BOOK REVIEW: Caliban's War by James S.A. Corey

The second book in The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey is Caliban's War and was one of my most anticipated reads of 2012. The first book was the thrilling Leviathan's Wake (read my review here). One of the most difficult things for any artist to do is follow a successful debut creation with another piece that is regarded to be of commensurate quality as their first work.

However, happily, Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (the two authors who write together under the pseudonym James S.A. Corey) have managed to accomplish this rare feat in Caliban's War, a work that is at least as good as their debut novel.

Although Caliban's War is a sequel, it also works as a stand-alone story. And what a story it is. The plot lterally begins with a bang and continues at a breakneck pace. It begins with a new kind of alien super-creature absolutely decimating an entire squad of Martian marines on Ganymede. The crew of the Rocinante, a spaceship with Jim Holden as captain who is basically the main characters of Leviathan's Wake, are again some of the main actors in the sequel. Corey uses the same literary device as their more famous George R.R. Martin mentor which is that each chapter in the book is told from the perspective of the named character. The cast of characters who have named perspective chapters is expanded from the two (Holden and Detective Miller) from the first book by the inclusion of Gunnery Sergeant Roberta "Bobbie" Draper (the only person to survive the initial alien attack), Chrisjen Avarasala (a powerful United Nations functionary and fierce grandmother), and Praxidike Meng (a biologist and father of a kidnapped little girl named Mei).

The inclusion of the points-of-view of these new characters generally strengthens the emotional connection the reader has with the story in Caliban's War (and also deals with the lack of female representation in the first book). Avarasala quickly became my favorite character in the series so far, with Bobbie a close second.

The plot of the second book is even more complex than the first, with overlapping and competing sub-plots which are fueled by interplanetary politics and the evil deeds of globe-spanning corporations. The proto-molecule, which was discovered in the first book to be the source of "vomit zombies" and the first clear evidence of the existence of aliens, has now apparently completely taken over the entire planet Venus. It is not completely clear what it is doing to that planet, because the surface is completely covered by clouds but there are strange power surges being remotely recorded. The primary plot involves Rocinante and its crew getting involved in the search to find Prax's kidnapped daughter, while the events on Ganymede (which are also probably related to the proto-molecule) lead to a pissing match between the major political factions in the solar system: the Belters, Earth and Mars that requires all of Avarasala's prodigious diplomatic skills to settle.

Caliban's War is an example of exhilarating space opera that anyone who is a fan of the work of Peter Hamilton, Alastair Reynolds or Stephen McCauley will almost certainly enjoy.

Title:  Caliban's War.

Author: James S.A. Corey.

Length: 595 pages.

Publisher: Orbit.

Published: June 26, 2012.

OVERALL GRADE: A/A- (3.917/4.0).

PLOT: A-.

IMAGERY: A.

IMPACT: A. 

WRITING: A.

2012 Hugo Awards: Among Others Wins Best Novel

Jo Walton followed up her (surprising to me) win at the Nebula awards earlier this year by winning the 2012 Hugo award as well for her novel Among Others. Walton's work and China Miéville's Embassytown (see my review) were the only two books to appear on the nominations for this year's list of nominations for both the Hugo and the Nebula, the two most prestigious awards in speculative fiction.

Walton joins a short and prestige list of authors who have written books who have become rare Nebula-Hugo double award-winners. The last person to accomplish this task was the great Connie Willis, who did it last year with Black Out/All-Clear (see my review). Michael Chabon accomplished the same feat two years before that for his book The Yiddish Policemen's Union which I have still not been able to read.

I like the Hugo and Nebula awards because they give me suggestions of new books and authors to read. I have enjoyed getting to know the work of Jack McDevitt this summer, and have almost completely finished reading his Priscilla Hutchins and his Alex Benedict series of books. The latest of the latter, 2011's Firebird was nominated for the Nebula, but (obviously) did not win.

I was hoping that the great Leviathan Wakes (see my review) would be acknowledged by the Hugos or Nebulas this year. It was my favorite read of books published in the last year. George R.R. Martin's A Dance with Dragons (see my review) was probably the biggest seller, and it was also snubbed. Both of these last two books were up for the 2012 Hugo award, which went to Walton's Among Others.

MOVIE REVIEW: Total Recall (2012)

A bunch of coworkers and I saw  Total Recall  at the Regal Cinemas at the Ballston Common Mall in Arlington, VA in the week after it came out. I had seen the original Total Recall movie from 1988 starring Sharon Stone and Arnold Schwarzenegger and am a big fan of the work of science fiction author Phillip K. Dick, on whose short story "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" both films are adapted.

The previews that were shown prior to the screening of Total Recall were for movies that were so execrable (Dredd, Resident Evil: Retribution come to mind) that it completely lowered expectations of the quality of the film we were about to see.

