Movie Review - Brave

Brave (2012) * * * *
Director: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell
Starring: Kelly MacDonald, Billy Connolly and Emma Thompson

From IMDB:

"Set in Scotland in a rugged and mythical time, "Brave" features Merida, an aspiring archer and impetuous daughter of royalty. Merida makes a reckless choice that unleashes unintended peril and forces her to spring into action to set things right."

My Thoughts:
Over the years, Pixar has come to be known for their high standards of quality animation and story telling, and so Bob and I were totally looking forward to seeing Brave as soon as it was released.

For the most part, the movie is worthy of all the hype.  It's a good story that both kids and adults will love, and the plotting and writing are both fairly well done.

Warning - Spoilers Ahead!

Princess Merida and her mother are constantly at odds with each other about how the young girl should behave and live her life.  When Merida finds out that she is expected to marry one of the princes of the other three clans, she is horrified and determined to find a way around the law, and finally, after a huge fight where Merida takes her sword and slashes a tapestry her mother has been sewing - a family portrait - she runs away and encounters a witch.  She bargains for a magic spell to change her fate, but actually requests that the spell change her mother - which it does.  Into a very large and growly bear.  The pair flee the castle before anyone can kill this strange bear that is suddenly roaming the halls, and mother and daughter have to learn to communicate and understand each other for the first time in their lives.  But they don't have much time, because if they don't "mend their bond" before the second sunrise, mama will stay a bear forever.  Merida bravely rises to the occasion and fights to correct her mistake and saves the day, everyone learns a valuable lesson, and lives, presumably happily ever after.

It's a great story, the animation is stunningly beautiful, and overall a great movie.  But I have a small problem with it.

Most of us, understandably, view movies with certain expectations, no matter how hard we try to ignore them.  And for months now, the Disney/Pixar PR machines have been selling this movie with a certain slant.  This is the first Pixar movie with a female lead.  The title is Brave. Previews relentlessly show us Merida waving a sword, out-shooting her suitors on the archery field, and confidently declaring that she will be shooting for HER OWN HAND, and that she wants to change her destiny.  In fact, the tagline on the poster is "Change your fate."

This created certain expectations in my mind of a free spirited princess, one more concerned with living her own life and not needing a prince, one who is able and willing to take care of herself.  She not singing about how "someday her prince will come," (in fact, she doesn't sing at all), and she doesn't need anyone to save her - she's better with a bow and arrow than any of her would-be suitors.

And mostly, this is the princess that we got.  It was exciting and refreshing to see the "princess stereotypes" so completely shattered, and someone that a new generation of young girls (and boys) will grow up with and look up to.

But as the movie draws near the end, Merida suddenly realizes that in order to "mend the bond" between her and her mother, she must retrieve the tapestry that she thoughtlessly slashed in two and sew it back together in order to break the spell and bring her family back together.

Yes, that's right.  In order to correct the the mistakes she's made and save both her family and the whole kingdom, the princess must:
1. forget about changing her fate;
2. accept her place;
3. and do her womanly duties and learn how to sew.

To me personally, this ending seemed completely contradictory to everything that had gone before in the story.  Yes, she is brave, and she does save the day, but only by being the good and dutiful daughter who knows her place and does her sewing.  I don't want to go so far as to say that it makes the movie anti-feminist, but it kinda felt a little disappointing to me.

Now - I must also point out that Bob didn't pick up on this sub-text at all, and neither did anyone else I've talked to who has seen the film.  So maybe it's just me, and maybe it's all in my head.  In spite of my slight disappointment, I still strongly enjoyed the movie, I'm giving it four stars, and I highly recommend the film.  It's a fun movie, and a great mother-daughter adventure story.

Have you seen the movie yet?  What did you think - do you agree with me, or am I imagining something that really isn't there?  Leave a comment and let me know!

Teaser Tuesday - The Seventh Scroll

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

----------

Royan and her business partner Nicholas have traveled from England to Ethiopia in search of a lost Pharaoh's tomb written about in an ancient scroll. They have searched the Nile river for clues to the secret location, and have found carvings in a cliff wall that may lead them closer to their goal.  They've also been shot at, nearly died in an explosion, and kicked out of Ethiopa.  Now back in England, they plan to return and try to claim  the Pharaoh's treasure before the man who killed Royan's husband, Herr von Schiller, can steal it from them.

The Tease:

 "Von Schiller had gone ashen pale as he listened.  Sweat beaded upon his forehead, and his voice was hoarse and chesty as he asked, "A royal mummy?""

