Hanna - B
Surprisingly effective and simple little action thriller. Saoirse Ronan plays a girl trained by her CIA assassin father (Eric Bana) who joins the modern world after years in hiding, eventually playing a hunter/hunted game with rogue agent Cate Blanchett. The film has a European feel (at times I was strongly reminded of Run Lola Run) and a slick Chemical Brothers soundtrack.
Torchwood (BBC America/Starz)- A-
I haven't been keeping up with the modern Doctor Who series, but if they are half as cool as this spin-off, I look forward to doing so. The Torchwood team is an outside-the-government force tasked with protecting the planet from otherworldly threats, led by the immortal Captain Jack Harkness. Early episodes were occasionally hokey, but the show quickly found a solid tone that's sometimes quite dark. The pinnacle thus far was the third season/miniseries "Children of Earth," a tense and exciting tale of alien contact through the medium of the world's innocents. The story accomplishes a true sense of apocalyptic foreboding. A new season is scheduled for this summer in conjunction with Starz.
MLB The Show '11 (PS3) - A-
Still the best baseball game on the market, The Show gives fans of the sport or gaming in general superb graphics, intuitive control and numerous gameplay options. The pure analog option makes pitching feel like a true game of inches and challenges you to have a sharp eye for batting. In-game commentary is less obnoxious now, too, with the inclusion of Eric Karros for color calls.
The Killing (AMC) - B+
AMC's knack for excellent dramas continues (only Rubicon failed to impress). I'm always a little scared of "season-long" murder mysteries, but AMC's short seasons and the superb acting and multi-faceted story structure should keep this one interesting.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Messages from Mars
The Tillman Story - B-
The documentary about the life and death of NFL star Pat Tillman turned casualty of war isn't as much of an indictment against the military PR machine as it could have been.
Love & Other Drugs - B
The only thing that keeps this movie from the realm of predictable rom-com-dom are the charming leads. Jake Gylenhaal and Anne Hathaway have believable chemistry and most of the film is filled with real wit. The biggest problem is the cliche drama and ending. I'm not going to pretend that copious scenes of Hathaway nudity was offensive, though.
Zombieland - A-
How did I take so long to see this film? Not quite as comedy-driven as Shaun of the Dead, but not serious horror like other "-- of the Dead" films, Zombieland deftly blends the genres on the backs of a fun cast and slick modern direction. Bill Murray's cameo is priceless.
The documentary about the life and death of NFL star Pat Tillman turned casualty of war isn't as much of an indictment against the military PR machine as it could have been.
Love & Other Drugs - B
The only thing that keeps this movie from the realm of predictable rom-com-dom are the charming leads. Jake Gylenhaal and Anne Hathaway have believable chemistry and most of the film is filled with real wit. The biggest problem is the cliche drama and ending. I'm not going to pretend that copious scenes of Hathaway nudity was offensive, though.
Zombieland - A-
How did I take so long to see this film? Not quite as comedy-driven as Shaun of the Dead, but not serious horror like other "-- of the Dead" films, Zombieland deftly blends the genres on the backs of a fun cast and slick modern direction. Bill Murray's cameo is priceless.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
What's In Your DVR?
I often rave about the shows that I love to watch. They fill up my DVR, they make for great conversation with friends and coworkers and they consume obscene amounts of my waking time.
I currently have 50 series recordings set up on my DVR. What can I say, it's a good time for TV. Two hours in front of a TV has better odds of entertaining you than $10+ in a theater taking a chance on a movie.
That said, I made a few tough (and some not-so-tough) choices this morning to remove some series recordings that simply aren't worth my time or my DVR's space.
Covert Affairs: Hey, Piper Perabo...you're cute and all, but completely unbelieveable as a covert agent.
The Event: I tried, I really did...but this over-complicated sci-fi thriller is all talk and very little action. By the end of most episodes, I realized I was so distracted or disinterested, I couldn't tell you what happened.
Lights Out: Actually, I liked this show, but FX has cancelled it.
G.I. Joe Renegades: The revamp of the Joe concept isn't bad, but the animation was pretty lousy and The Hub is apparently shelving the show until after the next film.
