Fahrenheit 451 (dir. Francisco Truffaut [1966])

This movie reminded me a lot of 1984 by George Orwell. A man who for all his life believed that his life was good and normal then basically wakes up one day to see that things are not as they seem.

Another similarity is the ‘family.’ In the movie everyone watches TV being apart of the ‘family’ the host being called cousin and talking about things that to us, the viewer, seems stupid - controlling in what seems to be an obvious way. And let’s not forget how the wife participated in the show. Doesn’t that mean that they can see you and watch what you’re doing? Now come on, you can’t tell me that that doesn’t remind you of Big Brother.

The idea behind the reasoning of the movie made a bit of sense to me. A book can cause lots of problems. Marx’s book lead Lenin to rule with Communism. The Bible leads millions of people’s belief, a belief that is challenged by other religions. The Lord of the Rings defined a hero’s journey and has made all authors now strive for trilogies. Harry Potter is the simple two word answer to define our current generation.

You see, books can cause a lot of noise. In some cases good, but not all. For many they create arguments be about the subjects, principles, or even if it should be aloud to be read. At one point nearly all the books mentioned ere banned at one time or another. In some places they still are.

So in a way I understand why they were burning the books - so as to not spread unwanted or dangerous ideas. But at the same time they also said that it was to because books made you antisocial and that they made you a danger to yourself since it gave you dreams that were ‘unrealistic.’ To there two reasonings I roll my eyes.

Antisocial? Okay, that act of reading can be isolating, but discussing them is a definition of socialism.

Being dangerous? Kind of. I admit that at times I find myself trapped in stories while working or doing something. Or even just wishing that I could do what they did in the books. Look at my school. Harry Potter was so captivating that a muggle version of Quidditch has been made, it even has a national league! Anyway, some people get really hurt playing the game, a game they got from a fictional book and are playing because they all have the wish that they could actually do it. Why do you think they made the “Wizarding World of Harry Potter” in Universal? So people who are obsessed with the stories can be a part of it.

So, are books good or bad? You decide.

Multiverse week

*Warning: May contain SPOILERS*

Right, so this week I read two short stories. The Drowned Giant by J.G. Ballard and We Can Remember it for You by Phillip K. Dick. 

The first one I found to be slightly disturbing and quite sad. I mean, they completely defile the poor giant. At first I wasn’t sure how to react to the story since I didn’t see officials allowing it, but after a while I gave in and simply felt depressed for the poor unfortunate giant man. 

I enjoyed the main character’s persona. It was one that I can easily relate to since I see myself reacting to the events the same way, should they ever actually happen. 

The second story was interesting. Every time the man went to ‘live his life’ by getting false memories implanted they would trigger real memories that just so happened to be very similar, if not exactly the same, to those that he was getting implanted. By the end I pitied the owner of the company a bit. All he’s trying to do is his job but this one guy just makes it so difficult.

Well, that’s about it really. Not much to say about things that short. I do think that they are worth reading, even thought the first one is disturbing to think that people would do such a thing. But I guess we already do with sharks and whales.

Multiverse is the title for the week. I think parallel universe or alternate realities. This is still the Sci-Fi section but I guess you can put some of these types of stories as such. Though, the title makes me think of 1984 and that is not Sci-Fi.

Oh well,, on to the movie.

Serenity (dir. Joss Whedon [2005]) and Star Trek (dir J.J. Abrams [2009])

Alright, what? 

Somehow I managed to watch the whole movie, but trust me, I was very confused. I understood the basics - war, man-eaters, Han Solo want-to-be’s - but all the character background went right by me. I had no clue to there relationships save for what I could gather from the movie and remember from my sister’s occasional rant about it.

Like I said before this movie was supped to be viewed after watching the entire series. It’s like watching only Conquest of Shamballa and not the Fullmetal Alchemist series before it. Trust me you would be jus as confused if not more.

So what can I say about it. 

Well, I didn’t fall in love with one of the characters since I didn’t really get a chance to meet them. The style kind of reminded me of a mix between Star Trek, Han Solo from Star Wars, and Battle Star Galactica. Each had their moments.

But really, I can’t write much about it, so I’ll tell you about the Star Trek movie.

