2013 F/SF Movies on the To-See List

Those who know me know I rarely go to the theater for movies anymore.  There's hardly any point.  Unless the film is an epic, sweeping visual masterpiece, it's not worth the arm and leg for tickets, artery-clogging butter popcorn, gallon o' soft drink, and junior mints.  Especially when I can watch it in the comfort of our family room on a large screen, eat whatever I wish, and maybe even enjoy a couple of Pacific Northwest microbrews with it.  And I don't sit there all movie wishing I could crack a shoe over the heads of the teenie boppers constantly texting and talking in front of me.

Besides, spending all that cash on a gamble that Hollywood will actually invest more in plot and well-rounded characters instead of cool visual effects and explosions isn't exactly a safe bet.  And if there's one thing that turns me off quicker than anything else, it's a poor story disguised with glitz and plot Spackle, but let's not get me going off on that tangent!

This year, however, there are a few fine films that appear worth the price of hassle and admission, just to see them on a larger-than-life screen.  And they're movies I really don't want to have to wait a few months more to see.  Sure, you can bet on the danger of glossing over important story elements with special effects, but sometimes it's worth risking it to get the full effect.  There are three in particular I'm looking forward to, three that I have read the books to already, and in some cases several times.  So let's discuss.


The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

Part One had its strengths and weaknesses.  Gravity certainly wasn't the cruel mistress in the movie that she is in real life, but there were better parts throughout too.  I didn't especially like the fact they stretched a rather short novel into three epic movies, and the stretching shows at times, but it's still interesting and visually stimulating enough to be enjoyable.  On the whole, it seems to fit well with the LOTR trilogy, especially in terms of feel and visuals, which it was supposed to do, and Jackson seems to be doing fair justice to the story.

They are adding new characters to the film that weren't in the book.  I'm really not sure how I feel about this.  On one hand, there's so much more added to the story already, that extra characters, especially ones that hopefully round the story out a little better, are probably a good thing.  But they're not staying as true to Tolkien's work as I'd have liked to see.

They teased Smaug during the first one, but never really showed more than a fleeting glimpse.  In the second round, Bilbo meets him, up close and personal, so he should get plenty of screen time.  I'm certainly looking forward to that.  I mean, the whole story centers around this magnificent dragon.  Isn't that what people are going to the movie to see?

It opens in the United States on December 13, 2013.  You can visit the official Hobbit website for more hobbitsy stuff from Middle Earth.


The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Sure, this is a young adult series, and we're all grown-ups here, but remember:

“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.”

― Madeleine L'Engle

This is a great series, intellectually.  It makes you think, makes you mull over situations you ordinarily wouldn't give a second thought to.  The series may be criticized for not having an entirely original concept, but no story is ever completely original.  With most stories, one can find another, earlier story that mirrors it almost exactly.  This one is original enough, and provides a very fresh twist on one of the more interesting dystopian fiction tropes.

The first movie held up well in comparison to the books.  My daughter also read the books before we went to see the first movie, so it was a neat experience to have someone to talk to about the differences, and what we liked and didn't like about each.  That usually doesn't happen for me.  We had a great literary discussion that bored the hell out of the rest of the family.

It will be interesting to see where this series goes from here.  The stakes are higher, and the danger greater.  Without giving away too many spoilers, the books left something to be desired with some readers because of the way they turned out.  I thought it ended quite well, though, and I'll be watching closely to see if they pull any punches with the movies, as they so often tend to do.  Hollywood evidently thinks moviegoers are a weaker, more dim-witted breed than book readers.  Often they're the same people, so what gives?

It opens in the United States on November 22, 2013.  You can visit the official Hunger Games website for more Capitol directives regarding Panem.


Ender's Game

The book, no matter what one might think of the author, was fantastic.  The immediate sequel, Ender's Shadow, was even better, in my opinion, but only because we got to see the behind-the-scenes action that tied the whole story together better, and from a better narrator.

