Books, Books, Books!

I have been traveling quite a bit, first to Chicago for a wedding, then Phoenix to see Mom and Nana. While on the plane, I have finally had a chance to read, and I'm pleased to say that I sucked up three books like a sponge.

The first novel was A Time Gone By, a mystery by William Heffernan. I have been reading his work since I was in high school, and this one was one of his best. A judge is murdered in New York in 1945, and it's Jake Downing's first big case. Fast-forward thirty years later, and Jake has just buried his wife. The widowed Downing decides to re-open the case, knowing with all certainty that the man they convicted (and who was ultimately executed) was innocent of the crime.

Heffernan's novels are unique mysteries in that they are more concerned with how the crime affects the characters emotionally than providing action. This one was no exception, and also includes the author's trademark taste for well-realized locales and plenty of steamy sexuality.

MY REVIEW: ***1/2

Now that I had finished A Time Gone By, I needed another book for the train ride to Quincy (where the wedding was). I stopped at a Borders in Chicago and picked up Black Sunday. This is the first novel by Thomas Harris, who received worldwide fame for writing The Silence of the Lambs. This is also the only novel not to feature Hannibal Lecter.

This one was a real page-turner. A domestic terrorist plans to fly a blimp loaded with 1,500 lbs of plastic explosives into the Superbowl; killing an estimated 80,000 people (including the President). His opposition: a veteran Israeli intelligence operative who's convinced the threat is real. The result: a book read in weekend. I simply could not put this one down.

Thomas Harris writes books far too rarely; having only published five novels in over thirty years. But his books, when they do come out, are unusually well-realized visions and a major event in the literary world. He has not given an interview since the late 70's, so no word on when the next one will come out or what it will be about.

It was made into a movie by John Frankenheimer, but it is not shown on television out of sensitivity to the 9/11 victims.

MY REVIEW: ****

The last book I picked up was Blue Heaven by C.J. Box. I needed it for the flight home since I finished Black Sunday much sooner than I thought I would. I was drawn to this one because I saw it won an Edgar Award for best novel (2009). The Edgar is the Oscar-equivalent for mystery novels, so if you see it on a book, it's usually going to be a good one.

In this one, two kids witness four men commit a murder in the rural Idaho woods. Although spotted, they manage to escape. Unfortunately, the killers are ex-cops from Los Angeles, and when the kids go missing, they easily convince the local Sheriff to let them lead the search.

The kids are eventually found by Jess Rawlings, an aging rancher whose property is about to be foreclosed. He takes them in, believes their claims about witnessing a murder (despite no body being found), and decides not to report them until he can figure out what to do.

This one didn't work for me. Although it was certainly plausible that he wouldn't go into town because of the Sheriff being compromised; I could not figure out why Jess wouldn't just pile the kids into the car and drive 100 miles away to another police force. Or why not go directly to the press and turn the kids in live on TV?

It was also 50 pages too long. And it wasn't much of a mystery. It had a good premise, and it could have been great, but it wasn't. Certainly not worthy of the Edgar Award.

MY REVIEW: **

I am currently reading Columbine by Dave Cullen. I think this one is going to be a great one. And on a side note, I think I took a great roll of film in Phoenix, and am hoping to post it soon.

MOVIE REVIEWS: IRON MAN 2 & OCEANS

Today, Jen and I took got together with some friends and saw Iron Man 2 at the old Vista Theatre in Los Feliz; sold out show. On the way in, my brother Alex called me and said that he had heard it was a "buck full of sucks." I would disagree with that critique.

Was it as good as the first one? No. Why not, you may ask? For starters, it didn't have enough Tony Stark (aka Iron Man). The film got a little too carried away with the side characters, namely whoever the hell Scarlett Johannson is supposed to be and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

Now I enjoy comic books, but apparently not enough to know who these characters are, what their back story is, and how they're relative to the plot. They ate up a lot of screen time where there could be more character development for Mr. Stark; played quite well again by Robert Downey, Jr.

And this one did seem a little bit more absurd than the first one. Specifically, Mickey Rourke's scream of anguish over what will become the driving force of his villainous tendencies seemed especially funny. But for the most part it was only a quick moment or two. The original Iron Man had a great story about a narcissistic corporate weapons manufacturer having to look at himself in the mirror, and the metamorphosis that follows. Tony Starks' struggle in this film is much more physical, but I will not give away details.

But I DID like all the spectacle. Big action sequences, a first rate cast, and a fun premise make this film a quality summer film. "A buck full of sucks." Come on; that insult deserves to be thrown at the likes of Volcano and Godzilla (the one from the 90's).

My rating: Just under *** (putting it at good, but not great)

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Now Disney's OCEANS, on the other hand, was a great movie. Over five years in the making, it provides a level of intimacy with oceans and their inhabitants that makes it much more than just "a nature documentary." It is an experience.

Narrated by Pierce Brosnan, it goes all over the globe showcasing marine life that simply must be viewed on the big screen for full appreciation. One stunning sequence, near the beginning, shows an iguana scavenging for food. After it's catch is complete, it rests on a rock on shore. In the distance a massive rocket blasts off into space, and the picture captures the reflection in the iguana's eye. The camera holds on the iguana's face of awe, and you can almost sense it's feeling that it is facing a force it can not possibly comprehend: us.

