Watchmen

Watchmen by Alan Moore is probably my most favorite story of all time. Every time I crack open the pages, I find something I missed before. Personally, I think Zack Snyder did a brilliant job in the adaptation. His attention to detail was enough to make comic fans drool, but all of his significant changes to the plot really helped bring the story into the modern world, as well as make it more presentable and understandable to a new audience. One piece of criticism is voiced over and over again: male nudity. Some boys will never grow up. There is significant meaning behind Dr. Manhattan’s nudity – his complete departure from the human race and therefore modesty, for one – but there’s no use telling that to the gaping, embarrassed, intimidated brat heehawing in the front row.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is one of my favorite books, but the adapted film was pretty anticlimactic. I bought the DVD today and watched it for the first time since its summer release in theaters, and I pretty much had the same reaction – thrilled to see the book on screen, nit-picking through the changes made, and overall ending with shallow disappointment. The book was all about mystery and excitement and the realization that there is a dark force trying to take over the Wizarding world. Although I see those attempts made in the movie, they are very obvious attempts. I love the films dearly and I enjoy seeing how they adapt the book for screen, but this was the first film that really left me underwhelmed.

The Antichrist

Lars von Trier’s The Antichrist, starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg, is perhaps the most mind-bending film I have ever seen. I do not know exactly why he decided to entitle this work “The Antichrist”, but the themes of nature as evil and woman as evil-doer run through the plot in a surprising twist of modern thought. The entire story is psychological, sexual, violent, and compassionate to an extent beyond comparison. A friend of mine says these adjectives describe other Lars von Trier works, so I may have to look them up and do some research. If one is not opposed to graphic sex and gore, and one prefers “artistic” rather than “Hollywood”, I highly recommend this film.

The Fourth Kind

The Fourth Kind tried to be an interesting movie, and to a degree it achieved this. Throughout the film there is this interplay of the “documentary” video feed and the “film” – an interesting concept in itself, it at least led many audience members to believe that they were watching “real” footage. Mystery surrounds the alien race and you never actually see them, but their Sumerian voices somehow escape the mouths of humans. The film was based on “actual” abduction cases, but I remain very skeptical.

Lord of the Rings, Men in Black, and War of the Worlds

TNT spent a day showing Fantasy and Sci-Fi, the films including all three from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Men in Black, and War of the Worlds. Of course, there's not mut to say about Lord of the Rings except to echo its awesomeness. Men in Black could be likened to the Fifth Element in its success derived from sci-fi themes mixed with contemporary pop culture. Will Smith is an icon of pop culture to be sure. As for War of the Worlds, I know it gets a lot of bad criticism from the audience, but I enjoy it. It seems any time a Sci-Fi film with enemy aliens does not end with the humans kicking their butts gets negative criticism. Look at The Knowing and The Day the Earth Stood Still. Then again, these films star Tom Cruise, Nicholas Cage, and Keanu Reeves (respectively), who all seem to get a bad review no matter their roles. For my part, I like all of the movies listed here.

The Fifth Element

I think this movie was so successful because of its combinations of sci-fi, futuristic technology and contemporary pop culture - of course, the addition of great comedy helps. Examples of these combinations include the anti-gravity cop car parked outside a McDonald's, a priest representing an alien nation, and a vacation resort on another planet. The archetypal bitter ex-militant (Bruce Willis) and the man relying on faith (the priest) are also expressed in the film.

Where the Wild Things Are

Considering I had never read the book as a child, for me the film experience was probably very different. The story itself was a bit thin, but I was expecting that going into the theater. After all, the premise is about a boy escaping into his own world. I think there are messages between the lines, of course. Themes of self-discovery mix with innocence and immature emotion to create a kind of reminiscent, subconscious realization that many of us had as children. You know, that phase when you begin to realize what is right and wrong, appropriate and inappropriate. And the movie itself was filmed very beautifully. The monster characters are larger than life, quite possibly some of the best special effects I have ever seen. And I know that the author, Maurice Sendak, helped them along throughout the filming/writing process, so that makes the movie all the more special in my eyes. I always like when an original creator of an adaptation gets involved with the reinvention of the story from book to film. He wanted the film to be honest with children, keeping deep-thought themes like anger, loneliness, and love in the movie without “dumbing it down”. I think they did a wonderful job.

