WORTH WATCHING | Powerless

I caught the pilot of Powerless and I've gotta say, so far, I'm impressed.

I don't watch a lot of comedy shows for two reasons:

1: The humor is too raunchy or self-deprecating

2: The story isn't very interesting to me. I easily get bored with half-hour sitcom story lines.

1: The humor in Powerless is warm and genuine; it doesn't come at the expense of characters, but in the pursuit of happiness and improvement. The story and main character Emily Locke are empowered in the face of skepticism and pessimism and this sets an upbeat tone for the show that I love. It's bright and cheerful and just fun.

DC even pokes some good-natured fun at itself and some of the idiosyncrasies within it's universe that had me in stitches.

2: How do mere mortals cope in a world of superheroes? This is a premise that has long fascinated me and turning it into a comedy is a stroke of genius. This is a story line that won't get boring any time soon.

I have high hopes for Powerless. It will be interesting to see how they maintain the balance of superheroes vs. non-superheroes. Will they resist the urge to add a superhero or alter ego to the dynamic? If they do, will said super come to rely on the R&D to save the day or will the R&D team continue to make differences in more subtle ways?

In short, Powerless is a feel-good comedy about doing good even when it seems like a losing battle and this is something I want more of.

Is Powerless worth watching?

It's definitely worth a shot.

REVIEW: The Martian by Andy Weir

The Martian
by Andy Weir
Science Fiction
4/5 stars

I grabbed this book because of the movie, like many people probably did. The difference with me is that I really put my foot down about not reading this book. Even when The Martian hit theaters, even when everyone raved about how good it was, I waited until the movie came to the cheap theater in town (months after release) before I saw it. Usually, I'm adamant about reading books before seeing their movie versions, but for this one I was just as adamant I would see the movie first. To be honest, I never expected I would read this book.

Why? Partly because I heard it had a lot of swearing -one of the things I draw the line at- but also because I honestly wasn't sure I'd like the story.

I mean, it's about a guy stranded on Mars, all alone, fighting to survive. Intense? Yeah. Moving? Probably has its moments. But enjoyable? I anticipated an adrenaline-pumping film I'd watch once, maybe twice, but I couldn't see that a story like this would be entertaining enough for more than one evening, not when there weren't even conversations or aliens or anything.

Boy was I wrong.


What made this story was Mark Watney -his personality, his sarcasm, his snarky little asides, and his disparaging remarks about disco music. While the plot of the story is intense and daring, I wouldn't have cared a lick if Watney wasn't such a believable and entertaining personality. Without his jokes, crash course in 70s pop culture, and his random declarations of facts like 'I'm basically a space pirate' (with the undeniably logical explanations, to boot), I would have set this book aside a loooooong time ago.

I mention a lot that I don't like prose and narrative as much as I like dialogue -which is true- but the underlying reason for this is personality. In so many books, I find that the narrative lacks any hint of a character's personality, which is something I really connect with. Take out the personality and what have you got? A block of descriptors with no feeling, that's what. The Martian is bursting with personality, which makes it interesting and entertaining, and it's all because of Mark Watney.

And because Mark Watney was such a likable and interesting character, I found myself reading detailed descriptions of space travel technology, computer programs, NASA regulations, physics and biology. And I don't even like science! (In fact, science overload is one reason I haven't read much sci-fi in the past.) Because Mark Watney is a snarky, entertaining character, he made every one of these subjects interesting by injecting his snark into it. I still can't believe I sat through it all.

If anyone else had written this book -if Andy Weir had chosen any other personality but Mark Watney's with which to tell the story- it would not have been a quarter as interesting as it was. Kudos, Mr. Weir.

There are definite differences between book and movie, as always, but this is one of the best adaptations I've seen. The movie really nailed the core of this book and the story and Matt Damon was amazing; he was even more Mark Watney than Mark Watney in the actual book is. ("I am dipping this potato in crushed Vicodin, because no one can stop me. It has been seven days since I ran out of ketchup.") For this reason, I think I actually enjoy the movie better, but the book is definitely worth a read, because there's still a lot of stuff they couldn't fit into the film.

As a caution to my readers: There IS a lot of swearing in this book; the 'f' word especially is used frequently, by many characters across the board. For the most part, the swearing was used in specific situations or instances. I don't have as much of a problem with the use of swearing in books and movies when it's 'called for'; it's when swearing is used just for the sake of swearing that I can't stand.

REVIEW: Geek Girl by Holly Smale

Geek Girl

by Holly Smale

Young Adult

4/5 stars

Geek Girl was impossible to put down.

It's hilarious, heart-warming, brave, and meaningful. I wish I'd had this to read when I was an awkward teenager. The first person POV is masterfully done, and I loved being inside the head of Harriet Manners, because it was such an interesting and occasionally awkward place to be. 

I liked that this was all about a girl just trying to find out where she fits in the world. That she happens to do this by stepping into the fashion business when she doesn't even like clothes or wear heels -well, that was just a bonus.

I wasn't really sure what to expect with this, but I was fairly confident there would be a good dose of rather vicious, backstabbing characters. I've seen Devil Wears Prada. Surprisingly, the fashion world here was not as cruel and heartless as I feared. I say 'fear' because, while I like a good fish-out-of-water, coming-of-age, self-discovery story, I don't necessarily like it to be uncomfortable. Awkward, sure, no problem, but I don't like to spend a lot of time with characters who are spiteful for no real reason even if they are the quote unquote villain. There were a couple of these characters, but they didn't take up a lot of page space. Most of the main characters within the fashion world were far more interesting, like Yuka Ito, who's severe and intimidating, but not necessarily cruel. 

I had so many favorite parts about this book. The best friends, Harriet and Nat. Harriet's would-be-boyfriend/stalker who, while not exactly adorable, helped Harriet figure things out. All of the characters were wonderful and bursting with personality. I liked that the romance subplot was so subtle, because it's really secondary to the story. It focused on Harriet's attempt to 're-invent' herself, the best friend crisis, the family issues, and school problems, and the fish-out-of-water story, so when you think about it, the romance was really sixth on the list. Geek Girl was about self-discovery, and none of that self-discovery came from liking or being liked by a guy. It all came from Harriet.

I love Harriet so much because she's so incredibly normal. Well, maybe not the geek bits and the factoids, but she frets and she worries and she jumps to worst case scenarios even if she should know better. She's a fifteen year old girl. Everything about her is so easy to relate to, that I think girls for generations are going to want to grow up with Harriet and learn with her.

Above all, I loved what Smale had to say about accepting yourself -for all your quirks and faults- instead of twisting yourself into a pretzel trying to get other people to accept you.

The Blog Wishes You An Enjoyable Week

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By my calculations, the combination of cats and Star Wars in this 'meme' is an assured success to draw laughter.

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By my calculations, this video of three grown men making strange faces and lip-syncing to high-pitched music in their car will be enjoyable to your perceptions.


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Corny Joke of the Week
What do you do with a dead chemist?
Barium

By my calculations, this joke will not be appreciated by those who value 'humor'.


Humans are strange creatures.

The Blog.