Pam Webb

a writer's journey as a reader

Archive for the category “Movies”

09 Jun 2013
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Sigh FiE


Science Fiction served as a mainstay of my reading through most of my college years. I stuck mainly to Ray Bradbury, tried a bit of Asimov, dabbled in other authors of that genre and then pounced on science fantasy such as Roger Zelazny.Yet, I can’t say I enjoyed SF as much in novel form as I did in film.

What I really fastened onto was cheesy low budget sci- fi films, you know, the Buck Rogers variety, where everyone is seriously acting as if bounding about in shiny costumes, waving plastic gadgets and battling fakey creatures is going to build their resume and cause the Academy to perk up for Oscar recommends. I left cheesy SF films behind, along with a penchant for snacking on Top Ramen, when I graduated from college. However, as we all know flashbacks are a part of  life.

The MEPA picked up a few movies at the library the other night and amidst the usual travel logs was (I kid you not) The Angry Red Planet. So bad it’s good. Cheese rating: 9/10–making it a major cheddar.

Micro-Precis:
The missing rocket to Mars returns minus a couple of crew members and the leader has a nasty green growth on his arm, but can the lovely traumatized Iris recall what really happened while on the angry red planet?

I can’t say I have totally graduated from my penchant for Sci Fi (I do not, however, ever eat Top Ramen anymore). I have, instead, developed a taste for the art of the science fiction film. A friend introduced me to Alien when it first came to the screen(I couldn’t have been the only who screamed at the baby alien’s untimely entrance at the breakfast table) and I decided scary Sci Fi is not for me. I have since gravitated to artsy Sci Fi, such as Gattaca, The Matrix, and  Inception.  Novel science fiction goes more towards dystopian like Hunger Games and Divergent. Nevertheless,I will always have a soft spot for Sci FiE films.  How many have you suffered through–feel free to tack on your nominees:

1.  All those terrible Godzilla films where the plastic dinosaur is rampaging Tokyo.

2. Those movies that have such bad titles you know that they reek of cheese.

Book Jacket for: Attack of the 50 ft. woman ;3. Or have such laughable cover art, you check them out just because.

 Book Jacket for: Forbidden planet ;

4. Unfortunate adaptations of favorite authors. Ray, did you know about this one?

Book Jacket for: It came from outer space ;

5. Then again, some of them become cult hits, such as Gunsmoke’s James Arness as a monster and Steve McQueen saving the day.

Book Jacket for: The thing ;     

Oh, there are so many truly terribly wonderfully really bad science fiction movies out there that cause one to Sigh (and say) FiE.

What are your loathsome favorites?

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Posted in Literature, Movies, Reflections, Uncategorized and tagged , , ,
28 May 2013
10 Comments

A Slice of Pi


Too often I realize I am a book snob. Certain subjects, authors, or just because it is crazy popular will place me in snub mode. My shame, especially since I am a professed Book Booster. Isn’t confession supposed to be part of the cure?
This is why I am even more embarrassed I have put off reading Life of Pi for so long.

image from videostoresnearspringfield.com

When it first came out I did my huffy verisimilitude snort and bypassed it. “Oh, please, really? A boy and a tiger on the ocean in a boat and he lives to tell about?” I had no problem with C.S. Lewis creating a horse and a boy as pals, let alone a lion mentoring three British children? I really must get my veracity meter checked one of these days.

With Pi I broke THE rule and saw the movie first–home version, sans Blu-Ray or 3D glasses. My review? Magical.
And that’s it. You don’t need yet another review among the surfeit of Pi commentaries. The movie motivated me to read the book.. Fortunately, our school librarian, in the midst of checking in end-of- the year materials, hasn’t had time to shelve new books and she allowed me to take it home over the weekend. There’s nothing like a long weekend and a mesmerizing novel.
I will say this–I appreciate the novel so much more having experienced the film (possible even in plain everyday vanilla DVD fashion). Frankly, parts of the plot were a bit hard to visualize, such as the raft and the meerkat island, without the aid of movie inserts. It’s not that my imagination station is broke it’s just that Ang Lee created such a wondrous palette of preprogrammed living color the plot danced more as the movie played in my head. Then there is Richard Parker; I couldn’t have imagined him as well as his CGI counterpart. He is such a handsome tiger. Of course,  meerkats by the thousands is visually is much more impressive via the wide-screen than by my mental viewing station.

