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One Day, The Return...

Skyfall Notes

Skyfall...
Hmm...
Skyfall...

It was an interesting film to behold, that's for certain.

Hmm, Skyfall...

Alright, enough with the delay, here are a few thoughts on the latest James Bond flick.

• They really turned the intensity up for Daniel Craig's Bond. Emotionally and physically, we've seen this man being put through the wringer over and over, but this time it's almost like it's starting to take its toll. This weariness, as well as his well drawn relationship with Judi Dench's M, actually makes Skyfall seem more like an "end times" James Bond, like he's been working for much longer than three movies. Compounding this is the side-plot diversion questioning the necessity of spy organisations in the modern world. None of this has to be bad or good, it is all intriguing, but somewhat unusual for a series that traditionally sticks to formula.
• Absolutely beautiful visuals in this film -- though not so much a surprise since the cinematographer is Roger Deakins, known for his work with the Coen Brothers, as well as being a visual consultant on other beautiful movies such as How To Train Your Dragon, WALL-E and Rango -- so much so, in fact, that I think it beats out The Dark Knight Rises for the best looking movie of the year.
• Speaking of Batman, this Bond movie has more than a few shades of superheroics throughout, in the more recent comic-book sense rather than the over the top goofiness of pre-Craig Bonds. The action scenes are brutal but still hyper-real. Bond gets shot, dropped from great heights and tossed around into various varieties of hard surface yet still gets back up for more. Combined with the weariness suggested in the emotional breadth of this movie, we get a good mix of believability and sheer crazy.
• We already know that Craig will be back, so the question after Skyfall is whether such a movie can be topped. This deft balancing of outlandishness with the gritty modern action movie seems to me just about as far as Bond can go. Casino Royale was attempting to use Bourne as a new template, Skyfall finally marries the two in an almost seamless effort -- what exactly comes next? Short of rebooting the series as a period piece set in the Cold War once again (which I would get behind a lot faster than I should admit), any further development will probably take Bond further from its original style.
• On the other hand, I am willing to eat these concerns if Bond 24 can be as eminently watchable and exciting as Skyfall was.

On Pixar's "Brave"

Not a review, just some thoughts. Also, COMPLETE and UTTER SPOILERS for the movie. You have been warned.

The Very Good (believe me, it's still a very good movie)

• Visuals: wait a minute. The next Pixar movie is a fairytale? Set in mythical Scotland?! This is all kinds of awesome. A feast for the eyes, like it should be. Immaculately detailed, dripping with atmosphere, the world of Brave is an incredible place to spend an hour and a half. Oh, and the characters look great too - in fact, the contrast between highly detailed nature and cartoonish characters sometimes evokes that old hand-drawn feel; painterly backdrops combined with simple, fluid drawings. Nice.
• The Opening Short: it might seem a bit twee if you think about it too much but in my opinion La Luna was beautiful in its own way. The characters are subtle and funny, there's a "sweet dreams" kind of a twist, this was a great way to open. 
• The Music: big thanks to Patrick Doyle. As opposed to How To Train Your Dragon in 2010, this is a flick that deserves Scottish music because it is actually set in Scotland. And it is just as good here, if not better. There may not be as many memorable themes, but without Mr Doyle's score, the ambience would only make it half way.
• The Flashes of Brilliance: a few scenes in Brave stand high above the rest, including the dramatic argument between Merida, Elinor and a harmless tapestry. Another of these is where we meet the best part of the story:
• The Witc- the Woodcarver: wow. Animators and Julie Walters, you spoiled us. The wisps that led Merida to the cottage, the magic-potion answering machine, her insistent terminology and rapid-fire delivery - everything about this dark character was fantastic. It didn't hurt that she looked right out of a Studio Ghibli movie (see Captain Dola, Grandma Sophie). There even seemed to be a nod towards Howl's Moving Castle with the cottage door leading to two different places. There's only one downside to the witc- sorry, woodcarver's part in the story, and that is that there wasn't enough! I'm sitting here rambling about Brave and all I'm thinking about is I want a buddy movie with the woodcarver and her crow. But of course, an entire story with this character would defeat the purpose. She's a one-scene wonder in this film, all it needs is a little more... wrapping up.