Transformers Prime: Too "kiddie" for my tastes...with the Bayformers and 'toons like this, maybe it's time to lay this franchise to rest and remember it only as a fond piece of our childhoods.
Mr. Sunshine: Dry humor with mostly unlikeable characters. There are a few laughs to be had, but not enough to justify tuning in weekly.
There are also more than a few shows that are in danger of being "cancelled" from my DVR...shape up or ship out series if you will.
Hawaii Five-0: I like the cast, it's well-filmed, but it's more or less a CSI/NCIS type show and formula TV never sits well with me.
The Cleveland Show: Seth MacFarlane, you'll forever have my admiration for Family Guy, but your other animated efforts don't come close.
Fairly Legal: I admit, I'm sticking with this one mostly for the gorgeous Sarah Shahi, but it does have a quirky charm to it.
Perfect Couples: Love the actors, often hate the writing.
Breakout Kings: This one is pretty new, so I'm giving it time, but if it's only going to be "escaped con(s) of the week" I'll pass.
What TV is in danger of losing your DVR love?
I currently have 50 series recordings set up on my DVR. What can I say, it's a good time for TV. Two hours in front of a TV has better odds of entertaining you than $10+ in a theater taking a chance on a movie.
That said, I made a few tough (and some not-so-tough) choices this morning to remove some series recordings that simply aren't worth my time or my DVR's space.
Covert Affairs: Hey, Piper Perabo...you're cute and all, but completely unbelieveable as a covert agent.
The Event: I tried, I really did...but this over-complicated sci-fi thriller is all talk and very little action. By the end of most episodes, I realized I was so distracted or disinterested, I couldn't tell you what happened.
Lights Out: Actually, I liked this show, but FX has cancelled it.
G.I. Joe Renegades: The revamp of the Joe concept isn't bad, but the animation was pretty lousy and The Hub is apparently shelving the show until after the next film.
Transformers Prime: Too "kiddie" for my tastes...with the Bayformers and 'toons like this, maybe it's time to lay this franchise to rest and remember it only as a fond piece of our childhoods.
Mr. Sunshine: Dry humor with mostly unlikeable characters. There are a few laughs to be had, but not enough to justify tuning in weekly.
There are also more than a few shows that are in danger of being "cancelled" from my DVR...shape up or ship out series if you will.
Hawaii Five-0: I like the cast, it's well-filmed, but it's more or less a CSI/NCIS type show and formula TV never sits well with me.
The Cleveland Show: Seth MacFarlane, you'll forever have my admiration for Family Guy, but your other animated efforts don't come close.
Fairly Legal: I admit, I'm sticking with this one mostly for the gorgeous Sarah Shahi, but it does have a quirky charm to it.
Perfect Couples: Love the actors, often hate the writing.
Breakout Kings: This one is pretty new, so I'm giving it time, but if it's only going to be "escaped con(s) of the week" I'll pass.
What TV is in danger of losing your DVR love?
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sucker Punch
One has to wonder if Warner Brothers watched the box office receipts roll in from this past weekend and think, "oh, crap...we gave Superman to this guy?" Sucker Punch lost out to the second Diary of a Wimpy Kid film.
"This guy" is directer Zack Snyder and his film track record is a little sketchy...at least in the monetary sense. After helping revitalize the zombie genre with 2004's Dawn of the Dead, Snyder scored his biggest hit to date with 300, a stylish and bloody actioner. It's blue-screen heavy effects gave it the appropriate comic book adaptation feel. The daunting task of adapting legendary graphic novel Watchmen to the big screen divided critics and fans and did nothing to draw word of mouth viewers past the first weekend. I enjoyed it, flaws and all, but it was definitely not meant for mass-audience acceptance.
Sucker Punch drew me in on Snyder's repuatation and the dynamic visuals of the myriad trailers bombarding us for months. As a friend put it after seeing a commercial for the first time, "Is this one of those movies that nerds are going to jerk off to?"
