Being a MediaSlut

Stuff I’ve read, watched and enjoyed lately. No plot details, but beware spoilers!

Phantom of the Opera (1929)
I went to this on Friday night, the day before Halloween, at the Trinity Church downtown. I’d seen the film before, thanks to friend who loves it, but it had great ambiance—lit candles along the darkened nave, a live organist, little children dressed up in princess costumes. I could certainly hear ‘popular favourites’, like the corrupted minor melodies of ‘Ding Dong the Witch is Dead’ when Christine takes over Carlotta’s role, ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ when Raoul has a quiet scene on the balcony, a murky wedding march, the 1812 overture at the chase scene, and the main organ theme from the musical. It strikes me as very interesting how the gothic ’sound’ arose, of course, with gothic churches and gothic novels, and just how key the organ is to that sound.

BBC Emma (2009)
This new version of Emma is… modern. Very modern. But not necessarily in a bad way—I trusted Sandy Welch, who adapted the amazing 2004 North and South as well as the 2006 Jane Eyre (this is all from memory, which might give you a hint to how much I love her work), and she didn’t disappoint. I think Austen purists might be bothered by this adaptation, because while the story is supposed to take place in Regency England, Emma’s facial gestures and body language are so unmistakably contemporary. I actually quite liked it; Romola Garai was an unexpected, fresh, energetic Emma who portrayed a wealthy and extremely bored young woman. She’s no Fanny Price—she’s impulsive, headstrong and quick for a laugh, so it doesn’t surprise me that she’d be rolling her eyes or giggling behind a fan. It’s been a few years since I read Emma, so I can’t recall if they changed any major plot details (I don’t think so, though) but I certainly loved the style, though I do realize some won’t. I agree that the age gap between Romola Garai and Johnny Lee Miller’s Mr. Knightley wasn’t quite apparent, Romola looks a tad older, and Johnny, despite actually being Knightley’s age, looks like he could pass for 25. Still, I didn’t really care—it was a romp to watch and the actors were wonderful.

The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins
Oh Suzanne Collins, where’s the next book? I didn’t want to talk about these books until after I’d finished Catching Fire, but wow. For one, I am glad to hear that Ms. Collins has essentially finished the manuscript for the third book. Like with a lot of ‘phenom’ book series (Harry Potter, Twilight), I always felt that the authors caved at their popularity, and their end results were sloppy, poorly edited and no longer compelling. I have to say, I trust Suzanne Collins; she seems committed to Katniss’s story. Like Kristin Cashore, she isn’t afraid to make her characters suffer; she pulls out the punches but at the same time makes her heroines work for their success. I wish there were more heroines like Katniss getting the Hermione/Bella level recognition, because she’s a really, really great character.

Now, tiny quibbles. I realize that Katniss is the reader’s window into the world of Panem, but was initially a bit put-off by the first-person present narration—though I got used to it and do find it effective. However, I felt that Catching Fire, however awesome the experience reading the book was, was weak as a standalone. You can’t read it without having read The Hunger Games, and while most people won’t, I reserve special admiration for individual books in trilogies that can stand on their own, but still follow an overall arc (I have the same feelings about Lord of the Rings, though I know it is totally different). I was bothered by the utter lack of resolution, and what I feel is a ‘wool-over-your-eyes’ to-be-continued end—it’s just hugely, hugely frustrating for a reader. The Hunger Games ended on a resounding note after some fantastic plotting, even if it left some questions unanswered (and that’s great!). All Catching Fire was was a set-up for the third and final book, it also included some ‘reminders’ from The Hunger Games, but mostly  just gave us a hint of the bigger, bigger tangle Katniss stumbles into.

Still, I have been recommending these books left and right to anyone who hasn’t read them already. Probably some of the best YA I’ve read recently, and most likely ever. The fact that these Games involve teens—in fact, that’s an essential part of the plot—makes it so perfect for YA.

Whip It (2009)
If Judd Apatow’s making romantic comedies for guys (and in my personal opinion, spawned his own bro-mance genre), Drew Barrymore’s Whip It is a sports movie for girls. But kind of. Guys will probably like the fishnets on rollerblades and foodfights and girls rolling all over each other. Like any sports slash coming of age film, it’s about a character who doesn’t fit with her current society, finds an outlet she loves, lies about it, suffers the consequences, and ultimately triumphs in the championship game. But that isn’t why Whip It is so bloody awesome—it’s because it’s done brilliantly. Perfect example of a familiar story executed well. Barrymore plays with us a little, making us think that a cliché is coming up, only to spin us around and go ‘ha ha, actually we’re better than that’—and she is! The result is a really fresh and damn entertaining movie. All I could think after coming out of the theatre was that ‘feel-good’ movies get a really bad rep these days. Ellen Page was phenomenal, the (gasp!) parents are actually really cool, and the ‘be your own hero’ line delivered with minimal cheese and maximal genuineness. I loved that Barrymore let us know that Ellen Page’s character WAS being unfair to her parents, and that her actions do have consequences. There were loud moments, quiet moments, huggy moments and punch-you-in-the-face moments. It was all about good will and having an awesome time, expressing yourself and being just a little bit badass.

