Stan Burns commented a few posts ago that he enjoyed Jack Vance’s “Sheriff” novels best. As a long-time fan, I’ve been rationing the few remaining Jack Vance books that I haven’t read. And, I hadn’t read The Fox Valley Murders featuring Acting Sheriff Joe Bain. Bain was a rowdy kid growing up, but he did a tour in the military, went to college on the G.I. Bill, earned a Criminal Justice degree, and was a top deputy when the Sheriff of San Rodrigo County in California dropped dead. Facing an election to keep his job, Bain confronts the puzzling series of fatal “accidents” by witnesses who testified in a rape/murder trial. Jack Vance is best known for his classic SF and fantasy fiction, but he could write a solid mystery, too. I have a copy of the other “Sheriff” novel, The Pleasant Grove Murders, that I’ll review in the months ahead.

Rio explores themes like friendship, trust, love, and exploration. Jesse Eisenberg is the voice of a rare bird, Blu. Through serendipity, Blu finds himself taken from Rio as a baby bird and abandoned in Minnesota. Fortunately, a kind girl named Linda finds Blu and adopts him. Fast-forward a few years and Linda (Leslie Mann) is approached by a scientist from Rio who convinces her that Blu might be one of the last birds of his kind. The scientist has an equally rare female bird of the same species. Linda reluctantly agrees to travel with Blu to Rio. Blu mets the female bird (Anne Hathaway) and sparks fail to fly. A gang of thieves steal the two rare birds and Linda and the scientist are frantic to save them. Of course, this all occurs during Carnival so plenty of music and color decorate the film. Other voices in the movie belong to George Lopez, Jane Lynch, Tracy Morgan, will i. am, and Jamie Foxx. Watching Rio would be a great way to spend a hot afternoon. GRADE: B

Advertising is in a crisis mode. People are ignoring commercials. They use their remotes to escape paid advertisements. They DVR everything and skip the commercials. So new techniques need to be developed. The Art of Immersion by Frank Rose shows how advertisers are turning to social media like Facebook and Twitter to get their message out. I enjoyed the way Lost and The Closer created fictional worlds and used their web sites to draw viewers in with additional content. The section on the making of Avatar points to the next step for advertisers: create believable worlds for consumers to get immersed in. Much of this approach goes back to the whole concept of a Star Wars universe with almost infinite detail. The Art of Immersion captures the present state of advertising to an astonishing degree. GRADE: A

What I like most about Win Win is the movie’s honesty. Paul Giamatti plays a small-town lawyer who’s struggling financially. He’s a decent man, but the economic downturn threatens his business and his family. In a moment of weakness, Giamatti’s character agrees to become the guardian of a client with dementia who wants to stay in his own house instead of going to a nursing home. Giamatti will receive $1500 a month as the guardian. He figures this is just enough money to keep his law practice and family afloat until the economy recovers. But, as so often happens in Life, everything goes Wrong. After placing his client in a nursing home, Giamatti discovers the client has a grandson he didn’t know about. The client’s daughter is in drug rehab and the boy sought the grandfather he never met. The boy has been abused by his mother’s current boyfriend. Giamatti is also a volunteer coach of the town’s high school wrestling team. It turns out, the boy is a gifted wrestler. But, his mother gets out of rehab and Giamatti is faced with the end of his career because of his actions. Amy Ryan plays Giamatti’s forceful wife. Alex Shaffer plays the troubled teenager. Burt Young, Jeffery Tambor, and Bobby Cannavale round out the solid cast. Make an effort to see this movie! GRADE: A-

I’ve been a fan of David Mamet’s since I saw Glengarry Glen Ross, one of the most honest movies about the real estate business that you’re ever going to see. Since then, I’ve seen most of Mamet’s plays (or read them) and watched his other movies like The Spanish Prisoner. Mamet can be an effective essayist, too. Check out his thoughts on the movie industry in Bambi vs. Godzilla. Mamet’s latest book, The Secret Knowledge: On the Dismantling of American Culture, tells the story of Mamet’s transition from a Liberal to a Conservative. It’s an interesting story. But what’s more interesting is Mamet’s analysis of American culture, his critique of colleges and universities, his insights into the Arts, reflections on the craft of writing, and his own interactions with his family. This is a deeply personal book. Yes, there are rants about Global Warming being a scam. And, there is a kind of defense of Sarah Palin. But, if you can get past those views, you’ll find a book with insights you’ll be thinking about days and weeks after you finish reading it. GRADE: B+