Crude though it might be, her statement isn't far from the target audience Sucker Punch would seem to be aiming for...which is both its blessing and curse. It was naturally doomed to face critical derision and attacks on what might seem to be sexual pandering. It is little more than two hours of fanboy cliche and comic/manga sensibility...scantily clad cuties in sci-fi/fantasy action scenarios. When your lead character is platinum blonde with pigtails in a school girl outfit complete with sword, pistol, knee-highs and heels...well, Oscar screeners probably aren't in the cards.
Here's the thing, though...perhaps I am the target audience, because I rather enjoyed Sucker Punch on its shaky merits. I don't think a single trailer, poster or flashing internet ad ever implied it was anything more than pure eye candy. If you walk in with that mindset and patiently wait through the relatively short efforts at story between the action pieces, you might enjoy it, too.
What story there is wraps around doe-eyed Babydoll (Emily Browning), abused and labeled loco by big bad men and shipped off to an asylum where she meets similarly damaged women. Babydoll apparently copes with her imprisonment by sending her mind into flights of dynamic fancy (I'm not going to pretend I always understood where the blur of fantasy and reality truly occurred). These illusions (delusions?) are part of an escape plan and each scenario is key to finding something to facilitate it.
What the movie is truly about are the four vibrant, violent and endlessly kinetic action-fx sequences. Any of them could have been lifted from four different movies and possibly fared better as such. The first sequence, in which Babydoll faces off against giant samurai-esque warriors, is easily the most exciting and memorable.
Probably what ultimately sold me in the thumbs up column was the music. Clever covers of songs like "White Rabbit" and "Where Is My Mind?" along with Bjork's "Army of Me" pump extra life into the visuals.
Sucker Punch is far from perfect and while this nerd won't be pleasuring himself to it, he wasn't offended by its blatant attempt to appeal to the gamer/fanboy/overgrown teenager in me.
Warner Bros. probably isn't too worried about Supes, either. Some guy named Christopher Nolan is producing and he knows thing or two about comic book flicks.
Rating: C+
"This guy" is directer Zack Snyder and his film track record is a little sketchy...at least in the monetary sense. After helping revitalize the zombie genre with 2004's Dawn of the Dead, Snyder scored his biggest hit to date with 300, a stylish and bloody actioner. It's blue-screen heavy effects gave it the appropriate comic book adaptation feel. The daunting task of adapting legendary graphic novel Watchmen to the big screen divided critics and fans and did nothing to draw word of mouth viewers past the first weekend. I enjoyed it, flaws and all, but it was definitely not meant for mass-audience acceptance.
Sucker Punch drew me in on Snyder's repuatation and the dynamic visuals of the myriad trailers bombarding us for months. As a friend put it after seeing a commercial for the first time, "Is this one of those movies that nerds are going to jerk off to?"
Crude though it might be, her statement isn't far from the target audience Sucker Punch would seem to be aiming for...which is both its blessing and curse. It was naturally doomed to face critical derision and attacks on what might seem to be sexual pandering. It is little more than two hours of fanboy cliche and comic/manga sensibility...scantily clad cuties in sci-fi/fantasy action scenarios. When your lead character is platinum blonde with pigtails in a school girl outfit complete with sword, pistol, knee-highs and heels...well, Oscar screeners probably aren't in the cards.
Here's the thing, though...perhaps I am the target audience, because I rather enjoyed Sucker Punch on its shaky merits. I don't think a single trailer, poster or flashing internet ad ever implied it was anything more than pure eye candy. If you walk in with that mindset and patiently wait through the relatively short efforts at story between the action pieces, you might enjoy it, too.
What story there is wraps around doe-eyed Babydoll (Emily Browning), abused and labeled loco by big bad men and shipped off to an asylum where she meets similarly damaged women. Babydoll apparently copes with her imprisonment by sending her mind into flights of dynamic fancy (I'm not going to pretend I always understood where the blur of fantasy and reality truly occurred). These illusions (delusions?) are part of an escape plan and each scenario is key to finding something to facilitate it.