Law Abiding Citizen

Starring Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx, I would place this film in the Thriller/Action genre that is becoming popular. Overall I really liked it, even though I thought the ending was kind of cheap. But it was fun to see Butler playing a bad guy, even if he was a “empathetic” bad guy, the kind that we, the audience, empathize with and almost cheer him on. Kind of like the anti-hero that is becoming so popular as well, but I don’t think I would necessarily call Butler’s character an anti-hero. More like an anti-villain, if the same rules of anti-hero apply. An anti-hero is a hero with flaws that grate against the traditional heroic qualities, like Batman or Rorschach. So it seems plausible that an anti-villain would be a villain with qualities contradictory to the traditional villain, like a bad guy that drives the conflict but has a sympathetic motive, i.e. avenging the death of his family. Only other example I can currently think of is the Sandman from Spiderman 3.

Anyway. It seemed Butler wasn’t able to completely shed his Scottish accent for this one, not that I mind. And Jamie Foxx was brilliant – he always gives 110%. I’d recommend it for a night at the movies.

Paranormal Activity

Filmed to look like a documentary, Paranormal Activity’s success I believe lies in its suspense. Writer/Director Oren Peli gets lots of kudos from me. He really knows how to write a good story. I’m glad this film has become such a hit because it’s showing Hollywood that gore and jump-out-at-you cheap scares are not what drives a horror movie. Any screenwriter would benefit from looking at Oren’s ideas and interviews on how he studies the genre and writes his screenplays. His biggest influences are the “slow burn” movies, like The Others or The Sixth Sense, when a little is revealed at a time. I’m looking forward to his next piece called Area 51, and we can all expect Hollywood producers to foam at the mouth to make a sequel to this thriller.

District 9, Halloween II, and Inglorious Basterds

These films happen to be in order chronologically by release date and by my preference.

District 9 was amazing. I have not seen anything so raw and original in a very long time. (Except perhaps Watchmen, but that is in a different league all on its own.) Written and Directed by Neill Blomkamp, who was on the Halo project until it found a brick wall, District 9 is about a large group of aliens that were forced to land on Earth over Johannesburg, South Africa, and they soon find themselves the victims of human/non-human racial abuse. The film carries many themes, the most prevalent being selfish desire vs. justice, as shown through Wikus's tentative partnership with the non-human Christopher. A few things in general that I really enjoyed about District 9 were the viral campaign leading up to the film's release, the originality of the story, and the cast of unknowns. I have yet to find the script, but I plan to read it when I do.

Halloween II, a sequel written and directed by its predecesor, Rob Zombie, was also awesome. There have been lots of re-imaginings of classic slasher films (the recent Texas Chainsaw Massacre films, Friday the 13th from February earlier this year, and A Nightmare on Elm Street soon forthcoming - starring Watchmen's Jackie Earle Haley, no less), but I think Rob Zombie's vision is the most notable. He has taken Michael Myers and made him very real. I believe that is the trend - giving our typically masked slashers a very real (if psychological) motive instead of mindlessly killing anything that fucks. The entire horror genre is in a process of reinvention, but then again it is the one genre that must change its face all the time. The original Halloween script by the immortal John Carpenter may be found here.

And then there is Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds. I know he is famous for his quirky scripts and visceral eptitudes, and I love Pulp Fiction as much as anybody else, but I was not crazy about the Basterds. Maybe it was way too talky, even for Tarantino, or maybe it was the spinning camera that made me sick, or perhaps even it was the inaccurate history - even though I went into the theater knowing that. But for me, the best part of the movie was watching Brad Pitt's rednecked Lt. Aldo "The Apache" Raine try to speak Italian or Hitler stepping out of his box to ask the guard for a piece of gum.

Films I am looking forward to: Whiteout (09/11), Sorority Row (09/11), Surrogates (09/25), The Road (10/16), Where the Wild Things Are (10/16).

Inspiring Friendships

When reading "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot this week, I took notice that he dedicated the poem to Ezra Pound. I remembered enjoying Ezra Pound's poetry in high school, so I searched a bit on Google to find out about their relationship to one another. I discovered that Eliot and Pound were in fact friends, and that Pound had also edited "The Waste Land" - thus the dedication.

