No Men Beyond This Point

Time for one of my rare film reviews!  The good news is that this docu-comedy got me thinking and inspired a review.  The bad news is that I was inspired to write about the gap between my hopes for the movie and my subsequent disappointment in it.

I was looking forward to seeing this movie after reading a review about it and watching the trailer.  I felt betrayed after sitting through it and coming to the ‘happy end’ wherein the Hetrosexual Norm was championed as an underdog cause.

There were reactionary jokes like the name used for women who were attracted to men, “crooked”, and dismissive statements like it was just PMS.  With women in the government positions, a unified world government was created, thereby making military forces obviate.  I was glad that the  film didn’t make the matricentric world a utopian, but I do take umbrage with the film’s portrayal of women dismissing the NASA program (mostly because rockets are phallic).  I can think of many women who are interested in space and space travel.

I also would have been interested if they had explored more about gender and the lack thereof when the species became completely female.  They touched on it a bit, but I also wonder if people (women) would continue to “pair off” as they “naturally” did in the film.

The scope of the movie may have been too much, but I liked some of the ideas.  This would be a breakout film for very conservative, heterosexual people.

The Martian by Andy Weir

I know…I know…the last book I reviewed was called “MARTians” but give me a break, I don’t control when my holds come in.

This book was so much fun to read!  Hilarious inner dialogue, well explained science (even for a liberal arts grad like me) and an easy to relate to human drama combine to make this a fast read.  The only bit that throws a wrench in my ability to recommend it across the board (considering parents), is the language.  The wonderful hooking first line of the book is, “I’m pretty much f**ked.”  So, yeah, a bit of a hard sell for parents of teens looking for sci fi, but I have encouraged my own 18 year old to read it, and I do not think the language detracts from the story.

My favorite quotes From The Martian by Andy Weir.

“If ruining the only religious icon I have leaves me vulnerable to Marian vampires, I’ll have to risk it.” (p. 33)

“I wonder what NASA would think about me f**king with the RTG like this. They’d probably hide under their desks and cuddle with their slide rules for comfort.” (p.77)
“I can’t wait till I have grandchildren. ‘When I was younger, I had to walk to the rim of a crater. Uphill! In an EVA suit! On Mars, ya little shi*! Ya hear me? Mars!” (p.295)
“I’ll be at the entrance to Schiaparelli tomorrow!…I’m so close to Schiaparelli, I can taste it. I guess it would taste like sand, mostly, but that’s not the point.” (p.308)

Noggin by John Corey Whaley

John Corey Whaley does not disappoint with his 2014 release, Noggin. Frankenstein, reanimation, zombies, there are many tales of horror based on these fear inducing beings, but what if they didn’t come back as abominations, and instead were much the same as they had been in life? John Corey Whaley confronts a myriad of bizarre, sad and just plain wrong situations with grace and humor in his new book, Noggin. When Travis Cotes wakes up with a new healthy body (curiosity of Jeremy Pratt) he becomes an object of hope and fear but really he’s just a teenager trying to make sense of his life-five years after he’s died. The beauty of Whaley’s characters thrust into this freak situation is their adaptivity. When I read the phrase “Cryogenic American” I laughed so hard that I spit chai down the front of me.

Some of my favorite quotes:
“Of the string of weird days that had made up my recent life, this one was shaping up to be the longest and most bizarre. Within a couple of hours we would illegally pour my ashes onto the grave of a stranger whose body happens to be holding up my head.” (p.325)
“There is no delicate way to tell a person that he is holding a container full of the incinerated remains of his own body.” (p.36)
“And you can’t go to sleep at night knowing you have some poor kid’s body attached to you and feeling like you don’t have any damn good use for it.” (p.81)

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen

 Bibliographic Information

Confessions of a teenage drama queen [videorecording] / Walt Disney Pictures presents a Jerry Leider and Robert Shapiro production ; produced by Robert Shapiro and Jerry Leider ; screenplay by Gail Parent ; directed by Sara Sugarman. [United States] : Walt Disney Home Entertainment ; Burbank, CA : Distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, c2004.

 

Plot description

Mary (AKA Lola) Step moves from NY city life to the suburban gated community where her artist mother is considered odd because she holds her hair up with chopsticks.  Lola is flamboyant as well and although she wants to fit in and make friends in her new school she knows enough about who she is to choose her own friends (not the “popular crowd”).  This was one of my favorite messages in the movie.

Lola is approached by the popular crowd and warned to stay away from Ella, a girl who shares Lola’s adoration for the band “Sid Arthur”.  Lola isn’t about to take direction on whom she hangs out with and makes a point to eat lunch with Ella.

Lola is successful in getting the lead in the school’s production of Pygmalion but is in conflict with the drama teacher’s decision to update the language.

She and Ella want to go into the city for a Sid Arthur concert and Lola suggests Ella tell her parents that she is spending the night with Lola and leave out the concert.  At first, Ella agrees, but as Lola searches for the perfect outfit Ella breaks down and tells her that she just can’t lie to her parents.  Luckily, she is able to get them to agree.  Lola almost loses Ella’s friendship in pursuit of the perfect rock-n-roll party.  Lola asks for forgiveness and they achieve their goal.

Brief review

It seems that the ‘new kid’ theme is found in many stories aimed at this age group.  Perhaps this is because it is something tweens and teens can relate to from their own life  and even if they have not moved they are all going through internal changes and most are starting new schools.  I like that Lola demonstrates independence and has her own flare.  I also like that Ella is so strongly principled and does not buckle under Lola’s enthusiasm.

Genre label

Realistic Fiction

Reading level/interest level

Young teens

Books or materials that are similar in style content, theme or characters.

Mean Girls (Queen Bees and Wannabes), Lizzy McGuire

Subjects/themes

Starting a new school, friendship, standing up for what is right, following your dreams.