The Catcher in the Rye

Holden Caulfield was tired of phonies, so he left. He left to a world without fake people, school or discipline, and decided to trek to New York City, just to float around until Wednesday when he can come home and reveal to his family that he has been expelled from yet another boarding school. While on his vacation, he reconnects with old friends, drinks when he can pass for a person of age, and travels all throughout the city. Through this, he slowly realizes what he truly loves and wants, through describing the things he hates, believes and experienced. J.D Salinger's impeccable ability to give voice and meaning to his characters allows for The Catcher in the Rye to be called a classic.

We read the book as Caulfield's journal, glimpsing into his life, thoughts and actions. So, as we are first getting to know the character, it begins slowly, as things need to be introduced and explained for the reader to ultimately become invested in Caulfield as a person in the end. We see him slowly go through the motions of someone loosing control. At first, things are simple and Caulfield seems like a normal teenage boy, getting into fights and calling names. Over time though, we begin to see his problems are bigger then he can handle with hopeless attempts at connecting with people, episodes of talking to his deceased brother, Allie in the streets, and almost constantly getting drunk in bars and restaurants. At the end of the book we know he can't save himself, and he knows as well, finally giving up and escaping back to see a place he understands. The way Salinger conveys Caulfield's complex emotional status, it seems like he has studied the character he wanted to write years before the pen touched the paper. The way we see the character change is intimate and fragile, almost as if one thing were to be changed, the book on the whole would change as well.

That being said, Salinger's way of writing in the style of a teenager is right on the mark. He fragments sentences, jumbles words, and writes just like a person of Caulfield's era and age would speak. This only adds to the readers sense of connecting with him, as we don't see him distanced by a third person voice, but like he is talking to us, even occasionally using words like "you". When he says that he is "a madman sometimes", I felt like the character peered out of the pages and looked directly at me.

Something that I also appreciated was the fact that things were revealed at the end of the novel. There was mystery in the title and his past. Although the wait at times feels as if nothing is going to get wrapped up, it does, and in a perfectly timed way. Just when we see that Caulfield can no longer function, when his mind is slowly escaping him, events occur to bring him back to reality.

The book was written beautifully. Although hard to get into at first, it picks up pace, as we slowly but surely begin to see Caulfield unravel and come back together as a person in a perfectly poetic way.

The Office

The Office as most people in the United States knows, stars Steve Carell as the manager of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company and follows the unconventional day- to-day lives of people who work in an office. The show features an office romance, a dorky assistant (to the) regional manager, and an annoying boss that tries, and fails to be funny. Overall, I would say that The Office is fine to watch, and more often than not funny. But, I wouldn’t necessarily rave about it as much as other people tend to do.

The way the show is formatted is interesting, as it is shown as a documentary with interviews, quick zooms on people, and mildly shaky camera movements when situations allow it. This gives the actors some creative license so they can act like the camera is their friend and not something they have to avoid looking at. This allowed for the infamous, glance at the camera move to be born on a scripted television program.

American comedy is simple; it features blatantly funny comedy acts that people will automatically laugh at, such as someone doing an exaggerated sketch or parodie. So in the comedic sense, The Office is pretty funny to watch with Dwight and Michael doing most of the memorable jokes. The thing that doesn’t make it unworthy of a laugh, is the fact that all the actors deliver the jokes with a sense of naturally ease, like this is something they could actually, or have actually said in real life.

There are four main characters that are Jim, Pam, Michael,and Dwight. All four of them have the typical office character. Someone who thinks he is funny, another who is an odd-ball, while also being annoying to his co- workers, another who hates his job but doesn’t leave, and one who allows for the romance on the show to come into play. In the show, the audience is usually told random facts about each character, such as the fact the Dwight is Amish, and owns a beet farm, or that Pam’s favorite flavor of yogurt is mixed berry. This makes for great comedy, but something that I felt the characters lacked was a sense of depth. Interesting backgrounds would make it so each character would seem complete, making it so we as an audience know the random facts, as well as some intimate things, something that should happen after five seasons of a “documentary” show.