What the movie is truly about are the four vibrant, violent and endlessly kinetic action-fx sequences. Any of them could have been lifted from four different movies and possibly fared better as such. The first sequence, in which Babydoll faces off against giant samurai-esque warriors, is easily the most exciting and memorable.
Probably what ultimately sold me in the thumbs up column was the music. Clever covers of songs like "White Rabbit" and "Where Is My Mind?" along with Bjork's "Army of Me" pump extra life into the visuals.
Sucker Punch is far from perfect and while this nerd won't be pleasuring himself to it, he wasn't offended by its blatant attempt to appeal to the gamer/fanboy/overgrown teenager in me.
Warner Bros. probably isn't too worried about Supes, either. Some guy named Christopher Nolan is producing and he knows thing or two about comic book flicks.
Rating: C+
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Can't Quit Movies
I'm an avid movie watcher, but I've found over the years that there are certain movies I come back to over and over again. Now, these films are also on my all-time favorites list, of course (which I need to redo soon), but there's something about them that makes me stop channel-surfing and watch. I'll watch even though I despise commercials and probably own these films on DVD or blu-ray.
USA has been running all of the Indiana Jones movies today which is what spurred this discussion. So naturally, the first movie on the list is one of them.
USA has been running all of the Indiana Jones movies today which is what spurred this discussion. So naturally, the first movie on the list is one of them.
- Raiders of the Lost Ark - Indy is really something of an anti-hero. He has no problem with killing (sure, it's Nazis, but still) and he's kind of a dick to women (who falls asleep when Karen Allen is kissing all over you?). This is possibly the best action film ever.
- Aliens - I want this James Cameron back...the one who simply wants to make incredible genre flicks, not the guy trying to change the movie universe every decade (although, admittedly, he's doing it).
- The Dark Knight - The newest entry has only been on TV a couple times so far, but I can already tell I'll be watching this one for many years to come. The fact that this didn't get a Best Picture nomination is a crime.
- The Lord of the Rings - If I catch a marathon of this trilogy, my day is pretty much shot. The Extended Editions need to hurry up and get to blu-ray.
- The Empire Strikes Back - Duh...
- Contact - I think this movie is criminally underrated. Powerful exploration of the possibility of life in the universe.
- Signs - Speaking of underrated, Shymalan's last truly great movie may have some plot holes but I love the idea of an alien invasion film that shows how average people would experience it and react.
- Spider-Man 2 - Cuz I still get misty-eyed when the train passengers save Spidey.
- Casino Royale - The movie that made James Bond truly exciting again.
What are your can't ignore movies?
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
2010 Best Picture Nominees
For the fourth year in a row, I attended AMC's Best Picture Showcase...now a two day (consecutive Saturdays) event to accomodate the expansion to ten nominees. I have to say this year's slate might have been the best I've seen in some time. Not a bad movie among them, but some more deserving than others.
127 Hours - B
James Franco may have seemed stoned throughout the Awards broadcast, but he was pretty riveting as the centerpiece of this docu-drama about Aron Rolston. Splashes of Danny Boyle's last nominee, Slumdog Millionaire, are evident...but Franco sells it by staying engaging and witty. The gruesome amputation scene isn't as horrific as reported (the sounds are the most disturbing part) and the story is rather uplifting.
Black Swan - A-
Oh, Darren Aronofsky, you wonderfully insane bastard. You were brilliant with Requiem for a Dream but The Fountain was terrible (I haven't seen The Wrestler). Black Swan is somewhere in between, but much closer to Requiem in form. Natalie Portman's Oscar was well-deserved as the success of the film rests solely on her shoulders. It's disturbing, sexy, mind-boggling and stirring all at once. Am I the only one that can't wait to see what this guy can do with The Wolverine?
The Fighter - A
Probably the most unexpected pleasure for me was The Fighter. Sharply directed, well-written and cast...this wasn't just a boxing movie, though the boxing scenes were amazingly filmed, realistic and a natural extension of the story. Mark Wahlberg was solid, if not a stretch...but Christian Bale...wow...he earned his trophy by playing completely outside of the box as drug-addled former champ Dicky Eklund.
