Movie: Silver Linings Playbook

“Life doesn’t always go according to plan. Pat Solatano (Bradley Cooper) has lost everything — his house, his job, and his wife. He now finds himself living back with his mother (Jacki Weaver) and father (Robert DeNiro) after spending eight months is a state institution on a plea bargain. Pat is determined to rebuild his life, remain positive and reunite with his wife, despite the challenging circumstances of their separation. All Pat’s parents want is for him to get back on his feet-and to share their family’s obsession with the Philadelphia Eagles football team. When Pat meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a mysterious girl with problems of her own, things get complicated. Tiffany offers to help Pat reconnect with his wife, but only if he’ll do something very important for her in return. As their deal plays out, an unexpected bond begins to form between them, and silver linings appear in both of their lives.” — (C) Weinstein

The Silver Linings Play Book is one of the first books I’ve posted about in this blog. Which is why, when I found out that there was going to be a movie, I knew I have to watch and write about it. So here I am. Writing about it. But first–

I loved the book. More so now that it’s been almost three years since I last read it. Rose-tinted glasses and all. And this, I think, might have been detrimental to my enjoyment of the film version. Because, as it stands, I do believe that Silver Linings Playbook was a good movie–it just wasn’t good enough.

Admittedly, I did set expectations. With Jennifer Lawrence winning award after award, and the rest of the cast getting equal amounts of accolades, I thought the film would offer something more. What we get is actually a watered down version of the book. Not that there’s anything wrong with that–unless you’re a fan of the source material.

Sure, I understand that they can’t fit in the whole book into one movie. And some liberties have to be taken to make the characters more film-friendly. What I don’t get is why they didn’t use Total Eclipse of the Heart for the movie. Was the rights to the song too pricey? Because I’m sure they had enough money to get the rights for it.

And, okay, I’m not really complaining because they didn’t get the song. My main beef with the film, I guess, is how they elevated the dance in terms of importance–and yet, didn’t give it the importance it deserved. Look into the lyrics of Total Eclipse of the Heart, and put it side by side to what the source material (and the film) is about.

The dance plays a major part in the book, but it’s not the centerpiece. In the film, it ties things together. And yet, in the book, you can really see the significance of the song and the dance–of the whole thing. In the film, it’s just to win a stupid bet.

I’m probably going to go on and on about this, so I’m cutting myself short.

The film is nice. It’s good. It’s totally worth the ticket price. Just… Just make sure you haven’t read the book yet before you go and watch the film.

Book: Flesh & Bone

“Benny Imura and his friends are reeling from the tragic events of Wawona and the second Gameland, but there’s no time to stop and mourn fallen comrades. Survival in the great Rot and Ruin requires movement, and so, with heavy hearts, Benny, Nix, Lilah, and Chong continue their quest to find the jet they saw in the skies months ago. If that jet exists, then humanity itself must have survived…somewhere. Finding it is their best hope for having a future and a life worth living.

But the Ruin is far more dangerous than any of them can imagine. The zoms seem to be mutating in terrifying ways that could change everything Benny and his friends know about surviving among the walking dead. And even worse, a death cult has arisen that is gathering new followers at a frightening rate and is devoted to sending every living person in the Rot and Ruin into the waiting arms of death.“

I loved it. Absolutely loved it. Which makes me happy after being dismayed by The Mark of Athena, which was supposed to be my happy read of the week. Thank goodness for Flesh & Bone then.

Jonathan Maberry is at it again with the third book from his Rot & Ruin series–the zombie story that doesn’t just scare you, but is also out to make you cry. And this book, while not as heartbreaking as the second book, will still make you… what’s the word? Feel like a friggin’ crybaby.

Now, I don’t know what it is about Maberry’s writing, but I love how he makes his readers feel the threat against all his characters. There is an actual fear for the characters you will most certainly love as you read on. As his characters confront death in different ways, you know that any which one of them is in actual danger of dying. Because Maberry doesn’t shy from killing off beloved characters.

Kinda like Joss Whedon.

But more than that, I think, it’s because Maberry was able to convince us readers of the actual dangers that the Rot and Ruin has in store for anyone and everyone.

I have to admit, compared to the first two books of the series, Flesh & Bone is the one with the least amount of character growth. Maybe it’s because the events of the book happen in a span of two days (less, actually), with a time jump at the end. Maybe it’s because we’ve already known the main characters we’re following for a couple of years now. Or it could be because most of the book is exposition, which set-ups the next book.

The intensity of the writing though, and the feel of imminent danger, completely makes up for it.

That’s not to say that Flesh & Bone is all action, all the time. It’s not. The theme of the book is actually grief, and the many ways people deal with this. But Maberry was able to infuse each chapter, each scene–each line of dialogue, with the foreboding sense of coming death that you don’t feel any lull in the action.

There’s a surge of adrenaline in every word you read. And I loved it.

It would be a disservice to the book though if I don’t mention how, even in the fast-paced events, Maberry doesn’t forget what makes his zombie stories special: the characters.

I already said that this book has the least amount of character growth. That’s not to say there’s none, because there is. Except, the previous books have already laid down the groundwork for these growths. Nothing comes out left of field, everything feels like they’re the natural progression of things.

My only gripe about the book is that it ended too soon.

And that there’s no release date for the next one yet. That the next one isn’t out yet.

I can’t wait for the next book–just like the following bloggers who loved the book as much as I did:
Christy’s Love of Books
Elitist Book Review
A Librarian’s Take

Book: Zombie Apocalypse!

“In the near future, a desperate and ever-more controlling UK government attempts to restore a sense of national pride with a New Festival of Britain. But construction work on the site of an old church in south London releases a centuries-old plague that turns its victims into flesh-hungry ghouls whose bite or scratch passes the contagion – a supernatural virus which has the power to revive the dead – on to others.