As for the supporting characters, The Office introduces many. However, their characteristics are made so they represent people by exaggerating physical and emotional characteristics to become undeniably humorous. Kevin takes charge in this fact, as he is fat and talks like a baby. Other characters such as the awkward receptionist, Erin, in the later seasons, the hyper sales directer, Andy, as well as every other character in the show exhibit this as they are all the same, dorky, silly character. I find this a little too excessive and unrealistic, as mostly-normal and somewhat serious people can be equally as funny and add a balance to the show. As of now, Jim stands alone in adding a grounded persona to the list of characters,and I would like to see more characters like that. By leaving out the numerous amounts of extras and keeping a select few with multiple personalities, it could create a new depth to the entire program. Because, with all the supporting characters, its almost too much to keep up with.

All in all, The Office is not exactly overrated, but it isn’t necessarily the best thing on television.

Why Can't We All Man Up?

Although most recently known for their song There Goes My Love on the new iPad commercial, this band has an array of catchy, well-written, simply good songs that should be more appreciated.

The Blue Van, a band hailing out of Denmark, taking its name from an actual blue van that used to pick up mentally ill patients, seems like it doesn’t have a very solid message to give the listener in the first place. With songs ranging from being homesick, to “man-ing” up, you can’t really pin it down with one theme. But, this could ultimately be a good thing because it allows for more creativity from the artists, without them being limited to writing about one thing.

While first listening to their album, I felt like I expected cute, bubbly lyrics, just from the fact that that theme is gaining popularity with bands like Vampire Weekend and its feature on the Apple commercial, which usually endorses those types of songs. But I was glad to find that there was nothing of that sort here. The people of this band kept their lyrics real and relatable, and most importantly grounded. Which is something quite refreshing.

The vocals that accompany each song seem a bit scratchy and raw, but smooth at the same time. It was almost like they just held back from completely screaming their heads off, which was much appreciated. I personally could not stand forty-four minutes of that.

This album also featured an abundance of guitar solos that aren’t heard nearly as much as they were in past decades. It is reminiscent of a past life having a bluesy- rock-and-roll feel in every song. With no ballads to speak of, every song carries an energy that pulsates long after the song has finished. These solos keep the band from dissolving into the background and being completely unnoticed.

Ultimately shying away from ballads and run-of-the-mill “I’m sad” songs, they express those ideas in different ways. In the song Lay Me Down and Die, they talk about being sad but relate it to death, coffins, and funerals. Although a little morbid, the imagery created allows the listener to actually feel the forlorn essence of this song. Others, such as Man Up and Silly Boy touch on the subject of masculinity, and the fact that people need to step up and embrace their tough exteriors with every fiber of their being, mind and all. While listening to this song, I always think about the opening scene from Reservoir Dogs, where everyone is walking out of the diner in a row looking tough, and unnerved about their future task of robbing a jewelry store.

There are no oxford commas, or Cape Cod kwassa kwassa’s to be found on this album.

Se7en

One thing that I tend to admire about certain movies is the fact that they leave the audience thinking about the film once they left it. When everything is spelled out for you, there is no thinking, it is for your pure enjoyment in the time you are watching the film. I do recognize that movie genres like comedy, almost always have to do that because jokes are always straightforward, and if they aren't, they aren’t good. Dramas are a different story.

Se7en, starring Brad Pitt as David Mills, a new recruit on the police force, and Morgan Freeman playing the successful detective William Somerset get assigned to a murder case that is thoroughly baffling them. After the first few crime scenes they visit, they discover the killer is basing his murders off of the seven deadly sins; gluttony, greed, sloth, envy, wrath, pride and lust. Expecting a few more to complete the killer’s game, they make it their mission to find the murderer, which proves a daunting task, as there is no trace of anything linking the murderer to his victims.

There is one word to describe the plot line, and that is unoriginal. Focusing on a topic that is, albeit interesting, it is also uncreative. The concept could have been inspired by the seven deadly sins, but then made into the filmmaker’s own concept.

The director did an excellent job at leaving nothing to discuss or think about. Everything was spelled out, even the reason as to why the murders were done in the first place. One thing that was blatantly obvious was the fact that the movie was about the seven deadly sins. Anybody can guess that from seeing the movie poster, or the first two crime scenes. However, the director decided to take it a step further, making sure that we knew that fact, by spelling out which sin it was at each crime scene, and why the killer choose that particular person to murder. It’s overkill, if you ask me, and something that the audience could have figured out without the filmmakers help.

