I have been re-listening to Ready Player One – and it has made me go from “dislike” to “UGH THE WORST” on the movie. I have moved my dial from “well, you can tell it was “inspired by” to “were they even trying?!?” And I know, they probably had a ton of difficulty getting rights to stuff (stupid copyright holders probably being greedy, selfish, bastards). But part of the problem is containing that scale into a movie. I have been tumbling through my Plex list of movies and IMDB to see if I can think of a single movie that gives a scale to the universe that RPO should have had and honestly, the closest I get is Star Wars IV A New Hope, but that is journey movie – they have 3 major locations (Tattoine, Death Star/Alderaan, and Yavin) and they are SO DIFFERENT it helps. Now, it might also be that I grew up so entangled in all three of the orignal
Movie & Film
Review (SPOILERS) Ready Player One [Movie]
I can’t review Ready Player One without spoilers. I might be able to, but I’d have to go watch the trailer a bunch to make sure what I talk about is only from the trailer. Oh, but can I assume people HAVE read a book that’s been out for 7 years? I generally have a ~1yr policy on not spoiling books so…. (1 year from when you learned about the book is my general rule.) So you have fair warning: I will be spoiling both book and movie if you haven’t consumed them yet… well, stop reading or don’t complain. I’ve done what I can to make sure everything that might preview on Twitter or Facebook or elsewhere has given you time to go “noooo, no spoilers!” I have been avoiding other reviews so everything I say is my own. I suspected from the trailer, but I have to say I think it’s disappointing that they (a) left out the whole D&D part of
Review: A Wrinkle In Time (movie) Spoiler Free
I have cried during more movies in the past 12 months than I think I have the rest of my life. A Wrinkle In Time did it to me again. I loved this movie for so many reasons. I loved Meg and Charles Wallace. I thought both of them were so well crafted, you didn’t need to read the books to understand them (I think, of course it’s impossible for me to be sure). I thought the Mrs.’s were superb and even though it’s not exactly how I pictured them, it’s exactly how I could have pictured them. Madeline L’Engle is one of my all-time favorite authors; like so many others I grew up on this book and loved it. When I felt like an outcast, I looked around for my Charles Wallaces & Calvins in my life. When I looked for them, I often found them waiting for me with open arms; and this movie captured that love and acceptance and
Review: Star Wars Last Jedi
I don’t know if I can avoid spoilers. I am going to try. But if you (like me) did everything you could (including avoiding interviews) so you could go into this movie with as little knowledge as possible – well, I might let slip something you didn’t want see. Fair? Good. I would give it a 3/5. Overall it was ok, I enjoyed it, but… BUT My biggest critique is the length. So they introduced a new character (Rose) who I like a LOT, but I feel like they added an entire segment to the movie which…. was really only there for us to get to know Rose. And…. it made the movie feel long. I honestly kind of wish they hadn’t had it. It had some fun moments, but it made for weird pacing because it was trying to weave 3 sets of characters and (all) movies struggle anywhere above 2 groups of heroes. The Rey & Luke segments were
Musings: Books I want to see on screen
I was looking through this article (here) about 100 books being (maybe) turned into movies. I found myself rolling my eyes at another remake of 1984. As much as I’m looking forward to (I hope!) a good movie version of A Wrinkle of Time, there are some titles I think are grossly missing from this list. #1: Codex of Alera (Jim Butcher) I reviewed this series here. There is some seriously fun imagery and ideas in here. It would probably need to be a TV series. Tavi would be a tough guy to cast, but I think as long as they managed to find someone who could pull off “small and skinny” and then bulk up (some)…. He wouldn’t need a lot of bulk. I totally think Kitai should be played by Millie Bobby Brown – she can pull off the “scary but not at the same time” look perfectly. #2 Alanna (Tamora Pierce) I have wanted a “Tortall” series since I first
Review: Wonder Woman
I am not going to promise not to write spoilers. I’m going to try, but there may be things in this review that are not in the trailer and “spoil” the movie for you. Fair enough warning? I loved this movie. It wasn’t “perfect” but it was close. I will gladly go see it again in theaters to get the big surround sound and see the action on the big screen. Hell, I might even see it on IMAX. (No, I don’t tend to like 3D movies, more often then not I get a headache from watching them). I could nitpick about some of the pacing, but honestly – as origin stories go – it wasn’t terrible pacing. I think it helps they didn’t have to set Diana up as a some “lost soul” who needs to turn her life around because she is an egotistical asshole. They are a little heavy-handed on the “oh no, don’t tell her the secret
Character Profile: The successful sidekick
I love and hate writing “side-kicks.” These are the secondary characters who are useful and/or required for success in a novel. I love them because they give me a place to explore depths my protagonist doesn’t have or a sounding board for my protagonist to discuss aspects of the novel. I hate them because I struggle to make them “real people” in their own right. I think Robin (of Batman & Robin) is sort of the perfect example of the “exposition bitch.” Robin is, from the Adam West to the 90’s cartoons, an idiot. Batman explains everything to him. I hate it. Robin’s biggest role is as the plucky kid who needs the hero to explain things -and really so the reader/viewer can get it. Now, I haven’t read these, but I am told by more knowledgable people that some of the comics portray Robin better. Is it really any surprise he eventually leaves the Batcave to become his own hero when
Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (movie)
I saw Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them over the Christmas holiday and I had some very interesting thoughts. Again, I don’t want to hash out “yet another review” of whether it was good or not. I’ll leave that to the professionals. I will also assume anyone reading this has already seen the movie, because although I will attempt to be spoiler-free, I will reference key moments in the plot which might not make sense until you see them. No, I was struck by something and it was niggling my brain the entire movie. It’s an old quote I read or heard where the definition of fantasy is that the fantastical element is what solves the problem. So just having magic isn’t enough – magic has to be the catalyst for the climax – the magic of the book/character. Otherwise it’s just a story that happens to exist in a fantasy realm. Same rule applies to sci-fi. “Science” (as it is classified in
read more Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (movie)
Review: Rogue One (Spoilers!)
Spoiler-ish review. Read only if/when you have watched!
Life Memory: Star Trek 50th
Today is the 50th anniversary of Star Trek’s premier on TV. I think it is a perfect day for some self-reflection and future-focused thought. Who do I want to be in 50 years? Or 500 (I mean, obviously, who do I want to be remembered as in 500 years since there is no current method confirmed for living forever)? Star Trek showed a universe of people trying to live in a utopia of acceptance, understanding, & morality. The original show really tackled some very difficult issues through the lens of aliens – sometimes with the aliens being “wrong” and sometimes showing how humans might still need improvements ourselves. TNG continued this theme, talking about ethical issues as well as social – personal responsibility and loyalty. I grew up with these questions. I love Star Trek because it helped me create a safe place to always go and explore issues that might be too scary or painful to explore in my own
Dream by Day 