The movie, we're told, will be much different than the book.  It really has to be, which is one of the reasons it's taken so long to be translated from the written page to the silver screen.  And I'm okay with that.  The movie version of a book doesn't have to be the identical story for it to be a good story.  They're two different storytelling mediums, and one often can do things the other can't.  Sometimes there is merit in producing two very different versions of the same story to take advantage of the strengths of each storytelling medium.

One of the things I already like about the movie was the casting, which is a key difference between the movie and the book.  The actors are older - in their early teens, as opposed to around six - but appear to be well suited to the characters they are portraying.  That's an important aspect of a movie based on a book.  While the reader has to conjure an image of the characters in the mind's eye, a movie can give a thousand-word description in a single frame.  The problem lies when the characters in our mind's eye look nothing like their counterparts on the screen, because the producers failed to come up with the right actors.

It opens in the United States on November 1, 2013.  You can visit the official Ender's Game website for more tech from the International Fleet.


There are a number of other movies I'm looking forward to this summer.  These are but three of the ones I'm most anxious to see.  Others include Elysium, Oblivion, and World War Z.  What speculative fiction movies are you most looking forward to seeing this year?

Who Wants To Live Forever?

An awful lot has been said throughout history on the subject of immortality.  Religions of all denominations proclaim eternal life as the successor to death.  Spanish explorer and conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon was obsessed with it.  Humans for millennia have been trying to achieve it.  And it's a major theme in speculative fiction, from Dracula to Highlander.

Immortals come in a number of varieties: deities, vampires, ghosts, zombies, alien races, observers, and even humans who, through science or magic, have escaped the grasp of death.  Some forms portray immortality as gruesome; tales of warning perhaps.  Some laud it as the holy grail of all life.  And all make us question our own feelings when faced with such a possibility.

A recent news article - where Russian scientist Dmitry Itskov is working to create a humanoid robot, capable of housing artificial brains which contain a person's complete consciousness - got me to thinking about this subject.  This project, if successful, would allow the human consciousness to escape the body before death, and live on forever in the body of an avatar.  Some of our wildest science fiction could soon become reality.

Da Vinci Vitruvian man, © Luc Viatour (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Aside from the initial knee-jerk reaction of not wanting to die, it's an interesting quandary. One could quite realistically choose to avoid death, but could one choose to give up that borrowed time later on? There are many ethical and moral questions to be pondered here besides simple immortality. What about things like human relationships and sex? Since a venture of this nature is so incredibly expensive, what of the implications of Itskov suggesting that such cybernetic immortality can be exchanged for a price? At what point does one's intellect and contributions to society factor into the equation? And when will the ability to choose potential immortals be bought and paid for? Almost immediately after implementation, one would assume.

And while many people jump at the idea of living forever, many others are repulsed by the idea. The thought of always being around, outliving anyone you ever cared about, watching as those around you die off one by one is something they'd rather not face. To those of this opinion, it's a horror - a curse, not a blessing at all.

I intend to live forever. So far, so good.

- Steven Wright

That's my opinion on the matter too. While death is said to be the last great adventure, I'm not quite ready to give up adventuring where I am just yet. I'm having far too much fun. I don't think, even after pondering it as long as I have, that I'd be too disappointed with immortality. I think I'd kind of like it. After all, it'd give those "back in the day" stories some real meat, wouldn't it?

A lot of this argument centers around quality of life. "I wouldn't want to outlive my usefulness, my ability to really get out and live!" we opine from the comfortable sanctuary of the couch. We say this, while hiding the fact that not only haven't we been anywhere or seen anything special in longer than we care to admit. We love the adventurer, the world traveler, the guy who gets into these fantastic, chaotic situations around the world, but we only love it because we can watch from the safety of our own little world.

A symbolic gravestone in Foulden Churchyard,  © Copyright Walter Baxter 

And it seems the main argument is that we'd have to sit around for all eternity watching our loved ones die, but really, that happens even now. And we continue to live and move on, as does the circle of life. We're constantly making new friends, losing track of some of the old ones. Would immortality really change this pattern? I don't think it would.

So how about you? How does Itskov's possibility of cybernetic immortality strike you? Is it the coolest idea ever? A nightmare too horrible to consider? Some combination of nightmare and dream?

