Books, Films and Photo Updates
It's been a pretty good week, writing-and-watching wise. I've started my fifth draft of my original writing, and sticking regularly to a schedule of one chapter (and hopefully a little more) per day. There's still found a reasonable amount of time for other things as well. I've known all along, but it's always worth reminding myself that's it's good to have a system.
A Deadly Game of Magic by Joan Lowery Nixon
I like reading teen-horror/supernatural stories as I find them immensely nostalgic, but this one was a bit of a dud. Still, I can't be too harsh as it only took me about an hour (altogether) to read. You know the drill: four teenagers have their car break down during a thunderstorm and seek shelter in a large house off the side of the road, but find that there's something else lurking in the house... It was reasonably atmospheric, but the final solution of how to rid themselves of the killer was utterly absurd.
The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie
I've gotten a 1930s Christie omnibus out of the library and am steadily working through the four stories inside it. This one was obviously inspired by "Hound of the Baskervilles" as it's set in Dartmoor, features an escaped convict, and spends a lot of time discussing how cold and miserable everything is. One thing I particularly enjoyed (SPOILERS) is that Christie subverts the central bromance, as the woman-hating Trevelyan and his best buddy Major Barnaby don't end up being having the "beautiful friendship" that everyone assumes they do.
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
This was the second time I've read this, and despite knowing how and who and why, it wasn't any less terrifying. This is called Christie's masterpiece for a reason, and it's nearly impossible to describe the reading experience to anyone who hasn't read it themselves. You know the drill: ten strangers are brought to an isolated location and killed off one-by-one, but Christie is the one that (more or less) came up with this formula, and damn - she knows what she's doing. This is quite possibly the scariest book I've ever read.
Hua Mulan
No, this isn't the Disney version, this is the live-action film starring the amazing Wei Zhao as the titular character. You obviously know the story: in order to spare her elderly father from going to war, Mulan disguises herself as a man and joins the army in his place. Spanning about twelve years in total (which can lead to some slightly disjointed time-skips), the movie chronicles her experiences in the war against the nomadic Rouran.
It would be extremely easy to turn this character into a Mary Sue, but Wei Zhao keeps her grounded and she goes through a Dark Night of the Soul (or as TV Tropes would call it; Achilles in his Tent phase) in which she does nothing but drink alcohol and brood. It makes it all the sweeter when she snaps out of it and procedes to kick-ass. There's also a secondary female character who proves just as decisive as Mulan in finally defeating the Rouran, and the ending is wonderfully, perfectly, painfully bittersweet.
Whitechapel
Between this and "And Then There Were None," it's a wonder that I haven't been having more nightmares recently. In any case, the premise of this three-part miniseries is simple: what if a modern-day Jack the Ripper began killing again? More than that, what if he was deliberately recreating the historical murders, right down to the dates, locations and mode of killing?
The writers take this idea and roll with it. What could easily be shlock-horror garbage is actually a fascinating, suspenseful look not only at the original Jack the Ripper, but a police investigation that find themselves in way over their heads. The writers have clearly done their research, and craft a near-perfect thriller as modern-day investigators try to track down the most famous serial killer not only with modern methods, but through carefully studying the original Ripper case. It's fantastic.
Once Upon a Time: Episode 1
Yes, believe it or not, "Once Upon A Time" has finally decided to air on New Zealand television. As of the first episode, it's currently running on undilated cheesy goodness, but definitely has potential. I like the general premise: fairytale characters are trapped in our world with the promise of a good-and-evil battle on the horizon, though some things naturally made me laugh out loud: the jellyfish-like blue fairy, the evil queen's evil eye-liner, and the line: "she tried to poison me because I was prettier than she was!" Yeah, it sucks when that happens.
But I was genuinely surprised by a couple of twists: the reason for Emma's blind date, Henry's real identity as Emma's son, and some of the fairytale faces popping up in the real world. Robert Carlyle looks as though he's going to be the Ensemble Darkhorse of the show, and he's certainly having a great time as Rumplestiltskin. Things that really caught my interest were the fact that Rumplestiltskin knows Emma's name (which means he has some type of control over her...?) and Emma as a living lie-detector. I think it's safe to assume that she knew the Mayor was lying when she said: "Of course I love him."
Oh, and I'm calling it now: the Sheriff is the Queen's black-clad, visor-wearing henchman that killed Prince Charming.
It's put some interesting puzzle-pieces on the board; and hopefully it'll do a better job than "Lost" in eventually fitting them all together. It's highly reminiscent of "The 10th Kingdom", which I didn't enjoy as much as I wanted to, but it's got plenty of girls, a interesting mystery, a fairytale kingdom that seems to endorse colour-blind casting, and a central dynamic that it certainly unique for this genre (a mother and the son she gave up for adoption), so...I'm in.