Thus the film experience was surprisingly more enjoyable than I expected. The remake stars Colin Farrell, Bryan Cranston, Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel as well as a blink-and-you'll-miss-it came from Bill Nighy.

Farrell is in almost every frame of the film, which diverges from the original pretty quickly (nothing happens on Mars, for example). The basic structure of the relationship between the main characters remains the same (Farrell is caught in a triangle between Beckinsale as the wife he knows and Biel as the woman from his dreams; in the original Stone played the wife and Rachel Ticotin had the smaller role of the woman from his dream.) The plot is frankly ridiculous, but the pace is non-stop action, with Farrell caught in an ever widening web of deceit and confusion as who he can trust becomes less and less clear.

One of the strongest aspects of the film is its visuals and production design. There are some very nice gadgets and features which the producers use to portray the film is set in the future. The film is set entirely on Earth, and one of the new things is a train that tunnels near the center of the Earth from one part of the planet (the slums or boonies) to another (the City). The look and feel of that train and the city itself, especially the anti-gravity cars are very cool.

Another nice part of the film is its shout-out to the original. The (in)famous three-breasted hooker from the first film is back, as is the malfunctioning camouflage device. One aspect of the original film I wish that they should have used in the remake was choosing two actresses who were as different from each other as Stone (blonde) and Ticotin (brunette). In the remake Biel and Beckinsale are both brunettes and very similar in appearance, which confused me in some scenes (although Beckinsale for some bizarre reason has a posh British accent).

Overall, I would recommend seeing this film on Netflix or Redbox and if you go in with low expectations they will probably be (barely) exceeded.


Title: Total Recall.
Director: Len Wiseman.
Running Time: 1 hour, 52 minutes.
MPAA Rating: Rated R for some sexual references.
Release Date: August 3, 2012.
Viewing Date: August 7, 2012.

Writing: D.
Acting: B.
Visuals: B+.
Impact: B-.

Overall Grade: B-/C+ (2.5/4.0).

FILM REVIEW: The Dark Knight Rises

The third movie in director Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, is now difficult to be seen outside of the context of a horrific act of gun violence by a mad man and the follow-on to one of the most successful films of the last decade, 2008's The Dark Knight. However, to me, it was my most anticipated film of the year because it is the new film by my favorite director. Nolan's previous film was the brilliant Inception, my favorite film of 2010.

The Dark Knight Rises stars Oscar winners Christian Bale, Sir Michael Caine, Marion Cotillard and Morgan Freeman. Also in the cast are Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy and Gary Oldman. The film's screenplay was written by Nolan and his brother Jonathan Nolan. The film's story is credited to Nolan and David S. Goyer (Dark City, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight).

As expected, the film has set the box-office aflame, although not at quite the same torrid pace of the record setting The Dark Knight. That movie made over $1 billion worldwide, and grossed $533 million dollars domestically. It has a current rating of 94% on rottentomatoes.com while the sequel has a rating of 87%. The sequel The Dark Knight Rises  grossed $353 million domestically in the first 17 days of release, which is about 11% below where The Dark Knight was at that point.

So, which film is better? I would unequivocally answer that The Dark Knight Rises is the better movie, and clearly the best of Nolan's Batman trilogy. Having seen the film twice in its first two weeks of release, I can summarize the high points of the film.

They are: Hathaway's performance as Catwoman Selina Kayle, Hardy's performance as Bane and Gordon-Levitt's John Blake. Other key components are Nolan's direction, Hans Zimmer's score and the overall "look and feel" of the movie, which I think would be art direction/production design. I even apprecviated Cotillard's surprisingly small (but pivotal) role as Miranda Tate. Hathaway looks amazing as the cat burglar who forms an uneasy alliance with Bruce Wayne/Batman but who also betrays him in a potentially deadly fashion. I'm a Kinsey 6 (exclusively homosexual) but even I was looking at Hathaway in her catsuit going, "Damn that is one hot outfit!" Hardy is absolutely terrifying as Bane. One's first reaction when one sees him on screen is "Oh my goodness what have they done to Tom Hardy's body? The guy is huge!" Bane is physically imposing and extremely threatening. Despite (or maybe because he is) wearing a bizarre facial mask which only reveals his eyes, Hardy is forced to use his voice and physical presence to convey the nuances of his character and he does an outstanding job. Gordon-Levitt has left his child star days long behind him with his breakout roles in (500) Days of Summer and Inception. Here he plays the main audience surrogate as a fresh-faced police officer who is a fan of the now-reviled Batman and who never loses sight of the greater good. As in most Nolan's film the casting of every role is exquisite, even in essentially tiny roles. One of my personal favorite actors, the attractive Daniel Sunjata has a way too-brief appearance as a special forces officer.