The novel contains much more detail (I, uh, flipped past some of the more colorful aspects of oceanic survival); however, aspects of the movie were better, such as the family dynamics.

The most important takeaway of both stories is this quote:

“And so it is with God.”

This quote absolutely resonates with me. The ambiguity of the story’s ending reminds me so much of Inception, allowing us the intelligence of denouement possibilities.

courtesy from http://www.eionbutler.com

I wonder if there is a correlation between my initially snubbing Life of Pi because I did not grow up with pie–seriously, I don’t remember my mom serving up chocolate cake, apple pie, or cookies (I have compensated and I taught myself the art of pie making and make a mean apple custard pie complimented by “my goodness!” flaky crust). Pie didn’t interest me until I reached adulthood.

And so it is with this Pi, of which I will ask for another slice.

Cover of "Life of Pi"

Cover of Life of Pi

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Posted in Books, Christianity, Literature, Movies, Reading, Reflections, reviews and tagged , , , ,
23 May 2013
1 Comment

Verily, Verily, Verisimilitude


The Matrix Online

The Matrix Online (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“What is real?”

Isn’t that the big question asked in The Matrix?

We live in the real, yet we crave for an escape, hence literature and film and video games.  Yet, as much as we push the boundaries of “What is real” and explore space, time periods, new worlds, ways to expand our minds, change our bodies, there still needs to be verisimilitude.

veri·si·mil·i·tude

noun \-sə-ˈmi-lə-ˌtüd, -ˌtyüd\

Definition of VERISIMILITUDE

1
: the quality or state of being verisimilar
2
: something verisimilar
— veri·si·mil·i·tu·di·nous \-ˌmi-lə-ˈtüd-nəs, -ˈtyüd-; -ˈtü-də-nəs, -ˈtyü-\adjective

Examples of VERISIMILITUDE

<the novel’s degree of verisimilitude is compromised by 18th-century characters who speak in very 21st-century English>

And there it is–like Neo, there is the invincibility that comes from stretching the dream world, and the knowledge of being tethered into reality.

For instance, I can believe a girl from Kansas can get whirled up into tornado and be dropped in a magical land of talking scarecrows, populated by little people, witches (both good and bad), flying monkeys, and horses of a different color. Nevertheless, I’d be hard pressed to believe she goes back to Kansas in a rocket ship or sprouts wings to fly there herself.  There must be real enough with our unreal.

Recently I completed a triology, where the story is set after the modern world has ended due to a pandemic virus. The world that is rebuilt is based on medieval times, complete with castles, warriors, limited technical knowledge. There is also the aspect of the people discovering the religion of their ancestors, which lends a blending of past, present, and future. I hung with the entire series, barely so at times because of one annoying problem: verisimiliutde slippage.

There we would be, the hero and heroine recointering after a tremoundous battle and after some appropriate,  credible medivialistic setting, into the dialogue would pop out, “Wow, those guys were tough.” Poof, verily, verily, the magic bubble popped. I couldn’t wrap my mind the modern vernacular.  I’m not looking for “forsooths and thous”, only credibility.

Anyone else have a book or even a film that tweaked their need for verisimilitude?

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Posted in Christianity, Movies, Reading, Reflections, Uncategorized, Writing and tagged , ,
21 Mar 2013
4 Comments

Wives and Daughters


One of the final pages from the manuscript for...

One of the final pages from the manuscript for Wives and Daughters (The Works of Mrs. Gaskell, Knutsford Edition) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Have you ever eagerly brought a movie home only to discover you’ve watched it before?

When that happens I either slip it out and chastise myself for my negligent memory or shrug and go for it anyway.  Such was the case with BBC’s production of Gaskell’s Wives and Daughters.

 

Lovely.  I watched the whole thing in one sitting.  I would not do well with the weekly installment watch plan anymore.  I tend to eat all my Haagen-Daaz in one sitting too.

As for Wives and Daughters I think Gaskell should have actually named the series, The Doctor’s Daughter because it all centered on Molly, who was the doctor’s daughter.  I didn’t see much about wives and only a couple of daughters were the focus.  Maybe I will have to read the book.  And right now I am trying to do so.  It’s not working.

One problem I am finding out with watching really wonderful BBC adaptations is that they quench my desire to dig into the book.  I really should stick to my book first policy.

