Review: What I talk about when I talk about running

 Part meditation, part memoir, Murakami evocatively captures the experience of running - and why some of us keep doing it through a series of essays covering different aspects of his life. Some - like his attempt at ultra-marathoning - are extreme, others simply note the passing of time on our bodies and minds. 

Some of it delicately captures a stream of consciousness which feels near universal, other parts you will probably only recognise if you are a writer or a runner. As an occasional human, runner and writer - it hit all of my buttons. 

Overall: Come for the running, stay for human experience. 

Review: Calling Bullshit - The Art of Scepticism in a Data-Driven World

West & Bergstrom have produced a witty and timely guide to navigating the new landscape of social media and fake news.  Some funny examples aside though,  there is not much on offer detection wise that a good science education wouldn't offer.  

More useful is the chapter on Refuting Bullshit - which takes a surprisingly humane approach, especially for friends and family.  Kindness and substitution are key. 

Overall: Fun easy read to detecting and combatting nonsense "facts".

 

Review: Spider-man: Far from Home

Far from Home deals with fallout from the last epic Avengers battle and immediately opens with spoilers.  As someone who has yet to see any of Tom Holland's previous appearances, I found it did not take long to settle into the narrative - even though in some ways it feels like a wrap up movie. 

The plot is straightforward enough. Spider-man needs a rest and joins his class mates on a European road trip but somehow can't quite escape his responsibilities.  The result is part teen rom-com and part action movie. 

The core conceit of reality not being what it seems is an intriguing and credible one which together with some charming chemistry between Holland and Zendaya elevates it above standard superhero fare. Zendaya is particularly sweet and plausibly awkward as love interest, MJ.  It doesn't quite reach the heights of Into the Spider-verse but the visuals are clearly and rightly influenced by it. 

The 4K release looks crisp and filmic enough, but isn't eye-popping visually. 

Overall: Enjoyable and fun superhero outing with a touch of depth.

Review: Exhalation

Chiang's latest short story collection is a wistful mix of the fantastical and the plausible, grounded in current reality or very different ones.  Most act more like thought experiments although one or two have a Dahl like twist in the tale. 

Some like "Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom" left me sorrowful and regretful about relationships lost and alternative paths taken.  Others - Omphalos - mildly baffled at the gordian knots the protagonists get themselves into.  Some challenge assumptions - such as the value of literacy and record keeping.  But it's the title story with it's deep dive into the effects of entropy on an intelligent species which is....breathtaking. 

Overall:  A deft and lightly told collection. 

Review: Playing with FIRE

FIRE is the name given to a sub-group of mostly millennials who are seeking financial independence as early as possible (and then to possibly retire early - or at least have the option of doing so). This documentary follows one early thirty something couple's attempt to follow in their footsteps. 

It's a good overview of the movement, and speaks to all of the leading thinkers and proponents within it. Some are strident and demanding, others more thoughtful.  There's not a huge amount of depth, but perhaps that's to be expected in a feature length documentary on the subject. 

I am a little wary of two emerging trends though.  Bloggers or snake oil salesmen who are supplementing or making most of their income from FIRE related content based on their own experience. That smacks a little of pyramid selling to me. 

For a process about saving money, is is becoming increasingly commodified and commercial. There are now paid courses and camps you can take to become FIRE. Also only a few seemed to have become truly financially independent (but rather had simply set up their own business) or they looked very vulnerable in a downturn. 

As someone who followed a similar path - pre-FIRE movement - to financial independence I wish them all good luck. Some of the mindset changes required are only hinted at here, but it's  good introduction. 

Overall: An intriguing introduction to the FIRE movement. 

Review: A walk in the woods

Gentle if slightly dull comedy about the best-selling author Bill Bryson (Redford) hiking the Appalachian trail with an old travelling buddy (Nolte).  There's no earth shattering epiphanies on offer - just two blokes making fairly obvious observations about life and having entirely expected encounters.

What lifts it about the mediocre are Nolte & Redford's performances - and Nolte's in particular. The scenery is also beautiful although I had a strong suspicion some scenes were filmed on the same parts of the trail - despite being at different parts of the movie.

Currently free to watch on Amazon Prime.

Overall:  The very watchable Redford & Nolte can't raise enough of a laugh.

Review: Knives Out

Knives Out is an amusing murder mystery which plays with and subverts expectations in a variety of ways making for an appealing watch. It starts off conventionally if knowingly enough: a famous murder mystery writer has been found dead with his throat slit - and a famous detective has been engaged by someone unknown to investigate.

Cue a parade of ghastly relatives who are all hiding something drawn from a surprising cast (eg Curtis, Johnson) who will look familiar and rather older due to a hyper-real cinematography which picks out every wrinkle in faces and detail in the house. Re-watchers who like to focus on background details will find much to enjoy in this well stocked house of curios and crime artefacts.

Unintentional humour is provided by detective Craig's wandering southern accent which is pure KFC seasoned with a hint of Bond.  But for me, it just added to the delicious fun.

Currently free to watch on Amazon Prime.

Overall: Enjoy picking out all of the murder mystery tropes. 

Review: If You Tell: A True Story of Murder, Family Secrets, and the Unbreakable Bond of Sisterhood

If You Tell is a grim - on more than one level - choice for our Book Group this month.  Essentially, it's a shlock true crime show spewed into book form.   Not a genre I'm particularly familiar with - and if I'm honest, probably not one I will return to.

I was initially distracted by some truly lurid prose and odd sentence construction in early chapters. But it did settle down to become a straight forward retelling of a case of child and adult abuse, neglect and murder which I was previously unaware of.

The incidents contained within are truly nightmarish and if you have any unresolved trauma in a related area, possibly best avoided. On the plus side, it has a certain pace to it - and felt like chillingly accurate in its description of reality distortion, gas lighting and other forms of coercion employed by malignant individuals.

I'm also uncomfortable with the book structurally as a sizeable majority focuses on the grim detail - rather the police investigation, court case or even wider fallout on the three daughters and how they coped, insights gained etc.  The absence of the last of these is a great pity, because I suspect the sisters have a lot to say about resilience.  Also disappointingly, the main antagonist has no real contribution to make to the book and so their motivations, origins of their mindset etc remain a mystery.

Currently free to read if you have Amazon Prime.

Overall:  Hard to recommend.

Review: Radioactive

Good biopics tell you story of someone's life, great ones often pull out insights which give you cause for self-reflection.  Satrapi's take on radioactivity discoverer and Nobel prize winner Marie Curie doesn't quite fall into the great category, but it is an absorbing if science lite watch.

Told in primarily in flash back but punctuated by fever dream like excursions into the future to see the consequences of her discoveries and always giving a Grimshaw like feel to turn of the 20th century Paris - it never looks less than wonderful. I was also really taken by the soundtrack which felt distinctly Vangelis-like at times.

Pike and Riley give solid performances as the couple Curie. They are only slightly hampered by a rather declamatory script. But one senses that the pair might well have been like in real life - awkward and brilliant, but ultimately enviable soul mates.

Overall: Satisfying biopic