This is the sophomore effort of the company's newly launched imprint, DisneyNature. The first, Earth, was criticized for simply containing a lot of footage from Planet Earth. Not here. This is almost entirely new footage, and it without question the most comprehensive study of life under the sea. Catch it on the big screen!

My rating: **** (Greatness)

Oceans is the second film from DisneyNature.

It was unclear if additional productions would

be released, but their next film, African Cats,

has been announced for a 2011 release.

Waterfalls...

A few weeks ago, Jen and I decided to go to Eaton Canyon in Alta Dena (near Pasadena) and seek out the waterfalls that is hidden deep within. This was supposedly one of the bigger falls in L.A. county, but the website made it sound like it wasn't too difficult to get to.

They lied. It was way more than the 1.5 mile hike they outlined. The trail had plenty of climbing, and never ending river crossings. Not knowing that, we lacked the proper footwear and we're setting ourselves up for disaster.

And that's exactly what happened. We were sooo close. The waterfalls was IN VIEW, when Jen slipped on a rock in the river and sprained her ankle pretty severely. She trooped it through to the waterfall for a picture, but after than she had no choice but to walk on it all the way back to the car. Go figure, the one time we try to unglue ourselves from the couch, and this is what happens.


Still, it was a gorgeous waterfall. Enjoy the video (though I don't know why we turned the camera sideways).

Lights Interview at Club Nokia

I have been VERY bad about keeping current here, but I have been very busy. A while back, I was hired by Channel M to provide sound for an interview. The gig was at Club Nokia in downtown LA, where Pee-Wee Hermann had recently done a month of shows for his comeback.

Traffic was remarkably light, so I was the first person to arrive. The concert that evening was for OWL CITY, a rising synth teen bop musician. His back-up artist, our subject, was named Lights. I'm not kidding, she legally changed her name to Lights.

The interview was in the VIP room, but we were unfortunately scheduled right in the middle of the sound check. Not good for audio, but then again, it never is, because no one EVER thinks of sound when making "pictures."

Our director was Alec, who was unceremoniously removed from our last production (see the Milk Studios post). Today would be something of a repeat of last production's problems, but the source would be from the P.A. It turns out, that while looking for Lights' tour manager, the P.A. accidentally spoke to the talent themselves. This is a big no-no in Hollywood, and the tour manager was pretty pissy about it.

So pissy, in fact, that she took calls during the interview and walked loudly in high heels; further dirtying up the soundtrack. The director and I looked at each other with a "nevermind, play-it-cool" look. We had both been here before, and we knew the plan without speaking. We would wait for the tour manager to leave, then simply ask the question again. The talent was young, and definitely had the energy to do it twice.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen. The P.A. motioned the tour manager for quiet, which further angered her and she left the room. We knew we had a serious problem now. She wanted to rush her talent out, and the P.A. was once again sent to fix the problem. Normally, we would send a different one since the manager was already pissed off, but this was a small crew and he was our only P.A. I was really starting to feel for him.

The DJ equipment from the Club Nokia VIP room.

The two modules with the circles are for digitally

"scratching" a CD or digital music file; taking the place

of a traditional turntable. The vertical faders

in the middle adjust the volume of the

respective instrument, and the horizontal fader

switches between the two.

The tour manager pretty much ripped him to shreds. He came back to the location, and told the director, "we have a serious problem" in front of the talent. This is the second big no-no of film production: never discuss ANYTHING in front of the talent. Now the talent perks up and wants to know what's going on, and the tour manager is looking for any break she can to whisk her talent out of the interview. Luckily, we were able to finish the interview without any of that happening.

The P.A. then got a "light spanking" from the director, but we had to move on to our next set-ups. We were still slated to shoot the sound test, her concert set, and if time permitted, Owl City's set. This meant that I had to haul ass down to the stage and get tapped in to the sound board where the roadie's were.

Or not. The tour manager went to Club Nokia's office and asked about our permits. It turns out Channel M only had clearances to shoot in the VIP room, for the interview only. At this point, security notified us that we would have to wrap our gear and leave immediately. This was good for the crew, since we get paid a flat rate, and our day was now going to be a whole lot shorter, but it's bad for the production.

Again, this probably would not have happened if the tour manager wasn't such a bitch. Concert halls are super busy before a show, so chances are we would have gone through undetected if it weren't for someone making an issue over it. Permits can be very expensive, and small productions often don't secure them and take the risk. If you pull it off, you save thousands of dollars. But if you don't, you will not get the footage you need, which can cost you jobs, and even lead to arrest or having your equipment confiscated.

Still, it was an interesting shoot. The piece was shot on a Canon 7D Digital Camera, which is a normal photographic camera set to video mode. It is rapidly replacing the Sony HVX-200 as the camera for new media content, such as this one. As an added benefit, production must use the sound off of my dedicated recorder, because the camera does not have the proper hardware to send a feed directly into camera.

Since then, I have been hired by Channel M to cover the B-Boys from STEP UP 2 THE STREETS (Riverside, CA) and for an interview with Free Runners (UCLA). Free Runners are acrobatic stuntmen, the most famous being the guy from the opening chase sequence of Casino Royale. I absolutely love working for them, and I wish I could share more stories, but I have been very bad about bringing a camera to set! Until next time...

Renato Moore shoots the interview with the Canon 7D.

The camera is set to video mode, and uses it's own

lens to create stunning H-D footage.