Inception - A+
I skipped this film this weekend after seeing it in the theatre last summer and already owning it on Blu-ray but it's still my favorite of the nominees. Christopher Nolan was wrongly snubbed (for the second time if you count The Dark Knight) for a Best Director nomination after bringing us his best non-Bat film since Memento. The screenplay is wonderfully twisty, the visual tricks dazzle and any film that leaves so many people asking questions or pissed off because there wasn't an answer is good in my book.
The Kids Are All Right - B-
Probably the weakest of the Best Picture nominees, Kids has good performances and dialogue, but ultimately didn't seem to lead anywhere as a story. The ending was a bit too tidy for my tastes and rather than celebrate the gay relationship at its core, it mostly ignores it. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore were great, as usual.
The King's Speech - A
I'm not sure if it truly was the "Best" Picture, but I'm not surprised at the win and I enjoyed this film more than I expected. It's incredibly witty and Colin Firth's winning performance could be the pinnacle of his underappreciated career or the beginning of a long line of such roles. Geoffrey Rush would have been a winner in any other year were it not for Bale.
The Social Network - A
I expected to love the dialogue and characters of this movie. I wasn't planning on the direction being so sharp and tense. David Fincher was also robbed for making a movie about nerds building the future of the internet seem exciting and sexy. Props to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for the unconventional soundtrack.
Toy Story 3 - A
The best of the Toy Story movies and also the most guaranteed to tear at your heart.
True Grit - B+
I'm a huge fan of the original John Wayne film and the remake really isn't all that different. The dialogue was near identical and the plot only had minor tweaks. Of course, the Coen's filmed it with loving style and occasional quirk. Jeff Bridges is a gruffer Rooster Cogburn than John Wayne and Hailee Steinfeld could have a long career ahead of her...or end up like Kim Darby.
Winter's Bone - B
The "unknown" entry in the Best Picture race, Bone is a slow-burn, bleak movie about rural Ozark meth-makers and addicts. It's the kind of movie that makes you feel perpetually tense, waiting for something incredibly bad to happen at any second. Nominees Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes were recognized for a reason.
So...with all that finally said, I guess I can finally give my better late than never:
Top 10 Movies of 2010
10. Iron Man 2
9. True Grit
8. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
7. Black Swan
6. The Fighter
5. The King's Speech
4. The Social Network
3. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, Part 1
2. Toy Story 3
1. Inception
127 Hours - B
James Franco may have seemed stoned throughout the Awards broadcast, but he was pretty riveting as the centerpiece of this docu-drama about Aron Rolston. Splashes of Danny Boyle's last nominee, Slumdog Millionaire, are evident...but Franco sells it by staying engaging and witty. The gruesome amputation scene isn't as horrific as reported (the sounds are the most disturbing part) and the story is rather uplifting.
Black Swan - A-
Oh, Darren Aronofsky, you wonderfully insane bastard. You were brilliant with Requiem for a Dream but The Fountain was terrible (I haven't seen The Wrestler). Black Swan is somewhere in between, but much closer to Requiem in form. Natalie Portman's Oscar was well-deserved as the success of the film rests solely on her shoulders. It's disturbing, sexy, mind-boggling and stirring all at once. Am I the only one that can't wait to see what this guy can do with The Wolverine?
The Fighter - A
Probably the most unexpected pleasure for me was The Fighter. Sharply directed, well-written and cast...this wasn't just a boxing movie, though the boxing scenes were amazingly filmed, realistic and a natural extension of the story. Mark Wahlberg was solid, if not a stretch...but Christian Bale...wow...he earned his trophy by playing completely outside of the box as drug-addled former champ Dicky Eklund.
Inception - A+
I skipped this film this weekend after seeing it in the theatre last summer and already owning it on Blu-ray but it's still my favorite of the nominees. Christopher Nolan was wrongly snubbed (for the second time if you count The Dark Knight) for a Best Director nomination after bringing us his best non-Bat film since Memento. The screenplay is wonderfully twisty, the visual tricks dazzle and any film that leaves so many people asking questions or pissed off because there wasn't an answer is good in my book.