Movie Review: Ladyhawke

It's one of the best cheesy fantasy films ever made.  It helped propel Matthew Broderick into the spotlight.  It was one of Rutger Hauer's few really good roles.  It starred a young and very beautiful Michelle Pfeiffer.  You've probably all seen the movie, and if you haven't, for shame.  Go see it now.  I'll wait.

Now that you've seen it, I really don't have to talk about the plot.  It's a pretty basic one anyway.  Get back to the castle in time to break the curse and end all that "hawk by day, wolf by night" nonsense that's keeping the lonely couple apart.    And while there are a lot of twists and turns along the way, you probably knew how it would turn out in the end.  Highlight the hidden text below if you want to find out what happens.  Spoiler alert:

They live happily ever after.

The real beauty of the film, besides Michelle Pfeiffer of course, was the cinematography - the setting and scenes of giant castles and quaint medieval towns.  Much of it was filmed in Italy, using the castles and picturesque towns of Rocca Calascio, Castell'Arquato, and Torrechiara.

Rocca Calascio, © Aurelio Candido

Rocca Calascio is a mountaintop fortress (lit. Rock, in Italian), in L'Aquila Province, Abruzzo, Italy.  At 4,790 feet above sea level, it's the highest fortress in the Apennine Mountains, and overlooks the Plain of Campo Imperatore in the Navelli Valley below.

Rocca Calascio, © Federi

It was built as a watchtower to accommodate a military garrison sometime around the 10th century, and was expanded over a period of time, especially in the 14th and 16th centuries.  It was never challenged in siege or battle, but was badly damaged in a powerful earthquake in the year 1461.  The movie distinctly shows how impenetrable it most likely was, with its high walls and inaccessible surrounding terrain.

Castell'Arquato, © Andrea Lodi

Rocca Viscontea di Castell'Arquato is a castle by the tiny town of Castell'Arquato in the hilly Emilia Romagna region of northern Italy.

Castell'Arquato, © Sergio & Babriella Trentanni

It's one of the best preserved castles in Italy, with picturesque views overlooking the town and surrounding countryside.  Much of the town dates back to the 13th century, allowing a distinct look into the history of the region.

Torrechiara, © Hellis Reverberi

Built in the mid-15th century, Torrechiara was the main castle "Aquila" featured in the movie, and is located in the province of Parma in Northern Italy.  Sitting high above the Parma river valley, it has remained almost unchanged since it was first built, a bold and formidable castle, a truly great setting for the final showdown with the Bishop of Aquila.

Torrechiara, © Luigi Alighieri

All in all, the movie is highly entertaining.  In part because of the actors and the plot, but also because of the magnificent scenery throughout.  It feels more like a fairy tale, an old story told around the campfire of some medieval band of merry adventurers.  So next time you watch it, take in the scenery and the footage of the beautiful Italian castles and towns.  Pay attention to the architecture and grand panoramic shots.  After all, you already know how it's going to end.

High Fantasy!

It's still one of the most popular story forms in the fantasy genre, and probably the most well known of any.  When one hears "fantasy" with regards to fiction, thoughts of castles, wizards, great warriors, elven forests and dwarven mines immediately come to mind.  One almost can't think of such fiction without immediate comparisons to the Lord of the Rings, either movies or books.

And why not?  J.R.R. Tolkien completely reinvented the genre with the book The Hobbit, forever changing the lives of generations of fantasy nerds, including you and me.  His writing led directly to a resurgence of the genre.  He's the ultimate authority on all things high fantasy.  He's been copied and mimicked by countless authors, from the most amateur writers of fan fiction to renowned bestselling authors.  He's influenced them all, and with good reason.

In Hobbiton, © Tara Hunt

But what made him successful in the first place?  What made his works break out with such distinction?  He certainly wasn't the first to write novels in the genre.  We have numerous examples of castles and knights throughout medieval history.  Countless tales of dragons and assorted monsters have survived from the earliest works of history, including Beowulf and even the Bible.  Rumors of those able to perform magic, witchery, sorcery or any other "dark arts" are equally as old.

