DVD: I Am Number Four

So the family and I sat down and watched the DVD for I Am Number Four this weekend--the oldest three of us enjoyed the novel to varying degrees, and probably at least one other kid would have, too, if it weren't for having to take it back to the library before he got to it. It's been awhile since I had such a visceral reaction to a movie, so I figured I'd write about it a bit. But I'm not in the mood to do more than provide two lists about the flick--a pro and a con, if you would.

Reasons to Watch It (largely for novelty):

• Timothy Olyphant gets more dialogue per second of screen time in this role than in any other I've seen him in (haven't seen him on The Office, so...I dunno about that). So as weird as it was to see him without a hat (thank you, Sheriff Bullock and Marshall Givens), it was weirder yet to see him as such a chatterbox. He was funny, too, I should add. Then he got to pick up a gun and blast a few bad guys, and everything was right with the world.
• Speaking of jarring, Dianna Agron spent a whole lotta time walking around a high school and no one, not one person, broke into song, even for a moment.
Reasons Why Not to Watch It:

• Everything else about the movie. The acting. The script. The characters. The plot. How do you take a novel that's basically a very thorough movie treatment to start with and ruin it? I dunno, but somehow the normally reliable Alfred Gough & Miles Millar and typically wonderful Marti Noxon did just that.

Hope you find this helpful.

Misc. Things about Books

• We're all more than familiar with the stereotype of the socially awkward bookworm (heck, it's practically my whole identity for huge chunks of my life), but some recent research suggests that just might not be so. In fact, those who read a lot of fiction might be more empathetic than others (gotta say, that's long been my theory, glad to see that I was probably right). (h/t:Lifehacker)
• This has been linked like crazy all over, but author extraordinaire Michael Chabon has a great essay out about The Phantom Tollbooth (taken from his introduction to the forthcoming 50^th anniversary edition). Loved, loved, loved that book (and re-re-re-re-re-reread it as a kid). A couple years ago I read it with my kids and fell in love again--thanks to Mr. Chabon, I have to go read it again.
• I'm torn about this. I'm a huge, huge fan of Robert B. Parker, and the thought of not getting new Spenser and Stone volumes each year depresses me, but the news that the Parker estate and his publisher have hired new authors to continue his two main series (thankfully there's no talk about more Cole/Hitch books). If Joan's comfortable with it, it seems wrong for us fans to be naysayers. But, my initial reaction's more like what Andrew Wheeler tweeted, "V.C. Andrews, move over: sharecropping to begin over Robert Parker's barely-cold corpse." (h/t:Harry Connolly's feed). But, hey, it's not like Parker treated his stuff as much more than a commodity anyway lately (and honestly, I liked some of the choices that the new Stone writer made with the movies more than Parker made). I do know I'll be grabbing them up from the library as soon as humanly possible--and hopefully I'll like 'em enough to head to a bookstore after that.

A Bad Day for Sorry by Sophie Littlefield/After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn

A Bad Day for Sorry: A Crime Novel by Sophie Littlefield

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I knew that crime fiction would come up with someone to dethrone Lisbeth Salander as reigning Queen Bad*ss, but I never woulda figured it'd be someone like Stella Hardesty. Sure, Lisbeth could take Stella in a steel cage match--but in an extended campaign, that little girl wouldn't stand a chance, Stella'd kick her Asperger's all the way back to Sweden.

After years of spousal abuse, Stella finally had enough and killed him. Some years later, Stella augments her income from her sewing supply store by helping women in similar situations by making their spouses, boyfriends, etc. To say that her methods are unorthodox would be an understatement of the highest order.

The case at the center of this book seems pretty straightforward--the jerk in question seems to need (and respond to) some encouragement to stick to the behavior plan that Stella's lined out for him--like she expected, but lo and behold, he ends up kidnapping his ex's kid.

Things go out of control from there.

Given the subject matter, this book obviously goes to some pretty dark places. Yet this story is told with a lot of wit and charm--a few laughs, too (particularly as a mutual attraction grows between Stella and the new Sheriff). It doesn't take long at all to really like Stella and get invested in her crusade, as well as this case.

Just can't wait to get my hands on the sequel.

After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


(really 4.5 stars, if that were possible)



This should make up for my less than glowing review of Vaughn's last book (the fun Steel). This is the best novel Carrie Vaughn has published--and that's saying something.



Beyond paraphrasing the book description, or spoiling the whole thing, I can't think of anything else to say.



Just read it.



View all my reviews

Steel by Carrie Vaughn

Steel by Carrie Vaughn

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Let me start by saying I'm a big, big fan of Carrie Vaughn. Read every book--and can't imagine stopping. I've recommended this book to my sons and am going to loan this to my niece. But, (and you knew one was coming given that opening) man, this could've been--should've been--a much better book.

