Monday 21 February 2011

It's the end of the world as we know it.

So this weekend, I did a Disaster Movie Marathon. I was in the mood for a little carnage and apocalyptic terror, so I dug up some old favourites, and one new film, and settled down on Saturday for some survival-of-the-fittest drama.

First up, was The Day After Tomorrow. Now, this film didn’t so much split the critics as simply send them running. I’ve not really ever heard more than mediocre things about this film. I watched it for the first time a few months ago and really enjoyed it. It’s like 2012 (considered, but dismissed, for this marathon) in that it’s not particularly good, but it’s not exactly bad either. The plot is pretty thin, the characters one dimensional and the outcome entirely predictable. Thing is, with these kind of movies, that’s exactly what you want. You want to know that the good guys sacrifice or survive and that life triumphs over everything, even a new Ice Age.

One of the reasons I like this film is, apart from the ridiculous out-of-nowhere-ness of the disaster, climate change is, in my opinion at least, probably what will snuff us out. I’m holding up a serious doubt card for aliens at this point and with the way we screw around with the world, it wouldn’t be surprising if the world decided to screw us back.

Even with my overwhelming doubt for the alien theory, my next film was Independence Day. I adore this film for many, many wonderful reasons. First off, Will Smith is a god and Jeff Goldblum, a comedy genius. Also, almost all versions of 90’s nostalgia are fine with me and this is one of those films I can remember watching as a child. It’s got more cheesy bits than a large pizza but it also has some awesome one liners (I could’ve been at a barbeque!) that more than make up for it.

I then moved onto my only new film (well, new to me) of the day with War of the Worlds, Spielberg version. Before watching it, I didn’t actually know it was a Spielberg film, just that it was a Tom Cruise film and that was enough to put me off. That’s before I even took into account all the reviews.

It’s got a bad rep this film. And I’m sorry to say, but it really deserves most of that bad rep. It’s not horrifying. I mean, I sat through it. I didn’t want to turn it off, never to darken my sight again, which I have done with some films (Ghost Rider *shudder*). But at the same time, I didn’t really find anything to like in this film. Cruise was bland (as always), and I don’t even remember any of the characters names, which is never a good sign. I watched it because War of the Worlds is such a classic story and I thought I should see it in full. I’m glad I saw the movie because I definitely got a better understanding of H.G. Wells epic tale, but if you’re already familiar with it I can’t see this being a necessary addition to your knowledge.

Last, but my no means least, was Deep Impact. This movie has an ongoing rivalry with Armageddon; both released in ’98, both ‘a meteor’s going to crash and kill us all’ movies, and both packing a few solid stars. Armageddon definitely won the box office race, but Deep Impact is, by far, the better of the two films.

Hailed as more scientifically credible, Deep Impact does seem more realistic in how the disaster is dealt with. The preparation and logistics of controlling the population and ensuring mankind’s survival are much better executed than in, for example, 2012, in which it only seems to matter if you have enough cash to buy your way to safety. The characters are genuine and though the same inaccuracies prevail as in every film of this genre, I think the audience are more inclined to overlook them due to the high quality of everything else. Out of my four marathon titles, it was the only one to make me cry and I think that’s due to caring more about the characters in Deep Impact than in any of the other films.
 
As for my favourite film out of the four, it’s a tough call between Independence Day and Deep Impact. I think it’s telling that the two films I like best out of the genre were both made in the 90’s. I genuinely think that, even with all the enhanced special effects and even greater dangers we actually face from real life disasters, the 1990’s produced better movies in the disaster/apocalypse genre than we do today. Maybe it’s because of that greater danger; we can’t make the movies too real or it’ll hit home, just how close we really are to destroying ourselves without Mother Nature’s help.

Saturday 19 February 2011

Well, you are a warlock magnet

So I’m definitely getting there with Charmed. I’m more than halfway through the series, still loving it, and getting to see episodes that either I’ve never seen before, or that I’ve only seen bits of. I really love watching shows like this in order; you get a real sense of the characters and their different struggles and opinions. I still find that I’m waiting for things to happen, but definitely not as much as before Prue died.