Angry Dragon, © Jonathan Dalar

I think it's hard to say just what made Tolkien's works so great, except for the fact that everything was right.  The characters were varied, interesting, and believable.  The setting was wonderful, from the green, rolling hills of the Shire to the eerie muck of the Mordor swamps.  His childhood, schooling, and service in World War I certainly contributed to his writing.  He was first and foremost a linguist, which would have immensely broadened his writing palate.  And he published in a time when the world seemed desperate to escape into an alternate world of fantasy.

Since then, much of the fantasy published has been derivative, at least in some form or another.  And that's alright.  It helps define the genre and give it boundaries.  After all, what is high fantasy without those elves, dwarfs, goblins, and orcs?

Bamburgh Castle, © Nigel Chadwick

We need certain elements to remain in fantasy, but what helped Tolkien's works stand out and endure was his creativity and imagination.  He went beyond what was established in fantasy at that time and made his own boundaries.  His creativity went beyond his peers and into new territory.

Wulfgar, Celtic Warrior © Jonathan Dalar

And that's what we need to see in fantasy today.  We need it to blend with other genres, creating a variety of new sub-genres.  We need authors to break the established molds and let their imagination separate from that which they grew up reading and spread into new territory.

We need heroes to fight dragons, but we also need them to fight other, as yet unnamed monstrosities.  We need fresh voices to spark new interest further into the unknown, as the early pioneers Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, William Morris and others did.

We've gotten that to some extent already.  J.K. Rowling did exactly that for young adult fantasy, blending the mundane world with the wonders of Hogwarts.  And even if some of us older and more cynical readers aren't completely enamored with her stories of a twelve year old boy's discovering his magic wand, we have to admit it was just the boost of energy the genre needed.

Jacobite Steam Train over the 21 Arch Viaduct near Glenfinnan, © Paul Ashwin

It isn't exactly high fantasy, but it's soundly within the fantasy genre.  And it works.  Rowling pushed the boundaries by not only creating an epic fantasy story appealing to generations, but also ventured into new territory in doing so.  Before, we had stories told of alternate fantasy worlds such as Tolkien's, David Eddings and others.  We had stories with portals that took us from our world into an alternate time or reality, such as in some of the works by Stephen R. Donaldson.  And now we have the world of Hogwarts, that blends and blurs the realities of the magical realm with our own.

It seems we see literary agents, editors and publishers clamoring on almost a daily basis for "the next Harry Potter".  Everyone is looking for the next big break-out in fantasy, particularly young adult fantasy.  It's a hot ticket at the moment, and rightly so.  After all, Harry Potter made a lot of people a whole lot of money.

It's only a matter of time.  It's probably out there already, being typed out on a laptop somewhere between college classes, or in stolen moments when the kids are asleep and the spouse is watching prime time television.  Maybe it's yours.  I'd say it's mine, but only if we were talking about science fiction.  Regardless, when we find it, the genre will be a little better for it.

Movie Review: Heavy Metal

I think I was hooked on this movie before the opening credits even finished rolling up the screen.  I mean, how much cooler can you get than a 1960's Corvette used as a space ship, set to a rock n' roll soundtrack?  They really don't make 'em like that anymore.  I saw it for the first time on a bootlegged VHS tape in the early to mid-eighties over at a buddy's place.

It's very crudely drawn, campy at times, and is straight out of the 1980's no mistake there.  In spite of this, it often hearkens back to an age of film making even older than itself.  Some of the lines, especially in the New York sequence, sound like they're straight out of an old black and white 1940's film with Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn.  That's where the similarities stop.  Other than the spoken lines, it's nothing like the old ones.  It is decidedly a trip back down 80's memory lane, though, that is for sure.

One of the greatest aspects of the movie is of course the soundtrack.  It's a compilation of some of the greatest classic rock n' roll artists all packed into a science fiction production.  To refresh your memory, should you have forgotten:

Black Sabbath

Blue Oyster Cult

Cheap Trick

Devo

Donald Fagen

Grand Funk Railroad

Sammy Hagar

Journey

Nazareth

Stevie Nicks

Riggs

Trust

Yep, that's some rock n' roll awesomeness right there, and I dare you to find an all around better soundtrack out there.  There may be one, but that's a pretty high bar to reach.