Photos
It was a particularly nice sky outside my windows last night, so I took a few snaps:
A Deadly Game of Magic by Joan Lowery Nixon
I like reading teen-horror/supernatural stories as I find them immensely nostalgic, but this one was a bit of a dud. Still, I can't be too harsh as it only took me about an hour (altogether) to read. You know the drill: four teenagers have their car break down during a thunderstorm and seek shelter in a large house off the side of the road, but find that there's something else lurking in the house... It was reasonably atmospheric, but the final solution of how to rid themselves of the killer was utterly absurd.
The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie
I've gotten a 1930s Christie omnibus out of the library and am steadily working through the four stories inside it. This one was obviously inspired by "Hound of the Baskervilles" as it's set in Dartmoor, features an escaped convict, and spends a lot of time discussing how cold and miserable everything is. One thing I particularly enjoyed (SPOILERS) is that Christie subverts the central bromance, as the woman-hating Trevelyan and his best buddy Major Barnaby don't end up being having the "beautiful friendship" that everyone assumes they do.
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
This was the second time I've read this, and despite knowing how and who and why, it wasn't any less terrifying. This is called Christie's masterpiece for a reason, and it's nearly impossible to describe the reading experience to anyone who hasn't read it themselves. You know the drill: ten strangers are brought to an isolated location and killed off one-by-one, but Christie is the one that (more or less) came up with this formula, and damn - she knows what she's doing. This is quite possibly the scariest book I've ever read.
Hua Mulan
No, this isn't the Disney version, this is the live-action film starring the amazing Wei Zhao as the titular character. You obviously know the story: in order to spare her elderly father from going to war, Mulan disguises herself as a man and joins the army in his place. Spanning about twelve years in total (which can lead to some slightly disjointed time-skips), the movie chronicles her experiences in the war against the nomadic Rouran.
It would be extremely easy to turn this character into a Mary Sue, but Wei Zhao keeps her grounded and she goes through a Dark Night of the Soul (or as TV Tropes would call it; Achilles in his Tent phase) in which she does nothing but drink alcohol and brood. It makes it all the sweeter when she snaps out of it and procedes to kick-ass. There's also a secondary female character who proves just as decisive as Mulan in finally defeating the Rouran, and the ending is wonderfully, perfectly, painfully bittersweet.
Whitechapel
Between this and "And Then There Were None," it's a wonder that I haven't been having more nightmares recently. In any case, the premise of this three-part miniseries is simple: what if a modern-day Jack the Ripper began killing again? More than that, what if he was deliberately recreating the historical murders, right down to the dates, locations and mode of killing?
The writers take this idea and roll with it. What could easily be shlock-horror garbage is actually a fascinating, suspenseful look not only at the original Jack the Ripper, but a police investigation that find themselves in way over their heads. The writers have clearly done their research, and craft a near-perfect thriller as modern-day investigators try to track down the most famous serial killer not only with modern methods, but through carefully studying the original Ripper case. It's fantastic.
Once Upon a Time: Episode 1
Yes, believe it or not, "Once Upon A Time" has finally decided to air on New Zealand television. As of the first episode, it's currently running on undilated cheesy goodness, but definitely has potential. I like the general premise: fairytale characters are trapped in our world with the promise of a good-and-evil battle on the horizon, though some things naturally made me laugh out loud: the jellyfish-like blue fairy, the evil queen's evil eye-liner, and the line: "she tried to poison me because I was prettier than she was!" Yeah, it sucks when that happens.
But I was genuinely surprised by a couple of twists: the reason for Emma's blind date, Henry's real identity as Emma's son, and some of the fairytale faces popping up in the real world. Robert Carlyle looks as though he's going to be the Ensemble Darkhorse of the show, and he's certainly having a great time as Rumplestiltskin. Things that really caught my interest were the fact that Rumplestiltskin knows Emma's name (which means he has some type of control over her...?) and Emma as a living lie-detector. I think it's safe to assume that she knew the Mayor was lying when she said: "Of course I love him."
Oh, and I'm calling it now: the Sheriff is the Queen's black-clad, visor-wearing henchman that killed Prince Charming.
It's put some interesting puzzle-pieces on the board; and hopefully it'll do a better job than "Lost" in eventually fitting them all together. It's highly reminiscent of "The 10th Kingdom", which I didn't enjoy as much as I wanted to, but it's got plenty of girls, a interesting mystery, a fairytale kingdom that seems to endorse colour-blind casting, and a central dynamic that it certainly unique for this genre (a mother and the son she gave up for adoption), so...I'm in.
Photos
It was a particularly nice sky outside my windows last night, so I took a few snaps: