Reading/Watching Log
Well, I think the kidney stone has finally shifted itself. I'm still a bit sore and sluggish, but there's no longer any sharp pains disrupting my day, so I'm going to hope for the best and assume that it's passed. But here's what I've been up to this week...
The Gathering of the Lost by Helen Lowe
Well, as I mentioned last week, this is a fantasy/adventure novel as written by a friend of mine, and thus will unashamedly be pimped out on this journal. Having refreshed my memory with the first book Heir of Night, I've been making my way through the sequel, which is certainly larger in scope and detail. It's quite the doorstopper (652 pages, in reasonably small font) so I'm going to hold off doing my usual mini-review until next week, when I plan to have it finished. Until then, if you're in search of a book to read, try Heir of Night.
Why You Should Read This Book: Because I'll explain it to you next week when I've actually finished it.
Doctor Who Series 4
I'm slowly but surely catching up. Isn't it strange that although British TV series only have approximately thirteen episodes per season, it takes about the same amount of time to watch them as American shows with twenty-two episodes? Perhaps it's because Doctor Who and other shows like it are so dense and complex and imaginative that it feels as though they're longer than they really are. Either way, I come out of each series of Doctor Who feeling as though I've run a marathon.
As a new Companion, Donna Noble was wonderful, and it was immensely refreshing to see the Doctor finally travelling with someone who was more interested in the universe than in him. All things considered, Martha is still my favourite Companion, but the Doctor/Donna relationship is my favourite dynamic, and the strictly platonic bond between them was the highlight of the series (and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who was appalled with how her story ended - it's not Lady Marian levels of WTF-ery, but it's rather still mean-spirited and pointless.)
But I think this series definitely had some of the best episodes, and was certainly the funniest thanks to Catherine Tate/David Tennent bouncing off each other. Special mention has to go to "Midnight" which scared the living daylights out of me (there is nothing more terrifying that something you can't understand and a bunch of very scared humans) but I have to say that after a string of fantastic episodes in the past, Stephen Moffat's "Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead" was a little underwhelming. It's hard to really put my finger on why - perhaps I just expected too much from someone who had written my favourite episodes in the first three series, and I really didn't find his "happy" ending all that happy.
Why You Should Watch This Series: Because it's Doctor Who of course! As someone who traverses the internet (particularly TV Tropes, Tumblr and Fandom Secrets), I've come across hundreds of GIFs, comments, examples, quotes and discussions about this show and have had absolutely no idea what anyone was on about. Watching it now is like seeing all the pieces come together. So many times whilst watching this show I've ended up saying to myself: "Oh, so that's what they were talking about." In essence, Doctor Who seems to be such an essential part of sci-fi that not being familiar with it is really like being on the other side of a door whilst other people hold an interesting conversation inside.
Plus, the concept of it will never not be pure genius. In a blue box that's bigger on the inside, the last of a powerful alien species travels all of space and time with a human companion. Just think about that for a second. All of space and time.
Once Upon a Time Episode 12
So, the show decides to take on Beauty and the Beast. This is one of those episodes that takes you by surprise. I settled in, only to find the first half predictable to the point of tedium. Oh look, Rumplestiltskin is here to offer yet another deal to a bunch of idiots. I'm still not sure how this impish giggler was born out of the demonic figure we saw after he stabbed the Dark One. Ah, Belle has stepped forward in order to offer herself as a servant in exchange for her family's safety. Didn't see that coming. Why did Rumple want/need a servant girl anyway? Having dodged the obvious conotations that come with taking a young woman away from her family, it's unclear why he doesn't just grab some kid from the nearest village. Now they are at his house. (Hey wait, are those Gepetto's parents in the background?) Oh look, they're bonding. That blue dress certainly looks familiar. Belle has a standard feminist speech about wanting adventure and acting brave and the existential experience of being "free". This is Beauty and the Beast: Abridged. Did she just call her finance "Gaston"? And did Rumple just turn him into a rose? And why is he being called "superficial" when he cared enough to turn up on Rumple's doorstep in order to rescue his would-be wife? If he gets turned back into a human, will he be missing his feet considering Belle pruned the rose down? A gag involving a chipped cup. Heh, I get it - it's Chip the Teacup from the Disney version. Cute.
