Page 2 July 12, 2018
The Murderer’s Ape Ratchets the
Imagination Most Rigorously
Reviewed by Tommy Vinh Bui,
MLIS, Associate Librarian,
Inglewood Public Library
The summer sweats might have you wading in
drowsy delirium, but the library has some refreshing
respite on the shelves just for you. A blast of
Arctic erudite ambiance that’ll have you pulling
on a parka. Jakob Wegelius’ mystery-thriller
The Murderer’s Ape is a humdinger of a yarn.
The book’ll breeze right by in a blink. Paragraph
one pitches you right into a tale of intrigue
boasting memorable characters and a plot that
takes us all over the world and back again. It ticks
every box in terms of young adult literary fare.
It’s an epistolary story written from the
vantage of our charismatic and thoroughly
charming protagonist, Sally Jones. She meets
a colorful cast of characters and her journeys
take her by plane, train and tugboat all over the
map. She’s also a gorilla handy with a wrench
and wields a welcoming demeanor -- a skill
and minor species-related detail that plays a
huge role throughout her misadventures. Equal
measures Indiana Jones, Forrest Gump and
Curious George, Sally Jones is our unflagging
and intrepid hero as she unravels this
who-dunnit murder mystery in which she finds
herself embroiled. Sally Jones really carries the
narrative single-handedly. Her observations and
deductions imbue her with a unique perspective
on the proceedings. She’s something akin to
a more eloquent and thoughtful Chewbacca.
The content is emotionally rich and the story
is hauled along swiftly, with the characters
presented as satisfactorily complex and sympathetic
to the reader. It also neatly fulfills genre
expectations. It’s a swashbuckling adventure tale
that manages to cobble together just the right
amount of the harrowing and the heartfelt. Many
a mile is wrung out of these compelling and
convincing characters. I glean spin-off potential
and a franchise property that will run at least
three more books. That’s just testament to how
likeable the characters are and that there is still
untapped potential in this strong series. One
can’t help but to look forward to the further
katzenjammers and brouhahas Sally Jones and
company will lumber into next.
The narrative velocity is laudable through
and through and certainly worth a re-mention.
The writer displays much literary dexterity as
he manages to implant a chorus of voices and
tonal shifts through a variety of distinct and
eccentric characters. He weaves a palpable
charisma between our ensemble of characters
and it’s all but too convincing as we delve
deeper and deeper into this tangled plot.
The pacing is exemplary. Narrative momentum
is the necessary mainstay of the young adult
novel. It is a fine balance of breakneck speeds of
exposition and apropos pauses in turbulence to
give the reader a chance to catch their breath and
digest the whirlwind of plot twists and revelations
during the first and early stages of the second
act. It is a second act with plenty of ups and
downs and feigns and forward-lunges galore.
All in all, Wegelius’ The Murderer’s Ape is a fine
manner in which to while away a few summer
hours. Exuding surplus imagination, it’ll instantly
globetrot you to the fado-laced alehouses of Lisbon,
ornate maharajah palaces of India, and the
familiar hearth of home that can only be found
when you’ve been fervently circumnavigating
the world and acquiring hard-earned life lessons.
This is a fine feast for young and eager
minds looking to tack on a few more miles
to the ol’ mental odometer. Anchors away,
wayward wanderers! •
Film Review
Sorry to Bother You is a Crazed
Comedy by Newcomer Boots Riley
Ryan Rojas for www.cinemacy.com
Sorry to Bother You may sound apologetic…
but as a directorial debut, it’s every bit as
brash, ballsy and bonkers as any movie I’ve
seen. First-time filmmaker Boots Riley’s
satirical and zany comedy, which is set in
an alternate present-day Oakland, portrays a
young man of color who takes a telemarketing
job and -- in an effort to increase his
sales -- literally adopts a “white dialect”
to speak to his customers. This could have
been the extent of where the movie settles,
to explore this concept more thoroughly,
but Riley’s unbridled creativity continues
to seep in and we find that this storyline is
just the beginning.
Lakeith Stanfield plays Cassius “Cash”
Green, a young man whose objective is to
line his pockets with a little extra money.
After starting the new job as an entry-level
telemarketer, he takes the advice from senior
co-worker Langston (Danny Glover) to adopt
a “white voice” (voiced by David Cross) in
order to connect with his customers during
cold calls. In hilarious fashion, when
Stanfield opens his mouth, Cross’ voice is
overdubbed and the movie has fun inserting
a “square dialect” into Stanfield’s soulfully
visual performance. It’s this sort of playful
comedy that makes Sorry to Bother You a fun
time, and its comparison to a Spike Jonze
and Spike Lee lovechild are accurate.
Boots Riley is equally interested in
fostering a message of activism in addition to
the investment of strong comedic elements.
Cash realizes that his newfound success
comes at a price when his growing status
puts him at odds with his lesser established
co-workers. It gets to a point where Cash
must decide to cross a picket line made up
of his bohemian girlfriend Detroit (Tessa
Thompson) and best friend Squeeze (Steven
Yeun). The decision of who chooses to assist
him in getting to work each day creates an
emotional hardship that he weighs against
his large paycheck.
All of this is put on the highest stage when
Cash rises in the ranks to become one of the
telemarketing agency’s best employees and
into the inner circle of the company’s CEO
Steve Lift (Armie Hammer). This is when
a dark secret that the company is harboring
comes to light. The film ends with one of
the most head-spinning twists that would be
less fun to spoil here, even though it could
use a little more editing in its final act before
it makes you do a double take.
Sorry to Bother You is commanding. It is
either making you laugh or making you think.
Riley does a very good job pulling in all
elements, specifically the production design
by Jason Kisvarday in which everything is so
detailed that it creates a visually rich movie.
The ensemble cast does well. Stanfield carries
the movie on his back, Thompson delivers
another fierce and unwavering performance,
Armie Hammer has fun as the crazy CEO,
and David Cross and Patton Oswalt’s “white
voices” are a huge part of the laughs. Sorry
to Bother You will find success with audiences
willing to have a good time and entertain
new visual thoughts. The film was picked
up by Annapurna Pictures after making its
world premiere at Sundance this year for a
reported seven figures.
105 mins. Sorry to Bother You is rated R
for pervasive language, some sexual content,
nudity, and drug use. Now playing at ArcLight
Hollywood. •
Sorry to Bother You, Courtesy of Annaspurna Pictures.
Ryan Rojas.
Entertainment
Check It Out
The Murderer’s Ape by Jakob Wegelius.
Tommy Vinh Bui.