‘The Death’ soon sweeps across London and the whole country descends into chaos. When a drastic attempt to eradicate the outbreak at source fails, the plague spreads quickly to mainland Europe and the across the rest of the world.

Told through a series of interconnected eyewitness narratives – text messages, e-mails, blogs, letters, diaries and transcripts – this is an epic story of a world plunged into chaos as the dead battle the living for total domination.“

I picked this book up because of the fact that it was about zombies. Zombies! I love zombies. I just wish I could say the same for this book.

With the rise of zombie popularity, especially in literature, I guess I shouldn’t really expect that all the books coming out would be good. There’s bound to be some clunkers.

Sadly, this is one of them.

Zombie Apocalypse! is a collection of stories from different authors that are supposed to have come from one outbreak. Except, and I find this really annoying, none of them seem to be giving you the same information.

Why have characters that pop up across stories? Why have one setting, one ground zero for the zombie outbreak? Why go to all these trouble if your writers are not going to stick to the same information anyway?

What went on in the editor’s head to think that the discrepancies in the information being divulged wouldn’t go unnoticed?

Sure, the formats in how the stories were told are interesting. And there are some really good stories in this anthology. But for me, almost everything gets drowned out by the fact that the authors seem to have not gotten the same instructions when they were writing their stories.

That, or they didn’t care what the other was doing so long as they got to tell the story they want to tell. Which is a reasoning that I can’t accept. Because, then, what would be the point of this anthology? It’s just a futile exercise after all.

But, as I always say, these are just my thoughts. Other people have said other things, like:
Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review
Shores of Night
Antony Simpson

Movie: The Cabin in the Woods

“Five friends go to a remote cabin in the woods. Bad things happen. If you think you know this story, think again.“

The Cabin in the Woods is a horror film that doesn’t just scare you–it makes you think too. And while this isn’t the first movie to subvert the horror genre, this is definitely one of the few good ones. And I’m not just saying this because I’m a big fan of anything that involves Joss Whedon. Though, come to think of it, he has yet to do anything that I didn’t like.

I don’t actually know how to, or where to, start writing about this film. I know that I liked and enjoyed it. And yet, there’s something about the film that puts me off. Is it because of the choppy editing MTRCB imposed? Though, to tell you the truth, I’m not really sure if it was the MTRCB who made those very jarring cuts or if it was the distributor who chose to do so to keep the film Rated PG-13.

There were two or three of these jarring cuts that, while it doesn’t detract from the story telling, it’s certainly distracting.

Now, I’ve read a lot of reviews that sing high praises for the film. I don’t think I can do the same. I mean, it’s really good. But when all I can come up with to defend this statement is that the movie’s good because it is mind-blowingly twisty… Well, there’s a bit of a problem there.

The dialogue has the Whedon trademark of being snappy and snarky, but while it fit awesomely with The Avengers, I thought the laughs took away the fear of the viewers. I mean, people were screaming at the beginning of the film! And yet when the horrors escalated (alongside the witty one-liners), the screams receded. People just weren’t scared anymore.

I liked the movie, I did. And I would recommend it to anyone without a moment’s hesitation. But, I don’t know, there’s something abou the movie that puts me off for some reason. Something that is preventing me from embracing the whole thing with careless abandon. Heck, typing this reaction post, I just realized that this is the first Whedon project that I’m not thinking about watching again.

So take from this confused post what you will. The Cabin in the Woods is awesome, but don’t come in with high expectations.

shutter island, the book

i’ve already talked about SHUTTER ISLAND the movie. finally, after a few days of sneaking in some reading time into my very hectic real life schedule, i’ve managed to finish the book.

i found, after reading, that i was right in parts of my movie review. the war scenes shown in the movie really weren’t that big of a deal, but they were enough of a deal to come into play into the psychosis of the main character: edward daniels. it needs to be established, but doesn’t need to be hammered into our consciousness.

and yes, the movie’s story threads really are confusing.

in the book, the whole thing plays out in four days. same as the movie. except, in book form, you have “chapters” of sorts that separate the days, and the main character’s descent into his psychosis.

day one introduces us to the first story thread: rachel solando, the missing female patient. by the time this part of the book ends, you know for certain that you are moving away from this thread and into the next: andrew laeddis — the central idea of the second day.

days 2 and 3 brings us more into the psychosis of our main character, turning the book from a conspiracy novel into a book about life, and how we deal with its many challenges. the movement of the story becomes internal — something that really can’t be done visually.

at the end of the book, during the fourth day, you see the story threads connect with each other. snapping into place, instead of being tied up together. there’s a difference for me. tying them up means certain points escaped your viewer/reader. having threads snap into place means they were presented clearly, and doesn’t need extra explanation for the viewer/reader to get what’s going on. and though i preferred the movie’s optimistic ending, the book’s ending is more believable.

after four days of harried reading, i have to say SHUTTER ISLAND never lost me. i’ve had to stop a lot of times because of fatigue, or because of emergency meetings, and sudden hospital check-ups. but when i go back to reading, i quickly pick up wherever i left off without feeling disoriented or displaced. that’s a mark of great writing, in my opinion.

it probably helped that i’ve seen the movie, but i’ve always thought that books and movies are two separate creatures that can share the same material, but are not the same thing. hence why i loved THE LOVELY BONES as a book but not so much as a movie. the same thing goes for SHUTTER ISLAND. i thought the movie was okay enough, but isn’t something i’d recommend readily to other people. but this book? i definitely recommend it to people who are looking for a book that will challenge their minds.