February 2009: Media Consumed

Books Read
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! by Laura Amy Schiltz
The Saga of Beowulf by R.Scot Johns
*+Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
#+Twelve Angry Men by Sherman L. Sergel
#Twelve Angry Women by Sherman L. Sergel

* denotes graphic novel
+ denotes a book previously read
# denotes a play

February is a short month, thus not as much time to finish reading books. Good Master! Sweet Ladies! is a short, illustrated work of a series of monologues and dialogues spoken by people from all walks of life set in the Middle Ages of England. The book won the 2008 Newberry Medal for children's literature. The Saga of Beowulf is the first complete novelization of the entire Beowulf poem that I am aware of. The book is fresh, exciting, and the best novel I've read in the past couple of years. I highly recommend it. I re-read Watchmen in preparation for the upcoming movie adaptation. I've read Twelve Angry Men several times in the past year and since I'm going to be directing the show this fall, I re-read it again along with it's almost identical counterpart Twelve Angry Women.

Movies Seen For the First Time
Tin Man
Starship Trooper 3: Marauder
Friday the 13th (2009)
W.
The Wrestler
Taken
Milk
The Reader
Frost/Nixon
Frozen River
Inkheart

Tin Man was a miniseries that aired on the Sci-Fi Channel last year. It's re-telling of Frank L. Baum's beloved story, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I've been meaning to watching the film for some time and finally got to. I really enjoyed it. I really liked W., too. It's a movie that many people are avoiding--those on the right because they think it's an unfair take on the life of George W. Bush and those on the left think the movie isn't critical of his life enough. The movie is witty and though much of it is imagined fictional accounts told between real-life recreations of actual footage, the movie gives a very honest portrayal of our 43rd President as a real man. The Wrestler was one of my favorite films released in 2008 (though I didn't get to see it until 2009). Mickey Rourke gives an amaking perfermance that should have won him the Oscar. Milk was nomiated for Best Picture, but the movie isn't as good as the majority of reviews would lead one to believe. It's a cliche-ridden biopic that sets no new ground whatsoever. The only reason for it's success is because of the passage of Prop. 8 in California. The Reader was okay, but kind of dry. Taken is an action-packed film based upon an ever-growing problem that faces Americans traveling alone overseas. The last film worth noting is Frozen River a naturalistic drama starring Melissa Leo. Leo's performance deserved the Oscar and really is much better than Kate Winslet in The Reader.