Jill, a championship level fencer and potential Olympian, suffers a tough loss, sending her into a losing battle with self-doubt. Soon after, her parents drag her along on a family vacation in the Bahamas (poor girl, right?). Walking along the beach, she stumbles on to a piece of a broken sword--an old, broken sword. First time she's held anything but a blunt, sport blade. Enchanted with the notion, she tucks it away.

Turns out, not only is her imagination bespelled, she is--before she knows it, Jill finds herself on an actual pirate ship a couple of hundred years in the past. After she figures out what happened to her, she finds herself part of the crew, growing close to a handful of them (a hunky age-appropriate pirate in particular) and learning about the sword's magic.

While she tries to find a way home, she learns a little about herself and a little about life. (wow, that sounds like a cheesy after school special...which not exactly inaccurate, but Vaughn pulls it off).

Vaughn touches upon some pretty dark stuff here, enough to make it authentic (or authentic-ish, anyway)--but makes sure that it stays a pretty tame PG-13.

And that's the crux of my problem with the book--she pulls her punches, just about all of them. She did it with Voices of Dragons, too--less so, here, though. Yes, it's a YA book, and yes, I think she's right to do it. I just think she shouldn't pull back as much. Everything here--from character, plot, setting, narrative, action--it's all perfectly fine, it's all age appropriate, but she certainly could've fleshed it all out more without going over the line.

Still, it's a good, swashbuckling read.



View all my reviews

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Overall, this was a fun, fast read, though it wasn't the best written book.



The book opens with a scene that's supposed to grab you by the lapels and not let go for the next 440 pages. Personally, it didn't work at all, particularly because I could see the authors doing that.



Thirty pages or so later, the story did get rolling pretty well and before I knew it I was hip deep in the book, and fairly invested with some of the characters.



I had a list of quibbles I had with the writing, but decided not to bother. While they detracted from my enjoyment, they didn't ruin anything.



The highpoint of the novel was the mix of SF and Magic. It's not often that you come across that kind of thing, and when done right, it's dynamite. These authors pull it off pretty well, as they do the rest of the story. I'll be back for more.



View all my reviews

So Have You Seen this Fan-Made Hunger Games Clip?

I don't know if you've seen this yet, but if you've read The Hunger Games you really, really should--it almost perfectly captures one of the best scenes in the book. If you haven't read it, and are considering it (and you really should), stay away from the clip 'cuz it'll ruin one of the best scenes in the book.

Other than the fact they got Rue's ethnicity wrong...can't think of a problem with this. I'd gladly fork over $10 to buy a ticket to this group's version of the whole book.

Watching this made me realize one major problem with making a movie of book: How does Hollywood expect to do this flick and get a PG-13?

Odds 'n Ends Reviews

Here's a handful of things I've been meaning to blog about, but the posts would be very small, or I can't just find the time. So, in no particular order:

TV

• Rubicon. This show is like the anti-Damages, yet it's so similar. Like Damages, you have no idea what's really going on most of the time (and you're okay with that), you're pretty sure you're not really going to know if it's worth it until the last episode (but it probably is), it's absolutely riveting, and it'll make you paranoid, seeing conspiracies everywhere. On the other hand, it's not like Damages--it's told sequentially (not that it's any help figuring out what's happening), it's slow. Glacially slow. People stare out the window and think. People stare at paper and think. People do crosswords. And you can't take your eyes off it. Seriously good stuff. I hear AMC is running all the episodes this weekend for those who've missed out on the first half of the season. It's worth the try.
  
• Mad Men, I didn't get the appeal of Season 1. I still didn't get it for most of Season 2 (but kept on just to see what the fuss was about, and 'sides, I needed something to watch at work). But then something--don't ask me what--clicked with me, and I can't get enough of this world. Well, most of it. If Betty Draper vanished into thin air, I'd be absolutely okay. Great, great show.
  
• Monk it feels weird not spending time with Natalie, Leland, Randy and Monk any more during the summer.
  
• Sons of Anarchy comes roaring back next week and I cannot wait!!!
  

Books

• Scott Pilgrim 6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour. Not the way I'd have ended the epic, but I can't complain. This series was a real treat to read. If you've watched the movie, or have seen the commercials and thought you might want to watch the movie, you need to check out the source.
  
• Richard Yancey -- I've spent a lot of time with Mr. Yancey over the last month or so. Frodo and I have worked through his YA series about the last descendant of Lancelot, the unlikeliest of heroes--Alfred Kropp, and I've read the first three installments in his Highly Effective Detective series. Both feature "heroes" that don't fit the mold for their genres (similarly at times), who nevertheless get the job done. Both are fun, both are well-told/plotted/paced, and both are far more satisfying than you'd think from reading the cover blurbs. Can't wait for the more from this guy.
  