 

If you should hunger after a character driven historical plot that is reminiscent of Jane Austen’s complicated romance plots, then do look up Gaskell and her Wives and Daughters–watching or reading it is too personal of a decision for me to actually recommend. Umm-I did really like, really like the BBC more than I have Gaskell’s flowery writing.  But don’t let me influence you.

Posted in Literature, Movies, Reading, Reflections, writers and tagged , , , ,
20 Feb 2013
11 Comments

Egads, Those Cads of Literature


You know who they are.  Those bad boys who jilt the girl, cheat the honest friend, and play havoc with the plot.  They are the cads of literature.  Having finished Jane Austen’s Persuasion I have added Mr. Elliot to the list.  His subterfuge was most deplorable.  Then again, I do adore how she swiftly cast him aside for someone much more worthy of her devotion.  My favorite heroines have done just that–put those cads in their place.  Since I am on a Jane Austen revisiting read here are some cads that live in her books:

Henry Crawford (Mansfield Park)–I detected cad from the very start

Frank Churchill (Emma)–what a naughty game you played with so many hearts

Oh, Willoughby (Sense and Sensibility)–we wanted so much to like you

Elliot (Persuasion)–did you really think you could turn Anne’s head or her heart away from Wentworth?

Tsk tsk, Wickham (Pride and Prejudice)–your charm could not cover your secret faults

 

As to Northhanger Abbey, I haven’t decided who the cad truly is.  It’s up on my list to review.  As to other literary cads–any nominees?  Rhett Butler comes to mind, but then was he a cad or simply a foil for Scarlett?

Happy reading!

English: Engraving of Steventon rectory, home ...

English: Engraving of Steventon rectory, home of the Austen family during much of Jane Austen’s lifetime (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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13 Feb 2013
16 Comments

Time Waits for True Love


Children's Valentine, 1940–1950

Children’s Valentine, 1940–1950 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have already admitted I am not a Valentine’s Day fan, and those who know me well have accused me of being *prickly*–ouch….

Yet, when by myself, so no one can see me mush over and admit that I really  am a romantic at heart, these are three of the movies, make that four movies, that guarantee I will be sniffling and clutching Kleenex  by the movie’s end because time cannot keep true love apart.  P.S. Happy Valentine’s Day–but you didn’t hear me say that…

Persuasion with Amanda Root and Cirian Hinds

                                                                     The Lake House with Sandra Bullock and Kenau Reeves

Cover of "The Lake House"

Cover of The Lake House

The Time Traveler’s Wife with Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana

Cover of "The Time Traveler's Wife"

Cover of The Time Traveler’s Wife

Somewhere in Time with Christopher Reeves and Jane Seymour

Cover of "Somewhere in Time (Collector's ...

Cover of Somewhere in Time (Collector’s Edition)

What about you?  What is your favorite movie for that inner mush release?

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Posted in celebrations, holidays, Movies, Reflections, time management, travel and tagged , , ,
02 Jan 2013
3 Comments

Pass the Marple Syrup


Cover of "A Murder Is Announced (Winterbr...

Cover via Amazon

Although I do enjoy a mystery now and then I must ,with some embarrassment, confess I hadn’t read an Agatha Christie until most recently. Shocking, I know.  After all, Dame Christie is the Queen of Mystery.  That reason why I hadn’t read any of her books was my contentment to experience the film adaptations.

That is until I watched A Murder Is Announced.  

This particular series stars Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple, and while I have no real complaint with her portrayal, I do have concerns over other liberties. For one, Miss Marple is well-known for her ditzy little old lady approach to solving crimes, which makes the juxtaposition all the more interesting, for who would think this sweet spinster who continually knits has a mind sharp enough to see past the obvious and solve what the detectives can’t?

Exactly.

When something is seasoned right, don’t add more spice.  Or in this case, let’s pass on making the Miss Marple sweeter for modern audiences.  For instance, Miss Marple is classified primarily as a cozy mystery, meaning the murders are more mystery than gory. Also, Miss Marple plots tend to be conservative, not straying too far in social issues. Then there is the main personality of  Miss Marple who is known for her prudent, if not prudish manner and values.   With all that said, it is perplexing why the McEwan series takes viewers on such a darker path than Christie ever did.  This series includes topics not overtly addressed in the books: incest, homosexuality, racism, feminism, religion.  The addition of these spicier elements does not improve the plot, and actually detracts from it.  There is also the suggestion Miss Marple had an affair with a married man in her younger days. All these extras did not entice me to continue with the series; it actually quelled my interest in continuing.  It’s as if the producers felt a good solid mystery wouldn’t be enough for modern audiences.