This movie is amazing. You can love it even if you have never seen the series since it introduces the characters from the beginning and has nothing to do with the original series. And if you have seen the show you just get to appreciate it that much more.

There are two things that made me want to watch the movie as many times as I did. Sure the characters were great and some of the lines were hilarious but neither is one of my reasons.

Reason 1) The soundtrack is amazing! Honestly, if the music can make or break a movie and it did anything but break this one.

Reason 2) The editing and camera shot are beautify. A lot of the movie has light spots. Some of the shots as also slanted. Between all this I find myself holding my breath. 

This is a beautiful movie.

...I have to see it again.

Anyway, there you have it. Our first look at Science Fiction.

First Contact by Murray Leinster and Sci-fi in general

What was awesome about this week was that it was really short. Only 22 pages!

I know that I probably should have read another short story, but after spending nearly 2 weeks on Warbreaker I was ready to just get this weeks reading done with.

I story was interesting. A kind of surveillance-men-frist-in-history-to-meet-aliens kind of story. The conflicts were understandable, the outcome logical. I seemed to me to be like something that might happen with Star Trek. 

I have always enjoyed Sci-fi. My dad loved to watch Star Trek so it was always on and when something is always on you tend to sit down too. When it comes to Star Trek there is dispute in my house. I like Next Generation, my mom likes Enterprise, and my dad likes the original series - or at least I think it’s him, if not then it’s someone else.

And don’t even get me started with Star Wars. To my brother Star Wars is his Lord of the Rings, and you hopefully understand how much I love that series. 

Don’t ask why I like them - I hate that question. I’ll say that I like the characters (who doesn’t think Picard is the best captain) or I like the story, or the real life symbolism. But if you ask me to explain why I like those then I won’t answer.

I could however tell you how much I love the Star Trek movie that was released 2 years ago. I must have watched it at least 12 times by now, literally.

Anyway, now I have to go watch Serenity as the required movie for the week. I’ll try but I also know that this is a movie that is suppose to conclude the series Firefly which my siblings have all seen, but not me. Personally I think that we should watch the Star Trek movie since though it has the same characters, it’s a parallel universe so you don’t have to know the series in order to enjoy it.

But, hey, I’m not the teacher so I’ll try. Though be forewarned that if I I’m really lost after 30 minutes I’m going to abandon it and rant about the Star Trek movie instead.

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson continued

Alright, so I finished the audiobook over the weekend. It took a lot longer than expected since I went on a small vacation with my grandparents.

Anyway, the book is awesome! I truly encourage everyone to read it. I’m a bit upset that there is no movie for it since it could easily be made into one, but it is still a relatively new book so there is still hope.

One of the things that I liked about the book so much was the plot trust at the end. I won’t say much more since I want people to read it too, but I will say to pay attention when reading or listening to the book.

I will again wholeheartedly suggest audiobooks. For this book is was great because you really get a sense of the character and their personality biased on the voice for the person.

Well, I’m not really sure what else to say without spelling out my reasons for my enjoyment by using examples. So I’ll leave fantasy here. This week is Sci-fi, and I already finished the story - one at least - and I’ll update about it later today.

The Color of Magic (television 2008)

First off, why even bother calling it a TV show when it is only two episodes long and each episode is about an hour and a half long?

Besides that, it was enjoyable.

When I first turned it on I thought it would be the stupidest thing ever in the first 20 seconds when they say that the world is a flat disk sitting on top the backs of 4 elephants who stand on the shell of a giant turtle swimming through space. Very crazy in my opinion.

However, once I saw Sean Austin and Christopher Lee in the opening credits, I decided to give it my all. After all, how bad can something with Sam Gamgee and Saruman be?

And it wasn’t bad at all. A little silly sometimes, but good.

Throughout the movie I saw references to other films, be it intentional or not. I found reference to Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and a bit of Harry Potter cropping up every now and again. Each one made me have a huge smile and little laugh, a very good thing to have throughout a film.

Some of the references: naming the red star the ‘Death Star’ (SW), the riding sequence looking at the grassy mountains (LotR), a ‘secret’ school of magic (HP), potatoes (LotR), I can go on.

