Tag: Movies

The Amazing Spider-Man, and the Amazing People Around Him

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews, Science Fiction2 Comments

Spider-Man 2I recently, belatedly and quite impulsively decided to go see The Amazing Spider-Man 2, mostly because it was hot out, I figured the theatre would be cold, and nothing else playing looked appealing.  From those basically nonexistent expectations, I was pleasantly surprised by just how much I liked this movie–and I keep liking it better the more I think about it!  Some spoilers to follow (though the chief spoiler hit news stands in 1973, so it may be past its expiration date…)

The movie opens with life a bit rocky for Peter (Spider-Man) Parker (Andrew Garfield).  His relationship with Gwen (Emma Stone) is “complicated,” he has unanswered questions about his deceased parents, and Oscorp, of course, is probably up to something they shouldn’t be.  So it seems like a good thing when childhood friend Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) comes back to New York to take over the company…until Harry tells Peter that he’s dying of a genetic disease, and believes only Spider-Man’s blood can help him.  Meanwhile, Oscorp employee Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx) has an unfortunate accident involving electric eels, and morphs into Electro, a creature with power over electricity and a grudge against Spider-Man.

Firstly, there is a lot that is just fun in this movie.  I’ve thought Andrew Garfield was wonderful ever since The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, and here we see a real gift for making awkwardness seem adorable and somehow charming.  And then he puts the suit on and is witty and clever, while still feeling like the same person.  We get some great back-and-forths between Peter and Aunt May (Sally Field), Peter and Gwen, Spider-Man and various insane mega-villains… Continue reading “The Amazing Spider-Man, and the Amazing People Around Him” →

The Power of Three in Storytelling

On By cherylmahoneyIn Ruminations10 Comments

A recent read has got me thinking about how three shows up in stories–specifically, stories centered around three lead characters.  There are romantic triangles, of course, but I’m thinking of a different kind of triangle, of three people all connected by friendship, and with no more than one romantic tie.

Anton Chekhov said, “Let two people be the center of gravity in your story: he and she.”  That’s a story that works well too–but sometimes those two people need a third.  And sometimes it’s that third character who really steals the show!  “He and She” are in some ways locked into their roles; they’re on a character-growth journey, or they have to be the moral center of the story, or they’re a reflection of the reader in order for said-reader to relate.  The third character gets to break out of the mold, to be the comic relief, or the dashing rogue, or the morally ambiguous semi-ally.

Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series is a perfect example, with Percy, Annabelle, and the comedic Grover (my favorite character!)  Harry Potter probably came to mind for everyone: Harry, Hermione and Ron, although Rowling shifted the romantic pairing away from the lead.  I would argue it even applies to Star Wars, at least in A New Hope: it’s really Luke’s story, with Leia as the heroine and Han as the roguish third character.

Sometimes the third character is an animal sidekick.  In Hero by Alethea Kontis, there’s heroine Saturday, hero Peregrine, and shape-shifting sidekick Betwixt (my favorite!)  Or in my novel (although I didn’t think all of this through when I wrote it), there’s Jasper, Julie, and snarky, talking-cat Tom (who seems to garner the most fans…)

There are variations, of course.  The weight of the story doesn’t always rest quite so neatly on two people, with a third in satellite.  I’m thinking of Catherynne M. Valente’s Fairyland series, with September as heroine and her two friends, A-through-L and Saturday.  Mostly it tends to be male and female leads, with a male third character, but not always: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid focuses on the two title characters, with Etta as the third.

And then sometimes the third character becomes the lead character.  I’m pretty sure Pirates of the Caribbean was supposed to be Will and Elizabeth’s story, but in true pirate fashion, Captain Jack Sparrow stole the movie.

I can’t ignore my favorite triumvirate either, of Kirk, Spock and McCoy.  Some would say (and the recent Star Trek movies suggest) that Kirk and Spock are the leads with McCoy as satellite–and as the irascible, possibly comedic character he has some of those trademarks…but nevertheless, I maintain absolutely that those three all have equal weight, and trends to the contrary represent a serious lack of understanding on the part of those currently running the franchise (not to get all soap-boxy about it or anything…)

Anyway…I find I really like this kind of character set-up.  So now I’m eager to find more examples!  What are some books or movies you’ve enjoyed that feature a Friendship Triangle?  Who are your favorite Third Characters?