I have seen this "Fellowship of the Pen" situation before in Romantic literature, as with Wordsworth, Coleridge, Lamb, and Shelley. Is it coincidence that the great minds of poetry are usually friends with one another? Does their friendship contribute to their brilliance? I admit that if I ever met someone who enjoyed the same genres and beliefs as I cherish, if we were on the same intellectual level and writing proficiency, wouldn't we inspire each other and help in the revising of each other's work? I said "Fellowship of the Pen" in jest, but it seems evermore appropriate - just as the Fellowship of the Ring proved that the greatest tasks cannot be completed alone, the "Fellowship of the Pen" proves that the greatest works of literature are often inspired in friendly criticism.

Now I may have to go search for a modern day Fellowship...

The Goblin Image

I admit that this post will not be as in depth as I normally try to be, but I've been devouring books all week and my mind is quite a bit stretched.

While reading "The Goblin Market" by Rossetti this week, I couldn't help imagining the world of the goblins. Yes, I understand that the poem was more centered on the girls and feminism, etc. - but to be honest I find goblins much more fascinating. Everyone perceives goblins differently. Even searching the blessed Google for an image of the creature dubbed "Goblin" brought several different results. Even my own idea of a goblin differs from those I shall present. (Indeed, in the fantasy novels I will one day impose on the world, I present a very different brand of goblin for consideration.)

Firstly, we have our Gringotts Goblin. (Thank you, Rowling!)



Secondly, we have Jareth's Goblins, which were once naughty children.



And then we have what I shall call the "Halloween" Goblin, which is more of a costume than a creature, or otherwise more humanoid than the rest.



My Goblins are inspired from Luis Royo's dark fantasy art. He is incredible, and creates many covers for current fantasy novels I might add.

Forsaken

While reading "The Forsaken Merman" by Matthew Arnold, I considered the merman and the sea as representations of the Old Religion, and that the chapel was the New Religion. In this way, the message of the poem is how the New Religion condemns the Old Religion even if a person feels more comfortable on one path than the other. (Of course I'm biased.) Margaret went to the church out of fear for her soul, leaving her lover and her children behind. Then she is unable to hear their pleas for her return because she feels obligated to the church in order to save her soul. To me, this represents the church's use of fear to gain control over a huge number of people. In the Old Religion, no one is going to damn you for believing differently. In the end, "The Forsaken Merman" is a tragedy about the forsaken religion. But despite popular belief, the Old Religion is still alive and well.

The Allure of a Monster

I don’t know how I went all of these years without reading Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. I knew before even turning the first page that I would love the story about to be revealed to me. Anything about a monster or a beast draws my attention, particularly if the so-called monster is misunderstood. There is some kind of psychological allure to them, perhaps because they are shunned by society and made outcasts in spite of whatever beauty lies inside of them. More often than not, such a rejection destroys that inner beauty, and they become exactly what society expects them to be: a monster.

One thing I have noticed after sharing discussions on the class forum is that I have a different take about why the creation of the monster is so horrific. Just about everyone says that Victor rejected his own creation after realizing the horrendous sin he had committed, that he had overstepped his boundary into God’s realm, and that only God has the power to create life. I don’t believe in the Christian God, and I don’t believe in sin. I think this opened me to the idea that Victor was so horrified of his creation because it removed all the magic from life, rendering it to a complex but utterly scientific process. Of course it could then be argued that because the creature became a murderer, a sinner, that its existence is proof that God’s hand is required to make a person good. On the other hand, I think if someone had befriended the creature, he could have remained innocent and quite possibly could have lived out a normal life.

Ha! Guess you could say I’m an optimistic heathen. Isn’t there a circle in Hell for that?

The Nightingale

After reading Keats's "Ode to a Nightingale", I am filled with thoughts of my own mortality, considering my own desire - as Keats did - to create some lasting echo for future generations to grasp and remember that I was once alive. His rhyme and rhythmic pace creates the illusion of strolling across the fields to the shadowed woods of the Nightingale's home, joining its flight and song on a journey to fantasy worlds of imagination. I have joined that venture so many times before that I am able to slip away from reality without any doubt or hesitation, willfully hastening myself to other lands even in the presence of anchored friends. This ode strikes some unknown bell within me. Its music is peaceful and contemplative. I'll share it with you.

William Blake

I work from midnight to eight o'clock in the morning at a security desk. Needless to say, this is when I get most of my school work done. Last night (or this morning, depending on which way you look), I read the poems by William Blake scheduled for my literature course. Overall, I really enjoy Blake's work, both in art and poetry. He was very innovative and original for his time, in my opinion.

