Book/Comic/DVDs/Movie Recs, 9/30/09

[retsuko]

In Books:

The Killing Hour, by Lisa Gardner: SO BORING. I didn't even get past the opening exposition because the characters were so cliched and trite. I should care that there's a serial killer; I should care that the main character has a horrific past she must escape from. But this is the thing: I shouldn't have to work to care. The writing should grab my attention from page one, not from page something-after-I-put-the-book-down. As I mentioned to yebsiu9, this is the book that I would read in an airport if my flight were horribly delayed and I had read all the other magazines and books I was interested in and the flight was *still* delayed.

The Last Olympian, by Rick Riordan: SO WONDERFUL! In pitched contrast to the above, this book was highly worth it, a worthy conclusion to a stellar series (now I'm just sad it's over!) I now await the movie with some trepidation. The main source of trepidation is two things: 1) Chris Columbus as director and 2) an already-major retooling of the plot. I urge everyone to read these now, quick, before the movie gets over-hyped and the pictures of the characters as the actors who play get locked in your mind.

In Movies:

Bright Star: I'm still puzzling over whether I liked this or not. It was a beautiful movie--the lighting, the costumes, the sets, the acting. It was so pretty and in some cases, so still, like an insect in amber. And it was a pleasure to hear poetry read aloud with reverence. But in the end, I feel like something was missing. I think my tolerance for the Romantic poets isn't enough for me to be enthralled by Keats as a romanic hero. I kept thinking to myself, if I hear one more poem about fairies..., and then, bam! Another poem about fairies! So, uhm, yeah. If you don't like the Romantic poets, go find your beautiful movies somewhere else; if you're even one more iota into the Romantics than I am, then you will probably love this to pieces.

And, in trailers: Out of four trailers, there were 2 movies directed by women; 3 movies about women, and 2 movies about women of color (Palestinian and black South African). This made me quite happy. It's not representative of the movie industry as a whole (we were at our local art house theater), but it's a step in a good direction.

In Comics:

Beasts of Burden, Issue 1, Evan Dorkin (words) & Jill Thompson (pictures): Do you like your talking animal comics tempered with horror? Then look no further! Beasts of Burden features a gang of talking dogs (and a token cat) battling supernatural forces in their idyllic town and its surrounding forest. The monster they face in this first volume is actually rather frightening and very lovingly, creepily drawn. This reminds me a lot of the old Alfred Hitchcock horror anthologies I enjoyed as a kid.

On DVD:

Return of the King, Director's Cut: I was surprised at how much better this was than the original version I saw in the theater (which was stirring and all kinds of exciting, don't get me wrong.) But this extended version made so much more sense and was paced much more effectively than its theatrical release counterpart. Three different storylines were at work at any given time, and I was equally invested in all of them. There was only one scene that I didn't really need to have watched, but the rest of it was so well worth it that one problem instantly fell by the wayside. What a treat these films were! I felt like I was sitting around the campfire, listening to an epic told by a master-storyteller.

Comments

[rhiannon76.livejournal.com]

There was only one scene that I didn't really need to have watched

Now you've gone and picqued my curiosity: which one?

[retsuko.livejournal.com]

The scene in the orc's camp where they're bickering over who gets Frodo's mithril shirt. I thought it was needlessly violent and told us things we already knew (that the orcs are evil, cruel, and dangerous.)

[rhiannon76.livejournal.com]

I seem to recall that that is in the book, though. And it gets at more than just the nature of orcs; it's one of the scenes that illustrate that there's this serious rivalry and distrust between the Mordor orcs and Saruman's orcs, even though they're all mixed together in Sauron's armies by the end. (This is less explicit in the movies, but still there.) And that's part of why Sam all by himself is able to roust an entire tower full of the meanest, baddest orcs in Mordor-- not because he's suddenly a kickass warrior, but that he's just brave enough to bluff them into attacking and killing each other. (Though in the book, of course, he'd gone up into that tower with them, unseen because he was wearing the Ring, so he actually was able to gather some information, as opposed to the film, where he just charges in blindly, if bravely.)