The Bourne Identity (2002)

★★★½

This could have been a great action-thriller movie, if not for the particularly annoying obligatory superfluous love interest. Matt Damon's role and the premise of the story were great, but Marie was introduced as a flake, and I was never able to warm up to her, even when she managed to be useful.

Cars 2 (2011)

★★

Oh, this movie just doesn't live up to the original. To its defense, it does seem like the creators tried to gear Cars 2 to the same audience who got hooked on Cars when it first came out, and who are now five years older. While Cars is perfect for the pre-school set, Cars 2 - with its explosions, guns, evil mastermind, and more complex plot - is really more appropriate for elementary school-aged kids. But even so, the plot is just so convoluted.

Hereafter (2010)

★★★

*** Warning: Minor Spoilers - But Nothing You Couldn't Have Predicted Yourself ***

Kind of slow. Ken said the whole movie had a European feel to it. The girl in Matt Damon's cooking class annoyed me for some reason, and I felt like all her scenes were over-the-top. Of the three disjointed stories, I much preferred Marcus's. Poor kid. I could really feel for him. When everything finally came together in the end, I was left oddly unsatisfied. I felt like Marcus's communion with Jason was anti-climactic, and what was it supposed to mean that Matt Damon and the French lady were able to shake hands without Matt Damon making a "connection"?

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

★★½

*** WARNING: Spoiler Alert! ***

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but somehow this brief collection of fairy tales from the wizarding world fell short.

The first three stories kind of bothered me because I wasn't fond of the messages they sent. In "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot", it seemed like the wizard only decided to help others out of fear of being punished if he didn't - not exactly the type of motivation we generally want to instill in children. In "The Fountain of Fair Fortune" (which reminded me of The Wizard of Oz), I didn't understand why Sir Luckless was considered worthy of Amata's hand and heart - he tagged along accidentally and practically against his will (he first tried to back out), and he didn't do a single useful thing along the way. Seems to me like Amata could have done a lot better. And then, in "The Warlock's Hairy Heart", the literally heartless warlock actually had a change of heart for a woman's sake, but instead of allowing for a happy ending, the warlock was doomed to pay the ultimate price for his youthful folly - the message being that even if you want to change for the better, you can't.

After those three stories, I took a step back and reminded myself that these are supposed to be fairy tales, and not fables. I mean, what's the worthy message in stories like Sleeping Beauty, anyway?! So I shouldn't be so hard on them. But then, in Dumbledore's notes on "The Tale of the Three Brothers", he clearly discusses a moral - so then, maybe it's not wrong to look for the moral in each story? Then again, I reminded myself that there are fairy tales like Sleeping Beauty that seem to have entertainment value only, and then there are stories like The Three Little Pigs, which does have a moral. So... maybe I should just stop over-analyzing these made-up fairy tales!

The best parts of the book, actually, were Dumbledore's notes. While the fairy tales themselves were only so-so, Dumbledore provided some context and background for each story, and his commentary was usually better than the story itself.

The Frankfurt Files: Tales of an American in Germany by David Conte

★★★½

In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that this book was written by a former high school classmate of mine, so I might not be entirely unbiased in my review.

This is a charming collection of short essays - though maybe "essay" is too formal. Each piece is a few pages long, so maybe they're more like vignettes. (The author based this book on a blog he wrote while living as an ex-pat in Germany, so presumably each piece was originally a blog post.) The author mixes humor with cynicism, and I like his writing style. I also like his choice of words, e.g., the "ignominious photography contest" of which he was the sole participant, in "Horses and Mojitos".

Rather than being ordered chronologically, the essays are arranged by theme, though they are presented in such a way that you imagine they might be a good representation of the author's overall attitude over time. They start out harmless and entertaining enough as the author first gets accustomed to living in Germany. While some of the stories keep German culture in the background, other essays are explicitly about some aspect of German culture (e.g., spas).

Gradually, as the author begins to air his cultural grievances, you start to feel like he's got some kind of chip on his shoulder, or else he's cranky from being perpetually hungry. Still, he is clearly self-aware, he keeps his sense of humor, and he is sufficiently self-deprecrating that you're pretty sure he's not really as big of a jerk as he makes himself out to be. Any American ex-pat who has been frustrated by the ways of his adopted homeland, or who has tried (in vain) to celebrate American holidays while abroad, would find some validation in these pages.

In chapter five - aptly titled "Coming to Terms?" - the author seems to be coming to terms with Germany, and German culture is more center-stage. Here the book has an upswing, and the author is downright happy in chapter six! In chapter seven, the author writes about his first time visiting other European cities, and his excitement is contagious - despite an almost obligatory run-in with petty crime in Italy. (The bureaucratic miracle that follows is enough to restore one's faith in humanity!) These are the stories that fellow travelers to Europe would appreciate.

What made this collection particularly delightful was its in-the-background depiction of the author's relationship with his then-girlfriend/now-wife. It's a storybook romance - boy follows girl to Europe, boy and girl make a great team, boy and girl have spats, boy ups his romantic ante, boy and girl live happily ever after. What's not to like?!

The only thing missing was photos! I sort of wished I could see some of those horse photos from that ignominious photography contest.

The Social Network (2010)

★★★½

I read enough articles about Facebook when this movie came out to know that The Social Network took a lot of liberties. Generally speaking, it bothers me when I can't tell fact from fiction in a movie that is supposed to be "based on a true story" but is more like "inspired by a true story". Justin Timberlake impressed me (my expectations were probably set rather low), but every time a Winklevoss spoke I thought it was Brendan Fraser. The non-linear storytelling and the cutting between scenes of two different lawsuits was a bit confusing at first and took some getting used to. In the end, the movie left me feeling sad over the relationship between Saverin and Zuckerberg.

The Town (2010)

★★★

After Gone Baby Gone, I had pretty high expectations for another Ben Affleck movie set in Boston. Unfortunately, this one fell short. For a guy who plans and executes expertly-timed heists, Doug showed remarkably poor judgment when he started spending time with Claire. It was too out of character, but since that one relationship was basically the crux of the whole movie, I just couldn't get into it. I was unsatisfied with the ending, too. It did have some strong elements, e.g., Doug's personal history, and the way bank robbery was portrayed as a family business.