 

At this point you might be wondering how I know about what Christie had or didn’t have in her books if I hadn’t read them.  Easy–I consulted an expert.  ET, my local librarian and mystery aficionado, assured me Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple series did not focus on those previously mentioned topics, and she’s read them twice.  After watching A Murder Is Announced I read it for myself. Already knowing the identity of the murderer rather spoiled the read, but I was actually reading for comparison.   They should have stuck to the original plot.

While I might read more of Agatha Christie I will have to be careful not to read those which I’ve watched.  Nothing spoils a good whodunnit more than knowing whodiddit. Then there is the fact I very much prefer Hercules Poirot, especially David Suchet’s studied performance of the Belgium detective. The little grey cells find his plots decidedly delicious and there are extra sweeteners in Suchet’s series.

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Posted in Books, Movies, reviews and tagged , , , , ,
24 Nov 2012
2 Comments

Trying the Tryptophan Diet


www.snopes.com

http://www.snopes.com (Photo credit: biggraham)

Post turkey day and after storing the leftovers in the fridg no one better better say, “Is there anything to eat?” I am learning that less is more as we get older.  By making less to eat at Thanksgiving there is more satisfaction and much more contentment.  It’s tradition to make my apple-custard pie and pumpkin pie. Who is the one eating it? Moi. The scale is snickering at how much weight I have regained since Wednesday.  Phooey.  The tryptophan diet isn’t for me, after all.

You see turkey contains tryptophan, which is what makes us sleepy after the big T-Day meal.  However, according to www.snopes.com that isn’t entirely true.  I was hoping if I ate enough turkey I would fall into a long, deep sleep and when I woke up the pie, mashed potato casserole, stuffing and all the other holiday caloric wonderments would be consumed so I wouldn’t eat them. However, I have learned that pumpkin pie is healthy for you.  Good.  Now, I don’t feel so guilty for having it for breakfast.  Wait–doesn’t healthy mean low calorie?

On a more positive note of gain is my NaNo novel.  I am now at 44,000 words with a week to go.  I think I’m going to make it.  Vera needs to get serious and start her own NaNo novel instead of procrastinating and watching movies with Simone.

I so enjoyed having Friday off; it’s like having a double Saturday.  Instead of Black Friday shopping I picked up two more books at the library and a stack of movies.  No lesson planning tonight.  Just my tryptophan hangover and a relaxing evening ahead.

Pumpkin pie, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki...

Pumpkin pie, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pumpkin_Pie.jpg Scrumptious and good for you! Pumpkin pie is loaded with a healthful phytonutrient called beta-carotene. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Posted in Americans, Family, food, holidays, Libraries, Movies and tagged , , , ,
11 Nov 2012
1 Comment

Life Imitating Art Imitating Life


Cover of "The Last Action Hero"

Cover of The Last Action Hero

Yesterday I thought I would be enjoying my extra day off, the perk for having worked two twelve hour days.  Instead , I was doing the porcelain hug–yup, the flu bug caught up to me and bit me rather nastily. Lipton soup, napping, and the wonderful ministrations of my MEPA (most excellent personal assistant) righted me from prone to errands.  I had to get my Saturday library run in–plus I expanded my horizons with a chocolate taste-testing lesson from ET, my librarian compatriot.

With a bag of AP Cyrano journals to grade I needed a movie to keep me company–my MEPA had a previous engagement with the roof. It’s an oldie but goodie: Last Action Hero. I checked it out again (third time watching it) because Ahnold plays Hamlet.  “Hey Claudius, you killed my fadder.  Big mistake.” I’m readying for Hamlet in AP and thought it would be appropriate to show how far Shakespeare’s influence reaches.

One reason I like LAH so much is the irony, paradox, parodies, and outright clichés. Here it is in a nutshell if you haven’t seen the movie: Arnold  is playing Jack Slater who is Arnold playing Jack Slater, who is the  quintessential action hero.  There are a bazillion inside jokes and cameos. Maybe this movie gave me the idea for my NaNo novel. Who could resist writing a novel about a girl writing a novel during National Novel Writing Month?  I couldn’t.

