Sunday, December 23, 2007

Here Comes the Easy Part

Or is it? Let's start with the books.

The last book I finished was Count Karlstein by Philip Pullman. At first, and judging from the cover design, it would seem like a book for much younger readers - but do not be fooled. The book is full of betrayal, murder, innuendo, and demons. It starts with the main narrator - Hildi - inside her mother's inn. She is a maid up at Castle Karlstein, where the dastardly count lives with his two orphaned neices and his dribbling assistant. It is then found out that in order to become Count Karlstein, a pact was made with a wild god - the God of the Hunt, and that if the Count does not sacrifice his neices, the demon god will come for him instead. After a lot of amusing side plots involving amusing and very lovable characters (especially the con artist), everything is eventually set to rights. Still, the book got a bit slow, and you really hate Count Karlstein. It can be predictable at points, but for the most part I enjoyed it. Pullman has a style that draws you in even when it doesn't really make sense; he has the ability to twist the mundane into something close to magical. All of his hero/heroine characters are endowed with a firm sense of right and wrong, and fight to make the right thing happen. While the neices can get annoying, Hildi makes it all worthwhile. She is strong and fierce, but unashamed to admit when she is afraid, as she often is for good reason. It's a story that would be creepy on a dark night, but otherwise is short enough to fill a few hours, and even make you laugh.

I am currently forcing my way through Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. It's just not holding me at all. I keep reading because I'm the kind of person that just cannot stop until I know what happens, but I'm even having trouble with that. The story should be interesting, but it just isn't. Maybe something was lost in translation and I am not picking up on it like millions of other readers did. I find Meggie selfish and irritating, not the typical heroine, but that that is why she loses appeal for me. Mo would be better if more of his feelings were made clear. Capricorn and Basta are made out to be these horrible creatures with pasts, but they seem to fall flat before me. I find nothing frightening or even unsettling about Capricorn, and I find all of his men, including Basta, as easy to manipulate. Dustfinger is the only character I see anything in. His emotional perspective provides insight, and his actions are more desperate, more plot advancing than anyone else's. Dustfinger is working out of sadness and desperation. He does not even care if he dies back in his world he just wants to get there. Is that so hard for all of them to understand? I am just over halfway through the book, and I was hoping it would get better by now. Sadly, I am afraid that it is likely I am going to be disappointed.

Movies:
I Am Legend. Based on a book by one of my favorite authors (Richard Matheson) of the same title, it is clear from the very beginning that other than a very general premise, both are different. The movie, however, was almost as frightening as the book in a different way. What the book had was hopelessness; what the movie has is a very clear picture of loss and a lot of hope. Wil Smith was amazing as Robert Neville - you could see how hard he was trying to hang on to his sanity, seen particularly poignantly in the scenes with the mannequins, and the reliance on his relationship with his dog. While the plot development is slow, it is by no means boring. The viewer is taken through the average day for Neville since everyone was turned by the Krippen Virus. Then you see those days go bad. Neville is working on a cure for the virus - but to test it he has to capture a live infected vampire. This turns the rest of the horde crazy, and they attack him. What makes the whole story so gripping and tense is that it has more elements of reality than might be expected, and a feeling of premonition. I was on the edge of my seat with my hood up in fear. My complaints: the vampires and vamp dogs were all CGI - it would have been much more effective if at least some of the vamps had been people in costume and make-up - particularly the two he comes in the most contact with. Something is lost in the disreality of a fake human face. No matter how good computers get, there's nothing like a real person to make a moment stronger.

National Treasure 2. First, not as good as the first one. Still good though, and it left the audience wide open for a third movie. It starts with the accusation that one of the Gates family ancestors was the architect of the Lincoln Assasination. Of course, this gets Ben on the hunt to prove his great great grandfather was innocent. Theere are terrific break-ins all around the world, and a very amusing kidnapping of the President (Bruce Greenwood...so good in this part). It all leads to Cibola, the rumored Olmec City of Gold. While it is located in a nonsensical part of the country, the finding of the clues is all based in historical truth and famous myth. The action gets a bit slow at times, and I wish there had not been the relationship issues between Ben and Abigail - it felt fake and boring, even if it did tie into the relationship between Ben's parents (Helen Mirren was highly amusing). At first, I really did not like Ed Harris as the villain - something was too condescending about him. However, it came around in the end. My biggest complaint - while the Book of Secrets is very cool, it is not the right title for the film. City of Gold would've done just fine, thank you very much.

Television:
Gossip Girl - Roman Holiday. What can I say? I loved it. Although I did miss Chuck. Ed Westwick is like delicious dark chocolate with caramel filling as Chuck Bass. Serena and Dan finally took a necessary step - go Dan. It was good to see the childish side of Blair again, rather than the raging bitch one that has a tendency to appear. It was also good to be reminded, yet again, that she has a very small and tarnished, but definitely there, heart of gold. And seriously, will Rufus and Lilly just get back together already? Also, go Mrs. Waldorf!

Supernatural - A Very Supernatural Christmas. I squirmed in my comfortable chair watching this episode. The pagan lore was interesting, and also based in fact, offering up the darker side of winter, and also some of the more controversial history of Christianity. I loved the way that the gods were portrayed like the Cleavers - it made their evil all the creepier, especially during the pre-sacrifice scene. My fingernails ached for days. The flashbacks into Sam and Dean's past Christmas celebrations spoke volumes about Dean, and it was hard not to get choked up when reminded that this might be Dean's last Christmas. Overall, amusing, low on the action end, but heartwarming and seasonal all the same. And they're just so CUTE, aren't they?