Chatter Of The Squirrel

Book: Dexter In The Dark – Jeff Lindsay

The third book in the Dexter series.

The blurb talks about how Dexter has lost his Dark Passenger, and how the hunter has become the hunted.

Sounds exciting.

But the story actually devolves into something that more rightly belongs in a Dr. Strange comic.

Dexter’s Dark Passenger is explained as some mythical demon-spawn, which fled cos its papa came to town. The story then became more X-Files or Anne Rice. This is a very disappointing development.

Maybe the author is experimenting another genre, and at the same time, wants to bring his reader base along. He will be disappointed to find that most of his readers are more matured than Potter-maniacs. His success in his niche genre may have deluded him into thinking that he can cut it in horror fantasy.

Asides from the lame X-Files plot, and the touching bonding between Daddy Dexter and his step-children… the rest of the story is just a long winded set-up for the punchline: “Marriage = Pain”.

BAH!!

Book: Dearly Devoted Dexter – Jeff Lindsay

Awesome book!

This is the 2nd book in the Dexter Morgan series. And I’m very pleased to find that the plot is completely different from season 2 of the TV series.

It’s great, cos it’s an all new story. Also sad, cos it’s evidence that the TV producers have lost their nerve. Season 2 of the TV series was still great. There’s plenty of suspense. But it had lost the edginess, and replaced it with a pair gratuitious English boobies.

The book is better. But I can understand why the material can’t be used for TV. Cos in the book, Sergeant Doakes’ covert ops past comes back to haunt him. The new villain is not a killer. Dr Danco is an amputator. Takes off the limbs, lips, teeth, tongue & eye-lids of the victim while they watch the operation in a mirror. Finally destroying the victim’s mind, but ultimately leaving him alive.

Creepier than Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

The plot is less suspenseful than TV. But it’s great fun reading Dexter’s inner monologues.

“I have always felt that it was preferable to think with my brain, rather than with certain other wrinkled parts located slightly south. I mean, seriously, don’t people ever see themselves, staggering around drooling and mooning, all weepy-eyed and weak-kneed and rendered completely idiotic over something even animals have enough sense to finish quickly so they can get on with more sensible pursuits, like finding fresh meant?”

Great fun to read. Can’t wait to get started on the next book!

Movie: Lust Caution

The DVD-quality, fully uncensored version of this Ang Lee film is finally out.

Certainly took long enough. My cousin is a VCD/DVD distributor cum Iban karaoke film director in Sibu, and even he couldn’t get a good copy last month.

Managed to download rather quickly via eMule and http://Verycd.com

Since TM has blocked BitTorrent, these other fileshares work much better now.

I’m sure everyone is interested in this movie primarily for the 20+ minutes of pR0n. My elder relatives are curious about Tony Leung’s buttocks. My friends want to know if the pr0n is soft/hard-core.

I’m not sure where the line is drawn between soft and hard… But you can catch a glimpse of Tony’s sack in the shadows. And a liberal amount of frontal. No more than that.

Other friends who caught the short-version of the movie at the cinema, told me that the plot is slow.

But I quite liked the story.

A pack of fools with their misguided patriotism wanted to assassinate Tony Leung as a spring break project. Tang Wei joined out of peer pressure, and she was assigned to seduce Tony.
Tang Wei’s character isn’t weak by any means, she’s intelligent and very composed. She doesn’t appear to be passionately patriotic, and went along with the group cos the leader was cute. Events unfolded, and she allowed herself to be caught up in the flow. Despite being an emotional creature, she kept said emotions in check and made harsh intellectual choices. In a manner highly uncharacteristic of the feminine nature. IMHO.

She lost her virginitiy to the ass-wipe in her group. Because her disguise is that of a married woman. And she needed to seduce an intelligent, powerful and highly paranoid man. She willingly risked her life for a tepid cause because she agreed that she had a reasonable chance of pulling it off. And she made the conscious choice to not take the cyanide capsule.

The film is very refreshing cos you rarely see such characters on Hollywood. Hollywood’s idea of a strong female character is a lean, mean, acrobatic, twin sai-/kukri-/Desert-Eagles wielding fighting machine. Preferably with boobs, exceptions made for Milla Jovovich. But a woman who is a master of her own emotions, that you don’t see on Hollywood.

Thus it magnified the impact of the one moment when she lost control of the reins.

The one annoyance I have, is how her heart was won over by a piece of rock. Granted it was 6 carats… But what is the author trying to tell us about the character with this? That despite all the intellect and emotional mastery, Carbon is still every woman’s Kryptonite? Had the De Beers propaganda pervaded China even in 1950?

Maybe the original literature will shed some light to the matter. If I have the time, I might read it all here. (Link courtesy of Ho Liday).

I think Ang Lee deserves an Oscar for this. Far more so than the flying man or the gay cowboys. But I doubt that the Academy Awards politics will allow a China man to win 3 Oscars…

TV: Brothers & Sisters

Heard this show won some awards. A friend is downloading this series. And another friend, who enjoyed 6 Feet Under as much as I did, also gave this show glowing recommendations.

And Ally McBeal is in it. And also Sam Seaborne from The West Wing.

So I gave it a shot. Watched most of season one and working through season two.

I found it kind of tame really…

So there’s a little bit of family drama. Good things happen in the family. Bad things happen in the family. Family crises. Trials overcame. Funny and clever sibling banter.

But banter… there was far better banter in Gilmore Girls. At least in the earlier seasons. When Rory lost her cherry, everyone lost their funny.

And there’s also political drama with the Sam Seaborne guy trying to get nominated to be presidential candidate. After 7 seasons of West Wing, this is tame.

And as for overcoming trials, I doubt that any family has been shat on as horribly as the Fishers in 6 Feet Under.  Even the gay brother was more hardcore in 6 Feet.

But there’s something Bro & Sis has, and that’s Sally Fields.

She plays the mother in the family circus. She’s the self-righteous, self-centred, self-important, smothering mother.

And you just want to slap her everytime she opens her mouth.

Even more so than Teri Hatcher in Desperate Housewives.

Here, here is where B&S outshines everything else I’ve watched. The writers created a character that can make you puke bile. And this is a most interesting success.

Woohoo! Birthday Presents!!

I just received two books from my sis in Melbourne!

I asked her to give me a few books. Yarrrr!… There are books out there that’s beyond the reach of my pirating grasp…

And yes, for those who have been curious for a long time now… I’ll maybe consider getting around to writing a How-To for downloading free ebooks… Just for my peeps.

Meanwhile, I’m reading Dearly Devoted Dexter and Dexter In The Dark.

Cos Human Pets is down for a couple of hours…