If you are writing your NaNo, hang tough, because this is the week people start to find the going tough and drop out of the word count race.  You can do it.  You can do it. You can do it.  Yes, you can.

See you on the other side of 50,000.  It’s one word at a time making each sentence reach into paragraphs into pages.

And with that,
Happy Pages
CM

 

Posted in creativity, Movies, reviews, Writing and tagged , , , , ,
27 Oct 2012

Battleship and Black and Blue Reviews


Sometimes after a long week of teaching direct objects, nuances of symbolism, and grading ceaseless stacks of papers I need to unwind.  Discovering chocolate is a downfall to dieting, and being a longtime teetotaler,  I have succumbed to the ACTION movie for unwinding on Friday night.  We have a local grocery store that offers new releases for only a buck on the weekends.  Who can resist?

I am prone to choosing action movies with disasters or aliens, and I can’t resist the Navy.  So it was natural I selected Battleship. Expecting major cheese for ninety minutes I found myself rooting and hooting for the entire movie.  Being a movie trivia addict, I Googled up IMDb.  Glancing through the reviews I couldn’t help but wince at the meanness of many of the comments.

This brings me to the subject of Black and Blue Reviews.

These are reviews that involve slicing and dicing of the given subject, be it a book, a movie, restaurant or product.  Having been a reviewer for various journals over the past twelve years I have developed a philosophy: it is much easier to depreciate than it is to create.  We all know how much easier it is to diss and dismiss than it is to praise and raise. And being a published writer I tend to stem the critical ink flow when it comes to someone else’s creative effort because I know the stings of criticism do sting. As Thumper once said, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” Or least compromise and try to say two things for every bad.

Back to Battleship. Of course it wasn’t going for Academy Award status; it’s intent is action and it delivered.  How could you not like a movie that:

  • features Liam Neeson as a Navy admiral?
  • is filmed in Hawaii?
  • has aliens who wear helmet sunglasses and sport wicked porcupine goatees?
  • debuts Rihanna as a  sailor who holds her own with the big boys?
  • stars Taylor Kitsch and Alexander Skarsgård?
  • also has Japanese legendary actor Tadanobu Asano?
  • laughs at itself with borrowed kitsch from Jurassic Park and Transformers?

Instead I found most reviews were negative.  Here’s some samplings:

Of course, in the old B-movie tradition, our response to the alien visit is immediately military. There’s not one word of discussion about the aliens possibly just making a social call. We invite them, they come and we open fire. This despite the fact that they’re remarkably humanoid; when we finally remove the helmet from one alien’s spacesuit, he turns out to look alarmingly like James Carville. Roger Ebert, Chicago-Sun Times

Alien invasion movies usually work based on three things: strong characters, cool aliens and a good idea. “Battleship” has boring characters, boring aliens and a couple of minor ideas stupid enough to elicit a temporary smile. Jeffrey Anderson, San Francisco Examiner

Those represent the pro-view.  Here are a couple of IMDb user review comments:

A simple way to describe Battleship, is that it’s basically a $200 million naval recruitment video that was made by a schizophrenic 8 year old who likes video games and things going Ka-Boom.

Turning a board game into a big-budget summer blockbuster was always going to be a stretch. But Hasbro the company behind the cinematic juggernaut Transformers series thought they had locked on to a winning formula for their adaptation of their best-selling board-game Battleship…namely ditch Michael Bay for the supremely talented Peter Berg, add aliens and throw shed-loads of money at the screen. And it almost works…

Ouch. What were this people expecting from a summer movie?  Hamlet on Mars? Sheesh…

These people totally missed how the film did something totally remarkable by:

  • having Japanese and American military forces  collaborate at Pearl Harbor, no less
  • featuring real life vets of the USS Missouri, some who had even served in WWII
  • showcasing real life active duty Army Colonel Gregory Gadson., who is the first bilateral amputee to serve as a Garrison Commander to any post in the United States Army. This man is a war hero.
  • honoring the military, particularly those from our past.

Sadly, I didn’t see anyone impressed with these positive attributes.  They were too busy complaining about how a movie could be made based off of a toy.  Oh yeah, it’s much better to make movies inspired off of a Disney ride.  Then it’ll be taken more seriously.

Don’t let the black and blue review sink your enjoyment of Battleship.  Besides, the chicken burrito scene is worth the watching all in itself.

image: guardian.co.uk

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