing out of the ordinary happens in the plot, it doesn't matter, because you become truly invested in their lives. Shotgun Lovesongs is a paean to life in small-town America, its virtues and its disadvantages. It's a book about trying to live your dreams and worrying about what to do if the dreams don't turn out the way you hoped. It's a book about how far the power of love can take you and how far the power of friendship can carry you. And Butler's use of language is so evocative and mesmerizing, but yet still simple and appropriate for the story. Here's an example:

"Strange, I thought to myself right then, how his life was like my own and yet not at all like it, though we came from the same small place on earth. And why? How had our paths diverged, why were they still even connected? Why was he then in my backyard, on my farm, the sound of almost two hundred cows, faintly in the background, mooing and lowing? How had he come back, this famous man, this person whose name everyone knew, whose voice was recognizable to millions in a way that made it impossible for him to be a stranger in so many places?"

I really loved this book and didn't want it to end. I think it would be a great movie as well, because I would love to see these characters and their stories play out in front of me again. I'd encourage you to take a trip to Little Wing, Wisconsin and spend some time with these people. Their lives might not wow you, but their stories will hook you.

Book Review: "The Todd Glass Situation" by Todd Glass with Jonathan Grotenstein

Full disclosure: I received an advance readers copy of this book from NetGalleys in exchange for an unbiased review.

I've been a huge fan of Todd Glass for years, ever since I saw him appear on Star Search in the 1980s. I watched his appearances on televised stand-up comedy shows, attended a few of his shows at the DC Improv over the years, and rooted for him on one of the early seasons of Last Comic Standing. If I were funnier, I'd want to be just like him.

After reading his memoir, The Todd Glass Situation: A Bunch of Lies about My Personal Life and a Bunch of True Stories about My 30-Year Career in Stand-Up Comedy, not only do I still find him hysterically sarcastic, but I'm touched by his heart as well. This is an account of his growing up in Pennsylvania, struggling with school and trying to find a way still to fit in, which he did by making people laugh. It's the story of how his comedy career started—the ups and downs, the advice he was given from fellow comedians, the lessons he's learned along the way, and how comedy has changed through the years. As a huge fan of stand-up comedy (particularly in the 1980s and 1990s), I found this really fascinating.

But this book is also about Glass' coming to terms with being gay, something he only acknowledged recently. Although Glass had always inherently known he was gay, he was truly affected by the attitudes of those around him toward gay people—those who called people "fag" or weird things "gay." He also didn't want audiences or his friends to treat him differently. The book recounts his trying to reconcile his "situation" with being the regular funny guy, trying to find a relationship while simultaneously hiding his true self from those around him, and how doing so for so long really shaped his life. (Glass finally chose to speak out after a rise in suicides of young gay people.)

This book is uproariously funny (I could almost hear Glass narrating it as I read it) and truly heartfelt. I definitely identified with his struggles since we're only a few years apart, and so much of what he had to say in the book I have either said to people or felt myself. I had to be careful not to laugh out loud (I was on a plane while reading this) and I also tried to keep my emotions in check. This is a terrific look at the world of a stand-up comedian and the simultaneous struggle for self-acceptance.

I'm glad Todd Glass was finally willing to share his story. Hopefully what he has to say will not only amuse others, it will perhaps make them think differently as well. That's the way the world changes.

Book Review: "The Cuckoo's Calling" by Robert Galbraith

As much of a fan as I was of the Harry Potter series, I'll admit I was truly skeptical when it was revealed last year that Robert Galbraith, the author of a new mystery/crime series that began with The Cuckoo's Calling, was actually a pseudonym for J.K. Rowling. Given the tepid response her first "adult" novel, The Casual Vacancy, received, how would she fare with mystery writing, especially since she was doing it incognito?

Cormoran Strike is a former British army officer who lost part of his leg in Afghanistan. He is now struggling to make ends meet as a private investigator, and his struggles extend beyond the business world—his romantic life is in a bit of a shambles, and family-related issues constantly cause him anguish and frustration. He's not really certain where the money will come from, or if he'll have enough even to keep his business running.

Salvation comes in the form of John Bristow, a wealthy attorney who hires Strike to tackle a case most private investigators would turn away, but Bristow's deceased older brother was an old school friend of Strike's. Bristow's adopted sister, famed supermodel Lula Landry, allegedly committed suicide a few months earlier, jumping from the balcony of her apartment building. While there were initially some suspicions that her boyfriend, drug-addicted musician/actor Evan Duffield, might have been responsible, his alibi and Lula's history of mental illness and erratic behavior led the police to conclude her death was suicide.

But Bristow is convinced this wasn't the case. He has his theories as well as some evidence he doesn't think the police considered as carefully as they should. Strike finds himself quickly enveloped in his investigation, which takes him into the high-fashion celebrity world, a world of attitude and entitlement. And all the while Strike is battling his own demons, both physical and emotional. The closer he gets to figuring out what really happened to Lula, the more he puts himself in danger—both to those inflamed by his investigation (including the police) and to himself.

Rowling/Galbraith throws in lots of twists and turns, which keep the plot moving at a rapid, entertaining, and believable pace. And while the ultimate resolution of the plot might not shock you, how you get there (and the related stories along the way) is definitely compelling and entertaining. There was some action, some intrigue, even some emotion, which really helped this book transcend so many others in the mystery genre.

After reading The Cuckoo's Calling in one sitting (it was a long flight), I can say that Rowling/Galbraith definitely shows promise in this genre. Much as with Harry Potter, she excels in creating complex, interesting, multidimensional characters that hooked me and made me interested in seeing what would happen with them. I really like Cormoran Strike's character (as well as his secretary, Robin), and I look forward to further installments in this series. It's good to have Rowling back, doing what she's good at.