The show also gave me a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy feel the way the narrator sounded and talked to you. If you have ever seen the movie, you’ll know what I mean.

Overall I give it a thumbs up. I loved Death and thought he was hilarious. My only real problem was that the evil wizard was played by Tim Curry and so every time he spoke I kept picturing Nigel Thornberry from the animated show The Wild Thornberrys. But can you blame me? I spent six years of my childhood associating his voice with that character.

So, another week done - officially once I finish that book. We’re moving a bit away from fantasy and getting into Science Fiction, next week we’re to talk about Star Trek and Star Wars. It doesn’t get more specific than that.

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

Okay, so I’m not done the book. I downloaded the audiobook Friday night only to find out then that it was 24.5 hours long! I am currently little more then 2/3 done, so for now this is what I have.

The beginning of the audiobook says that Warbreaker is labeled Science Fiction. I don’t really see that. To me this is another fantasy book. I mean, when I think Sci-Fi I think outer space, aliens, starships, things like that. The only thing with this book is that it goes into the politics of the two counties a lot more then others that I have read. But I still don’t see it Science Fiction.

Writing style. Each chapter focuses on a different main character of the plot line. Sometimes your with Vivenna, or Siri, Lovesong, or one of the other major characters. Some people might find it annoying, but I enjoyed it. True, because if that I wanted to just skip some chapters if they were about a character I didn’t like, but the layout motivated me to get though it so I could get to the chapters with more favorable people.

After spending 18 hours listening to a book, the characters become very real. I ranted to one of my floor mates about Viveena - who was driving me crazy at that point and I wanted to go die in the whole my sister and I have for our less liked people. To this he said that it was just a made up character and I didn’t need to get upset. I simply glared at him and moved to the couch for a bit.

Scoot and Lovesong are two of my favorite characters (really most of them were). Lovesong is so carefree and nonchalant in the beginning, then slowly starts to take an interest in the things around him. This character development reminds me of of growing up - for most people at least. As a kid, or teen, one doesn’t really see or care how there actions effect things. As people age they start to accept responsibility and pay more attention. Just like Lovesong.

Scoot, oh come on how can you not like him. He spends all day taking care of a giant little kid and has more patience than I can ever hope to encounter. He’s just the perfect best friend / mother hen.

Anyway, that is what I have for you so far. I’ll update later when I finish later this week, but it wont be too much.

Till then.

Being John Malkovich (dir. Spike Jonz [1999])

Okay, when you compair this movie to Anansi Boys, well you can’t do it. At least in my opinion.

Yeah, they both have a bit of magic in them, but in the book seems so much more fun and believable like it all could easily be real. In the movie it seems so out there that I’m not really sure I can even start to believe in. I mean, how does a portal like that come into being in the first place?

I main character, the one who takes over the body in the first place, is a vey wimpy character. Didn’t like him at any part.

The person who is the one the portal leads to is probably the one I feel most sympathetic to. I mean it’s not like they asked to be taken over and given no free will when they turn 44. It’s not fair for them at all.

As for the topic of the week, contemporary urban fantasy and mythic fiction, I guess it fits - the first part at least. (The second part the Anansi Boys.) It is a contemporary idea, the ability to be someone else and never die, but the way that it was presented was so odd and out-of-place to me that I couldn’t get into it.

I did not enjoy the movie. The lighting for the whole thing was very low, the characters were winy, and the idea that an office building with a floor built for little people has a secret door that leads to the mind of another person is so farfetched that I could only just believe it enough to get though the movie.

There were only 2 things/ parts that I liked about the movie. 1) the body’s best friend was played by the guy from “Two and a Half Men” 2) The documentary about his life becoming a famous puppet-tear. That was the must interesting part of the movie for me.

So that is my opinion. Fell free to agree or disagree. Watch the movie yourself if you would like, I just didn’t find it that good.

Well, that week 7 done, midterm week. Half way done.

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

I have to say that I enjoyed this book much more than The Magicians from last week.

While it was a bit confusing in the beginning, what with the seemingly random anansi stories and random character backgrounds, you learn later that it all has a point.

I see this book as a supernatural-godlike-people-meets-Mary-Higgins-Clark type of book. And I love some of her books, so once I understood that everyone mentioned for more than a paragraph had a significant, but hidden, part in the plot I really got into it.

