Not all books, all the time

Lest you think that I've gone all brainy on you and have been doing nothing but reading Great Works of Litracha all summer, let me tell you what all I've been watching on the vidiot box:

Glad I saw it because it's a classic, Part I: Point Break - With all the positive buzz Kathryn Bigelow has been getting on her latest film, The Hurt Locker, I thought I should take a gander at some of her earlier works and when Point Break popped up on the cable, I gandered away. Yes, it's a dumb action movie - whose legendary stunts (talking while skydiving; catching up to someone while skydiving) have been tested out on Mythbusters - but it has these points in its favor: Swayze in all his golden glory, roundhouse-kicking bad guys while wearing a wetsuit; beautifully shot action sequences (although with perhaps too much emphasis on the slo-mo effect); and Keanu Reeves actually emoting!!!

Mostly glad I saw it because it's a classic, Part II: The Brood - The horror film that put David Cronenburg on the map in 1979 left me a little cold. It's slow, for one, with lots of talking and approximately one kill per half hour. The kills aren't particularly scary or shocking or gory either, although the climatic reveal of Nola birthing a Brood baby from an external egg sac, and then licking said newborn clean, definitely ups the ick/ewww factor and sets the stage for the director's subsequent body-horror films.

In the total waste of time category: Hellbound: Hellraiser II - Speaking of slow ... I recorded this one on the DVR and then ended up fast-forwarding through 90% of it. This sequel does not maintain the shock value of the very gory first film, and squanders what goodwill it has by stealing scenes from its predecessor. The Cenobites are used to even lesser effect as well: hardly ever on screen and then when they are, being ineffectual and not scary.

Not even close to a waste of time: 21 Jump Street - is on Hulu. Did you know this? I didn't know this - I just found out. The hair, the clothes, the music (terrible Richard Marx-ish stuff, not cool New Wave), Johnny Depp c. 1987 ... this is the cure for what ails me. I've only gotten through the first five episodes but gawd, they make me soooooo happy!!!!