The Kids Are All Right - B-
Probably the weakest of the Best Picture nominees, Kids has good performances and dialogue, but ultimately didn't seem to lead anywhere as a story. The ending was a bit too tidy for my tastes and rather than celebrate the gay relationship at its core, it mostly ignores it. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore were great, as usual.
The King's Speech - A
I'm not sure if it truly was the "Best" Picture, but I'm not surprised at the win and I enjoyed this film more than I expected. It's incredibly witty and Colin Firth's winning performance could be the pinnacle of his underappreciated career or the beginning of a long line of such roles. Geoffrey Rush would have been a winner in any other year were it not for Bale.
The Social Network - A
I expected to love the dialogue and characters of this movie. I wasn't planning on the direction being so sharp and tense. David Fincher was also robbed for making a movie about nerds building the future of the internet seem exciting and sexy. Props to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for the unconventional soundtrack.
Toy Story 3 - A
The best of the Toy Story movies and also the most guaranteed to tear at your heart.
True Grit - B+
I'm a huge fan of the original John Wayne film and the remake really isn't all that different. The dialogue was near identical and the plot only had minor tweaks. Of course, the Coen's filmed it with loving style and occasional quirk. Jeff Bridges is a gruffer Rooster Cogburn than John Wayne and Hailee Steinfeld could have a long career ahead of her...or end up like Kim Darby.
Winter's Bone - B
The "unknown" entry in the Best Picture race, Bone is a slow-burn, bleak movie about rural Ozark meth-makers and addicts. It's the kind of movie that makes you feel perpetually tense, waiting for something incredibly bad to happen at any second. Nominees Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes were recognized for a reason.
So...with all that finally said, I guess I can finally give my better late than never:
Top 10 Movies of 2010
10. Iron Man 2
9. True Grit
8. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
7. Black Swan
6. The Fighter
5. The King's Speech
4. The Social Network
3. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, Part 1
2. Toy Story 3
1. Inception
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Borders
This may seem a little off from my typical entertainment blogs, but books were escapist entertainment long before music, TV and movies. Tonight I'm discussing the Borders bankruptcy, what it means to me, a former retail bookseller and the future of bookstores in general.
Last week Borders filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. They are immediately closing 200 stores and likely more to come. Thousands of layoffs will come with.
Plenty of better sources and blogs have traced the history of Borders/Waldenbooks and what led to this, so I won't rehash that. I, however, spent nearly 8 years working for Waldenbooks, during which I witnessed much of the corporate B.S. that destroyed a once strong franchise.
Despite abhorrently low pay and seeing some of the worst that the public had to offer, I loved that job. More importantly, I loved my store. To many of my customers, I was "the Waldenbooks Guy." I knew their preferences, I knew their names...it was corporate retail, but I wanted my store to feel as independent and friendly as possible.
Believe it or not, we had the same problems that independents did. When superstores like Wal-Mart and Meijer started selling books at deep discounts, we couldn't compete and we wouldn't price-match. But eventually, we did start trying. The prices of new hardcovers climbed into the $30 range, but the discounts went to 40% or more and it still wasn't enough. We started hawking candy, DVDs, music, lip balm...the checkout counter space was a battlefield of "build the basket" impulse items.
While upselling and piling on is the name of any sales game, a noticeable transition occurred from helping your patrons find the best books for their tastes and making sure that your metrics looked good at the end of the day by pushing any little trinket you could find. Terms like A$T (average dollars per transaction) and UPT (units per transaction) were discussed more often than "I made that woman smile and walk out the door excited to read that book."
The desire to make every store look and feel the same may have been the beginning of the end in my mind. Thick merchandising books were sent to us every month with explicit details on where to position books each week...how to fill front of store wallbays, the A-frames that greeted customers on entry, even titles that should be featured in the window. My last manager and I often defied this thinking, opting to features titles that were actually popular for our area, local authors and books we genuinely liked. Upper management always frowned upon this. "People want to feel like every store is their local store." Except that when every store looks the same, there's nothing "local" about it.