I was feeling very ho-hum about all this, until all of a sudden, we hit the halfway mark.
Rumple tells Belle to go to the village to buy him some straw, offering to tell her about his son if she obeys. Belle is stunned, commenting that he must trust her a great deal if he's allowing her to leave the castle. Rumple replies that he doesn't expect to see her again. Now, in the Disney version of this exact same event, things play out very differently. The Beast frees Belle because a) her father needs help, and b) he loves her and understands that love does not involve keeping the beloved under lock-and-key. Here, Rumple almost seems to be testing Belle. Will she return of her own volition? Would it really matter if she didn't? Does her thirst for knowledge about his past trump her desire for freedom? Yet deep down, he doesn't seem to think that she'll return. So why exactly is he giving her the chance to free herself?
Belle is on her way to the market in order to fetch the straw, when - look who it is! The Evil Queen. Okay, so obviously her designs aren't going to be pure, but why exactly is she telling Belle how to break the spell that Rumple is under? Isn't breaking Rumple's curse a good thing?
Aww, look - Rumple is standing at a high window, waiting to see if she'd return. And then he rushes down to his spinning wheel in order to act all nonchalant. Bless. But wait - why does he freak out when Belle's kiss begins to reverse the conditions of the curse? Of course! He looses his power that way. And naturally, this is exactly what the Queen wants! And tragically, he thinks that Belle was in on the subterfuge the whole time.
Suddenly, everything is thrown into a new light. Rumple throws Belle's initially-awkward-but-now-pertinent feminist treatise back in her face, accusing her of wanting to "be a hero" and to "destroy the beast". The covered mirrors had absolutely nothing to do with Rumple's percieved ugliness at all, but are presumably a form of communication with the Queen. And the chipped cup, which initally seemed to be a throwaway nod to the Disney show, ends up being an object of great thematic importance.
Well played, show. Well played. You've successfully subverted and deconstructed the idea of "you must set those you love free" AND "true love's kiss", the former by turning it into a quasi-test of loyalty, and the latter by making the recipient believe that the kiss itself was a trap. That's dark. So who was right do you think, when Belle confronts Rumple: did he simply want his power more than he wanted her, or did he honestly think that she could never love him? Maybe a little of both.
Meanwhile, back in the "real" world, there were a couple of subplots rolling around...
* It was nice to see Ashley and Eric again, and I was pleased to see that they've both taken acting lessons in the interim.
* I'm officially tired of this Mary Margaret/David deal. Dude, LEAVE YOUR WIFE. All this mucking around behind her back is just awful. And yeah, I know that the sordid nature of the affair is deliberately meant to constrast with the epic and honourable love between James/Snow in the fairytale world, but at this point, it's also just gotten old. Move this story along.
* Heh, I noticed that Belle's father's flower delivery business was called "Game of Thorns." The business with him and Mr Gold was relatively chilling - I mean, he was beating the man with his walking stick for goodness sake, and the whole thing about Regina suggesting the robbery to him in order to get the cup worked well. That confrontation betweeing Gold/Regina in the prison cell was fantastic - I got chills, CHILLS I tell you, when Rumple's persona briefly peeked through. So now he too remembers his other life... interesting.
* And the real-world version of Belle is stuck in an in a facility. Yikes. Does this mean that Regina simply made up the story of Belle's suicide in the fairy tale realm?
All in all, a good episode. All the little nods and winks at the Disney version were getting a bit much (apparently Belle's father was called Maurice, and I spotted a clock and ornate candlestick in Rumple's house), but the acting was solid all around. I've seen Emilie de Ravin on Lost and liked her as Claire; here she didn't quite match Disney's Belle in terms of three-dimensionality, though that had more to do with time constraints than anything. And sometimes, her Australian accent slipped through - in fact, even her father sounded like he came from Down Under.
Best scene goes to the Evil Queen for her elegant manipulation of Belle in recommending the power of True Love's Kiss, and the frankly hilarious: "what kind of message is THAT?" when Belle asks if she's suggesting that she go back to her kidnapper. Yes Belle, listen to the woman dressed as a dominatrix.
In other news, look what we have here; it's the latest (and possibly final) trailer for Pixar's Brave:
Okay, so I have to confess something and please don't kill me. I'm not as stoked about seeing this movie as I should be.