The script is engaging, and includes some very nice twists and surprising reveals at the end. That is not to say that the plot hang together completely, but the central questions posed by entire trilogy such as "What are the implications and complications of an ordinary man with extraordinary resources who decides to put on a mask and fight crime and evil in a crime-ridden city?" The way Nolan resolves these issues in the third film are extremely satisfying and one walks out of the theater appreciating the way the three films work together as a cohesive and continuous story.

The Dark Knight Rises is not just an excellent example of a summer superhero movie but is also an example of simply a very good film, and finding one film which is able to exist as examples of both of these is quite a rare thing indeed.

Title: The Dark Knight Rises.
Director: Christopher Nolan.
Running Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes.
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some sensuality and language.
Release Date: July 20, 2012.
Viewing Date: July 23, 2012 (and July 28, 2012).

Writing: A.
Acting: A.
Visuals: A+.
Impact: A.

Overall Grade: A/A+ (4.083/4.0).

2012 CINCY: Kerber Ends Serena's Win Streak at 19

Tom Guenther

Well, well! Serena Williams has had an excellent summer so far, winning gold medals in Singles and Doubles at the 2012 London Olympics as well as her 14th major on the green lawns of Wimbledon.

She had won 19 matches in a row when she ran into German phenom Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals of the 2012 Cincinnati Western & Southern Open. Kerber is a powerful lefty who has rocketed up the ranking in 2012 and reached two major semifinals in the last 12 months (2011 US Open and 2012 Wimbledon). However, Kerber's lefty serve gave Serena fits today, and was able to take advantage of shocking errors by Serena to win 6-4 6-4. The German blew two match points but then was able to finish the match with an ace.

Venus Williams was able to win her quarterfinal match against 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur in 3 tough sets 6-2 6-7(2) 6-4.

2012 ROGERS CUP: Kvitova Wins 1st Title of Year

2011Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and 2011 French Open champion Li Na faced off in a curiously scheduled Monday night final at the Rogers Cup in Montreal to each win their first WTA tour title of 2012. Kvitova ended up winning the match, 7-5 2-6 6-3, in 2 hours and 17 minutes. Kvitova had defeated Caroline Wozniacki in 3 blowout sets while Li reached the final by coming back from being down 1-5 down in the 3rd set to win the last 6 games in a row against another Czech player, Lucie Safarova.

Unlike the men's final of the Rogers Cup between Novak Djokovic and Richard Gasquet that I attended on Sunday night in Toronto, the women's final was quite dramatic. The first set featured five breaks of serve, with Li Na breaking through first to go up 3-1. Kvitova then won 4 games in a row and was serving for the set 5-3 but was unable to hold serve as the Chinese player was able to even the set at 5-all. However, after two very hard-fought service games, Kvitova ended up winning the first set.

Surprisingly, Li Na responded by raising  her level of play in the second set and rattled off 4 games in a row and ended up winning it 6-2. The third and deciding set followed the pattern of the first set, with both players pounding the ball, except this time there was only one break of serve in the 8th game, with Kvitova serving out the match in the very next game.

Kvitova and Li now have an even head-to-head history of 2 wins each. It was Li's third final of the year, having lost to Victoria Azarenka in Sydney, Maria Sharapova in Rome and now Kvitova in Montreal. The good news is that all these players are higher ranked than she is, and they were all hard-fought, very close 3-set matches. It was Kvitova's first final in 2012, but she has had good results in the major tournaments, thus keeping her ranking high.

The next big tournament has already started, which is the Southern & Western Open in Cincinnati where both the top men and top women will be competing.

2012 Toronto Masters: Djokovic v Gasquet Final

The final of the 2012 Rogers Cup will be between #1 seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia and surprise finalist Richard Gasquet from France. Gasquet reached this point by defeating a listless John Isner 7-6(3) 6-3 on a very cloudy and rainy Saturday in Toronto. I was in the audience for this match and the talented Frenchman used his versatile backhand to excellent effect. He deployed the slice backhand to return the American's powerful serves and used the topspin backhand to laser winners over the court and out-last the American in cross-court backhand rallies. Isner attempted to be aggressive with his forehand but his footwork appeared to be tired and somewhat clumsy so he was rarely able to open up a point with his groundstroke weapon and instead made costly errors. The first set was pretty straightforward, with Isner able to save breakpoints with aces as high as 229 kmh (142 mph), leading to the inevitable tiebreak where he fell behind 2-5 and failed to recover, losing te set. The second set Gasquet pressed his advantage by serving more authoritatively, exploiting Isner lackluster return game and increasing his aggression on Isner's service games. This initiative was rewarded with two breakpoints in the sixth game. Isner saved one with an unreturnable serve but when he missed the serve and came into net Gasquet rifled a backhand winner down the line to go up 4-2. Serving for the match at 5-3 Gasquet saved a breakpoint but was able to close out the win to reach his biggest final in his career.