The Kinda Bad

• Mending a torn rift blah-blah: okay so this was going to be a pun about ripping up the movie and repairing the bonds etcetera, but I can't remember the witch's riddle that I was referencing. Point is, there are parts of the story that feel like the script started out a lot longer and they had to cut it down to fit into Pixar's almost traditional 90-100 minute runtime. Here's a few examples:
• The King and the other clans: there were several short scenes that tried to develop these characters as a counterpoint to the more tight-knit struggles of Merida and the Queen. However, we don't see much more than clichéd posturing. Woohoo, the King's funny, right, because he's a bad public speaker? Yeah, that Dingwall guy is short, so he's got a temper, you know? There could be a war, because all these guys are different, they don't get along... sigh. No connection can be made to these characters apart from the comedy angle.
• Mor'du: the "villain" of the piece, a demonic bear created from a jealous son. Perhaps as a result of the King and practically every other character besides the two central ones being sidelined, Mor'du doesn't feel particularly affecting either. He and Merida use the same spell but beyond that he's not really in the movie at all. He provides a plot reason for the King to hate bears, he embodies Merida's rebellion against tradition, but it's all so slight and disconnected. Maybe if more had been done to tell his tale his, for want of a better word, "absolution" at the end wouldn't have seemed so out of place and pointless. Here's a cliché that no one would have faulted them for: have the Queen telling Merida his story not during an argument, but during her childhood at the beginning of the film, before getting her birthday bow. Then Merida could have questioned why tradition was so important, giving the Queen a reason for the chessboard demonstration. But a bigger elephant in the room: in a movie that's about a mother-daughter relationship, why is the cautionary tale about a typical jealous son in the first place? Surely this is the antagonist of the King's story, not of Merida's (whose antagonist is more likely the witch or herself).
• Landscape: for a story set in an ancient and rugged country filled to the brim with mystery and adventure, Brave's physical world feels limited. I don't know if this is something that began with the script or was enforced by editing, but the apparent scope is that of a castle, a nearby forest and some rocks on the other side. Without a sense of scale, scenes of Merida riding her horse through the woods are just more chances to ogle the fantastic scenery. This is a similar issue to what Tangled suffered over a year ago - short on story plus short on scope just makes the movie feel small.
• The ending: again, this is tied in with the other points but the ending is where it stings the most. Not only does the wisp image of the jealous son seem a bit pointless (would it have lost anything if we just didn't see him?) but there is little to no focus on the big changes going on around Merida and Elinor. The reconciliation of the clans, the "marry-who-you-like" agreement, these are things that should have stood in reflection to the personal reconciliation between mother and daughter. Instead they're glanced over as they sail away, hopefully into a slightly longer, better paced Pixar fairytale. Finally, could it really have hurt to show us a few more seconds of the witch and her crow?
• Emotional Journey: this is possibly the hardest of the bad points to articulate, but here I go. Much has been made about how this is the first Pixar movie with a female protagonist, and I say you can't fault their good intentions. As clever and ground-breaking as the previous Pixar movies have been,  with few exceptions they've stayed within the spectrum of boy's own adventure and male relationships - father and son, surrogate fathers and son, surrogate grandfather and son, you get the picture. In that case, it's nice to see them branch out in Brave.  However, the trademark emotional resonance that Pixar is known for doesn't seem to make it in.  Apart from the above-mentioned argument scene and their eventual reconciliation, Merida and Elinor's relationship is downplayed to make room for slapstick antics.  Let's not forget as well, the unwanted implications that all of their problems are solved when the mother is rendered unable to speak to either her daughter or her husband by being turned into a bear.  If the message is that they should listen to one another, it's a rather one-sided victory.  Compare this to Finding Nemo, where father and son together realise how much they need each other after complete separation for most of the movie.

The "Uh-oh"

• This is the big one. Brave is a very good (if cut-down) film, but it's the first Pixar film that disappointed me. The reason that Brave is so disappointing is that, until now, the creative team at Pixar have been able to deftly mix humour, love, a touch of fear, and of course, great visuals into a cohesive whole (with the possible exception of the just-for-fun Cars series). Brave is not one of those - its story is good but unoriginal, the slapstick seems to take precedent over the drama, and the scary scenes are very scary with little relief. Any one of these problems could be blended into a good movie on its own and come out great: a simple family adventure, an animated comedy or a darker, more mature story respectively.  Having them all in the one movie though feels a bit disjointed.
• For these reasons, it is worthwhile hoping that Brave is simply a slump and not a sign for the future: because if it is, even though it is not a bad film... uh-oh.

