This month's selections of reels and reads.
Stick It Haley Graham (Missy Peregrym) is a former star gymnast with a black mark on her record: in the finals of an important competition, she bailed out on her American teammates, which led to their defeat. In further defiance of "the system" of organized athletics, Haley goes on to become a rather thuggish, yet beautiful tomboy. After a brush with the law, she is ordered to attend a prestigious gymnastics academy, run by the hard-nosed Burt Vickerman (Jeff Bridges). Not at all thrilled to be there, the tough brunette is antagonized by girls who take the sport very seriously indeed, and who cannot forgive her for running out the last time. It is only when Haley eventually begins to respect her new coach and see the value of teamwork that she helps lead them all to victory. Eagerly anticipated as the follow-u pto Jessica Bendinger's hilarious 2000 cheerleader smash Bring it On, Stick It has been criticized for coming up short of its popular predecessor. That said, Bendinger's latest is certainly entertaining, especially for young viewers: a feel good flick with plenty of inspirational sporting moments, humorous "teen speak" and eye candy for the 20 and under crowd.Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest<7b> For those a bit too old for frolicking teens on balance beams, this summer is highlighted by two words: Johnny Depp. Guys want to be him, girls want to marry him, filmgoers love his work--this swashbuckler, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Gore Verbinski, is sure to be no exception. This film reunites Depp, Orland Bloom and Keira Knightly to further chronicle the misadventures of Capt. Jack Sparrow. Though the official blurb for the movie includes a rather dark synopsis--"Jackowes an unpaid debt to Davy Jones and his army of sea phantoms...his soul. Now he must find a way to save himself from becoming one of them, and suffering forever"--Disney promises "more intrigue, more spectacular special effects and more comedy." Will Captain Jack prevail? Pirates of the Caribbean 3 is already in production.
Globalization and Its Enemies by Daniel Cohen, MIT Press 2006. In his latest work, Daniel Cohen--a professor of economics at the Ecole Normale Superieure and the Universite de Pairs-I and a member of the Council of Economic Analysis for the French Prime Minister--offers what the New York Times Book Review calls "a refreshingly heretical analysis" of globalization. Though the enemies of globalization oppose it because they feel it exploits poor countries and imposes Western values on traditional cultures, Cohen says the truth may be exactly the opposite: hzped up the the media, globalization--which, if it were effectively carried out, would create financial stability throughout the world--is but a mirage. In this compelling and eye-opening read, Cohen describes why globalization has miles to go and just why its opponents may be justifiably angry, but for the wrong reasons.
Theft: A Love Story, by Peter Carey, Faber and Faber 2006. Australian-born NYC transplant Peter Carey has done it again: the engaging storyteller´s last novel--a story of art, passion, compassion and crime--has been met with the same kind of enthusiasm as the two-time Booker Prize winner's other books. Famous Australian artist Butcher Boone loses all his assets and paintings in a messy divorce battle that ends in a brief jail stay. Upon his release, he has no choice but to live with a wealthy former patron, who asks the artist to act as caretaker of one of his properties. With his 220-pound "idiot savant" brother, Hugh, in tow, Butcher sets out for the estate in New South Wales, where he begins to create again, in an attempt to resurrect his former fame. Add one steamy affair with the saucy blond daughter-in-law of a famous 20th-century artist, one priceless painting, and you've got summer reading extraordinaire.
Ava Gardner, by Lee Server, Bloomsbury 2006. Her beauty awed the likes of Elizabeth Taylor and Lana Turner. Her husbands included Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw and Frank Sinatra. She once punched out Howard Hughes's front teeth. Lee Server's story of Hollywood's 1940s and 1950s "bad girl" film goddes, Ava Gardner, is the definitive and highly-acclaimed biography.
