Reading and viewing round up
I'm tired, but also too hot and sticky to go to bed right now. Won't complain - this warm weather is bound not to last.
Anyway, I have been reading . . . and watching films recently. This is a roundup of my cultural life over the last few weeks.
The Mist
Saw this a couple of weeks ago and it has really stayed with me. It is based on a Stephen King story and really brings out one of the aspects of his writing that he does so well - the worst horror is other humans. The claustrophobia and the development of the mob are very convincing and the way that the townspeople turn to a saviour while turning on others is chilling.
The monsters were sometimes scary and sometimes ridiculous. I jumped out of my seat several times. I did think it would have been truly terrifiying if we had never actually seen what was in the mist but in hindsight, the blood and guts actually add a levity to the film that it needed. The ending is incredibly bleak and reminded me of The Descent, which is another extremely depressing horror film.
I have browsed a few discussions on IMDB and other places - there were some interesting thoughts on faith versus logic - those who follow the logical choice, who make the decisions we, as the audience, support and assume that we would have made too, they are the ones who die and who chose wrongly. The believers live - and the mother who goes home to her children is included in that group. It is a very thought provoking film.
I found the ending believable - the group had lost all hope of survival and Drayton made a promise to his son to save him from the monsters - he keeps that promise.
Pan's Labyrinth
For some reason, I missed this when it came to the cinema and have only just got round to watching it. Wow. Definitely a fairy tale for adults but haunting and very moving. Post-war Spain is not something I have much knowledge of - P studied it at university - but it really brings alive the desperation and the tenacity of the Spanish fighters at that time. The cinematography is stunning and the fantasy world has a delicious darkness to it.
It was the perfect DVD to welcome our new (to us anyway) widescreen telly.
The ending is also dark, and very moving, but it is also the right ending and Ivana Baquero is awesome as Ofelia.
War for the Oaks by Emma Bull
Had real trouble getting hold of this as it isn't in print over here but I managed it in the end. I couldn't put it down - the story is very well paced and drops hints and details at just the right points. I very much enjoyed the musical side of it and the characters are very believable. I will confess now to a crush on the Phouka. *g*
It is a very cinematic book and the edition I have has extracts from a screenplay which add another layer to the story. I really really want to see that film! The story is evocative without being overly descriptive and Emma Bull achieves the very difficult task of writing about music and bringing it to life. It is hard to do without it sounding either cheesy or just flat but in this book it works.
The characters are believable and I didn't trust Willy from the start - too flash. I did, however, trust Hedge even though I knew there was more too him. Eddi was a heroine you could root for and the glimpses of Faerie in an urban setting work extremely well.
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
An ENORMOUS book - over 1000 pages, but delightful. The sly witty narrative and the footnotes made it for me, along with this quotation:
“Can a magician kill a man by magic?” Lord Wellington asked Strange. Strange frowned. He seemed to dislike the question. “I suppose a magician might,” he admitted, “but a gentleman never could.”
The author has said that Jane Austen was an influence and the wit in the novel echoes Austen's work. The characterisation is excellent and I was surprised to develop a real affection for Childermas. *g* I raced through it and I am intrigued by the thought that there might be a film -all though a mini-series would probably be a better exploration of the story.
Anyway, I have been reading . . . and watching films recently. This is a roundup of my cultural life over the last few weeks.
The Mist
Saw this a couple of weeks ago and it has really stayed with me. It is based on a Stephen King story and really brings out one of the aspects of his writing that he does so well - the worst horror is other humans. The claustrophobia and the development of the mob are very convincing and the way that the townspeople turn to a saviour while turning on others is chilling.
The monsters were sometimes scary and sometimes ridiculous. I jumped out of my seat several times. I did think it would have been truly terrifiying if we had never actually seen what was in the mist but in hindsight, the blood and guts actually add a levity to the film that it needed. The ending is incredibly bleak and reminded me of The Descent, which is another extremely depressing horror film.
I have browsed a few discussions on IMDB and other places - there were some interesting thoughts on faith versus logic - those who follow the logical choice, who make the decisions we, as the audience, support and assume that we would have made too, they are the ones who die and who chose wrongly. The believers live - and the mother who goes home to her children is included in that group. It is a very thought provoking film.
I found the ending believable - the group had lost all hope of survival and Drayton made a promise to his son to save him from the monsters - he keeps that promise.
Pan's Labyrinth
For some reason, I missed this when it came to the cinema and have only just got round to watching it. Wow. Definitely a fairy tale for adults but haunting and very moving. Post-war Spain is not something I have much knowledge of - P studied it at university - but it really brings alive the desperation and the tenacity of the Spanish fighters at that time. The cinematography is stunning and the fantasy world has a delicious darkness to it.
It was the perfect DVD to welcome our new (to us anyway) widescreen telly.
The ending is also dark, and very moving, but it is also the right ending and Ivana Baquero is awesome as Ofelia.
War for the Oaks by Emma Bull
Had real trouble getting hold of this as it isn't in print over here but I managed it in the end. I couldn't put it down - the story is very well paced and drops hints and details at just the right points. I very much enjoyed the musical side of it and the characters are very believable. I will confess now to a crush on the Phouka. *g*
It is a very cinematic book and the edition I have has extracts from a screenplay which add another layer to the story. I really really want to see that film! The story is evocative without being overly descriptive and Emma Bull achieves the very difficult task of writing about music and bringing it to life. It is hard to do without it sounding either cheesy or just flat but in this book it works.
The characters are believable and I didn't trust Willy from the start - too flash. I did, however, trust Hedge even though I knew there was more too him. Eddi was a heroine you could root for and the glimpses of Faerie in an urban setting work extremely well.
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
An ENORMOUS book - over 1000 pages, but delightful. The sly witty narrative and the footnotes made it for me, along with this quotation:
“Can a magician kill a man by magic?” Lord Wellington asked Strange. Strange frowned. He seemed to dislike the question. “I suppose a magician might,” he admitted, “but a gentleman never could.”
The author has said that Jane Austen was an influence and the wit in the novel echoes Austen's work. The characterisation is excellent and I was surprised to develop a real affection for Childermas. *g* I raced through it and I am intrigued by the thought that there might be a film -all though a mini-series would probably be a better exploration of the story.