And if you’d like to read a book that accidentally followed this set-up, you can win a signed copy of my fairy tale retelling, The Wanderers! Just put #WanderersGiveAway in your comment to enter.  Only open to the end of the month!

Enchanted, Movie Edition

On By cherylmahoneyIn Fantasy, Reviews10 Comments

EnchantedposterI recently reviewed Enchanted by Alethea Kontis, and by complete coincidence, I also just watched the Disney movie Enchanted.  No connection besides the name!  But dare I say it was…enchanting? 🙂 It’s also a great fit for Once Upon a Time!

I’ve seen Enchanted at least twice, but it loses none of its charm on repeated viewings.  The movie is essentially Disney poking a bit of gentle fun at Disney.  Starting with an oh-so-sweet animated sequence about Giselle, her forest friends, and her handsome prince Edward, everything changes when the wicked queen banishes Giselle to “a place where there are no happy endings.”  Giselle finds herself in the middle of Times Square, and in live-action as Amy Adams.  After scrambling through New York a bit, she encounters Robert (Patrick Dempsey), who reluctantly tries to help her at the urging of his six-year-old daughter.  Meanwhile, Prince Edward (James Marsden) comes to New York to find his lost love, accompanied by Giselle’s chipmunk friend Pip, and pursued by Nathaniel (Timothy Spall), who secretly is working for the evil queen (Susan Sarandon).  Chaos, hilarity, romance and a dragon all ensue.

This movie is so much fun on so many levels.  There are fairy tale and Disney references galore, with poisoned apples, a wicked queen resembling Maleficent, and of course a dropped slipper.  Giselle’s forest friends seem to include animals from several other Disney movies, like mice, racoons, rabbits and deer.  The themes are in some ways even better, taking trends from the early Disney movies (like the incredibly rapid romances of, say, Snow White and Cinderella) and stretching them to absurdity.

The characters are really brilliant as well.  I love the way Giselle and Robert start out as complete opposites, and then both influence each other for the better.  Giselle believes unreservedly in true love and romance, and sees beauty and goodness everywhere.  Robert is jaded and cynical, practical to a fault.  Together, Giselle begins to tap into deeper, more meaningful emotions, while Robert finds unexpected romantic depths.

And then of course the supporting cast is hilariously funny.  Edward is beautifully, blissfully oblivious and self-absorbed, and charges about through New York in a wonderful way.  One of my favorite moments may be when he stabs a bus, mistaking it for a monster.  Nathaniel, on the other hand, begins to question the nature of his relationship with the evil queen, and I love it when he calls into a radio show to pour out his problems.  As to the evil queen, Susan Sarandon appears to be having a wonderful time camping it up, fantastically villainous and over-the-top.

There’s really an enormous number of funny bits though.  Pip’s efforts to pantomime messages when he discovers he can’t talk in New York…the ridiculously large skirt on Giselle’s wedding dress…or Giselle’s summoning of New York pigeons, rats and cockroaches to help her clean Robert’s apartment (“oh well, it’s always nice to make new friends!”)  And I love the musical number in Central Park.  It’s a great song, there’s beautiful scenery, and I love Robert’s practical asides in the middle of it all (“wait, they know this song too?”)

All in all, Enchanted combines lots of my favorite things in fairy tales–clever references to spot, lots of humor, characters with complexity, and of course, an acknowledgement of all the wonderful strangeness of the original versions!

Don’t forget, you can win a signed copy of my fairy tale retelling, The Wanderers! Just put #WanderersGiveAway in your comment to enter.

Favorites Friday: Movies from Books

On By cherylmahoneyIn Favorites Friday3 Comments

In certain circles, movie adaptations of beloved books are a highly controversial subject!  My expectations are usually low for movie versions of books, because I’ve been disappointed too many times.  But…sometimes the movies do justice to their books–or, dare I say it, even do better!