Book Review: "What Ends" by Andrew Ladd

In 1980, Trevor McCloud is the last baby born on Eilan Fìor, a small island off the coast of Scotland. While at one time the population of Eilan Fìor numbered in the hundreds, times have been tough, and only a few families remain. Trevor's parents operate a guesthouse, which mostly caters to tourists in the summertime, and the adjoining pub serves as the center of the continuously shrinking community.

Trevor's arrival is disruptive to his two older siblings—Barry, the studious boy who has enjoyed being the only pupil in the island school until Trevor's birth hastens sending their sister, flighty and creative Flora, to school as well. She'd rather draw and spy on the wealthy artist who lives in one of the big houses on the island. But until Barry must leave for boarding school (there is no high school on the island), he and Flora share a close bond.

One by one, the remaining families leave Eilan Fìor, until the McClouds are the only people living there permanently. While the parents, George and Maureen, have been reasonably content to stay there for the rest of their lives, their children—Barry and Flora in particular—want more out of life. Barry flees first and then Flora leaves to attend art school, after considering spending the rest of her life on the island helping her parents manage. While Barry never really looks back, Flora is unsure whether life off of the island is what she truly wants until she arrives.

What Ends is a somewhat elegiacal look at how time and circumstances can change the way of life you planned. It's a book about being torn between wanting more out of life than what is in front of you or settling for what you have been given. It's the story of wishes that never quite come true the way you hope, feelings and resentments left unexpressed and unsaid, and the obligations of family.

The book shifts in perspective among all of the McClouds, and spans from 1980 through 2005. Andrew Ladd has created a fictional island that seems very real, full of taciturn yet passionate people, and draws you into their lives. Much like the McCloud children, I wanted a little more from this book than I got. I felt the stories were a bit unresolved, and I didn't feel I got to know all of the characters as well as I would have liked. But Ladd's writing is beautiful, almost poetic, and you find yourself trying to picture Eilan Fìor in your mind as you read.

Book Review: "Cutting Teeth" by Julia Fierro

Full disclosure: I received an advance readers copy of this book from NetGalleys in exchange for an unbiased review.

It takes a talented author to keep you reading a book in which you're not very fond of many of the characters but you're so drawn into the plot you want to see where it leads. That is definitely the case with Julia Fierro's Cutting Teeth—while I found nearly every one of the characters tremendously unappealing because of their behavior and their attitude, I couldn't stop reading the book, even as I kept saying to myself, "God, I hate these people!"

A group of thirty-something parents in New York City, linked together by their children's playgroup, decides to spend Labor Day Weekend at a beach house on Long Island. Nicole, whose parents own the house, is a successful author and instructor who is becoming increasingly paralyzed by her phobias and fears, and her need to protect her son. She moves from obsession to obsession, from fears of swine flu and bird flu to fixation on a rumor that a major attack will happen in New York City over the holiday weekend. She's barely holding it together, with thanks only to a hidden stash of marijuana she secretly smokes, but even that can't calm her down.

Leigh seems to have it all, but the former debutante is actually dealing with serious money problems and the pending discovery of a secret that could ruin her. Leigh's son, Chase, is sweet but developmentally challenged, and he is straining her patience and her marriage. If it weren't for her Tibetan nanny, Tenzing, she would be utterly lost.

Allie and Susanna are newlyweds who met when Allie was Susanna's college instructor. They're the parents of twin boys, and Susanna is now pregnant with a third child and resents that she put her art career on hold for motherhood and to allow Allie's career to continue to thrive, while Allie isn't sure she's cut out for motherhood or the domesticity of married life and the beach house outside of the city that Susanna so craves.

Rip is the only father in the playgroup. Although he considers himself just one of the mommies, he never stops reminding the women that he's all man, despite the fact that his wife, Grace, is the breadwinner and refuses to consider having a second child so Rip can continue being a stay-at-home dad. Although Rip is in love with their son, Hank, and loves being needed, Hank's sensitivity troubles him.

And then there's Tiffany, the only mother in the playgroup with a daughter (diva-in-training Harper), who vacillates between mean girl gossiping and playing the mothers against each other, flirting with Rip and using her sexuality to get what she wants, and being the know-it-all mommy who preaches organics and letting your child breastfeed until they're ready to stop. She'll stop at nothing to ensure her daughter gets the life she didn't have as a child.

As if five preschool children and an infant (as well as a pregnant mother) in one house weren't enough to cause chaos, all of the problems facing these parents and their individual foibles will come to a head during this weekend. Secrets will be revealed, relationships will be tested, fears will be exposed, and feelings (at the very least) will be hurt. Will these parents be able to keep their cool and retain their relationships with each other and their significant others? Will the world end over the weekend, as Nicole fears it will?

Cutting Teeth is a slightly over-dramatized look at modern-day parents in New York City. It's disturbing to think that people really behave and think this way, and you'll probably recognize someone you know in at least one of the characters. These are troubled, deeply flawed people, but for the most part, they are trying their best to be devoted parents, no matter how challenging that is given what is going on around them. I don't think I'd like being around these people in real life, but I found their fictionalized stories somewhat amusing, and I waited to see who would get their comeuppance.

I think this will be a fun and compelling beach read, as long as you don't plan to spend your time in a house with lots of little kids and other high maintenance parents. Perhaps the characters will annoy you as they did me, but hopefully you'll still find the story as readable as I did.