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The Heart Does Not Grow Back by Fred Venturini

September 30, 2015 No Comments

Now and again you pick a book, planning to maybe read a couple of pages, then check out what else you’ve loaded into your e-reader thing in the past few weeks as you impulsively buy anything that looks good on Amazon. My book pile grows larger every day and it’s sometimes hard to commit to just one.

Then you get a book like this one and instead spend all night reading this one, perfect book until dawn.

I probably have a soft spot for books about kids growing up in small nowhere towns. That said, even the best of those end up doling out some melodrama sooner or later. I stayed with The Heart Does Not Grow Back because it didn’t. While the events of the book are tragic, the book isn’t a downer; it’s too smart and it moves too fast for desperation to settle in. Don’t get me wrong, this is a dark, dark book, but the way it’s handled makes it more of a dark satire or even a black comedy.

Dale is a teenager when he realizes he has an extraordinary power: He can regenerate missing limbs as well a heal any wound at an extraordinary pace. Other than that, his life is pretty normal up the the point when a tragedy hits the small town, changing his life forever and leaving him a husk of his former self.

The ”catastrophe” mentioned in the blurb serves as the catalyst for the later action. It’s followed by a lull in the narrative that’s I wasn’t a big fan of, but I won’t dock the author too many points; it serves as a springboard for what comes next. Any notion of Dale turning superhero are quickly squashed (and thank God for that). Instead, we’re treated to the sad sack of a protagonist trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life and with his power, the two entwined. While Dale’s constant angst does get a little tiring, it’s never too much so; you end up rooting for the guy, even when he’s holding on to a teenage crush for years or failing to look after himself and his best interests.

The end is pretty satisfying, equal parts cold hearted and smart. I almost wish for a sequel.

You should pick this up.

4 out of 5 Hearts

Southpaw

September 28, 2015 No Comments

 

I expected to like this, but had my misgivings on the Kurt Sutter script. While I enjoyed the first season of Sons of Anarchy, the rest of them and Sutter’s ridiculous social media presence and macho bullshit have long ago turned me off his projects.

On the other hand, I like sports movies and I like Gyllenhaal .

For most of the movie, I felt like Gyllenhaal, getting my ass beaten by cliches building upon cliches. The aforementioned macho bullshit mar an already weak script by trying extra hard to make things dramatic. Our hero is a winner, he’s rich, he has a loving family, he dominates in the ring, but he does all this by letting himself get beat on because apparently he won’t block or dodge. Apparently he does this because he’s super tough and then he gets angry on the last round, hulks out and beats his opponent.

I’m no boxing expert, but I can tell you that’s the dumbest shit you’ve ever heard. While there is such a thing as tiring out your opponent, nobody goes in the ring with the intention to get right hooks to the face for twenty minutes.

I wont spoil the plot, but suddenly, overly dramatic thing happens and this leads our protagonist to lose literally everything. His wife, custody of his daughter, his house, his money (early on he’s giving out platinum Rolexes to his buddies, but six months later he’s homeless. What.), his friends and his career.

He takes about a week to wallow in this and then gets back on the horse by getting a shitty job in a shitty gym that a has-been coach runs (Forest Whitaker), intending to reclaim his throne.

If you haven’t had enough of cliches yet, the rest of the movie plays out like Rocky, only significantly dumber; the whole fight hangs on the use of the titular Southpaw stance, as if Gyllenhaal is a fucking Power Ranger striking his power pose.

However, it’s not all bad (it’s pretty bad). Gyllenhaal does the best with the lines he’s given, 50 Cent was born to play the shifty, shitty manager and some of the bit roles are pretty good.

2 out 5 Left Uppercuts.

P.S. Sons of Anarchy sucks, go fuck yourself.

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