I liked Shannen Doherty as an actress but I just always enjoyed the dynamics with Piper as the older sister and Paige as the tearaway wild child. Also, the whole ‘Ask Phoebe’ column makes it feel like Phoebe has finally found her calling. Piper always knew what she wanted to be and although Prue changed jobs in season 3, the character generally seemed quite happy at Buckland’s Auction House. I suppose with the fourth season, a new sister and one sister married, the characters all felt more settled.

Many shows thrive on unsettling their characters, or forcing them through difficult and unfamiliar situations but I think some of the (excuse the pun) charm of Charmed is that the demon fighting is not an unfamiliar situation. As Piper’s explosion power grows, we begin to see her quite nonchalantly vanquishing demons alone; it has become everyday and ordinary for the three sisters. With Prue, all three were still finding their feet, still exploring their new found magic, but with Paige, Phoebe and Piper are old hands. As they say on an annoyingly frequent basis, ‘We’ve been doing this a lot longer than you’, and that experience is obvious in the characters as well as the series as a whole.

On a technical note, it is also obvious that more money has been awarded to the show after Doherty’s departure. The shots are slicker, the special effects infinitely more realistic, and everything just seems more polished. It’s very possible that they made the switch to HD at this point as well, as the picture is sharper and each image more defined. Whatever they did to improve the quality certainly works, as the show comes off as a lot more solid and weighty, which is difficult when your plot is driven almost solely by the supernatural.

Wednesday 16 February 2011

Totally Rad!

I have to let everyone in on one of the best podcasts around. It’s called The Totally Rad Show (or TRS) and it is a video podcast of three guys talking about movies, TV, video games and comics. Now although I am only really interested in two of those things, TV and film, I love every episode of their show. The hosts, Alex, Jeff, and Dan, have been running it for about four years and really know their stuff. Not to say I always agree but they are definitely knowledgeable and they make each discussion interesting and informative.

I’m probably not their target audience, considering most entertainment based podcasts are more focussed towards men, but I don’t feel patronised or out-of-the-loop by not knowing certain references. They also have impromptu games and almost every show offer a discount for some website or another, although many of them are US based. They’ve also managed to introduce me to loads of new websites and films and got me desperate for a console, any console!

Check out website FlickChart as well, as it’s the basis for their Versus game and it’s quite a cool little site where you can rate movies. I definitely recommend watching this show – try downloading either a ‘Versus’ or ‘Media Mashup’ episode to start with though, as you’ll be able to get a feel for the style of the show before plunging into a full-on review.

Thursday 10 February 2011

I have a voice!

I’m sorry to say, but I broke my Charmed marathon the other day. Couldn’t help myself I’m afraid. The King’s Speech was too much of a draw, it called to me and I replied. And I’m very glad I did because the film was very, very good.


Colin Firth aka So-perfect-as-an-actor-it-hurts played Prince Albert, later to become King George VI, struggling with a speech impediment. His wife, played by Helena Bonham Carter (she was brilliant), introduces him to Lionel Logue, Geoffrey Rush, who works to help ‘Bertie’ conquer his stammer.

I can’t really write a proper review to be honest because I genuinely just enjoyed the film. Period drama often leaves me feeling like this; simply contented to let the film just wash over me. I didn’t find anything wrong with the film, but I didn’t find anything outstanding about it either. Firth’s performance was excellent and deserves the many awards nods it has received but, then, it is Colin Firth; he’s damned good at pretty much everything. I would recommend a watch, because it is a very nice film and it definitely left me with the warm and fuzzies.

Tuesday 8 February 2011

Just in case the world ends tomorrow, we might as well enjoy today.

