Carnival: Book Review

June 23, 2014 - colinashby 1 Comment

This summer is running through with great novels coming out. Several binge-reading, addicting books are coming out…and a lot of them are self-published ones. The novel I’m reviewing in this post is Carnival, a new adult romance novel chronicling the life ahead for the protagonist, 18-year-old Charlie.

Things are a bit bumpy for Charlie at the beginning of the book. She lives in a small town that doesn’t have much. College plans loom on the horizon. Despite the exciting prospect of going somewhere new, Charlie decides not to go to college. She isn’t exactly sure what she wants to do. She’s up for anything. This carefree attitude leads to her sleeping with a carnie stranger named Blue, at the town carnival.

Blue has been living his whole life on the carnival circuit. He likes the nature of it, traveling around and not staying in one place to long. Things hit a halt when he meets Charlie. For the first time in his life, he isn’t really sure exactly what he wants to do.

Charlie and Blue come together, two people living reckless lives, wondering what choices need to be made. They start to form a bond that most wouldn’t understand. They become an outlet for one another to trust.

Now here’s the thing that might trouble some people about this novel. It isn’t some sugar-coated cliche romance story that ends with a “happily ever after” line. It’s an honest look into two types of people that are still trying to figure themselves out. They experiment with things along the way. Swearing happens throughout the novel. Bad things are done.

The novel is commendable in it’s surprising twists and turns. This isn’t some light soap opera-ish reading. It gives depth to the otherwise ordinary lives that people seem like they’re living on the surface. Nelson is good in crafting the conflict that Charlie faces, wondering what to do with her life. The characterization is very distinct.

4/5 stars: Great, gritty read. Good start to a promising series by author K.B. Nelson. Carnival releases to book retailers July 7th.

To get a taste of carnival, read the first and second teasers that the author had released so far.

Finished Netflix List? Summer Books to Check Out

June 15, 2014 - colinashby Leave a comment

Making a list of book recommendations can be pesky task to do. Thinking about books so subjective. Although film reviews are also subjective and I post those on this blog. Books are different. People get really defensive and think highly about what makes for a good read.

I try to read books with a wide perspective to see who would like them. Below I give a list of books to check out this summer. Happy reading!

Young Adult

Eleanor & Park (Rainbow Rowell): Set in 1986, the book is about two teens from vastly different upbringings that connect over a love of comic books and 80’s alternative music. Eleanor, age 15, is the new kid at school who is bullied for wearing “weird” clothes and being overweight. She has a bad homelife and stays quiet. Park is a boy who, despite coming from a loving household, feels like an outsider in the world.

Reason for its acclaim? The themes of not fitting in and finding oneself are universal. The story is about teens but can be enjoyed by anyone with less-than-stellar high school memories. Even John Green (author of The Fault in Our Stars) loved the book!

Looking for Alaska (John Green): Everyone has read The Fault in Our Stars by now. Looking for more Green in your life? (sorry, I couldn’t resist saying that). Looking for Alaska was John Green’s debut novel. It follows 16-year-old Miles Halter as he attends a preparatory high school for his junior year. He is going to seek “a great perhaps.” Starting his classes, he meets a unique group of friends who go by a variety of nicknames: The Colonel, Takumi. Alaska Young is the pretty but emotionally unstable girl he meets after being introduced by The Colonel.

Alaska is smart, adventurous and attracts all the boys at the school with her looks. Through a series of late night conversations, Alaska’s story of sadness, depression and unhappiness start to come to light.

Reason to read: The book is unique in that it’s told in a series of “before” and “after” intervals rather than the traditional chapters. The book goes through the struggles of growing up, dealing with painful memories and figuring out ways to move foward even in the wake of sadness. Even with its sad nature, it somehow is able to have bits of humor and leave the reader with a rediscovered sense of dealing with painful circumstances.

Other books

Attachments (Rainbow Rowell): Rowell does dialogue between characters very well. Hence the reason for giving out recommendations of two books by her.

