If you've never read anything by Chris Moore, stop what you're doing, go to your local purveyor of literature, and pick up one of his hilarious books. I suggest starting with
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal.
The thing about Moore's work is that he's not just funny- by the way he is hilarious- his work has a unique mix of absurd situations with incredibly real people making surprisingly poingant choices. In the seminal
Lamb, for instance, Jesus is reclaimed in the name of rebelious youth and stripped of two-thousand years of Catholic dogma. Biff, the aforementioned childhood friend of ol' Joshua, gives his take on what really went down during the missing 30 years of His life and beyond. He brings an immediacy and reality to a mythic figure, and shows what a cool guy Mr. Nazareth might have been. It is irreverent and hilarious, and way more heartfelt than you might expect.
Then there's
The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror. Zombies come to muck up the Christmas of a few of Moore's recurring characters. 'Nuff said.
So, now I've just finished
Island of the Sequined Love Nun. This is one of his earlier books, and neither the humor nor the heart are as fully developed as his later works, but it is definatley worth the read. Despite having to carry a bright pink book around work. Between Tucker the geeky jet pilot in a cool guys body, Kimi the Philipino transvestite hooker, Beth the self-styled goddess who really enjoys being naked, Sarapul the grumpy old native who just wants to have a taste of the "long pig," and Roberto the talking bat who wears sunglasses, you're bound to find a character that you can relate to, or at least be tickled by.
If you're looking for a laugh, and a smart read to boot, you could do a lot worse than Chris Moore.
I can't wait...
Could this month be more devoid of interesting cinema fare? We started out with a bang- Sin City whet my appetite for buzzworthy summer flicks. And then the excitement stalled like a Suzuki in January.
Granted, I am an admitted snob, and I rarely give stuff like Amityville Horror a chance. But what are the odds, really that it's not a complete waste of time? Besides, a large part of the cinema experience for me is based on anticipation. I love going to a movie that I'm really excited about.
Sometimes it's disappointing: I was bouncing through the lobby on the way to Burton's Planet of the Apes, but I left confused and disillusioned. But when it works, it's sublime. Along with Sin City, there was Burton's redemption Big Fish, not to mention The LOTR Trilogy.
But the past couple of weeks have been devoid of any type of movie excitement. I had a twinge of interest in Sahara until it was completely snuffed by its shameless overpromotion.
Fortunately, there's hope on the horizon! The Interpreter comes out next week, and Kung-Fu Hustle's making it out to our neck of the woods. But what I'm really looking forward to (you can tell by my new desktop wallpaper) is Hitchhikers Guide.
So if you're in Ybor City on Friday, the 29th, I'll be the one bouncing through the lobby of the Centro 20.
*Warning: book spoilers ahead*
I just finished reading
The Chronicles of Narnia for the first time. It certainly lives up to it's success, and I might say exceeds my expectations.
I was first taken aback at Lewis's charming and non-consecending tone. It is very expressive, yet very easy and fast to read. The conversational turns of phrase make the prose accessable while grounding the reader by reminding that this is a story.
The individual books are a bit hit and miss.
The Magicians Nephew,
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and
The Last Battle were my favorites.
A Horse and His Boy, and
Voyage of the Dawn Treader were tedious at points, and didn't do much to further the plot of the overall story- especially Horse, being the only book in the series that didn't involve anyone from our world.
The allegory aspect is amazing. As you no doubt know, Aslan is the "Christ" of Narnia. He sacrifices himself to save Narnia, and shows up at the opportune moment to show the main characters the path. Strictly speaking, he's not a symbol of Christ, as he is actually the very same entity as our Jesus, and Aslan is the form and name he is known by in Narnia. This is an interesting approach, and could easily lead one to use the books as Sunday School lessons (if one were inclined to do such a thing).
I was especially enthralled with the allegory/satire of
The Last Battle. The ape Shift, along with his fake Aslan, enslave the people and talking beasts of Narnia, in a shocking parallel to the 19th century Philosophers that linked slave mentality with the workings of the Church. Shift convinces Narnia that they have been bad, and that Aslan is making them work for punishment. He trots out his fake Aslan (a donkey in costume) by the cover of night, and convinces the populace that they are unworthy of talking to him directly, and that he must be the intermediary.
This is a scathing attack on any member of the clergy who believes that they are necessary for a relationship with the divine. It is clear to the reader that the real Aslan is not aloof, but very personal, and this parallel Lewis makes clear. And the attitude of the Dwarfs (that if Shift's Aslan is fake, how can I believe in yours) is a beautiful comment on skepicism.
Anyway, I think I've waxed literary for long enought. The point is: I am now really looking forward to the movie this fall.
Rodriguez has done it. He has reached the pinnacle of a genre. Sin City is the ultimate comic book movie. It is a stunning, shocking, sublime work of genius.
It recalls Pulp Fiction's non-linear structure and unflinching brutality, but is much more ambitious in it's look and style. And it's not just the black and white/color thing. Rodriguez has realized the promise of digital technology by crafting his world to look and act exactly as he wants it too. Things that were once only possible in the imagination are laid before our eyes on the big screen. For instance, in the real world, there are limits to how fast a car can go in a limited space, but not in Sin City.
And the acting is nothing to sneeze at. So Bruce Willis isn't exactly stretching, but Micky Rourke manages to make is murderous brute not just tolerable, but downright lovable- an accomplishment for what his character is out there doing. Clive Owen smolders with the best of them alongside a feisty and powerful Rosario Dawson. And look closely- that's Benicio Del Toro as the ill-fated Jack.
Okay, is it perfect? No. The three main stories are only marginally connected to each other. Oh yeah, and Jessica Alba had a no-nudity clause in her contract.
Nonetheless, this sinful delight is a beacon guiding us through the mediocrity of normal April cinema fare.
The Pop Pirate sets sail
The Pop Pirate
Here's me in full pirate mode. Arrr!!
If you've never read anything by Chris Moore, stop what you're doing, go to your local purveyor of literature, and pick up one of his hilarious books. I suggest starting with Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal.