I also had tickets for the second semifinal, which was supposed to start at 6:30 local time. However, despite the sky being less cloudy at 6:30 almost immediately as the players were ending the warm-up his the skies opened up and the rain started coming down lightly at first and then in sheets of water. At around 7:15pm I gave up and took Toronto Transit back to where I was staying. I was glad I did, because the all-Serbian final between Novak Djokovic and Janko Tipsarevic did not conclude till well after 11:30pm (following another rain delay in the middle of the match after they began at almost 8pm), with Djokovic prevailing 6-4 6-1.

Looking forward to seeing my first Masters final live tonight! I full expect Djokovic to win, but Gasquet is playing well. Djokovic needs to win if he wants to try and wrest the ATP top spot from Federer this week in Cincinnati before the US Open starts in 2 weeks.

MOVIE REVIEW: Magic Mike

The Other Half and I saw "The Citizen Kane of Stripper Movies" July 4th weekend when I was visiting Los Angeles. Magic Mike stars Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Matthew McConaughey and Adam Rodriguez, some of the most attractive male stars on television.

There have been recent press reports about the surprising appeal of Magic Mike to gay male audiences. This is somewhat bizarre, because why wouldn't a movie about male strippers, which by definition is about the objectification of the male body, be attractive to men who find the male body attractive?


It is true that there are lots of images and scenes of quite scantily clad guys in the movie, with the primary focus being on Channing Tatum. Tatum is very easy on the eyes, and he is also a very talented dancer, which are some of the film's best assets (literally). Tatum is basically in every scene, usually with Pettyfer, who is also pretty easy on the eyes in a scruffy young white dude way.


The movie currently has a 78% rating on rottentomatoes.com (though, tellingly, it has a 68% from audiences) and is doing well-enough at the box office to not tarnish Tatum's rising profile as Hollywood's next golden boy. He puts on a good, believable performance and raises it from something which really could have become pue schlock.


However, as a film, especially one directed by an Oscar-winning director, Magic Mike has numerous flaws, primarily script related. The film was written by Reid Carolin and features stupefying dialogue and a strikingly lackadaisical plot. In the first 5 minutes (the "meet-cute" scene between Tatum and Pettyfer on a construction site I turned to The Other Half and said, "is this film improvised or is there a screenplay?" The scene plays like the director said: "Ok, act as if you are meeting for the first time and Alex, you play an aimless stoner guy trying to find himself and Channing you play a guy who is a construction worker by day and stripper by night, juggling multiple responsibilities to get ahead in life. Action!" It's a specific choice, made by the writer and director (I think!) in order to communicate a sense of verisimilitude to these characters. The plot is (very) loosely based on the ingenue-star conflict of All About Eve, with Pettyfer ("The Kid") being the ingenue new to the world of taking your clothes off for money and Tatum ("Magic Mike") being the established star and chief draw at the night club run by McConaughey.


Sadly, Bomer, Rodriguez and Mangianello are mostly (very pretty) window dressing and have a mere handful of lines between them. They do a good job in the ensemble stripper scenes of increasing the eye candy portions to nearly overwhelming levels, and acquit themselves well in their brief solos also. 


The film chooses to make all of the characters heterosexual, and places the context of the stripping as hot straight guys undressing for the entertainment (titillation?) of giggly straight women. The inherent exploitative nature of what is essentially the commodification of youth and beauty can not be avoided, although one interesting spin is that it is male youth and male beauty being packaged and sold (by both the film and the characters in the film). It is somewhat odd (and one could argue, fueled by either homophobia or heterosexism) that there is absolutely no gay content in the movie whatsoever. That being said maybe that's a good thing, because many of the characters do disturbing things, with the role of drugs in the night life culture Magic Mike is a part of becomes increasingly prominent, and problematic.


That being said, the film is probably worth seeing, as a mindless diversion and somewhat titillating fun, sort of like going to a strip club itself. But you won't feel good about the time and money spent on the experience afterwards!

Title: Magic Mike.
Director: Steven Soderbergh.
Running Time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.
MPAA Rating: Rated R for pervasive sexual content, brief graphic nudity, language and some drug use.
Release Date: June 29, 2012.
Viewing Date: July 7, 2012.

Writing: D.
Acting: B.
Visuals: A.
Impact: C.

Overall Grade: B-/C+ (2.5/4.0).

2012 Wimbledon: Men's Quarterfinals Preview

AP

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at the Wimbledon Championships for 2012. Last year I  correctly predicted 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals and correctly predicted 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals.