I mean, it's Pixar for heaven's sake. It's bound to be good. And it's their first feature-film that stars a female protagonist. I'll be going for that reason alone, and I can't wait to fall in love with this character. The thing is, the marketing surrounding the film isn't hugely appealing to me. Let me explain...
According to what I've looked up on the film, the storyline revolves around Princess Merida, who defies a sacred custom of her people, sees that it has dire consequences for her people, and takes it upon herself to right her wrongs. Wow. A female character whose story revolves around her making a mistake and striving to fix it? Awesome.
The problem is - did anyone get any of that from the trailer? Or in fact, any of the trailers? If I hadn't looked up the synopsis of the film and was going from the trailers alone, I would assume it was about a princess who didn't want to get married. And nearly gets eaten by a bear.
It reminds me of the drama surrounding Tangled, in which not only the title of the movie was changed (from Rapunzel into something gender-neutral) but also heavily promoted the heroic male love interest - it was somewhat disingenuous advertising. I get that they need to sell the movie to the widest possible audience, but unfortunately, what's left in the trailer is a bunch of cliches. There's your standard Rebellious Princess doing standard rebellious things with no sign that she makes a terrible mistake. There's the line-up of unworthy suitors. There's the disapproving mother and the laid-back father. There's the inevitable "I hate wearing a corset" scene. There's the "what's hiding under a Scotsman's kilt" gag.
Now don't worry - I've no doubt that the film will be unique and complex (and beautiful); all I'm saying is that I'm not really impressed with the trailers themselves. They don't excite me the way a trailer should, and that it's a shame considering the movie itself sounds as though it's going to be something special. The trailers should reflect that.
***
So this week I'll be continuing to read The Gathering of the Lost and working on The Lion's Heart (it's nearly there!) I had a special delivery in the post the other day - an advanced copy of Bitterblue by Kirstin Cashore (yay!), so I'll be reading that before I head into The Hunger Games. So much to do!
Oh, and I'll be meeting with Helen tomorrow to see what she thinks of my manuscript. The nerves haven't quite set in yet, but I'm sure I'll be a wreck by this time tomorrow. At some point I'm going to have to get over my self-consciousness and make a post on what exactly I'm writing...
The Gathering of the Lost by Helen Lowe
Well, as I mentioned last week, this is a fantasy/adventure novel as written by a friend of mine, and thus will unashamedly be pimped out on this journal. Having refreshed my memory with the first book Heir of Night, I've been making my way through the sequel, which is certainly larger in scope and detail. It's quite the doorstopper (652 pages, in reasonably small font) so I'm going to hold off doing my usual mini-review until next week, when I plan to have it finished. Until then, if you're in search of a book to read, try Heir of Night.
Why You Should Read This Book: Because I'll explain it to you next week when I've actually finished it.
Doctor Who Series 4
I'm slowly but surely catching up. Isn't it strange that although British TV series only have approximately thirteen episodes per season, it takes about the same amount of time to watch them as American shows with twenty-two episodes? Perhaps it's because Doctor Who and other shows like it are so dense and complex and imaginative that it feels as though they're longer than they really are. Either way, I come out of each series of Doctor Who feeling as though I've run a marathon.
As a new Companion, Donna Noble was wonderful, and it was immensely refreshing to see the Doctor finally travelling with someone who was more interested in the universe than in him. All things considered, Martha is still my favourite Companion, but the Doctor/Donna relationship is my favourite dynamic, and the strictly platonic bond between them was the highlight of the series (and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who was appalled with how her story ended - it's not Lady Marian levels of WTF-ery, but it's rather still mean-spirited and pointless.)
But I think this series definitely had some of the best episodes, and was certainly the funniest thanks to Catherine Tate/David Tennent bouncing off each other. Special mention has to go to "Midnight" which scared the living daylights out of me (there is nothing more terrifying that something you can't understand and a bunch of very scared humans) but I have to say that after a string of fantastic episodes in the past, Stephen Moffat's "Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead" was a little underwhelming. It's hard to really put my finger on why - perhaps I just expected too much from someone who had written my favourite episodes in the first three series, and I really didn't find his "happy" ending all that happy.
