What I'm Into This Week

DOUBLE FEATURE: PARIAH AND SHAME - Two films that I love, about societal outcasts framed primarily by their sexual proclivities, which are almost diametrically opposed in their perspectives.  PARIAH tells the story of a black lesbian teenager, trying to balance her outed club scene life with her closeted, good christian family life.  It's a film that's aware of the cliches of the genre, and while it misguidedly embraces a few (Must all misunderstood teens become poets?), it actively avoids many others, most importantly the urge to paint any characters in broad strokes.  The fire-and-brimstone mother is unmistakably the heavy, yet she's given enough nuance that you may find her in your sympathies by the end of the film.  It's fun, charming, and full of heart. . .  I wouldn't use any of those words to describe SHAME.  The story of a rich white man dealing with his sex addiction, Shame is tense, baffling, and cold to the touch.  Michael Fassbender embodies the lead character, a man who barely has a handle on his life when his train wreck of a sister (Carrie Mulligan) decides to crash at his place, sending his world into tailspin.  But while this film, unlike Pariah, never directly mentions religion, it certainly feels very catholic in construction.  The road to hell, we learn, is paved by internet porn, which can lead to loose women, three-ways, or even *GASP* gay sex.  The film is a mystery wrapped in an enigma, and I've found myself remembering various scenes in a new light as days have passed. . . In brief, I cannot recommend these two films highly enough.  And see them in the theater if you have the opportunity, as they're both beautifully photographed.

BONE - Considered, generally, to be one of the greatest comic series of all time, I decided to finally give this a look.  I'm about halfway through the series at this point (it's all contained in one giant volume), and while I find it charming, it does suffer from what I'll call "Harry Potter Syndrome"; i.e. not really knowing what age group it's being written for at any given moment.  As such, we have a story that at times wants itself to be taken very seriously, and at other times is just silly, full of plot holes, and has highly ineffectual, non-threatening villains (who are also supposed to be really scary, depending on the whims of the author).  So. . .  a mixed bag.  I might do a follow-up to this if the rest of the book ends up blowing me away.  As it stands, this would be a good Baby's First Fantasy Epic for young readers.