Novak Djokovic SRB (1) vs. Richard Gasquet FRA (18) Florian Mayer GER (31). The World #1's inevitable march to a mouth-watering semifinal showdown with 6-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer continues. His opponent is a German journeyman who is playing in his first ever major quarterfinal playing the best tennis of his life. Mayer's just happy to be here, and although he has a decent grass court game, he simply does not have the arsenal to match what Djokovic brings to the court. Mayer will be lucky to win even a handful of games. PREDICTION: Djokovic.

Roger Federer SUI (3) vs. Mikhail Youzhny RUS (26). Roger Federer has played Mikhail Youzhny 13 times and never lost a match to the mercurial Russian. Youzhny is a talented grass court player, having reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon seven times in his career, with his first quarterfinal appearance occurring this year. The two have played 5 times on grass, and last year at Wimbledon Youzhny won the first set in a tiebreak but ended up losing to Federer in 4 sets. Objectively, Federer is not playing as well this year as he did last year, as evinced by his Houdini-like escapes in the two previous rounds against Xavier Malisse in 4 sets and Julien Benneteau in 5-sets. Youzhny on the other hand, by definition, is playing better here than he has previously, since he has never advanced this far in the tournament before. This could be a very tough match for Federer, especially with the prospect of another historic semifinal showdown with defending champion Novak Djokovic to look forward to. Youzhny knows that no one expects him to win, but he definitely has the tools and mental fortitude to achieve the upset if Federer does not play well. I do think Federer will get through (who would bet against a 16-time champion on his favorite surface?) but it will be quite difficult. PREDICTION: Federer.

David Ferrer ESP (7) vs. Andy Murray GBR (4). This is a repeat of a quarterfinal matchup at the French Open from a few weeks ago where the Spaniard dirt baller demolished his higher ranked British opponent. However, this  match will be at Wimbledon where Ferrer is playing in his 1st ever quarterfinal after having manhandled an opponent a full foot taller than he is while Murray is attempting to reach his 4th consecutive semifinal. This should be the most interesting match of the quarterfinal round; t he two are actually evenly matched in their career head-to-head at 5-all with Ferrer winning all 4 clay court meetings and Murray winning 5 of their 6 hard court clashes. They have never met on grass before, and one would have to give Murray an edge because he has hometown advantage and he has the bigger serve, which grass rewards. But later in the tournament Wimbledon's grass in recent years has been playing more like a clay court, which partially explains Rafael Nadal success here. This year, however, the weather has not cooperated to bake the lawns into something resembling the dirt of Roland Garros. In addition, if it does rain and the roof is closed then an indoor court would also give Murray an advantage, who is on a historic quest to end the decades-long absence of Briton in the finals of Wimbledon. With the Spaniard who had reached his last six Wimbledon finals now missing from the tournament due to an unfortunate 2nd round meeting with a Czech thunderbolt, Murray should be able to ride the hopes of a nation to his date with destiny on the final Sunday. PREDICTION: Murray. 

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga FRA (5) vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber GER (27).  Germans have been doing well at Wimbledon for decades, with greats like Steffi Graf and Boris Becker etching their names into the record books and memories of tennis fans around the world. Since Graf's last appearance here more than a decade ago German tennis went through a sever drought which appears to be ending. A full one-quarter of all the quarterfinalists in the men's and women's draws were from Deutschland this year (Angelique Kerber, Sabine Lisicki, Florian Mayer and Kohlschreiber). Tsonga has only lost once against Kohlschreiber, and that was several years ago. If a 6-time major Wimbledon champion couldn't win a Wimbledon quarterfinal match against the Frenchman last  year despite being two sets up, what chance does a 1st time Wimbledon quarterfinalist have? Exactly. PREDICTION: Tsonga. 

2012 Wimbledon Day 3: Stosur(5),Wozniacki(7) Lose

Paul Gilham/Getty Images

After a pretty uneventful Day 2 at the Wimbledon Championships, Day 3 turned out to be a bloodbath for some of the top seeds in the women's draw.  Reigning U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur, the #5 seed, lost a very strange and streaky match versus Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands, 6-2 0-6 6-4 despite saving two match points! Stosur won 2 games, then lost 6 games, then won 6 games, was down 2-5 and managed to crawl back to on-serve at 4-5, 40-15 when she suddenly lost 3 points in a row and her place in the tournament.

Match of the Day: T. Paszek AUT d.  C. Wozniacki DEN (7) 5-7 7-6(4) 6-4.
But this was just an appetizer for what turned out to be the match of the day between Eastbourne winner Tamira Paszek and former World #1 (and current #7 seed) Caroline Wozniacki, a 1st round encounter that was carried over from Day 2. Paszek served for the 1st set at 5-4 but was broken and eventually lost the set 7-5. In the second set Wozniacki had double match point with Paszek serving 5-6, 15-40 but the Austrian player was fearless, dismissing both match points with screaming backhand down-the-line winners a
few centimeters from the lines. Paszek ended up winning the 2nd set in a tie-break. Wozniacki got the early break in the first game of the 3rd set and went up 2-0 but Paszek fought back to even up the set at 3-all. After holding serve to go up 4-3 in the final set on serve, Paszek broke Wozniacki and tried to serve out the match but was broken by good play from the Dane. However, when Wozniacki tried to hold serve she faced a single break point which was also match point and after a long stirring rally (one of many) Paszek won the match with another one of her 53 clear winners.

