The Lesser Joke: book reviews and more

Movie Review: Terminator Genisys (2015)

Movie #15 of 2016:

Terminator Genisys (2015)

I definitely understand where all the criticism of this movie is coming from. It is bleeding plot holes left and right, to the point where the whole thing makes no sense even by the very loose standards of the Terminator franchise. But that being said, there’s a whole lot to love here. Emilia Clarke is great as the latest rendition of Sarah Connor, and J. K. Simmons steals the show every time he’s on-screen as an old cop who’s convinced that time-traveling killer robots are real. I also really dig the initial conceit of the movie, which retells the events of the first Terminator movie with an altered timeline. The director captures the 80s feel of the original, and it all feels very Back to the Future 2 – definitely a good fit for the Terminator series. It’s too bad the plot holes are the main thing people are going to remember from this movie, because another round or two of rewrites could have absolutely made it a classic.

★★★☆☆

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TV Review: Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, season 2

TV #45 of 2016:

Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, season 2

It’s really hard to review this season, given how screwed over it was by the network / production company. (I don’t know who’s ultimately most responsible for the episodes airing out of their intended order, but even on Netflix it’s a hot mess.) I am all about character growth and plot progression even on my sitcoms, and this season just about gave me whiplash. It’s still about as funny as it was in season 1, but I just couldn’t get into it. I binged the last few hours just so that I could finally put the show behind me, which is pretty unfortunate for something that had so much potential.

★★☆☆☆

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Book Review: Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson

Book #95 of 2016:

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson (Alcatraz #1)

Brandon Sanderson’s Alcatraz series starts out with a bang, combining one of his trademark creative magic systems with a narrator as snarky as Peter David’s Sir Apropos of Nothing in this fun novel for junior readers. We only get the first glimpse of Alcatraz’s wider world here – a world secretly ruled by librarians and one in which always arriving late is a magical power that can fight them off – but like Harry Potter, this is a series that will keep getting darker and more intricate as the novels progress. It’s not Sanderson’s best work, but it’s well worth reading and certainly a good quick introduction to his style.

★★★☆☆

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Book Review: Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie

Book #94 of 2016:

Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot #3)

It’s really frustrating how often the solution to one of Agatha Christie’s mysteries hinges on a clue that the detective noticed but the author never actually shared with her readers. A big thrill of this genre of fiction comes from trying to solve the case before the hero can, which becomes impossible when we aren’t given all the facts. That flaw isn’t limited to the Poirot Investigates collection, but it is on full display here, resulting in a set of formulaic stories that simply state her detective’s genius without giving us a fair chance to match it.

★★☆☆☆

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Book Review: Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

Book #93 of 2016:

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld (Leviathan #2)

This second novel in Scott Westerfeld’s steampunk retelling of World War I is an improvement over the first, which didn’t develop its two main characters into likable people until the very end. Here it’s easier to root for them right from the start, give or take a needless love triangle along the way. The worldbuilding continues to impress, and I look forward to seeing how the story concludes.

★★★☆☆

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Book Review: The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale

Book #92 of 2016:

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale

A fascinating look at the real-life murder mystery that gripped Victorian England twenty years before Jack the Ripper and helped usher in the modern age of police detectives. Jack Whicher’s deductions were dismissed by many of his contemporaries, but his process of investigation would prove to be a blueprint for his successors and an inspiration for writers like Charles Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle. Kate Summerscale has collected the original facts of the case, including courtroom transcripts, and she presents a powerful argument that Mr. Whicher may have been correct all along.

★★★★☆

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Book Review: Self-Inflicted Wounds: Heartwarming Tales of Epic Humiliation by Aisha Tyler

Book #91 of 2016:

Self-Inflicted Wounds: Heartwarming Tales of Epic Humiliation by Aisha Tyler

Aisha Tyler’s comedy should be an example in the dictionary entry for self-deprecating humor. Self-Inflicted Wounds is a little bit of a self-help book – one where help usually consists of the advice to just keep failing until you start succeeding – but mostly it’s just a short autobiography of Tyler’s life, focusing on some of her most painful and embarrassing moments. The brutal honesty and self-reflection can be a little cringe-worthy at times, but it’s all devastatingly funny nonetheless.

★★★☆☆

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Book Review: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Book #90 of 2016:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

I liked this book, but I had rather a difficult time keeping the various characters straight in my head. (I think this problem was exacerbated by listening to the novel as an audiobook, with a reader who didn’t do much to distinguish voices, but Austen’s habit of only mentioning character names at the beginning of a conversation – or of referring to “Miss Bennet” when there are several of the sisters present – certainly didn’t help.) But I did enjoy the story, and I’m glad to have finally read it.

★★★☆☆

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TV Review: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, season 3

TV #44 of 2016:

Brooklyn Nine-Nine, season 3

My wife was still catching up on this show, so I’ve been rewatching it while she does. And now we’re both ready for the new episodes – including that New Girl crossover – starting soon!

My reaction to the season this time is that it continues to bring the funny (in addition to the diverse cast, the positive gender ideologies, and the great character work). I also liked how Holt and Gina were off on their own for the beginning of the season, which reminded me of some of the stronger arcs on The Office (US). Of course, the show did eventually return to its status quo, which is my main worry about the supposed cliffhanger in the finale. Jake going deep undercover at the end of season 1 was undone immediately at the start of season 2, and it’s hard to imagine the ending of season 3 won’t be similarly unraveled as soon as we pick back up. But oh well. This is a really great show; I just wish the writers trusted it more without having to inject this sort of artificial drama.

Original review, posted 4/21/16:

One of the reasons I like to both consume and review TV shows in season-length portions is that that’s by and large how they are planned out, with the whole year’s character and plot arcs determined by the writers over the break. That’s not always so important for a sitcom as it is for a dramatic series, but Brooklyn Nine-Nine continues to raise the bar of its genre. Looking back on this year, I was surprised to realize how much had happened. Of course we had the excellent Pimento and Figgis storylines at the tail end, but let’s not forget that we started season three with Holt out as captain and him and Gina stationed away from the Nine-Nine. Not to mention Jake and Amy’s relationship, which feels so lived-in and natural at this point, only got started when they kissed in the season 2 finale! The jokes have always been there, and the humor has only deepened as we’ve gotten to know these characters better. But this season truly reached new heights with how much plot it managed to cover for a workplace procedural.

★★★★☆

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Book Review: The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

Book #89 of 2016:

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

A lovely coming-of-age story, set in a world where the earth’s rotation has suddenly slowed, leading to all sorts of natural and sociological problems. Although unsettling, I particularly liked the gradual way that the characters come to discriminate against anyone still trying to live and sleep according to the sun’s position in the sky (as opposed to the government-endorsed practice of maintaining regular 24-hour days that no longer sync up with the solar day and night). There’s not a lot of plot in this book, but the tight focus on a family weathering the continued aftereffects of a natural disaster reminded me strongly of Susan Beth Pfeffer’s Last Survivors series, which I adore.

★★★★☆

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