June News

1. Still ploddin' along on "The Puppetheads", Volume I incoming soon

2. Check this out, I've decided to enter "Write-a-Book-in-a-Day" with the Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild.  Details on how to support us (raising money for Paediatrics at Canberra Hospital) and the other brave entrants are here.

3. Having multiple different issues with the interactive project, mostly on the level of interactivity.  It's still a ways off.

4. Working on some other stuff for this blog including some reviews.  Stay tuned :)

Entertainment Minis

As I'm sure everyone knows, procrastination can come in many forms.  These are some quick thoughts on the recent forms I've been using when I wasn't writing this weekend.

Watching:  Game of Thrones Season 2 (Rated R)

The first season of Game of Thrones, based on the book "A Game of Thrones" by George R. R. Martin, was some of the best television in any genre in the past years.  Brutal and (mostly) mature, it was a different kind of epic fantasy centred around characters and politics that were as elegant as they were covered in literal and metaphorical grime.

Very briefly, Game of Thrones is an epic-fantasy/mystery series set on the continent of Westeros in the wake of a rebellion against the Mad King, Aerys Targaryen.  With the help of "Warden of the North" Ned Stark, Robert Baratheon was crowned as the new king after Aerys was slain.  As the Baratheons are only one of several powerful houses on Westeros, including the Starks from the North and the very rich, very determined Lannisters in Casterly Rock, Robert is surrounded by enemies who would have the throne for themselves.

If there was much to be said against the first season at all, it was that the first half was stylistically different to the second half - more specifically, it was good for all ten episodes, but the last few episodes were so good that they make the other good episodes seem less strong by comparison.  Also, parts of the show are sometimes sidetracked by the same pretensions to "maturity" that have plagued fantasy fiction for decades: overly stylised sex scenes and anachronistic profanity.  Hey guys, maturity is more than that...

Anyway, I'm happy to say that if the first two episodes of Season 2 are any indication, the quality of this show is not diminishing.  There were no long, out of place sex scenes (those that are there seem to be better edited), and the tense pace set up by the outstanding episodes 9 and 10 of Season 1 isn't showing any signs of slowing, despite the introduction of several new characters.

Over all, I'm looking forward to seeing how this series progresses, as there has never been anything like it before.

Reading:  Fables (Mature Readers)

Not much to say about this fantastic comic book series other than "read it!".  A long-running and award winning series about the characters from fairy tales, known as "Fables", who ran from their homelands to escape a mysterious enemy.  They settled in New York of all places, and the series touches on multiple genres while deftly building a detailed, intriguing world around familiar characters such as the Big Bad Wolf, Snow White and Prince Charming.  This series is also very good at going places you don't expect, especially since nearly all the characters are in the public domain.

Playing:  Alan Wake (Rated M)

I will also refrain from going into much detail about this game as I would like to write a longer piece about it once I have finished the DLC.  Suffice it to say for now that this is a very interesting experience, different and familiar all at once with some very motivated people behind it.

As a self-referential thriller about a writer who gets trapped within a story of his own making, some parts in this game "click" better than others.  The B-movie tone is inconsistent, wavering between well-presented emotional storytelling and goofy thrills.  The action is well executed with some clever twists on gun-combat, but is also a bit repetitive and unadventurous.  The graphics are very detailed and the lighting is some of the best seen in a game, but the animations are creepy-awkward (not on the monsters, on the people we're supposed to relate to).

So although at the moment it sounds like a mixed bag, Alan Wake's successes outweigh its failings.  More to come later!

P.S. Question for readers: Does anyone agree/disagree that, though they are very different shows, the new Battlestar Galactica surely paved some of the way for Game of Thrones as a dark, heavily serialised television series?

