Charles de Lint's The Blue Girl

I recently finished my first Charles de Lint novel -- The Blue Girl. I'm glad I had picked it up -- sometime ago, and just stashed it in the pile of books I had every intention to read -- eventually, someday. That someday came along recently, and I finished the book way too fast. It was a pleasure to read.

Charles de Lint writes fantasy novels, in an urban, contemporary setting, weaving magic into the everyday world you and I wander through without a second thought. The Blue Girl is set in the fictional North American city of Newford, which I place in Canada, since de Lint lives in Ottawa. The protagonists are two 17-year-old high school girls, Maxine and Imogene, who meet for the first time in their final year of high school. Both are outsiders, not fitting into the cool kids crowd -- because they're too smart, and weird. Maxine is the smart one, cloistered by her mother and endures the bullying any nerd would be familiar with. Imogene is the weird one, new to Redding High with a shady past, trying to reinvent herself for her final year. When the girls meet, they find they have way much in common, beyond being a target for the bullying cheerleaders and football players.

Things start getting weird for the girls after they befriend the high school ghost, Adrian and come to the attention of the malicious fairies living in Redding High. Imogene's childhood invisible friend starts to reappear in her dreams then comes to life outside her dreams. All this dabbling with otherworldly inhabitants is fun enough, but things take a turn for the worse when the creatures lurking in the shadows take notice and develop a hunger for the light of Imogene's soul. Imogene and Maxine will have to fight, with the help from their new-found allies, if they want to live.

De Lint crafted a great story, that got me hooked on the characters early on, and kept me coming back for more. It was a bit disappointing to have it end, as I felt there were more adventures in store for Maxine and Imogene -- not to mention the unexplored territory of Fairyland. I have one other de Lint novel on my bookshelf -- an earlier novel -- and since he's written quite a few books, I think I may yet have a chance to explore more of Newford and the world that lurks just beyond the well traveled urban path.

King Rat by China Miéville

After reading Un Lun Dun, I took the other China Miéville novel I had off the shelf, and dived into it, reading it as I lurched every-which-way on the daily bus rides. King Rat was Miéville's debut fantasy novel, published in 1998 and it is quite unlike Un Lun Dun. To begin with, King Rat is not written for younger readers. It is dark retelling of the Pied Piper of Hamelin story -- wherein many rats are drowned and children are kidnapped.

In the Rat King, the Piper is the antagonist. He's evil incarnate, with the ability to make anything he wishes, dance to his tune, and do his bidding. Back in Hamelin, he drowned the rats that had invested the village, except the King, who managed to escape. Through time, he's tortured other souls, including Anansi, king of the spiders, and Loplop, king of the birds. In modern day London, King Rat, Anansi and Loplop are plotting revenge on the Piper, with a secret weapon, King Rat's son, the half-man, half-rat, Saul Garamond, who just may not want to be a part of this little war -- but was bred for revenge, since being both man and rat, can't be seduced by the Piper's music played for rats or people.

King Rat is set against the underground drum and bass movement of London. The pounding music sets the tone for a savage story in the urban jungle. Miéville does an excellent job of bringing the music scene alive in King Rat, using it deftly to shape the landscape in which his brutal revenge story is playing out. The story comes with lots of twists and turns, which are cleverly inserted just before you start wondering where it's all going. The transformation of Saul from human to man-rat happens fast. It will make you think twice of the alleys and rooftops of cities. Overall, King Rat is a pretty good fantasy novel, set in today's London. It takes you away, but keeps reminding you that you didn't really leave.

I can see this novel being very easily adapted to a movie. That would be cool.

Un Lun Dun by China Miéville

I recently finished Un Lun Dun, by China Miéville. It's been a while since I sat down to read a book of fiction, and since I was going to be spending hours in a flight to China, I decided to take a book along to fill the void. I had picked up Un Lun Dun sometime ago, and its been sitting on my bookshelf, calling to me.

Un Lun Dun is a fantasy novel, set in an alternate London -- unLondon, as it were. Miéville sets out to write an unfantasy novel. The setup has been used many times by fantasy authors. There's usually a prophecy of an outsider who travels to a far off land to save it from a menace. There is a quest. There are trials that will test the mettle of the hero. Lessons will be learned; sacrifices will be made. The hero will be fair -- the blonde-haired, blue-eyed type. The villain will be evil. The hero will triumph just in time, and there will be a happy ending.

Forget the usual however. In Un Lun Dun, the hero is a heroine, and is not the one that has been destined to save Un Lun Dun. The heroine actually starts out to be the sidekick, and she's anything but fair and heroic. She's probably East Indian and is on the pudgy side. She is not into the hero-thing, rather being there out of necessity -- because there is no one else to save the day. She'll take on the quest -- and it will be dangerous. There will be deaths.