Movies

• Greenberg/The Runaways. I just don't get it. Some of the acting in these is great. I'm glad to see Ben Stiller can act as well as he did in Greenberg, and it's always great to see Merritt Weaver. Kristin Stewart rocked (sorry, couldn't resist) in The Runaways, and it hardly needs to be said that Dakota Fanning was great. And most everyone else in both films was just about as good. But--UGH. Both were such monumental wastes of time. Is there a word for the opposite of Gestalt? If so, it's what describes these. If not, there should be.
  
• Cop Out--not Kevin Smith's greatest movie, but so funny once Tracey Morgan was reigned in. Bruce Willis should do more comedy.
  
• Scott Pilgrim vs. The World because of time/money, I've been to the theater 5 times this year--2.5 times mostly as a chaperone/chauffeur. I'd be 100% willing to go another 5 times just to watch this movie. Sure, it's not absolutely faithful to the source material--but it captures the essence and got the story to fit in a decent runtime, so I can't complain. So much fun. So much heart. Why isn't this a hit?
  

Music

• The Reason Why by Little Big Town. I've only had this album for three days, and have listened to it maybe 4 times, but it already feels like an old favorite I can turn to and relax/think with. These guys are too good to be so small.
  

Boy Proof by Cecil Castellucci

Victoria Jurgen is an honor student, a budding photographer with a heck of an eye, a social misfit, a movie geek (there's a correlation of the two), who's nicknamed herself after a SciFi movie character. All this makes her (a goal for her, a criticism for her mother) "boy proof."

She has no real friends at school--only rivals, acquaintances, and those that she ignores. Until a transfer student rattles her cage, awakening ideas, feelings, and goals she's not ready for.

Victoria is what Bella Swan could've become if she were a bit geekier, and didn't fall in with the supernatural set. Speaking of ol' Bella, early on in Boy Proof, there's a scene involving a transfer student, the only empty seat in class, and the newcomer's odor that is very reminiscent of a scene from Twilight. IMNSHO, Castellucci pulls if off better than Meyer did.

There's nothing ground-breaking here plot-wise, but Victoria's character and voice are so strong, you don't care. This book is about watching her change and grow. Could the book have been more than that? Sure. Did it need to be? Nope. I wish I could remember what blogpost/tweet/whatever it was that tipped me off to this book, but whatever it was, I'm glad I read it.

Living with the Top of Our Son's Head

This is pretty much all we've seen over the last week of Frodo. It's mostly encouraging, but a little strange at the same time.

Frodo, like his siblings, reads more than your average kid--he really has no choice in this household, like I've intended it all along (TLomL has intended it, too...probably not as intensely as me).^* I should add that it's not all by coercion, he actually enjoys reading. Granted, he's not at the level I was at his age, but that's probably a good thing. He might actually have a social life in a couple of years.

Things changed a week ago, though. After repeated suggestions from his parents over the last few months, he pulled down Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone from the shelf and dove in. I'm not going to be one of the roughly 97 bazillion people to use the line about Rowling casting a spell on him, but...she basically did that. He's been plowing through them at a rate he's never hit before--seven days after he started Sorcerer's Stone, he started in on Half-Blood Prince. Samwise has been following his lead, but not at the same rate.

What's more, he's devoted hours to this project--he's ignored opportunities to play outside, to play video games (not every opportunity, mind you), to do basically everything he normally does so that he can sit with a Potter novel open in front of him.

I do realize that parents all over the world have experience this phenomenon. It's just great to see this in action. Never would've figured the top of his head would be such a great thing to look at (cowlick and all).


^* Can I legally call that a sentence? Someone grab a Defibrillator for my inner-editor...

If Anything's Going to Turn Frodo into a Theater Junkie...

It's this, Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Treehouse: The Musical.

can't believe it's up there with Les Mis or Sondeim--but gotta be better than Disney on Ice or that Weber guy.

(h/t: Julie Kenner)

Really only posting this to keep up my quota

Watched The Water Horse, this weekend with the family, which garnered very mixed reviews. TLomL called it "cute" and "a fun little movie." The rest of us couldn't disagree more. Whyfore the difference? The rest of us read the book last year before it opened in theaters, (one of our nigh unto unbreakable House Rules is "read the book first") and the experience coupled with the trailers we'd been enjoying switched it from the "Get thee to a Multiplex" list to "Eh, maybe on video." And we almost didn't do that, but in the end, Frodo's desire to compare the two and the Princess' curiosity overcame Sam's apathy.

I fully realize that you sometimes have to alter, tweak, or change elements of a book to get the thing into a movie. Sometimes I wonder why choices are made, but I can understand it. But this wasn't on the level of leaving Hermione's founding S.P.E.W. out of the flick, or something on that level. This was a wholesale re-write.