The Puppethead War #14: Spanners (Part 2)

< < Issue 13

The inside of the sequestered Freak church practically groaned with age.  To the two teen-aged visitors, it felt like it was older than the world.  Unfortunately, the long years had not been as kind to this building as they were to the Mucatedra over the high barrier.  The inner hall was lined with buffed but clearly deteriorating pews.  Scaffolding on the right hand side went unnoticed by the few congregation members still milling around.

At the front, under a plain window through which the morning sun shone was a crucifix.  Less than half of Talon’s height, the dilapidated woodwork was surprisingly fitting.  A plainly dressed man approached them from a bare-bones lectern that headed the rows of pews.

‘I shouldn’t feel the need to apologise for the state of this building,’ he said, a warm half-smile growing on his face.  ‘I’m Father Adiestre.  Pleasure to see some new faces around here.’

Talon and Leyh shook hands with Father Adiestre and he waved to them to sit down.  The trader appeared amused and Talon felt awkward.  The last time he had spoken to a preacher was... it was very long ago, if he didn’t count the Honch.

‘I guess we’d like to ask about...’ the youth said.  He looked at Leyh and she nodded.  Not very helpful.  ‘I’ve got a friend, an acquaintance really, he told me he was a Keeper.  And, well, my family have always been Freaks.’

‘Aha,’ Adiestre said.  ‘I sense you aren’t very comfortable, um -?’

‘Talon,’ the youth said.  ‘And this is Leyh.’

‘Well, Talon, would it help if I put this on?’

The man seemed to produce a large hat out of nowhere.  It looked somewhat like a grey and white variation on that of the Keepers.  He placed it lopsided on his head and opened his eyes wide.  Talon had to fight down a laugh.

‘I don’t use it that often but it’s still part of the tradition,’ said Adiestre.  Leyh huffed loudly and covered her mouth, looking bashful.

‘Besides breaking the ice,’ the preacher said, placing the hat on his knees, ‘what I like to do is show people how similar we are.’

‘Huh?’

Adiestre stood up and gestured widely. ‘When it comes down to it, Freaks and the Kept Sect share the same faith.  Religion is somewhat more complex...’

Reflexively, Leyh and Talon looked past him at the otherworldly symbol.

‘The Keepers may have a lot more dogma when it comes to the Quandomen,’ Adiestre continued, ‘but that’s just the dressings, like the shape of a church.’

Talon raised a hand, feeling a bit foolish for doing so.  ‘Dogma?’

The preacher realised that he hadn't properly explained himself.  ‘Think of it this way: the Pharaohs, Nebuchadnezzar, Caesar, Napoleon, Adolf Hitler, Macer Argtyde... countless more diasporas, wars and struggles – when the Quandomen came, it followed the same pattern.  They were a test.’ 

Father Adiestre paused and Talon tried to place the ancient names, realising that he didn’t know half of them.  The preacher sat back down.  ‘Now we’ve made a pretty easy life for ourselves out here, over the centuries.  We’ve even made contact with the tirans and the guernas.  But the Keepers fear and revere the Quandomen as the hand of God.  Freaks simply accept that everything happens for a reason.’

‘Okay,’ Leyh spoke up.  ‘So whether we concern ourselves with the past or not, the Keepers would be concerned if the Quandomen were going to return?’

At the back the church, half a dozen parishioners had started to file in.

‘Oh yes,’ the preacher suddenly became very serious.  ‘If that were to happen, a lot of people would find their lives getting much more interesting.  If the Keepers’ signs have any factual basis, we’d also have to find ‘the brothers’ just to stop another exile.’  Adiestre brightened slightly.  ‘But there’s no reason to be afraid.  After all, what’s the end of the world?’

Before Talon could ask what the preacher meant, there was a thumping noise behind them.

‘Excuse me,’ a voice said.  ‘Excuse me, I’m looking for –’

The southerner they had met at the Overarchy dome forced her way to the front of the aisle, appearing very flustered.  Her hair had bounced up into a bushy tangle.

‘Nairé?’ Leyh said.  She and Talon approached.  ‘What’s the matter?’

The woman stood straight and brushed back an errant strand of hair.

‘I need your help.  Irena’s missing.’

***

Father Adiestre showed the group into the building’s woefully meagre kitchen while a layperson began the day’s reading.

‘Take a seat,’ he said to Nairé.  ‘One step at a time.’

