Posted by Brian on Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012
I'm going to be honest with you, I was initially drawn to "Safety Not Guaranteed" due to the involvement of the lovely Aubrey Plaza (from my favorite show, Parks & Rec). I was rewarded with an off-beat, heartfelt indie that won me over despite its misfire of an ending.
The movie follows Darius (Plaza), an intern at a Seattle magazine, who is disinterested and disconnected with her life. Darius and two other co-workers see a potential story in an odd classified ad from someone who claims to have traveled through time and is looking for a partner to embark on another trip. They discover that the ad was placed by an intense, but likable, supermarket clerk named Kenneth (played by Mark Duplass).
Darius finds a kindred spirit in Kenneth and soon befriends him. She's unsure of his claims, just as the audience is, but you just can't help but be disarmed by how earnest he is. Like I said earlier, I wasn't a fan of the ending (and a quick check on Rotten Tomatoes tells me that it was divisive), but the overall charm of the movie makes it worth watching.
I'm going to be honest with you--most of the books I read come from recommendations by my favorite authors. Patrick Rothfuss was gushing about this title on Goodreads, so here we are. "All Systems Red" is a quick, Sci-Fi read. It introduces us to characters who I want to know more about. Good thing it's a series! -Brian