Another Instant Review

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Carriers uses the well-worn tropes of zombie movies to give us something that goes much deeper than your typical Friday night frightfest. Chris Pine (Star Trek) stars as Brian, older brother to Danny (Lou Taylor Pucci) and de facto leader of the ragtag team of four driving across America trying to outrun the virus that's decimated the human population that includes Piper Perabo (Coyote Ugly) and Emily VanCamp (Everwood). The landscape is bare, and when they do run into other uninfected humans, the trouble is much more visceral and insidious than any zombie could ever hope to inflict. The supplies are becoming much harder to procure and the desperation is eating away at the bonds of the ragtag team.

To lay all my cards on the table, I am a sucker for zombie movies. They are far and away my favorite movie monster because zombie movies, if they're done right, are never about the zombies. The zombies are symbols, allergories for what the director truly wants to talk about. Romero's Dawn of the Dead had zombies attacking survivors in a mall, not because it would be fun to see a zombie eating someone in the food court, but the director wanted the audience to examine the effect our rampant, mindless consumerism was having on our abilities to think for ourselves. And in Carriers, the point isn't how fast we can run from the zombies (in fact, there's nary a zombie to be seen in the movie), but to ask who are we at the core of ourselves?
The movie posits that how we react in a crisis is who we really are, no tricks, no everyday niceties to blur the face we try to keep only to ourselves. We get two brothers who embody to very different reactions and the directors, Alex and David Pastor asks us, which one do we relate to? Pine's Brian is the isolationist; he has decided that compassion and mercy will only get you infected and you must, at all costs, look out for yourself. The younger brother, Danny, is obviously the soft touch, hesitating in tense moments because he can't decide whether the idea of looking out for only yourself is justifiable even in such an extreme situation as he finds himself in, or if compassion should always win out, no matter what's going on around you. I found myself identifying with both brothers; I understood why Brian hardened himself to the plight of others, he cared about ensuring the survival of his loved ones and if you don't look out for yourself, someone other ruthless jerk will certainly take advantage of you. But I cannot turn my back on the concepts of empathy, compassion and mercy. How can I see someone I can help and turn my back?

Carriers doesn't have much in the way of jump out of your seat frights, but what it does have in spades are intelligent questions that challenge the viewer to think, exactly, what would I do in that situation? How would I respond to such an epic call to arms? I think anyone looking for not only a good time, but an intelligent thriller should definetly give Carriers a try.

Carriers was written and directed by Alex and David Postman and is now available on dvd.

What is inspiration?

I have been working on the short story I'm currently writing for MONTHS and it's frustrating me because it is not flowing. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. When I write, if it's not flowing, I put it away and go on to the story that is insisting on being told. I have put this one aside, and written one other story that sprang from my head fully formed, but I keep coming back to this story. I am intrigued by the people telling me their lives in whispers and half truths and I want to get to know them fully, but they are tricksy hobbits and won't give it to me straight. My beloved liars got me to thinking on inspiration. What is it? Where does it come from? Do we have to wait on it? Or can we access it at any time?

I am not the kind of writer who can get up and write from 6am to 2pm like it's a regular 9 to 5. I have to wait until the mood hits me, until the words are ready to pour out of me. Whenever I try to make myself sit down and write when I don't feel the magical "tingle" up and down my spine what comes out is stale and unworthy. But when I do feel the inspiration, I feel the work is beautiful and special, worthy of other's time and attention. I think this is mostly habit, and partly true. I have told this to myself over the years so many times that I believe it. I know if I just sat down every morning for an hour everyday, something wonderful would eventually come out of it. But I love that special "tingle" that I've divined as inspiration. If only I could bottle it up so I could access it whenever I wanted to write something lovely and amazing.

Drive-by Review

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I am not a big fan of Robin Thicke's 2007 breakout album The Evolution of Robin Thicke. I loved the slinky sexiness of "Lost Without U" and "Everything That I Can't Have" was a high-spirited cornucopia of fun and mischief that was irresistible. However, I found the remainder of the album bloated, overindulgent and just plain dull. Sex Therapy: The Session is the polar opposite. Fit, slimmed down, it's Robin Thicke in fighting shape. Sex Therapy: The Session is infinitely listenable.
Thicke is not a power vocalist, but rather has a sweet, soft, come-on of a voice and he expertly plays up to his strengths on Sex Therapy. "Sex Therapy" is the first single and works as an excellent bridge to the new album. It's sinuous melody slinks into your mind, winds itself around the pleasure center in your brain and causes paroxysms of ear joy for three minutes and thirty seconds. It might be difficult for a second single to gain traction on radio because "Sex Therapy" is a song that only gets better after repeated listenings.
Sex Therapy boasts several potential singles and two standouts are "It's In The Morning" featuring Snoop Dogg and "Shakin' It For Daddy" featuring hip hop's new go to girl (and for good reason) Nikki Minaj. "It's In The Morning" is the kind of song Thicke does best, and undulating groove with a falsetto bridge that makes you want to grab your significant other and remind them why they chose you in the first place. "Shakin' It For Daddy" is a loud, brash homage to avaricious strippers and the men that love them that skirts the line between misogyny and being a sexy call and answer between the sexes.
The latter half of Sex Therapy is much weaker than the hit-laden front end, but the first seven songs are so imminently listenable, Thicke is forgiven for tacking on throwaway songs like "RollerCoaster." The Evolution of Robin Thicke will most likely remain Thicke's most successful album, but it's Sex Therapy: The Session that's his masterwork.

Hi World!

Before I start spewing all my thoughts and feelings, here's a few things about me for my first post: I recently hit the big 3-0 and instead of this making me nervous, scared, depressed, I'm relieved to be out of my twenties. My twenties were, something else, to say the least. I am college-educated, but some days I feel as dumb as a post. Seriously, the other day, it took me five minutes to figure out how to send an e-mail from my home computer. I am perenially single (much more on that later) and the last of my friends to find a career, partner, life trajectory.

I'll be using this space mostly to practice my writing because I've FINALLY got the nerve to pursue a career in professional writing (see why I'm enjoying 30?) but I'll also be using this space to rant, talk about my passions, ask for opinions, pretty much the same reasons why everyone else blogs. Though I doubt I'll be talking much about politics, I don't have the stomach for it. I'm excited and nervous about blogging and hope that it turns out to be as much fun as it seems! Till the next time!