Amongst all this #11 seed Li Na was dismissed in straight sets. Kim Clijsters, Aggie Radwanska, Vera Zvonareva and Sabine Lisicki all won. Youngsters Sloane Stephens and Heather Watson also both reached the 3rd round. Maria Sharapova was unable to complete her match against Tsevetana Pironkova.

There were basically no upsets on the men's side, with Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, David Ferrer, Milos Raonic and Janko Tipsarevic all won, with Andy Roddick completing his 1st round win.

Oreo Cookies Celebrate Pride

Oreo cookies posted the above picture of a rainbow-themed version of their cream filled snack with the caption "Proudly support love!" This is yet another example of how the bad guys are losing the ongoing kulturkampf over LGBT equality as corporations are continuing to choose the side of gay rights.

2012 Wimbledon: Venus Loses In 1st Round

Clive Rose/Getty Images

5-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams lost in the first round of the 2012 Wimbledon championships for the first time since her debut at the tournament in 1997 to Russian Elena Vesnina in straight sets 6-1 6-3. The 32-year-old American was lethargic and listless in the match, with her timing off. She lost her serve 3 times in the first set (starting the match with 5 consecutive missed serves) and had a service percentage of 38% and never really looked competitive. She walked off the court looking tired and disconsolate.


Venus is still in the tournament, playing doubles with her sister Serena Williams.

MOVIE REVIEW: Snow White and the Huntsman

The same day I saw Prometheus opening weekend, afterwards I decided to make it a Charlize Theron film festival and walked over to the theater which was going to start showing  Snow White and the Huntsman in five minutes.

 Snow White and the Huntsman had an excellent marketing campaign, with clever trailers which was able to convince me to include it in the list of films I was looking forward to see this summer. Unfortunately Rupert Sanders was directing a major motion picture for the first time and it shows, especially in the lead performance of Snow White given by Kristen Stewart, who is well-known for her starring role in the execrable Twilight film adaptations (and is now the highest paid actress in Hollywood). Stewart is definitely striking, but is she really more beautiful than the Dark Queen, played with almost riveting abandon by Oscar-winner Theron?  There are seemingly uncountable numbers of scenes where the camera is focused on a close-up of Stewart's face, and she is staring directly into the camera, with no dialogue. Many times we have no idea what Stewart is supposed to be communicating to the audience, and it appears as if neither Sanders or Stewart did either. I think it's supposed to be some kind of suggestion of enchanting Snow White's beauty is, but it mostly just seems annoying and slows down the progress of the plot.


In fact, the story is another one of the curious aspects of the film. We all remember basic details of the Snow White fairy tale: Snow White is the daughter of the King whose queen dies and he marries someone else who is jealous of her step-daughter and casts her our to the enchanted forest, where instead of being killed by a Huntsman, Snow White meets seven Dwarves. After her Magical Mirror tells her that she is no longer the "fairest in the land" the evil Queen tricks Snow White into eating from a poisoned apple which causes her to fall into a deep sleep which is only broken by the kiss of her Prince who is in love with her beauty. The screenwriter Evan Daugherty takes great liberty with many aspects of the story (relax, there are dwarves!) and has produced a screenplay which improves the agency of both of the lead female characters and gives the Huntsman a much larger role. This is not a bad thing, per se but there is a problem when the third act of the film basically devolves into a swords and arrows battle led by Snow White (in shining armor no less) storming the castle in order to defeat the Evil Queen. At this point all one can do is shake one's head and be glad one didn't pay a lot of money to see the film. But unfortunately, you can never get those 2 1/2 hours of your life back!

Title: Snow White and the Huntsman.
Director: Rupert Sanders.
Running Time: 2 hours, 7 minutes.
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense scenes of violence and action, and brief sensuality.
Release Date: June 8, 2012.
Viewing Date: June 10, 2012.


Plot: C.
Acting: B.
Visuals: A.
Impact: C.


Overall Grade: B- (2.75/4.0).

WATCH: Obama At White House LGBT Reception

MOVIE REVIEW: Prometheus

One of my most anticipated films of summer 2012 was Ridley Scott's foray back into science fiction after a near-30-year hiatus,  Prometheus, also known as the "Alien prequel." The film stars Oscar-winner Charlize Theron in her second tentpole film of summer 2012 (the first being the widely panned Snow White and the Huntsman, but more about that film later), Oscar-nominee Noomi Rapace, Idris Elba, Michael Fassbender and Guy Pearce. The screenplay is credited to Jon Spaight and Damon Lindelof (former showrunner of Lost).