I became disgruntled after getting passed over for promotion to take over my own store on several occasions. When a Borders superstore came to my area, I immediately applied. After three lengthy interviews I was finally offered a position...as the cafe manager...without a raise. Eight years of bookselling experience...I even trained three managers...and they wanted me to run their coffee shop?
I don't even drink coffee.
I left the Walden/Borders family in late 2005. My mall-based store, long rumored to become a Borders Express, closed down a couple years later. That Borders is not on the initial chopping block and I still shop there. I usually enter by the cafe and chuckle at the bullet I dodged. (Ironically...or not, I still work with books, now in textbook publishing.)
A lot of questions have loomed about what this means for brick and mortar bookstores. With the rise of digital books and online shopping, does the demise of Borders (assuming this is the first sounding of a death-knell) signal the end of browsing for titles, covers or synopses that excite the senses and beg to be read? Maybe...I admit I'm still old-fashioned enough to like the idea of randomly stumbling on a great book or CD, but still techno-savvy enough to like the concept of an eReader and find music on the internet.
Am I the last of a generation that feels sharing the bookstore experience is vital to the reading experience?
Last week Borders filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. They are immediately closing 200 stores and likely more to come. Thousands of layoffs will come with.
Plenty of better sources and blogs have traced the history of Borders/Waldenbooks and what led to this, so I won't rehash that. I, however, spent nearly 8 years working for Waldenbooks, during which I witnessed much of the corporate B.S. that destroyed a once strong franchise.
Despite abhorrently low pay and seeing some of the worst that the public had to offer, I loved that job. More importantly, I loved my store. To many of my customers, I was "the Waldenbooks Guy." I knew their preferences, I knew their names...it was corporate retail, but I wanted my store to feel as independent and friendly as possible.
Believe it or not, we had the same problems that independents did. When superstores like Wal-Mart and Meijer started selling books at deep discounts, we couldn't compete and we wouldn't price-match. But eventually, we did start trying. The prices of new hardcovers climbed into the $30 range, but the discounts went to 40% or more and it still wasn't enough. We started hawking candy, DVDs, music, lip balm...the checkout counter space was a battlefield of "build the basket" impulse items.
While upselling and piling on is the name of any sales game, a noticeable transition occurred from helping your patrons find the best books for their tastes and making sure that your metrics looked good at the end of the day by pushing any little trinket you could find. Terms like A$T (average dollars per transaction) and UPT (units per transaction) were discussed more often than "I made that woman smile and walk out the door excited to read that book."
The desire to make every store look and feel the same may have been the beginning of the end in my mind. Thick merchandising books were sent to us every month with explicit details on where to position books each week...how to fill front of store wallbays, the A-frames that greeted customers on entry, even titles that should be featured in the window. My last manager and I often defied this thinking, opting to features titles that were actually popular for our area, local authors and books we genuinely liked. Upper management always frowned upon this. "People want to feel like every store is their local store." Except that when every store looks the same, there's nothing "local" about it.
I became disgruntled after getting passed over for promotion to take over my own store on several occasions. When a Borders superstore came to my area, I immediately applied. After three lengthy interviews I was finally offered a position...as the cafe manager...without a raise. Eight years of bookselling experience...I even trained three managers...and they wanted me to run their coffee shop?
I don't even drink coffee.
I left the Walden/Borders family in late 2005. My mall-based store, long rumored to become a Borders Express, closed down a couple years later. That Borders is not on the initial chopping block and I still shop there. I usually enter by the cafe and chuckle at the bullet I dodged. (Ironically...or not, I still work with books, now in textbook publishing.)
A lot of questions have loomed about what this means for brick and mortar bookstores. With the rise of digital books and online shopping, does the demise of Borders (assuming this is the first sounding of a death-knell) signal the end of browsing for titles, covers or synopses that excite the senses and beg to be read? Maybe...I admit I'm still old-fashioned enough to like the idea of randomly stumbling on a great book or CD, but still techno-savvy enough to like the concept of an eReader and find music on the internet.
Am I the last of a generation that feels sharing the bookstore experience is vital to the reading experience?
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