Why You Should Watch This Series: Because it's Doctor Who of course! As someone who traverses the internet (particularly TV Tropes, Tumblr and Fandom Secrets), I've come across hundreds of GIFs, comments, examples, quotes and discussions about this show and have had absolutely no idea what anyone was on about. Watching it now is like seeing all the pieces come together. So many times whilst watching this show I've ended up saying to myself: "Oh, so that's what they were talking about." In essence, Doctor Who seems to be such an essential part of sci-fi that not being familiar with it is really like being on the other side of a door whilst other people hold an interesting conversation inside.
Plus, the concept of it will never not be pure genius. In a blue box that's bigger on the inside, the last of a powerful alien species travels all of space and time with a human companion. Just think about that for a second. All of space and time.
Once Upon a Time Episode 12
So, the show decides to take on Beauty and the Beast. This is one of those episodes that takes you by surprise. I settled in, only to find the first half predictable to the point of tedium. Oh look, Rumplestiltskin is here to offer yet another deal to a bunch of idiots. I'm still not sure how this impish giggler was born out of the demonic figure we saw after he stabbed the Dark One. Ah, Belle has stepped forward in order to offer herself as a servant in exchange for her family's safety. Didn't see that coming. Why did Rumple want/need a servant girl anyway? Having dodged the obvious conotations that come with taking a young woman away from her family, it's unclear why he doesn't just grab some kid from the nearest village. Now they are at his house. (Hey wait, are those Gepetto's parents in the background?) Oh look, they're bonding. That blue dress certainly looks familiar. Belle has a standard feminist speech about wanting adventure and acting brave and the existential experience of being "free". This is Beauty and the Beast: Abridged. Did she just call her finance "Gaston"? And did Rumple just turn him into a rose? And why is he being called "superficial" when he cared enough to turn up on Rumple's doorstep in order to rescue his would-be wife? If he gets turned back into a human, will he be missing his feet considering Belle pruned the rose down? A gag involving a chipped cup. Heh, I get it - it's Chip the Teacup from the Disney version. Cute.
I was feeling very ho-hum about all this, until all of a sudden, we hit the halfway mark.
Rumple tells Belle to go to the village to buy him some straw, offering to tell her about his son if she obeys. Belle is stunned, commenting that he must trust her a great deal if he's allowing her to leave the castle. Rumple replies that he doesn't expect to see her again. Now, in the Disney version of this exact same event, things play out very differently. The Beast frees Belle because a) her father needs help, and b) he loves her and understands that love does not involve keeping the beloved under lock-and-key. Here, Rumple almost seems to be testing Belle. Will she return of her own volition? Would it really matter if she didn't? Does her thirst for knowledge about his past trump her desire for freedom? Yet deep down, he doesn't seem to think that she'll return. So why exactly is he giving her the chance to free herself?
Belle is on her way to the market in order to fetch the straw, when - look who it is! The Evil Queen. Okay, so obviously her designs aren't going to be pure, but why exactly is she telling Belle how to break the spell that Rumple is under? Isn't breaking Rumple's curse a good thing?
Aww, look - Rumple is standing at a high window, waiting to see if she'd return. And then he rushes down to his spinning wheel in order to act all nonchalant. Bless. But wait - why does he freak out when Belle's kiss begins to reverse the conditions of the curse? Of course! He looses his power that way. And naturally, this is exactly what the Queen wants! And tragically, he thinks that Belle was in on the subterfuge the whole time.
Suddenly, everything is thrown into a new light. Rumple throws Belle's initially-awkward-but-now-pertinent feminist treatise back in her face, accusing her of wanting to "be a hero" and to "destroy the beast". The covered mirrors had absolutely nothing to do with Rumple's percieved ugliness at all, but are presumably a form of communication with the Queen. And the chipped cup, which initally seemed to be a throwaway nod to the Disney show, ends up being an object of great thematic importance.
Well played, show. Well played. You've successfully subverted and deconstructed the idea of "you must set those you love free" AND "true love's kiss", the former by turning it into a quasi-test of loyalty, and the latter by making the recipient believe that the kiss itself was a trap. That's dark. So who was right do you think, when Belle confronts Rumple: did he simply want his power more than he wanted her, or did he honestly think that she could never love him? Maybe a little of both.