They all gathered around the table while the preacher started to pour hot water into a stout pot.  Ogard appeared at the kitchen's entrance, crouched under the doorway and looked about nervously.  Talon was happy to see him.

‘Don’t worry, I knew you were here, trader,’ said Adiestre.  ‘There’s tea enough for everyone.’

Leyh nodded at the big man.  ‘Oge isn’t accustomed to speaking with preachers.’

Talon resisted the urge to point out that he hadn't heard Ogard speak at all since they had met.  ‘What happened?’ he asked Nairé.

‘Oh, I don’t know, I don’t know...’ she said pitifully.  ‘I mean, I guess she got the idea when we were talking about bad dreams.’

The only noise was that of Ogard trying to fit onto one of the kitchen’s stools.

‘Don’t just sit around,’ Nairé said.  An involuntary shiver ran through the woman’s body.  ‘She was having nightmares about lake monsters, so I told her about the old country, how I ran away from home...’

‘This can’t be a coincidence,’ said Talon.  He was suddenly very aware of Father Adiestre’s presence, as the man brought over a tray with the cups of tea.  He thought about Ferran’s warning - anyone could be an agent of the puppetheads.  Then again, could a puppethead lead a congregation, however small, and still be convincing?

‘This wouldn’t have to do with your Keeper friend, would it?’ the preacher asked.  He sat down between Talon and the traders.  The youth could see that Ogard was actively avoiding Father Adiestre’s eyes while Nairé continued.

‘She overheard the Captain speaking with one of his men after the expedition.  I don’t know about the Keepers, but Irena said that the Captain was her grandfather.’

‘If you don’t mind me asking,’ Adiestre said, ‘who is Irena?’

‘She’s the daughter of Lord de Postrem’s nephew,’ Nairé said.  ‘I couldn’t just lock her up, besides, I think I was curious too.’

‘Wait, wait wait wait, wait.’  Leyh put both hands flat on the table.  ‘Back up a bit.  What expedition?  And is it really our problem who the girl is related to?’

Nairé took a long sip of the tea and looked at the trader.  ‘Lord de Postrem and the Captain were looking for Quandu artifacts in the south.  With me on their team, they got lucky.’

‘How?’

‘We found a cache.  It was filled to the brim with plunder and devices.’  The woman sighed.  ‘But it doesn’t make any difference now.’

Father Adiestre was by far the most taken aback by the strange discussion, but he recovered enough to put on a happy face.  ‘Don’t worry, I’m sure that Talon and Leyh will help you find Miss Irena.’

‘You bet we will,’ Talon said.  ‘We owe you, after you spoke to Captain Gelba for us.  We just have to go next door to get Ferran and the Honch.’

Now it was Nairé’s turn to avoid the others’ eyes.

‘Og- og- Ogard and I,’ she said.  ‘After I found him, we went straight to the Mucatedra.’

The big man nodded in affirmation, a stern expression on his face.

‘I’m sorry Talon, but your friends have already left for Yerz.  They said that there was an altercation and they set off immediately.’

‘What do you mean, altercation?  Are they alright?’

‘The man who addressed us, or at least, I think he was a man behind the mask – he said that there had been an attack of some kind.  They fought it off and left as fast as they could.’

‘Dammit,’ Talon muttered.  ‘I knew we were having it too easy.  Did they say if they were Dirty Fighters?’

‘We weren’t told,’ Nairé said.  ‘The Keepers were anxious to start the service and Ogard suggested we come here.’

Father Adiestre stood up and gathered the empty cups.

‘I can see that this is going to get complicated,’ he said.  ‘I’ll be praying for you and Miss Irena that this horrible business is over soon.  As for today,’ he winked at Talon, ‘we’ll have to take a rain check.’

The preacher left to deliver the sermon and the other four headed out the back door.

‘So where do we start looking?’ Talon said as they walked the main boulevard back to the bridge.

‘Last night she went up to the Captain’s private study,’ said Nairé.  ‘I’m going to have to tell him that.  Hopefully he’ll know why she’d want to run away.’

‘Sounds tricky,’ Leyh said.  ‘Especially if none of us are supposed to know he’s her grandfather.’

Talon didn’t add anything, but the corners of his lips turned up slightly.  The day had just become very interesting.