As for the actors, Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman are two well-known, accomplished actors, and most of their work is memorable and of quality material. Pitt, acting in such movies as the iconic Fight Club, the Oceans trilogy and the more recent Inglorious Basterds, he has proved his skill at transforming into whatever character is called for. Freeman on the other hand, is well known for the recent Batman movies, and the classic Shawshank Redemption, making his mark as a dramatic actor. As for this film, however, the two made bad choices, as the characters played were dry and lackluster. They were typical detective characters, the one that is sick of his job, and the other that is eager to prove his ability to his coworkers. The script allowed the audience to touch the surface of their lives, without going any deeper. Actors as good as they are couldn’t make the characters work.

The killer on the other hand, which had, at the most thirty minutes of screen time, held the best character, and acted with the most conviction. Being played by Kevin Spacey, who also did such films as American Beauty and 21 this was no surprise. His character showed the maniac that was needed for the role; every line was executed with an ease and detached style of a true sociopath. He saved the film from being a complete catastrophe.

Bland characters, blatant explanations, and the cliché plot line kept the film from being better then it could have been. Maybe a few less murders and explanations, and a better script and plot could have made it near perfection.

Memento

Some people remember what they had for dinner, who they talked to, and what they were talking about. Others don’t, like Leonard Shelby, played by Guy Pearce who is suffering from short-term memory loss, remembering everything up until his accident, when his wife was killed and he was pushed into a mirror. Now, he can only remember things for short periods of time before he doesn’t know what he is doing, or what is going on. He has made it his sole mission to murder the person who killed his wife, making notes on his body in the form of tattoos, charts in his motel room, and taking Polaroid pictures of the people he needs to remember, as those things are triggering his memory.

This film has an interesting format, jumping around from the time before his accident, to the time after, using black and white or color shots to give the audience a sense of where they are in his life. Black and white scenes represent the past, while color scenes show the present. The movie also overlaps itself, showing what he is doing at the moment, and then flipping back to the past to reveal what he was doing before that. When the two scenes are put together, the audience then gets why he was talking to a certain character, or doing a certain thing.

With a small release the film wasn’t widely publicized, but the actors, along with the riveting plot made the film. The audience never knows what Leonard is doing, or what is going to do, if he will get his revenge, and what other people’s motives are.

Actors like Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano playing Natalie and Teddy, respectively, gave convincing performances when they needed to act affectionate or conniving. Guy Pearce also gave strong emotions during intense scenes when talking about his wife, or explaining his story and intent to murder.

Being a thriller with less blood and fighting and relying on the plot to make it good, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Others might not, seeing as this is a film you have to think about, in order to get what is going on.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

And so it begins.

Mr. Fox, voiced by George Clooney, decides to go on one last heist to get chickens, apple cider, and other such things from three infamous farmers because he feels worthless, being in the middle of a mid-life crisis. He wants to steal things because it brings him back to his former life, when he worked as someone who stole chickens for a living. Kylie, his absent-minded friend accompanies him on this adventure, and as they leave each farm with more than enough food the meanest farmers in town get upset. They then started to seek revenge, having the goal of killing Mr. Fox and his family.

Ronald Dahl, the author of the book Fantastic Mr. Fox, is what this movie is based on. The book exuded elements of Dahl’s personal life, and Wes Anderson, the director of this film, included those same details in the movie, right down to the exact furniture that was in Dahl’s own home. The characters were made out of real animal hair and everything in the movie was made by hand and placed in the perfect position to get the exact scene that was desired. This movie was inviting and personal, exuding warmth and character.

Anderson did things that other directors would shy from when making an animated film. The fact that he used the immense and time-consuming task of stop motion animation shows that fact alone. This technique involves taking pictures of a character in one position, then moving them into another, taking a picture again to get them to dance, walk, or talk. It is then put together into one seamless scene, resulting in a couple thousand pictures when the film is finished. That alone, makes this film a marvel to watch.

The plot, which was innocent enough, made it a true kid’s film. The characters were cute, and likeable. Ash, Mr. and Mrs. Fox’s son, along with Kristofferson, Ash’s cousin, both added the important element of eccentric and idiosyncratic characters that every children’s and family film has to have. While other characters like Mrs. Fox and Badger added the serious element that didn’t make the film a complete joke.

The film is fantastic, and should be watched by all.