I visited this topic once before, but I must have been watching (and reading) some good things in the last few years, because I find myself with a few more to add to my own list of great movie adaptations.  In no particular order, and with links to reviews…

sherlock1BBC’s Sherlock

Well, no particular order except for this one!  Something amazing happens here because it’s a huge departure from Doyle’s original Sherlock Holmes (like being in a different century) and yet it’s so true to the original too.  I think the key is that the window-dressing (gas lamps and horse-drawn carriages) has changed, but the characters still feel the same…just told through modern story-telling.  Besides, I went on a Sherlock Holmes Walking Tour in London, and the guide pointed out that at the time of writing, Holmes was set in the present-day–and it was actually several decades before retellers stopped modernizing, and started placing him in his original decade.

Catching FireThe Hunger Games: Catching Fire

I liked the first movie in this trilogy too, but it was the second that really impressed me.  With some very careful character tweaks, the movie stayed true to the book but made me like Katniss so much better.  What had felt like a girl flailing helplessly became a girl trying her best, and that’s a character I can enjoy much more.

Return of the KingThe Lord of the Rings

I made a conscious decision when I finally read the books to rewatch the movies at the same time (each movie just before the book, in fact).  I enjoyed every book and movie, but I have to give the edge to the movies.  Sorry, Tolkien.  Actually, he might not mind–the movies brought the characters to life for me much more, but since Tolkien’s focus seems to have been on the lore and the history anyway, he might not see that as an issue.

Northanger AbbeyNorthanger Abbey (Masterpiece Theatre)

This is my favorite Austen novel, and the movie is delightfully frothy and fun.  Colin Firth makes us wait six hours for a smile, but Mr. Tilney grins throughout this whole movie.  It also features the wonderful Carey Mulligan as Isabella Thorpe, not to mention one of moviedom’s most adorable first kisses.

Princess BridePrincess Bride

I’m not sure I can think of any other book/movie combination where they feel so completely like they’re exactly the same thing.  It may help that William Goldman wrote the book and the screenplay.  There are some extra details in the book–but the movie has the adorable frame story–and really, everything that’s most important is in both!

Stardust

Neil Gaiman was being complex and innovative and subverting expectations with some aspects of this story.  The movie decided to be funny and romantic and, yes, more traditional in its pay-offs.  I respect Gaiman, but the movie makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and happy!

Your turn!  What movies do justice to their books?

Returning to Earth…

On By cherylmahoneyIn RuminationsLeave a comment

2014sfexp400Today marks the close of the 2014 Sci Fi Experience.  I’ve had a splendid time delving deep into some favorite sci fi worlds.  My goals this year were unusually focused and, for me, relatively modest–they were also made easier by having all the books sitting on my shelves!

Happily, I was able to do all the reading (and viewing) I had planned on.  Ages and ages ago, at the beginning of December, I took a trip to Pern.  I then spent almost two months on The Great Khan Adventure (thanks for riding along with me!) and finally this week I got my review up for the Thrawn trilogy.

Here are all the links in one convenient list…

Pern: The MasterHarper of Pern by Anne McCaffrey

This is not the strongest of plots, being more like a biography of MasterHarper Robinton.  And that’s okay, since the MasterHarper is one of my favorite characters, and Pern is one of my favorite places for a visit.

The Great Khan Adventure: tracing Khan Noonien Singh through books and screen
Star Trek: The Original Series (selected episodes)
The Khan Trilogy by Greg Cox:
The Eugenics Wars: Volume One
The Eugenics Wars: Volume Two
To Reign in Hell: The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh
The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek Into Darkness
(Bonus: my spoof of The Wrath of Khan!)

The Great Khan Adventure was all I might have hoped for it.  I had read or watched all the pieces before, but putting them together gave me a new perspective on the characters, helped me see new depths, and enhanced every piece of the story.

Sci Fi Experience 2013Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn: Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising and The Last Command

I thoroughly enjoyed a trip back to the Star Wars universe too, and appreciated the reminder on how much I love these characters too.  I definitely need to read the next two books by Zahn…and I should do it before the new movies come out.  Zahn took things in very satisfying directions, and it’s best to read more before we run the risk of it all imploding through new movies!

The Sci Fi Experience this year reminded me just how much I enjoy these universes…so even though I titled this “Returning to Earth,” I’m going to try to get back to to the stars again before next year’s Experience!