Miéville takes everyday London an adapts it to Un Lun Dun. It's a bit whimsical, but geared towards a younger audience. It doesn't distract, but it will probably take a little time to get used to it. As a fantasy novel for younger readers, Un Lun Dun delivers and kept this adult reading it to the end. It's engaging, but not demanding. It generated enough interest in me to read the other Miéville book on my shelf, King Rat.

300 (2007)

I saw Frank Miller's 300 last week. What a ride! The movie is based on the graphic novel by the same title, and was a no apologies live action rendition of the panels created by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley. The acting was superb, the story was a well crafted and the cinematography, simply out of this world. Greece from the movie was a Greece of the legends, when the gods walked amongst us mere humans. Make no mistake, this movie is not the stuff of the History Channel -- it's for the SciFi Channel.

The movie was rated 18A, and so it should. The violence -- and when isn't there violence when you have 300, well-buffed, mostly naked (except of the leotards and capes) men shouting, sweating and wielding long spears, arranged against a well armed, uncountable throng -- was unstoppable. Hordes of attackers from the Persian empire threw themselves at the spears, swords and grunts of the Spartan heroes. There were monsters, immortals (who died), giants, mutants and 7-8-9-ft. Persian king-god -- but none were out of reach of the Spartans. Lest you think the movie was just chock full of violence -- it was actually -- there was also politicking intrigue, with spineless schemers, selling their own freedom for gold. The Battle of Thermopylae never looked better!

Of course, they all die. As they must when you go to see a Frank Miller inspired movie. If you've seen Sin City - Unrated (Two-Disc Collector's Edition), you know what a treat you're in for. A visually stunning film, made to appreciated for what it is. Naturally, the critics have all panned the film. Which is a good thing. This film isn't for critics.

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006)

Superman II - The Richard Donner Cut was released last year by Warner Bros. to coincide with the release of the new Superman movie. This cut is a re-edit of the original 1980 movie by the movie's original director, Richard Donner, who had a different vision of the movie than the producers. I don't remember the original that well, although I do remember it being more campy than this release, which is more serious in its treatment of the Superman character. For details, check out this extensive entry in Wikipedia.

Christopher Reeve's Superman was the film Superman I grew up with, and is a Superman I'm glad was replaced last year. I'm not a Superman purist, and most of those would probably prefer Reeve's incarnation. Don't get me wrong, I like the films, but after seeing it recently, I realized that, 1) I saw the films as a kid, and, 2) special effects sure have come a long way, thankfully. Special effects are an artifact of their time, but the interpretation of the Superman character isn't. What I couldn't get over this time around was the painfully awkward Clark Kent. Did Superman's alter ego really need to be such a stereotypical nerd? That being said, there was much more of Kal-El in the movie than there was of Superman. This cut did allow for introspection, instead of being superficial, as the original had been. I had also forgotten how large glasses were in the 1980s. (Most of my 1980s photographs have long been hidden.)

If you haven't seen a Christopher Reeve's Superman flick in sometime, I recommend watching this latest cut. It'll take you back.

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Pan's Labyrinth is an amazing movie, set in Francisco Franco's Spain, at the closing of World War II. It tells the story of Ofelia, a young girl who's mother is remarried to the brutal fascist, Captain Vidal -- and is pregnant with his son. Ofelia and her mother are not loved by Vidal -- he considers Ofelia a nuisance and her mother only a vessel for his son. While waiting for his son to arrive, Vidal goes about reigning terror on the populace of small town and hunting down Republican rebels. In this horrible world, Ofelia seeks comfort, and finds it surprisingly one night, in the form of a praying mantis that morphs into a fairy. The fairy leads Ofelia to a hidden labyrinth, where she meets a faun, who tells Ofelia that she is Princess Moanna of the underworld, and he has been looking for her to return her home. To prove that she has her essence intact, the faun instructs Ofelia to complete three tasks before the next full moon.

Ofelia sets about to complete her tasks as the world around her tumbles out of control. Ofelia's mother is sick and is getting worse as the pregnancy nears term; Mercedes, the servant who cares for Vidal's household and has a bond with Ofelia, is a spy for the Republican rebels; Vidal trusts no one, and grows more malevolent -- capturing and torturing rebels, killing anyone who gets in his way. Ofelia completes her first task fairly easily by retrieving a golden key from the stomach of a giant frog that lives at the root of a dying tree. She runs into trouble in her second task however, which sends her to the lair of the Pale Man to retrieve a dagger. She is warned by the faun not to eat anything from the Pale Man's table -- but she samples grapes which wakes the Pale Man who quickly gobbles up two of the faeries. Ofelia barely escapes, but the faun, upset at the death of his faeries, declares that Ofelia will never go back to the underworld and leaves her.