And must I also say that it appears that I haven’t lost my taste for indie punk singer-songwriters. I grew out of my indie punk phase a while ago, music included, but a man with a guitar and a tweed blazer and apparently I am sold. I still prefer my period men and book geeks, but ah, ain’t it good to know…

Avatar: The Last Airbender
Let it be said, I never thought I’d watch this show. I’ve never been a big fan of anime except for maybe Studio Ghibli, let alone a Nickelodeon anime with its target audience geared towards kids ages 6 to 11. I suppose it’s because when I think of anime, I think of genre tropes instead of a medium. I know this is really unfair, but what can I say, I never had friends who nagged hard enough, but now I suppose I do. But I went over to some friends’ suite last week, intending to finally (!) give Buffy a try, but was instead talked into watching the first episode of Avatar and… kept going.

Premise is Asian-inspired but set in its own world. I loved the elemental magic and fighting analogue to an actual style of martial art. I loved the characters—Katara had the potential to be so annoying, but I ended up really enjoying her character. Prince Zuko WAS really annoying—for the first four or five eps I was amping myself to be disappointed, since he sounded like the typical emo-boy, but I later found out that he truly does have a reason to have that chip on his shoulder. The battle scenes are original and wonderfully choreographed. Each episode IS a standalone, but best of all there is an underlying plot. I’m only one season in, and now I’m signing off to start season two. Perfect execution so far…

Up

I think I read somewhere yesterday that raving about Pixar is positively cliché at this point. It’s probably true. So here you have it, me being cliché. For those of you who don’t want spoilers, feel free to skip the rest of the post, but when I write about movies I see it’s rarely in review form—there are a lot of reviews out there that are more eloquent and incisive, and mine are just jumbled thoughts.

I saw Up yesterday with three friends, and about ten minutes in I could hear sniffling from both sides of me. I dare anyone to sit through the Carl and Ellie montage just after the prologue and not cry. It was like a sobbing game instead of a drinking game: every time Carl takes out the Adventure book, you cry. Every time the slower, reflective music plays, you cry. Every time there’s a close-up of the bird and photos on the mantelpiece, you cry. And so on. It wasn’t sad, per se, but touching.

I look forward to very few films these days, a result of overexposure and inertia—the growing trend of my inability to become excited. But Up, not so. Blah, blah, Pixar pushes the boundaries of animation once again, what haven’t you heard before? I’m not an expert in animation, but I do know about story. And what I keep seeing from Pixar, again and again, is that just because a film is animated doesn’t mean it’s for children. Animation is a medium for storytelling, and Pixar’s latest deals with themes I highly doubt young children will fully grasp (like Wall-E and Ratatouille, which I think appeals more to adults anyway). On the basest level, the protagonist is an old man who tries to cope with his wife’s death by going on the adventure they’ve always dreamed of, to Paradise Falls in South America. I can’t really explain it better than director Pete Docter does himself:

In part it was based on this idea, what I was talking about earlier, the fantastic adventure that Carl thinks his wife really wanted, this adventure of going to the ends of the earth and seeing rare, exotic creatures that no one’s ever seen before and doing these amazing things. And, of course, he realizes that what she really wanted, and what she had, and what he had as well, is this most incredible adventure of all, which is the relationship that the two of them had. And so it was kind of working backwards from that punchline that led us to these other characters and tried to weave them in in a way that supports that theme.

How they do it—well, that’s really best seen on screen. All the trailers show Carl’s house attached to a million helium balloons, and Carl unexpectedly stuck with insufferable Wilderness Explorer Russell, an exotic female bird named Kevin, and a talking dog Dug who doesn’t really talk. Oh, and a vindictive childhood hero. That sums it up pretty well.

It was fantastic, though I’m quite sure I won’t be able to hear that music again without crying. Also, Apparently Russell is based off of Peter Sohn, the animator who did the voice for Emile in Ratatouille and director of Partly Cloudy, the short we saw just before Up. That just gives me a bubbly good feeling inside.