Maybe It Lost It In Translation, Mar 20 2006

At about the 100 page mark, "Small World" is a great book. Chilling yet touching. And then it unravels. What we're left with is a boring middle section that focusses on an unlikely and unbelievable relationship as well as treatment options for Alzheimers. But the ending of "Small World" is what really lets down the beginning.

A pat and completely unbelievable conclusion makes the hours spent reading this book feel like a complete waste of time.

Excellent Novel, May 9 2005

On one level, the novel is a personalized history of Croatia (and Yugoslavia) from 1948 until the present. On another level it's the story of a disillusioned man's search for meaning. On another level, it's just plain fun.

I won't give away any of the story here. But if you have a taste for absurdity and well written novels, give "April Fool's Day" a read.

What A Mess, Mar 26 2005

In "Machers and Rockers", he lets the style get away from him. Reading like an out of control Nick Tosches or a less violent James Elroy, Cohen uses his tough guy style loose on a number of unrelated tangents that immediately doom this book.

Even worse for a book about Chess Records, Cohen commits a number of horrific blunders about the artists and their music. This suggests either a lack of familiarity with his subject matter, a lack of editing and/or fact checking at the publishers, or a lack of caring.

When the lyrics to Muddy Waters' seminal "Hoochie Coochie Man" are badly mangled near the start of the book, it sets a dagerous precedent. (Note - Cohen badly messes up the third line of the song) If he can't even get a simple lyric right, why should we believe anything else that he wants to tell us?

To use a yiddishism to describe this book - "feh"...

Gripping and Effective, Mar 24 2005

"The Tyrants Novel" avoids the stereotypical scenes of repression - physical abuse, direct threats - in order to spin a web of gnawing anguish. A few scenes in "The Tyrants Novel" will remain with me for years to come - not because they are rendered so graphically, but because they are presented in a plausible manner that makes them even more disturbing.

One thing that Keneally does is to give all of his characters - in what is clearly Iraq - Englich and Irish names. At first, this seems bizarre, but the sad fact is, westertn readers will more readily identify with characters named "McBrien", "Sarah" and "Andrew" than they will with "Abdul" and "Mohammed".

A great novel and one that has sent me serching out Keneally's other books.

For Those Who Like Trash, Feb 21 2005

Having said that, "The Black Six" (a joke gift from a goofy friend), is fully enjoyable.

It looks like it was shot in a couple of days using bits and pieces of discarded scripts that had been haphazardly glued together.

The best part is watching these football legends (and they are legends, 4 of them are in the Hall of Fame) act.

Of particular interest is the hilarious method that Lem Barney uses to quell his opponents. Lem (who I don't think had one line in the movie) practices a type of martial arts that can be described as "Statue Fu").

He leans forward and places his foot on the chest of an opponent. That's it, and that seems to be enough to immobilize the opponent.

Other great awful scenes abound.

Of particular interest for Football fans is watching Carl eller in scenes where he is shirtless. Eller was considered a big man at the time and at 6' 4" and about 250, he is an impressive specimen. But 30 years later, there are wide receivers with those measurements. He would be about 80 pounds too light to make it in today's NFL.

Maybe the "Black 6" should have been chasing steroid dealers instead of southern racists.

Wonder if it's too late for a sequel?

A Fun Trifle, Feb 21 2005

This is by no means a good travel book - instead it is a dryly humorous look at a very limited part of Japanese Culture.

So, if you don't have any interest in Manga, Anime or Japanese ceremonial swords , and you aren't a fan of Carey's crisp, flawless prose, than stay away.

If you are interested in any of those things and are in the mood for a good light read, than pick up this book.

Well Made Shlock, Feb 21 2005

Jamie Foxx's performance is a really good imitation of Ray Charles. But this is not the great performance that critics are falling over themselves to praise. Like Will Smith in "Ali", Foxx's "depth" is shown by having him be stoic while all around him better actors perform.

The basis of Ray Caharles' powerful inner demons are revealed through a series of flashbacks, but what the viewer is left with is a feeling that the guy is a basically irredeemable jerk who - for a decade and a half - produced great music.

The movie is way too long and Charles' treatment of those around him left me feeling cold towards him. What remains is a series of laughably executed scenes (particularly weak is the montage of Ray's "announcer" and road manager introducing him in a variety of foreign languages).

Even with the length of "Ray", the story ends abruptly. Ray Charles struggles to kick heroin and then lives happily ever after. This despite the fact that Ray Charles spent the last 3 decades of his life touring as a "golden oldie" type act.

I don't understand the hype on this film. It has the emotional depth of Tom Hanks' homage to the early 60's "That Thing You Do". And that's no compliment.

Not Enough Music, Oct 8 2004

Some of the performances are good - the Staples Singers smoke through a version of "Respect Yourself", and Albert King is great, and the Bar-Kays are funk personified, but the schlocky "If Loving You Is Wrong" and "The Funky Chicken" are pretty poor choices from the Stax archives. Also, the grand finale shows Isaac Hayes to be a fairly average performer.

But it is fun watching Rufus Thomas try to embarrass dancers back to their seats.

A better idea would be to save your cash and buy a CD from the Stax vault.