The full title of the book is Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, and it’s less of a prequel and more like a complete re-imagining of the world known from the classic children’s story by L. Frank Baum and the 1939 Wizard of Oz. I wonder if at this point it got overshadowed by the mega-successful musical – I haven’t seen it but I imagine it reworked the hell out of what is ultimately a very pessimistic, even bleak, story.
I really liked I Love You, Honeybear, the second album by Father John Misty (real name Josh Tillman), silly title and all, so when I heard he was touring Melbourne I jumped at the chance to see him live. Besides, Forum Theatre is probably my favourite music venue in Melbourne and it’s always nice to be there again under its fake starry sky.
I’m a big fan of Akunin’s Erast Fandorin mysteries, so I was very interested to check out his other series, once again set in the 19th century Russia and featuring Pelagia, a ginger-haired, bespectacled young nun who lives in a small town of Zavolzhsk.
Checked out this young New Zealander and his band last Friday. Because the venue’s parking was full and I wasted time looking for a street parking that would allow me to use a credit card, I missed out on the opening act. Honestly who’s got $10 in coins in their wallet? But maybe it was a blessing in disguise since I seem to get tired a lot more quickly these days standing at a concert.
I’ve resigned myself to the idea that I’ll probably never love another Bond movie like I did Casino Royale. Other than the movie’s own merits, it had the never-can-be-repeated revelation of Daniel Craig’s gritty, physical Bond who still had the heart that could be broken. Even so, Quantum of Solace was a huge disappointment and while Skyfall took the franchise into the billion dollar club, earned critical raves and had terrific cinematography, for me it was let down by the contrived, weak writing. So at this point my expectations were set low and I just wanted some decent entertainment. And for the first hour or so, the movie really delivered.
A sequel to Red Rising and a middle book in the planned trilogy, Golden Son is, to borrow the novel’s own speak, a bloodydamn great improvement on its predecessor and does everything a sequel should do. It broadens the scope and stakes, introduces new memorable characters and deepens the old ones, while also being very exciting to read.
Jack White – LazarettoSounds exactly like you’d imagine a Jack White album to sound like at this point, which is no bad thing at all. I’m a huge fan of The White Stripes and his solo output has the same sense of eccentricity and weirdness, which I like a lot. Though his music is arguably less special and idiosyncratic without the simplicity and innocence of Meg White’s drumming, it’s still a fun, genre-blurring mix of blues, funk, folksy strumming and much more, topped off with quirky lyrics.
The 2001 film adaptation with Renee Zellweger is one of my favorite romcoms, so when I spied the original novel on the book shelf at my Mum’s I decided to give it a go. With some reservations, as I’ve read a couple of other books my favourite chick flicks were based on, which turned out to be very disappointing. I ended up gulping down the book in a space of one evening, while waiting for the drying machine to finish its business, it was that readable.
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