Meanwhile, back in the "real" world, there were a couple of subplots rolling around...
* It was nice to see Ashley and Eric again, and I was pleased to see that they've both taken acting lessons in the interim.
* I'm officially tired of this Mary Margaret/David deal. Dude, LEAVE YOUR WIFE. All this mucking around behind her back is just awful. And yeah, I know that the sordid nature of the affair is deliberately meant to constrast with the epic and honourable love between James/Snow in the fairytale world, but at this point, it's also just gotten old. Move this story along.
* Heh, I noticed that Belle's father's flower delivery business was called "Game of Thorns." The business with him and Mr Gold was relatively chilling - I mean, he was beating the man with his walking stick for goodness sake, and the whole thing about Regina suggesting the robbery to him in order to get the cup worked well. That confrontation betweeing Gold/Regina in the prison cell was fantastic - I got chills, CHILLS I tell you, when Rumple's persona briefly peeked through. So now he too remembers his other life... interesting.
* And the real-world version of Belle is stuck in an in a facility. Yikes. Does this mean that Regina simply made up the story of Belle's suicide in the fairy tale realm?
All in all, a good episode. All the little nods and winks at the Disney version were getting a bit much (apparently Belle's father was called Maurice, and I spotted a clock and ornate candlestick in Rumple's house), but the acting was solid all around. I've seen Emilie de Ravin on Lost and liked her as Claire; here she didn't quite match Disney's Belle in terms of three-dimensionality, though that had more to do with time constraints than anything. And sometimes, her Australian accent slipped through - in fact, even her father sounded like he came from Down Under.
Best scene goes to the Evil Queen for her elegant manipulation of Belle in recommending the power of True Love's Kiss, and the frankly hilarious: "what kind of message is THAT?" when Belle asks if she's suggesting that she go back to her kidnapper. Yes Belle, listen to the woman dressed as a dominatrix.
In other news, look what we have here; it's the latest (and possibly final) trailer for Pixar's Brave:
Click to viewOkay, so I have to confess something and please don't kill me. I'm not as stoked about seeing this movie as I should be.
I mean, it's Pixar for heaven's sake. It's bound to be good. And it's their first feature-film that stars a female protagonist. I'll be going for that reason alone, and I can't wait to fall in love with this character. The thing is, the marketing surrounding the film isn't hugely appealing to me. Let me explain...
According to what I've looked up on the film, the storyline revolves around Princess Merida, who defies a sacred custom of her people, sees that it has dire consequences for her people, and takes it upon herself to right her wrongs. Wow. A female character whose story revolves around her making a mistake and striving to fix it? Awesome.
The problem is - did anyone get any of that from the trailer? Or in fact, any of the trailers? If I hadn't looked up the synopsis of the film and was going from the trailers alone, I would assume it was about a princess who didn't want to get married. And nearly gets eaten by a bear.
It reminds me of the drama surrounding Tangled, in which not only the title of the movie was changed (from Rapunzel into something gender-neutral) but also heavily promoted the heroic male love interest - it was somewhat disingenuous advertising. I get that they need to sell the movie to the widest possible audience, but unfortunately, what's left in the trailer is a bunch of cliches. There's your standard Rebellious Princess doing standard rebellious things with no sign that she makes a terrible mistake. There's the line-up of unworthy suitors. There's the disapproving mother and the laid-back father. There's the inevitable "I hate wearing a corset" scene. There's the "what's hiding under a Scotsman's kilt" gag.
Now don't worry - I've no doubt that the film will be unique and complex (and beautiful); all I'm saying is that I'm not really impressed with the trailers themselves. They don't excite me the way a trailer should, and that it's a shame considering the movie itself sounds as though it's going to be something special. The trailers should reflect that.
***
So this week I'll be continuing to read The Gathering of the Lost and working on The Lion's Heart (it's nearly there!) I had a special delivery in the post the other day - an advanced copy of Bitterblue by Kirstin Cashore (yay!), so I'll be reading that before I head into The Hunger Games. So much to do!
Oh, and I'll be meeting with Helen tomorrow to see what she thinks of my manuscript. The nerves haven't quite set in yet, but I'm sure I'll be a wreck by this time tomorrow. At some point I'm going to have to get over my self-consciousness and make a post on what exactly I'm writing...