Attachments is about love in the workplace. Lincoln O’Neill gets a job as an “internet security officer.” His job? To read people’s emails at the company and write up a report if he see anything bad/suspicious in nature. He comes across two workers emails, Beth and Jennifer. Reading the emails, he know he should turn them in but the emails are just so entertaining to him. He is drawn to the stories they tell in the emails.

Lincoln falls in love with Beth from the emails he reads that are hers. He knows so much about her. It’s a little late to introduce himself to her without coming off as a creep for knowing so much about her.

Reason to read: This is one of the few books about love in the workplace that heartfelt and touching to read. Most books about love in the workplace usually have a bunch of sex in them and have a soap-opera-ish vibe to them. Attachments is different. The characters are fully carved out and realistic to read. It’s one of those books (for girls and guys) that will have you biting your lip and waiting to turn to the next page.

Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn): Read it before the movie comes out in October! If you want a novel full of suspense that will keep you wondering as you read, Gone Girl is the book to read. Flynn is a genius with her words and crafting of a great suspense story.

The novel centers on the uncertainty surrounding main character, Nick Dunne, and whether he killed his wife, Amy Dunne.

Reason to read: To read something new and refreshing. Are you tired of reading young adult/new adult novels about cliche romances and/or the typical quirky hipster? Gone Girl is a novel that will keep your eyes wide and wondering throughout the chapters. Great thriller novel full of twists and turns.

Film Review: Wish I Was Here

June 9, 2014 - colinashby 4 Comments

Aidan Bloom is a 35 year old struggling actor trying to find his purpose in life. His dad gets cancer and cannot pay for Aidan’s kids yeshiva school tuition anymore. This leads to Aidan attempting to homeschool his children. Throughout the film, Aidan reflects on the unpredictable and hard circumstances that come with raising a family. He wants to provide for his family yet follow his dream of being an actor. He wants him and his wife, who supports the family, to be happy. Throughout the film he tries to find meaning in life’s nature. Aidan Bloom is a 35 year old struggling actor trying to find his purpose in life. His dad gets cancer and cannot pay for Aidan’s kids yeshiva school tuition anymore. This leads to Aidan attempting to homeschool his children. Throughout the film, Aidan reflects on the unpredictable and hard circumstances that come with raising a family. He wants to provide for his family yet follow his dream of being an actor. He wants him and his wife, who supports the family, to be happy. Throughout the film he tries to find meaning in life’s nature. Although Braff has good intentions with Wish I Was Here, the film falls flat. The film has nice cinematography, pacing and acting yet it seems like something is missing. With Garden State, Braff explored a lost twenty-something. In Wish I Was Here, he explores a lost thirty-something. The film doesn’t seem to deliver any insightful nature because it’s caught up in Braff’s mind fantasies. It seems as though he wrote down all the challenges of raising a family, trying to be happy, making sense of life’s hardships, and so forth…but the film doesn’t ever go past depicting these things to provide any insightful nature. The film ends, basically saying “Hey, raising a family and trying to be happy is hard.” It never really has a full solution to Aidan’s endless doubts about life. B-

Wish I Was Here: Austin Advanced Film Screening

June 5, 2014 - colinashby Leave a comment

On Monday, June 2nd, Zach Braff hosted an advanced film screening in Austin, Texas for his film Wish I Was Here. I was a bit (a lot) excited to go since it’s been a long time coming. I backed the film in April 2013, happy to see Braff making a new film after 2004’s Garden State. Braff was making a film chronicling a thirty-something father struggling to come to terms with the unexpected circumstances of life.

Braff directed the film, co-wrote it with his older brother, Adam Braff, and starred as the lead character, Aidan Bloom. In the film, Aidan is a struggling actor hoping to find something that will explain his purpose and life’s unpredictable ways. His wife, Sarah (Kate Hudson), holds a steady but boring job as a data cruncher at a water company. She provides for the family. Aidan and Sarah’s kids, 12-year-old Grace and six-year-old Tucker attend an expensive yeshiva school paid for by Aidan’s dad. An unexpected blow hits the family when Aidan finds out his dad has cancer. Needing the money to pay for treatments, Aidan’s dad can no longer afford to pay the school tuition for Aidan’s kids.

Below is a slideshow of the event

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Wish I Was Here: Austin Film Screening Q&A

June 3, 2014 - colinashby Leave a comment

Zach Braff brought his film Wish I Was Here to Austin, Texas on June 2nd for a special advanced screening for Kickstarter backers that helped fund the film. After the film was screened, Zach came out and answered questions about the film with fellow co-star and friend, Donald Faison. He answered questions about the motivation to do the film, challenges of making a movie, soundtrack selection, and so forth. Check out this exclusive video to hear Zach answering some of the questions during the Q&A.

This is Where I Leave You (Book Review)

May 29, 2014 - colinashby Leave a comment

Judd Foxman’s life isn’t exactly the best at the moment. He wife has been having an affair with his cocky boss. WIth a broken marriage heading towards divorce, he becomes unemployed and starts to live in a basement. Then Judd’s father passes away after fighting cancer. A final wish of Judd’s father is for the entire Foxman family to come together and sit shiva for seven days. Judd and his three other siblings of varying nature return to their childhood home and revisit their lives so far.

This is Where I Leave You offers a dark but realistic look at the inner workings of a family. Paul, Judd’s older brother, faces a grudge against Judd for a past incident. The youngest sibling, Phillip, still hasn’t figured out how to grow up. Judd’s sister, Wendy, deals with the staleness of her marriage while revisiting an old flame.

Reading this novel may bring up a lot of funny anecdotes one may have about their own family. Jonathan Topper’s writing resonates well in the reader. The novel is full of sentiment, humor and tenderness. Topper writing expresses depressing yet realistic situations with great honesty.

The novel is categorized by many as a dark comedy. It seems to be more than that. Tina Fey’s coined term of it being an “emotional comedy” strikes the right balance of this book is. Must read if you like realism type stories of everyday life.

A film adaption is currently in post-production and scheduled to be released on September 12, 2014. It stars Jason Bateman (as Judd), Tina Fey (as Wendy), Dax Shepard (as Judd’s cocky boss, Wade) and Rose Bryne (as Penny).

image credit

Summer TV Shows to Watch

May 25, 2014 - colinashby 1 Comment

Olivia Pope finished her clean-up duties during the April 17th season finale of Scandal. Mindy Lahiri and Danny Castellano got together in The Mindy Project season finale. Jake Peralta went undercover at the end of Brooklyn-Nine-Nine’s season one. Everything is all wrapped up for network shows. Quality TV, however, doesn’t stop in May. A batch of new and returning shows are looking to capture TV fanatics.

Memorial Day weekend has happened and the summer TV season has *unofficially* started.

Under the Dome (CBS: June 30)

The show is based on Stephen King’s bestselling book of the same name. It centers on a mysterious clear dome that encases a small town. Trapped under the dome, the corruption and dirty secrets of the town start to come to light. The show has been criticized a bit for its sometimes overacting and writing. Nevertheless, with new and expanding storylines and a host of well-developed characters, it’s worthwhile to watch.

24: Live Another Day (FOX: Mondays 9/8c)

Okay so this show has already started, but it’s worthwhile to catch up on (via Hulu) and start watching new episodes. The limited 12 episode event is based on the popular TV show. The special limited event series can be enjoyed even without ever having watched 24.

The 12 episodes center on Jack Bauer, still a federal fugitive, is recruited by the CIA to assist in the investigation of a presidential assassination. He is promised amnesty in return for his cooperation. He’s Jack Bauer so he can pretty much do anything. One of the prominent badass heroes of television. He was popular…before TV even became super popular (if you get what I’m saying…). Anyways, digging deep into the investigation, Jack soon realizes that more is at stake than just a presidential assassination. The world…could be on the brink of war. No biggie, right? Jack’s up for the job.

If your dissatisfied with action movie selection this year/summer, Jack Bauer will surely pull you into the action TV landscape. As they say…Jack is back!

Orange is the New Black (Netflix: June 6th)

Everyone surely knows all about Orange is the New Black, right? The suprise hit series no one saw coming? A quick synopsis of this show doesn’t even do it justice. It’s one of those shows you just have to watch to see if its good…and it is. The dramedy prison set series centers on Piper Chapman, a woman who is given 15 months in prison for a drug money smuggling deal. Orange is the New Black is one of those shows that is very character driven (it centers on a different character every episode). It shows each of their motivations, desires, goals, and emotions. The gritty nature of prison drama is shown (albeit a little watered down). It’s one of those shows that really makes you think and feel for each of the characters. June 6th can’t come soon enough.

Burning Love

This isn’t a new show. It’s been off for a year now but continues to provide laughs. The show has three seasons: first season on Hulu Plus. Clips of the second and third seasons can be seen on Yahoo Screen. The show is a parody on reality shows like The Bachelor and Bachelorette. It takes the dumb nature of the two reality competition shows and pokes fun at them. A string of familiar faces including Kristen Bell, Jennifer Aniston, Adam Scott, and more pop up. The show really makes you see just how dumb reality shows can be all while providing great laughs.

Hateship, Loveship (2014)

May 18, 2014 - colinashby 3 Comments

Hateship, Loveship is a strange movie that wanders often without coming back. It goes slow at times and doesn’t have a clear resolution to it’s characters. Despite the shortcomings of the script, great performances by Wiig and Pearce make this a worthwhile viewing. Synopsis The movie starts with Johanna Perry (Kristen Wiig), an extremely introverted woman, who has worked as a caregiver for most of her life. When the elderly woman she takes care of passes away, Johanna takes a job in a new town working as a housekeeper for an elderly man, Mr. Cauley (Nick Nolte) and taking care of his granddaughter Sabitha (Hailee Steinfeld). Sabitha’s father, Ken (Guy Pearce), lives off in Chicago. He has had a life full of alcohol and drugs. A tragic accident involving a boat wreck, driven by a drunken Ken, kills Sabitha’s mother and leaves her in the care of her grandfather. Sabitha isn’t content with her living arrangement. Her and her friend, Edith (Sami Gayle), think that Johanna is weird and don’t really enjoy her presence. They decide to draft up a fake letter written by Ken, Sabitha’s father, to Johanna. In the letter, posing as Ken, they write about how much they enjoyed Johanna’s arrival and think of her as a good friend. When Johanna unexpectedly responds to the letter, Sabitha and Edith start to send more. This results in a long correspondence. Johanna’s dull life starts to become exciting. Reading the letters, she thinks that Ken really likes her. She is feeling things, doing things she normally wouldn’t. She is breaking through her shell. Review Hateship, Loveship is one of those quirky indie dramas that many people will not get. It drags on at times. Thoughout the film, there are several instances that pick at character development but end up getting abandoned. Sabitha is rebellious yet her attitude toward her father seems to change in an instant. Sabitha’s friend, Edith, who is the commander of the fake letter correspondence, drifts off in the middle of the movie not to be seen again til the end. Grandfather Mr. Cauley starts a romance with a local bank employee but no development is ever shown through the film. The indie drama’s tagline on its poster is “Dare to care.” Watching the film, it seems like the script tries to explore the various stages of life of a broken family and caregiver, Johanna, yet it never fully follows through on exploring it. The main attraction to this movie is the performances. Kristen Wiig, in her first leading drama role, captures the viewer as quiet, minimal Johanna Perry. The character has lines but a heavy emphasis is on what happens when Johanna is not talking. A well-known quote comes to mind when watching Johanna throughout the film:

Acting is reacting

Wiig embodies this quote very well in her performance of Johanna. She is subtle and not to over the top. Every one of her eye movements, lip quivers, and hand mannerisms all seem to have a purpose. Wiig breathes life into a very dull character and you can’t keep your eyes off of her.

The concept of a dead beat dad character has been done often. In his role as Ken, Guy Pearce delivers well in providing charm and sensibility into a character that could have easily become a caricature.

Despite Hateship, Loveship not having any huge or clear character development, the performances by the main cast make it worthwhile to see. B

Hateship, Loveship is available on demand at iTunes, Amazon and other online video providers.