Before I get started, let me make a disclaimer.  The movie's rated 'R'.  Probably only barely, too.  It has a ton of nudity, violence and coarse language throughout.  Animated or not, it's not one for the kiddies.  Yet.  They'll watch it someday, I'm sure, whether you forbid them or not.  It's a cult classic, and a really great science fiction flick, even up against all the modern, special effects-heavy movies being produced now.  I'll try hard not to give away the plot if for some strange reason you haven't seen it yet.  Instead, I'll concentrate more on the style and feel of the film, one sequence at a time.

Soft Landing

This is the opening credits of the movie, where the astronaut drives his Corvette back from outer space to bring back a gift for his little girl.  Too bad it's the Loc-Nar.  Like I said, it's hard to beat an opening like this one, no matter how awesome the movie is.


Grimaldi

I think one of the most telling parts of this sequence is where we see the alien miners using their noses to vacuum up the dust of the planet when they find the Loc-Nar.  It's supposed to convey images of how evil the Loc-Nar is, but instead conveys how hedonistic, and yet strikingly innocent the 1980's were.  Ah, yes.  Good times, those.


Harry Canyon

One of the coolest scenes is the dystopic, futuristic New York sequence "Harry Canyon".  That's the guy's name, by the way, an indication of how completely cheesy, bold, and totally unassuming the movie is.  I think that sequence is one of the best old fashioned futuristic science fiction scenes ever made.  It's got the übermodern inventions, with flying cars, neat space vehicles, huge satellite dishes and aliens, but it's coupled with the grime, and hurry, and that singular in-your-face New York attitude.  It's a snapshot of pure dystopia at its finest, which makes it one of my favorite sequences of the movie.  Ironically, the Twin Towers are seen in the opening part of this sequence, coupled together with what looks like a pair of giant tubes.


Den

John Candy.  'Nuf said.  One may not normally associate him with this role when thinking of movies he's starred in, but I think this was one of his better roles.  He's fantastic in it, with that unassuming, boyish wonder.  He really makes this movie what it is.  And we get so much more of the comical dialog and wild and fantastic imagery with this sequence.  Suffice it to say, it would have been interesting to have been there when they wrote this part.


Captain Sternn

The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde aspect to this sequence is made so much more awesome for the great soundtrack and the fact that it's set aboard a giant space station.  And of course, they use another fantastic name with the character Hanover Fiste.


B-17

This has got to be one of my favorites out of all the sequences.  More than just because it's a scene with wartime aviation, the imagery and music used throughout are what makes it so.  What makes it work are the number of classic horror elements used.


So Beautiful and So Dangerous

This segment is so weirdly implausible that you can't help enjoying it, but it's got a very humourous sci-fi vibe to it, along the same lines as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  It starts off with aliens abducting a couple of folks straight out of the Pentagon and goes downhill from there.  It's already weird, but the "plutonium nyborg" drug references really push it over the top.  Add stoned Canadian aliens and robot sex just for kicks, if you're up to it.  At this point, you just have to sit back and enjoy the ride.


Taarna

With this scene, both the opening music by Black Sabbath and the visuals give it a much darker feel.  This scene is set on an alien planet, with a long-forgotten race of saviors, summoned to save the world from destruction and chaos.  To me, it calls to mind everything from the legend of King Arthur to Wonder Woman, and was yet original in its own way.  The imagery with Taarna flying her steed across the land of huge, steel pipe cities to avenge the deaths of those massacred is probably the best part of this sequence.


Epilogue

I won't give it away if you haven't seen it, but to me it ended perfectly.  It gave symmetry to the story in a poetic sort of way.

***

One of the more interesting parts of the film is how it was filmed.  Each sequence is so strikingly different than any of the others.  Each is unique in the part of the story it tells, and it isn't until they're all together as one do you really get an idea what was happening in the movie.  The scenes cover almost every aspect of speculative fiction, all wrapped up into one story, from space travel to dystopia to fantasy to horror.