The reaction to the film has been somewhat mixed, primarily due to the somewhat overheated hype prior to its release as people tried to compare the new movie relative to Alien, which is currently #42 on the IMDB list of Top 250 movies of all time. Unfortunately, it doesn't appears as if Prometheus will be joining that list anytime soon.


I saw and heard the somewhat mixed reviews (currently in the mid 70s on rottentomatoes.com) before I went and saw the movie, but made the decision to just go by myself after the Men's Final was unable to be completed due to rain on Sunday June 10th. 


My first reaction to the film is that it is absolutely beautifully shot, one of the most cinematographically stunning films since probably Inception. It also is able to scare, excite and surprise the audience. It also is very frustrating because there are many, many aspects of the script and story which simply do not make any sense. There's a difference between leading the audience by the nose by blatantly depicting plot points with no subtlety and being deliberately obfuscatory and confusing by having characters do things which are just clearly stupid and unmotivated. This results in numerous questions being left in the audience's mind when they leave the theater, but not in a good way of "let's debate the various interpretations of what the film makers intended or speculate on what happens next to the characters that we care about" (which is what happened to me after watching Incendies or A Separation) but more like "what the ...."?


I won't go into the details of the specific questions that can be asked, because I don't want to spoil the movie for people who have not seen it yet, and I do think that it is worth seeing, especially for the visuals, which are truly astonishing. In addition, although the script is a hot mess, it does it atleast provide some fodder for how the entire Alien franchise was started, and in my book, that is worth the price of admission.


For people who are science-oriented or who have advanced degrees or extensive training in a scientific field, it will be hard to watch what can only be described as an irresponsible depiction of scientists. The scientists are played with religious fervor by Rapace and with reckless abandon by hottie Joshua Logan-Marshall. With that caveat, I would still encourage people to see the film.


Title: Prometheus.
Director: Ridley Scott.
Running Time: 2 hours, 4 minutes.
MPAA Rating: Rated R for sci-fi violence including some intense images, and language.
Release Date: June 8, 2012.
Viewing Date: June 10, 2012.


Plot: C.
Acting: B+.
Visuals: A+.
Impact: B.


Overall Grade: B/B+ (3.16/4.0).

Nadal Beat By Kohlschreiber; Federer Survives Raonic

AFP PHOTO / CARMEN JASPERSEN

AFP PHOTO / CARMEN JASPERSEN

Just days after winning his record 7th French Open title, World #2 Rafael Nadal was upset in the quarterfinals of the Gerry Weber Open grasscourt tournament in Halle, Germany by defending champion (and native son) Philip Kohlschreiber 6-3 6-4.

In another quarterfinal, Roger Federer keps his hopes of a 6th title in Halle alive by surviving a 3rd set tiebreak against big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic 6-7(4) 6-4 7-6(3). Federer will face Mikhail Youzhny in one semifinal while Kohlschreiber faces the winner of the showdown between Tomas Berdych and Tommy Haas.

I smell a Federer-Berdych final on Sunday...

(UPDATED) Happy Pride Message from Israeli Defense Forces

The above picture was posted to the official Facebook page of the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) with the caption: "It's Pride Month. Did you know that the IDF treats all of its soldiers equally?"

The ball's in your court, Pentagon!

Hat/tip Joe.My.God


UPDATE 06/13/2012 14:43
Joe.My.God has since reported that the above photo was "staged" by the IDF and that the two guys holding hands are not a couple, and one of them is not even gay! The Times of Israel has the dish:

The newly hip, multimedia-savvy IDF Spokesperson’s Office posted Monday on its Facebook page a photo of two ostensibly gay soldiers, one seeming to belong to the Givati Brigade and the other to the Artillery Corps, holding hands and walking on a city street.

In fact, the two soldiers in the photo are not a couple, only one of the two is gay, and both the soldiers serve in the IDF Spokesperson’s Office.

The picture appears to have been taken on Itamar Ben Avi street in Tel Aviv, around the corner from the Spokesperson’s Office headquarters.

Contacted by The Times of Israel, the IDF Spokesperson’s Office did not deny the photo was staged, offering the following statement: “The photo reflects the IDF’s open minded attitude towards soldiers of all sexual orientations. The IDF respects the privacy of the soldiers featured in the photograph, and will not comment on their identities.”

The photo has garnered thousands of “likes” on Facebook and has been hailed by the Foreign Ministry as evidence of the Israeli army’s unique tolerance toward homosexuality.