Oh Dear Lord. The amount of excitement I had for this book cannot be explained. I adored Life as we Knew it, was under whelmed by Dead and the Gone and have been trying to get the finale, This World we Live in, for what feels like an eternity. And although I loved it, I am so annoyed that I built it up.


This World we Live in follows on from the two previous Last Survivors books, with Miranda Hart and family still struggling to survive in Pennsylvania. As the book begins, they are coming to end of the incessant winter freeze, though it brings no less worry than before.

It was good. It wasn’t amazing, like I thought it would be, and it wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t at all what I was expecting. Having known a little of the plot beforehand (Amazon gives away quite a significant chunk), I spent many chapters unhappily waiting for things to happen. The arrival of Miranda’s father and the other characters is actually quite a way into the book, so I felt much of what happened before that was filler. Nothing in this instalment seemed quite as desperate as in Last Survivors #1, perhaps due to the larger number of characters, and the book was also significantly shorter.

I did enjoy the book but I feel that what with Amazon’s spoilers and the wait-time I had on the book it wasn’t as good as it could have been had I read it immediately after #1. This book does, however, make Dead and the Gone (#2) more relevant, as Alex’s behaviour in This World we Live in is more justifiable within the context of the book. I still think the overall series was great but, unfortunately, I’ve read better end-of-the-world stories. I would still recommend Life as we Knew it on it own, but, although they round off the story, the cliff-hanger in the first book is best left that way.

Monday 7 February 2011

No one knows why, but second only to eating the brains of the living, the dead love affordable prefab furniture.

So, this weekend just gone, we had Book Club; first one since December and, for me, first one since November. I missed the last one because of a hangover, where the girls discussed The Suspicions of Mr Whicher. This month we were talking about The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore, my pick.

Now, I have never read this book before. I have never seen it advertised, nor heard ‘great things’ about Mr Moore. I simply typed ‘Christmas Books’ into Google, and it was the most interesting one to pop up. I thought, ‘Zombies, awesome, that’ll be a bit different’ and different it definitely was.

It was not a well loved book. First off, I was the only one to finish. Now, that’s not actually unusual for book club, there have been many occasions where at least one of us has given up on a title before the meeting. Take Andrew Marr for instance; not a single one of us finished that. But considering the book was quite short, I was a little surprised.

I never thought it would turn out to be a gem but I did expect an entertaining read. While I wasn’t bored by the book, I wasn’t exactly thrilled by it either. It plodded along and I came to the end rather under whelmed. Very much an ‘well that was nice, what’s next?’ kind of book. The others, however, actively despised what they read of it. The talking corpses, the overly descriptive nature of Moore’s writing, and the overpoweringly mundane nature of the characters all gave way to some dreadfully low scores.

I wouldn’t actually recommend Moore to anyone. If you want Sci-Fi, read some real Sci-Fi – Philip K. Dick, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke. Christopher Moore is like Sci-Fi Extra Light; all the ingredients but none of the flavour.

Overall Score: 2/10 Next Book: Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Book Club

So back last year, a few friends invited me to join a Book Club they were starting. It's been loads of fun so far, we take it in turns to pick a book each month and then, like every other book club, we meet up, chat about the book for about twenty minutes then drink wine and natter for the rest of the evening. Like I said, loads of fun, and hopefully each month I'm now going to try and post up about the most recent book and all of our opinions.

So there's me, the receptionist, S & B, the bookellers, and A, the teacher. A few newbies came to the meeting this month so next time, when I know them a bit better I'll add them in.

So far, we've picked a bunch of books, and you can find the list of books, here:

http://proofandpolish.blogspot.com/p/book-club.html

You can close your eyes to the things you do not want to see, but you cannot close your heart to the things you do not want to feel.

On my forays through the interweb, I have come across quite a few sites detailing the best books for this genre, and the best types of this fiction. The most comprehensive one I’ve come across, by far, has been the TeenReads Ultimate Teen Reading List. I’m pretty sure I’ve swiped a large majority of it and put it in my TBR list (which is way longer than the one on the right) and one of my most recent reads from it has been Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma. To give you a little taste, the blurb reads like this,


She is pretty and talented - sweet sixteen and never been kissed.
He is seventeen; gorgeous and on the brink of a bright future.
And now they have fallen in love.
But . . .
They are brother and sister.