 -The Seventh Scroll, by Wilbur Smith

What's your Tease?

Movie Review - Snow White & the Huntsman

Snow White & the Huntsman (2012) * * * *
Director: Rupert Sanders
Starring: Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Kristen Stewart

From IMDB:

"In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen."

My Thoughts:
Snow White & the Huntsman (SWATH) is a stunningly beautiful, visually stimulating, gorgeous movie, from beginning to end.  Charlize Theron gives a superb performance as the evil queen, and quite easily steals the entire movie.  Chris Hemsworth also does an amazing and emotionally loaded rendition of the Huntsman, as a heart broken widower who slowly and quietly comes to love the title character of Snow White.

Unfortunately, Kristen Stewart isn't even in the same league as her co-stars when it comes to acting.  If the script calls for her to gaze vacantly into the near-middle distance, and breathe heavily, then she's all right.  As soon as any sort of real emotion is called for, she falls flat on her face, and simply cannot keep up.  Thankfully she ultimately wasn't asked to do too much, as the movie really seems to be more about the people around her than it is about Snow herself.  The movie is all about the Queen and her motivations for wanting Snow dead, and the Huntsman who decides to try to protect Snow, and the dwarves who help Snow get to where she needs to be, and the childhood friend who is desperately in love with the person that he thinks Snow is, and all of these people move Snow around and through the movie, like a pawn on a chessboard.  THEY are all fantastic, while Snow just seems to drift.

I also felt that the film didn't quite follow through on the promise that seems to be inherent in the title.  One reasonably expects the film to be about Snow White, and someone called the Huntsman. His feelings for her become more obvious as the film goes on, and Snow "seems" to become quite fond of and dependent on him, (she gazes vacantly into the distance and breathes heavily, so I think that means she loves him too? Right?), but the film never quite follows up on their feelings for each other in any sort of real or meaningful way.

In spite of my personal dislike for Stewart and her acting abilities, SWATH is an amazing and beautiful movie and I highly recommend it.  Watching it will completely erase that other Snow White movie from your memory, and rightly so.

Teaser Tuesday - The Seventh Scroll

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

----------

Royan and her new partner Nicholas have traveled from England to Ethiopia in search of a lost Pharaoh's tomb written about in an ancient scroll. They have searched the Nile river for clues to the secret location, and have found carvings in a cliff wall that may lead them closer to their goal.

The Tease:

 "Swimming on downwards, he found another niche, then another.  Four rows of niches, twenty-four feet below the surface.  His ears were popping and squeaking as the pressure squeezed the air out of his Eustachian tubes.  His eyes were wide open, but the waters below him were dark and turbid."

 -The Seventh Scroll, by Wilbur Smith

What's your Tease?

Covering the Cover - Allanon's Quest

Suvudu released new information today about Allanon's Quest, by Terry Brooks, along with the cover art for the short story, which will be available as an ebook on July 9, 2012.  The cover is simply gorgeous!

I can't wait!  Allanon is one of my favorite characters in the Shannara series, and it will be fun to have a look into this enigmatic characters' past.

What do you think?

Movie Review - MIB3

Men In Black 3 (2012) * * * *
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Starring: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, and Josh Brolin

From IMDB:

"An alien criminal travels back in time and kills the young Agent K in 1969, altering the timeline, changing the Agency and placing the Earth in danger. Veteran Agent J (Will Smith) must travel back in time to 1969 to before the murder and work with the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) to save him, the Agency, the Earth and humanity itself."

My Thoughts:
I really don't have a whole lot to say about this movie, except that I truly enjoyed it.  Also, it is possibly the best in the series.

At times both humorous and emotional, MIB3 brings the story of Agents J and K full circle, and shows us why the characters are the way they are today, and how precisely the past affects the present.  Josh Brolin does an amazing job as the young Agent K, and pretty much steals all the scenes he's in.  Emma Thompson makes a brief appearance in the film as another agent, and is brilliant as always.

Overall MIB3 is a fine addition to the series, and is certainly better - by far - than the first two films, in my opinion.

I recommend MIB3 to anyone and everyone who liked the first two films, but I would also recommend watching the first two films, well, you know...first.

Have you seen Men In Black 3 yet, or are you waiting for DVD?  Leave a comment and tell me what you thought!

Quick Meme: Last - Now - Next

John DeNardo over at SF Signal poses three questions:

1. What did you read last?
2. What are you reading now?
3. What will you read next?

I recently finished reading The Desert of Souls, by Howard Andrew Jones, which I totally loved (my review here).

