The Penelopiad

I can see Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad Making it to classrooms one day (soon?). It wasn’t long and I found it easy to read. More than anything though, I found this twist on an ancient tale very interesting. How are we supposed to know what the “real” story is? Well researched, this could very well be true. The whole story seemed so fascinating (including the Credits and Acknowledgements); I would like to really study it one day. I do plan on finding the other books in The Myths Series. If The Penlopiad is any indication, I have some great reading ahead of me.

For more information on The Myths Series check out their website.

Pan’s Labyrinth

Dark and beautiful. I was sucked into the sad, violent world of Ofelia. I hoped so much for her fairytale ending. I want to believe that her spirit is alive in the underground kingdom of her father and she is reunited with her mother. Her mother did seem to get better with the mandrake below her bed, didn’t she? Though the Captain couldn’t see the Faun, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t there. The flower bloomed on the old tree. What do our hearts tell us?

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

The third installment of Pirates of the Caribbean was fun & exciting. At World’s End really brought you to the end of the world. From the edges of the pirating world to Davey Jones’ Locker, Pirates was filled with great twists and turns. The fight scenes and escape scenes were fantastic. Jack Sparrow’s mind is an interesting place to get lost.

Johnny Depp gives another fantastic performance as Jack Sparrow. He’s rugged and dirty and hilarious. How sexy is Orlando Bloom? (I think I love him a little.) Especially while he turns the wheel of the Flying Duchman. Kiera Knightly gives damsels a chance to kick as the Pirate King. But, has she lost a lot of weight. She looks really thin in the film. (Also in the June issue of Vogue she looks super thin. What she always this thin?)

One problem, it’s just too long! I could have done without about half an hour of that film. The pacing was off too. It didn’t feel steady. I think they official run time is 2hours 48mins. Those 48mins were probably not necessary. I really like the beginning, I really like the end. They should have cut something out of the middle to make it more enjoyable.

Go see it. I think the time is worth it.

Hitch

Hitch was hilarious. (I finally saw it!) Definitely a good one for Will Smith. He’s not saving the world. He’s kind of saving love. He’s playing a wonderful, serious, funny character. He’s been burned by love, but he’s not going to let it happen to his fellow (geeky) man. Hitch has standards and real emotion. The character evolves and we get to laugh along the way.

Exile

All the twists and turns of Exile were great. Drizzt survived and thrived. His skill is unrivaled. He made one difficult decision after another, but they were all about following his principles. Doing what’s easiest is not always (not usually) the right choice. You have to do what’s best for you and for those around you. Am I getting to deep with fantasy novels? I’ve read five Salvatore books now! Whoa!

*Note: Neither of those book covers are of the edition I read! I think I have the first paperback edition.

Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer

SPOILERS

Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer was entertaining. I didn’t notice the two hours roll by. The fights were well done. The effects were good. I loved the wedding sequence. As a woman (and recent bride), I totally felt for Sue. The distinct personalities of the Four clash and fit together well.

They’ve all grown and matured. Each member of the team has really come into their rolls. We also get to watch the Silver Surfer grow and change. He’s not just a nameless enemy, the herald of destruction. He is a slave who gets to break the bonds from his master.

That’s one thing I (and my husband) did not like. Galactus. I was waiting, through this ominous looking cloud, for Galactus to appear. Not necessarily as we’ve known him from the comics; they update things in the movies. I was at least waiting for some kind of bipedal figure to materialize.

The Fantastic Four appear to have a future ahead of them. No one knows where Dr. Doom is. Silver Surfer’s fate is even left open. Maybe a third fantastic movie!

Confessions of a Shopaholic

All these fabulous things are happening for her and Rebecca Bloomwood is still shopping. She’s probably not even near being recovered. Of course, if she was, there wouldn’t be a series of books about her. Confessions of a Shopaholic was fantastic. Easy to read, hilarious and exciting. I could barely put it down!

I love the change in Becky. Yes, she is definitely still a Shopaholic, but she’s realized what is important. She grows up, though the final letter is very ominous. I’m sure it is part of a nice set up for the next novel. Which I’m absolutely going to read. Sophie Kinsella has me hooked.

Check out her website!
http://www.sophiekinsella.com/

Homeland

R. A. Salvatore’s Homeland is religious fanaticism to the extreme. What really happened to the drow people to make them this way? There is no love or happiness or peace. There are only schemes and betrayal and the quest for power. There is no family loyalty as we see siblings killing each other for their places in the hierarchy.

In Drizzt, we find something different. Did Drizzt inherit some kind of innate goodness from Zaknafein? We see Zak as someone good who is trapped by the rules of drow society. He does what he can to stay true to his beliefs, but he trains warriors and kills for House Do’Urden. With no where else to go, Zak thinks this is all he can do. There is compassion in Vierna, we see it in scenes with both Drizzt & Zak. As Zaknafein thinks, if he had the time with Vierna that he had with Drizzt would she be more like her little brother?

Is this compassion in Zak’s blood? Are there any others who share his bloodline? Like Vierna, are there priestesses who must flail themselves for having “impure” thoughts? Are there males, like Drizzt, who don’t want to kill, but are forced to become warriors. Is this just an enigma? Or could all drow leave the ways of Lloth if they were given a different upbringing, a choice?

I see in the Academy children being given weapons and told to kill. They are berated with hate-filled rhetoric each day. Each day, they grow to detest peoples and races they’ve never even seen. When someone questions this “schooling” they are made an example of. I find this a familiar scenario in our world.

Children of Men

Children of Men was intense. By the end of the movie, I was on the edge of my seat in anticipation. I wanted so much for there to be a happy ending. I wanted to see hope restored to a hopeless world. But even the ending had me yelling at the screen.

My husband asked me, as we were really beginning to understand what the world had become, would/could this world actually be a reality. My answer was, yes. Could you imagine the panic if we were suddenly unable to have children? What would be the point of anything? No children, no future. Nothing would be maintained; nothing new would be built. What is the point of progressing with technology or anything if there would be no one around to appreciate it? It would be watching the slow decay of our species.