I’m not a big Will Ferrell fan, but Ferrell displayed serious acting chops in this drama based on a Raymond Carver short story, “Why Don’t You Dance.” Ferrell plays a salesman who loses his job and finds himself locked out of his house by his estranged wife all in the same awful day. All of Ferrell’s possessions are out on the front lawn. One of the strengths of Everything Must Go is its honest treatment of alcoholism. Nothing is sugar-coated here. The supporting cast, Rebecca Hill as a pregnant neighbor, Laura Dern as a High School friend, and Christopher Jordan Wallace as a helpful teenager, all contribute to the texture of the story. Director and script writer, Dan Rush, expands Raymond Carver’s seven-page story into a full-length movie that captures the tragedy and hope of everyday life. Everything Must Go surprised and delighted me. GRADE: A-

Many viewers of J. J. Abrams’ Super 8 will associate it with another “kid” movie, Stand By Me. A group of teenagers in a small Ohio town are making a zombie movie and filming it in Super 8 (it’s the Seventies). During a night filming, the kids witness a train crash where a mysterious creature escapes from one of the train cars. The small Ohio town then gets invaded by Air Force military units. The train had been transporting a creature and bizarre materials from Area 51. Then, of course, plenty of mayhem results: power outages, thefts of copper power wires, microwave ovens, metal of various types, etc. And people and pets start disappearing, too. Most of us who’ve been fans of science fiction movies will be able to predict the various plot twists as the kids figure out what the Air Force plans. Super 8 is entertaining if you ignore all the hype surrounding the film. GRADE: B+

John Brunner, known for his Hugo Award winning SF novel Stand on Zanzibar, contributed an existential, noirish fantasy to the ACE SCIENCE FICTION SPECIALS series. In 1971, the original Traveler in Black appeared and boggled plenty of readers’ minds with the strange adventures of a man who had power over Chaos. Michael Moorcock fans will appreciate the conflict between Order and Chaos. Then, in the mid-1980s, the lamented Bluejay Books brought out The Compleat Traveller in Black that featured a new story added to those in the ACE collection and some rewriting of the original stories. John Brunner’s enigmatic fantasy deserves rediscovery for its originality.

Director’s Cut is Kate Bush’s revising and re-recording tracks from her albums The Sensual World (1989) and The Red Shoes (1993). All the lead vocals and drums on Director’s Cut are new performances. Three songs have been completely re-recorded including the classic “This Woman’s Work.” Kate Bush explains her motivation in this project this way: “For some time I have felt that I wanted to revisit a selection of tracks from the albums The Sensual World and The Red Shoes. Keeping the best original performances from the musicians but stripping out the tracks, adding new scenes and textures before sewing it all back together, it has become something of a director’s cut but in sound–not vision…and that they could benefit from having new life breathed into them. Lots of work had gone into the two original albums and now these songs have another layer of work woven into their fabric. I think of this as a new album.” It sounds great to me! GRADE: A
TRACK LIST:
Disc: 1
1. Flower of the Mountain
2. The Song of Solomon
3. Lily
4. Deeper Understanding
5. The Red Shoes
6. This Woman’s Work
7. Moments of Pleasure
8. Never Be Mine
9. Top of the City
10. And So is Love
11. Rubberband Girl
Disc: 2
1. The Sensual World
2. Love and Anger
3. The Fog
4. Reaching Out
5. Heads We’re Dancing
6. Deeper Understanding
7. Between A Man And A Woman
8. Never Be Mine
9. Rocket’s Tail
10. This Woman’s Work
11. Walk Straight Down the Middle
Disc: 3
1. Rubberband Girl
2. And So is Love
3. Eat the Music
4. Moments of Pleasure
5. The Song of Solomon
6. Lily
7. The Red Shoes
8. Top of the City
9. Constellation of the Heart
10. Big Stripey Lie
11. Why Should I Love You?
12. You’re the One