So, pretty messed up to begin with. Now, I’ve spoken about Wideacre before on this blog, so it’s safe to assume I’m not scared by a little incest. My theory is always that if an author can write it well, and produce a believable storyline and characters from it, then it’s just another plot device, the same as any other. People read about murder all the time and no-one gets up in arms about it, so why this? There is very little in fiction that is off limits and I like it that way; censor one topic and you might as well censor them all. As long as it is written for literary reasons and not sensationalist ones, then it’s fine by me.

On that note…

The brother and sister in question in the novel are Lochan and Maya, seventeen and sixteen respectively. With an absentee father, and a barely-there mother, the two are left to look after their three younger siblings. They have, over time, become the surrogate parents; assigning chores, controlling bedtimes and enforcing rules. With Lochan’s final year exams approaching, and their mother around less and less, the responsibilities of the two become overwhelming and they seek comfort with each other.

Because of their unusual upbringing, Lochan and Maya never really come across as brother and sister, a thought which is echoed by Maya in the book. They are doomed by a genetic accident, yet they have never truly been siblings. The ‘incest’ portrayed in the book then always feels only technical; you find yourself justifying the relationship along with the characters. It’s not something I can say I agreed with but it’s difficult to find a way to condemn it as well. Part of what makes Forbidden such a great book is how it manages to make you feel like this.

I found myself completely rooting for the couple throughout the book; it did take me tearing myself away from it (at work for example) to remind me that they were brother and sister. Suzuma is such a beautiful writer, and this book is definite proof of that. I found myself full on sobbing at the end of the book, and I urge people, whatever your preconceptions, to read this book. It’s not pro-incest, or anything even close, it’s just a very well written TF novel that explores the dynamics of a relationship so destined to fail.

Saturday 5 February 2011

To the Library!

Just because I seem to rant about the library so very often, I thought I should post up about this very cool blog I found. His most recent entry is the coolest cartoon, and it really rings true!

http://thoughtballoonhelium.blogspot.com/2011/02/library.html

Also, I hope everyone remembers that today is the day to make a stand at your local library! The Save Our Libraries Campaign is picking up momentum and is highlighting today, Saturday 5th February, as the day to stand up for our local institutions. Even if you don't visit them regularly, think of all the people who do, and go take out your fourteen books! Maybe revisit an old classic, or pick up the latest bestseller! We pay for these places out of our taxes and we should make full use of them.

Anyway, I'm off to practice what I preach and pick up a bunch of books from my local library!

Friday 4 February 2011

When people don't express themselves, they die one piece at a time.

So I am excited about my library hoard this week. I went to the big, depressing library on Tuesday to pick up a few reservations and got Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma, and, for a little re-read, Life as we Knew it by Susan Pfeffer. On Saturday, I’m planning on visiting my actual local library for the first time and picking up a few more reservations, namely, Uglies by Scott Westerfield, How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff, Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin and then, the reason for my Pfeffer re-read, the finale of The Survivors Trilogy, This World we Live in.

I finished Speak at lightning speed; I’ve heard really good things about it and it’s on loads of ‘must read/best of’ lists so thought I’d give it a go. I’ve also found out a TV movie was made of it, starring none other than Kristen Stewart as the main character. I’ve not watched it (although I’m sure Stewart’s acting stands out as immensely wooden as always) but I always like to see adaptations of books so I’m on the hunt. The book itself was really well done, the writing believable and the main character, Mellie, relatable. The plot was interesting and honestly kept me intrigued. The crux of the story wasn’t an unfamiliar one for TF but Mellie’s silent protest make it more unique.