Right now I'm reading The Seventh Scroll, by Wilbur Smith, and I'm finding it very entertaining.

What will I read next?  It's difficult to say for certain, but probably Blue Remembered Earth, by Alastair Reynolds, which I am really looking forward to.


So what about you?  Leave a comment below, and also check out the original post at SF Signal for some fantastic recommendations!

Don't forget...

True Blood Season Five premieres in two days!

Book Review - The Desert of Souls

The Desert of Souls, Howard Andrew Jones 05/27/2012 * * * *

From Goodreads:

"The glittering tradition of sword-and-sorcery sweeps into the sands of ancient Arabia with the heart-stopping speed of a whirling dervish in this thrilling debut novel from new talent Howard Andrew Jones

In 8th century Baghdad, a stranger pleads with the vizier to safeguard the bejeweled tablet he carries, but he is murdered before he can explain. Charged with solving the puzzle, the scholar Dabir soon realizes that the tablet may unlock secrets hidden within the lost city of Ubar, the Atlantis of the sands. When the tablet is stolen from his care, Dabir and Captain Asim are sent after it, and into a life and death chase through the ancient Middle East.

Stopping the thieves—a cunning Greek spy and a fire wizard of the Magi—requires a desperate journey into the desert, but first Dabir and Asim must find the lost ruins of Ubar and contend with a mythic, sorcerous being that has traded wisdom for the souls of men since the dawn of time.  But against all these hazards there is one more that may be too great even for Dabir to overcome..."

My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed The Desert of Souls.  It's a solid sword & sorcery quest story, but the Middle Eastern setting makes it feel fresh, the characters are likable, and the setting is believable.

The story builds slowly at first, but is never boring, and I loved the growth of the friendship between the two main characters, Dabir the scholar and Asim the swordsman, as they race to save the city of Baghdad from destruction.  Complete with evil magicians, Djinn, and strange creatures, this fantasy tale has all the required elements and delivers a top-notch story.

There is one small issue, which I've seen others mention, and that is the first person point of view, which detracts from some of the tension that could have made the story more of a nail biter.  But as Asim is telling the story from the future, and references things that happen after this particular tale takes place, the reader reasonably believes that Dabir and Asim will survive to go on to those future adventures.  This is a minor issue though, in my opinion, as the story is so well crafted, and so enjoyable.

I highly recommend The Desert of Souls to anyone who likes fantasy in general, but the Middle Eastern setting really does makes this novel special, and I hope that the author returns to these characters in the future!  I think these two have many more adventures ahead of them, and I want to read them!

A quick word on the covers - I don't usually post multiple cover photos in a review, but these are both so fantastic I felt the need to feature them both.  The first is from the hardcover, and I think it conveys a wonderful sense of mystery and magic, but the second cover, from the paperback and e-book, feels more realistic as far as the actual story itself.

Have you read The Desert of Souls?  Leave a comment and let me know what YOU think! Which cover do YOU like better?

R.I.P Ray Bradbury

I'm sure by now everyone is aware that Ray Bradbury passed away last night at the age of 91.

He will be greatly missed by many, and I think the world might be a slightly less fantastic and amazing place without him here.

Ryan Britt over at the TOR.com blog wrote a wonderful piece about Mr. Bradbury that is much better than anything I could say.  You should go read it.

Teaser Tuesday - The Seventh Scroll

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

----------

Over the weekend I posted a message to both Twitter and Facebook, asking my followers to vote on which book I should read next - either 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson, or Blue Remembered Earth by Alastair Reynolds.  Then while I was waiting for people to vote I accidentally started reading The Seventh Scroll by Wilbur Smith instead...

Royan Al Simma is a beautiful, young Egyptologist who has just witnessed the murder of her husband, who was apparently killed for the information he possessed.  Together they had been translating a series of scrolls written by a slave nearly 4000 years ago which might lead to a fabulous treasure tomb.  Now the people who killed her husband are after her, trying to eliminate all information about the scrolls, and anyone who knows about them.

The Tease:

 "Holding the queen in her good hand she moved like a sleepwalker to her desk below the window.  Her PC was wrecked.  They had shattered the screen and hacked the mainframe with what must have been an axe.  She could tell at a glance that there was no information left on the hard drive; it was beyond repair."

 -The Seventh Scroll, by Wilbur Smith

What's your Tease?