Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Reviews: One movie, one book, and one show


Movie: The Informant!
Last week, I went to a sneak preview of the new um...how would I describe it? Offbeat comedy? movie my Steven Soderbergh. You know, the one starring a somewhat nerdy, somewhat portly version of Matt Damon. Based upon a true story, The Informant! tells the story of Mark Whitacre, a midwestern biochemist turned corporate exectutive in the billion-dollar industry of corn-derived food additives. Uncomfortable with the illegal price-fixing schemes his company involved him in, he starts working for the FBI as an informant and proves surprisingly effective despite his apparent incompetence in regards to discretion. As time goes on, the FBI (and the audience) learn that Mark may not be quite as naive as he comes across. I saw the movie knowing virtually nothing about it, and was quite glad for that, so that's all I will say. The Informant! is essentially a character study of an interesting and deluded character, and Damon absolultey nails the lead role. It's best described as an unusual movie and a highly entertaining one at that. The Informant! is funny as hell, in its own special way.

Book: As some of you know, I'm part of a Book Club with a few other Boston-area bloggers. We've done the classic classics (Wuthering Heights) the American classics (To Kill a Mockingbird) and the campy classics (Valley of the Dolls). This month's selection solidly falls into the third category: oh yes, we're reading Flowers in the Attic, by VC Andrews. It's the terrible tale of four siblings kept prisoner in the attic of a huge mansion by their cruel grandmother and their selfish mother, whose vanity far outwieghs her concern for her children's well-being. The novel is gripping and very creepy, and I felt so bad for the kids. On the positive side, now I finally know how the Dresden Dolls got their name.

Show: Last weekend, I went to the Donkey Show- a disco-themed performance visiting Boston from its home base of New York City. I had a great time. There is very little of an actual show; it's basically a giant disco dance party with a few scantily clad cast members covered in glitter flitting about. I felt like I was in a non-porny scene from Boogie Nights. And they even played my all-time favorite disco song. I'd definitely recommend it, but definitely go to the later show (8:00 is far too early for that amount of spandex) and have a cocktail or two first.

8 comments:

Suldog said...

That you even HAVE an all-time favorite disco song pains me. However, to each his (or her) own!

I'll have to check out the movie. Sounds like fun.

eileen said...

Yeah, I'm more of a rock music beat, but I can't resist a great baseline with strong vocals. Oh and I have a penchant for things campy, so that helps.

Definitely see The Informant- it's an oddball movie, but I really enjoyed it. And it's nice to see a comedy that isn't of the formulaic Will Ferrel type for once. (Not that I didn't love Blades of Glory)

constant gina said...

Matt Damon is a genius playing this role...

Beth said...

I LOVE that book, even though it's terribly sad/depressing. You need to rent the movie, too.

eileen said...

We watched the movie at our Book Club meeting! It was pretty fantastic, especially when our host Andy served us powdered donuts.

Andy said...

From the Dresden Doll's Wikipedia page:
"At some point, the name became The Dresden Dolls. The name, according to Palmer, was "inspired by a combination of things," including the firebombing of Dresden, Germany and the porcelain dolls which were a hallmark of pre-war Dresden industry; an early song of the same name by The Fall; and a reference to the V. C. Andrews novel Flowers in the Attic where the classically blond and blue-eyed protagonists are called "the Dresden dolls." The name also evokes Weimar Germany and its cabaret culture. Additionally, she "liked the parallel between Dresden (destruction) and Dolls (innocence, delicacy), because it is very much in keeping with the dynamics of the music, which sometimes goes from a childlike whisper to a banshee scream within a few seconds."[5]"


You were spot on!

Love you!

Colann said...

I have all the books of the Flowers in the Attic if you want to borrow them. I love those books!!

Anonymous said...

Enteledercine [url=https://launchpad.net/~codeine-poro]Buy Codeine no prescription[/url] [url=http://wiki.openqa.org/display/~buy-codeine-no-prescription-online]Buy Codeine no prescription online[/url]