Alone, Ofelia bears witness to the death of her mother and the birth of her brother. Vidal grows more nasty, and captures Mercedes and Ofelia trying to flee. Ofelia is locked up, while Mercedes is taken to be tortured. When all hope is lost to Ofelia, the faun reappears to give her a last chance, only if she promises to obey his directives. She is told to steal her baby brother and bring him to the labyrinth in order to return home. She doesn't understand the instructions, but obeys, in hopes of leaving the horror behind. At the labyrinth, Ofelia is told by the faun that innocent blood, that of her baby brother, must be spilt in order for her to return home. She is horrified, and refuses. At this the faun leaves, but Vidal catches up with Ofelia and shoots her after retrieving his son. As Ofelia dies, she is transported to the underworld. There she sees the King and Queen -- the Queen looking just like her dead mother from the world above ground. She is told that she had completed her third task well, and had made the right choice in not sacrificing her brother.

All ends well ... or does it? The movie never confirms whether Ofelia's fantasy world is real, or just a place for she escapes to in her imagination. No one other than Ofelia sees the magical creatures or objects from the underworld, that she comes into contact with. Even in her dying breath, as we see the underworld, and see the Queen, we are left to suppose that maybe it was just her imagination, as the Queen looks like Ofelia's dead mother. The movie tells a sad story, with the only hope to be found in Ofelia's fantasy world. If her fantasy world isn't real ... then the story truly is a bitter pill.

Pan's Labyrinth is a Spanish language film, originally titled El Laberinto del Fauno, that is written and directed by Guillermo del Toro -- the great director of such hits as Hellboy and El Espinazo del Diablo. (In fact, del Toro has commented that El Laberinto del Fauno may in some ways be thought of as a sequel to El Espinazo del Diablo.) The film is dark and melancholy, with the fantasy elements blended seamlessly into reality-setting of the film. While del Toro is a superb storyteller however, in this movie, as with some of his previous films, there is a lack of depth to his main characters. While Ofelia is played extremely well by an eleven-year-old Ivana Baquero, her character isn't developed as well as it could have been. Left unexplored is the little girl who could be so imaginative as to perhaps invent a fantasy world to escape to. Del Toro instead, stayed at a fairytale level with his storytelling, requiring his audience to accept the story as-is -- which is OK, but some depth would have been better. The same could be said of Mercedes and Vidal. The audience isn't given enough depth to either one -- although it's easy to not miss the depth in Vidal, as Sergi López's performance as an evil tyrant was superb.

Guardian of the Realm (2004)

What a load of poop! That's what Guardian of the Realm was. The premise of the movie had the makings of b-movie gold, but alas, the execution rusted the gold potential and make it into poop. The movie is about demons -- those denizens of hell that want to take over the world to turn it into hell. I could never understand the motivation. Wouldn't it be a whole lot better to have the world the way it is and just keep messing with humans? I suppose demons aren't that smart ... but neither are the people in this movie, and none of them apparently, had seen a horror movie.

A bunch of derelict choir boys started off this little adventure by freeing a demon that had been imprisoned by Buddhist monks centuries earlier. If these guys had seen horror movies, they would have know that the first thing the freed demon would do is kill them. Which is what happened -- more or less -- a couple of them had their bodies used as hosts for other demons. Meanwhile, the uber-demon, picks the girlfriend, Nikki (played by Lana Piryan), of one of the losers, to inhabit. In no time, Nikki manages to shed her everyday clothes and don the latest in goth-chick-demon-wear. This of course is standard fare for the genre, and is suppose to work when you have no story, no acting and just all around crap to deliver. Demon-Nikki then sets out to kill and find an innocent to sacrifice on the next full moon, so s/he could finally come to full power, rain balls of fire on humanity and remake the place with the latest decor from hell.

Set against Demon-Nikki is Josh Griffin (played by Glen Levy) and Alex Marlowe (played by Tanya Dempsey), who belong to a secret, high-tech group of bounty hunters. The dialogue between Josh and Alex will leave you squirming more than any of the horror to be found in this movie. It's totally laughable. At least Demon-Nikki tries -- but the accent that Lana Piryan has just make her lines sound like a joke as well. Josh and Alex gets help from other demon fighters and their switchboard operators that seem to have more computing resources than the CIA at their fingertips. Along the way, there are demons to be slain, detective work to be done and driving around in a cheap Ford sports car. Josh and Alex bond by admiring each others choice of weapons, in which has got to be one of the most excruciating painful scenes in a movie. The dialogue and acting was so terrible!

The movie eventually came to a dull ending, with lots of kung-fu fu moves against grimacing demons; some sword play; the emergence of the demon to full power to battle our hero, the newly blessed, Josh. Alex you find out in the finale, is an angel, and s/he does some mystical hocus pocus to transfer the angel-power to Josh. It's as bad as it sounds. This movie makes Buffy look good. I recommend it for those nights when you can't get to sleep and you want some entertainment as light up that giant stogie you've been saving for a special occasion.