Here are some notes I took while reading my assignments:

William Blake, 1757-1827

Songs of Innocence (1789), “Introduction”

My first impression is that the child represents divinity. The fact that the piper sees the child “on a cloud”, and that the child asks him to sing about a Lamb, supports this idea. This child might also represent inspiration or imagination, as the child encourages the piper to then create lyrics for a song and further write down the song to share with the world. Perhaps the poems that follow are the songs inspired by divinity from this introduction.

Rhyme Scheme: ABAB CDCD EDED FGFG HDHD
Tone: Cheerful, creative, dare one say innocent.

Compared against “Introduction” and “Earth’s Answer” in Songs of Experience (1794):
The introduction for Songs of Experience also presents the Holy Word, God’s voice, calling for Earth to return from darkness. In “Earth’s Answer”, the Earth appears to call God a “selfish father of men”. It seems to resist the day, preferring night. Then it seems that God replies, “Does spring hide its joy when buds and blossoms grow? Does the sower sow by night or the plowman in darkness plow?” It is not clear to me who speaks in the last stanza (“break this heavy chain”). The last line, “That free Love with bondage bound” is interesting. I think a lot of these two poems have sexual suggestions.

Rhyme Scheme:
Introduction, ABAAB CDCCD EFEEF GHGGH
Earth’s Answer, ABAAB CDCCD DEFFE GHHFH I J I I J
Tone: Almost despairing, desperation.

Songs of Innocence, “Chimney Sweeper”

I remember reading this one in high school – and what I remember from that lecture is that the “coffins of black” are chimneys. The boy dreams about an Angel taking them all to play and bask in the sun. “And the Angel told Tom if he’d be a good boy, he’d have God for his father & never want joy.” The last line of the poem, “so if all do their duty they need not fear harm”, does not necessarily apply to the life of the chimney sweeper, but to a person fulfilling their duty to God to be a good person. The reward is Heaven.

Rhyme Scheme: AABB CCDD EEFF GGHH IIJJ KKLL
Tone: Dark, but hopeful.

Compared against “Chimney Sweeper” in Songs of Experience:
Half the length of the previous poem, this version is told from a passerby’s point of view. He asks where the sweeper’s parents are, and the boy replies that they are at the Church praising “God & his Priest & King who make up a heaven of our misery”. While both poems hold up the sweeper as a positive example of mankind, this one in particular points out the corrupted morality of the common world.

Rhyme Scheme: AABB CACA DEDE
Tone: Revealing, almost spiteful.

Songs of Experience, “London”

This poem paints an image of London as a city where everything and everyone is owned by the Church and the King. However, “the mind-forg’d manacles” suggests that this ownership is not physical, simply accepted by a pacified society. There is a bit of interesting structural play with the word “hear”, being the last word of the second stanza and the end of the first line of the fourth, and the third stanza creates “HEAR” with the first letters of its lines. Once again Blake spotlights the children, the young boys as chimney sweeps and the young girls as harlots. Overall, the poem displays the oppression of people by the mind games of the Church and government, a psychology so effective that the people curse the infants in restlessness.

Rhyme Scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF DGDG
Tone: Observant, almost angry.



Songs of Experience, “The Garden of Love”

This poem is symbolic of the Church corrupting what is supposed to be a beautiful religion. It also represents the Romantic view of industrialism against nature. In the Garden of Love there are “tomb-stones where flowers should be” and priests “binding with briars, my joys & desires”. I believe this poem represents the idea of religion vs. spirituality. Following the manmade rules of how to practice religion restricts the very spiritual experience of God’s love, which can be found in nature. I think the poem compares to Blake’s “Jerusalem”.

Rhyme Scheme: ABCB DEAE FGH*I* (*internal rhymes)
Tone: Depressed, horrified.

I was very lucky to have also gone over a bit of Blake in my Romantic Imagination course. Here are some additional notes from that class:

William Blake is one of the primary six poets often reviewed in the Romantic period.
He believed in the freedom of sexuality and advocated against the doctrine of marriage and keeping to one sexual partner. (However, he was married and loved no other but his wife. He attempted to bring in a second wife once, but the first wife told him to send her away.) It is said that Blake and his wife often sat naked in their garden conversing with angels.
Blake was very much against the industrial revolution, believing it was a movement away from God and nature. This is most prevalent in his poem “Jerusalem”. This personifies the inherent view of most Romantic writers, who believed it was important to use nature to expand the imagination beyond the restraints (mind-forged manacles) the Church and State insisted upon in this era.