However, for all its good points, Speak does fall down a little for me. I, like Mellie, kept the same friends all through primary and secondary school. In fact, many of them are still my friends now. I cannot believe that friends who were as close as Mellie describes herself, Rachel, Nicole and Ivy would fall out over something like a party. They may fight about the phone call but there would definitely be some serious grilling of her real reasons. Friends like that should know her well enough to sense something was wrong. Also, although I think Anderson keeps Mellie’s appearance vague so she’s more of an every-girl, I found it distracting. It annoyed me that I couldn’t get a definitive picture of her in my head, in large part, due to the lack of description.

Speak was a great book to read although it’s definitely suited for younger readers than myself (well duh!). I’d say its at the lower end of the teen spectrum, even though the issues it deals with are unsettling.

Thursday 3 February 2011

The line between Y.A. and adult has become almost transparent.

I’ve realised I’m getting a little obsessed with the teen fiction. I like the ease of reading it. With adult fiction you often have to work quite hard to discover and enjoy a novel. There are complicated twists and involved reasoning, which are used to develop the intricate and detailed characters. None of these are bad things, in fact, they show great skill but sometimes it’s nice not to have to work at it. Teenage fiction, although by no means less involved, is written with pure entertainment in mind. It’s easier to read because, although there are twists and tricks, they are less dense. Also, in TF (as I’m going to call it) there is generally always one central theme. Love. Whether it’s a simple coming-of-age story or an alien invasion tale, there is always a part of the novel tied in with relationships. And that is something everyone can relate to. Everyone remembers their first crush, the first person they kissed, the first broken heart. That experience is one of the few that ties us together as a species, something that makes us human. So that’s why I keep returning to TF; to experience that first love all over again.

Tuesday 1 February 2011

Anyone got a vanquish in their pocket?

Last week, I began a marathon. I had stretched, I had trained and I had spent precious minutes preparing my body. I was ready. And I have only one goal in mind. My marathon aim is to watch Charmed Seasons 1 to 8 all the way through, no skipping episodes, no jumping ahead. Because of the length of TV marathons however, they have to be partaken over a longer period of time, so as to not die of sleep deprivation. For the purposes of my TV Marathons, I always class it as a show watched in correct order, without pause for other shows or films, and without skipping any episodes (even the ones you don’t like). I think that’s fair, especially with a full time job. So depending on the length of the series and how much spare time you have, a TV marathon can take anything from a day (Firefly) to a couple of months. I once did a Buffy and Angel Marathon at Uni (watched Buffy for a couple of seasons and then as they split, watched them in correlation) and that took about two or three months to get through. However, even though Charmed is longer, I’m not planning on it taking me that long. I started last week and I’m already on Season 3. Score!

There’s this weird thing that happens with a TV marathon, even more so than the usual movie ones. You get an even deeper look into the characters than you would if you were just watching the program normally. Because you see the episodes one after the other, after the other, after the other, without breaks (or at least without ads) you have the chance to develop a greater sense of empathy for the characters and their situations. You can get caught up and more involved than if you were constantly being interrupted and drawn out of the story.

I’ve done Movie Marathons before and they’re generally suited to big epic trilogies; Matrix, Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, Star Wars. TV Marathons seem to have a similar genre distinction – I’ve done Buffy, Angel, Roswell, and now, Charmed. I have marathon-ed Sex and the City but those episodes are so short, you can get through two or three seasons in a week. So, TV has the genre divide too – it tends to work better with sci-fi and epics; I imagine Lost would make a great marathon. The genre thing must stem from there simply being enough action in each episode to hold your attention for however many hours it takes. SATC is a show that can be put on in the background on a normal day so imagine having it on from morning till night. Eventually, you’d get bored, and probably end up doing errands at the same time.

Even so, I think TV Marathons are the way forward. They’re not really as social as Movie Marathons unless you have housemates that share your interests and your schedule but they are a brilliant way to wile away a few weeks of spare time if your favourite new shows have gone on hiatus.