Of course, the movie being what it is, a violent, sexually graphic, drug-inspired tale of speculative fiction, all you really need to do is sit back with a bag of popcorn or whatever else might suit the moment and watch it for pure entertainment value.

Oh, and it's available on Amazon, should you somehow not have it in your collection.

Focusing on What's Important

A Twitter chat session with the folks at Book Country, including former literary agent Colleen Lindsay got me to thinking about the focus of my blog here, and what I can do to make it better.  Of course, that's exactly what the session was designed to do, and the hosts certainly gave out some excellent advice on the matter.

Colleen shared fourteen points on making an author's blog better, and I thought I'd share those points with my readers here.  They're well worth repeating, as they tie into not only producing a better quality blog, but into marketing oneself as an author.

There has been some concern about the ability of authors to successfully market themselves, and that is a topic close to my heart.  After all, if I can't successfully market myself, I can't find the audience to read my books.  I'll have turned myself into that metaphorical tree in the forest.  If I make a noise, will anyone hear me?

In fact, one of the arguments against self-publishing is that authors don't know how to market themselves, and as such will get lost in the masses.  But there is a completely opposite point of view out there, and with the success of a noted number of independent writers, they do have a point.  Really, the whole business is much too young yet to understand what is going on, where we're headed, and the actual individual factors for success.  There are definite indicators, but it's still largely a wait-and-see issue for some of the largest players, and their moves will definitely impact how things evolve in the future.

I think a more critical issues is the fact that a large number of them are marketing themselves to the wrong audience - to other authors, and not to readers.  Granted, authors are potential readers as well, but if one is blogging about writing, the blog will appeal to writers and not readers of the material one writes about.

So that brings me to the points Colleen Lindsay brought up last night in the Book Country chat.  They're all pretty self-explanatory, so I'll simply list them and you can form your own opinions.

Practical tip #1: ALWAYS have contact information on your website or blog (and not one of those contact forms).

Practical tip #2: Create a downloadable press kit for your site, w/ high-res photos, book jackets, bio & press clippings.

Practical tip #3: Don't make it hard for readers to leave comments and engage you in conversation. Allow use of Open ID, etc.

Practical tip #4: Have a separate area on your site for appearance information, and make sure it's up-to-date.

Practical tip #5: HIRE A DESIGNER. Make an effort! It's not super-expensive these days to hire a blog designer.

Practical tip #6: Don't be afraid to take control of your comments and delete the assholes. It's YOUR blog.

Practical tip #7: Make sure your agent and publicist's contact info is on your blog/website.

Practical tip #8: Avoid graphic-heavy landing pages; they add nothing and just piss off people with older browsers.

Practical tip #9: For the love of GOD, don't put auto-play music on your blog or website!

Practical tip #10: Make sure you add links to all your (public) social media presences on your blog/website.

Practical tip #11: Add your bibliography, in the order that the books were published, so new readers can read in order!

Practical tip #12: List any and all awards you've won, whether you're a NYT, USA Today bestseller, etc.

Practical tip #13: Write about other writers you love to read. Pay it forward, especially if you have a strong platform.

Practical tip #14: If you're going on vacation or need a break, ask a friend to guest-blog for you so content stays fresh!

Excellent tips, all.  A big thank you goes out to Colleen Lindsay and the rest of the great hosts and contributors of the chat!  They do this on a regular basis, on varying topics, so if this is the type of advice you're looking for, I highly recommend tuning in to them.  The next one is scheduled for August 11.  @Book_Country has the latest info.

So now, looking over these tips, there are a few things I see I'm doing right, and some I'm not.  The thing that concerns me most is not reaching my target audience.  I'm a writer.  I write science fiction, horror and fantasy.  Readers of these genres are the folks that should be reading my blog.  I should be sharing great news, stories, pictures and information relating to these genres.  Starting in a bit, I will be.

For fellow authors out there, I'll still share content that interests you, and I'll continue to add to the links and resources I've put on here.  But my main focus will shift, as I feel it should, to a more appropriate forum.  So for you sci-fi, horror, and fantasy buffs, stay tuned.  Great stuff coming your way soon!