The parts when Fat Charlie comepairs his fiance’s mother to a vampire where so funny at points that I would start laughing out loud. Of course this caused the rest of my hall mates to ask if I was alright since to them I suddenly crack up while working on some sculpture homework. (I was listening to the audiobook since I had no time for reading this week.) They would also question me when I would start saying random words under my breath. In this case I would be repeating some of the lines or words from the audiobook since it is both written and spoken in British English. This makes it very difficult not to make a sound when you hear one of the characters repeating the word ‘bullocks’ over and over again.

Spider was my favorite character. Sure he’s a jerk for a while, a huge arrogant jerk, but if tell me you don’t feel sorry for him when he’s with the bird woman then I say you aren’t human.

Alright, now let’s look at it as a book. The chapters are long. Even on audiobook I could tell that they were long. There were 14 chapters and 10 hours of book, and I know that the edition in our library is about 400 pages.

I liked that they had a concluding chapter, where you learn everyone’s ending and don’t get left to make up your own story. Let’s compair it to Harry Potter. At the end on the seventh book of the Harry Potter series you get Harry going to look for a place to sleep then a 19 year jump to when all other their kids go to school. This led to hundreds of different fan-created stories to try to explain how everything went back together after having been shattered with the final battle. In Anansi Boys you get and explanation for everyone as well as an epilogue for Charlie and his new family. This I feel is better because I know that most of the true Harry Potter fans are still very annoyed that there is no explanation.

So there is Anansi Boys. I defiantly recommend it if you are looking for a good book.

Labyrinth (dir. Jim Henson 1986)

Gosh, I haven’t seen this movie in years!

And I’m not sure I want to see it again for a few more.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good more for the 1980’s, but the girl complains so much that it just got annoying.

If you look at this movie in comparison to the topic of the week, spiritual education, then yes it does fit. Yeah, it’s not what you would first think of (Harry Potter) but it does have magic in it and teaches you that life isn’t fair and you can’t always take things for what they seem.

My favorite character is Ludo. If I had to choose between the three helper characters, only Ludo would be the one I wouldn’t mind taking home with me. I mean, what is she going to do with a goblin, at least Ludo can summon rocks, and he can be a giant teddy bear!

I do feel bad for the Goblin King though. He was only dong his job, and in the end many of his people go and live with the girl. 

That’s not fair.

If you were to compare this to The Magicians then I have to say that a few things. 1) The magic in the movie is less obvious. 2) The movie is on it’s own. It seems to have little to no influence from outside sources and defiantly does not reference other stories in it. 3) The movie’s plot and conflict are very easy to identify unlike the book.

While this is the required movie for the week, the in class movie and discussion is Harry Potter, much more magic related.

At any rate the movie was good. However, I would say that it is a movie to watch because of the characters and techniques of it rather than the relation to the topic at hand.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

To those who enjoy reading books about magic, you will want to check out this book.

Okay, I say that it’s good but be forewarned, the story moves kind of slow. I mean it took literally more than half the book to find out what the conflict is in the story. I read one hundred pages the first day and when my dad asked me that night what is was about I said that it’s about a boy who goes to a college of magic but other than that I had no idea.

I will say though that I like how some parts are written. 

In the book they talk about a series that the main character loves and they way to that world is very similar to that in The Chronicles of Narnia. If you even look at the cover you can see similarities between it and The Magician’s Nephew.

But it’s not this points that I enjoyed. Rather, the other elements that were in reference to things like Quidditch in Harry Potter or hobbit-holes from The Lord of the Rings. What was awesome (at least in my opinion) was that he didn’t try to cover it up like some writer’s do, but rather made sure you got the reference by pointing it out to you. In the end he mentioned Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, Scooby-doo, Star Treck, and The Lorax - at least those are the ones that I remember.

Every time that I would come across one of them I would smile and think that that was exactly what I was thinking about too. Half the reason why I kept reading the book when it got really slow was to find the next culture reference in it.

So, in the end it’s a good book, just a bit slow for me. If I want to read the next one in the series I will most likely find and audio book of it and see if that makes it move any quicker.

Well, 6 down, 10 to go.