Not since 2007’s “Hot Fuzz” has there been a mainstream Buddy Cop movie to my recollection. That’s why when I saw a trailer for the recent movie “Cop Out” I was excited. I grew up in the golden era of Buddy Cop movies where it seemed every year there was a new law enforcement comedy duo ready to hit the streets. [more]
January is jam-packed with events at Orca Books in downtown Olympia. Here’s a list of what’s booked so far. More may be added later. All events are FREE and open to the public. Thank you for helping us publicize these events! Take special note of the Crow Planet reading. We are really excited about this one. All the employees are juggling their schedules for to try and be here! [more]
Christian Carvajal will read from his debut novel, LIGHTFALL, published by Fear Nought. The novel also debuts in hardcover TODAY. The book views the prophesied End of the World from Sugar Roses, a churchy little college town in Oklahoma. To commemorate the Apocalypse, Carvajal will not only take reader questions but also hand out Twinkies, beef jerky and bottled water. [more]
In 1998 filmmaker Kevin Tomlinson set out with a friend on a journey of discovery. More than 20 years later what started as a road trip has led to the documentary film “Back to the Garden”. I recently had an opportunity to watch a copy of the film and speak to Tomlinson about the film itself, and the process that making it involved. [more]
‘What’s to Love?’ is a weekly article featuring interviews of random local passersby to find out what people love and hate about downtown Olympia and of the many things Olympia has to offer. Our city has recently won multiple awards. Now we’ll ask the locals what they love about this place. This week’s WTL focuses on the Olympia Film Festival, which is brought to us by the wonderful Olympia Film Society. [more]
Caution: The following movie review is for a rated R movie containing adult language, crude humor, sexual situations, and brief nudity. Not this review, but the movie itself. Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way let me tell you about one of the funniest movies I’ve seen all year. [more]
It was date night this week, and that meant a trip to see the new romantic comedy “The Ugly Truth” starring Katherine Heigl, (best known for her performance in the movie “Knocked Up”) as a Sacramento television news producer and Gerard Butler (best known for his performance in “300”) as host of a local relationship based talk show called The Ugly Truth. Even though the theater was packed it was a nice respite from the heat to be in an air-conditioned theater and I was looking forward to a fun time. [more]
As an avid movie watcher (100-150+ movies a year in the theater) it is often the case that I find myself watching movies that others have missed. Movie industry programming what it is, small movies are often countered programmed against bigger and more mainstream movies in order to find that audience that is turned off by the next big blockbuster. [more]
I’m always a little leery when the cover of a book displays the author’s name more prominently than the title of the book. Too many times I have purchased books based on the author’s name only to find out the book was something they couldn’t get published before their big hit novel, or they threw together the story just to meet their publisher’s deadline. Fortunately, I haven’t learned my lesson, otherwise I might have passed on Small Steps by Louis Sachar, Author of the award-wining bestseller HOLES. [more]
In terms of global disasters, Robert Charles Wilson’s sci-fi novel “Spin” makes global warming look like a refreshingly warm breeze on an icy winter day. What, you might ask, could be more disastrous than global climate change? How about the impending demise of the sun?
Like the growing national debt, we are inclined to ignore the inevitable death of the sun because we won’t be around to experience it. It’s unlikely that the human race or anything but cockroaches will survive to witness an event that is billions of years in Earth’s future. [more]