Dick King-Smith's perfectly charming kid's book is about two kids Kirstie and Angus living in Scotland in the 1930's with their mother and her father (their father is a merchant marine gone for months at a time). They go to the shore frequently to look for firewood, kelp (to put on their grandfather's garden), and miscellany. One day, Angus and Kirstie find a giant "mermaid's purse", which our protagonist, Kirstie, decides to sneak home because she's so curious about it. That mermaid's purse turns out to be an egg sack for the Water Horse. The rest of the book is about the family's struggle to feed and care for the beastie while keeping him secret. He's moved from body of water to body of water 'til he ends up in Loch Ness, where a certain picture is taken of him in 1934. Along the way, silly Angus grows up a bit, grandfather (named 'Grumble' because of his personality) cheers up, Kirstie becomes more mature.

In the movie, we're still in Scotland, but it's in the middle of WWII, and Angus is the focus...he's drawn to the water, yet terrified of it (for reasons to be semi-explained later). One day at the beach where he's supposed to be playing, he finds this strange rock, which he takes home--which is a large estate, his mother is the Head Housekeeper there. The rock turns out to be an egg, from which hatches the Water Horse. The next day, a regiment (or so) of soldiers arrives to be housed at the estate while they guard the nearby Loch from German Subs. Angus recruits the help of Kirstie and the new handyman with the mysterious past (taking the job of Angus' father) to help him keep the creature a secret. Which brings them into confrontation with the soldiers, helps Angus deal with the loss of his father and his fear of water.

Which would've been a fine little flick, if it didn't claim to be based on the book. Trust the source. You thought the novel was good enough to buy the rights to...don't mess with it. Why is this so hard for people to understand?

So, basically, if you and yours haven't read the book--it's a cute movie to watch with the kids. Otherwise...find something else.


By the way, I have to wonder...just what history books do the people at Walden Media read? Apparently, aside from one/both parents being separated from their kids, WWII's a pretty magical time (maybe just in the UK). The Pevensies are whisked away to Narnia, the MacMorrow kids get a magical pet...

Spiderwick?

Anyone out there read/had their kids read The Spiderwick Chronicles? Been wondering about them for awhile, the Library never has a copy in stock, and I just cannot bring myself to spend $11 on a book that measures 6.8" x 4.7" x 0.8" without a good idea if it's worth it (yet one more reason I won't buy a Bruce Wilkinson book, tho am pretty sure of the worth of those).

Dumbledore's Outing

I'm assuming by now you've all heard that J. K. Rowling outed Dumbledore in Australia last week. Now obviously, I'm not going to be excited by this--but I'm not going to use this an excuse to rant about the morality of a fictional character. One of the strengths of the series was that every character was flawed, they all did heroic things (well, except You Know Who and some of his cohort), and they all acted foolishly and immorally. Dumbledore was no exception to this at all. So adding one more sin to his list really doesn't affect what I think of him.

And that's what bothers me the most about what Rowling did--it doesn't really add to, or detract from, the character. There's one attraction in his youth, apparently unrequited, which has really no affect whatsoever on the events in the series. So was this just Rowling needing to get her name in the headlines again? (not sure I buy that) Her trying to make some sort of political statement? (eh, maybe). I'm not sure, it seems so purposeless, senseless to do this.

Now, is Deckard a Replicant or not? That makes a difference. Is Hobbes really alive or a stuffed toy? That makes a difference. This? I just don't see how it matters. No more than knowing what third-world country Fez is from.

Then John C. Wright weighs in on the issue, and helps me see another problem with her announcement (Fabio Paolo Barbieri's comments are great, as well). Potter fans, take a second or and read 'em.

H/T: Thanks, bluewoad for catching the typo.

Really shouldn't have taken the time when I did, but...

I'm done. And to steal a phrase from Nero Wolfe, all I have to say for the moment is, "Most satisfactory."

First time I remember wanting my shift to be longer...

Cracked this open for the first time last night, shortly after my shift started. At 6:25, when I had to take care of some end-of-shift chores, I had 100 pages left.

100 pages!!!

My kingdom for another 40 minutes!

Leaving Barnes & Noble Last Night

Betcha can't guess why we were there...

(Obviously, it was the large Magic Tree House display in the kids' section that drew us)

'bout sums it up for me

(click on the image to see the strip in its full size)

Really? Really?

from Sci Fi Wire:

J.K. Rowling announced on Dec. 21 the title of her upcoming seventh and final Harry Potter book: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, according to her British publisher, Bloomsbury. The publication date has not been set, though it's expected in 2007.

Deathly Hallows? uhhh. oookay. If you ask me, it doesn't have the ring of and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone; ...and the Chamber of Secrets; ...and the Prisoner of Azkaban; or ...and the Goblet of Fire.

Ah well...who cares what it's called? It's one step closer to being here!!