What do you think? Does it matter that the picture was part of a marketing campaign and is not of a real gay couple? To me, the more important point is that IDF is deliberately trying to market itself as a tolerant organization, one that would recognize gay pride. There is a question if they are so tolerant why couldn't they find an actual gay couple to pose for the photo. So maybe IDF is trying to claim they are gay-tolerant when they actually aren't?

2012 FRENCH OPEN: Final Thoughts and Review

The 2012 French Open at Roland Garros is now complete, with champions Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal revelling in their titles. This French Open concluded with historic wins on both the men's and women's sides. Sharapova completed the career grand slam, and Nadal won his record 7th French Open. Sharapova became the 6th female player to reach the career slam and Nadal is the only player to ever win 7 French Open titles.

As we end the clay court slam in Paris and focus our attention to the grass court slam in London I want to review the tournament and post some final thoughts.

Most Surprising Result
In 46 1st round matches at a major tournament, Serena Williams had never lost. But, in her 47th appearance, on her weakest surface, playing a hometown favorite in Virginia Razzano Serena lost a dramatic 3-set match which will reverberate through women's tennis for quite awhile. Even though she does not have the top ranking because she generally doesn't focus in the non-slam tour events, when Serena is fit and entered into a slam, it is hard t bet against her. So the 1st round loss shows that as she reaches the twilight of her career at age 30, Serena will have some unpleasant surprise results.

Best Match of the Tournament
The quarterfinal encounter between Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will go down as the match of the tournament. Djokovic saved 4 match points, and came back from the literal brink of defeat to win in 5-sets, just 1 round after he had played some of his worst tennis in a year to survive another 5-set match against calm journeyman Andrea Seppi.

Dark Horse Breakthrough
Sara Errani of Italy had been playing some inspired tennis all year long, winning 5 doubles and 3 singles titles before Roland Garros, 2 of which were on clay. But no one (probably not even Errani herself!) expected her to match the feat of her countrywoman Francesco Shiavone and reach the final of Roland Garros. With her appearance, Errani becomes only the 3rd Italian player ever to reach the Top 10 of the WTA rankings (after Schiavone and Flavia Penneta). And she picked up another title by winning the doubles!

MOVIE REVIEW: The Avengers

I got caught up in the hype last Friday and went and saw the new movie The Avengers on opening day. Although I went into the movie extremely skeptical that it would be any good, since in my estmation the last three movies involving individual members of the Avengers, i.e. Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America were decidely mediocre so it seemed unlikely that a movie featuring all of these characters would be any better than a movie feautring one of them.

But, surprisingly, The Avengers is actually better than any of the individual movies that have preceded it in the sequence.

That is probably due to the influence of fan boy extroardinaire Joss Whedon who directed and co-wrote the film.

The Avengers is well over two hours but the time flies. One of the key features of the film is its balance between the characters. As in a high-stakes appearance by duelling divas, the time and focus is evenly distributed among the stars of the show. This also allows for interesting interactions and compelling couplings: Thor and Iron Man; Hulk and Thor; Captain America, Thor and Iron Man; just to name a few. The (new to me) characters of Black Widow (Scarlet Johannsen) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) are also given equal time, and turn out to be interesting as well. The villian is Loki, who was one of the best things about last summer's execrable Thor film.

Overall, this is an excellent summer popcorn movie, entertaining but will not leave a lasting impression.
And there's nothing wrong with that! It's not one of the best films of the year, but it's not trying to be that. It succeeds at what it is trying to do: entertain you for two hours of summer.

Title: The Avengers.
Director: Joss Whedon.
Running Time: 2 hours, 22 minutes.
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, and a mild drug reference.
Release Date: May 4, 2012.
Viewing Date: May 4, 2012.

Plot: A-.
Acting: A-.
Visuals: A.
Impact: B-.

Overall Grade: A-/B+ (3.50/4.0).

Summer 2012: Movies I'm Looking Forward To See

Summer 2012 is coming soon and the movie I am most looking forward to seeing is Prometheus directed by Ridley Scott (see full trailer here, opens June 1, 2012) returning to the universe of his classic Alien movie. My favorite director Christopher Nolan also has a new movie coming out (see full trailer here, opens on July 20, 2012), The Dark Knight Rises, the final film in his Batman trilogy (Batman Begins and The Dark Knight). Some people are looking forward to The  Avengers movie (see full trailer, opens this Friday on May 4, 2012) but since Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America were all disappointing, why would a movie with all of them in it together be better than the movies which featured only one of them?

Charlize Theron appears to be having a good summer. She is in Prometheus, and also stars in Snow White and the Huntsman (full trailer here, opens June 1) along with Chris Hemsworth (who is also in Avengers as Thor) and Kristen Stewart from the execrable Twilight movies.

What movies are you looking forward to this summer?