It’s a James Franco Summer

April 28, 2014 - colinashby Leave a comment

Note: I don’t normally talk about myself but…I’ve been in hiding for the past three weeks. College work and a huge pile of applications have consumed me. A bunch of great things in film and television happened and I missed it (the Parks and Recreation season finale was awesome!) Anyways, I’m back, and decided to post about James Franco’s never ending list of projects.

When you think of the upcoming summer movie season, thoughts of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars or the new Transformers film fill your mind. Well actor James Franco has managed to sneak his way into having four films coming out this summer. Every month from May to August, Franco will have a movie coming to theaters.

May 2014: Palo Alto

Based on the 2010 bestselling short story collection written by Franco himself, Palo Alto focuses on the happenings of a group of rebellious teenagers. The film is the directorial debut of Gia Coppola, granddaughter of director Francis Ford Coppola and niece of Sofia Coppola.

Coppola mentioned how she fell in love with the book when reading it and how it depicted teenagers is a realistic way. She adapted the short story collection written by Franco and collaborated with the teenage cast in order to make it more authentic.

James Franco appears in the film as a soccer coach who hits on a high schooler (Emma Roberts).

May 9, 2014

June 2014: Third Person

In this ensemble romantic drama, Franco plays a New York-based painter who fights with his ex(played by four-time co-star Mila Kunis) over the custody of their son. The film ties in several stories over the course of three cities.

June 20, 2014

July 2014: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

A follow-up to 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the film follows Caesar, the ape, as he leads a rebellion through San Francisco. Franco makes a small cameo (leaving the lead role he had in the first film) as Will Rodman, Caesar’s former owner. July 11, 2014

August 2014: Child of God

Lester Ballard is a murderer and an outcast in 1960’s Tennessee. Franco plays Jerry, who is part of the mob hunting down Lester. Franco (who served as director) adapted the film from Cormac McCarthy’s critically praised 1973 novel of the same name. August 1, 2014

“Wanted: Someone to Go Back in Time with Me”

April 7, 2014 - colinashby Leave a comment

WANTED: Someone to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. You’ll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. I have only done this once before. SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED.

Safety Not Guaranteed follows Jeff (Jake Johnson), a cocky writer at magazine who spots an ad in the classifieds that mentions time travel. Jeff wants to investigate the man behind the ad. With the help of two interns, Darius (Aubrey Plaza) and Arnau (Karan Soni), they set out on a trip to Ocean View, Washington to find the man.

The team is able to track down the guy who placed the ad. He is a man named Kenneth(Mark Duplass) who is in his 30’s working at a supermarket. Kenneth is resistant when confronted with the hard hitting efforts made by Jeff. Darius, using her sarcasm and deadpan humor, is able to quickly form a bond with him. Kenneth will take Darius along with him in his time machine. Kenneth wants to travel back to 2001 to save a girlfriend who died.

Safety Not Guaranteed, produced for just $750,000, is a film that enhances the mumblecore films that have come before it. It has a characters that are putting their quirky natures to use. The dialogue is great. Mark and Jay Duplass, producers on the film, helped start the movement with films like The Puffy Chair and The Do-Deca-Pentathlon.

The film is based upon an actual newspaper article. The inspiration for the script came from a 1997 Backwoods Home Magazine classified ad written by an employee as a joke filler.

The film’s performances are great. Mark Duplass shows how versatile an actor he is. Known very well for his award-winning directing and writing, Duplass brings something special to the character of Kenneth. Kenneth is odd but there are reasons for it. Duplass nails the job of giving long bursts of lines and making them all count. Aubrey Plaza shines in her first starring role. Plaza demonstrates more beyond her already widely known deadpan skills that she does on NBC’s Park’s and Recreation. Plaza play the role of Darius, a sarcastic recent college grad, very well. Plaza and Duplass are the standout performers of the film.

The film is vague when it comes to whether time travelling actually takes place or not. Nonetheless, the writer, director and actors provide a solid film to remember.

Derek Connolly, screenwriter for the film, won both the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance and the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay.

Image by FilmDistrict from http://www.imdb.com/

Colin Ashby

Constantly curious & eclectic

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